Author's note: I know I published chapter 8 only a few days ago but I won't be able to publish a new chapter next week, so I decided to exceptionally advance the publication.
As usual, likes/comments are deeply appreciated and motivate the writer
CHAPTER 9
Tension was always palpable in the air when the senbatsu for SKE’s next single was about to be announced. And this Thursday afternoon, the atmosphere was even a little heavier than usual in the dancing room. One minute ago, the SKE members were still chatting between them quite casually, but you could now hear a pin drop as SKE’s theater manager Yuasa Hiroshi suddenly entered the place, followed by a few staff members. Now, all eyes were glued on the silent, bearded man standing in the middle of the room and facing them, not a single girl daring to make the slightest move or noise.
Of course, members were all too familiar with SKE’s theater manager by now. He had been at their side for many years, and even gotten very close to some girls during that amount of time. It was not uncommon to see a few members speak with him freely, or the man joke around with them. Yuasa Hiroshi had bonded with many girls, and it was obvious a lot of them were quite attached to him.
However, no matter how well they knew him or spoke with their manager quite regularly, the atmosphere was always solemn when such an important announcement was about to be made. Would girls keep their previous position or move to the back? Or, even worse, get out of the senbatsu? No one felt safe. No matter how long a member had been in the group or how experienced she was, every girl was conscious that nothing was ever set in stone.
Unfortunately, efforts were not always truly appreciated, and management’s decisions were mostly subjective. What motivated management to place a girl in particular in the senbatsu instead of another? There was no way to tell. In fact, apart from Jurina’s central position that no one really believed had chances of being shaken, nothing was guaranteed when it came to the composition of the senbatsu.
That’s why this particular moment was highly anticipated, as well as feared. In a few seconds, the names of the girls chosen for the senbatsu would be announced. This short but crucial moment was going to shape their future for the next months to come.
“I’m now going to announce the senbatsu for SKE’s next single,” Yuasa declared in a composed and steady voice. “Please listen attentively.”
Names came one after another. Sometimes, you could see the happiness showing a little on a girl’s face when her name was called, but there was no overreaction of joy. There never was during such a solemn moment. There was no doubt that once the staff would be gone, members would finally express their feelings more genuinely. However, now was not the time, and everyone was cleverly keeping their emotions in check.
Jurina was caught off guard when Churi was the sixteenth name to be called. The senbatsu was composed of 18 members, and the fact her name had already been called only meant one thing: she was not WCenter with her anymore. Jurina felt a knot in a stomach. Albeit the fact she knew all along she shouldn’t get her hopes up and had to prepare herself for the eventuality, it was still a hard blow.
Loosing Rena had been so hard to accept, that Churi’s presence by her side had been of not insignificant help. Jurina couldn’t help feeling slightly destabilized by the news. Who did management choose to replace her? The young ace searched Yuasa’s eyes for an explanation, trying to understand why Churi had been removed from the position. Until now, she assumed her role to the perfection. Of course, she didn’t get any answer from Yuasa’s stoic face.
“Jurina will be the center,” Yuasa announced next, to no one surprise. Jurina gave him a small nod in recognition, while still hanging upon his lips. At this point, everyone in the room was very curious to discover who had been deemed fit to replace Churi. And no one could have foreseen the name falling from his lips. “Ayuka Kamimura will be WCenter.”
A few girls let out a shocked gasp. No one dared to speak, but surprise was manifest on all faces. The manager was already turning on his heels, but all eyes were still set on him after the incredible announcement. A 12-year-old kenkyuusei had been made WCenter? How was that possible? Yuasa never elaborated, not that anyone expected him to. In seven years, management never felt the need to justify their decisions.
The theater manager who had rendered all members completely speechless didn’t add a single word, and left the room with the other staff members a few seconds later. Usually, members would start relaxing as soon as he would have passed the door, but you could tell the girls were still processing the news when the door closed behind him. Some exchanged a few silent, startled looks between them, as if wondering if they had not just imagined the whole thing.
Ayuka Kamimura.
Jurina truly had no idea who Yuasa was going to announce as WCenter earlier on. When she discovered Churi was not WCenter anymore, her mind tried to come up with a potential, believable candidate. That name never made her list. The dancing room was now mostly empty, except for a few girls who were finishing congratulating the poor girl who looked like she was still not grasping entirely the situation.
Jurina saw Churi approaching the young kenkyuusei and congratulating her, and the honesty in her voice confirmed that her friend truly didn’t mind the changeover. Ayuka nodded silently, but the embarrassment was obvious in her eyes. Manifestly, the shy girl felt very bad taking over her position, no matter how nice and encouraging Churi’s words proved to be.
Churi left the room after that, leaving both the young Matsui and the new appointed WCenter deliberately alone. Jurina felt Ayuka’s expectant eyes on her, and she reflected upon what to say. This was definitely a lot to take for such a young girl, and she needed to choose her words carefully. Somehow, she could tell the girl who - she had discovered really looked up to her - was going to pay real attention to anything she was going to say.
Ayuka was not any random kenkyuusei. These last months, Jurina had worked often with the group of kenkyuusei, helping them rehearse SKE48’s choreographies. She had spent more time with Ayuka than with any other girl. In fact, the time she got very angry at her for missing a move was still imprinted in her mind. She still felt bad about the way she acted with her, but the 12-year-old girl never held it against her.
After that, Ayuka’s dancing had improved greatly. Jurina couldn’t be more proud of her when she watched from backstage her
Oki Doki performance during Rena’s graduation concert. Her efforts had paid off. Not only Ayuka had filled her gaps successfully, she was now the best dancer amongst all the kenkyuusei.
Many things crossed Jurina’s mind as she gazed at the quiet Ayuka. Congratulating her, was one of them. Reassuring her that everything was going to be alright, was another. But none of those ideas appealed to her. All members who had approached the young girl after the announcement had stated approximately the same thing. It was the polite thing to say; Jurina was well aware of that. However, she refused to settle for such uncreative words.
“Ayuka,” Jurina started, still struggling to find the adequate words. Now that she was standing right in front of her, she could see the emotion shimmering in her eyes. The emotion her initial shock had completely overshadowed until now. Was it because it was finally hitting the young kenkyuusei that her future was never going to be the same after today? Or was she letting her emotions out because they were the two alone in the room right now?
Jurina didn’t know what had triggered Ayuka’s sudden reaction. The shy girl who hadn’t talked since the announcement, was now on the verge of tears. The young Matsui held her shoulders, and gave her a warm smile she hoped would reach her. “You’re not alone, Ayuka. From now on, I’m never going to leave your side.”
Jurina didn’t have to wait long to see the first tears rolling down her cheeks. The young girl still looked somewhat hesitant about what to say or do and Jurina pulled her into her arms gently, hearing her sobbing increasing as she rested her head against her shoulder tentatively. Jurina felt the body pressed against her trembling slightly, and she patted the back of her head to try and soothe her.
Yes, Ayuka was still very young, and it was going to take her some time to adjust fully to her new position in the group. But Jurina was only a year younger than her when she became the ace of SKE48. There were definitely many moments of hardships the first years; but she thankfully didn’t have to go through them alone. Just as she had Rena by her side all those years, it was now her turn to support her new WCenter.
It took a few seconds for Jurina to find the spare key inside her bag and once her fingers finally encountered it she entered the quiet apartment, closing the front door behind her carefully. Switching the light on, she took in the familiarity of the place. How many times had she stayed at Rena’s apartment lately? It was hard to tell, but a sleepy smile moved to her lips as she let her gaze wander around the place in appreciation. She liked the older Matsui’s apartment: welcoming and cosy, it was big enough for two people and the neighbourhood was nothing but calm and nice. But most of all, she felt less lonely here in the absence of her girlfriend.
In fact, the idea of sleeping at Rena’s place had crossed her mind during the second week of Rena’s stay in Kyoto, and the latter had immediately agreed to her request.
Stay as long as you want, Rena had even stated across the phone in reply. Despite the kind invitation, Jurina didn’t feel comfortable enough occupying the older girl’s apartment every day.
Jurina placed her shoes in the hallway, feeling her steps getting more heavy as she made her way inside the apartment. Between her own solo activities, and helping her new young WCenter, she had had a very long week. In fact, she had felt the lack of energy kicking for the first time today during the rehearsal with Ayuka. Did the young girl notice she was not in tip-top condition? If she did, then she was too polite to say anything. The 12-year-old girl had listened carefully to her advice and followed each one of her instructions obediently all day.
Jurina felt her stomach grumbling, which was not a surprise after such a long day. In addition, she only had a quick, light lunch, not willing to take too long a pause in the middle of their rehearsal. Her feet led her to the kitchen, and she was all too aware she didn’t have the strength to prepare an elaborate meal. She was so tired, she was already struggling to stand on her feet.
She opened the fridge in curiosity, surprised when she discovered there were no leftovers. It took a few seconds for realization to hit her. That’s right. Yes, she had stayed at Rena’s apartment the previous night too, but she didn’t eat there as she went to a restaurant with Churi. At that point, Jurina knew she had to be utterly exhausted to have forgotten all about that. As she closed the door, she pondered over going to the conbini around the street corner to buy some food. She blinked to fight to stay awake, and quickly thought the better of it. Now, it was the second time a yawn escaped her lips since she entered Rena’s apartment.
“Alright, let’s see what’s in there,” Jurina murmured absent-mindedly as she opened the first cupboard without thinking. Pasta. Plenty of it. A smile grazed Jurina’s lips in satisfaction as she believed to have finally found what she was going to eat tonight, and she extended her arm to take the first packet within reach. She quickly retracted her hand as she read the inscription.
Spiciness level 5. A light groan escaped her lips in frustration. Wrong cupboard. It was the one stashed with Rena’s favourite spicy pasta. She closed the door immediately.
Thankfully, she had better luck with the second cupboard. She double-checked the pasta label to be absolutely sure it was not spicy, but she knew it was highly unlikely. Rena was a very organized person, and the possibility of her misplacing a packet of pasta was very low. Sure enough, the label indicated it was safe for her sensitive palate. Jurina took a packet, while making a mental note to ask Rena why she believed it was a good idea to place the cupboard full of spicy food right next to the safe one. Under normal circumstances she would not have mixed up the cupboards but tonight her extreme fatigue was not her best ally. Nevertheless, there had to be a logic to Rena’s way of thinking which her tired mind failed to understand.
It was only 8.45 PM when Jurina ventured into the living room in search of an occupation. Rena was not going to call until her dinner was over, so she still had roughly two hours to wait. Her attention was drawn to a familiar shelf on the left of the television, where she had a few of her own things placed. DVDs, games, magazines… She had an abundance of choices but somehow, nothing really appealed to her as she went through them.
She turned on her heels and glanced around, her eyes soon falling on Rena’s collection of DVDs on the opposite side of the room. Albeit the fact she had once or twice taken a brief look at it when she happened to visit Rena, she had always cautiously avoided taking anything. After all, she was well aware her tastes didn’t quite match those of the older Matsui. What prompted her to check it more thoroughly this time? Jurina didn’t know where her sudden rush of courage came from, yet she still went through the first shelf in curiosity.
Animated TV shows and movies, carefully aligned and ordered alphabetically. Jurina didn’t count, but considering how many there were and how large the shelf was, she figured there had to be at least fifty of them. Now, she knew why the older Matsui never got bored when she sometimes took a day off, and decided to spend the entire day at her place. She had enough to watch for at least six months.
Jurina decided to check the second shelf, hoping she would have better luck with this one. She quickly realized she had it all wrong. Documentaries about trains. Recent trains, old ones. Japanese trains mostly, but also British, French and German. Rena was clearly a lover of tank engines; her impressive collection spoke for itself. When Jurina finally arrived at the end of the shelf, it was still about trains. Jurina never knew so many movies revolved around trains. How on earth did the older girl manage to find all this? Sometimes, Rena’s consuming passion for trains scared her a little.
Jurina took a step back, knowing she was certainly not going to watch anything on this shelf. Her wish was to try and stay awake until Rena called, and the risk of falling asleep in front of a documentary was far too high. The young Matsui eyed the third and last shelf hesitantly, now starting to wonder if it wasn’t best to choose instead something out of her personal collection. That notion in mind, she still decided to check the last shelf.
This time, there was more diversity. Concerts, movies, TV shows… Jurina could tell it was the shelf Rena used to place things that didn’t belong to any of the first categories. Jurina knew she stood more chance of finding something here that suited her taste, and she soon stopped in front of a particular Blu-ray. The title definitely rang a bell, and she took it off the shelf to take a better look at it.
The Sound of Music. She was positively sure she had heard about this movie before… but where? That’s right! It was the present Churi had given the older Matsui for her 24th birthday. The Blu-ray was not in its blister anymore, evident sign the older girl had already watched it once. Maybe even a few times, considering Rena’s undying love for old - and especially foreign - musicals.
Jurina frowned slightly when she discovered the back cover didn’t say much about the content of the movie. All she could see, was a woman with short blond hair singing, surrounded by six children. And a few pictures obviously extracted from the movie completed the decoration of the bottom cover. Could she decide to watch a movie with so little information at her disposal? Now that she thought about it, didn’t Churi also mention watching it? Yes, now she remembered it vividly. Apparently it was so good, she even managed to lose track of time.
Jurina didn’t have a lot of knowledge about foreign musicals, but if both girls managed to enjoy it, why couldn’t she? Her mind made up, Jurina retraced her steps back to the television with the movie secured in hand, and placed it in the Blu-ray player. As she made herself comfortable in Rena’s black, leather sofa, she checked the time on her Smartphone. The movie lasted a little less than two hours, so she should be able to finish in time before Rena’s call.
Her attention was drawn to the screen when she heard the same woman from the cover walking and singing out in the open in an European beautiful scenery; endless forests and mountains. Jurina acknowledged the qualities of the movie; from its photography to the main actress’s flawless singing skills, but she quickly discovered she shouldn’t have opted for the subtitled version. Indeed, she kept blinking to try and follow the text, her eyes closing a few times without her consent.
“I’m not going to fall asleep,” Jurina muttered, trying to focus as best as she could on the screen despite her increasing fatigue. She seized the remote control to turn the volume up a little in the hope that it would keep her awake, but her attention got suddenly caught by a certain magazine laying on the coffee table. On the front cover was a picture of Rena standing beside her co-star from
Destiny, Yosuke Masada.
The magazine was all too familiar to Jurina as she had bought it herself a week ago in the intent of reading it. Unfortunately, she had gotten far too busy since Ayuka was appointed WCenter, and the magazine had been left untouched. The movie was still playing in the background but the young Matsui decided not to pay attention to it for now, placing the remote control back on the table to take the magazine.
She turned the first pages to reach the desired section, the face of the older Matsui soon coming into view.
Why is Destiny so successful? was written in large, red bold letters on the top of the first page. There were a few pictures extracted from the drama, a quick summary of the latest episodes, and an analysis of the drama’s success underneath. Finally, an interview of both actors completed the 6-page article.
Jurina skipped the summary part, not wishing to be spoiled. She had been so engrossed in her work lately, that she hadn’t had time to follow Rena’s drama. When she missed one episode she made herself the promise to watch it as soon as she would have a little free time, but the moment never arrived. Instead, she missed another, then a third. At that point, Jurina knew she would have a hard time catching up, especially when her schedule was not getting any lighter as the days went by. That’s why she opted for leaving it aside, and watch all the episodes in a row once the drama would be over.
Jurina already knew the older Matsui enjoyed very much working on this historical drama, and it definitely transpired during the interview. The actress only had good words to say about the plot and the director. Jurina knew she wasn’t being merely polite, but meant each one of them sincerely. Moreover, her good relationship with her male co-star was obvious during the cross-interview. They complimented the other easily, and Jurina could tell by the casual tone employed that they were comfortable with each other.
You look so happy. Jurina mused as she watched the pictures taken of both actors during the interview, and accompanying the article. Rena had a genuine smile on her lips, and was even laughing a little on the second. Her happiness was so infectious that a small, tired smile progressively moved to Jurina’s lips. It broadened when she noticed a small detail she had completely missed until now.
On the first picture Rena was sitting on a chair next to her co-star, her right hand raised in the air as she was obviously trying to explain something to the interviewer, while her left was resting casually on her thigh. The picture was not very large, but Jurina certainly didn’t miss this time the familiar silver ring on her left index.
TO BE CONTINUED
Topic: Heartbeat (20/20) + Partners (23/23) + Destiny (41/41 END) [WMatsui] - REPLIES (Read 353983 times)