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The Portal of Zeta: iDOLM@STER Neo Vision

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ZetaFlare:
As I draw Nozomi's route to a close, I should let you know this ending will be slightly different from some of the others...

Uemura Nozomi's Route, conclusion

On the day of the IU finals opening ceremonies, Nozomi overhears a conversation between Kagura and Yamato. From what she hears, Kagura claims she must win the IU in order to maintain the legacy of her family. Knowing the rough treatment her parents gave her in the past, Yamato assures her he will do whatever it takes for NAZO to win the championship. Now Nozomi understands why Kagura also takes her idol career so seriously. Kagura does not want to lose to anybody. Sounds like someone Nozomi used to know. Nozomi decides not to interfere so both units can maintain their focus as they head into the final tournament brackets. Still, she can hardly believe how similar she is to Kagura. Both dedicate their lives to music. They are both very diligent with their practicing. They both feel as though failure is not an option. Both have ultimate goals revolving around their talents. The question now is whose ambition will come out on top?

After Namco Angel gets knocked in the quarterfinals by NAZO, Chihaya reminds everyone to keep their eyes on Nozomi’s group. It turns out Nozomi’s talents and achievements have caught the eye of one of 765Pro’s most talented idols. If there is anyone who can defeat NAZO now other than Project Fairy or Ryuuguu Komachi, it would have to be Nozomi and ZetaPro.

Yamato is feeling desperate now. He devises a last-ditch plan in order to wreck Nozomi’s performance and her shot at getting into a conservatory. The next day as Nozomi is practicing, Kaito gives her a present from her high school’s choir teacher. The present contains two pieces of candy and a letter wishing her the best of luck. Once Nozomi is finished practicing, she pops the candy into her mouth as she gets ready to change. Little does she and Kaito know that package was not from her teacher…it was a trap set up by Yamato, as the candy was meant to clog her vocal cords. All of a sudden, Nozomi’s voice begins to crack and get muddy. She then coughs. She tries to explain her situation to Kenji, but she cannot seem to talk above a whisper. Kenji is shocked. She is losing her voice! He tells her to calm down and drink some lukewarm water. Perhaps that might help. However, not wanting to fall behind and remain prepared for the performance anyway, Nozomi reads over her music a couple more times. Yamato soon gets a call from one of the stage crew members informing him what happened to Nozomi. Yamato smirks sinisterly, feeling as though his plan will succeed. With Nozomi out of the way, NAZO’s victory is pretty much guaranteed now.

As evening falls, the audience is let inside the dome, and the deadline time getting closer and closer, Nozomi is feeling a little better, but she is far from 100%, her voice is still a little quieter and muddier than usual, and still coughs quite a bit. Kaito is worried. If he allows her to perform tonight, she will likely go all out and only make matters worse for her vocal cords. It might be best if Nozomi sits this one out and the other two perform as a duet. Nozomi immediately refuses. She has already come this far and is not willing to let herself or her partners down. Her partners agree. Nozomi is a staple member of this trio. Without her exceptional singing talents and leadership skills, who knows where the unit would be today? Kenji knows Nozomi is way too determined to let something like plugged vocal cords get in her way. However, he is concerned about her safety and asks her to be careful. Just before curtain call, Nozomi decides to drink a couple of glasses of lukewarm water in order to try to clear her throat the best she can. While ZetaPro gets set up, Kaito, feeling a little reluctant, searches for the staff member who gave Nozomi the candy in order to tell him what happened.

As Nozomi and company approach the stage, they are confronted by Yamato. As Nozomi coughs and talks in a somewhat whispery voice, he laughs at Nozomi’s current condition and suggests she should drop out while she has the chance. No sense in worsening her voice by singing in a big concert. Nozomi bites back, claiming she will not let anything like this stop her from performing. Yamato mocks her, asking her to speak up as he cannot seem to hear her. He then claims Nozomi is a fool. Performing with a voice like that will only lead to her unit’s crushing defeat to NAZO. All of a sudden, Kaito shows up with the staff member that gave him Nozomi’s “gift.” It turns out he was taking orders from Yamato. That gift was meant to be a trap in order to ruin her voice in time for the performance. Once Kaito found the guy, he saw him was acting suspicious so he made the pig squeal. Kenji can hardly believe Yamato would sink so low. He and Kagura demand he cut out his dirty antics and play fair. Kagura feels a little reluctant to face Nozomi in her current condition. An underhanded victory like that might actually wind up hurting her family’s reputation. All of a sudden, as Nozomi clears her throat again, a miracle happens. Her voice is back to 100%! The extra water combined with her determination is enough to break the candy’s clutches on her vocal cords. This fires Kagura up. Now Nozomi will be able to face the full strength of NAZO with no holds barred. However, she does not intend to lose either. Nozomi plans to put all her heart, soul, and voice into this one performance. Will the conservatories be listening? Whose desire will prevail?

ENDING

One week has passed since ZetaPro’s victory at the IU finals. Nozomi’s voice is much better now. Once she arrives at the office, she wishes to speak with Kenji outside, claiming she has a bit of a surprise for him. First of all, Nozomi never expected her idol career to be such a roller coaster ride. She really has everyone to thank, especially Kenji, for helping her to grow not only as a performer but as a person in general. Her leadership skills have matured greatly, carrying over to her final high school classes as well. Plus, she learned several new skills that allow her to become much better in terms of her musical abilities too. She no longer strives for perfection—only satisfaction. While she still remains diligent in terms of her music studies, Kenji has also taught her to have fun doing what she loves most. Finally, and most important of all, she gained several new friends who cared for her very much, especially her producer. Nozomi is happy to be able to live up to her past accomplishments and become ten times the singer she was before. Now she tells Kenji the big news…Nozomi has been accepted into Juilliard! Kenji congratulates her for accomplishing her dreams. Someone like her really deserves to study there. Unfortunately, her classes start in the fall and she will have to head to New York before then. She has decided to semi-retire as an idol while she gets through her studies, but does promise to come back and hold a big performance showing everyone what she learned in Juilliard once she heads back to Japan. However, she will never forget any of her experiences as an idol. It was truly the most memorable and insightful moments in her life so far and she owes it all to Kenji. Kenji will sad to see her go so soon after such a successful career, but he wishes her the best of luck on all her future endeavors. As the book closes on one story, a new one is soon to begin…

Maka:
Eagerly looking forward to the newest idol story!

ZetaFlare:
I was thinking about who to do next, but after seeing Maka's comment, I've got a bit of inspiration. The drill-haired five-year veteran is next!

Hijikata Chiyo’s Route

As Kenji selects the idol he plans to produce, he is well aware of her experience in the entertainment world. Because she really seems to know the ropes, he knows the bar will be raised a little higher than usual. Kenji just so happens to meet Chiyo on the same stone bridge where they saw each other the night after the Black Pearl Festival. Chiyo is walking back to the office after playing a round of tennis. She is a little sweaty and tired, but is far from drained as she kept herself hydrated with a bottle of water. Chiyo seems to find it more than a coincidence seeing Kenji again at the exact same spot where they had met just before making her decision to switch from 961Pro to ZetaPro. Kenji then confirms her suspicions once he tells her the news about her upcoming debut. Chiyo knew it…it must have been a stroke of fate. Still, it feels a little odd to her as she hasn’t worked with a producer for a while. She is willing to put her faith in him and hopes he does not disappoint as she starts her idol career anew.

One of Chiyo’s features that really seems to stand out to Kenji is her almost perfectly built body. She really knows how to stay fit and slender without looking anorexic. She bikes to school and work every day and spends some free mornings playing tennis. In fact, Chiyo was once a star player in her junior high school’s tennis club until her idol activities began to interfere. All this while eating three square, healthy meals. One reason she plans to keep her body in shape is because she will usually work as a model from time to time, inspired by her mother’s current job. Still, Chiyo has seen idols of many different sizes over the course of her career. She really seems to agree there is no “ideal” body size for an idol.

(to be continued)

Sorry it's a little short, but it's getting late where I am. I'll get right to the real nitty-gritty later on.

ZetaFlare:
Hijikata Chiyo's Route, cont.

Even after her successful debut, Chiyo still cannot find it in her heart to trust Kenji. This worries Kenji. While he is trying his level best to make sure she’s happy, it seems as though she still remains a little cautious around him. However, after a few successful promotions and a victory in her unit’s first festival, Chiyo eventually starts warming up a little to him. Chiyo then apologizes for making Kenji unnecessarily worry about her. The only reason she felt a little distrusting and insecure around Kenji is because of bad memories of her past. Chiyo has been working as an idol for five years now. She used to wear her hair in drills similar in style to Teto Kasane. Early on in her career, she got stuck with some of the worst producers in the business. They abused her, sexually harassed her, and essentially did not give a hoot about her personal feelings. While some wound up fired, Chiyo did have to transfer production companies a few times. Later on, a couple of her other producers were a bit nicer to her, but were pretty incompetent and didn’t have much of an idea what they were doing. Needless to say, they could not live up to her standards. Even though she has earned an avid, decent-sized fanbase who continues to support her through and through, Chiyo’s career eventually slowed to a standstill with the rising popularity of the idols from 765Pro and 961Pro. After Chiyo joined 961Pro, Kuroi did not help with her view of producers at all, claiming they are all disgusting self-centered filth who only serve to hinder the progress of an idol’s career. He essentially convinced her that she does not need a producer to become the idol she always wanted to be, constantly reminding her of her earlier years in her career. However, her views seemed to change entirely once she met Kenji and ZetaPro. After his unit defeated hers at the Black Pearl Festival, he stood up for her feelings after Kuroi scolded her severely. It was not often at all that Chiyo saw this much potential in such a young producer. Kenji’s idols really appreciated his kindness, he really seemed to know what he was doing, and he possessed the skill and heart to defeat a unit from such a big name in the idol industry. That combined with Kuroi’s lies and abusiveness led Chiyo to defect from 961Pro and join ZetaPro. After Chiyo’s little flashback, Kenji understands. He tells Chiyo she didn’t really have to apologize in the first place for lacking faith in her new producer especially after all she has been through. Still, he promises to take good care of her and live up to her high expectations as he guides her on a path much more successful than before.

Chiyo is eager to perform in the Sunny Beach Festival. She has performed there before and knows how it attracts a few big-name idols. If her unit can perform well there, they will be well on their way to a huge jump in popularity. However, once Chiyo gets there, catching a glimpse of her suddenly-changed opponent sends chills down her spine. She tries to shake it off and put on the best performance she can, but her unit is singlehandedly slaughtered by Kagura. Kagura recognizes her opponent immediately. No wonder she was able to defeat her so easily. According to Kagura, “Chiyobaa-san” is way out of her prime, over-the-hill for an idol, and is nothing more than a has-been. It is a complete shocker she hasn’t even considered retiring yet. Kagura tells Chiyo to face facts—her career is soon coming to a crashing halt and there is nothing she can do to stop it, especially with her “true intentions” standing in the way. As Kagura confidently leaves, Kenji wonders what Kagura means by Chiyo’s “true intentions,” but believes it’s something personal and decides to keep it to himself.

Back at the office, Chiyo reveals that she had to deal with NAZO in the past. When she was still with 961Pro, NAZO challenged and utterly destroyed them in a festival performance. Their producer proceeded to torment Kuroi, mocking his company’s so-called “legendary” reputation and even calling him a has-been. Kuroi was beyond frustrated but surprisingly, despite his policies, he didn’t wind up firing his unit, calling it sheer dumb idiot luck to lose to the new idol super-sensation. Chiyo is a still a little upset from the earlier festival. Kenji and her partners apologize, believing she is blaming them for their loss to Kagura. However, Chiyo claims there is no one to blame. She knows NAZO’s power and popularity are for real, especially seeing that they are capable of making short work out of one of the biggest idol companies in the business. Plus, the way Kagura mocked her was just salt to the wound. Sure Chiyo is a little older than most idols these days, her career was far from memorable, and her recent defeat was humiliating, but that will not stop her. The only way her unit can go from here is forward. Kenji admires Chiyo’s optimism, but he can almost seem to tell from her eyes that she is hiding something. Why does she want to reach the top so bad? Is there more to her intentions than meets the eye? Kenji and the unit part ways for the night filled with so many questions about their veteran idol.

(to be continued)

ZetaFlare:
Dang, 5k+ views on this thread?! I honestly never thought I'd hit that landmark! Thank you all for your continued support of my idol project!

Hijikata Chiyo's Route, cont.

Kagura is seen talking with her mysterious producer (you know who). She is well familiar with her recent opponent’s history. It’s pretty much safe to say her unit is no longer a threat.

Meanwhile, around roughly the same time, Chiyo is seen talking with another mysterious young man. This man seems aware of NAZO’s recent success, but never figured Chiyo would have to face them again so soon. Chiyo is worried. If Kagura continues to interfere, it will become nigh impossible to fulfull the promise she made to him…

Chiyo’s unit manages to get its groove going again after a couple of successful outings. However, Kenji notices that Chiyo is still looking a little concerned…not about him or her unit, but something else. A few days after ZetaPro’s victory over Ryuuguu Komachi at the Fujisan Rock Festival, Kenji notices Chiyo in disguise going on an outing with a strapping young man (who is actually the same guy we see Chiyo talking with the night after the Sunny Beach Festival). Kenji walks up to Chiyo and says hello, which gives her quite a shock. Kenji knows all his idols well enough that not even the most convincing disguises can fool him. Still not wanting her cover to get blown, Chiyo decides to return to her apartment so the three of them can chat in private. Once there, the young man introduces himself as Takuma Iwamoto. It turns out he has been dating Chiyo for the last two years. Takuma and Chiyo actually knew each other since their third year of junior high, but it wasn’t until Chiyo’s idol career began to soar that they began to notice each other. Takuma turned into one of her most avid fans even during the times she had to deal with several stumbling blocks. As time flew by, Chiyo and Takuma were soon pit in the same classes and were often paired up during group assignments. She could soon tell he was something more than just a fan. Eventually their relationship grew more romantic, hitting its peak just before graduating high school. As Takuma and Chiyo began dating, she noticed something shocking on the front page of a popular idol magazine. A center idol in a big-time unit had recently been fired from her company after some of her peers caught her on a date with a guy. According to the magazine, this company has guidelines that strictly forbid romantic relationships among their idols. The unfortunate idol’s career was a shambles as all her once-loyal fans immediately turned the other cheek. Some were even recently seen breaking her albums with a hammer in protest of her actions. Chiyo was so disturbed. Did she make a mistake by deepening her friendship with Takuma? As she informed her current company of the situation (this company’s guidelines do not forbid relationships), her president told her it has something to do with purity. Idols are meant to save their love for only their fans. Fans and larger companies expect their idols to retain their innocence. Chiyo felt so conflicted. Staying with Takuma might destroy her career, but she loves him too much just to let him go like that. She decided to keep him a secret from the public and disguises herself during dates with him. Luckily, her relationship remained unnoticed. After Takuma was informed of Chiyo’s situation, he is not willing to give up on her at all. To the public eye, he will remain a normal everyday fan of hers. They even decide to go to separate colleges in order to prevent any suspicions. Chiyo decides to make a promise to him. Once she becomes a top idol, she will be able to retire so they can safely be together forever. End flashback. This promise Chiyo made to Takuma is the reason why she is so determined to reach the top no matter what. This is why she is counting on Kenji to help her. Takuma tells Kenji he has heard good things about him from Chiyo. While Kenji is a lot younger, he certainly is a lot more capable than pretty much every other producer Chiyo had to put up with over the years. He certainly treats his idols with the utmost respect. Takuma can see why she trusts her new producer so much. Kenji informs both Chiyo and Takuma he will do his best to help them fulfill their promise. With a quick goodbye, Kenji leaves and heads home.

Weeks go by and word of Chiyo’s relationship still has not reached the public. Not even Yamato’s spies have managed to discover them together. When the President suggests that Chiyo’s unit try out for the IU to test their skills, Chiyo demands they enter. It would become a major step forward in the path towards reaching the status of top idols. Kenji knows why she really wants to take this opportunity, but decides to keep it a secret from everyone else. On the day of the IU preliminaries, Chiyo feels eager to return to a venue filled with so many painful memories and crushed dreams. Every time she tried out for the IU in the past, she failed. Not only was she held back by incompetent producers, but bigger companies including 765Pro’s idols proved to be too much for her. This time, things are different to Chiyo. With similar dreams, but different idols and a much more capable producer, she feels confident she can go the distance this time around. However, things get tense when ZetaPro winds up placed in the same competition block as NAZO. Kagura arrives with the rest of her unit. Believing Chiyo has not learned her lesson since the Sunny Beach Festival, perhaps getting crushed by NAZO’s full power will be enough to teach Chiyo she is no longer fit to be an idol. If she tried and failed to get into the IU several times before, what makes her think she has a chance this time around? It will just be the same old story. Chiyo is not swayed by Kagura’s taunts, believing she really does have what it takes this time around. Much to Kagura’s surprise, ZetaPro manages to pass. However, they still place a far distant second to NAZO. Kagura claims Chiyo’s success was nothing more than a stroke of luck. Her fans are fools to still believe in an idol who continuously could not get her career anywhere. Compared to most of today’s younger idols, Chiyo is pretty over the hill. Plus, Kenji will only serve to hinder her progress just like her other producers. Then there are her partners. Kagura believes Chiyo is a coward trying to rely on the help of younger talent to help her achieve success. Chiyo is just scared because she could not get the job done on her own. Kagura does not plan to lose to the likes of a veteran no matter how successful (or lucky) she turns out to be. She claims she will find a way to put Chiyo’s career to an end once and for all. Feeling a little frustrated, she leaves the venue with her two partners. Chiyo really took Kagura’s agonizing threats like a boss. Perhaps it was her poker face that really disturbed Kagura. Still, Chiyo is proud and thankful for everyone at ZetaPro for helping her finally pass the IU preliminaries. However, she knows this is only the beginning.

(to be continued)

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