Flying over the bubble era

Chapters 1563 and 1564: Becoming a Hero
The riverbank slopes are covered with green grass. After autumn arrives, the sky is clear and the river water is even clearer.

As they walked across the riverbank, the leash in her hand suddenly tightened. The little dog leaped into the fluffy grass, and the girl pressed her knees down and lowered her head.

When Utada Hikaru was lost in thought, Hamasaki Ayumi could never guess what she was thinking. Later, she realized that the girl was simply observing. Hamasaki Ayumi, despite her own self-inflicted troubles, blamed the girl, thinking her cunning. But unconsciously, she too drifted off into her own thoughts.

When Ayumi Hamasaki and Hikaru Utada returned with their dog, Shinichi Iwahashi and Akina Nakamori also returned from a walk with their daughter.

Before heading out, both girls wanted to go for a walk with Akina Nakamori, but Shinichi Iwahashi vetoed it outright: "Going out like that would be too conspicuous."

He never treated the two girls who used to live in his house like daughters. It was Akina Nakamori who, after having her own child, began to find it pleasant to have two cute girls accompany her on walks.

The couple's daughter was born in late spring last year and is now one and a half years old. They named her "Kokoro".

Given Shinichi Iwahashi's past embarrassing experience of almost naming his band Phoenix Legend, coming up with this name can only be described as a burst of inspiration.

With her daughter a little older, Akina Nakamori officially began producing her first album after giving birth. A new phase of life naturally brings new changes. To maintain consistency, she decided to produce the album first, and then decide on the title single.

This album also includes two songs provided by Tetsuya Komuro. Although he was only providing the songs, Tetsuya Komuro still showed great respect to Akina Nakamori, personally recording the songs for her.

This intelligence has not yet been released to the public, but one can already imagine what kind of discussion it will generate once it is made public.

The two girls happened to come to my house together today.

As they grow older, Utada Hikaru will be a junior high school student next year, and Hamasaki Ayumi will soon be old enough to go out and have fun freely.

Utada Hikaru hasn't changed much; she still has the face of a little adult, calmly saying things that are sometimes hilarious and sometimes surprising, while remaining completely unperturbed. Looking at her appearance alone, she's no different from any other girl her age.

Ayumi Hamasaki, on the other hand, is always changing her mind so easily. If you were to use her as a reference to determine what's popular among high school girls lately, you'd probably think that high school girls are as fickle as the wind. ...Perhaps that's not wrong.

She said somewhat boredly to Shinichi Iwahashi and Akina Nakamori, "Nowadays, everyone wears thick-soled boots and tans their skin to a wheat color. It's so boring."

"Because Amuro-chan started this trend."

After Tetsuya Komuro took over Namie Amuro's project, this raw gem discovered in Okinawa immediately burst forth with dazzling brilliance, ushering in its own era at an astonishing speed and sparking a trend of naming things after him.

From her very first single produced by Tetsuya Komuro, every album she released thereafter topped the charts, and her popularity was so great that record companies had to avoid her.

Her signature hair color, chocolate-colored skin, and thigh-high boots were all imitated by young women, making her an undisputed trendsetter. Thanks to her, boot manufacturers and tanning salons both benefited from this trend.

This phenomenal trend is the first of its kind since the beginning of the Heisei era.

"Is dressing the same way fashionable?" Ayumi Hamasaki said in a surprising way. "If that's the case, then isn't fashion just a kind of disguise?"

It was a seemingly impetuous sentence, yet it revealed the true essence of what is popular in this era.

Shinichi Iwahashi couldn't help but smile. He saw the radiance emanating from the girl.

Are you laughing at me for talking big?

Shinichi Iwahashi shook his head. "You've said something quite remarkable... But, Ayu, from another perspective, that's why trendsetters are heroes. If 'fashion' is a disguise, it means it can protect ordinary people." Ayumi Hamasaki looked touched: "Protect ordinary people..."

With her sensitive and perceptive nature, this young girl could certainly sense that this was a fragile era.

If she can have this kind of experience, she is not far from fully growing up.

Over the years, while exploring the inner world of this young girl, Shinichi Iwahashi has continuously recruited new behind-the-scenes figures to prepare for her debut. Iwahashi has had ample patience with Ayumi Hamasaki. Fortunately, this girl has indeed grown at her own pace.

A girl who has grown up should naturally be seen by everyone.

In the evening, Ayumi Hamasaki was in a hurry to say goodbye, saying that she had made plans to go out with her friends.

Normally, no one restricts her friendships. Just following the rules as a trainee and waiting to debut would be boring, so Shinichi Iwahashi turns a blind eye and lets her do whatever she wants, allowing her to find some work in the entertainment industry.

The relaxed club activities allowed her to make many friends.

Before leaving, she deliberately provoked Iwahashi Shinichi, saying, "Iwahashi-san, if anyone asks, I will answer 'I'm already eighteen years old.'"

To raise a star with talent, you can't really raise her to be a well-behaved, obedient girl. Shinichi Iwahashi waved his hand, urging her to leave quickly.

Seeing his disgusted expression, Ayumi Hamasaki knew that Shinichi Iwahashi was playing along with her act, and happily went out.

As Akina Nakamori watched Ayumi Hamasaki leave, a warm feeling welled up inside her as she thought about how this girl was already seventeen.

At that moment, Shinichi Iwahashi suddenly said, "You were seventeen when you debuted."

She was startled and her eyes widened.

Shinichi Iwahashi, a hint of smugness in his voice, smiled and asked, "Did I guess you knew what I was thinking?"

Akina Nakamori pouted, revealing a familiar expression that suggested she was ready to have a serious argument with Shinichi Iwahashi. However, when she finally spoke, she only sighed softly, "Back then, every idol who debuted had the Seiko hairstyle."

“But every star who becomes a top idol only reveals their brilliance after abandoning the Seiko hairstyle,” Shinichi Iwahashi said. “You really don’t like imitation, do you?”

"After I started being myself, I felt that everything began to change, and inspiration began to flow endlessly..."

Akina Nakamori didn't mean to compare herself to Ayumi Hamasaki. But at this moment, when talking to her husband about herself, the topic undoubtedly started with Ayumi Hamasaki.

Looking at the sharpness this girl is displaying, one cannot help but see a vibrant life force flickering like a flame.

As time goes by, different people will always enter into stories with similar plots.

Akina Nakamori didn't feel like she belonged to an old era; on the contrary, she genuinely felt that everyone was irreplaceable. Of course, that included herself.

She asked Shinichi Iwahashi, "Are you planning to debut Ayu?"

Shinichi Iwahashi countered, "Are you mentally prepared for that? I mean, to participate in the production of Ayu."