"So, how was it, your first job in the field?" Chief Producer Hikigaya innocently asked his children shortly before Hachiman AND Komachi kicked him on the shin. "WHY?!"
"Maybe you shouldn't abuse your position to put your children in an embarrassing position." Sachie commented. "Just a thought."
"I just want them to stand out, and Director agreed with me." The father wept. "And I didn't use my authority in the slightest! That was on Third Division Producer!"
Komachi indeed managed to nab the third MC position from the in-house audition (unlike Miyo, who was handpicked for the role). Komachi was content with a more modest role for her first fieldwork, otherwise.
But Mishiro had none of that, since she wanted Komachi's career to start with a bang. She instructed her to aim high, and Komachi did pass the requirement.
And what an explosive start it was.
Hachiman's funky assignment was his father's doing, though.
"They're already outstanding as they are, but maybe that's why it's working out well with the roles you assign them to." Sachie smiled. "Let's go. I went all out this time."
Genuine Sachie Festa, how many years has it been since Hachiman ate something that Sachie purposely prepared for a party? Last Christmas, the Hikigaya family only had a bucket of KFC, and they spent the New Year at grandpa's house.
During the dinner, Komachi did most of the talking, and Hachiman the least. This kind of family dynamic remained unchanging for decades. Only, today's dinner is more warm and relaxed than usual.
It felt like a family dinner, a genuine one. Because everyone was thinking and talking on the same wavelength.
Hachiman finally understood why their parents tried so hard to drag the children into the family business. It's not just him and Komachi who feel a sense of detachment and loneliness.
Although only Hachiman's father said it aloud, his mother was unlikely to be that different.
"I'll help!" Hachiman said as Sachie began piling up the dirty dishes to clean them. Sachie was about to say something but decided not to.
"What about me?"
"Just don't bother, and go watch a TV or something." Sachie smiled, but it frightens her husband for some reason.
"So... about 765's stock acquisition..." Hachiman looked at his mother. "I think I have assumptions about why you did that, but I might as well ask. Why 765?"
"There are multiple answers, but first, I want to ask: What's your impression of deputy President Takagi?"
"He's meek and slow on the uptake. But I can see why he can last three months in such a horrible position without the company collapsing." Hachiman says. "He's obnoxiously persistent and honest."
"He's a bit annoying, but I don't think I could hate him if I tried." Hachiman scoffed. "Not when he went to such great length to win back his girl."
"Don't you always draw those types? The pretty-looking boys with the hearts of lions." Sachie told him half-jokingly. "If not for your porn stash, I'd begin to question your sexual orientation."
"Hey now, that's over the line, Mother." Hachiman paled slightly. "Not ALL of my male friends are pretty."
Zaimokuza might be an exception to the rule, but it still counts! Also, Sachie indeed knows Hachiman's porn stash, something that unnerves Hachiman. But she never said anything about it before!
"There are a lot of answers as to why I picked 765, some rational and some emotional. The rational reason was that 765 Market Capital is small, almost unnaturally so, compared to their Working Capital."
Market cap is the summation of the value of all shares, both public and private. In contrast, the working capital is the number of tangible assets a company has, minus all obligations.
A market cap theoretically predicts future growth and potential, whereas a working cap shows the company's ability to operate and survive. Market cap is entirely driven by speculation, whereas working cap is calculated by real assets alone.
"765 PRO last year had a working capital of 70 million and nosedived to 50 million in January. But working capital is not in any way related to changes in leadership." Sachie says. "It's because they got frauded."
"Frauded?" Hachiman raises his eyebrow.
"765 is funding for the construction of a new office building at the time. However, the construction company went bankrupt. Even after various settlements and insurance claims, they still lose tens of millions of yen of hard cash."
If the value of the working capital is 50% of the market cap or more, then it's considered a sustainable company. At a minimum, a company has to possess 10% of its market cap in hard cash.
Losing tens of millions of yen of hard cash was a big blow to a small company such as 765.
765 PRO really was cursed.
"Takagi is not responsible for the loss of working capital. He is, however, responsible for the nosedive of market capital. Because not many people had faith in the 16-year-old company president."
"But I saw that narrow gap of chance and immediately bought 60% of the floating shares in the market without even blinking. That was in March."
Floating shares are company stock sold to the public market and traded freely, in contrast to the internal shares, which are owned by the company insiders. In this case, all the internal shares were held by Yuutarou's grandfather, the previous and currently resting President.
"To begin with, 765 PRO is a low-float stock. That is, most of the shares were held by the company insider. However, if you judge 765's performance and potential, the market cap is unnaturally low."
"In other words, the stock market underpriced 765 PRO because they have no faith in Takagi Yuutarou. More likely, 765 might have been heavily shorted." Hachiman concluded. "But Director Mishiro's statement fires up the speculators by their asses."
A shorted stock is a borrowed stock that was sold again to reap profits from a declining company with the expectation that the borrower will pay less money to pay their debt. It might sound like an unethical practice, but that's just how it is with finance trades.
However, if the company value rises, that means the shorts have to be paid with interest. This results in short-sellers taking a financial loss.
This phenomenon is commonly known as a short squeeze.
Short-selling is a high-risk, high-reward scummy method of stock trading and thus uncommon. After all, the primary reason for investing is expecting gains.
"And I was already one step ahead of them." Sachie raised two v-signs. "I'd like to note that I don't collude with Director Mishiro in any way. This drove the price up the stratosphere, but I don't plan to sell anything in the first place. So you could probably guess how many people suffer losses because of my action."
Hachiman whistled. His mother was absolutely brutal.
"Well, that was the rational reason. The emotional reason, you'd probably guessed already." Sachie nods.
"You feel a sense of sympathy toward the young President and want to help him." Hachiman points out. "You also hate short sellers because they're financial vultures."
"Partly that, but because I have faith that 765 PRO will always bounce back." Sachie widely smiled as she hugged Hachiman's shoulder. "I just like how bold and honest he is, unlike my crafty and elusive two children."
Well, it looks like Yuutarou really won the lottery. God bless him.
No, Hachiman wasn't jealous at all!
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 16 - A simpler time in the world
Hachiman woke up in the morning, noticing that it's not his dorm room but the room in his parents' rental house. Ah, right. They were so tired, they decided to spend a night there.
Komachi was right by the same bed, and Hachiman had to blink for a moment. Right, just how many years have they slept together like this?
Eh, whatever.
It was 7 AM. It's a little late by his standard, and he slept soundly for a little over eight hours.
There is still school at 08.30, but it only takes half an hour to ride to school from here.
Hachiman decided not to wake her up yet and went his own way. As long as Komachi didn't sleep more than nine hours, there shouldn't be any problem, and if she did sleep more than nine hours, then it's a medical problem!
Hachiman wonders if his parents are still at home right now. Back in Chiba, they would have been gone before their kids even woke up. Two hours of transit to the workplace is no joke, and they did it six days a week.
The reality is getting weirder.
His FATHER is cooking today. His mother was sitting on the table with a tablet in front of her. Hachiman rubbed his eyes for a moment in disbelief, then decided that it might be indicative of who's wearing the trousers in this relationship.
"Good morning." Hachiman awkwardly greets them.
"Ah, morning, Hachiman!" His father answered him. "Come on, get your breakfast while it's still warm. Where is Komachi-chan?"
"Still sleeping, probably tired."
"I see." His father put a plate of pasta in front of Hachiman. "Low-fat pasta is fine for you?"
"I ate in Saize a lot, so yes." Hachiman grinned. "Surprised you can even cook."
"Just don't let him try to make traditional Japanese dishes. You'll end up with a shipwreck." Hachiman's mother put aside the tablet. "Also, your father won the bet. The market cap is already 280 Million by the Friday closing. I was betting it stopped at 150 million yen."
"What I told you before? Your wager is too conservative. You held 60% of the float, which makes the 40% even more volatile!" her husband pointed out. "I'd even bet it's climbing again in a few hours after the market opens."
"Is it a bubble?" Hachiman asked curiously.
"It is. Some people are probably going to try to bait your mother into selling. The longer she holds, the more active the rest of shareholders will be, and the more the short seller gets squeezed." His father rubbed his hands. "Anyway, if it does burst..."
"I'll throw more money and buy them on record low. Still, the bubble is likely to stay high for a while until the market corrects itself. Either way, I win." Sachie made an Indian goddess pose, but to Hachiman's eyes, she looked like a demon.
"Just how much money do you have in your savings?" Hachiman raised his eyebrow.
"Never bet money you're not willing to lose," Sachie told her son. "If you want financial security, you don't buy stock floats. You buy index funds with your pension. That's because Japan had a zero-interest policy, so you're losing an opportunity to grow by putting your wealth in the bank."
The zero-interest policy encourages people to avoid hoarding money in the bank and instead spend it on consumables or tangible assets. This policy would support a steady and active economic cycle. On the downside, it slows down economic growth.
So it seems that Sachie made sure her investments were diverse enough to have a fallback.
"Enough, enough. Stop talking about money on the dinner table," the Chief Producer waved his hand. "I've heard from the Third Division Producer; you did your job splendidly."
"But more than that, you're surprisingly good at herding kids. Yonai-san even says he's jealous."
It's not just the chuuni 14 squadrons that Hachiman dealt with before. But the rest of the kids in division 3 seemed to trust him more than their own Producer. All because of a perception of seriousness and reliability while being closer in age to them.
"These brats don't know what's good for them." Hachiman scoffed. "Producer Yonai knows the real deal and how to herd these cats. Without him, the Third Division will fall from a stiff breeze."
"Look at you—not even 17 and already sounded 40. Maybe it was a mistake after all." Sachie twitched.
"For the record, I just talk like this naturally." Hachiman jibed at her.
"Nevertheless, Komachi made her first public appearance splendidly. After this, the publicity photos and radio talk are waiting for her." His father smiled. "It should not be a surprise after the amount of preparation we made together, but luck is part of the business too."
"Radio talk... oh, let's use that." Sachie pointed out.
"That... ah, let's use that." Her husband agreed.
Hachiman was left dumbfounded.
"Speaking of which, who's the lucky girl?" Sachie pulled a photo of the LiPPS group with Hachiman and bluntly asked. "Which one gets your fancy again?"
Hachiman almost spilled spaghetti out of his nose.
"What the fuck?"
"Heard you're pretty close to these girls... so, which one?" Sachie asked again.
"The one resembles YOU the most." Her husband said. "I blame Carl Jung."
"Wrong psychologist." Sachie couldn't help but cover her mouth, clearly holding her laughter. "I mean, I did see that coming, but come on!"
Hachiman wanted to bury himself right now. Hachiman understood very well that being attracted to someone who vaguely resembles your parents, whether in appearance or personality, is natural human behavior.
It was also the primary reason why he desperately avoids Kanade's shameless teasing early on. His rational side was on guard, and that's why it's uncomfortable. Revolting, even.
However, he relaxed a bit once Kanade stopped being a huge nuisance. But it doesn't mean Hachiman likes her romantically. He also treated Shiki the same way once she stopped being an obnoxious stalker.
Hachiman welcomed any girls who respected his personal space. In that sense, he could say he thought of all members of LiPPS as equal friends right now.
"It's not like that." Hachiman gulped. "Hayami and I happen to have similar outlooks on various things, even though our personalities are different."
"Well, I can't say I disagree. You two wouldn't be out of place filling the roles with brother and sister in a TV Drama." Chief Producer rubbed his chin.
"All the more reason for us not to date each other." Hachiman gagged. "Disgusting."
That was a lie, by the way. Hachiman could imagine him dating Hayami, and it ended up well, somehow. And that was concerning.
"Well, that's your prerogative. But I suggest you start thinking about the possibilities. Not necessarily with Hayami or any of these girls." Sachie suddenly stopped smiling. "I know it sounds like I'm nagging, but I'm just concerned for you."
"Rest assured. I'm not Father. Idols won't just suddenly throw themselves all over my lap. If I can keep a professional distance with them until Komachi's debut, that would be the best outcome."
Hachiman admitted there are moments where he might entertain the idea. Only to be squashed by the bitter reality in merely seconds. Although it seems they're close with each other, beautiful girls with strong personalities like LiPPS might be beyond his reach.
Just having them as friends is already miraculous.
He also doesn't think he's ready for the level of commitment Saika had, and Hachiman had enough with a half-baked confession. It could only bring disaster and a broken heart.
"Fair enough. I understand you want to give everything for Komachi's sake at the moment." Sachie softened. "But I'm sure Komachi also wants you to enjoy yourself."
"I'm having plenty of fun, Mother. Don't worry." Hachiman brushed her off. "It's not like you can't be happy being single."
"... What IF an idol suddenly throws herself on your lap?" His father pondered aloud.
"You know the axiom." Hachiman grinned. "Don't stick it in the crazy."
Sachie drops her head on the table with a loud thunk. Hachiman had enough confidence to get along with others, but his thoughts on romance are downright terminal.
"To be fair, he's not wrong." The Chief Producer said in agreement.
...
Komachi woke up half an hour later, finding Hachiman alone at the dining table. "Onii-chan?"
"Good morning. Have you washed your face yet?"
"Yes, what about breakfast?"
"Father cooked something for you." Hachiman pulled out something from the microwave. "Pasta can't last long under heat, so he specifically cooks this tofu with hash brown for you."
Komachi blinked. "Papa did?"
"He did. Everyone else got a plate of pasta instead."
"Oh." She sat down with a smile. "Ah, right, thanks. Mmm, that's delicious! Just the thing I need after a good night's sleep!"
Hmm?
Hachiman felt like he missed something important, yet also small enough that he overlooked it without batting an eye. Something different about today compared to the usual routine.
Oh.
Fuck.
Komachi missed her chance to have breakfast with their parents before she could go to school. Hachiman took it for granted that this was the first time he had a weekday breakfast together with his parents in years.
Whether it was about friendship or family matters, it's not the grand scenic adventure that preserves their bonds.
It's the little things that matter the most.
For the first time in a while, Hachiman felt he failed supremely as a big brother.
Hachiman decided not to say anything. For Komachi at the moment, today's morning is no different from usual. An absence of parents is not something extraordinary for her, even before she becomes an Idol trainee.
For Komachi, today's morning is no different from yesterday's. If anything, Komachi will get hurt more if Hachiman suddenly apologizes for such a stupid reason.
Even so, Hachiman can't help but be disappointed in himself for missing such an easy opportunity to raise Komachi's mood in the morning. He's a hardcore big brother inside, and that would never change.
Hachiman decides he will find an opportunity to make amends. But he's not in a rush to do so.
He can't bear to lose focus and miss the big picture.
Nothing much happened after this point onward, except for the 765-related uproar that Yuutarou seems to be able to take care of with a strange mixture of fear and excitement.
It seemed that Yuutarou is the kind of person with OCD when it comes to numbers and inventory management. Which probably became one of his strengths as a company President.
"With due respect, I told you I am NOT releasing more shares to the market until May! Give me back the money you owe, then we can talk!" Yuutarou screamed at the phone. "It's not my problem you shorted out the stock, and my lawyer advised me not to release any more shares this month. Even if I want to help, I can't!"
Because Sachie withheld 60% of the float, there isn't enough physical stock in the market to pay back the shorts. And the short deadline is at the end of April, so if the short seller fails to buy stock from Sachie by Friday, they will have to pay interest to their shorts' brokerage.
Other than Sachie folding out, their only solution is to buy insider stock from Yuutarou or his grandfather. Yuutarou already released a bunch of internal shares early in March to recoup the lost working capital from the failed construction, which resulted in a 108% float compared to February.
However, releasing internal shares to the market as floats has a lot of legal restrictions, and Yuutarou isn't willing to risk attention from the financial regulation.
"You sound like a President now." Hachiman pointed out in amusement.
"I'm pretty sure a President isn't supposed to be screaming at the phone to their stockholder." Rei remarked rather bluntly.
"You know what my honest opinion is?" Yuutarou stood up. "Short sellers are parasites. It's all business to them, so I'm not feeling charitable to them either."
"... Can't say I disagree." Rei smiled.
"Yuutarou-kun is scary in a good way!" Ryou raised a thumbs up.
Yuutarou was mad because these people are the reason why 765 PRO was hugely undervalued. But other than that, Hachiman agreed with him. It's all the cost of doing business, and they need to screw it up their collective ass.
"Speaking of which, about this week's training..."
...
Wednesday came like a breeze, and it's only two days until payday. Although Hachiman technically started a few days before April, those count as company orientation (and shortest orientation ever, if Hachiman may add).
One of the benefits of working in 346 PRO is they dispense the term 'previous month's pay' where a new employee might not get paid before their second month working (as the salary was supposed to pay the previous month's work, instead of the current one). In other words, you get paid for what you have worked in, starting from month 1.
On an aside note, 346 PRO also paid salaries at the end of the month, instead of the 25th. It's why Hachiman gets his pay on Friday, 30th April 2021, right after the short one-day vacation on 29th -the Showa Emperor's Birthday-.
"Do you have any plans for Showa Day tomorrow?" Ryou asked.
"I got a mini-concert in a children's hospital," Rei said. "There was a bigger gig, but I'm sick of meeting a bunch of rich people who pretend to enjoy my music while having a dirty business on the side."
"Why don't you try going away from classical music for a while?" Hachiman proposed. "I know a lot of you classical musicians look down on pop songs, but if we think of music as a message, then pop music would be simpler to understand and reach a wider audience. Doubly true since we're talking children here."
"Is that the meaning behind your Idols' song?" Rei asked them.
"Yes." Yuutarou nodded confidently. "An Idol is a shining star that exists within your arms' reach. At least, that's what I think."
"There is no point in singing a song that no one will listen to." Hachiman also nodded. "With that said, being shamelessly derivative means no effort of communication, and you're singing a meaningless song that everyone would forget in the blink of an eye."
"So the good thing is to strike a balance." Ryou finished with his own opinion. "And remember, the message has to come from your own heart."
"Striking a balance with words that came from one's heart." Rei pondered hard on the simple yet profound wisdom told by his male friend. "Thank you, everyone!"
"We're comrades, don't mention it!" Ryou clenched his fist in encouragement. "Good luck with tomorrow's mini-concert."
"Let's work hard on today's training too!"
Wednesday evening, everyone arrived at the training site safely. Hachiman thought about picking up Saika, but he said he had someone else to ensure his safety.
"Zaimokuza?" Hachiman blinked when he saw a slightly unfamiliar yet familiar man.