9th of January, 1:00 pm, B-Komachi's Studio
"Ahhh, finally, lunch break, the best time of day."
Ruby looked at Kana, who had watched them practice for the past few hours, as she stretched herself with a faint smile on her face. Alongside the other two members, she made their way over to Kana, who sat in the corner of the room. "I know we usually go to a cafe for this… But I thought we could eat here today." Ruby said, turned to all three of them.
"But I don't have anything packed." Keiko's eyes darted slightly down.
"Yeah, she's right," Mem-Cho, who noticed Keiko's discomfort, added, "You should've told us before, that way we would've known."
Keiko's head snapped up, and she frantically waved her hands through the air."No, no, no, Mem and I could head out to buy something to eat here while you and Kana wait for us. We would definitely hurry up."
"Don't worry about me," Kana said as she gave Ruby an annoyed glance which the others didn't catch, "did y'all 3 can go to a cafe, don't worry about me."
"Ahem," The three yappers fell silent as Ruby loudly cleared her throat. "There's no need for any of that. I came prepared." She bowed down and rummaged around in her bag until she finally pulled out four neatly packed bento boxes.
"See," Ruby said as she stood back up and dusted off her skirt, "I made lunch for all of us. I'm not the best cook, but I gave it my all, so if y'all don't eat up I'm going to be very sad and disappointed. And you don't want that, therefore you three will have no other option than to eat with me."
"I see what you did here…" Kana smirked as she was the first to take a bento box Ruby out of Ruby's hand. "But thanks."
The other two followed, also grabbing their boxes and thanking Ruby before sitting down too. Simultaneously, they opened them. They were filled to the brim; filled with rice, various vegetables, and even a side of shrimp tempura.
"That looks really yummy, Ruby, thanks."
"Thank you very much."
They all fell quiet as each dug into their respective lunch. Kana didn't feel like talking in general right now, so she really enjoyed that Ruby, who usually didn't shut up, stayed quiet for once. Mem-Cho once heard that the body digests better when fully focused on eating; Keiko just went along with the flow. This went on for a few minutes until they had all reached about the halfway mark of their box.
"Keiko, I've noticed that you're already improving compared to your first time here. You sure have a lot of talent," Ruby said in between two bites.
Keiko's heart swelled with pride as she shyly looked down at the floor. "Thanks, but all of you are still so much better. I hope one day I'll be as good as you three."
"Don't worry about that," Kana reluctantly said as she saw the same doubt she knew all too well sparkle in Keiko's eyes, "I see it too. If you keep at it, you can surely at least surpass me. Because I never really was an idol at heart, I mean."
A hint of surprise flashed over Keiko's face as she turned away from Ruby to face Kana. "You were not? But you always seemed like you loved it when I was watching you."
"I mean- I-It's complicated…" Kana stuttered out as Keiko's quick turn knocked the wind out of her, "I didn't hate it, but my true passion will forever be acting."
"I totally understand that… You know, I'm actually kind of your fan, a fan of your acting… I don't mean that obsessive kind, but ever since I've seen you in the Tokyo Blade stage play… I don't know…" Keiko admitted, while her eyes shied away from Kana's.
"I appreciate it," Kana mumbled before she quickly lowered her head down all the way until she almost dove into her bento.
"Will you act again?" Keiko asked in a quiet voice half a minute later.
Kana, who had just picked up a chunk of rice using her chopsticks and was now directing it towards her mouth, accidentally dropped them back into the bento box, sitting completely frozen.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mea-" Keiko began as she saw Kana's reaction, but Kana interrupted her before she could finish. "It's alright… This is not your fault… and to answer your question… I will definitely go back eventually, I just don't know how yet."
"I knew something like this wouldn't be enough to break you." Mem-Cho gently poked Kana's side as she giggled.
"Just don't rush it… I'm happy for you, you know I am. But if you don't take your time, it could maybe backfire," Ruby, who had her mouth filled with various vegetables, chimed in mid-chew.
"She's right," Mem-Cho said in a more serious tone, "Kana. You should probably take your time."
"I'll think about it, it's just… Right now I'm popular, I mean my name is trending everywhere, if I do it right, I could boost my career massively." Kana lightly pushed Mem-Cho's finger, which still rested on her side, away.
"That's probably true, I mean, I can't know for sure. But please, don't let your career define who you are…"
"That's ri-" Mem-Cho, who just wanted to agree with Keiko, was cut short by Miyako's firm voice, "I'm sorry to interrupt you, but do you have a second, Kana?"
Kana looked around, first at Ruby, then at Mem-Cho. After neither of them said anything, she placed her Bento down and got up from her chair. Her head hung a bit as she silently followed after Miyako, who walked out of hearing range from the other girls.
"So, I think you can already guess why I wanted to talk to you…" Miyako said as she turned to face Kana.
Kana rubbed her sweaty palms against her skirt until they felt a bit sticky.
"Yes, I do." Kana bowed down as far as she could. "I'm really sorry for what I've done, and if you want to terminate my contract because of it, it's totally fine. I will face the consequences."
Miyako stayed quiet for a moment before she placed her head on Kana's shoulder, signaling her to look up again. "It's not about that. I mean, your post almost gave me a small heart attack, no question, but in the end, it wasn't too bad for our PR. You could even argue that it helped our situation… I even understand why you did it."
Kana raised her head ever so slightly to look up at Miyako and perhaps be able to read her expression, because her words surely made no sense to Kana. "It's not? I don't understand, what is it then?" Kana asked, a bit hesitant, as the thought that she would surely be thrown out of Ichigo Productions, with which she had already come to terms, moved back to the back of her mind.
"I have gotten an offer…" Miyako said as she glanced over to the other girls to make sure none of them eavesdropped. "A large national TV program has offered for you to appear on their show. They sent a request the day after you posted your statement. The date they named is the 11th of January."
A faint glittering rang through Kana's ears as the information entered her ears, just to freely bounce around the inside walls of her head. "Wow…" She managed to stammer out
"That's a lot… Why would they want somebody like me?... But you're right, this would increase the number of people who know me by quite a bunch. And if I do it right, I could even turn into some symbol for not backing down, even after being attacked, you get what I mean?"
"Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves, but I totally do… But this doesn't sit well with me… You know, this does probably make me a horrible manager, but I initially didn't even plan on telling you."
"Why's that?" Kana tilted her head a bit to the left, "That is my chance to grow."
"True, but those kinds of shows often exploit people in your situation; they could try to make you look like a fool or even worse…" Miyako made a short pause, unsure of how to express what she wanted to convey. "Your reaction when Keiko asked you if you would return to acting told me everything I needed to know… But I still believe in your right of choice."
"So you think I would just be a tool to them? A thing they can exploit and discard… I need some time to think. Is it okay if I tell you my decision tomorrow?" A certain intensity glowed inside Kana's eyes for not a moment more than a short second before it was gone again, yet a second is all that was needed.
Miyako looked down at her watch. "Tomorrow should work, just don't take too long."
"Thanks for telling me…" Kana said before she turned around to head back to the others. She took no more than a few steps before she turned around again to face Miyako. She wanted to say something, yet her lips didn't part even a millimeter.
When Kana arrived back at the set of chairs, all she found was her half-eaten bento. Her hand shook ever so slightly as she looked down at it; to her, it felt like the very vegetables, which hadn't even had a soul, even laughed at her.
This could be your chance, Kana…
Take this opportunity, look at least a bit convincing while you're at it, and then the crisis is averted, and you're probably even more famous than before.
And even if I don't deserve it-
Kana picked the lunch up from her chair and sat down,
"Then I'll just take it," she quietly mumbled.
9th of January, 7:00 pm, B-Komachi's Studio
The three idols just finished their final rep for the day. Keiko had already left; her train always left just minutes after their day wrapped up, and she didn't plan to wait an extra hour. Ruby was also already standing at the door, ready to leave, just waiting for Kana, who had just appeared from around the corner.
"Ruby, I have a request," Kana said, "Would you mind leaving without me? I still have something to do."
"Oh, that's no problem, I can wait or string along with you," Ruby said, a bright smile on her face.
"Ruby… Please… I need to speak with Mem, alone…" The hallway fell silent as Kana finished her sentence. Then she blushed slightly, her face feeling all warm as she realized her mistake. "It's not that Mem and I hide anything from you; it's about what Miyako said to me earlier. I need to ask all of you individually, but I want to ask Mem first."
Ruby looked nervously around. "Alright," she murmured.
With Ruby already halfway down the hall, Kana cleared her throat, "About the weird guy… text me later, and we will come up with a plan."
Ruby just nodded faintly without stopping.
…
Mem-Cho, who sat in the locker room, still not fully ready to leave, raised her head slightly as Kana unexpectedly reentered the room. "Kana, I thought you already left with Ruby, why are you still here?" She said, only paying half her attention, as she put on her shirt.
"I want to talk to you… About something important." Kana said as she shut the door behind her and sat down on one of the benches in the room.
Mem-Cho, who had just put her belongings, which were scattered throughout the entire room, into her bag, saw the serious expression on Kana's face and dropped the skirt she held in her hand before she turned to Kana. "Sure, but why not with Ruby? I'm sure she could help you too."
"I like Ruby… But she can be childish and immature from time to time, you on the other hand are like really ancient and really wise." A sheepish grin spread across Kana's face.
"I- Ouch," Mem-Cho exclaimed
"I'm just messing with you… it's about what Miyako told me earlier…" Kana fidgeted around with her short red hair, "She said a TV program wants me to make my return on their channel, but she said they could try to exploit me, but it could also boost my career. I'm torn."
"That's a tough decision…" Kana could practically see the steam rise out of Mem-Cho's head and evaporate in the air around her as she intensely thought for a few moments. "I mean, do you feel like you are in a position to gain anything from it? I mean mentally."
"Hard question… I think there's a good chance, but I'm not certain," Kana answered,
"Then I think you shouldn't take it," Mem-Cho looked slightly away as she spoke.
"But why? This could help me so much." Kana got up from her chair and rapidly paced over to Mem-Cho. "And think about the other benefits."
Mem-Cho mirrored Kana and stood up just as Kana reached her. Mem-Cho's posture looked relaxed, especially for someone who had just danced and sang for countless hours, but perhaps it was just that Kana looked way too tense in comparison.
"I lied to you…" Mem-Cho said as she smiled at the confused Kana, "I don't think you shouldn't take it. But your reaction proved to me that you have already decided what you want to do." She placed her hand on Kana's shoulder. "Follow your heart, and you won't regret your decision."