“Snow White?”

“That’s right,” Sasshi said triumphantly. “After Shinjuku Girls’ performance of ‘Cinderella’ and Nogizaka’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’, I decided that we need to show the PRIDE of our agency by doing our own show! And I chose ‘Snow White’!”

“That’s amazing!” Mio said.

“And not only that,” Sasshi stood up and pointed at her. “I chose YOU as the lead!”

“Eh~? Really?!”

“That’s right! Oh, Meru-chan, too. You’re going to be in it as well.”

“Yay~!”

“I’ll be taking these two with me to the Hakata48 theatre for rehearsals.” Sasshi then immediately took the two and rushed out the door. “Bye bye~~~”

“Mou~ Sasshi!”

“Hey, wasn’t Sashihara-san a member of Akihabara48 before she was transferred to Hakata?”

“Yeah, that was because a scandal hit her in 2012. Still, she is very successful in her work at Hakata48.”

I wonder what it’s like over there…

…..

After a few train trips, the three had made it back all the way from Tokyo to Hakata by sun down. After a good long rest, they got up the next day and went to the Hakata48 theatre.

“Here it is! Our pride and joy!” Sasshi said proudly.

“Sugoi~”

The girls entered the theatre and saw everyone either chatting or rehearsing by themselves in the theatre.

“Sashiko’s back!” One of the youngest of the group, Miku spoke.

“Sashiko! Sashiko!” Another one of the youngest, Nako spoke.

“Yo, NakoMiku!”

“Nee, Sashiko, are these the girls you told us about?”

“Yup! Meet Mio-chan and Meru-chan. Girls, this is Nako and Miku, aka NakoMiku.”

“Holy cow, they’re so cute~” Meru said.

“Oi~ Sashihara~” Three girls approached them as Nako and Miku ran off to continue playing.

“Ah, are these girls..?”

“Yup. Our guests of honor, all the way from Tokyo. Tentomu chu member, Mio-chan and Meru-chan.”

“Oh my gosh, they’re sho cute!”

Mio and Meru both tilted their heads. Did that one girl just say “show”? Did she bite her tongue by accident?

“Itsh nice to meet you. I’m Kodama Haruka. Pleash call me Haruppi, okay?”

“Ah, okay, Haruppi.”

“Alsho, I hope you two will excush the way I talk. *I have a bad lishp.”

“Don’t worry, Haruppi-san. I think it sounds cute. Plus, I myself have a weird voice,” Mio said shyly.

“Eh~? That’s not true, Mio-chan.”

“Un. Your voice ish adorable.”

“Thanks.”

“Me next! Name’s Murashige Anna! Yoro-piku~” Anna said before shaking the girls’ hands.

“I see you’re in a fun mood today as well, Murashige.”

“*Mentaiko~!” She circled her arms above her head as she performed her infamous gag.

No laughter.

“Aw come on~”

“Don’t worry, Annya. I think it’s funny.”

Anna pouted in front of the short haired girl. “You aren’t just saying that cuz you’re my BFF, are you?”

“Nope.”

“Mm… OK~!”

“It’s nice to meet both of you, by the way. I’m Miyawaki Sakura.”

“Uwaa~ You’re Sakura-tan!”

“We’re big fans~.”

“Thanks.”

Mio then thought of something. Sakura was a really popular member of Hakata48. And so was Haruka. The two were pretty much the aces…

“Why did Sasshi choose me to be Snow White, not them?”

“Guys.”

“Ah, Capt.” Sasshi approached the shorter girl. “You’re just in time. I brought Mio and Meru from Tokyo.”

“Oh, hi, girls. I’m Chihiro, I’m the Captain of Team H over here.”

“Capt~! That sounds really cool.”

“You must be Mio-chan.”

“Hai. I’m Tomonaga Mio.”

“It’s nice to meet you. We’re gonna have fun doing this, right?”

“Yeah!”

“Ah, that’s right. Mio-chan ish playing Snow White, ithent she?”

“That’s right. Tomonaga is our lead role!”

“Eh~? That’s amazing!”

“Well, Murashige also auditioned for Snow White, but you deserve it. Pretty awesome luck, Mio-chan!”

“Hehehe, thank you. But, I’m actually not that self-confident…”

“Don’t worry, you’ll be great,” Chihiro encouraged her.

“Who are you playing?”

“I’m the Magic Mirror.”

“And Sakura-tan, Haruppi, and yours truly are all dwarves! Meru-chan, too!”

“Eh? Really?!”

“Yeah! You’ll be really cute as a dwarf!”

“And who’s the Evil Queen?”

“That would be Natsumi-chan.”

“Hey, Boss~!” The group ran over to the stage and went to a very tall young girl reading over her script.

“Murashige?”

“Yo, Boss!”

“What do you want?”

“We wanted you to meet our lead for the play, Mio-chan!”

“Hi~”

Natsumi’s eyebrow twitched a bit. Something about Mio’s voice was…

“Um, this is my first time acting, and it’s a lead role, so I’m really nervous… but, I wanna do good, so I’ll do my best~.”

“….*Bouyomi.”

“Eh?”

Chihiro came up to the taller girl. “Oi, Natsumi-chan~ That’s too mean~.”

“What’s a… bouyomi?”

“Ah, you don’t know what bouyomi ish, do you, Mio-chan?”

Mio shook her head.

“What does it mean?” Meru asked.

“Uh…”

“Well…”

“It basically means… acting without showing emotion.”

“Eh?! Then, does that mean, I’m not able to express emotion?”

“N-not exactly, Mio-chan. Mm~, it’s probably the way you talk… Well, anyways, it just means you still have trouble portraying emotions. But, I’m sure as you get more used to it, you’ll be able to overcome your bouyomi.”

“You think so, Sasshi?”

“Yeah. Everyone’s like that at first. You just need to adjust and get used to things is all.”

“I see. Then, I’ll do my absolute best for now and try not to show my bouyomi~.”

“That’s the spirit. Alright girls! Let’s get in our positions! We got 3 weeks until this show is LIVE!”

“Hai!”

…..

As time passed, Mio was working extremely hard to improve her acting skill. Each day, she would be the first to come to rehearsal and read her lines by herself.

To cure her bouyomi, Sasshi helped with vocal exercises and therapy that would try to make it sound less flat.

Three weeks had passed, and before they knew it, it was the final day of rehearsal before the live performance. Dress rehearsal started as everyone got into costume.

“Uwaa~ Mio-chan, you look SO CUTE!” Meru said as her best friend came out, completely dawning a Snow White outfit.

“Really?”

“Yea! You look like the REAL Snow White!”

“And it thuits you sho much!”

“Hehe, thanks guys.”

“Oi~ Tomonaga,” A certain girl called out Mio.

“Ah, Rabutan-sempai.”

She was Ota Aika, aka *Rabutan. She was formerly a member of Akihabra48 industries, and also performed in an *idol unit with AKB’s Watanabe Mayu, but then was transferred to Hakata48 a year prior to the group’s disbandment.

“You ready for tomorrow night?”

“I think. But, I’m still worried about my bouyomi…”

“Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll do great.”

“Really?”

“Yeah! What’s the worst that can happen?”

…..

Backstage, Natsumi went into her dressing room to get changed, when she noticed someone was already there.

“Um, who are you?”

“Oh, I work for Darc. Company.”

“Darc. Company?”

“Your manager requested me to help in tomorrow night’s performance. And I came to meet the most beautiful, most important star of the show.”

“Oh…” Natsumi scowled a bit. “You mean the girl playing Snow White. Tomonaga’s in the other room.”

“Oh, no. I meant you.”

“Wha..?”

Before she could say anything, the woman got up and showed Natsumi a bright red apple.

“Here, eat this. You look parched.”

“Uh, thanks…”

Natsumi took a bite out of the apple.

“But, why are you here for me? I’m not even Snow..” Suddenly, she felt dizzy and dropped the apple, holding the table for support.

“That’s simple, darling… I came to kill Snow White. Or, should I say.. Tomonaga Mio?”

Natsumi collapsed to the ground, asleep as if she were dead.

“Take heed,” the woman snapped her fingers and transformed into Isako. “Be careful not to eat a poisoned apple.”

She stepped over the unconscious girl and looked in the mirror.

“Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?”

She smiled and snapped her fingers again, and when she looked in the mirror, she had transformed into Natsumi.

“That is me, of course. Ufufu…”

Then, a staff member knocked on the door. “Tanaka-san, dress rehearsal is starting soon! Get ready!”

“Yes, sir!”

Isako smirked and picked up the poison apple.

“Tomorrow, I shall kill the little brat, and then, take care of the rest of them.”

================================

Footnotes

*1. Please excuse any incorrect spelling when Haruka speaks. Kodama Haruka has a lisp.

*2. Mentaiko – A marinated roe of Pollock and Cod fish often used as an ingredient in Japanese cuisine. (Side note: Murashige Anna often performs a Mentaiko gag.)

*3. Bouyomi – Acting without emotion; an inability to express emotion through a performance. Tomonaga Mio is often called a bouyomi.

*4. Rabutan or Lovetan is Aika’s official nickname.

*5. Watarirouka Hashiritai 7 – A unit in AKB48 made up of seven members. It started out with four, the focused centers were Mayu and Aika, but became a seven person unit as time passed. They disbanded in 2013.