Dream Star

Before Yumeko could get any words out; however, she, Rukchan and Maikchan get called up. Yumeko looked towards Ari-chan, and their gaze met. The two of them still weren"t on friendly terms, and yet Yumeko could see it in her eyes, "good luck." A silent prayer.

..

Truthfully speaking, she may have entered the Dream Stars tournament on a whim before. It was a whim, or was it? Originally Yumeko played around with the idea of entering a compet.i.tion and proving Haruka wrong. But over time that changed. It changed after she accompanied Mikami-kun to Star town last year. Since the moment she personally met her idol, something inside her clicked. It was like a rusted switch had just switched on after somebody remembered to turn it on.

------

Last year Universal Star Town.

"Yes. Yumeko-chan, I wonder if I should tell you. It may change your impression of me. But if we"re going to be performing together, I don"t want there to be any secrets between us. You see, a long time ago. Rather it was just recently, where I couldn"t get along with those around me…"

"Eh that"s --"

"Oh relax, I wasn"t bullied, or anything and Kiryu was always with me, so I wasn"t alone. However, I didn"t have any female friends. Kiryu attracted a lot of attention too, and so did the other guys around me. It was only natural for me to become the enemy of all girls. If it were just that then fair enough, I"d manage somehow. But even large amounts of guys stayed away from me, those who did talk to me tried to rope me into something dangerous. n.o.body was bullying me, but I they shunned me, insulted me, and people would shove me around when they got the chance, and they even came up with names."

"Lilchan, that would be called being bullied."

She tilted her head in confusion, that was bullying? But even though they did that, she couldn"t feel any form of resentment of any kind towards them. Maybe she"s just weird like that.

"Either way, I wasn"t alone. Kiryu would hold me tight whenever he got the chance to. Being in his arms like that, relaxed me quite a bit. But female friends.h.i.+ps are important. Even if Kiryu is the most important person, there are things only friends can do for you. I didn"t have anyone properly then. But everything changed when Kasumi transferred to my middle school. Although at the start we didn"t really talk to each other, after all, we were in different cla.s.ses. But after the problems with my cla.s.s escalated. The head teacher brought Kasumi to my cla.s.s; they probably heard that we were friends. At the start, I intended to treat her the same as I did everyone else, but it was no good."

"Was Kasumi-san persistent? It"s hard to imagine."

"Sorta. Kasumi might have seen herself in me too since I heard she had similar problems. You know I didn"t intend to push others away from me. But jealousy is truly deadly, and if I had wanted to fit in. I shouldn"t have revealed my intelligence or stuck to Kiryu."

"But you can"t help that. You just happen to be born with the ability to absorb information quickly, happen to have fallen in love with someone and singing. Lilchan your talents, everything that makes people jealous about you. They were all born from your dream. I"m not sure about the studies part, but I"m sure it"s because you liked it that you studied and worked hard. Working on your appearance for the sake of the one you dreaming love ...and singing. " Yumeko smiles softly, "I"m sure I can"t even describe the extent to how much you love singing. You couldn"t help it. It doesn"t make you a bad person. Those girls may have been in the wrong, but it"s only because they didn"t have a dream then. ."

"I was very lonely. But that changed after Kasumi came a long, Maaya and Rinna who were in different schools also heard the situation and transferred over. It made me very happy, being surrounded by the people I cared about. Those days that were filled with darkness slowly turned in to light," Lila walked over to the window and opened it.

A cold gust of wind blew across the room.

"Maybe it"s because those three were the same as me, those with dreams. That many people envied them too. However, Kasumi put a stop to it. In fact, maybe it"s because of what she did then that loads of people began to find their dreams. Kasumi was full of confidence when speaking about her dream, and I believed it too. Someday Kasumi will become a top model, someone who"s surpa.s.sed her mother and those before her. "

"The power of dreams is truly dreaming amazing when you told me that just now it reinforced my view. Dreams help shape individuals in more ways than one, and it helps bring those who are lost together. The power of dreams, does Lilchan believe in it too?"

"I do."

"Aha. Listen to me rambling so much, even though right now I can barely keep up."

--

Present day

Yumeko opened her eyes; it"s okay now Lilchan. Though there are many things she is uncertain of, she understands now what she has to do. As she said this, the announcer signaled the start of the performance.

"Every day is like a spinning kaleidoscope.
s.h.i.+ning in the colors of another person"s dream," Yumeko sang.

What she"s been wanting to do this whole time. Her gaze fell on the blue-haired girl backstage; the two are similar after all, huh? When Yumeko first heard of the rumors regarding Ari-chan being Teras.h.i.+ma Lila, she dismissed it. Of course, she would, "It can"t be, no way," Yumeko would mutter to herself. But deep down, didn"t she already knows the truth? Deep down, she knew. Ari-chan was hardly in the dorms, but they did spend some time together before their friends.h.i.+p went astray.

"Take my hand, take her hand, take his - just know that you aren"t standing here alone," Ruka sang.

That"s why she should know the truth better than anybody. Ari-chan and Lilchan are the same people. It"s the truth she has denied this whole time. Yumeko wondered what it was. Did she feel ashamed that she was still failing when it came to Maikchan? Hadn"t her abilities gotten any better since their last meeting?

"Yes, you are not alone. There is a connection between every individual, even if it is something that isn"t visible," Maika sang.

Or maybe it was fear?

Maybe she was afraid. Despite how high and mighty she acted - despite how pa.s.sionately she spoke about her dreams. Deep down she was always hesitating, Yumeko took a side glance at Maika. "And Maikchan knew this," Maika noticed it. It"s no wonder she was cruelly turned down over and over.

"So then let me ask you, what is friends.h.i.+p? What are dreams? Even if we cannot see it take shape, there is something that will always connect us," Ruka and Maika sang.

Maikchan wasn"t cruel; no from the very start, the girl only said those words because she had observed her carefully. Maikchan wasn"t harsh. Ever since she first brought up the offer, Yumeko knew the girl had been carefully watching her.

"There are times where you may feel alone - but during those times, listen closely. Music will always connect us," Yumeko sang.

During those times of doubt, her memories with Lilchan would resurface, and Ruka? Ruka would support her. Her friend was not good with encouraging or helping people get out of their slump. But her friend did whatever she could to help her. Ruka has been by her side this whole time. And there is one more person who she ought to thank. It"s the one person who gave her a reason to sing.

"Let"s go Dream Sphere,
Do not be afraid
Even if you are all alone - just extend your hand out, just sing, and you"ll reach somebody.
Your voice will be the guiding light that leads you to another person," the three of them sang.

Her beloved Atsuya.