Bonus Chapter - A Pastel Puzzle

### Ai

    "I think we sound pretty nice. We haven't really struggled with the vocals at all. That's… something…" The tall, bespectacled girl who had called for a break in our rehearsal - her name is Mariya, she's my roommate, and our leader - tried to find the positive in our performance.

    "It isn't really what I thought this'd be like. It's nothing like that concert you took me to… Are you sure we're doing it right?" Our friend Kohaku is entirely new to idols. It makes sense that she'd be unable to see just how far we'd come in just one week. And we have come really far compared to when we started…

    "Maybe we just need to rehearse more often! I know it's hard, but we can do it! We'll be perfect in no time…" I tried to cheer everyone up, but I'm not very good at that, so I think it may be three against one…

    "Ai, I think maybe it's time we start looking at this realistically." Today's rehearsal had been incredibly frustrating for Tae-Eun. That was obvious to anyone with eyes and ears, though you could probably tell as much with only a single of either. She doesn't hide her feelings very well, but she's made great strides since we started this project. At first, if we were falling over each other like this, she probably would have just walked out. That actually happened.

    T-Twice…

    But she came back once Kohaku talked to her…

    "Mariya is right. We sound just fine. We can all carry a tune, and her arrangements are actually pretty decent. I'm not arguing that. But I can't be both our center and our featured dancer, plus teach all the choreography to you guys, plus make sure you're all on cue and in sync. As it stands, we have at most 80% of a group. We at least need a dance lead who can just focus on that if we're going to get anywhere close to being allowed to debut." You know how I said that Mariya is our leader? She is, but Tae-Eun has the most experience with this kind of thing, so she tends to do most of the talking…

    "I know we need someone, but it's not that easy to just find someone who'll fit in with the rest of the-"

    "No buts!" She cut me off. She's good at that, too… "Nobody ever said being idols would be easy. We're not a choir, Ai! We're supposed to be a group of idols. We need her."

    "B-But, she's so…"

    "No. Buts. You still want to do this right? You really want to be an idol?”

    "Y-Yeah! We need to! We can't give up!" We can't! All I want now is to be an idol…

    "Ok then. Mariya, call it to a vote."

    My roommate cocked her head slightly to her right. She does that a lot, usually just about whenever she's thinking hard about something. So… a lot. She complains almost every night before bed about her neck being stiff, but somehow she never seems to put two and two together. That sums her up pretty well. Really smart, but sometimes kind of oblivious to the obvious.

    "Tae-Eun, you do remember what that means, right? Her conditions for joining?" Mariya said what we were all probably thinking. The vote was a lose-lose situation for Tae-Eun, and the thing she hates more than anything is losing.

    "Yeah, I know. I know! But this isn't working. Like, even a little bit. I'll still get to feature even if I have to be the dance lead. She really just wants to be the face, and she has a point. She'd give us a huge boost in popularity. We may even sell out our premier with her in the center. So if it's that, or this, then we need her. It's the less bad option."

    "Okay. That's fair. Just remember, no complaining if this goes your way. Pastels… a request has been made to immediately reconsider Erika Horie for membership in the group. Her condition to join, just to remind you all, is to act as our center position, and by all accounts she possesses more than the necessary talents to fulfill that duty. Pursuant to that requirement, current Pastel center Tae-Eun Song has agreed to instead act as our lead dancer and choreographer in adjustment to her current suite of duties. How do you vote?"

    "Yes, obviously." Tae, having requested the vote, was the first to cast as per Mariya's overly thought-out rules. The process was basically pretty simple, but even so she had made sure to write it down so everything we did was completely official and binding, just as she had been taught. She seems to think she's our producer as much as our leader, and Meiko doesn't seem to have a problem with that, so I think she's trying to show Mr. Akiyama - Starsphere's CEO and, conveniently, her dad - what she can do when given the chance, but she may have overly complicated things. It's like this - any member can request a vote on anything affecting the group. At least, on anything that's within our power to decide. As our leader - which was Mariya's specific condition for joining - Mariya decides if the request is practical or strictly theoretical. So, something like adding a new member can only be done if they have the necessary skills to be an idol - that was a condition of Tae's to have someone else in charge if she was going to be teaching us how to dance properly - and by necessity only if they're a signed talent with Starsphere. If it isn't feasible or is a significantly minor matter we don't bother voting, we agree to just trust Mariya's judgment. Unless of course all of the other members veto her ruling on a matter together. Once a vote is granted, the member calling for the vote has to cast theirs first, so that there can't be any weird tricks or change their mind once it's underway. Mariya always casts hers last unless she's the one who called the vote in the first place, and in the event of a tie her vote then counts double to break it. Unless she's the one who called the vote, in which case Tae-Eun, as our ace dancer and essentially our trainer, gets to vote last and breaks ties - another of her insistences. Basically, Mariya planned out a flow chart for every eventuality and wrote it into the group's charter, in large part to handle the inevitability of her and Tae-Eun butting heads.

    Oh yeah, she insisted on making us a charter, too…

    "I was for it from the beginning. She's adorable, like a real life magical girl." Kohaku gushed just slightly, having been all for Erika joining during our first go round, during which she failed only on the technicality that Mariya was the one who brought the vote to order. "So I vote yes. I don't see any downside at all. Sorry, Tae-Eun. Or, I guess not sorry? It's kind of weird you changed your mind. I didn't think it could do that." Kohaku took the vote to two-zero.

    "Mariya, you're going to vote yes too, aren't you? I can tell…"

    "Only if I have to, Ai. I know she rubs you the wrong way, but it's hard to not agree with Tae's argument. She's really skilled and people absolutely love her, and we would really benefit from having another talented dancer, not to mention the huge PR boost this will give us. We gave it a shot your way, but maybe now we need to recognize that it's time to get some help. Besides… " My roommate bent her knees slightly so she was looking me eye to eye. Personally I find it patronizing. I'm not even that short! But she finds it funny… "Every other girl was accepted into the group unanimously. Do you really want us to have to keep something like that a secret from Erika? Secrets don't make friends, Ai."

    "Grr…" Erika isn't a bad person, exactly. Not that I know her well enough to judge that with any real insight, but it's true that most people seem to really like her. Her teachers always boast about her, and even though she's a first year student she has class with second years in her art and dance studies, so I wouldn't even try to argue that she isn't talented. She's popular too. She always has been, so that's not an issue. But it's just not natural for a highschool girl to look that young and act like that! How will people take us seriously if we look like a primary school student is our center?

    But… if it's going to happen no matter what I do…

    I don't want to be stubborn, so I guess…

    "I vote yes too…"

    "That makes three votes yes, so with mine the vote passes by unanimous consent. I'm sure Erika will be happy to know that we all agreed on it, especially you Tae. Ai, thank you for making it easy. I really do think this is for the best. Mathematically, it just makes sense." Mariya smiled smugly. It had been her idea to bring the group up to Erika in the first place, and it was obvious I was going to be hearing "I told you so's" for the near future.

    "I remember. 'How can we have a center without an actual center? Idol groups should be exclusively odd numbers.' Does anyone know where we can find her to let her know?" We may as well get it over with.

    "Given the time she's probably either in her room or rehearing." Head, tilt. "Do any of you know if she's in a study group? She could be in one of the conference rooms at the dorm if she is. Or I suppose she could be just about anywhere else in the dorm, provided she had the right reason. Oh, but that's assuming she's in the dorm and not rehearsing, in which case she'd be somewhere here, or maybe she's just gone out for a while. If she's shooting a film, she could be literally anywhere…" Mariya, despite her attempt to help, was really just expanding the area we may need to search to find our new center from the Starsphere dorm and studio to… pretty much the entire world.

    "She's in the commons." Kohaku spoke up with confidence. The three of us looked at her, obviously wondering how she was so sure of that fact. "I just texted her. What, did you expect us to run around the whole dorm trying to find her?"

    As Kohaku said, our new member was in fact in the dorm's common area. Starsphere isn't too different from most of the talent agencies in the area, except Mariya's dad is really big on keeping things highly organized for the talent so he can set a certain standard of expectations for the models, artists, and singers who work here once they've graduated. Mariya blames that on her mother. Apparently she's the one who thinks it’s best to standardize some of the company's policies and contracts. So if you sign with Starsphere, depending on your age, you'll be attending either Katsura All-Girls Preparatory Academy or going straight into Kinmokusei All-Girls Private High School. This means that, except for the very rare girl who signs at the very end of her schooling, every Starsphere girl is expected to maintain the same high standards of education and training, which is a huge perk for those of us who could never afford this kind of education otherwise, and means that the dorm is as much a school dorm as it is a company building.

    Because of this, rehearsals takes place in the building next door which used to be an old gym, but which is now broken up into a few rehearsal spaces - mostly for individuals, but Starsphere has a few larger rooms for duos and trios, and now a quintet. The only part of the dorm not designed for living and studying is the cafeteria on the first floor.

    We… don't recommend eating at the dorm cafeteria.

    Now because this is technically classified as a school dorm, the rules are also a little more strict than in some places I've heard of. Quiet hours are essentially always in effect, and as a result the commons are kind of absolutely boring. The entire area is just eight tables for studying or working, and three larger conference rooms for clubs or students working on larger group projects to use quietly. There's no television or comfy seating to gather in - that's what our rooms are for, in theory - and the most exciting thing that tends to happen here are quiet card games or jigsaw puzzles. The latter is what the tiny pink-haired girl was currently focusing on.

    "Hey, Erika. What're you doing there?" The first to greet her was Kohaku. Unsurprising, as she seems to be the girl's biggest fan among us.

    "It's a kitty. At least, it's going to be…"

    Erika was sitting at one of the tables alone, a mess of small puzzle pieces spread out in front of her. A large, vaguely circular blob of connected pieces sat in the center, which included a nose, mouth, and one eye of what I now assumed was a cartoon feline. Small round paws held a carton of some sort, and the animal was happily sipping from it. For the most part she ignored us despite responding to Kohaku's question, continuing to focus on the puzzle. The way she talked and was dressed - in a bizarre copy of our normal school uniforms, only in baby blue and pastel pink in place of the usual Kinmokusei indigo- looked garishly out of place in such a serious and sterile environment.

    "Isn't it easier to start with the edges? I think I've read that before. At least I'm pretty sure I have…"

    "Yup. Too easy, Akiyama-sama. So, you're here to beg me to join your group?"

    "Well, not beg… but, Ms. Horie, are you still interested in becoming a pastel?"

    "Yes, Akiyama-sama. I'm still interested, as long as you're ready to meet all of my conditions." The girl continued to keep her focus on the table in front of her, somewhat rudely.

    "Yes, we're ready. You can be the center, and I'll be the dance lead. Just like you said last time." Despite having been the one to bring it up and start the vote, Tae-Eun was noticeably on edge now that we were actually here.

    "Great.” The girl snapped another piece into place at the top of the feline's head, making it ambiguous as to what she was commenting on. "And?"

    "And…" Even Mariya, normally great at dealing with people, was having trouble understanding our new member. I'm glad I'm not the only one. "...welcome to The Pastels?"

    "First, you need to ask nicely. That's how it's done in showbiz."

    "Is she kidding? I changed my mind. I'll figure out how to do it all. I don't need sleep. I'll just switch to coffee."

    "Tae! Calm down. She's the one helping us out, so it's a fair enough request." Kohaku had a point, and Tae was prone to being a bit short tempered. She sat down opposite the slight girl and cleared her throat, putting on a sweet smile. "Erika, would you-"

    "Erika-chan, please. I'm your junior, after all, so it's only proper to address me as such." A hunk of the feline's paw was snapped into place - its entire body now assembled - leaving her with only the thin, bright pink background to finish.

    "Right. Of course. Erika-chan, would you please join our group? We think we'd really be a hit if we all work together."

    "Thank you very much, Peterson-sama." Through it all, Erika stayed focused on her puzzle, pressing pieces into place at a steady rate. "Now, all together."

    Mariya didn't even give Tae-Eun time to react, shushing her preemptively. The two stared at each other tensely for a moment before Tae averted her eyes and gave in.

    "Very well then. All together…" All four of us took a breath and repeated the same phrase.

    **"Erika-chan, would you please join our group?"**

    "Of course! I said I would, and I honor my word. Sounds like it'll be fun." The hardest part of the puzzle had now been completed, with every remaining piece having a flat edge or two.

    "We're rehearsing right now, would you like to come with us? We can discuss how everything will work now that you've joined."

    "Nooot quite yet. Kitty's not done." I exchanged a look with Tae. She already looked like she was regretting this. A lot. I was trying to keep an open mind. Each of us joined the group for a different reason, but we all needed each other - even Erika… maybe especially Erika - if we're going to be successful. Tae-Eun's reasons were the most straightforward. She's always wanted to be an idol - admittedly in Korea, where idols are a little bit different - but she'd been training for this sort of thing since she was a little kid in Busan. Kohaku is in it for the fun of it after catching idol fever. Mariya sees it as a challenge and a way to get a foot forward into the music business, and I guess she also said yes to get me to stop asking her about it. And me, I never really thought at all about trying to be an idol specifically until… well, until I met the girl of my dreams and realized I wanted to be just like her.

    I know that's stupid.

    But…

    She's so beautiful…

    I knew right then that I had to do something to be the kind of girl she may notice back, so if it means we'll be successful idols, I'll do anything.

    Well, nearly anything.

    No… Anything!

    "So…" The girl, if this was an indication of how she regularly behaved, is as odd as she is talented. "Song-sama, do you like kitties?"

    "Yeah? They're fine, I guess. I had a guinea pig when I was eight…"

    "I think kitties are pretty great. Nakajima-sama? Do you like strawberry milk?"

    "M-Me? It's okay. I prefer chocolate, I think. Or just the regular kind. I don't really drink much milk anymore, but I used to love feeding the cows. I do love cats though!"

    A small, satisfied click of her tongue marked Erika enthusiastically pushing the final corner piece of her puzzle into place. Her questions made more sense once I could see the full picture - a cartoon cat smiling and sipping strawberry milk through a straw. Can cats do that? I didn't have time to ponder that thought for long.

    "Nope. You're wrong. W-R-O-N-G." The girl talked with the confidence of a person at least three times her size. Not the volume, though. She was still speaking at a perfectly reasonable indoor volume. It was just the gravitas and surety behind her words that made it sound like what she was saying was some kind of verifiable fact rather than a matter of personal taste. "Chocolate milk is inferior to strawberry in all three essential categories, Ai-chan."

    "I-It is? What are-"

    "First, the aroma. Chocolate milk lacks the natural sweetness and bouquet of the strawberry variety. Strawberries are natural and, therefore, smell of nature. Just one sniff and you're transported mentally to a warm spring day, running through the dew-covered bushes of a lovingly tended garden. Secondly, the taste. Strawberry milk tastes fresh and refreshing, light and delicious, while chocolate milk is overly sugared to cover the inadequacies of its alchemical mysticism. What goes into a strawberry? Nothing but a big juicy strawberry! And fresh berries with creme are one of the oldest epicurean delights known to mankind. They're a proven combination of deliciousness across cultures and centuries. But chocolate is just all sorts of things mixed together with beans until you get a solid lump. It's unnatural. And the third essential category… you know what that is, right?"

    I shook my head meekly. I had never seen someone lecture so passionately about milk before, and I dearly hoped I would never again.

    "The third essential category in which strawberry milk is infinitely superior to chocolate is the most important." She clutched at a curly coil of her hair and pulled it straight, angling it in front of her face between her eyes. "Strawberry milk… is… pink."

    "O-Oh. Right… So… should we go rehearse now? We'll need to get you caught up on everything we've been doing…" The girl looked at me intensely, still seemingly worked up over her favorite drink. She narrowed her eyes, staring me down. I flinched, unable to handle her fiery blue gaze burrowing into me any longer. For such a tiny girl - and I say that as someone who's pretty diminutive herself - Erika is kind of scary…

    Her intensity broke off as soon as our eye contact did.

    "Sure. I'm sure we'll be great friends, Ai-chan, since we both like kitties. Let's all do our best, ok?"

\_\_\_\_

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