"Welcome to Aikatsu☆Starlight, the show where we cover all of the latest idol news!" All over Japan, thousands of idols and fans alike were eagerly tuning into Aikatsu☆Starlight, a show where all of the weeks new Aikatsu announcements were put together. It was well known for being the first place to announce all sorts of exciting idol news.
"Tsubaki? Why does everyone have their phones out?" Mai asked, as she brought her breakfast tray over to a table. Tsubaki was watching her phone intently, only noticing Mai after a few seconds.
"Everyone's watching Aikatsu☆Starlight, obviously," she replied, eyes fixed on her phone. Mai tilted her head.
"Aikatsu☆Starlight...? Oh! I think Sachi-chan and a few of my old classmates mentioned that before!" She exclaimed, clapping her hands before pausing, "Though... I have no idea what is actually is."
"You... don't know what Aikatsu☆Starlight is?"
Mai nodded, and Tsubaki sighed. "Basically, it's an Aikatsu news show. Every week, they announce all sorts of information related to the idol world- it's a must watch for idols and fans!"
Mai started to look excited.
"Oh, that sounds interesting! What have they mentioned so far?" She asked as she sat besides her roommate.
"Nothing ye- Oh! They're about to say something big!" The two girls leaned in closer, the entire cafeteria grew quiet.
"Finally, we're proud to be the first place to announce this huge piece of news! Aino Rina's debut as the Celestial Star is going to happen next Friday! She'll be performing her brand new song and wearing a coord from her new brand, Crystal Ribbon!" Suddenly, every idol in the cafeteria became incredibly excited.
"Announce when the tickets go on sale..." Tsubaki muttered under her breath, impatiently.
"Come see this great event! Tickets are on sale now!" Tsubaki immediately clicked off of KiraTube and switched to Rina's website.
"We're actually going to see her live?" Mai asked, excited. "I've never been to a concert in years! The last time I saw one was when I was small~." Tsubaki smiled at the girl's excitement, before turning her attention to the screen again. She froze.
"They're sold out."
"Heh?"
"Like I said, they're sold out."
"Already?!" Mai burst out, "But how? It's only been a minute or two."
Tsubaki shook her head. "You underestimate how important the Celestial Star's debut is the idol world. Seeing the brightest star at her brightest- it's almost as big of an event as the Stardust Idol Festival!" She raised her hand, cutting off Mai before she could even question. "Before you ask, the Stardust Festival is a huge show where they gather the top fourteen idols in Japan to perform together! It occurs every four years in March and is known to shake the world of idols to its very core!"
Mai's eyes lit up. "That sounds so great, I hope I get to see it someday~!" Then, she remembered what the conversation was in the first place and sighed dejectedly. "I can't believe we can't watch it..."
Tsubaki placed her hand on the small girl's shoulder. "Don't worry! People know how in demand these tickets are, so what people tend to do is buy a lot and put them for sale or exchange it for something." She flipped her hair, full of confidence. Mai looked concerned.
"Isn't that-"
"Shady? Yeah, a lot of them don't give them for very nice prices. But, I've been working with Hikaru-kun for years, and he's always given tickets for free! All we have to do is beat others who want the tickets in some kind of competition!" The purple haired girl exclaimed with a smug expression. "I'll look to see if he has any offers up tonight, and let you know in the morning!"
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"Mai, wake up~" Mai continued to clutch on her pillow, refusing to leave the world of dreams. She was finally the Celestial Star and having her debut stage. The audience was completely full, with Sachiko and Tsubaki cheering her on at the front.
"Mai, come on. We need to go!" Tsubaki's cheers in the dream turned into her urging her to wake up.
"But it's the weekend, we don't have classes..." Mai muttered drowsily, not with reality yet. Tsubaki grew increasingly frustrated.
"Yes but Hikaru-kun's putting on duo competition today! I can't go by myself, and we both need the tickets!"
Mai sprung up in alarm before pouting. "You didn't tell me it'd be today!"
Tsubaki clasped her hands together in apology. "I'm sorry for the short notice, but please Mai! I want to watch Rina's live with you, and I'm not sure if Hikaru-kun has enough tickets to put on multiple competitions. Please, I got us permission to leave school grounds and everything!"
Mai's eyes widened, remembering a conversation she had with Sachiko.
"But, you have to promise to come with me to her debut as the Celestial Star in a few weeks!"
"No buts. It's a promise, and friends don't break promises. If you do, I'll just assume you don't want to be friends anymore~."
Mai looked down for a moment, before standing up, determined. "Let's go then! I made a promise to watch Rina's debut live, after all!"
Tsubaki was confused for a second before grinning. "Come on, there should be a car outside waiting for us!"
Tsubaki started to head out, and Mai followed. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the time: 6am. The young girl started to wonder if idols were always awake so early. It seemed difficult to do everyday. She turned to the door once again and walked out of the room into the corridor. It was quiet, dark, and cold, and yet there were quite a few second and third years there, although they were quietly leaving for their jobs.
"Do idols always wake up so early?" Mai asked in a quiet tone.
Tsubaki nodded in reponse. "It doesn't happen often with first years, but by the time you're in your second year you usually have so many auditions and work lined up you have to, or you won't have enough time to do everything you need to."
"Seems difficult...."
"It's the price you have to pay as an idol." The two continued to walk in silence until they eventually arrived outside. Spotting a car at the front gate, Tsubaki ran over, as Mai followed suit. The driver pulled down the window, and Tsubaki shown him her student ID.
"First year, Shimura Tsubaki, here for an audition!" She stated, nudging Mai to encourage her to do the same.
"First year, Amamiya Mai! I'm with Tsubaki!" She copied, also took out her ID, and the driver nodded.
"Come in." He said as Tsubaki opened the door, and the two climbed in. Mai looked around in awe.
"It's so nice in here~!" She exclaimed.
"Of course it is! Celestial Academy has created some of Japan's top idols! They're not going to go the cheap route." Tsubaki stated before smiling. "But, you're right. It is nice." Mai giggled, relaxing into the seat Then, another question popped into her head.
"I'm surprised we're even allowed to leave."
"Of course we are. We're going to an audition. If we weren't allowed to, we wouldn't be able to be idols!" Tsubaki crossed her arms and pouted.
"But-" Mai started, as Tsubaki placed her finger on Mai's lips, shushing her, before looking out the window.
"Oh, we're here!"
Mai gave Tsubaki a puzzled look. "It's just a field...?"
The two waited as the car stopped, and the two girls got out. Tsubaki cheerfully waved to the driver.
"Bye! And thanks for the ride!" She called out and turned back to Mai, who was extremely confused.
"This is the audition? Tsubaki, are you sure this is safe?"
Tsubaki nodded and pointed to a small crowd. "Look! That's Hikaru-kun over there! And all those people must also be competing!" She gave Mai a smile, "So stop worrying! Nothing bad will happen, I trust Hikaru-kun with my life!!"
Mai hesitated. "So we have a chance of-"
"Of course not!" Tsubaki pouted, causing Mai to giggle slightly, easing up a bit. She was always taught not to trust these sorts of things, but Tsubaki seemed confident that it'd be fine. If Tsubaki was certain, Mai didn't think there was any way she could be wrong. Yet, as the man started to approach them, she started to feel that confidence slip away once again.
"Tsubaki-chan!" The man exclaimed, waving at the purple haired girl. She smiled and ran over to him.
"Hikaru-kun!" The two high fived, and Hikaru looked towards Mai. "So this is the girl you're with... Mia, right?" Mai blushed, greatly embarrassed, as Tsubaki shook her head and laughed.
"No, she's Mai! M-A-I!" The man laughed too and quickly put out an apology. Feeling embarrassed and out of place, Mai's eyes wandered to the other people competing. She wondered if they were all close to the man, just like Tsubaki. What if he completely forgot about her? What if Tsubaki was asked if she wanted to go solo? What if she said yes? Without noticing, Mai found herself grasping at her sleeve once again, trying to get rid of all the negative feelings in her. Tsubaki wasn't like Sachiko. She wouldn't leave her like that. She couldn't...
"Mai? You okay?" Tsubaki placed her hand on Mai's shoulder, causing her to snap back into reality.
"Huh?" She paused before smiling sweetly. "Don't worry! I'm fine! Couldn't be better!"
Tsubaki looked as if she were about to argue back when Hikaru blew a whistle, signalling all the contestants to gather. Tsubaki sighed quietly before turning more energetic. "Come on. Let's go." She grabbed Mai's hand, and they went over to the gathering spot. Mai looked around, taking note of all the contestants. Some the same age as them, some high schoolers--even some fully grown adults were there! They all turned their attention to the event organiser, each contestant looking extremely confident.
"Good day, idol fans! Today's your lucky chance! Your lucky chance to possibly see Aino Rina live!" He paused as some people started to applause or whisper to their partners. "But, in order to grasp this chance, you have to complete this obstacle course before anyone else!"
He pointed towards a huge obstacle course behind them. Mai looked towards it with a mixture of both fear and admiration. There was a large swimming pool, balancing beams, wall climbs, and monkey bars. At the end, there was a huge cliff, which Mai nervously eyed. Mai wasn't the only one, however, as a few others also looked at it nervously.
"Yes," Hikaru declared, noticing their anxiety. "You will have to scale the cliff. There is where my assistant will be waiting with tickets! You have five minutes to get changed and warm up! Good luck!" He waved as he walked off, and most of the contestants waved back. Mai felt herself grow pale as she continued to stare at the cliff. It was huge, if anyone fell... She pinched her cheek. Tsubaki said she trusted Hikaru with her life. She just had to believe in Tsubaki's trust.
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After a very silent and awkward changing session and warm up, All the contestants headed to the obstacle course. Everyone looked towards Hikaru, both excited and nervous. Looking over to make sure everyone had arrived, he looked towards a green haired girl next to him. The girl nodded and grabbed a whistle tied around her neck.
"Everyone, are you ready? Three, two, one... go!" Next thing Mai knew, every pair was dashing past her. Tsubaki grabbed her arm and started to run. Mai followed, desperately trying to keep up. As idols, Tsubaki had mentioned they had to be in good shape, so she couldn't fall behind so easily! Eventually, the two girls ran into a small wall climb. Various contestants were all trying their best to get over but appeared to be having trouble. Mai looked at it nervously. Being so short would put her at major disadvantage. As she stared at the wall, Tsubaki kneeled down in front of it.
"Mai! Use me to boost yourself up!" Tsubaki called out, and Mai nodded. She climbed to the top of the wall and held her hand out. Tsubaki immediately took the cue, and took her hand, as Mai tried her best to pull Tsubaki over.
"Thanks!" Tsubaki beamed as they reached the ground, and Mai shook her head.
"I'm the one who should be thanking you." She stated before looking forward. "There's still so much to do, let's go!" She started to run off, and Tsubaki followed.
Next, the girls made their way across monkey bars, and Mai felt her confidence rebuilding. The entire time, Tsubaki was by her side, occasionally giving a motivational smile. They passed through various other obstacles, such as crawling under a net and a long jump. Before long, they found themselves standing in front of the second to last obstacle, a swimming pool which was around 25m long. The two girls looked at each other and nodded. Only a few contestants remained. They just couldn't give up now! They held hands and dived in.
"Aikatsu!" They shouted in unison and started to swim. If they could do this, they had a chance of seeing the current Celestial Star, Aino Rina, live. They climbed out of the end of the pool and stared at the giant cliff standing in front of them. They were the only participants to make it this far; all they needed to do now was conquer the cliff.
"Let's do this, and see the one and only Rina-sama live!" Tsubaki exclaimed. Mai smiled in reponse. "Together, we can do this! Let's go!" The two girls started to climb up, filled with determination. If they quit now, they'd let each other down... so they had to keep going!
"Aikatsu! Aikatsu! Aikatsu!" The two girls chanted, perfectly in sync as the rest of the contestants started to cheer them on. While nobody had anticipated anyone would manage to get this far, the watchers wanted to see these two girls succeed. Feeling a final spurt of energy, Mai pushed herself to the top. She sat there for a moment before looking down and seeing Tsubaki still climbing.
"Don't worry, I'll be up in a second!" She assured Mai. But then, her foot slipped. Mai immediately went to grab her hand and pull her up.
"Aikatsu! Aikatsu!" Mai chanted, strained, struggling under the stress. It was strange. It seemed so much easier in the wall climb, when their lives weren't in danger. Having gotten over the original shock, Tsubaki joined in.
"Aikatsu! Aikatsu!" Before long, every single contestant was chanting along, encouraging them, filling Mai with energy. Eventually, she managed to pull Tsubaki over, and the two collapsed at the top, heavily panting and sweating.
"Tsubaki?" Mai managed to get out between pants.
"Yeah?"
"We are never doing anything so dangerous ever again." Tsubaki made a vague sound, as if she had other plans, before sitting up.
"At least the view's nice~," She commented, as Mai sat up too. The sun was setting, tinting the clear sky orange. Mai agreed happily.
"Yeah, I suppose so~," She hummed before pausing. "H-how long have we been taking part in this?"
Tsubaki shrugged. "A few hours, I suppose." She began to laugh as horror creeped into Mai's expression.
"It's not funny! I had a new recipe I wanted to try out!!" Mai pouted, not noticing the green haired girl approach, with two tickets in her hand.
"Congratulations! You two both showed a great amount of courage, determination, and most of all, teamwork throughout this course. Aino Rina would be flattered if you accepted these tickets." She smiled gently, and Tsubaki stood in excitement. Mai followed but felt confused.
"Aino Rina would be flattered? But I thought she wasn't involved in all of this?" Starting to approach the group, Hikaru laughed.
"Oh Mia, you truly are clueless. I thought everyone knew Makocchi was my cousin. Of course I'd work closely with her current top idol!" Mai stared blankly, not even bothered by being called Mia. This crazy man was related to the elegant headmistress, Kagamine Makoto? And the perfect Aino Rina helped design this nightmare course?! Tsubaki laughed.
"Don't worry, I had the same reaction at first," She reassured the pink haired girl, and the green haired girl also gigged. Hikaru nodded.
"You're a student at Celestial Academy, right? Maybe someday you'll be able to work with me, to design your own promotional event like this!"
"I think I'd rather not." Mai replied, bluntly. The other three, all laughed, and soon, Mai laughed along.
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A few days had passed, and Rina was looking at the audience from backstage.
"I don't think I've ever seen such a huge crowd before," she whispered, a feeling of nervousness setting in. Behind her, Makoto smiled.
"Are you surprised? Not only are you the Celestial Star, but you're also the last remaining member of Kizuna. You're kind of a big deal." She placed her hand on her hip. "But, I believe in you. You're been working towards this ever since you were young, so grab this chance with both your hands." Rina nodded and turned her attention to the cards in her hands.
"I have my very own brand behind me, so I can do this!" She took a deep breath and walked onto stage. The previously loud and excited chatter died down.
"Welcome everyone, to my very first performance since being crowned the Celestial Star!" She exclaimed, as the audience erupted in cheers. After waiting for those cheers to die down, she continued. "My name is Aino Rina, and for the past month, I've been working tirelessly on a new brand. One that'd perfectly capture the feeling I wish to convey as the "Princess" of Celestial Academy! So, I'm proud to present to you, Crystal Ribbon!" On the screen behind her, the brand logo appeared, along with a one of the brands coords. In the audience, a third year with raven hair clenched her fists.
"I hope my song will touch the hearts of many budding idols, who want to someday stand on this very stage!" She exclaimed, bowing, before heading to the changing room. In her hands, she held the Cinderella Dream Coord. It was a dress that felt like it was from a fairytale, and held the dreams of all the girls in the world searching for their chance to shine. She kissed the cards.
"Aino Rina, a gentle star in the sky!" She declared with a gentle smile before running over to the changing machine. She placed each card in their respective slot, and the beams came together to make a doorway to the sparkly dimension. Rina ran in, shining in pink sparkles. She went down the slide, each part of the coord appearing on her. She eventually jumped onto the platform, posing, as a pink heart appeared behind her.
Rina walked onto the Midnight Fairytale Stage. The stage was designed to look like a fairytale castle, with a clear night sky behind. In front of the castle, there was a water fountain, decorated with various coloured roses. In the sky, there were multiple stars, with three shining brighter than the rest. Rina took a deep breath, as the music started up. She started to dance elegantly.
Flying through the sky, I wish that I
Could be a graceful butterfly
But until that day arrives
I'll work to find my wings
(Ahhhh, La La La)
Almost immediately, Rina's aura appeared covering the majority of the stage. The aura consisted of pink gemstones, white lace, and various sparkles. Everyone in the audience watched with admiration.
"I didn't think it was possible to have such a huge aura.." Mai whispered, blushing at the beautiful sight.
There was once a time where I
Was a little caterpillar
Unable to find my place in this world
There's no beauty in that at all
But then one day, I saw, a beautiful butterfly
And the world I once knew completely changed
Ah, how I long
To spread my wings high in the sky
But for now, I'll work hard, and one day
I'll call these wings mine!
As the song continued on, the audience started to become more invested with this amazing show. Rina had near perfect vocals and dance--it was no wonder she had managed to beat the long reigning, Harune Naru, as the Celestial Star.
Flying through the sky, I wish that I
Could be a graceful butterfly
Then I'll be able to dance, with endless beauty!
I'll be able to do it someday
But for now
I'll just do this Butterfly dance
I hope that you all join in too!
Rina was then surrounded by pastel blue sparkles, and began to perform the "Crystal Splash" appeal. She held onto a ribbon, and using it, made three hearts. They turned into crystals, and appeared behind her. The stage began to turn back to normal, and Rina continued.
(Ahhhh, la la la)
Soaring through the sky, I'll truly shine!
The song ended, and Rina posed. Nearly everyone in the audience was cheering loudly for her, amazed by the perfection in her every move. Meanwhile, the dark haired third year stared at Rina with a look of anger.
"Three hearts in her appeal... she really does that after everything that happened?" She turned her back and started to leave. She lowered her voice, sounding more genuinely upset. "She'll never change, will she?"
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Mai and Tsubaki both walked out, feeling completely in awe.
"The Celestial Star... she's far better than I expected!" Tsubaki exclaimed, still feeling thrilled by the events of the concert. Mai nodded in agreement.
"Right? Her dress was so beautiful~! But..." She looked down, " I didn't see Sachi-chan. She promised she'd be there."
"Mhm? I don't see why you care about her. She seems kind of like a jerk."
Mai pouted. "Sachi-chan isn't a jerk! Maybe she couldn't get tickets! Then again... her family is rich and powerful. If she wanted them she easily could have gotten them..."
Tsubaki smiled softly. "She left you. But," She grabbed Mai's hand, "No matter what, we'll always have each other. I'll always be your friend, even if the rest of the world hates you." Mai gently held Tsubaki's hand, as the two of them looked towards the crescent moon.
"Does that make us best friends?"
"Best friends forever."
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A/N- Ahah, yet another chapter that takes a long time. I'm sorry the updates are slow, me and the beta reader are just busy atm. I'm super excited for this to continue! Also thanks guys for always being so supportive, I love you all!
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