Hachiman started the day with absolutely no spirit. Yesterday had been hectic and tiring that he almost ended up oversleeping.
That evening, he was finally able to see his father. Hachiman's dereliction of duty in the afternoon was brushed off. He brought a detailed explanation of Saika's worry about dating Anya.
It seems that Anya wasn't aware of Saika's first rejection. But she got hints about the situation in the Tennis club because Saika might not tell those details, but Anya could deduct a few things from it.
She wasn't aware that Saika's worry was this deep-rooted and felt guilty that she thought she pushed Saika to the corner by confessing.
Hachiman assured her that the feeling was mutual and that Saika was trying to put some effort into changing himself because, otherwise, their relationship would not progress.
"We can't afford the time to wait." Chihiro bluntly commented, then looked at the Chief Producer. "But you already planned for something like this, didn't you?"
"Well, no, but it is very convenient that we have a solution. That would be Hachiman's Aria program." Chief Producer clasped his hands, somewhat nervous. "Don't worry. We will support Totsuka Saika."
"As for you, Hachiman, I agree that getting your friends to know each other is the right choice. He needs your mental support as much as our technical support."
Hachiman had never been this pissed about being low-ranked personnel and not getting involved in the details of the Company plan. But Hachiman doesn't have much energy to protest.
He doesn't want to jeopardize the fragile balance that Anya and Saika had desperately sought. Perhaps, in the end, they should fight a different front.
"Is it fine to leak the details to Akizuki Ryou? He's from a different corporation than ours." Hachiman argued, coldly rational.
"Absolutely." His father said. "The Company President is actually a good friend of mine. We go all the way back to the Sengoku Era. So I'll make a call to keep things tidy behind the scenes..."
"Ah, shit."
That explains SO MUCH.
"Kids deal with kids. Let adults deal with the intricacies. I didn't say this to undermine your effort. On the contrary, you've done splendidly in the last few days."
"I'm proud of you."
Hachiman almost blew up his emotional control valve hearing that. In his entire 16 years of life, Hachiman's father never said that. Not even once.
Not that he particularly cares or anything!
...
"Hee... romance problem, huh."
Akizuki Ryou didn't seem too surprised when he heard it from Hachiman. Under direct permission from the Company, Hachiman more or less tells Ryou the details. Hoping that Ryou can give some pointers to Saika.
It was almost unbelievable, but Ryou had SEEN weirder. Like a daughter and mother become rival Idols...
"Yep..." Hachiman tells Ryou. "I began to understand why many Idol agencies in the past... well, they put a blanket ban on it."
346 PRO doesn't have a ban on Idol relationships. But even so, they're not entirely encouraged to have one, and the crushing demand to be open and honest about it is taxing.
It was why they put so much emphasis on his potential entanglement with an Idol in the Company. Worse yet, they're so confident about it too.
"Romantic relationships, huh." Ryou sighed.
"What, you have problems with that too?" Hachiman twitched. Please no. I need your help right now.
"Well... no... maybe? I do have someone I like and feel insecure about it." Ryou grimaced and tried to dodge. "I guess I can understand this Totsuka Saika all too well."
Hachiman decided not to press it too hard about the identity of this person. Ryou will tell him eventually, hopefully.
"The thing about Otomejoshi is that we take our security seriously." Ryou pointed out. "I guess I can say. There are a few people who secretly date at school."
"You gotta be bullshitting me." Hachiman balked in disbelief.
"No. I'm serious!" Ryou said. "The other students would turn a blind eye to it, either out of respect or fear of reprisal. Likewise, the people involved usually keep it moderate and discreet. It's hard to pin them on anything."
Hachiman instead thinks of the rules that 346 more or less decided for Anya. They have to avoid any suspicious places during a date. A public date means they will always be under scrutiny, but also less material that can be used as an attack from the vulture called Press.
Being seen going to a hotel together without adults accompanying them is flat-out verboten. It's practically career-sinking.
"Sounds like a bad idea." Hachiman shook his head. "Isn't that like... deceiving fans altogether?"
Ryou raised his finger to argue... then lowered it. Ryou had no right to debate the definition of loyalty to fans considering his career history of deceiving them.
Hachiman and Ryou quietly turn to a boy and a girl talking somewhere in the distance. Hachiman knows them as Amagase Touma from JUPITER and 765 Production's Amami Haruka. Both are third-year students and already famous Idols in their own right.
"Touma-senpai..."
Touma, in particular, can be considered Ryou's senpai in more ways than one. JUPITER was already famous before they changed support company. They defected to 315 afterward, predating Ryou's own change of career to male Idol.
"Don't tell me..."
"Yep."
They didn't do anything explicit, but their expression alone was telling.
"Shit, man." Hachiman mumbles.
"I know, Hachiman. I know."
"You want to be like that with that person? I mean, the one you like." Hachiman asked him rather absentmindedly. He didn't feel it was too much of a breach of privacy to ask, considering Hachiman didn't ask about the person's identity.
He was asking about Ryou's feelings and only that.
"It would be nice for that to happen, but..." Ryou shakes his head. "I did betray her trust, after all."
"I see."
Because Ryou became close to that person as a girl, Ryou doesn't feel it's right to keep doing that now... or so Hachiman thought. Hachiman looked back at the short time he and Komachi went incognito. But the difference between them and Ryou was one.
Hachiman and Komachi behave as themselves. Ryou donned a false appearance that contradicted his heart and desire because some dipshits pushed him to do so.
At worst, Hachiman lied by omission, but even then, it was perfectly in his right to do so. What Ryou did in the past was an outright fraud.
"Hachiman must be thinking I was pathetic, wasn't I?"
"No. You're still responsible for your choice. However, you're also a victim of this shitty industry." Hachiman snorts. "If it was me, I'll just fuck off and become anonymous."
Though he admits that the 346 Idol division under his father might be a little different, it still cannot go openly against the flow. Mishiro is pushing hard to integrate the Idol division with the rest of the Company compared to the past, but the streamlining process will take time.
Both are fighting hard to balance the Idol's career and their happiness in their twisted way.
"But if it was like that, wouldn't it be the same as me running away? I admit. I do enjoy the moment I spent as a female Idol in the past. And I want to stand in that dazzling world again. This time as a real man."
Ah... so it was like that.
Ryou wanted to climb the hell he fell into and return to that heavenly dream world.
"It won't be easy, but perhaps once I'm done, I'll be able to face that person again and fulfill our promise."
Promise?
"The next time we meet, it will be on a greater stage. That was the promise we made." Ryou stood up. "However, because of my betrayal, the gap between us only grows so much larger. And that's why the current me is not worthy of meeting her yet."
Oh.
"What would you do if someone claimed her before you could return to where you left from?" Hachiman asks him seriously.
"Then it would be my fault for being slow to catch up." Ryou smiled at Hachiman, free of regret. "But I'm not giving this one up, not a little bit."
Boys are stubborn. No matter if they look like a girl...
Not that Hachiman had the right to talk.
"By the way... President Takagi, what are you doing there?" Hachiman looked aside and called out the weirdo twerp that hid halfway in the corner of the corridor intersection.
"Yuutarou-kun?" Ryou asks. "Since when you're there?"
"Um, uh, no, well..."
Hachiman looked at where he looked and understood.
"Stalking your Idol isn't kosher for a President, you know?" Hachiman sneer at him.
"I'm... I'm not stalking. I'm carefully watching just in case anything scandalous happens." The boy blushes hard. "Besides? I'm not the President. I'm the DEPUTY President, got it?"
Ah, one of those types. Hachiman knows the harem protagonist when he sees one. The somewhat generically cute, insecure, yet also hardworking boy with great misfortune befalls upon them.
Hachiman is glad that he lived a seemingly ordinary life in comparison.
This boy that just transferred today is Takagi Yuutarou, the grandchild of the President of the 765 Production, Takagi Juunichirou. Due to health reasons, the President was hospitalized, and someone had to fill the seat.
It made such big news a few months ago, but Hachiman was too busy with his various training to pay attention. 16 years old on the seat of a Company President, even for a small company, almost unheard of.
"Well, they're not doing anything worthy of scandal... yet," Hachiman commented. "If they do that outside, I think your Company will collapse from the weight of the printed tabloid articles."
Yuutaro clenched his teeth. He wanted to retort, but Hachiman wasn't wrong about it. For anyone who believes in supernatural things, 765 PRO was practically cursed.
So many incidents happened that, were it not for the sheer talent and determination its Idols and Staffs possess, it wouldn't be able to stay afloat.
Even for a juggernaut like 346 PRO, 765 PRO is not to take lightly. They might not have as much capital and far fewer numbers of Idols, but they make it up with the quality of the individuals.
"Why would you say that?" Ryou know Hachiman could be straightforward, but that was twisting the knife.
Unlike 315, 765 Pro is 346's rival, so Hachiman had no impetus to hold back. Ryou know this. But he was sure that Hachiman wasn't the type to be interested in company politics unless it involved his friends.
"I'm not talking about that." Hachiman sighed. "If they actively meet outside school, then the Press will catch on it a long time ago. So that's not your REAL concern, right, Deputy President Takagi?"
"Huh? Huh? Wait a minute. Do you mean..." Ryou finally realized the implication.
"Takagi likes Amamiya-senpai."
Yuutarou wasn't watching them over because of professional concerns. It was personal jealousy at work. Hachiman knew this, and that's why he ribbed Yuutarou about it.
Yuutarou sighed. "Fine, you win. Now what?"
"Stop acting suspicious and sit down your ass here unless you want your beloved Senpai to look down on you in disgust." Hachiman finally got enough.
Yuutarou didn't protest too much and grumpily sat beside Ryou.
Oh, so it was like that.
Ryou understood that while Hachiman is harsh about it, he just wanted to help Yuutarou start fitting in.
Yuutarou's reception among their classmates wasn't stellar. Everyone questioned his reliability on top of the fact that, well, Yuutarou wasn't attractive physically.
In a class full of prodigious athletes and celebrities? The short and childish Yuutarou stuck out like a sore thumb. And his awkward behavior didn't help in the slightest.
Rather than stalking, openly watching like this was much better. Not for Yuutarou's own state of souls, though.
It was hard to watch someone you like being close to another person romantically. Ryou doesn't think he can bear to see if someone is close to the person he loves.
"...Thanks, Hikigaya..." Yuutarou muttered bashfully. "I don't know how I would face Haruka-san if she saw me in that state."
"Why are you thanking me?" Hachiman looked away in response.
Still, Hachiman really is a kindhearted person, despite his twisted personality and attitude. Ryou couldn't help but smile at the realization.
"...You work in 346 under your father, right? Did someone force you to do it?"
"Nah..." Hachiman answers him. "My sister is going to debut soon. And I want to prepare a great stage for her, no more, no less."
"Your sister... huh."
"What's wrong, Yuutarou-kun?" Ryou asks him.
"Well, I'm not especially close to my grandfather, and my parents seldom at home. I'm taking over the Company also not out of goodwill or anything. So, compared to you..."
"Oh, then we're on the same boat." Hachiman scoffed. "Other than my sister, I don't have a strong attachment to my family either."
Ryou and Yuutarou both cringed at Hachiman's heartless response. This freaking siscon's peerless confidence was something else!
"But it doesn't really matter what's your intent. Isn't it?" Ryou assured him. "You just need to give it your all."
"Giving it my all, right. Of course, I am." Yuutarou nodded. "It does help that our Producer is competent, though. But that's all the more reason I had to work hard and not become his burden."
"That's the spirit." Ryou pumped his fist up.
Yuutarou slapped his own face with both hands. "You're right. This is no time to be heartbroken. Regardless of what happened, I still want to support Haruka-san... no... I want to support everyone too."
Ah, there it is. The boldness and honesty of a harem protagonist!
青春 の輝かしいステージ ひどく明るい感じ
The Shining Stage of Youth feels awfully bright
(Oregairu/Idolmaster - Cinderella Girls)
Original Story by: Watari Wataru/Bandai-Namco
Written by: ZeroXSEED
Chapter 8 - Brothers in arms, Part 1
Hachiman's phone rang, and he noticed it was from his mother. "Hello, Mother?"
"[Are you having a lunch break now]?"
"Yes, I am."
"[I'm going to tell you I have some free time tomorrow, so take a day off and bring Akizuki to our rental house at 07.00 PM. Totsuka will be there too]."
"Ah, so it was about the Idol masculinity class?" Hachiman asked her.
"[You got it, make sure don't be late, or else...]"
Hachiman shivered to think of the consequences. Looks like his father has done his magic after all.
"Got it." Hachiman closed the call. "Ryou, my trainer says she has the time to spare, so if you have some off time, I'll pick you up tomorrow evening at 315 office."
"Got it! I'll be sure to clear my schedule." Ryou nodded, not that he was busy. Other than the usual daily Idol training schedule...
"What's this about masculinity training?" Yuutarou blinked in confusion.
"It's kind of self-explanatory, duh." Hachiman eyed him. "Ryou wants to be more manly, so he needs the know-how. My trainer is a full-time Company Manager, so there aren't many chances to get her help."
"To be more manly..." Yuutarou muttered. "Is it alright if I join?"
"Huh?" Hachiman squeezed his eyes at him.
"I mean, that person is your trainer, right? So... I want to be manly and cool too."
Hachiman pointed at himself. Manly and cool? Is he joking, or what? Then again, his mother and father did say he didn't lose to these celebrities much, but they were talking about handsomeness.
Well, Hachiman guesses compared to Ryou and Saika... no offense.
"I have to clear it out with her, duh!" Hachiman stated the obvious. It was not as if he had the authority to decide.
"Forgive me for eavesdropping. But could I join as well?"
The three look at the source of the voice. Yet another effeminate boy shows up...
Hachiman knows him as Kagura Rei, not an Idol but a prodigy Violinist. Hailing from a Classical Music family. His father is a conductor, his mother is a pianist, and his older sister is a cellist.
He was one of the few guys in the class who treated Hachiman naturally, though they were not close. Rei had no eyes for girls or romance. He was focused on Musical development and that alone.
It was strange for Rei to suddenly get interested in something so base and shallow.
"What's with the sudden interest, Kagura? I don't think you're short in man points or anything."
Even though he has a beautiful face, he doesn't have the same girly and vulnerable air as Ryou or Saika. He was polite but had a firm and dominant aura. Even if they mistook him for a girl the first time, they wouldn't brush it off the second time it happens.
"It might not be entirely related to the music itself, but I feel like improving the presentation of my music." Rei, unlike the two beside him, was confident. "Self-improvement is never a waste of time, Hikigaya-kun."
This Classical Music nerd always goes all out, huh.
"Well, I'll have to ask her permission either way."
...
"Bring them to 346 office? Are you nuts?" Hachiman balks.
"[I've got an okay from your father and Mishiro-san. They thought it would be a good opportunity. Besides, I also haven't been there. I want to check Komachi's progress directly while at it]."
"Alright, if the adults all agree on it."
Eh, not really his business to decide who can and cannot come. As it turns out, the little twerp Yuutarou might possess a hidden potential. And 346 wanted to find that as a rival company. They also didn't feel the need to hide their assets and capabilities.
It was definitely psychological warfare at work. Both on the side of persuasion and intimidation. 346 PRO knew that 765 was under heavy pressure and saw this as an opportunity.
"Change of plans. We're going to 346 Pro HQ."
"WHAT?" Yuutarou, as expected, is the first one to react hysterically.
"What are you being surprised for, Deputy President?" Hachiman snark at him. "Don't take lightly the craftiness of Mega-Corp like 346 PRO, else we'll swallow you whole."
"As if I will let that happen." Yuutaro huffed angrily. "Whether it's the jerks from 961 PRO or your 346 PRO, we'll take this competition fair and square."
Ryou couldn't help but laugh. Hachiman said that so that Yuutaro would be more aware of his position and stay on guard.
"Let's see if you can keep that conviction." Hachiman walks away.
"What about lunch, Hachiman?" Ryou asked him. "We're going to the cafeteria."
"I'm eating bread today." Hachiman's code word of wanting to eat alone. Even with someone like Ryou by his side, there are times when Hachiman wants his private lunch alone.
Not because he thinks it will be cool to do that. In actuality, he's been rather anxious about it, but he doesn't want to show them his weakness, not today.
A man's pride really is a stupid thing.
...
Hachiman decided that going to the usual corridor might be the best option. It was not isolated, but at the same time, not many people passed around that place.
This was the corridor leading to the old school building. It was used before Otomejoshi turned from a crappy private school into a private school for young celebrities and athletes. Hachiman was not clear on the details, but apparently, big names in the industry were involved in rebuilding the infrastructure and image of this school.
After hearing from Ryou, he finally got to the root. The reason why this school became like this.
Originally the concept of Idols themselves was supposed to be shining stars that could be embraced closely by the average masses.
In other words, they're supposed to blend with society. They hang out with seemingly ordinary people, some of which are their fans. And getting to know each other through this interaction, they gain love and fame.
But in practice, they only become alienated. Once they became famous, more and more fans gathered around them, isolating and monopolizing them as a form of gatekeeping. The rest of the people packed up and ignored their existence altogether.
The fans would unironically form a wall that makes the Idols lose their core value. And become nothing more than an object of worship. Forget freedom. They don't even have human rights.
Otomejoshi is not an elite school for Idols to study and train to become the best. Otomejoshi is a safe haven Idols run away to be themselves.
Well, that was how it began. It had been two years since the school reorganization. Because of the school's loose regulations and forgiving schedule, many non-celebrities whose primary interests aren't studying and who didn't focus on college decided to go here.
Other than the High School division, there was also a Middle School within the same city block. It was where Komachi and many of her friends went to.
"Ryou and Takagi transferred here to avoid harassment, too..." Hachiman muttered as he read the data. "Though their reception here wasn't warm, it was still better than what they experienced in their old school. At least here, no one looked at them with hostility."
Even so...
It doesn't mean they got accepted. If they want to get accepted, they have to prove their worth. It was not something that Hachiman could do or should do.
But...
Hachiman wanted to do something for them.
He put a little distance from them to cool his head. He cannot let himself get blinded by the fleeting emotion called friendship and then lose his one and only most reliable weapon.
His keen sense of observation.
Not to mention, there was Anya's side of the equation. Now that his proposal program for her debut was accepted, Hachiman cannot back away. He had to trust his mother to take care of his friends.
Hachiman still remembers the conversation he and Anya had last night when his Program finally went into operation.
"So, about the plan that you proposed..."
"You didn't think it would work?"
"It will, however, don't you think it's unethical?"
"Was it really?" Hachiman scoffed. "If anything, it's far more honest than not doing anything."
"To curate my private Fastgram account and make it public, and give it an impression that I've dated Saika-nii for a long time. By removing some family photos and leaving mine and Saika-nii... you're planning to deceive people."
"Fool." Hachiman gently flicked her forehead, which made her wince. "I'm not deceiving anyone. None of your statuses mention him as your boyfriend. And I don't plan to edit these either. If people have that impression, then it's their own fault."
"I just want to establish two facts: that you've been with Saika for a long time. And that you're close to him in a way that normal cousins wouldn't be."
Hachiman made that conclusion when he proposed this plan to the Chief and later Mishiro.
Because if people know Anya and Saika only started dating recently, they will use it to attack her from a different angle. Not the issue of purity, but instead, the opposite.
"Those two facts would make people stop accusing you of dating your cousin as a popularity booster by riding the wave of the scandal." Hachiman pointed. "The Fastgram will be the greatest proof of your and Saika's long-time relationship."
In other words, it wasn't done to protect Anya from criticism. It was done to preserve the legitimacy of their relationship. That their relationship was not something artificial or coming out of thin air.
"Is... is that possible?" Anya gasped.
"For non-Idol celebrities, absolutely." Hachiman pointed out. "Father might not have given up on your debut as an Idol, but even so, it's better to consider potential threats and mitigate them."
Celebrities dating to boost their popularity was not the norm in Japan, but very common outside it. As such, it's a standard accusation against celebrities who reveal their relationship not too long after it was established.
In other words, dating for clout.
The Idol world was incredibly insular in the past but got mainstream over time. The tactics used to deal with the problem had evolved alongside it.
Many of Hachiman's proposals were based on his analysis of attacks against non-Idol celebrities. Hachiman was sure his father and many other professionals in the office planned contingencies for anti-Idol harassment attacks.
His proposals for Anya's debut got accepted and put into motion. And his security software, the [Aria Program], had finally become operational, putting Hachiman in the spotlight at the office.
Many of Hachiman's older peers said in admiration and derision: "As expected of Chief Hikigaya's son."
Hachiman heeded no attention to them and ignored these remarks. Who cares if they attributed his work to his father? Hachiman did not do it to earn praise, forget ire and jealousy.
"Then I suppose I misunderstand." Anya bowed at him. "Thank you... for supporting us this far."
"I'd like to say it's part of the Job... but not really. Rather, it was something I did on a whim." Hachiman smiled at her. "In exchange, please stay a good friend to Komachi."
Well, even saying that... Komachi's ability to charm people is better than most people's ability to resist. Hachiman didn't really need to help her or anything in that regard.
Anya bowed at him quietly and left.
Hachiman couldn't say Anya was naive. She was the type that tackles challenges ahead, fully knowing the danger instead of doing stupid things out of ignorance. However, Hachiman could not blame her for not understanding the sheer depths of evil that the entertainment world can inflict on a fledging Idol like her.
Let someone as rotten and cynical as Hachiman take care of the trashes.
A peaceful lunch, as calm as he could get. Hachiman came back to the class a bit more refreshed than before.