LU Chapter 2

# Chapter Two - "Rin! Ko! Hanazawa!"

### Junko

    "It's me! Rin! Ko! Hanazawa! Here to steal your heart with my cuteness and make you love me! I'm Japan's cutest idol! Love me love me looove me!!!"

    I couldn't believe my eyes.

    Actually, I didn't *want* to believe my eyes.

    I was barely three steps into my room when my roommate jumped off her bed like she had been laying in wait to surprise me, striking one of our friend's signature poses: one hand folded under her chin and the other extended out toward the door. Contrary to her usual restrained style of fashion, she was wearing a frilly yellow dress - probably borrowed from Anette's inexhaustible closet - and had somehow sprouted the same long fake blonde hair as one of our friends all the way down to her hips. She was holding one of her new ponytails in her left hand, swirling it around in the air.

    Wh-What… What's happening…

    "Don't I look great! I bought it online! They used to sell them at Eimi concerts so fans could look like their oshi. Rin! Ko! Hanazawa! Superstar idol! At your service! Love me love me!"

    My tongue choked me, retreating backwards in my mouth away from the makeup-caked girl posing in the middle of my room. This is NOT the Rinko I know. This isn't even the stylish, sophisticated Rinko I've learned to accept on occasion since we've become successful idols. I don't know what this is, but it's a definite step backwards from her usual self. Maybe like, ten steps backwards, and in the direction of Eimi Inagawa.

    "Rinko! Take that ridiculous thing off! Why are you trying to look like that?!" I had already had a stressful day, with a full photo shoot followed by an unimaginative interview. I was in no mood to deal with one of Rinko's identity crises. "You're perfect how you are. I don't understand why you would want to change your style."

    "Because Eimi is super cute, and if I look like her then I'll be super cute too!" As she spoke, Rinko kept striking various poses we'd seen Eimi take, swinging her new twintails around liberally.

    I wasn't in the mood to contemplate what all of this meant either. Rinko pouted a little as I ignored her and quickly changed into my house clothes, but I was soon in my own upper bunk, blissfully away from Rinko's impression of our most polarizing friend.

    I love Rinko with every fiber of my being.

    But seeing this spectacle…

    ***I hate it.***

    Eimi is our friend, and I've grown to like her as much as I think I'm going to.

    But dressing like her and pretending to be her?

    That isn't who Rinko is. Nor should it be.

    Next time it may very well be a kimono or a track suit…

    "Juuunko, how was your job?! I was so bored all day. Dam-Bi was gone too so I couldn't even play with Pom-Bi…"

     "It was good. I think they were really happy with me, so I'm happy. Wh-Why aren't you ready for bed?"

    "I was waiting for you, silly! I've been bored all day!" Rinko chose the moment to pop her head up above her bunk, peering at me with big eyes framed by cheap artificial hair. At least she isn't wearing contact lenses. "You took forever getting home! I had to wait for you all through school until now."

    "You should have done your homework! I-I can't be held responsible for everything when I'm not here…"

    "I did my homework! But it's boring, and I got lonely… Eimi was off working too, so we couldn't even have unit rehearsals today. I'm booored…"

    "Well, starting tomorrow we're all going to be working in the same place, so you'll probably get sick of being around everyone."

    "Never! It's going to be the most fun we've ever had, I bet!"

    For the next two weeks our entire group will be working in the same place, recording our new video instead of taking on individual jobs. A normal idol would be nervous about starting such an important project. Goodness knows I am. But Rinko never gets nervous about stuff like this, worrying instead about the very next thing on her mind.

    "Junkooo, I'm hungry. Let's go get dinner. I wanna see if anyone thinks I'm really Eimi."

    "No way! I'm not going anywhere with you wearing that."

    "But why not? Don't you think I'm super cute?" A pair of watery orbs worked their usual unfair magic with the added power of Rinko's upper lip quivering slightly. Her pout has gotten more powerful.

    "Fine, but we need to go somewhere healthy. We need to show up tomorrow in top shape."

    "Takoyaki is healthy…"

    "We're going to get fish and rice with miso and steamed vegetables."

    "Aww…"

    "That's all Eimi eats when she's training. If you want to go out looking like Eimi you get a healthy dinner like Eimi. If you go out looking like Rinko, then we can get takoyaki."

    "Hrmm…" Rinko found my logic unassailable, hemming and hawing across our meager floor several times until she headed for the door. "Alright! If it's what Eimi would do then it's good enough for Rin! Ko! Hanazawa! Super cute idol! Here to steal your rice and capture your carrots! Feed me feed me feed me!" Rinko voiced her decision through her hands, held up to one eye with her fingers bent into the shape of a heart.

    Dang it.

    She's starting to make even this look cute…

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