This is getting intense... Ai and Shiro are still going at it, with neither of them giving an inch.
AI: "We may seem different as idols, but I can empathize with you on a deeper level.
As people, I see myself in you."
OKUDA: "...How dare you."
AI: "It's true... I mean it..."
OKUDA: "What about it?! You haven't experienced the pain I've felt..."
AI: "Isn't it true that you were born into poverty? Your family scratching and clawing to find your next meal?"
OKUDA: "H-How did you-?!"
AI: "Because I am from the gutter too."
OKUDA: "Oh, please. You? From the gutter? More like life in an orphanage. At least you had a roof over your head that didn't leak on you while you slept... As far as I'm concerned, you've had it way easier than me!"
AI: "Hey, have you ever thought about why I was even in that orphanage in the first place...? I mean, it's totally fine, I'm fine, just... Nevermind."
OKUDA: "No. And why should I?"
AI: "......My father had a one-night stand with my mom. After that she never saw him again.
She tried raising me as a single mother but bills were hard to pay, so she sold herself off to men regularly just to get by, even then not everyone paid her.
Eventually, she found a man she thought could help us out. But turns out he was lying to her. He was only using her as a stepping stone to get closer to me."
OKUDA: "?!"
AI: "Yeah, I know, right? Back then I was only nine, but my body matured pretty quickly. The man who was supposed to be my own step-dad tried grooming me.
My mom was angry at him, but she was even more angry with me.
She beat me daily. 'Why are you so beautiful when I am so disgusting?! YOU CAME FROM ME! YOU FAT PIG!' she would yell at me.
She at least stopped with the prostitution, but moved on to petty theft. It wasn't soon before she got caught and arrested.
Mom was supposed to pick me up after she got released, but she never came.
I spent two years in that orphanage getting bullied by the other kids, until something snapped.
I got tired if it. So I escaped and fled to Tokyo.
Did I have a plan?
No.
In the worst case situation, I was going to use my looks to sell myself off to get by, just like mom did.
But fate had other plans and that's when I had a chance meeting with Ichigo. That's when he convinced me to become an idol."
OKUDA: "I...had no idea..."
Ai...
I knew that you used to live in an orphanage, but...after hearing all of this. I feel like I've eavesdropped on something that I really shouldn't have.
To go through hell itself and come out of it and still say that you love everyone...
Your fortitude.
Your strength.
Your benevolence...
You truly are a goddess sent from heaven to bring love to this cruel, cruel world.
OKUDA: "For someone of your status in the industry to have been through such similar adversities as my own... I thought I was alone...but here you are.
Idols like us...we're unique. We've been broken and put back together in the eyes of the public...
So I can't help but feel a kinship with you.
We can relate to each other's pain. You remind me of myself Ai..."
AI: "..."
OKUDA: "...which is why I truly hate you."
?!
AI: "..."
OKUDA: "I despise you. But I admire the dedication and work you have put into this industry.
However, I REQUIRE it.
I NEED this victory.
I CANNOT allow the sacrifices I have made to be futile. I have lost SO...SO...MUCH...
I WILL MAKE IT RIGHT!"
What the hell?!
Is this what Shiro Okuda is like behind the curtain?
She's... She's lost it!
OKUDA: "Your LOSS will prove that it was all worth it. All the hearts I broke, the people I stepped on, the ties I SEVERED!
All of them, and your DEFEAT shall lay the FOUNDATION that my EMPIRE will be built upon.
QUASAR vs B-Komachi on THE BIGGEST stage in Japan.
TOKYO DOME."
WH-WHAT?!
TOKYO DOME?!
AI: "I see... You know, my producer keeps talking about that place. I don't see what's so special about it. I'd do this show in your backyard if you wanted. But, for Ichigo, I will accept."
OKUDA: "Hmph, just to prop up your producer's fragile ego. We're just two peas in a pod, aren't we?"
AI: "Oh, I'm not just doing this for him. I'm doing this for you too."
OKUDA: "For me...? How could this possibly be for me?!"
AI: "You need this, right?"
Suddenly, as if the weight of the world was placed on her shoulders and her legs unable to support it, Shiro Okuda crumpled to the floor.
OKUDA: "I... Yes... More than anything, I need this validation that everything I did wasn't for nothing... Please...
*Sob* PLEASE. AI!
I need this more than the air I breathe.
I need this...for her..."
Ai knelt down to Okuda's level and brought her into a hug.
AI: "Just promise me that you'll be a good industry leader, okay?"
OKUDA: *Sob* "...I promise. After I beat you."
AI: "You wouldn't be the first."
OKUDA: "..."
And with that, Ai got to her feet and started to leave the-
Sh-Shit! She's coming this way!
Instinctively, I climbed into a nearby trash bin, hiding from Ai.
The last thing I would want right now is for her to think I'm some kind of stalker following around or something.
You know, the type who would show up at your apartment.
...phew, she's gone. I can sneak outta here.
But wow! I can barely contain my excitement!
B-Komachi VS QUASAR at the Tokyo Dome?!
This is the biggest live show battle in history!
I-I've gotta pinch myself!
OW!
Okay, not dreaming.