𝒩ᴼᵂ 𝒫ᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : ❝ 𝒢ᴼ 𝒢ᴵᴺᴬ ❞ 𝒷ᵞ 𝒮ᶻᴬ
↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺
ɪ ʙᴇʟᴏɴɢ ᴛᴏ ɴᴏʙᴏᴅʏ, ᴛʀʏ ɴᴏᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴅɪsᴛᴜʀʙ, ɪ ᴍɪɴᴅ ᴍʏ ʙᴜsɪɴᴇss
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ɪғ ʀᴜʙʏ ʟᴇᴀʀɴᴇᴅ anything in the past few days, it was that dancing was hard. Ichigo finally decided to get them a private room to start training her after a lot of convincing, and even though he was her adoptive father, that didn't mean he was easy on her.
"Lift your arms more!" he directed. "Raise your voice, and don't stutter!"
Ruby tried to follow what he said the best she could. They were practicing with one of B-Komachi's old songs, one that she adored when she was still Sarina, but it was a lot harder being the idol instead of the listener. Her voice kept wobbling, her dance moves were stiff, and her face was covered with sweat.
When she was listening to the song, she was sad when it ended, but when she was the one singing and dancing to it, it couldn't end fast enough. It felt like an eternity before it did. By then, she felt like she could pass out.
As she chugged some water from a water bottle she brought, Ichigo told her, "For your first practice, you're not half bad. Plenty idols start off worse than you. Your singing while dancing could use some work, and you also have to improve the less-sweating aspect. But, if you did anything well, it's keeping that constant smile."
Even though she was still panting, Ruby smiled. "Idols...are meant to be cute..."
"There are some exceptions, but most of them are. You want to be cute, don't you? Keep smiling."
Ruby made her smile wider. Maybe she should go back to being a doctor. It was way more easier than being...this.
But no. Masaya told her he would only give her the information she wanted on Ai if she joined Idol's Beginning. She had to be well-known. Since Ichigo's expertise was on idols, then an idol she would be.
Ichigo looked her over. "If you keep up good work, we might be able to have you be good enough to start your first music video."
Ruby sighed. "I suck at writing..."
"You don't have to write it. We can get someone else to do it for you. But don't get any ideas yet; if you can't sing or dance, you won't be an idol. From the top."
Ruby held back another sigh as she took her place again. When the music started, she performed the dance moves and sung the lyrics, both she memorized thanks to Sarina listening to the song constantly. Ichigo gave her pointers throughout it, but he never said anything about her smile. It was cute, it was constant, and, most importantly, it was Ruby—or how she wanted the audience to see her.
. . .
ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ғɪʟᴍɪɴɢ of Sweet Today and recently becoming an idol, Ruby forgot about Yoto High School. But since she and Aqua got accepted, it was finally time for their first official day.
And the first thing she noticed was that there were so many more well-known people than there were on the interview days.
There were models, influencers, actors, actresses, basically anything you could think of, and they were everywhere. Ruby couldn't wrap her head around the fact she could be in the same class as some of them!
She was still amazed when she went into the general education classroom. There were still plenty of well-known people, but these people weren't those that needed the performing arts department for their career. It made her painfully aware that she wasn't known at all.
She sat near the back of the class because of that. If she was surviving her high school years, she would have to blend in with everyone else.
Too bad she already failed.
A boy sat down next to her. "Hey, I didn't see you at the interviews."
Ruby smiled and tried to radiate the "idol energy" Ichigo taught her. "We probably had different days. I'm—"
"You're kind of cute." He tilted his head. "You're a model or something?"
She laughed politely. "I wish I was pretty enough. I'm not known for anything."
"Oh." He left.
Ruby stared at the spot he was just in. If that was how people at school would be, then she already didn't like it.
. . .
"ʜᴏᴡ ᴡᴀs ʏᴏᴜʀ class?" Aqua asked when he met up with Ruby during break.
Ruby shrugged. "Everyone's okay, I guess. No one in my class wants to be friends with me."
"I figured. You know, I found someone in my class that I think you might be friends with." Aqua pulled out his phone and showed her a picture with a pretty girl with pink hair. "This is Minami Kotobuki, and she sits right next to me. I think you guys will get along. Want me to introduce her?"
"If you want." It wasn't like she was there to make friends. Aqua wanted to go to the performing arts program, Ruby wanted to make sure he would be safe from whatever attention he gained while also becoming a doctor, so making friends wasn't really something they were thinking.
As their conversation continued, they got the attention of a girl with dark green hair and bright eyes. She was looking at Aqua when they approached them. "Excuse me, you're Aquamarine Hoshino, aren't you?"
"Just call me Aqua," he said automatically.
"I saw you on the Sweet Today live action. You were very good."
If Ichigo ever wondered why Ruby had learned to keep a constant smile, it was for moments like these.
She quickly switched the topic. "You're Frill Shiranui, aren't you? I saw you, like, everywhere on TV! You're a great actress!"
"Thank you..." Her eyes squinted slightly, trying to figure out who she was.
"Ruby," she filled in for her.
"Thank you, Ruby." Frill tilted her head. "I haven't seen you anywhere... What do you do?"
"Nothing, really."
"Oh." Frill turned to leave. "Then I wish you luck."
Ruby smiled as she left. She didn't view Frill as being mean, but Aqua did, if his narrowed eyes said anything.
"How's your idol career going?" he asked a little louder than necessary.
She frowned but still said, "Good, I guess. I think I just need to practice my singing a little, and then I'm ready for my first song!"
"Do you know what song you want?"
"I want one that's unique." That way, she could get onto the show faster if more people were interested in her uniqueness. "But I can't write, so I think I'll hire someone to make the lyrics for me. But I also think it's too early for that. I can't even sing that well..."
"I'll help you with the song. I can even help you sing. I'll help you with everything."
"Aww, Aqua! You don't have to do that, you know. You have your acting stuff to work on!"
"My schedule is free. You don't have to pay me either. This is all thanks to being your brother."
"Thank you, Aqua! You're the best!" Ruby's smile turned shy. "But we should wait until, you know...I can actually sing."
"You'll get there in no time," assured Aqua.
"I hope so..." She could only hope for Masaya to postpone filming of Idol's Beginning long enough for her to become an idol...
Which meant Ruby had to quicken her pace.
. . .
ᴛᴡᴏ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀ half weeks later, Ruby found herself performing another one of B-Komachi's old songs. This one, she completed it with perfection. She knew it in her gut, and if that wasn't confirmation enough, she had Ichigo's nodding approval and applauding.
"You're doing well," he said. "At this rate, you'll be ready to have your first song come out."
"When?" she asked quickly. "Director Kaburagi has to start filming Idol's Beginning soon."
"Indeed he does. From the effort you're putting, you might be able to perform well enough to start a small music video. It might take a few weeks to finish it, and it will be expensive. We're not even talking about the costs either..."
"Aqua and Miyaemon will help! I'm legally with Strawberry Productions, after all!"
"I know, but even with Strawberry Productions's money, I'm not sure how long you're music video will be. We don't even have a song ready—and considering our schedule, it'll have to get enough views and people talking about it for you to get on the show..."
"I—"
"We'll talk about your music later when I know you're fully capable of giving us a good video. For now, I want to tell you something."
Ruby forced herself to stay silent and listen.
"Ruby, when you get onto the show, you're most likely going to be well-known enough to get at least a hundred or so fans," Ichigo said. "I know our goal is to get you in perfect idol condition or something close to that so you can get well-known and be on Kaburagi's Idol's Beginning.
"The problem is that you can't just stop being an idol. Once you officially become one, people will now start expecting you to continue with your career. You absolutely cannot post one music video and then disappear from the face of the Earth once the reality TV show is done. You must continue with this at all costs. Okay?"
Ruby nodded, her face firm. She knew exactly what she was getting into when she went to Ichigo for help. The only way she would now be free of the hands of the idol life would be when she was "too old" to continue. Being in her late 30's never felt better!
Ichigo smiled. "That's my girl."
Ruby smiled back. When she saw him start another one of B-Komachi's old songs again from the beginning, her smile fell. She knew they had to do all this preparing, but if she really was his girl, couldn't he let her take one break?