Time ticked by seconds before the start of the contest it was hard to imagine that the break period was still ongoing. I gulped nervously from picturing what was to come afterwards.
"Since no one has fully completed their meals yet, why doesn't each team combine it into one giiiant pile??" Ittoki suggested with a held up finger.
Tomochika agreed right away as she started pouring our portions in a single tray, "Ohhh, nice thinking! That has a higher chance of completion before the bell."
"Then I wanna add a bit of something as a topping to both~ I was saving them for later, buuut..." Natsuki happily bent downwards to uncover what looked like a batch of cute-shaped cookies.
Everyone's faces suddenly clouded over which slightly piqued my curiosity. Natsuki was glowing with excitement in utter polarity to the shifted atmosphere.
"Shinomiya-san, I don't think that's-"
"Oooh, good idea Shinomi. That will add a bit of 'fuel' to the fire." Ren cut off Tokiya's skepticism as he gave Natsuki a thumb of approval.
"Yaay! Off they go!" Natsuki beamed as he set the cookies - every last crumb, on both the plates of stacked food.
Apart from Ren, Tomochika and I, the rest continued to wear grave expressions as we all prepared to start. On Tomochika's signal to begin, everyone started right away, or to be precise Ren, Ittoki, Tomochika and Natsuki did... Masato, Nanami, and Tokiya were participating, but they were progressing pretty slow in comparison. To my confusion, none of them were touching the cookies. Only when Natsuki's face swapped with one of perplexity did they all have to start with the possibly dangerous cookies.
"Heh, about time, eh? Well, I say Hijirikawa should start with the honorous first bite, what do you say?" Ren gave a deep, sidelong look, clearly enjoying his high deride platform.
"I-Impossible! It should be Ittoki who gets the first bite - after all, his immunity to inedible snacks is far eminent than mine." Masato quickly gave the baton over to Ittoki, taking him by staggering surprise.
"E-Ehhhhh?! N-No, I think Tokiya should eat it! You all are in the same team after all!"
"Waah, nice idea! I've never seen Tokiya-kun enjoy any of my sweets, making this the perfect opportunity! Now, Tokiya-kun, say aaaah~" Natsuki wasted no time at all as he gleefully held the crisp-brown goody in front of Tokiya's mouth.
Tokiya's lips quivered up and down before being compressed tight. Natsuki's hand was already curving in his direction, and as quickly as Tokiya thinks, he leaned sideways. His smooth bypass of the incoming motion resulted in the cookie ending in none other than Ren's mouth while he was chuckling in delight - earning us all a strained choke.
Everyone was momentarily stunned at this turn of events before bursting out laughing, while Natsuki had question marks flying above his head at everyone's eruption for no apparent reason.
"Hahaha! So karma really does exist!" Ittoki was the first to exclaim with a hand clutching his stomach as his shoulders shook with laughter.
"*cough* *cough* Well, I'll say that caught me off-guard... But it wasn't so bad, just got the usual Shinomi kick to it." Ren wiped his mouth, his cool returning across his features in a fraction of seconds.
"Waahh, I knew that you'd love my special cookie recipe! You'll never even guess what the secret ingredient is!" Natsuki brimmed with excitement as he cheerfully clapped his hands together in delight.
"I can't help but think that this will lead to some disaster, but what exactly was your secret ingredient...?" Tomochika decided to ask, clearly seeming hesitant to do so.
"I'm suuuper happy that you want to know! This time I tried something new and added some squid eggs mixed with Tobasco sauce. *chuckle*"
(Okay, did he just say.... squid eggs?! In cookies?! It doesn't even.... show in the, uh, end product?)
"So... that's where the 'kick' came from..." Nanami whispered, a lone sweat bead rolling down her cheek, perhaps from the hurried eating in general.
"Everyone. Since you all so insistently made me join this facetious game against my will, I'm going to add something to the palette as well." Tokiya cleared his throat as he announced his intentions while bending below the table and revealing a striking, regular-sized bento box atop his palms.
As if to quench our peaking curiosities, his hands sat on the cover before unveiling the fresh patch of greens. The crisp lettuce and cabbage wrapped under the plump tomatoes along with corn and red beans loafing here and there - Tokiya's take on a healthy snack was right in front of us. I must admit, his salad did seem quite tasty, but both of the team trays were already halfway done. Would adding something at this point in the game really be a shrewd decision?
"Awww come on Tokiya...! We are almost finished with the contest, and break time will be over soon! I wouldn't wanna waste any more food..." Ittoki grumbled as he fiddled with his fingertips.
"I won't be taking that. Are you only complaining because of the shortage in time, or because you want to avoid your veggies?" Tokiya retorted, his stern tone clear in relaying his expression.
"Well if you wanna do it, hurry it up! We don't have time to argue here." Tomochika waved her hand in compliance.
A nod in and Tokiya was shifting the contents of his bento onto the trays, cushioning the top outer layer with parsley-lettuce mix and slipping tomatoes.
"At last, a dish that's edible for us to eat. More or less...." Masato heaved an appeased sigh as he stabbed the fork into a lettuce tomato pair.
Everyone was finally shoving down the now vibrant food peacefully for a while, continually evading Natsuki's cookies. Before long, the only items lingering behind were the untouched goodies. No one moved another muscle as their gazes plainly rested on the ominous dish. I heard a low gulp beside me - it was Ittoki as he shifted in his seat. Only one voice broke the deafening silence with a wild suggestion.
"So then, Hiijirikawa, up for a little dare to wrap this up?" Ren leaned on his palm supported by his elbow propped on the table. His curved lips were goading and unsafe in a lot of ways.
"I can already foresee the end results of your little ploy. No thanks." Masato rejected in a steely tone.
"At least hear me out. As the leaders of each team, let's see who can take in the most cookies and win. The condition for the loser still stands, no?"
"Woah, now that's risky! I'm up for this kinda ending!" Tomochika chimed in eagerly.
"I-I don't know... Maybe we should just stop?" Nanami, on the other hand, was hesitant to agree.
"Me neither. We shouldn't sacrifice anyone's remaining time of the day over this." Tokiya backed up with folded arms.
"But, the taste isn't SO bad once you get used to it..." Ittoki added as he scratched his head.
"I would hate for my friends not to enjoy what I love. That will make me really sad!" Natsuki seemed close to tears as he exhaled.
"See? You wouldn't wanna disappoint Shinomi and let his hard-working love go to waste now, would you? Besides, it's not like we'll get upset stomachs over a few bites - we're tough idols." Ren supported his claims with the final say.
Seeing as the argument had come to a conceded conclusion, Masato had no other choice but to comply. I didn't give my input; not that it mattered anyway. I wasn't as familiar with their inner circle shenanigans as the guys themselves, so all I could do was observe from the sidelines. Upon another repeat of the reverse countdown, the two faced each other down before moving on to grab the little cookies off of their respective trays.
At first, Masato was in the lead due to Ren progressing at a nonchalant pace, but soon we could all see why. The pace didn't matter in this 'race'; what mattered was their resistance to this outlandish matter. Coughing with a low grunt appending to his pale colouring, Masato was falling behind fast, while Ren was digesting bite after bite. Soon after, only one tray was spot clean. Before any of us could even blink out of our daze, Ren leaned back as he stretched his arms in the air.
"Phew, thanks for the dessert Shinomi."
"E-Eh? It's over already? When?! How?!" Ittoki wore a befuddled expression as he corked his head back and forth the place.
Yes, Ren was the one who emerged victorious while Masato was flumped on his chair with 3-4 more cookies resting. Personally, I didn't think the slightest bit that Ren would outright beat Masato so easily, especially like this... Hopefully, these 'cookies' don't have any side-effects.
"I hate to admit it, but I lost... As per the rules, Jinguji, what do you seek me to do?" Masato voiced out as he straightened his posture and eyed Ren in all seriousness.
Lips curled thinly upwards, Ren rubbed his chin in an almost melodramatic fashion. We all knew he was already plotting something really vile. Now I was starting to feel oddly concerned about the position Masato was in, and when I caught a glimpse around, I noticed that everyone held the same concluded feelings.
"Well, let's see... A lot of options come to mind it's hard to choose. But there's one distinct penalty suitable only for you."
Masato let out a low gulp, the sweat drop dripping slowly down his jaw. We were all strangely anticipating the next chain of words soon to spill out.
"For your upcoming work with Ran-chan, I forbid you to use any form of honorific when talking or calling out to him!"
"What?! B-B-But, that's--" Masato was left wide-eyed at this bizarre command.
"Isn't that stretching it out a bit too far Ren? That's pretty much out of the borders of your usual light teasing." Tokiya eyeballed Ren with a cynical look.
"Yeah, I mean this is Masa we are talking about! Without his honorifics, he's, well, not Masa anymore!" Ittoki added with a worried tone.
"Especially if it's Kurosaki-senpai..." Nanami nervously gazed at the still shaken Masato.
"Oh come on, is that a no then?" Instead of replying to everyone's individual claims and concerns, Ren questioned Masato solely.
Snapping out of his reverie, Masato exhaled sharply as he shook his head, "I'll accept that penalty. Those were the agreed rules after all."
"Are you sure? Isn't this like, way out of your nature though?" Tomochika double-checked right before the bell tolled the end of the break.
Without another word, Masato stood up from his seat and marched away until Tokiya soon followed behind. I could do nothing but stare at their backs shrinking bit by bit until they were out of range. I left the cafeteria behind with Ittoki and company in silence while Ren languidly detoured to our right, cutting off and vanishing in mere seconds.
(For someone who was walking at his pace, he sure disappears fast...)
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On the other side of the cafeteria hall...
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Upon catching up to Masato, Tokiya smoothly halted his steps to adjust his line of sight on his friend and fellow partner.
Tokiya's lips parted to start, "Hijirikawa-san, you really don't have to go along with Ren's repulsive proposal if you aren't comfortable with it. None of us will think any less regarding you. You know that, right?"
Masato kept the silence to himself for a while, until he responded, "...It's true, I really don't wish to go with it especially since Jinguji's behind it, but it's more unbefitting to show weakness in front of him. I'd rather choose to save the latter."
"In that case, I'll back you up whenever you need any assistance. I'll be in the conjoining agency."
"Thank you, Ichinose. I'm much obliged and will keep it in mind."
The two shared an understanding smile during this brief 5-minute interlude before the start of the next class. It was one in a few rare moments they occasionally shared amongst themselves. After a light slap of encouragement on the shoulder, Tokiya strode the way opposite from Masato to his destination - the S Class, while Masato continued forth for his A Class. Before long, he finally made it to the room, the barely faded nameplate still neatly in the centre.
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As expected, even if we parted ways with Masato, he was punctual for the next lecture and I'm guessing Tokiya reached his class as well by now. A sigh of relief escaped my lips when I saw nothing seemed to have changed in Masato's demeanour after he abruptly left the cafeteria as he took his seat beside me. Ringo-sensei once again barged in with a flashy 'boom', and the lecture resumed identical to the previous half of the day.
Once the last class concluded, I became immersed in a light-hearted chatter with my new friends. Tomochika, Nanami, Natsuki, and Ittoki surrounded my table while Masato watched from his seat as he was clearing his belongings and packing for the day.
Tomochika was the first to ask, "So, what did you think about your first day?"
"Well, it was crazier than I expected but also fun at the same time. Meeting all of you on my first day here was something I'd never imagined would happen. It's also a dream come true to be taught under such esteemed personalities!"
"Hehe, I know right? I remember how excited I was on my first day too!" Ittoki spontaneously agreed, sounding as enthusiastic as always.
"Hehe, it really is a nice feeling. Umm, if you all don't mind, can you give me some advice about how things work in this place? Being a new student is slightly nerve-wracking since I'm not quite sure what to do..."
Nanami replied to my question with a tiny smile, "I understand how you feel, being the new girl is definitely unnerving at first."
"Hmm... I guess the tip I'd give you is to not feel discouraged if things start out tough. The harsh studies are one side of the problem but sometimes, people around here can be pretty spiteful as well. You need to have thick skin if you want to survive the next few years." Tomochika crossed her arms and spoke with eyes closed.
"R-Really?! I didn't know about that..."
"Well, this is training for the 'showbiz' we're talking about. I guess it makes sense why this academy doesn't have any rules related to the students' attitudes." Tomochika's lips perked up into a crooked grin, but Natsuki merrily continued,
"No need to worry since you've got us by your side! We're happy to help if you have any other questions you'd like to ask eheh~"
(I should probably tell them about my condition for getting accepted... I still haven't even decided on who should work with me yet.)
"There is one last thing that I forgot to mention, it's not a question but... You see, I'm actually just a temporary student at the moment..."
"Uh? What does that mean?" Natsuki tilted his head, not comprehending my statement.
"What I mean is that I didn't really pass the entrance exam... But Hijirikawa-san managed to convince the Headmaster to let me study as a student. However, on one condition. Headmaster Saotome said that I have to hold a solo concert at a special event that's coming up."
"Wait, you mean the upcoming Shining Idol Showcase that's going to take place a month from now?!" Nanami blurted with wide eyes to which I gave a light nod.
The other three also seemed bewildered after hearing me out until I continued further, "Other than holding the live show, I have to organise a team of my own consisting of any 3 people I wish as helpers. What should I do...?"
"Ahhh, that's a tough spot to be in especially for a rookie like you... None of us have ever performed on stage after barely 1 month of studying here!" Tomochika exclaimed, her tone conveying her worry.
"I think the straightforward solution is to work hard if you want a successful show. Personally, that's what helped me reach where I am today."
"Is that all there is to it...? Simply working hard and trying my best?" I doubtedly asked after listening to Nanami's view on the matter.
"That might be the only answer. Either way, don't fret over this too much, overthinking is bad for you in the end. Plus, if you have any trouble, you can always come to us!" Tomochika winked as she placed her hands on both Nanami's and Ittoki's shoulders, to which the two nodded in sync.
A smile formed on my lips as I realized that I had truly met amazing people. Settling down my anxious feelings, I made sure to thank them for their encouraging words, "Thanks, I think I know what to do now! I'd also love it if you guys could meet my best friend, Ayame. We both actually enrolled together."
"Oh! Isn't she the other girl Masa was talking about?"
"Mmhmm. You'll all get along so well!"
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"And that's when you came. Well, what about you? How was your day?" After completely narrating to Ayame how my day passed, it was now time for her to share hers.
"Wow, you sure had one wild day. But it sounds like a blast hanging out with everyone like that, a total opposite to what I went through!"
"What do you mean...?"
"Uh... Unlike you, my day didn't go exactly as planned..."