Chapter 39: Prepared
Author's Note: It's been a while! I unexpectedly became busy again. I decided to study a second undergraduate degree and I also became a streamer :)) As I've said before, don't worry! I'll be finishing this story no matter what~ I will not leave it hanging in the void! Hehe.
"Good morning, Emi sunshine!"
"…What?" I open my eyes and see Kaori by my bedside.
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm feeling a bit…off. I feel really weak and I've got an annoying headache."
"I brought you some food. Will you be able to eat on your own or would you like me to help you?"
"I'll eat on my own."
I slowly sit up on the bed but I struggle a bit and Kaori ends up helping me.
"Here, try eating this soup. Don't worry about spilling it or anything. Just go ahead and try to see if you can eat on your own."
"Okay, thanks for this." I lift the soup closer and scoop a spoonful. My hands shake as I take in the soup. "Looks like I can eat on my own. I'm gonna be slow though; I can't hold up the bowl long and my hands shake when they start to feel tired but I can definitely eat on my own."
"If you need any help, just tell me or Ai or Ranmaru okay?"
"Ranmaru?"
As if he had a cue, Ranmaru enters the room in an apron; he looks like a housewife. It didn't show on my face but I definitely chuckled inside when I saw him like that.
"Oh! Do you need some help in the kitchen?" Kaori asks him.
"Nah, the food's all done. I need an extra pair of hands bringing 'em here."
"Roger that, head chef!" Kaori leaves the rooms.
Ranmaru looks at me for a moment and says, "Good morning, Emi."
"Morning."
He smiles a little. "It's been a while since I've last heard that from ya." He then leaves the room but leaves the door open.
A few minutes later, he, Ai, and Kaori return with their hands filled with plates of food. They put the food down on the side table and Ai even brings out a foldable table for more space to put the food on.
"That's…a lot of food." They all look tasty though.
Ai then hands me a plate with some food on it. "Here you go, please eat well. I'm sure you'll find the food delicious."
"Umm, thank you." I look at the food on my plate and it really has a lot of different types of food. I don't know where to start eating. I also want to eat but at the same time I don't feel hungry.
Ranmaru suddenly sits down on the chair beside the bed. It surprised me because when he sat down, there was a loud thump sound.
"Oi." He glares straight to my eyes. "Eat." And he points at my plate.
"What the hell is with that condescending tone of yours?" I say emotionlessly.
"Eat."
Kaori quietly takes Ai by his arm and drags him with her to leave the room with a smile.
"You better eat all of that and be ready for more." Ranmaru points at the food on the foldable table beside him. "There's more where that came from."
I frown at him and growl a little.
"I ain't leavin' 'till you finish your food."
"What are you? My mom?" I say sarcastically.
"Are you gonna eat or not?"
"Hmph." There's no point arguing; I got no energy for that. Besides, I don't like wasting food."
I slowly try to take a spoonful of the food. My hand still shakes, huh. I'm able to bring the spoon to my mouth and take the food in. It tastes good, to be honest.
"Is it good?" He asks.
I nod as I chew.
He hands me a glass of water after I swallowed the food in my mouth. The glass feels heavy.
"Ah!" I lose my grip on the glass but thankfully Ranmaru catches the glass.
"If you're struggling in anythin', just tell me. I'll help you as always."
"…Sorry."
"Hey, that word is banned. Don't say that again." He then takes the plate of food from me. He scoops the food and holds out the spoon to me. "Here."
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…What the hell are ya waitin' for? Ain't ya gonna eat?"
"That's—I don't want to eat...like that..."
"There's no point gettin' shy now; it's not like it's your first time. Eat."
I groan a little. "Fine." I eat from the spoon and just feel happy that the food is delicious. "Tasty."
"Thanks."
"Huh?"
"Thanks for complimenting my cooking."
"You cooked this?"
"Everything."
"By yourself?"
"Ai and Kaori helped a bit since I came from a radio show this morning; they did the initial preparations."
"How was the radio show? What was the topic this time?"
"Nu-uh. I'm not gonna talk about work with you. I'm not giving you a chance to think about my work, your work, or anyone's work. You're gonna eat, sleep, and make yourself comfortable." He holds out another spoonful of food to me. "Eat."
"Tch. Ya don't have to tell me that." I eat the food while glaring at him. He keeps staring at me for some reason; he looks like he's got somethin' in his mind.
He takes my hand and looks at it; he also looks at my wrist. "You've gotten thinner; thinner than the last time."
"I…I was busy with work."
Ranmaru's grip tightened a bit but he relaxed his hand right away. "I want to say something right now but I'm not going to say it; it'll just make us talk about work and we'll just argue."
"…" I get my wrist free from his grip and hold is hand. I squeeze on it a bit; I can't keep a tight grip due to my weak state. After squeezing his hand two times, he holds my hand with a firm grip; his hand has a nice warm feel to it. The feeling makes me smile a little and without thinking, I utter three words to him so naturally, "I love you."
"…? What's with that all of a sudden?"
"Nothing. I just felt like saying that."
"Well, I like it." He chuckles a bit and kisses me. "I love you too. A lot. So take care of yourself more so we can get go on a trip in the future and maybe I'll marry you and have a little monster with ya. Haha."
"Ohoho? You'll marry me?"
"You gonna say no?"
"Hmmmm. Maybe."
"Idiot."
"What do you want to have first? A girl or a boy?"
"Doesn't really matter to me; any would be fine."
"How many?"
"Probably two or three."
"Woooow. You gonna be a good dad?"
"Dunno about that but I'm gonna give my best shot at it. Of course, I wanna be a good dad to my own children."
"You'll totally be an overprotective father if we end up having a daughter. I could see it clearly hahaha."
"You can't blame me especially if she's gonna be cute."
"Ah, the struggles of a father hahahaha. Hmmm but then again I'm not sure whether I should say yes to your proposal in the future."
Ranmaru irks. "You've got to be kiddin' me."
"Who knows?" I say teasingly.
*beep beep*
My cellphone rings but it's just a message. I check out the message and the sender's name makes me a lil' anxious—it's Raging Otori. I open his message to me and it says:
Greetings Nakahara-san,
I haven't heard from you or about you for two days now ever since you were admitted into the hospital. The manager that was assigned to you claims that he does not know where you are and the boys from HEAVENS refuse to say anything. Nevertheless, I hope you will recover as soon as possible and return to the agency to resume your remaining projects. In the event that you cannot resume your work within the next four days, I will have to let you go as our talent. The projects lined up for you are quite big contracts; I can't have someone who can't keep up with their contracts. You are a very special talent indeed but if you won't be able to deliver for the contracts under you, then it will become a burden and expense to the agency.
I shall wait for an update from you.
Raging Otori
"Emi? Oi, what's wrong? You suddenly turned pale."
Even though I worked my butt off for the contracts and jobs thrown at me…even though I gave my best in everything and did everything within and beyond their expectations…I'm going to be…
"Emi?"
"I—"
Is this where my efforts bring me to? Did I do something wrong again? Did I cause this on myself? What the hell?! I'm just doing what I'm good at and what I love to do. I did what was given and expected of me! Even when I was tired and felt a little off, I still went and did my work with sterling quality! I know I've let my health slip from time to time but that was because that old man decided to give me more jobs without telling me and I couldn't really say no because he'd suggest that I wasn't capable or that I'd get laid off! I'm—I'm feeling angry and frustrated and and and—!
I raise my hand that was holding my phone, shaking in anger and mixed emotions, ready to throw it against the wall with all my might.
"Emi!" Ranmaru grabs hold of my arm, stopping me from destroying my phone.
"Tch! DAMN IT!" my voice comes out really loud and angry. My whole body was shaking so much and my heart was pumping so fast that perhaps I was waiting for it to give out.
"Oi, oi, oi, calm down for a moment!"
"I. CAN'T—!" My chest feels so heavy. I'm choking from the inside. I can't breathe properly. I can't—I can't!
Before I knew it, my eyes started to cry and a heavy feeling of air in my throat was just stuck in there, unable to come out as the screams that I want to release stay trapped inside me. I'm burning and suffocating inside. My body couldn't scream and instead just cried and cried but without any sound.
Ranmaru becomes speechless and worries about Emi's state. He sits down on the side of the bed and pulls her close to him, letting her lean on his chest as she cries uncontrollably. He says nothing and just lets her cry and waits for her to stop or at least to become calmer. With Emi's phone in his hand, he takes a look at it and sees the message from Raging Otori.
"Screw you, Otori." He says in an angry whisper. He puts away Emi's phone into his pocket.
Emi continues to cry for more than an hour; a release of pent-up pressure and emotions. Ranmaru absolutely says nothing and just keeps her in his arms until she got tired of crying and fell asleep.
"The industry hasn't been treatin' you well lately. Most people think that being in the entertainment industry is all fun and sparkles but what they don't get to see is the ugly side of things; they don't see the struggles that we go thru behind the scenes and the hardships some of us in the industry are faced with."
Kaori and Ai return home hours later and the first thing that Kaori does is to go check on Emi. Upon entering the spare room, she sees Ranmaru holding a sleeping Emi in his arms.
"We're home. We went out for a while to take care of some things. Emi fell asleep? Did she get to eat well?"
"It seems a lot of the food is still untouched. I assume that she didn't eat very much." Ai says upon entering the room.
"Something unpleasant happened." Ranmaru says.
"Eh? What happened?! Tell me, please." Kaori says.
Ranmaru takes out Emi's phone and gives it over to Kaori with the message from Raging Otori on the screen.
"…This must have upset her very much." Kaori's tone was very worried. "How did she take it?"
"She was very upset; she was gonna throw her phone against the wall with all her might. She raised her voice really loudly and cried uncontrollably without a sound; I never saw her so angry and sad at the same time. It hurt my heart to see her like that."
"That's…terrible."
"For now, it would be best to let her rest. I'll store the food inside the refrigerator." Ai says. "I'll also get an extra pillow for Ranmaru to use; will you need an extra blanket?"
"Just a pillow."
"Okay."
"Just feel free to make yourself at home here, Ranmaru. If you need anything, feel free to tell me or Ai okay?" Kaori says.
Ranmaru nods.
Kaori leaves the room and helps Ai store the food into the refrigerator.
"Kaori, wouldn't it be good to tell Emi about that?"
"I want to but we have to wait a few more days; there's still about four days to go. I don't want to tell her without it becoming official or else that would just give her false hope; that might make things worse."
"That's true." Ai sighs. "It will just hurt her more if it doesn't push thru."
"I can't say anything about that to anyone until Saotome-sensei publicly announces my leave from Shining Agency first and until I get the confirmation message about that matter.
"Do you think she'll agree with you in the end?"
"I don't want to be too confident but I do think she might accept it, Ai. I really do hope she accepts it."
I wake up to see Ranmaru beside me with his arm holding me close to him; he's asleep. It's dark outside; what time is it?
"…? You awake?" the half awake Ranmaru asks.
"Ah, did I wake you up? I'm sorry."
"It's alright." He hugs me closer to him. "You feelin' better?" he asks with his eyes still closed.
"A little…" I hug him back. "I'm a lil' hungry though."
"I'll go get us some food then."
Ranmaru was about to get out of the bed but I tightened my hug on him.
"Please don't go. I'm not that hungry; I just want to stay here with you for now."
"You sure?"
I nod. "Yeah, I'll eat later. I just want to stay here with you for now."
Ranmaru adjusts his position on the bed. "Just tell me if you're hungry and I'll go reheat the food."
"What about you though? Are you hungry? I won't hold you back if you're hungry; you can eat ahead."
"I'm fine."
"You sure?"
"Yeah." Ranmaru lays his head on Emi's head. "I know I said that we weren't gonna talk about work but I need to know what you're going to do after seeing that message."
"I don't know…I don't want to go back to the agency but at the same time I want to. I think I'm going to feel that creeping anxiety—that pressure that becomes heavier as the deadline approaches and then I'll end up going back again."
"If you decide to go back to work, I'm gonna stop ya even if it means I have to lock you inside this room. I definitely won't let you go back. If you have to get fired for your well-being then I'll get ya fired."
"But what will I do then? What'll I do if I get fired?"
"We'll figure out something somehow. We will."
"…Maybe I should just quit."
"What?"
"Maybe I should just quit the spotlight altogether. Give up and stop what I'm doing. I could just find a different job or go back to Auntie and maybe succeed her as the leader of her group."
"Hold on that thought. You don't have to go that far; you can still do what you do and be on the spotlight if you want to. There's just going to be some kind of way to do it. We just haven't found the way to do it but we'll definitely see it. Don't do anything rash." He pats my head. "Besides, if you quit then I might just quit too." He chuckles a little.
"W-What?! Why would you quit?!"
"In the industry, there're only a handful of notable rock bands, idols, and singers. Among them, I think you're one of those at the top tier. If you stop or retire from the industry then it makes things less exciting and less challenging. You're the one who keeps me on my toes all the time after all haha. It just won't be as fun or the same without ya. To be honest, everyone keeps pairing us up as rivals in the industry; I kinda like it because you really are top class, you know that? You keep me sharp and I bet I keep you sharp too when we have to one up each other. Haha."
"But what about Quartet Night? It won't be complete without ya."
"Ah right, I forgot about that for a sec. Hmm. I guess I could just give up my solo career and just work on Quartet Night projects only."
"You're starting to sound half assed."
"Who're you callin' half assed, kid?!"
"Who else?! The stupid monkey I'm looking at!"
He laughs a little with a cute smile.
"What're you laughing at?!"
"It's refreshing to hear ya say that and I'm just happy to see you've still got some energy in ya."
"Idiot."
"That's my line, kid."
"If you're gonna ask me, it's not worth it for you to quit. You're really great and a lot of people are gonna be sad if you just up and quit like that. I'd like to see you perform more, you know? Besides, I also think you're not the type to just let go of what you're doing now."
"Well, that's how I feel and think too with you sayin' that you're gonna quit. You get it now?"
I pout a little. "Maybe I should just freelance then?"
"That's a bit risky though especially in this day and age. Without an agency or agent, there's definitely a chance you might get into contact with some sketchy work or people. With your caliber and worth, it'd be safer to have an agency or agent to lessen the risks and dangers; you'll also have some legal backup if ever something bad or unfair happens."
Ranmaru pats her head and starts to get out of the bed.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm gonna go get us some food."
"I can help you with the food."
"Nu-uh. You stay in bed and sit pretty like some spoiled princess or somethin'. You ain't lifting a finger until you've got your energy back. Doctor's orders."
"That sucks."
"Can't do anything 'bout it."
Ranmaru leaves the room and I'm just confined here to my bed. Sucks. It's boring. I kinda want a change of scenery or experience some fresh air. I should…visit Auntie one of these days. I'm starting to miss her and she's been busy the past few weeks so I have no idea what she's up to. Even Lucy and Suzy haven't been replying to my messages either; they're definitely busy at the moment. They probably have a big project going on. They'll reply when they're free; whenever that would be.
"Yes, that's correct. We can still accommodate changes to the contract especially the terms and conditions for your group. I am open to cater your group's needs and to make compromises that will benefit us both. I can still make changes in the next four days." Kaori says as she speaks to someone in the living room.
"You don't mind if I look over them right here right now? I don't want to take this with me all the way back to our town and just end up comin' back to give it back to ya."
"It's alright. You can take your time! As long as you need! No problem at all." Kaori smiles. "Would you like something to eat? We have some food that we could give you; I could reheat the food right now if you'd like."
"That would be great. I haven't eaten since morning due to my group's activities. I'd like some tea as well."
"Coming right up!"
"Wait a minute, that voice sounds familiar." Ranmaru thought to himself as he went down the stairs. He takes a peek at the guest in the living room.
"Y-You?!" Ranmaru utters in surprise.
Hanabi gets surprised too upon seeing his face. "What's a brat like you doing here?! Are you cheating on Hara-chan?! AND WITH A MARRIED WOMAN?! HAVE YOU NO SHAME?!" she takes hold of her wooden sword that sits beside her and stands up.
"H-Hold on! That's not—!"
"I see that the two of you have a good relationship." Kaori says with a smile as she pops out of nowhere behind Ranmaru.
"GYAAAH?!" Ranmaru gets surprised by her. "What the hell?! You took out a few years of my life! Don't do that!"
"Eh?" a stupefied smile manifests on Kaori's face.
"I see you have become another victim of her stealth."
"GYAAH?!" Ranmaru gets surprised with Ai appearing out of nowhere too from behind him. "What's wrong with you two?! Stop appearing outta nowhere!"
Kaori goes over to the living room's center table and puts down the food and tea that she prepared for Hanabi.
"Thank you for the food." Hanabi says as she sits back down on the sofa.
"Hold up, hold up, what's she doin' here?" Ranmaru asks in curiosity.
"Oi, watch your manners, brat." Hanabi says.
Kaori looks at Ai with a smile that hints him something.
"Ranmaru, you came down to get some food for yourself and Emi, yes? I'll help you out."
Ai drags Ranmaru with him into the kitchen as Kaori and Hanabi continue their meeting.
"What was up with that, Ai?"
"Ranmaru, she's here for a meeting with Kaori."
"A meeting? About what?"
Ai stares at him for a moment. "…"
Ranmaru waits a bit.
"I can't give you the full details however what I can say is that Asagao-san is going to work with Kaori."
"Eh? But why? What for?"
"I can't give you that information as of now."
"Hmmm. Now you've got me thinkin' urgh."
Ai pauses for a few seconds. "I'd like to request that you do not divulge that information to Emi."
"How come?"
Ai becomes perplexed and sighs. "Again, I can't say anything in full detail yet but it's for her well-being. Hmm. Just wait for four days and you'll have the full picture. Until then, do not inform Emi about her aunt or whatever you may see or hear from Kaori and Asagao-san."
"This better not be somethin' that would bring bad news."
"It definitely will not. In fact, it might be what many will need. Please just trust in what Kaori is doing."
"Will it be able to help Emi?"
"I strongly believe so."
"Then I'll trust in it. Whatever it is, as long as it's gonna help Emi then I'll support it. You and Kaori wouldn't do anything that would hurt anyone; you're both too kind."
"We won't let you and Emi down, Ranmaru."
"Thanks."
Ai chuckles a little. "You remind me of myself when I fell for Kaori. So that's how I must have looked like."
"S-Shut up!"
"Whatever you say."
"I am alright with these terms and conditions. The details in the contract are pretty good as well. I'm good to go with this, Kaori."
"That's great to hear, Asagao-san!"
"Oh please, just call me Hanabi. I'll create a full list of my group's members with complete details and I'll include which divisions they are part of and where is each division located. My group's registration has already been approved yesterday so I can no longer call ourselves a yakuza group openly anymore haha. I guess it is for the better. Thanks for choosing us for this."
"No, no, no, I think I must be the one who must thank you. Your group is well known for a good reason and I do really admire your efforts to help different people and communities and your efforts to keep your town and other people safe. I am honored to have your group with me."
"Hush now, let's just settle with us both being thankful for one another."
"I'll notify you right away when the official news arrives. Does your group need any extra help with your preparations? Do you lack some equipment or perhaps uniforms?"
"We're good. The girls were excited and ended up doing a pretty good job on logistics. We've also decided to have our uniforms done with our own hands; it's to deepen our dedication and determination for this new venture. I haven't seen the girls this happy and excited in a long while. I'm happy for them."
"I'm happy to be able to give some assistance to you and them as well. I promise that I will look after your group's well-being as much as I can."
"I trust you, Kaori. I know we're in good hands. You do your best and we'll do the same."
"Thank you and see you soon."
"Yes, see you soon indeed."
"I'm back with the food." Ranmaru says.
"Did something happen? I think I heard your voice a while ago; you were pretty loud."
"It was nothin'. I just found out that Kaori and Ai can creep up on ya without a sound."
"Oh?"
"They scared the hell outta me by popping outta nowhere, I tell ya. I feel like I lost a few years of my life."
"I wish I saw it. I would have laughed off a few years of my life seeing you get scared."
"I-I wasn't really scared! I just got surprised!"
"Really?" I ask, teasing him.
"Hmph."
"So cute haha."
The two ate peacefully without much chatter. Once they finished their food, there was not much else to do nor to talk about; the two just sat there on the bed, enjoying each other's company.
Ranmaru touches Emi's right ear.
"Eh? What are you doing, Ranmaru?"
He touches the silver earring on her right ear. "This."
"What? The earring? What about it?"
"Do you ever take this off?"
"Rarely."
Ranmaru smiles a little. "You like it a lot, don't you?"
"I do. It's fashionable and looks good on me. Plus, it's from you and we're matching."
Ranmaru chuckles a little. "I remember when you thought I stole the partner piece when we met face to face after you had lost your memories. It was kinda funny."
"Oh yeah! I thought you stole the partner piece and then I think I straight up asked who you were."
"Yeah. Your reaction when I said that I was your boyfriend was funny hahaha."
"Hmph!"
"It was also funny that you called me a monkey so naturally even with your missing memories; you really didn't forget that. Sigh. Imagine that, you didn't know who I was and yet your instincts told ya to call me a monkey."
Ranmaru and Emi both laughed.
"But you know back then, when Eiichi told me that you didn't want to remove it and felt that it was important, that made me happy." He thinks for a moment. "This might sound kinda cheesy or something but I was happy that even without your memories, you still unconsciously thought about the earring and probably about me. That…I was really happy." A faint tint of red forms on his face as he looks away.
"…You're so cute, Ranmaru." Emi puts her head on his chest and hugs him. "Now that I think about it, it's pretty silly and interesting that I thought of the earring as something important. It could have just been a regular accessory that I wear every day but I felt that that wasn't the case—'it's important' was what I naturally thought and felt. Truth be told, I was right. Strange but perhaps that's just how much I love you. Even without my memories, my heart still remembered you."
Ranmaru hugs her back tightly. "This might be comin' outta nowhere but I just really wanna tell you that I've got no regrets lovin' ya. Even if you'd lose your memories again, I'd court ya all over again."
Emi looks up at him. "I'd most likely love ya back too without a doubt."
It's been two days since Emi was brought to Kaori and Ai's home. After getting her strength back, she spends her time helping with chores and looking after the house while the couple are out. She's been playing the guitar that she borrowed from the couple when she feels a little down. Things have been quiet but a creeping anxiety grows in her as tomorrow is the last day for her to decide if she'll return to Raging Entertainment or will she allow herself to get fired.
"Sigh…What am I gonna do? What should I do?"
"What are you thinking about, Emi?" Kaori suddenly appears from behind the sofa that Emi was sitting on.
"GYAAAAAH?!"
Kaori chuckles. "Did I surprise you?"
"Ranmaru was not kidding that you could walk without a sound!" Emi takes a deep breath. "I think I lost a year of my life span…"
"I'm sorry about that! Please don't be mad at me! I wuv you."
"Wait a minute. Why are you home early? Did you forget something? Ah! Are you feeling alright?"
Kaori sits beside Emi on the sofa. "Don't worry, I'm okay. I'm home early because of two things. The first is that I finished work early today; work was a bit messy today but it's all done. Everything is done."
Kaori's tone was a bit unusual when she said that. Emi didn't understand what she's trying to say behind her words.
"The other reason as to why I'm home early is this—" Kaori takes the remote of the television and turns it on. She immediately goes to a specific channel.
"Breaking News!" The screen shows crowds of reporters on front of Shining Agency. "Yamashita Kaori, talent of Shining Agency and wife of Quartet Night member, Mikaze Ai, is now officially no longer under Shining Agency!"
"WAIT WHAT?!" Emi's eyes are glued to the screen.
The screen then shows Shining Saotome.
"Good afternoon! I am here today to make some important announcements regarding Shining Agency and its talents."
Saotome started talking about a few changes with some policies of the agency and other matters but what surprised everyone was the last part of his talk.
"Lastly, I would like to announce that Yamashita Kaori is no longer a talent under Shining Agency. Her contract has not been renewed and has been terminated earlier today. I would like to clarify that she and the agency and I are in good terms and that it was Yamashita Kaori's decision to not renew her contract."
"We were all taken by surprise when Shining Saotome held an unannounced press conference and announced that Yamashita Kaori was no longer affiliated with Shining Agency. No specific reason was provided by Shining Saotome regarding the reason as to why Yamashita Kaori decided not to renew her contract with the agency. Our reporters tried to get a hold of Yamashita Kaori however she was no longer at the agency's grounds by that time."
"Kaori! W-What?! What was that?!"
"Well, it means just that. I'm no longer under Shining Agency."
"But why?!"
Kaori takes Emi's hands and holds them tightly. "I took a leap of faith. There were things I wanted to try or to do but I couldn't because the agency wouldn't allow it. There were people I wanted to work with but because they were from an agency that wouldn't or couldn't work with Shining Agency, I couldn't get the chance. I wanted to take some time off or lower my work load but sometimes I have no control over that and I didn't like that." Kaori pauses for a moment. "Shining Agency isn't a bad agency in all honesty but I admit that they can be too strict or give too much work and can be constraining. I want to be somewhere that I could have better conditions or conditions that give me space to grow even further."
"Where will you go from here? What will you do now, Kaori?"
"Emi, tomorrow—it's the 4th day, isn't it? The day you have to decide whether to return to Raging Entertainment or not."
Emi sadly nods.
"I would like to ask you to not return to Raging Entertainment."
"But…If I do that…"
"Please, promise me that you won't return to Raging Entertainment. Please?"
Emi says nothing.
"Do you want to end up burning yourself out to the point of no longer functioning? When that happens, you will definitely not be able to continue on doing what you love most; you'll end up stopping permanently. Do you really want that? We both know that Raging Otori will just use you until you can't perform anymore."
"I…" Emi slowly shakes her head. "I don't want that. I can't go on the same way I've been doing."
"Then you promise you won't go back to Raging Entertainment?"
"…" Emi tightens her grip on Kaori's hands. "I promise. I won't go back to Raging Entertainment."
"Thank you." Kaori gets her bag and takes out a sealed folder. "Take this, Emi. You can't look at it yet because of a certain circumstance but please do keep it and read it the day after tomorrow. It will make sense by then." "I don't know what this is but sure, I'll keep it and read it the day after tomorrow."
"That's good to hear. I promise it's nothing bad at all. In fact, it may be great news to you."
Emi nods. "I'll take your words for it."