Partners

“Welcome to the 2025 Idol Awards!!!” A cutesy voice yelled with enthusiasm from Miyuki’s phone. The Idol Awards mascot, a pink-haired anime character dressed in a flashy outfit only a performing idol would don, stood on a virtual stage underneath a spotlight, holding a mic in her hand. “This year’s event will feature a full week of challenges for our contestants. Everyone vote for your favorite idols, or else they may not make it to the next challenge,” the character winked. “The first elimination round will be a duo performance. Idols will be split into pairs to put on a splendid performance together! The list of pairs will be posted shortly. Stay tuned!”

After twirling around in her flowy peach dress, the video faded to black. The first round wasn’t a surprise to Miyuki; Komi had already told her what it would be a week before the video announcing it was released. She had mentioned when they first met that this would be one of the events, but only recently was it confirmed to be the starting one. Once again, she was impressed by Komi’s ability to get information before it was released to the public.

Several weeks had passed since her confrontation with Luna Rihara, and she hadn’t heard anything from her since. Not even a nasty remark aimed toward her had appeared in the media. It was too soon for Miyuki to relax, however. She knew Luna must be waiting for what she thought was the right moment to tarnish Miyuki’s reputation, and she looked forward with dreadful anxiety as to when that would be.

Just as she was about to put her phone down, a message from Komi popped in to say hello. The list for the first event is supposed to release in three days. I can send it to you if you want to take an early look.

Miyuki quickly put together a response. I would appreciate that, thanks!

In a few seconds, Komi sent a screenshot of a list that was compiled on her phone. She scanned through the list of paired participants, holding her breath as she looked for who she was paired with. Given the current situation, all of her hoped she was not partnered with Luna.

Her name was found near the bottom of the list. Next to her own name was the name Erii Mitsui.

“Erii Mitsui, huh?” Her mind flashed back to when she had researched the idol at Komi’s request. Erii’s music was similar to her own, and just like Miyuki her popularity was at an all-time high. The only thing that concerned her was that Erii Mitsui performed virtually with a VTuber model, so naturally Miyuki was unsure how this performance would turn out.

Optimism placed her faith in her unknown partner, and excitement for the opportunity to perform with another person as equals gave her body chills. She couldn’t wait to talk to Jin about it when she visited him the following day. Thanks to her enthusiasm, the rest of the day sprinted past in a flash, and she soon found herself once again in front of Jin’s home.

“Jin!” Her angelic voice called through the door while she knocked. “I’m here!”

A moment later the door opened, and Jin welcomed her inside. “You look happy,” he said, noting her uncontainable energy that manifested itself in a bounce of her steps. “Did something happen?”

“We got confirmation of how the Idol Awards are going to start off,” she told him. “I’m going to work with another idol as equal partners!”

“Oh nice. Who’s your partner?”

“Her name is Erii Mitsui. I don’t know too much about her but I’m sure it’ll be a blast working with her!” Miyuki spun in a display of excitement.

“Erii Mitsui?” Jin rubbed his chin to turn the wheels in his brain. “Yuu mentioned her before. She’s an online influencer, isn’t she? What was it called again… A VTuber?”

Miyuki nodded. “Apparently she’s using the Idol Awards as a face reveal. I can’t wait to meet her in person! I wonder what she’s like?”

“I’m sure you’ll get along great,” he said, crossing his arms. “It’s hard not to like you.”

Jin’s words turned on the boiler inside Miyuki, turning her skin bright red. “I, uh… T-thanks…” She glanced at the floor and twirled her hair around her finger, full of flustered giddiness. It was quite clear that Jin was not referring to anything more than friendship, but those words still warmed her heart. She chose to hope that maybe he was beginning to like her as more than just his childhood friend.

A couple months had passed since she had reunited with Jin, and she had spent time with him every Saturday without fail. It was difficult to tell if Jin’s feelings toward her had deepened or not, but she was fully aware that the more time she spent with him, the more she desired him. A part of her wanted to confess to him all over again, but she didn’t dare do that until she knew he would accept her love.

“W-what do you like about me?” She asked sheepishly. Jin was quite the gentleman, and would surely search for a truthful answer that would make her happy. After all, something about a girl’s tears made him want to fix whatever problem had caused them.

“What do I like?” He pondered in silence for a moment. “I like that you chase your dreams,” he started. “It’s encouraging to see you working so hard to achieve your goals. I’m not sure if we ever would have crossed paths again if you hadn’t dedicated yourself and your career to reuniting with me.”

“What else?”

“You’re very excitable, in a childish way.”

Miyuki pouted and crossed her arms. “I am not childish!”

“I’m just saying, you have a lot of energy and there are a lot of simple things that excite you. It’s cute, in a way.”

“C-cute?!” She stumbled backward from the emotional blow, her face a deeper shade of red than a ripe radish. “You t-think I’m cute?”

“That side of you is,” he replied. “It reminds me that you’re the same little girl that I was friends with years ago.”

A stone dropped in her chest. ‘So he only finds me cute because I still remind him of when we were young…’ She took a deep breath to collect herself. “Anyway, what should we do today?”