Miku decided to beco an idol.
When she first heard the news, Kurebayashi Subaru was in disbelief. Then, she was overco with joy. Like a train at full power, she imdiately began arranging all kinds of work.
With her beautiful, flawless appearance and her heavenly singing voice, Miku quickly returned as the "popular idol who mysteriously disappeared", beca a famous idol in one leap, and drew the attention of the whole world!
——Unfortunately, that did not happen.
'The idol world was not a place where one could survive just by being pretty and having a beautiful voice.'
After Kurebayashi Subaru sternly scolded her with those words, Miku began a period of "rehabilitation" training that could only be called hell.
Basic physical training, dance practice, vocal training, and the developnt of professional qualities as an idol——having lost her past mories and having a blank period of more than a year, Miku had to learn all of it again from zero.
But what pained Miku the most was that, for the convenience of work and training, she had no choice but to leave ho.
After moving into a high-class apartnt near Subaru's agency, her chances to breathe in "beautiful girl oxygen" greatly decreased. Miku felt like she was almost going into withdrawal.
'If you return at your current level, you will only disappoint your original fans. The old you gained that reputation by defeating every rival fair and square with real ability.'
Although there were tis when she thought of giving up halfway, Miku still gritted her teeth and endured to the end.
It was not really because Subaru's provocation had stirred her up. She simply did not want to disappoint Obaa-chan and everyone else, who held expectations for her.
Facts proved that Subaru's concerns had not been unreasonable.
It was precisely because of those days of buildup that Miku managed to survive her first concert without danger, earn recognition from the dia and fans, and once again beco a focus of the idol world.
"Hah... hah... amazing... Natsumi-chan's scent... You just took a bath, didn't you... sniff... sniff..."
After returning ho for the first ti in a while, Miku clung to Natsumi like an octopus, burying her entire face in Natsumi's long hair and taking strange deep breaths.
"L-let go of , Miku! Your strength is too much! Damn it! If I knew you were coming ho today, I never would've stepped out of my room!"
Natsumi scread while struggling, her face pale.
"Sorry, Natsumi-chan. I couldn't rush to your side when you were at your hardest ti. You suffered a lot, didn't you? If there is anything painful, you can tell your big sister."
Hearing Miku's words, Natsumi froze for a mont, then said with so guilt,
"...N-no, it's nothing. I don't think my life is bad right now. It's just that I made Obaa-chan, everyone, and you worry... Sorry."
"Natsumi-chan... It's okay. I will love you forever."
Hearing Natsumi's honest words, Miku's eyes grew slightly wet, and the force of her hug tightened even more.
"That's why I'm telling you to let gooooooo!"
"All right, Miku. I understand you're excited to co ho after so long, but don't trouble Natsumi too much."
Tohka advised helplessly from the side. Miku puffed her cheeks in dissatisfaction and said,
"I'm not bullying Natsumi-chan at all. I haven't co ho for four months, so wanting an intimate hug with my family to deepen our feelings is only natural!"
Hearing that, Tohka tilted her head.
"Mm? Is that so? Then I don't really have any objections."
"Don't be convinced so easily, Tohka! Hurry up and drag this cow away from !"
Natsumi loudly retorted.
"Kuhaha——it has been long, songstress of the rfolk. Though you has already captured people's hearts with thy magical voice and beco a newly rising morning star, you are still as lively and noisy as ever."
"Impression. Even after becoming an idol, Miku is still the sa as always."
"Of course!"
Miku winked and showed a happy smile.
"No matter how popular an idol I beco, I will always be your beloved Miku."
"All right... Enough chatter. Co eat."
"Obaa-chan~ I'm ho!"
Miku stood up and gave Yumi Obaa-chan a smiling hug.
"Welco ho, Miku."
"Did you watch my concert?"
"Mm. I watched it on TV. It was wonderful. As expected of my granddaughter."
"Hehe——"
Hearing Yumi Obaa-chan's praise, Miku showed a proud smile.
"Everyone... dinner is ready..."
"Today is Miku-chan's welco-ho party! We made all your favorite dishes!"
...
"You're sure this is the place, right?"
Outside the brightly lit apartnt, a man around twenty-five or twenty-six hid behind a tree. While holding binoculars and watching the apartnt entrance, he spoke into his phone to confirm.
[Of course. I've been staking out Miku-tan's agency since three days ago and followed her for so long before finally finding this place. Hurry up and praise ~]
A coquettish female voice sounded from the phone.
"Yes, yes, my dear, you're the best. Hah~ To think we found Miku-chan's private address. We're so blessed."
[Exactly. Look, look! Miku-tan ca out. I'm going to ask her for a handshake and autograph. Wah?! Who are you——beep——beep——]
"Dear? Dear, what happened?"
Hearing the busy tone from the phone, the man could not help feeling puzzled.
"Excuse ."
"——?!"
A cool voice ca from behind him. The startled man turned around and saw a ponytailed woman holding a wooden sword, looking at him suspiciously.
"You have been hiding here and peeping at the apartnt where I live. May I ask what business you have?"
...
"Ah! Miku-tan! Miku-tan's car drove away!"
"Damn it. We finally found Miku-chan's place and got a chance to approach her. How are you going to compensate us?"
"Police. Please cooperate."
Looking at the man and woman shouting nonstop, Origami silently showed her police badge.
"P-police?"
"So what if you're police?! Can police just arrest people for no reason? Darling and I didn't do anything wrong!"
"Y-yeah. Darling is right."
The two first stiffened, then argued with great confidence.
"Origami, what is going on with these two? Could they be what people call paparazzi?"
Mana asked in confusion. Origami shook her head.
"No. They should be stalker fans."
"Stalker fans?"
Seeing Mana's confused expression, Origami helplessly explained.
"It refers to overly fanatical fans. I heard they follow the private schedules and lives of idols they like. The extre ones even open packages without permission and collect the idol's personal items and hair... to satisfy all kinds of private desires."
"Ugh, that's really——"
Hearing that, Mana could not help shivering.
"Hey! Don't make it sound so awful! What's wrong with wanting to know everything about the idol you love?"
"Do the two of you not understand what privacy is?"
"Of course! If Miku-chan wants, we would also be willing to show her everything about ourselves without hesitation!"
"That is not what I an. Ah——my head hurts..."
That twisted feeling of talking to a wall gave Mana a headache. Origami ignored the two and continued,
"As you can see, if they were ordinary paparazzi, they would at least have so awareness that what they are doing is wrong. But stalker fans do not think that way. Sigh... I'm a little worried. If they leak this address, it will have a big impact on Obaa-chan, Miku, and everyone."
"What should we do, then? Origami, aren't you a police officer?"
"Legally, their behavior can only be treated as a minor offense. Even if we send them to the station, they won't be held for long. If this becos a big issue, it will only negatively affect Miku's reputation."
"Then... give them a little lesson?"
Mana whispered.
"Stop. You will be charged with intentional injury."
Origami reminded her helplessly.
"Uh..."
"What is wrong... Mana... Origami... coming to a place like this?"
Just as Mana and Origami were at a loss, Yumi slowly walked toward them with her cane.
"Oh? Are there guests?"
"Obaa-chan, actually..."
Origami and Mana exchanged glances, then helplessly explained what had happened.
"Oh, so the two of you are Miku's fans."
Yumi said happily.
"This old woman is also Miku's fan. Since we have the chance, why don't you co inside and sit? We can have a nice chat."
"Oh, I see..."
"As expected of Miku-chan's guardian. You're so reasonable."
"Obaa-chan, I think that is not the main point..."
Seeing that Yumi Obaa-chan seed not to understand the situation, Mana broke into a cold sweat.
"It's all right."
However, Yumi only shook her head calmly. She narrowed her eyes slightly and showed a gentle smile.
"Obaa-chan, you see~ will 'persuade' them with all my heart."
...
Sowhere in Japan, in an area destroyed by the global great spacequake seven years ago.
Through people's efforts, civilization and life had once again covered this barren land. Inside a rebuilt do stadium, tens of thousands of audience mbers waited full of anticipation for the idol's appearance.
"There are thirty minutes until the concert officially begins. Are you ready, Miku?"
After checking the ti on her phone, Subaru asked Miku, who sat in front of the dressing mirror.
"Of course. No problem at all."
"That's good."
Letting out a relieved breath, Subaru looked at Miku in the mirror, dressed like a dreamy princess from a fairy tale, and could not help smiling bitterly.
"Honestly, when you said you planned to hold charity concerts for disaster areas and donate the money you earned, I thought I had heard wrong. I didn't expect it would instead gain this much popularity and even draw Ratatoskr as a sponsor."
"Hehe. Maybe I have more talent and brains as a manager than you do, Subaru-san."
Miku said proudly. Subaru replied irritably,
"It was just dumb luck. Don't get carried away."
Miku playfully stuck out her tongue. Looking at herself in the mirror, she spoke softly.
"The old seems to have said this before: 'An idol is soone who brings courage, dreams, and hope to fans.'"
"Honestly, at first, I really looked down on the job of being an idol. I thought it had no privacy, was bitter and tiring, and had no benefits at all. But later, I changed my mind."
From the singing voice of her past self, Miku had indeed felt a certain power that could touch people's hearts. She had not been alone, lost in self-expression. She had been trying to share her joy with her fans through song.
"I am very happy now. But lucky people like are only a small minority. There are still many people in the world who are sunk in sadness because of disasters. When unfortunate people look at happiness that has nothing to do with them, they will only feel anger, right?"
"Miku..."
Subaru widened her eyes in surprise, not expecting Miku to say such words.
"That is why I ca here. Even if my power is tiny, I still want to use my singing to bring everyone courage and hope. I want everyone to know that this world is not filled only with despair and sadness."
Feeling Miku's sincere emotions, Subaru closed her eyes and said with deep admiration,
"It seems the shallow one was . Miku, you are without a doubt a true idol now."
"Miku-san, ten minutes until the concert begins."
At that mont, a staff mber suddenly gave the notice.
"Looks like it's almost ti. Just to be safe, I'll confirm one more ti. You're really ready, right? You won't lose motivation just because Tsukino-san didn't co, will you?"
"Of course not. I'm not a child. Obaa-chan isn't in good health. How could I force her?"
As she spoke, Miku lightly stood up from her chair.
"Then, I'm off."
"Mm. Do your best."
...
Click! Click!
The crisp sound of high heels landing echoed near her ears. Miku gently lifted both sides of her stage dress and stepped lightly up one stair after another.
The corridor was not long, and she soon reached the end. The mont she passed the exit, the overly strong lights made Miku narrow her eyes slightly.
When she slowly opened them again, what greeted her was the vast, gorgeous stage, and far away, tens of thousands of audience mbers letting out thunderous cheers and shouts.
(How nostalgic...)
Looking at everything she had long grown familiar with, Miku felt a little dazed.
She rembered that several years ago, during her first concert after returning, the scene had been similar. Only that ti, what Miku felt more than anything was fear.
It was the expectation people held for the past "Miku", and for Miku, who was performing formally for the first ti, it was a pressure far beyond imagination.
Could she perform as the forr Izayoi Miku had?
Would she fail?
If she failed, what would happen?
Because of excessive tension, no matter what, Miku could not rember the lyrics and dance moves she had practiced beforehand. She stood awkwardly under the spotlight, enduring the stinging gazes of the fans.
Honestly, at that ti, Miku had never wished so much to recover her past mories and let the forr her handle everything.
(But...)
——Miku... do your best~ Miku... do your best~
Even today, Miku still rembered it clearly.
A familiar old woman and her family were sitting in the front row of the audience, slowly waving glow sticks in their hands without caring at all about the surrounding atmosphere.
If not for that, Izayoi Miku probably would not be standing on stage like this now.
"Phew..."
Taking a deep breath, Miku smiled gently and began to sing in a soft voice.
The stage fell into silence. The audience stopped shouting at the sa ti, feeling the tenderness in Miku's voice.
Watching the venue's reaction, Miku continued to tell her feelings through song.
Once, she had naïvely wanted to ignore everything and hide alone in paradise for her own enjoynt.
Then, she had stubbornly competed with her past self, wanting to gain everyone's expectations and approval.
In the end, she understood how precious everything she possessed was, accepted her current self, and decided to pass on the kindness she had received to others.
(——Mm?)
Just as the concert was about to reach its end, for so reason, faint snow began to fall from the sky.
But very soon, Miku noticed that it was not snow. It was countless unknown points of light, like dazzling fireflies, decorating the dark night sky. (TL:Ahhhhhhhh)
The stage beca sowhat restless. The audience seed to interpret it as so kind of stage effect arranged by the organizers and cried out in amazent and joy.
Miku did not respond to the audience's cheers. She only gently held out both hands, trying to catch the falling lights in her palms.
However, the mont she touched one, the light point vanished like mist, turning into dust of light.
(So warm...)
She felt no cold or discomfort at all. It was like falling into a warm embrace, making Miku feel incredibly peaceful.
——Drop.
"Eh... Strange... Why am I... ugh... ah..."
Surprised by the tears that suddenly fell from her eyes, Miku kept wiping them away.
But at that mont, no matter how hard she tried, she could not stop the tears from flowing.
TL:AHHHHHHHHH obaa-chan is dying ahhhhhhh, curse you author!!!!
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