Mendol - Ikemen Idol!
Chapter 2
author's note: Hey, so we're back

And since this fic assumes they are speaking in Japanese... even though it's all in English... anything that is said in English will be italisized. And the non-Japanese people who don't know Japanese that well will reflect it in their speech and it's not a typo or grammar error. Got that? Good! And when Asahi and Nami are in their Riku and Kai persona(haha), I'll be using male pronouns. That goes with Hinata/Kuu too, once she/he shows up.
language! If it was covered last chapter, I'm not going over it again, hahaha:
kochira koso -- me too
-san -- added at the end of a name, sorta like 'Mr/Miss'. But at the end
-sama -- suffix used at the end for someone really important, more respectful
hai -- yes
ara -- sorta like 'oh my', or something along that line of exclamation
tenshi -- angel
kouhai -- lower classmen
---
After the tour of the house and introducing themselves to each other formally, Nami and Asahi excused themselves to go back to their respective homes for some clothes and toiletries. They said good-bye to their families and went back to Kamonohatsu house that they would be sharing together.
"Tadaima," both of the girls dragged their suitcases and various bags into the house, closing the door behind them.
"Okaerinasai!" Marilyn was there to greet them. "Shachou has gone for the day to take care of some things, so the both of you will be working with me today!"
"Hai!" They both replied enthusiastically. "We'll just put these upstairs and then we'll start right away!"
"Oh!" Marilyn seemed to finally notice their luggage. "Well, I'll show you where you can store these. You won't be wearing much of your girl clothes anyways."
"What?" Nami blinked stupidly at Marilyn, pausing half-way up the stairs. Marilyn giggled at Nami's state of confusion.
"Well, the both of you ARE debuting as male idols. You'll have to keep up appearances!" Marilyn bounced up the stairs past them and turned to two other rooms that they had not had not been shown to them earlier. Opening the door to one of the rooms, the girls were faced with racks and racks of clothes obscured in darkness. The only window had heavy curtains blocking the light from coming through and a flick of the lightswitch showed the girls exactly what kind of clothes these were. Men's clothes.
"While you were gone, I called up the station and borrowed some clothes!" Marilyn said cheerily. "I asked for size small to medium in men's size. Clothes for every ocassion from formal to casual; but your stage clothes will be made as soon as I take exact measurements."
"So we'll have to wear men's clothes all the time?" Nami cringed, looking through men's dress shirts in her size. They were nice, sure, but she REALLY liked her own clothes!
Marilyn put a well-manicured finger to her cheek in thought. "Well, no, not ALL the time. Like now, Persona hasn't even made their first appearance and nobody knows you. So you're free to take your free time in your regular clothes. However, you do understand appearances have to be kept up when your job calls for it, right?"
"Haiiii..." Nami and Asahi pouted, dragging their suitcases to a corner of the room Marilyn pointed to. But they couldn't help being a little bit excited. This was it, this was their chance.
"You should change into your male disguises now, though. We have to get to the studio to work on your first song!" A little thrill of pleasure ran through Asahi and Nami's body. Working on a song! They were actually doing this!
"Hai!" They chirped together enthusiastically. At the stern look she got from Marilyn, they lowered their voice a bit. "HAI!"
"Here, you'll need these." Marilyn handed them both a tanktop. This was a special top, though, with extra lycra for extra compression power to bind their breasts down. "Instead of bras, you can wear this! It'll keep your breasts flat and give you a molded, defined men's chest!"
"You've thought about this quite a bit, haven't you?" Nami thought gloomily, looking at the small white tanktop with disgust.
Marilyn ignored Nami's gloomy look. "Come on, we don't have time to dawdle, we have the studio booked and they'll give it to someone else if we're late!"
"Hai!" The girls jumped to it, immediately stripping out of their clothes as soon as Marilyn shut the door. Slipping out of their bras, they donned their binding shirts, struggling a little with the tight fit but paused afterwards to grudgingly admire their now square, masculine chests.
"This is amazing!" Asahi poked at her chest, noting that it felt like hard muscle underneath her fingers. Her usually soft upper body was compacted to a more masculine shape with the ingenuous binding and the hidden extra padding in the tanktop. Plus, it didn't restrict her breathing too much!
"Huh..." Nami poked at her stomach after feeling her chest, goofily smiling at how the top flattened her stomach and made it look like she had abdominal muscles. She'd always wanted a six-pack! "But will this top make our breasts mold into a weird shape?"
"Nothing a nice massage won't fix!" Marilyn called from outside the door. "How long are you girls going to take?"
"3 seconds!" Asahi called back as they both hurried out of their clothes and grabbed a set of clothes while singing quietly to herself, not even really knowing she was doing it. "Sanbyou mitsumeru dake de..."
"Otoshite miseyou ka," Nami laughing sung, making up the following lyrics on the spot. Asahi grinned at Nami as she buttoned up her shirt, the two falling silent as they cast around for clothes and dressed. Meanwhile, Marilyn stood outside the door, stunned. Had shachou discovered... naturals? Shachou had said they were quick to pick up dance steps they didn't know, were they naturally inclined towards making music?
Only one way to find out!
"Here." The two exited the room to be confronted by Marilyn holding out two heads by the neck.
"AGH!!!"
"What are you two screaming about?" Marilyn pouted, brandishing polystyrene heads and looking curiously at the two girls. "Pick a wig. It'll be your hair from now on."
The two girls coughed, embarassed at their own reaction, then concentrated on the wigs on top of the two dummies.
"Hmm..." Asahi pressed a finger to her lips. "Which one..."
Both were short, men-style wigs. One was a stylishly-cut dark brown wig with parts of it highlighted red while the other was a multi-faceted blonde, the style a bit longer and shaggier than the brown. They were excellent wigs and would pass for real hair with no problems.
"Lets try them on." Nami suggested. Marilyn showed them quickly how to tie and clip their hair into place, then put a thin stocking cap on top of it. Then, they were taught how to put the wig on.
"Hm." Asahi ducked back into the change room to look at herself in the full length mirror in the change room, making a face at her blonde hair. "That doesn't look good at all."
"Me too." Nami grimaced, right beside Asahi. "This looks horrible on me. Switch?"
Carefully taking off their wigs so it wouldn't disturb their real hair underneath, they traded and carefully put on the hairpieces.
"This..." The transformed Kai looked at himself in the mirror, unable to stop a grin from appearing on his face. "This is me!"
"And this is me." Riku was grinning too, fiddling with a few strands of errant hair on his head, but otherwise satisfied with his appearance. This hairstyle was edgy and bold, a hairstyle that told whoever looked at it that the owner had impeccable and demanding tastes. Also, it told whoever looked at Riku that he could afford a stylist skilled enough to give him such a perfect cut. The shaggy blonde hair hadn't been 'Riku'. This smart cut with the bold red streaks definitely suited him. Meanwhile, Kai's longer, blonde shaggy hair seemed to match Kai's outspoken personality and lengthen his face, making it a bit more angular and sharp and less feminine
"You look like a yanki," Riku laughed, nudging Kai with his shoulder good-naturedly.
"Shut up!" Kai nudged back, a smile on his face to show he was joking. Kai was very pleased with his new hair. It didn't require too much extra primping, like with Riku's hair and Kai actually liked longer styles on guys anyways. It made them look a bit more dangerous and bad boy and Kai would have to say that with the type of company Nami hung around with, she would've totally been the bad boy type if she had actually been a guy.
"Now, pin it to your heads with these bobby pins!" Marilyn helped them out, showing them how to do it so the bobby pin was invisible and the wig held tight. "See? Because of these strategically placed pins, now even a good sharp pull--" Marilyn pulled at Kai's hair, causing him to scream girlishly. "--won't take it off easily!"
"Right," Riku took a step away from Marilyn nervously. Riku was decked out in a nice black suit with a suit jacket, looking incredibly good-looking and polished. His thin tie was tightened close around his neck in a perfect Windsor knot (how did Asahi even know how to tie a knot like that?), the cufflinks were elegeant and tasteful and the shoes she had donned were patent leather and fit her whole outfit spectacularly well. Kai on the other hand, even though he was wearing a suit too, had a totally different feel about him. He wore his white shirt untucked and cuffs and collar unbuttoned, tie tied loosely around his neck, with his pants hanging low and a wide white belt to compliment his attire. His suit jacket was a silvery-grey and instead of lapels, the jacket had a thin mandarin collar. Kai's clunky boots added a few more inches to his height (which he needed, really) and the large scuffed metal bracelets on his wrists gave him a bit more of an edge. Even though they still had girlish mannerisms, Kai and Riku were trying and if Marilyn wasn't in on the secret, she probably wouldn't have guessed. But they still had a long way to go.
"Okay, this will be your first time out in your male disguises, so remember to always be aware of three things," Marilyn held up three fingers and pointed to the first one. "How you walk, how you talk, how you act. You'll be working with people in the industry now and they all gossip; rumours get around fast. So keep in mind that the two of you are men now! Men amongst men!"
"Doesn't walk fall under act--"
"Completely different!" Marilyn sing-songed. "Com-pu-lete-ly dif-fer-rent! Now, lets head to the studio instead of standing around splitting hairs!"
In no time at all, they were at the studio. The two boys hesitated at the door when they saw a bunch of people look up from their workstation or instruments to stare at them.
"Good afternoon!" Marilyn chirped cheerily. Everybody gave the customary reply, still staring at Kai and Riku curiously.
"Osu!" Both Riku and Kai deepened their voice and greeted the men and women in the room. They all muttered their greetings, the women giggling a bit.
"Uh," Riku stammered, tugging at his suddenly too-tight necktie. "Hi. I'm Riku."
"Hey." Kai gave a nervous smile. "I'm Kai."
A round of 'yoroshiku onegaishimasu's and 'kochira koso's were exchanged. These were the people in the studio that would be helping them out. There was, of course, Marilyn who would be shadowing them everywhere and helping wherever she can, Kurokawa Nao-san who would be providing technical support on the mixing console with Utaka Hideki-san and finally, the musicians who might be rotating throughout their music-making.
"Kurokawa-san and Utaka-san are very good at what they do," Marilyn introduced the techs. Kurokawa Nao was a young woman with long brown-black hair tied up in a loose bun on top of her head. She had a pair of rectangle frame glasses perched on her nose that made her look very librarian-ish, her overall look giving Riku and Kai the feel of someone who was very professional and wanted others to take her seriously. Utaka Hideki, however, looked like a regular tech guy with messy hair, an untucked t-shirt under an untucked and unbuttoned button-up shirt. His jeans were slightly ripped and his sneakers had seen better days. But he carried an air of confidence about him that put Riku and Kai at ease.
"Shachou thought that these musicians might be able to find that sound you're looking for. They're also really good at what they do." Marilyn introduced the musicians, a slightly short (the height of the foreigner surprised Riku but delighted Kai for some reason) bearded New Zealander named Paul who insisted that they call him 'Just Paul' and a small and cute, bright-eyed drummer named Candy from Hong Kong who just nodded shyly at them.
"Candy and Paul aren't completely fluent in Japanese, so you'll have to talk slowly and use simple words." Marilyn told the members of Persona.
"Yes, we are idiots." Paul joked, overhearing them.
"No, no!" Kai tried out her English. "Your Japanese, good!"
"Your English is pretty good too!" Paul replied.
"Yes, pretty?" Riku tilted his head to the side, smiling in confusion. Did Paul just call them 'pretty'?
"Your English really good. Right, Candy?" Paul tried again in Japanese. Candy nodded again, agreeing with Paul but keeping quiet.
"They're so cool!" Kai leaned over to whisper to Riku. They rarely had any kind of interaction with foreigners and Paul's soft, New Zealander accent and Candy's mysteriousness was exciting!
"Well, we hope we can make you look cool too." Paul grinned at them, his fingers plucking a few strings on his bass. "We were just finished warming up. Now what sound you looking for?"
"Well, just... something like..." Riku floundered a bit, looking around the room. He had never done this before!
"Something like this," Kai swooped in to cover for Riku, humming the few lines that they had made up on the spot when they had been changing. "--something like that."
"Good, good..." Paul mumbled, picking up his electric guitar to play the notes Kai had hummed while Candy immediately started writing down notes on a music sheet.
"And this follows it," Riku hummed the next line. The four worked out the notes while Kurokawa-san and Utaka-san pulled up chairs to join them and add their inputs. They also took the time to show Riku and Kai the audio mixer ("My baby," Nao cooed, dropping a little bit of her professionalism) and the equipment in the studio. Before they knew it, they had whiled away a couple of hours and Marilyn had watched, fascinated as the two members of Persona charmed their unsuspecting audience.
'Shachou had wanted to test their appeal, and look at that, they've already won some unknowing fans!' Marilyn was cheering silently in her head. 'They've gotten to calling Kurokawa-san and Utaka-san by their first names and Paul seems to have taken to them. Even Candy seems delighted with them!'
Indeed, with Kai talking animatedly with Utaka-san and Candy, who just nodded or shook her head in reply to Kai's torrent of words, Kai was obviously a hit. The shy girl from Hong Kong who was usually so reserved even LAUGHED a bit at something the energetic blonde said!
Riku wasn't to be left out and sat with Paul and Kurokawa-san, going over the music they had written down and discussing the evolution of the music industry. Riku's serious side was incredibly charming and the way he unknowingly touched Nao's bicep as he talked to her... well, lets say Kurokawa-san's reputation as an ice-queen was melting quite swiftly.
'Oh my, they ARE naturals!' Marilyn smiled widely at the scene before her.
"Man, so that's when *I* said, what the hell?!" Kai finished his story, making Hideki erupt into laughter and Candy try to hide her fit of giggles behind her hand. "Wow. I think maybe I had a bit too much water before, 'scuse me."
Kai left Hideki and Candy's side to stroll over to Marilyn.
"Where's the lady's room?" Kai asked, a little bit too loudly. But fortunately, nobody was really paying attention. Marilyn smacked Kai on the arm anyways.
"Ow!"
"Oh, Kai, you're such a joker!" Marilyn laughed a bit too loudly, staring daggers at the blonde. "The MEN'S washrooms are just down the hall. You have to turn left at the end of the hall, then right, then it's the door on the left. Just follow the signs!"
"Men's?" Kai mouthed to Marilyn. "Seriously?!"
"Just pretend it's a unisex washroom!" Marilyn whispered and winked. Grumbling mutinously, Kai headed out to the washroom, finding it with little to no problem and did his business. But it was trying to get back to the studio that was hard.
"Where the hell am I...?" Kai muttered, wandering around. He had been wandering for a good couple of minutes and was seriously lost. "Maybe this door..."
Kai opened the door and was immediately greeted by a high, feminine yelp.
"Get out!"
"Sorry, sorry!" Kai immediately turned around and closed the door behind him. All he had seen was some woman, wiping at her face with her sleeve. Kai hadn't been able to see her face at all because of that and the fact that the woman had immediately turned away from the door.
"What was that?" Kai frowned a bit. Looking up and down the hallway, he groaned in frustration again. At this rate, he'd NEVER get back to the studio! Taking a deep breath, Kai turned back around and knocked on the door before pushing it open a bit.
"Excuse me--"
"Don't look at me!"
"Okay, okay!" Kai averted his face. "Geez... I was just, uh, wondering if you knew where recording studio five was?"
"I don't k-know! Leave m-me alone!" The woman's voice hitched on a sob, her voice nasally from a stuffed nose.
"Um..." Kai kept his face averted, the sob having caught his attention. He had wanted to leave but he just couldn't. Crying girls were a weakness of his. "You okay?"
"I'll be better i-if you l-leave!" The fact that this girl was obviously hiding out somewhere crying alone pulled at Kai's heartstrings. He could imagine himself in her place, maybe having failed an audition, disappointed and humiliated. Walking backwards into the room, he dug into his pocket and produced his favourite hankerchief, still white and soft because of Kai's diligent care.
"Here." Kai waved the hankerchief backwards, hoping the woman would see it. The woman still had her back to him but she could see the waving piece of cloth out of the corner of her eyes. Sniffling, the crying woman took the hankerchief.
There was a long silence as the woman wiped at her face and nose.
"Thank you."
"Don't worry about it." Kai shrugged his shoulders. "Just... you okay?"
There was another long pause. Then, finally, "No."
"Um. Are you gonna be okay?"
"Nothing's going to be o-okay! I'm trying my best, but it's just not good enough!" The woman's voice was self-deprecating and angry. "I'm trying so h-hard!"
"It'll be alright. Things get tough, you just gotta keep at it! It'll work out in the end!" Kai encouraged the mystery woman.
"You don't know t-that. That it'll a-all work out in t-the end."
"Well, even if it doesn't, you've tried your best, right? Shouldn't you be proud of your effort?" Kai paused. "And the people who don't appreciate you, well, they don't know nothing! Don't give up cuz I bet there's so many people out there who are just waiting for you to shine! Just keep going to your auditions--"
"Auditions?"
"Yeah, just keep at it! You'll be discovered soon!"
There was another long silence, then finally, the woman's voice broke the silence again.
"Do you know who I am?"
"Um... no. ShouldI? I don't really recognize your voice. Did we go to auditions together?" Kai still had his back to the woman and was severely tempted to turn around and take a look, but didn't. She HAD said she didn't want Kai to look at her and Kai understood why that would be. When Nami cried, she didn't want anybody to see her moment of weakness either.
"Nevermind." The woman laughed a bit.
Kai's mouth tweaked up in a crooked smile, pleased to hear such a pretty laugh. "Feeling better?"
"Yes." pause. "Thank you."
"No problem."
"What's your name?"
"I'm Nami--uh. I mean. No. Um--that's not my name--"
"You sure?" The voice held a bit of amusement now. "Your hankerchief says 'Nami'."
Kai cursed sharply. He had forgotten his name was on the hankerchief!
"Um, that is... yeah. Um. Igottagobye!" Kai raced out the door, slipping out before the woman could turn around to face him.
"Strange." The gorgeous woman with red-rimmed eyes sniffled and touched the hankerchief to her nose. It smelled of soap. "She'd forgotten this too..."
"Ray!" Her manager's voice carried down the hall. The long-haired woman, now standing alone in the room, had a pair of fashionably large sunglasses hanging from the front of her shirt and she lifted it up to her face to wear them now. She could see her manager pass by the room, glance in, then come back to do a double-take.
"Ray! Baby!" Her manager entered the room and walked towards her hurriedly, the oily tone of voice he always used to talk to her grating on her nerves. "It was just a little change in the music, why are you so upset?"
"Those were my lyrics!" Ray crossed her arms, feeling all the frustration welling up again, the calming affect Nami had had on her slipping too.
"And they're such good lyrics! They're deep and really full of meaning!" Her manager tried to sooth her. "BUUUUT... they just weren't, sexy, baby. And sexy sells CDs!"
"Ugh." Ray scrunched up the hankerchief in her hands. "Whatever. I'm taking the rest of the day off."
"But-but, Ray! Everyone's here waiting for you! Ray!" But Ray was already out the door and heading towards the escalators that would take her down to the ground floor and out the building. The man watched the diva storm out and blew out a breath, frustrated with the girl. If only she wasn't so willful! Then she woulda been perfect!
"Damnit," Sarukawa Keiji took a glance at his rolex. And he had so wanted to show off Ray to Saeko! Guess he'd just have to meet Saeko's new talents alone...
---
"Kai, it's a good thing we found you... how did you get lost anyways? Come on, before you guys are late," Marilyn was walking incredibly fast in her heels and Riku and Kai were trying hard to keep up. "Shachou told us she has someone important for you two to meet!"
"Who?" Riku asked, impressed with Marilyn's speed.
"You'll see!" Marilyn chirped back mysteriously. Whoever it was, though, was pretty important as they went all the way up to the top floor. The large mahogany double doors were truly impressive and the name 'Sarukawa Keiji - Monkey Productions' on the door told them who they were going to meet.
"Who's that?" Kai squinted at the name on the door. Marilyn knocked on the door, ignoring the question.
"Come in!" A jovial voice boomed from inside. Marilyn pushed the doors open, then casually pushed the the two members of Persona inside, almost toppling them into the room. With a quick 'excuse me', Marilyn had closed the door again. A man currently had his back to them and was talking on his phone behind a large wooden desk with a simple golden plaque that said 'president'. Saeko was sitting on one of the big plush couches in the sitting area of the extravagent room and motioned for the two young men to sit down on the couch next to her.
"Fix yourselves." Saeko hissed at them. They quick walk--more of a jog--to this office had made them slightly breathless and caused them to look slightly ruffled. Riku's hands immediately went to his hair to make sure each strand was in place, while Kai smoothed down his jacket, not really caring about his hair.
"Sorry, we've just run into a bit of difficulty with a recording today." The man who was obviously Sarukawa Keiji, came over and plopped himself down on the couch opposite them. He had thinning hair dyed a copper-brown and wore a dark purple suit with a loud tie.
THIS was the person they were supposed to meet?
Even though his words were directed at Saeko, Sarukawa Keiji's eyes were on the boys in front of him and he leaned forward to study the two sitting on his couch."These are the ones you told me about on the phone?"
"Yes indeed, Sarukawa-shachou! They are..." Saeko turned to look at Riku and Kai, her eyes widening when she saw how they were sitting. Coughing loudly to mask her words, she gave their legs a pointed look. "*cough*Legs*cough*placeyourlegsproperly*cough*cough*!"
The young men quickly uncrossed their legs, spreading them out a bit.
"Hohohoho!" Saeko's laughter was shrill and scary. "Quick, introduce yourself!"
Riku nodded, standing up and puffing out his chest. "OSU! I'm Riku from Persona!"
"OSU!" Kai shot up too, tilting his chin up a bit to look down his nose at Sarukawa-shachou. "I'm Kai!"
Sarukawa gave a little laugh, sitting back to look up at the two men. "You DID say they had an imposing manner... but they also have very cute appearances..."
Saeko gave another one of her shrill laughs as Riku and Kai fidgetted nervously under Sarukawa Keiji's scrutiny.
"Today we have come specially to give our regards to the President of Kamonohatsu Entertainment Agency's parent company, Monkey Productions," Saeko motioned for the boys to sit down. "Sarukawa-shachou."
"Don't tell me you're here to ask me for a favour." The President of Monkey Productions crossed his legs, a smirk on his face.
"Actually," Saeko returned the smirk with a smile of her own. Raising slowly from her seat, she meandered slowly over to Sarukawa-shachou, looking very much like a cat who had just spotted prey. "I would like you to let them participate in Music 10's next 'The Indies' performance."
Keiji scoffed, his genial attitude disappearing almost immediately. "These kids? No matter how much you beg me, I can't do it."
"You should be able to," Saeko sat down on the armrest of Keiji's couch, invading his personal space. "After all, you ARE Sarukawa-shachou, the manager of Music 10's Number One, Ray, and the President of the entertainment giant, Monkey Productions."
Saeko's hand had found its way to Keiji's knee and was slowly running up his thigh while Riku and Kai watched, open-mouthed in shock. Sarukawa Keiji didn't have a chance as his brain turned off and all his thinking was done with his groin.
"The both of you," Keiji's voice was rough and low. Motioning to them impatiently, he pointed to the door. "Leave us! Go!"
"OSU!" Kai and Riku were glad to be out of there.
---
Things were happening faster and faster. Saeko had managed to pull some strings, using methods that Kai and Riku didn't want to dwell on and after three days of hurriedly writing their first single and working out the dance steps, they practiced and practiced for their debut. Saeko had even managed to get them fitted for their stage costumes and had them delivered to the office the night before the Indies. The stage outfits actually just looked like a more stylized and fitted version of what the two had picked to wear the first day. The main difference from their outfit at the beginng was that Kai's grey jacket was gone and he sported a black jacket now with a white edge running down the lapels. Riku's clean-cut look from day one had been relaxed and he sported some fingerless gloves to appear tougher. Last, but not least, there were some eye-catching accessories pinned to their jackets.
"Three days... of hellishly styled dance routines..." Riku groaned, feeling all of his muscles complaining. They were up at the crack of dawn for three days either at the recording studio or the dance studio. Sometimes, they would even be at the two studios late in to the night. Riku was really grateful to everyone at the recording studio for getting up early when they needed to, or staying late in to the night.
Kai nodded in agreement, hissing through his teeth as that movement sent muscles twinging. "We'll be dead before we get on stage!"
"Saeko-chan!"
Riku and Kai looked up to see two men approaching them, recognizing them immediately. They were the producers that had auditioned them! But seeing the two men give them only a brief glance and seem to not recognize them at all, Riku and Kai breathed a sigh of relief.
"Producer Kaga!" Saeko greeted the man, bowing and trading words. "Please take good care of us!"
While their manager and Marilyn talked to the two men, Riku glanced around the backstage area. The Indies performance was help in the park near TV Tohto, with a stage set up and all the performers hiding out backstage, waiting for their turn. There was a whole kaleidoscope of genres represented by the artists that had come to perform and Riku knew this was a big deal. Every year at the Indies, bands who did really well and stood out had a huge chance of being pushed in to the mainstream and Riku knew this was what Saeko was aiming for. The sound of the MC introducing the next group to go up and the roar of the large crowd outside sent Riku's heart pounding. They would be going up soon too! They were finally doing this!
"Ahhh... I'm feeling so nervous!" Riku squeaked quietly to himself, looking around at all the other artists backstage trying to keep quiet while trying to rehearse whatever they were going to perform. There were also various crew members running about, making sure everything was running smoothly. Through the hustle and bustle, everybody looked like they were doing what they were supposed to be doing. Except for one person, who seemed out of place. A young man with badly dyed hair wandered around and trying to act inconspicuous, playing with his camera.
"Hm?" Riku did a double-take. "Jiro?!"
"Wait a minute," Marilyn was beside Riku in a heartbeat. "Don't tell me that's someone you know!"
"He lives near my house," Riku confessed, frowning a bit. "Ever since kindergarten, he's kept saying that he wanted to marry me. He's an annoying and persistant idiot."
"Fiance?" Marilyn's voice was on the verge of glee. It was like she hadn't heard anything Riku had said except for 'marry'.
"That's not it," Riku said sullenly. "that's only what he thinks! Three years ago, he left home saying he wanted to be a photographer. I wonder why he's here now?"
Jiro, meanwhile, was mumbling to himself while checking his camera. He wasn't a very good-looking man, with his dull hair and the awkward air around him. As Riku watched Jiro wandering around with his eyes on his camera, he accidentally bumped into the two producers Saeko had been talking to before. There was an exchange of words where Jiro looked sufficiently intimidated.
"Well," Marilyn drew Riku's attention away from Asahi's childhood friend. "Good luck and give it your best shot!"
"Hai!" Riku said smartly and looked around, finally noticing that Kai wasn't by his side. "Ara... Where's Nami?"
Riku finally saw Kai, standing near the entrance to the stage, looking out at the band performing. The crowd wasn't reacting too well to this group of punk rockers and the bad atmosphere was affecting Kai.
"I-I'm going back!" Kai turned away from the stage, eyes wide with fright. "I can't do it! To perform on a stage like that, I can't do it!"
Stage fright had hit Kai hard and it was starting to affect Riku's own confidence.
"Well, that was alright, wasn't it?" The MC's words traveled backstage, along with the boos of the crowd. "Come on everyone, give them a hand!"
There was a grudging round of applause, but the boos persisted.
"Can't win them all, can we?" The MC chuckled. "Next, we have a new group performing today, please put your hands together for 'PERSONA'!!!"
"Come on, you guys are up, go go go!" A guy with a clipboard and a headset was pushing them on stage. Suddenly, Riku and Kai found themselves in the spotlight, with their microphones in hand and a crowd of people staring at them and clapping.
"Osu!" Riku shook himself out of his stupor. "I'm Riku from Persona!"
"K-K-Kai, I'm," Kai stammered. Riku and Kai both froze after that.
"Opening lines!" Marilyn hissed from the side of the stage. "Opening lines! Say the opening lines you rehearsed!"
Riku nodded, taking the reins. "The both of us are men amongst men, that's why we'll always greet you with an 'OSU'! And you guys can reply with a 'BEST'! Lets try it out! OSU!"
Kai raised his hand, struggling to keep a hold of his stage fright. "OSU!"
The line was supposed to be delivered in a witty way and meant to elicit laughter and response, but it just ended up sounding corny. Paul, Candy, Nao and Hideki were in the audience and they all winced a bit as the crowd booed them for such a horrible line.
"Jesus," Paul grimaced. "Even though I don't really understand Japanese, that was still pretty bad."
Candy nodded, folding her arms across her chest. Nao and Hideki also agreed, having understood basically what Paul had said in English.
"Shachou, that was such an awkward scene!" Marilyn was at Saeko's side, wringing her hands. "Maybe it's too soon for them to debut?"
"This is a test." Saeko replied stonily. She had given Persona several tests since they had signed on. Nao and Hideki were a test, because they had seen many of these idols come and go and their interest and approval was a sign that Saeko had picked the right people. Candy and Paul, as foreigners, had little to no interest in Japanese pop stars beyond the customary 'oh, that's interesting'. The fact that they were here, rooting for Persona meant something. "If they can't handle this, they won't be able to make a name for themselves even though they're disguised as men."
"Anyways, please listen to us," Riku charged forward desperately, he could see his dream going down the drain... "Persona's--"
As Persona floundered, drowned out by the heckling of the audience, there was suddenly a flash of pink and a girl in a frilly dress ran on stage.
"Stop that girl!" Security were on the stage including stage-hands and the two producers from before. They all tried to grab the girl, but a boxcutter kept them away. The crowd gasped as a collective whole, watching the girl waving the sharp object around and holding the security guards at bay.
"Don't come closer! I'll do it!" She held the blade to her throat and the security guards froze, some even backing up a few steps. Cameras started flashing.
"Denpa?!" Kai immediately recognized their long-overdue-comrade.
"What is that girl doing?" Riku grabbed at Kai and whispered harshly into his ear.
"Hinata wants to die!" The Lolita-style girl screamed at the security people, announcing her intent, the box cutter inches away from her own throat. "I've always wanted to be an idol, for that I've been to more than a hundred auditions and at last I thought I'd suceeded."
Denpa's eyes sought out Producer Kaga and rested on him. "I was tricked by Music 10's producer, Kaga!"
The man started visibly and looked around, guilt apparent on his face as all eyes turned to him.
"He said such venomous words to Hinata and..." Hinata's voice dropped a bit, but her voice was still audible to all on stage. "...he tried to... he tried to... do bad things to Hinata..."
Riku felt a chill run down his spine, his heart clenching in sympathy on hearing what Hinata had gone through.
"W-What are you saying?" Kaga laughed nervously, then shouted at the girl. "I didn't do anything at all!"
"Stop pretending! Hinata will definitely not forgive you!" Hinata brandished the sharp blade, warning the people away as they tried to approach her again. "If Hinata dies here, everything will be alright again!"
"Don't do anything stupid!" Kaga screamed out, half out of his mind with fear. If this girl killed herself on the stage of Music 10's The Indies performance, it would ruin everything! And who would the guys on top blame? Since Kaga was the producer in charge and was seen to be somehow involved in this mess, Kaga would definitely be in hot water!
"This doesn't look good, Denpa's snapped!" Kai's fretting pushed Riku into action and he stepped forward to call out to Hinata, trying to calm her down.
"Tenshi!"
The frills-clad girl paused, looking over at the person who had called her 'Angel'.
"You're an angel on Earth!" Riku called out, wincing at how bad that sounded, but knowing it would appeal to the half-crazed Denpa. "An angel."
"What?" Hinata croaked out, barely able to speak past the tears clogging up her throat. She had tried so hard, SO HARD. She had believed that one day someone would look at her and tell her she could do what she always wanted to do: make people happy. Then, Kaga had taken that all away, tricked her and then tried to force himself on her. Thank god she always double-triple-quadruple tied her corsets! But the things he had said after... calling her ugly, worthless... she had tried. She had tried SO. HARD. And for what?
"I know that you're an angel on Earth." Riku looked over at Kai, trying to signal the blonde to help him out.
"Uh, that's right." Kai stepped forward, putting on his best 'convincing' face. "A pure angel on Earth!"
"But if you really are an angel on Earth, you have to bring happiness to everybody." Riku shot a sideways look at Kai and took a step forward too.
"Yeah, an angel would never bring sadness." Kai inched even closer, encouraged by Hinata's immobile state and how she was completely focused on them.
"It's hard, but if it's you, you can do it." Riku delivered his speech with gusto. "You can totally make people happy. But if you end it here, you'll never get that chance."
"Really?" Hinata sniffled, her hands trembling, blade still at her own throat. It was as if these two people knew who she was and what she wanted to do! "I could be an angel? No matter how old I am?"
"Yeah," Riku nodded. "Even if you're eighteen years old--"
"--Even if you're over eighteen!" Kai was an arms-length away from Hinata now.
"You're an angel on Earth." Both of them held out their hands to the girl tentatively. Hinata smiled at them, a genuine smile. All she needed was for someone to tell her she could do it. She had tried... and these performers knew. Noted her effort and told her to keep going. Nobody had thought she could do it and everybody had tried to discourage her. Not these two. There was a charged pause before the boxcutter fell to the stage floor and Hinata took Riku and Kai's hands. The crowd erupted into cheers and applause as stage-hands and security swarmed the stage, police had even been called up. They quickly and gently pulled Hinata away from Riku and Kai, reassuring the two young men who had just stopped a suicide that they would take care of everything.
"Well," Riku blinked as the stage cleared and the MC grinned from the sidelines, motioning for them to continue.
"RIKU, YOU'RE SO COOL!!!!!" Paul screamed out from the crowd, eliciting a chuckle from his female companions.
"KAI, I WANT TO HAVE YOUR BABIES!!!!" Hideki, not to be outdone, decided to add his little bit in.
"Uh," Riku and Kai laughed into their mics as similar calls started pouring out from the crowd.
"Sorry bout that, folks." Kai gave a wave. "But we had to help out a bit."
"Today, please let Persona sing on behalf of all the angels on Earth." Riku spoke into his mic, clearly and calmly. He felt no fear now. He remembered why he wanted to be an idol now, remembered a young girl from long ago, lost in the crowds. And how a bunch of performing musicians had saved her.
"Persona's '3 Seconds'!" Kai and Riku said the title together. As their song began, Candy started jumping and clapping, starting a mini moshpit around her that spread quickly until it seemed everybody in the audience was screaming and clapping for Persona.
"So cool!" Jiro crowed. Having been put right near the front of the stage with the rest of the press and photographers, he had caught the whole drama on stage and knew that he would be eating tonight! The story of how Persona saved that girl was going to be news and he had the pictures for it! And this band... they were just too cool for words!
As Persona sang, only aware of the audience and blinded by the lights, something was happening backstage. Performers parted like the red sea for Sarukawa Keiji, leading a bunch of assistants, hair stylists, make-up artists and a group of three bodyguards who kept their precious cargo within their protective circle. As they passed, musicians bowed respectfully to the imposing entourage, like they would to royalty passing by. The woman nestled in the middle of her protectorate was known from Hokkaido to Okinawa. Even people out in the boonies knew who she was!
And as the group made their way to just off-stage, the bodyguards loosened their circle so Ray could see what was happening on stage and the eyes glued to this entourage could see the charismatic diva in all her glory. Ray was decked out in a simple one-piece cashmere sweater that bared her shoulders and clung to her figure in all the right places, ending just a little above mid-thigh. The dress showed off her gorgeously long legs and she had complimented the outfit with simple white stilettos. Simple. But stunning.
"What was that?" Ray took off her sunglasses, eyes following the two performers on stage, hearing the crowd scream for them. Ray hadn't heard this kind of reaction at the Indies since... well, since she herself had performed back when she was still trying to make a name for herself.
"This is becoming interesting, isn't it, Ray?" Sarukawa watched the boys on stage too, pleased that the performance had been saved since he had a few of his artists performing today... but now, he was wary of Saeko's young talents. Best way to keep his people at the top, Keiji had found out, was to make sure the promising young idols in other agencies didn't get a chance. Nip it in the bud.
Ray was wrapped up in her own thoughts as she watched the two young men on stage performing. She had come just to see if there would be anything interesting since she was around the area. Now she just couldn't stop looking at this new group. Ray also found it highly disconcerting that throughout Persona's performance, her eyes would somehow always manage to zoom in on the blonde performer's figure and his pretty face.
"Arrange for me to meet them." Ray said suddenly. Her bodyguards exchanged glances, a bit surprised. Ray NEVER wanted to meet people and Sarukawa arranged Ray's schedule with that in mind. The idol had a public face for her fans; gracious, grateful, charming and humble. But in reality, Ray wanted as little to do with other people as possible. She never wanted to meet her kouhais in her agency, nor help them unless it was absolutely necessary. For her to want to meet some new kids in some other agency was odd.
"What?" Sarukawa Keiji was thinking along the same lines as the bodyguards and gaped at Ray like she had just sprouted a horn. "You want to meet them?"
"Arrange it." Ray shot him a look that said 'or else'. Then she turned to one of her assistants who winced as soon as the diva's eyes rested on her. "What do I have now?"
"Um..." The assistant tapped at her PDA with trembling fingers. "Y-you have a photoshoot and i-interview with Harper's Bazaar, Ray-sama."
"Well," Ray put on her sunglasses again, stealing one last look at the blonde singer. "We don't want to be late, do we?"
The entourage agreed with the diva enthusiastically and they quickly swept out of the area without Persona ever knowing that Ray, the charismatic diva, had been there watching them.
---
"Persona's the best!" Kai and Riku shouted, walking through one of the hallways of the TV Tohto building, heading to the dressing room the tv station had provided for them to rest and refresh in. After Persona had saved Hinata from killing herself, the station had been unbelievably grateful. The station had served Kaga with his termination letter, lined up some interviews that the TV Tohto wanted to do with Persona and wanted to talk further about letting the upcoming group have some late-night air-time! All in all, a productive day!
Pushing open the door to their dressing room, still high from their success, the two guys, their manager and her secretary didn't notice the person in the room until they had closed the door behind them.
"What..."
In a baseball cap, a zip up hoodie and baggy pants, the boy that turned to face them was quite pretty. Very pretty in fact.
"Let-me-join-too!" The pretty boy smiled at them.
"Huh?" Kai frowned, looking at this boy. He *knew* that face. Both Kai and Riku stepped closer, getting the eerie feeling that they, in fact, DID know this person. And this person seemed to know who they were. Who they really really were!
"AH!" Riku pointed at the stranger wearing the baseball cap. "DENPA!"
"AH!" Kai's eyes lit up in recognition. With her long hair under the baseball cap and the boyish clothes, Hinata was actually pretty indistinguishable from a teenage boy!
"An angel on Earth, eighteen years old." Hinata lowered her voice, the natural smoothness plus the huskiness actually sounded pleasant. "I remember what the both of you said to me! We're auditioning comrades, right? Let me join too!"
"What are you saying?" Riku crossed his arms and pouted, remembering how Hinata had ran off that night. And didn't Persona just debut as a two-person group? "Wanting to join us now is--"
"You're in!" Saeko brushed Riku aside.
"Hai?"
"Huh?!"
"HAH?!"
"Your stage name will be," Saeko placed a hand on Hinata's shoulder. "Kuu. From now on, Persona will be a three person group!"
Marilyn was quick to catch on to what Saeko was doing and started clapping excitedly, happy that Persona's manager had solved what could have been a pretty sticky problem. This girl had almost killed herself today because she was so depressed. She also had immediately seen through Kai and Riku's disguises. There was no telling what this 'Denpa' girl would do.
"As expected of the president!" Marilyn cheered. THIS was why she loved Saeko!
"Yay!" Kuu gave a girly cheer then looked at his new groupmates expectantly.
"Yay." The half-hearted cheer made Kuu stick out his lower lip.
"Not like that!" Kuu punched the air with her fist. "Yay!"
"Yay!"