The time finally came. Aya, Tomokazu, and I had prepared every single detail for the announcement of the album's release date.

We updated our social media profiles with pictures and banners that had the release date—made by Jun—accompanied by a short phrase: Idols Are Back. The background of the images was pink and the letters were white.

We then posted a short video—also made by Jun—showing short sequences of Japan based on antique pictures from the two thousands; the city, rural towns, beaches, and mountains. One of the sequences showed an idol group performing a show for two seconds, although with their faces out of frame. The final sequence showed the girls from the back, wearing the Blostars costume, facing a white void while pink leaves floated around them. After a couple of seconds, a pink leaf covered the screen and the same phrase from the banners appeared—Idols Are Back—before swapping into the release date, ending the video. Each sequence was accompanied by a background sound representing the setting, except for the final sequence, whose sound was a portion of the album's opening song—Blossom Stars—almost completely muted.

I projected a hologram of the video from my glasses into the air in the dance studio. Everyone working at GIMA clapped once it ended. Although they had seen it before, they hadn't watched the completed version.

"I love it!" Astra burst.

Aki nodded. "It's beautifully mysterious."

"It's public now?" Umi asked.

I took my glasses off before answering, "It was published a minute ago."

"Can we share it?" Satō eagerly asked.

"Please do. The more people watch it, the better. Actually, I have another request regarding this."

They all stared at me.

"The album is practically finished, but there are some details we need to work on, one of them being the cover. Another reason we set the release date to next week is so we have time to look for venues to perform at. However, the main reason is that we need to prepare by simulating mock performances before the actual show. Here's where my request comes in. All of you, please invite your friends and family to come here and watch a show in two days."

"Yes, Sir," Satō burst.

"Understood," Miki smirked.

Although the girls still smiled, they didn't react to my request and stood still, petrified.

"Are you okay?" I asked them.

"Yes, it's just a bit unexpected," Risa giggled.

"But you have performed a couple of times already."

"It's one thing to mentally prepare for something that is in a week, and another to prepare for something that is happening in only two days," Sanae replied.

"Fair enough," I said. "Then I should tell you now that we'll perform a show the same day the album is released."

The girls sighed.

Everyone asked questions about that show and the one for practice. Since it was going to take place on a Sunday, we decided to set the start time at eight in the evening.

The day quickly arrived. We began setting up the live show equipment in the empty gym right after lunch: a small platform for the girls to dance on, cameras, speakers, a smoke machine, and a few spotlights hanging from a tube on the ceiling. Even though it wasn't much and Butcher's strength helped to speed everything up, it still took the entire afternoon to finish.

Aya, Tomokazu, and I took note of everything; Miki practiced with the lighting controls on a panel and on his glasses since he wasn't a stage technician; and Satō and the girls practiced the choreographies.

Guests started arriving half an hour before the show began. Aya, Tomokazu, Butcher, and I were in charge of receiving them and guiding them upstairs to the gym.

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I recognized half of the faces, but not the other half. All of them introduced themselves and it surprised me that even Umi invited her friends. I met Astra's guardian for the first time and Aki's parents as well. Even though the conversation with them was short, it was awkward.

Among the people I recognized were my family, Professor Fuku, Kiku, and even the lawyer who helped us in the past. I had invited Ceruty as well, the QTuber that had interviewed me, but she rejected the invitation.

I stood next to the main entrance, waiting for more guests to arrive, when a message from Sanae appeared on my glasses.

"Have they arrived?" she asked.

Thankfully, her parents had shared their new contact information with her and Risa before disappearing. Even though they never replied to Sanae's invitation, she and Risa still had hope.

About to answer Sanae, two more guests walked through the glass door, so I hid everything on my glasses to be able to see them.

"Welcome and thank you for coming," I bowed. "I know you were invited, but we still need to check your ID before you can enter."

The man smirked. "It's good seeing you take the necessary precautions. You had us worried when you invited us."

Although his reply confused me, that feeling vanished when the HoloForm panels were swiftly deactivated and revealed his real face: Mr. Okazaki. I instantly assumed the woman beside him was Mariko even though she didn't show her face; she smiled at me.

No more words were necessary. We merely exchanged smiles and Mr. Okazaki reactivated his HoloForm before heading upstairs with Mariko.

I sent a message to Sanae, telling her they had just arrived. She instantly read the message but didn't reply.

It was time for the show to begin. We waited five more minutes, but no one else arrived. I locked the door and headed upstairs. Aya, Tomokazu, and Butcher stood outside the gym.

"Are you ready?" Aya asked me.

"Kind of."

"Don't be so nervous, dear friend," Tomokazu said. "Everything will go according to plan."

"It's better if it doesn't," Aya added. "The more mistakes you find now, the less you'll have to fix later."

"I know," I replied. "Alright, I should do the introduction."

About to open the door, Butcher grabbed my shoulder to stop me.

"Young man, can I watch the show?"

"Of course. Just stay close to the door."

He smiled. "Okay."

Finally, Aya, Tomokazu, and I stepped into the room. Although it was crowded, there was some space to walk through and the people moved aside to let us through. I received some slaps on my back as we arrived next to the platform where Miki sat in front of a small table with a panel.

"Everything is ready," he said to me. He handed me the same type of microphone the girls were going to use. "Use this instead of the app."

"Why?" I wondered. We had planned for me to simply use an app to broadcast my voice into the speakers since there was no need for quality in the introduction.

"I want to test it. If this one works, the girls' should work."

"Alright."

I put the microphone in my ear, which also worked as an earphone. The device extended from the ear to the start of the cheek.

"Perfect, the light turned on," Miki said. "You can go now."

Aya and Tomokazu stayed down while I climbed onto the platform. The room was practically silent until Mom shouted, "You're awesome!"

I sighed before smiling. "Hello, everyone."

My voice came out loudly from the speakers. Watching the crowd suddenly made my heartbeat rise, but I soon realized it was like giving a presentation at school. I continued as normally as possible.

"Thank you for coming today, we really appreciate it." The volume of my voice slowly lowered. "I don't know if the person that invited you told you the reason, so I'll explain it now. We're about to release our first album."

I didn't plan for the people to clap at that part, but they did. Some even shouted and whistled. I continued once the room became silent again.

"We need to test some things and practice, that's why we're doing this show for you. So please, if you have any comments, suggestions, or complaints, don't hesitate to tell us. Also, we kindly ask you to not say anything about this until the album is released, which will happen soon. That's why we blocked the camera function of your glasses in this room. Now, without further ado, I want to introduce Blostars."

Everyone started clapping. Butcher opened the door and the girls entered the room, making the clapping become louder. Luckily, the platform was close to the door and the people made a space for them to walk through. I stepped off the platform when the girls were about to climb on. I glanced at them and nodded with a smile. They smiled back at me before climbing on the platform and starting the show.

For an hour, they gave it their all. They danced, sang, and interacted with the crowd. It would've been flawless had it not been for some small details and mistakes.