The contact between Ruby and Aqua declined more gradually over the last 2 days. Aqua doesn't leave his room to eat anymore; he didn't even join Ruby and Miyako for the New Year's celebration.
Kana still hasn't left her room. She has been home for an entire week now, and Ruby still comes to visit every single day, always leaving with the same result.
Akane has signed the documents to leave the Lala Lai Theatrical Company, paying a total of 11.2 million Yen to quit without any repercussions. She still comes to visit Aqua sometimes, checking in on him, yet she knows there is nothing she can do for him right now.
3rd of January, 2:00 pm, audition room
Ruby is sitting behind an auditioning table alongside Mem-Cho and Miyako, who was already planning this audition for months, and today is the day. Miyako picked the 10 best contestants for the open B-Komachi spot and invited them to introduce themself today.
At first, she wasn't a big fan of having Ruby and Mem-Cho with her. Neither of them understands the first thing about what makes an idol great. But eventually, she complied and let them be there. She thought this could heighten Ruby's mood.
The room they're in is windowless and almost completely white apart from a red circle on the ground 3 meters in front of the desk. Two studio production lights are aimed at it, and a microphone stand with an unplugged microphone in it is standing right there, too.
On the desk in front of Miyako are 10 folders containing the personal information of each contestant. They are neatly stacked on top of one another.
Ruby grabs the folder of a random contestant and begins to silently read through it, admiring the picture in the top left corner of the document.
Wow, she is absolutely gorgeous. We could probably just pick her and be done with it. No, I shouldn't get biased already; the other ones are probably just as pretty. Keiko Yamaguchi… such a cute name.
No, I need to stay professional… But I can't. Why can't we just expand and let all of them join? I would be super bummed out if I came here and would get rejected… It must feel horrible.
Concentrate, Ruby! She was born on January 23. 2007, this makes her uhm… 15 years old. That's how old mom was when she was pregnant… I wonder if Keiko is as mature as Mom was…
Ruby hastily puts the folder back down as the first girl enters the room.
The first girl is blonde, just like Ruby. But her tan is a bit darker. She says that her name is Saki Yoshida and that she is 20 years old.
Wow, that's a full-blown Gyaru…
Interesting… Her natural hair color seems to be black, though.
That would mean the look is totally by choice… I like it.
But her name… I think I read it somewhere before.
After giving a short performance, she walks back out. This gives Ruby, Mem-Cho, and Miyako a short amount of time for consultation before the next contestant would enter the room.
"She was totally awesome."
Ruby exclaims, her voice sounds ecstatic and full of joy.
"You're right, her voice was so perfect too."
Mem-Cho chimes in to support Ruby's beliefs. The only one who hasn't praised her yet is Miyako.
"I agree, her voice was indeed pretty. But there's a problem."
She sighs.
" If I would've known about this I wouldn't even have invited her…"
The heads of Ruby and Mem-Cho turn, looking at Miyako now.
"What do you mean?"
They ask in unity, confusion displayed on their faces.
"You two really haven't noticed it? She was wearing a hoodie the entire time, even though we turned the radiator to the highest setting to simulate the heat of an actual concert, this rubbed me the wrong way, so I paid more attention to it… Then in the middle of her act her sleeve slipped up a bit, revealing her wrist to me… I would recognize those marks everywhere, my guess is she's a former drug addict."
Ruby stays silent for a moment, letting the implications of all of this sink in on her before speaking.
"But we could-"
Miyako interrupts Ruby.
"No buts… I know it is not nice to disqualify her for this, since she already had it hard enough most likely, but we can't risk anybody finding it out. I allowed you to come along, Ruby, but I can also send you out if you don't accept this decision."
Ruby looks past Miyako at Mem-Cho, searching for any kind of support, but Mem-Cho is just slowly, barely noticeable, shaking her head behind Miyako.
Ruby stays quiet for a moment before turning back, looking straight ahead again.
"You're right."
…
The next contestant walks in, half of her hair is purple, and the other half is green. Ruby still hasn't decided if she thinks that the colors match or if they clash, as the contestant starts speaking.
"Hey, I'm Sayaka Satou. And I would absolutely love to join B-Komachi. I'm 18 years old and was born in the Shimane prefecture. So you could say I'm somewhat of a small-town girl, even though I've been living in Tokyo for almost 5 years now."
She, too, performs before eventually leaving the room again. This time, the votes are more unanimous; everyone, including Miyako, loves how she manages to appear cute yet also come off as mature.
Her performance was not as good as the previous one, though. She made a few mistakes in the text and a few wrong steps, nothing that can't be fixed.
…
After five more contestants, it's Keiko's turn. Ruby's eyes light up as she walks in. She is even more stunning in person. Her hair is a natural shade of black, while the tips are midnight blue, fading into the black. Her velvet blue eyes look like sparkling sapphires. She is staring right back into Ruby's eyes as she walks up to the red circle.
She takes her position, all while not averting her gaze from Ruby. She clears her throat one more time before she starts.
"Heyyy. I'm Keiko, and I absolutely love being able to perform here today."
She waves at the three of them like she would wave at a crowd of fans, before grabbing the microphone.
"I'm just 15, but my idol wasn't much older than that, and she managed to motivate me to always keep going, so don't count me out yet."
With that, she starts performing.
Oh… My… God! The way she moves is so absolutely wonderful.
If I didn't know better, I would say she came up with this dance.
She could be some serious competition for me; if I don't watch out, I might lose the center.
And her voice… It's sooo pretty too, like an angel singing… She's just so perfect.
Ruby is completely captivated by Keiko's performance. Only Mem-Cho and Miyako notice that Keiko also makes mistakes, just like every other contestant before.
She too leaves the room after she is done with her performance. Miyako only has to glance at Ruby once to see that Keiko left quite the impression on her. So instead of talking about the performance, she just calls the next person in.
Ruby doesn't react much to the last 2 girls. Their performances were good too, but Ruby was completely captivated; her heart was racing in a way it hadn't been in a very long time.
It doesn't feel like the first time she was watching Ai; she already accepted that nothing will ever make her feel that way again. But Keiko's performance is probably the next best thing to it.
…
The auditions end. Ruby, Miyako, and Mem-Cho remain seated in the room so they can make a final decision on which contestant should be chosen.
"So, I hope it is clear that I am the one that will have the final say in this. But I also value your opinions. So, is there anyone you liked specifically?"
Mem-Cho is the first one to take initiative since Ruby is still lost in thought.
"I liked contestant number 5, Aiko Takahashi. To me it seemed like she was quite good at playing her role, she also performed longer than average and didn't break a sweat. I think we could form her into a star."
Miyako stays silent for a moment, thinking back to how Aiko performed.
"You're right, she put on this cute and bubbly facade the second she started performing. Fans would love this."
Suddenly, Ruby, who wasn't really listening to them, instead being lost in her own thoughts, speaks, her voice only barely louder than a whisper. Yet it's enough to interrupt the conversation of the other two. Prompting them to turn around and face Ruby.
"She was just like Ai."
Miyako and Mem-Cho look at Ruby, her eyes wide open, looking forward.
"Could you repeat that?"
Miyako asks Ruby, who was talking more to herself than to the others.
"No… forget I said it. I would choose contestant 8… Keiko Yamaguchi."
Ruby blinks a few times, blinking herself back into reality.
"We just have to take her. She was by far the best… Please"
Ruby starts begging for Miyako to accept her proposal. Miyako remains silent at first before speaking.
"I think you're right, Ruby, her performance had flaws too, no question. But the way she was able to encapsulate even you was impressive to say the least. Don't get me wrong."
Miyako turns her head to face Mem-Cho.
"Aiko was really good too."
She moves her head back to face Ruby.
"But Keiko felt exactly like the thing fans want to experience. It is a wonder she isn't signed anywhere yet-"
Suddenly, Ruby interrupts Miyako.
"Does that mean we pick her?"
Her eyes sparkle at Miyako; they are filled with hope and anticipation. Her voice is barely able to hold her excitement.
"Yes, we will give her the chance."