Idol Gunner [Yuri Villainess LitRPG]

Kana felt a sense of déjà vu.

The dance itself was a blur. The song playing in the background, and her earpiece. The fans enjoying the song and jumping along by the end. Jina and Kelsey beside her. All of it was a blur that she could barely keep up with. By the time it ended, she couldn’t even remember what had happened.

Only one thing stayed with her – déjà vu. She had been here before. She knew she had seen this scenery before. Whether it was some dream, or just a trick her brain was playing on her, Kana didn’t know. More than that, she didn’t care. Not knowing was perfectly fine in this case. That was because the result was simple.

This was it. She was seeing the scenery that she knew she was meant to. This was where it all began in earnest. Every time her hands or legs moved, she thought about how Emi had succeeded. Every time an audience member’s eyes met hers, she thought about how she was being watched by thousands of people now.

That night, in her hometown, the crowd for Ruby Passion had been smaller. Sure, their stages were many times bigger now. But she had gotten somewhere that it had taken them so long to get to. Even Kelsey, who had been so loud about them potentially messing up, could not help but smile.

Music blaring, the deafening screaming overpowering her senses, the many spotlights aimed at her. Kana was free. She was dancing because she was allowed to dance. That audition, those first few days with Jina, the many ups and downs, the many sacrifices she had already made. As the dance ended, and a heaving Kana put her hand up in the final position, she felt like it had meant something.

From here, she would just take it further. She would work hard to make her actual dreams a reality. This was just step one. And it was already so beautiful. What did the view from that Ward A apartment look like, then? How many fans could you see when you were performing on the largest stage in the country? What kind of rush filled your body when tens of thousands of people were cheering for you?

Sure, there were some people who were angry. There were some people who wanted to see RiRi and Sanada instead. There were fans who hadn’t signed up for the new kids. But her dance was not for them. Her dance was for the ones who did get entranced. For the people who did pay attention and decided to devote themselves to her from that moment on.

Those were the people who were going to carry her to the top. She had worked hard to get here, and now it was their turn to take her further. Kana would do her part in the Monster Dimension, and they would do their part right here. Either in their friend groups or online forums. Just standing here was victory.

As for the ones who were still looking into the past –

“Good evening, everyone! I am so happy to see you all after our little hiatus!” Kelsey waved to the crowd once the performance ended, “This was Jenga! A brand-new song written and sung by two new idols, who have debuted here with me tonight. Please, join me as I introduce them!”

Kana smiled and gave them a bow first; her twintails dropping in front of her eyes as she stared at the stage. A roar of applause filled the auditorium, and she pulled back. Once her name had been taken, it was Jina’s turn. And once the audience had been familiarized with her horrific pink wolf cut, it was time for the more important announcement.

“Of course, as you might notice, we are missing two of your favorite members.”

Kelsey looked at the two of them. Her lips trembled, and her fingers tightened around the mic. Then, she loosened herself and turned back with that blank face. The people she was facing, meanwhile, were rife with excitement over what was coming. With bated breaths, they waited for the entries of those who would never come.

“We did not announce anything on social media or conduct any press releases because we wanted to share the news with you all right here. We wanted our fans, who have been here since the beginning, to be the first people to hear it. As you might have noticed, Sanada-san featured in this song alongside Kana-san and Jina-san.”

The audience cheered once more, taking her name with enthusiasm.

“It is…” She almost tripped once more, but handled herself, “It is with a heavy heart that I must announce that to be her last performance. Nine days ago, when they were out to do some location scouting for our next music video, both Rie Rin and Mari Sanada passed away in a motor accident.”

An eerie silence followed those words. The glow sticks went out, and nobody dared utter a single word. Sadness, confusion, anger, discontentment. Every possible emotion exuded from the wordless audience in a matter of seconds. And with a single sentence, Kana’s happiness turned to dread.

_____________

“What’s up with the Fair Play Committee, then?” Kana asked, lounging in the car as they started to move, “Did you find out anything on that front?”

“Not yet.” Yamazaki replied, turning the radio off and the air conditioner up, “Sakai has made it difficult for me to dig deeper. There are certain things that he wants done before I can move on to that, now that he knows what I am capable of. It will delay the plans a little. But rest assured, I will get you the information next week.”

“That’s nice. What’s Sakai asked you to do now?”

“Probably something stupid. That’s all he asks for. Stupid things.” Jina tried whispering something witty and funny, but she was far too sleepy.

She had cried a lot once they had gotten off the stage. Kelsey had been the same, too. Kana hadn’t been immune to the emotions, but she had learnt to control herself a long time ago. Crying wouldn’t bring either of the two back. They were now Velvet Beats, and they had to keep going.

Kelsey would have to lift the burden of RiRi and Sanada’s legacy all on her own. That was the role that she had been left with. Jina would have to live up to them, even if it was just to feel better about herself. That was what had been decided for her. Kana, however, had picked her role. And right now, it was asking for her to be calm. To celebrate both what she had lost and what she had gained.

“He has been piling up more and more work on my table. For now, it is focused on internal investigations. Since I was free during your dance rehearsals, he wanted me to clean house for him. He suspects Tanaka might have some spies in his company, for some reason.”

“Yeah, it seems he didn’t check for them where he should. The Coalition representatives.”

“I actually…told him that.” Yamazaki chuckled, “He said I was being paranoid. Claimed that Tanaka and Lilac Shower might be corrupt, but that didn’t extend to the Coalition. Apparently, the organization was fair because so many different names were behind it. The entire point of the Coalition, as he puts it, is to be fair.”

“Really? I thought it was the extermination of the monsters while also giving them more money.” Kana scoffed, “That reminds me, Yamazaki-san. Once you are done with the Fair Play Committee, Sakai can handle the rest himself. Reroute him to someone else. I want you to focus on the Monster Dimension. We already know the Coalition is corrupt. Nothing new there. But that whole place is…”

“I have been looking into it, actually. In fact, Aiko Taira has been doing the same as well. She might be in the Coalition, but she does not know much. Neither about the Monster Dimension, nor about the one with the purple cube ore. She sees documents regarding them exchanging hands, but cannot access them. So, she has slowly been trying to.”

“Yeah, yeah. Stay away from her, you chea…” Jina yawned and closed her eyes. She continued to speak, but her words were barely legible. As expected, she spewed some nonsense about Yamazaki’s wife as she drifted off to sleep.

Kana wondered what was up with the larger story. She had been completely consumed by her wish to beat Ruby Passion until now. Recent events had, thankfully, given her enough of a break to consider different things. And now that she knew the Coalition was basically Lilac Shower, maybe a change of plans was warranted.

Maybe instead of solely focusing on the competition, it was time to figure out its inner workings. If Tanaka was bowing to her to protect such low-level secrets, what would he give her to make such a massive revelation disappear? How much was the real goal behind the competition worth to that man and his company?

It would be fun to find out.

“So, you’ll get on that, right? Make that your next highest priority. That is where we need to focus from now on.”

“Very well. There’s just one small issue, though.”

“What’s that? I’m guessing our good friend Sakai is behind it, too.”

“Y-yes.” Yamazaki nervously nodded, “That is true. But it’s a bit more serious than that. Once he found out that I could be a corporate spy, he asked me to reconsider the work I was doing for Sakai Entertainment. That is to say…”

“Yamazaki-san, please. I am tired. Very tired. I didn’t sleep much last night either. Get to the point.”

“Sorry. What I mean to say is that Yamada-san will be the one handling Velvet Beats from this Monday onwards. My last order is to take you to the agency office tomorrow and bring you back. Once that is done, I will no longer be your manager. Sakai wants me to work as a permanent spy for him.”

“What…?!”

Of course, he had done that. Of course, Sakai had decided to take that away from her, too. What a pain of a human being. Kana groaned and closed her eyes. She had been so happy just a few hours ago, too.