[IC]めざして!! Top Idol!!! Chapter 1: Birth of a Unit.

[rustytengo]

Lyre took the cake from the lady and after paying or whatever she had to do she found a table to sit down at. Setting her cuddle fish in her lap she looked over the cake, judging from the texture and style of the cake it was probably a tea/coffee cake, but unfortunately Lyre didn't have either of those. She started eating it slowly turning the first bite of cake over the areas of her tongue. She was surprised that it did in fact taste quite good even though it wasn’t really sweet. After that Lyre began to happily eat the cake even though she was still a bit upset that there wasn’t cake cake around. After all she wasn’t on who ever really worried about eating to healthy since as her mom said she had a sinful body since it never seemed to gain weight from eating sweets and stuff like she did well except in a certain area.

After finishing the cake she leaned back in her chair holding her cuddle fish against her body. “Hmm…what to do next? I still need to actually unpack my stuff up in the room so I should do that…I wonder if I actually did bring a swimsuit with me.” She mused to herself as she leaned forward in her seat “Yeah that sound like a good idea the other girls might be up there anyway so it would give me someone to talk to anyways.” She said as she picked up her dish and looked around for the place to deposit it at. After she found the place she put her dishes there and slowly wandered back to the elevator.

[Pyon Pyon Kyuu!~]

While Ringo's body kept it's routine, never missing a beat her mind seemed to go blank. Or at least filled with nothing but Nozomi's voice. She didn't even hear the other girls sing, just Nozomi. This is what I have to aspire to be. She thought to herself. No. I have to be better than her. When the song ended she dropped her drums sticks and gave Nozomi a standing ovation. After that performance, Ringo swallowed all of her pride and asked. "Do you... Have any advice for beginners?"

[Code: PIRULUK]

Nozomi turned to Ringo.

"Ara? Advice? Hmm.."

Nozomi put her finger to her lips, considering the question.

"I suppose the only thing I can say, is self-evident; You can't give up. Even when one of you collapses, or you find yourself unable to sing for a live you were looking forward to, as an idol you must never give up. If you never give up, you will continue to grow as idols. The strength to move forward is something that any idol must have in abundance. You could say, it is... the core of an idol...? To reach even further."

[Hiss13]

Ruri listened intently. Hearing advice from one already in the business was important. So, she listened to the girl and simply nodded as her ahoge had spun around again. It was not like she had not heard any of this before but it was still good to hear from another idol.

[Sutoratosu]

Arya:

What greeted Arya as she exited the elevator was a staircase. Specifically, two staircases, across the hall from her, curving ever so slightly upward to the second floor, framing a single reception desk in between the staircases. The size of the hall in question was about two soccer fields placed lengthwise alongside each other, with the entirety of the floor covered in a purple carpeting. Aside from the path from the elevator to the reception desk, the rest of the room was crammed with ornate ivory white bookshelves, packed so tightly that there was maybe a metre, at most, between any two given bookshelves. At the front of each bookshelf was a small metal plate, engraved with the categories and reference numbers for the books in each shelf.

As Arya took three steps forward, A young, green-eyed lady in a kimono stepped out from among the bookshelves and bowed deeply. She used the back of her left hand to tuck her long, straight, black hair behind her right ear, then spoke.

"Welcome. May I assist you?

"Um, yes-" Arya paused for a moment when she reached the counter. She had about to have asked for the subject matter outright, but now that she took a moment to think about it... that may raise questions that she neither needed nor wanted. "Could you tell me where I might find books on psychiatry?" Hell, that request would probably raise questions too, but at least she'd have an easier time explaining it away...

[Chevaleresse]

Hiroki was equally impressed by Nozumi's singing and miffed that she completely stole the spotlight. That was supposed to be her song, and an actual chance to prove both her singing and guitar skills, but the other girl apparently had a different idea. She felt so out of place. Everyone around here seemed like they did everything so effortlessly, and here she was being upstaged by someone on one of her favorite songs. And, of course, the obnoxious one from before was there to rub salt in the wound.

She sighed slightly. Hiroki supposed that it wasn't Nozumi's fault for being a much more talented singer. "Um, you should give me singing advice sometime. Maybe I could give you advice on playing bass or something."

[Code: PIRULUK]

"Um, you should give me singing advice sometime. Maybe I could give you advice on playing bass or something."

Nozomi clapped her hands excitedly.

"That's a wonderful idea! I would love to learn how to play an instrument."

She then frowned, ever so slightly.

"I'm not sure what I could teach you about singing though... All of us more or less learned how to do it as we went along. I'm sure YUSAPRO's professional instructors could do a much better job than I could, but..."

She reached into her pocket, withdrawing a small rectangular business card with her name, unit name, dorm room number and cellphone number printed on it, then handed it to Hiroki

"If you'd ever like to practice with me, or just sing for fun, just call me. I'll be glad to join you if I'm free."

Yukimura Hiroki obtained Toujou Nozomi's contact number!

((Yes, this is a new thing. From this point onwards, I'll be keeping track of plot-relevant items which characters have attained. This is just a for-fun thing, so don't take it too seriously. I'll update each character's "inventory" on the OOC OP, as well as at the start of every chapter))

[Pyon Pyon Kyuu!~]

No. Ringo gasped mentally. NOOOOOOOOOOOO!! She shouted internally, her mind being filled with her own non vocal screaming. Visually she simply glared at the white haired girl. I am the biggest Myu's fan here. I know all of their songs, I'm the one who likes Nozomi and I like her more! She clenched her hands into a fist. Ringo wanted to ask Nozomi for her number as well, but the words caught in her throat. This idol aura thing... I can talk to anyone else no problem but I have trouble talking to an idol. She walked across the room towards the door, and stood next to Gunther. "I think I understand your tight spaces thing a little better." Ringo said in a very low voice, low enough that maybe Gun wouldn't hear it.

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

With an eyebrow raised, Gunther looked at Ringo. "You, the one most likely out of all of us to grab a bull by its horns? Who're you and what've you done to Ringo?" she whispered back in astonishment. Then she looked back at the senior idol. "It can't be because of her, da?" Sure, this lady was more experienced in the business and art of being a star, but...

[Chevaleresse]

Hiroki gave a somewhat hesitant smile in return. "That sounds cool. I don't really know how busy I'll be, but I'll do that." She looked around the room at the others after she noticed a bit of motion out of the corner of her eye. Ringo looked absolutely stricken, which turned Hiroki's shy smile into a broad, smug grin. She made eye contact with the other girl before turning back to face Nozomi and Kagari. "Were we going to play anything else?"

[Hiss13]

Another possible song? Ruri's eyes lit up and her ahoge started swinging back and forth, mirroring her delight. She jumped in right in view of the other girls. "There's a duet song that I want to try if we still have time. Have you guys heard of the song, Orbital Beat?"

She really did not like not being able to perform in the last song so she wanted to absolutely be able to perform the next one.

[Code: PIRULUK]

Nozomi checked her smartphone.

"Ara... I'm afraid I will have to leave you now, I have a recording in 15 minutes. But it was nice meeting all of you! I look forward to working with you."

With that, Nozomi smiled and ran off in the direction of another studio.

Meanwhile, Kagari glanced at Ruri.

"Well... I have... but I'm not too familiar with it. Yukimura-san, do you know it?"

At the Library:

The librarian tilted her head.

"Hmm... psychiatry... Ah! Got it. Follow me."

With a bow, she started to walk deeper into the library, leading Arya up two flights of stairs and down a myriad of bookcases.

Finally, they arrived before an ornate bookshelf, like the others, packed with books on psychiatry, arranged from left to right, top to bottom in ascending alphabetical order.

[Pyon Pyon Kyuu!~]

"We've barely known each other for a day and you already think you know me." Ringo grinned a bit. "Your Russian robot processing power is strong!" She waved at Nozomi as she left. She felt a lot less jittery now with Nozomi gone. The whole idol aura thing, the girl's singing prowess really affected her. When the girls were talking about another song Ringo gave Gun a little push. "Hey, Russian robot here hasn't sang yet. Can she sing in the next one I know she wants to. You can't say you don't know the lyrics either, you can just look it up on your phone or something."

[Chevaleresse]

"Orbital Beat? I know it, I think. I have to mess with my guitar some to play it, though." She immediately proceeded to do so, moving over to where the instrument was hooked up to the amp. She strummed it lightly and repeatedly as she adjusted the dials on it, trying to get the sound just right. "If Gunther-san wants to sing it I don't mind."

[Sutoratosu]

"Thank you," Ayra said simply. "I think I'll be fine from here..." She started walking deeper into the stacks of the vast section without waiting for a response, eyes scanning over the various titles. She figured there wouldn't be many volumes about the subject by itself, so she might as well save a bit of time by just searching for works on Impulse Control Disorders from the Get-go...

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

"... You can't be serious," Gunther said, deadpan, looking at Ringo flatly. Inwardly, though, she didn't mind showing off; that little number from the idol registered to her as a challenge of some sort. Nobody would best her, not even a senior idol. She wouldn't stand by idly for that. Shrugging, letting none of her secret eagerness slip, she continued, "Whatever, since you asked." At the very least Orbital Beat was rock and a song she knew.

[Hiss13]

Gunther was being completely tsundere…well at least that's what she was being. However, none of that seemed to come across to Ruri, luckily, due to Gunther being good at completely hiding her dere side. In the end, even if she had somehow noticed, she did not care. Ruri had a duet partner for a song she really liked.

So, she picked up another microphone off the rack, and tossed it to Gunther before getting herself into the proper mood to sing. She took a deep breath before pulling the microphone in front of her face and...

((OOC: So, I put the lyrics for the song in the OOC thread since the duet may be a bit confusing to follow due to how Zeph and I decided to structure our posts.))

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

The other girl seemed to be ready. All right. Wait. Other girl?

... Okay the song was a duet, but, why did Gunther even need to have a partner? Additionally, she never said she needed one, anyhow, but... Whatever. Ruri'd better keep up or she'd be outshone. Rolling her eyes as she caught the microphone, Gunther took a breath and...

... oh. This girl meant to take the lead. Inwardly, Gunther sighed. Wasn't she the one who'd been asked to sing? And yet this girl here-

"Now praying for your painful cry... Fu- Ooh, yeah... FLY!" Gunther built up her energy gradually, singing the first part of the line in such a way it complemented the way Ruri sang it- a counter-melody would be the technical term for it. At the word "fly", though, so did her voice; she exclaimed the word in a shout much like a rock singer would. That helped hype her and, she believed, the audience up, too. And there it was- anticipation. Anticipation of a groundbreaking performance, of taking the stage.

... Which led to her feeling rather restrained and restless during Ruri's parts. "Even with the warm light," she sang, matching the girl's tempo. Just why do I have to sing this with somebody, anyway? she thought, a bit exasperated. So whenever her parts rolled around again, she made it a point to sing with more power- not necessarily volume- and feeling; she sang with every bit of her being.

"Like karma-" she paused to let Ruri sing her part, then continued without wasting a beat- "You aren't able to just throw away the experience from you-" she took a breath and let the energy, more power out-" And so I become true to myself and run right through!"

At this point, she couldn't help herself as she belted it out. "Reach, reach-" B'lyad. Gunther hated having to pause so much in the middle of her moment- "Of our connected burning hearts. Strongly, strongly just gazing at the Sirius of the heart," she sang, putting emphasis on the word "strongly"; That was what it stood for, after all, right? "I will overcome this darkness!" she sang- or proclaimed through song. Only two things were evident to her right now: that she was having fun, and that having a duet partner was troublesome anyhow.

[Hiss13]

Ruri smiled. Gunther was willing to take the other part of the duet so, Ruri could only hope that their voices would meld well enough to sound good when they sung.

She brought up the microphone to ready herself for the first line and took her position. With that, she let the first line go. "Now praying for your painful cry…" She paused to allow Gunther to do her line before letting her voice out again. "Fu- Ooh yeah…FLY!"

There was actually a sense of harmony. Her clear and sharp voice created a beautiful contrast with Gunther's up until the last word of that line. Gunther's decision to shout the word 'fly' had caught Ruri off-guard. She felt her heart nearly jump out of her throat as she heard that and felt herself hiccuping on the proper crescendo of the note. It was quite overwhelming, albeit somewhat interesting to see.

But she still had a song she wanted to sing. So, she would sing. Using the quick pause she had between the lines, she regained her bearings before starting the next line. "Even the thousands of millions of prayers." She paused to let Gunther sing the next line. One she sang to herself in her head. Even with the warm light.

"Are a dark devilishness that is like a jail that swallows up everything." She strengthened her voice, much like Gunther had done. She refused to let herself be overshadowed and overwhelmed again.

Like karma. "Like tripping." You aren't able to just throw away the experience from you. "And so, I become true to myself and run right through!" She matched Gunther's power.

"Reach, Reach to the speeding PULSE of our connected hearts! Strongly, strongly, just gazing--" At the Sirus of the heart. She paused to allow Gunther's line to continue before pushing the final line and great declaration of the chorus. "I will overcome the darkness!"

But something felt off. This was a duet. The power of the duet came both in the near-telepathic connection between the singers, the ability to understand the partner through song. There were points where the perfectly memorized internal voice singing the song and Gunther's own voice were off by half-seconds during switches.

Though she was pushing to let herself out, she still felt a lack of the same from her partner whose name she did not even know. They were not connected enough, so the duet was still flawed, even if their voices were in harmony. She wanted to fix that. So, she turned to her partner during the instrumental break before she could hit her next line and started off, with a sharp and clear voice. "A noise that seems to tangle together…"

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

For a moment, Gunther locked eyes with Ruri. It almost seemed like she was trying to tell her something. Funnily enough, it seemed to be well-timed with the line she sang...

Nah, that couldn't be. "And even a freezing silence," Gunther answered Ruri, looking her back in the eye indifferently. Clearly, she wasn't getting whatever Ruri was trying to communicate to her. If there was something she was trying to communicate to her. She continued as usual, as though nothing Ruri did really caught her attention and sang as powerfully: "Rather than betraying." After the other girl sang her part, she continued, softly, just so that her listeners could long more for the power she infused in her voice, "I wanted to live purely; Let me sleep now with that dream." Naturally, Gunther opted going for second voice as she sang in unison with Ruri, as she crescendoed back to her normal intensity. In any case, her voice doesn't seem powerful enough. Soft, even. Inwardly sighing, she thought, This girl, she's going to drag the song down, if she doesn't sing with more conviction.

"In the moment-" we connected hands- "We smashed paranoia. Hotly, hotly-" diction was key; like before, she stressed on "hotly", as though the word did sting her tongue- "the memories I play refrain beyond fate...!" As both girls sustained the note, Gunther trilled her voice towards the end.

And during the little break in singing, she gave Ruri a funny look in response to the one the girl threw at her earlier: You've got to sing stronger than that, or you'll just be overthrown. You've got to do the song justice. It wasn't really that she cared about the other girl- if they were too weak, then, well, that was that. At least, that was what she felt, anyhow.

[Hiss13]

…and her message failed to get across, much to Ruri's frustration. Her attempt at getting a subtle message about their performance off to Gunther using the lyrics had fallen on deaf ears, it seemed.

And even in a freezing silence. How fitting. If it was not for the fact that they were not in the middle of a performance, she would have chuckled at how well it fit the response she received.

So, she continued. "Everything is like a CAROL." She continued while incrementally clarifying and sharpening her voice with every line. Rather than betraying. "Rather than hurting." Your heartbeat, I wanted to live purely.

Let me sleep now. "With that dream." Drawing stark contrast to Gunther's force was Ruri's sharpness. Once again, the harmony from that contrast stood evident. That's right, rather than creating a dissonance between a powerful force and one playing catch-up, Ruri fully intended to create a harmony between a powerful force and sharpened blade.

"In the moment we connected hands, we smashed paranoia. Hotly, hotly-" Sharper. Her voice needed to sharpen to a climax. The memories I play REFRAIN- "Beyond fate." And with that, the contrasting harmony stood at its highest peak since that song started. But she needed to surpass that again.

Ruri noticed the look Gunther had given her at the end of the chorus and she acknowledged the look. She did not know what message Gunther was trying to get across to her but it did not matter anymore. The timing had become much more even. The duet was starting to work out. So, she smiled as she waited for the time for her next line to come.

With a soft voice, she sang, "Now praying for your painful cry."

It was time to start from the lowest tension and build up again. She would sharpen her voice again and hit a climax even beyond what came before. She definitely would.