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When Airi asked for help, Ena was always eager to provide it, no matter how ridiculous or out there her requests might be. This favor, though, was particularly intriguing. In the year since she'd started working with MORE MORE JUMP, Airi had never asked for help with her new group's activities.
Curiosity had been building up over time. Ena was raring to see firsthand what Airi did behind the scenes with their popular streams. When Airi came to her with the surprise request to come help with a stream, Ena wasted no time in replying yes.
Well, it was originally supposed to be a simple request. All Airi told Ena was that she had to hold up a camera to give the viewers a better angle to see all the glorious balloon popping action. That was it.
That is, until other members of MORE MORE JUMP got involved.
“You look perfect in that outfit, Ena-chan!” Minori squealed as Ena sheepishly walked out of the changing room. “I just knew it would suit you!”
Ena could only silently shrink as she blushed in reply to the enthusiastic idol staring at her with sparkly eyes. This was all her fault. This was her idea.
“You really do look the part now, Ena.” Airi chimed in, clearly hiding a grin.
The two other idols beside Minori weren’t free of blame either. This had been a team effort. Airi had fed into the idea, even going so far as to tease Ena about chickening out. Even the one who she assumed to be the most reasonable of the group, Haruka, hadn’t directly opposed the costuming idea. When Ena tried to plead with her to talk the other two out of it, she'd only returned a silent smile.
“Thanks...” Ena said. She couldn’t bring herself to meet anyone’s eyes.
All three of them were responsible for putting her in this outfit! It totally didn’t suit her at all!
Any eagerness she had for helping Airi, before she'd been forced into this flashy idol attire, had been completely deflated. Now she just wanted to get the entire ordeal over with so she could get back into her usual clothes. Sadly, the stream wasn’t going to start for half an hour. She was stuck in this clunky outfit until then.
At the very least, time would pass by quickly while she was helping fill up the balloons for the stream. The idols hadn't said she needed to do anything, but she figured if she was going to be here anyways she might as well make herself useful with the preparations.
The group had clued her into the idea the moment she arrived at the MORE MORE House with Airi. During the contest, the idols would each go around popping balloons as quickly as they could with hopes of finding the hidden prize in one of them. It was a simple idea, but Ena understood why the idols needed an assistant for it. The room was too large to capture in the entire shot. It made sense to have someone there to angle the camera properly.
Apparently, the role of camera holder was normally filled by the manager, as it was rarely needed. Ena had only been brought on to act as a substitute because the MORE MORE JUMP manager wasn’t able to make it today. Airi said something about a family emergency. Ena saw no need to pry further.
When Ena had arrived earlier, there was already an assortment of colorful balloons ready, laying on the floor, eagerly awaiting their popping. Ena was given the golden slip that would act as the prize so the others, who had filled a good portion of the balloons themselves, wouldn’t have an advantage.
Ena didn't give much thought to the balloon that she put the gold slip into. In fact, she couldn't even remember which one she put it into, even though she'd done it less than a minute ago.
“I wonder where Shizuku is,” Haruka said, breaking the silence between balloon blowings.
Airi thumbed at her chin in thought. “Shizuku did say she’d be late, but I didn't think she'd be this late. The stream is supposed to be starting soon.”
As if mentioning her name were enough to summon her, the sound of a door closing down the hall signaled Shizuku's late arrival. Every one of the idols stood up from their crouched positions on the floor, ready to welcome her. The echo of Shizuku’s voice traveled down the hall as she introduced the MORE MORE House. She hadn’t entered alone.
Ena’s heart dropped as she heard the familiar phony voice reply to Shizuku with her typical faux politeness. What was she doing here? Why was she here while she was in this ridiculous green getup!
As much as she wanted to hide from Mafuyu, hiding wasn’t exactly an option. Mafuyu was going to see Ena in this way-too-extra attire no matter what!
Just thinking of all the inevitable jabs and teases that would come from her friend as a result of this chance meeting was already making Ena’s face burn red with embarrassment. She didn’t know how Mafuyu would bring up the event in future meetings, but she knew she would find a way. She always found a way to bring up embarrassing moments Ena wished to forget at the oddest times.
In a futile effort to hide herself, Ena began to slowly blow up one of the remaining extra large balloons. She positioned the inflating balloon between her and the doorway. Hopefully, the big pink ball would provide a temporary shield between her and the impending embarrassment lurking around the corner.
“...I’m sure you’ll do fine,” Shizuku said as she walked in through the door. Mafuyu followed in tow, her usual performative plastic smile plastered on her face. The other members of the idol group all waved and welcomed in unison. Ena, on the other hand, tried to make herself small behind her makeshift, still inflating, pink shield. Try as she might, she knew she was only delaying the inevitable.
As if the same twisted fate that had brought Mafuyu here noticed the attempt to defy it, the balloon blocking the vision between the two reached it’s limit and popped in Ena's face! All attention was now away from the new entrants and on to Ena, who sat on the floor with her hair in disarray.
The sight of Ena’s surprised face, her bangs curled up, fully revealing her forehead, was enough to get Airi to start laughing uncontrollably at her friend. Soon enough, everyone else in the room, except Mafuyu and Ena, had joined in on the fun.
Mafuyu stopped in place, completely frozen in the doorway. She stared blankly at Ena, not expecting to have seen such a familiar face while still in her act. As she was unwilling to break the image she had worked so hard to curate, she obviously wouldn't do anything to bring attention to the fact that the two were usually feisty friends. The way her eyes bore uncomfortable holes into Ena as she stared intently could only mean she was deep in thought. Ena could only assume she was trying to figure out how to handle this unexpected turn of events, though it was deeply uncomfortable to experience.
“Oh? Why is Ena-chan here?” Shizuku asked as her laughter died down.
Airi sighed. “Shizuku... I already texted the group chat that I was bringing Ena over to help cover for Saito-san. Did you not see the text message?”
“Eh?? I didn’t see any messages...”
Haruka then cut in. “Sorry for the confusion, Asahina-san.”
“It’s quite alright. I don’t mind stepping out if everything has already been covered,” Mafuyu said with her artificially cheery tone. "It's been a pleasure to see your wonderful house."
Ena shuddered. She understood why Mafuyu put up this front, but it always felt so incredibly wrong every time she was forced to endure it.
“Oh! I know!” Minori exclaimed. “What if both Ena-chan and Asahina-senpai helped out! Two helpers is better than one, right? It would probably be a lot more fun for the viewers if someone was throwing extra balloons at us! We still have a couple spare outfits!” Without even so much as a confirmation, Minori excitedly ran off to grab another spare uniform from the closet.
Mafuyu visibly squirmed at the mention of the outfit, but Ena perked up. This was her chance to spare herself any future teasing. If both of them were in idol outfits, they would be on even footing in the eventual banter.
“I-I wouldn’t want things to get too crowded for you in here...” Mafuyu’s smile felt even more forced than usual.
“Oh that sounds like a great idea!” Ena tossed in her opinion with a sly smirk. “I can throw the balloons while Mafuyu holds the camera.”
Mafuyu quickly flashed Ena a scowl, donning her mask again before anyone else noticed. She was definitely going to give her an earful the next time the two were alone.
“What a relief,” Shizuku sighed. “I thought I really messed up, but this works out perfectly.”
“Here!’ Minori rushed in and with a purple idol outfit ready for Mafuyu. “Put this on, please!”
Swayed from the mischievous expression of Ena by the pleading, doey-eyes of Minori, Mafuyu reluctantly took the idol outfit. Clearly, she didn’t want to put it on, but there didn’t seem to be much other options for her. With only five minutes remaining until the stream, she didn't want to risk delaying things for the idols and ruin her curated image.
“You can go put it on over there.” Airi said. She then pointed in the general direction of the closet Minori had gotten the outfit from, which Mafuyu dejectedly followed.
Airi and Haruka looked to have already gotten busy readying the stream while the conversation around Mafuyu was happening. Unsure of how to contribute while Mafuyu was getting her outfit ready, Ena continued to fill whatever balloons were available with what little time she had left. The mindless work gave plenty of time for the intrusive thoughts to kick in. Her mind couldn't stop drifting to thinking about how Mafuyu might look in the idol outfit. Obviously, the outfit would never suit Ena herself, but the aesthetic would definitely fit in with Mafuyu’s ethereal beauty. She giggled a bit to herself at the thought before she was torn away from the pleasant dreams.
“Ena!” Airi hollered from the other side of the room. “Can you come hold the camera for now while we do the intro?”
It was already time? How had five minutes passed by so quickly?
“Coming!”
As the MORE MORE JUMP idols were getting into position in front of the pile of balloons, Ena could see Mafuyu sheepishly exiting the closet out of the corner of her eyes. The purple of the idol outfit matching against her already purple hair really did highlight how beautiful she was. Mafuyu's color coordination with her outfit was leagues better than the pastel green outfit she’d somehow ended up in.
With the idols already doing their intro in front of her, Ena motioned silently with her spare hand for Mafuyu to come quickly fill the role assigned to her. Mafuyu returned the earnest request with furrowed brows, but she eventually came along outside the view of the stream to grab the phone-turned-camera from Ena without so much as shaking the stream.
With a seamless transfer of responsibility behind her, Ena got into her position for balloon throwing just in time for the main event to begin.
"And, now, it's time for Balloon Popping Extravaganza!" Airi shouted.
“Yaaaay!” MORE MORE JUMP all cheered in unison, signaling the start of the balloon chaos.
Ena wasted no time in tossing up the basket of balloons at her side as color cascaded over the laughing idols. As balloons rained over the top, the girls stomped on whatever balloons they could find, whether they be big or small. Taking the moment to get small revenge, Ena took pleasure in pelting the idols who had put her in an idol outfit that didn't fit her image with harmless air-filled missiles as MORE MORE JUMP raced to see who could find the gold slip first.
Haruka was the quickest to act, focusing only on the smaller, more easily popped balloons. Meanwhile, Airi struggled to pop a particularly large brown balloon with her foot, eventually resorting to using her nails to get the job done. Shizuku took her time examining any balloon for signs of the gold slip they were searching for before popping them.
But the eventual winner was Minori, who, in spectacular fashion, tripped over a large balloon onto the winning balloon, face first! Everyone was worried for her fall at first, but when she raised the gold slip in the air from the ground, worry was replaced with cheers.
“We have our winner!” Haruka shouted.
Everyone clapped as Minori slowly made her way up off of the floor. There was a big red mark where the balloon had been before it popped under the weight of her skull. She didn’t seem to notice as she cheerfully lifted up the gold slip high into the sky without so much as a shaky wobble.
“And that concludes our Balloon Popping Extravaganza!” Airi spoke directly to the camera after announcing the winner. “We’ll be moving on to our popular Q&A segment next, but first, a special thanks to our wonderful guests!”
Ena stiffened at the unexpected announcement. Airi hadn’t mentioned that she would be on stream even once! Without being prompted to do so, Mafuyu panned the camera’s view towards her crouched position on the side, probably trying to subtly get revenge on her.
“Thanks to my friend Ena here for helping to get everything set up and throwing balloons at us. You really got me good with that last one!” Airi clapped along with the rest of MMJ. Ena could only smile and wave nervously at the thousands of people she didn’t expect to see her face today.
“And also...”
Haruka took the camera from Mafuyu, turning it towards her. “Another big thanks to Asahina-senpai here for providing the camerawork today. Without her, we wouldn’t have been able to have such a wonderful time dancing under the balloons.”
“I-it’s been a pleasure,” Mafuyu said, putting up her best walls for the camera.
“With that, we’ll be taking a brief break before we continue the stream.” Shizuku said. “Please make sure to stay tuned!”
In the brief intermission that followed, Mafuyu and Ena said their goodbyes to MORE MORE JUMP. Ena, at least, had only agreed to help with the opening portion of the stream, and Mafuyu seemed to be the same. Even if the stream itself were enjoyable to participate in, the two were both more than happy to get out of their provided idol outfits as quickly as possible.
It wasn’t quite dark yet, but it was time to return home. Ena and Mafuyu happened to be heading the same way, which gave plenty of time for the two to talk about what they just went through together. The moment the two were out of the house and onto the street together, Mafuyu’s mask was off.
“Never, ever, mention this to the others,” Ena hissed. "Okay?"
“It was streamed,” Mafuyu said, blunt as ever. “Mizuki probably already saw everything.”
“Oh no...” Ena’s face went red. “I forgot Mizuki was a fan of MMJ... She’s probably going to-”
“Going to make jokes about us.” Mafuyu cut in. “But why do you care?”
‘What do you mean ‘why do I care?’ Of course I care! You were just as embarrassed as me, weren’t you?”
Mafuyu glanced away.
“The idol outfit suited you well.”
“Are you making fun of me?! Ugh, why do you always do this!”
“No, I was serious.”
Ena froze up. Mafuyu was lying. She had to be lying. That gaudy green did not fit with her aesthetic at all, and it was horribly coordinated with her shoes to boot. The shoes she had brought for another outfit matched terribly with the green above, all because the idols didn't have a shoe size that fit her right.
There was no way she said what she meant, but Mafuyu said it all with such a straight face. Even her voice was as sincere as it could get. The words sounded nothing like her usual dead, sarcastic jabs.
Mafuyu broke the awkward silence of Ena’s thoughts first, shattering any doubts.
“I think you were very pretty in the idol outfit.”
“O-oh,” Ena murmured.
She was serious.
The two were approaching the corner that led to Ena’s house where they would split paths, but Ena didn’t feel like she should leave her side without saying anything of her own. Mafuyu had told her what she actually thought, it was only fair that she shared her own earnest thoughts as well.
“W-well, you were super pretty in that purple idol outfit, too...”
Without waiting for a reply, Ena quickly turned towards the street that lead to her house. In her effort to hide her face, she completely forgetting to say goodbye as she scurried away from Mafuyu without so much as waiting for a response.
On her way back, Ena's mind was focused only on what Mafuyu had said and what she might have said as a reply if she hadn't run away. Try as she might, she couldn't erase Mafuyu's sincere words from her mind.