Author's Note: I am not an editor or a professional writer. I will write this and edit it to the best of my ability. I also do not own Uma Musume, which is owned by Cygames. Watch the animes and read the mangas, for they are pretty good. Finally, please enjoy.
Edged Lily POV
After the meeting, ImP got some bandages for the bruises Spice had given her in retaliation. I still followed her, though, because she wanted to meet and talk with that girl, Juna.
Which I don't get. Why would she be interested in such an unladylike girl in the first place? Why does she have to look at a girl she just met instead of looking at me?
Soon, we saw Juna tied up and being carried toward a room where it seemed all the staff we had just met were gathering.
We had no idea what was going on until ImP and I both received a sudden message. It was from Spice, and it read:
"Yo, guess whose girl just got her agency hired as the organization's primary agency?"
We both reacted supportively to Ayana's success but negatively toward Spice. Then he sent another message—one that would cause chaos later that night. We just didn't know it yet.
The message read:
"Calm down. Here's some info you'll love, and hopefully you'll forgive me. I heard from Ayana that the staff are having a meeting tonight, so if you want to have a meetup with your new interest right after this, now would be the time."
That explained what had happened with Juna a moment ago.
We both foolishly thanked Spice for the information before putting our phones away.
This is my chance to get ImP to drop the idea of talking to Juna.
I spoke first.
"Hey, ImP, maybe we should move on and talk to her another day." (Never again.)
ImP looked at me before replying honestly, as always.
"Lily, I'll be honest. Even if I had to wait here all night, I'd still want to have a word with Miss Juna."
I pouted.
"Fine. We can wait for that loud slut."
She stared at me expressionlessly before pinching the bridge of her nose in annoyance.
"Lily, turn off the jealous mean girl and turn on the quiet shy girl. You're being way too jealous for no reason. I get it—you like me—but I just want to meet someone who might become a new friend. Someone who can resonate with me through music."
She stepped closer, hugged me, and smiled.
"How about, before training officially begins, you and I go on a date to Nara? Just the two of us."
My heart practically exploded.
"Yes! Let's do it!"
I immediately started celebrating.
She laughed.
"You know, you let this body take over your personality way too much."
I calmed down and tilted my head.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you were a straight, competitive guy before this. Now you're acting like a possessive girl in love. Honestly, it's pretty funny."
Holy shit… she's right.
Even though I still liked girls, I really was letting this body influence me more than I realized.
Why does she always have to be so blunt and honest?
Still…
I love her anyway.
And I got a date out of it.
Mission accomplished.
The two of us spent the next few hours talking while we waited.
Eventually, Juna finally came out of the meeting alongside the rest of the staff.
ImP immediately walked toward her.
Naturally, I followed.
The interaction between two people who had never met before was one of the weirdest things I had ever witnessed.
I've never been part of the punk rock scene, but this was bizarre.
First, ImP gave Juna a strange look.
Juna answered with an equally shocked look of recognition.
Then ImP slowly raised one hand into the air while turning sideways, resting her other hand on her waist.
Juna mirrored the energy, slowly raising both arms toward the sky while facing ImP.
The moment both reached as high as they could…
They paused.
Then—
Boom!
Both of them launched into full air guitar solos.
Despite coming from completely different worlds and different punk scenes, each played with incredible style.
Somehow, even the sounds they made while pretending to play actually sounded good.
They immediately recognized each other as kindred spirits.
Two different worlds.
Two different scenes.
One shared love of punk rock.
When the solos ended, they looked at one another with mutual respect before walking forward.
They met in the middle.
Boom.
A synchronized dab.
That flowed into a fist bump.
Then somehow into an absurdly complicated handshake.
The two burst into laughter before introducing themselves, instantly becoming friends.
Meanwhile…
I stood there understanding absolutely none of what I had just witnessed.
Soon they began talking about their favorite bands.
Neither had heard of the other's favorites, which made sense considering they came from different worlds.
Still, both admitted their favorite bands were incredibly underground.
Thankfully, ImP was smart enough not to reveal those bands came from our original world.
Eventually, they agreed to continue their conversation in one of the break rooms over drinks.
Naturally, I followed.
Someone had to keep an eye on both of them.
The two started drinking.
Hard.
They played recordings of their favorite bands.
Apparently, ImP still had songs from her favorite bands saved on her phone.
I checked mine and realized I still had all my notes about my past opponents.
It seemed whatever force had brought us into this world had also allowed each of us to keep our most valuable personal possession.
That was surprisingly thoughtful…
Even if it had also turned us into girls.
Now the two of them were exchanging original song lyrics, melodies, and musical ideas.
Honestly…
It was beautiful to watch.
Eventually, ImP waved me over.
"Come drink with us."
So I did.
One whiskey after another.
I even joined some of their conversations about music.
Still, Vic and I were easily the least musically gifted members of the team.
We were the worst singers, dancers, songwriters, music producers, choreographers, and rappers.
When it came to dancing, Steel, GW, Norn, and Rain were the best.
For singing, KiWi, Sweets, and Mama were amazing.
Spice and Jo were excellent rappers.
But the true all-rounders were ImP, Gray, Rose, and BlaD.
Those four could sing, dance, rap, write songs, compose music, play instruments, and choreograph performances.
Everyone else had their own incredible talents too.
Norn was a talented fashion designer and model.
GW was an outstanding choreographer and stage manager.
Mama was an excellent cinematographer and photographer.
KiWi was a genius animator, painter, and sculptor.
Rain was an incredible dietitian, physical trainer, and coach.
Sweets excelled as a director and prep manager.
People often told me I was a great host, while Vic was an excellent manager.
Compared to everyone else in entertainment, though, we both felt like outsiders.
Still, we worked hard to learn dancing, singing, and songwriting.
Those were honestly the hardest skills we'd ever had to learn.
Athletics came naturally.
Entertainment absolutely did not.
I embarrassed myself more times than I could count practicing in front of everyone.
But…
I improved.
Even if everyone else learned faster than I did, I simply treated them as rivals.
That competitive spirit kept pushing me forward.
Unfortunately…
I drank way too much.
Everything went black.
The next thing I remembered was waking up on the floor of what looked like my room, covered in vomit with the worst hangover of my entire life.
Somehow, I forced myself to stand.
Every movement felt like torture.
Looking around, I spotted ImP lying upside down on my couch.
Juna, however, was nowhere to be found.
Then I noticed a note taped to my mirror.
It hadn't been there yesterday.
It read:
"You guys were a fun hang. Hope we can do it again sometime. Still, you're both total lightweights, so I brought you back to your rooms with help from the night-shift staff. Thanks for yesterday. —Juna."
I smiled.
I guess Juna really was a friend now.
I carefully picked ImP up and laid her properly on the couch.
The last thing I wanted was for her to throw up on my bed.
Soon afterward, I took a shower despite the horrible headache and constant nausea.
I pushed through it.
After getting dressed for training, I suddenly felt someone staring at me.
I looked over.
ImP was awake.
And shamelessly enjoying the view.
At this point, I was so hopelessly in love with that dumbass that I wasn't even embarrassed she had seen me naked.
I smiled.
"Morning, ImP. Feeling like shit after that bender last night, or are you just enjoying the view?"
She groaned.
"Uhh…"
Then she grinned.
"Both. Your fine ass and tits will never be a bad view."
I probably should have been embarrassed.
Instead, my hangover overpowered every other emotion.
"Aww, thanks. Now go take a shower. You smell like puke."
She laughed.
Then stood up.
SMACK!
She spanked my ass before disappearing into the bathroom and locking the door before I could say a single word.
I squealed in surprise.
God damn it, ImP!
I quickly finished getting dressed in my sportswear and shoes.
When she finally came out of the shower wrapped in towels, I noticed a fresh set of clothes and a pair of flip-flops waiting on the bed with another note.
It read:
"Hey, Juna again. I got my new buddy ImP some clothes and flip-flops. You're both gonna want to change after all that puking."
A sudden wave of nausea hit me.
I sat down on the edge of the bed until it passed before continuing to read.
"I didn't bother getting you any clothes, Lily, since you were already in your own room. We'll see you both again later. —Juna."
I nodded.
Juna was definitely useful.
She might become a valuable ally someday.
Just then, ImP walked out of the bathroom wrapped in towels.
"Hey," I said. "Juna left you some clothes and flip-flops on the bed."
She smiled.
"Oh, cool. Knew my new sis had my back. I'll have to thank her later."
She started getting dressed.
As I walked past—
SMACK!
I got my revenge by spanking her back before leaving the room.
The embarrassed look on her face made the retaliation completely worth it.