Revue of Passion
Starlight.
This is the story of goddesses guided by the light of the stars.
They collide and clash. They grow closer even as they pass each other by.
However, they are pulled apart, never to meet again. It is a somber tale.
The story of those eight girls hopelessly captivates us. The song of those eight girls hopelessly stirs us.
Let us go to that stage, to that shining star together!
____________________________________________________
The time was 5:30 AM. An early morning light blanketed Tokyo as the sun slowly began to rise past the clouds into the sky. The cool shroud of mist on the ground that wet the tips of leaves and grass started to thinly dissipate in the warmth of the rising sun. It had been a quiet morning so far, and the only people up so far being business owners.
“Honoka-chan, wake up! We have to go!” The buzzing of an alarm clock went unnoticed by its owner as did the yelling coming from outside the window.
“You can’t afford to be late today, remember? Honoka-chan!!”
“Ugh...” The recipient in question finally sat up groggily from her bed, rubbing her sleepy blue eyes, wanting to just go back to sleep. Stalling for one last second before pulling her covers off her body, she padded over towards the source of the noise, passing her calendar on the wall that spelled ‘ ON DUTY/EARLY MORNING PRACTICE ’ in bright red letters. Fiddling with the handle on the window with one hand while trying to silence her alarm clock with the other, she gave another yawn.
Finally getting it to open, Honoka Kousaka promptly stuck her painfully messy orange bed head out of her second story window to stare down at her concerned friend on the street. And she only had one thing to say.
“ ‘Kay. ”
Only a drowsy wave and cursory “I’m leaving now!” was given quietly to the still slumbering inhabitants of the rest of the house through their doors as Honoka made her way out to meet her friend outside.
“Honoka-chan, you can’t ask me to wake you up then refuse to actually get up!” exasperated her friend, whose name was Kotori. Kotori Minami to be exact. She was a cute girl with silver hair tied in a ribbon.
“Mhm...”
Meeting in their final year of elementary school, the two girls became fast friends. Kotori was always a happy girl, quickly warming up to Honoka. She was incredibly kind and reliable, but was the type to follow from behind instead of leading, and could be an airhead at times. Seeing as Honoka was more than well equipped to lead, their dynamic quickly fell into a natural pace that both girls treasured dearly.
“It’s not like I’ll always be able to do this, you know.”
“Right, I’m sorry Kotori-chan...”
The two stood at the crosswalk, waiting for the pedestrian sign to light up. Honoka let out another yawn as they both waited. Kotori seemed much more attentive than her quite lethargic friend this morning. Even though her words seemed exasperated— they were about to be late after all— her tone held no malice in it. She seemed quite alright with fetching Honoka in the morning, a quiet smile gracing her features as she watched Honoka sleepily finger the ends of her hair.
“Ah, the light!” Taking Honoka’s arm, Kotori began tugging the girl across the quiet street, but was met with force holding her back.
“Kotori-chan, hold on!” Turning her head to the side to expose her half-ponytail to her friend. Or more importantly, the lack of one. She had left her ribbon at home!
“Ehhh?” But they were so close to school!
Suddenly taking off in a sprint, Honoka raced down the street back to her home, leaving Kotori to follow her all the way back as well.
After a few streets and a flight of stair’s worth of sprinting, Kotori was left tired and panting at the entrance of Honoka’s room, a stark contrast to Honoka herself, who seemed unaffected. She began tying her time-weathered yellow ribbon that she had left on her desk into her hair. She never looked into the mirror on her wall, instead at a picture on her desk of her and someone else as a child.
“Honoka-chan… did we really have to come all the way back—” Kotori panted out before looking up to see her friend much more attentive now that her hair was now in her signature half-ponytail style. Suddenly, Kotori felt much less irked by the situation, a smile melting on her face.
“Good morning, Honoka-chan.”
“Yeah! Good morning!”
____________________________________________________
Once they reached school via another round of sprinting, the two girls quickly fetched the keys to their classroom. This morning, both girls were on duty. Rapidly sweeping through their assigned tasks like clockwork, the two quickly finished and began changing out of their uniforms and into workout gear for their real duties.
Practice was going to be early today, and Kotori was given the keys to the roof, seeing as her mother was the chairwoman of the school board.
Honoka was dressed in a sky blue tee with a red undershirt and navy workout pants that went to her knees, while Kotori was dressed in a yellow one with green polka dots and a gray skirt with deep green thigh-high socks.
Practically taking the steps by three, Honoka swiftly went up the stairs leading to the roof. Unlocking the door, the two girls were greeted by an early morning coolness that made Kotori’s stand up from the goosebumps.
Promptly stepping past the door’s threshold and dropping her duffel against the wall, she ran to the center of the rooftop, spinning in a circle once she got there.
“All right, I’m first!” she said standing proudly in the light. They called that position the rooftop center position . It was important to have a reference point while practicing, but it was also where the lead stood during a performance if it were the stage.
“C’mon Kotori-chan, let’s stretch!” She held her hand out to the other girl, still beyond the threshold of the door, who gave a nod of affirmation.
The two began their warm up on the rooftop. It was important to stretch out every part of their body properly before any exercise, so both girls took their time.
The two were school idols. A part of a larger group in fact, named μ’s. They danced and sang together with the other members, all girls Honoka treasured early as friends. Formed at the beginning of the year, their mission was to try and save the school from closing, to which their efforts paid off. More girls had enrolled as soon as next trimester! Now, the group performed for themselves, and for everyone else to enjoy too. If Honoka was being honest though, there was a person that she wished could join as well, but she wouldn’t sweat the details, she was having fun either way!
“Make sure you can feel it in your thighs and buttocks.” Kotori said, apparently having no trouble with the stretches. Honoka, on the other hand, was having much more trouble than her flexible friend, shouting, “No way, no way!”
Right as they finished their stretches, a commotion from beyond the door caught their attention.
“Hm? Oh, it’s open.”
A girl with shoulder length red hair peaked through the door. Dressed in a simple black shirt dotted with a star and red yoga pants, she placed her bag beside the door next to Kotori’s.
“Naturally it’s open Maki-chan, I got here first after all!” Honoka said proudly.
“Didn’t you come in last 2 days ago?” The girl retorted quickly, to which Honoka quickly deflated.
“I didn’t believe I’d see the day,” A singsong voice echoed from the door’s entrance. A shorter looking girl appeared. She had deep black hair, tied in twintails by two red bows that matched a pair of striking red eyes. She wore a red magenta shirt with a short but flowing pink skirt and white thigh-high socks. “that Honoka would get up on time.” Twirling around, she struck a pose in front of the three girls on the rooftop, which only earned a roll of her eyes from Maki.
“The greatest school idol of all time, Nico-chan, is now here!”
“Hey, this school idol Kosaka Honoka is evolving by the day!” she exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air before shouting, “Faito Dayo!” and striking a pose with a Kotori who seemed coerced into doing so.
“So, Honoka-chan only got up because of Kotori-chan right?” A voice came from behind them. At the door, was an older looking girl with deep long purple hair that complemented her clear green eyes. They were tied in low twintails with scrunchies. She wore a lavender colored shirt with a yellow crescent moon, accompanied by a pair of tan work out pants that went down mid calf.
“Nozomi-chan, you’re the only one who understands me!” Kotori exclaimed, running into the older girls outstretched arms.
“It was foretold in the cards, so I understand everything.”
“C’mon Rin-chan! Wake-up!” a more worried voice came from the now propped open door to the roof. Two girls walked to the entrance of the roof, one slumped against the other. The girl still asleep had light orange hair of pixie cut length and was wearing a white shirt and tesl yoga pants, while the one propping her up had chin length light brown hair and was wearing a light pink short sleeved zip up jacket and and a darker pink pair of work out pants.
“But Kayo-chin, I’m tired nya...”
“It’ll take more than sleepyheads to compete with the greatest idol in the world, Nico-chan!” Said ‘greatest idol’ made what she called her signature pose, to which Maki responded with, “Sure, sure, Nico-chan.”
“Say that again!?”
The two went back and forth with each other until a voice came from the door.
“Good morning everyone.” Immediately the two girls still at the door stepped aside. A tall girl with blonde hair tied in a ponytail stepped up to the door. She wore a light blue shirt and tight navy blue workout shorts. Giving off an elegant aura that no one else there could emulate, the girls all stopped their arguing.
“Good morning, Eli-chi.” Nozomi gave the girl a lazy wave, to which Eli responded with her own.
“Let’s get started everyone. Come on Rin, don’t give Hanayo a hard time,”
“Okayyyyy...”
After a few moments, the last two remaining entered as well. The girls all came together and started their practice. As the morning continued, Honoka thought to herself, “ I’m feeling good today! ”
____________________________________________________
Honoka Kosaka loved singing and dancing. Twirling around on stage, giving it your all until your voice went numb, she loved all of it. Even the more musically advanced concepts of the art she could respect. What goes into the music, the lyrics, the choreography, it was all wonderful to Honoka even if she didn’t understand all of it.
So when Honoka found out her school was at risk of shutting down due to low enrollment numbers, aside from the intense feeling of sadness she felt, she jumped on the chance to be able to put her passions to use. School idols were becoming popular these days looking by the looks of schools like UTX Academy, who boasted an impressive student body because of the influence of its school idol group, A-RISE.
That Honoka would run into one of their performances and become inspired to try her own hand at it could be considered the logical conclusion to the circumstances. Nozomi would call it fate probably. That Honoka would end up buying the last piece of bread today, now that was definitely fate.
Honoka, Kotori, Maki, and Hanayo were the only ones free for lunch today. Eli and Nozomi had student council duties, and Nico and Rin were roped into heping. Well, Nico at least. Rin was always eager to help out a friend.
“Ahhh, I don’t wanna go to afternoon classes...” Honoka said tiredly, slumping hard onto the outdoor benches. “Kotori-chan… what class do we have next?”
“English.”
“Ahhhhh-” Honoka’s wailing was suddenly interrupted by a flyer being shoved in her face by Maki. Taking the piece of paper in her hands, she read the words aloud.
“Otonokizaka Academy School Festival… Wait, we're already getting posters? It’s still pretty far away.” Suddenly getting up, Honoka twirled around with the paper in her hand. “I can’t wait to perform our songs again! I still remember all the dance moves.”
Plucking the poster out of her hand, Maki asserted, “What’s important is to show how much we’ve grown since the first performance.”
“Oh yeah, huh?” A round of giggles erupted from the group.
“It sure was fun though, seeing µ's perform for the first time,” Hanayo went on. “There was no one else, but everyone in our group seemed to magically come together to watch Honoka-chan and Kotori-chan.”
That’s right… The very first time µ's performed was when it had only 2 members. That night no one else came to watch but the other future members of µ's. It was what inspired the two to keep trying their hardest.
“It was unforgettable, an eternal moment,” Hanayo gushed. She really did love school idols didn’t she?
“I want to perform Starlight at the school festival this year. I love that song so much! It’s so beautiful, yet sad, and it really fires you up! Right, Kotori-chan?” Turning to face Kotori, their faces became close.
“Yeah!” Kotori answered, not shying away from their closeness. She continued, “You know, maybe, one day we should perform the duet together for the festival?”
“And what about us?” Maki asked loudly, turning the group’s attention on her. “The rest of us love Starlight too, so maybe one of us wants to be the center, you know?" It was true, everyone in μ’s loved the song dearly, and performing it would no doubt be something to remember to them. One of the first things that brought the group together, was a shared love of the musical the song was based off of. "Anyways, the theater club asked us to perform a rendition of Starlight as well. They're performing it this year too.”
“Yeah I guess, it'd be a good tie in. Maybe we should hold auditions for it or something?” Honoka laughed, “like the musical!”, but Maki only held a serious expression on her face. “We should head back to class soon.” Promptly getting out of her seat, the redhead walked away toward the classrooms. The rest of the group awkwardly trailed behind her.
“Did I make her mad?”
____________________________________________________
On the way back to class, Honoka only got increasingly tired. A worried ‘ Are you okay? ’ from Kotori was only met with answers of bread swirling around in her brain, turning and turning like the wheel of a car.
As tiredness quickly overtook Honoka’s brain, the bread quickly morphed away into the shape of something. The browns of the carbs turned into silvers and grays of a ticking gear. At first there was only one gear, which ticked slowly in a clockwise direction, before gaining speed. What seemed like hundreds of other gears quickly appeared to have joined it from nowhere as complicated systems of pulleys and ropes drew back a pair of large curtains.
And behind the curtains laid a sharp gust of wind and thousands of clouds as far as the eye could see.
Where was she?
Looking around, countless giant red metal bars welded together surrounded Honoka. Giant nuts and bolts lined the bars. Looking down, all she could see was a sea of clouds and a blue sky. The cold air sent shivers down her spine.
Tokyo Tower? It was the only place that matched the profile, after all. Now that she looked around more, the rest of Tokyo could be seen under the moving clouds. The sea glittered clearly from way up high. Was this a dream? But then why did everything feel so real?
Her first instinct was to shout, “Woah, amazing!” but after a second of rational thought came to Honoka, she instead asked, “Wait. Why am I up here?”
She looked down once more at the ever evolving scenery, when abruptly Honoka felt a push on her back. With a single yelp, the ground beneath her disappeared completely. Suddenly the city below her was getting bigger and bigger, but it wasn’t processing fast enough in Honoka’s mind that it was because she was falling.
Flailing around in the air, Honoka turned in the air, leaving her back facing the ground in order to look up at her assailant. Falling fast, the figure of her attacker quickly faded from view, but she could make out one small but important detail.
A wash of dark blue hair.
As Honoka descended from the top of Tokyo Tower, she couldn’t help but think of one thing.
That’s right. This was where she bought that ribbon. But it won’t get fulfilled like this… The promise we made together…
And right before she hit the concrete of Tokyo Tower,
Ring, ring, ring…
Someone’s ringtone? Looking around, Honoka wasn’t at Tokyo Tower any longer, but instead on the floor in the hallway, with many concerned students surrounding her.
“Honoka-chan? Are you okay?” Kotori worriedly asked.
“Uh,” Honoka started before getting cut off by a voice coming down the hallway.
“I’m sure she’s fine, Honoka-chi’s a sturdy girl anyways.” It was Nozomi! Accompanying her was the rest of μ’s who mostly had concerned expressions on their faces. However, Nico retorted with, “You mean she’s a total brick head right? A silly fall like that couldn’t hurt her.”
“Hey!”
Her comment had successfully eased the tension of the girl’s, including Honoka’s. And as the rest of the group had decidedly passed her fall off as just another Honoka-type thing to do, Maki who was turned away from the group, instead only stared at her phone.
“Do you need to go to the nurse Honoka?” asked Eli. Her motherly aura was very calming to Honoka, making her forget about her previous injury. Maybe it was because she was the student council president?
“I’m fine. Thanks though!” Getting off the floor and dusting her skirt off, she assured everyone that she was fine, and walked back to class with Kotori once the bell finally rang.
Honoka went back to class as energetic as ever, completely unaware of the text one of the members of μ’s had just received.
____________________________________________________
“Today, a new transfer student will be joining the class. I know it’s suden, but make sure you get along with her.” A chorus of curious chatter overtook the classroom. With how small the school was right now, it was unusual that they’d get a new classmate. Did they get rejected from the private schools in the area? Many of the students enrolling wouldn’t come until next trimester, so why was she here now?
These were the questions of the girls surrounding her, but Honoka was still dazed from her earlier dream of the tower, staring out the window instead of partaking in conversation. That was a weird dream.
“Alright settle down now. You can come in now.”
She could hear the door slide open alongside the footsteps of another person.
“I’m Sonoda Umi. Please take care of me.”
Wait, what? Snapped out of her daze, Honoka whipped her head to the front of the classroom to get a look at her new classmate. Long dark blue hair cascading down her back, a pair of eyes the color of amber, and pale skin like snow. She stood tall next to the writing of her name.
Umi-chan?
She was scanning over the people of the class, or at least it seemed like she was before she stopped at Honoka herself. She met her eyes, holding her gaze for a few seconds before turning away.
“Umi-chan?” she asked trepidly.
“Kosaka, sit down,” the teacher said. Had she gotten up? Looking down, she realized that she was, in fact, out of her seat, both hands planted on her desk. Embarrassment and shame quickly overcame the girl as she sat back down with a loud ‘Sorry!’ and a blush on her face.
That didn’t last for long, however, as her mood quickly turned into one of excitement.
“Sonoda-san is a transfer student from UTX High School. She hasn’t lived in the area for quite a while, so help her as much as you can.”
A chorus of yeses filled the room, Honoka’s especially ardent.
“Okay, let’s see, who’s on duty today...” the teacher started, to which Honoka got out of her seat once more to loudly exclaim, “That’s me! I’ll help her with everything!”
“Kosaka, sit down. You don’t have to stand.”
As Honoka excitedly apologised, Kotori took the opportunity to get a good look at the new transfer student’s face. She looked very familiar somehow, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. She knew that she had never met before, but Honoka seemed to have known her?
The picture in her room? Oh, it was that girl in the picture when Honoka was a child!
“After homeroom is over, show her around school. Minami, go with them, I don’t see this going well.”
____________________________________________________
The entire tour, Honoka couldn’t keep her excitement down. Every area they showed Umi was shown with enthusiasm, even in areas as small as the bathroom. Always an excitable girl, Honoka always took in new events with eagerness, but this was something Kotori hadn’t seen from the girl.
“Is it really… Is it really, really, really you, Umi-chan?” Honoka started. “It’s been super long! How many years has it been?”
The first thing that Kotori saw was that Umi was a very reserved girl.
“Twelve years.”
Her answers were sparse, but very courteous. She treated everyone she was introduced to on the tour with a curt bow or respectful handshake. She wasn’t outright cold, but Kotori could definitely feel a wall around her. The girl looked at everything with the same amount of interest —or maybe disinterest— in whatever subject, not revealing much about herself. The only thing Kotori could maybe glean from her personality was that the transfer student seemed maybe interested in archery? She couldn’t really tell though, it was just that they stopped in front of the school’s archery range for a bit, and Umi seemed like she already knew the rules when introduced to the captain.
None of this seemed to affect Honoka however, who kept chugging along as happy as a camper.
“You left the area so long ago, I was really surprised when you showed up out of the blue!”
“It’s amazing you went to UTX though, I heard they’re a pretty hard school to get into. Was there any reason why you transferred?” Kotori asked.
“Most of the women in my family attended this school. I thought it was only fit to continue that tradition.”
“That’s amazing, Sonoda-san!” Kotori started. The way she spoke and the way she talked of her lineage and tradition… The way she walked and the style of her hair…
She’s a total Yamato Nadeshiko!
“You haven’t changed a bit though. After all, you still have that, like we promised!”
Huh? What were they talking about? Kotori thought.
“I guess so...” Umi said, averting her eyes.
“Last stop Umi-chan, the roof!” Honoka exclaimed. They were at the base of the stairs leading to the roof now. Taking her hand, the girl began dragging her up the stairs, leaving Kotori behind.
“Honoka-chan!” Quickly following after them, Kotori saw that the two other girls had burst through the door onto the rooftop. Once she was out there as well, Kotori was greeted with the scene of Honoka taking Umi’s hands in hers in the center.
Umi held the look of a spooked deer with a blush rapidly overtaking her face, but nonetheless stayed put.
“Become a school idol with me Umi-chan!”
____________________________________________________
“We’re getting a new member?” Hanayo asked, her voice small. Practice had just begun, and most of the members were ready to start, except for Honoka, who along with Umi and Kotori stayed on the roof waiting for the rest of the group.
Hanayo was a shy person, always hiding behind Rin whenever she encountered something odd, and this was no different. Rin on the other hand, was totally unfazed, instead keeping her same Cheshire Cat grin in amusement. The shy girl looked to Kotori for comfort, who only gave her a smile that said she was just going with the flow.
As much as Umi didn’t look the type, she had agreed readily to Honoka’s proposition for some reason. She didn’t seem like she enjoyed school idols at all.
“Uhm, Honoka-chan, isn’t this a bit all too sudden?” Hanayo asked, voice wavering.
“I don’t see the problem nya! It’s just one more person right?” Rin exclaimed. Walking up to Umi, the cat faced girl held her hand out. “My name’s Hoshizora Rin! What’s yours?”
Taking her hand, Umi bowed slightly. “My name is Sonoda Umi, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“There’ll be a lot of adjusting we’ll have to do to incorporate Sonoda-san into the group at this point,” Eli, ever the voice of reason, said.
“I think I’m with Eli on this one, we’ve already got a lot on our plate as it is,” Maki added, to which some of the other members agreed to. Nico especially so, pointing out how she didn’t “need another rival for her greatest-idol-in-the-world position!”
“If it’s about the outfits, I can help out!,” Honoka started, getting more heated as she listed more reasons. “And if we’re talking about line distribution, Umi and I could just sing together!”
It wasn’t odd to see Honoka fired up about something, but it was weird to see her say something so… logical.
“And for our formation, we’re still in the middle of choreographing a lot of dances so it can’t be that hard to fit her in, right?”
“So, plea-” Honoka started, before getting cut off by Umi herself, surprisingly.
“Please, allow me to join your group.” Taking a deep bow that stunned most of the group, including Honoka, she continued.
“I promise I’ll do everything in my power to not bring any trouble towards the group.”
A bout of silence swept through the rooftop. Everyone could only think of one thing at that point.
She’s a total Yamato Nadeshiko!
Such a display of humility seemed to be moving to the group, with most of them now seriously considering it. Honoka seemed especially moved, and looked to Eli for her approval. Another beat of silence occurred before Kotori broke the silence.
“I think this could be fun as well,” she said with a smile, to which Umi raised her head to. “And I don’t mind making another costume.”
“The Muses of Greek Mythology were a group of nine after all.” Nozomi continued, stepping up with a mischievous smile.
“Nozomi...” Eli murmured, the two locking eyes. After a second, Eli broke their stare saying, “...Well if everyone’s serious about putting in the work, then I won’t object.”
“We will, right Umi-chan?” Honoka asked with a smile, turning to Umi, who nodded.
“Uhm, if everyone e-else is okay with it, I am too I guess,” Hanayo finally mustered.
“I’m fine if Eli’s fine with it I guess...” Maki relented as well. Which only left one person left in the group. Said person was currently sweating under the hopeful looks and pleas of the other members.
“Nico-chan...” Honoka started. Her best puppy eyes were glittering in the light of the afternoon day.
“Ugh...” Each pair of eyes weighed on Nico’s conscience like a five ton weight, and it would only be a few more seconds of silent pleading to make her shift from foot to foot before she gave in. “W-well, I guess it’d be alright if we had another backup dancer in the group. To help me shine even more I guess...” The second she finished her sentence, she was swarmed by a hug from Honoka, holding her as tight as possible.
With a clear gaze, Umi bowed once more. “Thank you all.”
____________________________________________________
Today felt like the best day ever to Honoka. First, she’d gotten to see Umi for the first time in who knows how long, and now they were getting to sing and dance together! She’d never told anyone, but her and Umi used to love seeing live performances together whenever they could. It cultivated a love for the art in Honoka, and she was sure it was the same for the other girl.
And the cherry on top was that today was light practice! Most of the practice was spent trying to integrate the new member into their routine, dances, and songs as smoothly as they could.
And a smooth integration it was. Umi proved adept at most things school idol related. She was a graceful dancer, learning the moves in record time as well as being an amazing singer with a deep voice which turned out to be a nice addition to the group’s sound.
But now practice was over, and the sunset had drenched the roof top of the school in fiery oranges and reds. Most were taking their time, cooling down and packing up, except for Umi herself, who had quickly excused herself with a polite bow, before swiftly leaving the roof.
“W-what? Okay, bye Umi-chan… See you tomorrow!” Honoka yelled. "I wanted to walk home with her..."
After that, the group started making their leaves home starting with Maki, who left fairly quickly after Umi did, then Rin and Hanayo, then Honoka herself and Kotori, leaving only the third years on the roof.
“Well Nico-chi, think you’ve got another rival on your hands?” Nozomi joked playfully, taking a sip from her water bottle.
Haughtily, Nico responded. “No way! She may be a good dancer and all, but no one can beat me! I’m the greatest idol after all.”
“Besides that though, there’s something a little odd about our new member. I can’t put my finger exactly on it, but it’s kinda like her heart isn’t there.” Eli said, gravely. She wasn’t wrong. Throughout the entire practice all three girls noticed Umi held quite the poker face while performing. Her singing was on pitch, but there was little emotion held in regards to it. And while dancing, she may have gotten the moves down, but she looked no more or less happy to be doing it.
A silence swept through the air before Nozomi finally spoke up cryptically.
“Earlier, the cards told me that something big is gonna happen. I think our new member may be it…”
____________________________________________________
Currently, Honoka was running back to school from the stoplight she and Kotori were at. After rummaging through her bag and realizing she had left her phone, she assured the other girl that she could go home without her before sprinting back.
Jeez, this sucks!
Night was fast approaching, and she was sure everyone had left. Surely enough, the front door to the school was locked. Looking around, Honoka rounded the side of the school and found a window on the first floor leading to the main hallway that was open. Checking to see if anyone was still around, she quickly slid open the window and jumped through.
Once inside, she found that on the way to her classroom that all the lights were off, except for one near the end of the hallway, which was a little odd. Slowly approaching it, she found that the door underneath the light was an entrance to another room with a metal door. Sandwiched between two bulletin boards, it looked completely inconspicuous. Stepping inside, she found a small room with what looked to be an elevator in it.
“An elevator? Has this always been here?” Honoka mused aloud. She was now curious about the seemingly unknown elevator the school housed, having promptly forgotten about her phone. The elevator clashed with the rest of the school’s mostly old architecture and Honoka scoured her brain to try and remember if her homeroom teacher had told the class about the topic. Taking the room in, Honoka’s attention was quickly caught by the two elevator buttons.
“A down button…?” But she was on the first floor, wasn’t she? Did the school have a basement? Curiosity quickly overcame her and Honoka found that she could not resist seeing where it went, almost as if she was being drawn in.
Finally putting her finger to it, she found that… nothing happened. At first.
Disappointed, Honoka was about to step out before hearing a loud buzzer go off that caught her attention. It was only a second later until she felt the entire room shake and then suddenly plunge downward at an incredible speed.
Screaming, Honoka flailed about the moving room before steadying herself against the wall. From within, she could see that the entire room was now moving on a set of rails which clashed against the foundation of the room, causing sparks to fly.
What is happening right now!?
Outside the open faced door laid a space mostly darkened from Honoka’s perspective, but from the sound of her own echoing screams, must’ve been enormous. From the corner of her eye, she could see what looked like moving spotlights dancing across the dark walls of the area.
Through the girl’s own screaming, the sharp voicings of a harp could be heard; a lonely repetition of same eighth notes played continuously.
“Well then, today marks the first day of auditions.” A mysterious voice rumbled and echoed throughout the expanse. The sound of whirring gears and systems, not unlike one for an elaborate play, grew louder and louder until it rang in Honoka’s ears.
“Let’s start the Revue of Passion!”
It was at this point that the voice cried triumphantly that the harp was joined by the soft notes of a piano, and then a mysterious melody of an oboe. And to that sound did the elevator of the room start to break apart rapidly until there was nothing left but Honoka flying through the air to the sound of the oboe.
“AHHHH—”
“Aim to be the next top idol. Sing, dance, and fight to win.”
“—AHHH—Oof.”
As if she was the downbeat of the next measure, the second Honoka found herself no longer flying but instead squarely cushioned in a red velour seat, the rumblings of a low string section took over the melody from the oboe. Looking around her, she found thousands of more seats like hers, arranged in an arc far above the ground, as if she had rented out an entire balcony section at a show.
Looking down, she spied a ginormous white stage, completely circular with a red band stretching around it. On the arena below her laid pink tape in a T position to mark the center with a small red circle around it. At the far end of the stage was a towering column, multiple spotlights running across its walls. At the very top was a gigantic tiara, speckled with beautiful gems. Behind it stood what seemed to be Tokyo Tower, red painted bars and all. The sheer absurdity of the situation couldn’t even begin to register in Honoka’s mind at the moment, let alone what was actually happening in front of her eyes.
The spotlights crawling on the walls of the giant column ran to a stop before simultaneously shutting off all at once, leaving the arena in pitch blackness. The sound of the instruments quieted down to a pianissimo as the notes of the piano’s arpeggio came to an end, resolving to let two spotlights from opposite sides shine down at a singular point in the center.
“ The fury that ignited pierced through the darkness,
Illuminating the girls' longings... ”
Springing out of her seat, Honoka grabbed the railings to peer over, looking over the balcony to see two girls standing face to face all the way in the center of the stage, singing in unison. The music now became a full orchestra, a snare drum marching a steady beat.
“Maki-chan… and Umi-chan too?”
They were dressed in some kind of costume, reminiscent of military uniforms but much more personalized to each girl. Stepping into each other's proximity, continuing their song, they held a hand out for the other; their movements big, their voices strong. Caressing one another’s cheek, they grew closer before ripping themselves away from one another in a twirl, weapons now visible in their hands. For Umi, a small dagger, and Maki a bow and arrow. With another twirl, they came back to each other to raise their respective blades to each other's necks.
The spotlights disappeared only to have the entire arena become flooded with light a second later as the girls tore away from each other with a clash. The flashes of steel grinding against steel filled the underground arena, the force of each strike sending sparks skittering across the floor.
“But, what are the two of them doing?” Honoka asked aloud, her thoughts frantic at the notion of her friends fighting each other. Down on the stage, Umi had just landed a string of unsuccessful hits that were blocked by the limb of Maki’s bow. Ducking under the swing of the other girl, Maki quickly notched an arrow and fired it, only missing by the sliver of Umi’s hair.
Quickly passing Umi, the arrow traveled far into the stands, barely missing Honoka’s face by a few inches as she flinched instinctively, turning away to see where the arrow landed. A feeling of uneasiness washed over Honoka, turning her head back across the empty seats, well except for the giant alpaca next to her , to plead on deaf ear to stop the— Wait, what!?
“I understand...” Turning her head, she indeed came face to face with an overwhelmingly large alpaca with a surprisingly deep voice, which frankly made no sense. It was tall, it was fluffy, and had a bow on its tail.
“An alpaca!?” And it spoke too? What else is there!?
“The revue has already begun.” The lights dimmed once more as the most of the orchestra fell away to just the sounds of the harp and piano. A warm glimmer of red radiated from the gem placed at the tip of Maki’s bow.
“ A flame that reaches the heavens burns through me
As the star compelled by sin falls down, ”
As if the sound of Maki’s voice filling the ring had made the stage obey her, it began transforming around her. Slowly rising, a set of stairs appeared underneath her, lifting her up as she sang. Lights embedded into the stairs themselves turned and faced Maki to shed light on her dance as the final step locked into place. From above, colored wooden cutouts of stars in pink and yellow attached to cable rope slowly came down to act as a backdrop to the entire performance. Red curtains encompassed the entire stage, lights hanging behind them. Right above Maki herself hung a star, the biggest of them all, acting as the centerpiece to it all. The sheer spectacle of the stage arranging itself to fit Maki’s song and dance impressed Honoka.
“This is… a revue?” Honoka asked in total awe. All of this was happening beneath the school the whole time? Looking up, she could see all of the scaffolding holding the props together. The ceiling seemed to tower above her. It’s gotta fit Tokyo Tower, after all.
“Indeed. Song and dance woven into a mesmerizing play. To the person who puts on the brightest-shining revue, the path to becoming the Top Idol will open up.”
“I have a dream I cannot surrender, I have a sky I want to protect
This arrow will keep on chasing after you like a shooting star...”
Dashing forward from across the stage, Umi began her upwards climb. Maki had begun her assault as well, firing what seemed to be an endless amount of arrows at rapid speeds. Dodging and flipping past the torrent of arrows, Umi almost ran into a wooden star that quickly dropped in front of her to stand her way, and sidestepped it.
“Who will obtain that Star Tiara, and become the Top Idol, I wonder.”
“Who decided it had to be that way!?” Honoka asked in frustration, unable to do anything to stop the fighting down below.
“I understand. But you’re all desperate, are you not?” The mysterious alpaca asked. “You are school idols, after all.”
“A memory that becomes faint and distant will disappear someday,
And as I tumbled against the headwind, I made a vow to myself.”
As Umi took over the verse, she closed the distance between her and Maki, swinging at her with her dagger, but just as she was about to make contact, Maki grabbed onto an aerial ring that was swinging through the stage, making her escape, much to Umi’s annoyance. Swinging wildly through the stage, Maki took over the verse once more, and notched an arrow.
“ I will not let you interfere, and until the world is turned to ash,
My passion will burn brighter than anyone else's... ”
“Normal happiness, the joys of girls… You will burn it all to aim for a distant glimmer.” The alpaca spoke definitively. “This is what it means to be a school idol. Are you prepared to do that?”
Honoka was conflicted about what to do. Looking down at the stage, she saw that Umi was in a pinch. Maki was dramatically sitting in her ring, firing arrows nonstop. Taking one of Maki’s arrows head on, Umi struggled against its force, only managing to barely stop the arrow from completely destroying the pin on her jacket, leaving it heavily disfigured but still intact.
“That cloak?” Honoka asked.
“If it falls off, that is the end of the revue.”
Another arrow came too quickly after the last, catching Umi off guard, and piercing the sleeve of her jacket. The force dragged her through the air, the arrow finding its place lodged in the boards of a wooden star, pinning it’s target completely. Her dagger dropping to the ground with a clutter, Umi’s back collided harshly with the wood, making her a sitting duck as the spotlight turned red. Maki, above the ground, sat on her aerial ring as she pulled out another arrow to finish the job. Her spotlight turned a clear blue to contrast Umi’s own red. The music was coming to a close, and victory seemed only natural now.
What do I do? Honoka thought. She couldn’t stand around and do nothing, but she was powerless from her position. Could she even do anything? Did she have no choice but to watch powerlessly?
“You cannot stop them. You are unable to wake up in the mornings without help. You do not care about being the main character. Now, please take your leave.”
No. She wasn’t going to do that. After everything she’s seen, she couldn’t just leave Umi be like this. Even if she was powerless, if she couldn’t wake up in the mornings without help, she needed to try something. Honoka wasn’t going to leave this story on this kind of ending! Not if she could help it.
Giving the railing a squeeze one more time, she quickly climbed onto the seat behind the talking animal and jumped onto its back.
“Huh?”
She needed to get down there, and the best way was to get a boost, right? Taking one last deep breath, Honoka took a running leap off the alpaca’s back and began falling towards the stage, her back towards the ceiling. “Outta the way alpaca!”
The floor lights twinkled mysteriously in Honoka’s eyes as she fell forward with a newfound determination.
“I made a promise with Umi-chan,” Honoka began defiantly. “I will—no, we will...”
“Definitely become stars together!”
What came afterwards could only be described as a blur to Honoka. The ribbon in her hair unraveled first, marking what the girl could only call a self-remake . Next came her clothes. Suddenly she was being outfitted with an entirely new garb that was being made from scratch just for her, all laid out in a white dresser.
A blue jacket with golden piping over a white buttoned shirt. A standing collar coupled with a golden tassel. A golden armband and matching epaulettes. A red kick-pleated skirt with an orange tulle dress tail and golden trimmed black boots. Make up was light, working only to accentuate and highlight. Honoka’s ribbon also returned as well, but now looked as new as when she first received it.
The last items to complete her transformation was a red pelisse jacket with fur trimmings and gold piping, going over her left shoulder and held together by a white shoulder belt and golden aiguillette and button and her sword, a saber with an orange gem shining at its hilt.
I am reborn.
“On a stage overflowing with stardust, a flower of love blooms gracefully. Clad in a new me, I jump onto the shining stage!”
On the darkened stage, Honoka stood proudly as a flurry of spotlights fanned across the stage, spreading over a wide area before disappearing to start its trajectory once more. Behind her, pink lights pulsated in time with the moving lamps. Honoka could hear the thrum of the engines working to power her entrance. A lone guitar took over over the sound, an entirely new section added to the piece.
“Otonokizaka Academy, 99th generation, Kosaka Honoka!”
The two former combatants gasped in confusion at the entrance of a new foe. A wall of lights shimmered behind Honoka as she swung her sword to strike her final pose in front of a newly placed prop of a star.
“I’ll starlight you all!”
On the ground, a path of light had appeared in front of Honoka, the floor lights all faced upwards, to highlight her way forward.
Angrily, Maki notched an arrow into place, firing at Honoka. “Don’t get in my way!”
Leaping forward, Honoka easily deflected it with her sword, now running forward as the tempo quickly picked up to match her pace.
“Because I believe that I, too, have a dream I cannot surrender
A quiet passion was ignited deep within my pounding heart just now…. ”
Pinned down, Umi could only stare and watch as Honoka made her way past all of Maki’s arrows, a trail of orange sparkle left in her wake as she came closer.
“No… Honoka, stop!” she could only uselessly call.
Her voice went on deaf ears as Honoka closed the gap between her and Maki, taking the button off of her jacket with only a single slice of her sword. Dropping her weapon, Honoka took the other girl’s hand, spinning her around and pulling her into a dip. The girl’s pelisse jacket slid off with ease, dropping onto her floor and covering her weapon as multiple spotlights rained down above to highlight the new revelation.
Quickly the red curtains from before came down from above, closing in all around Maki, leaving her in the darkness of the backstage. In front of the curtains however, proudly stood Honoka. Planting her sword firmly into the pink T marking the center, she twirled once more as all of the blue spotlights directed their gazes onto Honoka, marking her victory as she loudly proclaimed,
“Center position!”
The music had now gone into a halftime feel as a lone electric guitar soloed over the orchestra.
“This marks the end of the first day of auditions.” The alpaca announced from the balcony.
Still riding the high of her earlier battle, Honoka stood in position, heavily panting. “Umi-chan!”
I did it! I saved her!
The stage had once again transformed, but this time to highlight Honoka’s victory. Large red curtains pooled and twisted around the main pillar of the stage, the wooden stars no longer suspended, but now caught in the fabric. The circle in which the center position was held rose up from the rest of the stage, red curtains and gold trim hanging from it.
On the floor, Umi was still in her pinned position from before, now staring up at Honoka, bewildered. Instead of happiness on her face however, there was a look of frustration. She was now visibly shaking, her hands clenched on the floor. Sniffling, with tears in her eyes, she shouted.
“HONOBAKA!”