#idolystars

[theribbiter]

IdolyStars Prologue Part 1

Ever since Mana died, things were no longer the same…

Except that was partially a lie considering that her ghost was still roaming around, even two years after her death, though only Kohei could see her.

It took some time for the both of them to adjust, but eventually Kohei got used to Mana tailing around him 24/7 and Mana got used to only being able to talk to her former manager.

The two had always gotten along well back when Mana was still alive, though disagreements between them were not exactly rare. They often had different perspectives on things especially with regards to Mana's idol work; Mana was almost always been willing to sacrifice her body's needs if it meant pleasing her fans while Kohei was constantly trying to stop her.

The disagreements remained even after her death. The contents of the arguments definitely changed, since Mana was dead and there was no idol work to argue about, but they did increase since she was stuck to him 24/7, her ghost bound to him.

Well, they used to think that she was bound to him until one day, when she floated off with an angry pout on her lips. Since then, they realised that Mana wasn't actually bound to him, but she still preferred to spend most of her days idling away next to Kohei's side. She'd only ever leave his side when they had a huge disagreement or when she was super bored, which was usually when Kohei was either absorbed in work or he was asleep.

And right now? Kohei was super absorbed in negotiating with an organiser about some event that Haruko was going to attend in a few weeks. Mana was bored staring at him silently type on the keyboard, that was until a notification popped up in the corner of the screen.

The 12th annual MALE NEXT VENUS Grand Prix was officially starting today!

Mana wasn't never that knowledgeable on male idols like she was on female idols, probably because she actively competed with other female idols and rarely interacted with male idols. In fact, during her career, she had only interacted with a male idol group once.

Either way, seeing new male idols perform was a much more appealing activity than staring at Kohei work for hours on end and so Mana floated to the venue, excitement bubbling in her stomach.

[theribbiter]

IdolyStars Prologue END

"Jeez, who reacts like that to a cute ghost like me?" Mana pouted once Mayoi was calm enough to talk to. He squirmed slightly, unable to retort back properly. Instead, he apologised rather incessantly;

"I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Mana let out a sigh, which caused Mayoi to finally shut his mouth and instead whimper a few times. If she didn't know any better, Mana would think that he was a dog, not a human.

Mana then proceeded to stare at him for a few seconds. She was curious as to how the other could see her. Kohei seeing her made sense, since the two had spent way too much time together as idol and manager, plus their bond was so deep that they easily understood each other with no verbal cues.

But Mayoi having the ability to see her? This person who she had never seen before prior to this day?

It didn't make sense.

Although Mana was very curious and did intend to find out why, she first needed to encourage him to go to the stage and perform with his group. Only after would she seek out her answers (plus, she wanted to see how this anxious man would perform on the stage).

"You need to head out there. Your groupmates and manager are looking for you."

"I can't," Mayoi responded, burying himself further in his knees, "I can't do it."

"What do you mean you can't? You've performed live before haven't you?"

"A few times...But we never had so many people watching us before. What if I mess up? What if I ruin the performance for everyone?" his words came out muffled. Mana wanted to sigh again, but she managed to keep it in. She understood his nervousness, even she felt it a few times when the audience was bigger than she expected.

"You might mess up, and you might not. You might give a perfect performance with no mistakes. And if do you mess up, you just keep singing and dancing and giving your best performance. You give it your all until your song's over. Most of the audience won't notice your mistakes unless you make it obvious," Mana said as she floated down and sat next to him. Mayoi was silent for a moment before looking up at her, causing Mana to smile at him.

"You might make a ton of mistakes and you might fail, yes, but you might also make no mistakes and you might win the MALE NEXT VENUS Grand Prix. So don't give up just yet, okay?" she continued. Mayoi nodded along, agreeing to her words much to Mana's delight.

"Mn, you're right. If I stay here, I'll only be letting everyone down," Mayoi mumbled as he stood up, looking resolute. Before exiting the room, through an unconventional vent, he turned back to Mana.

"Thank you, Miss Ghost."

"Good luck!" Mana responded back, watching him leave. She sat there for a few seconds before getting up and making her way to the backstage. She saw Mayoi reunite with his unit, and each member looked relieved in their own way.

Finally, the announcer came on stage, signaling the start of the MALE NEXT VENUS Grand Prix. Mana excitedly floated towards the audience, wanting to experience the show with the same view as the fans. She patiently waited, eager to see every idols' performance, especially of Mayoi and his unit.

[theribbiter]

IdolyStars Prologue Part 2

The MALE NEXT VENUS Grand Prix took place in the same venue as the NEXT VENUS Grand Prix, yet the stage was decorated much differently. The venue itself was slowly filling up, with excited fans curious to see who would win the 12th MALE NEXT VENUS Grand Prix.

Mana stared in wonder around the venue, taking in the familiar sights. There was a gaggle of female fans at the front, giggling to each other about their favourite male idols. Next to them sat a middle-aged woman who held onto two blue lightsticks, anticipating her oshi coming to the stage.

The stage was empty, beaconing the idols to come on and wow everyone with their performance. Mana gazed at it with sad nostalgia. The worst part about being a ghost was that she could no longer perform. No one would hear her songs, her feelings, anymore (except for Kohei, since she often sung to him).

She quickly shook her head. It was no use getting sad over it now. Mana had already accepted her death and she wasn't too keen on unpacking her emotions again.

Instead, she floated backstage out of curiosity. Many of the workers backstage were rushing around, doing the last few checks of the equipment. Some of the idols were already out of their waiting rooms, with their managers by their side, going through the final preparations. There were also some other managers talking with one another, discussing who knows what.

There was a particular trio that caught Mana's eyes. They were going around, frantically asking the others if they had seen someone called "Mayoi Ayase"; a tall idol with braided purple hair. Alongside them, there was a young looking woman, looking just as panicked.

With just a little bit more of investigating, Mana found out that they were a barely 1-year-old idol group called Alkaloid, managed by one of the largest idol companies, Ensemble Square. They were going to be performing second, except one of their idols went missing and could not be found.

Mana debated whether or not she'd stick around them, but she ultimately decided that she wanted to find out where this "Mayoi"-person went. He couldn't have gone far, and with her ghostly powers (if you could even call them powers), she wouldn't take long to find him.

And she was right. After a minute or two of floating from room to room, Mana finally stumbled upon a inconspicuous storage room. At first she didn't think she'd find him there, but he was indeed there. Tucked in a corner, hidden by some shelves, was a human ball of anxiety. Mayoi was sitting on the floor, knees brought up to his chest and his head buried between them.

Mana watched him for a moment, her eyebrows furrowing in pity. This man, who she could tell preferred sticking to the shadows (Mana could easily tell because both Kohei and her younger sister were just like that), had stepped forward into the light and debuted as an idol, and yet now, he couldn't take the next step. There was this strange feeling in her chest, that made her want to burst out at him, to tell him to not give up.

So, she did. Maybe it was silly, and she knew that he wouldn't be able to hear her, but Mana still wanted to try to get her feelings across.

"Don't give up now! Your unitmates, your manager, all your fans! They're waiting for you!"

He went still and suddenly, he looked straight at her. Mana was taken aback at the sudden eye-contact. His already-pale face drained of colour as he looked her up and down, before finally shouting out with a stutter:

"A ghost?!?!"