Chapter Text
Tears mixed with the rain, burning her face. Some passers-by looked at a blonde girl crying in the middle of the street without an umbrella. With each passing second, she became more and more immersed in her negative thoughts and worries. Did the president do the right thing by choosing her for the role of an idol? But suddenly the rain stopped, and the light of the sun faded. Opening her eyes, Mona saw a guy covering her with an umbrella from the downpour.
— Well, how much longer will this performance last? — the guy interrupted her thoughts.
This is definitely one of LIPxLIP—Aizo Shibasaki. Mona immediately recognized the blond idol after looking at him better. Even if the floor of his face was covered with a black medical mask, and a cap was on top of his head, it was easy to recognize him. Associations regarding this group immediately made the girl become even more serious.
"It... it's none of your business!" — she snapped
The guy exhaled— You're right. Aizo squatted down to be on a level with the face of the sitting girl. Gently taking the blonde by the forearm, he handed her his gray umbrella.
— Eh? What are you doing? Do you feel sorry for me? You definitely count me!..
— Yes, I'm sorry. — he said, interrupting the girl's scream. — Because...
— If you didn't want sympathy, you wouldn't be sitting in the middle of the road. — the guy continued — If you feel bad, come with me.
Mona didn't understand what he meant. Why would she go anywhere with him? She was already thinking of going home away from the strange idol, but lowering her head, in the reflection of the puddle, she saw what state she was in. Her hair was soaked through and stuck to her face, the capillaries in her eyes burst, and the corners of her eyes turned red from burning tears. If she returns home with such a look, it will definitely cause unnecessary worries and questions from her sister and parents.
When she came out of her trance, there was no one in front of her. Turning her head in search of a noisy crowd with huge umbrellas, Mona noticed a departing silhouette, which was protected from the rain only by a cap.
— Wait... — she got up to run to the retreating boy. But then ”Juliet! The release of our new song! ”a painfully familiar voice was heard, the girls in the neighborhood began to twitter, admiring the two teenagers who were on the big screen of the building. Raising her head, Mona realized how far they had already advanced with their efforts “These two…They are so far away that I can't reach them.” The girl stretched out her hand towards the screen, tears began to come—No! She shouted, causing several passers—by to turn around, and then she wiped the drops of tears with her wet sleeve. The idol took off from the spot, skilfully running around the unlucky people heading home. “Here he is!” she said to herself, finally noticing the person she was looking for. The blonde began to slow down trying to approach unnoticed, coming closer, she covered them both with an umbrella.
Sensing that he was not alone, Aizo turned to the girl walking next to him, expecting to see the shy look of a novice. But to her surprise, her face showed only contempt. Realizing that the girl still decided to follow him, Aizo slightly rearranged his route. Exhaling tensely, he looked at her again.
—what's wrong with you..." Mona began, "are you giving me an umbrella... are you making a hero out of yourself?" — She wanted to shout some more unpleasant words, but something made her retreat.
— maybe. — he said frivolously, staring into the void — So, are you coming with me?
Mona hesitated slightly. - yes! But if it's just not to your house…And then I'll have to refuse!— It would be strange if he decided to calm her down by taking her to his house. She would have definitely turned back home. But when she heard a light sincere laugh, she looked at the idol again.
— Of course not! — he laughed at the words of another idol— although ... of course I don't have anyone at home right now ... — and then Aizo abruptly frowned and stopped laughing. With a blank look, he examined Mona and seemed to realize something. The girl did not fully understand what was happening, but she felt that it was better not to continue the topic.
They walked the rest of the way in silence, only occasionally one of them dared to look at the other. Halfway there, the rain stopped, so Mona folded the umbrella handed to her. The hair of both blonds began to dry out, and the sun was setting. When Aizo stopped, Mona realized that they were there.
The landscape of the whole city lay before her. Although the sun was about to set, the buildings of Tokyo did not stop burning, but only became brighter and more beautiful. The departing sun, with its brightest rays, said goodbye to people, giving its place to an equally beautiful moon. The impressions of what she saw made the girl forget about her problems and what happened behind her today. Inhaling fresh and clean air, Mona ran up to the fence, located at the edge of the cliff, coming closer to the view. Although she had already seen the city from a height being on the upper floors of glass skyscrapers, but why was everything different here.
— I didn't know there was such a quiet and peaceful place in Tokyo ... — the girl said more to herself than to the person next to her.
Meanwhile, Aizo came up and leaned against the fence next to him. — I always come here when I feel bad — he sang, enjoying for the hundredth time the unchanging beautiful view. — isn't it beautiful? — the brown-eyed man whispered, not wanting to destroy the peaceful silence.
Mona nodded with a mumble, also not though to make noise. They spent several minutes in comfortable silence looking at the glowing skyscrapers and other lights whose sources were impossible to determine. Aizo broke the silence with a quiet voice, leaning closer to be noticed — Do you see that building? — he pointed to the not the tallest building among the others, but it shimmered with all colors so it was simply impossible to notice it. Mona nodded.
— you know, and in the afternoon they may not even remember about him, but someone may have poured out his anger on him, leaving not the most pleasant review. But at night... it sparkles the brightest! And all eyes are focused only on the last inconspicuous building. Everyone needs time to prove themselves… The same happens with people, and with celebrities in particular! — and then he pointed at her — nothing ends with one unsuccessful performance! You have plenty of time to become much better than you are now and light up just like that building. It is impossible not to finish what you started, even if you have high obstacles and your own emotions in front of you. It all starts with failures and everything gets better thanks to them!
Realizing what was being discussed, Mona was moved so that happier tears began to come again, and a drop slid down her cheek. Aizo was a little scared of such a reaction, fearing that he sounded too rude, scaring the girl.
— stop don't cry! — The guy was digging in his pockets trying to find a handkerchief. But then he was pulled by the sleeve of his jacket, turning around, he saw that Mona was smiling with the most sincere smile.
— thank you for such advice and support! — she thanked the idol in a slightly hoarse voice. — let's sit down.
Aizo nodded, and they went to the nearest bench. Mona sat down and sighed peacefully. She turned her head in the direction of the guy who was not going to sit down, waiting for an answer. — Do you want a drink? the blond man asked immediately.
Mona reached into her backpack for her purse. — I'll pay. — the guy said firmly
— I refuse. You've already done a lot, and I have the money. — the girl ignored his words and continued to rummage in her briefcases in search of her cherished wallet
— come on, let Prince Aizo show mercy — mockingly parodying his image of the prince, he began to persuade
— still, you're just as stupid as your partner
—hey!.. kmh-kmh well, yes, Yujiro is an angel here," Aizo said, trying to preserve the image.
— energy drink, please.
— you shouldn't drink it if you're an idol. — the guy frowned—otherwise my advice will be useless.
—all go— she drove him with her hand
When Aizo was already running, Mona realized that she had not given him money for a drink. ”Wait!”but the blond boy has already disappeared around the corner. She had no choice but to sit still and wait for his return. She needed to realize what had happened at all, because due to the fact that she was not alone, Mona did not fully understand what a half a day was like. Oh, exactly her performance on stage in front of hundreds of people who did not expect her, who did not so sweetly accept her into this world of stars. But she promised herself not to cry in front of others. After looking at the sky strewn with stars, Mona decided to write to her parents and sister that she would come home later.
— I'm back! — a blond man with two cans ran up to her, noticing that she was typing something — are you writing to your parents?
— yes, but won't you? Mona asked, taking her drink.
Aizo tensed up again like the time he was talking about his house. He sat down next to her. It was obvious from him that he didn't want to talk about it.
— You don't have to tell me. — the girl didn't want to put pressure on him. Looking at what was in his hands, she shouted—what, you were talking about energy drinks when you had coffee?! — she pushed him in the shoulder, driving Aizo out of the darkness.
"consider me immune to caffeine." He nudged her shoulder in response, too
—God, you're terrible," Mona said. And they both laughed.
For about half an hour they talked about topics that did not concern anyone's personal life, about topics that could be found as the most popular to continue the conversation so simple and so easy that no one cared.
They found out that they both prefer cats to dogs, that they both became idols because they love to sing. And there were many more dialogues that it was impossible to keep up with.
— By the way… And to tell the truth, was my performance today really a complete failure? — still decided to ask Mona.
"Ah, I haven't seen him.
— What?! — she started jokingly hitting him — how dare you assess my failure at all then?
— well, actually I saw a part, and the rest was told to me by Yujiro—the girl grimaced when she heard this name, remembering that contemptuous look.
After looking at the time on the phone, Mona began to get ready to go home. Putting on a backpack, she was about to say goodbye when suddenly.
— can I have your phone number? Aizo asked in a slightly shy tone. In fact, he almost never asked for the phone number first, usually he just told the fans that he was forbidden to give out personal data or someone at work asked him for the number.
— of course — the girl smiled at him, pronouncing the numbers and then writing down someone else's— and now bye.
Only at the house Mona realized that she had forgotten to give the umbrella.
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When Aizo returned home, he forcefully flopped into bed face down trying to think over a few facts. He was annoyed by his clingy groupies, from whom he wanted to run away, but he thought that all the girls infuriated him, today it seems to have told him the opposite. Covering Mona with an umbrella, he just wanted to appear cool in front of her, and then leave. But... what went wrong?
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According to Mona's plan, no one from the family should have realized that she was crying. When she returned home, her sister met her, worried that she came later than usual. But Mona waved off the fact that she was at the rehearsal and went to her room.
Although in fact Sena noticed her sister's tear-stained eyes, she decided not to ask, because her sister looked genuinely happy.
~