Arc-2 Ep-04

 Sunday dawned. Today marked our second mini-live—and our very first handshake event. Once again, we plunged the packed venue into a sea of frenzy, and our stage came to a close.

An atmosphere began to form among the sixth-gen members, as if idol life could simply continue like this forever.

The mini-live, which began at 2 PM, ended at 4 PM. Soon after, the live house was transformed into the handshake event venue. The handshakes would take place on stage, with the height difference to the floor filled by stairs.

Fans weren’t asked to leave during setup, so they were free to watch the preparations. Of course, the area directly in front of the stage was off-limits, and they were moved toward the back of the floor.

By 4:30 PM, everything was ready—and the handshake event finally began.

Out of all the Sistema Solare members, twenty-six were participating in today’s mini-live. It was the same lineup as yesterday—Saturday’s show. They were divided into seven groups and lined up along the edge of the stage.

Specifically: five groups of four and two groups of three, creating four or three booths extending from the front of the stage. Under the staff’s guidance, the audience formed orderly lines, ascended from the floor to the stage, and entered the booths from the right (from the audience’s perspective).

They would shake hands with the idol, exit the booth to the left, descend the stairs, and return to the floor. After that, they were free to visit the merchandise booths or chat with fellow fans until closing time.

My booth was right in the center-back among the seven. Apparently, this was the spot that Rina Takechi had used up until this year’s Reiteisai—the position reserved for the most popular member among the mini-live participants.

In other words, the agency had that much expectation for me. And as expected, my line was long. The booth at the back of the neighboring trio was Nozomi-chan’s, but even from a quick glance, the difference in line length was obvious.

“Now, the handshake event will begin.”

At the staff’s announcement, a man in his late twenties at the front handed something to the staff stationed before me, then entered the booth.

“M-Mikuri-chan! I—I fell for you at first sight and became a fan!!”

“Thank you! Please keep supporting me♪”

As a former guy, shaking hands didn’t bother me much. I gently clasped his offered right hand with both of mine, flashing the charming smile I’d practiced countless times in the mirror.

“Yes. Time’s up.”

The staff signaled the end to the dazed fan. With my line as long as it was, we had to move quickly or it would never end. I sent off the first fan—who looked disappointed that it had ended so soon—and the next person immediately entered.

“I’m a Mikuri-chan oshi!!”

“Really!? That makes me so happy!!”

This one was a college-aged otaku type. Naturally, I responded with a dazzling smile, gently wrapping his hand with both of mine.

“Yes. Time’s up.”

Having experienced that level of sweetness from a super-beauty like me, he left in a lovestruck daze.

And so it continued—handshake, charming smile, farewell, repeat. Even as my line gradually shortened, I didn’t spot my family anywhere—which was a relief.

Eventually, Nozomi-chan’s line vanished completely, leaving only me still greeting fans when an unexpected someone appeared.

“Mikuri-chan, hello♪”

“Ah! N-Noriko-san!!”

The owner of beauty rivaling my own: Noriko Itsuki-san. She was Nozomi-chan’s distant relative, whom I’d met at her house.

“Didn’t you go to Nozomi-chan’s booth?”

“I can shake hands with Nozomi-chan anytime♪”

We clasped both hands and chatted warmly.

“I heard you’re a huge Rina-san fan.”

“Of course♪ But I’m a Mikuri-chan fan too.”

“Th-Thank you. That makes me happy♪”

Being called a fan by someone as beautiful as her made me oddly shy. The staff didn’t signal the end for quite a while—probably mesmerized by the sight of two super-beauties holding hands like that. It felt like triple the usual duration before the staff finally cleared their throat.

“Good luck♪”

“Of course♪”

“… … Ahem! T-Time’s up!!”

Noriko-san smiled gently, released my hands, and exited the booth.

After about ten more handshakes, my first-ever handshake event came to an end. I hadn’t flinched at anyone and treated everyone equally (well, except for Noriko-san), so my reputation should be solid.

“Good work~ As expected, Miku had the most~”

“Ah, Yuna-san. Good work.”

Back in the waiting room after leaving the stage, my gen-mates were slumped in their chairs, exhausted. Six had already changed out of their idol outfits; only Nozomi-chan was still in hers.

“You had a lot of people. It was like Rina-chan.”

“Even I was overwhelmed, and yours was that many—it must’ve been tiring.”

“Yeah. It might be tough until we get used to it.”

Replying to Shion-san and Sayaka-san, still dressed in her idol costume, Nozomi-chan approached me.

“Mikuri-chan, let’s change together.”

“Yeah. It’s a shame, but we’ll be wearing them again next week. I’ll go change now.”

“Okay.”

I told her that and moved to the lockers along the wall, quickly changing out of my outfit. Without savoring the sight of Nozomi-chan changing, I finished up and rejoined my gen-mates.

“We’ll be doing this every week for a while…”

“More songs mean more stage time—but also more strain.”

“Well, it’s not like anything will change overnight.”

With the weekend mini-live behind us and the tension gone, the atmosphere had become relaxed and easygoing as we chatted. After about an hour—when the minute hand had moved roughly sixty degrees—a knock came at the door. Taneyama-san appeared as it opened.

“Good work today.”

“““Good work~”””

“Good work.”

Followed by the sub-manager, Matsuzono-san, the two of them looked at us with warm smiles.

“As planned, to celebrate the successful first live, let’s all go out to eat.”

“…No debriefing or anything?”

“That’ll be tomorrow. You’re all tired today.”

“Got it.”

“Then Matsuzono and I will drive two cars.”

“Let’s get ready and head out quickly.”

At Sayaka-san’s cue, we all stood up from our chairs. Many of us had eaten only lightly before the show due to nerves, so plenty of stomachs were already growling. Excited for whatever fancy meal awaited, we gathered our things from the lockers and prepared to leave.