Chapter 16: Beautiful Chapter

Over a year later, the two of them were standing in a practice room at a studio they only dreamed about visiting when they were still together.

Ayaka looked up and down Hana, her lilac-colored irises filled with curiosity. "You got taller."

"Huh?" Hana responded.

"You used to be shorter than me, remember?"

Hana took a few seconds to look at herself, and then back at Ayaka. She had forgotten about it, but she always used to be the shorter one in the duo. Now, she was the one who was a few centimeters taller. "You're right."

"I thought this was the case back at the cafe, but now I can see you're definitely the taller one now. Although I guess I can't help it, I think I've stopped growing."

This was the second time they had spoken with each other in over a year. After everything that had happened, she didn't expect her former partner to be speaking so casually with her.

"Why are you here?" Hana asked. She looked away from the girl in front of her as her line of sight dropped back down to her feet. "After all this time, why today?"

"Your Producer sent me an email asking if I could give her more information about what you were like when we were partners. I agreed, but only if she could let me see you."

"Why did you want to talk to me?"

"I felt like I needed to apologize to you," Ayaka said. "I said it was a mistake when I first stood up for you. I shouldn't have said that. I was really emotional after everything happened, and I just lashed out at you."

"You could have said something when we still lived together…"

"I didn't know how to. Instead of talking it out with you, I moved out and started living with a cousin in Tokyo," Ayaka responded. "You haven't been using social media since we were both fired, have you?"

Hana shook her head.

"I tried to message you a few months ago, but since you didn't respond, I thought maybe you were ignoring me," Ayaka said. "That's why when I saw you at the cafe, I was really happy!"

"I've wanted to talk to you for over a year now, too," Hana responded. "I'm sorry though. When I saw you, I just didn't know what to say. And I didn't want to make a scene in public."

"I didn't think you were still trying to become an idol, and I was even more surprised to hear you signed with a new company. And you were even with friends too! And then after your mini-live, I really wanted to congratulate you, but there weren't any meet and greet sessions that day."

"That's fine, there wasn't much to congratulate me on."

"What do you mean? You were shining every time I saw you on that stage."

"I don't agree," Hana shook her head again. She was surprised to know Ayaka was there in person, but also a little concerned to hear she had witnessed her crying on stage again.

"I'm serious, your solo song was incredible! Sure you messed up initially, but that performance was the first time I think I ever saw you genuinely perform. Once you got comfortable, it was like watching you perform without a care in the world."

"You're being too nice," Hana responded. "In every group performance, I was the weakest member. People like Akari and Reina, they were the ones who shined. I couldn't even sing my solo without someone's help."

"Is that really what you think?"

"It's what I know," Hana answered.

She thought back on the past month, from her conversation with Million Star Nanao Yuriko about working hard to reach her goals, to her talks with Aina as her solo song was composed. She knew she couldn't have a performance like the one during the mini-live.

"But that's okay," she kept talking. "I won't let it happen again. I finally got another chance to be an idol, and I can't throw it away now."

"Then what about earlier?" Ayaka asked. "You didn't even raise your hand when you had the chance to represent your unit."

"I don't know. I wanted to sing, but I hesitated."

"Are you afraid of messing up a solo performance again?"

"No?" Hana responded quickly. "Of course not."

"You're still a horrible liar."

"I'm not lying!"

"It's even more obvious if you try to defend the lie," Ayaka said. She covered her mouth after, but Hana quickly realized it was because she was trying to stifle her laughter. "I know when you lie because when you respond, it sounds like you're asking a question. Or you dodge the topic completely."

For a brief moment, it felt like nothing had changed as Ayaka kept giggling. Almost as if they were still living in the same apartment and they hadn't ignored each other for over a year.

After a few seconds, Ayaka suddenly stopped laughing as her face looked like she just remembered something important. Now it was her turn to look away. "You know, I wanted to tell you for so long now that it's not your fault."

"What's isn't?"

"Both of us getting fired. If I didn't get sick that day, we'd still be working together. We might even have appeared on Idol Talk Live by now."

"I always thought I was the one holding you back," Hana said. After finally having this moment with her former partner, she felt tears starting to well up in her eyes. She tried to stay strong and blinked a few times to stop the tears from coming out. "I thought if I was a better idol, you would never end up overworking yourself in trying to cover for how bad I was."

"That's not true," Ayaka responded. "I overworked myself because I was being selfish. I wanted to prove my parents wrong when we performed in Nagoya. That's why I practiced the hardest I ever did back then."

"Are you still trying to be an idol? After all of this?"

Ayaka nodded. "I am. I signed with a new company last week, too."

"Really?"

"It's not official yet, but I'll be starting with them soon. I'll catch up to you in no time."

"You won't have very far to go."

"Nonsense," Ayaka said. "You signed with 765 Productions. Just the company alone means you're going to be on people's radars. You need to be more positive."

"I'm still working on that part," Hana admitted. "And I definitely still need to work on how I perform on stage."

"If only you raised your hand earlier."

Another voice spoke from behind Hana. "Maybe we can do something about that."

The pink-haired idol turned around, seeing Akari was standing in the door frame instead of preparing to sing on stage.

"What are you doing here?" Hana asked her. She suddenly felt self-conscious about what she had just said out loud to Ayaka. She tried to hide her past from her fellow idols so they wouldn't worry about her, but now her entire unit most likely knew. Reina had mentioned it before, and depending on how long Akari had been there, she knew about it too.

"The Producer told me you might cry after meeting with your old partner, so I wanted to make sure everything would be okay," Akari said.

"She definitely was close," Ayaka said to her. "Does she still cry all the time?"

"Only at the last concert, and during her closing statements, and whenever she reads a sad novel."

Ayaka smirked. "I guess some things never change."

"Shouldn't you be getting ready for your performance?" Hana asked Akari.

"I should be," the redhead responded. "But instead, I think I have a way to let you perform today,"

"Huh? How?"

"While I was practicing earlier, the floor manager told me they had all of the instrumentals downloaded because they didn't know who would be singing until we volunteered. That means your song is technically ready to be played."

"And?"

"We just need to tell them you want to sing instead of me."

"Is that okay? Letting me sing instead of you?" Hana asked. She looked at her current unit member, who now had a reassuring smile on her face.

"If it makes you feel reassured about being an idol in the end, then I'm fine if I don't sing a song on TV," Akari said. "I'm already happy enough to be here today, and I'll always have a chance to sing Our Last Night in the future."

Hana bowed to show her gratitude. "Thank you so much."

"No need to be so formal," Akari laughed. "Let's go now, we might not have enough time to change things. Natsumi just started her song."

Hana started to leave the practice room, turning around to look at her former partner for one last time. "Thank you for coming to talk to me today"

"I believe in you," Ayaka responded. "I think you should show everyone what you can really do, without being afraid of if you're good enough or not."

Hana rushed through the halls of the television studio with Akari as they looked for the floor manager. The redhead led the way as Hana tried to keep up with her.

"I don't think we should be running," Hana said. She could tell they were getting close due to how the music was getting louder and louder. Natsumi was already starting to close out her solo.

"We don't have a lot of time," Akari looked behind to give her a thumbs up. "Don't worry about it!"

The two of them found the floor manager backstage as he was giving stage directions through his headset. On the live feed's monitor, Natsumi had just finished her song. She gave Tae a high-five as she left the stage that had now been converted into a performance space.

"Excuse me, but we have a last-minute request for the show," Akari said to him.

"What would you like to do?" he responded.

"Please let Hana-chan perform instead of me."

"Really?" he looked at Hana. "Is this what you want to do?"

Hana nodded. "I'm not being forced or anything, this is what I want to do."

The floor manager scratched the back of his head. "Girls, we're already in our second song. There wouldn't be a lot of time to change everything around."

Akari gave him a full bow. "Please do this for us."

"Please!" Hana said, following the older girl's gesture. "It's just one song."

"If someone wants to give up their time on stage, then let them do it," another voice said from behind them. Getting up from her bow, Hana saw that Kevin Nagisa had entered the conversation. He was much taller than either of the girls, something Hana hadn't noticed yet since he was sitting down for the duration of the show.

"Really?"

"You're not the one directing everybody here behind the scenes," the floor manager said to Nagisa.

"I've worked in the sound booth before, it's not too hard to just switch from one track to another," Nagisa responded. "I could even do it for you if needed."

"Okay, fine," the floor manager sighed. He looked at Hana. "What's the name of your song?"

"Beautiful Chapter," the pink-haired girl responded immediately.

The floor manager pressed a button on the box attached to his belt that his headset was connected to. "Change of plans," he said into his headset. "We're going to be running with Beautiful Chapter instead of Our Last Night… Yes, I know we're almost onto the third song… Just change the song track, don't touch the lighting, and I can explain what's happening later."

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" Nagisa asked.

"You owe me dinner," the floor manager said as he took off his headset. He turned to walk to another part of the building. "And not fast food this time."

"I'll let you know the next time I get paid," Nagisa called out after him. He looked at the two idols standing with him. "Don't mind him. Some people in the business, when they're in it long enough, stop being flexible and just stick to what works for them."

Hana and Akari bowed again. "Thank you so much."

"So," the show's host started to say. "What brought on this sudden change?"

"I had a conversation with someone that was long overdue," Hana responded. "I think it took away what was keeping me from moving forward."

"I'm assuming it had something to with the guest your Producer brought in."

"You knew about that?"

Nagisa started to laugh, but he quickly quieted down since Tae was still performing. "People aren't allowed backstage without a good reason.���

"Oh, right."

The floor manager came back, nearly out of breath, to hand something to Hana.

"Before you go on, you'll probably need this," he said. He was holding her pair of in-ear monitors in one hand and a microphone in the other. "This better have been worth all the hassle."

"Thank you so much," Hana responded, bowing again. She took the equipment from the floor manager and put the monitors in her ears.

Turning back to look at the monitor showing the program's live feed, the 18-year-old idol was already finishing up her performance. Her vocals had already ended, but she could hear the music from backstage. Every few seconds, the instrumental switched from one genre to another.

Not only that, but her dancing was rapidly changing. This was the dark-haired idol's strongest skill. She had been chosen months ago to represent the Supernova Project because of her dancing ability, and now her entire solo was made to showcase it. It was a flurry of different moves in the span of 30 seconds, but her technique stayed consistently polished throughout the entire act.

"She's so good," Hana said to herself. She could only take a guess as to what Natsumi's performance was like, but she was still talking to Ayaka at the time.

"You'll be fine," Akari responded. "Don't stress, just think about yourself."

Hana hadn't noticed her friend staring at her. She tried to loosen up a little. "I can do this."

The audience gave big applause as Tae finished her song with her hands on her hips, one leg placed forward while her back leg was bent. A wide smile was on her face as she visibly tried to catch her breath.

Nagisa surprised her by giving her a pat on the back. "You're up next, but I'm going to introduce you first."

She followed him to the stage's entrance as she waited for her cue while he walked to the crowd. With seconds left before her moment to shine, she smoothed out her skirts and made sure that she was as presentable as possible.

Hana looked up and waved to Tae as she came backstage. "You did really well out there."

"There's been a slight change in the show's programming," Nagisa said to the audience.

"This is new," her fellow idol responded. "Why isn't Akari up here?"

"Representing the Supernova Project's third unit, next up will be Kanagawa Hana."

Tae's face filled with curiosity "Really?"

Hana nodded. A voice spoke into her in-ear monitor. "You should start making your way onto the stage."

"This will be fun," Tae whispered as she left. "Good luck, Hana!"

She passed Nagisa on the way there, who gave her a reassuring nod. The pink-haired idol made her way to where an X was taped onto the stage floor. She faced the main camera, ignoring the audience now that the spotlights blocked her view of them. This was different than a concert or live, where the crowd's penlights and calls directly gave her feedback.

Hana could only hope those in the studio, and to all of those who were watching the show��s live stream would receive her well. For her second time in being an idol at 765 Productions, it was her time to stand alone at center stage.

She thought back to her meeting with Nanao Yuriko at her local bookshop a few weeks ago.

"Everyone's story begins somewhere," the Million Star said to her.

If Hana could just pull off this performance, then this would be a new beginning for her.

"I believe in you," Ayaka's words echoed in her mind. "I think you should show everyone what you can really do, without being afraid of if you're good enough or not."

Looking at where she had entered from, she saw Akari and Tae looking back at her and giving a thumbs up. She nodded back at them before turning to face the main camera.

There was nothing to worry about.

"Please listen to my song," Hana said. "Beautiful Chapter."

An acoustic guitar giving the rhythm to an electric guitar started the song. It was something Aina suggested as she was composing it for her, with the instrumental being a slow melody reminiscent of her performance at the mini-live a month earlier.

Hana didn't need the teleprompter or her in-ear monitor to let her know when to come in. She knew the lyrics by heart now after practicing it every day since it was finished for her.

"If I could tell you everything," she sang into her microphone. "Memories that we'll miss today, long after I moved far away."

Unlike Tae's song, she didn't have a lot of choreography in her song. She had only simple moves to perform while she let her voice tell the rest of the song.

"If I could write down every dream. I'd run out of pages just to say, all the words my heart threw away."

Her voice was clear through her microphone as she put a hand to her chest with her free hand.

"Forgetting the path I was on. I stopped believing who I was."

She just had to make it to the chorus and then the song would already be a third of the way done.

"That flower wilting yesterday, that's not who I am anymoooore!"

She held the note as the song came to a crescendo, her finger pointed at the ceiling.

"I'll be starting every day as a brand new page, writing every line with the pen inside my heart. My ink in every step!"

The chorus was a faster tempo than the rest of the song, and she showed it by singing louder and dancing more energetically.

"I can't give up these shining dreams, I promised you I would make them all come true. Until we meet again..."

She took a deep breath before saying her next line.

"I love you."

Hana lowered the microphone while the instrumental led her into her next verse and the audience cheered for her. She had a big smile on her face as she realized how she was finally performing without hesitating or messing up.

The second verse and chorus were similar to the first, but instead of singing about the past, she sang about her experiences since joining 765. As she continued through to the rest of the song, she thought about how she wanted to thank everyone who had helped her to get to this point. Two years of work was finally paying off for her, and she wanted to show it in her performance.

So far, with how she hadn't messed up yet, it was working for her.

The bridge of the song brought the story to thoughts about the future.

"When I return home, will everyone around me,"

This part of the song had a slower tempo, but the lyrics were just as important.

"Say that I'm grown now, or will they keep on seeing,"

She remembered asking if the lyrics might have been too personal, but Aina told her about how an artist shines best when the music belongs to them.

"The lonely girl who'd always read, escaping into fantasy, or will they see this beautiful chapter?"

She was almost done now as she started dancing during the instrumental break, putting in her emotions into every move and turn of her choreography. After this, she only had to sing the chorus for one last time. She had to make it the best part of her performance yet.

She took a deep breath, putting her best foot forward and pulling up her microphone again.

"I'll be starting every day as a brand new page, writing every line with the pen inside my heart."

She hoped that this performance would be remembered.

"My ink in every step!"

"I can't give up these shining dreams, I promised you I would make them all come true.

For the sake of her, and for her unit, she poured her heart into this song so that it could be successful.

"Until we meet again..."

The instrumental slowed down as she caught her breath. With the stage lights shining on her, she looked into the camera for one last time.

"I always will cherish the life we had."

The melody for these lines was reminiscent of the chorus, but was transposed to be slightly lower.

"But I can't keep on growing if I stay on this path."

As soon as she finished the song, the audience cheered for her. It was louder than she expected, but it was an experience that she was slowly getting used to.

Hana blinked some tears out of her eyes as she bowed. She must have looked at the stage lights for too long at the end, or something. Even her voice almost cracked towards the end, but she managed to finish without interruption this time. She knew this wasn't something as big as a concert, but being able to perform as she did gave her hope in doing the same in the future.

As she walked backstage and immediately was tackled into a hug by Akari, she felt the biggest sense of relief since she had first become an idol two years ago.

Kanagawa Hana's career wasn't over yet.