Aikatsu Crescent!

「Phase 39」Reaching You

Ai sighed. None of her designs were working like this... she needed some kind of inspiration. Whilst she thought they certainly were cute... she kind of wanted something to fall from the sky and strike her with inspiration.

There was a knock on the door. Nobody had arranged any kind of meeting... most likely a newer idol without any clue of the usual procedure. Once again, she sighed, walking over to open the door.

"I'm sorry but..." she looked at her visitor, her expression replaced with surprise, "...Mai-chan?"

Mai gripped onto her sleeve. "Sorry for the sudden request but..." She bowed, "Please make me a new Premium Rare!"

─── ｡ﾟ☽: * .♡. * :☾ ° . ───

"So that's what happened," Ai said, taking a seat opposite to Mai. The idol nodded.

"If I could show her a heart-pounding performance, I thought it'd make Kotone-chan feel better," she explained, "I love my Premium Rare but I thought with a new one, I'd be able to push myself to new heights. Show her just how great I think she is."

"Have you tried telling her?"

"I've tried. She doesn't listen, though."

Ai rested her hand on one hand, contemplating. "I've not been having the best time with my designs recently."

Mai gave a sad smile. "You don't have to. I understand if you don't."

After narrowing her eyes, the top designer spoke up again. "If you really want one... why don't you try designing it yourself?"

"Huh?"

"If you want to convey your own feelings, a coord designed by me would be unfitting, right?" she gave a comforting smile, "I'll refine it and put it into the system. If you need any help sorting out a venue or anything I'll try and help too. Would that work for you?"

Mai looked down to the floor, shifting all of her attention to it. "I'm not exactly a designer..." she pursed her lips. Her own feelings, huh? Ai had a point... even if she wasn't confident, it was the best way to truly convey everything to Kotone. Maybe it was the best idea. Even if it didn't go to plan, surely she could try something else, right?

"I'll give it a try," she said, putting on the best smile she could. "I'll try and put my feelings into a design."

Hearing this, Ai's smile became brighter. "Putting your feelings into a dress can be a powerful tool. If we combine our feelings, who knows what could happen?" She asked, with a slight giggle. "Maybe nothing, but the connection between designer and idol is a strong one."

"Thank you, Shiraishi-san."

"It's nothing. Just try your best, okay?"

The two went on to discuss the event itself, Mai telling her the few details planned so far. How she was planning on singing a new song, or how she wanted it to be nearby. Ai promised to help out as much as she could, saying it was the least she could do after pushing so much responsibility onto Mai.

─── ｡ﾟ☽: * .♡. * :☾ ° . ───

After a couple of hours, Mai walked back into the school, her spirits raised just a little bit. This whole event wasn't going that bad, with so much support from Ai alone. Before long, she saw Tsubaki and Hinata, the latter of which was waving.

"Mai-chan!"

"How'd it go?" Tsubaki asked, twirling her usual loose strand of hair. In response, Mai smiled.

"Not terribly, surprisingly! She's a little unavailable, so I'm going to try and design some kind of idea," she gave a nervous laugh, "I hope I do okay."