#listen i love them
Okay but yesterday’s Wayne Family Adventures with the fam forcing Bruce to rest? [chefs kiss]
Top tier Butlerdad content
Summary: There was the idol merch, which had driven Minori to become an idol herself. The blue light sticks of Haruka’s fans inspired her to continue performing. The fan looked handmade, perhaps even by Airi herself.
The towel though, Minori wasn’t sure what to make of it. What kind of feelings did it contain?
Word Count: 2800
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The feeling of phasing into the Sekai, of her body disappearing and then reforming in the strange new world, still thrilled Minori each time. Her heart raced as the stage appeared before her eyes, light emanating from every corner.
She had visited many times since they discovered it, especially while rehearsing for Haruka’s show. After the performance, once More More Jump had formed, she mostly came to talk or dance with Miku and Rin. They always knew how to fix a slow dance step, or the best way to draw in the audience.
Today was different. The whole group was here, phasing in as Minori did. While Shizuku and Airi had spent almost as much time in the Sekai as Minori had, Haruka had still only been there a few times. When they met for rehearsal that afternoon, they discussed the other world.
Haruka suggested that they spend some time exploring it, since it tied all of them together. If they wanted to occasionally practice there, it would be best to try to understand it.
Minori remembered the first time she saw the Sekai, when Rin told her it was a world born from all of their feelings. She agreed it was worth exploring and happily shared her opinion.
That was how More More Jump ended up in the Sekai, standing together in front of the stage. Neither of the virtual singers were there today, leaving the world feeling strangely empty.
It didn’t bother Minori as she looked around the wide-open space. “Where should we start?” She asked eagerly, eyes landing on the production booth near the back of the audience. She hadn’t been back there before since there was no reason to go. Stage production was part of being an idol too; she wanted to check it out.
“I wonder what’s backstage.” Shizuku mused. When Minori turned back to the group, Shizuku was looking back at the closed curtain.
“Why don’t we split up?” Haruka must’ve noticed that they had different locations in mind, since she proposed an appropriate course of action.
Airi nodded a couple times. “Shizuku and I will look backstage.”
Haruka’s lips lifted ever so slightly, in a smile that made Minori feel as if she was warping into the Sekai all over again. “I’ll go with Minori through the seats.”
With that agreed, the two pairs parted ways. Minori weaved her way through the seats, pausing to take a look at each row. They were made up of primarily folding chairs, with glow sticks hovering above them. When they had performed here before, the glow sticks had moved as if they were being waved.
“On stage, you’d never know that the seats are empty.” Haruka commented as she stepped into one of the rows, reaching towards a hovering glow stick. Minori watched with wide eyes as her hand phased through it, as if there were nothing there. Haruka flinched back, now frowning.
Minori tried it too, reaching for one in the next row. Just like Haruka, she was unable to grasp them. “It’s like a holograph.” She waved her hand through it, to see how the light would react.
“I think you’re right.” Haruka stepped back out into the aisle. “Ready to keep going?”
“Yeah!” Minori left the odd holographs behind so she could lead the way. They walked faster through the rest of the stands, until they reached the production booth Minori noticed before.
There were a couple flower stands in front of it, one each for both Miku and Rin. Computers were spread along the production table, along with a few other items. As Minori rounded the corner, finally able to see the tables properly, she recognized a few of the things.
“Oh woah, it’s Asrun merch!” Minori picked up the Asrun bag, running her fingers across the buttons along the side. This wasn’t just any bag; this was her bag. These buttons were the same ones she’d added over the years. She used to carry this bag all the time, storing all sorts of things inside. How was it here though? She was confident that it was hanging up in her closet at home.
Haruka had walked into the booth as well, stopping to Minori’s left at a different item. It was a blue glow stick, the same color that had washed over the audience during Haruka’s performances. Her head was tilted towards it, face only partially visible to Minori.
Minori glanced back down at the table where she stood, spotting two cd’s where the bag had been. She recognized them without needing to see the titles; these were Haruka’s first two singles. She’d bought them both on the days they released, waiting outside the music store for over an hour before it opened. How strange, these were supposed to be at home too.
There were a couple other things on the table, a large pink fan and a towel. Minori started with the towel, since it was closer. She picked it up and unfolded it, holding it out in front of her. It was the size of a hand towel, with lettering engraved on one edge. The letters spelled out Airi’s name.
Minori folded it back up as best she could, placing it back on the table. She assumed that it was Airi’s towel. To her left, Haruka had picked up the fan. She held it up to show Minori, with Airi’s name clearly visible on it as well.
“These must have manifested here.” Haruka said as she gently placed the fan back on the table. “As fragments of our feelings.”
For the most part that made sense. The originals were probably still in the real world, with the Sekai making a copy based on their emotions.
There was the idol merch, which had driven Minori to become an idol herself. The blue light sticks of Haruka’s fans inspired her to continue performing. The fan looked handmade, perhaps even by Airi herself.
The towel though, Minori wasn’t sure what to make of it. What kind of feelings did it contain?
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If Shizuku said that today had been an incredibly difficult day, that would’ve been an understatement. She’d found her drive that morning after meeting Airi, but while that changed her attitude, it hadn’t diminished the challenges ahead.
Throughout the day they practiced singing, dancing, and speaking. Shizuku gave her all in each task, with dancing being the hardest one for her. Even though she struggled with some of the dance moves, she was committed to getting them right.
She watched as Airi moved in perfect time, striking each pose with precision. There was much she could learn from her, even outside the talk they had earlier. Shizuku made note of what worked and tweaked her own performance, eager to improve.
She had to do her best in order give hope to others.
With her chin up and best foot forward, Shizuku made it through her first day learning to be an idol.
Once the group was dismissed on stage, Shizuku wiped her face with the towel she’d been carrying. It was handed to her that morning by Airi, who gave it to her to dry her tears. Shizuku had been using it since, wiping her sweat as they practiced.
As she dabbed it across her forehead, she realized that maybe she should give it back. There were letters embroidered onto one side, which read Airi. This was a personalized towel, not something to be given away. To be honest, she probably should’ve returned it earlier.
With that in mind, Shizuku looked around to find the girl in question. She’d been there a few minutes before, eyes locked eagerly onto their instructor. Now, as the others milled about and all prepared to leave, she was harder to spot.
Luckily, Airi’s bright pink hair couldn’t be missed. Near the back of the stage, behind another group of teens, Shizuku spotted her. Airi was looking down at her phone, typing something on the keypad.
Shizuku moved around the others to reach her, folding the towel as she did. She left the embroidered letters facing up; it just felt right.
When she reached Airi, she stopped in front of the shorter teen. Shizuku waited as she continued to type, not wanting to interrupt.
It took a moment for Airi to notice her. First only her pink eyes glanced up, then shifted down to her phone, A moment later she looked up completely, beaming at Shizuku with a bright grin.
“Great first day out there!” Airi tucked her phone away in a pocket.
“I’ve already learned a lot.” Shizuku replied, particularly thinking back on what Airi told her that morning. She lifted the towel with both hands, holding it out towards Airi. “Thank you for lending me this.”
Surprisingly, Airi did not reach up to accept the item. Instead, she shook her head. “Keep it.” She replied simply.
Shizuku’s hands fell slightly. “You don’t want it?” It seemed like a perfectly good towel, perhaps even better than good due to the lettering.
Airi smirked, placing one hand on her hip. “I won’t take it back until you’ve beaten me!” Her eyes glimmered, exuding excitement.
Shizuku lifted the towel to her chest as she processed those words. Even after her performance today, after helping her that morning and watching her lackluster dance steps, Airi still thought of her as a rival.
A warm smile spread on Shizuku’s face as she held the towel close. Someday, once she perfected every aspect of being an idol, she’d try again to give it back.
She couldn’t help but wonder if that would be enough. The girl in front of her was full of heart, of hope. Even if she was impossible to beat, Shizuku was determined to try.
Until then, it was hers.
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Backstage in the Sekai was not nearly as interesting as Airi hoped it would be. It was full of the typical things that could be found on real stages, like old sets, unplugged light fixtures, and a folded curtain. The lights were dim, barely illuminating the space.
At least Shizuku seemed intrigued. She was leaning over one of the sets, looking closely at some of the finer details. Airi was in no hurry to move along, content with watching her explore this world.
It felt strange, spending time together like this after their careers had gone down drastically different paths. Airi was still getting used to it again. Practicing together again felt like a dream, one Airi had long left behind.
“Airi-chan, this one has clovers on it!” Shizuku’s voice rose as she gestured for Airi to come over.
Airi joined her with a smile, walking across the stage to scrutinize the set. Indeed, it did have clovers painted along the bottom.
“I wonder how clover themed outfits would look.” Airi mused, trying to imagine it. “It might clash with my hair.”
“Nonsense,” Shizuku dismissed the notion. “You’d look wonderful.” She stood upright, moving away from the set.
Airi’s cheeks warmed at that response, which she ignored as she changed the subject. “I think that’s everything back here.”
“Hmm, yes.” Shizuku looked around one more time. “That was the last one. I think it’s my favorite.”
The two turned back towards the stage, walking past all the sets they encountered before. Each set depicted different locations, most unfamiliar to Airi. One stood out to her, a background that showed a stage. She remembered debuting on a similar stage, in front of a roaring crowd.
“I’m more curious about where they came from.” Airi replied, walking past the last one and out onto the main stage.
“Probably the same magic that made this world.”
There was no arguing with that. Airi stepped towards the front of the stage, peering out over the audience. Midway back, she spotted Haruka and Minori. They were walking towards the front, through the aisles of the seats.
“Find anything interesting?” Airi asked once the pair reached the stage. They must’ve been craning their necks to look up at her.
“There’s some cool stuff at the production booth.” Minori pointed in the direction of the booth, which Airi could see from the stage.
“They’re copies of real things.” Haruka added, drawing Airi’s attention back to her. So it wasn’t real items, but copies? It sounded different than what they found on stage. Airi was definitely curious.
“Up here, there are many different sets.” Shizuku offered, still smiling as she had been before.
That was all it took to have Minori bounding up onto the stage, bouncing back behind the curtain. Haruka followed slowly behind, taking the stairs up. “We’ll meet you back out here.” She said as she passed, disappearing into the dark of backstage.
Airi and Shizuku took those same stairs down to see the booth, which was pretty far back in the stands. They were able to walk an aisle way almost straight to it.
When they reached the booth, walking around to enter it, the bright pink fan snagged Airi’s gaze. It looked familiar, far too familiar. She picked it up to look at and yes, it was exactly as she thought.
One of her earliest fans had made her this, sending it to the production studio to give to her. They made it by hand, using paint to add her name on the side. When her idol career started to fall apart, Airi used to look at the fan to remind herself of why she did this. It was for the fans, to give them hope as their idol.
The real one was carefully preserved in plastic at home, which must’ve been what Haruka meant by the items being copies. Airi’s desires as an idol were tied strongly to this fan. Perhaps that was why it was here.
She turned to see what Shizuku was doing, catching her folding something with her hands. It appeared to be a towel, of the light pink variety. Airi put the fan down to go see, passing the blue glow stick and Asrun merch on the way. Those must’ve belonged to Haruka and Minori.
Airi stopped next to Shizuku, watching as she finished folding the towel. White lettering was visible on the top, showing a few familiar letters.
A memory flashed in Airi’s mind, one long buried and forgotten.
“You can’t possibly still have that, after all this time?” Airi asked, carefully watching Shizuku’s reaction.
Shizuku turned towards her, leaving one hand pressed on top of the towel. “Of course I still have it, I’m not ready to give it back.” Her tone carried a hint of fondness.
Airi chuckled at that, “When I gave it to you, you only tried once.” She had almost forgotten about it after that, once Shizuku stopped bringing it to practice.
“That’s right.” Shizuku’s smile softened, her expression full of warmth. “You’re an amazing idol Airi-chan, I haven’t beaten you yet.”
Airi inhaled sharply; she didn’t agree with that statement. Even if Airi had her strengths, she had faltered as an idol. Not long ago, she had gone against everything she once preached.
“Even when I quit?” It was a heavy question, loaded with an anxiety she carried deep within.
Shizuki didn’t falter, didn’t allow the question to hang in the air. “I never stopped believing in you.” She spoke gently, her voice lifting Airi like the warm coming of spring. “I always hoped you’d come back, with all my heart.”
“I’m back, Shizuku” Airi affirmed, smiling despite fighting tears in the corners of her eyes. “We’re here now, together.”
Shizuku nodded, blinking rapidly a few times. “Finally, we are.” Something hung in the air between them, electric in the multicolored light. Airi was aware of each breath, as their eyes remained locked.
Shizuku broke eye contact, cheeks pink as she looked down. She patted the towel one last time before stepping away. She moved past Airi to the other items, stopping to coo over the Asrun merchandise.
Airi gently pushed a crease out of the towel, making sure it was lying flat. In a way she still disagreed; Shizuku had beaten her long ago. The one who inspired her, who drove her to be the best idol she could, that was always Shizuku.
Years ago, when she issued the challenge, she hadn’t realized that she’d lose. Not only would she lose, but she’d be happy to do so. She would be excited to face the next day, singing and dancing with the idol who inspired her. Her rival who, through hard work and persistence, had beaten her.
Even so, Airi would let her keep the towel for now. She suspected Shizuku wouldn’t give it up anyway, even if she asked. After all, it had appeared here for a reason.
Airi wasn’t ready to grapple with that idea yet, as she followed Shizuku over to the other items.
The Sekai version of the towel remained folded on the table, with the letters of Airi’s name face up for all to see.
