Walking through the wasteland with the girls was uncomfortable, but all Kana did was keep her eyes on the horizon. Soon, Jina would make her move, and they would go gold. Kelsey was clearly the wariest of the bunch, and that was to be expected. She and RiRi were keeping their distance and had basically left Kana alone with the Fluorescent Angels. This, too, was very welcome.

  “Sanada-san, you know…” Kana looked at Neptune, “She’s very nice! Look at how she volunteered to go even though her ankle is injured. Awesome, isn’t it?”

  “Oi, Minami!” Kelsey shouted from the back, “Watch what you’re sharing with the competition.”

  “Come on, Kelsey.” RiRi sighed and put a hand on her shoulder, “Everyone was going to find out soon enough, either way. You can’t just keep her off the stage and then not have any questions.”

  Saturn mockingly laughed, “What stage? Nobody even remembers your name on the stages you perform on. What was it, again? Uh…Kerosene?”

  Kesley pushed past her partner and rushed forward with an outstretched hand. Before she could grab hold of Saturn’s hair, though, Atlas had already put her silver axe between both of them. As the blonde’s hand touched the cold metal, she pulled back, annoyed. RiRi pulled her back further to calm her down.

  “Saturn, just…please.” RiRi did not meet their eyes, preferring to stare at the ground instead, “I know recent…events…have made it so that you aren’t our biggest fans. But still, just, cut us some slack.”

  “Why?” Neptune asked, “Did Sakai cut us any slack by stealing our pick?”

  “Jina-chan was your pick!?” Kana chimed in, hoping to calm the mood down before they decided to go separate ways. Not only would that make it difficult to keep track of both of them, but it would also mean the Fluorescent Angels would not witness just how much Kelsey hated her. Staying together was of the utmost importance right now.

  Saturn clicked her tongue, “Yeah, unfortunately. To be honest, we were glad we didn’t get her. She’s impulsive as hell and clearly doesn’t know what she’s here to do.”

  Atlas shrugged with a smile, eyes on the rock behind which Jina and Sanada had disappeared, “She’s got a good arm, and learns quick. If there’s one skill you need to have in this industry, it’s to keep up with what is asked of you. Jina-chan has that in her. She is not obtuse. Being obtuse makes you fail.”

  “Is that so!?” Kana nodded her head in wonder, though she inherently disagreed with the idea. Being obtuse did not make you fail. It only made you unique and attracted a particular type of fan. The one you really needed in your corner, “Ahh, Kelsey-chan? That will be very useful advice for you, won’t it?”

  “Minami! I’ll fucking kill y-”

  “Kana, come on. You know what you are doing. Just stop.” RiRi looked and sounded like she was about to cry; her voice quavering and tired with having to control both of them. Kana almost felt bad about what she was doing, but then again, she had no better choice. RiRi had to deal with the fallout by virtue of being too boring.

  The leader of Pink Beats held on to Kelsey before she murdered someone, and looked at Atlas, “You are right about that, though. Jina is a smart girl, and that’s evident. She’ll go far like that. Although she doesn’t seem very passionate about the whole culture. I don’t really get why she wanted to become an idol.”

  “Why? Money isn’t a good reason?” Kana asked.

  Neptune laughed and gave her a pat on the back, “Oh, that’s good. That’s very good. Our president was telling us about the girl in the audition who was all about money. That was you, huh?”

  Kana laughed and put her hand on her head out of embarrassment and happiness. RiRi sighed and shook her head, “It’s nothing to be proud of, Kana. There are people out there who really need something to believe in, and that’s what we’re giving them. You can like money all you want, but you need to give the fans a reason to smile.”

  Kana wasn’t sure she liked where this conversation was heading, so she looked up again. How long would it take for Jina to start on the plan? If she waited any longer, Kana would probably lose her mind over the nonsense RiRi was spouting. Belief, love, happiness, hope, whatever the fuck else. It was no surprise that Pink Beats had been failing to get an audience. They were far too boring and predictable.

  As the thoughts built up in her head, and she got itchy about wanting to say it all aloud, a large explosion rocked the surface. They looked at the rock and noticed that a chunk of it had been sliced off and blown up into pieces. The girls gasped and picked up the pace as Kelsey and RiRi called for Sanada, but got no answer. Kana, meanwhile, felt at peace once more.

  She followed them to the rock and prepared herself for the reaction. Two or three more smaller blasts of dirt and rock. It was going swimmingly well. Kana hopped alongside the others as they finally reached the looming rock and called out the names of the girls. She joined them in a lower volume, so as to not strain her voice too much without reason. Because once they got no reply, the reality set in.

  “They’ve disappeared.” RiRi bent down and looked at the marks Jina’s sword had left on the ground, “The monster must have…”

  Kelsey groaned and grabbed Kana by the collar, “You just cannot help yourself, can you?”

  “Wh-what did I do, Kelsey!?”

  Neptune came to her rescue. Grabbing Kelsey’s hand, she pulled it away and helped Kana stand up straight. With a kinder expression, she smoothed out the girl’s dress and then turned to Kelsey once more.

  “She could not have predicted it. And anyway, the fact that they’re not here means that a monster was there. Kana-chan was not wrong to follow it.”

  “I…I just-” Kana slowly put more work into gulping and filling her throat to make it hoarse. Then, she narrowed her eyes and forced the tear ducts to jump into action. A little bit of physical acting alongside that, and she produced some very convincing sniffing and sobbing.

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  The others slowly got into arguments. About what had happened, whose fault it was, and what they were supposed to do now. Kana kept crying. If she kept going now, and then slowly stopped to say something, everyone would pay attention. For now, just cry. The plan was still working well.

  As expected, Jina had probably forced Sanada to look elsewhere and then pretended to fight the monster. All of the explosions led to more chaos, and then she grabbed the Pink Beats member and ran off into the distance. Now, the two of them were all alone until everyone had to gather at the gate. That was a lot of time. Valuable time that Jina would use to get closer to Sanada.

  When Kelsey and RiRi were not there to add to her opinions, and the Fluorescent Angels were not judging her, she would get more open to growth. Every word Jina spoke would be filtered through her kindness filter, and make it impossible for her to deny what a good girl Jina was when they came back. At the same time, the Fluorescent Angels would see Kelsey gain the exact opposite opinion of Kana.

  As the arguments started to intensify, but got quieter, she finally stopped crying and whispered some gibberish. Everyone’s attention on her, she started to speak up clearly and put her point forward.

  “Jina-chan and Sanada-san…are smart.” She choked herself up, “They will definitely…come to the gate. If we can’t find them, then we should meet them there. They will…definitely come. They will, won’t they? Won’t they, Neptune-chan?!”

  Then, as she broke into more tears, Neptune pulled her into a hug and nodded, “Yes, yes. They’ll be alright. Don’t worry. We will go to the gate and wait for them, alright?”

  “Y-yes.”

  “As if!” Kelsey butted in, “Sanada’s got a broken ankle. She is not doing anything to that monster. And I don’t know how Jina fights, but she can’t fight better than someone who’s been in the business for so long.”

  “She can.” Atlas vouched for her. Oh, the pleasance of this moment.

  “We should go to the gate, Kelsey. She is right. We cannot keep searching for them if a monster has diverted them. At the end of the day, it’s a single monster. Sanada is still a very capable girl, and if Atlas is standing up for Jina, then we can believe her, too. The gate is our best bet at knowing where they will be next.”

  “And anyway, my legs hurt. I’m heading right back to the gate either way. Fridays just don’t give you the same adrenaline boost, do they?” Saturn stretched her arms.

  After some more discussion on what was right and what was wrong, the group decided to head to the gate. Kana’s plan had worked perfectly. No holes, no obvious pitfalls. Nothing suggested she, or any of them, could fail this. If Jina and Sanada did get attacked, what Atlas had said was right. The former was more than capable of handling them all. In fact, she was a bit too good at monster killing.

  So good that she was attracted to them like a bear is to honey, and then popped out of nowhere to ruin other people’s days. Kana counted to ten as memories of the past polluted her mind and brought herself back into the moment. There was no need to think of her unpleasant beginnings. To think that she had spent so much time with Jina that she had started to tolerate the girl made her queasy.

  The rest of the walk was spent in silence because of the same. Kana’s head was filled with thoughts about what Jina could or could not do, and if she was even a good girl in the first place. Her cooking wasn’t half bad when Kana really thought about it, and she had just proven herself to be someone who could follow orders and plans well. Better than that walking contradiction of a human being, Nobuko, anyway.

  They got to the gate relatively quickly and found that most of the other groups had also come back. Saturn had been right about Fridays not providing a lot of motivation. The points were basically decided upon already, and there was hardly any reason to put in all that effort. The top five groups, including the Fluorescent Angels, had performances on the weekend, too. Their stamina was better spent in those arenas.

  Everyone, however, also meant that they were there. While Kana only caught glimpses of the girls here and there, the fact that Ruby Passion was so close to her was a reality. She saw someone’s hair move behind a building, or a slight glimpse of their bodies as they ran from one place to another. It did not look like they had any wish to be seen in public by the others. All the better, as far as Kana was concerned.

  She didn’t need to see their faces any more than necessary.

  “Do you want to meet them?” Atlas asked, noticing Kana as she tracked Yuko Suzuki, the sniper.

  “Huh?”

  “Ruby Passion. I’ve actually spoken to all of them once before, and they’re always open to meeting the new idols. Do you want to?”

  “Uh, no. Not…really. I’m more worried about Jina-chan and Sanada-san right now.”

  “Ahh, that’s alright.” She gave her a headpat, “They’ll be fine. I just noticed you were wearing that Ruby Passion ring too, so I thought you were a big fan. Everyone here is, to be honest. Even I am. They’re just that good, aren’t they?”

  “They’re…” They were. Generic. Boring. Overrated. Fake. Below average. Not melodious at all. A disgrace to music. Beethoven’s worst nightmare. Absolute stain on the idea of art, beauty, and human creativity as a whole, really. Kana nodded with a smile, “They’re the best!”

  Atlas stood up as a horn boomed across the entire ruins. The other girls stood up too, and looked at the gates. The warning meant they only had one more minute to close. And there was no trace of Jina or Sanada anywhere. Kana felt an actual heartbeat of horror, and barely managed to push herself up with trembling feet.

  All six of them ran towards the gate and looked out. Even now, there was no sign of the two. Nothing in the distance, either. The two had not come back. They were not coming back. What had happened? Why was this happening? She hadn’t meant for this to happen. If Jina and Sanada did not come back, whose fault would it really be? Kana held her head with both her hands. If they did not come back, what about her plan?

  No, this was unacceptable. She needed them, and she needed them right now. Kelsey and RiRi ran to the Coalition officials and started to talk to them. The Fluorescent Angels stood by Kana. Neptune’s hand stayed on her shoulders as her breathing got heavier. No, no, no, no. This was unacceptable. This was not how things were supposed to go. She looked at the members of Pink Beats and noticed the horror in their eyes. Was it really not working?

  She looked at Atlas, “Atlas…?”

  “They’ll come back, Kana-chan. Don’t worry.”

  “Atlas…” She hated what she was about to say, but it didn’t matter. Kana could not let…her plan…fail. She shook her head, “Ruby Passion. Can you ask them?”

  “Ask them what?”

  Kana pulled her away and took a few steps forward, into the gate, “Ask them to…stop them from closing the gate. I’ll…”

  “Kana-chan, don’t be insane. Come back. They will be right here soon.”

  Kana shook her head and turned the system on. Pulling her grenade launcher out, she fully stepped out into the Monster Dimension as the door started to move closer together. The Fluorescent Angels tried their best to calm her down, but there was no time for that. She could not afford to let both of them die. They had to come back. They had to come back right now.

  Atlas took a few steps back and ran towards the members of Ruby Passion. At the same time, Kana looked away from the gates and ran deeper into the Monster Dimension. She could not lose them. Not…Jina. Not like this.

  emotions?! D: