@kurosawa87: yeah, Eri is in some major confusion
@Thor87: YAY YAY YAY! Another commenter!
you don't know what this means to me
thank you so much~ i'll definitely keep the updates going~
Thanks for the comments! I love how I'm just pulling lurkers out of thier hole
this next chapter isn't worded nicely as the other chapters... I literally just hit a wall, sorry
But it's chapter 20 already! Time goes fast, huh?
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Chapter 20 “Five minutes left! Get High-Queen on the set, quickly!”
The producer for the TV program Song Fighter was yelling, running around all over the hallway. Although the dressing room door was shut tight, Eri could still hear the panic in the man’s voice.
Today was the first scheduling for promoting “Everyday Everywhere”. High-Queen was to go on Song Fighter, talk, then perform. Since it was a live recording, they had to be careful of every word and action, for there were no redoes.
“Okay, you’re all done, Takahashi-san,” the fashion coordinator said, giving the High-Queen leader a pat on the back. “Tanaka-san, are you finished in there?”
Eri had just tied a fluffy yellow belt, the last accessory on High-Queen’s costume, on to Ai’s waist. Reina walked out from the curtains of the dressing stall. She held up a black choker.
“I can’t hook it,” she said.
“Risa-chan, help her please?” Eri pleaded to her friend, sitting on the couch. She then grabbed a pair of pink boots by the door and set it in front of Ai. “Takahashi-san, put these on.”
“Three minutes!” the panicked voice echoed. “Where are the girls? Get them out!”
“Okay, you’re both ready,” Eri said. Both singers were now dressed in pink. Reina had glitter on her bangs— her usual trademark— and Ai had a headband. “No wait, something’s off here—”
“Kameha!” Risa interrupted. “They look fine, let them go!” Ai laughed at Eri’s flustered expression. Reina didn’t even seem to notice the conversation going on in front of her.
“Okay, okay,” Eri said, calming herself down. “Let’s go.”
All four girls ran out of the room and down the hallway. When they reached the studio, the two singers started to bow over and over again to the staff members they passed by, saying “Yoroshiku onegaishimasu”. The audience on the bleacher-like seats cheered when they spotted their idols, so Ai and Reina waved a little to them too.
The producer quickly motioned the duo to the set, where a white round table was in the middle. The three MCs were already seated, leaving two empty seats in the middle for the girls. Risa and Eri sat themselves in the two reserved seats in the front of the audience.
“Okay,” the producer started. “We’re live in five… four… three…” He mouthed the next two numbers.
“So let’s welcome today’s guest,” the MC started. “High-Queen!”
“High-Queen desu!” the two girls said in unison.
A loud cheer burst from the audience. Risa and Eri—who was still red from all the adrenaline rush—clapped along. Risa patted her friend on the back.
“Relax, now,” she whispered. “You did great. They look awesome.”
“Thanks,” Eri whispered back.
Throughout the entire talking segment, the ratings slowly rose higher and higher. Ai spoke fluently as usual while Reina never lost the smile she plastered on to her face.
“So tell us a little bit about your new single,” one MC said.
“Well,” Ai started. “I think compared to our last single, ‘Subete wa Ai no Chikara’, we show off a more mature and mellow sound in ‘Everyday Everywhere’. We were able to put a lot more effort into recording this too, since the song means something to the both of us.”
“The song is about a farewell, isn’t it? So does that mean you both experienced a farewell, just like in the song?”
“That,” Reina said, holding up a finger to her lips, “is a secret.” She winked. Risa and Eri could’ve sworn they heard someone faint in the back of blood loss.
The talk continued to go smoothly. Before they knew it, the MCs were already making their closing while High-Queen and their two staff girls rushed to the studio next door for their performance. Since it was a live recording, they had to start singing as soon as they were on set so there would be no blank segment in between the talk and the performance.
The instrumental started to flow out of the speakers. Both singers’ faces turned serious as they concentrated on the rhythm of the song. Risa and Eri stood near the back wall, watching. As always, a live performance was no problem for the two girls. The ratings continued to rise.
“
I wonder if she’s thinking of her…” Eri thought. “
I wonder if she’s hurting…”
The song came around to the first chorus. But while Ai sang her lines, Reina suddenly looked down, putting her hands to her eyes. Confusion swept through the studio. When Reina’s lines came, she missed the first couple words as she covered her face. She sang her second line while looking down. Her voice cracked.
“What’s going on?” Risa whispered, panicked. “Is she… Is she
crying?”
“
She’s thinking of her,” Eri thought. “
She’s thinking of Mitsui Aika right now!”
The bridge followed right after the chorus along with Ai’s vocalization. The two singers crossed each other. But now, Ai was also facing down. But trying to be as professional as possible, she lifted her head to sing out more. In the process, she revealed two trails of tears, trickling down her cheeks. Her voice was still smooth but her expression was not.
“Ai-san…?” Risa whispered. “
What’s wrong with her? Why is she crying? I don’t want to see her cry like that!”
Reina now had her back turned to the camera. She held the mic away from herself while she tried to wipe away her tears as best as she could without ruining her makeup. By the time her part came, she turned to face the camera again, and sang with her all. Even though she had just gotten rid of them, fresh new tears flowed from her eyes.
The song finally came to an end with Ai’s vocalization. As soon as the producer’s “Cut!” ran through the studio, the entire staff went rampant with confusion. Why did they cry? Don’t they know this is a live recording? What happened?
The two singers stepped off the set, wiping away what tears were left. Ai forced a weak smile.
“Otsukaresama deshita!” Ai yelled.
“Otsukareina…” Reina mumbled, keeping her head down.
Before they idols could be questioned more, Risa and Eri dashed forward and rushed them out of the studio, down the hall, and into the dressing room.
** ** **
The crowd of people gathered in Tokyo went wild. Everybody had witnessed the tears on High-Queen’s faces through the big screen TV in the middle of the square. They were all full of questions with no answers.
One girl wearing a school uniform just kept on staring at the screen that was now black. She had short black hair and was carrying a backpack. The crowd was too preoccupied with their own confusion; nobody cared enough to notice this girl’s eyes watering. She closed her eyes and let her tears fall.
“
Ren-chan… Ren-chan…”
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As you can see, the plot is unfolding
Stay with me guys!
Topic: Kokoro no Uta ~Mainly TakaGaki, TanaKame~ [COMPLETE - EXTRA: Ch. 101 - (12/1)] (Read 244165 times)