Back to titles being Hamilton lyrics. This one is, again, from The Room Where it Happens.

Unfortunate didn't even begin to describe the results of Ai's plan. From the beginning, the world seemed to reward blind luck and nothing else. She was beyond convinced at this point, because she never seemed to be able to get the results she wanted when she decided that she had done enough. After so much time without idol activities, and having to be mindful of what she said online about Nino and the rumors about the auditions that were underway, somehow losing like this felt even worse than she had expected. Her preparations should've been superior, her plays should've been superior. She knew how the industry worked, after all. And she still lost.

But Ai could've forgiven all of this, she still could've tried to look at the upside of all of this… If she wasn't being used as a wall between two girls fighting like a stray dog and a house dog separated by the garden gate of the latter's house.

"Oh, because that's such a difficult milestone to break! Next, you'll tell me that you need daddy's help to get you work like this." The girl with blonde drills arguing to Ai's left actually pulled away a little, giving herself room to faux-laugh at the girl to Ai's right. But still keeping things super awkward for the idol between them.

"Oh. Cry me a river, sweetheart. The chick that needed some guy to get her charms to be noticed by the cameras does not get to mock me on this." Ari might've been about Ai's height, but she did not pull back at all. She'd been caught while fixing her contacts, so she had her right eye tightly shut. Probably because she couldn't quite see without the one that she hadn't put yet. "That's the difference between being called cute by guys at school, and being actually beautiful."

"Ummmmm, aren't you girls kinda thirsty or—?"

"Not now, Ai-chan."

"Keep it down, girl. We're talking here."

"—is it just… Okay. Just me, then…" Ai lowered her face when the two girls got their full attention on her for a moment. Suspecting that she had been tricked into staying in that position so that no one else had to bother breaking the two girls apart.

She was a bit more used to Ari's roughness now, but the blonde girl was uncharted territory. Ai couldn't smile that widely, because she didn't know if that'd piss her off more; and she couldn't intervene either. Because both of them would gang up on her. Leaving Ai no choice but to stay put and have them squish her while glaring at each other.

She was actually quite annoyed that they didn't push her aside or anything. They just… Kept arguing like this.

Huh. Annoyance? Guess she didn't feel particularly threatened by their arguing. It felt more like they'd rather get violent with each other, rather than against Ai… Was that how this worked? Was that assertion ri— Nah, scratch that. Was it similar enough to the real deal?

"So? I have an athletic build because, guess what? I am an athlete!" The blonde raised her voice a bit, so Ai covered the ear on that side of her head. Still thinking. "Can't be looking like a stick filled with makeup, because I have to get actual results."

"So you think dancing and singing isn't hard? That it doesn't need training and conditioning? Look at my legs!" Ari lifted her right knee, slapping her thigh with enough force that even Ai could tell how meaty it actually was without looking. "You think you're so cool just because you exercise a little? Fat chance, cutie-pie. We're all athletic here. But we're still more feminine than you."

"Gross. Literally why would you do that? Stay away from me, you exhibitionist."

"Oh? The high and mighty gal is spooked by showing a little bit of skin?"

"I'm not a gal!"

Okay, if this was annoying, then how was Ai supposed to react?

"Miyako-san! These meanies can't shut up!" Ai yelled out, startling Ari and making the blonde girl flinch. As well as making more people stare at them. More than they had already, that is. But her little stunt worked out, so Ai pouted and crossed her arms before disengaging. "Hmp! That's what I thought!"

"What the hell, Ai?" Ari hadn't fully gone back to her idol-like self. She still narrowed her eyes in a way that Ai was starting to think as Hikigaya's trademark expression. He didn't seem too willing to smile, for whatever reason. So Ai would have to help her behave.

"I'm sorry, I thought that calling an adult would work." Ai turned to the blonde, who was glaring down at her. But, again, Ai didn't feel frightened at all. So she just kept talking. "It always works when children are being meddlesome."

"Oh, you're one to talk." That annoyed tone… A-chan? From where? There were a lot of people moving around the palapa they using to wait for the people shooting to start. And Ai still hadn't quite pinned her face like she was with her brother. "Let them release their nervousness."

"I'm not nervous." The blonde girl glare's helped Ai turn around and identify the annoyed-looking girl, giving her enough time to pretend that she hadn't had to look for her amidst the people around. As the girl refused to come too close to them.

"I thought this could get us in trouble. Didn't really think it was due to nervousness!" Ai beamed with a bigger smile, now that the situation had been diffused. "You have a good eye, A-chan."

"I'm not…" Ari looked away and grabbed her right elbow with her left hand, looking quite nervous indeed. "Okay, maybe a little."

"The thing with your parents?" Ai asked, but realized a second later that maybe Ari wouldn't want to talk about it with the two girls around.

"Yes, Ai. That thing." Ari did her best to be polite, but she still gritted her teeth through her words.

Ai had to hold back changing her expression, but simply stopped thinking about a follow-up reply.

"I see! Well, leave it to Ichigo-san. You have my word that this will be alright."

"…Right."

"That's why we discussed it beforehand." Ai tilted her head, having seen the blonde girl open her mouth by managing to talk over her before she could take advantage of Ai's faux pas.

She just needed to make her lose the chance to ask!

"Just being realistic here." Ari added, like she didn't want to continue with the conversation either.

"Having people mess with you is to be expected." A-chan sighed, seemingly letting go of her previous mood and softening her expression. "Specially when there's been a prior problem with them."

Ai furrowed her brows, quickly going over the stuff that Ichigo-san had told her about this whole thing.

She couldn't recall a prior problem.

"Did something happen?" Thus, Ai had to ask. Because, if Ichigo-san didn't tell her, then it probably came up minutes or hours ago. They were a team, after all. And Ichigo-san relied on Ai far more than he was willing to admit.

"Yeah, da boss was arguing with some of the production guys or whatever." A-chan motioned with her hand in Ai's direction… No. To Ari and the blonde girl.

"Production? You mean the guys from the fashion industry or the cameramen crew?"

"I don't know, Ai-san. I just saw Ichigo-san arguing over something." A-chan scoffed, looking away to the rest of the beach. "Came here to say there would be a delay."

"Thank you, Komachi-chan." Ari nodded, going back to her demure idol-like behavior. Still looking at them with only open eye, however. "That actually helps a lot."

"Not the only one having a rough day?" A-chan tilted her head.

"Yeah."

"Mood." A-chan motioned for the blonde to come closer, crossing the distance midway so that they'd be a bit apart from the idols. Having a 'team meeting', maybe.

Ai wasn't in the mood to overhear or anything. Like Ari, she wasn't having all that good a time anyway. And it had nothing to do with the ongoing argument with the other girl.

A-chan had come, funnily enough. But she'd done so without her brother. It was only her, the blonde, and the girl that Ai had met when they went on a quick trip to Chiba… Somehow. She had asked Ichigo-san about it, but he just shrugged it off with a lame "that's what happens when you let the talents do as they please" which… Ai didn't understand at all. It felt like he was talking about her, but she couldn't guess as to why.

Well… This was alright! She'd have a couple of days to get to know the girls better! She should probably use the opportunity wisely, being in a different environment than usual. Maybe she'd be able to forward other machinations and show off a little!

She wasn't mad. Not at all. Unfortunate? Goodness, no! She just needed to see things in a different light!

"Ai, did you see Mei? She has my other contact." Ari wasn't looking at her fellow idol; but instead was trying to find Meimei amidst the people trying to take refuge from the sun while waiting around, making Ai harden her smile a bit.

"Why does she have it?"

"Because there aren't any mirrors available and I had to have her hold my phone to see properly." Ari scowled, but didn't fully release her bad behavior on Ai.

"You should've come already prepared."

"I know! I've heard that many times already. I forgot, okay?"

"Oh, is that so? Guess you didn't need me to say it, then." Ai also tried to look around for Meimei, giving herself a reason to avoid Ari's stare.

"I… No."

"Okay." Hmmm, this was probably going to end the conversation on a sour note so… "Why not call her?"

"She was holding my phone, Ai."

"Ah! Sorry, I kinda…"

"Don't tell me you're nervous too." Ari gave Ai a searching look. Which was kind of weird, given that she kept one of her eyes closed, so even the other was only half-open and made Ai find the expression a little funny.

"Nervous of what?"

"I don't know. What would someone like you be nervous about?"

Her children, probably. Or money.

Money sounded like a safer answer.

"Money." Ai tilted her head, looking up to show Ari that she was thinking.

"Oh, c'mon. I don't buy that. Not with the Saitou by your side."

"I don't know, most of my expenses are covered with my own salary." Ai frowned. Just a little. "Not like Ichigo-san was always as successful as he is now, either."

"Right." Ari nodded. "Well, guess at least you learnt the importance of money before you had any."

"Money moves the world."

"Sure does." Ari frowned a little bit more. "So… Can you call Mei now?"

"Eh? Ah! Of course."

"Ah… Sorry, I didn't ask you to do it. Did I?"

"I guess that'd be the logical thing to do either way." Ai fetched her business phone from the pocket in her shorts and checked the small contact list for Meimei's number. "Don't worry. We'll get you fixed up in no time!"

Unless, like, Meimei fell and lost the lens. Then Ari's day would probably be completely ruined and there would be nothing to be done about it. But Ai was certain that the chances were astronomically low, no matter how many people were around or how the sand could pull a prank on you if you weren't careful.

That sounded more like a Nino thing to do.

"Ah, A-chan?" Ai called out while the phone rang. Wanting to show Ari that she was focused on the current problem. "Have you seen Meimei-chan? She has…"

"I think she was with Saitou." A-chan interrupted, taking a bit of space away from her blonde friend. Her brother's friend? The girl with blonde drills.

Come to think of it, that was pretty wild. Was it all natural or did she have a secret way to care for her hair? Like in those magazines… Nah, probably not. Ai had been told to try and sponsor one product or another before, and she had been interviewed about her skincare routine and other such things before. And, like usual, Ichigo-san had coached her into knowing what the hell the interviewers were talking about.

She still distinctly remembered the man explaining to her how to properly apply a certain hydrating cream on her face, or how she should take out the excess of a weird makeup powder-like product, that was used for a purpose she no longer recalled. But she still vividly remembered Ichigo-san holding her still while using a towel to carefully pat her cheeks as an example of how she was supposed to apply it… Wait, what? Was it to apply it or get it off her face?

What did that have to do with the blonde's weird hair anyway?

"Bonjour, mademoiselle?" Meimei's voice came through as soon as she picked up, but Ai couldn't help the shake of her head and the way she stared at her phone in puzzlement.

"What?" Ari noticed, of course. Because Ai was clearly giving her attention to the phone, but she was no longer helping.

"I don't know. I might've saved Meimei's phone wrong."

"What?" Ari looked closer; eyebrows furrowed. "No, that's her number."

"But I only heard gibberish?"

"Je ne savoir pas parler japonais!"

"Ummm, yes?" Ai didn't really know a lick of English either. But she could at least try. "My name am Ai."

"Wrong conjugation, sexy." Meimei finally started making sense, but that only made Ai huff. Not really knowing how she should react to this. However, before Ai could even tell Ari that the other idol was actually on the other side of the line, Meimei's voice came out again. A little more distant now. "No, it's just Ai. Maybe it's going to start already?"

"Eh? Are you with Ichigo-san?"

"Yeah, how did you know? Ah, Kome-chan probably saw you. Right?" Was Ai supposed to know who 'Kome-chan' was or…?

"Yeah." Ai still agreed. Just so the conversation could carry on. "Anyway, can you come over? Ari's probably getting tired of winking at people all the time."

"Eh? You're with Ari?" Meimei asked, although her voice was still a little far.

"Yeah!"

"She isn't." Meimei said, farther away again. "Yeah, okay. Ai, can you tell me if you see Ari somewhere?"

"But I am with Ari." Ai insisted, furrowing her brows at how the conversation was flowing.

Was Ai being teased here? Was Meimei getting some giggles out of this?

Ai helplessly turned to the green-haired idol for help. Pushing the phone over to the girl.

"I don't understand what's going on."

Ari groaned and picked up the phone. Immediately stopping holding back all of her irritation as soon as the device was on her ear.

"Now, listen here you peasant girl. I've had enough of—" The girl, however, went completely silent after a moment. With her face contorting, probably as she followed Meimei's words. Although Ai couldn't even guess as to what she was saying.

Come to think of it. Ai would've never given the phone to Ari, or any of the girls, before. She'd have tried to help, but she'd probably have made up an excuse to hang up. Maybe pretend to think that she had dialed wrong, or that the signal was bad. Right now, she didn't particularly have a problem with it. She knew for a fact that this particular phone had nothing incriminating, and she was at peace with that.

Before, she'd have still stayed her hand. Just to be sure.

Well, to be fair she didn't even know that Ari needed contacts before. It was a small thing, a detail that Ai had just noticed; but one that had ramifications that she couldn't help noticing the more she thought about it.

"You girls." Ai called out, feeling a little more comfortable with her own problems. Pushing back her thoughts about Hikigaya a little, as his sister and the blonde girl regarded her. "Sorry about Ari, she's having a—"

"No. No way!" Ari interrupted, proving Ai's point flawlessly. "That's so unfair! What? He didn't even react to me telling them I was coming, last night! The nerve of—!"

Ai turned her smile apologetic when the girls looked away from the still-cursing Ari, and back toward Ai.

"—terrible day." Ai made circles with her fingers, kind of trying to be an entertainer even though there was no room for that in this conversation. It simply made her feel more in control, knowing that they were paying more attention to her. "Y'know. Full work day, and more problems on top. It can get any of us."

"I… Yeah, I can see that." The blonde girl crossed her arms, looking away with some discomfort. "My bad, I got carried away with her."

"Got your thoughts somewhere else too?" Ai tilted her head.

"Eh… Not really." The girl pursed her lips for a moment. "Sorry about yelling at you too."

"It's okay! I could tell you were tense." Ai had no idea what was the girl's problem. She had thought, thus far, that she was just a troublesome person to work with. That it was her usual demeanor; but the girl didn't need to hear that.

"Ugh…" Ari ended the call; shoulders dropped and face parallel to the ground. Like she had heard some terrible news.

"You look like your dog got shot." A-chan commented, although her voice wasn't cold enough to sound like an insult.

"My dad's here."

"What?" Ai blinked at how Ari deflated a little more upon saying that.

"Wait, what? How old are you?" The blonde furrowed her brows, confused.

"You still wanna go? Third-rate player?"

"Okay, wow. First of all, screw you." The blonde motioned with her hand, making herself louder and more menacing. However, she looked at Ai for a moment. And stopped in her tracks when Ai took a step back, not wanting to get sandwiched between the girl's and Ari's boobies again. "Second… I'm trying to be nice here."

"You don't ask an idol that." Ari growled.

"But you're already an adult, right?" A-chan intervened. "What's daddy here for?"

"Don't… Call anyone's dad that ever again." Ari made a disgusted face. "And… I don't know. I thought he didn't hear my plans for today when I talked to my parents over dinner. This is… Ugh…"

"But Ichigo-san is making sure everything runs smoothly." Ai chose to place a hand over Ari's shoulder, feeling emboldened by her newfound confidence in behaving right around her fellow idol. "It'll be fine."

"It's not that I don't trust Saitou… Which I don't." Ari sighed. "But also… Dad always has to be the most important person in the room. He can ignore people, but god forbid he's the one that gets ignored."

"But we're outside?"

"It's a figure of speech, Ai."

"…I was trying to lighten the mood."

"A joke hardly helps here, girlie." A-chan raised an eyebrow, but she didn't seem inclined to call Ai names or anything like that.

"Okay, well, I don't think telling her not to worry will do much either." Ai clapped her hands together, trying to stay cheerful. "If it helps, I really think this is Ichigo-san's job and line of expertise. Dealing with annoying people is part of his job, after all."

Ari looked sullener now. At least while eyeing Ai.

"You really think we'll be able to work in peace?"

"I think that you misunderstand. We'll all share the displeasure here. So, you're not really alone." Ai gave the green-haired idol a thumbs up. "The crew, the models, even our team is used to dealing with bothersome people. We're in this together!"

Ari moaned like she was in pain, now.

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't be." A-chan looked away while talking, like Ai had seen her brother do while blushing. "It's not your fault, and anyone that matters will understand."

Eh? Wasn't A-chan surprisingly cute here? What a kindhearted girl!

"How about we set a goal? To make things a little easier." The blonde put up a finger, thinking for a moment what she would suggest. "Do you drink?"

Ari opened the eye she couldn't see through for a moment, staring blankly at the blonde while weighing her options.

"Of course not." Ari nodded vigorously.

The blonde scoffed.

"Well, maybe we can treat you to a kiddie juice or something after this. How about it?"

"I guess that couldn't hurt…"

"Okay. Plans for later sounds like a good goal." The blonde nodded before looking at A-chan. "How about you? Hikio doesn't have to know."

Hikio? Was Ai the only one that called Hikigaya by his name?

"Eh…" A-chan shrugged. "As long as mom doesn't know, onii-chan isn't a problem."

"Then, it's decided." The blonde clapped. "Our thing is a commercial. Where can we find you after we're all done?"

"Do you even know how long you'll take?" Ari closed her eye again.

"Eh…"

"Never mind, just give me your number…" Ari sighed. "Ai, can you…?"

"Right!" Ai showed A-chan her device. "She doesn't have hers, so…!"

"…Right." A-chan sighed. "If you get an idea of where to go, just send me a text. Okay?"

"Okay!" She was also invited, right? No one said it, but nothing suggested that she wasn't… They'd have to talk to the other girls of B-Komachi too, to get them up to speed, but that meant that they'd invite them too… Right?

Well, Ai would ask Ari discretely when they went their own way. Just to be sure.

She smiled peacefully. Safe in the knowledge that she could make sure she got things right, now.

The feeling of being safe… It just felt really good.