[Auditions I]

It was a Friday, lunchtime, with the weekend coming up the next day. 

The Chairwoman was eating lunch with Risa and her group of close friends at her seat. 

This scene, which has become a common sight recently, was a reflection of Risa's concern for the Chairwoman's position in Class 2A. 

By surrounding Shimizu's desk with everyone, she was trying to secure her position in the class after being separated from her close group. Perhaps Risa-chan's concern for the Chairwoman's position on campus has been successful, as she is still in the same position as before. 

Today, they are enjoying their meals while chatting and laughing happily. 

On the other hand, Matsuura-san's seat is quiet. 

Still drifting at the bottom of the caste, she is a loner even during lunch break. 

Every day she quietly eats a convenience store lunch alone in her seat. 

Today, she was unusually approached by a student. 

"Matsuura-san, sorry to interrupt your meal, but may I have a word?" 

A Futsumen emerged from the hallway to see where she had been. 

He went straight to her seat and stood in front of it. 

Matsuura-san looked up from her lunch and responded with a grim look. 

"I don't mind." 

"The auditions are starting this evening." 

"What?......" 

She was surprised when she heard what Nishino had to tell her. 

It was too sudden. 

Manager Nishino responded with a bow of his head. 

"I apologize for the short notice. It seems that there was a lapse in communication, and they had originally planned to contact us a few days in advance. When I asked them about the details of the situation, they were very apologetic." 

"If I had other plans, wouldn't I be out?" 

"I have my doubts about that, too. But I have no choice in the matter. I'm sorry, but could you please clear your schedule for the weekend as well? It looks like we're going to have to go to the audition location for the evaluation." 

"I mean, you've only been with us a few days." 

"If you're not comfortable with this, you can turn it down any time you want......"

"...... Nope, not gonna do that." 

Apparently, as a manager, Nishino felt a sense of responsibility. 

What came to Matsuura-san's mind in response to this was Alice Kurusugawa. 

It was her own imagination that she might not have the authority to prevent Alice Kurusugawa  from participating in the audition, but she might be able to at least delay her contact with her. In fact, Alice Kurusugawa had been in constant communication with the female students and instructors of the same class beforehand. 

There was no choice but not to cooperate with the guest of honor who was assured of a spectacular debut. Alice Kurusugawa is guaranteed a solid position in the industry in the near future. 

In this case, Matsuura-san could not help but doubt her own position.  However, even so, she is nowadays willing to take a chance on even the slightest possibility. 

"I mean, does the Chairwoman know about this?" 

"No, I'll explain to her now." 

Prompted by Matsuura-san's point of view, Futsumen's attention turned to the Chairwoman. 

Naturally, their exchange reached the Chairwoman's ears. 

Because the two were not that far apart in their seats. 

Moreover, Nishino's approach to Matsuura-san attracted the attention of the others. 

Other than Nishino, there were a few classmates here and there who were paying attention to his movements. 

Why is Matsuura-san being informed before me? was the jealousy that immediately popped into Shimizu's mind. Shimizu immediately realized her own feelings, and she was flustered, thinking that it didn't really matter.

"Hey, Chairwoman. Nishino, he's looking at us." 

"Risa, you don't have to tell me. I'm aware of it." 

"I mean, idols? Is it true that you are auditioning?" 

"Well, you know........."

Regardless of the bewildered Chairwoman, Nishino's steps take him to Risa-chan's group. 

It was lunch time, a glamorous time for female students who are ranked high in the caste on campus. 

Without hesitation, the Futsumen approached the Chairwoman.

"Chairwoman, did you hear what I just said?" 

" ...... "

Hearing the words given to her, the Chairwoman is at a loss for a response. 

This is Shimizu, who has been attending a training school by force of circumstances. 

She is in a different position from Matsuura-san, who is hoping to make her debut and achieve great success.

She is not uninterested in the sound of being an idol, but she is a bright girl and knows that it is a thorny path. The Chairwoman, with her solid character, plans to work for a major company after she graduates and polish her skills throughout her career and career changes. 

She's aiming for the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. 

She cannot envision a future where she sings and dances on stage. 

And now, as the winter of her second year of high school is just around the corner, it is a very important time for her to take the first step toward the future she has envisioned and to prepare for the university entrance exams. There is no time for anything other than study. Even she tends to spend less time on her studies these days. 

"Nishino-kun, if you want, you can be my exclusive agent." 

Nishino-kun, I don't really care about auditions or anything else. 

The words she had prepared in advance fizzled out after the other party's statement. 

If Shimizu withdrew at this moment, the two of them, tthe Futsumen and Matsuura-san, would be heading to the audition together over the weekend. The moment she became aware of this fact, her mouth, which tends to move on its own accord for some reason, responded quickly with this as well. 

"I heard you. This evening, right?" 

"I apologize for the short notice." 

This time, I not only thought it in my heart, but I even said it out loud. 

Without a moment's pause, the Chairwoman was left with a sense of remorse. 

Then, Risa heard Shimizu's comment and voiced her surprise. 

"Oh, so it's true? Isn't that just great?" 

"No, it's not that great......." 

With her at the center, a group of close friends began to cackle and bustle. Such reactions spread to other classmates, and conversations began to take place here and there in the classroom over the Chairwoman and Matsuura-san's participation in the audition. 

Suzuki was not happy about this. 

The girl he was interested in might make her debut as an idol under the guidance of a guy in the same class whom he did not like. Such a preposterous fact was enough information to disturb the good-looking guy's state of mind. 

Moreover, he hadn't been getting laid with any girls lately. 

It had been a long time since he had broken up with his previous girlfriend. 

His agitated mentality, makes him move his mouth. 

"Nishino's connections, assuming they're real, or is about some shady porn, right? " 

"Hey......." 

Takeuchi, who was having lunch with him, was surprised. 

Immediately facing each other, he stared at his friend who was sitting around the same desk. 

Even though he wanted to say something like, That way of talking lowers the position of the Chairwoman and Matsuura-san, it was a risky move for even the most handsome guy in the class to take a step toward Suzuki's already resonant remark. 

It was even more so when the circle of conversation involved Matsuura-san. 

Before the Futsumen could respond, a voice came from the other side of the room. 

"I wouldn't mind being a porn star?"

"Eh ...... " 

"Isn't being a porn star a great job? I think it's much better than being dumped by a good looking guy and having to struggle with children or dying a lonely death from late marriages because you don't want to sell yourself cheaply and have cowardly values." 

What was given was a follow-up to Nishino, which was not expected. 

The person who raised a voice was the one who had exchanged words with him just a moment ago. 

It was a very kind word from Matsuura-san at this point in time. 

"Huh? What the heck?" 

"Besides, it's a lot more hygienic than having sex with a random guy." 

Not only the Futsumen, the Chairwoman, and Risa-chan, as well as the gazes of all the classmates, turned to Matsuura-san. Everyone's gazes were back and forth between Matsuura-san and Suzuki-kun. The situation changed from one situation to the next, and the attention of the people around them increased. 

"Or are you a small man who is jealous of the success of the women you fuck?"

"......."

When the past threesome news was rehashed, Suzuki was at a loss for words to continue. The weakness that comes from having been fucked hits the handsome man. It was not that he was jealous of Matsuura-san, but as a result, he became repulsed, which was not nice. 

She had fallen as far as she could fall and had nothing to fear. 

If one were to look at this series of exchanges from the side, it would be a complete victory for her. Matsuura, the knife, cut her way from the bottom of the caste to the top without hesitation. A scene that would have been impossible under normal circumstances emerged in the classrooms of Class 2A.

The caste pattern in the school was getting more and more disorganized day by day. 

It was all Nishino's fault. 

It is all Futsumen's fault. 

But he himself does not seem to understand this fact. 

"Matsuura-san, Suzuki's concerns are valid." 

On the contrary, he thought that the problems of Class 2A were tantamount to his own problems, and bravely intervened in their exchanges. Such casual remarks also struck a nerve with Suzuki. It seemed to add fuel to the fire in everyone's eyes. 

With them at the center, Class 2A was roaring with flames. 

This was interrupted by a student from another class who visited from the hallway. 

"Oh, you seem to be in a bad mood." 

"What's the matter? Is there a fight?" 

They were Rose and Gabriella, who had been wandering around the school in search of Nishino. 

They had visited Class 2A just after the start of lunch break and had been wandering around the school since Nishino's absence, and now they had come back to visit him. Upon identifying the person they were looking for in the classroom, a voice naturally escaped from their mouths. 

Upon hearing this, the attention of everyone present turned to the two girls. 

For Suzuki, this was a unique opportunity to escape the scene. 

The fact that Nishino and Matsuura-san had been one-sidedly confronted with the situation was a cause of considerable resentment. However, even if he repeated the question and answer, it would be extremely difficult for him to recover his position. With this in mind, he raises his voice to respond to their statements. 

" .....It's nothing" 

Then he left the classroom through a different doorway than the one they were standing in. 

◇ ◆ ◇

On the same evening, Nishino and his group left Tokyo and visited the hot spring resort of Atami. 

They were transported by bus provided by the company. 

The audition, which was to be held over two nights and three days, was to be held at a hot spring ryokan that had been built in the area. After school, the students headed to the training center in Shibuya, and as soon as they were informed of the audition, they were put on a bus for the trip. 

None of the arrangements had been announced in advance. 

Nishino was no exception. 

"We're not prepared to stay the night ......" 

The Chairwoman muttered as she gazed at the elegant ryokan. 

Immediately after getting off the bus, the girls and other idol candidates are assembled near the entrance to the facility facing the parking lot. Rather than preparing for an overnight stay, the Chairwoman and Matsuura-san were dressed in their school uniforms. The other participants were similarly dressed, with half of them in uniform. 

No one seemed to be preparing to stay overnight. 

If someone who did not know what was going on had seen the event, they would have mistaken it for a school event. 

"I apologize for the trouble I have repeatedly caused you with the schedule." 

"I don't mean to blame you, Nishino." 

"Even if you did, I'm sure I failed in my duty as a manager." 

Incidentally, Nishino was also with them. 

He was a Futsumen who was riding on the bus with them. The other candidates on the bus looked at him strangely, but he had been going to the training room frequently since last week, so they did not criticize him. It seems that he is now recognized by those around him as the manager of Chairwoman and Matsuura-san. 

"Chairwoman, there's some flamboyant person approaching." 

"What?"

As she was doing so, Matsuura-san raised her voice. 

A man walks up to her from where she is pointing with her gaze. As she pointed out, he is a flamboyantly dressed man. The first thing that catches the eye is his lame floral-print suit. He is wearing sunglasses and has shoulder-length hair that is boldly bleached. 

There is no doubt that he is Asian, judging from his eyes, nose, and skin color. He has a beard on his chin, which looks quite severe. Still, it was easy to imagine that he was a member of the industry, given the fact that the site was an audition venue. 

The eyes of everyone standing in the parking lot were fixed on the person in front of them. 

The man in the flower-patterned suit raised his voice, confirming the attention of the prospective idols.

"Well then, let's get on with it and start the auditions!"

Apparently, he would be in charge of hosting the event. 

Standing in the parking lot, he began to explain the upcoming schedule. 

According to his words, they would be tested on their skills as idols at an inn for three days and two nights starting today. Furthermore, it was said that their skills would be scored and their performance would be reflected in their living standards during the audition period. 

"You will have to win dinner tonight and a room to sleep in based on how well you sing and dance. The lowest ranked girls will be treated accordingly. If you want to be judged in better condition, please do your best until the end." 

The candidates were all astonished when they heard the words of the man. 

It started to get noisy and lively. 

"Any kid have any questions?" 

As soon as the Q&A session began, one of the candidates immediately raised her hand. 

It was Alice Kurusugawa. 

"Excuse me, that means that this audition is ......" 

"Naturally, it will be edited and released in some form at a later date. You can be assured that cameras are still watching you, but out of your sight. You are welcome to look for it, but I personally don't recommend it." 

Before she could finish, the floral suit man responded. 

The clamor at the site grows louder. 

The man, without caring about this, proceeded to explain the detailed precautions. He explained the contract that had been exchanged in advance, that if there were any concerns about the shooting, they would be willing to retire, and other promises that were necessary for the job. 

"......"

The Chairwoman looked at the man who was busy talking and suddenly thought.

I've heard that voice somewhere, she thought. 

However, even after thinking about it for a while, she could not come up with an answer. 

In the meantime, the man began to give specific information. 

"The judging is based on a point system, and the contestant with the highest points at the end of this audition will receive the right to make her debut. The points awarded will vary greatly depending on the judging categories, so please do not give up and do your best until the very end."

By the way, the man in the flower-patterned suit who is talking to the idol candidates like a big shot. 

In reality, he is Tarosuke disguised in a wig and false beard. 

He had recently received an offer of persuasion and cooperation from Rose and Gabriella, but he had decided to give priority to his own work. He did not believe their promises of help in the audition room, not one bit. 

"So, without further ado, let's begin the first round." 

Because, the handsome man knew. 

He knew that those two were not such easy opponents. 

If by any chance, Nishino was to be harmed, it would be unbearable. 

But we also don't want Alice Kurusugawa's position to take a strange turn. 

So, in order to control the situation from the closest point of view, Tarosuke took it upon himself to host the audition. He even went to the trouble of wearing a wig and an elaborate fake beard. 

◇ ◆ ◇

The first test given to the idol candidates was a karaoke score competition. 

Pairs of two sang an assigned song and competed for the highest score. As it turned out, the pair of Chairwoman and Matsuura-san came in last. While the other contestants were scoring in the 90s, the girls were scoring in the low 70s. 

"Chairwoman, the way you took off that note, it's really impossible." 

"Oh, I'm sorry. It was a song I hadn't heard much of before......." 

"You should at least know the most recent senior's debut song!" 

" .... " 

Alice Kurusugawa, who scored ninety-nine points and took the top spot. 

This means that the girls will be staying in a storage room this evening. 

Although they had the opportunity to stay at a splendid ryokan, it was not even a guest room, but their sleeping place today. While the other rooms are decorated with beautiful wallpaper and plaster, the room is a bare concrete floor. There is only one small window with a small protrusion. 

There is no air conditioning, and it gets quite cold after dark. 

Around the room, disused furniture and furnishings are lined up along the walls. A space of about four and a half tatami mats was created in the middle of the room, which was given to Chairwoman and Matsuura-san for today's stay. The floor was not tatami mats or even wooden flooring, but cement tiles. 

In such a place, the two, still in their school uniforms, were huddled together under a futon. 

"Matsuura-san, I still think I should give up..." 

"You can't do that. If you retire now, I'll be disqualified too." 

"But ... " 

"You heard the rules before we started karaoke, right? If you retire right after the screening, your roommate has to be with you. If I withdraw now, I will hate the Chairwoman for the rest of my life."

" ...... "

The Chairwoman already wants to go home, but her roommate is thoroughly against it. 

Matsuura-san wants to make a name for herself as an idol, no matter what it takes. 

"But this is probably a hoax, right? Matsuura-san said it before, right?" 

"Even if it was a hoax, you never know who is watching where. This is the kind of opportunity that might come alive next time. Besides, this storage room is a good position to be in, don't you think?" 

"I wish I could have at least slept in a warm room........" 

"Well, then, next time they judge, make sure you give them a good impression, Chairwoman." 

"......Yeah."

Incidentally, their dinner today consisted of only onigiri and miso soup. They have already finished that too, and the dishes are neatly stacked in the corner of the room. This is a far cry from the other idol candidates, who are eating a meal at a ryokan.

As a growing Chairwoman, she does not have enough. Her body, which she trained in the swimming club, has a good metabolism and shows no sign of gaining weight even if she eats a full meal every day. This is in contrast to Matsuura-san, who is worried about her fat after her daily indulgences, and who thinks positively that her diet is just right. 

The only thing that helps is a pot, teapot, and teacup set by the futon. 

"Besides, you get to take a hot spring bath, right? I'm sure it's warm." 

"If the bath was cold, I'd probably run away." 

The Chairwoman was in low spirits, probably due to the karaoke fiasco. 

Matsuura-san, on the other hand, seemed to have no patience for the conversation. 

Some people were watching their exchange one-sidedly through the camera. 

The location was changed from the storage room to a room in the same ryokan. 

In a tatami-mat room about 10 tatami mats wide, a number of displays were set up on a table along the wall. It is a hastily prepared monitoring room where one can get a bird's eye view of the images from the surveillance cameras set up throughout the inn. 

In the middle of the room, two women are looking at the displays and discussing with each other about what to do. 

"It didn't make any sense to have the equipment ready to go." 

"It's easy for them to fall down on their own, isn't it?" 

They are Rose and Gabriella. 

They had visited the site before Nishino and the others and had already taken a long bath and were dressed in kimonos. A steaming teacup and a manju (a Japanese sweet made with bean-jam paste) were lined up near them. Both girls were enjoying the ryokan in some way or another, making the audition their personal business. 

"Hey, can we at least move them into the regular guest room? The storage room would be terrible." 

Tarosuke, who had removed his disguise, can be seen right beside them. 

He sees Shimizu through the camera, and a protest rises from his mouth. Nishino's obsession with her makes the handsome man curious about her for a long time. 

"You're a bit of a jerk, aren't you?"

"I'm just using the script you prepared." 

"Oh, that's the one the producer prepared, that's why we changed it. ......" 

No one else is seen in the room. 

Tarosuke's presence is considered a secret to the idol candidates. However, the main staff involved in the event were aware of his presence. Due to the strong relationship that existed between the two, the monitoring room was reserved for Rose and Gabriella. 

"By the way, where is Nishino?" 

"I can't see him on my camera."

"I don't see him here either......" 

Naturally, the self-appointed manager was not provided with a room. Since no one stopped him, Nishino got on the bus on his own and followed them. 

And the ryokan was chartered. 

No one was allowed to get an additional room. 

It seemed that the connections with upper management were not well known to the people on site. Rose and Gabriella's intentions were also involved in this. If the Futsumen begin to take charge of the site, then the debuts of the Chairwoman and Matsuura-san will be eagerly awaited. 

"Nishino, wasn't he caught on camera at the entrance? " 

"Oh, it's true. It looks like he was outside." 

"I wonder if he was out shopping." 

Unaware that he was being watched by Rose and the others, Nishino walked through the ryokan. 

The Futsumen, who had confirmed the scene of the Chairwoman and Matsuura-san pair's disastrous karaoke defeat, acted immediately, not wanting the girls to be the only ones to have a hard time. The manager wanted to give the girls a little energy to prepare for the next round of judging, which would begin tomorrow. 

Specifically, he brought them food. 

As soon as today's accommodations and dinner menu were presented, he was on the move. 

He headed for a convenience store located not far from the inn. There, he procured bento lunches, soft drinks, snacks, make-up, a phone charger, and any other goods he could think of. The plastic bag in his hand was bulging. 

The steps led past the main entrance to the storage room where the Chairwoman and Matsuura-san would be sleeping. 

"Hey, it's me. Can you open this door? " 

He knocks on the door and raises his voice. 

The way he speaks is irritating at every turn. 

The Chairwoman and Matsuura-san immediately recognized the person standing on the other side of the door. Matsuura-san was afraid to ignore him because of their recent relationship, and stood up on her own. The Chairwoman, who had already stood up before her, headed for the door. 

Her hand, without hesitation, unlocks the door and pushes the knob open. 

Due to the one-room layout, Matsuura-san could see over the Chairwoman's shoulder and the face of the Futsumen standing in the hallway. The girls' attention was drawn to a large plastic bag lowered into his hand. The logo of a convenience store can be seen on the front. 

"What do you want?" 

"Sorry to bother you this late at night, Chairwoman." 

"You're not going to ask to stay here with us, are you?" 

"It's a tempting proposition, but I don't want to do anything that could end the lives of two idols." 

"............." 

The Chairwoman's nonchalant intensity, which has been poisoned by Nishino recently. 

What came back was the original cynicism. 

Every time Futsumen says something, Shimizu's heart pounds. The memory of a shared bed in the past came back to her mind, and she almost looked back at the futon that was laid out behind her. 

If it was a futon instead of a bed, we could sleep together even if it was a little too wide, she thought to herself, No, no, what am I thinking, because it is Nishino-kun? She was self-loathing. 

Regardless of her confusion and excitement, Nishino continued to speak without hesitation. 

"I brought you both some goodies." 

"Goodies?" 

"If you need anything else, just let me know." 

He muttered shortly and held out a plastic bag in his hand. 

There were food, daily necessities, and other miscellaneous items thrown into it. 

"........." 

And now the Chairwoman, who has become a bit of a cuddly mess. 

A bleak and dusty storage room, alone with an unfriendly classmate with whom she did not get along much. Such a lonely night time made her heart a little more honest. Like, Nishino-kun, you're awfully clever at these things, aren't you? 

But the warmth in her heart was short-lived. 

Matsuura-san delivered a stern message to Futsumen. 

"We don't need that, Nishino." 

"Don't you want it ?"

"I don't need it." 

"I heard in the rules briefing before the screening that you can't even have dinner tonight......." 

Hey, hey, hey, what are you talking about? 

The Chairwoman looked behind her in a panic. 

There, wrapped in a futon, she saw her roommate with a smug look on her face. 

"A potential idol in a storage room, grieving, is a delicious scenario, isn't it? And then the manager brings in the food, and the whole situation is ruined. So, Nishino-kun, please don't get in our way, okay?"

"Matsuura-san, you don't have to say that......." 

"Just leave us alone tonight. And please take that goodies home with you." 

"......Ok" 

Matsuura-san shows her strength in the strangest of places. 

Matsuura's words had a power that made people say whether or not they agreed with them. 

In such a situation, Nishino could not be strong. After all, it was an audition site. The office's cameras were watching everywhere. He understands that a casual exchange in the inn will directly affect the evaluation of the Chairwoman and Matsuura-san. 

Meanwhile, the hungry Chairwoman bites down. 

"That said, we're already on camera, aren't you?" 

"Well, but......." 

"Of course the management would want to take the best video. Who would be happy to see Nishino-kun's food delivery, right? If that's the case, I think it would be more valuable if the Chairwoman was wrapped in a futon and shivering in the cold." 

Posing as a well-informed person, Matsuura-san tells them from above. 

The Futsumen, who had gained knowledge from their research of the industry over the past few days, found her words persuasive. 

Perhaps that is why no ensuing rebuttal came out. 

After a short time of showing his face, he had to leave the storage room. 

"........"

The offerings that were presented right in front of her, but never delivered. A glimpse of a bento box, a side dish, and a dessert. As they disappeared behind the door, the Chairwoman could do nothing but stare at them with a clinging gaze. 

Just as the door slammed shut, Shimizu's stomach growled.