Arc-2 Ep-01

 The Reitaisai came to an end, and we—the sixth-generation idols—had finally made our debut. But there was no work waiting for us. Well, that was only natural.

During the popularity poll at the Grand Festival, the composition of the internal groups had changed—if only by a few members—and new groups had been formed. With the new members joining, we had to start practicing our songs and dances all over again. It wasn’t like we were starting completely from zero, so it wouldn’t take that long.

And so, today, like every other day, we were immersed in lessons from morning until night. This weekend, at a live house near the agency, we were finally going to perform as sixth-generation idols in a mini-live. Our seniors—those who hadn’t been able to join any internal groups—would also be performing at that mini-live.

Or rather, they were the main act, while we were only scheduled to perform one song exclusive to the sixth generation. Even so, as the days passed, tension among my fellow gen-mates steadily grew.

It was almost as nerve-wracking as our debut—like reliving the atmosphere of the Reitaisai all over again. Friday’s lessons came to an end, and tomorrow—Saturday—would finally be the day we stepped onto the stage for the first time.

It was summer vacation, so ever since the Reitaisai ended, we’d been subjected to intense training sessions. Thanks to that, everyone around me was visibly exhausted. And of course, the one suffering the most from fatigue… was me.

“Are you okay, Mikuri-chan?”

Nozomi-chan, sitting beside me, asked in a small, worried voice.

“I-I’m… somehow managing.”

“Really? I hope so…”

We’d completely taken over the smallest of the agency’s several break rooms—just us sixth-gen members. Everyone was quiet, worn out from both exhaustion and nerves.

“…It’s finally tomorrow, huh.”

Breaking the silence, Shion-san, the sixth-generation leader, looked around at everyone as she spoke. Yes—she’d been unanimously chosen as our leader by everyone else in the group.

“…Yeah. The day we finally stand on stage is here.”

“It felt both long and short, didn’t it?”

“Which one was it, though~? So hard to say~”

Starting with the leader’s words, small conversations began to sprout up around me.

“There’s a handshake event on Sunday too, right…?”

“Handshake events are just part of being an idol, but… doing it with strangers still feels kind of… weird.”

Saturday’s mini-live would run from 6 PM to 8 PM and end there, but Sunday was different. On Sunday, we’d have another mini-live from 2 PM to 4 PM, followed by a handshake event.

“I wonder if anyone will even line up for us at the handshake event…?”

“My friends said they’re coming, so at least I won’t have zero…”

“Somehow, that’s still embarrassing~”

“If it were family, it’d be awkward. But I couldn’t exactly say no, you know?”

In my case, all five members of my family—my parents and three older brothers—said they were coming both Saturday and Sunday. As for people from school, I’d kept my debut a secret, so it was unclear who might show up.

That said, after the late-night TV broadcast, I’d gotten all sorts of reactions on personal and class SNS—shock, congratulations, and the like—so maybe some would come. If they could get tickets, that is.

“Nozomi-chan, is anyone coming for you?”

“My brother on Saturday. And Noriko-san said she’s coming on Sunday.”

“I see.”

As expected, her estranged older sister wasn’t coming. Her parents probably weren’t either—likely too busy.

“…I’d heard about it, but she’s really coming to the handshake event, huh.”

Noriko Itsuki-san, whom I’d met at Nozomi-chan’s house. A distant relative of Nozomi-chan, and a stunning beauty on par with me or Rina Takechi. But she was such a huge fan of Rina-san that she even attended handshake events.

Since Rina-san wouldn’t be performing in this weekend’s mini-lives, she’d probably line up in Nozomi-chan’s queue during the handshake event.

“Mikuri-san, is your family coming?”

Joining the conversation between me and Nozomi-chan was Chie-chan. After that incident at the Grand Festival, we’d grown closer, and she’d upgraded from calling me “Kayonuma-san” to “Mikuri-san.”

“My whole family—both parents and my three older brothers—said they’re coming to both days…”

“Both days?”

“You’ll have to do your best, Mikuri-chan.”

“…I told them to please not line up for the handshake event, though.”

Just imagining shaking hands with my family made me feel weird. I really wished they’d line up for another member instead—the one with the fewest people, preferably.

“What about Mami and Sakiko’s families?”

The sub-leader, Sayaka-san, asked the two who had come to the city from the countryside. Indeed, it was interesting to know whether their families would show up.

“My parents are coming on Sunday.”

“Same for me—only the family members who could make it are coming on Sunday.”

Since it took time to travel here, it made sense they could only come for one day. I was a bit worried whether they’d make it back in time on Sunday, though.

“As expected, families want to see their daughters’ first performance in person.”

“What about you, Shion-san? Your family too?”

In response to Nozomi-chan’s question, the sixth-generation leader nodded.

“I put them through a lot financially with how long I was in the training center, so I want to show them that I’m doing okay now.”

Her words were met with silence from the training center group. We non-training-center members couldn’t fully relate, but we knew it cost a significant amount to attend the training center. And even after paying that much, debuting as an idol wasn’t guaranteed—that was the harsh reality.

“Well then~ Guess we gotta do our best for the leader’s sake too~”

“You have to do your best for yourself too, Yuna.”

Sayaka-san replied to Yuna-san’s teasing tone.

“Yeah. We have to give it our all tomorrow and the day after.”

“…By the way, whose families are coming tomorrow?”

“My family’s coming both days. Besides me, that’s Kayonuma-san and Nanazawa-san, right?”

“Yeah. What about you, Chie-chan?”

“Only Sunday, apparently.”

It seemed more families were coming on Sunday.

“I’m only Saturday. My parents said they have something unavoidable on Sunday.”

Sayaka-san’s family would be coming on Saturday.

“What about Kanaya-san?”

“Both days~”

So that made five of us with family coming tomorrow.

“Which means on Sunday, Matsunobe-san and Nanazawa-san’s families aren’t coming, right?”

“Yes. But a distant cousin is coming.”

“Sunday… the handshake event…”

“If the line is short and your family ends up in it…”

“S-stop it! Now I’m imagining it!”

“Th-that’s scary…”

The conversation among my gen-mates wouldn’t stop. As expected, everyone was filled with tension and anxiety. With my mental age—when adjusted—being more than double even the eldest, Shion-san, I watched over them warmly.

Well, I also had the composure of someone with a god-given cheat, though.