Chapter 11: The Performance Concludes
Strawberry Productions was not a traditional talent agency, but a new-age media operations company. The President, Ichigo Saitou, was quite progressive in his thinking; he believed that in this era, it was difficult to stand out by relying solely on television, film, and variety shows. TV viewership was declining every year; today's society belonged to the internet.
As it turned out, his internet-centric operational strategy was remarkably correct. B-Komachi's growth from an obscure little idol group to the behemoth of the idol world it was today was inseparable from the President's personal capabilities. He had carved out a brand-new digital track and successfully reaped the rewards.
In the future, this company would cultivate even more internet celebrities, YouTubers, and TikTokers.
"Those who blindly follow tradition cannot survive in this society!" Ichigo Saitou would often say.
B-Komachi's Tokyo Dome performance perfectly inherited the excellent habits of Strawberry Productions. While the audience who bought tickets enjoyed the heated atmosphere on-site, fans who failed to snag a seat didn't lose the chance to watch. This performance involved collaborations with multiple media outlets; Tokyo TV sent reporters for a live broadcast, while the official B-Komachi accounts on YouTube and TikTok opened livestreams to drive even more traffic to the concert.
Surprisingly, the popularity of the TikTok livestream was even higher than YouTube's. This brand-new short-video platform, which landed in Japan in the summer of 2017, displayed amazing vitality. In just one year, one could already see the shadows of the global explosion that was to come.
On the TikTok live chat, comments were scrolling by at lightning speed.
*"\Ai/\Ai/\Ai/\Ai/"*
*"11111111111"*
*"8888888888"*
*"Wait, is this Ai's solo stream?"*
*"—If you aren't an Ai fan, get out."*
*"Why is everyone an Ai fan? Is no one watching Watanabe? I think she's cuter than Ai ("*
*"Doesn't B-Komachi only exist for Ai? (smile)"*
*"What kind of flame-baiting troll is the person above? Is there no official mod to handle this?"*
The inflammatory comments were immediately deleted by the moderators arranged by the President. The members of B-Komachi, passionately performing on stage, naturally had no chance to see them.
But even if they couldn't see the chat, they were well aware of the fact that they were mere foils.
Ninety percent of the audience members who bought tickets were there for Ai. Ai's support color was red. At this moment, dense clusters of red glow sticks waved in unison with the beat, looking like a massive red tide swallowing everyone in the venue.
The other members could only scramble to find traces of their own support colors within that sea of red.
If they were newly debuted idols, they might have broken down in such a setting—losing confidence and quitting the industry after facing the sheer gap between themselves and a top star. But B-Komachi was different; having been debuted for quite a while, they could easily shoulder this pressure.
After all, they were used to it.
Meanwhile, Hikaru Hoshino was in the front row with the twins, enthusiastically "calling."
Aqua and Ruby each held two glow sticks, their hands moving so fast they left afterimages. Their exaggerated performance left the surrounding passersby completely stunned. Hikaru Hoshino didn't use the support gymnastics Aqua had taught him that afternoon; instead, he performed "Wotagei" directly, his range of motion even greater than the twins'.
"Are they pushing idols at such a young age?"
"The adult next to them too... isn't this a bit much?"
The staggering performance even momentarily overshadowed Ai. A set of cameras swiveled around, filming the trio of Hikaru and the twins.
Miyako, sitting in the back, helplessly covered her forehead. The twins' performance brought back bad memories; a few years ago, a video of them "calling" as infants—looking nothing like actual babies—had been posted online, nearly scaring her to death with the thought that Ai's secret would be exposed.
But fortunately, they were four years old now. Coming to a concert to show support should be... acceptable. Probably.
Ai continued to sing, her dance moves showing not a single flaw, but her eyes had long been fixed on the twins.
*Ah, my kids are so cute!*
She had always thought so, but truly, Aqua and Ruby were the cutest children in the whole world!
Light overflowed from Ai Hoshino's eyes, a brilliant smile blossomed on her face, and her movements became even more passionate and open.
The scrolling speed of the chat accelerated again.
*"Where did those three come from? Is Ai's charm so powerful that even kids can't resist?"*
*"Hey, does anyone else think Ai just got a bit more radiant?"*
*"Huh? Hasn't she always been this radiant? (smile)"*
*"How much time is left in the concert?"*
*"Seems like it's almost over. Maybe one more song?"*
*"Ai tweeted before going on stage that they added a new song at the end."*
Having just finished a song, the members of B-Komachi gathered on stage again, bowing to the audience while catching their breath.
"Thank you all so much for coming to today's performance! For today's show, everyone in B-Komachi has spent a long time preparing, practicing, and rehearsing constantly. We've been looking forward to this day."
"We hope today's performance was satisfactory for everyone!"
A massive wave of comments floated past.
*"Satisfied, satisfied!"*
*"Worth the ticket price! (I didn't buy a ticket, just kidding)"*
*"\Ai/\Ai/\Ai/\Ai/"*
Ai stood up slowly with a smile, holding the microphone with both hands as she made the final announcement to the audience.
"Now, the final song we've prepared for today is a new track. This is its first public performance."
"Please look forward to it!"
"Idol!"
Ai took a deep breath. Before the accompaniment even began, vocal lines drifted out. Unlike the traditional "idol girl" style, the first few lines of this song carried a strong personal flair, and the rising inflection at the end of each phrase immediately grabbed everyone's attention.
*"A feeling I can't describe..."*
*"This is a completely different style from B-Komachi's previous songs."*
*"These lyrics... I can already sense the venue is going to explode later."*
The atmosphere reached a fever pitch during the rap section performed by the other members. Each of the three took a line, wearing smiles that were calm to the point of being unsettling, looking in unison toward Ai. Then, with voices full of emotion, they recited their jealousy toward her.
*"\Fire/\Fire/\Fire/\Fire/"*
*"Can lyrics like these actually be sung? Isn't this a train wreck?"*
*"Even if it's the truth, putting it directly into a song is amazing."*
*"I feel like B-Komachi is going to disband after tonight (sad)."*
The song did not pause for the comments. Following the afternoon rehearsal, Ai continued to sing with all her might. As before, the lyrics—which resonated so deeply with her—allowed her to immerse herself once more. Every line described her past; every line was her sincerity.
She, who always told lies, was for the first time using lyrics on stage to speak her true feelings. The performance, filled with genuine emotion, captured the heart of every viewer.
*"Never having been loved, nor having loved anyone."*
*"Yet someone like that always believed that her lies would one day come true."*
The melody dropped sharply, only to soar again after a single line, reaching the song's climax and the finale of the performance.
However, Ai fell into an unprecedented panic.
*Should I really perform it the way Biyoo suggested? Is it really enough to just mouth the words? Should I miss out on such a great stage, such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?*
*I clearly... really want to say those words!*
Time passes slowly when one is intensely focused. In this moment, Ai remembered what had happened that morning. To be honest, she was still a bit afraid of that scene; her abdomen even felt a phantom pain.
If Hikaru Hoshino hadn't interfered, what would her ending have been?
That fan... she thought his name was Ryosuke? He probably would have killed her outright. After all, she had no safety awareness; she definitely would have opened the door for him, and then he would have plunged the dagger into her stomach, blood gushing out.
It felt like it would be very painful.
Dying from excessive blood loss—was that her original fate?
If it had really gone that way... she wasn't actually that afraid of dying, but she truly couldn't stop worrying about Aqua and Ruby. They were so small and couldn't do anything for themselves. They hadn't felt paternal love, and if they lost their mother too, growing up would be incredibly difficult, wouldn't it?
A child like Aqua was so serious; he might even have tried to avenge her.
In the future, he would surely become an excellent actor, and Ruby would be an idol just as outstanding as herself.
*As expected, I still want to see them grow up with my own eyes.*
Ai's thoughts continued to wander, shifting from the morning's accident to her children's future. Before her eyes, she seemed to see a blond boy with blue eyes and a blond girl with rose-colored eyes, reaching out their hands to her together.
The hallucination faded quickly, and the waves of cheers pulled Ai back to the Dome.
She stared intently at the twins below the stage; they still looked like their future grown-up selves in her mind. Beside them, Hikaru Hoshino was no longer waving his glow sticks; he stood with his arms crossed, looking at Ai with a smile she still couldn't quite read.
Everything before her reminded Ai that *this* was her reality. No tragedy had occurred; she could watch her children grow up, and she could still fulfill her duty as a mother.
Tears instinctively wanted to flow, but Ai forced them back.
Finally, she spoke the last line of the lyrics with her own voice.
"These words are absolutely not a lie."
"I love you all."