LU Chapter 22

# Chapter Twenty-two - "Golden Apples"

    That was the only thought running through my mind.

    Up until now, I had been able to wave away the black envelopes as the work of a crazy fan. All of them said the same sorts of things you'd find in a hundred other pieces of fan mail.

    *I wish you were still a solo act!*

*You need to go back to how things were. It just isn't the same!*

*Leaving your producer was a mistake! You made the best music! Why did you do this to us?!*

*Interlunium is pretty good, but it was better when you were on your own!*

    Fans are fickle creatures. Nobody has ever said otherwise. On top of this, some of them have ridiculously specific tastes, but these sorts of letters were still in the minority compared to the much more common outpourings of love and adoration. Some fans only like solo acts. Others, only duets or trios, and they'll let you know their opinion as to who they think you should be working with whether you care or not. Some only like big ensembles. Blondes. Traditional idols. Redheads. Tall girls. Fit girls. Even one guy who bought me a rose gold, diamond and yellow sapphire necklace who writes me awful poetry about how beautiful short women are and makes way, way too specific guesses as to the tininess of my feet and length of my toes. There's one guy - at least I assume it's a guy - who sends me sketches of what he imagines I look like au natural, but he always includes a generous gift card with each letter so I deal with it. If he were to put his skills toward, I dunno, manga or something instead of being a perv he may even have a career ahead of him. Even more than a few women are crazy about me. You know, in that way. When you're an idol you don't get to pick your fans, ya know? You just take the love that comes your way, especially if there's cash attached.

    Some of the offers I've gotten have been downright obscene. Not even what you'd expect. The fans who desire you are normal. Who doesn't like a hot idol, and I know I'm hot, so obviously people love me. The fact that all kinds of people find me physically appealing isn't a shock. But the ones who buy tickets in the front row so they can beg for me to step on them or send letters with offers to buy my old costumes…

    Just the thought of those weirdos makes me shudder.

    The point is that everyone likes what they like, and when what they like is you they can get emotionally invested even though you couldn't pick them out of a lineup. And if they love you how you are and you change what that is, you're going to ruffle a few feathers, even if you'd happily grow an entire foot and go back to your natural hair color to never have to read another ode to your pinky toes ever again.

    *You have one week!*

    I didn't think they were anything more than blustery whining, but the last letter made it clear that this jerk means business. They were in my home. Both of them, my suite and my family's place. Anzu's room is right next door! It was bad enough when they started dropping off stuff for my company mailbox, but the dropbox in the lobby is there for that very reason, and tons of people have access to that. You don't even need to check in at the front desk. Walk through the giant doors, shove an envelope into the box, back out the door. But if they were able to get inside my dad's place then they definitely know what they claim to know, and that means that they're probably serious. You don't make a threat like that if you're not serious. It isn't worth the risk if you get caught.

    "So Eimi, what is it? You wanted to tell us something?" Junko asked, snapping me out of my malaise.

    "Yeah, I thought date night was over. Should I text Dam-Bi too, or is Junko taking her place?" Her normal annoying self, Rinko started to cuddle up next to me on one of the big couches in the television room, but I was so out of it from the shock that I didn't even smack her away. This seemed to alarm the remaining person we had asked here.

    "Awhoa, Eimi, what's wrong? Normally you'd have pushed Rinko off the sofa by now. Are you waiting for Megumi to defend your honor or something?"

    I didn't even get the urge to swat at Akira. That's how bothered I am by all of this.

    "Ms. Inagawa hardly needs me to defend her." Megumi had taken a seat on the couch across from me next to Akira, while the other two were on a couch beside me. We weren't entirely alone in the TV room, but everyone else was a good distance away seeing to their own business, meaning we could probably talk without being overheard. "The events of this week have escalated to a point which is intolerable, and I'm afraid you've all been drawn in once again."

    "Whoa, that sounds serious… But what's it mean in normal talk?" Asked Akira, as if she didn't know.

    "It means that we found more letters inside of my suite, you… you… redheaded… Oh whatever. Megumi, just give ‘em to them. They're not pulling any punches now. This is bad news."

    "I got another one?" Asked Rinko, annoyingly proud of that fact.

    "All of us did, including with Ms. Inagawa and myself, but I'm afraid the circumstances of their discovery are quite harrowing. Somehow the culprit gained access to Ms. Inagawa's room key earlier today while we were all on set filming. Ms. Zhou and company witnessed a delivery of another wave of letters, including one addressed to Ms. Inagawa. Shortly before I called you all here we discovered that Eimi's room key had gone missing, only to find I had been carrying it inside the sealed envelope all evening, and a further series of envelopes were waiting inside addressed to the five of us. The first of my theories is that our mystery assailant has moved on to targeting you four as Interlunium's current leadership, while the rest of us are merely being utilized as accessories to complicate matters. The escalation from poking fun and making idle observations to theft and home invasion has been jarring, to say the least."

    "Whoa they were in your room? That's super freaky!"

    "Yeah! And unfair! You've only invited me over once! That's the same as whoever's behind this! I wanna come hang out in your room more when this is all over…" Rinko pouted, messing the point entirely.

    "Eimi, are you okay? That sounds awful."

    Akira's statement was pretty much as expected, but it was irksome that Junko was the only one who seemed to understand how not okay I actually am right now.

    "Everything's fine with my suite. They've just really freaked me out… The stuff in the letter was different than before. They're making a direct threat…" A part of me wanted to come clean about everything. At least that way we'd all be on the same page about how big a deal this is. But, that's easier said than done, and I sunk back into the big fluffy couch involuntarily. I never wanted to have to share this with them, or anyone for that matter. Why do you think I started working on my own at age fifteen? I used to love seeing how it all worked when I was a kid, but I've learned to keep my nose to myself as I've gotten older. I love my family but Daddy's business is his own business, and I want something better for me and Anzu and Hansuke than being bargaining chips for his little empire. We have basically nothing to do with that, so this whole situation feels ridiculously unfair…

    "Maybe it would be best for everyone to open their envelopes and check the contents, then we can share what we've found." Megumi handed out what remained to their intended recipients. "My own letter was, I believe, a golden apple, intended only to sow discord. Fortunately I'm quite used to hearing tall tales and exaggerations from visitors to the inn seeking to spin an entertaining story and impress the other guests, and I was able to discern that everything written down was either a lie or wholly unimportant. It was a complete failure at swaying my loyalties even a hair's width, and I humbly ask that no one else be made to read the filth, lest they believe any of it."

    "Uh…"

    "Rinko, she means that the letter was garbage and she wants to keep it secret so nobody thinks it's true. That sounds fine to me. My last letter was a bunch of junk too."

    "I'm fine with that as well. Megumi, you've been investigating each letter as they've been found anyway, right? As long as you'll let us all know if there's anything relevant about it I don't think we all need to know the details."

    "Thank you, Ms. Junko. I appreciate your trust in my discretion."

    "I want to open mine first! I bet they realized they forgot to include a letter last time and needed to fix that." Rinko excitedly messed with the seal until she worked the envelope open. The only thing she was able to pull out was a small scrap of paper, about the size of the palm of her hand. She looked confused, even for her. "I don't get what this means…"

    "What is it?" Junko, to nobody's surprise, I'm sure, reached out to snatch the paper like she's Rinko's nanny or something. "A drawing?"

    "I wanna see too!" Akira jumped to the front of our couch, and even Megumi stood and walked over to see it for herself. It was a stupid little drawing of Rinko with ears and a tail, sticking out her tongue and pulling down on one of her eyelids. The masterpiece was labeled "凛くん", "Rin-kun".

    "Umm… Is that Rinko as a raccoon? What the heck does that mean?" Akira asked, exactly as puzzled as the rest of us.

    "Rinko… raccoon… My, Ms. Hanazawa does make a charming Rin-kun, but the significance is lost on me."

    "It's very cute, but… I don't get it." Even Junko was confused.

    "Maybe they're having difficulty coming up with anything bad to taunt you about so they had to settle for making fun of your name?" Theorized Megumi.

    "And, uhhh, you have always liked climbing trees…" Added Akira. Well, she would know.

    "I still don't get it, but it's better than another empty envelope!" She gently tucked the doodle away, somehow happy being compared to a giant, trash eating rodent - or whatever raccoons are. How is that even a fair threat?

    "I'm gonna go next, kay? Wonder what animal I am. Probably a jaguar or a cheetah." Akira, completely at ease, sliced the next envelope open with a nail file and crinkled her nose at the letter within. "'Good luck with your current project. I hope it ends up better than it sounds.' That's it, then it's signed 'An Adoring Fan'. Lame! It's kinda jerky but it isn't really threatening. I thought you said they'd really stepped up their game in yours?"

    "Ms. Hoshino, the letter does seem to be more insidious than you may realize. Look carefully at the paper."

    "Awhoa! You're right! I forget that not everyone has this stuff. Uh, so I guess it's kinda on my dad's company's official letterhead. That's not really 'insidious' though. If the girls at the front desk are busy you can usually just grab a stack of it when they're not looking. It's great for writing excuses to your teachers if you have to miss class. I've got like, a hundred sheets of it still. What, this guy wants me to think my dad's the one behind all these letters or something? I repeat: Lame! I think I'm actually less scared of this guy now than I was before that letter. 'Kay, Junko, you're up."

    Junko looked over her envelope with what I would call an appropriate amount of concern. It looked like it had seen better days and was bulging slightly. Most of the other envelopes, you could have been forgiven for not knowing whether or not there was even anything inside. That isn't the case with this one. It clearly had more than one sheet of paper stuffed into it.

    "Megumi, forgive me, but you were with Eimi when she found these?"

    "I was. In fact, she was shocked enough from the violation of her abode that I found them first."

    "But nobody saw who put these envelopes in her room?"

    "What're you gettin' at?"

    "Nothing, really. Those last two letters have been pretty, well, I guess Akira is right. They're lame, more funny than shocking, and you had those extra empty envelopes you found in your locker. What are the odds that this is you two playing a dumb joke on us just for fun? It isn't even mean. They're just… kind of dumb."

    "I already told you! Why would I possibly-" Very quickly, I found myself with a hand over my mouth and a single finger over pursed lips making a quiet "shhh" sound. Megumi's lucky I'm not in a mood to bite her…

    "Eimi, please don't overreact. That's probably what the culprit wants." She let me go. Good thing too, because she only had until the count of ten before I really threw a fit. "Ms. Junko, nearly every delivery has been accompanied by reason to believe Eimi was involved, and each time I've been able to refute that theory with nothing more than logical observations of the scene. In this case, I could very likely do the same given we both left her suite this morning and returned to it this evening together, but if I'm an insufficient alibi then I'm afraid we both must be suspected. I would point out though that such suspicion serves no one but our culprit. I ask that you please accept my word on two counts. I promise you that the letter which I received was much more dangerous than those of Ms. Hoshino and Ms. Hanazawa. Additionally, please know that if I were to become involved in something like this as a joke, I would put in much more effort than some stolen stationery and cartoonish doodles."

    "That goes double for me! If you're going to blame stuff on me, at least make it something worthy of my talents. None of this little kid joke stuff."

    "What was your letter about, Eimi? Rinko and Akira both shared theirs. Before I open mine I'd like to know what was so serious about yours."

    "Uhhhyeah, I'm kinda curious too."

    "Yeah Eimi, what's got you so twitchy tonight?"

    I wondered when they'd realize I was holding out on 'em…

    "I'm being blackmailed, okay?! This whole stupid thing is all about me. All the other stuff has been a distraction so we didn't realize it." The girls gasped. Or at least they should have, but even that little joy had been taken from me by how obvious the news probably was.

    Of course it was all about me.

    Everything is always all about me.

    It isn't conceited if it's actually true ya know!

    "It's okay Eimi, we're all here for you! Whatever's going on we'll take care of it together." Rinko sounded like a cartoon pony with her unabashed positivity, but I guess right now that didn't hurt, even if it wasn't very realistic.

    "Uh, they're not like, making you do anything weird, right? Like photos and stuff?" I could have slapped Akira for the insinuation. As if I'd ever let myself be blackmailed like ***that!***

    "So that's what those black envelopes have all been about? But you're still in high school. What could you have done that's that bad? Cheating on tests? Bribing your teachers for good grades?" Rinko looked as confused as ever. "What've you done that's worth blackmailing you over?"

    "I haven't done anything!" Ugh. This is starting to feel like a mistake, but there's no way they'd let me tell 'em to stop worrying about it now. "It's nothing to do with me, it's about my family. Some of their business dealings aren't exactly on the up and up, and this jerk somehow knows that. If they leak it to the papers then there's no way it doesn't blow up. Somebody once said that all publicity is good publicity, but they were an idiot."

    "Your family are… connected, aren't they?" The rest of the girls froze briefly as Junko just blurted it out rudely. You can't just say something like that as though it's a plain fact. The sky is blue. Dogs wag their tails. Eimi Inagawa belongs to *that* Inagawa family.

    "Ohhh…" Rinko acted strangely relieved. "So that's why you always have all those security guards. And I bet that's why you have a private car too. I've been trying to figure that out for ages!"

    "Really? I just assumed it was because her dad's rich or something. I used to have *four* guards just to go out shopping, and we had a whole fleet of cars we rotated so nobody would recognize 'em."

    "Yeah, well, that's just excessive. Who would really want to kidnap *you* anyway?" As I clapped back, Akira giggled in that annoying way she does, amused that she had touched a nerve. "Fine, Junko's right. Daddy's involved in some shady stuff, okay? And he's like, a big deal. That's why we have so much money and security. And now some creep is threatening to tell the papers if I don't quit the group and go back to being a solo act."

    Rinko and Junko were both relatively silent at my news, letting it sink in. Akira laughed again before pulling herself together.

    "Sorry! I just thought, you know! What a weird thing to blackmail you over! It's not like you can't still put on solo concerts if you want, right? They're already planning solo albums for everyone eventually anyway, and it's not that much more work for Lina to book a venue for you cuz she knows you'll fill it. Why be so hung up over that when they could ask for money or tickets or something they can actually benefit from? I bet you could buy 'em a new car or something on your credit cards and your dad wouldn't even notice."

    "People can be irrational sometimes." Junko said, actually understating the problem. "Idols have received all sorts of threats for something as minor as changing their hairstyle or collaborating with the wrong person. Most of our fans are great people who enjoy watching us perform and just want to support us, but all it takes is one or two to go too far to make it really scary. Eimi, you should have told us sooner that this was happening."

    "Well I didn't think they were serious until tonight! It's like you said, there's all sorts of crazies! It wasn't until this last letter that I realized this guy is the real deal."

    "So what exactly did it say?"

    Carefully, like I was handling evidence in a trial, I laid out the letter I'd just received on the coffee table while all four of them stared at me.

    "I've been getting these stupid envelopes every now and then since the day after we debuted. At first I didn't think anything of them. It was just a disgruntled fan unhappy that I'd joined a group, right? Nothing that I didn't expect. The first ones were all dumb stuff like "You're making a big mistake!" and "This will ruin your career!" Then I started to notice that none of them had postage marks, so someone was putting them directly into the mailbox inside the building. But still, that's not too unusual, right? All it means is that they're local and were dropping them off in the lobby instead of paying postage, which is a little creepy, but what was I going to do? Never leave the building? Not a chance." So far they all seemed to be following. Even Rinko. "Now they have photos of my bedroom at my parents' place. That's really creepy, right?"

    "The blackmailer is probably a girl, right? They must have gotten the key while we were at work, and it had to have been when you were in costume, meaning it was in your locker. If anyone saw a boy going in there they'd flip out on 'em for sure. Plus, security would be all over any boys who tried to get into the part of the building your place is in." Akira made a good point, except for one small oversight, which Junko quickly pointed out.

    "Unless they work for I MY ME. It would be relatively easy to sneak from the practice floors up to the suites and back down without security catching you. You could probably get there and back from some of the practice rooms in only a couple minutes. Though without the right access on your ID card…"

    "We don't know for sure that they didn't also borrow Ms. Inagawa's company ID at the same time as the room key. If they had, the elevator or stairwell would have been no impediment. We think the culprit may even have assembled a disguise to look more like Eimi, at least from a distance, so it's possible they were able to come and go from the suite without raising any suspicions."

    "My Eimi wig!" Rinko shouted, attracting the attention of everyone else in the common room. "I swore I put it in my locker to take home but I keep forgetting. I wonder if they have an Eimi wig too?"

    "Are you sure that it's still in your locker, Ms. Hanazawa? Perhaps they requisitioned it at the same time as they left the letters for our newest members."

    "Well, I don't *remember* seeing it in there earlier, but I wasn't looking for it, sooo… *mmmaybe?* But who lives or works here that would have something against Eimi? She's great!"

    "Uh, probably like, half the building?" Akira added her unasked for opinion. "No offense, but you've got a pretty big personality, and I've personally seen you yell at a table full of girls just cuz you tripped over your own feet in front of 'em. We all love ya to bits, right? But it may be shorter to figure out who else in the building's never had a negative run-in with Eimi."

    "If that's what it's even about. Maybe it has more to do with her family and wanting to hurt her because of that. I can understand that… Or maybe it's about harming Interlunium as a whole? Eimi, your profile has gotten even higher since we debuted than it was as a solo act. Making you go back to that, in a way, is punishment for all of us, isn't it? Especially if it comes right after we've launched this new campaign. It would be really hard to explain your departure and still be taken seriously."

    "Yeah, but then why not just demand she retire? It's a pretty extreme threat just to get her to go solo again. Who wants more Eimi solo stuff but not ensemble gigs? That's a special kind of wacky." Despite trying to reason out the blackmailer’s motivations, neither Junko nor Akira were really getting anywhere.

    "It seems we have a larger mystery on our hands than we realized. The biggest question, of course, is whether Ms. Inagawa is indeed the sole target and the rest of the letters are a distraction from that fact, or whether the person responsible has a vendetta against all of us. This latest round of messages seem to indicate a detailed knowledge of the project we're working on. The odds of landing on that combination otherwise are especially low."

    "Something's bugging me about it though. This guy seems to know your family's business because they know your family, right? How else could they get those photos? Could this just be some kind of personal thing? All the talk about being a solo act could just be a cover for some kind of business deal gone bad. You know, they can't go after your dad so they're taking it out on you." Akira chewed gently at her thumb as she tried to untangle other possibilities in this mystery.

    "They'd be risking a whole lot just to hurt me personally. If you're that close to Daddy's dealings that you can take these kinds of photos then you're deep into the business yourself, and you'd take a loss too if the wrong info got out. Not to mention that they're playing with fire. Going after a boss' kid is a really dumb move, especially if you aren't doing business with them directly. So it can't be just about money, and if it's about Daddy there's better ways to try and get back at him that he wouldn't take as personally. So they've gotta have something real personal against me or it wouldn't be worth the risk."

    "One week… That's not a lot of time to figure this out." Rinko stated the obvious.

    "I know. That's why I've already decided what needs to happen. One week isn't enough time to deal with this. In case the creep does decide to go through with his threats, the group deserves to not be blindsided. That way you can all distance yourselves from me as soon as it happens and play it off like I'm the bad guy. It's the smartest move for all of you."

    "But some of our friends are really smart! I bet if we all put our heads together we'll be able to solve this in no time!" Rinko shouted optimistically. Maybe it's a game to her, but it shouldn't be. This is her career on the line as much as anyone else's. "That way nothing would have to change, and we can keep being the perfect group! We just formed. Eimi, you can't just leave! We'll figure out what to do!"

    "I think Eimi's choice is the right decision. This could affect everyone. I'm sorry, Rinko, but I don't think we can sacrifice the entire group's reputation just for…" Rinko looked ridiculous, like she was going to burst into tears or something. Why would she care? The worst threat she got was a cartoon raccoon! "No, that's not fair. Eimi, I'm sorry. It isn't fair to ask you to quit the group just because of what some creep is doing. It isn't fair to ask you to carry your parents' burden when you didn't do anything to deserve it."

    "Ayeah, who cares what your parents do for a living? My dad's a bajillionaire but you don't see me living like that. Everyone's their own person!"

    "I don't have a choice. I'll have to do what they say and hope they don't leak my secret anyway, otherwise I'll end up taking the entire group down with me. You'll need to find a new member to replace me ASAP. If you do it quickly enough then maybe you can even get her worked into the video."

    "Ms. Inagawa, I believe your resignation has been declined by Ms. Hanazawa, and that she's supported by the rest of her appointed leadership committee. And need I remind you of the clause in our agreement for the current project? An interruption in filming absent a life-threatening injury is subject to a one million yen fine. As Ms. Rossi's appointed representative I'm sure Ms. Junko can verify this."

    There's no way that's right. Even if it is, this has to count, and studios take out insurance for this kind of thing. I tried staring down Megumi but she didn't flinch.

    Aha!

    But she did turn to look at Junko and gave her one of her annoying little winks. I knew she was making it up. Junko looked confused for a moment before grinning.

    "Megumi is correct. I'm sorry, Eimi. At this point in shooting it would be impossible to make other arrangements. If you quit now the cost to I MY ME would be tremendous. It's out of our hands."

    "Ayeah, I'm pretty sure I remember reading that part before I signed it."

    "They're right. Eimi, you've got to be a part of Interlunium forever!" I was practically smothered by Rinko's hug, which squished me into the worn out sofa.

    "Okay, okay! You've made your point! You're wrinkling my skirt! Get off of me!"

    I distinctly heard three voices laughing, and none of them were Rinko or me. I'm going to make Megumi pay later for putting me through this ridiculous display of friendship…

    "Now that that's resolved, Ms. Junko, I believe yours is the only envelope left. However, I do have a question about it. Yours was addressed differently than the others, in western letters. Could it be that this mystery has resolved one which has plagued us since we first met, *Ms. Alagona?*"

    Junko froze, staring at the envelope. She kept her mouth shut for longer than I thought. Did Megumi actually finally win this stupid game of theirs?

    "That name has never been mine." She replied without even looking up. "That's tomorrow's guess, by the way. You already guessed Akatsuki on the ride to the studio."

    "How disappointing. Here I thought some good may come out of these awful letters."

    "C'mon, Junko. I wanna see what's in it…"

    At Rinko's pestering, Junko finally dug into the plump envelope. When she tore it open a sweet, floral scent rushed out and filled our corner of the room. The envelope must have had half a bottle of perfume poured into it because droplets fell off of the stack of folded papers as she removed them. Fan mail has three main hazards you want to avoid, and being soaked in perfume or aftershave is the third worst.

    For the record, glitter is number one.

    "Hey Junko, it smells like you." Declared Rinko as she sniffed the air.

    "I did think the scent was familiar. How ominous. What do the pages say?"

    "Nothing…" Junko's voice wavered a bit, enough that I'm not sure Megumi could actually hear her from her seat across from us. "They're just old… magazine ads…"

    Without any further indication, Junko slumped over onto her roommate, spilling the contents of her hand into my lap, sprinkling me with that gross perfume. This skirt will probably smell like strawberry and roses forever now… As Megumi and Akira jumped to their aid, sitting Junko upright and making sure she was breathing, they stated the obvious.

    "Uh, I think she fainted…"

    "I'm okay…" Of course she is. What a drama queen. It's just perfume.

    "We had better help her to her room. Ms. Hanazawa, please clear the way. Ms. Hoshino, if you wouldn't mind…"

    As they took off, Akira carrying Junko's groggy body like some kind of fragile little princess, I looked at my lap. Several of the pages had separated and scattered to the floor. All of them were advertisements - old ones, by the style of them - and all of them featured the same blonde model.

    I have no idea what that's supposed to mean, but I told her this creep was serious…

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