Work Text:
For the record, he did not sign up to this.
A month ago, Kohane approached him, and he so naively assumed she was ready to start practice. He really should have known better when she started the conversation so slyly.
"Good morning, Shinonome-kun." She smiled, a little warmer and wider than before. He should've taken that into account, too.
"Mornin'." He replied back, swallowing down the last chunks of pancakes on the plate. He was happy to take his time since Touya hadn't arrived yet (mentioned something about the library committee that Akito might have tuned out a little), but his hunger was more insatiable than he realized.
Kohane slid into the booth across from him as An and her father joked and washed dishes while the morning regulars waltzed in. Everything seemed normal, all except for the girl sitting across from him, who was gripping her skirt a little tighter than usual.
"You got somethin' to say?" He raised an eyebrow, wiping the leftover syrup from his lips on a napkin. Kohane raised her head quickly, laughing a little awkwardly as she does when she's embarrassed. "Oh, it's–it's nothing, I just..." Her eyes trailed away along with her words, leaving Akito in a slightly confused state.
"Spit it out." Akito sat back in the booth, sliding the empty plate to the side as if he was planning to make a business deal with her. Kohane sheepishly met his eyes again, trying her best to give a comforting smile.
"Do you...remember the Scramble Fan Festival?" She asks, a little more sure of herself like she was planning to bargain for something.
Akito follows her movements naturally, sitting up straighter and narrowing his eyes suspiciously at her. Her gaze doesn't falter. "Yeah. Why?" That event was nearly two years ago. Why bring it up now?
"Ah, well...do you remember Minori-chan? The idol?" He could see the smallest traces of a smile beginning to form on the edges of her lips, as if she was calculating all his possible responses. He wouldn't put it past her to do something like that. "Yeah." Akito grunted.
"Well, we're classmates, you know? We were talking the other day...and she just mentioned needing some help with some music related things." She offered another smile. He couldn't tell if she was trying to butter him up or was being genuine. "What are you asking?" Akito crossed his arms under the table.
"Ehe...well, I was wondering if you could maybe..." Her gaze still fixed on his, gripping her skirt a little tighter. "If you could help her out?" She cringed a little, so subtly he almost missed it, as if she was immediantly regretting her words.
"No." He answered at once. He told her and her group when he met them that he wasn't a teacher, and their practice session wasn't anything to take too seriously—before he started criticizing them as if he was their teacher.
He stood, taking the dirty plate with him as a silent excuse. Kohane pouted a little, her mouth hanging open as she clearly didn't anticipate him walking off.
"Shinonome-kun, please?" She clasped her hands together in a praying motion. "No." He repeated. He wasn't cut out to be a teacher in any way.
Kohane stumbled over her words for a moment, doing her best to come up with a suitable reason to convince him. He wouldn't budge.
As he collected all the dirty dishes, he stepped out the booth and was about to head for the sink when she hit the nail on the head:
"I'll buy you pancakes!"
This was so stupid. Damn his sweet tooth.
The girl, cheerful as ever, bounced on the chair as if she'd be burned if she actually sat on it for too long.
She turned her head to him at once, her eyes lighting up for a moment. The idol stood quickly, slightly bowing as she greeted him. "Good morning, Shinonome-kun!" Minori smiled brightly. He had no idea how she had this much energy so early in the morning.
"Morning." He attempted a weak smile, though all his energy went to staying awake at seven in the morning on a Saturday. These better be the best pancakes in the world he was being paid in.
"It's so wonderful to meet you again! Kohane-chan told me so many things about you." Minori bounced on her feet. Akito wondered if she really was allergic to standing still. She'd be shit at musical statues, he snorted at that.
"Don't expect me to go easy on you." He stated plainly, crossing his arms. "Remember: we're here to practice."
Minori saluted, standing straight up in the form of a soldier. "Yes, sir!" She breathed out in a huff. She stood still for a whole five seconds, a new record for her.
"Alright. Show me what you can do."
The morning went smoothly. She was cooperative and eager to hear feedback on what she did wrong–unlike a certain hall monitor on his team.
He took notice of how little she took breaks, usually only once every ten or fifteen minutes for a quick drink of water. It made Akito realize just how long she must have been doing idol work, or preparing for it, to have such incredible stamina.
"You're not in time with the music!" He called over the loud pop song playing on a portable speaker. She sped up her movements until Akito stopped his barking and she was in rhythm with the beats again. She was quick with her movements, so quick and calculated. She must have gone over these steps a hundred times to be able to perform it so naturally.
When the song finished playing, Minori let out a sigh of relief. She approached the pink water bottle, decorated with stickers of idol girls, group names, and other girly stuff Akito didn't care for. It was so eerily similar to Kohane's notebook that she kept God knows what in, it was almost scary.
The idol sat on the bench, the fatigue of the their intense morning practice clearly beginning to catch up with her. She was breathing heavily now, holding the water bottle between her thighs as she sat.
Akito glanced to her. "How long have you been doing idol work?" He raised an eyebrow questionably. Minori's eyes lit up once more, as if a fire reignited in her at the question. "Not very long, professionally." She turned to him, her breath evening out. "But I've always wanted to be once. Just like Haruka-chan, and Airi-chan, and Shizuku-chan." She stared off into the distance, starstruck.
"I practice as hard as I can every single day so I can match up to them. I want to bring hope to everyone." Her smile was the brightest it had been that morning, whispering the last phrase like she was a tea kettle about to boil over in excitement.
Akito slightly tilted his head. "Hope?" He questioned. What does that even mean? "Of course!" She tapped her knees as she spoke. "When I was a kid, I had really bad luck." Akito frowned for a second. How could someone as cheerful as her ever have bad karma? "But...I saw Haruka-chan on TV. She said, I'm here to spread hope to everyone. There's always going to be a better tomorrow!"
A better tomorrow? That's corny, he decides. "You believed her?" He asked in a curious, slightly soft tone. How could anyone believe tomorrow would just magically be better?
"How could I not?" She tapped her feet on the concrete like it was a drum kit. "I've failed so many times as an idol. You know, I was rejected almost sixty times before we formed MORE MORE JUMP?" She almost sound saddened, had it not been for the ever hyper smile still plastered on her face. "But I never gave up! Not once! If I don't believe in myself, if I let myself fall down, or give up, I'll never be an idol. I won't let that happen! It's my duty to give people hope for the future now."
Her words struck a chord in Akito. Why? He asked both himself and her words. Why still go on, even if she was cast aside so many times? Why did it resonate with him so much?
He had a hard time focusing the rest of their practice session.
It was such an ungodly hour of the night as Akito lay awake. He stared mindlessly at his ceiling, hearing only the faint chatter of his sister talking to whoever she talks to at this hour.
On any normal night, he would've stormed over to her room and told her to shut up and let him sleep. But this wasn't a normal night, and he didn't understand why.
He didn't understand why she'd continue on, even after years of rejection. Why she'd be so determined to pursue her dreams, knowing how horrible an industry like the idol one was. For what?
I want to bring hope to everyone!-
He'd been told by tens of people when he first started out with Touya that they'd never be anything. That they'd be just another duo; a dime in a dozen; a pipe dream. And the worst part is he believed all of it. He believed every word, but continued anyway.
He continued because he wanted to prove them wrong. Show them all he and Touya were infinitely more than their harsh words and snarky comments. They'd surpass RAD WEEKEND, just the two of them against the world. She reminded him so much of Touya, it was almost unsettling.
Except they didn't do that. They weren't even close to surpassing RAD WEEKEND, and they still aren't, even as a group, and they might never come close.
So why hasn't he given up yet?
Akito, predictably, didn't get a wink of sleep that night. Thank God it was a Sunday, or he might have just skipped school entirely.
He still thought over the lingering question in his mind. The more he thought about it, the less it made sense. Anyone would have given up forever ago, but he persisted onwards.
Checking his phone wasn't something he wanted to, his body plagued with tiredness, but he reached over anyway.
No new notifications. 8:48 A.M.
He opened the nameless contact he saved a month ago when approached by Kohane, the only message sent being a notification that she had called him to schedule a meet up.
"u up for another practice session?"
He typed and sent, not even a moment later the three floating bubbles indicating a reply in progress.
"Of course!"