Chapter Text
The oh-so-familiar sound of the reinforced basement door slamming open heralded the arrival of a new day’s duties for the girls of Franchouchou. It had almost become a game among the idols to guess what new scheme Kotaro had brewed up to raise their status in the Saga Prefecture. Motocross racing? Lip sync battling? Considering how much their past endeavors had varied, anything seemed like fair game.
Lily kept her eyes on the dark void where their manager would inevitably emerge from. For all his bluster and theatrics, he could be as secluded and mysterious as the basement itself. Who knew what surreal thoughts hid behind those ever-present sunglasses of his?
Her money was on some sort of game show appearance this time. She just had a feeling.
“Goooood morning, ladies!”
Kotaro’s shrill cry alerted the septette to his presence. Dressed to the nines in a graduation robe and cap, the band manager strode up to their planning chalkboard with a bundle of diplomas neatly tied up. All eyes quickly fell on him. Pulling one diploma from the bunch, he pointed it at the middlemost member of the group – Sakura.
“Congratulations on graduating, my lovely idols! It’s your time to strut on stage and make your moms and dads cry with joy! But now you’re not a student, which makes you a smelly NEET in the eyes of society! Gotta think fast – what’s the best way to get a job these days?”
Sakura eagerly shot her hand skyward. “Go into an interview confident and prepared, with a resume and a good pitch about your skills!”
Saki shrugged the question off. “Tell them you’re not gonna give them the time of day unless the pay’s decent?”
Junko also attempted to give an answer. “I’d say…look through the classifieds section of the paper. See who’s hiring. Maybe look online, since that’s more modern?”
“Wrong!”
A diploma hurled at high speeds thwacked Sakura in the head, making her squeal in surprise.
“Also wrong!”
Another diploma hit Junko square in the face.
“And especially wrong!”
A diploma was thrown at Saki, who angrily caught it in mid-air and threw it back hard at Kotaro’s head. Their manager went down, dropping the entire bundle of diplomas along with his cap. Groaning, he visibly attempted to scavenge what remained of his dignity before resuming his lecture.
“…Ahem. Like I was saying, before I was immaturely interrupted-”
“-Immaturely?” Saki cried. “Shades, you’re the one who-”
“-Those answers are all wrong! Hard work and research get you nowhere in today’s market! It’s all about who you know! Networking will get you a gig faster than any old-fashioned job hunt!”
Yugiri, who had been observing the exchange curiously, offered her own thoughts. The Meiji-era idol appeared unphased by the antics of Kotaro and Saki, as per usual.
“Unless you plan to put us through college, Lord Kotaro, I fail to see how that relates to the band’s success.”
Kotaro began smirking triumphantly. The conversation had somehow shifted in his favor, though Lily still wasn’t following whatever logic he ran on – or lack thereof.
“It has everything to do with it! Networking helped us get opportunities to promote Franchouchou in the past, and it’s continuing to do so to this day! This latest opportunity comes courtesy of the least likely among you!”
With an underhanded throw, Kotaro gently tossed a diploma onto Lily’s lap. Removing the seal attached to it, she unfurled it to find a formal-looking letter waiting for her.
“Number Six – Lilyyy Hoshikawaaa!”
The letter was an invitation to guest star in some lighthearted detective drama aimed at kids and young teens. She’d be playing a schoolgirl and private investigator who assists the main character in solving a murder mystery aboard a train. It seemed pretty standard for live-action TV; even if her papa handled most of the paperwork, Lily had picked up on a few pointers about the legal ins and outs of being a child actor and idol.
Skimming through the usual jargon and legalese, Lily stopped at the sight of a very familiar name. Blinking in surprise, she gave the message a second read-through to confirm what she had seen.
“It’s from Light!” she exclaimed to the others. Ecstatically, she handed the note off to Yugiri, who shared it with the other girls.
“The boy from the ‘Japanese Got Performance’ contest?” the eldest idol asked. “I was under the impression that he had treated you poorly, Lady Lily…”
“The first couple times we met, yeah, but he got better!” Lily pumped her small fists twice enthusiastically. “He was scared of being cast aside when he got older, just like how I used to feel! We talked more after he won the competition, and it turned out we had a lot in common! He’s actually nice under all that professionalism!”
Saki smirked at all her gushing praise of Light. “Sounds like he’s your number one fan, Squirt.”
“My name’s Lily! And he’s just a really nice friend. Friends help each other out like this all the time, don’t they?”
Ai shrugged at the question. “I guess it depends. The girls of Iron Frill looked out for each other when it came to publicity. Do you think you can trust this kid, though? I hope he isn’t pulling your leg or something…”
“Come on, Ai, everything’s square between them! You should have seen it!” Sakura made excited, broad gestures as she went over the talent show’s aftermath, as if she was summarizing the previous episode of an anime. “…It was so cute how they made up! It was like one of those villain redemption arcs, only happening for real!”
Yugiri hummed at the new information in acknowledgement. Lily was vaguely aware of how the older idol studied her, how her eyebrows raised at her distended heart’s quicker beating or the brighter sparkling of her eyes. Admittedly, she was downright ecstatic at the opportunity to return to the world of televised entertainment.
Did they think this was all about seeing Light again? It wasn’t untrue that she had hoped to reunite with him, and that his return to Saga felt like a good sign. Maybe they were just projecting their weird experiences onto them. Just because Sakura had confessed to Ai – and Saki and Kotaro had bafflingly gotten together – that didn’t mean every friendship became some kind of commitment. Boys and girls could be friends without it becoming something serious!
Besides, she wanted the whole world to love her. Wouldn’t being interested in one particular person be favoritism? She’d need to bring that up with someone who would take her seriously.
Smiling gently, Yugiri patted the young girl’s thick blue hair, eliciting a laugh from her.
“Then congratulations are in order, Lady Lily. This sounds like a momentous occasion for you.”
“Not just for her!” Kotaro insisted. “Think of the attention this will bring to Saga and to Franchouchou! You’d have to be as dense as Sakura-”
“-Hey! I am not dense!” the redheaded idol pouted.
“-To believe I won’t take advantage of the publicity! You won’t just be doing a guest appearance, Lily, you’ll be representing your fellow idols on the small screen! So, you’d better make us proud!”
Jumping out of her seat, Lily goofily saluted her manager. She felt giddy with a nervous energy, the good kind that helped her do her best before shows and fan meetups. She’d radiate so much positivity and light that she’d give the sun a run for its money!
“I won’t let you down, Mr. Kotaro! I’m gonna do my very best to shine!”
The rest of Franchouchou accompanied Lily and Kotaro to the Investigation Ended filming session, using some excuse about “providing moral support” to win their manager over. Lily didn’t mind – she liked being around the other girls, and she especially appreciated the coolheadedness that Yugiri provided to counteract Kotaro’s zany attitude.
Plus, the older idol had always been kind to her, and she’d never refuse a chance to spend time with her. Yugiri saw her for who she was on the inside and treated her no differently than the other girls. Even if Lily had been spared a lot of grief for her identity, it still meant a lot that the woman she admired gave her the respect and friendship she craved.
The initial check-ins and script reading went quickly. Yugiri waited on the sidelines while Sakura and the others did some simple promo work for their social media accounts. Kotaro attempted to hammer in some blatant Saga promotional material into the show. He had remained on the losing side of an argument until he had pulled out his legendary “chin tilt” tricks, which made the male producer and female writer suddenly enraptured with whatever silly idea he had in mind.
One day, she’d uncover the secret to his success. For now, she had bigger concerns on her mind.
All of the deal-making and handwringing was background noise to the child actress going through her script. The episode’s synopsis seemed fun: Light’s character, the “prodigy detective Mihael,” would uncover an apparent murder during a typical train ride through the countryside. Plagued with messages from a mysterious watcher apparently behind the killing, he would partner up with an aspiring private investigator girl named “Pirouette” to solve the puzzles, uncover the clues, and reveal the truth about the attack.
Lily couldn’t help but smile at her character’s behavior tics. Pirouette, the junior P.I., was a bubbly ball of positivity with a keen eye for details. Inspired by the prodigy detective, she had started up her own investigation business and was honored to work alongside her hero. Scattered throughout the episode were hints of a possible romance between the characters, and the ending provided opportunities for her to return in future episodes. It sounded like a cute role, one that she’d be happy to return to if all went well with filming.
“Number Six! There you are!”
A warm, buoying sort of enthusiasm rose when Lily heard that voice. Tilting her head up, she found Light Oozora standing over her, dressed to impress in a suit and tie tailored to his small stature. From the clips she had seen of his show, his character wore formal clothes in most episodes. He must have visited the costume department already.
Strangely, some part of her thought that the outfit suited the bushy-haired child actor. It reminded her of their first meeting and the heart-to-heart they had shared.
“Thanks again for the invite, Light!” Lily exclaimed, jumping out of her seat. “I can’t believe you got me a role on your show! That was so nice of you!”
“Well, you know…” His cheeks gaining a faint dusting of red, Light anxiously scratched the back of his hair. “…Kids like us, we have to stick together, don’t we? Besides, I told you I wanted to work with you someday, didn’t I?”
Years of working as an actor, even if they had been before her death, helped Lily pick up on cues and hints about people that would otherwise be missed. She immediately noticed how relaxed Light seemed compared to how he was at the talent show. The underlying tension underneath his remarks had vanished entirely. His smiles didn’t seem forced like before, either.
It was enough to reassure Lily that, to some degree, he had taken her advice to heart. Not everybody would have given her the time of day, especially when they had started out on bad terms. She wanted the whole world to love her, so it was a good sign that she could get through to someone as snobbish as Light had been.
“Yeah, but you said that about Tokyo.” Teasingly, she said, “I thought you said you were above a hick town like Saga! Why bother with us bumpkins?”
Somewhere in the distance, Kotaro audibly gasped and clutched his chest.
“Oh, that!” Light nervously laughed and averted his eyes. “You know how it is with us actors, right? Sometimes we get into – heated acting moments, right? We say things we regret right after when we’re stressed out!”
She could egg him on a little further, she figured. Batting her eyelashes, Lily kept up with the innocent act and said, “So I’m not some nobody from the sticks, right? I matter as a person?”
“Yes! Yes, absolutely! I never meant to lump you in with – what I mean is-”
Unable to keep up the charade any longer, Lily fell into a laughing fit, nearly doubling over from Light’s failing excuses. His shift to outright confusion only made her giggle harder.
“It’s-it’s fine, Light!” She wiped a stray tear from her eye. “I’m just messing with you. That’s all in the past now!”
“Ohh. Right. That’s what’s going on.” The boy cleared his throat in a professional-looking way that came out as a rough squeak. Bless his heart, he really was doing his best to make up for last time. “An actor of my caliber wouldn’t miss that. I was just playing along.”
“Of course,” Lily chuckled under her breath. “You’re just too seasoned and grizzled to be fooled, aren’t you?”
Recovering quickly, Light proudly raised his chin and declared, “It comes with the territory! You did your best, but no act gets past me! I’m just too well-versed in reading people.”
“And humble.”
“That too!”
Now in on the joke, Light comfortably laughed alongside Lily. Their shoulders pressed together – making Lily’s heart beat just a hair quicker – and she remembered what she had hoped to ask the boy.
“Mind going over the episode with me? I didn’t get much time to watch your show before coming here – the letter came in pretty close to the shoot.”
“You mean, you didn’t binge-watch every episode of Investigation Ended?” Light dramatically wailed, getting an amused chuckle from his counterpart. “But I reviewed your streams before recommending you to the director – even the forbidden one!”
Mock-gasping, Lily said, “No! Could it be…you saw my Luna Nova Academy Legacy playthrough before it got pulled?”
The concept of doing livestreams was a little after Lily’s time, but she quickly picked up on the etiquette behind them and how to manage one’s virtual audience. She had gotten through a handful of popular games with basic commentary and fan interactions so far. Her most recent video had progressed smoothly, but its brief use of copyrighted music had gotten it shut down.
Never mind the fact that she had used Franchouchou’s music in that clip, which she should have had every right to use. Her new plan was just to mute any music during livestreams altogether.
“Yes!” Light played up his fake malevolence with a sinister laugh. “I know your dark secret, and the only way to keep it safe is to become a superfan of my show!”
Continuing to joke back-and-forth, the two pulled up a couple of chairs and lined them side-by-side. Huddling close together, Light went over the script with her, bringing up quirks and details about the recurring characters that would help her performance. She leaned close against him during their review, which brought out a bit more joy in his voice.
Things fell into place from there. The abbreviated lesson on Investigation Ended gave Lily plenty of material to work with and go off. Light just seemed happy to be around her again and to share a project with her.
It brought back memories of the good times with her papa, when she had enjoyed acting and loved his reactions to her on the screen. Dwelling on those sad last days between them did her no good, so she cherished the years they had as a supportive father-daughter duo.
She hoped he would be watching the next episode of Light’s show! Maybe she could get Kotaro to notify him when it eventually aired. Even if he didn’t know she was alive again, he still took an interest in her new identity’s music and performances. That was good enough for her.
The thought of his support carried her through the tedious costume fittings and makeup applications. Her stomach briefly fluttered from nervousness as the time to begin shooting approached. She reminded herself that Yugiri and the rest of Franchouchou were here to support her, and she could always go to them if she had any concerns. They all were rooting for her to nail her role!
Oh, and Kotaro was probably being supportive in his own, weird way. She supposed that was kind of nice.
When she finally emerged from the deluge of measurements, rocking a stylish black raincoat and beret along with a white wig, she met with Light and the rest of the cast and crew on set. An anxious, excitable kind of energy ran through her – especially when the star seemed to shine a bit brighter at her appearance. She bashfully shrugged off the compliments that followed, though she couldn’t deny how giddy they made her feel.
She was back in her element. She had played roles in TV shows before – this was just a return to form. If she could sing and dance alongside her fellow idols in front of thousands, she could act her heart out as this upbeat investigator character.
For her papa, Franchouchou, and Light, she’d do her very best to sparkle on camera!