“kiYORA, huh.”
Tenn Kujo’s harsh expression did not waver as he read the article. If anything, his scowl became more pronounced. “Looks like Kujo-san is finally making his move. That’s surprising.”
“What’s surprising?” Gaku Yaotome asked.
TRIGGER sat in their break room at Yaotome Productions. Ryuunosuke Tsunashi raised his eyebrows. “kiYORA. I heard she’s making her debut soon.”
“About time she did. If she’d kept up this nameless act the public would lose interest in her eventually.” Tenn shut the magazine and tossed it onto the coffee table.
“I thought you would’ve given her a but less flak for this, Tenn,” Gaku said. “You're the one hiding your personality from the public."
Tenn’s eyes flared with anger for a moment. “Is that really how you want me to show myself? You've got to be kidding me, you immature oaf.”
Gaku rolled his eyes, but Ryuu stopped them. “Cut that out, guys. Not this thing again.”
Tenn sighed and stared at the cover of the magazine face-up on the coffee table.
We’ll see how this all goes.
☆
“What do you think of our new idol, sister?”
The house accommodated only the Kirasaki brother and sister. As they sat down to dinner, Masumi asked his sister of her opinion.
Saika tapped her chopsticks on her chin twice before reaching for a slice of beef. “Rei-chan’s a strange person, to be honest with you. I mean … she seems kind of quiet, really. But she doesn’t strike me as the unfriendly type.”
“Awkward, you mean?” Masumi asked. “I get it. Are you worried that it will be a problem?”
“Personally I don’t really mind …” Saika said after a moment of consideration. “I mean, I can work with awkward people. But it’s her I’m sort of worried about.”
Masumi rolled his hand, gesturing for her to go on.
“I mean, the fans like idols with good humour, or at least idols with cute personalities,” Saika continued. “Rei-chan - uh … she feels kind of like a rock. Now if she were a guy … kind of mysterious, eccentric guy, that would be pretty cool. But she’s not.”
“She can’t be just like that,” Masumi said. “In fact, Saika, you didn’t notice that Rei-kun was struggling.”
“Struggling? How?”
“She looked a bit uncomfortable when she came into my office earlier. I’m not sure what it was, but it’s possible that she may be holding herself back.”
Saika looked a little crestfallen. “Ah. It might’ve been my fault,” she admitted. “Maybe I was a little too pushy.”
“Possibly.” Masumi couldn’t help grinning. “You’re a verbal freight train, you know what I mean?”
“A verbal freight train.” Saika looked so indignant Masumi had to laugh.
“Okay, sorry. You might have to get rid of that habit anyway. But back to business - ” Masumi straightened his expression. “Yes, it may have been you. But it might be Rei-kun herself, too.”
“How so?”
“Perhaps she’s not that good with unfamiliar people. That may be the case,” Masumi explained. “Didn’t you use to meet these kinds of people in school?”
“Um, I think so. Maybe.” Saika mumbled.
Her brother tutted. “You really need to work on your skills of observation.”
“Point taken,” Saika answered. “So what do you want me to do with Rei-chan?”
☆
Sunlight poured through the window and shone on Rei’s face. For a second, she was blinded, not sure where she was. Then she remembered.
I’m not in Otaru anymore, she thought. This is Kyoto.
Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she sat up on her bed and squinted at the window. She’d forgotten to draw the curtains. She usually never did back home, since her room faced the west.
A glance at the clock told her it was seven thirty. Saika had told her to come to the agency building at nine.
“Plenty of time,” she told herself. “No rush there.”
She got up and did her morning routine - making her bed, brushing her teeth and taking a shower. She couldn’t make her own breakfast yet; the small apartment kitchen was devoid of any signs of food. Rei made a mental note to go grocery shopping later.
The accommodations provided by the agency was an apartment about a ten minute’s walk away from the agency building. Seeing as there was more than an hour to spend, Rei exited the apartment to get a quick meal. She soon found out that one of the shops nearby sold excellent cakes.
Fonte Chocolat. The exterior of the shop was well-decorated, and the interior didn’t disappoint, either. It was a quaint, cosy café with cute motifs placed around.
The owner was a kind-looking woman with black hair and a friendly smile. “Good morning, dear,” she greeted as Rei approached the counter. “Care to have breakfast here?”
Indeed she did. Rei selected a chocolate Hokkaido cake and a cup of warm milk, and chose a seat while waiting for her order.
As she glanced around the shop, she caught sight of two posters. Each poster depicted one person. And those two were the sibling members of IDOLiSH7, Iori and Mitsuki Izumi.
Strange that they’d display only two of them in the shop, Rei thought. IDOLiSH7 has more members than that.
There were no other customers around. It must’ve been a bit too early for them, seeing as it was just past eight. So when the woman came back with Rei’s order, she lingered to talk to her.
“I haven’t seen you around before,” she said, setting a tray with cake and milk on the table. “Are you new around here?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Rei answered. “I just arrived here yesterday.”
“Where from?”
“Hokkaido.” Rei gave a short answer, a little hesitant to talk more.
The woman smiled. “Ah, Hokkaido. A nice place. I’ve been there with my family before, years ago. Good memories. I can’t quite remember how old my sons were, though … ”
“That’s nice.”
“Where is your family?”
“Um, in Hokkaido.” It seemed like the woman made a point of being friendly with her customers. Rei started to feel a little rude giving such short answers.
“Ah. So you came all the way here by yourself?” The woman looked mildly surprised. “Whatever for?”
This was a tricky question. Rei thought about her answer for a second and answered, “Uh, I’m just here for work.”
“I’ve got a son about your age,” the woman said. “Mm, there.”
She pointed, and Rei was a little shocked to see that she was pointing in the direction of one of the posters on the wall. “Iori Izumi, ma’am?”
“Well, I was referring to Mitsuki,” the woman quipped. “But if you mean Iori-kun, then yes.”
“They’re your sons?” Rei asked, a little flabbergasted.
“Why, yes. Though they live in the dorm for IDOLiSH7 now.” The woman sighed. “They visit whenever they have time, and they bring their friends here sometimes.” She sighed. "Though sometimes I miss the times when they were young. You should see some of their photos. They used to be such cute little kids ... Iori was so tiny, and Mitsuki was such a good big brother to him. "
“Ah.” The fact that Rei was having a chat with someone so near and dear to two rising stars in the idol industry was a little intimidating.
“But well, now … if you are Iori-kun’s age, you do look rather mature for your age, dear,” the woman observed. “What’s your name?”
“Um. I’m Rei.”
“Well then, Rei-chan. Good luck in Kyoto. Ah, and enjoy your breakfast.”
With that, the woman retreated into the kitchen, leaving Rei rather mystified.
“Well, that was weird,” she muttered to herself. “Oh well. Thanks for the food.”
And thankful she was. The Hokkaido cake was well-made, and the chocolate cream filling was a good mix of sweet and bitter. Washed down with warm milk, Rei found herself quite satisfied as she finished and as she paid for her breakfast.
I suppose this is a good start for the day, she thought, walking out the shop and towards the agency building.
☆
Remembering her tour around the building yesterday, Rei made her way to the second floor, where her own practice room was.
It was basically your average dance studio. The floor was wooden, and three of the four walls were white. The last wall was a mirror, and there was a speaker installed on one of the walls. Several chairs were stacked in a corner.
It was 8:50AM. Ten minutes before the due meeting time, so Rei sat on the floor, her back to the mirror and pulled out her phone from her pocket. Her finger hovered over her contacts list. She wanted to make a call home, but whom should she call?
She wasn’t even certain if her anyone would pick up. It was a school holiday, so it was likely that Megu would still be in bed. Her brothers, too. Yuri and Shima would always go out for a spot of exercise at this time during the holidays. That left one option. Gen.
Gen was an interesting character whom Rei had known since elementary school. He was constantly aloof, but he always managed to find space inside that stormy personality of his for a dry sense of humour and less of his usual coolness whenever he was with friends.
She dialed Gen’s number and held the phone to her ear, hoping he would answer. Seconds later, she could hear his deep voice through the phone.
“Hey, Gen. Rei here,” she said.
“Rei. How are you doing now?” Gen asked.
“I’m okay. Though I don’t suppose anyone has mentioned how hot it is in Kyoto compared to back home.”
She could imagine Gen smiling. “You’ll get used to it soon enough. You have to.”
“I know. There’s a lot to get used to here,” Rei sighed. “New home, new school, new friends. All over again.”
“Don’t forget about us, idiot,” Gen said dryly. “I haven’t put up with you for this long just to have myself wiped from your mind.”
Rei couldn’t help chuckling down the line. Idiot. She was familiar with Gen’s adjectives for his friends. “Of course not, doofus. How could I forget?”
Gen clicked his tongue. “Good. Just make sure you call the twins. They’ll be furious if you don’t.”
“Yeah, I’ll never hear the end of it.” Rei laughed softly.
Gen was quiet for a moment, then spoke. “Just take care of yourself in Kyoto, Rei. I’m sorry I didn’t really say anything yesterday. I - uh - kind of lost my nerve.”
“Lost your nerve? Over what?” Rei asked, a little amused. “It’s fine, Gen. I understand.”
“Just … I was doing a little thinking earlier yesterday. Over how you might change when you’re in Kyoto. You know those rumours of celebrities gone wild? I was afraid you might become an example.”
Surprised by Gen’s sudden sentiment, Rei answered softly. “I won’t change, Gen. Okay, maybe I will, but hopefully for the better. I’m not here for the luxury. You know why I came to Kyoto. I won’t forget why.”
Silence. Then a few moments later, her friend replied. “I’ll remember. And you’d better keep that promise.”
“I promise that I will keep my promise, my promising friend.”
“Is that your idea of a joke? That was lame.”
For a moment she could almost believe she was just on vacation and having a casual conversation with her friend through the phone. She could return home any day.
Then the door opened, and the person standing in the doorway shattered the illusion.
“Good morning, Rei - oh.” Saika noticed Rei holding her phone to her ear and stopped. Rei mouthed, hold on, and spoke hurriedly to Gen. “My manager’s here. Gotta go.”
A sigh crackled through the device. “Okay. Talk to you later.”
“Bye.”
Rei hung up, and stood up. “Ahem. Good morning, Saika-san. You’re here early.”
“I could say the same for you, Rei-chan.” Saika closed the door. “Talking to a friend?”
“Yeah.”
“Sorry to interrupt,” Saika apologized. “Shall we get down to business here, Rei-chan?”
Rei took a deep breath, then nodded. “Yeah. Go ahead.”
I guess this is where it's all gonna start.