Aikatsu Crescent!

「Phase 21」Dream CD Debut!

As the Summer faded away and turned to Autumn, things were becoming more intense within Celestial Academy. With the first half of the school nearly over, the first-years were beginning to make names for themselves within the world of Aikatsu. In particular, three girls were making waves: Amamiya Mai, Shimura Tsubaki and Hinode Hinata. They had each obtained Premium Rares from their preferred brands, a feat not many first years could claim to have achieved. The three were known for having a close friendship, always encouraging each other.

"Welcome to the Premium Rare club!" Hinata exclaimed, holding her hand out for Mai to shake. Mai awkwardly smiled, doing as her friend wanted

"I'm glad to be here," she said.

"All three of us have Premium Rares now," Tsubaki commented, "I wonder how our Aikatsu is going to improve from here on out."

"I'm sure it'll be more exciting," Mai said. Then, she turned to Kotone, who was sitting beside her, silently picking at her food. Over the past few weeks, Kotone found herself joining the three at breakfast more frequently, yet Mai had never seen her actually eat before. Today, Mai decided to finally tell Kotone to get something. She agreed reluctantly, though was yet to actually eat, which was... worrying. "What about you, Kotone-chan? Have you decided on a brand yet?"

"I do not understand why that should be a priority," she said, placing her fork down. Most would see this, paired with her way of speaking, as an act of frustration, but the three knew Kotone well enough to at least know she wasn't actually bothered by this question. "Being versatile has increased my chances of appearing on search results by 37.389%." Still refusing to perform or act, Kotone had mostly been taking up modelling jobs, representing various cool type brands. From the flashy Passionate Starbeat; to the gothic Twilight Fortune; to the graceful Millennia Wings. She shone in all of them, gaining attraction from fans of all three brands, but...

"Don't you want to feel like you really belong to a brand?" Hinata asked.

"Not particularly. Am I supposed to?"

"Well, I guess you don't have to," Hinata said. She paused. "You're really unpredictable... I'll have to work hard to beat you!"

"I'll be cheering for you Hina," Tsubaki said, getting up. "I'm going to class now, see you at break."

"We should go too." Mai looked to Hinata, then Kotone. Hinata got up too, followed by Kotone.

─── ｡ﾟ☽: * .♡. * :☾ ° . ───

"Next Wednesday, each of you are going to be given the chance to have your - drumroll please," Kaoru said to his class who were just as uninterested as they usually were during his 'exciting announcements'. Some of the more eager students, such as Mai, very quietly and awkwardly played along with the drumroll, though it was nowhere as impressive as the teacher had envisioned. He stayed enthusiastic, however.

"Next Wednesday, each of you will be given the chance to make your CD debut!"

In an instant, the room became much more lively, everyone's attention caught.

"A CD debut!" Hinata repeated, her eyes sparkling, "We can make our CD debut!"

"It's so exciting!" Mai exclaimed, "More people will know about us if we debut, right?"

"Absolutely! We could become household names!"

After signalling to the class to quiet down since he wasn't quite finished, he continued. "You'll be performing in groups of three," he said, holding up three fingers. Mai and Hinata exchanged confident smiles - this couldn't be more perfect!