Chapter 12: Encore!
It seems the idea that only suffering leads to growth is truly a fallacy. What is worth praising is the person who persists in moving forward *despite* the suffering.
Watching Ai reveal a genuine smile, Hikaru Hoshino suddenly felt a deep sense of gratification.
Even without that tragedy occurring, look—hadn't she found exactly what she had been searching for all along?
The audience seemed stunned by Ai's performance, falling into a brief silence that even caused the livestream comments to vanish for a few seconds.
Then came the deafening cheers.
There was no accident, nor the "flame war" backlash the President had feared. Scripts and personas didn't matter in the end; what people craved was the purest form of artistic expression. A performance this soulful was bound to captivate their hearts.
This was the true charm of art.
"Encore! Encore! Encore!"
Soon, the demand for a repeat performance echoed through the Dome. The roar was so powerful it felt as if it might blow the roof off. The comment section was a synchronized wall of the word "Encore."
Ai had never handled a situation like this before. It was her first time witnessing an entire audience chant for an encore in unison; she had only seen such scenes at concerts for national-level legendary singers. She never imagined she would experience it herself one day.
She instinctively looked toward Hikaru Hoshino, only to see him shaking his head at her.
Hikaru mouthed the words: *"The rental time is almost up."*
Ai understood immediately.
"Even though everyone is shouting for more, I'm so sorry. The rental time for the Tokyo Dome is nearly at its limit, so I'm afraid today's concert has to end here..."
"Did you think I was going to say that?"
Ai suddenly flashed a cheeky grin, holding up a peace sign with her right hand.
Hikaru Hoshino began to feel a sense of foreboding.
"Since the fans are asking for it, as an idol, I must respond to everyone's expectations! After all, I have always loved you all from the bottom of my heart!"
"Just this once, a limited-time return for *Idol*!"
As if breaking all her shackles, Ai revealed a bright, defiant smile.
"OOOOOHHHHHH!!!!"
The entire venue erupted into a total frenzy. Red glow sticks waved wildly; the crowd looked like a mob of rioters in a state of pure euphoria.
Hikaru, the President, the twins, and the members of B-Komachi—all those who truly knew Ai—stood frozen in place with various expressions.
The President was moved to tears: "Go for it, Ai! I'll take the fall for whatever happens next!"
Aqua and Ruby were dumbfounded: *Wait, Mama can actually make a face like that?!*
The other three members of B-Komachi had complex looks on their faces. They suddenly felt the distance between them and Ai had closed significantly.
"What do you know... she really can laugh like a normal girl."
For the first time, Hikaru felt things had spiraled beyond his control, leading to an unexpected shift.
But he didn't hate this change.
When he had given Ai instructions earlier, he had assumed she would follow them to the letter. After all, that was her nature.
Craving love, wanting to be loved, lacking social graces or common sense, a mouth full of lies, and always wearing a perfectly designed smile. Because she couldn't read the atmosphere, she always deferred to others, afraid of breaking fragile relationships. Taking all the blame upon herself—a doll so cowardly she only dared to apologize in private.
She was like a puppet so full of self-loathing that she yearned for self-destruction at every turn. But now, that heartless doll...
"Is a thing of the past."
Hikaru's lips curled into a smile.
Ai laughed with abandon, and the second performance began shortly. This time, she sang with even more force and emotion.
The weight of technique plummeted, while the proportion of raw feeling skyrocketed.
She was no longer flawless; she no longer operated with the precision of a machine. Her smile wasn't a pre-calculated 45-degree angle; her voice wasn't a flat phonograph record. Small mistakes began to surface, and her dance moves were often too broad, but it only made it harder for anyone to look away.
"Before, she was just the reincarnation of a first-magnitude star. Now, she's as dazzling as the sun."
"These words are absolutely not a lie."
"I love you all!"
Her previous hesitation was swept into the dustbin of history. Ai used every ounce of her strength to finish the final line without a hint of friction.
A cheer even more intense than the last followed, and the comments scrolled across the screens at an unreadable speed.
"Encore! Encore! Encore!"
Ai panted heavily, wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead, and replied with a laugh, "This time it really is over!"
"I literally can't jump anymore."
The audience gradually calmed down, leaving only Ai's voice echoing through the arena.
"Actually, I know that I'm a very clumsy person. But I'm lucky to have met a group of wonderful people who didn't give up on me and were willing to walk beside me."
"Until today... it's like the glass that was always blocking my eyes has vanished. I am finally looking at this world clearly."
Ai spoke her truth to the 50,000 people present.
"Only now do I realize that so many people have loved me all along. Yet I stayed trapped in a childhood nightmare, refusing to wake up."
She took a deep breath, pulling the headset microphone closer.
"I am the idol Ai Hoshino! I am the greediest idol in the world."
"My life's creed is to return all of that love to you!"
"Thank you for being my fans! And thank you for continuing to support me in the future!"
"That's a given!" someone in the crowd shouted at the top of their lungs, followed by countless others.
"I'm an Ai-stan for life!"
"Ai Hoshino's captives, fall in!"
"Here!" "Here!" "Here!"
The concert had turned into something of a chaotic market square—a development Hikaru Hoshino had never anticipated. He tapped his temple helplessly, then his eyes suddenly widened as a thought struck him.
He remembered that Ai had never revealed her surname to the media before, which was why he had dared to release the news claiming he had changed his name to "Hikaru Hoshino."
But now...
Looking at the thousands of fans screaming the three characters of "Hoshino Ai," Hikaru let out a bitter laugh.
Aqua and Ruby would eventually debut with the Hoshino surname, and combined with the fact that Aqua looked strikingly like him...
He started to get a headache thinking about how to cover up this relationship.
Ai had her fun, but she really left him with a massive problem.
After making her declaration before 50,000 people, Ai Hoshino finally stepped off the stage. This soul-stirring Dome performance had finally reached its conclusion.
—Or so it should have been.
But three members of B-Komachi did not leave the stage.
As if inspired by Ai's courage, they stood hand-in-hand on the stage and took the microphone.
"We're sorry to interrupt the mood, but we must announce a regrettable fact."
"After discussion, the three of us have decided to withdraw from B-Komachi."
The audience's eyes widened.
If they weren't mistaken, that meant...
B-Komachi was disbanding right here and now.