Let The Curtains Open

~~This chapter will follow through in the POV of Ai after she signed for Strawberry Productions, give or take a few months.~~

This line of work really seems to suit me...

I lie.. And the fans eat it up.

I lie more.. And the fans devour it.

If I said I love this line of work, I would be lying.

But.. It's all a wish.

An idol's wish, if you will.

A wish that these lies become reality one day.

That one day I'll be able to properly give my love to the fans... Even if it is not needed.

Even if Ichigo-San said that lying is the core of every idol, every entertainer.

Honesty... Might not be so bad..

-"Ai-Chan, helllo??

Ai-Chan!"

I snapped out of my trance, it seems we had just finished playing..

It's not as if I need to even focus anymore..

It's just a routine thing at this point.

Go on stage along with my partners, plaster a cutesy smile..

Sing and dance.. Sing and dance..

Songs all about the topic of love..

-"Coming! Give me a second!"

-"Alright!"

The fans stared at me for a second, and I decided to do a little extra.

I took a small breath, and unleashed the biggest lie I can muster.

-"I'm looking forward to all of you coming again! I love you all!!"



I don't know what came over me in that second, but, it happened.

The crowd went wild.. And I ran inside.

-"Why's everyone screaming outside?"

I realized it..

<They really do eat up any lie...< p>

Any... Lie..

But.. Does it work on even my closest workers..?>

And so, I plastered on that smile I just put, and answered with such cheer.. I never knew I could do it..

-"Hehe, I don't know! Maybe we were just that good!"

The person I was talking to, Nino, looked surprised.

-"You sure look happy, maybe we did?"

And Nino did just that.

She also ate the lie up.

If this works on everyone...

This will be my greatest weapon..

-- Location: Strawberry Productions, President Ichigo Saitou's Office.

Time: XX:XX Near Midnight.

-"Ai-Chan! You're brilliant! I saw it! That glamorous look!

That's exactly why I recruited you!

You're seeing how the idol life is perfect for you? With your skill set?"

He was right.

The President was absolutely right.

And from now on, I'll have to keep up the facade.

-"Yep! It's perfect! I love it!

Say, Saitou-San, you think I can keep this up forever?

It's fine? Right?"

My tone.. My personality..

It's time to turn them into a guidebook.

-"Of course it's fine! If you can do more like that, always, it would be amazing!"

Same smile, same eyes.

But the President got closer to me, he scanned my face up and down.

"Hm...

You can definitely improve a lot still.

Sit down, Ai."

-"Huh? Okay."

-"This is what I called you for, let me tell you something."

I went ahead and sat facing the President.

"You see, Ai, this is what we call gradual improvement, or, in other terms, studied improvement.

Everything is calibrated, calculated, and done so meticulously it affects the widest audience.

Right now, the normal fan won't notice the cracks in your lies, but the super fans will see it clear as day.

And, we don't want normal fans, do we? We want the most devoted of fans.

Fans that show their love, fans that support you and stick with you through thick and thin.

And to convert the normal fan into such a devoted fan, tell me, what do you think draws fans in the most?"

It was clear what he was aiming at.

-"Perfection?"

He snapped his finger in my direction.

-"Bingo, you are spot on.

Normally speaking, perfection, lies or not, cannot be achieved.

You can only hope to get as close as possible, but, with you here, I'm sure you can do it.

Become the star your namesake is, Ai! That's your calling!

Practice, practice and practice!

Ai's Guidebook to Perfection!

That's a book that should be named after you!"

<.....< p>

Wow..

He's right!

He's absolutely right..!

Come to think of it.. Kurai said the same thing..

"Perfection, Ai!" Is what he said..

Kurai.. Where are you..?>

I clasped my hands in excitement and opened my eyes fully with a smile plastered.

-"Thank you, President Ichigo-San!"

I think I surprised him with my sudden attitude?

-"YES! AI! THAT'S IT!

THAT'S THE FACE! GOOD JOB!"

His voice almost destroyed my eardrums, but we laughed together for a little while.

His wife, Miyako-San, stared at us in confusion.

-"Sigh.. One would think you're attracted to little girls laughing like that, Ichigo."

Ichigo-San instantly coughed and fixed his glasses, and deepened his tone.

-"I'll keep that in mind, now, Ai, I have another matter for you to talk about."

-"Eh?"

And that's how it was.

We talked for a very long time, he seemed to get sleepy sometimes, but my youth energy kept me going.

Practicing dancing and singing also helped quite a lot, as my stamina was raised by folds.

That's the dream life of an idol, I guess.

It's actually quite fun.

President Ichigo seemed to have lost consciousness talking to me, so I laid over in an empty bedroom and opened my phone.

I had made some money so I thought I'd buy one.

I knew my brother had a flip phone.. And I had his number..

So I shot him a message.

-"..Huh...? Failed to send?

Weird.."

Again.

And again.

Failed to send.

I didn't know what that meant, so I took the liberty of searching online..

I started reading a guide to texts and messages, and..

"Messages that have "failed to send" most likely mean the person has..

Blocked you?! What?

Why would he..

He wouldn't do that, no!"

So I tried calling him.

Line busy.

Again,

Line busy..

I open the internet again, to search for answers..

"Chances are the person you're calling has blocked your number..

Why? Why would he block me..?"

The door opened, and Miyako-San entered, I think she heard me talking to myself..

-"Is everything alright, Ai? Why are you talking to yourself at night?"

I switched to my lying self, it had become instinctual at this point...

-"Nope! Nothing is wrong, just singing to myself some of our songs to come, sorry!"

-"Sigh.."

She left grumbling something, that woman is honestly very moody.

But I was surprised with myself, with how fast that change of personality was.

That's good, if the President says so....

Back to the topic at hand..

Why did he block me..?

--Location: B-Komachi Recorded Concert

Time: 03:XX In the Afternoon

<I slept well.. I think..< p>

I'm ready.. But I still don't have my answers..

Why didn't I question it sooner? Why didn't I question why hasn't Kurai talked to me sooner?

Have I really been that busy?

I'll ask Ichigo-San...>

I walked over to him, our audition was going to start soon but I had a little time, so I thought it would be appropriate to ask.

-"Hey, Ichigo-San, can I ask you a question?"

He was fiddling back and forth, and I was trying to maintain my personality while asking him.

-"Hm? Oh, it's you Ai, please ask quickly."

I thought to myself a little bit.

-"Has my brother not talked to you at all since I came to be with you..?"

He stopped fiddling and looked at me for a second, but quickly got back to what he was doing.

-"Ai, go get ready, we don't have time for questions!"

Nino called for me, I guess there's no time.. So I hurried along.

The performance went as well as I'd ever want it to.

The recorders who were skeptical of us at first, were entranced.

All eyes were on me.. As the President said they would be..

Some claps here and there from workers who dropped what they were doing, and even the director of the filming was absolutely bedazzled that he came up to me after the filming was over.

He gave me his business card, and told me to call him if I ever needed work.

Weird to me, but, I took it with a cheerful smile.

After all that was done I headed straight toward Ichigo-San's office and sat down looking at him, and I could tell he was pretending not to look at me.

-"Ichigo-San.. I know you noticed me.

My answer, please!"

I did what fans call a "Cute" face, basically opening my eyes and mouth and clasping my hands in front of me.

Though I don't think that worked on him much... But he turned to me with a sigh.

-"You really are persistent..

Ai, you might not like the answer, you still want to hear it?"

I nodded furiously and awaited.

"Truth is, he left to find his own work.

He said he didn't want to talk to you anymore, so he did just that.

He said an idol should have no business with him, in an aggressive tone."

My heart shattered, but, my face didn't falter.

<He left me?! After all his encouraging words, HE JUST LEAVES?>

-"Oh.. I see..

Onii-San left..

..."

-"Don't hold it against him too much, you'll hinder your mentality.

He's still a teenager, but his mind is that of an adult.

He's thinking of his future, after he ensured yours is safe.

When you told me he was your brother, I was too shocked, honestly, I was!

And, after me and him talked for a little bit, he told me his intention then and there, to leave you after you're in safe hands.

Both him and I recognized his drawbacks; he has no talent for the entertainment industry.

He took the burden and left, Ai, I h-"

-"It's fine, President, what can I say except I love him for what he's done?"

Those words... Are not mine..

It's not even a lie, it's just not even a statement that could come from me.

-"Ai..

These are obviously lies.

In times like this..

It's okay to not be okay."

I stood up and left, still smiling.

-----------------------

"Sigh.. Here's to hoping she won't break...

What a plan, Kurai-Kun...

What a plan...

Abandoning your sister so she can grow up as a superstar independent of risks..

And you got yourself a nice payment as well..

Sigh..."

Ichigo continued his work whilst Ai left.

-"She has a brother, huh.

Hahaha... This will be good.."

A person ran along.