Chapter 54: The Fate Of Sasaki And Mizuki (Part 2)
TL: Scaramochi
***
[Sasaki's POV]
After all, Mizuki and I don't get along.
Since the Genesistars, she's been always warning me about my age, and if she doesn't like me, she should have just told me she doesn't like me.
"I didn't come here today to fight with Ayane."
"You've been fighting with me for a while now."
"That's Ayane's....... I'm not here to fight with you today. I have two things I want to tell you."
Mizuki looked straight at me as she mumbled, "The first is......."
"I want to apologize for what I said two years ago."
If you haven't come to see me in two years, then that's what you're talking about.......
"What apology......?"
Aihara, sitting next to me, asks me.
Since Aihara is here, we have to talk about...... that too.
"Aihara, do you know that I and Mizuki quit being idols at the same time?"
"Yeah, it was on the morning news every day. Ayane Kiraboshi did it for her studies, and Mizuki Hoshihara did it to become an independent singer-songwriter, right?"
"On the front, yes......but..."
"So you're saying that's not true?"
Mizuki never opened her mouth.
Of course, Mizuki wouldn't talk.
"......2 years ago, Mizuki asked me to transfer to another agency."
I chewed up the memory and spit it out as I recollected the memories of that time.
"Mizuki had suggested that I transfer to another agency in order to become a solo artist, and that she had recommended me to do the same."
"But isn't that a betrayal......?"
I nodded my head.
It was inevitable that they would move to another agency upon graduation due to popularity and age issues, but two years ago Genesistars was at the height of its popularity, and with Mizuki and I playing a central role, we had quickly become a national idol group.
"Of course, I couldn't accept a transfer at the height of our popularity. So we had a disagreement, and we got into a fight."
"A fight.....? That Ayane Kiraboshi and Mizuki Hoshihara?"
At that time, I lacked composure.
I had absolute trust in Mizuki, the leader of the group, and that's why I was so disappointed when she asked me to transfer.
I felt that Mizuki was absolutely evil for asking us to leave the group together.
After a heated argument, we didn't get along well enough to not speak to each other even once.
But as it turned out, this action put a damper on the popularity of......Genesistars.
"Not long after that, the company found out that Mizuki had been in contact with another agency, and the president told her to graduate. At the same time, I had to graduate too."
"I thought it wasn't Sasaki's fault."
"......I don't know where it came from, but there were rumors within the team that I was the reason for Mizuki's retirement. There were factions within the members, and if I stayed on as long as this rumor was going around, there would be discord with the members of Mizuki's faction."
"Oh no!"
"You know how troublesome the girl's world can be, don't you, Aihara?"
"Yes, but ......"
While I had the option to stay, the boss didn't just fire me without thinking.
He let me go knowing what would happen to me if I stayed.
"This is why I quit being an idol."
As soon as I finished my story, Mizuki bowed her head so low that her forehead brushed the table.
"I'm sorry, Ayane......."
Two years have passed since then.
My anger has gradually disappeared, but I still can't get rid of my distrust of...... Mizuki.
"Even if she apologizes now, I can't forgive or be angry with her now. I can't take my anger at that time to Mizuki."
"......I know. So--I'm really sorry."
***
[Aihara's POV]
After we finished talking, Sasaki left the table and it was just me and Mizuki.
Mizuki was silently staring at the water droplets on the table. It was as if her mind was somewhere else.
"I don't think Mizuki is the kind of person who would betray the group! There must have been a reason, right?"
"............"
"Mizuki!"
"......Genesistars in their heyday, I and Ayane Kiraboshi were too bright to keep a lid on the growth of the generation below us."
"Eh."
Mizuki brushes the drops from her eyes away with her fingers and looks behind the window next to her right.
"Until now, many idol groups have stuck to the popularity of their charismatic and popular members, and the group as a whole has been in the doldrums. I thought about the group and decided that it was time to make a big decision. That was the transfer. But it was - as it turned out - wrong."
Two years have passed since the two left the group.
For a meek person like me, the Genesistars now seem to have fallen from a top group to below the middle of the pack.
"I am happy to apologize to Ayane, though it is self-satisfying. I'm sure Ayane doesn't want to see my face anymore, and I'll leave you now."
"Well, wait! Mizuki said you had two things to say at first!"
"......Oh, I forgot."
Mizuki pulls out a business card from the pocket of her hoodie and offers it to me.
"Please give this card to Ayane, that's all I'm going to talk about second. I'll leave the money here, so you two can relax with it."
Mizuki handed the money to the clerk, bowed, and walked out of the store.
I probably should have managed to stall her until Sasaki came, but...... I have neither the power nor the right to do so.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Aihara....... Where's Mizuki?"
"She's gone."
"It's...... Oh?"
Sasaki's eyes were red when she returned.
"I'm sorry, Sasaki!"
"Why are you apologizing, Aihara?"
"I thought that if it was Makishima who was here, Sasaki wouldn't be in pain. I don't think it's right for me to be the one to ask."
I'm indecisive and can't be strong with people, so all I could do was listen.
"You know, Aihara, if it had been Makishima, I don't think he would have even understood what we were saying. He's a genuine soccer fool, he knows nothing about idols, and most of all, he's insensitive!"
"But, but!"
"I'm glad Aihara was next to me. If I had talked to Mizuki alone, we would have ended up in a fight just like two years ago, and it was because of Aihara's presence that I was able to settle things with her."
As she said this, Sasaki took my hand.
"So - thank you, Yuzu."
Yuzu, Yuzu.......
I can't believe that that Kiraboshi Ayane called me by my name.......
"......This is me too, thanks for telling me so much, Ayane."
Knowing the secret, I got to know Ayane better.
I hope we can get to know each other better in the future.
"Yuzu! It's time to order!"
"Sure."
As I reached out to pick up the menu, I remembered something.
The business card that Mizuki had given me earlier and that I had left on my desk.
"Oh yes, Mizuki gave this card to Ayane."
"Business card......? I mean, this is--"
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