An Idol's Life

"One, two, three, four, five..."

At the present time, Tendou along with his two new friends and future idol unit companions were currently seen in what looked to be a dance practice room where a large mirror covering an entire wall was present in front of them.

They were now all changed into more comfortable clothes to allow them each to properly practice, which consisted simply of your typical male sportswear. Items such as sports t-shirts, comfortable shorts, and sports shoes.

After their little conversation with Koga, they had been told that it'd be best for them to have their first dance lesson. Basically, one event lead to another, and here they were following the movements of their new dance trainer.

Speaking of which, their dance teacher was named Yukimura. Someone who looked to be in their late twenties with somewhat messy hair that was dark brown in colour, and just like them, he too was wearing comfortable sportswear.

"Six, seven, eight... and, finish!"

Just like that, the three of them posed in the same way that Yukimura did, thus ending their first little session of dancing. Kento looked completely fine, while both Tendou and Akashi had small amounts of sweat running down their face.

Considering what they've learned about Kento, the kid was probably used to dancing for long periods of time without rest. While both Tendou and Akashi weren't horrible stamina-wise, Kento was on a different level altogether.

"Brilliant work today, boys! You all did fantastic for your first-ever lesson!" Yukimura smiled with a look of approval and satisfaction on his face as he turned to face them. "We'll be doing similar lessons in the coming future, so keep up the work. That's it for today, get a good rest!"

"Right!"

After saying that, they all watched as Yukimura left the room after giving them a small bow. The three of them didn't leave straight away though, instead opting to sit down close to one of the walls to rest.

"That was something..." Tendou gave a tired sigh before chugging down a few gulps from his water bottle. He then wiped a drop of sweat from his face before looking at Kento, who was still dancing around in front of the mirror. "You're a bag of energy, aren't ya?"

"I guess!" Kento gave a small laugh as he stopped dancing before walking over to where both Tendou and Akashi were sitting. "You two were impressive, even though you haven't danced before. Especially you, Tendou. The way you moved looked so natural!"

"Really? Couldn't really tell."

"Akashi, on the other hand..." Kento seemed to shift his expression into a somewhat teasing smile as he glanced at the male in question. Seeing this, Tendou too turned to give the male a curious look. "He looked pretty stiff. Considering you were an actor, I thought you'd be fine with it!"

"Dancing and acting are two entirely different things." Akashi gave a deep deadpanned look after hearing Kento's words. He then gave a small sigh before leaning back against the wall with his arms crossed behind his head. "Literally our first day and it's gonna be exhausting."

What Akashi said was true, Koga had already informed them that they had some kind of photoshoot or something this afternoon. From what they understood, it was a photo shoot to get some publicity photos or something.

"Well, an idol's life isn't going to be easy." Kento chuckled as he gave a small shrug. He then proceeded to stretch his arms a bit as he continued to speak. "Since we have some time on our hands until then, how about we take a look around the place?"

"No objections here."

"Fine with me." Tendou nodded with a smile. "Though, let's make sure we actually get back to the receptionist area before the time Koga stated. I wouldn't put it past them to place punctuality as one of the most important qualities here."

"Of course, of course! Time's wasting, let's go!"

●●●●●●●●●●●

There really wasn't anything too special about their tour, they just looked around at all of the available facilities here at the complex. They had to admit, the studio really did live up to its reputation, everything was quite high-end.

They had access to all kinds of things such as private cafes, spa areas, and pretty much any basic facility and more that you'd ever need to live comfortably. For someone like Tendou, who never really indulged himself in such treatment, it was quite an experience to know that he could freely use such things when he wanted.

Just one of the many perks of being an idol.

"Woah, this smoothie is the best!" Kento seemed to sigh in delight as he continued to down the drink he had just ordered. The other two could only give him wry smiles as they saw him downing the rather large drink. "We should totally come back here again!"

"I mean, I don't mind..." Tendou seemed to trail on as his eyes slowly shifted to the side. "But, you might need to lay off on eating and drinking so much. At the rate you're going, diabetes are right around the corner."

"Guess we know where the energy comes from..." Akashi snorted as they both looked at the empty plates and cups on Kento's side of the table. "How much is that? Three smoothies, two plates worth of cupcakes, and two ice-cream sundaes. Do you eat this much on a regular basis?"

"Hm?" Kento seemed confused by the question before shaking his head. "Of course not. I usually have a few cups of pudding, an extra sundae or two, and some other things as well. I've decided to go on a diet for a few days though."

"..."

Hearing this, Akashi and Tendou had dark shadows covering their eyes as they stared at the kid in front of them with incredulous looks. They truly wondered how the kid could even still be alive considering how much sugar he consumed.

And this is supposed to be him on a diet?

You're taking a piss.

"Okay, we better get going then." Akashi spoke up once more after seeing that Kento had finished the smoothie he had been drinking just now. Looking at his watch, he then stood up from the chair. "It'll be five soon, so we should get there early."

"Wait, hold on! Let me get one more cake!"

"No way." Tendou deadpanned as he grabbed Kento by the back of his collar, to which he then followed Akashi while dragging Kento along. "You've already eaten enough. I'm not looking to get in trouble because one of us can't keep their sweet tooth in check."

"Oh, come on!"

"I said no. Now let's g-hm?" Tendou stopped what he was saying when he seemed to notice something just as he was approaching one of the other tables. 'Isn't that...? Oh, right! It's those two girls from this morning.'

"Eh?" Just like Tendou, one of the females seemed to notice him. Seeing the person's reaction, the other two also turned their heads over as well. "Oh, it's the person from before! The one we almost ran into in the hall!"

"Nice to see you again." Tendou nodded with a smile as he calmly walked over to the table... while still dragging Kento along. He ignored the flailing boy before speaking again. "Since it's our second time meeting, I should introduce myself. I'm Kakeru Tendou, nice to meet you."

"Eh~, so Kakeru then!" The brown-haired girl, the one he had almost collided with, nodded before introducing herself as well. "My name is Shimamura Uzuki, it's nice to meet you, Kakeru!"

"Shibuya Rin, nice to meet you."

"And I'm Mio Honda, just call me Mio!" The final person to introduce herself was the one that Tendou wasn't familiar with. This girl had somewhat short brown hair and seemed to give a vibe honestly somewhat similar to Kento. "Nice to meet you, Kakeru!"

"Then you can just call me Tendou if you wish."

"Then please just call me Uzuki." Uzuki nodded after hearing Tendou's words. Though, she then sent a curious look down when she saw Kento. Seeing him flailing around, she couldn't help but sweatdrop, along with the others. "This is...?"

"Tendou! Let go of me already!"

"Oh, right."

"Ahh... you can be really mean, huh?" Kento sighed as he slowly but surely got up from the ground. His body swayed from left to right a few times before he finally stood up straight. "Nice to meet you, I'm Fudomine Kento."

"Kento and Tendou, huh?" Mio seemed to say before asking. "Do you two perhaps work here?"

"In one way or another." Tendou nodded in response. "Kento and I, along with another friend of ours, were all actually selected to become a part of an idol unit today. Honestly, it was pretty surprising at first, but yeah."

"Oh, then you're the same as us!" Uzuki seemed to brighten up more after hearing Tendou's response. This earnt a curious look from the male. "The three of us are actually apart of something called the Cinderella Project, an idol unit as well!"

"I see, then good luck to you."

"What about you?" Rin seemed to speak up for the first time after introducing herself. "Which unit?"

"We're in the RUSH Project." Kento was the one who took the initiative to give an answer. "Just like the Cinderella Project, the RUSH Project is also a brand new unit that's being worked on! It's really small though, just the three of us."

"Speaking of which, we shouldn't keep Akashi waiting." Tendou took out his phone to check the time. He then looked at the three girls before giving a small bow. "I apologize, but I'll have to cut our conversation off short. We have a deadline we need to get to."

"A-Ah, of course." Uzuki seemed to nod in understanding. "I guess idols do have tight schedules."

"Uzuki, we also have to go." Rin gave a small sigh before speaking up, this earnt her a confused look from the female in question. "Don't you two remember? We were supposed to be meeting up with the producer soon."

"Oh, right!" Mio seemed to panic after hearing this, followed by Uzuki. "We need to go too!"

"Come on, we can't be late!"

Both Kento and Tendou watched as the three girls quickly got up to dash off and out of the cafe, though RIn did stop for a moment o give them a small bow. Tendou merely nodded back before watching as Rin chased after the other two.

"Let's get going too."

"Just don't drag me."

"As long as you don't be a pig."

●●●●●●●●●●●

After meeting back up with Koga, the producer guided them to one of the photoshoot rooms. If he was being entirely honest, Tendou was a bit nervous. He had never once modeled for anything unless you count school photos or something, but that didn't truly count.

Unlike photos such as that, the photos they were going to be taking soon were most likely going to be released for all of the public to see. Just that alone was enough to put quite a lot of pressure on his shoulders, he didn't want to look like an idiot in the photo.

Anyway, the three of them were currently waiting for Koga in the first photoshoot room. Their producer was apparently getting a few things ready, so he asked them to just wait here until he returned.

"You guys okay?" The one who asked this was Akashi, who right now looked confused when he saw both Kento and Tendou's rather uncomfortable and nervous expressions. "Are you guys worried about the photoshoot?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Tendou chuckled a bit as he responded. "I've never modeled in my entire life."

"Same here." Kento sighed, his usual energetic self gone as his shoulders were a bit slumped forward. "I can dance just fine, even in front of a crowd, but taking photos like these always makes me really nervous for some reason."

"Well, the first thing is to just try and relax." Akashi seemed to understand them as he gave the two of them somewhat sympathetic eyes. "A photoshoot like this one will usually want your natural self. In other words, just act how you normally would anywhere else."

"Easier said than done..."

"Yeah, not all of us were models like you..."

Another thing they had learned about Akashi was that he had also done some modeling work alongside his acting career, although nothing major. He had done some modeling for clothing companies and more in the past.

"Wow, sure sounds like you have quite a bit of experience!"

An unfamiliar voice seemed to speak out as they turned their heads to see a girl around eighteen years old or so walking over to them. She had pale-pink hair that reached below her shoulders, which right now were tied into big pigtails using a pair of black and yellow ribbons.

As for her clothing, it was rather revealing to say the least. Her top honestly borderlined just looking like a white and black bra, while her bottom half was covered by a very short tight black skirt and a pair of black and yellow high-heels that were connected to a pair of thigh-high black socks.

"Uhh, you are...?"

"Oh, I'm sorry! My name is Jougasaki Mika!" The female introduced herself with a smile on her face as she stopped in front of the three of them. She seemed to cast a curious look over each of them. "You three are the members of the RUSH Project, right?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"How interesting!" Mika seemed to brighten up a bit after being given that response. "We don't actually have a lot of male idols here at 346 Productions, like at all, so it's a rare occasion for us to see any new ones coming in."

"Is that so?" Akashi crossed his arms over his chest. "Producer Koga did say they wanted to try something new, so I guess that's one of the main purposes behind the RUSH Project. In any case, my name is Haruka Akashi."

"Kakeru Tendou, a pleasure to meet you."

"Fudomine Kento!"

"I see, I'll be looking forward to working with the three of you." Mika nodded her head after hearing their introductions. "Who knows, maybe we'll end up performing together at some point. I'm sure looking forward to it!"

"Sorry for keeping you three waiting." At this time, Koga had returned from whatever it was he was doing. After walking over to them, he soon took notice of Mika. "Ms. Jougasaki? I'm sorry, but the boys here are about to get very busy. Sorry for cutting off your conversation."

"Not at all! Sorry for taking up your time." Mika waved her hand in front of her face. She then turned her head back to look at the three males. "Good luck in there, you three. You can do it!"

With that, they were guided by Koga over to the preparation area where they'd get things such as makeup and more done before they actually took the photos. Aside from Akashi, the other two found having makeup put on them a bit weird.

You couldn't really blame them, makeup was not something they ever used, so naturally ever having it on was also something they'd never experienced. Thankfully, the makeup was just a few finishing touches, so it didn't take long.

"Alright, Mr. Haruka! You're up first!"

"Understood!"

Both Tendou and Kento watched as Akashi was called up first to take photos, and they could see that he wasn't at all nervous. Since this shoot was to catch their natural selves, they were all just asked to wear what they had arrived in today.

Since Akashi was actually dressed rather formerly, it really did help magnify the mature and reliable side that Koga had described Akashi as. Each of the poses that he did showed off not only his mature demeanor, but also displayed a posture of strength.

And with the formal attire he was wearing, his poses really did match well with his image.

"Maybe it would've been best for him to go last..." Kento chuckled a bit nervously as they both continued watching from behind the cameras as Akashi continued to alternate between poses. "Set the benchmark low, you know?"

"Yeah..."

"Fantastic!" The person taking the photos looked very pleased with the results, evident by the large smile on their face. "Alright, that should be enough photos. Mr Kakeru, you're the next one up! Please come over!"

"Right!"

Taking a deep breath, Tendou walked on over as Akashi also began leaving the photo area. Before Tendou could walk past Akashi, the older male placed his hand on Tendou's shoulder before giving a nod.

"Good luck out there."

"Th-Thanks."

With that, Tendou went up and stood in front of the cameras as Akashi walked over next to Kento. Tendou wasn't entirely sure just what kind of pose he was supposed to do, he wasn't experienced in this field like Akashi was.

"You're a bit too stiff, please act a bit more naturally!"

"R-Right..."

"Tendou!" Akashi's voice called out as Tendou turned to look at him. "Don't think too much about it! Just relax and stand how you'd normally do, it's the natural you that we're after here!"

Hearing that, Tendou seemed to frown a bit before nodding as he took another deep breath. After a bit, Tendou opened his eyes before standing with one hand in his pocket and his eyes staring directly toward the camera. His face always remained a neutral expression.

The sound of pictures being taken could be heard constantly as Tendou began to do other poses as well, even taking off his jacket to either hang around one shoulder or to rest on top of both of his shoulders.

"Good... he's good." Akashi narrowed his eyes as he watched Tendou with a critical look in his eyes. "Just with that small amount of advice from me, he was capable of modeling as if he had been doing it for years. He gives off a cool teenager vibe, rebellious yet not at the same time."

"He's just a bag of talent, isn't he?" Kento also looked amazed. "I'm getting nervous again..."

"Just try your best."

After a couple of more photos, it was finally Kento's turn as the boy made his way up to the photo area. However, to describe Kento's poses at the moment, the best word would probably be 'tree'.

He was as stiff as a literal log.

"Relax your body!"

"Your smile is still far too stiff!"

"Take it again!"

"This might be difficult..." Akashi sweatdropped alongside Tendou as they continued watching Kento's rather awkward poses. The poses themselves weren't bad, it was just that his expressions were far too stiff to make them work. "What should we do?"

"Hmm..." Tendou seemed to hold his chin in thought before his eyes suddenly widened. Akashi watched as the younger male reached into his pocket before taking something out. "Kento, think fast!"

"H-Huh?"

Kento was barely able to react when Tendou seemed to toss something over to him, stumbling a bit before managing to catch whatever it was. Confused, Kento opened his hand to see that it was a chocolate bar.

"Chocolate...? Wait, isn't this a limited edition product?!" Kento seemed to widen his eyes considerably after seemingly coming to some realization. "This flavor of chocolate is impossible to find nowadays!"

"Yeah, just enjoy it."

"Thank you!" Kento seemed to immediately wash away any and all nervousness as he began taking bites out of the chocolate bar. As the taste covered all of his taste buds, his expression immediately switched to one of absolute delight. "Delicious~!"

Almost immediately, the cameraman seemed to react as he began taking photos nonstop. With an incredulous look on his face, Akashi could only blink before turning to look at Tendou, who just stared ahead with a nonchalant expression.

"How did you know that'd work...?"

"Hm? Well, he's a major sweet tooth, so I guess I thought it would've helped bring out that natural side of him."

"I-I see..."