“This looks interesting.”

Hana stood on her tiptoes to grab a book that she hadn’t seen before off of the shelf,  opening it up to read its description.

“Fractured World,” she read the title out loud. “The novelization of the popular drama by 765 Productions...”

Looking at the cover, she saw the stylized silhouettes of two girls standing back to back. One of them had a traditional Chinese dress and wielded lightning while the other wore a futuristic black and white jacket and held a glowing orange sword. It looked like an interesting mixture, and it was also cool to discover something new featuring girls from her company, even if they weren’t in the Supernova Project.

A question appeared in Hana’s mind, something she noticed was more dubious than the juxtaposition of science and magic.

“Why is this in the romance section?” she asked herself. She put it into the growing basket of novels she had started accumulating after first entering the store, intending to eventually ask the owner or his wife if they had just misplaced the book. 

Today, she was in charge of her own schedule. It was her first free day since her Producer declared she would be in a unit with Akari and Reina, and they subsequently practiced every day together for the remainder of the week. Today was an exception, where the other two were assigned to do different jobs for the company.

That left her with an entirely free Saturday afternoon. She had originally intended to pick up a new diary at her local bookstore. It was a small, quiet shop owned by an older couple with plenty of book selections, and she quickly ended up getting sidetracked by the new arrivals section. And after that, she ran into the young adult section. And then she found the romance section after that… 

As she walked towards the stationery section of the bookstore, she ran into another girl in the store holding a stack of books in her arm. 

“Ah, I’m sorry!” Hana said. She hadn’t run into the other girl hard enough to knock them over, but one of the books they were carrying slipped out of her grasp and hit the ground. 

“I’ll get that,” they both said.

“It’s fine,” Hana tried to clarify. “I knocked it over in the first place.”

She picked up the book from the ground, finding that the last book she picked up had d fallen to the ground. She went to put it back in her basket, but her copy was already in there.

“That’s mine, actually,” the other girl said softly.

“Oh, we picked up the same book,” Hana responded. She stood up to hand over the book to the stranger, who looked back at her with curious yellow eyes.

“Have I seen you before?” the other girl asked. 

 Now that she mentioned it, something about this girl’s appearance seemed familiar. The short-blue hair that wasn’t covered by a black baseball hat fell down to her shoulders, while most of her face was obscured by a white face mask. Being unable to see her entire face only made her yellow irises even more noticeable.

Hana just couldn’t place a finger on how she recognized her. 

“Do you go to my school?” Hana responded. “I’m sorry that I don’t recognize you.” 

“By any chance, do you work for 765 Productions?” 

“Huh?”

The girl leaned in to get a closer look at her. They were around the same height, meaning that she didn’t have to lean in very much to get a better look. “You’re Kanagawa Hana, aren’t you?”

“You know my name?”

“Of course I do!” the other girl leaned back to look around the aisles of the bookstore. Hana followed her gaze, seeing there weren't many people around, especially with this small of a store. The other girl looked back at her, pulling down her facemask. “You sang my song last week! I’m sorry I’m meeting you so late, but I had schoolwork on the day of the concert.”

Hana recognized her now. This was the original singer of the song Hana sang at her mini-live, a song belonging to one of the 39 Million Stars who always seemed so above and beyond in the idol world compared to where she was now.

Except that she was standing right there with her now. She wasn’t in training clothes, or a staff shirt, or even an idol’s dress. Right now, she was just wearing a blue blouse and a gray pleated skirt. It was almost like Hana was simply having a first meeting with any other 15-year-old. 

“You’re... Nanao Yuriko,” Hana responded. “What are you doing here?”

“There’s a mini-live today going on nearby, so I’m here to cheer one of my friends on,” Yuriko responded. 

Hana looked at the stack of books her senior was carrying. “What are you doing in this bookstore, then?”

“I’ve already read all of these at the library, but I love them so much that I wanted to own them myself.”

“Weren’t you in the drama for Fractured Worlds?” Hana asked. Seeing the blue-haired idol in promotional material was vaguely familiar to her. “Why buy the book, too?”

“Haven’t you ever wanted to see a story you really like to get adapted into  another medium?” 

Hana nodded. “There’s been a lot of a romance manga and novels I’ve always wanted to see as an anime or movie.”

“You know what I mean!” the blue-haired Million Star said. She had a wide smile after hearing Hana’s response.  “After learning about the premise for the drama I immediately fell in love with the mix of fantasy and science fiction, like a clash of eastern and western ideologies with the traditional Wuxia concepts meeting a futuristic military-style. And then I was even happier to be in it!” 

 She got more excited with every word she said. Her yellow eyes lit up as she talked about the book, making Hana feel hopelessly uninformed about the subject.

“I’ve been waiting for months to see this in novel form,” Yuriko kept talking, sounding like she wasn’t pausing to take a breath. “The ending is bittersweet, but it promises everything wouldn’t be forgotten. Just like the plot, it feels like a story that will transcend time! The fact that there were so many interactions by people who were originally destined to neer meet had me so captivated! What about you?”

Hana looked back at Yuriko, not really knowing how to respond. “I actually don’t know the story of this at all.”

“Oh no, I did it again,” Yuriko looked away, putting a hand on her mouth. Hana could see her cheeks were slowly turning red. “Please don’t judge me! I tend to really get into talking about the books that I love.”

“It’s ok,” Hana responded, trying to reassure the middle schooler. She was still trying to figure out how respectfully she had to talk to someone who was her senior. “I usually only ever read romance stories, but what you told me definitely sounds interesting.”

“You seem to like books with flowers on the cover, too,” Yuriko said. She leaned over to look at what Hana was considering to buy, but far enough away to give her some personal space. “I’ve read all of these before, they’re really good!”

Hana took a look at what she had, picking up books with her free hand. Surely enough, all of them had flowers on the cover or spine, whether they were just in the background or were prominently featured. Even in the Million Stars novel, there was an azalea in the field where the girls were standing, the Chinese symbol of womanhood. 

Or perhaps they were there for the meaning of fragile passion. Or for self-recognition?

“Huh,” Hana said absentmindedly. “I never noticed.”

“I like to read anything that’s interesting,” Yuriko responded. She quickly picked up steam again as she talked about books. “I like to be able to get a look into the author’s mind and what they were feeling when they wrote it, no matter how long ago it was written. It’s like Lewis and Miller are still alive through their writing, as long as someone reads what they had to say.” 

She paused when she noticed Hana staring, and her enthusiasm immediately died down. “Did I say too much again?’

“No, not at all,” Hana responded. The other girl was just so open, despite the fact they had just met. “You just sound really passionate about books.”

“What about you, Hana-san?” Yuriko asked. “Why do you read?”

“I really like romantic things. There’s something about love that really makes my heart feel warm and fuzzy, so that’s why I like to read about it.”

“Is that why you’re here today, to buy books?”

“Not initially. I ran out of pages in my diary yesterday, so I’m here to buy a new one,” Hana responded. She looked at her growing basket of books. “I just got sidetracked by things that looked interesting.” 

“I still have some time before my friend performs. Do you mind if I help you pick one out?”

“Are you sure that a Million Star and a NeoStar hanging out is okay?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

Hana took a second to consider. It wasn’t like they were currently working or anything, so she guessed that their meeting was allowed to be a lot less formal than one the office or 765 theater.

“You’re right,” Hana said. She gave Yuriko a slight bow. “Thank you for offering to help out, it’s nice to meet you.”

“You too!”

The stationery section of the book store was mainly why Hana liked to visit it. There were several aisles filled with various types of pens, highlighters, markers, and loose-leaf paper. Although what made it especially unique was how the entire back wall was filled with different types of diaries and journals. 

Hana scanned through the aisles, trying to see what she hadn’t bought before. She liked to have every diary she owned to have a different design so her writings wouldn’t feel repetitive.

Today, a yellow diary caught her attention. The cover was made out of a type of bright yellow-dyed leather, with a metal clasp to close it. A lot of her diaries in the past had clasps because something about having them made her feel like they made her thoughts feel secure. 

What mainly stood out to her was the outline of a butterfly imprinted on the front.

“This is nice,” she said to herself. 

The design reminded her of the one symbolizing the Million Stars branch of 765 Productions. With her now starting to be an idol for 765 Productions, maybe it’d be nice to always be reminded about the coworkers she was always striving to reach.

Looking over to Yuriko, she was still scanning the different rows of diary designs. After a few seconds, she reached over and picked up a light-blue journal. “How about this, Hana-san?”

Hana accepted the journal from Yuriko. “It’s nice but… why a star?” 

This one didn’t have a clasp on it. Instead, it had a simple five-pointed star design on the front. The lines making the star weren’t particularly thick. They were instead just thin enough to let Hana know what shape it was trying to trace.

“I think that you’re a star too, Hana-san,” Yuriko said. 

“You’re too nice,” Hana responded. The way Yuriko talked sounded like she was fully convinced of what she was saying, but she couldn’t agree with it. “I can’t call myself a star yet. Not after that solo performance.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m really sorry,” Hana started to say. “I ruined your song.”

Hana didn’t think she’d meet the original singer for Daydreaming Bookworm Girl in such a casual setting, nevertheless being able to talk about how she had messed up her performance. 

“No, you weren’t!” Yuriko argued. “You were like the bright star Keats wrote about. Even if I only saw you through a recording, you were shining until the very end!” 

“But I couldn’t even sing without someone helping me,” Hana responded. “If I can’t overcome my stage fright, then I can’t be an idol.” 

Reina’s words from less than a week ago still echoed in her mind. Their meeting at the rooftop was still their only substantial conversation since they became members of the same unit. 

“You won’t get very far if you settle for mediocre,” the golden-haired idol said to her.  As much as she wanted to believe in her senior, it’s not like Reina wasn’t experienced in being an idol, either.

“No hero is perfect,” Yuriko said. “But at the end of the day, they get a happy ending!”

“How can you be so sure?” Hana asked. “We barely know each other.” 

“Everyone’s story begins somewhere. Dancing was really hard for me when I first started. I used to trip all the time, and my body felt like it was made out of stone whenever I moved.”

“How did you get better?” 

“I honed my skills by practicing as much as I could. And my allies in the company were there to support me the entire time.”

“That’s nice... but-” 

“And if no one else believes in you, then I do!” Yuriko stopped her from continuing that thought. “The way you sang my song, the second try, it was an edition I’d never seen before. And you made it your own! That’s the hardest challenge when singing someone else’s song.”

“Do you really mean it?”

“Absolutely.”

It was almost like talking to a different person than the one who had just gotten embarrassed by expressing her thoughts out loud to a stranger. It felt like Yuriko really did mean what she said.

The Million Star had the same passion now as when she was talking about books. 

“Thank you for being so nice,” Hana said. She went to bow as a thanks, but Yuriko stopped her.

Her senior simply smiled in response before going to check on her phone. “Ah, I have to go. Anna’s performance is coming up soon! I can’t miss it.”

“Already?” Hana asked. It hadn’t seemed like a long time that the two had spent together in the store.

“You should come to see it! I’m sure you’ll feel inspired,” Yuriko clutched her stack of books tighter in her arm as she turned to leave. “Come and cheer everyone on!”

Hana waved as her senior left. She held both of the books she and Yuriko had picked in her hand. After taking a few minutes to make her decision, and thinking of the conversation that she had just had, she settled on one of them.

Hana left the store after paying for her books. She was originally going grocery shopping after, but now she had a change of plans. Her next move would be to head towards the source of the music that she could hear from over a block away.

 She smoothed out her skirt before starting to walk. It was well enough into the summer that she was walking around in a mint-green dress with a flowery belt in the middle. The sky was partially cloudy, and the day wasn’t humid, meaning the weather was pleasant enough to stand outside for over an hour.

It was the perfect kind of weather for a performance. 

As she arrived closer and closer to the mini-live’s venue, she saw a crowd of people, most of them holding penlights, in front of an impromptu stage and backdrop. A large set of speakers blasted the song’s synthesized backing track and the singer’s vocals.

“Catch me! Digital is really magical!” 

On stage, a purple-haired girl wearing the Million Star’s white, blue, and gold Lumiere Papillon outfit was performing a solo song.

“Touch me! Log in to receive a special kind of-”

“Fantasy!” the crowd finished her line, including the blue-haired idol Hana had just met. She had her face mask back on and was waving around a penlight in each hand.

“Then I will, awaken in-”

“Neverland!” Yuriko shouted with the crowd. If Hana didn’t know any better, she would have just mistaken her for another fan. 

“As a brand new type of fearless girl!”

The girl on stage barely took a pause before saying her next phrase. “Ready-go!”

“Vivid Vivid, input your password here,” a backing vocal played on without her as she danced to the end of the song. “Rabbit rabbit, password approved. Welcome to the game.”

The purple-haired idol held her hands up to her head like a pair of rabbit ears. She took a deep breath before belting out her next line. “Imagination girl!”

“Vivid Vivid, tell me your name,” the backing vocal sang as she held her note. “Rabbit rabbit, approved.”

“Imagination girl,” she finished the song with a wink and a peace sign over her eye. Her right leg was extended out slightly to her side. 

The crowd erupted in cheers immediately once the song finished. 

“Anna!” Yuriko yelled. “You were so good!”

The girl on stage, who Hana assumed was Anna, waited until the applause died down.

“Everyone, are you having a good time today?” she yelled into her microphone. Remarkably, she had even more energy speaking than when she was singing. “My name is Mochizuki Anna, I hope my performance was super vivid!” 

The crowd yelled back in response.

“I’m really happy!” she replied. “Next up is a special surprise. Please cheer them on!” 

“Hana-san, you made it!” Yuriko said to her. “You’ll really like what’s going to happen next.”

“What’s going to happen?” Hana responded. 

“Come on and shout it out! Come on and make it loud!” a vocal track played during the intro of the song. “We’re gonna make it big and! Then we won’t stop.”

Three girls dressed in identical stage outfits ran onto the stage from behind the curtain. They all had the same light-purple top, light-purple and white skirt, and white jackets with sleeves reaching their elbows. On their collars was a white bow with a gold star in the middle, with more gold accents throughout the rest of their outfits to show off the fact that they too, were idols.

“Come on and shout it out! Come on and make it loud!” the vocal track repeated. “We’re gonna make it big and! Then we won’t stop.”

Anna left the stage as she high-fived each girl on her way out.

Hana looked at the stage in awe. “I thought this would only be a Million Stars performance..”

“Surprise!”

“Everybody good afternoon!” the girl in the middle shouted to the crowd. She had dark purple hair contrasting nicely with her white beret. “Our name is!”

“Seishun Shining!” all three of them said together. Their voices were the same as the vocal track. 

They were all wearing Lilac Nebula, the same stage uniform that Hana had tailored to fit her perfectly. The only difference was how hers was currently stowed away inside of the office’s costume room, while theirs was here for the whole crowd to see. 

“My name is Otokura Natsumi,” the center girl said. Her dark purple hair was accessorized by a white beret. 

Hana recognized her from the very first performance the NeoStars had performed in, where she was one of the five backup dancers selected to represent the new division of 765 Productions. 

As she later learned, Miss Otokura was only 13 years old.

“Kanade Yuuki, ready to perform!” the girl on the right side said. Her black ponytail went down to her shoulders. 

“Minami Hinako! Please listen to our debut group song!” the girl on the left said. Her bright red hair bounced around every time she pumped her fist at the end of each backing vocal’s lines. 

“Hirake NEW HEART!” they all said together. 

 The crowd began to change their penlight colors to the image colors shown on their shoelaces and wrist cuffs. Soon, the lights in the crowd shifted from only purple red and purple.

Natsumi started singing nearly immediately after. “Seishun Shining, here to make our debut!”

Her moves were as confident and refined as when she had seen them a little over a month ago.

“It’s after school and there’s no more work left to do!” Hinako sang the next line. 

“Open up your eyes and your heart,” Yuuki sang. “The future needs some courage to start.” 

They sang their next line with their voices in unison.  “I wanna begin it with you!”

Their energy was infectious. It was nearly on par with the Million Star Hana had just watched perform.

“So let’s go! Let’s go! Start something new. All our days shining with a new point of view.”

Hana had heard from her Producer about how these three would be the first unit to debut for the NeoStars. She just didn’t think they’d be ready so soon.

“NeoStars!” Natsumi sang. 

“Sing!” the other two shouted. 

“NeoStars!” 

“Dance!”

They all sang the next phrase together. “Shining through everything that stands in our path!”

The three of these girls performed at the other mini-live last weekend, so Hana was never able to see what they were like in person. The fact all of them were able to perform together, in under a week’s notice, was astounding. 

They ended the chorus pointing one finger at the sky and then moving it down to point at the audience. “Our youth, shining, in front of you.” 

“Yeah!!” Hinako yelled, jumping up into the air as the crowd reacted to the song with cheers and applause. 

What impressed Hana the most about this unit was how they were all younger than her. It was an entire unit comprised of middle schoolers, yet these three were the ones leading the charge for the NeoStars. Until more units had official releases, including Hana’s, Seishun Shining would most likely be people’s first impression of the Supernova Project.

Given this audience’s reaction, they were definitely making an impact. And these girls were just getting started with their song. 

“They’re really good!” Yuriko said next to her. “NeoStars are super cool!”

While the group moved on to the second verse of their song, Hana felt her phone buzzing as she received a text. She had a brand new message from the office’s assistant, Harumi.

I found a potential time for your first solo song appointment, the text read. Are you available on the 18th at 4 p.m.? They said they can be flexible with times if not.

Off of the top of her head, that meant she’d be working on her song as soon as next week. With how well the girls in front of her were doing, she couldn’t waste any time. For the sake of her, and her unit, she had to start working on her song as soon as possible. She could get to the others’ level, she just had to work to get there. 

Tell them I can make it on the 18th, Hana responded. Thank you for this opportunity!