Rivalry

Finally, the day HE★VENS and ST★RISH
meets came. Accompanied by their mentors
as they are their responsibility.

"Hm.. So you ARE ST★RISH. Ohh?~"
Nagi looks at them with mocking eyes.

"(I just wish I can avoid bumping into them
  anymore... just seeing them... it's...)"
Lily is lost in thoughts as she stood behind
HE★VENS.

"Painful, isn't it?"
Camus suddenly spoke behind her.

Her eyes widened and she turned around
to look at them. However, Camus and the
other members of Quartet Night is already
passing her by.

"Pffft." Ranmaru is his usual grumpy
self but he truly cares for her as a friend.

"I'm sorry..." She muttered to herself.
"(They are the only ones who don't
  know the truth.. I can't tell them.. I'm sorry.
  Ranmaru, Camus.)"

"What's wrong, Crystal?" Kira asks her.

"Nothing. Don't mind me and worry about
  yourselves." Lily looked away with her
expression filled with grimace.

"Ah! So you are the "Cutie-Nagi" of HE★VENS!
  You sure are really short and cuuuuuteeee!"
Natsuki adored Nagi.

"Ohh? Yup! That's me. And you are? I haven't
  heard about anyone of you. Well, can't blame
  it, awesome people like us have no time for
  those who are second best~!" Nagi shrugs.

"Fufufufu~! Why are you even wasting your
  time on them, Nagi? They aren't worth it,
  we're going to crush them anyway."
Eichii laughs.

"WHY YOU----" Syo attempts to attack
them.

"Stop it, Syo!"
Jinguji stopped him.

"Bleeeh!"
Nagi sticks his tongue out.

"You too, Nagi."
Lily whispered in a serious voice.

"Daaarn." Nagi pouts as he
looks away with his arms crossed.

"That little brat!"
Syo complains.

"Eh? Look who's 'little' here!
  I'm 13 and about to be the same
  height as you!!" Nagi answers back.

"Nagi!!!" Lily yelled however, she
seemed calm.

"Hmpff." Nagi pouted again.

"I expected to meet you here, Crystal."
Ai spoke to her.

"Ah, yes. Me too. I apologize about Nagi
  and Eiichi's rudeness." She bowed her
head as she politely apologized.

"It doesn't matter. They're enemy groups
  after all." Ai straightly says so.

"(He's cold.. unlike before..)" Lily's expression
seemed sad.

"What's up Crystal? You seem upset."
Aine said as he just walked in from behind.

"Aine?" Ai stared at him.

"Oh.. You're here to see them aren't you?"
Lily asked him calmly, ignoring his question.

"Ah, yes." He answered Lily's question
with a cool smile. "And hello there, Ai.
I'm here for work."

"I see." Ai nodded.

"Heh! With our mentor, we will surely
  win! She's the greatest, she's the best!!!"
Nagi brags as he continues to feed the
flames of anger of STARISH.

"I admit Ms.Crystal is great but our
  mentors are pretty awesome too!!!
  WE WON'T LOSE TO YOU!"
Otoya answers back with confidence.

"With beauty like that, I'm determined
  to win. What about you? They're all men.
  How will that motivate you?" Eiichi mocks them.

"I thought I already told you to stop."
Lily is about to snap for real.

"Now, enough with the fighting! Li---- Err,
  Crystal-chan is beautiful indeed we already
  know that! So please quit fighting with our
  apprentices!" Reiji helps Lily out of the
situation.

She sighs and looks at him, "Thanks, Reiji."

HEAVENS ignores Reiji and turns around
to walk away. STARISH was completely pissed
about it and decided to turn around and leave
to continue doing their jobs as well.
Leaving Aine and the mentors behind.

"I guess I'll excuse myself as well.
  I'll be observing HEAVENS first.
  See you." Aine leaves with a smile.

"Okay." Lily waved.
"Now then.." She faces Quartet Night.

Ranmaru and Camus looking at her
with serious expressions. Reiji then
understood the situation and tried to
desperately drag Ai out of the area.

"Where are you taking me? Let go!"
Ai tells him off.

"Listen Ai-Ai! Let's go over thereee!"
Reiji points out somewhere.

"Good." Camus muttered as he
watched Reiji drag Ai away.
"So..." He looks at Lily.

"I understand." Lily closed her
eyes. "Let's talk over there."
She opens them again as she
leads Ranmaru and Camus.

They sat down on a table.
There are barely any people around.
She sighs deeply as she looked back
at the questioning and piercing eyes
of Camus and Ranmaru.

"Listen. I'm sorry. But I can't say---"
Lily was cut off.

"I understand that. That's why you
  couldn't talk to us the other day right?"
Ranmaru said in a serious tone.

"But that's not enough reason to ignore
  us. After all, we are still a group."
Camus said.

"You two.."
She mutters.

"We KNOW something happened to
  YOU and to Mikaze, but we don't know
  what it is. It may be true that he had
  an accident and had amnesia, but why
  would THAT push you away? You suddenly
  disappeared. What happened?" Camus
continues to question her with serious eyes.

"Lily-chan can't answer that right now."
Just when Lily was about to answer, Reiji
came back in time without Ai and answered
in her stead.

"Reiji-kun!"

"What do you mean by that, Kotobuki?"
Camus asks him.

"Sorry guys but... there are just things you
  aren't supposed to know... maybe someday,
  but just not now." Reiji explains to them, he
wore a serious expression this time, unlike his
usual cheerful face.

"You really won't tell us, huh?" Ranmaru
seemed angry but he's not his usual "grumpy"

"I will tell you someday."
Lily told them.
"So please... for now, take care
  of Ai-kun for me." She bowed
her head as she pleaded.

"Alright. I understand then."
Camus said as he stood with Ranmaru.
"We'll be waiting for the truth then.. someday."

"Make sure you tell us, woman!"
Ranmaru yells angrily but more like he's
just being shy.

"I promise! And... thank you."
She stood up and once again
bowed to show her appreciation.

Camus and Ranmaru left and that
reminds Reiji that he left Ai somewhere.
He panics as he goes back to get him.
Lily walks over somewhere isolated to
get some fresh air as she waits for Aine
to finish inspecting/observing HEAVENS.

"I don't know this place, where am I?"
Ai wonders around. "That Reiji. I could've
analyzed the location and save them immediately
to remember my way back but he was too annoying."
He complains as he continues to wander around the building.

Ai then stumbled upon an empty studio.
However, he heard someone singing and
without realizing it, his own curiosity that he
never noticed slowly dragged him inside.
A girl was singing on stage by herself.
There are no audience or anyone else.
She herself must not be aware that she's
being watched by Ai Mikaze himself.
And that girl is...

"Crystal?"
He wondered.

"Lonely girl,
  what's bothering you?
  Are you
  thinking of him...
  again?"
She sings without any background music,
just her plain, beautiful voice.

He was struck by it without realizing it.

"Are you
  blaming the cruel fate?
  Drowning yourself...
  with hate?
  Wondering,
  'why
  ---did I~
  fell for him?'
  Lovely cruel thing
  The love gives pain
  and it stings
  But even so
  He's so
  Be-au-ti-ful
  He's a robot
  with a heart
  but that's
  the saddest part,
  He's a robot
  with a heart"

"Robot... with a heart..?"
Ai wonders as he takes a
step. "That was brilliant."
He commented out of the blue.

She gasped as she was startled
by his sudden appearance. "Oh,
it's you, M-Mikaze-kun..." She tries
her best not to show her joy. "And
brilliant...? Well, thank you."

"It's the truth."
He said frankly.

She smiles at him warmly however,
the coldness in him still remains.

"Well then, see you again."
She excuses herself and
walks past through him.

"Can I ask you something?"
Ai asked without turning around.

She stopped walking.
"What is it?" With a
painful expression he
could not see.

"How do I get a heart?"
He asked her straightly.

She closes her eyes to stop
her tears, "Try to feel"

"Feel?"
He wonders.

She whispers as she walks
away, "...again."

Time Skip: Finally, the day of the
showdown for the UtaPri award
came! First up to perform is HEAVENS.
But the introduction comes first.

"Hellooo! My name is Ringo! And this
  is Ryuuya! We will be the hosts for this
  epic shooooowdooooooooown!!!"
Ringo announced loudly in a cheerful
tone as he winked at the camera.

"Our special judges will be... Kisaragi Aine,
  Crystal and a big time CEO of a super company!"
Ryuuya announces calmly as the spotlight focuses
on the judges every time their names were mentioned.

"The judges will each give special rewards to those
  who will win the showdown!!! I wonder what it is?
  Hohoho! Well then, are you ready?!" Ringo asks.

"YEEEES!" The crowd yells excitedly.

"Well then... let me call out.... HEAVENS!!!"
Ringo happily called them out.

HEAVENS walks in gracefully, the showdown
has begun! They are performing HEAVENS GATE.
The crowd has gone wild. Saotome admits it is
indeed a wonderful song. Raging Otori proudly
sits back and watches with a confident smile.
Quartet Night watches but only Reiji seemed
to be amazed. Although Camus admits it is
good, Ranmaru keeps up his tsundere and
denies it while Ai simply doesn't like it at all.

"HEAVENS... they really are talented young ones
  and truly great to be popular in an instant."
Aine comments as he gives them his judgement
by writing it down.

"You did great, Eiichi, Kira, Nagi." She smiles
warmly as she watches them but still hasn't
decided on her judgement.

Finally, STARISH's turn came.
Ringo as usual, cheerfully calls them out.
They performed MAJI LOVE 2000% and
became an instant hit that the whole crowd
loved, Saotome says it's once again the "Happy Pulse"
which gives everyone joyous feelings as they hear it.
Even Raging Otori was carried away by the wonderful song.

"STARISH... that song.. that performance...
  it's wonderful and brilliant." Aine smiles
again as he writes down.

"How beautiful.."
She mutters as she was lost in awe.

The time to judge is running out.
STARISH and HEAVENS are in equal terms
adding up the votes from the fans. It seems
both sides love each other. Now, the decision's
up to Lily/Crystal, who hasn't given any of her
judgement yet. The winner's fate lies in her hands.
It cannot be a draw. Aine voted for STARISH while
the other judge voted for HEAVENS.

"Please please let my kids win!"
Reiji prays desperately.

"They're not your kids!!!"
Ranmaru yells.

"Eh? So they're OUR kids?!"
Reiji teases him.

"NO!!!"
Ranmaru yells again.

"STARISH will win."
Ai muttered.

"Oh?" Camus muttered.

"What did you say, Ai-Ai?!"
Reiji couldn't believe him.

"STARISH will win."
Ai repeated his words louder
this time.

"That's right Ai-Ai!"
Reiji happily nodded.

The decision has been made.

"Silence!"
Ryuuya silences them.

"And now... we will announce the winner."
Ringo says in a teasing, inviting voice.

"The winner is...."

HEAVENS stood firmly, confident that they'll win.
While STARISH took this opportunity to bundle
up together and pray with each other to win.

"....STARISH!"
Ringo and Ryuuya announced
loudly in unison.

As the decision was made, STARISH rejoiced.
HEAVENS looked utterly disappointed. Lily
approached them and held Nagi's hand who
was on the verge of breaking down.

"It's my job to judge fairly, but believe me,
  you did great." She comforted them with her
honest words of opinion.

"Crystal!" Nagi cries out to him just like
a little kid that he is.

"I will prove you next time that we are
  better than STARISH." Eiichi still maintained
his confident composure as he spoke to her.

"I will be looking forward to that."
She says.

"Thank you, Crystal." Kira bows to her.

"You did great." She bows her head.

STARISH approaches her as they thank
her for choosing them as the winner of
the UtaPri award. She calmly accepts their
gratitude and announced her plans.

"From this day on, I will work together
  with STARISH as my official apprentices."
She said out confidently.

"Waaa!" Nagi cries out in a corner.

"I DISAPPROVE!"
Raging Otori interrupted.

"There he goes Raging again! >:O"
Ringo spoke.

"Why not?"
Ryuuya asked.

"She belongs to Raging Entertainments now.
  I do not want her to work for Saotome nor do
  I want idols from Saotome to work for me!"
Raging Otori answered angrily.

"So do I! My precious STARISH will never work
  for the likes of you!" Saotome answers back.

"Very well then." Lily looks at Saotome.

"Heh, good girl Crystal."
Raging Otori smirks.

"I shall quit Raging Entertainments."
as Lily said that, Raging Otori's smirk
vanished in an instant and left everyone
else with surprised faces.
"Please, Mr.Shining Saotome, accept
  me to your agency and allow me to
  become part of STARISH's future
  developments as one of their rightful
  mentors." She bowed her head.

"W-Wow..." Ranmaru muttered with
a surprised face.

"She made up her mind from the
  very start then, huh?" Ai speaks.

"How noble of her." Camus comments.

"Awwww she's brilliant!"
Reiji cries tears of joy.

"WHAT?!"
Raging Otori and HEAVENS exclaimed.

"I gladly accept your offer!!!"
Saotome said with a smile.

"Thank you so much!"
Lily smiled.

Once again, everyone else rejoices.
STARISH performs MAJI LOVE 2000%
with everyone else singing along to it this time.
Even Lily and Quartet Night, just everyone.
Lily then walks up to HEAVENS again in the
middle of the song...

"Don't be upset. Join us."
She held out her hand to them.

Eiichi looks hesitant at first but
then Sumeragi Kira took her hand
without a second thought. Nagi is
already hugging her and finally then,
Eiichi took her other free-hand. She
seemed almost like an elder sister to them
even though she was just almost as young as them.
HEAVENS sings along to MAJI LOVE 2000% happily.

...and that ends the event of today,
the showdown for the UtaPri award.
After that, they held a party and invited
everyone, friends and even HEAVENS.

"You made everyone happy with your decision."
Aine said as he walked up to Lily/Crystal.

"I didn't. STARISH did." She answered.

"You were a fair judge that's why you
  make a great one." Ai comments.

"I agree!" Reiji happily nods.

"See? Everyone is in high spirits
  because of you too." Aine smiles
at her.

"Well then if you insist, I guess so."
Lily just shrugs her shoulders.

"What's wrong, Mikaze?" Camus
asked Ai.

"Nothing." Ai said.
"Are you two really this close?"
He asked Aine and Lily.

"Huh?" Lily wondered.

"Hm? Well, yeah. I suppose?"
Aine chuckles.

"I see." Ai says.

Later then, Ai excuses himself
and so did Aine. In the restroom..
there was just only the two of them
by that time...

"Ai.."
Aine calls out to him while
washing his hands.

"What?" Ai asks
as he fixes his clothes.

"Do you care about Crystal?"
Aine's question stopped Ai from
moving for a second.

"I don't. Why do you ask?"
Ai answered with his usual
emotionless face.

"Do you know what it is
  to care for someone?"
Aine asks him again.

"I don't." Ai turns around.
"It doesn't matter to me."
He says as he walks away,
leaving the restroom.

"Are you sure about that?"
Aine smiles.
"...a rivalry with myself, huh."
He mutters.
"I highly doubt I'll win though."
Aine chuckles.

A/N: The lyrics from what Lily was singing is actually
a song I composed haha it's entitled "A Robot With A Heart"
and it's meant just for Ai. Just sharing a little fun-fact.

Chapter 31
"Rivalry"