Idol Gunner [Yuri Villainess LitRPG]

“Get your own ride.”

With those words, Kelsey shut the door of the car and asked Yamada to start driving. A short pause and a quick glance from the sideview mirror later, the manager nodded and started driving. Kana, who had given him a short nod, sighed and watched alongside Jina as the two of them sped away into the night.

“Oi, Yamazaki! Where are you!?”

“He went home, Jina. Wake up.”

“Oh, yeah. Right.” She shook her head in disappointment, yawning even though she had spent a large part of the last few hours sleeping. Jina stretched her arms and started looking around.

Sakai was still in the office, and Yamazaki had to leave early because getting back home any later would be hell. To talk to them about their next song, the president had made the girls stay a bit longer, much to Kelsey’s chagrin. It was only after finishing that discussion that they had finally left the office and found themselves here.

A bead of sweat trailed down Kana’s face, and she took her coat off. It was late September, but it should not have been this hot. She wondered if the Monster Dimension was to blame. If she had become so used to the biting cold of that world that the regular temperature now induced headaches. As Jina also took hers off, Kana thought it wouldn’t hurt to check the temperature.

The moment she took her phone out, though, it started ringing. Yamada.

“Minami-san, I apologize. Maeda-san asked me to inform you that I will be coming back once I drop her off. She…does not want you to know where she lives, thus she did not want you to come along.”

Kana did not speak. Once he cut the call, she raised her eyebrows and turned the phone off.

“Who is Maeda-san?”

“Huh?” Jina looked at her cluelessly.

“Maeda-san.”

“Ah. Uh…Kelsey?”

“Oh…yeah.”

“You forgot, did you? Hmm, makes sense. We never use her real name, after all.” Jina nodded, “What’s the temperature? I’m sweating like crazy!”

Kana replied in monotone, “It’s hot.”

Kana looked at her phone once more and then put it in her pocket before she started walking. The temperature didn’t matter anyway. Who cared if it was the Monster Dimension, or if it was just an unnaturally hot night, anyway? It didn’t change the fact that she was feeling uncomfortable.

Jina followed her, and the two of them slowly started to make their way out of the office’s land. Kana had never bothered to check what was around Sakai Entertainment, so it was a fun adventure. Without her being informed, someone had even decided to make a park quite close to the building. A whole thirty years ago.

She checked the gate, and it flew open.

It seemed to be a walking park, which made sense given the location. Most office-going adults probably weren’t looking to play in a sandbox during their lunch. Kana picked one of the four paths it had and continued on. At least all the trees were making the environment more breathable. Once more, Jina followed her while hopping around, humming tunes, and keeping her distance.

Kana wondered if it would be fine to call Emi now. They were late, even by competition standards, which meant the poor girl was probably worried. But that was precisely why she did not want to call her. Who knew what kind of rant she would launch into when she found out it would still take them at least an hour more?

The humming behind her got louder, and she gritted her teeth. Approaching a little circle where two of the paths converged, Kana changed the route she was taking and increased her pace. Unsurprisingly, just like a kitten, Jina followed without a question or a thought. When Kana changed her route a second time, she still followed her as she hummed a random, unknown tune without a care in the world.

For a while, they walked. Kana fumed on the inside as she tried to keep her distance, but kept getting followed. For a while, she decided to ignore it. But as the tune started to drill into her head, and the footsteps echoing in the quiet night sky made her want to cut her own ears off, Kana stopped.

“What do you want?”

“What?!?”

“What…do you want from me!?” Kana snapped, “I said no. Got it? Do you get it? I said no. That’s it. Get over it already.”

“I…already am, though?” Jina nervously laughed, holding her chin, “I ha…haven’t brought it up again, have I? I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable, so I wasn’t saying anything. We don’t need to talk about it again, either. It’s fine. It’s cool.”

“Yeah, well, it’s clearly not. You think nobody else in that building can see it stamped on your face? If that bitch Kelsey can see it, then everybody can. You can’t sulk around everywhere and then say that nothing’s wrong! I said no. That’s it!”

“I know! I heard it the first time, got it? I mean what I said, too. I’m over it. I know it, and I’m not trying to change it. Get whatever delusions you have out of your head.”

“Oh, yeah, right. I’m deluded. And Kelsey’s deluded. And Yamada-san’s deluded. And Emi’s deluded. The whole damn company has a prejudice against you for some reason and is just out for blood. That’s right, isn’t it!?”

As Kana raised her voice, Jina gulped and finally caved in and growled. Following that, she started shouting as well, “Yes. Yes. Yes! Yes, you are. Got it? You’re one hundred percent deluded. What the fuck did I do? Huh? What did I do that’s so unnatural? It’s none of their business what happens with me.”

“Everything we do dictates their lives, Jina. I think it is definitely their business to know what happens to you.”

“Now you’ve softened up to their personal issues, have you? Suddenly, every fucking person in the agency matters to you?”

“You know better than me that they don’t.” Kana softened her voice, almost purring with a poisonous edge, “But you need to keep their trust in you alive, got it? You’re not supposed to show them what you think they should see. You need to show them what they think they want to see. Do you get it!?”

“And what do they want, Kana?” Jina came down to a whisper, too, “What do they want from me? Smile all the time? Be very happy? I’m doing that. I’m doing everything I can. I mean…look at you. Probably never been rejected, have you? That’s why you say such stupid, dumb, idealistic nonsense. You’re just making shit up to make it seem like you’re smart. ‘Say it’, my ass. Fuck you.”

“You were listening to me talking to my sister? That’s what you wanna tell me? That you were eavesdropping? Very nice of you, Jina. Makes me really happy to live in the same apartment as you.”

She laughed in response, “That’s it, right? That’s all you will take from that, even though it was far from what I was saying. I…I need time, Kana. It’s not about accepting and moving on. I’ve accepted it. I accepted it the day I saw you and Emi kissing in the car! It’s not…about that. I…need time.”

Her lips quivered; her chest heaving up and down. Kana looked down, focusing on her shoes as she rocked her right leg, “Sorry, I…”

“You’re the one who’s obsessed, Kana. How about you admit that instead? I haven’t brought it up at all, but you’re the one who keeps being weird about it. Why? Fell for me, too?”

“N-no!”

Jina smiled, taking a few steps back, “I’m sorry. I didn’t…mean that. I know you’re happy with Emi-chan. She…she’s a good girl. Just give me some time, Kana. I…I-I love you. I still do. It’s not easy to just erase that because you asked me to. It’s not just another one of your orders that I can follow blindly. Just let me have some time.”

Kana nodded, wondering if it would be wise to close the distance between them to show she didn’t really mind. Having Jina break down right now would be bad for everything. If the girl started losing her mind or took any drastic steps, it could ruin a lot of things. And…of course…Kana just didn’t want any of it to happen. No reason for that part.

Her ears red, Kana whimpered an answer back, “Sorry, again. You’re right. I’m the one who was being loud. It was out of line. How you deal with…this…is your life. Not mine. I just need you to be there when we are planning something there. Get it all dealt with before then.”

Jina’s sad, deprecating smile got a little bit of warmth with that sentence. Her eyes softened, and she sighed, “That’s a given, isn’t it? You know I’ll be there. Don’t worry about the recreational meet thing. We’ll figure everything out eventually. We always do. Just…one has nothing to do with the other.”

Did it not? Kana wondered. But she didn’t want to bother the girl anymore, so she just gave her a nod and kept walking. Without making a scene out of it, Jina started following her once more. Not a word exchanged after that; the two of them waited for Yamada to come back.

_____________

“Kanaaaaaa!”

“Ah, shit.”

She groaned as she closed the door behind her. Jina, wishing her a good night, quietly walked past the angry girlfriend and went up to her room. Kana slowly took her shoes off and walked into the living room, only to find the girl sitting on her favorite inflatable swan in the swimming pool.

The cute girl lounging on a floaty inside an indoor swimming pool really had no right to be angry, but she somehow was. Sitting up straight with her forehead creased, she puffed up her mouth and heaved with rising anger.

“I forgot to call you.”

“Did you? What about picking up!? You forgot to pick up calls, too!?”

Kana took her phone out, only to find out that it was on silent. Emi had called only after she had her exchange with Jina, so there had been no checking of phones. Putting it back with a sigh, Kana reached the edge of the pool and crouched down.

“Sorry. I…was busy. A lot happened. And, you know…uh…I have actually never used that swimming pool. It’s really weird. I should go for a proper swim someday, or else that swan will be the only thing in the world that even justifies the pool’s existence. And…the swan itself is an expense.”

Emi looked at the swan, “I…guess? I mean, I use it quite a bit. Almost every other day, in fact. It’s fun to go for a swim when the sun is shining really bright. Gives a real contrast that sooth…no, hold on. Shut the fuck up. Why are you going off about pools!? Who cares about the pool!?”

“The guy who built it?”

“If the guy who built it gave a shit about the pool, then he would have made it a bit deeper. It’s kinda shallow. Like, one third of my body sti…hold on! Shut up, once more. We are not here to talk about the pool at all. It’s three thirty in the morning. You told me that you would be back by two thirty! That was the maximum!”

Putting her hands into the water, Emi started paddling with her hands. Slowly making her way to the end of the pool where Kana was, she grabbed her girlfriend’s hands and started shaking them. With an angry, and still cute, expression, she moaned at the displeasure.

“Yeah, well, Emi…things happen. Alright?” Kana, rocking back and forth with the flow, tried to keep a calm voice, “This is not a regular office. I can’t keep coming back at the same time. You…are the only person in that building who has a set time. Not everyone else works like that.”

“Oh yeah? Because I called up some friends I’ve made in my time there.” She raised her eyebrows, “They told me pretty confidently that the entire office was cleared out before the clock even hit twelve. So…what happened!?”

Kana could have told her. There was nothing to hide, because she did not believe that she had done something wrong. Yet, she did not. The prospect of having Emi freak out once she got to know about the massive monster army was not exactly fun.

Then again, Jina had walked away in the dark, and a coat was covering Kana for now – so their scars were hidden. What about when she got back into the room? How would she keep hiding them from someone who knew her inside out? And yet…Kana wanted to find a way. Not because Emi couldn’t take it. But because even if she did, she would become far too protective. That was not what Kana needed right now.

“Sakai…freaked out. He was loud because of some corporate drama, and then he got angry and asked people to leave for the day. That’s it. Alright? We had to go and talk to him once that was done, and that took some time. The man is not exactly the best at expressing himself.”

“Yeah, very fitting for someone like you, isn’t it?”

“Excuse me?”

Emi rolled her eyes and put her weight on the floor. Pulling herself off the swan, she got back on solid ground and stood up. Hands on her waist, she answered, “Who am I, Kana? I’m your girlfriend, right? I…we…broke up already. And you know very well why that happened. And you’re doing it again. You’re just…pushing me away!”

Kana rubbed her face and yawned, “Look, Emi, no. I am not, really. I am not trying to piss you off. I just mean it. We were busy with work, and I forgot to call you. That’s literally it. It wasn’t even on my mind that I should call you. Then Kelsey started being a bitch, and we were delayed because of it. The end.”

“Sure…”

She started to walk away. Slowly, through the room and up the stairs, Emi got further and further with every step. Kana knew she would be fine. The girl was disappointed, which was understandable. She was also, however, strong. No matter what happened, she would be back to herself tomorrow morning.

“There’s, uh…”

“What?”

That got her to stop. The idols weren’t the only people invited to the recreational meet, after all. Their schedules could not just be destroyed because the Coalition decided, so time had been set aside for practice. That meant the choreographers were invited just as much as the groups they taught were.

“We’re going to a resort. Day after tomorrow. It’s a Coalition activity for the rest of the week, and you’re invited, too.”

“Yeah, not happening. Sorry. I don’t care.”

“No, you need to be there. You’re Velvet Beats’ choreographer now, so it’s basically your job to be there.”

“Kana, I really don’t give a shit about some stupid res-”

_____________

The day after next, Emi Kitamura was the first one to get up and get ready for her exciting trip to a premium mountain resort.