Idol Gunner [Yuri Villainess LitRPG]

November 4, 2043 – 19:18

Email from Akiko Hara

My lovely friends,

Ever since I joined the industry more than a decade ago, I’ve always wondered why things work the way they do. We are the ones who sing the songs. We are the ones who practice day after day. We are the ones who go on stage and perform live. Yet, we are also the ones with barely any freedom over what we do next.

Four years ago, when they suddenly decided to put a gun in my hand, I refused. It was a no-brainer. Eight years of hard work had apparently only earned me the right to become a soldier in a war that I did not care about.

So, when the time came, I picked the Healer Class. It was the only natural answer to who I truly wanted to be. Because, as a Healer, you don’t participate in the main fight if you don’t want to. You observe, react, and manipulate the situation to be in your favor. After eight years, I liked to believe that the right I had earned was that. To be able to hold the reins for once.

Then, up until a month ago, that worked wonderfully well! Did I eventually hold a gun? Yes. Did I eventually end up doing things I would not have done five years ago? Yes. Did I eventually become a murderer, just like all of us? Yes. But it was my decision to do that. And I believe that it is about time we came to the same conclusion – our decisions matter more than what some old man in a chair thinks.

Over the last four years, I have gotten more involved in this war than I wanted to. All of us have, really. We didn’t come here to fight, after all. We came here because we wanted to entertain people, and maybe even entertain ourselves in the process. This all started from a rather naïve, childish dream on our parts. Then, it turned into World War 3…or something like that~!

This war, though, is our own. Just like the performances, we are the ones who do the work. We go and work in their stupid mines. We go and actually kill the monsters. Did you know that their own soldiers cannot even navigate the Dimension without losing their minds? Of course, they can’t. Because they haven’t been in there for thousands of hours. We have. We did the work they wanted us to.

What did we get in return, then?

Shutdown! No more competition! No more war! No more anything!

Why? Because they got scared. They think that after everything we have been through, we can’t take any more. They think that you are weak, and I am weak, and all of us are so, so weak that we cannot even defeat these monsters without their help. I, however, think that this should be the last time they ever underestimate us. I think that this should be the first time that we take things into our own hands.

Now, now, don’t worry. I am not about to lead a military uprising against every single idol agency in Neo-Edo. My words might sound radical (because they are), but my intentions are not even slightly so. They are rather pure, in fact. All I want is for us to come together and create the world that we want to create. I want to talk to all of you about a dream I had, and how we can all reach the height that we deserve.

So, if you are one of those old men in a chair who happen to read this, then ignore it! I am not threatening your position. I just wanted to talk to my friends about a little party that I am arranging. I think I can do that, right? It is only normal.

And if you are someone else somehow reading this email? Well…I am sure you have your reasons. Don’t you? For that, I wish you the best. Keep going and never give up! I’ll be waiting for all of you. (Girls, you can ignore this part. It’s just a mumbo jumbo ramble from someone who’s gone insane.)

This Saturday, November 7, at seven o’clock in the evening.

I am sure all of you know where I live, so I will be waiting when the time comes. I hope to see every single one of you there. If you don’t want to come, then…I guess that’s your choice. That too is something to respect and love!

Akiko Hara

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November 5, 2043 – 21:33

Linlin’s Shack – Ward A Restaurant

Velvet Beats and Naomi Yamazaki have dinner (Reservation by Chika Maeda)

“You’re not going?” Kana looked at Jina as she ate another piece of the salt and pepper chicken.

The entire order had been Kelsey’s choice, since she was the one who had invited them there. Linlin’s Shack, as Naomi explained, was one of the girl’s favorite dinner spots. She had come here with Sanada and RiRi on the day Pink Beats had their first concert, and it was a staple ever since.

“Hmm?” Jina mumbled through the food before swallowing it. “Yeah! I mean, yeah, I am going. You’re going, too, right? Who wouldn’t? I don’t like Akiko, but it would be dumb not to at least see what they’re up to. Could be interesting!”

“I’m not going.” Kelsey declared. She had already made her way through the appetizers and was already busy downing her third glass of white wine.

“Expected. Always the downer.” Kana scoffed.

“Minami-san, please. Let’s not start being rude to each other. Kelsey has something really important to share with both of you.” Naomi interjected, smiling to try to keep the peace. “If you would please allow her the silence to speak her piece, then it would make me very happy.”

If Kelsey had said the same thing, Kana might not have been inclined to agree to the request. But seeing that it was Naomi, she was left with no choice. Half of it because she did not want to hurt Yamazaki indirectly, and half of it because she really did respect this woman. Despite her genuinely pathetic beginnings, she had revealed herself to be someone worth listening to.

“Kelsey?” The Yamazaki sister looked at the blonde girl. “Do you want to start?”

“Yeah…but…”

She raised her hand and called out to the waiter, immediately ordering another three glasses of wine. Once they were brought to the table and poured, she drank the first one and took a pause.

“Need to be…not sho…ober.”

Given that she had already started slurring her words, Kana guessed that the limit had already been crossed. Even so, Kelsey picked up her fifth glass and gulped that one down, too. With five glasses of white wine now actively working their magic, it looked like she was finally equipped to say what she wanted to.

“Naomi-chan, you…” She made her way through her thoughts with massive pauses in between. “You’re, like, the coolest person. I told you that, didn’t I? Yeah, I told you that before. I called you and told you that one night. Very cool person. Compared to me…”

“Nope. You’re amazing, too, Kelsey.”

The blonde girl shook her head, chuckling as she turned to Kana. “You know, Kana? RiRi…died. She died…because of me. I killed her. I didn’t want to kill her. Really. I…I promise. Why would I want to kill her? She did so much for me.”

For a moment, Kana wasn’t sure what to feel. The emotions in this girl were clearly at an all-time high, but she had gone through this already. She had heard monologues about RiRi many times before, and it was getting tiring by now. It wasn’t like Kana hated the girl all of a sudden, but there was a limit to how long you could let someone’s death drive you. By now, that limit had been crossed.

Kelsey’s face slammed down on the table as more food arrived. The waiters, though concerned, did their job and huddled away. She, meanwhile, stayed in position. Right there, face down, she continued to speak.

“I was also…addicted. Day after day, night after night. All I could do was do odd jobs in the morning, and then get high in the night. There, uh, RiRi-chan found me again. There…I was her…her childhood friend. So, she tried her best to get me out and then got me this job.

“I don’t even…like it. Singing, dancing, whatever. But RiRi-chan, you see…she got me this job. It is not easy. Not very easy. It is very difficult. People, you know, they…they judge you. They think you’re the worst, and they…treat you badly. But RiRi was my childhood friend. She…liked me for some reason, so she got me this job.”

Kana took her thoughts back. All of a sudden, her actions from before made more sense than they should have. There had been no malice, no deeper meaning behind her action. She had just done what she knew was the right thing to do. She saw someone coming crashing down like her and decided to help.

“Then I…I killed her.” Kelsey brought her hand up to her face, staring at her palm with disgust. “That’s all I did, Minami. I killed her. She…she was the best…”

“Hmm,” Kana replied, unable to decide what she wanted to say. She didn’t know what would be appropriate, so she settled on just that.

“I want to dance, Kana.” She continued with a calmer, more composed tone. “I can’t change what I did, but I can keep doing what she wanted me to do. I just…I just want to do right by her, Minami. I was good at the killing, really. Those monsters were, uh…not the first lives I took, after all. Hehe. RiRi-chan didn’t know.”

A silence took over the table. Jina, who had been quietly eating her food so as not to draw much attention to the table, also stopped. Kana did not know how to react. Throughout the conversation, she hadn’t known. But this time, it was because she understood what Kelsey meant. Deep in her heart, she could feel the pain the girl was trying to convey.

It wasn’t easy work to kill someone. It had been hell for Kana. How much worse would it have been for someone who was just a teenager when she did it?

“I was happy.” Kelsey declared. “When they said that the competition was stopping, I was really happy. Because I could stop being horrible. I could…do what RiRi-chan wanted me to do. That’s all I…want to do, Minami. I just want to dance. I want to sing. I don’t like it, but it’s what she gave me. And I killed her, so…so…it’s all I can do.”

“You got it. Don’t wor-”

Kelsey stood up. Barely able to keep her balance, she pushed the chair back and stood up straight before walking out of her place. Naomi tried to reach out, but was stopped by her boss. Then, walking over to stand right in front of Kana, she waited for a second or two. The two shared a look of understanding. Or at least that is what Kana believed happened.

Because in the very next second, the drunk Kelsey got down on her knees. She mumbled something, but it was barely audible. She did that and then bowed. Hands on the floor, back slightly arched, and head touching the carpet. Every single other table around them turned to see the sight unfold, leaving the three sitting to immediately have a chill run down their spine.

“Thank you…Minami.” She raised her voice. “Thank you so much…for what you did. I didn’t think that I could continue. I thought that when…RiRi-chan died? I thought then that I would also stop. But…you let me continue. Right? Thank you for that. Thank you for letting me keep dancing, Kana Minami.”

“N-no. It’s alri-”

“But, I’m done.” Her voice dropped to a whimper as she began to cry. “I am done, Minami. This scheming, this backstabbing. All of this nonsense, I’m done with it. I’m tired, Minami. I don’t want to be this person anymore, so let me go. Keep me out of your games, please. I want to sing, and I want to dance. And…and I want to do all of that. But I don’t want to fight anymore. I don’t…want to destroy my best friend’s last hopes. Please…”

She sat up, pushing away her mess of a hairdo as she looked at Kana. Her watery eyes, stained with ruined mascara. Her mouth, lathered with a misplaced lipstick. Her entire face was a mess.

“Please…Minami? Ple-”

And then, right as the cameras came out all around the restaurant, the girl fell down. Unconscious.

Naomi stood up at once, bending down to check up on Kelsey. But before she could pick her up, Kana rose. Putting a hand around the girl’s shoulder, she helped Kelsey’s passed-out body to its feet, and groaned. The assistant, right behind her, took out the car keys and ran ahead while Jina grabbed the other side of Kelsey’s shoulders.

“Jina,” Kana spoke as they started walking out. “Call Yamazaki. Get him to wipe all the data from the people present here. We don’t need more drama. Go, I got her.”

“Y-yeah.”

She took out her phone and moved ahead, too.

All alone, as they slowly hobbled out of the restaurant, Kana turned to the blonde girl. Looking at her face smudged with makeup, as if she had just been through an earthquake, she couldn’t help but smile. A smile, followed by a slight chuckle.

“Say goodbye to your favorite restaurant, I guess.” She whispered. “You really are stupid, aren’t you? No wonder you were RiRi’s best friend.”