(This is a fan fic based on the "public images" of various Hello!Project artists and is no way shape or form trying to imply anything about the personal lives of the real people behind the public images.)
Author's Note: Tsunku's songs exist in this universe, but it is not part of the story who does the originals that they cover.
Club Idol - Chapter 1 - Our Secret Lives
Darn it. That clock is too slow. It still says five minutes.
An older woman approaches a pretty young woman with shoulder length brown hair who types at a keyboard. "Ai-chan! The guys are going drinking down at the corner bar. Why don't you join them for once? They have been asking for you."
Ai blushes slightly. Yeah, that's worked out well for some of the other Office Ladies who have gone out with them in the past. "Sorry, I hate to be a 'stick in the mud', but I go out every Friday with some girl friends of mine from back home. I'm sorry, ma'am."
The head Office Lady smiles. "I guess that's okay, but you might consider embracing the new instead of holding on so hard to the old."
"Maybe some other time, ma'am?"
"I suppose I can let you keep going at your own pace."
"Thank you, ma'am."
"Oh, one more thing."
"Yes, sir?"
"I guess you were thinking of your friends, but when you first answered me you started using your hometown dialect again."
"Oops." Ai makes the cutesy motion of play hitting herself in the head.
The Office Lady manager leaves.
The clock finally shows quitting time. I thought that minute hand would never get there.
Ai rushes down to the subway and takes a crowded local train to one of the main stations.
Ai walks over to the platform for her transfer, but does not board the next available train. Instead, she waits. After a few minutes, her waiting is rewarded.
"Ai-chan!" Running like an out of control train is Makoto. Makoto is not as pretty as Ai, but Makoto's energy has always made Makoto as popular as Ai and her circle of friends.
"No need to run, you're only the second one here."
Makoto brushes her messy long black hair from in front of her face. "Sorry, it's just that I am so excited about tonight."
"Really? This is the only the eighth time that we've done it and you've already lost all of your fear?"
"Geeze. Was I really all that afraid the first couple times that we did it?"
"You were petrified." Sneaking up on Makoto and Ai is Asami.
"Oh, no! Another 'let's pick on Mako-chan' day?"
Asami looks at Makoto's rat's nest hair. "Well, if this is another day like that, then let me say that you didn't faithfully use the hair straightening shampoo I lent you last week."
Makoto looks at Asami's perfectly straight dark brown hair with envy. "Okay, you have me there, but, are you saying that Asami, the genius girl of style, can't fix this?"
Asami giggles. "Of course I can."
"But, she won't be able to fix your open mouthed smile." Also sneaking up on the three friends is Risa.
Makoto pouts. "Just because you modeled when you were a kid ..."
Risa raises an eyebrow that reaches almost to her permed light brown hair.
Makoto remembers pictures of them as a group that proved that an open mouth smile wasn't her best look, and then she looks down, defeated.
"Asami, did you bring everything?" Ai is the only one in the group with a worried expression.
"Everything is in my bags."
The lights start flashing for the next train. The four ladies enter the train and ride it to their final stop: Shinjuku Ni-Chome.
The four of them walk in single file down a narrow alley. They pass a heavily made up boy who works the door for a night club.
"Miss Makoto. That hair." The boy flicks his wrist in disgust.
"Geeze, everyone's picking on me today."
"Don't worry, Johnny. I have it under control." Asami winks at the bouncer.
"You the man, Miss Asami."
They arrive at their final destination, a nightclub with a sign in front that says "Club Idol". Although the club is larger than the other clubs on the street, it is still fairly small, handling only thirty clients at a time.
They enter.
"You're here!" A tall, older woman with extremely long extremely straight black hair and a deep voice greats them.
Makoto smiles. "Kay, you're such a worry-wart! It would take an army to keep us away."
Kay (short for Kaori) rubs her hands together. "I just worry that my angels will disappear some day and my clients will go away."
Ai waves her finger. "You have signed us to a one year contract. A deal is a deal."
"Wonderful. I will start setting up."
The four girls go to the downstairs dressing room to change and do their makeup.
The sun sets and the alley glows with the neon lights from the numerous clubs.
Two tall, striking and fashionable ladies squeeze down the alley. Johnny waves to them as they pass. They wave pleasantly.
Kay sticks out her hand. "Ladies, twenty for the cover two drink minimum."
The two ladies pay and enter.
The main area of the club has many tables for people to sit and a small stage to the left of the bar. The two ladies sit down.
"Hitomi-sama, Rika-sama. Welcome back home. I am honored by your presence." Ai welcomes the two ladies as she has served them before.
The taller girl, Hitomi, a blond with less than shoulder length hair and a masculine wardrobe and look, smiles. "Ai-chan. I thought you knew I like you as a cat the best."
Not this again. Ai holds her order pad and pen and tries to keep her composure. "Tonight, we are taking orders as maids. If you like I could be a cat maid for you."
"Please."
Ai walks to the bar where an older but very pretty lady named Natsumi tends. "Na-san, a pair of ears?"
"Coming up."
Ai puts on the ears and returns to the table. "May I take your order, nyaah?" Ai makes a cat like gesture.
Hitomi moves over to make room for Ai. "Come, sit with us first."
Ai complies. Geez. I guess service is going to be slow as usual tonight, but at least no one is going to complain for fear of losing their "special service".
"This maid outfit isn't as sexy as last week's outfit was."
Rika gives Hitomi a disapproving eye. Rika has long dark hair and is dressed in a cutesy pink outfit. "I think it's lovely. A girl doesn't always have to display skin to be sexy."
"Come on, Ai, don't you want to be sexy for your Hitomi?"
"Oh, yes, Hitomi-sama. But, don't fret. You'll be rewarded later on tonight, nyaah."
"Dear, don't you think you should order?"
Ai smiles on the inside. I guess, as usual, Hitomi and Rika are going to keep each other up tonight with a lust fueled by Rika's jealousy. I guess I shouldn't mind Hitomi's sexual harassment since it is being done for Rika's benefit, not mine.
"Martinis for both of us, and the decadent chocolate cake for me." Hitomi leers at Ai when she says the word decadent.
"The strawberry parfait for me. Maybe I should have our cat feed me a strawberry like it was a grape?"
Hitomi gets a panicked expression.
Hitomi is kind of cute when she thinks that Rika might be looking at another woman. She's macho on the outside, but Rika has her curled around her finger and stuck in her back pocket. Ai giggles. "Of course, nyaah."
Ai bows and walks to the bar to register the order. Natsumi sends a text message to the pastry shop in the alley behind the club, an order that will be delivered by a special runner to the club's back door.
Ai passes another table along the way that Makoto is working.
Makoto's hair is now up in a top pony tail and looks well groomed and cute. "Yuko-sama, Mari-sama, welcome home, masters. How may I serve you tonight?"
"Oh, drop the formal stuff, Mako-chan, we know each other better than that, right? Sit here and be better company than this midget." Yuko, who has shoulder length blond hair and a "sexy older woman" look, pulls Makoto down next to her.
"Hey!" Mari pretends to be offended, but knows that her friend has had a rough day. Mari has dirty blond hair that she wears in pigtails and is much younger looking that Yuko.
"You're looking lovely as always, Yuko-chan."
"At least you say that to me. I work all day with guys who wonder when I am going to get married. Besides the obvious, even if I was going to get married, aren't I still rather young to be doing something like that?"
Wow, I wish I look as good as she does when I get to be her age. But, I guess some people are self-conscious about things like that. "Absolutely. You're still in the flower of your youth."
Mari rolls her eyes and says in a sarcastic voice: "If flowers live to be thirty two thousand years old."
"If flowers lived that long they would grow higher than one hundred and forty-five centimeters!"
"Ladies, ladies. You're making me sad that two beautiful and stunning women can't see each other's beauty."
Both clients turn up their noses at each other.
"I bet I know something that can turn this around. Yuko-chan, you like Bloody Marys, right?" Makoto does a cutesy head tilt at the end of the sentence so her ponytail would bounce.
"Yeah, yeah."
"And, Mari-san, you like Manhattans, right?"
Mari nods.
"And, you both like fruit tarts, right? Well, after a couple of drinks we'll all be the same age, the same height and we'll all be happy."
Yuko squeezes Makoto's arm. "Is being happy too much to ask for?"
Makoto is able to pull herself away. "Of course not. I'll get your order right away."
Makoto flees this pathetic pair, walking past Asami who works another table.
"Sayumi-sama, Sayaka-sama, welcome home to your castle."
Sayaka, a tall, heavy set woman with long black hair worn up in a side bun looks at Asami as if she was a pastry. "Asami-chan, sit with me. Let's monopolize beauty on this side of the table."
"But, that would not be possible with you on that side of the table." Sayumi has long black hair and straight bangs.
Asami tried to suppress a giggle. The fighting between Sayaka and her younger protegee Sayumi seemed beyond camp to her. It was almost as if Sayumi really believed that she was the cutest young lady in the world.
"There is too much beauty at this table for it to be monopolized on either side."
Sayumi turns up her nose at Asami's peace making efforts. "When I looked at myself in the mirror this morning I didn't notice that I was less cute than Sayaka."
"Ladies, ladies. Sayumi, I have an idea. How about I get you a Daiquiri? You like cherry pie with Daiquiri's right?"
"Yes. But, I will still be cuter."
"And, Sayaka, you like crepes with a Kamikaze, right?"
"Yes, but, she'll still be annoying."
"Please, accept the humble advice of your servant and try this solution out. I am sure it will be pleasing." Asami bows low.
Sayaka cracks a smile. "Well, if you put it that way, I am stuck with her, so why not."
"At least the cherry pie will be cute."
"Wonderful. Asami-chan is happy. I will get your orders in right now."
Risa also works a table. "Kei-sama. Welcome back to your castle. Will you introduce me to your lovely guest?"
Kei is older and is slightly less cute than most of the other ladies in the club, but she carries herself with dignity. She has short light brown straight hair. "This is my friend Aibon. We have been playing golf recently."
"Aibon-sama, welcome to Club Idol."
"You have an interesting place. I might enjoy it." Aibon wears men's clothing and has sunglasses on even though there was no need for them indoors. Aibon speaks as if she was a bored celebrity.
Wow, she's pretty full of herself for someone who I have never heard of. "Aibon-sama, there's no way you won't enjoy it. I guarantee it." Risa glances at Kei and Kei's expression tells Risa that Aibon's actions are a put on.
"Risa, why don't you get us some drinks?"
"Yes, Kei-sama. You prefer 'Sex on the Beach,' right?"
Kei smiles. "With you, it doesn't have to be just on the beach."
"Aibon-sama, what would you like?"
"There is a drink that I have heard of called a 'sonic screwdriver,' I wonder if your bartender has heard of it?"
"Na-chan can do anything."
"I would like to try one then."
"We also have pastries."
"I have such a craving for a chocolate eclair."
"Good choice, Kei-sama. And, you Aibon?"
"Short cake." Aibon drops the affected way of speaking and now sounds girlish.
"Coming right up!"
The four girls work the crowd until ten minutes until ten, then go backstage to change again.
At ten, Natsumi walks on the stage to introduce the main attraction of the night. "Ladies, may I introduce the girls who put the idol in Club Idol, City Style!"
Ai, Makoto, Asami and Risa come out from the back in matching long coats. They and Natsumi strategically move a large panel away from the wall about four feet. This cuts off some of the real estate of the stage, but the girls still have room to maneuver around it.
The girls all have wireless microphones.
"Hello, everyone, I'm Ai."
"I'm Makoto."
"I'm Asami."
"I'm Risa."
Ai shoots a glance to Kay. She nods, signifying that all four of the microphones were working and that she could hear all of them clearly from across the tiny club. "And, tonight, we will be in charge of bringing your dreams to life. Please take care of us."
The four girls bow.
Kay starts the tape that Makoto has made. A loud gong is heard.
"The fish that you let slip by is huge. The moment of encounter is so important ..."
Most of the ladies in the club have already left their seats and press against the stage. The four girls take advantage of this to sing directly in some of the customers faces and scold and push some of the other audience members at key points of the song.
The ladies grab at the girls outfits but do not pull. There seems to be some unwritten rules already in place after only seven previous performances over what was acceptable behavior and what was not.
At the end of the song the girls walk across the line of people pressed against the stage slapping high fives.
Soon, the music starts again. Makoto pulls Yuko on the stage with her to deliver her spoken line directly to her. "I want to believe this love is true, this love that you expressed to me. The future can only tell if the is love is true or not, right?"
At the end of her line Makoto gently pushes Yuko back off stage. Yuko at first doesn't react, but when the four girls start dancing she squeals.
At the end of the song the girls work the crowd for a minute, then slip behind the panel. After depositing their long coats, the come out revealing their first under costume. They come out from behind the panel skipping and acting girlish, behavior consistent with the outfits, school uniforms.
The clients react favorably to the new look, some of them in their drunken revelry already shouting forward and embarrassing things to the girls.
Asami waves her finger in disapproval (also her signal to Kay to restart the tape). "That's sweet of you ladies to say, but there is a time and place for that."
The girls pose together and start their next song: "Don't make me take of my school uniform. It's wrong now, you should wait..."
This song seems to have a subliminal effect on many of the clients who open their blouses to flash the girls while they are singing.
The girls make mental notes of this. After the song is over they get four of the clients who flashed them up on stage and put them together on one side of the stage.
Risa addresses the crowd. "You guys are really an inspiration to us. You guys really are teaching us each week how to be proper idols. It's almost like you guys are like our caring upperclassmen mentors..."
Kay starts the tape again.
The four girls go to the other end of the stage and call out to the clients on stage "Senpai!" The girls run over to the clients and start dancing around them.
"Oh, the things that I can't seem to say, even though I love to sing. Oh, it's weird that at a time like this, I just can't show the real me ..."
The girls pair off with the clients to deliver their lines to them one on one.
After the song is over they help the clients off stage.
Ai winks to the crowd. "And now the part of the show I know you've all been waiting for."
The clients start squealing in anticipation.
The four girls again duck behind the panel, this time putting the school uniforms on hooks revealing very brief shocking yellow dance outfits.
"Ta da!" The girls come out and pose for the crowd. Ai turns her back on the ladies and leans back into them, allowing the six of seven ladies closest to her to run their hands all over Ai's body.
Makoto contents herself with hugging several clients one or two at a time. Ai certainly pushes things a lot farther than I would ever dare to, and not just in performing.
Ai extracts herself from the mass of bodies and signals to Kay. "An overflowing light, a floating black berry, I can't stop loving you eyes. Hey, hold me, I can't stay like this..."
The girls dancing incites the clients. Ai, sensing that the stage area might be breached, waves her arm to clear out an area so that she can get to table to sing on.
The other other three girls cover for her "I don't believe what they all say, I'll go on a woman's feelings..."
Ai makes it on top of a table. "Smile, yes nude..."
At the next break in the song, Ai stage dives from the table and the clients help back on stage to finish the number.
Makoto waves to the clients. "Okay, it's time for our last number. I hope you all will stay after we are done and get a lot more drunk!"
The clients cheer in approval.
"And, of course, generously tip Na-chan. Also, if you wait a little bit, you're all invited to our after party, right here."
More cheers.
Risa steps in. "And, I just want everyone to know that this last song says what we can't say in words, and we honestly mean it."
Kay starts the tape.
Asami picks out Sayaka from the people in front and sings directly to her. "Hey, are you always that nice? And, were those tears that day for real?" Asami holds Sayaka hand and gazes into her eyes.
Risa finds Aibon to sing to. "The sunset is so bright that I can't look ahead."
Makoto picks out Yuko. "It was a lovely afternoon that we spent, it was a fun time."
Ai finds Hitomi as the music rises for the chorus. "Without saying a word, even from now on, please treasure me."
All of the girls join in and lead their clients up on stage. "Without saying a word, even from now on, even from now on, I love you."
They sing the next verse swaying back and forth in a line with their clients with their arms interlocked around each others shoulders. The then bring even more people up on stage with them, nearly packing the stage.
For the final chorus they have nearly all the clients swaying back in forth in lines.
Asami signals Kay to stop the tape so they can do a final chorus a Capella. "Without saying a word, even from now on, even from now on, I love you."
The girls spend a minute or so hugging people on stage. Finally, Ai takes control. "Okay, ladies. Time to get drunk. We'll be back after we change!"
Even though several clients try to cling to them, they are able to get their other costumes and make it downstairs.
The girls towel off and work on the makeup and clothes.
Risa shoots a look at Makoto. "What's with that mouth at the end?"
"Oh, stop. I did that deliberately. I've decided that I should cultivate an approachable image. Making stupid looking expressions makes be look less intimidating."
Risa smiles. "Well, I guess that is the case since that was the first time you did it."
Finally, all of their looks are back together.
Ai smiles. "Okay, girls, thirty minutes until midnight. We only have a short time before Kay has to close up. Let's make sure that everyone leaves happy!"
"Happy!" The girls cheer for themselves.
The girls go back out and mingle with the clients. At this point much of their mingling includes holding up their drunk clients so that they don't tip over.
At midnight, Kay chases the clients out. They stagger down the alley to either the train station or to waiting cabs.
They girls wave goodbye to the clients, then go to the back for the food that Kay has arranged for them. There is a microwave downstairs and Ai uses it to reheat her order.
By the time the microwave is done Natsumi brings a mixed drink for Ai. The other girls are already eating their train bentos with cold juice from a can.
Asami looks at Ai. "Not that this is important or anything, but, you sure eat weird stuff Ai."
"A cheeseburger, French fries and a Cosmopolitan. Why is that weird?"
Asami rolls her eyes.
Ai and Risa go back out front to get their pay.
Makoto pounces on Asami. "Hey, I got something weird today during the after party. You should look at it." Makoto holds a business card.
Asami smiles. What is Makoto thinking? More that half of the clients have given me business cards with phone numbers and declarations of love and lust. This can't be her first one, can it? "Geeze, Makoto, the group already has a rule not to go out with the clients. I don't know why I need to look at this."
Makoto doesn't say anything, just holds the the card out.
Asami looks at the card and her smile vanishes. "Crap! This is bad. We can't tell Ai or Risa about this."
Makoto nods.
To Be Continued
Topic: Club Idol (S02E06 - A Face From The Past) 03/20/2012 (Read 12211 times)