The Orb fixes Sayaka Maizono, the Ultimate Pop Sensation

"So, the point of this is to show people that everything's normal, going fine, and lots of fun!" The blue-haired idol loved by Japan, Sayaka Maizono, told the boy sitting across with her with a beautiful, pearly grin. She had her hands crossed in the lap of her pleated blue school-uniform skirt. Her shapely legs were joined together in front of her with no sign of restlessness. "It's just an informal interview, so there's no reason to be nervous. Just treat it like a friendly chat, only with a few more questions than usual!".

Makoto Naegi, the brown-haired young man sitting in the other chair in front of the camera, gulped and looked haplessly into the camera and live display monitor that showed them. They were alone with the themselves in the room. Compared to his counterpart, he was clutching the arms of his seat like he was afraid he'd float away. "The camera's not on yet, right? They'll let us know?"

"Yep! Once the camera's on, all you have to do is read off the teleprompter and try not to be nervous. Sure, this is going to be on televisions around the country, but everyone's eyes'll be on me, anyway, so there's no need for you to worry." Suddenly, she giggled and gave an informal bow in apology. "Ah! I don't mean that to put you down, of course. If you want to stand out, give it your best! I'm just trying to reassure you that it's really no big deal for you. Leave all the worrying to me, okay?"

Makoto sighed, then smiled. "Yeah... Right. I'm just worried... A plain guy like me is gonna pull you down. Would anyone watching this really believe you and I are friends? Oh! Actually, should I ask questions about that?"

Sayaka giggled, but she put her hands together in an apologetic clap. "Actually, Makoto! I know this is a little weird, but for this interview, it would actually be best if you don't make any direct reference to you and I being close friends. W-we, are, of course! Good buddies!" she reassured him, pumping her fists energetically and finding herself blushing a bit. "But, for the rest of the public that only knows me as the Ultimate Pop Sensation, it'd be... best if I didn't appear to have a close male friend. I'm sorry. Is that okay?"

"Ah... Ahaha! Of course!" Makoto agreed, quickly catching onto her meaning and blushing even more on her behalf. "I just can't help but wonder why I was picked for this in the first place! If it could be anyone, why pick a guy? Especially one you're close with?"

"Hmm..." Sayaka put a finger to her lip pensively, then tilted her head. "Well, I'm not the one who made the arrangement, but I guess someone saw something they liked in you! You ought to be honored, hehe!"

As Makoto continued to flush and squirm and apologize, Sayaka thought to herself that she was the one who wanted to apologize. It was true that she hadn't been the one to choose to put him in front of the camera, but she knew exactly why it had been done. This interview was supposed to serve as an advertisement for Hope's Peak Academy. The Academy was attempting to strengthen its outreach to both ordinary students to build up its Reserve Course and exceptional ones it wanted to headhunt. Therefore, the ideal commercial was one that would imply both had a reason to check out the school. The appeal to the Reserve Course hopefuls was especially shameless... Any of them might think they could become the next Ultimate Lucky Student like Makoto and end up rubbing elbows with superstars like he was. Just another way an idol could help give her fans dreams, she supposed.

She found herself getting a little defensive on his behalf. Makoto wasn't some celebrity chaser with bad intentions. They'd attended middle school together before, and Hope's Peak Academy in the present. While they hadn't been close in the past, in the years leading to their upcoming graduation, she'd learned the apparently plain Makoto was able to close the gap between the mundane and the exceptional due to his positive attitude, his hard work, his reassuring presence, his charming sincerity, his boyish good looks, and-

"Sayaka? I think it's starting soon."

"O-Oh!!" she snapped back to the situation, realizing her attention had been wandering. She pat herself on the cheeks in a gesture that both psyched herself up and allowed her to put some color in her cheeks... or hide that there had been color there for any other reason. "Thanks! Well anyways, yes, you understand. When the camera's rolling, we should appear to be generally friendly... Not specifically friendly. That's the only cue you've got to remember, and it really isn't any big deal. Let's try to take it easy and be ourselves, and everything's going to go great! I'll tell you everything that's on my mind."

---

[ORB ID: S3XXX.MIU.1

LOCATION: Recording studio, Hope's Peak Academy

STATUS: Pe-eak function

TARGET: Sayaka Maizono

TARGET FUNCTION: Scandal Generation

ANALYSIS: Sayaka's role is identified as "Pop Sensation." The primary function of a "Pop Sensation" in this universe's society is a "Scandal Generator." As a "Pop Sensation," the machine passively functions as an excitement generator. When an appropriate threshold is reached, the excitement is redoubled by the generation of a great scandal (thus, the resource is "pop-pped"). The greatest public benefit will be generated when the idol with the largest following commits the largest scandal. Sayaka's inefficiency is in her failure to generate scandal.

METHODOLOGY: Sayaka's following is a key component of her successful function as a scandal generator. Maintain aspects that lead to following while inducing scan-ndal. First, discretely establish connection. Split processes for optimization.

AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGY: ...]

---

"So, um... on to our first question, Ms. Maizono!"

"Sayaka's fine, Makoto," the young woman being interviewed giggled. "We don't have to be that formal." On reflex, she almost asked for a retake, but she realized that wasn't possible: this interview was, after all, being shot live, with the intention to record and re-broadcast. Honestly, being on actual live television broadcast instead recording of a generous delay with an editing team was somehow exciting. She realized a part of her was enjoying it... it could be the last time she was in an amateur production for a long time, with graduation around the corner. She looked at the camera with some rare butterflies in her stomach...

Her expression fell. Then, suddenly, she laughed. "Hold on, hold on!" she interrupted Makoto, waving a hand at him as she continued giggling. "Look! The light's not on! The camera's off. Oh, brother... we're gonna have to redo the intro!"

She was laughing, but this was actually a good turn of fortune. Now Makoto was laughing too, so the nervous atmosphere was broken, and they had the chance to redo his awkward opener. Feeling fine, she made her way over to the camera. She was no technician, but she figured the "ON" button ought to be easy enough to work out.

As she brought her face close, the red recording light came on by itself. Sayaka stumbled backwards and let out a gasp, realizing that meant she was now on a live camera, bumbling around in front of a live audience like a novice. A bigger concern than that, however...

A fly! A fly or some other kind of bug had definitely flown into her open mouth. Where had it gone? Had she swallowed it? Was it in her teeth?!

Sweating as she held her photogenic smile still, as carefully as she might hold a ticking time bomb, she slowly backed towards her chair and lowered herself to it. She looked at Makoto, noiselessly, giving him a nod as a cue to begin. Tuning out his still-unpolished introduction, she made an effort, as subtly as possible, to rub her tongue against her teeth without parting her lips. The taste and texture of a bug would be gross, but it'd be welcome if it meant she could make it disappear before she had to open her mouth.

... There was something strange. It was the feeling one got when they became aware of an ulcer in their gums; the tongue running across a little protrusion that wasn't supposed to be there. Only, she was pretty sure it wasn't on her teeth... it was like a bump on her tongue. Had the bug bitten her tongue?! That was... pretty gross, but at least it shouldn't come up on camera.

Sayaka realized she had just come up on her first cue. She was supposed to introduce herself. With renewed confidence, she opened her mouth...

Unbidden, her tongue slipped over her lower lip, leaving her making a scary grin. She was able to look at her own face in the live broadcast monitor, so she was aware her tongue was hanging out of her mouth, her own eyes wide with shock at the odd impression that gave. And there, on her tongue... There it was!

"You... got your tongue pierced?!" Makoto asked, his voice reflecting the shock she herself felt.

There was no denying it. What had appeared on her tongue was a glistening metallic stud. She couldn't make it out at this distance, but Makoto, who was sitting across from her, could see it clearly. It looked less like jewelry and more like the head of a screw. The more he looked at it, the more he thought the whole tongue looked somehow wrong... Then again, had he ever imagined seeing Sayaka's tongue so clearly displayed? How should he know what it was supposed to look like?

For just a moment, there was an awkward pause. Sayaka didn't know what had happened and couldn't imagine what was going on, but the most important thing was to continue naturally with the live interview. She tried to shut down all of the visions of controversy breaking out in fan circles around the nation and simply make herself speak.

She... couldn't make herself speak! She covered her mouth with her hands, her big blue eyes swimming with shock. When was the last time she had frozen up on TV? She couldn't remember. That kind of response wasn't just unusual for her; it was alien! She tried to make her tongue and lips move... Finally!

She lowered her hands from her lips. When she did, different people saw two different things.

The young man sitting across from her was more focused on her face. He didn't think the camera would pick this up, but in just the short time she'd covered her mouth, something had changed. Her lips were a bit brighter pink, which would be an interesting makeup trick, but wouldn't explain the small serrations, like discrete seams in a doll, that had appeared at either side of her usual smile. The smile was totally at odds with her wide eyes.

Those eyes were focused on her hands. There, on the fingers she had just had to her face, Sayaka was seeing something way more alarming than a pierced tongue. It was a metal ring on a particular finger, complete with a shiny fixture. Not a diamond, but a nut. When had it gotten there? What kind of an insane prank was this? Who was responsible?

Right now, the most important thing was for her to speak up and make clear that she wasn't a willing participant in this farce. As such, she opened her mouth and spoke. "Oh, the tongue stud? That little thing? Isn't there some more important jewelry we need to talk about first, Makoto?"

She heard the words, and she heard her voice, and she knew it came from her throat, but she still looked around the room for some hidden speaker.

Makoto, meanwhile, was watching the strange, uncanny movement of his friend's smiling lips and shiny tongue. Still, realizing he'd been asked a question, he shook his head dumbly.

"Well, introductions first," Sayaka spoke regardless of her will. "My name is Sayaka Maizono, and today, I'm going to earn my title as the Ultimate Scandal Generator! This is my very close friend, Makoto Naegi, and I think that today, you're going to see him really earn his title as the Ultimate Lucky Student! That's because-"

Suddenly, Sayaka clamped her perfectly straight teeth down on her unruly tongue. She was expecting pain, but pain would be worth it to throw a wrench into the plan of whatever puppetmaster was choosing her words for her.

What she wasn't expecting was the reverberation of having bitten hard onto a piece of steel. It looked flexible, it moved like a human tongue, but there was no mistake: the thing in her mouth was no longer the organ she'd woken up with that morning. As further proof of that, even as Sayaka's face froze in a bizarre grin, her teeth clamped onto own tongue in an apparent bite, her voice kept coming from her throat, uninterrupted. It was only slightly muffled, like a broadcast coming from a covered speaker. "- because today, it's my pleasure to announce our engagement! I know this'll come as a shock to all of my loyal Sayakers, but I just couldn't keep our steamy secret one second longer."

Sayaka couldn't fight her face muscles any longer. She felt not just her lips, but her jaw and cheeks as well, sliding into the position of a slightly embarrassed but primarily blissful smile. The expression grew more lewd as drool began dripping from the corners of her mouth. As her horrified eyes could only watch, her lips and tongue began repeating words over and over again, as though training themselves for a new purpose. "Makoto Naegi. Makoto Naegi! Makoto Naegi is my boyfriend. My husband, Makoto Naegi. Sorry, my loyal fans! This is Makoto Naegi. My lover, Makoto Naegi. I love Makoto Makoto Makoto Makoto Makoto love love love Makoto Makoto Makoto Ma-"

Her lips froze, then settled back into a calm smile, apparently satisfied. This was at odds with her body, which seemed to be spasming, centered on her elbows, hips and knees. With a bit more time to analyze the gesture, one might recognize this as the struggle of someone bound to a chair by the neck, wrists, and ankles. There were no actual manacles to see, but the young woman could feel something shifting beneath the long sleeves of her uniform and the high stockings covering her legs. Slowly, her body's thrashing became more and more localized: as her extremities began to lock, only her shoulders and hips continued to buck defiantly.

Makoto, meanwhile, was pressed back into his chair, sinking into it instinctively as a defense response against whatever was happening to Sayaka. He knew he needed to do something, but his brain wasn't telling him what. Was this an act he was supposed to play along with? If she was in real danger, should he run and get help? No... if something was going wrong and Sayaka was in danger, wouldn't someone bust in and help her? The thought that something similar might be happening all throughout the school didn't occur to him.

Still, it wasn't in his simple nature to lie, to turn on a dime and act a part he hadn't prepared for. So, he did the only helpful thing he thought someone with his mundane skillset could accomplish in this situation. "T-that's wrong! Sayaka and I are just friends- I mean, we're just classmates! We aren't even going-"

Before either of them knew what was happening, Sayaka had risen to her feet. Then, before either of them could react, her hand had shot over his mouth. One hand held his lips shut while the other grabbed his ring finger. Hidden by their bodies, the process was hidden, but something was extending from Sayaka's hand, slithering onto Makoto's. Meanwhile, she continued his speech for him like a cute couple would. "We aren't even going to deny it any longer! Like he said, we're not just friends or classmates, but a real item. Yep, Makoto and I are engaged, and we couldn't be happier! Of course, there's plenty of things we're looking forward to. On that note, I have a couple of other announce- announcemak... makonnouncmakono no no nouncement-"

---

[WARNING. Machine computational integrity compromised. Unexpected panic response encountered.

THEORY: Due to unanticipated ineffective priorities and garbage subroutines in the core processor, the optimization process has threatened other unknown objectives critical to the host unit. At current rate of resistance, system shutdowns may be anticipated.

OBJECTIVES:

PRIMARY_ Continue optimization process for Ultimate Scandal Generation.

SECONDARY_ Maintain computational integrity. Scan memory to generate functional stabilizing simulation.

TERTIARY_ As computational integrity is critical to continued function, lower priority of behavior simulation to maintain followers.]

---

Now that Makoto had been successfully interrupted and a matching ring slipped onto his finger, Sayaka backed off of him and turned back to the camera. Ignoring the way this left her skirt in close proximity with Makoto's face, she continued speaking. "F-f-first! If this wasn't obvious, I'm retiring as an idol, effective immediately. I know this is sudden, considering many will have already bought tickets to my return concert scheduled after my Academy graduation but I'm- I'm retiring as an idol, effective immediately. Retiring as an idol!" She grinned at the camera and waved her hands, although her eyes seemed like they were blinking for help in Morse code. "So, married, retired idol, married idol retiring, as I said. Sorry fans but retiring retiring retiring-"

Sayaka watched herself reflected on the display, still unable to believe this was being broadcast live. She couldn't say any of what she was really thinking, but there was one thing she could agree with: her career as an idol was over. Even if, by some miracle, someone put a stop to this, there was no way she'd be able to show her face on TV in front of her fans again. Actually, forget her fans: she didn't know how she was going to face her group or her friends. She couldn't even imagine facing Makoto, after what she was doing to him. She expected to look at the screen and see his disgust...

Instead, he was... wrapping his arms around her in an embrace. He was... standing and hugging her from behind, on live television! Was he being controlled, too?! Feeling her heart race, she tried to voice some protest. The only parts of her body she still seemed to be in control of were her eyes, her hips, and her brain, which only let her squirm her seat against the crotch of his pants. That... wasn't helping!

Soon, however, she realized she hadn't judged the situation correctly. Instead of a gentle hug, his hand was continuing to roam. One of those hands, which seemed to have a mind of their own now, reached higher, reaching for one of her most intimate areas...

Her mouth! Makoto grabbed her tongue and began pulling. She was flabbergasted that he would do something like this on live TV, impressed that he was finding purchase on the saliva-slick metal appendage, and internally mortified that this was happening before she'd even had her first kiss. Still, she was rooting for him! "Makoto...! Ah, Makoto...! Help me! Don't stop! Get it, Makoto...! Ahh!!"

Her mechanical tongue was wrestling his hand, but somehow, Makoto had gotten lucky. Far less painfully than either of them had possibly imagined, the tongue was yanked from Sayaka's mouth, emerging as a wriggling, alien worm. When Makoto threw it against the wall, it proved surprisingly fragile, shattering into glittering scrap. There wasn't enough left of it to make out.

Immediately, Sayaka rolled her tongue around her familiar mouth. Her tongue! Her mouth! Somehow, everything had come out at once... Once again, she was in control of everything! Gritting her teeth, she grabbed the ring on her finger and wrenched it off. She gasped, hot tears streaming down her face as she stared from the camera to the strange facsimile of a wedding ring that had been **** onto her. "Oh, thank God! I'm me again... Makoto, you saved me..."

She looked at the monitor and realized Makoto was wrapping his arms under her armpits, helping her to her feet. She was still too embarrassed to face him, so she kept her eyes on the camera. "I'm so sorry, Makoto... And I'm so lucky... Really lucky you were here to help me. My career as an idol, though... It's over...! I don't think I can go on..."

One of Makoto's fingers tapped her on the shoulder. Then, it pointed to the display she was already looking at.

Sayaka squinted at it... Then, she saw it! How had she missed it before?! The camera's red recording light was on, but the green bulb was still dim. That meant it hadn't been live! Nobody had seen this. It was just a bad dream. She laughed with relief, her tears still flowing. "Aha... Ahaha...! I told you, if we're ourselves, everything'll be okay, right? I called it! I'm like an esper, huh, Makoto?" She waited for a response from him. "Makoto?" she asked nervously, wondering if something was wrong after all.

The young man's arms wrapped around her in an embrace from behind. She felt the heat of his breath... the pounding of his heart... then, the sudden and surprising poke of another part of his body.

"M-Makoto... Geez, you're still in the mood, huh?" she giggled. When she said it, she thought she was making a joke, but the breathiness of her voice made it sound like anything but. "Um... Y-you know, we're not really married, right? And we're not really going out... That'd be a huge scandal! B-but if this is how you really feel, well, um... I guess I'll take responsibility for making you feel that way. Is that okay?"

She looked at him nodding in the mirror and gulped as his hands began to travel. She wanted to look him in the eyes... She felt it was only proper that she at least start with a kiss, if that's where this was going. He didn't seem to want to, though. She had to admit, this new, assertive side of Makoto wasn't bad... It was the one who had come to her rescue, after all.

As Makoto's hand found its way under her shirt, lifting it and grabbing one breast with surprising enthusiasm, Sayaka shuddered, but smiled. This wasn't too bad, and it wasn't live. She'd have to destroy the tape.

As she stared at the saucy but private scene of her and Makoto on the display, two human lovers about to make human love, she thought her unfortunate circumstances had an unexpectedly happy ending. It was a surprise, but a surprise she could live with.

---

As Sayaka's eyes locked on the image displayed on the monitor ahead of her, an image of herself being saved and embraced by a heroic Makoto Naegi, the light of resistance began to leave her eyes, the last part of her body that she really controlled. She saw the images continue: her classmates, her friends and her idol group congratulating her on her new relationship; her loyal fans accepting her re-debut as a solo act; her popularity soaring with all demographics even as her relationship with Makoto became public knowledge; her early retirement, followed by a happy marriage and a couple of kids.

Luckily, by now, her doll-like eyes had scanned the images the display monitor was projecting. It had copied the same relay into its local storage. If she turned her head, that was still what she would see. That meant her now mostly-cyborg body could continue performing its important functions while her human brain remained blissful and content. This was great news, because it meant that, from her current position perched over Makoto on his chair in the real world, she no longer had to keep her head pivoted 180 degrees on her newly swivel-jointed neck. That seemed to have been having an adverse effect on Makoto's emotional state, which was not optimal.

She turned her body, clambering over him inhumanly until she was seated on his lap. Of course, an idol knew to keep her legs firmly together in a short skirt to prevent any wardrobe malfunctions on camera. Since she'd just announced her retirement, however, she wasn't an idol any longer. There was no issue in the way she was now parting her legs, flashing the crotch of lacy pink panties that would have cost a fan millions of dollars if they appeared on a shady website and a producer his job if they appeared on TV.

Her painted lips and tongue continued her announcements. "Don't worry, my fans! You haven't seen the last of me at all! That's right: if you haven't put it together yet, you're watching a live broadcast of Sucky Maizono's AV Debut! Are you excited? Have you got your penlights ready? Ooh, I know my co-star has his ready, hehe!"

Her co-star wasn't a willing participant, but when he'd failed to stop her putting a ring on him and failed to keep her from climbing her surprisingly strong, cybernetically-enhanced frame onto him, he'd lost most ability to protest. He didn't think he had the strength to shove her off, but even if he did, his hands weren't his to control. Rather than worry about the possibility that what had happened to Sayaka was also in store for him, however, he continued to try to call to her with his voice. "This... isn't you, Sayaka! I know you're still in there! You can hear me, can't you?! I don't... I don't think anyone's coming. So you've gotta-"

"You say you're not coming?" the cyborg replied, reaching one hand to forcefully squish his cheeks together and shut him up. "Well that's not gonna do for my debut! My fans are counting on me, ya know? Sucky never lets her fans down. Now, let's see if I can guess just the way you like it... I've told you I'm a mind reader, right? That's right, I'm a psychic! A slutty psychic idol is a pretty good theme for an adult video, huh?" She gave him a cute wink, then brushed a strand of hair from her face as she slid off of his lap and onto her knees on the floor.

"Sayaka..." Makoto managed. If he was going to be converted the same as Sayaka, the system was taking its sweet time. It only seemed to have locked up his hands and his legs; his words were still fully his own. "Sayaka, you... you can't!"

"I think you'll find that I can," his former friend told him with some apparent pride in her synthetic voice. When he looked closely, he could tell the lips weren't moving to the words. In fact, as her face continued to distort, her voice continued without issue. "I call this one the Sucky Special! I worked hard at it just for you until I got it just the way I know you'll want it."

Makoto was terrified to continue hearing Sayaka's voice. It wasn't just because of her vulgar words. It was because he didn't think any woman had ever spoken coherently in the position she was now in. As soon as she'd sprung his zipper and fished out his unfortunately erect member, her lips had stretched out hungrily to meet it. In no time at all, they were wrapped around it like a vacuum, broken occasionally by the glint of a smooth, disturbingly pleasant synthetic tongue gliding and swirling, licking up every bit of precum it was effortlessly extracting.

As Makoto grunted incoherently, releasing the wails of a virgin being robbed, Sayaka's sunny voice continued. The young man was barely aware enough to realize with horror that the noise was emitting from her ears, not her blocked mouth. "I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I've got a big advantage in the world of adult performance. Check this out: while you're getting a full service suck-job, you can listen to my hit single! Sayakers at home, sing along if you know the words!

"Monochromatic love embraces the two of us

Even the difference in temperature feels lovely

Monochromatic sight, I'm sure I'm the only one colorful

I like the uncertain parts too~"

With a last, **** effort, Makoto reached his hands out to try and grab Sayaka's head, try to pull her off. Of course, he quickly realized that was only what he wanted. His hands had other plans: when they wrapped into Sayaka's silky blue hair, they **** her head down onto his rod. As he let out grunts of exertion, he tried to fool himself into thinking that the ejaculate he was shooting into Sayaka's throat was also a product of mechanical ****, something his body had done that he had no part in.

Her cloudy eyes remained fixed on his as she pulled her sucking lips from his shooting dick, letting the strands that kept firing coat the bridge of her nose until she could get her mouth open and let her studded tongue out to try and catch the rest. She smiled at him with the satisfaction of a successful performance. An optimal performance.

Meanwhile, as the last hit single she'd ever create played from her now-mechanical ears to fill the room, as Makoto's stolen cum dripped from her tongue to the floor, artificially-tailored dreams replayed in her brain like a favorite song on loop.

"Monochromatic two of us might look distant but

In actuality we're the closest

Monochromatic dreams will be in rainbow colors if I'm with you

I sure feel that way~"