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Once the day of their scheduled meeting with Kaburagi arrived, the two Hoshino siblings met him at a sushi place downtown.
Kaburagi took a sip from his cup before addressing the two of them.
"What I'm about to tell you is like digging up the grave of the deceased, so to speak," he told them. "Why exactly is it you two want to know about Ai-kun so badly?"
Luna and Aqua glanced at each other. "We're just fans of hers, hopelessly so," Aqua said blankly as Luna took a sip from her own cup. "Is that not reason enough?"
"The illusions held by fans are shattered once they come to know the real person," Kaburagi continued to caution them. "There is not a single exception to this.
"The entertainment industry is a competition in bluffing, as it were. When appealing subject matter tells appealing lies, it produces a charisma that doesn't exist in reality."
Kaburagi took another sip from his cup. "Basically, we're in the business of doing the kind of stuff people will do when they're trying to land a job at a good company," he said.
"Even so, we want to know," Luna said unmovingly. "Our views on her won't change, even after you tell us what you're going to tell us."
"If you're her fans, that's all the more reason it's better not to know..." Kaburagi tried one last time. "But, things don't always go as we wish.
"As I said before, I had a close connection to Ai-kun, and I sent a lot of jobs her way. At the time, she was a country bumpkin fresh out of the sticks. She lacked professionalism, didn't try to become friendly with those around her, and would show up for work wearing clothes she got on the cheap that didn't suit her. She was that kind of child.
"So, I thought about what might help her, and I introduced her to a workshop hosted by a certain theater company."
"A workshop?" Aqua questioned.
"It's a place I was a member of myself back in college," Kaburagi informed them. "It's called Lala Lai, the same theater company that Akane-kun belongs to. Though, it wasn't all that famous in those days.
"They say that love changes people.
"It must've been there... that Ai fell in love.
"After she started attending the workshop, she began taking more care with her appearance, and she started asking me about nice places to eat.
"As you might expect, I didn't know exactly who the guy was, but I do remember how she suddenly had the face of a grown woman.
"If you two are interested, I'll introduce you to the leader of Lala Lai. There, I suspect you'd come closer to the answers you seek."
"Why would you do all that for us, for me, more or less?" Aqua asked the producer. "I'm a failed actor without any accomplishments. Luna would have a better chance at this than me."
"Because I sense the potential in you," Kaburagi replied. "This industry is a place of creating and calling in obligations. As you know, in Japan's entertainment industry, the exchange of obligations between the agencies and production side plays a big role in casting. And based on the casting, earnings can change by hundreds of millions of yen.
"So much money moves around it makes this 40,000-yen sushi dinner feel like small change. If I make you obligated to me now, when you become an in-demand actor who's at his very peak, I'd be bound to gain a big advantage in battles over casting.
"That's what the job of a producer is, you see. And I'm not just doing this for you, of course. I can see the potential in Kana Arima-kun and MEM-cho-kun, too."
Luna and Aqua stared at him in shock.
"It seems you guys have embarked on something intriguing," he continued.
"I hear you've revived the famed B Komachi.
"I see it as a rather promising target for investment, especially with a group like this..." Kaburagi mused as he took out his phone and stared at the B Komachi YouTube channel.
"No way..."
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"Japan Idol Festival?!"
"Yeah, the producer we worked with on Love Now has a connection," MEM-cho said as she gestured to Luna. "If we're interested, he says he can squeeze us into the lineup."
"JIF is next month, isn't it?!" Kana asked in disbelief. "Impossible! There's no way! We aren't prepared at all!
"The idea of newcomers like us going on such a big stage all of a sudden-"
"C'mon, c'mon, let's do it!" Ruby exclaimed, squishing over to Kana's space.
"This is JIF we're talking about! JIF! Isn't it amazing that the reborn B Komachi can have our first performance on such a huge stage?!"
"But it's a sure thing we'd make a bad impression," Kana rebutted. "They'd go on and on about how we must have connections."
"Oh, it'll be fine! After all, we're the successors to the legendary group B Komachi!" Ruby proclaimed proudly, putting her hands on her hips.
"Yeah, because you just went and started calling us that."
"But you must have agreed on it since you and Ruby were the ones who were assigning our idol group a name," Luna said, deadpanning.
"Alright, quit squandering," MEM-cho cut in, waving a hand to calm them down. "Actually, I think it would be a waste not to do it. It's a stage that ordinary groups are only able to stand on after years of tireless work. If we don't take this opportunity, what're we even being idols for?"
"I guess you have a point..." Kana mumbled, looking defeated. "If you insist, I'll do it. This is my job, after all.
"Alright, it's settled!"
"Well, the next matter is THAT!" MEM-cho said as she stood up from the couch. "It's about time we decide on it."
"On what?" Ruby asked, confused.
MEM-cho grinned smugly.
"On who'll be B Komachi's center!"
"Aww, not this..." Luna sighed.
"Is that all that important?" Kana asked. "Does it really matter who it is?"
"You bet it's important!" Ruby and MEM-cho yelled simultaneously.
"Centers are the stars among idols!"
"A role of a cute girl who can really sing and dance, they're the face of the group!"
"It's the most important position of all!"
"Right?!"
Ruby and MEM-cho clasped hands as they smiled at Kana and Luna.
"I see you two get on well..." Kana started. "Well, anyone want the role?"
Once Luna saw the expressions on MEM-cho and Ruby's faces, she immediately said, "Yeah... that's where I'll back out...I think you just set off a bomb, Kana-senpai-"
"I-it's not like I'm champing at the bit..." Ruby started to say. "but if everyone really insists..."
"Sure enough, it comes down to the wisdom of age," MEM-cho said on the other hand. "Not that I want the role or anything, but my life experience brings the group together."
"You both look like you're dying to get the role," Kana stated blankly.
"I'm a great dancer, so shouldn't it be me?!"
"No, with my media savvy and wealth of experiences, it should be me!"
"If that's the criteria, my senpai should do it," Ruby realized as she and MEM-cho both turned to Kana. "She topped the Oricon charts with "Bell Pepper Exercises" and went on tons of music programs."
"Oh yeahhh, I almost forgot about that!" Luna said as she turned to Kana, too.
"Wow, that's a blast from the past!" MEM-cho commented.
Kana shot up from her seat on the ground. "Don't dredge up my dark past!" she shrieked in horror. The other three girls stared at each other as they indulged in some nostalgia.
"Aww, the way her singing was slightly off-key..." MEM-cho said with her eyes closed.
"Yeah, it was so childlike and adorable," Ruby agreed.
"They used to make us dance to it in preschool, remember, Ruby?" Luna asked her sister, who nodded as she mimicked some of the dance moves.
"Sing it a little for us!"
"Not a chance in hell! Even I can tell that I'm a lousy singer!" Kana grumbled, crossing her arms.
"Actually, maybe singing ability is what's needed to be center," Ruby concluded.
"Good point. If the center is gripping a mic, she won't shine, right?" MEM-cho questioned smugly.
"How shameless..." Kana whispered under her breath.
"How about whoever gets the highest score at karaoke will be the center?!" MEM-cho proposed, jabbing a finger toward Ruby's direction.
"You're on!" Ruby agreed immediately before turning to Kana and Luna. "You guys are coming too, right?!"
"I'll pass," Kana said, waving a hand.
"Huh? But..."
"You fool. The center is the face of the group, right?" Kana reiterated. "If I'm made the center, the group would never get popular."
"That's not true..." Ruby started, dropping her hand.
"I have more than enough evidence to back that up," Kana said, causing Ruby's eyes to widen a bit. "Considering that I persevered in this industry even after my flash-in-the-pan child-actor days ended, do you think acting is all I did?
"Despite never gaining popularity even when I tried my hand in a number of fields and causing lots of companies - which gave me jobs based on my fame as a child actor - to lose money, I still shrewdly collected my performance fees and eked out a living.
"In short, I, Kana Arima, don't have any dependable fans! I totally get why they wouldn't wanna spend money on a foul-mouthed girl who's lost her innocence, though!
"Come to think of it, didn't the Sweet Today drama come out in the red, too?
"MEM-cho has tons of subscribers. You've at least got a very pretty face, and I think your innocence would go over well. And Luna has this kind of charismatic air to her that draws people in.
"Besides... it's accommodating, cute girls like you three that people take a liking to. Not troublesome, cynical girls like me. Just think of me as the one who livens things up. Decide on the center between you three with karaoke or whatever."
"You've been beating yourself up lately," Ruby said softly. "Did something bad happen?"
"Not in particular..."
"It's gonna be alright. I mean, even my brother who hardly compliments anyone called you cute," Ruby continued, kneeling down beside Kana. "You're not troublesome or cynical."
"But, he said the same thing to MEM-cho on Love Now," Kana reminded them.
"Are you kidding me?" Luna muttered. "You know that was staged beyond fakery, right? Not that MEM isn't cute, of course."
"You find fault with everything I say. Any guy who dates you will have it rough," Ruby sighed.
"Well, entertainers are pretty much all difficult people," MEM-cho said as she knelt down and petted Kana's head.
...
Wait a minute... both of them joined up after Aqua asked them to.
I'm getting an increasingly good idea of the type of girls my brother's into, which is kind of off-putting.
"Come join us later, okay?" MEM-cho said.
"'Kay..."
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Karaoke...
MEM-cho: 57 points! (Try just a bit harder!)
Ruby: 43 points! (Uh... yeah. Try harder?)
The two girls stared awkwardly at each other after their scores were shown to the room.
"How could you dare to compete with a score like that?!" MEM-cho yelled at Ruby.
"Y-you're bad too even if you make it look good!" Ruby shrieked back.
"Idols are all about individuality! Even if I'm not the best, I have commercial value! But it's totally hopeless if you're straight-up bad!"
"The joy of watching an unskilled girl gradually get better over time... That's what I plan to offer fans! There's a sense of drama to it!"
"Are you two seriously grilling each other when both your scores are terrible?" Luna questioned them as they sat down next to her.
"We should've practiced singing more seriously," MEM-cho conceded.
"Both of us need some intensive training!" Ruby exclaimed, flexing an arm.
"Hey, could you not lump me in with you?"
MEM-cho held up the song tablet when Ruby suddenly asked, "Hey, onee-chan, when are you going to sing? You haven't sung anything yet."
"Erm, maybe I'll sing... after Kana-senpai sings," Luna said, rolling her head to the side.
"You just want to find the right moment to swoop in and take the scores by storm, huh?" Ruby accused playfully. "I mean, if I had a singing voice like yours, I'd never shut up about it."
And the fact that you said you were tone-deaf in your previous life... I almost can't believe it, Ruby thought quietly.
"I'm not cocky, Ruby," Luna rebutted, rolling her eyes. "The best score I could probably get is an 80 at the most."
"Well then, let's find a light song we can relax with," MEM-cho said as she started typing a name into the search box. "Although to be honest, I'm a bit curious..."
Once they searched up Kana's name, a whole list of songs popped up.
"Arima-chan..."
"put out a number of songs after Bell Pepper Exercises."
"I had no idea," MEM-cho said, holding up her phone and searching up a video. "Wanna give it a listen?
"Sure."
"Awww, that was a calming song," Luna commented after it was done. "Now it's my turn to sing!"
She swiped the song tablet away from MEM-cho and searched up a song.
"Oh! They have it! That's great!"
Once she clicked on it, Ruby recognized the song immediately.
"Hey, it's the one from the idol anime you voice acted for!"
Luna smiled brightly at her sister, picked up a microphone, and began to sing.
"They really undermine their talent, don't they?" MEM-cho said, smiling in disbelief.
"They say they're only average singers..." Ruby chimed in quietly.
"They're just too hard on themselves."
Kana: 97 points! (Amazing!)
Luna: 99 points! (Almost perfect!)
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ever watched Aikatsu anyone?
one of my favorite idol animes :DDDD