New Life and New Rules

“Everyone! Thank you so much for coming to my farewell concert. The times that I spent with my members will always be special to me.” Miyoko was standing on stage with her members giving her farewell speech to the audience. The concert had come to an end which signals the end of her time with Lucky Wish. “Aoi, thank you for being like the little sister I never had. Watching you grow into who you are now makes me so happy but so sad that you’re not the little girl you used to be when you first joined. Please continue to become someone I can be proud of.”

Aoi cried upon hearing Miyoko’s words. She ran up to Miyoko and hugged her. “I will. I will. I’ll make you proud of me.” Miyoko patted her head to comfort her. The audience expressed sympathy for Aoi and shouted words of encouragement.

“Don’t cry Aoi!”

“We’ll always be with you!”

“Aoi-chan crying makes me want to cry!”

“We love you Aoi!”

After it quieted down a bit, Miyoko continued on. “Iroha, thank you for being the one who always makes me smile. The hard times felt easier when you were there to brighten everything up.” Iroha was trying hard to hold back her tears.

“I’ll never change. I’ll keep being happy for you.” Iroha said with a trembling voice.

“Tsugumi, without you, I would’ve gone crazy all of these years. Thank you for being the one I could always come to whenever I needed someone to talk to. You’ve been such a huge help to me.”

“Even after you leave, come talk to me anytime.” Tsugumi’s words made the crowd give a huge cheer.

“Erina, you were someone I wished I could be like. Even though you are younger than me, you are like a big sister I could look up to. I know this is embarrassing to say but, you really are the coolest person I know. Next time we meet, I hope to be cooler than you.”

Erina blushed after hearing that from Miyoko and gave her a big smile.

“And Karin.” Miyoko turned to face her and could see that Karin’s cheeks were wet with tears. “Karin…” Miyoko was tearing up as well seeing her leader cry. “Thank you for being the first person who became my friend when I joined Lucky Wish. When we first started together, I never thought I would actually make it until you pushed me to get here. Thank you for not giving up on me back then. I’m sorry to let you down now. I know we said we’ll always be in this together as long as we can…I’m sorry.” Miyoko ran to Karin and hugged her as both of them sobbed on stage. The other members surrounded Karin and Miyoko and it turned into a group hug. The crowd responded by cheering loudly.

In his room, Hisashi was watching the concert live on the LoveDol! app. He was crying along with the members.

“Hisashi, come eat dinner,” a voice called out from outside his room door.

“I’m not hungry,” he shouted back.

“Mom, he’s crying over his imaginary girlfriends,” the voice responded.

“SHUT UP!!!”

In her room, Airi was also watching the concert on the app since this was part of their deal. Even then, she would still watch it so that she can comfort Hisashi and not let him go through this all alone. Losing a member that you’ve grown attached to is very hard for idol fans.

“Hisashi, are you doing okay?” Airi texted him.

“I will be soon, after I cry the whole night.” A crying sticker was sent.

To an outsider, this may seem crazy and outright ridiculous, but idol fans are different. They understand this feeling: the feeling of sadness that washes over you when a beloved member decides to go on a different path. It feels like a childhood friend that’s about to move away. Fans can’t do anything about it except show their full support, but they also can’t help but feel empty inside. Of course the older members are there, but it’s not the same. Like when a friend group loses someone, suddenly the whole atmosphere is off. Luckily for Lucky Wish fans, the company makes it easy to get over old members by adding new ones as soon as possible. It doesn’t heal the pain, but it certainly makes it a bit more bearable.

“Airi, when you join Lucky Wish, please make Lucky Ones proud.”

Airi could sense the seriousness in Hisashi’s message. “Mm. You do the same when you join Miracle.”

Hisashi replied with a thumbs up sticker.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next Day

Airi stood in front of the large building in front of her. It was a three story building with glass windows scattered throughout the second and third floor. Her phone was in her hand and it was opened to the chat log of her and Lucky Wish’s manager. “Yep, this looks like the place,” she thought to herself, “This is where I’ll be for the next few years of my life.” Her other hand was clutched onto her luggage handle; after waiting a while, she got the courage to walk into the building. When she went inside, there was a small lobby area with a few sitting areas on the left and right side as well as elevator doors on both side’s wall. In the center, there was a midsized desk with a woman sitting in front of a computer screen.

The woman noticed Airi enter and with a big smile, she greeted her. “Hello, can I help you?”

“U-uh, I’m supposed to be here.”

“Excuse me?”

“I live here now.”

The woman’s face seemed confused at first. “Please hold for a minute.” She picked up the phone and dialed a number and when the other line picked up, her voice went quieter. “Hello, Mr. Tanaka, there’s someone here saying they’re supposed to be at the dorm building. Should I just call security?”

Airi's face became alarmed. “Sorry, but I really am supposed to be here,” she said nervously, “My name is Kimura Airi.”

“Suspect’s name is Kimura Airi.”

“Suspect?!” Airi seemed scared of what’s to come next.

“I see. Mm-hm. Okay. You’ll take care of it? Okay, thank you sir.” The woman hung up the phone. “You can take the elevator on the left and go to the second floor. Someone will meet you there. Welcome to the Lucky Wish dorm.” the woman said with a smile.

Airi gave a sigh of relief and felt happy to hear that. She followed the woman’s instructions and went into the elevator then pushed the number 2 button. When the elevator stopped, the door opened to a short hallway. Airi walked slowly towards the door standing at the end and once she reached it, she stood there staring at it. She took a deep breath and opened the door. What she saw next was the total opposite of how she expected idols to live.

“Iroha, give it back,” Tsugumi yelled out.

“Try and catch me!” Iroha was being chased by Tsugumi throughout the living room.

“Guys, can we please be a bit quiet,” Aoi softly spoke. Aoi was sitting on the floor hugging a stuffed rabbit.

“Try and catch me too, Aoi.” Iroha took the rabbit out of her hand and started running around.

“Ahh,” Aoi softly exclaimed. “Don’t do anything to him please!” She started running after Iroha too.

Erina was asleep on the couch completely oblivious to what was happening around her.

Karin came out of a room with boxes in her hand. “Guys, stop playing around. Go help Miyoko.”

“They have to catch me first!”

“Karin, please help me! Iroha is going to hurt him.” Aoi was referring to the rabbit.

“Iroha, we can’t be playing around now.” Tsugumi was annoyed.

Karin put the boxes down and when Iroha was running past her, she quickly grabbed onto her sleeve. Suddenly, her tone became slightly threatening. “Hey, did you not hear what I said?”

Iroha was too scared to look at Karin’s face. “Y-yes Karin-san. Sorry, guys.” Iroha gave Tsugumi and Aoi their things back.

“Geez, Karin, you’re gonna have to teach us how to make Iroha listen to us.” Tsugumi was tired after chasing Iroha around.

“Hmph, then I won’t be able to have any fun with you guys.” Iroha whined.

“I’ll play with you Iroha, as long as you don’t hurt Pochi,” Aoi clung onto her stuffed rabbit.

“Aoi…” Iroha’s heart fluttered because of Aoi’s cuteness.

“Um, excuse me,” Airi interrupted.

“Oh, hello. Are you lost?” Iroha wondered.

“I-I’m the new member,” Airi felt embarrassed that the other members haven’t heard about her yet.

Karin hit Iroha in the back of the head.

“Ow!”

“Hello, I’m Nishimura Karin, the leader of Lucky Wish. You’re Kimura Airi right? The manager told us you’d be moving in today. Sorry about the mess. It would’ve been done already if some of us decided to help.” She was referring to Iroha who was avoiding eye contact with her.

“I’m Yamaguchi Iroha! You’ll have a great time when I’m around!” Iroha exclaimed proudly.

“I’m Sugita Aoi. I’m the youngest.” Aoi looked at Airi with curious eyes.

“And I”m-”

“Airi! There you are. Sorry about all of this. I told them to get everything ready for you by now.” A short, skinny, middle-aged man came out of one of the rooms.

“Hello Mr. Tanaka. It’s okay. I’m in no hurry.” Airi reassured him. The man that appeared was Lucky Wish’s manager. Airi’s already met with him after the LOSER boot camp. They’ve been in contact with each other ever since to help Airi smoothly transition into the group. Airi’s been able to get training and practice schedules from him as well as the move-in day. and answering any other question she has.

Tsugumi cleared her throat. “As I was saying, I’m-”

“I’m Miyazaki Erina.”

“NOT AGAIN!” Tsugumi retorted

Erina got off of the couch and stood near the other members. “Welcome to Lucky Wish, Airi,” she gave Airi a big smile.

“Just a minute! I haven’t even told her my name yet.”

“I got you! This is Hanazawa Tsugumi, the boring one,” Iroha proudly introduced her member.

“EHHHHH!!!!!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later

Airi’s first impression of the members was different than what she was expecting. She walked into the room that would be hers. Miyoko was there finishing up her packing. She noticed Airi standing in the room. “You’re Airi right? The newest member?” Her tone was warm and gentle. There was a hint of sadness in her words.

“Yes. Hello, I’m Kimura Airi. I know that you are Iwasaki Miyoko. It’s nice to meet you.”

Miyoko chuckled at how Airi was acting. It reminded her of her first time being introduced as Lucky Wish’s member; the anxiousness, the fear, the curiosity that many rookies had about being an idol.

“Oh, did I do something wrong? I’m sorry.”

“No, no. I was like you too when I first joined. It was a lot of hard work and training; but knowing that I surpassed so many people to be able to get this spot was fulfilling. I achieved a long-time dream of mine. Of course, it’s not all bright, but we have members who cared for each other to help us get out of dark times. Airi, you’re in good hands. Don’t be afraid. As Lucky Wish members, they’ll do their best to take care of you; and please look out for them too.”

“Yes, I will do my best.”

Miyoko responded with a smile and continued on with her packing.

“I want to ask, if this was your dream and you already felt fulfilled, why did you decide to leave it?”

Miyoko paused when she heard the question.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ask you such a personal question. I’ll leave now so you can finish.” Airi felt embarrassed for not knowing her place. She turned around and was ready to leave.

Miyoko gave a small chuckle, “My dream was fulfilled. But now, I have newer dreams that I want to fulfill.”

“Newer dreams to fulfill?” Airi thought to herself. She smiled, “I see,” she replied.

It was late in the afternoon when Miyoko finished packing and left the dorm. The goodbye was filled with crying and hugs and words of gratitude. Even Airi cried even though she was never in the memories that were shared; Airi is the type to cry just by seeing other people cry. Now, she was in her room texting Hisashi.

“I finally moved in. Miyoko already left.”

“Did you get the album signed by Miyoko?”

“Yes, but there’s probably tear stains on it now.”

“Miyoko’s autograph and her tears! I want it back now!”

“You’ll get it after I get my autograph from Kaito.”

“Fine, fine.”

“When do you move in?”

“The farewell concert is next week and I move in the day after that.”

Airi’s door opened and Iroha entered.

“Airi? How are you doing? Sorry, you had to see that on your first day,” Iroha said embarrassingly.

“No, no, it’s okay. I’m glad I got to witness how everyone acts normally. I thought living with idols would be a bit intimidating but seeing how you guys are, you’re just like everyone else.”

“I don’t know if I should take that as an insult or a compliment.” Airi’s phone buzzed. “Oh, are you talking to someone?”

“Yeah, my friend wants to know how I’m doing. He’s actually a huge fan of Lucky Wish.”

‘Oh really?” Her face turned smug. “I see, so who is his favorite member? It’s got to be me right? I mean, who doesn’t like the happy go-lucky member?”

“Actually, it was Miyoko.”

“Oh…I see.” Iroha’s expression turned gloomy.

“But he still likes you too!” Airi tried to make Iroha feel better. “You might actually meet him next week! He’ll be coming here.”

“A boy? In our dorm? We’ve never had that before! I don’t know how the manager will react to that. Although, this could be my chance to show him my true charm, then I will be his new favorite member. Okay, I’ll convince the manager to let him come visit you!” Iroha sounded motivated.

Airi gave a sheepish chuckle, “It’s okay, if he can’t come here, I’ll just visit him at his dorm.”

“NO! He has to come here so he can meet me, fall in love with me, and choose me as his favorite member!” Airi gave an awkward smile. “Oh, you said dorm, is he an idol too?”

“He’s in training like me right now! He’s moving-in upstairs next week. So you might see him a lot and maybe then you can make him fall in love with you.”

“No, thank you” Iroha quickly rejected.

“That was quick!” Airi thought.

“Never would I try to make a Miracle member fall in love with me.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Lucky Wish and Miracle members must never interact with each other in any way! These are the rules of the dorm.”

“I see, because it might cause dating rumors?”

“No, it’s because we hate them.”

“Too honest!” Airi thought.

“The rules of this dorm include: never talk to Miracle members, never talk about Miracle members unless it’s something bad that’s happened to them, never text Miracle members, never accept a Miracle member’s invitation to anything, never touch a Miracle member, and lastly, never treat a Miracle member like a human being.”

“None of these rules apply to actually living in the dorm, they’re all just about hating Miracle.” Airi thought. “Um, are there any rules that don’t involve Miracle? Like, labeling foods or asking before borrowing each other’s things?”

“Hmm.” Iroha was thinking for a bit. “No, we’re all chill with each other.”

“If only they were that chill with Miracle.” Airi thought to herself. “But, since he’s technically not a member of Miracle yet, could I still text him before he debut?”

Iroha hesitated, “Well…”

“I’ll tell him all the good things about you!” Airi tried to appeal to Iroha.

“Fine, I won’t tell the other members about it. But, once he moves in, you must cut off all contact with him.”

Airi didn’t like the thought of cutting off her best friend. Although she did promise him to make Lucky Ones happy and if she decides to leave, Lucky Ones would be devastated that the whole system got ruined because of her. “Okay, for Lucky Ones.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hisashi looked at the dorm building in front of him. He looked at his phone which was open to a chat log of him and Miracle’s manager. The manager sent him the address of the building and told him to move in today. He also remembered that Airi told him to be careful of the woman working the front as she’s overly cautious. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

“Excuse me, what are you doing?”

Hisashi was startled and jumped up. He turned around and saw a boy about his age with a curious look on his face.

“Uh…uh”

“Oh, I see, you’re one of those stalkers aren’t you? Sucks for you cause the Lucky Wish members aren’t here right now.”

Hisashi was taken aback by this guy’s assumption. “Uh…”

“Unless you’re a Miracle stalker? Fine fine, just take some pics and go. Look, I’ll even pose for you. Just don’t come back. Even if you do, why would you come during the day time, aren’t stalkers creatures of the night? Everyone knows you should never stalk someone in plain daylight. You have a lot to learn as a stalker.”

“Who is this guy?” Hisashi's face screamed confusion. “Wait, he just said he’s a Miracle member,” he thought to himself.

“Tsugi, who are you talking to?” A taller guy wearing glasses joined him and behind him were 3 other guys who gave off major idol vibes. Hisashi realized quickly that they must be the Miracle members.

“Just giving this stalker some pointers on how to stalk more effectively-” He was interrupted with a slap to the head by the guy in glasses.

“Dumbass,” he said coolly.

“Um…I’m actually the new member that’s moving in with you,” Hisashi chimed in.

“New member?” Tsugi looked confused.

“Ah, that’s right. He’s the new member of Miracle replacing Kaito.” The tallest guy in the group spoke up. He had a friendly face of someone who would be every girl’s first love. His smile made Hisashi feel at ease. “I’m Oshima Toji, the leader of Miracle.”

“Ohhh, I see. I’m Hanazawa Tsugumi! But you can call me Tsugi.”

“Hanazawa Tsugumi? Isn’t there a Lucky Wish member named that?”

“No…only me.”

“Are you sure? I remember-”

“I said, it’s only me…” Tsugi’s eyes turned threatening.

“Tsugi, Tsugi, you’re scaring him. This isn’t the right way to treat our newest member.” The guy went up to Hisashi and put his arm around his shoulder like a playboy. “I’m Takeuchi Denji, think of me as your cooler older brother. I’ll teach you life lessons like how to pick up girls, how to flirt with girls, and the best places to find cute ones.”

“That sounds more like lessons on how to be an asshole,” Hisashi thought to himself.

“Don’t mind those idiots. The more you stick with them, the more likely you’ll become a good-for-nothing dumbass.” The guy in glasses spoke in a serious tone complimented with a no nonsense expression.

“Saiga, don’t be mean to the others,” Toji spoke gently with a smile. “Don’t worry about him, Saiga may appear cool but he’s actually a big softie inside.”

Saiga became annoyed as he heard that, “Not true! I truly hate those two idiots. I don’t know how they got chosen to join this group!”

“If you truly hate them, you wouldn’t have taken care of Tsugi when he came down with a cold last time. Or comforted Denji when he was sad about being rejected by Erina. And if I remember correctly, you cried when Tsugi-”

“OKAY, OKAY. BUT I ONLY DO THIS BECAUSE I HAVE TO BE THE RESPONSIBLE ADULT! IT’S NOT LIKE I ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT THEM!!!”

“Hehe, Saiga is a softie,” Tsugi let out a dumb chuckle.

“You’re such a tsundere, Saiga,” Denji added with a dumb smile.

“Shut up,” Saiga retaliated. The scene in front of Hisashi was comparable to siblings arguing with each other.

“Maybe living here won’t be so bad,” Hisashi thought to himself. He then noticed that there was another guy standing across from him, staring at him with an emotionless face. “Uh, are you a member of Miracle too?”

“Yes.”

“Ah, this is Hideaki. He’s the coolest one out of all of us,” Tsugi exclaimed.

“He’s totally on another level; he’s even cooler than me. Tell him, Hideaki,” Denji added.

“I’m Katou Hideaki.” He said with a straight face and emotionless tone.

“WHOAAAA! THAT WAS SO COOL!!!” Both Denji and Tsugi were hyped up by his small introduction. “He’s so cool!” “I know, I wish I was like him.” “I’m gonna make him teach me how to be cooler.” Denji and Tsugi continued to express awe towards Hideaki. Hisashi was baffled at what he saw. “Maybe Saiga was right, I shouldn’t be around them-” his thought was interrupted.

“Hm, that was truly the coolest introduction you’ve given, Hideaki.” Saiga smirked as he pushed up his glasses.

“THE SMART ONE THINKS THIS TOO??” Hisashi couldn’t believe what he heard.

“You really are the best, Hideaki,” Toji said.

“Are they seeing what I’m seeing? Or maybe I’m not seeing what they’re seeing. Maybe I’m the crazy one?” Hisashi's head was filled with confusion.

“Mm.” Hideaki replied with the same straight face and tone.

Both Denji and Tsugi bursted out laughing all of a sudden while Saiga let out a small chuckle.

“Hideaki is the funny one in the group too,” Toji said through small snickers.

Hisashi let out an awkward laugh despite not knowing what they found funny about that, “never mind, living here won’t be as easy as I thought,” he thought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“WELCOME TO OUR DORM,” Tsugi announced. Hisashi and the Miracle members stood near the doorway.

“Whoa, this dorm is pretty neat,” Hisashi thought. The living area was huge and was furnished with two couches opposite of each other; in the middle was a medium-sized circular glass table. On the right side stood the kitchen area where there was a huge fridge standing in the corner. The sink counter had a drying rack near it where many dishes were residing.

“Look here!” Tsugi went over to the kitchen and opened a door near the fridge. It was revealed to be the pantry and in it stood rows of snacks and instant foods. Hisashi’s eyes started to tear up at the blessed sight in front of him.

“This pantry…is every teen boy’s dream,” he thought. “I have to tell Airi about this.”

Just then, one of the doors to a room opened and a guy came out with his luggage. He was tall and very handsome; his face was those of a stranger you’d have a crush on if you saw him in public.

“Ah, Kaito. Leaving already?” Toji walked up to him.

“Mm. This is gonna be the last time I see this place.” He had a nostalgic look in his eyes as he looked at his fellow members. “Thank you, everyone, for making my time here so memorable.”

“Big bro,” Tsugi said through sniffles.

Kaito chuckled, “It’s okay, Tsugi. I’ll still be in touch with you.” Tsugi let out a big wail and hugged Kaito while Kaito patted his head to calm him down.

“You’re so embarrassing Tsugi. Hey, if you ever date a cute girl, set me up with her friend!” Denji gave Kaito a thumbs up.

“Fool, as if he would let any innocent girl get anywhere near you. It’s better off if no girl ever gets to know you,” Saiga added.

“Tell that to all of my fans,” Denji retaliated.

“Heh, I’m really gonna miss this,” Kaito chuckled at their bickering.

“Are you sure you’ll really miss him?” Saiga referred to Denji which made him grumble.

Kaito noticed Hideaki standing in front of him with a blank stare.

“Hideaki…”

“Goodbye.”

Kaito and the other suddenly teared up.

“Hideaki, please don’t make this harder,” Kaito said through tears. He wiped his eyes and tried his hardest to calm down. “I’ll always miss your way with words.”

“Still not seeing it,” Hisashi thought. Kaito walked up to him.

“You must be the new member. I’m Kurosaki Kaito.”

“Oh, I’m Inoue Hisashi. Nice to meet you.”

“You’re in good hands with them. It’s going to be a lot of hard work as an idol! But it’s all worth it to make our many fans happy.”

Hisashi understood what Kaito meant. As a fan himself, he knows how hard idols work in order to prepare great music and content for their fans. He could always feel the passion and energy that idols put in when performing on stage; they work their hardest to make sure fans are never disappointed in them. Being a rookie himself, he’s also been through the harsh training, which only made his respect for idols even higher.

“Kaito, why don’t you share a word of advice for our newest member,” Toji said with a gentle smile.

Kaito looked at Hisashi and with a big genuine smile, he said, “Watch your back.”

“WHAT’S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!!?? Hisashi thought. “Saying that with a smile makes me even more scared of what he means by that.”

“Well, everyone, I’ll get going now. Maybe one day, we can meet each other again.”

“Bye Kaito!”

“Come back soon!”

“Bye.”

As everyone said their farewells, Kaito left Miracle.

“Watch my back? What does that mean? Is he coming back to get his spot back from me? Wait, that doesn’t make sense, he chose to leave the group so why would he want to come back?” These thoughts ruminated in his head.

Toji noticed that Hisashi was deep in thought, “Hisashi, are you okay?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Uh, I have to go talk to a friend for a bit. Is Lucky Wish back?”

“What?”

“Lucky Wish lives here too, right? I’ll just head to their dorm.”

“HOLD ON JUST A MINUTE!!” Tsugi ran to the front door to guard. “What business do you have with Lucky Wish? Are you actually the new Miracle member? Wait, maybe you are a stalker and you used some kind of mind tactic to make us believe you? Here I was thinking you were some type of rookie stalker when you’re actually doing some professional stalker shi-”

“I AM! I AM! I REALLY AM THE NEW MEMBER!!” Hisashi defended himself from Tsugi’s baseless accusation. “My friend is in Lucky Wish. She recently moved in last week. She hasn’t texted me back in a while so I just want to make sure she’s okay.”

The other members looked at each other with worried expressions. Toji came up to him without a smile for the first time since Hisashi’s seen him. “Hisashi…you can’t be friends with her anymore.”

Hisashi couldn’t believe what he heard. “What do you mean? You’re joking right? Ah, I get it. You’re worried it might cause some dating scandal or something. I promise, we’re just friends.”

“Lucky Wish and Miracle are not allowed to interact with each other,” Saiga informed him.

“What?”

“Both groups have rules for their members to never interact with the other group unless it’s for company content.”

“Did the company create this?”

“No…we all just hate each other,” Tsugi said seriously.

“Uh…what?” Hisashi asked flatly.

“Hate,” Hideaeki added with no emotions

“Whoa Hideaki, calm down. Don’t act like that in front of him,” Denji held up his hands and did a “calm down” motion to Hideaki.

“I’m sorry, Hisashi. It’s the rules. You can’t go see them and your friend can’t come see you. Even if you went to their dorm, they won’t let you in, knowing that you’re a member of Miracle,” Toji explained.

“I can’t be friends with Airi anymore?” The thought made Hisashi angry. He couldn’t just let go of his childhood friend just because of some rule. He was thinking that there must be a way for both of them to meet each other without the other members knowing. He could leave the group but both him and Airi promised each other to make both group’s fans happy. “Well, I just need some time to think about this then. I’ll be in my room.” Hisashi walked over to the door with his luggage.

“Hisashi-” Toji started.

“I’m fine. I just want to be alone right now.” Hisashi replied with a smile. In reality, he’s thinking of a plan to meet up with Airi.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later

It was 11PM and Hisashi was sitting in a booth near the window in a restaurant. He kept looking over at the entrance as if he was waiting for someone and sighed whenever no one would show up. A few minutes later, a person wearing a huge hoodie and sweats came in. Their face was covered up by their hood and when they faced Hisashi’s table, they started walking over towards him.

Hisashi tried to avoid looking at them but when he noticed them getting closer, he became even more anxious about what’s to come next. “Crap, does this guy have a problem with me or something? I knew I shouldn’t have come out to the city so late. He’s probably going to beat me up and force me to hand over my money or something,” he thought. The figure finally arrived and sat down across from him. Hisashi just stared at them for a bit with an anxious expression. “What’s happening?” The figure took off their hood and their identity was revealed to be Airi. Hisashi and Airi decided to meet up secretly without their members knowing.

“Hey Hisashi, sorry I’m kind of late.”

Hisashi looked at her with an annoyed expression. “YOU IDIOT! I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO GET MUGGED! WHY DID YOU DRESS SO SUSPICIOUSLY??”

“THIS WAS THE BEST OUTFIT I COULD FIND TO SNEAK OUT OF THE DORM!!! And it didn’t even do a good job either.” Airi was reminded of what happened beforehand.

Hisashi and she agreed to choose a really late time to meet knowing that their members were too tired to stay up too late. When she thought that everyone turned in for the night, she made her move. She dressed in all black to hide herself within the dark living room. She tried her best to move around as quietly as possible. Then, the floor creaked midway through the living room.

“Huh? Is someone there,” a voice called out. It sounded like it was coming from the kitchen.

“This is bad. I’m about to get caught. It’s okay, just hide and blend in with the darkness,” Airi thought. She went to the living room and hid in front of the couch on the floor. The footsteps sounded like it was getting closer and closer until it finally stopped. Airi could feel the presence of the person standing right near her.

“Airi?” It was Iroha. She used her phone flashlight to look around the living area and noticed Airi laying on the floor. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, Iroha, I didn’t know you stayed up this late.”

“I don’t, but I was dreaming about snacks so I woke up and wanted a light snack.” The phone’s flashlight allowed Airi to see Iroha carrying multiple large bags of chips.

“That’s a light snack?” Airi thought to herself.

“Hold on, are you sleeping out here?”

“No, no. I was planning to go out! I wanted to go see the city at night.”

“I see.” Iroha noticed what Airi was wearing. “Are you going out to mug people?”

“EHHH?”

“Wait, are you secretly a thief? Did you grow up with a hard life that you had to learn how to fend for yourself?”

“What is she thinking?” Airi didn’t have time for Iroha’s antics.

“Airi, it’s okay. You don’t have to do that anymore. You’re an idol now and you have us. We’ll do our best to make your life as comfortable as possible!!” Iroha sounded fired up but Airi couldn’t afford to let the others hear them and question what she was doing.

“Uhhhh, sure. I’m going to go out and think about all of this. Please don’t tell the others. I think I need to be alone so I can process this new change in life. I will change for the better. But, for now, let’s just keep this between us.” Airi couldn’t believe she went along with Iroha; now a member thinks she was a juvenile thief.

“I see, promise me, no, promise us that you will give up this life,” Iroha said dramatically.

“I promise all of Lucky Ones that I will be an idol they can be proud of.” Iroha teared up at what Airi said.

“I can’t believe I lied to Iroha like that!” Airi felt embarrassed about her new misunderstanding.

“Well, if I was her, I’d think the same. Well, I guess I had it easier then.” Hisashi recounted what happened to him.

Right when it seemed like everyone was asleep, Hisashi texted Airi “going out now”. He quietly came out of his room and tried his best to take light footsteps as he walked down the short hallway into the living room. When he arrived, he saw Hideaki sitting on the couch watching anime on TV.

“Damn it, someone’s still awake. Wait, this is Hideaki, he won’t say anything, but I can’t let my guard down.” Hisashi was able to get through the living room without making much sound but as he put his hand on the doorknob of the front door, Hideaki spoke up.

“Hey.”

Hisashi turned around and gave him a nervous smile. “Hideaki, I’m just going to go out a bit. This has been a crazy day and I need some time to just let it all in. Actually, this whole month has been kind of crazy and I haven’t had time to process everything.” Hisashi kept babbling on. “Like I can’t believe I’ve already moved in and soon I’ll be debuting. This is gonna be my new life soon. Back then I was just a fan and now I’m the idol. It’s just crazy to think about that.” As Hisashi was going on and on, Hideaki just stared at him with a blank expression. “Uh, sorry. Please don’t tell the others.”

Hideaki was silent for a bit, “Mm.”

“Awesome,” Hisashi was glad that this plan actually worked out. “Hideaki really is the best,” he thought.

“Hideaki is pretty cool.”

“I know, right. He’s the best. The funniest and most interesting person ever.” Airi had hearts in her eyes as she spoke about him.

“Yeah, I still don’t see it,” Hisashi thought. “Oh yeah, does Lucky Wish not allow you to meet Miracle members?”

“Yeah, when Iroha found out I was texting you, she said I can’t do it anymore if you’re debuting in Miracle.”

“Me too. The members said I’m not allowed to interact with any Lucky Wish members. Here I was thinking that being in the same company together, I’d get to be friends with them; but, it’s actually getting me farther apart. But that’s not the weirdest thing that happened to me today. When Kaito was preparing to leave, he told me to watch my back.”

“Watch your back? Like someone is going to try to hurt you or something?”

“Maybe? Do you think he’s probably talking about all of those paparazzi?”

“That could be it. As an idol, you have to be careful what you do in public or else they can make news out of the smallest things.”

Just when Airi and Hisashi were talking about that, a man was sitting in a car with a camera positioned to take photos. He aimed for the window that Airi and Hisashi were sitting near and snapped a few pictures of them talking to each other.

“Hm, this will be great for next week’s issue,” he snickered to himself.