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The Portal of Zeta: iDOLM@STER Neo Vision

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ZetaFlare:
Kazama Mai's Route, cont.

The unit manages to recover from their recent blowout loss, but Mai continues to put in a lot of extra training after work in. While the unit continues to achieve success as a whole, she is really starting to push herself to the very limit, worrying about the gap between her and Maya. Eventually the unit reaches Rank C. One evening after ZetaPro’s festival performance against 961Pro/Ryuuguu Komachi, Kenji spots Mai in a cemetery, praying to one of the gravestones. Kenji is curious and decides to chat with her. Mai informs Kenji the gravestone she’s standing in front of is that of her mother’s—Maki Kazama. If it were not for her influence, Mai would not even be half the person she is now. Back in her day, Maki was a professional dancer and coach who achieved success at a national level, putting on several dazzling performances and receiving teaching offers all across the country. Unfortunately, a jarring leg injury put an abrupt halt to her career just about six months after Mai was born. A few years later, Maki decided to enroll Mai in a series of dance classes. Mai, however, showed no interest in taking the classes, considering them boring. Just a couple of days after she turned 6 years old, everything changed. Maki suffered from a stroke and eventually died. With her last breath she wished Mai to succeed her legacy and become a successful dancer herself. This is why Maki gave Mai her name—she could tell right away she was born to become an incredible dancer. It took Mai a while to get over the loss of her mother, but it eventually became the spark that ignited her passion for dance. She began putting her all into her training, learning several styles of dance including tap, ballet, modern, and jazz (her favorite). Later, to test her talents to the limit, she joined the competitive dancing circuit where she achieved modest success. She always enjoyed new challenges and continued to improve her abilities over the years. Still, Mai had no idea she would be scouted to become an idol. She had to shift her focus in talents a little, but she can still utilize her dancing talents to the fullest. Mai is very proud of her mother’s accomplishments and has been her biggest inspiration to this very day. This is why she always strives to become even better. According to Kenji, if Maki were still alive, she probably couldn’t be any more proud of her daughter…not just for continuing to put her heart and soul into her dancing but for broadening her horizons and learning new talents. The two part ways for the evening.

However, their conversation does not go unnoticed. Spies send the information to Yamato, who immediately gives a hot scoop to gossip magazines, specifically targeting the competitive dancing circuit. “Mai is heartless! Abandons her mother’s dying wish and ditches professional dancing to become an idol?!” Mai cannot believe what she is seeing, finding the article offensive to both her and her mother. As an idol, she still uses her talents in dance to the near-fullest. Besides, she really is following Maki’s wish and then some. She wants to prove those gossipers wrong by continuing to practice hard with her dancing. That night as she is practicing by herself, her frustration begins to blind her focus. She suddenly trips over her own foot and lands awkwardly, hurting her left ankle. Not willing to let a minor setback like that get in the way of her ambitions, she continues to train. However, the pain is proving to be too much, forcing her to end her practice session early. Mai is very angry at herself for letting something like this happen. She really does not want to be a burden to her unit, especially with Maya continuing to rise in popularity. Not wanting to make her ankle any worse, Mai decides to go home and soothe the pain with ice so that she will be in much better shape for work next week.

(to be continued)

Sorry I didn't get much done...I kind of had an off day. I admit, the gossip idea just recently came to my mind and I decided to give it a shot. I hope it was good enough (fingers crossed).

ZetaFlare:
Kazama Mai's Route, cont.

As Mai continues to push herself harder, she is putting more and more pressure on her bad ankle. However, she feels like she must hide it from the others, not wanting to worry them. She will usually put an ice bag on her ankle after practicing in order to soothe the pain. Once the IU preliminary bouts roll around, the pain does not seem to bother Mai as much. After a quick stretch, she feels as though she has recovered enough to go all-out in the preliminary audition. Much to her surprise, ZetaPro has been placed in the same competition block as NAZO. Mai is very enthusiastic about this matchup. Wanting to show the results of her extra training, she feels as though she must perform flawlessly to the fullest extent of her abilities in order to stand any sort of chance against Maya. As NAZO confronts ZetaPro, Maya is also excited to face Mai again. She can see the fire burning in Mai’s eyes. Maya can tell Mai has gotten a lot better and looks forward to a good challenge, especially now that they have to face off against all three members of NAZO. Mai’s unit manages to pass the audition, but they still finish a distant second to NAZO. This frustrates Mai, believing she still cannot compete at Maya’s level. Maya, however, is glad to see that Mai has passed. Looking forward to the process she will make before the next leg of the IU, Maya asks for Mai’s name. When Maya hears “Kazama,” she wonders if Mai is somehow related to Maki Kazama. Maya can hardly believe she is talking to Maki Kazama’s daughter! She has heard quite a bit about her and her dancing legacy. It almost seems as though Maki has passed her expertise to her next of kin. Maya promises to remember Mai’s name. Kagura and Himeko arrive and interrupt their little conversation. Kagura is angry at Maya for trying to fraternize with the enemy. What if her producer heard her now? NAZO will win the IU and destroy all enemies—wannabe idols from cheap middle-class companies who are essentially the bane of the entertainment world. NAZO takes their leave with Kagura and Himeko claiming their next encounter with ZetaPro will be their last.

Once everyone gets back to the office, Mai starts to cringe in pain. Intense pressure on her foot during the earlier audition has irritated her sore ankle once again. After Kenji wonders what happened to her, Mai decides to tell the truth. Kenji and the other two idols are worried sick and wonder why she did not tell him about it earlier. The way she has been practicing and performing, her damaged ankle will get worse if not treated properly. Mai felt as though she must keep improving her abilities for her mother’s sake…no matter what it takes. In order to fulfill her dying wish, she felt as though she had to become the very best dancer in all Japan. This includes surpassing Maya. Plus, she was worried that her injury could potentially put an end to her career, thus preventing her from realizing her mother’s dreams. Kenji feared Mai would one day push herself too hard after her first encounter with Maya. According to him, Maki would not have wanted Mai to become the absolute best. Nor would she have wanted her to push her very limits to the point where she hurts herself. Much like Kenji’s reason to become a musician, Maki likely became a professional dancer because it was her passion. She didn’t care if she was the best or defeating all of her rivals. She loved every moment, whether it be performing or teaching. She would have wanted Mai to enjoy dancing just as much as she did. Mai, beginning to tear up a little, figures Kenji is probably right. She apologizes to the others for being so selfish about her minor injury and her ambitions. Kaito arranges a meeting with a doctor in order to heal her ankle so she will be in tip-top shape by the time the next leg of the IU rolls around.

It only takes about a week for Mai to recover. Her ankle injury was minor, but it was a good thing Kaito and the doctors got it checked before it got worse due to Mai’s intense training. Kenji and the others are glad to see Mai back to full strength. In order to make up all the time she spent practicing by herself and worrying about her mother, she decides it might be a good idea to practice and bond with her partners. This way she can learn to sing better, improve her visuals, and even teach a couple of kinks to the younger and less-experienced idols.

After NAZO challenges ZetaPro to a showdown at the Harvest Moon Festival, Mai feels more than prepared to face off against Maya again. The time she spent training and bonding with her partners has helped her become an even better performer than before. After the performance is interrupted, Mai trips on her way down the steps and bangs up her ankle again. Kaito immediately rushes to the stage crew to get help. Even Maya is worried about her. Yamato shows up and begins to rub salt in the wound (but not literally). He immediately blames Kenji, believing he was running Mai into the ground, pushing her beyond her limits in order to help bring success to ZetaPro. According to him, lower-class companies often will do anything dirty in the book to make the most of their cash cow. Plus, Mai is a backstabber for betraying her mother’s last wish and is a disgrace to dancers everywhere, giving up professional dancing to become an idol. Mai is beyond angry at Yamato for all the cracks he made about her, her mother, and her producer. Kenji and the other two idols really helped change her view on dancing and being an idol in general. She now follows her own heart and passion rather than her mother’s. There is nothing dishonorable about that at all. Yamato scoffs at her statement, claiming she has let her partners make her soft. As NAZO heads back to their van, Maya sticks around and asks Mai to get well soon. She can tell Mai has grown a lot since the IU prelims, both in her talents and as a person. Maya is proud to call the daughter of Maki Kazama her rival. Kagura and Himeko call out to Maya, claiming they will leave her behind if she doesn’t hurry up, so Maya waves goodbye as she runs back to the van.

(to be continued)

ZetaFlare:
Whew! Just managed to accomplish my goal. Curse you Mario Kart 8 and your addictiveness!

Kazama Mai's Route, conclusion

It takes about two weeks for Mai’s ankle to recover, causing ZetaPro to cancel an earlier concert. The unit is complete only when it’s three. Without Mai, they might as well not exist. Kenji and the other two idols spend some time together one week after the Harvest Moon festival just to show how much she means to the unit.

After the opening ceremonies of the IU finals, Mai overhears a conversation between Maya and Yamato. Maya is eager to see what kind of competition her highly talented opponents will bring her, especially fellow competitive dancer Mai, who has come such a long way since becoming an idol. Yamato, however, is disgusted with her upbeat attitude, believing that her time with Mai has made her soft. According to him, if Maya ever expects to master her dancing and become even stronger, she must show no mercy to her enemies (especially low-lives like ZetaPro) and squash them like the insects they are. Let’s not forget that it was these low-class dogs that killed her parents in that brutal gang war she was caught in so many years ago. Yamato really does not want to fire Maya after she was able to use her earnings to settle in a nice quiet home away from that crime-infested dump full of painful memories. Mai cannot believe what she just heard. As Maya walks by her, Mai strikes up a conversation. She heard everything. She knows how it feels to lose family like that, but that did not stop them from becoming such amazing dancers-turned-idols. Maya starts to tear up a little, still finding it hard to believe how alike she and Mai are. She is proud to call Mai her rival. “May the best idol win,” Mai tells Maya as they shake hands and part ways for the evening.

The IU quarterfinal and semifinal rounds go on as usual. Realizing that NAZO will have to face Mai and ZetaPro in the finals, Yamato decides to hatch his greatest plan yet.

The next day as ZetaPro arrives at Tokyo Dome for the final showdown, Mai decides to spend a little time running through her routine on stage. Knowing who her opponent is and what she is capable of, Mai really wants to be able perform to the fullest extent of her abilities. Little does she know a part of the stage floor is wet and slippery from a recent mopping. Plus, there is no warning sign up. While she is practicing, Mai slips on the wet floor and lands harshly on her left ankle—the one that has been bothering her the past few months. The fall really rekindled the injury. She is able to stand up, but limps off the stage and back to the dressing room. Yamato soon gets a call and receives the news. He smirks triumphantly. Knowing Mai’s tendency to practice well before her performances, he decided to take full advantage of the situation in order to make sure Mai does not perform, ensuring NAZO’s victory in the finals. Maya, however, catches wind of her producer’s phone conversation and is very disappointed. In order to face Mai at her full strength, Maya decides to set things right.

Kenji and the other two idols are very worried after they see Mai limping into the dressing room. She tells them what happened regarding the wet floor and shows them her damaged ankle. Kaito does not like the looks of this injury. If it will not heal by the evening, she might not be able to perform. As Mai soaks her foot in icy water to soothe the pain, the other two idols consider dropping out of the IU. Mai figures she will be fine by the time of the performance, but Kenji really does not want her to push herself and make matters worse. All of a sudden, Maya appears. She heard about what happened and has brought some elastic bandages, wrapping them around Mai’s bad ankle. The last thing Maya wants to do is let Mai and the others give up after all they have been through. Besides, she knows that Mai is such an amazing performer and is not willing to let a setback like a sore ankle get in the way of a big performance. Maya will not be holding anything back in tonight’s performance and wishes to face Mai at her full potential.

That evening, Mai is feeling a lot more comfortable thanks to the bandage. Kaito clears her to perform, but considers rewriting her routine so as not to put pressure on it. Mai reluctantly accepts his offer, as arguing with him in a situation like this is pretty much pointless. As Yamato comes around to see how things are going, he is surprised to see Mai back on her feet. He thought for sure she had been put out of commission after hurting her ankle practicing. Maya appears and tells ZetaPro all that happened, including paying the janitor to mop the stage floor earlier in the morning. Yamato claims the floor was dirty from yesterday’s performances and needed a good cleaning. Besides it was not his fault that Mai decided to run through her routine the same place she did the morning before. Kenji and Mai are not buying his excuses. Kenji cannot believe his childhood rival would sink so low. Maya also barks out at Yamato, claiming a victory via dishonest terms would be empty. She demands a fair fight so that neither side will hold anything back in their performances. The chat with Yamato and final confrontation with NAZO goes on the same from there.

All of a sudden Mai whispers to her partners, “I’m going to do it.” She plans to perform no holds barred despite her ankle.

ENDING

Mai takes Kenji to Maki’s grave to chat. She’s still a little sore from her performance, but feels fine. Becoming an idol might have been one of the best decisions she has made as it has really helped change her life, especially thanks to her time with Kenji. She now follows her own heart while still following her mother’s wish, continuing to utilize her dancing talents and teach other idols a few tricks of the trade. Dancing is a lot of fun to her now that she sees it as less of a chore. Kenji wonders what she will do after the doctors get her injury completely treated. Mai looks towards Maki’s grave for a second…and decides to remain an idol. She loves all those opportunities to perform. Maybe she could teach some of her dancing skills to up-and-coming idols. As Mai prays to her mother, she tells her to especially thank Kenji for all the help in shaping her into the performer she always wanted to be. As Mai embraces her producer she tells him, “I think she’s smiling on you right now.”

Amazing_Grace:
Aw, Mai!

I really, really love Maya, actually. It's so nice and refreshing to have a sweet rivl like her involved. She's just wonderful.

And Mai's story with her mother is touching. I like her story, struggling between feeling like she's failing her mother and wanting to continue enjoying her time as an idol.

I'm glad you made the choice to stay an idol, Mai! Follow your dreams! *fist pump*

ZetaFlare:
I'm thinking about writing up some silly skits involving my characters from time to time in order to show how I really write my fanfics.

As for Story Mode routes, I'm kind of stuck on who to do next. I am thinking of doing Asuka's to finish the Main Character Trio, but I'm also thinking another Vocal specialist like Reika, Nozomi, or Yoshino.

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