After sprinting down the stairs they made it to the grass seating area. Luckily the Shoshina are normally placed at the back of the seating arrangement. Sanaka was in slight shock at the amount of Idols CX co had. They parted as their seats were at different spots. Wishing each other good luck.
Sanaka was now thinking about how her brother had told her that the chances were low, because only the top 25 shoshina get in. So if by some chance that 25 make it into the top 100, and she is not one of them. She will probably not be selected for the promotion to the main squad.
She takes her seat next to Liana and some random girl from the other group. Who kind of looks similar to Liana with her overly make up face. Liana gives her an eyebrow raise as she sits down.
The Woman's voice rings across now.
"Are you ready for the top 100 countdown." The crowd erupts, lots of them waving their glow sticks around frantically.
"Number 100, congratulations on the Shoshina Hosta Telepo. Hosta seems to jump up in the air doing a small dance with a big smile, and then starts bowing to the crowd. However, she sits down after getting a stern look from Yahiga. The crowd gives a round of applause at the display.
"Nice moves Hosta, However the fun police Yahiga comes in on fire. Number 99 Liana Arasta, Liana jumps up next to Sanaka , the spotlight shining on her. Hosta visibility distraught that she lost to Liana.
The next 10 proceed to be from the other group. Including the person next to Sanaka who even gave a smug smile off to Sanaka and Liana. With the first Regular being named at 88, Sanaka being told by Liana that she was a rookie from last year. As the number got smaller more did Sanaka's worry increase. Now the bigger shots of the Shoshina group were getting called. It was a mix she was getting more and more excited at the possibility of her name getting called. Yet the possibility of her going unranked is also creeping in to being a large factor. The truth was that she wasn't sure that she qualified as what people may see as a likable character, so she really didn't know what they thought about her. In fact she had never even met a fan, except one that she hopes she will never see again.
"Number 62 is another Shoshina, Sunia Minima."
The crowd made a cheer even louder than the last Shoshina. It seemed now that the crowd's strength was increasingly getting stronger. The sky had also now gone completely black.
However the main course of this atmosphere and on edge at this low down in the order, was no doubt the race of the Shoshina's. Who was going to triumph out of Manny, Hina, Sayaki, and Hayate. Sunia being called was a big player out of the game. Two more regular members were called.
"Number 60 on the dot is another Shoshina Polly Hipweird." The crowd applauses loudly.
three more regulars get called.
"Number 56 is Manny" the crowd gives an even louder applause than for Polly. The sense of the climax was building up anticipation to an extent that you could almost hear the sound of peoples legs bouncing up and down, or peoples teeth chattering.
Three regulars are called one by one, every number called that was a regular was anticlimactic. People on the edge of their seats the wind and sky twirling.
"Number 51 Regular from group D Imatar Sabinto"
The crowd lets out a sigh. While Sanaka felt kind of bad for Imatar, it wasn't her fault she wasn't a Shoshina anymore.
"I want everyone to take note, no other Shoshina has ever cracked the top 50 before. Number 49 The SHOSHINA SAYAKI TAKAHASHI" The mc yells through the mic giving it a bit of feedback, but the crowd doesn't seem to care, as they scream even louder.
The light shines on Sayaki. She gives a fake wave and smiles. She knows she has lost the ultimate war for the poll votes.
"That's one down one more to go" The girl whispers next to Sanaka. It was true there was a war between Shoshina groups now. Who had the number 1 star, now all of the Shoshina were on their seats. Hosta even had stopped talking for the first time since she had originally been called.
"Number 48 is another SHOSHINA." the announcer pauses
"Sorry this is big" she sighs wiping her forehead from the sweat.
"THE NUMBER 48 IS GROUP 2 HAYATE SASAKI"
Everyone from group 1 erupts in cheers. HIna has beaten group 2. The light is directed towards Hayate. Unlike Sayaki, she smiles and waves genuinely. She had beaten Sayaki and came second in the Shoshina ranking, and she seemed fairly happy with the result.
However Sunia looks back at Sanaka now. She couldn't help but think Sanaka could still be picked. She had watched those recordings, she had watched the recordings, She had seen Sanaka give off a look of comparison of Mayaki Dancho. She didn't know if the Mayaki Dancho look gave off a good likability or not. But most people seemed to think it was over. Hina had won the competition.
The next person that was called was a regular.
"FOR NUMBER 47 THE THIRD SHOSHINA TO CRACK THE TOP 50 GROUP 1's HINA TAMURA"
All of group 1 stand, the light shines onto Hina she smiles with the classical cute Idol wave. Sanaka stands up to try and find out who this Hina person even is.
Hina knew it was inevitable that she would win. She was in the top position going into the regulars. No doubt she could find herself a good position in the regulars contest now as the most desirable target.
She had beaten the two people with relatives from the industry. Hayate, a relative of the great Hataya, and Sayaki of Tayaki. They had everything yet they lost to the person who came from nothing. Pure blood sweat and tears had landed her this spot. And now she was going to savor it, she looked over at Sayaki giving a smug look. Her friend Silia gave her a big smile and a 'victors' arm tense, a very boy thing to do which she found was nice.
The girl next to Sanaka was going completely ballistic with cheers.
"Beat that group 2, you will always be number 2." She looks over at Sanaka and Liana and gives a smile of smugness.
"Don't worry you guys got it next year." she says, returning to cheering. Liana couldn't feel more annoyed, she was getting gloated about a competition she wasn't even expecting.
The MC allows the crowd to settle down, Before resuming the count down.
…
Sabiti sits there at the far corner of the stadium. He is sitting by himself because Sid and Samarchi wanted to check out an all you can eat buffet. However he knows this should be a fairly interesting night. This Hina Tamura person beating both Sayaki and Hayate was fairly shocking. Well he hadn't actually seen her perform, he didn't know if he should've felt bad that he may have accidentally made them sick at the handshaking event, or he could just assume it's a coincidence.
He liked being alone but like always Cya seemed to appear out of nowhere.
"Did you get abandoned by all of your friends?" She says walking along the seats to him. Her hips swayed seducefully, her body was perfection in any man's eyes, her curves and face second to none. However it seemed that she had brought a friend this time. He could tell instantly that this was Phora the actress from america. She was definitely considered an A-lister tier celeb in all accounts for her work.
"You brought along a friend." Sabiti says standing up. He reaches out a hand shaking her hand. Her hand was petite with a feeling that he could break every bone in it with ease. Yet he remembered that he was not even that strong.
"The name Phora." she says, smiling back at him.
Cya just gave a contemplating look at Sabiti.
Cya didn't understand this man at all. It's probably the only reason she even talks to him still. She brought him an A lister celebrity, and yet he doesn't even blink an eye. He doesn't fumble his words, he doesn't even seem to care. Also the fact of the matter is she is an A-lister in her own right. She doesn't know how this guy owns a house the same size as hers or how he knows so much about the Idol industry. She had considered he was part of a male Idol group, yet she ruled that out. She knew all the Male Idols out there that had hit it marginally big.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I like that scene with Chris in the 'open nights' movie" he says smiling cheekily. She blushes slightly. While Cya sits there smiling, she can't believe he decided to bring up that bed scene.
"What about Sanaka, did she end up getting a rank? I had heard that the book predicted that she would go unranked. "
"Well she hasn't got a rank… yet" he says consideringly.
"What do you mean yet, you're saying the book is completely wrong and that she is going to beat everyone." Cya replied doubtfully.
"No, the book isn't wrong. But she put in the wrong data into the question, basically she lied on accident, about not having a tattoo."
"She has a tattoo?"
"Yeh I accidentally gave her a tattoo on her back once when I had drunk too much. So she got a new rank, I guess you could say"
…
Back down on the pitch, Sanaka couldn't believe her eyes, she had expected not to get a rank. But now that she actually hadn't it hurt a lot more.There was officially no way that she could get a rank now. It had gone into the thirties. That option wasn't even crossing her mind.
Sunia's thoughts had trailed to the same thing. But she had realised that people must have not wanted to see another Mayaki Dancho, to not see something so electrifying but also so not like a japanese Idol. Mayaki, Tayaki and Hataya had changed the industry on many different levels. They had brought in an even higher need for skills. They had made it more like K-pop. They had broken J-pop into the international scene by themselves. It was a revolution that some didn't want, and probably not again. They probably can deal with the scenario now, but anymore and it will become like K-pop.
The ranks ticked down one by one. The MC going through quickly ish. She wanted to get through to the big numbers, the final 10. However at some random point she paused to double check.
"Sorry guys, I just needed to check my eyes for a second." people looked around each other, the crowd wondering what could be what she finds confusing.
However over at the far corner of the stadium
"Bingo" Sabiti calls, Cya shaking her head.
"How the hell did the book know it was this number?" Cya says, shaking her head.
The MC smiles, regaining her composure.
"THE NUMBER 29 SPOT GOES TO THE SHOSHINA FROM GROUP 2 SANAKA SCLAR." THE MC YELLS.
However the crowd doesn't cheer straight away there is a shocked silence. Up at the stands a lot of people were thinking to themselves, that they thought they were the only ones that selected Sanaka.
"I selected Sanaka, but I thought that I was the only one."
"Same" was echoed by many fans
"ILL SAY IT AGAIN, THE GREATEST RANKING BY A SHOSHINA!, SANAKA SCLAR" the crowd this time after clearing up a misunderstanding screams with cheers. So do group 2 members who needed time to realise what happened. They all looked at Sanaka most thinking, how the hell did she beat everyone.
Most of them wouldn't have cheered that hard, it was just Sanaka, However all the abuse they had received by group 1 they were giving back ten fold. Hosta was definitely getting way too into it. Yahiga gave up on trying to restrain people. The spotlight shown on Sanaka. She did not expect this, she didn't give a smile or really anything. Just a awkwards wave of the hand with an expression of shock. Liana looked at Sanaka shocked, how the hell did Sanaka rank so highly. Like that's 70 ranks higher than her. However when she sees the girl next to her from group 1 she doesn't think about that anymore. She cheers as loud as she can without any regard for her voice box.
The girl next to Sanaka can't believe this. She was smug about Hina, and thought that the nobody next to her was unranked. No one from group 1 even knew about this person, even looking at this person's bland face just adds insult to injury.
Sunia who most people recognise as a quiet high achiever, couldn't help but smile and do a little clap. It was an odd day for her, they had been attacked by a group of males, saved by her brother, and then Sanaka miraculously gets the rank of 29. So her thoughts on the world not wanting a revolution are wrong, the J-pop world wants a new Mayaki Dancho most of all.
Cya couldn't help but wonder how this person knew her ranking. 29 he told her 29 right after she had arrived and sat next to her. And not to mention, how did Sanaka pull this off? When Cya saw her originally, she was a bad dancer, bad singer. While now she has definitely hit fame as a Shoshina better than her sister or even the great Tayaki and Mayaki had done. All while this guy smiles smugly at his own brain power.
…
The rankings went on to duller terms. However, everyone was very excited to see who was gonna be number 2. Number 1 was always Hataya, it didn't matter if you disliked her you had to pick her. She was the best and there was no way that there could ever be a change.
10-5 was called with the crowd's tension building up. Cylei even made it into tenth place. An unprecedented thing for her age. The crowd was very pleased however none of the Idols were scene clapping at her debut in the top 10.
…
I didn't really know how to feel. I had been shoved on a rollercoaster of emotions. Feeling sad and angry at this person next to me. Feeling shocked, then happy and now kind of confused. Why did I rank so high? I ranked higher than any other Shoshina in history, yet it's not like I am like a prodigy or anything like it.
But my stupid brother's book was wrong, so I am very happy about that. He can go away from that smug look that he always has on his book. 'unranked ' What a joke.
The next 20 odd numbers flew by, I cheered Cylei on feeling like I was the only one to, out of the whole CX co Idol groups. She even gave me a death stare when I cheered for her.
It was now down to the top 3. These people would now walk up to the podium. The air was quiet, but not to mistake quiet for not intense. The pressure oozing off the crowd was insane. I wasn't paying attention so I do not know who is actually left to be picked.
"THE NUMBER THREE POSITION THIS YEAR WIth 245,345 votes IS OSIKI MIYAZAKI!"
It seems half the crowd erupts, however a large proportion doesn't, this obviously means that they wanted Osiki to be even higher, actually they probably just hate her. Osiki walks up to the stadium, her demeanor on a completely different level to what I have seen her in the past. Her face holds almost an anger to it, yet she smiles as nicely as anyone could.
"NOW AS YOU KNOW THAT MEANS SECOND PLACE WITH 251,388 IS THE UPCOMING STAR SAZAKI AOKI the crowd erupts as she makes the announcement.
The crowd erupts, everyone not wanting to hear their voices tomorrow.
Sazaki walks up, she is not as tall as Osiki, yet she gives Osiki a smug smirk as she walks onto the podium above where Osiki stands. Osiki continues clapping for her, with the exact same smile as before.
"AND THE WINNER FOR THE THIRD YEAR IN A ROW WITH 433,882 VOTES IS NONE OTHER THAN HATAYA SASAKI" the MC announces.
She walks up there, a professional smile yet she almost looks disappointed. The others give her a smile. Yet it is obvious that while Osiki respects Hataya, Sazaki's eyes bore into Hataya with resentment. All three of them stand on the podium, While they look small from far away, there is a sense of significance, that these people are the best in CX co. People say that stars are just human, however these people don't give me that vibe, aliens that sit at an unattainable distance.
I look over at Sayaki, for the first time this evening, do I see a genuine smile. It isn't a pretty smile, but it is the smile of a declaration of war that maybe next year we will sit on the podium of CX co.