(This is a post starring:
Kahouin Natsuki,
Mizusaki Sayuri,
Louise,
Amami Haruka and
Mitsuishi Orihime)
Just as beautiful as the premises seemed to be on the outside, it was just as large and fancy in the inside. The ceiling was higher than one would assume. The lobby was larger than expected. To those who are poor, this place would provide quite the number of new experiences and wonder due to the grandeur of the surroundings. Holographic displays hung from over the wide ceiling. And that wasn’t all; such displays littered all around the walls, too – full of information pertaining to the idol world and the entertainment industry. One could even choose to pick an audition from here. There were also a great number of students hanging around, despite lessons being in session. One would assume that some of these students no longer required lessons so much for success. However, only results would bear proof of such notion. Skipping classes to hang out with certain fun friends has been an old norm in the society, after all. One which is frowned upon, anyway.
Natsuki observed the hall with some interest. While the size and shape were nothing particularly overwhelming – not when compared to Kahouin family mansion, deep in the Japanese mountains – the constant stream of idol-related news, information and trivia was certainly a novelty. Natsuki would certainly find it helpful, though at the same time she found the sheer
volume of the information provided to be somewhat challenging to absorb.
On the other hand, the hall itself had already left Sayuri's mouth hanging open. The advertisements hanging in mid air only increased her struggle to keep her lower jaw attached.
Is this the same type of technology that creates the Aikatsu Stage? Although Sayuri knew that this could all be explained by science, a part of her still felt that these floating images couldn't be anything but magic.
To think that starting from today, I'll also be a part of this magic... She clenched her fist slightly as determination welled up within her.
The two soon walked forward, but had no clue as to where they needed to go. There were too many doors in every direction they looked. At such a moment, someone seemed to be walking in – as the voices of the other students seemed to intensify for reasons unknown; soon turning to reactions of awe. For students who are idols themselves – to be surprised of a particular figure? What kind of a person would she be? Is what – in one way or the other – the two girls thought.
“I see that you’ve come, Kahouin,” while there was no real hint of respect, the mannerism and style of speech was – on the offset – respectable, polite, and above all, exuded the tone and etiquette followed by members of the higher-class society. Natsuki found the voice familiar as she turned to find none other than the idol who is sometimes referred to be mysterious – Louise.
Natsuki smiled, although no more than what was taught by her tutors, offering a small bow.
”So I have, Mademoiselle. It is...a pleasure to see you again,” She replied.
Louise wore the Starlight Academy’s uniform – like anyone else in the academy. However, the air to her was completely distinctive. As the wind picked up; the breeze carried cold yet warm air into the lobby – it felt as though it was accompanied by glittering white angelic feathers, stars, and crescent moons. One would wonder, why? It’s the apparent †˜scent’ or the natural aura of an idol. The only other person known to be like this all the time is none other than Hoshimiya Ichigo, albeit one wouldn’t know unless they meet her in person. Louise’s peers may as well label her as the pure personification of majestic and regal.
Louise possessed sparklingly attractive emerald eyes, her brilliant blond hair was so long that it reached the back of her thighs, it added greatly to her refined and bewitching looks. Her lips were slightly curved; seemingly sweet and small – it glittered with the lip-gloss she applied – and her nose seemed small, as well. Truly, a porcelain face with translucent skin; the posture perfectly complimented her enticing looks, too – with how her right hand elegantly placed over the side of her hips, and how there was a right amount of distance between both her legs; added splendidly to her elegant and dignified stature.
Despite having such glimmeringly captivating eyes; Louise’s gaze seemed rather cold, distant and emotionless, despite wearing an apparently delightful expression.
“I’ve been assigned to be your senpai; I shall be taking care of you until you’re a sophomore,” she informed politely. Louise’s lips curled especially further as she laid her sight towards Sayuri – her head moved not an inch, instead; her emerald green pupils did.
“Mizusaki Sayuri, I believe? Your performance was specifically done quite well; you gain my praise.”
Natsuki merely dipped her hair in a bow before the other girl, acknowledging and thanking her, leaving all the superfluous talking to her newfound roommate.
“Thank you,” Sayuri dipped her head in acknowledgement as she thanked the stranger for the praise, however she felt a little unworthy of it, remembering the mess up in her dance.
“I will work hard and improve so that my next performance will be better.”
“That you shall, as an idol,” Louise responded, giving a terse nod. She turned her wrist to glance at her watch; it was late, according to it.
“Time is money, they say; it is of absolute essence – we’re late,” Louise stated coldly to Natsuki.
”I’m sorry...though then again, it’s impolite to arrive too early.” Natsuki stated.
”Although, I do agree that we all should really be getting going now…”
While Louise did note her words, she didn’t care enough to correct her. Being punctual was one of the most common manner of courtesy in the world of idols. Rather, it was a requirement for the no-name idols. Louise simply believed she’d learn her lesson soon enough.
“Allow me, for I shall lead you to the Headmistress’ room,” before Louise would begin to walk, her eyes shifted to Sayuri yet again.
“I am aware of the location of your assigned senpai, Mizusaki-san; why not accompany us? I’ll have you meet her on the way,” after making the proposal, Louise walked off, not quite waiting for a response as she figured what Sayuri would say.
“Sure…” Although by the fact that the emerald eyed beauty had already taken off, it was clear that Sayuri's decision was not very important, she replied anyway as she followed along behind her roommate's senpai. As the conversation died down, Sayuri wondered if all the upperclassmen knew the names of transfer students and how their performances went.
As the three passed the corridors, one after the other. Louise finally stopped to turn to the left, peering towards a door. She approached it with graceful steps before taking a glance at the only person inside. The music did not escape past the entrance as it was shut tight, but a girl could be seen dancing passionately, droplets of sweat fell from her figure often. She was very hardworking as a person from what it seemed like.
“She is your assigned senpai, Mizusaki-san,” Louise informed, turning to Sayuri. When Sayuri took a look, she saw her dancing upperclassmen. Her brown short hair swayed at every moment as she practiced her dance movements with an earnest look in her face. However, the clear frown made it apparent that she was close to her limit. Louise knocked loudly on the door. She had to put extra strength into it as she was aware how loud the music inside probably was.
“Coming!” Haruka exclaimed as she ran towards the door, but unfortunately tripped and fell atop the cold floor. This was apparently commonly seen as Haruka is known to be incredibly clumsy. She finally opened the door after pulling herself up.
“Sorry about that… oh! It’s Louise-san, is something the matter?” Haruka asked, with a bright smile that radiated positivity.
Louise’s eyes silently darted back and forth between Haruka and Sayuri; an indirect manner of †˜pointing’ at someone. She didn’t speak, much less made any noise.
Just for a brief second, Sayuri was reminded of her youngest sibling who also had a habit of tripping over thin air.
“It's nice to meet you. My name is Mizusaki Sayuri, I've been told that you are my assigned senpai?”
Haruka rubbed her buttocks – the sensation of pain from the fall not gone still – as she replied with a smile.
“Ah, yes, I am! It’s nice to meet you, my name is Amami Haruka. I’ve been waiting but… since I had nothing better to do. I started to practice, and lost track of time… that said, what time is it?” Tilting her head, Haruka’s sentence ended with a question.
Louise simply pulled her left hand up to show her wristwatch to Haruka with an indifferent expression. This made Haruka gasp.
“I-I’m sorry! I had no idea it was this late already!!” Haruka bowed, panicking.
“Eh, it was partially my fault for arriving so late anyway,” Sayuri had originally planned on arriving early, however saying farewell to her siblings, the bus ride and the climb up the hill took way longer than she had expected.
“Maybe we should get going though?”
“Oh, is that so?” Haruka asked, her apologetic expression apparently blown away.
“You can’t be la-”
“Are you sure that you don’t want to finish the dance, by the way? There was only a little left after a pirouette, I believe?”
“Oh, well… I suppose I can do that later.”
“I suppose. There was only another chorus left till the end of that song, after all,” Louise then turned; back to going towards the Headmistress’ room.
“Idols shouldn’t be late, was it?” She didn’t turn her head, and expected others to follow. It was already past 12:00 pm after all.
The four now walked through the corridors together. Apparently in the third floor now; Haruka noted that they were not far from the room. In about tens of seconds, Haruka seemed to be very curious about something, and thus couldn’t help but spill the question.
“Um, Louise-san, how did you know that the song was almost over…?”
Louise stopped to point towards her feet.
“From your steps, obviously.” She resumed her stroll. Haruka stood with the other two as she gazed at Louise’s back in disbelief.
“Wow… I had no idea she could tell from just the dance steps. As expected of the second greatest idol of this country!” Haruka exclaimed, while she tried not to let her words reach Louise’s ears; apparently she was psyched up for some reason.
Natsuki rose her eyebrow. She recalled that one of her teachers could easily tell people apart by the sound of their footsteps, so she didn’t exactly doubt Louise...but her teacher was almost 70 years old by that point, so…
”That is quite an amazing feat indeed.” She stated.
"I didn't think that was possible either, it seems that everyone in this academy are all extremely amazing!" Sayuri was indeed impressed by Louise's ability. Not only did she have brilliant observation skills, she must have also known the dance quite well to be able to identify that it was close to the end.
I ought to study hard if I wish to catch up to these amazing people.
“I know! We have to work hard to keep up!” Before Haruka could continue. Louise interrupted.
“If you have the time to chatter, surely you lack not the time to walk?” Yet again, Louise didn’t turn even a single inch, instead she pushed the door open to the Headmistress’ room.
***
The room was moderately large – at least for a Kahouin. To the left, was a showcase of books that seemed to be inserted into the wall. On the other side; one would find a table, two chairs, and a sofa placed for guests – to which Louise simply went ahead and took a seat over the sofa; pulling her leg over the other, while Haruka simply stood behind the two new girls with a smile plastered over her face. To the straight were nothing but tall windows – with a brown desk standing at the middle, the Headmistress behind it. She kept her eyes closed, while having crossed her arms over her chest, that seemed to be covering her black top under her blue suit. Her neck was wrapped with a sky-blue scarf – of which its ends point towards the cold floor – and wore a blue skirt to match her upper wear.
There were more noises than expected, which made her open her eyes out of curiosity.
“I see that I have more than one new student as my visitors, yet again,” she looked up to gaze at the unrefined beauty picked from the rough, and the apparently energetic girl known to have piqued Ichigo and Rise’s interests.
“I am Mitsuishi Orihime, the Headmistress of Starlight Academy,” Orihime Headmistress introduced herself before continuing,
“I must first congratulate the two of you for having been accepted into the academy.”
Natsuki bowed her head as it was proper,
”It is an honor to be here, Madame. I promise to not betray your expectations.”
Following suit, Sayuri had also bowed her head as she thanked the kind yet dignified looking lady in blue. Her image of what the Headmistress would be like had been slightly different from how she actually was, however it was a positive difference. She was much younger and more amicable than Sayuri had thought she would be.
“I am also very grateful for the acceptance into this academy and I will work hard to fully utilize this opportunity.”
The Headmistress nodded.
“I was told that Kahouin made great expressions. While on the other hand, Mizusaki had given an impressive performance.”
She was adamant that they were simply being polite, however having been praised twice regarding her performance, Sayuri felt somewhat happy. Like a child reinforced by positive encouragement, she felt even more motivated to become better.
“I hope that studying at this academy will allow me to provide even more impressive performances throughout the years to come!”
Natsuki nodded, and made a small bow – again. She didn’t honestly feel that performance deserved
that much merit, but none the less, she was grateful.
“As both of you are members of the academy now, I believe that I must return these to you two,” Orihime Headmistress then pushed forward two black trays – both seemed to have three Aikatsu Cards each, placed on them. One that was pushed towards Natsuki contained the Purple Stage Coord, while the other before Sayuri had the Yellow Stage Coord over it.
“We're allowed to keep them?” Looking at the cards placed before her, Sayuri felt a sense of camaraderie as they were the ones that she passed her first audition with.
“Yes, of course. These are the cards of fate that the two of you used to embark on your path to stardom. Use them well for the times to come,” Orihime Headmistress advised, expecting for these cards to be retrieved from where they belonged.
Natsuki confidently reached out and took the cards. It felt somewhat...nostalgic, really. After all, regardless of what would happen in the future, these cards would represent her first steps – everything that followed would stem from these three simple cards.
”Thank you very much Madam” Natsuki replied formally.
”I’ll be sure to treasure them.”
Sayuri also picked up her cards and thanked the Headmistress.
“And here are the items mandatory for students to have,” Orihime Headmistress pushed forward another set of two trays, yet again. This time, they each contained a card, and a phone.
“Your Student ID Card, and Aikatsu Smartphone,” she said.
“The cards are required to start up the Aikatsu System. On the other hand, your smartphone is the best choice of outlet if you wish to be organized; with it, you may enter auditions, gain the many applications that comes with it, as well as store Aikatsu Cards as digital data.”
Natsuki looked at the phone in no small interest. It would certainly sound like something to her to stay remain well-informed, and the ability to keep Aikatsu cards on-hand would undoubtedly come-in handy sometime.
Truly amazing, what technology can do these days. She had thought.
“You can store Aikatsu Cards on the smartphone?!” Sayuri's eyes twinkled as she stared at the phone she had just picked up along with her ID.
This is totally amazing! How does it even work?
“That’s right!” Haruka said, somewhat excited for some reason.
“See that slit in the smartphone? You can insert the cards there, and they’ll be stored digitally after doing so,” she explained.
Sayuri immediately slotted in her Yellow Stage Coord cards and watched in awe as they were registered by the smartphone.
“Wow…” It really works…!
“From now on, the two of you will have to earn your works by entering and winning various auditions. It will by no means, be easy,” the Headmistress explained.
“While the curtains for your entrance to the idol world has certainly been raised; it’s only the beginning. From here on out; your progress may as well be determined by how you receive your lessons, and the amount of hard work you put into it. Give it your all!” She encouraged the two.
The Headmistress spoke like a commander raising the morale of his troops. Naturally, Sayuri got caught up in the flow and suddenly felt extremely motivated to do the best that she could. Forgetting her excitement from receiving the phone, Sayuri focused solely on the Headmistress and replied with all her might,
“I shall!”
Natsuki for her part could feel her own excitement as well. It was a...most unusual, but not unwelcome feeling for her. She smiled in the earnest, confidently flicking her hair.
”And so shall I!” She added after Sayuri.
The Headmistress simply smiled.
“Then, shall I have you two meet your respective homeroom teachers?” Orihime Headmistress then pressed on a button over the device that lied before her.
“Bepp sensei, Asakura-san.”
Respective homeroom teachers? I guess I'm not in the same class as Kahouin-san then… Sayuri was slightly disappointed by the revelation, however at the same time she was excited to see what her homeroom teacher would be like.
The door was indeed flung open, but Johnny was unable to be wild due to Asakura Miwa’s burning presence. While Johnny held a cool and casual air to himself, Asakura was seemingly the exact opposite, wearing an emotionless face.
Johnny wore green tracksuits. The zipper in the middle was not shut, showing his black shirt. He had long flowing hair and green eyes. “
Good afternoon, Honeys,” he exclaimed as he walked over to Natsuki. “I am
galaxy’s number one teacher, Johnny Bepp. Yeah!!” he introduced himself rather loudly as he pulled his hand forward to shake his hand with her’s.
On the other hand, Asakura Miwa took graceful steps in a rather slow and relaxed pace as she caught up to Johnny – passing him by to find herself before Sayuri. “Asakura Miwa is my name. Nice to meet you, you’ll be one of my students from now on,” she clearly held a frown between her eyebrows now, and this was glaringly visible to Sayuri. She too, pulled her hand out to shake her hand with Sayuri.
Natsuki smiled, trying to not be overwhelmed by Bepp’s...disposition.
I have to admit though...he’s kind of...really handsome. Putting some effort into not blushing, Natsuki replied to her new homeroom teacher.
”A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Monsieur Bepp. Mine name is Kahouin Natsuki. I look forward to working with you.” She answered, returning the handshake.
Although she felt slightly intimidated, Sayuri knew better than to show it on her face. Not forgetting her manners, she also reached out her hand to shake hands while introducing herself.
“Nice to meet you too, my name is Mizusaki Sayuri, please take care of me, Asakura-sensei.”
“
It’s nice to meet you too, Honey,” Johnny said with a wink, followed by a frivolous thumbs-up before continuing, “As one of my students, I’ll be sticking with you from now on! So have no worries! If there’s anything I can do,
just tell!”
Asakura, on the other hand, simply nodded. “I won’t be going easy on you, as a certain someone may do,” Asakura seemed to be referring to someone
really close to her at the moment as she spoke with her eyes closed. “I expect you to hard work. And not just hard in words, but in action,” she sternly stated.
Natsuki giggled at her new teacher’s antics. He seemed like a very approachable person, despite his position.
”Thank you for your kind words Sensei. I’ll be keeping them in mind.”
The motivation from before came back to Sayuri.
"I will definitely meet your expectations!" If anything, Sayuri felt that working hard was actually one of her strong traits.
“We’ll see if you truly will,” Asakura replied. This wasn’t the first time she received such a reply, only to be disappointed subsequently.
“My business is done here,” Louise abruptly spoke, getting off the sofa.
“Kahouin, I expect you at the lobby after the lessons are over for the day,” Louise then approached the door, bowed to the Headmistress, and left.
“
Adieu, Sweet Angel!” Johnny exclaimed, bidding farewell to Louise. Then turned back to Natsuki, “I know it’s sudden, but why not come to the class. It’s almost time after all.”
Asakura looked at her wrist to check out her watch. “Oh, it is indeed time for the lessons,” she noted. “Come with me, we’re going to the classroom.”
Natsuki smiled in a vaguely alluring way as she coyly withdrew her arm.
”Sensei is so very bold. I will gladly accompany you.”
“Okay!” Having replied to her new teacher, Sayuri glanced briefly at her roommate, noting the seemingly unusual behaviour of Natsuki. Seeing the apparent affection, she smiled internally, finding it very amusing. However it was time to focus on keeping her word. Although originally she had wanted to quickly unpack her belongings and go explore the academy, seeing what her new classes would be like also became a factor of excitement. Already she was looking forwards to her first lesson at Starlight Academy.
“Good luck, Mizusaki-san!” Haruka said, also wanting to encourage her underclassmen.
Sayuri turned back at the sound of her name and bowed towards her senpai.
“Thank you for accompanying me here despite being in the middle of your practice, Amami-senpai.”
Haruka shook her head with a delighted expression.
“It’s okay. I’m your senpai from now on, after all. It’s my duty,” she earnestly replied.
“Uhm, would it be okay with you to quickly exchange contact details?" Since unlike Louise, Haruka didn't mention whether or not they would be meeting up again, Sayuri thought that it'd be quite hard to find each other in such a large school if either or them had something they needed from the other.
“Sure!” Haruka said, happy to share the details with Sayuri.