The Idol Industry
The moment magical girls became real—for better or for worse—the only entertainment of humanity was, undeniably, the magical girls.
There is nothing more heart-pounding than watching the hope of humanity fight against seemingly unwinnable odds.
However, once there were no more youmas? The public, while thankful for these young warriors and protectors, began to disregard them.
It wasn't out of spite, but it was far more colder.
They simply fell off.
With nothing left to fight, aren't they just accessories dangling on a bag?
Pretty to look at, but utterly useless.
Aurora Sparkle was too shy for the camera.
Nova Eclipse is a PR nightmare, and would rather beat anyone to a pulp.
Stella Commett feels more like a saint or the girl next door.
Luna Star has too much pride to do anything else but her duty.
It's clear the future for these girls weren't all too bright.
So what did Lya do?
Yeah, that pink rabbit disregarded them.
And instead,
Replaced them with even cuter and sparklier versions of some bag keychain..
───
[On a certain room, after a fansigning event]
"Tch, f*ck that fansign event!"
A certain orange-haired girl spat, sitting on a couch with her legs spread, one foot on top of the chair.
"Miru!! Languagee please!"
Chie cried out, waving her hands at the orange-haired girl as if it could swat away the soundwaves to anyone who might overhear from outside.
"What about my language? I can say whatever the f*ck I want! It's honestly disgusting how they'd expect me to go 「Oh heavens above, please help this poor girl cleanse the world of evil~♡」 every single time."
Miru huffed after mimicking her usual cute pose.
"There are grown-ass men crying whenever I do that too. Disgusting."
She added—intentionally or not—and rolled her eyes.
"Hai~ Hai~ it's time to stop bickering, you two!"
The door to the room opened, and two girls entered.
One is the red-haired girl we met before, Airi, while in front of Airi was a girl with long black hair and purple eyes.
"Who's bickering? Chie just won't shut the f*ck up."
Miru's voice lowered, averting her eyes. Meanwhile, the black-haired girl simply smiled, her eyes softening.
"You really can't be honest, no? Tsk tsk tsk."
The black-haired girl sat on the vacant couch as Airi sat next to Chie.
"Shut up, Hibana."
Miru rolled her eyes again.
Seeing Miru cross her arms and look away, Hibana simply gave a small giggle before she turned to everyone in the room.
"It seems we have all gathered here already."
Hibana looked at the girls.
Beside her sat Miru. With that unmistakable orange hair and brass attitude, she's the new Stella Commett.
In front of Hibana sat Chie and Airi—the new Aurora Sparkle and Nova Eclipse.
And finally, there's her—the new bright Luna Star.
The smile on Hibana's face widened even more.
「Hah... they're such a pain to handle. We get a brat, a scaredy-cat, and a pushover. Honestly, why would Lya pick these weaklings?」
Hibana tilted her head, watching Airi follow her headtilt.
「All too naive... but perhaps I am too. But at least they are beneath me.」
Hibana straightened her posture once more as a certain pink rabbit phased through the wall.
"Ah, everyone's here already!"
The pink bunny hopped around the air, repeating what Hibana had said, her eyes hovering at Chie's and Airi's hands before she continued hopping around the room.
"How was the fansigning event?"
· It was shit.
· It was fun!!
· It's great! My fans and I had a great chat. We even did cute poses together!
· It was good.
At the pink rabbit's question, the girls responded very quickly, offering the same opinions.
"Good, very good... I know everyone is tired from school and idol duties, but there's something I want to tell all of you."
The room went silent.
"Is it another fan signing event? If so, I'm out!"
Miru immediately sprang her decision.
"No, it's not a fansigning event."
The pink bunny laughed.
"Is it a concert?"
Airi asked with enthusiasm.
"Not a concert either."
"Guh..."
The room went silent again. Chie looked like she had something to say but stopped halfway, assuming her own opinions lacked credibility.
"Is it perhaps about that black pillar of light that terrorized Miname Yume District?"
The silence was quickly broken by a voice that did not have a tinge of insecurity. Hibana simply smiled and closed her eyes.
"Indeed, that was not a regular occurrence. Even back then."
The pink rabbit nodded her head, her ears drooping.
The cute gesture made Airi pout.
"Poor bunny! What are we gonna do about that though?"
Airi asked with fire burning in her eyes.
"That's why I gathered all of you today, see. I felt something off from that pillar. That was no ordinary youma energy—it's something more insidious. More disgusting."
Lya shuddered at the thought, making the girls more concerned.
「What could make the mascot of purity shudder? Wasn't it impurity?」
That's what they all thought.
"It's worse than youma energy?"
Miru scoffed.
"Indeed. It's the most primal energy. Darkness. Before light, there was only darkness. And darkness is the exact opposite of what the light stands for: Honesty, Integrity, Courage, Kindness. Darkness is the exact opposite!"
Lya's ears perked up as she lied as naturally as she breathed.
After all, they could never know the true context!
And knowing the full context won't do any of these girls good anyways..
And looking at the concerned expressions, it was clear they were on this pink rabbit's side!
Taking that into account, Lya smiled to herself.
Good job me!
Is what she told herself.
She then stared at Airi and Chie.
"Also, you two have been acting weird. Is anything wrong?"
Lya asked, tilting her head to the side.
"Wrong? What do you mean?"
Airi asked, dumbfounded. Of course the airheaded girl couldn't get it.
But Chie was different.
"I- uhm.."
Chie looked from Lya to the other people in the room staring at her. Her fingers pinched the hem of her skirt as she looked down.
"Nothing's wrong!"
She shouted, like a cornered kitten. They wouldn't believe her anyways if she told them she met a kind older sister that happened to be very scary!
However, Lya and Hibana didn't seem too convinced.
"What do you mean nothing's wrong? You act like you've seen a ghost! And that's telling, since you are usually very timid."
Hibana calmly said, sighing as if she's dealing with a kindergartner.
"T-that..."
Chie clenched her skirt even tighter.
『See? They don't believe you.』
A very warm and soft voice echoed in her ear.
"Eeiek!"
"?!?"
Seeing Chie stand up screaming so suddenly, the room went silent and Lya's eyes narrowed.
"Ah, I'm right. We got bugged.."
Lya said coldly.