Mai, Tsubaki and Hinata held out their cards. The Macaron Stars Coord, the Tiara Stars Coord and the Exciting Stars coords. The three nodded at each other.
"Let's do this! Mai exclaimed, and the other two nodded.
Within the past few weeks, the three had begun to create names for themselves within the world of Aikatsu. Through hard work, they had each achieved fairly big things for first years, and were now invited to perform in front of a small crowd.
"Amamiya Mai, singing with love!"
Amamiya Mai, a cute type idol who preferred the brand Pastel Macaron. Despite not knowing much about the idol world until recently, she quickly adapted, and had since improved enough to perform alongside the Celestial Star!
"Shimura Tsubaki, I'm dazzling like a prism!"
Shimura Tsubaki, a sexy type idol who used the brand Prism Tiara. Despite having a short modelling career whilst she was younger, this was her first return to that world in many years. Even though she had her worries, she managed to impress the top designer of her favourite brand to let her wear his newest Premium Rare.
"Shining with vibrant dreams!"
Hinode Hinata, a pop type idol who loved the brand Exciting Topaz. A lazy prodigy, and a believer that having fun is the most important thing of all. After being rejected by the top designer, she briefly wondered what she was lacking. Once realising her own light, she found that was even more fun than just copying the idol she admired. Now, she was a proud owner of a Premium Rare coord!
The three walked onto stage, and exchanged smiles.
Reach for the stars, because we're DREAMING
Shine so bright that you'll be gleaming
Come on now, let's sing together!
1 • 2 • 3... GO!
The three's auras all appeared bright, as they all continued to sing and dance.
Sun's up high, it's a good day • day
So start moving, don't delay • lay
A day of hard work, but it'll okay
My friends are by my side
The moon's out, a dreamy night • night
I'll hold my friends close and tight • tight
During dark times, it's important to unite
We'll do this together
Sometimes, things are hard
But you're not alone!
I'm not alone!
We all have a dream...
We're all DREAMING!
Reach for the stars, because we're DREAMING
Shine so bright that you'll be gleaming
Come on now, let's sing together!
I'm always by your side.
Don't stop now, we can keep DREAMING
You don't need a good reason
One day we'll outshine even the sparkliest star
We can make it through!
I know we'll make it through!
To finish off the performance, the three performed their group special appeal: Triple Stars.
La la la, keep on dreaming bright~
La la la, our future's in our sight~
With that, the performance ended, and the three gave their thanks to the audience. It had been a while since they had the chance to perform together, but it was still as fun as ever!
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"Off time?" Mai echoed, and Kaoru nodded.
"All three of you have been working hard recently, you deserve a break." He explained, and whilst Hinata and Tsubaki seemed excited, Mai cocked her head.
"Instead of a typical break," Tsubaki interceeded, "idols have something called off time." She then added quietly, "it's basically a fancy word for a break, though."
"Shimura-lovely's correct," Kaoru said, and Tsubaki gave a smug smile. Mai furrowed her brows for a second, then nodded.
"I think I get it."
After making the details clear to the three, Kaoru went on his way. Once he was out of sight, Hinata pumped her fist in the air.
"Finally, we get some time to ourselves!" She exclaimed, "We have to do something fun together."
"Right, right!" Mai agreed.
"It'll nice to spend more time relaxing with you two," Tsubaki said. "Will be nice to see my nan again, too. I'm sure she's been lonely."
"Lonely?"
"The rest of my family is in England for work. They wanted me to come too, but I already had my eyes on Celestial Academy."
Mai had a sympathetic expression. "Wasn't it hard, leaving them?"
"Of course. My twin sister and I have been nearly inseparable our entire lives, yet we haven't seen each other in half a year," she smiled, "I'm managing though. We still keep in contact and I have my nan to keep company. And I have you two."
Hinata tilted her head. "You've never mentioned a sister before." In response, Tsubaki played with a loose strand of hair.
"Never really had a reason to bring it up," she grinned, "You'd like her though, she looks even more like Silver Wing than me."
Hinata's mouth formed an 'o' shape. "Really?!" When Tsubaki nodded, she chuckled as Hinata's eyes lit up. Then, the latter deflated.
"I just remembered. Parents."
"What about them?" Mai asked, causing Hinata to let out a long, exasperated sigh.
"They're going to think I got suspended. There's no way they're going to believe that I've been so well behaved that they decided to give me time off. Even if they do, they'll still be all like," she stiffened up mockingly, putting on a typical posh voice, "Miss Hinata! A true lady does not conduct herself in such a way, no matter what the circumstance you have no excuse to be slacking. Resume your education this very instant, in order to go above and beyond all those peasants." Hinata's face crumpled up in disgust, "Bleh, I hate them. Made me read an entire dictionary multiple times yet think I don't know the meaning of overworking."
Mai and Tsubaki stayed silent, unable to think of an appropriate response. "I'll probably just see if Minami can room me," Hinata continued, "I'm pretty sure I gave the school her number during the auditions." She grinned, doing a peace sign. "So I'll be fine!"
"T-that's good," Mai said, "Anyway, you said you wanted to do something fun together, right?"
"Yep! It'd be a waste to only see each other in school."
Mai nodded in agreement. "It would."
Besides, it wasn't as if her only friend back home even considered her a friend anymore.
"I'm guessing you have something in mind?" Tsubaki asked Hinata.
"Of course, what else do you expect of Hina-sama?" She leant in, stars in her eyes. "It's summer, so that means the beach!"
Mai's eyes lit up. "We should! "
However, Tsubaki raised an eyebrow. "And risk sunburn?"
"We'll be careful!" Hinata refuted, and Mai nodded.
"I'll wear an entire bottle of sunscreen if I have to!"
"That's a bit overboard-"
"Please!" Both girls pleaded, and eventually, Tsubaki gave in.
"If you're so desperate, I guess I have no choice."
Mai and Hinata joined hands, doing a small celebratory dance. "We're going beach together, we're going beach together~!"
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A couple of days later, Mai was waiting at the train station. Her hair was tied in twintails, and she was wearing a pair of fake glasses. Tsubaki had messaged the two, advising them to wear some sort of disguise. Judging by her response, Hinata didn't seem thrilled at the idea "how is anyone supposed to adore me if they don't know I'm Hina-sama?!", but Mai honestly liked it. It was an excuse to dress up in clothes she wouldn't usually wear, and it kind of made her feel like a real celebrity.
Whilst the three had decided to meet at this station, they all had to their fair share of travelling alone to get there. The troubles of the three all living in different areas - it turned out Tsubaki was just visiting when they met. Mai was the first to arrive and was patiently waiting.
"Mai-chan!"
Hearing her name called out, Mai looked up. In the distance, two figures were running towards her - one waving. Mai waved back.
"Hina-chan! Tsubaki!"
She met them halfway, and the two took a moment to reclaim their breath. Tsubaki had her hair in a bun, with a fairly plain yet stylish ensemble. Hinata wore her hair in braids, still wearing bright colours as ever. Mai giggled.
"I didn't expect to see you two together,' she said. Then, she pouted. "I hope you weren't having too much fun without me."
"Tsubaki's not as fun as Mai-chan," Hinata said, grinning slyly at Tsubaki's unamused reaction, "But then again, I guess any interaction with Hina-sama is fun. Sorry!" She stuck her tongue out playfully, whilst Tsubaki rolled her eyes.
"You're forgetting the small detail that you ran over to me. Not the other way round."
"W-well!" Hinata crossed her arms, "Only because I knew how much you wanted to see me!"
Mai and Tsubaki both let out small laughs. "Hina-chan's cute when flustered too," Mai said, causing Hinata to turn an even brighter red.
"Meanies."
"We just said the truth." Tsubaki poked Hinata, "You should tell Mai your little story."
"Little story?" Mai asked.
"Oh, you'll never believe what happened!" Hinata shouted, gearing into ranting mode, "You know Minami's cute assistant?"
"The one short-haired one you have a crush on?"
"Yes! They haven't been around at all yet. And do you know why?"
"Why?" Mai asked, and Hinata took a deep breath.
"Apparently, they had an encounter with a rose-like girl, 'beautiful and kind but with thorns', and is helping her with her new project. Can you believe it?!"
Mai took a moment to process this information. "...I don't understand what's wrong with that?"
"They met a beautiful girl," Tsubaki explained, "and compared her to a rose, a flower associated with love."
"I don't even stand a chance anymore!" Hinata whined, "Even I'm more beautiful and smart and talented and nice-"
"I'm sure you are," Tsubaki said, cutting Hinata off before she could go on forever.
"You'll find somebody else," Mai added.
"I'm done with romance," Hinata pouted, kicking the ground. "Boys are icky and gross and smell bad; even if Akira-kun was none of those things he betrayed me. I'd rather be around you two."
Even once they boarded the train, their conversations continued in a similar manner. Mainly casually talking about their off time so far, making banter along the way.
"I don't know..." Mai muttered as she stared intently at the Aikatsu card before her.
"Come on! It must be conveying some sort of feeling, right?" Hinata asked, and Mai sighed.
"Does calling a coord cute count as telling your fortune?" She asked.
"No."
"Then I don't think it is."
Having gotten bored, Hinata and Mai had decided to attempt 'Aikatsu Fortune Telling', from the popular KiraTube channel 'The Seventh Moon'. The main star of the channel was mostly referred to as 'Seventh Moon', and was an idol who mainly did her Aikatsu on the video streaming service. She occasionally posted videos of performances on her channel, but the main attraction was her self created fortune-telling method that made use of the iconic Aikatsu cards. Despite many having their doubts, Seventh Moon proved herself with consistently accurate fortunes. Before long, idol fans fell in love with both her and surprisingly, her enthusiastic assistant.
At least, that's what Hinata said.
"You two do realise it's all a hoax," Tsubaki said, "You don't believe a girl only a year older than us completely reinvented fortune-telling, right?"
"She's only a year older than us?" Mai's eyes sparkled, "That's so cool! I wonder if I'll be able to reinvent something like that within the next year."
"What would you reinvent if you could?" Hinata asked, her interest piqued.
Placing a finger to her lips, Mai closed her eyes. "I think... the Aikatsu System." She opened her eyes, giving an awkward smile, "I don't know if that's possible in such a short time, though."
"Of course it is!"
Tsubaki sighed fondly, her eyes drifting over to the window. Those two really seemed excited, huh? Even if they could be airheaded around each other, it was a little charming to Tsubaki.
Her eyes widened.
"The beach!" She shouted, as the train passed by. The other two leaned over, and all three looked at the scenery in awe.
"We're nearly there," Mai smiled, turning her attention to the other two. "Let's have lots of fun today~!"
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─── ｡ﾟ☽: * .♧. * :☾ ° . ───
The three ran onto the beach, and took off their outwear, revealing appropriate beachwear. It was a warm summers day; the sand was golden and the ocean was a sapphire blue.
"We're finally here!" Hinata exclaimed, throwing her arms out wide. Mai ran up to her, giggling. She grabbed her two friends.
"Let's go play!"
Before either could object, she led them to the ocean, and quickly splashed them. Hinata grinned - taking this as a challenge - and splashed Mai back. Unsure what to do, Tsubaki watched... until both splashed her at the same time.
"Come on, loosen up!" Hinata shouted, and Tsubaki went into the cool ocean.
"Alright, you asked for it." She splashed them both, laughing at their playful shrieking.
Once tired out, the three lay on blankets Tsubaki brought, under a parasol.
"That was even more fun than I expected," Hinata said, and Mai nodded, giggling. Then, the three lay quietly, taking in the atmosphere.
"This is nice..." Tsubaki quietly said, "I'm glad we got to spend some time together."
"Without the stress of school," Hinata added, "I still haven't thought about auditions all day."
Mai let out a small laugh. "Isn't that what you're always like?"
The three lay quietly, closing their eyes.
"Give it back!"
"Aw, can't you reach it? Too bad, guess it's ours now."
Mai sat up, her eyes darting to where the voices had come from. Two girls, not much younger than Mai, were dangling a stuffed animal over a younger girl's head, as she desperately tried to get it back.
"You think you're so cool just because your mother's famous?"
"Well you're not; you're an embarrassment!"
"She's probably ashamed she ever had a child like you."
"You'll never be half of what she is," the first speaker finished things off. The black-haired girl closed her eyes, and covered her ears. She couldn't listen to them, she knew they were just being mean!
...They were just being mean, right?
She tried to back away, but eventually hit a wall. Her bullies laughed, throwing around more jeers about how she couldn't even run away without messing it up.
Then, another child intervened.
"I think she's cool!"
"Really? You think she's cool?" The bully laughed, "What a joke."
"It's not a joke!" The girl insisted, "Even when you're mean to her, she still gives everything her all! She's done more cool things than all of you combined."
The bullies stayed quiet for a second.
"Let's go," the leader eventually said, "This is boring." The other two agreed, and they went on their way.
"Thank you..." The dark-haired girl said, and the other girl smiled.
"It's no problem; we're friends now! I'm Amamiya Mai." She extended her hand, "Who are you?"
The other girl gave a small smile, accepting the handshake. "Hanabusa Sachiko."
Mai bit her lip. A lot had changed since then. She wished she still had even half of the confidence she had back then. Even if she didn't though, she couldn't sit and do nothing. So she stood up.
"Mai?" Tsubaki asked, but Mai walked off without a word. She tapped the girl who took the animal on the shoulder.
"Excuse me," she said, her signature smile on her face. "I don't think that belongs to you."
"And?"
"You should give it back."
The two laughed. "What you gonna do 'bout it if we don't?"
Mai didn't falter. "I can't do anything," she admitted, "But my two friends are really strong. I'm sure if I asked they could set things right through other methods." She gave a closed-eyes smile, "It won't have to come to that though, will it?"
The two froze, surprised. Then, the one holding the plushie threw it down, and the two walked off. The other girl ran over, hugging her plushie. Satisfied, Mai made her way back.
"What were you doing?" Tsubaki asked, and Mai shrugged.
"Just sorting something out," she paused, "is it bad to threaten someone probably younger than you?"
"Yes."
Mai gave an awkward laugh. "I hope I didn't scare them." Hinata laughed.
"Turns out Mai has more guts than I thought."
"E-eh? I just didn't like watching them tease that girl."
Tsubaki sighed. "That's no excuse to threaten them," she paused, "Though, I wouldn't have the patience to even talk to them. So you did good, I suppose."
"I'll do better next time," Mai promised, taking a seat.
The three sat in silence for a moment, taking in the atmosphere. It was nice to relax for a moment, rather than worry about work. Then, Hinata got out her phone. "We should take a photo!"
"Oh, nice idea!" Tsubaki agreed, and Mai nodded.
"We should!"
Having permission from the other two, Hinata opened the camera app.
"One, two... say Aikatsu!"
They posed.
"Aikatsu!"
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As much as the three wished the day would last forever, before long, they were heading back. They talked for a while, but Hinata quickly fell asleep. Mai leant on Tsubaki.
"I really enjoyed today," she said, her eyes closed.
"Me too." Tsubaki looked out the window. The sun was setting, casting hues of orange and purple on the sky and ocean. "I'm glad we came. Even if I was worried."
"Mhm~"
Tsubaki smiled. "You know, I'm happy we're friends."
No response.
Tsubaki looked back over to Mai, only to find she had fallen asleep too. Tsubaki giggled to herself.
She really was glad she met them.
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A/N: I remember once I made the author's note "so much foreshadowing"... little did I know this chapter would have way more of it lol. I also wrote this chapter whilst on my own (socially distanced, whilst wearing a mask) holiday, which I find fitting~
Anyway, I'm back at school! This might mean less frequent updates, but for now, I have a lot of free lessons (I'm supposed to study, but since I just started these courses I don't have anything to study yet lol) so it will hopefully be fine!!
Thank you for all the support!
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