Chapter Text
Part 2
Classes had started a few minutes earlier.
A lone student walked down the hallway, her bag slung over her shoulder, taking deliberate steps toward her classroom. When she reached the door, she knocked lightly and then slid it open. The sound caught everyone’s attention, including that of the teacher. His expression revealed his displeasure—clearly, one of his students was late.
“You’re late, Asakura-kun,”
“I’m sorry,” She replied softly as she bowed, offering no further explanation.
“Well, don’t let it happen again. Take your seat.”
“Thank you.”
Her face remained impassive as she made her way to her desk. Toru set her bag aside and pulled out her notebook. As the lesson resumed, a faint smile appeared on her face.
“Asakura, let’s go to the canteen.”
“Mm, ‘kay.”
Toru pocketed her phone and followed her friend to the canteen.
It’s lunchtime. Toru weaved through the crowd alongside her friend, who was leading the way. The walk felt endless, so Toru pulled out her phone and fiddled with it the entire way.
“There are a lot of people,” Her friend commented.
“Yeah…” Toru replied, barely looking up from her phone.
“What are you getting today?” She asked, but Toru didn’t respond.
She was completely absorbed in her phone.
“Asakura?” Her friend raised her voice.
“Huh? What?”
Her friend sighed. “Lunch. What do you want?”
“Ah… um…” Toru looked up briefly. When her phone vibrated, she glanced at it before saying, “How about you, Higuchi?”
Madoka noticed that Toru’s phone had her full attention at the moment.
“I suppose I’ll just go with the usual.”
“Then, me too.”
The canteen was too crowded for Toru and Madoka, so they decided to spend their break on the rooftop after buying lunch. When Madoka opened the door, the place was nearly empty. She walked ahead, with Toru following after closing the door behind them.
They made their way to the edge. Madoka sat down and leaned against the railing, while Toru rested her elbows on the metal bars, holding her food in one hand and her phone in the other. Madoka quietly watched as her friend ate while idly fiddling with her phone. From time to time, she caught Toru smiling.
Madoka opened the bag of bread and took a bite. She suspected something was going on with Toru. After all, there’s nothing unusual about someone smiling at their phone from time to time, and her friend is no exception. But when Toru ignored her repeatedly while glued to the screen? That’s rare—few things ever hold Asakura Toru’s attention that strongly.
It feels strange.
The rooftop door creaked open, revealing a couple of students.
“Aha~ Toru-senpai! Found you!” One of them ran toward Toru with cheerful energy.
“Hi.” Toru greeted her before putting away her phone. “Looking for me?”
“Mm! Let’s have lunch together!”
“Sure. You too, Koito?”
“Y-yes. But… you and Madoka-chan are only having bread?” Koito asked, glancing at the food in their hands.
“The canteen was crowded. We didn’t feel like waiting in line,” Madoka explained.
“Is that really enough?”
“It is.”
Koito looked worried. She and Hinana both have bento, while Toru and Madoka are only having bread and a carton of drink.
“I can share my lunch with you, Madoka-chan.”
“It’s fine, Koito. You don’t need to worry about me.”
“Then Hinana will share her bento with Toru-senpai!”
“Really? Appreciate it.”
Watched the exchange and noticed Koito’s disheartened expression, Madoka finally relented.
“Alright… just a little then.”
The four of them sat together in a small circle. As they ate and shared their food, Toru occasionally checked her phone. The moment it buzzed, she immediately picked it up.
“Toru-senpai, who are you chatting with?” Hinana questioned, seeing her favorite senior is enjoying something by playing on her phone.
Madoka and Koito also turned to look at the person in question.
“Hmm…” Toru hummed. “A friend?”
“Who?” Madoka asked.
“An old one.”
Madoka and Koito exchanged glances. For once, even Madoka couldn’t understand her childhood friend. Hinana, meanwhile, paid no mind and smoothly changed the subject.
“By the way, Toru-senpai~ Can Hinana come over to your house after school?”
“Of course,” Toru replied, setting her phone down. “The egg roll. Delicious.”
“Aha~ Right~”
They continue to spend time on the rooftop until the break ends.
“I’m home,” Toru called as she stepped inside the house.
“Welcome back. You too, Madoka-chan,” Her mother greeted warmly.
“Sorry for intruding,” Madoka said with a slight bow.
“Will you be staying for dinner?”
“Ah, yes. Thank you as always.”
After taking off their shoes and about to head to Toru’s room, Toru stopped and spoke to her friend.
“Higuchi, go on ahead. I need to talk with Mom for a bit.”
That caught Madoka off guard, but she nodded. “Mm, okay.”
Once Madoka went upstairs, Toru approached her mother.
“Mom, do you have a minute?”
“What is it?”
Toru paused, trying to figure out how to ask for her parents’ permission—even though only one of them is there at the moment.
“I’m… going to become an idol.”
Her mother blinked in surprise. “Whoa, slow down, Toru. Why do you want to become an idol? What happened?”
“This morning, someone scouted me. Can I?”
Her mother frowned. “This isn’t the first time you’ve been scouted. Is there any particular reason you want to accept it this time?”
“…Tsubasa. He’s the one who scouted me.”
Silence filled the room.
The mother took a moment to process her daughter’s words, while Toru looked away uneasily, gripping her forearm. After what felt like a full minute, her mother finally spoke.
“Tsubasa… You mean THAT Tsubasa-kun?”
Toru gave a small, silent nod, still avoiding her mother’s gaze.
“Ah! Really? You met him?!” She sounded more excited about Tsubasa being around than about Toru becoming an idol. “How is he? Is he doing well?”
Even Toru felt overwhelmed by her mother’s barrage of questions.
“I didn’t get to spend much time with him. He was busy with work, and I had school. But he seemed to be doing really well.”
“It’s been a long time since I last heard about him. I’m glad to know he’s doing fine.” She nodded in satisfaction. “So, he’s already working now?”
Toru bobbed her head. “As a producer.”
“Ah… I see. That explains why you were scouted by him as an idol. Tsubasa-kun knows you.” She finally grasped the point of the conversation. “Aha~ Now I understand why you’re interested in accepting his offer.”
“... I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She looked unamused at her mother's teasing attempt.
“Sure, Toru.” Her mother chuckled, “I personally don’t mind your decision being an idol, especially since I have the full picture, but you should tell your father too.”
“Mm. I’ll tell him later. Thanks, Mom.”
Madoka entered Toru’s room, set her bag down by the study desk, and sat in the chair. She gazed up at the ceiling in silence, waiting for her friend to finish talking with their parent. Concern and curiosity gnawed at her, wondering what had captured her friend’s attention so strongly. Maybe she was just overthinking it, but there was no harm in making sure.
Doing nothing while waiting inevitably made her drowsy, so she picked up her phone to pass the time. After a while, the door handle turned, and Toru entered carrying a tray.
“Want some juice?”
“Thanks.”
Toru set the tray on the table and poured the drinks into two glasses filled with ice cubes. She sat on the bed, plugged in her phone to charge, and took a sip.
“Ah… that hits the spot,” Toru sighed as she turned on her phone.
“I heard you were late for your first class today. Did something happen?”
“Hm…” Toru hesitated before putting her phone down and meeting her friend’s gaze. “Hey, Higuchi.”
“…What?”
“Tomorrow, are you coming by again?”
“Maybe. Why?”
“Tomorrow, I’ll probably be home late.”
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to become an idol,” Toru revealed.
“…!”
“A producer scouted me. I want to give it a try,” she continued.
“Ha…?” Madoka was at a loss for words.
“I already talked it over with Mom, and she agreed. All that’s left—”
“Wait, wait!” Madoka cut in, springing to her feet.
Toru’s odd behavior, the sudden announcement about becoming an idol, and the fact that her mother had approved all hit Madoka at once like a burst dam.
“Why—!” She nearly lost her composure, but since it was Toru she was talking to, she forced herself to calm down before confronting her. “Why do you want to become an idol?”
“Eh? I told you, a producer scouted me.”
“I’m asking you, Asakura—why do you want to become one?”
“Mm… I don’t know,” Toru replied casually.
Madoka could almost see question marks popping above her head at that answer. Was this just another one of those times when Toru let herself get swept along? But unlike before, Toru had actually asked her parents for permission this time. That meant there had to be something more behind it.
“Tomorrow, do you want to come with me? To the agency.”
Madoka took a step back, “Are you… inviting me?”
“Coming along will be good enough. I’m sure you’ll be glad, Higuchi.”
Madoka’s heart skipped a beat when her friend spoke with a smile. Something about this moment felt different—Toru appeared resolute and confident in her actions, stirring both Madoka’s worry and curiosity.
To be continued…
A/N: Another chapter down! Judging by how the story is developing, I figured this fic would probably turn out to be pretty long. At first, I planned to wrap it up quickly since I wasn’t sure I could stay motivated, but I’ve actually been enjoying it more than I expected. Hopefully, I can keep that momentum going a bit longer.
A few things I want to highlight from this fic:
- The producer’s name being Tsubasa references one of the support cards in Shinymas, where Tsubasa (Producer), Toru, and Rinze are childhood friends. Plus, the fact that 283 Production (often called Tsubasa Production) shares the name makes it both funnier and more awkward, lol.
- In-game, when the Producer and Toru reunite at the bus stop after a long time, Toru recognizes him first. In this version, I flipped it so that the Producer is the one who recognizes Toru instead.
- When Toru tells Madoka she’s going to be an idol, I tried to keep Madoka’s reaction close to the original. The difference is that here, Toru invites Madoka to come along with her to the agency, while in the game, Madoka seeks out the agency on her own initiative.
That’s enough rambling from me—thanks a lot for reading!