Chapter 1: Minori
Notes:
I realized I posted Leo/Need's equivalent almost two years ago and I couldn't have that much time pass before MMJ so Happy Birthday Shizuku. Enjoy some background Shii-chan as a gift.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“Hop! Step!! And-- there!!!”
Minori landed her last pose, but slightly lost balance, almost falling off.
“Ehy Minori, get a hold of yourself! You'll never pass the audition if you trip after just one twirl!”
“Got it!!”
Airi sighed as she watched the girl repeating the action, but failing again... only to try again.
By the time she'd turned five times, her head had started spinning, making her fall on the warm concrete of the school rooftop.
Shizuku gasped, worried, but the other girl just furrowed her brows.
“Alright, take five...”
The three girls sat in the shade.
Minori quickly chugged water down her bottle, while Shizuku worriedly asked her to go slower so as not to choke... which happened.
Airi glanced at the empty spot next to them.
“So, she's stopped coming, hasn't she?”
Minori and Shizuku both first looked at her, then at the dark concrete.
“Yes, Haruka said that she's busy lately, so--”
“She can't handle it anymore, can she”.
The three girls turned quiet.
Despite Minori's encouragement and an initial spark of hope, Haruka had soon stopped showing interest in the girl's journey and began finding it unbearable to witness her practising.
But the newbie wasn't bothered, she wasn't bummed out! Because after all, she just had to make it and show Haruka the same hope that she'd shown her all these years ago, from a real stage! Then she'd really show her how much hope she could dish out for everyone to see!
Minori left her seat, smiling as she turned to the idols.
“Just you wait! Once I pass the next audition, I'm sure I'll be able to show Haruka just what she's missing! I know that there's still hope to inspire her to return onstage!!!”
Airi and Shizuku couldn't help but smile at the girl's affirmation.
“I'm quitting.”
Airi picked up her drink from the vending machine.
Shizuku stared at her back in silence, not knowing what she was thinking.
“..Airi--”
“Have you already handed in the paperwork?”
Shizuku softly nodded.
“As of tomorrow, I'll officially be out of Cheerful*Days...”
Airi sighed, putting a hand on her hip as she shifted her body's weight from one leg to another.
“What now? You just abandoning music?”
“...I... don't know yet”
“...”
The shorter girl drank her strawberry milk in one go before walking off, throwing away the empty carton.
“Let me know when you decide”.
“A group?”
Airi and Minori walked down Miyamasuzaka's streets.
“You keep applying as a soloist to join a group and get rejected. This way, you're never going to make it... But if you found some better-skilled people to balance you out and presented yourself as an already-formed group to an agency, you may have better chances”.
Minori brought her fingers up to her lips.
“A group... I'd never thought about that... But... How would that even work..?”
“I just told you, you form a group, maybe record a song, send out CDs and go do interviews...”
Airi struggled to look at Minori's confused muttering.
“...We've all quit, can't you see that it's an unbearable pain to shoulder by yourself?”
“If you had some people around you that you trusted, then, maybe...”
“It'd be easier for you, in all ways”.
Rejected
Minori sat at her desk, staring at her PC screen.
Yet another failed audition.
She slowly folded the PC on itself, sighing.
“You keep applying as a soloist to join a group and get rejected. This way, you're never going to make it... But if you found some better-skilled people to balance you out and presented yourself as an already-formed group to an agency, you may have better chances”.
...Well...
There was no harm in trying, was there..?
Minori yelped as the bell rang through the corridors, signalling the beginning of the first class of the day.
“Oh no, and I still have to hang these on the other wing of the school, too..!”
She sloppily taped the handmade flyer to the newsboard of her seniors before running back to her classroom.
But, as expected, tape doesn't stick well to a corkboard and the flyer soon fell on the floor.
Not that it would've been an issue, as the big and brightly coloured “LOOKING FOR FELLOW IDOL-WANNABES!!!” writing would've invited anyone to at least pick the paper up and throw it in a trashcan instead of getting her in trouble for accidental littering.
Notes:
Hi, SilentStream here. This story is messy, fast-paced and badly written, I'm sorry. I just wanted to jot it down before it slipped my mind, so I hope you won't mind the low quality in comparison to my other works.
Chapter Text
Ichika distractedly fidgeted with her hair while waiting for the homeroom teacher to arrive.
She glanced outside the window, seeing Honami's class heading to the gymnasium.
She stared and stared at her old friend... But the other knew she was gawking at her, so she never turned towards the building once.
Ichika returned her stare to the inside of the classroom with a frown.
First Saki gets transferred to that faraway hospital, then Shiho starts distancing herself from me, and now Honami as well...
She lightly pulled on her hair, enough to make it hurt slightly.
Am I bound always to be abandoned..?
She had been so up in her head that she hadn't even noticed the teacher's arrival.
“Everyone's in their seats, I hope. We have a new student joining us from today. Everyone, be nice. Come on in”
“Yes ma'am!”
Ichika slowly looked up.
Her eyes widened in shock at the blonde girl who stood by the teacher's desk.
“Hi, it's nice to meet you all!”
“My name's Tenma Saki!”
“I'm sorry, but I've decided to put the keyboard aside for a while... I've actually decided to look into making shows, ones like my brother used to”
“Ones like... Tsukasa used to?”
Ichika worriedly furrowed her brows.
“Has something happened to your brother?”
“No, no!!... I mean, it probably has, to be honest..? But nothing hospital-level!”
Saki stopped shaking her hands left and right, trying to find the right words.
She sat more comfortably on the park's bench, looking at the darkening sky.
“...Ever since I returned home, I realized that something's wrong with him. Even though I'm finally back, he rarely spends any time with me, Mom or Dad... He's picked up some weird habits, he's stopped performing... If I think that the smiles he put on when he visited me were just shows to him... Nay, that they were his last shows...”
“I have to help him, and I know that if I show him how much fun theatre was to him, he'll return to liking it and wanting to perform again! And hopefully break out of this new shell of his!”
“So... I'm sorry, Ichika, but I can't form a band with you right now.”
She sadly smiled at her friend.
“Maybe someday, after he's back to being his old self!”
“Honami”.
Ichika almost dropped her bag when she found the girl standing right behind her classroom's door.
“A-Ah, uhm, hi, Ichika...”
The chestnut-haired girl anxiously looked around.
“...It's pretty late, no one should be around at this hour unless they're also a class representative”
“Right...”
The two stood in uncomfortable silence.
“...So, Saki isn't going to play anymore?”
“Not until she returns to Tsukasa all the smiles he gave her... or something like that”
“As expected of her... They're so close, it's almost enviable...”
“It is enviable” thought Ichika. She would've much rather had any kind of sibling growing up than be as lonely as she'd had.
“...Wanna head home together?”
Honami stared at her for a few seconds before lowering the gaze.
“...Ichika?”
“Yes?”
“Is this it?”
She tightened the grip on her bag.
“Shiho's not going to talk to us anymore, not even Saki's return helped with that—”
“Speaking of which, Saki is going to do her own thing from now on--”
“The two of us...”
Ichika took a step forward, but she took one back.
“Is this the end of our music..? Of our friendship..?”
“Honami--”
Ichika tried to reach for her, but she ran off.
“Honami!”
“I should've said something to her... That even if we aren't going to bring the band back together, we can still be friends...”
Saki and Haruka quietly listened to Ichika as they sat in the courtyard eating lunch.
“Yeah...”
Haruka sighed, closing her lunchbox.
“Do you still play guitar, Hoshino?”
“Huh? I...”
Ichika looked away.
“...To be honest, it's just been catching dust...”
Saki guiltily looked at her.
“Well... Dusty or not, if you still want to play, and Mochizuki needs that reassurance... Maybe the two of you could start a band of your own for the time being?”
“A band of our own...”
“So, tomorrow, but at the usual time... I guess it's alright.”
Ichika stopped on her way to the classroom in which all class representatives would've met up for their meeting.
That's... Shiho's voice?
“Thank you, I apologise for the inconvenience again”
“It's fine, we know.”
She peeked inside the classroom, seeing Shiho, her sister and Mafuyu talking to each other.
Shizuku smiled as she looked away from Mafuyu, smiling at the younger girl.
“That means I have more time to rehearse that part where I keep dropping my drumsticks!”
“Please get a hold of yourself...”
...Drumsticks..?
She leaned a bit on the door, that lightly slid to the side, making enough noise for Mafuyu to notice.
“...Hoshino”
The Hinomoris turned to her as she awkwardly bowed, appearing from behind the door.
“I apologise, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, I just noticed Asahina was in here and we have a meeting...”
Mafuyu checked her wristwatch before getting up from her seat.
“You're right, Hoshino, we should get going. I'll see you tomorrow, Hinomori, Shizuku.”
“Yes! Bye-bye, Mafuyu!”
“Bye...”
Shiho glanced at Ichika for a split second as she walked past her exiting the room, while her older sister exchanged a polite goodbye with her.
Ichika and Mafuyu walked towards the meeting's classroom, their footsteps echoing in the quiet empty hallways.
“...Were you talking about music right now? Shizuku mentioned drumsticks...”
“Ah, yes, we've decided to form a band of sorts... we're still lacking a keyboardist though, we'll have an interview with someone I know soon, if they don't find someone else.”
“I see... What instrument do you play, Asahina?”
“I play the guitar and do vocals”
“Really? I used to do the same when I played with Shiho, Honami and Saki...”
“Honami... Mochizuki, right?”
“You know her?”
“I think Shizuku mentioned she bought her drum kit from her since she wanted to get rid of it, and that Hinomori was glad with how Mochizuki told her just as Shizuku had decided to quit music, the timing had been quite perfect, it saved Shizuku...”
“Saved...”
“Saved...”
They both resumed walking in silence.
Ichika then stopped.
Mafuyu didn't wait for her, not turning around until she got to the classroom's entrance.
...Honami... has sold her drum kit...
She's really done, isn't she...
Is this seriously the end..?
While returning home it had started raining-- nay, pouring, so she decided to wait for the sky to calm down at a records shop.
She left her umbrella by the entrance as she greeted the cashier, by now familiar with her.
She browsed through the CDs for a while.
“This girls' band, I remember Shiho mentioning it once in middle school... They're all adults now...”
“How nice, to play with your friends for such a long time...”
She walked with her eyes on the ground.
When she got to the crossroad she looked up at the light, and while waiting for it to turn green, she glanced at the nearby screen, which was displaying ads, one after the other.
After a few seconds, it changed into something that instantly piqued her interest.
Miku's new music video...
The light finally turned green, and the crowd gently pushed her ahead.
Miku's amazing... She's always so free and versatile. She can do anything...
Unlike me...
Once on the other side of the road, Ichika stared at her reflection in a puddle for a few seconds.
She only remembered that she'd been walking on a sideroad when a careless girl bumped into her, and she dropped her bag and umbrella.
After accepting the girl's apology she bent down, gathering the pencil case and paper that had fallen out of her bag.
LOOKING FOR FELLOW IDOL-WANNABEES!!!
She stared at the brightly orange-coloured title of the flier for a few seconds.
When had it gotten inside her bag..?
Ah, right, at lunch...
”By the way! Have you seen this!?”
Saki held up a couple of brightly coloured, hand-made fliers.
“Looking for... What are these?”
“Fliers a friend of Shiho made!”
The girl smiled brighter, handing them both to Haruka and Ichika.
“It's so sad that Airi will be retiring soon, but Shiho said she personally endorsed this “Hanasato Minori” to be her disciple so I can't wait to follow her as soon as she starts performing! Say, Haruka, won't you join her??? It'd be great if someone as good as you helped a newbie--”
Haruka handed Saki her flyer back.
“I really can't, I'm kind of in the middle of something right now, and... being an idol wouldn't fit well in my schedule.”
“I see... it can't be helped, then!”
Ichika read through the flyer.
LOOKING FOR FELLOW IDOL-WANNABEES!!!
If you're also a girl dreaming of sharing hope with the world and your dream is to be an idol, let's form a group together!!!
Ask for Hanasato Minori in class 1A or find me after classes on the rooftop!!!
“She surely... goes straight to the point”
Saki giggled.
“Isn't that the best thing for an idol, though?”
She dreamingly looked up at the sky.
“To simply want to sing and dance to give hope and smiles to people... That's what saved me... And how I want to save my brother as well. But, I'm not built for an idol career, so I'll just follow his footsteps in theatre for the time being!”
Ichika looked back down at the flier.
"To give hope to someone..."
"Is this it, Ichika?"
Ichika put the flyer back in her bag, and ran home.
Notes:
Does anyone know Arknights? Lately, I've picked it back up after years of being unable to play and I've had a blessing after the other... Ulpianus came home in 20 pulls and today's new banner had Mizuki as the purchasable character so I dragged him home right away... I couldn't be happier.
I can't wait to finish reading Stultifera Navis and join "Path of Life"...
If you also play Arknights feel free to write about anything, I'll gladly read it whether it is about a lucky pull or indecisiveness for the freebie 6star (I am so t(h)orn(s) between Exusiai and Silverash...)
Chapter Text
“Honami!”
The girl lifted her stare to the classroom door, where she saw her old friend staring at her, tightly holding onto a piece of paper.
“Is that Hoshino from 1-C?”
“Are you friends with her, Mochizuki?”
“Ah, yes... I mean, it has been a while since we've last spoken..."
She glanced back towards the girl, who was still waiting for her.
Honami's classmates put down their chopsticks, glancing at each other before worriedly leaning closer to her.
“Are you alright, Mochizuki? Is she bothering you?”
“If you don't want to talk to her, we can send them away for you”
“Eh!? No, I... Everything's alright!”
Honami left her seat, reassuring her classmates before heading to the door.
She stopped on the threshold, uncomfortably rubbing her arm.
“What is it, Ichika..?”
She couldn't bear to look at her, thinking she might continue their discussion from the previous day, but...
The girl put the paper she was holding in her face instead.
“I'm going to apply, and I want you to join me!”
Honami, startled, brought the paper away from her face, enough to read it.
“...An ad for idol-wannabees..?”
Ichika nodded, pointing at the name written on the bottom of the paper.
“She's a classmate of Shiho, I mentioned it to her and she told me Hanasato is a bit aloof but a genuinely good person, so I have no reason not to”
Honami slowly looked at her.
“But, why an idol..?”
Ichika's cheeks flushed a little.
“I... dreamed Miku tonight. Her and Kagamine Rin. They were performing and I realised they looked just like idols... Miku is the virtual diva, a virtual idol after all, right? And, since we can't reform our band, but I don't want us to give up on music either, why not strive to be like her? At least for the time being?”
Honami stared at her baffled.
“I... don't know if I want to”
“It's fine, but, I don't want you to give up on music because of us”
“I'm not giving up on music--”
“I know you sold your drumkit to Shizuku.”
Honami guiltily looked away.
“I know everything, how Shizuku was about to give up on music, how you sold the drums to her and they're forming their band...”
“I don't want you to hurt like Shizuku has”
“I'll be back, if not to convince you to join me, to at least overlook what you decide to do”
“I won't abandon you, I'll do whatever to stop you from despairing, no matter if you'll hate me for it”
Ichika put her hands on Honami's, squeezing them tight, the paper inside crumpling loudly.
Honami uncomfortably looked away, and in doing so, met eyes with her classmates waiting for her to finish lunch, who were glaring at the foreigner.
She quickly sent Ichika off with an empty promise to at least think about it, but she didn't stop her classmate from taking the crumpled flyer from her and tossing it away.
“Honami, good morning!”
Honami held her bag close to her chest walking past Ichika.
“Honami, heading outside for lunch?”
Honami's classmates dragged her away from the corridor before she could reply to Ichika.
“Honami, I actually thought I'd wait for you before talking to Hanasato, I want us to do this together”
Honami mumbled something before quickly excusing herself, and hurrying home.
“Honami!”
The chestnut-haired girl hesitated, not turning around to see Ichika by the door just yet, and her hesitation was misread by her classmates, who looked at each other across the desk, nodded and got up.
“Hoshino Ichika!”
They walked towards the girl, who was startled, to say the least, and Honami panicked, following them.
“G-Girls!?”
The two stopped on the threshold.
“Come with us.”
“U-Uh, I...”
“Girls, wait..!”
One of them grabbed Ichika's wrist, walking off somewhere while the other turned to Honami.
“We're going to stand up for you if you can't on your own, don't worry! That's what friends are for!”
“Wait, that's not..!”
Honami caught up to the two classmates, who had already cornered Ichika in the shadows of the school building outside.
“You have to stop bothering Mochizuki!”
“She's clearly uneasy around you!”
Ichika glanced at Honami, who couldn't speak.
“Don't you see how on edge she looks whenever you're around!?”
“She says you're friends and we trust her, but no friend would react like this!”
Honami felt her vision twist.
Not again...
I did so much to protect Ichika from them...
Ah, this is just like middle school...
When Honami opened her eyes again, she was in the nurse's office.
“She's awake! Mochizuki!”
She turned to one of her classmates, who was sitting by her side.
“What happened..?”
Her classmate softly smiled, rubbing her shoulder.
“You crouched down, struggling to breathe and then fainted, so the three of us brought you to the nurse's office. Classes are going to end soon, let's wait for them to return together”
Honami uneasily looked away; she couldn't believe she had a panic attack in front of them.
“I'm sorry, I made you miss the afternoon classes... Wait, how were you allowed to stay here..?”
Her classmate proudly smiled, pulling out of her pocket a lightly stained with makeup handkerchief.
“Please, teacher, let me stay by my dear friend's side..!” she then theatrically added, pretending to cry.
A smile escaped Honami's lips.
The final bell rang about ten minutes later, and not much longer her classmate, Ichika, Saki and...
“...Shiho”
Shiho sighed as she put a hand on her waist, looking down at her.
“So it's gotten this bad...”
Honami lowered her stare, and everyone sat or stood nearby.
Her classmates looked at each other before turning to her.
“We met Hinomori on our way here and she hinted at what happened being because of a misunderstanding in middle school, so she called Tenma as well so you could explain everything to everyone once, to not tire yourself out too much...”
Honami held her hands tight.
“I...”
Saki made her way in between the classmates protectively shielding her, rubbing her shoulder.
“Take your time.”
She looked at her childhood friend, and she teared up.
“Middle school was so awful, Saki”
She looked down at her hands again.
“I was just trying to be nice, to help whoever however I could because that's how I was raised, but my kindness was exchanged for disloyalty, being two-faced... Then, Shiho started avoiding me... and I understood it was to make things easier for me in that environment... and so, I started doing the same to Ichika too...”
“You weren't around...”
“I was alone... surrounded by people who I couldn't consider friends anymore...”
“And now, in high school... I didn't want to be bullied again, so I continued like that...”
“And my fear and anxiety brought to this awful misunderstanding...”
She sniffled, looking at her classmates.
“Ichika is my dear friend..! To be honest, I'd be more than happy to perform with her again! But... I was worried because of everything that happened in the past... And now, my actions have brought nothing but exactly what I wanted to avoid to us, so... I'm sorry for causing yet another misunderstanding...”
Honami sobbed, and her classmates looked at each other before hugging her.
She was surprised.
“Girls..?”
“Oh, Mochizuki! You dummy! You should've told us sooner!”
“We only acted the way we did because we were sincerely worried about your well-being!”
They then turned to Ichika, deeply apologising for what happened.
Saki smiled as she watched the group make up.
“Honami, I'm so glad things are better! We can finally start our high school life for real together now!”
Honami looked up at her nodding... then turned to Shiho and Ichika.
“I'm sorry for avoiding you, Ichika... And, Shiho...”
Shiho stopped her before she could speak.
“If there's anyone that should be apologising between the two of us, that's me. I shouldn't have avoided you like I have... school or not. And, the drumkit...”
Honami quickly shook her head, freeing her hands from those of her classmates, and taking hers.
“No! I'm glad that Shizuku took it! I'll...”
“I'll become an idol with Ichika!!!”
Silence fell in the room, and Honami slowly turned beet red before everyone burst into laughter.
“Well, that was quite a statement!”
“No way, I'll be able to see not only Ichi but Hona as well on stage!!! I can't wait!!!”
“Ehhh these nicknames are super cute!! Can we call you so as well!?”
“H-Huh? I guess so...”
“Great! I can't wait for my classmate to become suuuuuper famous then, Hona!♪”
“Oh please, stop it..!”
Ichika and Honami awkwardly stood in front of the 1-A classroom, far enough from the door so that students could leave to go home.
“So... we're really doing this”
“There's no going back now...”
The two went back and forth like that for a while, until they met a familiar face.
“...Shiho! He... Hello!”
Shiho tiredly stared at them.
“Everything's back to normal, ease up, won't you.”
The two smiled more comfortably.
Then, a small girl peeked out from behind Shiho's back.
“Are these friends of yours, Shiho?”
The two girls looked at the girl with long, low ponytails and glasses.
…She's so cute, she must be Hanasato Minori!
Shiho read right through their minds and sighed, lightly nudging Kohane to introduce herself before pointing inside the classroom, towards the girl messily running left and right to collect her belongings in a hurry.
“I'll be late, so so late to practice... Airi is going to get so so mad..!!!”
Minori had been so focused on messily trying to fill her bag that she hadn't realised everyone had already left the classroom.
“Why doesn't the dictionary fit back into the bag!? It did this morning!”
“Uhm... Hanasato?”
The girl looked up at the two unknown faces near her desk.
“Y... Yes?”
The two girls shyly smiled.
“We are Hoshino Ichika and Mochizuki Honami from classes 1-C and 1-B... We are friends of Shiho”
The girl looked at her in silence, nodding once.
“Nice to meet you..?”
Honami embarrassedly looked at her stuffed bag.
“May I help with that?”
“Uh? Sure..??”
Minori embarrassedly stood next to Honami as she helped her reorganize her bag until everything comfortably fit back inside.
“We actually came here because of your ad on the school's notice board, if you're still taking applicants”
“I see...”
Minori's head snapped towards Ichika, who had said the previous phrase, only registering it then.
“Really!?”
Ichika and Honami embarrassedly nodded.
“We have no idol experience and only know a handful of references, but we're ready to put in the effort and to do our best”
“We used to play the guitar and drums though, so we are familiar with keeping tempos... Ichika is also a great vocalist”
“Huh? No, Honami, you're certainly going to be a better idol than me! You have such strong arms and don't miss a beat...”
Minori's peripherical sight disappeared.
She only saw Ichika and Honami in front of her.
...It worked.
She had actually found someone to chase her dream with.
She felt her chest burst with happiness, so much that she couldn't contain it anymore, so she took their hands.
“Hoshino, Mochizuki...! No, if you'll allow me, Ichika and Honami..! Let's do our best together from now on!!”
The other two girls blushed at her sudden calling them on a first-name basis, but embarrassedly smiled nonetheless.
“Yeah..!”
”Now, that's what I like to see!!!”
”Indeed, this is going to be the beginning of something wonderful”
The three girls confusedly looked towards Minori's pocket, from where it sounded like two voices had spoken.
Minori pulled out her phone, and before she could even press a button, the screen lit up, a sudden light blinding the three of them.
When the light returned bearable they uncovered their eyes, and saw a myriad of colourful triangles dissipating from around them.
They looked around, finding themselves on a stage.
“This... is the same stage from my dream... I think”
“Me too! I also dreamed of this place!”
Ichika and Minori looked at each other before Honami gasped, pointing towards a corner of the stage.
“That's..!”
Ichika and Minori turned towards where Honami had pointed, and their jaws dropped.
Miku and Rin smiled as they approached them.
“It's nice seeing you again, girls!”
“Again...”
Honami put her hands on Ichika's shoulders.
“Ichika, I apologise”
“For... for what?”
Honami just patted her shoulders before letting go, unable to tell her she was apologising on behalf of the herself from another universe who would've met Miku after her and told her “You've finally lost it” upon being told so, not believing her.
Miku and Rin didn't need to introduce themselves, so they jumped straight into explaining to them where they were and why.
“So this Sekai was born from my feelings to become an idol...”
“And if Ichika and Honami are here, it means they'll be accompanying you on your journey”
Minori's eyes sparkled at the news, and Ichika and Honami shyly smiled.
“We are absolute beginners, though...”
“That's alright! Everyone has to start somewhere!”
“We'll be mentoring you, no need to worry about it”
“Ah!!!!”
Everyone turned to Minori.
“Speaking of mentors..!”
Minori, Ichika and Honami ran to the rooftop, but found it empty.
After catching her breath, the first girl checked her messages, finding one from Airi, warning her that she wasn't going to teach her anymore, and that she was sorry.
Minori sadly stared at the screen for a minute before turning to the other two with a clumsy smile.
“Airi will be busy from now on, so it's just going to be the three of us from here on out... I'll be in your care!”
Ichika and Honami smiled at each other before smiling back at her.
“Same goes for us!”
Notes:
I don't know if I want to include ships in this AU, and if so, which ones... I definitely have a couple I must have in mind, but the others are a constant clash between popular ships I like and rarepairs...
What are some ships you like or would like to see?
Chapter Text
––♪–––♪ –♪ ––♪ ––––♪ –♪––––♪--
Ichika and Honami intensely observed the screen while the video played. In the meantime, Minori spaced out, trying to remember the choreography she showed them without looking.
When the video ended the two turned to the latter, pale.
“You said our first choreography would've been easy...”
Minori nervously moved her hands around.
“I-It is!! It seems difficult, but when breaking down the steps is not that hard!! Even I have managed to learn it decently thanks to Airi's mentoring!”
“Momoi Airi...”
Minori calmed down while her new friends got half lost in thought, half commented on their imagination.
“She's the idol Saki loves, isn't she..?”
“Yeah, the one she used to watch in the hospital all the time...”
Their fellow calmed down.
“Saki mentioned having been hospitalized some years ago at work, was it that long of a hospitalization?”
Ichika and Honami glanced at each other before sadly smiling.
“It was. She's always been sickly, but when we were about to enter middle school...”
After Ichika and Honami's telling of Saki's story, the three became quiet.
“To think that now that she finally could go to a concert she's quit...”
Minori stood up, smiling at the two.
“Don't you worry! Knowing her, she won't be out of the spotlight for too long, we'll see her somewhere soon! And until she does, we'll be the ones filling the spot she's left!”
Her friends also stood with a smile.
“I like the sound of that”
“Me too. But, who will mentor us now that she's gone..?”
“Mikuuuu! Riiiin!!”
Rin smiled as her head shot up, and she ran towards the small group approaching her.
“Hi Minori! Ichika! Honami!!”
Honami watched in awe as Rin excitedly greeted them.
“I didn't expect to see you again so soon, Ichika!”
The others turned to her, and Ichika blushed, muttering that she might have taken a habit of visiting often... And Honami knew why.
Speaking of which, she looked around.
“Where is Miku?”
“Oh, she's about to put on a solo concert at Stage 1! Wanna go see it with me??”
“Sure!”
“Yes, please!”
The small group gathered under a colourful stage, the intro music still playing and Miku getting in position to start her first song.
Before closing her eyes, she caught a glimpse of Ichika, and smiled at her for a brief second, making the latter blush.
The four young girls watched their senior perform on stage, silently nodding to themselves, all quietly agreeing that she was the best person who could tutor them.
“Hi, girls! Thank you for coming to see me! So? What did you think?”
Ichika excitedly put up her fists as if she were holding two light sticks.
“Extraordinary! Brilliant! You really shined on stage, I couldn't take my eyes off you if I wanted..! Not that I wanted to! I mean..!!”
Ichika's face flushed terribly as everyone else laughed.
“Thank you for the compliments, I much appreciate them. Oh, speaking of which! Me and Rin are looking forward to seeing you girls perform!”
“Yeah, yeah!”
Rin's excited clapping filled the quietness of the scene as Minori turned to Ichika and Honami, who shamefully looked away.
“Uhm... truth is--” “Senior Miku! Senior Rin!”
Minori politely sat on her knees.
“Minori..?”
“My previous mentor has let us go, please teach us! We are total beginners, we don't know where to start!!”
When she then bowed with her forehead touching the ground, Ichika and Honami quickly imitated her, and Miku and Rin had to force them back on their feet, reassuring them that they would've helped.
The first week served to get Ichika and Honami used to the stage, and even though Honami still struggled with some self-consciousness, the ship had smoothly sailed.
In the second week, they practised moving into space, and Minori ended up being the middle after a voting session between the three of them.
By the third week, they had learnt the choreography base steps, and even though they struggled sometimes, no one seemed willing to give up.
After a month of practice, their routine had been perfected, but...
Minori, Ichika and Honami held their final pose, panting, trying not to break formation.
Rin excitedly clapped, having very much enjoyed the show, but...
Everyone turned to Miku, who brought a finger to her lips in thought.
Then, she kindly smiled.
“I feel like something is missing...”
The three broke formation, falling on their butts.
“We put our heart and soul into this... what could be missing..?”
Rin quietly cheered them on handing them some water and towels.
“Maybe you need a fourth person”
“A fourth person..?”
Miku nodded.
“The three-people formation doesn't fully satisfy me, and with how similar Ichika and Honami are, for many reasons we'll tackle further down the line, someone more similar, or that could balance well Minori would help... Balance the whole group, in my opinion.”
“Someone similar to or able to balance Minori...”
Balance me..? But how..?
“Ah, and she must be cute like the rest of you, someone cool would throw off the balance of your visuals... Or maybe someone beautiful? That could work too if we turn Honami into a 'beauty' kind of...” and so on continued Miku, as Minori replayed their discussion in her mind while returning home.
She got so engulfed in her thoughts that she didn't notice that one of her shoelaces had come loose and so she tripped, faceplanting on the concrete sidewalk.
Some people turned around to see, but they all just avoided her once they saw her slowly lifting her face up from the ground.
Only one person stopped to help her get back on her feet.
“Are you alright? Geez, what a mess.. You managed to even scrape your nose! I have some band-aids but we need to clean the scrapes first, wait a second”
Minori confusedly touched her nose, feeling a stinging pain.
“Ouch...”
“Here”
She finally, slowly focused on the figure in front of her as the mysterious person spilt a little water on her face to clean her scraped nose.
Minori's face fell agape as she stared at the person's long, pink lashes, silky pink hair, intense yet gentle pink eyes...
She then jolted to take the person's hands, almost making the water spill out of the bottle.
“You're perfect! Cute, but still with a coolish aura! Please, join my idol group!!!”
Mizuki's lips twisted into a surprised smile.
“Your idol group..?”
Enanan sighed at the other end of the voice call.
“You made it up”
“I did not!”
Even though no one could see her, Mizuki pouted, drying an imaginary tear.
“Do you really believe that I don't have what it takes to be an idol? How cruel!”
“Well I never saw you, how am I supposed to know if you're cute enough...”
“Because I always tell you I'm the cutest!”
“Sure...”
The two quietly resumed their work.
“...K is certainly taking her sweet time tonight, isn't she”
“Next thing we know, she'll pop up saying she also got another gig and we can't continue making music videos like we used to!”
“Hm... If they did, this'd really be it...”
Mizuki paused, closing the editing program tab to open Nightcord's.
“What are you talking about? We can still collab! It's gotten pretty fun over time, so...”
“I have decided to pursue music a little more seriously to help a friend, so I won't be able to do calls like this from now on, probably... I'll just... Go back to drawing normally, without having to worry about layers and stuff, just me and a real canvas...”
Mizuki quietly listened to Enanan's voice.
“...I was going to tell both you and K when she got on, but if she decides to stop collaborating with us, I suggest you accept that girl's offer, Amia. It'd be a waste if you stopped singing... Well, I guess you don't have to accept, you could also make videos of your own, you're great at editing, and I'm sure you'd be able to make some pretty sick videos for some pretty good covers, but... Yeah, you get what I mean.”
“...”
Mizuki allowed her to finish talking, and before she could add anything, she chuckled.
“Geez, Enanan, I didn't know you liked my voice that much! Shall I whisper to you some sweet words before our tragic star-crossed lovers-like separation?~”
“Shut up! That's not what I meant!”
K apologised to Enanan and Mizuki, telling them that she'd joined a band with OWN and would start focusing on composing for them and needed to rearrange her sleeping schedule to keep up with their real-life practising, so they had to part ways.
Just as it all had started one random night in their separate rooms, so it had ended.
In a blink of an eye, she was alone again.
Mizuki laid on her bed, staring at the ceiling.
It's over...
She got a notification on her phone.
She opened her sister's chat.
“Good morning, Mizuki!
Today's assignment is all about elegance, but when my buddy showed me his design it reminded me of that cute set you'd wear when we were kids!
How was your day? I imagine you're still up at this hour, even though you shouldn't!”
Mizuki stared at the screen for a while.
…
“Yuuki, the composer I worked for let me and the artist go, I'm out of anime to watch for this season, school is unbearable, but I got offered to join an idol group, do I accept?”
Mizuki's finger hovered over the SEND button, but then, she deleted it all.
“It brings me back! LOL!
By the way, today I had the weirdest of experiences!
Just as I, that artist and composer I worked with decided to split up, a strange girl from Miyamasuzaka asked me to join her idol group!
They're a bunch of inexperienced girls, so I'd have no expectations to meet, what do you think?”
It took seconds for Yuuki to reply.
“No way, my adorable little sister got scouted to be an idol! You should do it!
It'd also be a good distraction and an excuse to wear lots of cute clothes! I'll definitely make you a set of costumes if you manage to put up a concert! I can't wait!”
Mizuki turned on her side, clutching the phone with both hands now.
”It seems like too much of a hassle though, lol.
I mean, I'd have to learn how to dance and keep an audience going... Not to talk about the singing part... Plus, I don't know these people, and imagine someone from school recognising me... They also seem to practice on their school's rooftop, and I can't couldn't possibly show up there, could I..? I go to Kamikou, after all”
Yuuki's writing bubble appeared a couple of times before disappearing again.
Mizuki sighed, turning off the light and getting under the covers in the meantime.
When she looked back at the chat, she found about five messages that were links to different rental practice rooms and a small paragraph that followed them.
”Mizuki, I know you, and I think you should accept. You have plenty, nay, too much free time and doing a physical activity would help you keep your mind busy. And if you're really worried about the rest, I've seen you learn choreographies from your rhythm games, I know how you're able to get a conversation going, I'm sure you'd make a great MC. And lastly, many idols use aliases and made-up names, that'd buy you more time; not that you need it.
I know you'd love to be an idol even if for one performance, woman up and give it a try!
I'll be your first supporter!”
Mizuki read the paragraph over and over.
When she closed her eyes to sleep, she thought:
It's just a different way to fill my afternoons, it's not like I'm signing a contract... I'll tell them I'm just trying this out, and I'll quit when it gets too much.
Who knows, this might even be fun.
Minori turned and turned on the spot, trying not to lose balance.
Yesterday I went ahead and asked that girl to join the group without thinking... She was so shocked when I did..! But she still agreed to exchange contacts, so it means she might be at least thinking about it..? But what if she doesn't message me..? Would it be alright for me to text her first..? Would I seem too imposing..-- “Wah!”
Her head spun and she fell to the ground.
She slowly laid down on her back, looking at the sky, clouds spinning in front of her eyes.
“What if I made her uncomfortable like Airi, Shizuku and Haruka..?”
“Minori, we're he-- What happened to you!?”
Minori sat up as Honami and Ichika ran to her side, and clumsily smiled.
“I'm alright! I just spun too much”
“That's not what we meant, you're covered in patches..!”
Minori suddenly remembered that her face, knees and palms were all patched up, and instantly jumped up.
“I'm alright!!! These are from yesterday!! Basically, I was walking, and I trieìpped, and you'll never guess what happened! I sat up, and--”
The phone in her pocket buzzed, and she instantly checked the text.
“And..?”
She smiled to her friends.
“And I'll directly show you!”
Ichika and Honami both couldn't keep their mouths shut as they stared at the girl Minori was introducing them to.
“Nice to meet you! You can call me Amia, Minori scouted me yesterday on the street while I rescued her from a bad fall. It all seemed so absurd that I couldn't just say no, I had to see with my own eyes what's happening here!”
The girl smiled brightly, and Honami and Ichika slowly nodded.
“See with your own eyes what's happening here...”
They muttered in unison.
“Yeah! Uhmm, as I told Minorinrin – Minorinrin!? – here I've never done anything like this, like, ever, though! I helped an acquaintance record some harmonies and such but that's all... Oh, I do like rhythm games and idols though, so I have learned some choreos”
“You have learned some choreos...”
“Yeah! Although, if anything, I usually focus more on making cosplays for those characters rather than performing, I've never joined any challenges or such... Oh, I know! Why don't I show you something for my audition?”
“Show us something for your audition...”
Ichika and Honami snapped back to their senses.
They turned to each other.
She has a singing background, is experienced with learning choreographies and can sew! She's way more fit to do this than us, isn't she!?
They both thought, their faces turning pale.
Not that it mattered for too long, though, as Minori and Mizuki had already begun discussing where to practice.
“I'm a Kamiyama High student, so I can't join you on your rooftop, but I do have a small list of rental practice rooms we could go to”
“Hm, I see, but, about that...”
”There's no need to look for a place! Just come over!”
Mizuki turned towards Minori's pocket.
“Do you have someone on call?”
“Uh? No, I...”
Minori's face then lit up.
She pulled out her phone, and Rin popped out of the screen.
Mizuki watched in awe as Rin renewed her invitation to the group to practice in the Sekai, and was startled when a sudden white flash blinded her.
When she reopened her eyes she was surprised to see small colourful triangles vanishing in the air, and even more by the fact she'd been teleported onto a stage... in the middle of a world made of stages..??
Mizuki quickly turned her head from one place to the other as she commented. “We're on a stage!” “There's another one over there!” “Wow, so many seats!! Will there really be this many people watching!?” under the other four's amused looks.
She then turned to Rin, gasping.
“Kagamine Rin!?”
The girl smiled at her, doing a twirl.
After the usual Sekai explanation, everyone got off-stage to sit amongst the crowd, and Mizuki awkwardly stood on the stage.
“Wow, I'm really doing this...”
“No pressure! We're just here to have fun!”
Mizuki nodded... then pulled out her phone.
“Is there a way to play the music through the stage speakers? Or do I just play it--”
“I can handle that”
Mizuki turned to her left, and let out an audible “ooh”.
“I can't see the end of the horizon, Hatsune Miku!?”
No one got her reference – The other five subconsciously looking towards the “horizon” confirming that, yes, you couldn't see it because of all the stages surrounding them – but Miku still smiled.
“That's me. I'm glad I made it in time for your audition! I would've felt guilty not showing up despite having been the one suggesting the others to find you... Ah, just hand me your phone, and I'll go to the mixer and start the music, which one is it?”
Mizuki watched Miku as she greeted the others while walking past them as she got to the mixer, linking her phone and starting the music.
Minori, Ichika and Honami watched in awe as she performed, her cute aesthetics and mannerisms slightly clashing with her height and cool-ish aura, but instead of resulting in a mess, it made her all the more irresistible.
Rin could already see Minori and Mizuki striking a pose together, which would've ended in Mizuki maybe winking at the former and Minori stumbling away all embarrassed while Ichika and Honami regained the public's attention after that fan-service climax.
The Virtual Singer turned to her fellow by the mixer, who was smiling, nodding in satisfaction, pleased at her suggestion resulting in the perfect group dynamic for these elements (all in her opinion, of course... Little did she know they all would've grown in so little time, creating a whole new dynamic she would've never expected in a very near future).
As soon as Mizuki finished performing, the group surrounded her, excitedly congratulating them and showering her with compliments.
Mizuki embarrassedly thanked them, then, turned serious.
“Truth be told, I'm still not sure of how far I want to get involved with this project. I do feel like this might become something fun further down the way, but I'd also appreciate it if you would be willing to accept me as a 'trainee on probation' at the moment, and give me the time to think about it some more? I do promise to stay until the first concert, though.”
Ichika and Honami turned to each other, then glanced at Minori.
They both understood Mizuki. Being an idol seems fun, but it implies so many efforts and sacrifices not many are willing to accept further down the way.
The two of them had “nothing to lose”, if they didn't try being idols, they would've probably given up on music, so they “had no choice” but to put their all into it, but this Amia...
She hadn't told them her real name, she's worried about fully committing to the project...
Something was holding her back.
Would've Minori understood that deeper layer that this mysterious new entry was hiding?
“Of course!”
Minori smiled brightly, taking Mizuki's hands.
“It's the first time for all of us, we don't have to start seriously! We can just, I dunno, prepare a show and record it for ourselves in the meantime, put up an event without an agency, with just family and friends as the audience, something like that! Then, if we all really want to, we can get serious!..”
She softly smiled, looking down at their hands.
“I've been rejected by idol agencies so many times that I've lost count. I was about to give up, and then, a friend suggested me I create my own group. To become a real idol is still my dream, but maybe it's too soon for me, so, even if it's just for fun, I'd be more than happy to at least play-pretend with you girls in the meantime. It'll be... practice for the real thing? Haha!”
Mizuki stared at Minori for a few seconds, then, she squeezed her hands.
“Then, I'll gladly join your group, Minori.”
Minori slowly looked up at her, then smiled even brighter than before.
“Then, welcome to the group, Amia!!”
Everyone left, and only Mizuki remained behind in the Sekai to look around.
Miku and Rin accompanied her around to check out a few stages and mess around with lights and mixers.
“...I understand that this place was born out of feelings... But how, exactly?”
Rin glanced at Miku, who proposed they stop walking and sat down for a chat.
“Minori's dream, her feelings, they've been so strong and unwavering for so long that they created this place, this world of her own, this 'Sekai'.”
“To make it short, this place and we were born to guide her, to help her to reach her dream. Although, she can't do it alone – like anyone else –, so I took the freedom to invite you, Ichika and Honami here as well.”
Mizuki scoffed with a smile.
“So you planned Minori finding me?”
“Kind of”
Mizuki stared off into the distance, enjoying the quiet oftentimes broken by faraway noises of a concert.
“...It's so quiet here when nobody's around. I do hear a concert in the distance though, and if Rin's here it probably means Len might be around... This place is amazing”
Rin and Miku smiled at her.
“You're free to come here whenever you want”
“Here, I'll show you!”
Rin took Mizuki's phone, and opened her playlist.
“Untitled..?”
“It's this Sekai's song. When it is ready, it'll receive its name, much like your group”
Mizuki softly scoffed.
“Our group...”
When Mizuki exited the Sekai, she found herself in the middle of the dark road.
“Well, it seems like time continues flowing normally even while inside the Sekai... I'll make up a lie for the late hour when I get home”
Mizuki returned home through her usual school route, but caught an awfully long stoplight red.
She sighed, waiting for it to turn green.
As she did, a group of Kamiyama High students stopped right next to her, and she furrowed her brows, looking away.
They should be students of the evening classes...
She glanced at the girl standing next to her, but then, got a notification.
She checked her phone, and noticed she had been added to a group named “Idols assemble!”.
She chuckled to herself, thinking that they had to find a group name soon.
The light turned green, and she smiled, walking ahead of the students behind her.
“For some reason, I'm looking forward to it!”
Notes:
It's not over yet I promise I'll post the last chapter asap
Chapter Text
Minori peeked into the living room from behind the door's frame.
“Then... I'm going to sleep... Goodnight, everyone..!”
Her family ignored the half of her scrunched-up face showing from behind the wall, wishing her goodnight back before turning back towards the TV screen.
Minori closed her bedroom door, then, changed to practice.
“Leg warmers... water bottle... towel...”
Since Mizuki had joined and they couldn't rehearse on school grounds anymore, the group had taken the habit of rehearsing in the Sekai.
They usually practised in the afternoon, but that day Honami had her part-time job and they all had been aching to start as soon as possible, so they decided to meet up for just a chat and deciding on a choreography to learn together, no practising.
But still, Minori wanted to be ready, just in case.
She held her breath as she clicked on the Untitled song on her phone.
When she reopened her eyes, she was in the midst of the empty audience.
She lifted her stare, and when she saw the rest already chatting on the stage, she smiled, running up to them.
After general greetings and apologies, the group plus Rin and Miku waited for Minori to say something.
The surprisingly appointed leader showed her a small list of songs.
“These are some songs I'd really like to try and perform! Some aren't made for four people, but I figured that with Rin and Miku here, we could fill in the gaps for the time being!”
Mizuki, Ichika and Honami took a quick look at the list.
“Hmm, this is Cheerful*Days' song, isn't it?”
“Oh yes, I remember listening to it when Shizuku brought us her promo CDs”
Minori's jaw dropped at Ichika and Honami's careless comments.
“You know Shizuku personally?!”
The two girls awkwardly smiled.
“Well, she is Shiho's sister, so growing up we kind of knew each other...”
While these three had that exchange, Mizuki gently took Minori's phone from her hands.
“These are all great songs, but if we're talking about performing them, these two are too different to dance at our current level, these ones have a singer with skills we lack, that Cheerful*Days one would be too complex to bring down to four people performing it, vocals-wise...”
Minori, Ichika and Honami looked at Mizuki in awe as she pointed out a song.
“I believe we should start with...”
Mizuki noticed the amazed looks and blushed, nervously smiling.
“T-This is the cover of a Vocaloid song, I've seen and made so many videos with this choreography on MMD that I know it like the back of my hand, plus, having been made for two people, it's the easiest to turn into a four-people performance..!”
Miku and Rin got closer to the group, finally adding their thoughts to the discussion.
“I also believe it'd be best to start with something simple like that, plus, I perform it all the time, so I could help you out as well”
“I'll run to the mixer and put it on!!!”
Rin pressed play from the mixing station, and the music played.
Miku and Mizuki showed the group the basic version of the song, and Ichika almost cried because of how similar to the original Gumi and Luka Miku and Mizuki were.
Even though the group had agreed not to practice that evening, the five girls were soon together on stage.
“If the two sides always do the same movements, it'll become boring soon, how should we change it up?”
“How about we switch it up here and do diagonals instead?”
“Ah, here me and Amia could swap places, but how do we do it without running from one side to the other?”
Rin smiled brightly as she watched the four girls putting their ideas together to give birth to their first performance together.
She especially felt her heart well with happiness when Miku offered to record them dancing that new version of the choreography.
After the fourth recording went smoothly enough, the four girls all ran to each other, high-fiving the others and cheering.
“This was amazing! I wish we could do it more... and more..!!”
Minori couldn't contain her happiness, so she leapt into the air, landing in a hug for her fellow idols.
“This is the happiest day of my life so far!!!”
Her companions giggled, and Mizuki then smirked.
“How about we pick More More Dance... Nay, More More Jump... as our group name?”
Ichika and Honami smiled at each other.
“Minori does tend to use 'more more' often, that'd help people associate the name with us”
“It also sounds like fun!”
Minori smiled even brighter.
While the four girls happily confirmed their new name, Miku walked up to Rin.
“You know, I think it's time”
“Huh? Time..? For what?”
But Miku just winked at her, inviting her to go take position with the girls while she took her place behind the mixer.
It took Rin a few moments to understand, but when she did, she smiled brightly, running to the stage.
“EVERYONE!! TAKE POSITIONS!!!”
Minori, Ichika, Honami and Mizuki confusedly looked at each other, but as soon as the music started, they each knew exactly what to do, and Minori ran to the front centre of the stage.
As she danced so energetically to a song she had never heard before, Mizuki couldn't help but remember the first time she had made an MV.
She could still recall the blood, sweat and tears she had put into it, the countless nights awake working on it, and the satisfaction when she was done with it.
That was exactly how she was feeling at that moment.
Happiness, pride, enjoyment-- just from standing on stage.
Honami didn't even have the chance to feel anxious about making the wrong step or turn, as her body was moving on her own.
It was truly freeing, just like when, as a child, she had started playing music with her friends.
Her eyes welled with tears, but her voice didn't waver as she sang, sang with the hope she had lost months earlier, when she had admitted to Kanade that she had secretly wished to disappear so many times.
Kanade, the same who understood that wasn't her wish anymore when that afternoon she had told her that she was looking forward to practising with the rest of her group.
Ichika's heart couldn't stop thumping as she saw Miku by the mixer, watching them perform with a pleased expression.
She was so happy that she hadn't given up, that instead of letting herself fall into a dark place, instead of letting her dark thoughts bring her down; she had decided to fight.
And now, she was standing on stage with her friend who was about to give up as well, they were standing on stage in front of the person she looked up to the most.
That was already a win for her, and she could only go higher from then.
When the song finished, Minori was still pointing into the hair, looking at the ceiling, catching her breath.
It almost didn't feel real, but the burning pain in her lungs reminded her that, in fact, it was all true.
She was standing on a stage.
And she wasn't alone.
Sure, it might've not been a real idol show, but...
The sea of orange lights in front of her was only a reminder of what would've been someday.
Notes:
This time it's really over, sorry for the mess of last week.
Luckily I've found some time for my hobbies lately, so I've quickly finished this and gotten back to writing Sekaironpa, look forward to that!
Well, I hope to see you again in the next instalment of this AU (hopefully before 2 more years) or another story<3
mafuyukiyu on Chapter 2 Fri 06 Dec 2024 09:27PM UTC
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SilentStream on Chapter 2 Sat 07 Dec 2024 09:47AM UTC
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dophny99 on Chapter 5 Tue 22 Jul 2025 12:02AM UTC
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SilentStream on Chapter 5 Tue 22 Jul 2025 11:40PM UTC
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