A couple weeks later…
With her navy blue pants, tie of the same color, and white long sleeve collared shirt on, Michiru spared a lasting glance at the last piece of clothing dressed in.
I can't believe it, She thought for however many times it was as a wide smile spread on her features until cheeks grew sore. I'm legitimately Otsu-chan's assistant, starting today!
The sound of her phone dinging once caught her attention. Kneeling to the floor, Michiru wrapped her fingers around it before flipping it open. There, the pixelated envelope appeared, with "Tsunpo" being the name on it. She wasted no time opening what the text said.
No title showed, but said message read, 'You're starting your new job, correct?'
The corners of her lips curled up a tad as Michiru responded with, 'Yeah. I'm excited, yet nervous.'
'That's normal.'
'Still, even though I did well at the interview, it's not entirely the same as actually working for one of the most famous pop stars in Edo!'
'I understand, but you must ease yourself. You'll have a difficult time if you tense up, such as when you last visited me in person.'
A sweat drop trailed down her cheek. Michiru mumbled, "Does he have to keep reminding me of my awkwardness?"
She sent him one more reply. 'Well, I need to go to work soon. Wish me luck!'
Shutting her cellphone, the woman eventually slipped her arms through the sleeves of her suit jacket. Then and there, her bedroom door opened.
"Michiru, who just texted you?" Mika stood next to the frame while raising a brow.
No trace of expression in Michiru's features other than perspiration running over her forehead. It took her a few seconds to voice out an answer, "An acquaintance."
"Acquaintance?" She repeated. "I thought you didn't put in phone numbers from them."
"Normally I don't, you're right, but he was the one who asked me a little while ago. I only agreed because he stated he's a busy man."
"Oh?" Folding her arms over her chest, Mika inquired with a ghost of a smirk held upon her face, "What does he do?"
"He writes music."
As her eyes broadened, the twin replied, "Sounds like he's a musician."
"Yeah, you could say that." For once, the smile Michiru held didn't appear forced or broken. Same with her voice; not cracked nor hesitant.
"Well, I didn't expect this." A stifled chuckle bubbled up, making its way out.
"To be honest, neither did I," Michiru said while on the verge of releasing a similar laugh.
Mika ceased her quiet laughter, in addition to the raised lips reducing to a straight line. Her gaze lowered until staring at the floor beneath.
Catching sight of it, Michiru asked, "What is it?"
"I'm worried about the risk of you having a breakdown while you're working."
At first, she turned in her direction, gaping. Her lips parted, but Mika hurriedly added before she could question, "I'm aware you've had a few breakdowns at your previous job, but you managed to get your privacy there whenever you went through one. You're gonna start working alongside essentially a star. There's a chance you'll get busy to the point where you won't even be able to have privacy."
Perhaps it was a good thing Michiru said no more words when her sister rushed to clarify, for she chewed on her lower lip while knitting her brows.
Otsu-chan is famous, so why didn't that occur to me beforehand?
Returning her focus to the woman, Michiru said, her smile barely there anymore, "I'll try to be cautious if I feel an upcoming breakdown. Besides, I rarely had one at the restaurant."
"But that had small crowds compared to what you're about to do from now on. I'm not trying to bring you down, I just want you to be aware."
Michiru brought a hair tie towards the back of her head, then cupped a majority of her locks. "I appreciate it, Mika. In fact, I'm glad you're telling me this."
Even for Mika, her eyes widened like last time, although it followed by her rapidly blinking.
Finished with tightening her hair by giving one last tug, Michiru asked with a raised eyebrow, "Why're you giving me that look?"
"I expected you to call me a worrywart."
Rolling her eyes, she started towards her twin, only to cease when standing in front of Mika. She didn't say a word for a moment, the sole movement from her lifting a hand, ending up making contact with the top of the sibling's head.
"I told you, you ain't a worrywart."
Mika's irises raised to the wrist in her sight, but the heartfelt smile stuck on Michiru's face caught her attention in the midst of it. There wasn't much reaction coming from the short haired woman other than a vastly smaller, if not a hint, of a smile.
"Oh! I have to get going! I don't wanna be late on my first day!" Michiru suddenly exclaimed, yanking her hand back before rushing past Mika.
"Did you eat already?"
"I did before you woke up," She responded.
Heaving a quiet sigh, the second sister said softly to the point of it being a borderline whisper, "Good. I had a feeling you'd end up not eating anything before heading out...or at least hold onto a piece of bread with your teeth while rushing to work."
There, Michiru couldn't bring herself to prevent the boisterous laughter from escaping. "You know I'm smarter than that. Besides, that mostly happens in anime and manga." She managed to catch a glimpse of Mika's smirk, but averted her eyes away before quickening her steps towards the front doors.
By the time she reached the genkan, Michiru took little time to slide her feet inside the pair of flat dress shoes, colored black.
"I'm heading out!" She announced, the only response she received being an informal goodbye and waving her hand.
Though she had sufficient time to get to where she was required to arrive, Michiru's pace sped up soon after leaving the house.
I'm supposed to meet with Otsu-chan at the music studio. I believe I know where it is.
Moments went by before Michiru gradually came to a complete stop at the end of an alleyway. Turning to the suit's right pocket, she gave the spot a few light pats.
I don't want Terakado-san and Otsu-chan to find out I'm carrying my shuriken in my inside pocket. Not something I like talking about other than with Mika. Well, and I guess Bansai as well…
The memory of her last meeting with the mentioned man—specifically the bit where Bansai exposed her sending him a text without intention—brought her to shift a shoulder towards her earlobe in discomfort.
Why're you thinking of it, Michiru? That's not even relevant anymore.
Well, the thought was both true and false. True, because it had nothing to do with her first day of being an assistant. Simultaneously, it was the opposite; Michiru didn't believe she'd think much of it had she and Bansai not met each other a short while back. Actually, her mind concentrated on his veracious guess of her interest in him.
Knitting her brows and shutting her eyes, Michiru pinched the bridge of her nose.
"I think I'm getting distracted now. This is a terrible time..." She groused. As much as she wanted and endeavored on leaving it in the back of her mind until leaving work, it ended to no avail.
A honk not far from the alleyway she barely had her figure out of brought the woman's attention upwards. When turning to where the sound originated from, a yellow van with basic purple flowers and a thick pink stripe over it printed near the back of the vehicle drove at a languid speed.
As soon as the tires finished crunching over the gravel, the sliding door clicked before opening.
"Michiru-chan, there you are!" The chirpy voice coming from the van undoubtedly sounded young; Michiru didn't need to have more than one guess to figure out who it specifically was.
Shooting her brows up as well as widening her eyes a tad, the newly assistant said, "Otsu-chan!" She tilted her upper body until facing the ground. "I'll be looking forward to working with you starting today."
"I'm looking forward to it too! Phallic banana shapes!"
Digging in her lower lip to repress a bubbling chuckle, Michiru told herself, I need to get used to it. Otherwise I'll already look unprofessional.
The memory of an erstwhile coworker scolding her forced its way in her head, much to her annoyance. In spite of the unwanted visual from that night, she couldn't bring herself to mentally push it behind. Already diverting her thought process once started draining her.
"Why don't you come in?" Terakado Tsu suggested, waving her hand back. "It'll get us to the studio faster! Toothpick poking tonsil!"
Michiru didn't find herself even emerging a giggle. It seemed more gross than funny, but instead of letting a third nuisance get in her way, she sped to the van before setting foot inside.
Upon setting her bottom on the seat, Michiru buckled her seatbelt. Other than Tsu sitting beside her, she observed the passenger seats. Her mother—now addressed as manager for time of work—sat on the left; for the one on the right, Michiru had no clue. It was only a male wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans, along with a beige hat.
Tsu, attire being a magenta short kimono and light yellow stockings, said, "It's such a coincidence! We were coming over to pick you up, but I'm glad you caught up with us! Brownies mistaking cra—"
"I'm quite pleased as well," Ichi admitted, her tone a bit high yet somehow flat, cutting off Tsu's inappropriate comment with zero shame. "There's something I want to address while we head to our destination."
"What is it, Terakado-san?" Michiru asked, straightening her posture.
Sparing a glance out of the corner of her eye, Ichi continued, "You'll need to be with Otsu-chan while working, other than your days off."
Michiru thought while holding a faint smile, She said something similar at the interview, but this didn't occur to me until now. This feels more like the job of a bodyguard than an assistant. Not that I'm complaining, but still…
"One of our last assistants ended up quitting because, in his words, he got tired of having to be with Otsu-chan at almost all times during work."
Having her typical crooked smile plastered, Michiru wondered, Sounds like he was less prepared. Almost seems as if there was little communication between them.
Folding her arms over her chest, Ichi said, "This is why I specifically asked for someone reliable. Michiru-san."
"Yes?"
"While I see the potential in you, I'd like you to keep this in mind. If I witness you doing the opposite of what you're tasked to do, I won't hesitate to call you out. If it's happening more often than it should, I'll fire you."
"I completely understand," Michiru said in an instant, lips now formed in a straight line. "If I was the type of person to slack off, I wouldn't have applied for this job to begin with."
With a hum, Ichi made her response, "That's what I like to hear."
Despite the tiny smirk creeping on Michiru's features, she thought back on what Mika said before leaving her house.
I hope—actually, pray I won't have a breakdown.
Around ten minutes passed before the van halted in a parking spot, next to a few other vehicles. When the engine turned off, everyone clicked their doors open.
The driver already went to his job after biding the women, not far from the building they needed to be at.
Returning her gaze at the assistant, Ichi told her, "Michiru-san, even if this is your first day, I'd like you to observe what Otsu-chan typically does. I don't expect you to get everything by the end of the day, but it'll get easier for you the more you pay attention to your surroundings."
"I'll make sure I do that," She replied.
"Isn't this exciting?" Tsu stepped next to Michiru with clenched fists in front of her own chest. "There's so much we can do together! You can even watch my concerts with your friends! Cherry popping cream!"
Blinking twice, the older woman repeated the one syllable word mentally while staring back, Friends…
"You two," Ichi said, catching both their attention. "We need to meet with the recording engineers at the booth."
Michiru inquired the singer, "Are you recording a new song today?"
"I most certainly am!" Tsu chirped. "I actually recorded some of it around a week ago, but a fire emerged on some of the equipment, so we had to put it on-hold temporarily. Phones flashing groins!"
"Hold on, what?"
"That's what I said at first, but then I was told it was from some drunkard who lit a cigarette and then poured some gas on the equipment. Ear bleeding migraines!"
Michiru attempted to fathom the scenario of a person somehow entering the studio wasted and smoking, then nearly burning said studio down. It brought her to purse her lips while grunting in near silence.
"But we couldn't see very well when it happened due to the smoke, plus we didn't even notice them until it was too late, so it might not be true. Itchy head bugs!"
I need to move on now before I lose it.
It took the trio another couple of minutes for them to reach a brown door. Ichi turned the knob until pushing said door, revealing two men resting in their black spinning chairs. Both used chopsticks to hold up pieces of their rolled omelets, but one of them turned his head until the women were in his sight.
Holding a smile in their direction, he greeted, "Hello." Shifting his focus towards Michiru, he added in a question, "Is this the newest assistant?"
"Yup!" Tsu answered. "This is Michiru-chan! Blinding eye sockets!"
Tilting her body like earlier, Michiru returned the greeting, "It's a pleasure to meet you."
The rest said similar greetings before Tsu started towards the booth. As for Ichi and Michiru, the two of them went to the red couch, placing their bottoms on the furniture.
"Terakado-san," Michiru said.
"Hm?"
"What's this song about, if you don't mind me asking?"
"I don't; you did mention being a fan of my daughter, was that right?"
"Yes."
"Well, then." While crossing her arms a second time, Ichi started, "It's basically a mother cheating on her husband."
"I...I see." Michiru had nothing else to say. This wasn't the most outlandish concept for a song she'd heard, mainly from listening to plenty of her music over the years. Not all of them, but enough to find ideas like these to be customary in her songs.
I bet Bansai wrote it…
With many of Tsu's songs already written by him, chances of it being the case were high, especially when recollecting her discovery of this being Bansai's side-job.
I'm impressed he's managed to be Otsu-chan's producer for this long while being secretive of his identity. I know the reason, but if the music industry found out…
The thought of it prevented Michiru from her train of thought. While Ichi caught sight of her eyebrow convulsing, the booth door abruptly pushed open. It became apparent enough to snap Michiru out of her mental state, as the singer hopped half a foot from the floor.
Blinking in confusion, Michiru said, "That was fast."
"I only had five lyrics to rerecord; I wanted to make sure it sounded pristine! Blood squirt guns!"
"Oh, is that so?"
Tsu made a few quick nods. "Tsunpo worked hard on it, so I wanna make him proud!"
I knew it! The guess ultimately being followed by a confirmation in a near instant brought her to grin while stifling a chortle. How many times had Michiru laughed, or at least close to doing so, so far today? Well, perhaps she preferred this over getting constantly awkward publicly. Still, it happened sparsely throughout her life to the point of almost never being an occurrence.
Facing her, Tsu asked, "You wanna take a look at the lyrics for my upcoming song, 'Karma Slams On Cheating Wife and Mother'?"
"Sure," Michiru accepted as the pop star handed her a single sheet of paper.
She read the last few lines in her mind, 'If they're not loyal to you, they deserve to be kicked in the crotch! If they're not loyal to you, they deserve to go live with their parents again! Cheat on him, cheat on your kid, cheat on you, you, you! Your mother deserves a crotch kick too!'
Upon scanning the last lyric, she guessed, So the mother's helping her cheat?
A pregnant pause occurred, ending it with an added thought, I can safely say her other song about mothers is a lot worse in terms of lyrics. Still a catchy song, though.
"Now that my song's finished, we should head to the public hall! Steamy rain love!"
"What is it you need to go there for?" Ichi inquired, quirking a brow at her request. "You don't have a concert for another month and a half."
Tsu mirrored a similar expression, though obvious confusion filled her tone. "I thought it was in two weeks."
"That's for your 'Children Having Fun' concert. The one I'm bringing up is for 'Halloween Monster Live'. Speaking of which, have you come up with a song Halloween related yet?"
"No, sadly," She admitted after heaving a sigh. "I'll come up with something, though! Beef jerky jerk off!"
Michiru dug in her lower lip to refrain her jaw from dropping.
Was that supposed to be a pun?
"I was planning on doing some recording for one of my other new songs, but I wanna show Michiru-chan the stage and give her a few gifts. Explosive tiny jawbreakers!"
Michiru repeated with broadened eyes as her gaze returned to Tsu, "Gifts?"
The singer made a sharp nod. "Uh-huh!"
Rubbing the back of her head, Michiru faltered, "Not that I'm unappreciative, but are you sure you want to give me gifts on my first day?"
"I don't understand what you mean," Tsu said, a frown holding onto her features. "I do it with every person who starts working for me. Sore clogged throat!"
"But...isn't this much?"
"Have you...never received gifts?" Michiru caught the hesitancy lacing in her voice.
No initial answer. Instead, silence fell upon the small group of people in the room, the complete opposite of what she wanted to occur.
I want to say something but my throat won't let me!
As her chest started to tense and also on the verge of heaving, the dead quietness broke.
"That isn't a polite thing to assume."
Michiru's head made an instantaneous turn, pointing her gaze at the manager.
Ichi added, "Hesitating to accept it doesn't mean they've never had them. Most jobs don't even give new workers presents."
A sensation similar to a spike hit her in the cranium, leading to her vocals to loosen enough for Michiru's voice to return.
"That's right! I was only taken aback by your offer, but I would be delighted!" She barely discerned the crack in the middle of her sentence; if she were to pay more than a little attention to it, it'd only end up distracting her again.
The beam returned to the pop star. "Good! There're a few things I've been wanting to give away, since they're my earliest albums! Dead skin flakes!"
"Oh, I see."
I suppose it wouldn't hurt to let her hand me some of her CDs. I've been meaning to get a couple anyway.
An hour later…
The trip to the public hall by foot lasted a tad less than thirty minutes yet the late summer climate convinced Michiru it would take all day, even assuming afternoon already came. As for Tsu and Ichi, they of course sweltered but both powered through. While Ichi commented on the sweat soaking part of her clothes, she shifted the topic to the upcoming concerts previously brought up. Tsu...visibly struggled dealing with the heat; her attempt at dealing with it having to sing.
For the last half hour, a trio of young males approached them, speaking exclusively on their love towards the singer. More accurately, treating her as the music equivalent of a goddess. To put it short, Michiru found their repetitive descriptions of their obsession to be obnoxious.
At the moment, only she and Tsu entered a room consisting of mirrors with light bulbs surrounding them, along with a rack filled with various kimonos and regular dresses resting across. A widescreen television mounted on the wall.
Scratching her scalp and tugging on the collar, Michiru thought, I thought we'd never be done with them!
Tsu explained, "We got a TV six months ago for people who can't watch my concerts live. Computer virus attack!"
"Interesting," She said. When scanning the mostly empty room, Michiru caught sight of two stacks of CDs placed on the edge of a table. Taking a few steps towards them, the cases became clearer for her.
As expected, both stacks had Tsu on the covers in different poses.
Turning to the pop star, Michiru parted her lips, but didn't get to speak for the girl responded to her silent question, "It's your gift!"
"You said you wanted to give some to me. How many are you willing to hand?" Holding her chin, her focus glued to the aforementioned stacks after counting in her head, turning out to be twenty-four in total.
"Those are all for you!"
Her figure stilled, for a second believing her veins suddenly turned to ice.
She calls this a few?!
Forcing a smile, albeit a half-broken one, Michiru suggested, "Don't you think it'd make more sense to give these to your fans?"
"I did, but my mom refrained from giving them more than ten copies. Jingle skeleton dance!"
"I'm surprised she let them have that many copies…"
"You can hand some to your friends," Tsu cut herself off when an idea sparked in her head, causing her eyes to snap wide. "Or better yet, you can give them to the children coming to 'Children Having Fun'! That would make them really happy! Poison snake bite!"
"Say, Otsu-chan."
"Yes?"
"About the whole friends—"
"They'd get free tickets, so you don't need to worry about them missing out." She shot her a wink.
The corners of Michiru's lips curled downward. "That's not what I'm asking."
With her smile diminishing at the sight of Michiru shifting her gaze to the floor and nails pressing in her palm, Tsu inquired, "Michiru-chan...you have friends, right?"
"Well," She trailed the word, scratching the back of her head as her cheeks burnt. "I guess the closest to a friend I have is Shimura-san, but even then, I just happen to get involved with the Yorozuya's misfortune sometimes."
"Michiru-chan." Her name repeated, this time bringing the woman to return her glance towards Tsu.
The air stiffened around her the second they made eye contact. While optimism remained in her tone, Tsu's brows scrunched as well as balling her hands. Not tight, but closed enough to be considered fists.
"Having no friends is too lonely! If you weren't able to make any before, then I'll definitely be your first!"
"Otsu-chan, we're working, not having a hangout at the park." Michiru didn't want to argue with her, in fact, she wasn't even against the idea.
But I have to focus on my job; otherwise Mika and I won't survive. We already had a bit of trouble after losing my previous one.
However, Tsu retorted, "Doesn't mean you can't enjoy the company of other people! I won't lie, it is stressful being a singer sometimes, but I still love doing it. Even at my worst times, my fans and close ones manage to cheer me up with their constant support. I consider them my friends too."
Michiru went quiet, soon pondering, I guess it makes sense, at least for her. I'm nothing like her, and yet...I understand where she's coming from. I never focused on making friends growing up since I was homeschooled.
During her thought process, Tsu perked up yet again, turning to one of the drawers.
Her mind added, It really is lonely. Maybe I should let her be my friend, even if this is my first day.
Michiru raised her head to make her response, but nothing except static played inwardly.
What Tsu had in her hand was definitely shaped similar to a microphone. The biggest difference between this and a normal microphone being the texture of it made of silicone, colored turquoise. Three buttons lined up on it vertically, the middle being the on/off one. It wasn't necessary for Michiru to consciously hold back a scream, for the sensation in all her veins froze to where she assumed liquid nitrogen got injected in them.
If the sight of her holding it didn't seem as though it tricked her vision, Tsu said, returning to her usual jolly attitude, "I found this microphone yesterday, but completely forgot about it until just now! Illegal acid trip!"
That was when a mental image of herself in the form of a small figure appeared with spirals as eyes.
She told me something thoughtful but then suddenly brought out a vibrating wand…and is apparently unaware of their existence! How sheltered is Otsu-chan if she thinks that's a freakin' microphone?!
When Ichi came alongside her small figure, a churn formed in her gut.
Nobody should know about this! If they see it, they'll no doubt cause a rise and make stupid accusations of her 'not being innocent'! That sounds overwhelming on both our parts so I have to deal with this! I'd rather not explain and end this quickly instead of doing so and risk others noticing. Besides, it's already getting uncomfortable…
"Do you think you'll end up using it?"
You're not supposed to question whether or not she'll use it as a goddamn microphone!
"I probably won't. It doesn't look like I can open this. Creepy snake crawls!"
Suppressing a sigh of relief, Michiru replied, "I see. I don't think it's a good 'microphone' anyway so perhaps you can give it to someone?" She didn't intend to make it end as a question, but it couldn't be helped when she needed to create a false excuse. A necessary one at that.
Why must I always have to lie? I hate this.
"Not a bad idea! I'll give it to one of the other idols!" Spinning on her heel, Tsu took two steps to the door they entered through. Immediately after the second footstep, Michiru slapped a hand on her shoulder, bringing the girl to a halt.
While Tsu turned back to face her, the assistant shot a smile. Not only did Michiru have to force it on her features—thus aching her jaw—but a vein throbbed in her neck, in addition to her forehead developing sweat. She made a different suggestion, "They might have plenty already; perhaps you can send it to someone who you think doesn't have one."
Snapping her fingers, Tsu chirped, "Ah, you got a point! Is there a box in here somewhere?"
"Yes." With as much speed and concentration as she could, Michiru went to the nearest box. Initially filled with a plethora of costumes, she spun it over, spilling everything onto the floor. In the span of a minute, she snatched the wand, inserted it in the cardboard box and folded the flaps closed before taping it.
"Here you go," Michiru said, handing the rather oversized package to the star. "If anybody asks us what's in it, we should only say it's a microphone and nothing else."
Tsu nodded with a wide smile. "Sure! I don't know who I'm giving this to yet, but I have a few people in mind. I'll think it over and then have mom send it to them. Veiny purple skin!"
"All right."
I don't care who she sends it to as long as it's out of here.
Later…
Although the rest of her first day went well aside from her occasional stiffness, she couldn't help wanting to burst in laughter every time a picture of Tsu trying to "sing" in a vibrating wand popped in her mind.
Her first day as Tsu's assistant—or bodyguard—concluded. Rather than heading for home, Michiru went into a large building, eventually spotting Mika in her long tawny yukata with the sleeves held up by a tasuki. Coincidentally, she was currently on break, giving the second sister a bit of time to make conversation.
In the midst of stripping each piece of clothing of the suit, Michiru informed her twin of her day.
"So she thought a vibrator was a microphone?" Mika repeated with her eyes as wide as they could physically manage.
"I couldn't believe it either," She responded between chortles. "Thankfully, she mailed it. She didn't tell me who to but that doesn't matter."
Mika used a clean rag to dry her hands. "So what're you going to do with all those CDs? Surely, you're not keeping all of them."
"Hell no," Michiru refused in a split second. "Too many copies of the same album is unnecessary. I wonder if Shimura-san would be willing to take them."
At the mention of Shinpachi's surname, a cracked smile held upon Mika's features. "Knowing him, I wouldn't be surprised. I sometimes hear him singing her songs which sound awful."
After dropping her underwear on top of the pile of clothes in the basket, Michiru grasped a towel, whirling it onto her shoulder. She started towards the bath entrance.
"I'll be in the bath after I get cleaned. I need some relaxation, especially since I haven't bathed here in a while."
"Of course." Mika let out a natural cough. "And Michiru, even if you're working with her, I'm glad you and Otsu-chan are already friends."
Halting her feet, her lips parted with no words escaping.
"You have admitted in the past that you want to make new friends, but never got a chance to due to how busy both of us were."
Michiru slightly turned to the side. True. Even at my previous job, I couldn't bring myself to treat my coworkers more than that. Coworkers.
A contented hum was all she did as she resumed to the shower stall.
I won't deny, I thought Otsu-chan did go pretty fast, but you know what, I'll accept it. I just need to pay attention to my responsibilities as one of her assistants. At the same time, I should allow myself to have fun when it's appropriate.
To be continued…