*PRACTICE ROOM - NIJIGASAKI HIGH SCHOOL - ODAIBA - TOKYO*
???: "Well, what are you going to do about it? Cry? Piss yourself?"
AKI: "I'm going to kill his career... I'm going to beat Katsuo at the School Idol Festival because I have to! So what if I don't become the best male school idol... All I have to do is put enough effort into ONE performance! Because that's all I'll need to beat him!"
The masked guy picked up me and the chair and put us back upright.
???: "Now you get it. That's the attitude you'll need."
AKI: "Even so, I can't stand being on stage in front of a small crowd. Now suddenly I have to perform at the Tokyo Dome of all places... I stand no chance in hell."
???: *Sigh* "What's with all these insecure people doubting themselves? A friend of mine had no confidence in her singing ability until I gave her some pointers.
Now she's taking the industry by storm!"
AKI: "What are you saying?"
???: "I'm saying that you should have some confidence in yourself. Idols can't show insecurity, not when they have fans to inspire."
AKI: "I have no fans..."
???: "Those girls in your club seem to like you, plus I've been following news about you. So, your statement is not true."
AKI: "I'm flattered, but you're thinking too highly of me. I'll only disappoint you. I'm supposed to begin training soon, and yet I don't know where the hell to begin. Heh... Kinda ironic for the guy who puts together training schedules on a daily business.
It's so much easier doing it for others, but when it comes to myself, I can't."
???: "You can't do it alone. If you're going to stand any chance against Katsuo, then you'll need all the help you can get. So... Please allow me to train you."
AKI: "Huh?"
???: "It won't be easy for you, but I have experience with this kind of thing. I still have all the training techniques my producer used, memorized. He turned a failed junior idol like me into the biggest name male idols have to offer."
AKI: "Biggest name? Wait a second you can't be... This is some kind of prank, right?! You're not him, you're just pretending to be him so that you can sabotage me! I'm not accepting training from a guy who can't even take off a mask!"
???: "True... Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. But if I'm going to do this, then I can't keep myself disguised forever."
AKI: "Okay, I'm listening."
???: "I want to take down Seichi Kamijou."
The masked figure took off his mask to reveal someone I had never met before... But I knew all too well.
You can't walk around the city without at least seeing his face once on a billboard.
AKI: "Y-You're-!"
FENIX: "I'm Fenix Katayose. Number one male idol in the nation!"
AKI: "EH?! You're kidding me! What the hell does someone like you want with someone like me?! You're a megastar..."
FENIX: "I'm serious. I'll train you. But in return, you need to take down Kamijou's golden boy."
AKI: "Let me get this straight... As the number one male professional idol in the nation, you're asking me to take down the number one male school idol?"
FENIX: "Yes.
AKI: "I understand that you don't want future male idols to emulate Katsuo... But is that really all you want? Is that why someone as busy as you would take time out of your schedule to train some kid?"
FENIX: "Some kid? *Chuckle* We're the same age, you know!"
AKI: "...EH?!"
FENIX: "If I wanted to become a school idol and beat Katsuo, I could. But that result is what everyone would expect, it wouldn't shock anyone and it would give the so-called 'King' all the excuses he could ever want.
HOWEVER! If someone like you with zero experience trains extra hard and puts enough effort into one performance, then you'll cause an upset that'll shock the system!
One of Kamijou's prized students, defeated by a rookie. It would be magnificent! I'm getting excited just thinking about it! This is finally the chance to watch him fall!"
AKI: "You want to watch Kamijou fall. Is it because of his stranglehold over the industry, or has he wronged you personally? Agencies don't kidnap idols in the attempt to get one over on their competition, that's just stupid.
I'm guessing that for you to go this far, you must have a much deeper personal issue with Kamijou, don't you?"
FENIX: *Sigh* "Was it that obvious? It's funny, the moment I let my emotions get the better of me is when I let everything slip on full display for the world to see. *Chuckle* I am an idol after all."
AKI: "Are you comfortable with explaining it?"
FENIX: "My mother, Riku Katayose, was once a proud member of QUASAR's first generation. But an executive slept with her and got her pregnant...
Then, the agency threw her aside like trash.
The whole matter has caused me and my sister great pain... Because our mother could never get over the regret of the mistake she made."
AKI: "That...makes sense... I've looked into idol scandals before, and that was one of them. It only proves just how twisted the executives at Golden Calf are if they impregnated someone and then fired her.
Plus, that Kamijou bastard only sickens me more if he didn't take Riku's side over that corrupt executive!"
FENIX: "That wasn't possible."
AKI: "Bullshit! Kamijou could have protected her! Instead he did a favor for one of his corporate lackeys..."
FENIX: "No, not a lackey..."
AKI: "Then was it Oda? But Kamijou hates him, he wouldn't defend him like that! Plus, I don't see someone like you being the son of someone like Oda. I doubt he even has kids..."
FENIX: *Chuckle* "You still haven't figured it out. So maybe I need to reintroduce myself."
AKI: "Huh?"
FENIX: "I use my mother's maiden name, but my birth certificate says differently..."
AKI: "What?"
FENIX: "I am the number one male idol in the country! The blazing white rose of Kamiki Productions!
My true name...is Fenix Kamijou.
I'm... Seichi Kamijou's son!"
AKI: "...WHAT?!"
What the hell?!
AKI: "I...I'm sorry, I think I misheard you... Are you saying that you, the number one male idol, are Kamijou's son?!"
FENIX: "Yes. I am his bastard child. As her producer, he slept with my mother and got her pregnant. Then he fired her and paid her off to keep it quiet."
AKI: "This is...too much to process all at once. I think I'm getting dizzy."
FENIX: "Oh, are the ropes tied too tightly? Here, I'll take them off."
He untied the ropes which bound me to the chair.
AKI: "Thank you. But how can I tell that you're not deceiving me or using me? I've made some bad deals in the past."
FENIX: "I'm not deceiving you, but I am using you."
AKI: "Well, at least you're honest about it."
FENIX: "I'm training you to beat some guy my dad treats like his own son. It's a matter of personal revenge for me. But don't try to critique that, because you have your own reasons for wanting to take them both down."
AKI: "Yeah... Looks like we both want revenge."
FENIX: "It's not like idols to show their pain... People say revenge is a confession of pain, and I believe that. Because of Kamijou, I have felt pain. Because of Kamijou, you have felt pain. Too many to name have felt pain because of that man.
The only way that we can stop feeling this pain is either if Kamijou is removed from power, or apologizes for his actions and becomes an honest man.
And we know the latter is impossible..."
AKI: "..."
FENIX: "I am not asking you to trust me, but I have too much personal grief that's counting on your success, Akihiko. I need you to win at the School Idol Festival to shatter my dad's ego. It's the only way that the pain that my mother felt can stop.
And I am willing to train you to become an idol capable of standing against Katsuo Togo to accomplish that."
...I guess that makes sense. To stand a chance at the School Idol Festival, I have to be trained by someone more experienced than Katsuo. And Fenix Katayose is arguably the best male idol in the country, so he'd be my only hope of beating Katsuo.
However, I don't fully trust Fenix. Oda has caused significant trust issues for me, and I'm hesitant to put my faith in anyone else. Still, maybe it's worth the risk if it means achieving my dreams and making a difference in the world.
But, at least Fenix is being honest with me, and isn't asking me to trust him...
FENIX: "You don't have to make your decision now. I'll give you some time to think it over, here's my number. It's for a secret phone of mine that the agency doesn't tap into."
AKI: "Th-Thank you..."
FENIX: "When you're ready, please let me know, and I'll do everything I can to train you."
AKI: "..."
FENIX: "You're skeptical... And I don't blame you, I did tie you to a chair after all.
Well... Goodnight."
He put his mask back on and left the room, leaving me questioning myself as to what the right decision to make is.
Why does it feel like everyone has their own agenda, and they always find me? I'm tired... tired of having to make tough decisions, tired of having to choose between one bad option and another. I just want to go back to bed and rest.