Now that Jurina had finally succeeded, it was natural for the spotlight to be on her…Seeing as she was the first to succeed the name. But she was tired of being followed around by the media. Sick and tired of the same questions, over and over again, all the same interviews.
How does it feel being the first to succeed Jurina? It feels great, of course. I’m really honoured.
Does it mean something that you succeeded so quickly? Of course not. I think every girl will succeed if they are meant to, regardless of when they do so. And I think you guys are also forgetting that Karen succeeded much earlier than me.
What do you think your standing among 0048 is now? *laughs* Still fresh off being a kenyuusei, aren’t I? Doesn’t matter who I succeeded, I’m still a junior.
And so on.
By now, Jurina had already memorised all the questions that would be thrown at her with each interview, and the answers she would give. But there was still something that really ticked her off from the interviewers questions.
Why do they talk as though she’s the first of the 78th generation to succeed?
That was just disrespect to Karen, who was her friend. And whoever disrespected her friends…Got a death glare from Jurina as a result.
‘Ah, now that I’ve succeeded…I have to move, don’t I? I wonder who my new roommate will be…’
Spotting Karen gazing intently at a puzzle with a pen in hand, Jurina sidled over to her quietly…And hugged her from behind.
“Surprise!”
As involved in her own thoughts and the puzzle at hand as she was, Tochi hadn’t heard Jurina approach, and was caught offguard by the surprise attack hug. With a small shriek, Tochi dropped the pen in her hand, panicking, before realizing the owner of the voice. Once she realized it was someone she knew, and not an enemy, she relaxed…
… A little bit.
“Ah! Miyu- um… Jurina??” Tochi exclaimed, not quite accustomed to calling Miyuki by her new name yet (Tochi didn’t quite understand the concept of abandoning your old name upon succession and simply thought of ‘Karen’ as her ‘idol persona’).
“When did you get here?”
“You can still call me Miyuki if you want, Tochi-chaaan~” Jurina said, snuggling against her friend. “I’ve been hiding in the shadows for hours now!” she joked. Jurina for one had embraced her new name - although she hadn’t thrown away her old one, she was proud of the fact that she had succeeded the Jurina name, and intended to use it whenever possible. She didn’t just want to be a successor of the original, she wanted to be remembered as an individual Jurina as well.
Well, it made sense in her mind.
Letting go of Tochi and lying her head down on the younger girl’s lap, she looked up at her friend’s face contemplatively. She felt as though they hadn’t had the chance to catch up in ages, ever since Tochi had moved into the successor’s rooms…With Yuko. Jurina felt a twinge of pain on Tochi’s behalf - it was well known that Yuko liked to tease her kouhai, and living in the same room as her, Tochi must have her own set of troubles to deal with.
As for Jurina, she was rather lonely. After having succeeded, she had moved out of the kenkyuusei rooms, and into an empty successor one…Which meant she was yet to get a room-mate. She was aware that Yuka would succeed soon, but she still wanted to share a room with one of her fellow 78th generation friends.
'So what about Tochi?’
The thought ran through her mind, and she smiled brightly up at the other girl from her lap. “Hey, Tochi! Wanna be room-mates again?”
