Up on the Touhou Rooftop, a group of spectators watched the ending of a Masqueraider live show. The audience was a mix of children and adults, parents with their sons and daughters, curious viewers, fans, and passer-bys who happened to be stopping on the Rooftop for lunch. Among them was a young man wearing black pants and a suit jacket, though he lacked a tie despite his white collared shirt being buttoned up to the top. He smiled as the performance ended and he scanned the small crowd for a certain boy he wanted to speak to.

"Well, well! Those blue highlights look familiar." This voice caught the young man's attention, and he glanced up to find the producer of the Masqueraider stage shows approaching him. "You're Itsuki Aoi, right? From Fortuna?"

"That's right," Itsuki replied with a friendly smile. It wasn't the first time he'd been recognized by his somewhat peculiar hairstyle. Kiria, an idol he worked with, had recommended it, and between her and his friend Tsubasa, he hadn't had much of a choice in growing out his already shaggy raven hair, and they had insisted in streaking a few locks of it in a bright electric blue hue. He couldn't say he minded and he liked the look. It just fit.

"Touma works for you, right?" the producer asked.

"I prefer to say he works with me," Itsuki said with a slight shrug. "But yes, he's a part of Fortuna."

"Did you want to talk about him or anything?" the producer wondered. "Been a while since he made an appearance on our stage. I'm sure the fans would love seeing Masqueraider Ouga star in one of our shows." Itsuki chuckled at the thought.

"I'll talk to him about it," he said with a nod. "But actually, I'm looking to meet someone here." He scanned over the crowd as it began to disperse and caught sight of the boy he was looking for. "Ah, there he is." The producer looked over as well.

"Right, right!" he nodded vigorously. "I'm sure you're a busy man, my friend. I won't keep you. But tell Touma to show his face around here some time!"

"I will!" With that, Itsuki bowed briefly, then turned and weaved his way through the exiting audience members to a boy with light, dusty brown hair that stood off to the side. He looked up curiously as Itsuki approached him, waving.

"Oh!" the boy's eyes brightened. "I know you. You're Touma's friend. Um… Uh…" he frowned.

"Itsuki," he replied and knelt down a bit to the boy's height. "Itsuki Aoi. It's nice to see you again, Riku." Riku nodded and smiled.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Aoi?"

"Please, Itsuki," the young man said. "You don't have to be so formal toward me. But anyway, I wanted to talk to you and I was hoping to catch you without Touma around to interrupt me every couple of sentences. You know how passionate he can get." Riku laughed and nodded again.

"Yeah, he's kind of fiery." Riku leaned back against the fence at the edge of the Rooftop. "So what's up?"

"Touma told me the other day that you said you were interested in acting," Itsuki explained. "I wanted to know how serious you are about it."

"He told you that?!" Riku groaned, leaning his head back. "I told him it was no big deal."

"You know how he is," Itsuki said halfheartedly. "He got really excited about it. But tell me honestly: Do you want to be a performer?" Riku lowered his head in thought.

"…Yeah," he finally admitted. "After what happened a couple of years ago with Abel and them, and seeing Touma… Well, he's a hero just by being an actor. Like a real hero, not just playing one." His voice grew rather quiet. "He makes people happy and gives them hope. I want to do that for people too." Itsuki smiled, his gray eyes soft.

"In that case…" He held his hand out. "I want to help you start your journey, Riku. I want to offer you a place at Fortuna Entertainment." Riku blinked, and his eyes widened.

"Y-You want me at Fortuna?" he blurted, and Itsuki nodded. "But I'm ten years old! There's no way I could be a professional or anything."

"Have you heard of a show called 'Microwavin' With Mamorin?'" Itsuki asked, and Riku nodded. "The star of that show, Mamori Minamoto, joined Fortuna when she was eleven years old, and she was already a rising star at the time." He paused. "I'm not saying it'll be easy, but I can help you, and so can Touma and the others." He let out a short laugh. "We even started tutoring Mamori to help her keep up with her schoolwork. But anyway, I think you have a lot of potential, Riku. Touma and I saw it two years ago, and so did Abel. That's why he was drawn to you in the first place." Riku pursed his lips slightly.

"Whatever happened to him and the others?" he asked, and Itsuki's smile faded.

"They had to go home," he replied with a slight shake of his head. "But… They're still with us in some way, especially when we use the creative talents we've been given."

"Do you think we'll ever see them again?" the boy wondered, and Itsuki's gaze lowered.

"I don't think so. It wouldn't be easy for them to return or for us to go to them. I'm not even sure it's possible. But…" His smile returned. "We just have to do the best we can with what they gave us." Riku nodded once more.

"Yeah, you're right. Abel wanted me to be the best I can be, and I'm going to." He grinned, and Itsuki did as well. "So if you can help me do that, then I want to join Fortuna. Then I get to work with Touma, right?"

"I'm sure he'll be thrilled," Itsuki chuckled. "Actually, between you and me, he told me about an action script he's been writing, and if he's ever able to produce it, he wants you to be in it with him."

"Really?!" Riku's eyes lit up and he fidgeted with anticipation, then quickly realized what he was doing and calmed down in some attempt to appear nonchalant about it. "Um… That's cool, I guess."

"It's okay, Riku," Itsuki teased. "You can be excited about it. Anyway." He stood up and pulled a business card out of his pocket. "Just drop by the office sometime soon and we'll get it figured out. If you can, bring one of your parents with you. But I want it to be up to you. And if something comes up, feel free to give me a call." He paused in thought for a moment as Riku took the card and put it in his pocket. "But even if you decide not to join, you can still come by anytime. If there's anything we can do for you, just let us know." Riku smiled and bowed.

"Thank you, Itsuki. I really appreciate it. And I'll let you know soon." Itsuki nodded.

"Maybe don't tell Touma until after we iron out the details," he advised, and Riku snorted. "Otherwise neither of us will ever hear the end of it." He shook his head. "I'll see you around, Riku."

"Okay. Bye, Itsuki. And thanks again!" Itsuki dipped his head and started off, and he glanced over his shoulder.

"You're very welcome. I'd better see you in the office soon!" Riku waved at him as he headed toward the stairs.

As he made his way down the building, he found himself pondering Riku's questions about Abel and the others. It had been just over two years since the incident with the Mirages, the forms of people and creatures from another world that had been ruined by the Shadow Dragon. After Itsuki and his friends had defeated the Shadow Dragon in the Idolasphere, the realm that supposedly lay between their world and the world the Mirages came from, those same Mirages that they had partnered with had decided to return to their own world to rebuild.

Though his duties as president of Fortuna Entertainment offered him quite a bit of distraction, Itsuki regularly found himself thinking about the Mirage who he had partnered with and considered a close friend: Chrom, a swordsman and noble leader back in his own world. Chrom had been the one who had taught him how to be a leader and given him the confidence to put those teachings to use, and he wouldn't have been able to slay the Shadow Dragon nor take up leadership of Fortuna without it. He still missed Chrom and the others, but their lives went on, and he had vowed to do everything he could to make his future and that of his friends as bright as he could. They had averted an apocalypse, and yet most people around Tokyo had no idea what had happened right under their noses and just beyond their sight. Itsuki had been thankful many times that he had Tsubasa, Touma, and the others with him, and they helped each other cope in the aftermath of their battle.

In the distraction of his thoughts, he didn't immediately realize he had several messages on Topic until he felt his phone vibrating frantically in his back pocket. He pulled it out to find Tsubasa trying to contact him.

"Waaaaah, I'm so nervous! Why did you think this was a good idea?!"

"How am I supposed to sing with Aya? I've never done that! In public, anyway. But still!"

"Itsukiiiiiiiii! Are you coming?"

A helpless smile spread across Itsuki's face as he typed out his response.

"It'll be fine. You know Ayaha's excited to do this with you, and you're helping her make her comeback. Plus I know a lot of people are looking forward to hearing the Oribe sisters perform together. Just relax. You'll be fine. And yes, I'll be there shortly to cheer you on."

Tsubasa's response came quickly.

"Aaaaaah, what if I mess up and ruin things for her?"

Before he had a chance to reply, another message from her came through.

"I'm so super nervous. Can you bring me a crepe? You know the ones I like." Itsuki chuckled to himself.

"Sure, I can do that. And you're not going to mess things up. Just have fun with it like you used to with her. And people love you. You're going to be great, okay?"

A few moments went by as he detoured to buy her crepe and waited for her to respond.

"I'll feel better once you're here."

He started to type something, but another few messages came through from her.

"You always know what to do to make things better."

"Thanks, Itsuki. You're right. It'll be just like when we were kids."

"Except with thousands of people watching."

He sighed as he sent his reply.

"You're over-thinking it. Just don't psych yourself out."

Her reply nearly made him burst out laughing.

"Too late! I'm definitely psyched out. Oooooooh, hurry up, okay? I need that crepe."

"Aya said the same thing as you. I just need to relax."

"But how am I supposed to relax?!"

"T_T"

He let out a slow breath as he paid for the crepe and a cup of coffee for himself, then started for the concert hall as he responded.

"It'll be fine. I promise. I have your crepe."

He smiled as he read her reply.

"Thank you thank you thank you. See you soon, Itsuki."

He typed and sent a quick reply, then slipped his phone back in his pocket and took a sip of his coffee.

"I'll be there."