“765 Productions, be ready in 10 minutes!” the floor manager yelled down the hallway.

Hana leaned closely into the mirror to finish tying the bow at her collar, paying extra attention to make sure the 12-pointed star in the middle was perfectly centered. After that, she adjusted her white beret so the pink bow on it was hanging neatly off the side of her head. 

After standing up to face the full-length mirror in the room, she quietly hummed to herself as she gave herself a final check for the rest of her outfit. Everything from the buttons on her collar, to the sleeves of her jacket, and the knots on her shoelaces were all in order. 

Kanagawa Hana was ready for her first television appearance. 

It had been at least a month since she had last worn the group uniform for the Supernova Project’s first mini-live, and hopefully, this would signal the start of wearing it more often. After getting her song finished, she had spent weeks practicing her singing and choreography for it, while spending roughly the same amount of time training with Reina and Akari. 

There were nine Supernova idols today who had to occupy the dressing room, but it was still at less than half-capacity. From what she saw when entering the studio earlier, there were plenty of photos hung in the halls featuring other, larger groups who had appeared in the past.

At the moment, Akari was helping one of the younger girls from Seishun Shining clip a wireless microphone onto her collar, while Elise was currently helping her fellow unit member Mai with applying her makeup. All of them were in various states of preparation in putting on their outfits. 

“You look really determined today,” Sonoda Tae said to her, suddenly appearing behind her in the mirror.

“Eep!” Hana yelled. She jumped back and ended up bumping into the girl behind her.

“Never mind, you’re back to normal now.”

Hana turned around, looking at the taller girl. “How long were you standing there”

“Just for a little bit,” Tae responded. “How are you feeling?”

“A little nervous, but really excited,” Hana said. “I like your outfit.”

Instead of Lilac Nebula, Tae was wearing a piece reminiscent of greek clothing woven from the night sky. A laurel crown decorated her girl’s dark hair, while a light purple train was attached to her cloth belt and hung over her right leg. Her shoulders were exposed through some transparent fabric but filled with sparkling accents reminding Hana of stars. 

“This?” Tae asked. The older idol looked down at her rose gold gladiator shoes, which went up to her knees and matched the fabric at her waist and hanging off of her wrists. “I’m really excited to wear it! We didn’t have these in time for our mini-live last week, but at least we have it now.” 

Otokura Natsumi walked up to stand between the two of them. “Pardon me, I need the mirror.”

“Sorry,” Hana got out of the way.

“So, what has you so worked up today?” Tae continued the conversation.

“I just can’t believe that we’re already performing on TV. My unit hasn’t even fully had its debut yet.”

“It feels like last week was my first performance with the Million Stars,” Tae responded. “But last week was actually ORiON’s first CD release and the release event, and three weeks before that was our very first mini-live.”

“Time flies when you’re having fun,” Natsumi said aloud, not turning away from the mirror. Like Hana earlier, she was currently doing a final check as she finished getting ready. Her dark purple hair was already combed perfectly straight and smooth. “But this is just our first step in being idols. We haven’t even had our first full live concert yet.”

Natsumi and the other two girls in Seishun Shining had much brighter unit outfits than Tae’s girls in ORiON. The dress went along with the unit’s theme of blooming youth, filled with bright yellow and orange colors and being decorated with flowers. Compared to Tae’s outfit, Natsumi’s was much more like a ‘traditional’ idol’s outfit. 

Hana looked down at what she was wearing. Since she was still dressed in her debut outfit from weeks ago, it felt like she was vastly behind the other two. Her unit was without a name, let alone unit songs or their own outfits.

“There’s still so much more to do...” she said. 

“I guess it’s hard to work on your stage presence without actually performing in front of people,” Tae responded. 

“Yeah...” Hana looked away. “The Producer said we might be performing our solo songs today. With the last one in mind, I don’t know how this will go for me until I try.”

“You always do fine in karaoke, is something holding you back from singing in front of a crowd?”

“Not at all,” Hana responded quickly. She looked around the room, feeling a lack of presence from a certain golden-haired idol missing from it. “Did Reina finish getting ready?”

“She was the first one to finish,” Natsumi spoke up again. “Must be practicing, somewhere.”

Hana started to walk towards the door. “I’ll let her know our time is coming up soon.” 

She walked past the different staff members working at the studio as she went to find Reina, doing her best not to run into anybody. There were more people walking around than when she first arrived. Since her group was coming up soon, the studio was most likely in the middle of transitioning between guests. 

Hana briefly stopped to look at the framed picture galleries in the hallway showing every guest who had been on the show. Both the Million Stars and the All Stars appeared in multiple images, with a variety of different girls who were all made famous by 765 Productions. 

Before moving on, the pink-haired idol closed her eyes and gave a silent prayer in hopes that the same would happen to her someday, that she could follow in her senior’s footsteps and become a top idol. 

Two people blocked the door to one of several practice rooms which was currently closed. Both of them were dressed in fancy black attire, with the taller one having short blonde hair and the shorter one having messy brown hair. She couldn’t see their faces from how they were both facing the door. 

“She’s not going to come out to see you,” the shorter one said.

“She’ll have to leave eventually. I just want to see her before she has to go on.”

“Excuse me, but I’m looking for someone,” Hana said to them. 

“So are we,” the taller one said, turning around. His expression was annoyed once he made eye contact with Hana. “Oh, I’ve seen you before.” 

His appearance was vaguely familiar, but something about seeing his face again made her immediately uncomfortable.

“You’re the fake 765 idol I saw over a month ago,” he said. “Congratulations on still being in the business, I guess.”

She remembered him now, after hearing the disrespectful way that he spoke. She last ran into him and his partner when passing out flyers for the mini-live. It was the same day she and some of the other idols had met up in a cafe and talked about the future, and also the same day she ran into Ayaka again, for the first time in years...

“Be nice,” the shorter one, who she remembered was named Haruto, said to him. He had the same haircut as before, but his glasses were currently hanging off of his breast pocket.

“So what are you here for, especially in that outfit?” the blonde asked Hana. “Idol Talk Plus is supposed to be for popular people in the business.”

“I’m here with another two units from the company,” Hana explained. “Mine is here as a preview for the public.”

“So, you’re not good enough to be the first release, then.”

“That’s not,” Hana frowned. “That’s not why our unit hasn't been released yet.”

“I’m sure the order of release has to do more with talent than luck.”

“She’s in my unit, so of course she’s talented,” a familiar voice joined the conversation. “Otherwise I wouldn’t be spending my time practicing with her.”

Hana looked to find Reina standing at the open door to the practice room. She was taking off her earbuds with one hand while holding onto her phone with the other. Aside from the icy-blue accent on her cuffs and shoelaces, she had the same outfit on as Hana.

“The cold princess finally came out of her castle,” the blonde boy said to her. 

“Hello Ryoma,” Reina said to him. She looked at his partner. “Haruto.”

“What took you so long?”

“I was busy practicing,” the golden-blonde idol responded. She looked at Hana, who quickly shifted her eyes away. “What are you doing with my unit member?”

“She was saying that she’s going to be on this show today,” the blonde boy, who Hana assumed was Ryoma, said. “Wait, did you just say you’re in a unit with this girl?”

“My name is Kanagawa Hana,” Hana tried to tell him.

“Is there a problem with that?” Reina asked him.

“You’re in the same unit as her?” Ryoma responded. “You’ve really stooped low, Reina.” 

“You would’ve known if you paid attention to any of the other idols,” Haruto told him. 

“I came here to ask if you were considering joining our company again. Judging from this, you’re not doing any better than when you left.”

“I left because the company wasn’t doing anything for my career. You’re still in the same boy band after all these years,” Reina responded quickly. As always, her expression was unreadable as she turned to look at Haruto. “No offense to you.”

“None taken,” the brown-haired boy responded.

Ryoma sighed as he crossed his arms. “Why are you spending your time with this girl? You could be having a successful solo career, or just be with any of the talented girls back at SuperSound. At least they can actually sing in front of an audience.”

“I’ve been practicing with her for nearly every day, for almost a month now. She’s as hard of a worker as any of us. She’ll be fine now.” 

“Defending someone? You’ve gone soft, Reina.” 

“3 minutes until we go back on air!” the floor manager yelled down the hall.

Reina only had one thing to say before she started walking towards the direction of the stage. “Just watch.”

She turned around, tossing some of her hair back as she left. With just the three of them left, Hana had no more reason to be standing at the practice room. “I’ll... do my best!” 

Reina was already halfway down the hallway when Hana decided to follow her.

“She’ll just be in another company in a month or two,” Ryoma yelled after them. “It’s what she does with all of them.”

“Thanks for standing up for me,” Hana said to her when she finally caught up.

“I’m not doing that again,” Reina responded. “You should learn to fight your own battles.” 

“Okay…”

“The Producer told us to get ready to perform our solo at any minute today. That means I expect that after all of this time, you should actually be able to perform for a crowd without freezing.”

“I will.”

“And that sentiment isn’t just for yourself, but it’s the rest of your unit. That means you need to be able to do well for me, and your friend Akari, too. All of our performances reflect on each other now that the Producer is adamant about us staying together.” 

“I’ll do my best…” Hana responded. Although she wasn’t very loud with her statement.

“Two more things,” Reina stopped walking, making Hana turn around to see why she stopped. She was met with the golden-hair idol’s cold stare, and she looked away quickly. “Stop looking at your feet when you walk. And make eye contact when you talk to people. You’re an idol now, aren’t you?”

“Y… yes.”

“Then act like one.” 

It was the last thing Reina directly said to her before the show started.

The two of them made it to behind the set with the other 7 idols standing in an incomplete circle. Their Producer stood to the side, dressed professionally as usual. 

Akari waved to Hana. “Right on time.”

“Did you get lost trying to find her?” Tae asked.

“I ran into a fan,” Reina responded. “They were very persistent to speak with me.”

“Wow,” Tae said. “As expected of the 7-year idol.” 

“We don’t have much time remaining, join in,” their Producer said. “I want to say a few words before you all go on TV.”

Hana and Reina completed the nine-girl circle. Although, after the last few words they shared with each other, she stood closer to Akari than her third unit member. 

“I know this isn’t before a big concert, but this is one of the first steps before we reach that,” their Producer said. “Going on TV is a big opportunity for a new branch like us, so you should all be proud to come this far.”

“NeoStars, one minute until it’s time to go on camera,” the floor manager said, interrupting her talk. “I’ll cue you in when it’s fine to go out. Please sit with the rest of your unit members. Good luck out there.”

“I picked all of you to be in these initial units because I believed you can represent the company well, I mean that.”

That was the last thing she had to say. Natsumi spoke up after her. “Producer, can I say the group call?”

Their Producer motioned to let her go ahead. “Feel free.” 

“Hands in the middle. After I call out, point your index finger at the sky,” Natsumi said. She put her hand in the center of the group, with the other eight girls following her example. Her next words were said with a vigor Hana had only heard once before from her, back when she made her declaration to have the best unit. “Aim for top idol! 765, fighting!”

“Oh!” the rest called after her. Natsumi’s hand pointed to the sky, and everyone else joined her until their hands pointed to the ceiling. 

“Welcome back to Idol Talk Plus, my name is Kevin Nagisa,” the host said to the audience. His voice was so loud through the microphone that Hana could hear him from backstage. “Introducing some of the newest idols from 765 Productions, let’s welcome some of the idols from the Supernova Project!”

Hana walked out to the cheer of a full audience as the nine girls entered the studio space. They sat down in order of album release, with Seishun Shining at the end, Tae’s unit, ORiON, in the middle, and Hana’s group closest to Mister Nagisa. She saw several familiar faces in the crowd belonging to fellow girls at the company and some of their family members. To her surprise, some of the audience members were Million Stars girls who helped out at the mini-live.

The area they were currently sitting at was elaborately built, with clean white tiling on the ground to allow it to double as a space to perform on. Currently, their seats were angled so they all faced the audience but could still speak with the host, although there was still an empty seat next to his. Five cameras pointed at the stage at various angles, while a monitor showed them what the live feed was currently seeing. 

“We’re the idols from 765’s Supernova Project,” Natsumi started to say.

All nine of them bowed after. “We’ll be in your care.”

“Welcome to Idol Talk Live,” Nagisa said to them. He was in his mid-thirties and wore a shiny blue tuxedo jacket along with a white dress shirt and bowtie. From what Akari told Hana, he had spent the last decade going from a solo artist to becoming a successful composer, too. 

Nagisa turned to face the audience. “For many of you, this is your first experience seeing them. With that in mind, let’s have a familiar face introduce them all.” He looked backstage, where another person seemed to be standing. “Coming here off of a successful world tour, Miss Amami, you’re welcome to join us on the stage.”

A brown-haired girl entered from behind the set, nearly tripping as she did so. She quickly recomposed herself as she took her seat next to Nagisa. 

“No way,” Akari said from Hana’s left. It was just quiet enough so the microphone didn’t pick up her voice.  

The newly-introduced co-host was around the same age as Hana’s unit, if not a little older. She was dressed in a simple brown shirt and green blouse, with a pink cardigan to go over it. A pair of bright red ribbons in her short brown hair was the most defining feature of her look. 

“My name is Amami Haruka,” the new co-host said to the camera. “I’ve been on the show before as a performer, so this is my first time as a host, but today I’ll do my best!”

Hana didn’t have to be the biggest idol fan in the room to know that this girl was a big deal. Amami Haruka, the leader of 765 Production’s All-Stars, had somehow made it into the building unannounced. Hana questioned if her Producer had even known about this. 

Akari wasn’t the only girl sitting with her to be surprised by the sudden appearance, either. Nearly everyone was whispering about Amami Haruka being present today, with some girls expressing their shock while other idols who were newer to the industry whispered to ask what the commotion was about. Meanwhile, the audience reacted with applause as loud as when they all had first entered.

“Let’s start off with Seishun Shining,” Nagisa said. “Miss Amami, take it away.”

Haruka nodded. She looked at the camera to read off of the teleprompter. “These three girls are the first release for the Supernova Project. Featuring exciting solos, good vocals, and fun, youthful energy, Seishun Shining lives up to their name!”

Her voice was confident and enunciated every word clearly for everyone to hear, which felt like no surprise coming from a top idol. Hana could see that on the preview monitor, the live feed was now showing a pre-made infographic about the unit while the senior idol was speaking. She couldn’t make out every detail from where she was sitting, but it included info about every girl such as their names, hometowns, and a fun fact about them. 

“Their members are Minami Hinako, Kanade Yuuki, and Otokura Natsumi,” Haruka explained. 

“That’s my sister!” Someone yelled from the audience. Natsumi responded with a shy wave back at them.

“They’re all in middle school,” Haruka continued without skipping a beat. “But that just makes their debut all the more impressive!”

“Thank you Miss Amami,” Nagisa said. He looked at the three-unit members. “So, how does it feel to be the first to debut?”

Natsumi opened her mouth to talk, but Hinako was the first to speak. “This is all so exciting! Recording my song was really fun!”

“Miss Otokura, it looks like you had something to say. How do you feel being the youngest member, in the youngest unit?”

“I think it doesn’t matter,” Natsumi responded. “As long as I do a good job, then people will only think about my performance, and not how young I am.”

“What about you, Miss Kanade?”

“Well,” the dark-haired girl took a second to think. “I think this is all a lot of fun! I love trying new things, so this is all just really exciting.”

The questions and introductions continued for another ten or so minutes until it was time for Hana’s unit to be introduced.

“Our third unit is yet to officially launch, so this is the public’s first sneak peek on them,” Haruka said. “Say hello to Fukuyama Reina, Watanabe Akari, and Kanagawa Hana!”

They didn’t have an album cover to show off, but their infographic showed a picture from the company’s very first photoshoot. The audience clapped for their introduction, along with the other girls sitting next to them. 

“Miss Reina, I know you’re no stranger to the show,” Nagisa said. “Has anything changed now that you’re no longer a solo artist?”

“It’s new to have to work with a group,” Reina said. “But it’s nothing I can’t handle.”

“How is 765 Productions compared to your other companies?”

“It’s a change of pace, but I’m enjoying my time here so far.”

Hana was surprised to hear that. Reina never particularly seemed to enjoy doing anything.

“Before this, all three of you performed at the CFM Live House together last month. How was it when you found out you’d be in the same unit?” Nagisa asked them.

“Definitely surprising,” Akari said. 

“How about you, Miss Kanagawa?”

“Well,” Hana started to say. “I didn’t think I’d be chosen so soon.”

“Out of the groups here, I think your unit is actually the most experienced one.”

“Reina-san has definitely been in the business for a long time,” Hana agreed.

“Not just her. You were briefly in a unit a year ago, weren’t you?”

“Um… yes.”

“What is it like being an idol again?”

“It’s definitely familiar, but at the same time, it’s also different,” Hana said. “There are a lot more people I’m working with this time.”

“And a lot of people you can depend on!” Haruka added.

“Speaking of this time, what was your decision process like in becoming an idol again?” Nagisa asked.

“It was a second chance for me,” Hana said. “I never thought I’d be an idol again, so I want to make the most out of this.” 

“Was it hard to take this step after how unsuccessful your last unit was?”

Hana didn’t respond immediately. The other questions had been relatively easy to answer, but being reminded of everything that had gone wrong over a year ago wasn’t something she was ready to experience. Everyone on stage, along with the audience and countless more on TV were waiting on her to speak. 

She had to say something. She opened her mouth to try and talk, but a worker behind the camera put up a whiteboard for the hosts to see.

“I’m sorry everyone but it looks like we’re running low on time, we’ll have to continue later,” Nagisa said. “Let’s move on to our next part of the TV spot.”

Hana let out a big breath now that her questions were over. 

“Now we don’t have idols without music. Let’s have the girls from the Supernova Project today perform!” Nagisa explained. The audience clapped in anticipation. “Let’s have one girl from each unit volunteer to perform.”

Three hands were raised immediately.

“I want to do it,” Natsumi said. “Let me perform, please.”

“You’ve got it,” Nagisa responded. He looked at the middle of the group. “Meanwhile, ORiON, none of you volunteered.”

“Really?” Tae asked. She looked around to see her unit with zero raised hands. “I would’ve thought someone else would volunteer.”

“I wanted to let one of you two sing,” Minami Mai responded. It was one of the only things that she had said throughout her time on stage. 

“I’m okay if I don’t perform,” Elise said.

“Me too,” Tae said. 

“One of you will have to sing,” Nagisa laughed.

“How about the one who you think will represent the unit the best?” Haruka suggested.

“Tae,” Mai said immediately.

Elise nodded. “Tae.”

“If you insist,” Tae responded. 

Nagisa looked over in Hana’s direction. “Now we’re left with our last unit.” 

For some reason, the pink-haired idol didn’t raise her hand immediately. Every girl in her unit, except for her, had volunteered before her. Reina and Akari didn’t make any eye contact, but Hana could still feel the tension between the two of them. 

“It looks like we have two girls wanting to perform,” Nagisa said. “Let’s settle this with a quick game.”

“We figured that there may be a tie today, so in honor of our guest co-host, we’ve decided to come up with 765 Productions-themed trivia questions,” Nagisa said. He pulled a set of notecards out of his suit jacket’s pocket and looked at Hana’s fellow unit members. “I have five questions here today. Are you ready?”

“Yes,” they both said, putting their hands down. 

“NeoStars idols are categorized into Star, Moon, and Sun type idols,” Nagisa started to say. “What are the typings for 765 Productions’ main branch?”

Akari raised her hand first. “Princess, Fairy, and Angel.”

“Correct!” Nagisa said. “Next question. Where is the ‘handmade’ location referring to in the Million Stars’ debut song.”

Reina raised her hand slightly faster than Akari this time. “Saitama Super Arena.”

“Incorrect. Miss Watanabe?”

“The Nippon Budokan,” Akari said.

“Correct,” Nagisa said. “If Miss Watanabe gets this right, unfortunately, Miss Reina will lose her chance to perform tonight.”

“Reina-san, do your best!” Haruka said. 

“Name one of Miss Amami’s singles.”

Neither of them responded for a few seconds. Hana knew Akari was a fan of 765 Productions before becoming an idol, but Haruka was far from her favorite girl.

“The name of any of them will do,” Nagisa told them. “Miss Haruka has had quite the career.”

Akari eventually raised her hand. “You’re Here to Turn Into Dreams?”

“That’s right!” Haruka said.

“Congratulations,” Nagisa threw his cards in the air. “The winner is Miss Watanabe Akari!” 

The audience responded with applause, along with some of the girls on stage.

“Woohoo!” Akari said, raising her hands in the air. To her left, Hana saw that Reina was less than pleased. Her face was neutral, but her body was slumped back into her seat, her arms crossed. 

“We will be going to a commercial break while the performers get ready,” Nagisa said. “When we come back, stay tuned to see Otokura Natsumi from Seishun Shining perform!”

The lights faded on the studio as the commercial break started. Soon, everyone was backstage waiting for instructions from the floor manager.

“Performers, be back here in 5 minutes,” the floor manager said. “For those not performing, be back here by the time the last song starts. I’ll let you know when that is.” 

“Producer, I’m going to the bathroom,” Hinako said.

“Me too,” Natsumi added.

“Watch out for each other, and make sure Natsumi is back in time to perform.” 

“Okay!” Hinako said.

Hana waved to Akari before she left. “Good luck!”

“I won’t disappoint!” Akari responded. She had more of a spring in her step than usual. “I’ll make everyone look forward to when our unit debuts!”

Hana looked around as the other girls all went their separate ways. Reina was retrieving her phone from a staff member, Elise and Mai were heading back to the dressing room, while Tae was heading in the direction of a practice room.

She was left as the only one who was still standing there from the group, thinking about what to do next with her time.  

Hana had hesitated again, just like last month. She felt happy that Akari was able to perform her solo, she also wanted to be able to show off everything she had learned and improved on in the last few weeks, but something had stopped her from immediately raising her hand to volunteer. 

At least this time, she had saved herself from embarrassment by not even performing. 

The Producer approached her. “Kanagawa-san, there’s someone who wants to see you in practice room D.”

“Huh?” Hana responded. 

She took a few seconds to think of who it could have been. All of the girls had already left, so it couldn’t have been one of them. Besides, even if it was someone from the Supernova Project, they could have just spoken to her a minute ago. And she also knew that anyone in the audience wouldn’t be allowed, so based on who from the company was there today, she had one main guess. 

“Is it Haruka-senpai?” Hana asked. It made sense, but she didn’t quite know what the senior idol would want to speak to her for. 

“You should see for yourself. I’m told they’re quite busy, and you'll want to hurry before this break ends.”

“I’ll go there now,” Hana responded. She gave her Producer a polite bow before she left. “Thank you for telling me.”

For Hana, this would be her first time interacting with one of 765 Productions’ All-Stars since her audition back in March when Akizuki Ritsuko helped interview applicants to the company. She took a deep breath and hoped for the best as she opened the door to the practice room at the very end of the hall. 

Awaiting her was a brunette girl less than a year older than her. A flower pin kept her bangs out of her lavender eyes while the rest of her hair was tied in a high ponytail. This time she wasn’t wearing her cafe apron, but she wore a black jacket over the rest of her working uniform. 

“Long time no see,” her former idol partner Ichihara Ayaka said, smiling. “I was wondering when you’d get here.”