ID Chapter 6

# Chapter Six - "Growing Into It"

### Rinko

    The next day at school I could do anything but focus on the lessons, repeatedly falling back into sketching out potential outfit ideas to match the "interstellar" concept for our single. Junko was worried about me and my studies, but she quickly stopped bothering me, leaving me to my passionate attempt to create the perfect costumes for our debut.

    *"Please?! It's important!"* I couldn't say it out loud during class, but I communicated it as much as I could with the rest of my face and my mind, beaming it across the aisle from my desk to hers and hoping that she'd understand. It turned out that she did and my bestie acted as a lookout, coughing or clearing her throat whenever a teacher got close to make sure I wouldn't get in trouble.

    When the final bell rang for the day, the two of us made our way from Mizoroge to the bakery near our dorm to meet up with Kanon and Chiyo, our most junior members, who were eager to share their thoughts and ideas. Both of them are first years at Kajiyashiki Public High School, which isn't really near ours, so meeting closer to the I MY ME building made a lot more sense. The fact that it's also our go-to hangout spot - and really really delicious - didn't hurt either. After ordering some iced coffee and sweets to share - a double order of strawberry daifuku and a dozen macarons - we girls all sat down in more or less our usual spots, with me taking a seat beside Junko on one side of the booth and Kanon sliding into the opposite bench next to her fellow first year.

    "Alright, show me what you got! We should at least have one or two ideas by the end of the day to give Dam-Bi and the others so that they can see what we came up with. Then we can discuss it with Lina and make a final decision tomorrow." For some reason all of my friends gave me looks of disbelief and amazement from across the table… and right beside me.

    "What?" I asked curiously, tilting my head to the side. "What?!"

  "That's… a really good plan. Not that you don't usually have good ideas, but with how headstrong you can be I assumed that you wouldn't ask for our advice." Junko looked around as though she wanted the other girls to agree with her, but none would meet her desperate gaze. "Sorry, Rinko…"

    "Hehe. It's okay, I totally get it." I can admit that I'm often stubborn and prone to chasing after a whim, so I hugged my best friend extra tightly so she knew I didn't hold any hard feelings for noticing it. "I know I tend to just rush into things, but this time I want to make sure it all works out!"

    Junko accepted my hug for a few moments - she was quite warm despite wearing a fairly normal outfit for this time of year - before she started to squirm, wriggling free. She looked away, probably trying to keep her mysterrrious aura intact. There was a time when we were practically joined at the hip and spent a good amount of our free time playing and hanging out, sprawled out with each other, and back then hugging had been as natural as breathing. But in the years since I'd found myself living with her Junko had grown up, and she now often protested when I tried to hang off of her or snuggle up after a long day. I miss it - at times a whole lot - but I understand that not everyone grows up into someone ok with that kind of thing, and the way she tries to hide behind her long hair nearly every time I try to dote on her is proof that my Junko has grown into that sort of person.

    We spent the rest of the afternoon talking about dress cuts, fabrics, and accessories until our phones started going off all at once thanks to a notification in the Official Interlunium Group Chat letting us know the rest of the group had finally returned from their session in the studio. We downed the rest of our drinks and rushed back to the dorms to meet up with our other three members, practically turning it into a race (which, if it was, I totally won). Upon returning to Lina's office - much to Lina's displeasure, if her deep throaty sigh as she vacated was any indication - it was obvious that something was very wrong. Even though everyone seemed okay, I felt some sort of tense aura around the three returning Interlunia… Interluniniums… Interlanes… ok, so that part needs some work. Whatever we're going to call ourselves, both Dam-Bi and Megumi greeted us warmly while Eimi was completely absorbed in her phone.

    "So, uh..." I cautiously inquired, not wanting to reopen any delicate subject. "How did it go?"

    "Everything was fine, Ms. Hanazawa." Megumi responded, giving her usual relaxed smile. "There were some mishaps, but nothing that wasn't fixed in a few minutes."

    "That's good to hear, Megumi." I grinned as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, her perfectly serene smile setting me at ease. "Because to me it felt like there was something weird going on when Lina left…"

    "Well, I do have one thing I wanted to talk about." Our ravenette turned around and walked right up to Eimi, who was still scrolling through her phone, ignoring everything else. "I didn't want to ask when Mr. Ono and Lina were there since they've been so nice to us, but now that it's just us, I have to say it. There is something weird going on!"

    This caused me to tense up, and a quick glance indicated that Junko had the same reaction. No one really knew what was going on in Dam-Bi's pretty little head, and now that she was in front of Eimi there were only a few things that could happen.

    Oh no… Not already!

    "Hey Eimi! I was really blown away by your singing! You're really so good! You were so professional!" Eimi gave no response, her eyes never even moving off of her phone. "Anyway, when Megumin and I were recording I noticed that you never really smiled when Lina or Mr. Ono talked to you. And it was like when you thought that no one was looking, you would have a frown on your face, and…"

    "Dam-Bi, wait!" Junko interjected, "It's fin-" Her advice went ignored by my friend just like Eimi was ignoring her.

    "And then, whenever Megumi and I made a mistake, you looked like you wanted to say something to us or give us some advice, but you kept it in. You seem so awkward around us, Eimi, and I want to fix that if we're gonna keep working together like this." Dam-Bi tilted her head to the side and innocently asked Eimi a question in her sweetest voice. "So, what did you want to tell us so badly, Eimi?"

    Everyone's eyes were now on Eimi, who had a blank expression on her face, as if she was completely frozen after hearing what the raven-haired girl said. She dropped her phone in her lap and looked… unpleasant. Not like her usual beautiful self at all. That wasn't a suitable answer for Dam-Bi, though, as she began to ask her question one more time.

    "Eimi, I just want to kn-"

    "OH, WOULD YOU JUST SHUT UP?!" The twin-tailed blonde barked at her as much as spoke, a deep red spreading across her face. "Why do you have to keep putting your nose into my business? Don't you know how annoying you are?"

    Junko and myself knew what was happening, so we weren't too caught off guard by the sudden outburst (even if it was kind of scary) but the others showed visible shock and dismay - everyone beside Megumi at least, who seemed as unsurprised at this as at anything else. The two youngest girls were especially put off by this display of aggression and instinctively hid behind their seniors, Chiyo practically tearing off my jacket as she clutched it fearfully. Dam-Bi was confused as well, as she hadn't been expecting such an intense - and angry - reaction. She just stood there, her eyes wide in shock, as Eimi continued her rant, still clouded by her intense rage.

    "Well now you know I'm not the *'perfect idol'* people think I am. But let's be honest, did you all really believe that a person could be that happy and energetic all the time?" An awkward silence followed. The ferociousness on the blonde's face seemed to clear up, leaving her to deal with the consequences of her actions. "Oh, you actually… Man, you guys are really stupid, huh? I can't believe you…" She trailed off to silence, rubbing the back of her head, clearly annoyed at herself for breaking her cover.

    "I'm sorry, Eimi, I know how it feels..." Chiyo chirped with a quavering voice, still hiding behind me. "I really admire you and it's an honor to work with you, but I know how hard-"

    "No, you don't know! How can you know?" she retorted, shooting a glare past me at her terrified teammate.

    "No one knows how I feel. Not one of you! It's suffocating..." Eimi buried her face in her hands. My heart hurt, wishing I knew what to say to ease her clearly evident pain.

    While I was stunned, Chiyo stepped out from behind me and walked towards the blonde, wringing her hands nervously.

    "I can't say I completely understand your situation, but I do get how you are feeling. At least a little. When I was signed with I MY ME I felt like I was on top of the world. Like I truly made it! But then I realized how hard everything was. No producer would take me, and I was devastated. I didn't feel like doing anything, and some days it just felt impossible to move, or even to go to school or eat. I just hid in my room and cuddled Momo. I couldn't let my parents know about it, so I covered it up with a fake smile and told them that my debut would be 'soon'. That was almost five months ago. And… it still hasn't happened…"

    Every single one of us could understand Chiyo's feelings at that moment, at least in part. Being chosen to debut is why people went through the struggle of being a trainee. They want to make it up on stage and perform for people. However, due to the oversaturation of the market, not everyone can. People can spend years being a trainee and never debut. And even if they debut, sometimes… sometimes it's not…

    I wiped a stray tear from my eye, reflecting on how close my career had been to ending. How close so many of us came to complete failure.

    "I couldn't keep it up forever and soon I started ignoring them and kept to myself with Momo. She was the only friend I needed." Chiyo raised her chin up high, full of newly found pride. "That was until I met Rinko, Junko, and Dam-Bi. I was scared at first because they barged into my room and I thought they were going to make fun of me and stuff, but when they told me about their idea. I thought ‘This is my chance!' I wanted this and I was ready to do anything to fulfill it." She took Eimi's hand in reassurance. I winced, anticipating a slap on Chiyo's wrist that never came. "Because of them I was able to take a step closer to my dream. Thinking back at it, it felt like an act of desperation, but now I truly want to be here with all of you! I still have a lot to learn and I know that I'm lacking in many areas, but I want to grow! I want to learn from wonderful idols like you!"

    Eimi was shocked by how open the girl was being - essentially the opposite of how she herself lived every moment of her public life. Usually people were more reserved when speaking with her, afraid to say something that would upset a growing superstar. A deep blush of embarrassment came across her face yet again, painting it in that intriguing pink color, then she tugged her hand away from Chiyo.

    "Wh-whatever!" She turned herself away, crossing her arms, with an awkward smile on her face… Presumably against her best efforts to look cold and aloof. Chiyo took a step back, realizing what a bold move she had just made. A look of worry took over her face as she looked back to her seniors for guidance. Not that we had any for handling this exact scenario.

    "We–Well! If that's the case then… I guess it's fine that you guys all know. We're going to be working together, so I hope you can accept me for the way I really am. I'm not some perfect little sweetheart!" She lunged up off of the couch, getting straight up in Chiyo's face with her extended forefinger. "But! Your little sob story isn't gonna make me go easy on you! If anything, I'm gonna make you ALL prove you have what it takes to be in a group with me!"

    Chiyo fell back a bit at her words, Junko and Kanon reaching out to steady her. Eimi raised her baby blue eyes to look at everyone else.

    "We have a long day again tomorrow! I'm going to sleep!" She spoke as if scolding everyone, before quickly making an escape towards the elevators.

    Megumi let out an uncharacteristic giggle, not moved at all by the blonde's threats, which seemed to infuriate her even more.

    "But Ms. Inagawa, it's only six o'clock in the evening. Isn't that a little early for bed, even for a 'perfect idol'?" Megumi's giggles escalated into a full-on titter as she stared Eimi down, who started blushing again upon the realization that her statement may have seemed a tad miscalculated. "I-I need my sleep! I'm still growing!"

    The poorly formed excuse came out quicker than she could process. I chortled at that, remembering that even *I'm* taller than the amazing Eimi Inagawa.

    "Oh! So that's why you're so short?" I really should have stuck to a higher standard as the leader, but I couldn't resist… she's just so cute when she's frustrated, and I can't resist cute things.

    "If you're going to retire this early, why don't we all have a sleepover?!" Dam-Bi recommended excitedly, as everyone crammed into the elevator with our annoyed friend, unwilling to let her get away smoothly. She tried to hide her embarrassment, standing in the corner and pretending we weren't there. We all delighted in doting and cooing at her, teasing her about her perfect image despite her scary expression. Eimi Inagawa, for all her talent, was now one of us, and none of us seemed to be afraid of the superstar idol any longer.

    "Geeze, you guys! What's wrong with you!"

    The elevator door closed, but I wouldn't be surprised if you could still hear her giving us a piece of her mind all the way in the practice rooms.

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