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Rumi picked up a small shirt, and folded it neatly, then placed it down in her drawer, smiling satisfactorily as she did so, and then turned around to pick up another small shirt, this one more worn out and tattered than the first one was, then quickly folded it up in the exact same manner as the first shirt, carefully so as not to ruin or tear the fabric, her fingers working pretty diligently and with great precision around the edges and corners, the satisfied smile on her face now only growing wider and more gratifying.

She paused slightly as she neatly tucked the last part of the tattered shirt into itself, and stared down at it, the satisfied smile now fading a teensy bit, though she fought to keep it on her face, her gaze now narrowing a bit into a more intense look as she continued to look down at the shirt. I should really just get rid of this thing, it's simply too raggedy and stained for me to even enjoy wearing anymore. She hesitated for a slight second, then turned back to the drawer and placed the tattered shirt down inside of it, making sure as not to mess up the folding process, then drew both of her hands back and closed the drawer with a quiet click, the smile now having completely faded away into a more serious look. It'd probably be best if I either threw it away or gave it to someone who could still find a use for it somehow.

She stared down at the now closed drawer for a few more seconds, some sort of sensation now settling in the pit of her stomach as she did, her gaze now more distant than it had been earlier, then finally albeit hesitantly turned away from it and redirected her attention towards her bed, a slight feeling of tiredness now beginning to wash over her. Better yet, I might just get rid of most of my wardrobe minus the few clothes that I consider important to myself and restructure my closet to accommodate a whole new wardrobe that's more in line with the life that I've been living for the last few years as a pop idol. She smiled slightly to herself at that, then reached out to lightly touch her bedsheets with her fingers, a more serious expression now coming over her face as she did. That would be better for me, honestly, a completely new and flashy wardrobe to better match the new version of Rumi Hidaka that I've cultivated for myself in this hellish industry.

She lightly brushed her fingers against the sheet, then slowly drew her hand away and turned to glance up at the night skies of central Tokyo before her, a small displeased frown tugging at her lips as she did. I honestly can't get over how ugly Tokyo looks at night, really makes me regret moving here and settling down just to achieve my dreams of becoming famous. She stared at the night for another minute or so, then turned her attention back to the bedsheet and reached back out to lift it up off of the bed. The whole city looks much better and more lively in the daytime anyway, which is what I prefer to see as a pop idol.

She briefly glanced over at the clock on the nightstand, and saw that the time was 12:15 AM, then turned back to look down at the bed again. I should probably head off to bed now, lest I accidentally stay up late and mess up my schedule for the next day.

She hesitated for a moment, then climbed into bed and pulled the covers up to her shoulder, positioning herself slightly so that she was laying on her side with her gaze still fixed on the night sky, albeit now a bit sleepily, a small sleepy smile now forming on her lips as she waited for her eyes to start closing. I have a pretty busy schedule lined up for me tomorrow that's going to be spilling into the next few days, so I should really rest up so that I can be better prepared for everything that's coming my way.

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Rumi gripped the strap of her purse tightly as she absentmindedly gazed down at the front of the desk in front of her, her heart pounding with excitement in her chest, her eyes bright, a wide smile already plastered on her face. I really can't believe this is happening. She slowly reached a hand out and carefully picked up a small piece of paper that was on the edge of the desk, her eyes now refocusing slightly as she brought it up to her face, the smile now growing almost impossibly wide. An actual schedule for me to follow. Nothing too obtuse or otherwise difficult for me to understand.

Hisao placed a stack of papers down on the waiting room table, then straightened up and turned to look over at Rumi, his expression hardening slightly as he did so, a small disapproving frown already on his face, "You seriously need to start losing weight, Rumi-san," He stated sharply, "You're starting to look like a bag of lumpy potatoes."

Rumi's smile quickly faded, and she averted her gaze to the floor, blinking back faint tears as she did, a sense of shame now starting to fill her, her shoulders slumping a bit, accidentally dropping the paper she had been holding onto the floor, "I don't need to lose any weight," She whispered, though more to herself than to Hisao, "I'm perfectly fine the way I am."

"I doubt that," Hisao shoved his hands into his pockets, then strode over to her where she was and stopped a few feet from her, his eyes narrowing as he did, his tinted glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose slightly, a deep scowl now starting to overtake the frown from earlier, "You've really become too tubby to even work as an idol anymore."

Mortified tears welled up in her eyes, and she suddenly reached a hand out to grip at the desk in an attempt to steady herself, her legs now feeling like jelly, her heart sinking in her chest, "N-no I haven't," She stammered out, "I'm still the same size that I've been for the last few years." A painful sensation rose in her chest, but she forced it back down and ignored it,  "I can still work as an idol, Enomoto-san," Another painful sensation rose up in her chest, but she ignored it, and tightened her grip on the desk, her nails now starting to dig into the dull wood, "Y-You just have to believe me." Pleasedon'ttakethisfrommeIneedthisIneedthisIneedthisIneedtobeandidolIneedtobeanidolpleasedon'ttakethisfrommepleasepleaseplease!

"If you say so, Rumi-san," He pulled his hands back out of his pockets and let them drop to his sides, turning on his heel as he did to walk in the opposite direction, though he kept his gaze and attention focused on her for a few seconds longer than needed, "But I still seriously cast doubt that you haven't gotten too overweight to continue being an idol."

He narrowed his eyes at her again, then turned and walked away, his shoes leaving behind a low hollow sound as he did, one of his hands balling into some sort of fist at his side, unconsciously.

She hesitantly but slowly turned her head to watch him leave, the mortified tears from earlier now falling freely down her cheeks, a smaller and more painful sensation now starting to rise up in her chest, though this time she let it pass through her, causing her body to tighten up in response to the discomfort. Why'd they have to assign him to me as my manager? He's awful and just downright unpleasant to be around, and always has to nitpick every little thing about me and my career as an idol, making me feel small and like I don't deserve to be in this industry at all.

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Rumi shuddered as she curled up on the couch, then tightly hugged her purse to her chest, fresh tears now pricking at the corners of her eyes, her chest heaving as she struggled to manage the rapid and labored breathing that filled her lungs, her lower lip quivering hard and almost uncontrollably. I hate that man. I hate that man. I hate that man. I hate that man. I hate that man. I hate that man. I hate that man. I hate that man. I hate that man. I hate that man. I hate that man. I hate that man. IhatethatmanIhatethatmanIhatethatmanIhatethatmanIhatethatmanIhatethatmanIhatethatman-

"Hey, hey, Rumi-chan," Murashige quickly sat down on the couch next to her, and reached out to wrap an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into an upright sitting position as he did so, "Did Hisao-san make mean comments about your weight again?"

She sniffled a little, then weakly nodded her head, the tears now starting to fall down her cheeks, her arms now tightening around her purse as she did so, "H-He did," She whispered, her voice unsteady and barely audible, "He compared me to a lumpy sack of potatoes, and said that I've become too tubby to continue working as an idol." She sniffled again, and weakly lifted her gaze to meet Murashige's, her lower lip now quivering harder, "I-I had to force myself to practically stand up to him after he said that and convince him that my weight hasn't changed at all in the last few years and that I can still work as an idol just as I have been doing all this time," Her lip quivered a bit harder, and she briefly turned away to look down at the floor, her vision blurring with tears as she did so, "It was really uncomfortable, and I hated every minute of it, especially with how tense and displeased he seemed to be with me the whole time."

He pulled her a bit closer to him, leaning her against his side as he did so, his hand now moving to rub against her back in a soothing and comforting gesture, "Would it make you feel better if I talked to him for you?" He asked, his voice calm and low, "I personally don't think it's right of him to say such things to you, particularly since you're one of his clients and someone he's been ensured with helping break into the entertainment industry," He tightened his arm around her a bit more, and pulled her even more tightly against him, his expression now a lot more serious than it had been a moment ago, "He really should try to be more sensitive about you and your appearance and not be so judgmental about how you present yourself or the way you look, it's not his business and he should just keep any personal opinions about you to himself."

She snuggled into his side a little, though she kept her gaze on the floor and sniffled again, "Talking to him for me would make me feel a lot better," She whispered, "And would probably improve the pretty crappy mood that I've been in for the last hour and a half."

He smiled slightly, then gave her shoulders an affectionate squeeze, and drew his arm back from her, "I'll definitely try to talk some sense into him for you, Rumi-chan," He said, his voice now a bit gentler, "Hopefully my words will be enough to make him see the error of his ways."

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Rumi looked at the wall in front of her, crossing her arms in front of her chest as she did so, her expression mostly unsure, though there was a slight trace of annoyance in her eyes, a small frown curling up at the corners of her lips. I honestly have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing now.

"I-I wasn't expecting to run into you out here, Rumi-san," Sakaguchi set a small box down on the ground next to her, then slid it in the opposite direction so that it was pressed up against the wall, heat rising in his face as he did, a nervous smile tugging at his lips, his gaze quickly flickering back and forth between Rumi and what he was doing, "I would've assumed that you would be off somewhere recording your next song or whatever it is you idol singers do," He said, his voice calm and steady, but with an edge of sheepishness faintly laced into it, "Or even be off with your manager or whomever else you work with."

Her frown grew a bit more pronounced, and she turned away from him, redirecting her gaze to the floor as she did so, her expression now growing a bit troubled, "I'd prefer it if you didn't bring up my manager right now, Katsuo-san," She whispered, her voice now barely audible, though still strong enough to be heard, "I had a bad encounter with him earlier today that I'd rather not relive and would prefer to focus on other things to keep my mind off of it."

"I apologize for nearly upsetting you, Rumi-san," Sakaguchi straightened up a little, and folded his arms behind his back, his expression becoming remorseful, a frown already forming on his lips as he did so, the heat in his face now intensifying a bit, "That wasn't my intention at all."

"You don't really need to apologize to me for anything," She turned to look back, and smiled a little at him, which made his heart skip a beat in his chest in a hard and almost abrupt way, "I mean, it's not like you would've been aware of any negative experiences that I had deal with so far today," She said, her voice now a bit stronger sounding than it had been a moment ago, "So I don't think you should feel the need to apologize for it when you didn't really do anything particularly wrong."

He smiled back at her, albeit awkwardly, then averted his gaze from her and to another small box that was on the floor, his heart now pounding a bit wildly in his chest as he did so, though he tried to ignore it, "I suppose you make a decent point there," He bent down slightly, and reached out to pick up the box with one hand, then tucked it under his arm a bit, and straightened up again, "But I think it's preferable that I apologize for any upset that I cause you with either my words or my actions."

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Rumi bent down slightly and reached out to pick up a small book, a small smile curling up at the corners of her mouth as she did so, her fingers tightly gripping the spine in a careful manner. I think some light reading will help me to take my mind off things.

She looked down at the title that was written on the spine briefly, then quickly tucked the book under her arm and turned her head to look over at a small row of chairs that were in the far corner of the room, her smile widening a little as she did so. Especially if I did it in one of those comfy chairs, the soft cushions will surely help to relax me and put me more at ease.

"Hiya there, Rumi-san," Kaneko almost carelessly placed a stack of paper down on the table in front of her, then straightened up and looked over at Rumi, a wide smile plastering itself onto her face as she did so, her eyes bright, "Manzo just told me that you had a pretty rough encounter with your manager earlier this morning, and that he was going to go and talk some sense into him to get him to understand that he can't mistreat one of his own clients like that," She said, "Which means that he's going to be out for a while, leaving you and me alone to potentially talk and hang out like friends often do."

The smile on Rumi's face faded a little, but she kept her gaze focused on the row of chairs and crossed her arms over her chest, her expression now a bit annoyed, "I'm really not in the mood for talking or hanging out with you, Kaneko-san," She said, her voice low and slightly sharp, "I just want to be left alone to relax and read a book for a bit as a way of forgetting about my terrible encounter with Enomoto-san and the awful things he said to me."

Kaneko rolled her eyes a little, though she still kept the smile on her face, and turned her attention back to the stack of papers in front of her, then reached out to pick up two from off of the top of it, "You act like you're not in the mood to talk or hang out with me, Rumi-san," She said, her voice now relatively cheery, "But I can tell deep down that you do want to talk and hang out with me, you just don't know how to approach the subject enough to be able to do so."

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Hisao placed a blank sheet of paper in front of him, then turned away to grab an already uncapped pen from off the top of a small book, an extremely faint smile crossing his features as he did so.

"Honestly, Hisao-san," Murashige leaned against the doorframe and folded his arms in front of him, his expression displeased, his eyes narrowed in a hard glare, a deep frown already on his face, "The fuck is your problem?"

Hisao briefly glanced up at Murashige, then looked back down at the paper in front of him, and jotted his name down on the dotted line, "I'm not sure as to what you're referring to," He stated, his voice low and measured, though there was a hint of smugness permeating in his tone, his shoulders squaring up in a conscious manner, "I haven't done anything wrong in the last few hours or so." He glanced back up at Murashige, a small smirk now curling up at the edges of his mouth, then looked back down at the paper, almost maliciously so, "I've just been in my office the entire time working on some things."

"You know exactly what I'm referring to," Murashige straightened up and uncrossed his arms, then strode over to Hisao's desk, his expression darkening a bit with anger as he did so, "What gives you the right to think you can just make nasty comments about Rumi-chan's weight and destroy her self-esteem?"

"Ah, that," Hisao paused his writing, and placed the pen down on the paper, his gaze flickering back up to Murashige as the latter stopped in front of his desk, a malicious grin now crossing his face, "I only really made those comments about her weight because of how obviously fat she's gotten in the last month or so, which in turn has made her look like a lumpy sack of potatoes rather than a normal woman."

"You're really despicable, you know that?" Murashige folded his arms in front of him again, his expression now darkening further with anger, a scowl starting to form on his face, his gaze narrowing into an even harder glare as he did so, "It's honestly appalling how you think you can just go around and insult people for their looks or whatever else you feel like needs to be criticized, particularly people who're clients that you're representing by being their manager."

"I'm fully aware of how appalling my behavior can be at times," Hisao shifted slightly, and then leaned back in his chair, lacing his fingers together in front of him as he did, the malicious grin on his face now widening even further, almost in a mocking way, "But I don't necessarily think I care how you feel about it." He said, "Sometimes people need to have their feelings be hurt in order to better understand the reality of things, especially in a ruthless industry like this, where their self-esteem will be crushed and destroyed so many times over to the point of not mattering anymore."

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Rumi hesitated for a split second, then turned around and sat down in the chair behind her, her expression a mix of annoyed and exasperated, "I honestly don't think I'm going to be able to do much reading today, if you insist on being in the same room as me, Kaneko-san," She said, her voice low and flat, "If anything, I might end up just staring at the wall in front of me and think about my life up to this point."

A small laugh escaped from Kaneko's lips, and she reached out to grab two additional papers off of the stack in front of her, "You have a pretty nice sense of humor for an idol singer, you know that?" She said, her voice light and playful, the tone somehow worsening Rumi's mood in the process, "Particularly compared to other idols that I've met in the past, that is," She turned away and set the papers down on a different table, then turned back around to face Rumi, a smile curling up at the edges of her lips as she did so, "All those other idols are always so dour and serious and self-absorbed in their little music careers and often act like they should be the center of the universe," She paused for a moment, as if in thought, then looked back at Rumi, her smile widening a bit more as she did so, "Except for you, of course, you're a much shyer and humbler person than others would give you credit for, and don't seem to be that obsessed with your career and image like most other idol singers are, so you're something of a breath of fresh air in a sea of haughtiness and self-absorption, which I really appreciate."

A look of confusion crossed Rumi's face, and she turned her head to look down at the book that was laying on the floor a few inches away from her foot, "Thank you for that compliment, I guess," She murmured, her voice now much lower and more reserved than it had been just a few moments ago, "Though I'm not fully sure how to really take it in and process it all, so I can't help but feel a bit mixed about it."

Another small laugh escaped from Kaneko, and she turned back to the stack of papers, reaching out to grab a three more as she did so, "You don't really need to thank me for anything, honestly," She said, "I just felt like you deserved a compliment, especially after terrible encounter you had with your manager earlier this morning."

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Rumi curled up into a ball on the very end of the couch, hugging a pillow tight to her chest as she did so, a slight frown playing on her lips, her eyes a bit heavy and glazed as she looked down at the fabric of the couch cushion beneath her. It's honestly too early in the day for me to be sleeping, but I don't think I can help it for much longer. She snuggled into the couch a little, and shifted slightly so that her head was resting against the arm of the couch, the slight frown on her face now turning into something of a small smile. That conversation I got trapped into with Kaneko left me really exhausted.

"Hey, Rumi-chan," Murashige bent down slightly next to the couch, and reached out to gently touch her shoulder, causing her to turn her head slightly to look at him, a smile on his face, though his expression was a bit more serious than it let on, "I was able to talk some sense into your manager and sort some things out with him."

He gave her shoulder a small squeeze, then drew his hand back and let it fall to his side, the smile on his face now fading slightly, albeit not in a noticeable way, "Though it was a bit difficult, what with his rude and condescending attitude and his need to feel superior to others," He continued, "But I was able to break through to him by hitting a particularly sore point for him that made him realize that he should attempt to be nicer and more sensitive to you and your weight." I honestly can't believe that this is the best lie that I can come up with, but what else can I do? Reveal the truth that I didn't actually talk sense into Hisao-san and actually walked away from him in disgust over his behavior? That'd just make Rumi-chan hate me and ruin our friendship, which is something that I can't risk happening.

An extremely faint blush rose up in her cheeks, though she ignored it, and smiled a bit more broadly at him, "I don't really know how to fully express my gratitude to you for doing that for me," She said, "But thank you, it means a lot to me that you would go out of your way to help me like that."

He smiled back at her, this time in a more genuine way, then turned away to quickly bend down and grab a magazine off of the table, "Think nothing of it, Rumi-chan," He said, "I'm just doing what I think is right when it comes to our friendship and your career as an idol singer." Some friend I am, I actually feel a bit sleazy having lied to her like that, don't think that feeling's going to go away anytime soon, unfortunately.

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Rumi picked up a sheet of paper and looked at it for a brief second, then frowned a little and quickly turned it over to the back, her eyes narrowing a bit as she did so, her expression darkening slightly with almost intense anger. Do they seriously expect me to record a 10:15 minute song for them? That's way too far out of my wheelhouse. There's no way in hell I could even make a song of that length, even if I was desperate for my next big hit.

"I apologize if I'm interrupting something important for you, Rumi-san," Sakaguchi placed a small stack of three papers down on the edge of the desk, then turned to look down at her, a slightly shy smile forming on his lips, heat rising in his face as he did so, "But I was wondering if you'd be interested in going on a date with me later this evening? I know a decent French restaurant that makes really good Mille-feuille that blows other versions that I've had right out of the water."

Her expression softened slightly as she turned the paper back over to the front and then placed it back down, "That sounds nice and all," She turned to look up at him, and smiled back at him, though it wasn't necessarily a happy one, "But I think I'm going to have to pass on your offer," She turned back to look down at the desk, then reached out to grab a pencil and a notepad, "But I have to get ready to record the last four songs for my next album," She paused for a split second, then hastily scribbled something down on the notepad, "So I can't really let anything distract me from completing that and preparing for the next big phase in my career."

His smile faded away completely, and he narrowed his eyes a bit at her, his expression now growing a bit irritated, though there was still a bit of heat lingering in his face, "You're making a pretty big mistake turning down my offer, you know that, don't you?" He said, "I'm offering you a good chance for you to get to know me a lot better than you currently do, and for us to make our friendship a lot closer and stronger than it already is, and this is how you react? By turning me down like this so that you can devote more time to your stupid career?"

"I don't think I'm making a big mistake in turning down your offer, Katsuo-san," She placed the pencil down on the desk, then reached out to tear out the page that she had just written on, "My career as an idol is important to me and something that I always need to devote time to, so that I can do my best and come out on top and outdo the competition."

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Rumi stared down at her purse for a moment, then carefully tucked it under her arm, adjusting it slightly so that the strap didn't awkwardly stick out in a noticeable way, her expression a bit serious, though a slight smile slowly formed at the corners of her mouth. I should probably move this somewhere safe when I get the chance, lest something bad happens to it and I have to fork out money to buy a new purse for me to use.

"Hey there, Hidaka-san," Yokota placed a folded dress down on the arm of the couch, then straightened up a bit and turned to look over at Rumi, smiling broadly as she did so, "Preparing to record one of your songs for your new album?"

A deep frown quickly formed on Rumi's face, and she just as quickly averted her gaze away from Yokota's, "I am," She said, her voice low, and with a faint hint of disdain in it, "But I haven't actually decided on what song I want to record first." She makes me so mad! How dare an idol with the same first name as me be signed to what is obviously MY agency! She shouldn't even be here!

She paused for a moment, and turned to briefly glance back at Yokota, her expression now growing a bit annoyed, though she tried not to let it show, then averted her gaze again, "Hopefully whichever one I choose will be a good enough final track to close out the album," She continued, "And will also hopefully be the song that I choose to be the first single off of the album as well."

"That sounds pretty nice," Yokota turned away, and bent down slightly to pick up a different outfit off of the floor, "I personally haven't gotten around to recording any new songs myself, but it's pretty nice to see you working hard to get some new material out there regardless."

Rumi hesitated for a small moment, then turned to look down at her shoes, "I guess that is pretty nice," She whispered to herself, her voice barely audible, "I haven't really thought of it like that before, honestly."

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Rumi smiled slightly to herself as she carefully removed the lid from her bento box, looking over each item as she did so, her expression a mix of happy and relieved. At least I get to have a proper lunch today.

She turned away to place the lid down on the nearest table and then turned back around to her bento box, reaching in to pick up a small plastic fork as she did so, her smile growing a bit more in response. Especially when that lunch is Yaki Udon with a small Curry bread on the side and a few pieces of Mochi as a dessert.

She looked down at the noodles for a moment, then wrapped them around the base of her fork, and then brought them up to her mouth for a quick bite, her smile now growing a bit more as she did so, her gaze focusing on her lunch as well. Though I kinda wish I had something to drink to go with my lunch, it kinda feels a bit dry and light without a bit of liquid to accompany it.

She took another bite of her noodles, then gently slid the remaining portions of them back into the bento box. I might have to make a stop by the vending machines later on today to get myself some sort of a drink as a way to complement my meal. She paused for a small moment, then placed her fork back into the noodles and moved them around a little. Maybe something like a diet soda or some kind of fruit drink would be a good idea.

"Eating your lunch pretty early, don't you think, Ms. Hidaka?" Sugamoto pulled a chair out from under the opposite end of the table and sat down in it, a broad smile already on his face as he did so, "Especially when everyone else in the agency are all still working and doing their own thing."

Rumi's smile grew a bit sheepish, but she kept her gaze focused on her lunch, "I know it's a bit too early for me to be eating my lunch," She said, her voice quiet, "But I got really hungry and couldn't really resist the urge to eat my lunch right away instead of waiting until later on."

"I don't think you should worry about that too much," He turned away and reached out to grab a book from the floor, then turned back around and set it down in his lap, "I can relate to needing to eat your lunch as soon as possible," He opened the book up and flipped to the index, then started scanning through it. "There's been times where I've gotten really hungry and eaten my lunch earlier than I'd originally intended, so I don't think you should worry too much about it."

"I guess you make a good point there," She wrapped a few more noodles around her fork, and brought them up to her mouth for another bite, "I shouldn't really worry all that much about eating lunch early, particularly when I have a bit of a big appetite."

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Rumi placed a folded dress down on the table in front of her, then turned away and bent down a bit to pick up another folded dress, this one a size smaller than the first one was. It was kinda nice talking to the other Rumi's manager while I ate my lunch, honestly.

She straightened up a bit, then turned back to the table and placed the second dress down on top of the first one, a slight smile forming on her lips as she did so. He's a pretty nice guy, and I kind of feel at ease around him, oddly enough. She paused for a moment, and turned away to bent down a bit again to pick up a small red colored ribbon, then straightened up again and turned back to place the ribbon down on top of the two dresses. I can't really say the same thing about the other Rumi, though, she straight up annoys the heck out of me with her upbeat peppy attitude and constant smiling.

She looked down at the ribbon for a moment, then picked it back up and set it aside, then redirected her attention to the top dress and reached out to pick it up, the slight smile on her lips now widening a bit as she did so. It's a bit silly, but I kind of consider the other Rumi's manager to be a friend of mine, especially since he's pretty easy to get along with and knows how to make the atmosphere in a given situation more pleasant. She turned around and placed the dress down on the arm of a chair that had been pulled out a few feet away from the table, then turned back around to the table and quickly grabbed the ribbon again, the smile on her lips now broadening into a slight grin. Though, again, I can't say the same thing about the other Rumi, I actually dislike her pretty heavily and consider her my rival rather than a friend.

She turned back around to the chair and moved to sit down in it, and then turned her attention back to the dress, reaching out to pick it up and placing it down in her lap as she did so. Honestly, now that I'm thinking about it, I should actually try to invite the other Rumi's manager to have lunch with me sometime, mostly as a way to get to know him better, but also hopefully as a way to form an actual friendship between us.

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Rumi looked down at the lyric sheet in her hand for a moment, then flipped it over to the back briefly, her eyes narrowing a bit as she did so, a small frown playing on her lips. What the hell's up with these lyrics? She flipped the sheet back over to the front, then brought it up to her face for a closer inspection, the frown now growing a bit more pronounced. They're super random, and there's no way I'm singing them.

"That dress makes you look like an even lumpier sack of potatoes, Rumi-san," Hisao leaned against the doorframe slightly, his arms crossed over his chest in front of him, his expression a mix of disapproving and irritation, though there was something of a malicious glint in his eyes, a tight frown already on his face, "It's very unflattering and not at all appropriate for your weird little body type." He said, his voice low and measured, but with a sneer mixed into it, "You should have really thought about your body more before you decided to try and cram yourself into that dress to delude yourself into thinking that it would be an okay outfit for you to wear as an idol."

Hurt tears pricked in the corners of her eyes, and she turned her head away from him, gripping the lyric sheet tightly in her hand as she did so, "T-The dress doesn't make me look like a sack of potatoes," She stammered out, her voice now unsteady and quiet, "It fits my body type quite well, and I personally think I look quite fine in it."

"I genuinely doubt that," He straightened up, and uncrossed his arms, quickly reaching out grab the doorknob as he did so, his expression now darkening further with disapproval, his frown now changing into a noticeable scowl, "It just makes you look like an unattractive lump of meat, an unappetizing one at that."

More tears pricked in the corners of her eyes, but she ignored them, and kept her gaze focused on a wall far away from her, "It really doesn't make me look like any of what you're saying," She said, "The dress fits me really well, and I think it compliments me pretty well as an idol singer."

"It really doesn't suit you as an idol singer at all," He stepped out of the room, but still kept his gaze fixed on her, "You seriously need to stop deluding yourself into thinking that you look good in outfits that belong to slimmer and more conventionally attractive idols."

She briefly glanced out of the corner of her eye as he fully turned away and closed the door behind him with a loud thud, then turned to look back down at the now crumpled lyric sheet, tears now slowly falling down her cheeks. This dress does fit me, why can't Enomoto-san just see that and not be so negative about my weight and my body? It's starting to damage my enthusiasm in being an idol singer.

Chapter Text

Rumi took a shuddering breath as she sat down in a small chair, then quickly pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, curling up into a tight ball as she did so, tears trickling down her cheeks in steady streams. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him.

She curled into an even tighter ball, burying her face in her knees as she did so, a ragged sob escaping her lips in a hard gasp, her shoulders shaking strongly and roughly. IhatehimIhatehimIhatehimIhatehimIhatehimIhatehimIhatehimIhatehimIhatehimIhatehimIhatehimIhatehimIhatehimIhatehimIhatehimIhatehimIhatehimIhatehimIhatehimsosomuch! Another ragged sob escaped her lips, this time much more painfully so, her fingers now digging into the fabric of her skirt, her eyes now squeezing shut to try and stop any further tears from falling. He's such an awful manager, why did they have to assign me to him? I hate every day that I have to come here to the agency and work with him, he just ruins all of the fun of being an idol singer and just makes it all so miserable and awful.

She shifted to bury herself into the chair, her shoulders now shaking even harder and with more force, her fingers now digging even further into the fabric of her skirt as she did so, tearing at it slightly in the process, a hard gasp now forcefully sounding from her lips, making her chest tighten in pain as a response, the tears now starting to fall even more heavily down her cheeks. Why couldn't they have given me a manager that's nice and understanding and doesn't care one bit about my weight? Why did I have to be shackled to this abusive and tyrannical monster? It just doesn't make any sense.

She forced her eyes open, and turned her head to look down at the floor, her vision blurry and unfocused as she did so, a small frown now forming on her lips, her body now calming down slightly from the outburst that she'd just had, though not enough to completely stop her from crying. I don't think I'll be able to survive in this industry much longer if Enomoto-san is going to continue being my manager, I think I might need some sort of change in order to possibly save me from this madness.

Chapter Text

"Tadokoro-san," Motohiko began, his voice low and strained, though with a bit of a whine emanating in his tone, "How am I supposed to survive in these conditions? There's no way I can thrive in a completely different agency like this one."

Tadokoro clutched his head in his hands, and slumped down in his seat, his expression a mix of irritated and aggravated, a deep frown already etched into his features, his gaze unfocused but hard. Why isn't he shutting up? Why is he still yammering on and on about this? It's giving me a real headache.

" Tadokoro-san!" Motohiko reached out to yank at Tadokoro's arm in a forceful motion, roughly pulling him forward as he did so, which elicited an irritated eye roll from Tadokoro in response, his expression now pleading and desperate, "Please, talk to me," He yanked a bit harder on Tadokoro's arm, forcefully pulling him against the arm of his seat, eliciting yet another irritated eye roll from him, his own expression now darkening with rage, "How am I supposed to make it as a male idol singer if I'm being forced to sign to a whole new agency?"

Tadokoro roughly yanked his arm back from Motohiko's grasp, then straightened up in his seat, and turned to glare at him, his expression darkening further with rage, "I think you're forgetting that you're not the only one who's being forced to join a new agency, you know." He said, his voice low and with an edge of anger to it, "Especially after the annoying stunt you pulled that got us kicked out of the prestigious Bellini agency and got our contracts revoked," He turned away from Motohiko, and moved to sit back in his seat, crossing his arms in front of him as he did so, "Forcing us to have to scour the streets of Tokyo just to find a new agency that would be willing to take us in and make us a part of their roster, all because you couldn't look the other way and be respectful when it came to the other talent over at Bellini."

Motohiko shrunk back in his own seat, and turned to look down at his shoes, "I'll have you know that I pulled that stunt on purpose," He said, his voice now barely audible, "It's not really in my nature to handle being upstaged by a noisy rock band filled with a bunch of amateurs, you know? I'm more of a sophisticated kinda guy when it comes to singing."

"I sincerely doubt you had any good reason for pulling what you did back at the Bellini agency, Motohiko-kun," Tadokoro said, his voice now a lot calmer, though there was still something of an edge to it, "Poisoning that band's lunch just because you couldn't handle them having a higher charting single than you has really been one of the lowest points of your career so far as a singer, and that's a fact."

Chapter Text

Rumi nervously stared at the door in front of her, her hands awkwardly twisting together, her heart racing loudly in her chest, a frown already on her lips. Will I be able to do this?

She hesitated for a moment, and turned to look down at her hands, her heart now starting to race even faster as she did so. I feel like I won't be able to for some reason. She glanced back up at the door for a brief second, then looked back down at her hands, a sense of dread now filling her, the frown on her face now growing a bit more pronounced. I'm pretty certain that I'm going to fail at standing up to my manager and putting a stop to his mistreatment of me.

Faint tears welled up in her eyes, but she blinked them back and then forced herself to look back up at the door, the sense of dread now starting to spread throughout her entire body, her hands now starting to tremble slightly, though she tried to ignore them. I just know it's going to blow up in my face and I'll end up in an even worse emotional state than the one that I'm already in.

She reached her hand out to place it on her chest, feeling her heart racing even more loudly as she did so, eliciting a small frown from her. I wish my heart wasn't acting so erratic right now, it's actually making it hard for me to focus and think clearly.

She listened to her heart for a few seconds, then took her hand away from her chest and let it fall back to her side. I seriously need to find a way to calm my heart down and get it back to its usual rhythm, it's starting to aggravate me with its erratic beat and constant noise.

She took a deep breath, and then fully redirected her gaze back up at the door, her expression now a bit more serious than it had been a few seconds ago, though there was a hint of uncertainty in her eyes. But I don't think I should worry about my heart right now, instead I should focus on standing up to my manager and hopefully putting a stop to his abusive treatment of me.

Chapter Text

Hisao placed a small book down in front of him, then used one hand to open it up to the index, reaching for a different but larger book with his other hand as he did so, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"E-Excuse me, Enomoto-san," Rumi stood in the doorway of the room with her eyes downcast, her hands clasped in front of her tightly, a frown already on her lips, her heart beating fast and erratically in her chest, "I want to talk to you about something."

He glanced up at her for a brief second, then turned his attention back to what he was doing, "Whatever it is, it better be important," He said, his voice low and calm, though there was an undercurrent of irritation to it, "I have a lot of neglected reading that I want to get to, so I can't afford to be distracted by anything that barely matters to me."

Her frown deepened slightly, and she turned to look up at him, her expression now a bit annoyed, "I honestly don't see how reading a few books should be a bigger priority than listening to your client when she has something that she wants to tell you."

He paused for a few moments, and turned his attention back to her, a scowl now starting to form on his lips, his eyes narrowing into a hard glare as he did so, "Reading is an important hobby to me, Rumi-san," He stated, his voice now a bit lower than before, with a hint of a threat in it, "It's one of the few things that keeps me grounded and helps me relax," He narrowed his eyes a bit more at her briefly, then turned to look down at the book in front of him, "Particularly when I have to deal with annoyances like you and Murashige-san, along with the rest of this nuthouse that we call an agency," He reached out again, and flipped to the first page of the book, then glanced back up at her, "Reading is one of the few things that I can do to escape this madness and forget about reality for a while," He turned his attention back to the book in front of him again, then started reading, a slightly relaxed smile now slowly forming on his lips, "If you can understand that, that is."

Her frown deepened a bit more, and she crossed her arms in front of her, then averted her gaze to the carpet, "I guess I can understand that," She said, "Reading is something I enjoy from time to time, and usually use it as a way to calm myself down when I'm stressed or upset about something."

Chapter Text

"Honestly, Tadokoro-san," Motohiko said, his voice fairly calm, though there was a slight hint of frustration in his tone, "I don't understand why you're all so tense and angry today," He shifted in his seat slightly, then leaned back and crossed his arms in front of him, his expression a mix of confused and annoyed, "I mean, don't you think you should be a bit more chipper and happy since we're going to be joining this agency?"

"Says the guy who just earlier was whining and asking me how he's supposed to survive in these conditions as a male idol singer," Tadokoro turned away and bent over the arm of his seat to pick up a slightly worn out magazine, then sat back up and turned to face Motohiko, his own expression unamused, a small frown already on his face, "Which was irritating to listen to, by the way, and really made me feel like I was slowly going insane from how much you were whining and complaining."

Motohiko narrowed his eyes at Tadokoro, but then quickly averted his gaze to the floor, a frown now also curling up at the corners of his mouth, his expression now more unreadable than anything else, "My whining wasn't that irritating, was it?" He asked, his voice now barely audible, and with a very faint trace of hurt mixed into it.

"It was," Tadokoro sat further back in his seat, then placed the magazine down in his lap and opened it up to a random article, then started reading it, a faint smile slowly forming on his face as he did so, "It was some of the most irritating whining that I've ever had the misfortune of hearing in my career as an agent so far."

Motohiko briefly glanced back at Tadokoro, then looked back at the floor again, his expression now becoming somewhat ashamed in the process, though he tried to hide it, his gaze now blurring a bit as well, the frown on his face now widening slightly as a result.

Chapter Text

Rumi stared down at the table in front of her, faint tears brimming in her eyes, her lower lip trembling, a small frown on her face, her expression a mix of disappointed and sad. I really botched that up, didn't I?

She hesitated for a small moment, then bent down slightly and reached out to lightly touch the surface of the table with her fingertips, feeling the smooth glass of the table top as she did so, which elicited something of a small smile from her, though a sad one. So much for trying to stand up to my manager and make myself seem more assertive as a perso-

"Hey, lady," Tadokoro lowered the magazine that he was holding down to his lap and glanced up at Rumi, his expression a mix of annoyed and displeased, a slight scowl curling up at the edges of his mouth, one eyebrow slightly raised in the process, "Can you take your weirdness somewhere else? I'm trying to read this magazine article and you're blocking the light."

The frown on Rumi's face deepened, and she quickly whipped her head around to look at him, the faint tears that had been brimming in her eyes now stopping, her expression now irritated, "You're a very rude stranger, you know that?" She asked, her voice now suddenly sharp and firm, "I'm over here being sad about something that didn't go my way, and you want me to move out of the way so that you can take advantage of the light in here so that you can read some dumb magazine article?"

"Uh, yeah," Tadokoro brought the magazine back up to his face, and redirected his eyes back to the page that he was on, his expression now unreadable, though there was still a trace of annoyance in his eyes, the scowl on his face now spreading across his features, "I need the light to be able to read the rest of this article, and your fat body is blocking that out, leaving me out of the loop and ruining my reading experience."

Rumi straightened up, and crossed her arms over her chest, then turned her head away and huffed, her expression now more angry than irritated, a deep frown now etched onto her face, "I'm pretty certain that you could move somewhere else to read that stupid magazine of yours, you know." She stated, her voice now a lot sharper sounding than it had been just a minute ago, "Particularly if you're so adamant on needing light to be able to see any of the words in it, or even whatever pictures are in it as well."

"I could do that, sure," He turned to the next page of the magazine, but then glanced up at her again, an irritatingly malicious grin now starting to form on his face, his gaze now hard and intent, "But I think I'm pretty content with sitting here and trying to take advantage of the light to read my magazine like I want to," He turned his attention back to the magazine again, and flipped it to a different page, "It is a free country after all, so I think I'm allowed to do whatever I want when it comes to reading."

Rumi huffed again, but didn't bother with saying anything else, and kept her head turned away from him, fuming silently as she did so, the anger in her expression now intensifying.

Motohiko looked between the both of them, then shook his head a bit, and leaned back in his chair, his own expression now bewildered more than anything else. The fact that this is the second argument that Tadokoro-san's gotten into since we got here isn't really boding well for my career as a singer. He paused, and briefly glanced back at Tadokoro, then averted his gaze to the floor. Or for Tadokoro-san's career as my agent for that matter, now that I'm thinking about it.

Chapter Text

Motohiko awkwardly glanced around the room, his expression a mix of uncertainty and discomfort, a small frown already making itself known by tugging at the corners of his mouth. I honestly have a real bad feeling about this for some odd reason. He briefly glanced over at Tadokoro, then looked down at his shoes. I mean, I feel like me and Tadokoro-san have walked into a real trap here, like we're about to be scrutinized by the guy at this desk or something.

"Okay, so," Murashige pulled a folder out from underneath a stack that was piled high on the desk close to him, then placed it down on his desk in front of him, his gaze flickering up to both Motohiko and Tadokoro, then back down to the folder, a smile crossing his features as he did so, "Motohiko Kanayama and Bunzo Tadokoro? Am I right or am I wrong?"

"You're right," Tadokoro reached out to take the folder from Murashige in a hasty motion, eliciting a frown from him in the process, his eyes also narrowing at Tadokoro as well, but in a sneaky and not all that noticeable way, "Though I prefer to be called Bon rather than by my first name of Bunzo," He tucked the folder under his arm, then turned back to look at Murashige and grinned a bit, "Makes me seem cooler and more interesting as an agent to be called something simple and mysterious like Bon, you know? It has a certain flair to it that my first name lacks."

Murashige rolled his eyes at him, then turned his attention back to the stack of folders on his desk and reached out to grab another one, "If you say so," He said, his voice now a bit unamused sounding, "But I personally think Bon is too silly a nickname to take seriously, particularly for an agent like you."

Chapter Text

"So," Murashige placed a second folder down in front of him, then drew his hand and glanced back up at Tadokoro and Motohiko, a small grin on his face as he did so, "Why have you two decided to join our little agency in the first place? Wages not good enough at wherever you two came from?"

"Actually," Tadokoro turned away and hastily stuck the folder that he had pulled off of Murashige's desk into Motohiko's arms, which elicited a quick frown from him, his gaze narrowing into a hard glare as he did so, though Tadokoro conveniently ignored it, "We got kicked out of our previous agency because of a terribly stupid stunt that my client decided to pull."

"Oh?" Murashige folded his hands together in front of him and placed them on top of the folder in front of him, leaning forward a bit as he did so, his expression now a bit curious, "What kind of stunt? Something particularly horrible that nearly tarnished your twos' respective careers?"

"I'd prefer not to say," Tadokoro redirected his attention to a small bowl of candy that was sitting on the edge of Murashige's desk, then reached out to grab a slightly large handful from it, a small grin now appearing on his face as he did, "But I will say that it was the result of childish jealousy on my client's part, and a desire for him to be on top of the music charts with a hit song."

"That doesn't sound very surprising to me, honestly," Murashige sat back in his chair a bit, and unfolded his hands so that he could open up the folder that he had in front of him, his expression now a bit serious, though still a bit curious, "I'm pretty familiar with singers who get jealous of others' success and often resort to underhanded tactics to try and sabotage their careers or at least cause them to fail."

Chapter Text

Rumi stared at the row of books before her, her gaze intent as it scanned each title, a slightly curious smile tugging at the corners of her lips. I wonder what kind of book I should read next? There's really too many to choose from.

She hesitated for a moment, then slowly reached out to carefully grab at a random book, pulling it out slightly so that she could get a glimpse at its cover, the smile on her face widening as she did so.

"I heard about that argument you got into with one of those two new guys that just arrived here earlier today," Kaneko placed a small box down in the center of the table, then straightened up a bit and turned to look at Rumi, a broad smile already plastered onto her face as she did, "From what Sagisu-san told me, it sounded pretty nasty."

The smile on Rumi's face faded a bit, and she turned to look at Kaneko over her shoulder, her expression now instantly becoming unamused, one eye of hers twitching slightly in response as well, "I don't see the fight that I got into with that man as nasty," She stated, her voice low, though with a touch of firmness to it, "More irritating and immature rather than straight up nasty," She turned away from Kaneko and redirected her attention back to the book that she was still holding in her hand, "So Sagisu-san's description of it isn't very accurate and is just really misleading."

"I don't know about that," Kaneko turned her attention back to the small box that she had just placed down, then reached out to gently lift open one of the flaps on top of it, the broad smile on her face only growing wider and more pronounced, "Sagisu-san usually doles out pretty accurate descriptions of the things that happen within a feet of her desk inside of the receptionist office."

Chapter Text

Rumi smiled a bit giddily as she took the lid off of her bento box, her gaze intent and focused as she looked down at the food inside of it, her expression equally giddy just like her smile. It was a good idea to have authentic Italian style spaghetti for lunch today, good excuse for me to branch out and try something foreign as a change of pace from the stuff that I often eat for lunch.

She turned away slightly, and placed the lid down on the edge of the table next to her, then turned back around to look down at her bento box once more, reaching out to pick up a small fork as she did so, the giddy smile on her face growing even larger. Really makes me think I should start eating more foreign food for lunch instead of just sticking with the usual traditional Japanese fare.

"Another early lunch, huh, Ms. Hidaka?" Sugamoto placed a small stack of two books down in the center of the table, then turned away to pull a chair out from under it, a slight grin curling up on his face as he did so, "Seems to have become a habit of yours lately to eat before everyone else has."

A small blush rose up in her cheeks and she shyly wrapped a few spaghetti noodles around the base of her fork, her heart now fluttering in her chest in an unexpected manner, "I got really hungry earlier and couldn't really wait any longer to eat my lunch," She said, her voice low and shy, "It was pretty hard trying to ignore how loud my stomach was growling, you know? So I couldn't really help myself and decided to eat my lunch early regardless of the potential consequences."

"I don't really think there's any consequence to eating your lunch early, though," Sugamoto turned and sat down in the chair that he had just pulled out, then looked back at Rumi and smiled gently, "I mean, if it makes you feel better, Ms. Hidaka, I personally eat most of my meals earlier than the designated time than they would be expected to be served or eaten."

The blush in her cheeks grew a bit more prominent, and she shyly brought the spaghetti noodles up to her mouth for a small bite, her heart now calming down slightly as she did so, though it still fluttered somewhat, "I guess that does make me feel a little better about eating my lunch early," She said, her voice still low and shy. "I think that was something that I needed to hear, now that I think about it."

Chapter Text

Motohiko glanced around the room, his expression a mix of bewilderment and confusion, then quickly glanced down at a small sheet of paper in his hand, a frown crossing his features as he did so. What room did they say was the recording room? I feel like I'll never figure it out on my own at this rate.

"Excuse me, stranger," Yokota reached out to gently touch Motohiko's shoulder, causing him to flinch slightly, her expression serious, though there was a hint of curiosity in her eyes, "But are you lost?"

He hesitated slightly, then averted his gaze to his shoes, a small blush rising in his face as he did so, "I-I am," He said quietly, but with a faint trace of embarrassment in it, "I'm currently trying to find the recording room, but am having trouble with being able to locate it so that I can go in there to record a few new songs that I just whipped up."

She smiled a little, then took her hand off his shoulder, and let it fall to her side, "I think I can help you with that," She said, her voice now light and cheery, "I was actually heading there myself to finish the last lines on my most recent song," She reached out and gently took his free hand in hers, making his heart skip a beat from the contact, a slightly flirtatious glint now shining in her eyes, "But I don't think I would mind helping a handsome stranger such as you find his way around this building a little bit and help him get familiar with it as well."

The blush in his face deepened a little, but he kept his gaze focused on his shoes, his heart now starting to beat a little faster in his chest, "I-I appreciate the offer, miss," He murmured, his voice now barely audible, "I-I think having someone to guide me around the building would be a great help for a newcomer like me and make me feel less lost and embarrassed overall." No way! A woman flirting with me on my second day here? Seems hard to believe, honestly.

Her smile grew a bit more, then she gave his hand a very light squeeze, making his heart skip another beat in response, then let go of it and let her hand fall back to her side, "I definitely have to agree with you there," She said, her voice still light, but now a bit more flirtatious sounding, "Having someone guide you around this building and help you with finding the place you need to be in is pretty nice and would definitely be a huge help in making the atmosphere of this place feel more welcoming and friendly a lot more quickly as a result."

Chapter Text

"This is the recording room?" Motohiko glanced around the room for a moment, then turned to look down at Yokota, his expression a mix of confused and surprised, though a small blush rose up in his cheeks, "I thought it'd be a lot smaller and more cramped than this, to be perfectly honest with you."

Yokota grinned a bit, then turned away to pick up a stack of lyric sheets that had been resting on a table in the middle of the room, "I know the size is a lot to take in," She said, her voice cheery and soft, "But it's a pretty good recording room once you get past the size and adjust to it." She turned back around and carefully placed the stack of sheets down in the center of the mixing console, then turned to glance over at Motohiko, a flirtatious glint now shining in her eyes again, "I personally like how big and spacious it is, and particularly enjoy the atmosphere that it adds to my songs, making them sound a lot more full and rich than they would otherwise in a smaller environment."

The blush in his cheeks deepened, and he averted his gaze to the floor, his heart now beating a bit audibly against his chest, creating a hard to ignore echo in the otherwise quiet room, eliciting a slight frown from him, though he quickly hid it, "I suppose you make a good point there, miss," He murmured, his voice almost inaudible, "Having a bigger space to record in does add a lot to the sound quality in a way that a smaller one doesn't."

Her grin grew a bit wider, then she turned away to grab two more lyric sheets that had been resting on the opposite side of the console, "My name's Rumi Yokota, by the way," She said, her voice now a bit softer and more serious sounding than it had been a moment ago, "But you can just call me Yokota, everyone else does."

The blush in his cheeks deepened further, and he forced himself to look back up at her, a nervous smile now gracing his lips, "I'm Motohiko Kanayama," He said, his voice now a bit louder and more confident sounding, "But you can call me Motohiko, since that's what everyone around me mostly likes to address me by."

A much softer smile formed on her lips, and she turned to look back at him, "Motohiko's a nice name," She said, "Pretty fitting for a handsome guy like you, you know? Has a nice touch of simplicity to it that not a lot of guys' names have."

His face flushed a very bright red, and he averted his gaze elsewhere, his heart now beating even more audibly against his chest, loudly and painfully, another frown forming on his lips, "I guess it's a nice name," He said, his voice now a lot quieter than it had been before, "But I don't really see it as anything unique or special, it's just the name that my parents gave me when I was born, you know? Nothing special about it."

Chapter Text

Rumi smiled softly to herself as she leaned forward to gently pick up a small stack of magazines from the table, carefully shuffling them together so as to keep them all lined up with each other. Fairly interesting that I was asked to move these magazines to a different table on the far side of the room.

She straightened up, then hugged the stack of magazines to her chest, and then turned on her heel to walk over to a narrow table that was pretty far away. Not that I'm complaining, though, I think I can appreciate being asked to help out with some things here at the agency that're out of my normal realm of work as an idol singer.

"This is a bit of an odd question for me to ask you," Kaneko placed a small plastic container down on the arm of a couch next to the doorway, then turned to glance over at Rumi, a small smile crossing her features as she did, "But is there anyone here at the agency that you particularly like? If you get what I mean."

A small blush rose up in Rumi's cheeks as she placed the magazines down on the table, then she turned to face Kaneko, her expression a bit shy, "I don't really think I can answer that question," She said, her voice low and quiet, "There isn't really anyone here that I particularly like," The blush in her cheeks deepened a bit, then she averted her gaze back to the stack of magazines that she had just placed down on the table, "I'm sort of neutral or otherwise just not particularly interested in any of the guys that work here at the agency."

"Nonsense," Kaneko moved away from the plastic container that she had set down on the arm of the couch, then walked over to sit down in a nearby chair, a small grin spreading across her lips as she did so, "There has to be someone here at Rosato that you like," She said, "I mean, there's some pretty attractive guys that work here, so there's got to be someone that you definitely like or at least have some sort of a crush on."

The blush in Rumi's cheeks deepened a bit more, and she slowly reached out to pick up a magazine off of the top of the stack, her heart now beating a bit faster as she did, "There isn't really anyone here that I could say that I like or have a potential crush on," She said, "A lot of the guys that work here are just simply too obnoxious or otherwise idiotic for me to be able to have anything of a liking for them." She paused, then looked back at Kaneko, a small sheepish smile now tugging at the corners of her lips, "Minus your husband and Yokota-san's manager, of course, since they're both pretty nice and I enjoy the interactions that I get to have with them."

Chapter Text

Rumi looked down at the laundry basket before her, then reached out to pick up a small pair of socks, a slight smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as she did so.

Her smile grew a bit as she briefly glanced down at the pair of socks that she had just picked up, then quickly and yet carefully folded them into a tight rectangle. It's honestly nice to get to come home and relax after an entire day of recording and writing songs. She turned away slightly, and placed the folded pair of socks down on the edge of her bed, then drew her hand back and let it fall to her side, her gaze shifting back to the laundry basket as she did so.

She paused for a moment as she continued to stare down at the laundry basket, then reached into it again and pulled out a semi-large shirt, which elicited a slight frown from her as she took in the size of it, though she tried to hide it as best as she could. Don't get me wrong, recording and writing music is something I enjoy doing, but it can get pretty tedious at times, especially when I hit writer's block and can't come up with any new ideas for lyrics or melodies.

She straightened up a bit and held the shirt up in front of her, her expression now changing into an annoyed scowl as she did so, her gaze hardening as well. I don't remember buying this shirt. She briefly turned the shirt around in her hands to the back, then turned it back around to the front and held it back up in front of her again, her gaze hardening even more as she did so. Where the hell did this shirt come from? I really don't remember buying it.

A small sigh escaped her, and she quickly crumpled the shirt up in her hands, then turned away and haphazardly threw it onto her bed, the annoyed scowl on her face now deepening slightly. I should probably try and remind myself to throw that shirt away later, it's obviously not mine and there's no need for it to be in my wardrobe.

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Rumi set a stack of lyric sheets down on the mixing console, then turned away to grab a semi-small notebook and a pencil off of a table behind her, a smile spreading wide and bright on her face as she did so. Since I'm on a bit of a break right now, I think it'd only be fair for me to focus on a bit of song writing and finishing up one of my songs.

She hesitated for a moment, then moved to sit down at a chair that had already been pushed back from the console, the smile on her face now growing even wider as she did, a slight sense of giddiness now shining in her eyes. I'm honestly pretty excited about finishing this one song and then singing the final result to see how it all comes together, I just know that it's going to sound spectacular and that it'll be one of my most memorable songs to date.

"I'm a bit surprised to find you in here, Ms. Hidaka," Sugamoto bent down to place a stack of boxes down by the doorway, then straightened back up and smiled slightly as he glanced at her, his expression gentle and friendly, "I was kinda expecting this place to be empty, but it's a bit of a pleasant surprise to see you using it."

A small blush rose up in her cheeks, and she shyly turned to look up at him, her heart now pounding a little in her chest as she did, "I know it's a bit surprising for me to be in here," She said, her voice timid and low, "But I just wanted to have some privacy while I work and finish up a few songs of mine that're in desperate need of being completed before the end of the day." Oh no! Why is he here? I would've thought he'd surely be off somewhere doing his own thing and not coming anywhere near me and my songs. The blush in her cheeks deepened a bit more, and she briefly turned to look down at the mixing console, then back at him, her expression now a bit shyer than it had been just a moment ago, "It's pretty important that I get them done on time in order to be able to put them on my next few albums so that they can be potentially released as singles and get airplay on the radio."

"That's something that I think I can understand," He turned his back to her, and bent down to pick up a box that was right outside of the room, "Yokota-san's pretty particular with wanting to finish a lot of her songs and prepare them for placement on her albums, so I think I can understand why you'd want to focus on finishing up your own songs and not let anything distract you from accomplishing your goals."

The blush in her cheeks deepened even more, and she turned her attention back to the mixing console, her heart now pounding a little faster in her chest, "That actually makes me and Yokota-san a lot more alike than I ever would've thought of before," She said, though more to herself than to him, "But I'm not really sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing."

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Rumi glanced back down at the stack of lyric sheets in front of her, then back up at Sugamoto while he still had his back turned to her, the blush in her cheeks now deepening as she did so, a small shy frown now curling up at the corners of her mouth. I don't know if it would be a bad idea to ask him a few personal questions or not, but it wouldn't really hurt to try.

She hesitated for a moment, then straightened up a little in her seat, and fully turned her attention to Sugamoto, the blush in her cheeks now deepening into a dark crimson as she did, "I'm sorry if this question that I'm about to ask you seems odd or out of line," She said, her voice very low and shy sounding, "But do you consider me a friend, Sugamoto-san?"

"Sure, I do," He straightened up and tucked the box that he was holding under his arm, then turned his head to look at her, a bright smile now spreading across his face as he did, causing her heart to flutter hard in response, her gaze now trying to quickly avert to somewhere else in the room, "You're a very nice young lady, and I enjoy the time that I get to spend with you as well," He said, his voice soft and warm, the tone of it causing the blush in her cheeks to deepen even more in an impossible way, "I cherish our friendship in the same way that I cherish all of my other friendships, closely and fondly."

Her cheeks flushed a little deeper from his words, and she turned to shyly look back up at him, a faint smile now playing at the edges of her lips as she did, "I think I feel the same way about you," She said, "You're a very kind guy and I like being around you a lot," Her cheeks flushed a bit more, but she ignored it and turned to glance back down at the stack of lyric sheets next to her, then hesitantly reached out to pick one up, "Particularly when we accidentally run into each other during lunch, those are some of the best moments in my opinion."

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Murashige picked up a stack of papers and reached out with one hand to carefully lift up the top sheet to sneak a glance at the one underneath it, raising an eyebrow in curiosity as he did so, a small frown already forming on his face as well. I should probably have a talk with Sawa about some of these things that he's been writing down and sending to me. He dropped the sheet back down in a gentle manner, then placed the stack back on his desk, the frown on his face now growing a little more in the process. A lot of them are nonsensical and barely constitute actual work that a producer like him should be doing.

"Don't forget that the Yonezawas' invited us to have dinner with them this coming Saturday," Kaneko placed a small folder down on the edge of his desk, then leaned forward to plant a quick kiss against his cheek, which elicited a small smile from him, though one that was barely noticeable, then pulled back to look at him, "Nor forget that their son wants to personally talk to you so that he can potentially sign a record deal with you so that he can join the agency and release his music on the adjoining label."

His smile widened slightly, and he turned a little so that he could wrap his arm around her waist, pulling her in a little closer to him, "I don't think I could forget either of those two things for you, honestly," He said, his voice soft, "Particularly on the eve of our wedding anniversary," He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss against her lips, then pulled back to look at her, "Where I plan on making you a big meal and then planning for a far away sight seeing trip to Mount Fuji."

She smiled back at him, then leaned in and planted a much quicker kiss to his lips, which made his smile widen a little more in response, "A trip to Mount Fuji honestly sounds pretty nice," She said, "Especially if it's an excuse to get away from all of this for a good while."

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Tadokoro set a small book down on the edge of the table, then frowned slightly and hesitantly moved to sit on the couch right behind him, a clear sense of irritation already evident in his features, his gaze hard and unyielding. What a crummy day this has been turning out to be.

He shifted a bit, then leaned back against the couch and propped his feet up on the table, folding his arms across his chest as he did so, his expression now calming down considerably, though it still remained somewhat disgruntled, his frown now also fading as well, but it still lingered a bit on his lips. I mean, seriously, what kind of guy asks you to drop everything you're doing and go ALLLL the way downstairs to the basement just to file away some obscure and mostly useless papers? It's asinine and completely pointless, especially if no one's going to even need those papers for anything useful in the distant future.

He paused, and turned to look down at a small bowl of sculpted gum fruits, raising one eyebrow in mild curiosity as he did so, his expression now also becoming slightly curious as well, an extremely faint grin very slowly forming on his lips. On the other hand, though, I at least got to meet some interesting people who I could easily imagine myself becoming eventual friends with, so it wasn't really all that bad having to do some of those stupid tasks that Manzo-san asked me to do for him. He hesitated for an extremely brief moment, then reached out to gently pick up one of the gum fruits, the faint grin on his face growing a little as he did so. If anything, having to do those tasks for him was sort of a rewarding experience in of itself, so it wasn't really all that bad in hindsight for me to do work that's been asked of me to do as a newly hired employee here at the agency.

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Sakaguchi placed a semi-large stack of folders down in the center of the table, then straightened up and placed his hands on his hips, a strong and bright smile crossing his lips as he did so. I'm getting pretty good at placing stacks down carefully without disturbing the natural order and causing them to fall and become disorganized.

His smile faded a little as he glanced down at Tadokoro out of the corner of his eye, turning his head slightly to the side as he did so, his expression now a little irritated, "Do you mind?" He asked, his voice firm and low, and with a trace of anger to it, "I'm in the middle of doing some important work here, and your terrible presence is getting in the way of that."

"I do mind, actually," Tadokoro gently ripped the gum fruit apart, and set the first half down in his lap, then brought the second half up to his mouth to take a taste test of it, his expression going back to being disgruntled as he glanced up at Sakaguchi, an annoyed frown already forming on the corners of his lips, "I'm currently in the middle of taking a break from work, and your fat frame is blocking out the light that I want to use to be able to read my book later."

A deep scowl quickly formed on Sakaguchi's face, and he narrowed his gaze at Tadokoro, his expression now darkening with anger as he did, "You're a very rude and obnoxious man, you know that?" He asked, his voice sharp and cutting, anger clear and present in his tone, "You honestly have no right to talk to someone of a higher paying position than you in that way, it's very disrespectful and demeaning, and I definitely do not appreciate it."

"I don't think I care about how disrespectful and rude my words are to you," Tadokoro took another bite of the gum fruit, ignoring Sakaguchi as he did so, his gaze now moving to focus on the candy in front of him, "I preferably care more about the book that I'm about to read and this piece of candy that I just lucked out with," He said, his voice low, "So whatever negative feelings you have against me, you can take with you and deal with them somewhere else."

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Tadokoro closed the book in his lap, then picked it up and leaned forward slightly to place it down on the table in front of him, a small but noticeable sleepy smile already forming on his face. I think now would be a good time for an impromptu nap before I tackle more work.

He straightened up, then turned to briefly look down at the couch, the sleepy smile on his face now growing a little wider. I just know taking a nap will do me a lot of good, and will definitely help me to feel a lot more energized and refreshed when I wake up. He hesitated for a moment, then shifted to lay down on the couch, stretching himself out to completely take up space as he did so, a sort of devious grin now forming on his face as he did so, though his eyes were now a bit heavier than before. But only on the pretense that I don't have any weird dreams that annoy me upon waking up and ruin the rest of my day. He shifted slightly to turn on his side, then scooched down a bit to make himself more comfortable, his gaze now growing even heavier as his eyelids began to struggle to stay open. I honestly hope that I instead have decent and enjoyable dreams while I sleep, you know, the kind that make me happy and serve to better my overall mood and wellbeing.

He shifted a little more, then nestled himself into the couch, his eyes now almost completely shut, though he still tried to keep them open just a little bit further, the devious grin from earlier now having faded away into a tired but content smile, his body now feeling a bit warm from the couch. Bonus if those dreams involve attractive women of some kind, only because boobs usually make things better and more exciting, if you know what I mean.

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Hisao smiled to himself as he looked down at the small stack of papers in his hands, his expression hard to discern, though there was a sense of elation in his eyes. These papers will be perfect to use for the letters that I plan on writing to send to some of my remaining relatives to let them know that I'm doing well and am pretty happy in my spot in life.

He paused his walking, and turned his head slightly to look down at Tadokoro's half sleeping, half awake form on the couch, a deep frown now quickly forming on his lips as he did, his expression now also growing a bit irritated, "Are you aware that it's against the rules in this agency for someone to slack off and nap during work hours?" He asked, his voice sharp and low, but not inaudibly so, "Or are you too dense to even be aware of it?"

Tadokoro yawned slightly, and then shifted slightly so that he could lay on his back and look up at Hisao, opening his eyes a bit as he did, another devious grin curling up at the edges of his lips as well, "I'm plenty aware of the rules here," He said, his voice low and a bit sleepy sounding, "But I'm still on break right now and don't necessarily care about the rules at the moment," He narrowed his eyes a little at Hisao, then turned away to lay on his side again, "Nor do I care about following them and obeying them like a responsible person should," He yawned once more, then nestled himself into the couch a little bit, and then started to drift off back to sleep again, "All I care about right now is napping for a while and dreaming about things that I enjoy in my life."

Hisao glared down at him, his expression now hardening with sheer anger as he did, the deep frown now transforming into a scowl, "You're an obnoxious rulebreaker, you know that, don't you?" He asked, his voice now a lot harsher sounding, "You're honestly one of the worst new hires this agency has ever gotten in a long time."

Tadokoro opened one eye to glance back at Hisao, albeit sleepily, the grin on his face now a bit wider than it had been before, "I know," He said, "But I don't think I care about being considered obnoxious, you know? It doesn't affect my ego in the slightest, and if anything, seems like something of a compliment nowadays to me."

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Rumi sighed as she sat down in the chair behind her, her expression a mix of worry and frustration, a deep frown already on her lips. I really can't believe Murashige called me over to his office for a one-on-one meeting with him. She hesitated for a tiny second, then sat down on the very edge of the chair, her expression now more worried than frustrated, extremely faint tears now attempting to form at the corners of her eyes, though she held them back with a strong effort, the frown now deepening a bit more as she did so. I mean, he probably doesn't have any bad intentions with wanting to talk to me alone, but I can't help but feel a little uneasy about it, like I did something pretty bad in the last few days that angered him unknowingly.

She hesitated again, then turned her attention to her skirt pocket, and slowly reached inside to pull out a small chocolate bar, a faint smile trying to form on her lips, but she forced it back down and attempted to keep her expression blank and neutral. Eating at a time like this would probably be a bad idea, especially in a scenario like this, but I don't think I want to let this candy bar melt without getting to have at least one bite of it. Another faint smile formed on her lips as she continued to look down at the chocolate bar, a trace of relief now forming in her eyes. You never know, maybe eating this candy bar will help me to relax while I wait to be called into Murashige-san's office to have my little meeting with him.

She sat back a bit in the chair, then gently but quickly tore the wrapper off of the chocolate bar, the smile on her lips now growing more genuine and relaxed as she did, her eyes now a bit brighter than they had been a moment ago. Eating a quick snack usually helps to calm me down a little and make me feel more relaxed before I have to tackle serious and important stuff anyway, so I'm pretty appreciative of the vending machines that line the agency's hallways.

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Rumi took a bite of the chocolate bar, then turned to glance down at her shoes, a slight smile now curling up at the edges of her lips as she did so, her expression now a mix of calm and contentment. Now that I'm thinking about it, this isn't actually all that bad. She took another bite of the chocolate bar, then leaned forward a teensy bit to take a peek of Murashige's door, then sat back a little in the chair. I mean, maybe having a little one-on-one meeting with Murashige will do wonders for my career as an idol singer, and might help to push it in a better direction than it's been going in lately.

The slight smile on her lips grew a little wider, and she glanced back down at her shoes again. Honestly, my career does sort of need a boost in order to make it more appealing and marketable to audiences across Japan, so maybe talking with Murashige privately for a while will help in that regard. She turned her attention back to the chocolate bar in her hand, then took another bite of it, chewing contemplatively as she did so. You never know, maybe he'll have some good pointers and advice to offer on how to make me a bigger name as an idol singer, not just locally but hopefully internationally as well. I definitely want to expand my horizons globally and release some of my songs in other countries. I personally think that would be a real treat for me to experience as a singer, honestly.

"Whatcha doing out here by yourself?" Tadokoro placed a box down on the ground in front of her, then straightened up and turned to face her, his expression a mix of confused and questioning, though there was something of a smirk playing on his lips, "Got lost and are waiting for someone to come by and help you like a little kid? Or is it something else?"

A deep frown quickly crossed her features, and she turned to look at him, narrowing her eyes in irritation as she did so, her expression now hardening with anger as well, "No," She stated, her voice firm and razor sharp, "I'm not lost," She narrowed her eyes a bit more at him, then redirected her gaze back to the door to Murashige's office, her expression now hardening even further as she did, "I'm just waiting for Murashige to call me in so that I can have a private meeting with him to talk about some stuff." She sat back a bit in the chair, and huffed a bit, but kept her gaze focused on the door, "It's really nothing that should concern you, so don't go sticking your nose where it doesn't belong."

"I don't think I'm going to let some dinky little idol singer tell me where I should or shouldn't stick my nose," He turned away and bent back down to pick the box back up, then straightened up a bit and gently but quickly tucked it under his arm, the smirk now growing more noticeable on his lips, "If anything, I'm certain that I should be allowed to stick my nose where I want, regardless of the consequences."

She rolled her eyes a little, but still kept her gaze on the door, her expression now more exasperated rather than angry, "That honestly doesn't sound all that surprising to me," She said, her voice still firm and sharp, though now a bit softer sounding, "Only a weird man like you would think you have a right to stick your nose wherever you want to regardless of how other people would feel about you doing so."

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Rumi nervously looked around the room, a small frown already on her lips, her expression now back to being worried, her heart now audibly and almost painfully beating at an alarming rate inside of her chest, very faint and tiny tears already pricking at the corners of her eyes. On second thought, I don't think I can go through with this meeting, I suddenly feel like my stomach's in knots and that I'm about to throw up all over the place.

She shifted a bit in her seat, then leaned back and slumped down in an attempt to make herself seem smaller, her heart beating even faster now in her chest, the tears now starting to slip down her cheeks, though she tried to ignore them, her lower lip now trembling a bit, her hands now also shaking as well. I just know that this meeting is going to go so horribly wrong and everything's going to blow up in my face in the worst possible way and make me look really really bad.

"Rumi-chan," Murashige reached out to gently touch her hand, causing her to turn her head slightly to look up at him, his expression concerned, though there was a bit of warmth there as well, a frown already on his face, "Are you okay? You look like you're about to faint."

She shook her head a little, then turned to look down at her lap, her heart now beating a bit faster in her chest, "N-No," She murmured, her voice low and shaky, "I'm just really nervous about this meeting and can't stop myself from worrying about something bad happening to me, that's all."

He took her hand in his, and squeezed it very lightly and gently in a reassuring manner, a soft but comforting smile now forming on his face as he did so, "I don't think you should feel nervous about this meeting, Rumi-chan," He said, his voice low and soothing, "I just want to discuss some of the positives of your career with you and focus on how we can potentially improve on them and make you even more successful as an idol singer."

A soft but small sigh escaped her lips, and she glanced back up at him, her expression now calming a little as she did, her hand now tingling a little from the warmth of his touch, "I feel a bit better now knowing that this meeting is going to be something decent," She said, "For a moment there I was really worried that something bad was going to happen to me, but I'm glad to know that isn't the case and that I've got nothing to worry about."

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Rumi looked down at her skirt for a moment, then reached out with one hand to smooth out a crease that had formed in the fabric, a small calm smile curling up at the corners of her mouth as she did so, her expression content and calm as well. I feel a bit better knowing Murashige just wants to have this meeting with me so that we can focus on the positives of my career and figure out how to improve them in order to push me towards a much bigger path as an idol singer and help me to branch out into other parts of Japan.

She briefly paused, and turned to glance up at Murashige as he was sorting a bunch of paper together into a neat stack in front of him, then looked back down at her skirt, and resumed smoothing it out, the smile on her face now widening a little as she did so, and with a pretty faint trace of excitement now spreading across her features. I honestly feel pretty excited by the prospect of taking my career to different parts of Japan, and possibly spreading it out to the rest of the world as well, like America or Europe. 

She paused again, and turned to glance up at the light fixtures on the ceiling for two minutes, then looked back down at her skirt again, and started smoothing out a different crease that had formed in it without her knowledge, the trace of excitement on her face now growing a little noticeable as she did so. I can easily just picture my career gaining a pretty big boost of momentum and popularity by taking it to Europe and introducing the locals there to my personal take on J-pop and have them experience it before they can be potentially exposed to other idol singers or groups from Japan.

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Rumi's smile grew wider as she finished smoothing out the second crease in her skirt, her fingers working diligently and efficiently on the fabric, her expression still content and calm as she focused on what she was doing. Since I'm currently working on smoothing my skirt out to make it look more presentable during this meeting, I wonder if I should head to the laundromat later today to fully clean up the rest of my wardrobe? I feel like I've let them be dirty for too long now.

"Before we really begin this little meeting between us," Murashige gently set the stack of papers aside, then turned his attention back to her and smiled lightly, his expression now warm and gentle, though there was a hint of concern in his eyes, "I want to ask you if your manager has been giving you any trouble lately, like making rude comments about your weight again or if he's been making you feel uncomfortable in any way, shape, or form."

She paused her skirt smoothing for a moment, and turned to look up at him slowly, her expression now becoming a bit serious as she did so, "No," She murmured, her voice low and quiet, "Enomoto-san has surprisingly been avoiding or otherwise ignoring me for the last few days," She hesitated for a tiny second, then looked back at her skirt and continued, "He hasn't really talked to me since the terrible encounter we had in the recording studio two weeks ago, which I can't help but feel a bit thankful about, since I hate talking to him in general and never enjoy being in the same space as him."

"That's good to know that he's apparently been avoiding you," He turned away again to grab a blank sheet of paper off of a much larger stack that was sitting in the corner of his desk, then turned back around to place the paper down in front of him, "I was honestly a bit worried that he was still going out of his way to harass you and make your life a living hell, but it's nice to know that he's mostly stopped bothering you for the time being."

"I guess that is pretty nice," She paused her skirt smoothing again, and turned to look back up at him and smiled softly, "Things do feel a lot calmer and more peaceful since he started ignoring me, so I can't help but feel pretty happy about it overall."

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"Now that I've gotten the question out of the way," Murashige turned away again, and reached out to grab a small already opened box of pens, then turned back around to his desk and placed the box on the opposite side facing the blank sheet of paper in front of him, "I think now would be a good time for us to discuss your career as an idol singer so far and the positives that have come out of it, along with the negatives that I'm sure you're fully aware of as well."

A small frown formed on Rumi's face, and she paused smoothing out the hemline of her shirt to look back at him, worry now slowly forming in her eyes, "I don't think I'm aware of any negatives that have come out of me being an idol singer," She said, her voice low and small, "It's been a pretty good experience for me as a whole so far, give or take some of the bad encounters that I've had with my manager and some of the people that work here at the agency."

"You say that, Rumi-chan," He paused slightly as he gently pulled one of the pens out of the box, and onto his desk, his gaze flickering back up to meet hers, then back down to what he was currently doing, "But there's actually quite a few negatives that have stemmed from your being an idol singer, some pretty bad, and some that aren't necessarily bad, but are still pretty negative as a whole."

The frown on her face grew a bit deeper, and she slumped back a bit in her chair, her gaze now drifting down to her lap, her expression now a mix of uncertainty and worry, "I really don't think my career as an idol singer has any negatives in it," She said, her voice now a lot smaller sounding than it had been before, "But I guess I shouldn't try to argue with you about it, since you're a producer and all that, and you have a lot more say and experience in the industry than I do."

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Very faint tears pricked in the corners of Rumi's eyes as she leaned forward in her chair to look down at the ground, a small frown already on her lips, her expression now more fearful rather than worried and uncertain, her heart now thumping hard and fast in her chest. I don't think I can handle this meeting anymore.

"One of the negatives of your career that I think we should discuss first and foremost is the lack of any additional hit songs besides the first two singles that you've released," Murashige paused for a moment as he looked at the blank sheet of paper in front of him, then used the pen in his hand to write his name down at the very top of the page, "As well as the declining sales for those two singles and how audiences have mostly lost interest in them because of overexposure on the radio and in other media outlets like TV," He said, his voice low and serious, "Along with the growing frustration in waiting for you to finish recording your next album and cut a few singles from it in order to drum up renewed hype and excitement for your music again."

She leaned forward a little more, and crouched herself into a sort of ball, the faint tears now starting to stream down her face, her lower lip now trembling slightly as well, "I-I'm actually having a bit of a creative block right now in regards to my next album," She whispered, her voice quiet and shaky, "That's why I'm currently taking forever to finish it in time for the expected release date next month, I haven't been able to come up with any good additional lyrics to add to some of the songs that're only partially done already, nor have I been able to come up with what I want to have be the album's cover and the overall theme of it."

"I don't think you should worry too much about that part, Rumi-chan," He briefly paused his writing to look at her and smiled reassuringly, his expression now a bit gentle, "I actually want to set you up with two photographer friends of mine in order to have them help with choosing the cover and theme for your album," He said, "As well as letting me and Sawa-san help with producing the album itself, along with any additional songwriting that you may need help with, just to streamline the process a bit and make it less stressful for you."

A very faint smile curled up at the corners of her mouth, and she turned her head to look up at him, a small trace of relief now spreading across her features, "Having a small team of people help me finish my album would be a huge help, actually," She said, her voice now a bit steadier sounding, "I feel like I should've realized that much earlier, but I guess I can't really do anything about it now."

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Motohiko looked up at the bookshelf before him, a slight smile curling up at the corners of his lips as he did so, his expression curious. I wonder what kind of book should I read? There's really too many good ones to choose from.

He hesitated for a moment, then slowly reached out to carefully pull a semi-small book out that was stuck between two much larger and more bulkier ones, his fingers tightly and yet carefully gripping the spine as he did so, the smile on his face now growing a bit wider as well. I think this is some sort of historical novel, so maybe I should try reading it to pique my interest? I have been wanting to try and get into historical fiction as of late, so maybe this would be a good starting point for me to be able to do so.

"How's the recording process of your next song going?" Tadokoro placed a box down on the table, then straightened up a bit and quickly turned his head to look at Motohiko, a small grin already spreading across his face as he did, "Swell or are you having trouble with it to the point you need someone to step in and help you with it?"

"It's going pretty well, actually," Motohiko swiftly but carefully pulled the book off of the shelf, then just as swiftly tucked it under his arm, turning his head a bit to look over at Tadokoro, the smile on his face growing even wider as he did, "I've already gotten about 100 percent of it done, but I haven't really gotten around to finishing the last lines of the final chorus just yet," He paused to look down at the book tucked under his arm for a very brief second, then looked back up at Tadokoro, "As you can plainly see, I'm currently taking a break to try and unwind for a bit before I truly finish it up, but I'm pretty pleased overall with how the whole process has gone so far."

"That's good to know, honestly," Tadokoro turned his attention back to the box in front of him, then bent down to open it up with both of his hands, "I was actually a little worried that you were slacking off on recording and not taking it seriously enough, but it's nice to know that you actually are taking the whole thing seriously and are almost done with the song."

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Rumi set a small box down on the edge of a table, then leaned forward a bit and reached into the box to pull out a small stack of papers, a happy but slightly nervous smile crossing her lips as she did so.

"Pretty exciting feeling day today, huh, Rumi-chan?" Murashige pulled a chair out from underneath the mixing console and turned to quickly sit down in it, a wide grin already on his face, his expression a mix of gentle and excited, "And I'm not just talking about what we're going to be doing here in the recording studio, but the entire day as a whole." He turned away from her, and redirected his gaze towards the console, turning the chair around to better face it as he did so, the grin on his face now fading slightly, but still remaining somewhat strong, his expression now growing a little serious as well, "I can just tell that we're going to have a blast here in the studio today, especially once everyone else shows up, which is where the real magic is going to kick in."

A small blush rose up on her cheeks as she turned away to place the stack of papers down on the table in front of her, her heart now also fluttering with excitement as well, "I actually feel pretty nervous about what we're going to be getting up to today," She said, her voice quiet and shy, "I've never really had a team to help me with recording an album before, so I can't help but feel a little anxious about the whole thing, if that makes sense."

"I understand why you'd feel nervous about this," He reached out to touch one of the knobs on the console, then turned it to the right, and paused to glance back at her, a small reassuring smile crossing his face as he did so, "But I personally don't think you should worry too much about it and instead just try to have fun with the whole thing," He turned his attention back to the console, then turned the knob in the opposite direction, a pleased glint now forming in his eyes in response, "You never know, having a team around you to help you with this album might prove to be quite beneficial for you as an idol singer in the end."

A smile of relief formed on her face in response to his words, and she turned her head slightly to look at him, "I suppose you're right," She said, her voice now a bit more confident sounding, "Having a team of people to help me with finishing this album up will probably be a beneficial experience overall for me, so I shouldn't worry too much about it."

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"Sorry for being late," Sawa placed an empty box down on the ground next to him, then straightened up and sheepishly smiled at Murashige, his expression equally sheepish, though there was a hidden hint of frustration in his eyes, "I got locked into a conversation with Sagisu about death and where we go when we die, one that gotten pretty long and detailed, so detailed that I had to abruptly cut it off just to be able to leave and come here." He paused for a moment, and looked down at the box briefly, then looked back up at Murashige, his expression now a bit more sheepish than it had been before, "I actually feel a bit bad that I had to rudely end the conversation like that and leave her, but I didn't really know what else to do to get out of the conversation so that I could get here in time."

"I don't think you should feel bad for ending the conversation between you and Sagisu-san," Murashige glanced over the row of knobs in front of him, then smiled slightly and reached out to turn the leftmost one, "I mean, it's sort of her fault for trapping you into the conversation when you had somewhere to be in the first place, so I don't think you should be hard on yourself for cutting it off and leaving her high and dry," He said, his voice low and fairly serious, "I doubt she's going to hold it against you and make you out to be some sort of a bad guy for it, you know? So don't feel too bad about the whole thing and let yourself off the hook for right now."

"I suppose you're right about that," Sawa turned to look down at an empty chair a few feet away from him, then leaned forward a bit to grab it and pull it closer to him, "Sagisu-san's not the type of woman to hold a grudge against a guy for ending a conversation with her, so I should definitely let myself off the hook for it and relax for a bit."

Chapter Text

Rumi turned back to the box in front of her, and then reached in to pull out another stack of papers, a small blush rising in her cheeks as her gaze flickered over to Sawa in brief intervals, "I'm sorry if this is a bit of a stupid question to be asking you, Sawa-san," She said, her voice soft, "But are you here to help Murashige with producing and finishing my album?"

"I am," Sawa pulled the chair a lot closer to him, and then turned it around a bit better so that he could sit on the edge of it, "Murashige-san personally invited me to come down here and help you out with your album," He turned and sat down in the chair, then leaned back a bit in it and flashed a wide but gentle smile at her, which made the blush in her cheeks deepen almost quickly in response to it, and caused her heart to almost stop in its tracks as well, "Something that I'm more than happy to do for you, seeing as how we're such good friends and all that, and I deeply value your talents here at the agency, so being a producer on your album and helping you finish it is nothing more than a great honor to me."

She shyly but awkwardly turned to look back at the stack of papers in her hand, and just awkwardly placed them down on the table, her heart now loudly and insistently thumping against her chest, the blush in her cheeks now a lot deeper and more noticeable, "I-I don't really know whether to thank you for this or not," She said quietly, "B-But I'm actually really grateful that Murashige asked you to come and help me with finishing my album, so thank you for this, I guess."

A warm laugh escaped his lips, which caused her heart to skip a beat pretty loudly at the sound of it, then he shifted slightly so that he was gently leaning against the mixing console, propping his head up in his palm as he did so, "I don't really think that you need to thank me, Rumi-san," He said, his voice low and warm, "Like I said just a moment ago, this is something that I'm more than happy to do for you as a token of our friendship and gratitude that I feel towards you for all the music that you've put out here at the agency."

Chapter Text

Rumi looked back down at the box in front of her for a moment, then slowly reached in with one hand and pulled out a small sheet of paper, her gaze shyly flickering over to Sawa in very secretive and brief glances as she did so, a deep blush already spread across her cheeks in a very noticeable way. Damn that Sawa, he's really way too handsome for his own good. She tried to refocus her attention back on the sheet of paper still in her hand, but it briefly drifted back to the sight of Sawa instead, a small frown now forming on her lips as it did so. He's legitimately making it hard for me to be able to even focus on finding the correct lyric sheet that I want to use to record this song, which is really aggravating, honestly.

"This is something that I already told Rumi-san the other day before we started this recording session," Murashige turned away slightly to grab a pen and a blank piece of notepad paper off of the far end of the mixing console, then hastily turned back around to face it and placed the two items down in front of him, looking over at Sawa briefly as he did so, a small smile forming on his face as well, "But I thought it would be fair to also tell you about it too."

He paused for a split second, and looked back down at the piece of notepad paper in front of him for a moment, then reached out to pick up the pen and uncapped it with his other hand, "Basically," He began, his voice calm and fairly serious, "As part of the initiative to help Rumi-san with finishing up her album in time for the expected release date," He took the pen and wrote a small number down at the very top of the notepad paper, then temporarily paused to look over at Sawa once more, "I decided to hire two of my friends to come and help out with making the cover of the album as well as deciding on the overall theme and general concept for it as well, just to give us a lot less work to worry about when it comes to that side of things, if you get what I mean by that."

"I think I do," Sawa lazily turned to glance down at the row of knobs on the mixing console in front of him, then reached out to lightly turn one of them over to the right, his expression now a bit more serious than it had been initially, "You mostly just want to focus on being a producer and producing the music itself and have all of the various complicated bits and pieces be handled by everyone else for you, right?"

"Pretty much," Murashige turned his attention back to the notepad paper in front of him once more, then wrote another small number down on it, this time at the very bottom, "I just want to be able to focus on the music itself and being a producer and let everyone else worry about the rest."

Chapter Text

"Sorry we're late," Hisakawa set a small suitcase down on the floor next to him, then straightened up and turned to look over at Murashige and smiled sheepishly, "Me and Doi-kun got stuck in traffic on the way here from lunch at Wcdanold's, which took us a lot longer on account of the disagreeing over what to exactly order to eat while we were there, so sorry for the late arrival."

"I don't think you should worry too deeply about being late," Murashige placed the pen down on the mixing console, then reached out with his other hand to pick up the piece of notepad paper and then turned away slightly to place it elsewhere, "We haven't actually gotten the recording session started just yet, so, if anything, you're just in time to observe me prepare the mixing console for the first round of mixing and recording."

A slight laugh escaped Hisakawa's lips, and he turned his attention back to the suitcase, and bent down to pick it back up, "That's a bit of a relief, honestly," He said, "I was actually pretty worried that we'd be late for the session and you'd be mad at us for it and stop being friends with us for the rest of our lives."

"I sincerely doubt that you two showing up a bit later than you were supposed to would seriously affect our friendship in the slightest," Murashige turned back around to the mixing console, and then reached up to flick a small switch in the 'on' position, "It's not really a big deal to me and you two showing up regardless of the time is a lot more important to me than you two failing to show up at all," He flicked another switch into the 'on' position, then turned to look at Hisakawa, and smiled reassuringly, "So I think you should let the whole thing go and just relax whilst I get the mixing console prepared for the recording session."

"I guess you make a decent point there, Manzo-kun," Hisakawa straightened up again and then turned away to carefully place the suitcase down on a small stool by the side of the mixing console, "I should just let the whole thing go and just relax while you get things ready for this session."

Chapter Text

Rumi turned away to place the sheet of paper down on the table, then turned back around to the box in front of her and hastily reached in to grab a small stack of two sheets of paper, a deep almost frustrated grimace now starting to form on her face as she did so. I swear at this rate, I'll never find the correct lyric sheet that I want to use for recording, I keep finding all sorts of older ones that I've either already used or didn't use and ended up scrapping for one reason or another.

"Now, I'm well aware that you're pretty shy when it comes to meeting new people, Rumi-chan," Murashige gently placed his hand on her shoulder, making her pause what she was doing and turn her head to look at him, her expression now quickly becoming curious as she did so, though the grimace was still there on her face, "But I still would like for you to temporarily step out of your comfort zone to be able meet my photographer friends," He paused for a split second, then turned his head in the direction of Hisakawa and Doi briefly, then turned back to face her again, a slightly sheepish smile now playing on the edges of his lips, "Once they get done with setting up the photo shoot for the cover of your album, that is."

"Maybe I would be interested in meeting them," She turned away to place the two sheets of paper down on the table next to the one that she had placed down earlier, then turned back to the box and hastily reached in to grab a slightly smaller sheet of paper, the grimace on her face now deepening a bit as she did so, "But I'm sort of busy myself right now with trying to find this lyric sheet that I want to use for recording, which is currently frustrating me to no end and just causing me a lot of stress and anger at the moment."

He patted her shoulder in a reassuring manner, then took his hand away and let it fall back to his side, his expression now a bit more serious, "That's alright," He said, "I think I can wait until you find the lyric sheet for you to meet my friends and get to know them before we start the photo shoot."

Chapter Text

Sawa straightened up in his seat, then turned to the side slightly to grab a small manual off of a stool that was only a few inches away from him. I think now would be a good time for me to take a bit of a break and catch up on a bit of reading about clock making and repairing, a topic that I want to have as much knowledge on as possible.

He leaned back in his chair a bit as he placed the manual down in his lap, and automatically opened it up to the page that he was looking for, a light grin now tugging at the edges of his lips as he did so. Especially if I want to figure out how to repair my own clocks, since a lot of the ones in my home are all mostly broken or aren't acting right, so reading a manual on how to make or repair them is definitely a step in the right direction for me.

"I know you just got started on reading that manual, Sawa-san," Murashige placed a semi-large box down on the edge of the mixing console, carefully so as not to have it touching the row of knobs or buttons that were on the front of the console, then straightened up a bit and turned to look down at Sawa, a small smile already on his face as he did so, "But would you be interested in meeting my photographer friends once they finish setting up things up for the photo shoot? They've been sort of curious about you and have been asking me some occasional questions about you as a result of their curiosity."

"Sure," Sawa temporarily paused his reading to look up at Murashige, and grinned a bit at him in response, "But only on the condition that I get to finish reading this chapter in the manual first, since I'm only just starting it now and don't want to have to stop and accidentally lose my place in it."

Murashige reached out and patted Sawa's shoulder lightly, then drew his hand back and tucked both hands into his pockets, "That's fine," He said, "I think I can wait until you're done with reading to introduce you to my friends."

Chapter Text

"Hisakawa-san and Doi-kun," Murashige began, his voice clear and confident, though not loud, "I have someone that I would like for you two to meet," He gently hooked an arm around Sawa's shoulders, then just as gently brought him forward, which elicited a bit of a faint eye roll from Sawa, though he kept his expression neutral as he did it, a slightly exasperated smile now forming on his face in the process, "He's a bit of an enigma, but he's a pretty dear friend and an invaluable producer here at the agency, in more ways than one, might I add."

He paused for a brief second, and glanced back at Sawa, then looked back at Hisakawa and Doi, a broad grin now forming on his face as he did so, "Anyway, without any further rambling from yours truly," He gently brought Sawa a bit closer to the two of them, then let go of him and moved back a few inches, folding his arms in front of his chest and keeping his gaze focused on Sawa as he did so, the broad smile now widening further on his face, "I'd like you two to meet Asao Sawa, he's pretty much my right hand man here at the agency and go-to co-producer on a lot of the albums and songs that I've worked on over the years."

A frown formed on Hisakawa's face, and he turned to look at Doi for a split second, then looked back at both Murashige and Sawa, "We weren't really expecting him to be so quiet," He said, his voice low, and with a slight hint of annoyance and disappointment in it, "I mean, based on us seeing him interact with you from considerable distance, we were more or less expecting him to be pretty talkative and outgoing."

The smile on Murashige's face faded slightly, and he turned his gaze to Hisakawa and Doi, "Well, he IS talkative and outgoing," He said, his voice now a bit annoyed, "But he's pretty awkward when it comes to interacting with new people that he's only just now meeting."

Chapter Text

Sawa picked the manual back up again, then opened it to the page that he had been on previously, a slight smile curling up at the corners of his mouth as he did so.

"So, Sawa-kun," Hisakawa gently placed a small camera down on the floor, then straightened up and turned to look down at him, a slightly curious expression forming on his face as he did so, "How long have you and Murashige-san known each other? I'm only really asking because he didn't mention anything like that to us when he introduced you to us."

Sawa sat back a bit in his chair, then pulled the manual up to his face to obscure it, "Since winter of '83," He said, his voice low, and a bit absentminded sounding, "When he and some other guy recruited me to help them produce the second album for jazz legend Yoshiyuki Fukumoto's electric jazz symphony, which was a bit of grueling process for everyone involved at the time, since Mr. Fukumoto was a real stick in the mud and a perfectionist when it came to the music and how it should be performed," He paused to very briefly glance up at the two of them, then looked back down at the manual in his hands, "But way before that, I was just a simple sound engineer and occasional studio musician in the percussion department with little producing skills, so you could imagine my surprise when Murashige-san and some other guy came up to me one day and asked me to help them out with producing this album and getting it done on time to appease all of our bosses and Mr. Fukumoto himself," He paused again to briefly glance back up at them, then looked back down at the manual and reached out to turn to the next page, "That entire experience pretty much set me on the path to becoming a full fledged producer and abandoning my previous endeavors in favor of this new path that I found myself on, which proved to be a pretty good idea in hindsight for me personally and professionally."

"Huh," Hisakawa bent down again, and reached out to pick up a slightly larger camera from the floor, then carefully maneuvered it onto his shoulder, then just as carefully stood back up and craned his neck to look back at Sawa once more, "So, in a way, Murashige-san's pretty much the reason why you became a producer, isn't he?"

"Pretty much," Sawa reached out again to turn to another page of the manual, then paused for a second to briefly glance back at the both of them, a grin now slowly forming on his face as he did so, "If he hadn't come up to me on that day and asked me to help with producing that album, I'd probably still be a dinky little sound engineer barely scraping by and struggling to make ends meet, so I'm pretty grateful for him and that other guy for asking me to help them out, since it turned out to be a good push in the right direction for me."

Chapter Text

Rumi stared down at the box in front of her for a few seconds, then reached in with both hands and pulled out a semi-large stack of sheets of paper, her expression a mix of aggravation and resignation, a deep frown already on her lips. This has really turned into one of the worst afternoons of my life, even more so than the time I was stuck in an elevator with a bunch of those annoying interns that work downstairs, that had been a real nightmare scenario for me to have to deal with.

She pulled the semi-large stack of paper to her chest in something of a tight embrace, then shuffled them into a neater pile and quickly turned to the side to place them down on the table in a nearly clumsy and almost hasty manner, the frown on her face now deepening a bit more as she did so. Or even more so than when Kaneko-san stopped me on the steps and tried to invasively ask if I ever plan on retiring from my career as an idol singer so that I could go a snag a potential husband and start a family with him, that was truly an excruciating and rather uncomfortable experience for me to have to go through, even if Kaneko-san had no bad intentions and was simply trying to be a good friend to me.

She straightened up and turned her attention back to the box, then reached in to pull out a small and slightly worn out sheet of paper, a light smile of relief now slowly spreading across her face as she did so. I mean, I think I understand what Kaneko-san was trying to do when she tried to ask me that question, since she's married herself and all that, but I'm not necessarily the kind of woman to retire from my career and settle down with a husband, you know? I'd rather focus on my career for as long as possible and wait for the right time to meet the man of my dreams and marry him and then for us to start our own family together.

Chapter Text

Rumi smiled as she held the sheet of paper up to her face, her gaze flickering over every little word as she did so, a gleam of delight now twinkling in her eyes as well. I honestly can't believe I finally found it. She turned it over to the back to briefly look over it, the smile on her face only growing a little as a result, then turned it back around to the front to let her gaze flicker over it once more, a trace of giddiness now forming in her features as she did so. I truly can't believe I finally found the lyric sheet that I want to use for recording, feels like some sort of a miracle for me, really, especially since I never thought I would ever actually find it.

She paused as she looked down at the sheet of paper for a tiny second, then neatly folded the sheet of paper into a small square, and then turned away slightly to carefully tuck it into the pocket of her skirt, the smile on her face now growing a bit wider as she did so. I should probably hold onto it for safekeeping now that I've found it, don't want to make the mistake of misplacing it a second time and then having to spend the next hour or so looking for it, you know? Particularly since my arms kind of hurt from all that digging that I did in order to find it in the first place, so I think it would only be fair to stick it in my pocket to keep it safe and in my possession for now.

She paused again, and turned her head slightly to glance over at Murashige, who was currently embroiled in what appeared to be a somewhat intense conversation with Sawa, Hisakawa, and Doi, then redirected her attention to a small pile of books in a dusty corner of the room, her expression now a bit more serious as she did so. I have a pretty strong desire to want to tell Murashige-san that I found my lyric sheet and let him know that I'm pretty ready to meet his photographer friends, but seeing as he's apparently busy doing other things right now, I suppose I'll wait and do a bit of reading to pass the time.

Chapter Text

Rumi leaned forward a little to grab a book off of the pile, then straightened up a bit and brought it up to her face so that she could read the title, her expression still relatively serious as she did so, a slightly curious smile now playing on her lips as well. I don't usually read mystery novels, but seeing as I have something of a while to wait for Murashige-san to finish what he's currently doing, I guess now would be a good time as any to start expanding my literary horizons and read one as a taste test.

She hesitated for a small moment, then tucked the book under her arm and turned away to stride over to an unoccupied chair on the opposite side of the mixing console. If anything, I'll probably end up either enjoying this book and wanting to read more mystery novels or hating it and never wanting to pick up another one like it ever again. She paused as she came up to the chair, and then looked down at it for a split second, then turned around and sat down on the edge of it, the slightly curious smile now having faded a bit from her lips, but it still lingered there. Which, going by my past experiences with attempting to read literary genres that're outside of my normal reading preferences, will probably be the latter rather than the former.

"Hey, Rumi-chan," Sawa set a tiny box down at the foot of the door, then straightened up and turned to face her, a gentle but curious smile playing on his face as he did so, "Have any luck with finding that lyric sheet that you were looking for? Murashige-san sent me over here to ask you about it," He paused briefly to glance back down at the tiny box that he had set down on the floor, then returned his attention to her, "And also to put away a couple of blank cassette tapes that no one was using, just to create some extra space in the recording studio for more important things like additional recording equipment and the like."

A faint blush quickly rose to her cheeks, and she just as quickly pulled the book up to her face to obscure it, her heart now starting to beat a little loudly in her chest, "I-I actually found it a few minutes ago and tucked it away in one of my skirt pockets," She murmured, her voice a little shy, "S-So you can probably go back over to Murashige-san and tell him that I've got it in my possession and am plenty ready to meet his photographer friends now."

He bent down a bit and patted her on the shoulder gently, which sent her heart into a tizzy and caused it to beat even louder in her chest, then drew his hand away and straightened up again, the gentle smile still playing on his face, "I'll definitely make sure to do that for you, Rumi-chan," He said, "But only after I put away the box of blank cassettes, since I can't just leave them sitting out in the open by the door, you know? People will trip over them and potentially hurt themselves or something, and I don't want to be a liability for that, if you know what I mean."

Chapter Text

Rumi shyly pulled the book away from her face, then turned away to place it down on the edge of the mixing console, her heart fluttering a bit unsteadily as she did so, a small shy frown already curling up at the edges of her mouth in the process, her gaze flickering over to Sawa, then back down at the mixing console again. Sawa-san being here is really throwing me off, so maybe I shouldn't even bother with reading this book right now, since my mind is currently on the fritz and refusing to focus on anything but him and his stupidly handsome face.

"So, Rumi-chan," Sawa bent down again to pick up the tiny box that was propped against the foot of the door, then straightened back up and quickly placed it under his arm, turning his head slightly to look at her with a soft smile as he did so, "Are you happy that you found the lyric sheet for the song that you're going to be recording for the session? It must've been agonizing having to dig through all of those piles of other lyric sheets that you have to be able to even locate it."

A much brighter and deeper blush rose up in her cheeks, and she shyly turned her gaze to him, a timid smile now attempting to make its way onto her lips, "I actually am pretty happy that I found them," She whispered, her voice soft and a bit shaky, albeit confident sounding, "Especially after all the grueling sifting and digging through my collection of past lyric sheets in order to be able to find them in the first place, which was tiring and made my arms sort of hurt from the amount of picking up and moving around that I had to do."

A light laugh escaped him, the sound of which made her blush even deeper, and caused her heart to flutter a bit more unsteadily in response, then he turned away and almost quickly placed the tiny box down in a corner of the table, "I'll bet that it was grueling," He said, "Especially with all of those lyric sheets that you have in your possession, since you seem to have an almost infinite amount of them."

Chapter Text

Rumi looked down at the mixing console next to her for a moment, then reached out to curiously but lightly touch one of the knobs, a curious half smile playing at the edges of her lips as she did so. I've kinda always wanted to be in front of the mixing console, to be honest, so now is sort of a good time for me to be able to interact with it.

"I'm honestly pretty relieved to know that you were able to find the lyric sheet that you want to use for recording," Murashige pulled a chair out from under the console and sat down in it next to her, a gentle smile already on his face as he did so, though there was a hint of seriousness in his expression, "Especially since it seemed like quite the herculean task for you to have to sift through all of your other lyric sheets in order to find it."

"You're not really wrong with describing it as a herculean task, honestly," She curiously turned the knob to the left, then turned her head slightly to look at him, the smile on her face now changing into something of a softer one as she did so, "It was really grueling pulling them all out like that, and it sort of made me regret writing so many of them in the first place."

A slightly amused chuckle sounded from him a bit suddenly, and he reached out to gently pat her shoulder in a light and friendly gesture, making her heart skip a beat in her chest in response, "I don't think you should ever regret writing that many lyric sheets, Rumi-chan," He said, his voice gentle, "They're your lyrics and you're allowed to write up as many as you want to, even if they end up going unused or get scrapped altogether."

Chapter Text

Rumi fidgeted with her skirt a bit nervously, her fingers carefully picking up the fabric and smoothing it out in a slight motion, a shy frown already on her face, her eyes cast down to the floor, her heart fluttering almost painfully in her chest in a noticeably loud and uncomfortable fashion.

"Hisakawa-san and Doi-kun," Murashige gently put his arm around her shoulders and brought her a bit closer to his side, his expression a bit concerned as he briefly glanced back at her, though he quickly hid it behind a veil of seriousness and professionalism and redirected his attention back to the two in front of him, "I now would like for you two to meet Rumi Hidaka," He said, his voice calm but confident sounding, "She's one of the idol singers that's been signed to our agency, and also a relatively dear friend of mine, as well as something of a valuable asset to the agency as well, since several of her songs have already gone right to the top of the charts and have proven to be reliably strong and popular in terms of both sales and performance alone."

Her heart fluttered a bit more painfully from his words, but she kept her gaze on the floor, and tightly gripped her skirt in her fingers in a firm but nervous grasp, faint tears welling up in her eyes for whatever reason, her lips pursed tightly into a thin line in the process.

Hisakawa tilted his head slightly as he looked at her, his expression a mix of concern and confusion, a frown of his own forming on his face as he did so, "Is she alright?" He asked, "She looks like she's about to break down and implode or something."

Murashige returned his attention over to her in a brief glance, then turned back to look at Hisakawa and Doi, a reassuring smile spreading across his face as he did so, "She's fine," He said, "She's just nervous when it comes to meeting new people for the first time, so you needn't worry about her at all."

Chapter Text

Rumi paused for a moment, then turned her attention to her skirt pocket, and reached in to pull out the folded lyric sheet, a small but slightly anxious smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as she did so.

"So, Hidaka-san," Hisakawa set an empty box down on top of a stack of other empty boxes, then straightened up a bit and turned to look over at her, a friendly and sort of cautious smile forming on his face in the process, "How long have you known Murashige-san? I'm mostly only asking because he’s never really once mentioned producing music for idol singers or anything like that, he's always seemed to be more of the type to produce avant garde music rather than anything mainstream and commercialized like what you perform, if that makes any sense."

"I think that makes sense," She looked down at the folded lyric sheet for another moment, then tucked it back into her skirt pocket in a neat and gentle process, flickering her gaze up to meet Hisakawa's gaze as she did so, a much calmer smile slowly spreading across her face as well, "Murashige-san does seem to be the sort of person to produce avant garde music rather the mainstream stuff that I put out as an idol singer," She paused for a second, then turned her attention over to a table on her opposite side, then reached out to pick up a small pencil that was lying in the center of it, "Though now that I'm thinking about it, I think I'm one of the few idol acts that he produces for, since I think he mostly produces for experimental art rock groups and solo electronic acts and other out there stuff like that, rather than the really mainstream stuff like more conventional bands and solo singers like myself."

"The former two that you mentioned do seem to be more of his department in terms of music and experimenting with sound," Hisakawa glanced back at the stack of boxes next to him, then reached out to carefully push one that was misaligned slightly back into position, "Especially since he was the president of a Seikichi Ishijima-slash-electronic music appreciation fan club back in high school, where he was sort of responsible for making the genre a bit more popular among the students there, including me and Doi, along with some of the other guys that we were in the club with."

Chapter Text

"To answer your first question," Rumi picked up the small pencil and then turned away slightly to gently tuck it inside of her skirt pocket, then redirected her attention back to Hisakawa, a gentle smile slowly spreading across her face as she did so, "I've known Murashige-san for quite a while now, almost three years to be exact, and he's been nothing but a good friend to me." She paused for a moment, then turned away again to look back down at the table, a light blush now rising up in her cheeks as she did, "Particularly in my career as an idol singer, where he's been a pretty constant supporter and even a mentor in some ways to me, and I can't help but feel a bit grateful about that."

She hesitated for a moment, then reached out to lightly touch the corner of the table, the light blush in her cheeks now growing a bit more as she did so, "As well as a good confident and someone that I can air out my frustrations with when I need to, which I often do, especially when it concerns my terrible manager or other terrible people in my life." She added, "Or even more innocent related stuff like recording songs or preparing for concerts, or what kind of outfit to wear for a particular performance or what have you."

"If you're alright with me asking you another question," Hisakawa turned away and bent down to pick up another empty box, then straightened back and quickly tucked it under his arm as he returned his gaze back to Rumi, an equally gentle smile now also forming on his face as well, "How did you and Murashige meet in the first place? I mean, did you know him before you joined the agency? Or did you meet him through other means?"

The blush in her cheeks deepened a bit more, and she turned to look back up at him, her expression now a bit shyer than it had been before, "You'll probably find this hard to believe," She said, "But he actually discovered me whilst I was performing at a local festival in downtown Tokyo a couple of years back," Her heart audibly fluttered a bit in her chest, and she averted her gaze elsewhere, "I had been in the middle of performing a cover of I love us by Agnes Lum when I noticed him and Sawa-san watching me in the audience, which made me pretty nervous at first, but I was eventually able to compose myself and carry on with the song as intended."

"Huh," Hisakawa turned away to place the box that he just picked up down on top of another box, then turned back to face Rumi, "I don't think I was expecting him to be the one to discover you," He said, "Particularly since Murashige's never been the greatest at discovering new music talent, he's always been more the kind of guy to just learn about music through word of mouth rather than actually actively seek it out himself."

"I know it seems pretty surprising," She said, "But I'm actually quite grateful that it was him who found me and signed me to this agency, since being here helped to shape me into the person that I am right now."

Chapter Text

Tadokoro looked up at the vending machine before him, his gaze intent as it roved over each of the snacks inside, a light grin playing at the corners of his mouth as he did so, and with a trace of hunger in his expression as well. I wonder what I should get as a snack? There's really too many good options for me to choose from.

He paused as his gaze drifted down to a slightly large pack of gum, and he bent down a bit to get a better look at them, his grin widening a bit as he did so. This gum could probably be a good choice for me to have as a snack, but I'm not really so sure about the price, nor am I so sure about the flavor. He hesitated for an awkward second, then straightened up a bit, and crossed his arms in front of him, a small frown now forming on his face as he did so. I mean, seriously, 1.90 for a single pack of gum? Even for cheap, probably worthless candy that seems to be way too hefty a price, particularly for a guy like me with not a lot of money to spare or spend.

"What do you think you're doing standing in front of the vending machines like that?" Sakaguchi placed a semi-large stack of papers down on the table in front of him, then straightened up in an authoritative and stern manner, quickly clenching his hands into fists as he did so, his eyes also narrowing into a hard and generally unhappy glare as well, a deep frown already making its way onto his face, "Loitering for longer than a few minutes is a serious violation of the rules, so you better have a good excuse prepared to dole out to me if you want to avoid being reported and fined."

Tadokoro's eye twitched for a small second, and he turned his head to look over his shoulder at Sakaguchi, his expression now growing a bit irritated as he did so, the frown on his face now spreading out to encompass his entire face as well, "I genuinely doubt that me standing in front of the vending machines for a few minutes would be enough to get me reported," He said, his voice low and sharp sounding, "Particularly since I'm just trying to choose a snack to eat before I go and meet up with my client Motohiko to discuss an upcoming venue that he's going to be performing at in the next few days, so I really doubt that what I'm doing is a violation of any rules that the agency has in place."

"I suppose you make a relatively decent point there," Sakaguchi returned his attention to the stack of papers that he had just placed down on the table, then bent down a bit to pick them back up again, "But I still think that you should be a bit more careful when it comes to getting a snack or a drink from the vending machines, lest you do something that causes serious trouble for you and significantly harms your career in the long run."

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Hisao placed a few blank sheets of paper down on the desk in front of him, then turned away to grab an already uncapped pen, his expression mostly serious, though a small smile tried to form on his face in an unconscious way.

"I genuinely cannot believe that Tadoshimi guy and his general disregard for the rules and guidelines that've rightfully been put into place here at the agency," Sakaguchi set the semi-large stack of papers down on the very edge of Hisao's desk, then stepped back a bit and folded his arms across his chest, his gaze automatically moving down to stare at Hisao in a direct and intense manner as he did so, his expression a mix of irritation and displeasure, "I mean, who the hell does that guy think he is? Not the Reigning Emperor, that's for sure."

He turned his attention away from Hisao and glanced over at a small bowl of mints, then tentatively started to reach for one, his expression still one of displeasure, though faltered a little as he did, "It genuinely grinds my gears to see such disrespectful and inconsiderate men be hired into this agency and be allowed to get away with as much as they do," He continued, his voice even and low, though with an edge to it, "Particularly when it comes to the sophisticated but lighthearted atmosphere that we've cultivated here at the Rosato agency for the past several years, which was not an easy feat to pull off, mind you, so seeing such piggish and ungrateful men like Tadomura be allowed to have a job here really angers me and just makes me want to take matters into my own hands and do something about it."

Hisao only briefly glanced up at Sakaguchi for a moment, then redirected his attention back to the papers in front of him, and used the pen to write his name down at the very top of one of them, his expression now neutral, though there was a hint of anger brewing underneath, "You are aware that you could just avoid interacting with Tadokoro-san and other men like him, right?" He asked, his voice clear and cutting, "It's not like anyone is forcing you to be in the same room with them or anything, so you could easily just avoid them and work elsewhere if you so desperately want to do so."

"I guess I could do that," Sakaguchi popped the mint into his mouth and quickly chewed on it, then swallowed and turned to look back at Hisao, "But I feel like that would be some sort of a disservice to the agency and the rest of the people who work here, so I might have to formulate another kind of plan to deal with this issue."

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Motohiko looked down at a semi-small stack of magazines before him, then bent forward slightly to pick one of them up, a slightly giddy grin crossing his features in the process.

"I honestly can't believe that stupid Sakaguchi felt the need to harass me while I was busy getting a snack from the vending machine," Tadokoro set a candy bar down on the side of table, then turned away to take a seat on the couch next to Motohiko, a deep frown already forming on his face as he did so, "I mean, seriously, what's that guy's problem? There was nothing wrong with me kinda loitering in front of the vending machine and choosing what kind of snack that I wanted to get."

Motohiko sat back a bit on the couch, then opened up the magazine to a random page and started looking over the various pictures within it, the grin on his face now having faded a bit as he did so, though there was still a bit of giddiness lingering around his features, "Sakaguchi-kun probably had a good reason to harass you like he did," He said, his voice calm, but with a bit of an edge to it, "Especially if you were loitering near those vending machines, since that's a pretty frowned upon thing to do here, speaking from experience."

The frown on Tadokoro's face deepened a bit, and he folded his arms over his chest, and sat pretty far back on the couch, snuggly burying himself into it as he did so, "I must be the only one who doesn't really see what the big deal is with hanging around the vending machines for an abnormally long period of time," He stated, his voice now a bit more quiet and subdued, "Like, why does it matter if people hang around them for a while regardless of whether they're choosing something or not? I mean, they're just vending machines, it's not really the end of the world if people want to hang around them for a while or something."

Chapter Text

Sagisu set a book down in her lap, and opened it up to the first page, then started reading it, a small smile curling up at the corners of her mouth as she did so.

"Hey," Sawa gently knelt down in front of her desk and propped his folded arms up on it, his expression a mix of gentle and apologetic, and with an incredibly faint blush slowly spreading across his cheeks as well, "I'm sorry I had to abruptly cut the conversation that we were having earlier short," He stated softly, "But I had an important recording session for Rumi-san that I had to get to at the behest of Murashige, which is why I had to cut our conversation short and leave super quickly as I did."

She only briefly glanced up at him, then looked back down at the book in her lap and reached out to turn it to the next page, "I don't really think you need to apologize for abruptly ending our conversation, Asao-kun," She said, her voice low, though a bit absentminded sounding, "I'm pretty used to people cutting my conversations with them short and walking out on me, so I don't think you need to apologize for doing something that I expect from most everyone that works here at the agency."

He reached out to lightly touch the back of her hand with his fingertips, which caused her gaze to flicker back up to his, the blush in his cheeks now growing a bit more noticeable, though he tried his best to ignore it, "I honestly don't think you should be so accepting of people cutting their conversations with you short and walking away to do other things," He said, his voice now a bit quieter, "It's not right and will just lead to others mistreating you and taking advantage of you and your trust in them, as well as make your life a lot more difficult than it should be."

A small frown formed on her face, and she looked back down at the book in her lap, "I guess you make a bit of a good point there," She said, "I shouldn't necessarily be so accepting of people cutting their conversations with me short and walking away from me, it'll just lead me down some sort of a bad path and make my life a lot more difficult than it should be for a woman of my age and status."

Chapter Text

Rumi sighed as she sat down on the edge of the couch, a small but otherwise satisfied smile forming on her lips as she did so. That was a pretty fun but otherwise grueling recording session, but at least I got to finish up a big chunk of my upcoming new album, so the hard work and gruelingness were both definitely worth it in the end.

She paused for a moment, and turned to look down at the couch behind her, then turned her head away to glance up at the ceiling in thought, the small smile on her lips now fading a little as she did. I don't really think it would hurt for me to take a sort of nap after all that recording and singing I did today, you know? I'm a pop idol after all, I think I deserve to relax and take a break every once in a while as a result of all the hard work that I put in here at the agency.

Her smile returned slightly, then she turned to look back down at the couch again, reaching one hand out to lightly touch the fabric there as she did so, a small sense of excitement and tiredness now starting to take shape in her features as well. Besides, I don't think taking a nap on the couch would be a bad thing, nor do I think it would hurt the agency in any way and mess up their reputation as a professional organization or make it seem like an incompetent company that doesn't know how to manage the people that work for it.

She paused again, then returned her attention to the ceiling once more, the smile on her face now widening a bit as she did so. If anything, one of their clients taking a nap on some couch isn't going to seriously harm their image in any way, and will just be an inconsequential thing for them to deal with in the grand scheme of things.

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Kaneko looked up at the shelf before her for a moment, her gaze roving over the titles in a brief but thorough assessment, her expression serious though thoughtful as well, an extremely faint smile playing at the edges of her lips in the process.

"Helping Rumi-san with finishing recording her new album has really sapped up a lot of my energy," Murashige loosely snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her a bit closer to him, then leaned in to press a quick but tired kiss against her cheek, his expression tired to match, though there was a bit of a smile attempting to form on his lips in an unconscious manner, "I mean, I'm only thirty-two years old, but I honestly feel like I aged about forty years in a day because of the amount of work that we poured into the session, along with all constant back and forthing we did in regards to the tweaking that we had to apply to some of her songs to make them a bit more suitable for the album, and prepare them for when they would be sent off to the final stages of mixing and mastering."

She turned her head slightly, then reached up to gently caress his cheek with her fingertips, which made the smile that was attempting to form on his lips become a bit more pronounced as a response, "I don't feel all that surprised that helping Rumi with finishing her album has apparently taken up a lot of your energy," She said, "That usually seems to be the case whenever you help someone with finishing up a big project of theirs, even if you don't personally know the person that you're attempting to help, and don't necessarily need to be involved in the project in order for it to be a success."

Chapter Text

Rumi yawned a little as she curled up on the couch, her eyelids growing a bit heavy as she did so, warmth and contentment settling into her as well, an equally content smile forming on her lips in the process. It was a good idea for me to take a nap, honestly, especially after all the hard work that I accomplished today.

Another yawn escaped her, and she snuggled into the couch a bit more as if in response to it, wrapping her arms around herself in a warm hug as she did so, her breathing slowing down a bit as well. I definitely do think I earned this nap for all of my efforts as a pop idol today, particularly after the grueling work I put into today to record my songs for my new album, and for being so diligent and not letting anything distract or get in the way of my goal and passion for music and singing.

"I'm pretty certain that you aren't supposed to be using the couch to nap," Tadokoro set a box down on the floor beside the couch, then straightened up and folded his arms in front of him, a slightly wry grin curling up at the corners of his mouth as he did so, though there was a trace of faint malice mixed into his eyes as well, "Speaking from experience, I'm rather sure that it's against the rules to use the agency's furniture to sleep on and do other things that aren't work related or at least related to the agency's modus operandi."

Rumi's eyes practically shot open, and she almost quickly turned her head to look up at him, irritation and anger quickly forming in her features as she did so, "Don't you have anything better to do than to randomly show up and harass me about what's allowed and what isn't allowed here at the agency?" She stated, her voice low but sharp, "Which, admittedly, is pretty ironic to hear coming from someone who's been regularly breaking the rules and regulations of the agency for the past few weeks, I might add."

His grin grew a bit wider, then he turned away to pick the box back up and quickly tucked it under his arm, "I can see why you would think that it's ironic for a rule breaker like me to harass someone else over something like sleeping on the couch," He said, "But, personally, I don't see it as such and think I have a right to tell other people off for breaking the rules."

Chapter Text

Tadokoro paused for a moment as he briefly glanced back down at the box that he had picked back up, then turned away to place it down on the shelf that was only a few inches away from him, a slight smile crossing his face as he did so.

Rumi watched him out of the corner of her eye, a small frown playing on her lips as she did so, "Why are you here anyway?" She asked, her voice quiet but with an edge to it, "I mean, don't you have managerial duties that you should be attending to instead of being here with me?"

"I do have managerial related things to attend to," He straightened up again after placing the box down on the shelf, then slyly tuned his head to look at her over his shoulder, an irritatingly stupid grin forming on his lips as he did so, which made the frown on her face grow a bit more pronounced, "But Murashige-san asked me to come down here to gather up some things for him so that he can take them back to his office in order to work on them there, so I'm really just here to oblige him in doing that and showing my worth as a manager to him to sort of get on his good side and make him not think so badly of me as a manager, and as a person in general."

"I guess I can sort of understand that," She hesitantly turned away to lay on her side and redirected her gaze to the cushion of the couch that she was laying on, a slightly sympathetic look now forming on her face, though it was obscured by the frown that was still on her lips, "It usually takes a lot for someone to get on Murashige-san's good side and develop a decent working relationship and/or friendship with him, so I suppose I can now kinda understand what you're trying to do here, even if I personally find it odd and rather bothersome."

He raised an eyebrow at her, but didn't bother saying anything further, and redirected his attention back to the shelf in front of him, then reached out to grab a folder that was sticking out of the top shelf, another slight smile crossing his lips as he did so.

Chapter Text

A slight frown crossed Tadokoro's face as he grabbed the folder off the top shelf, his gaze briefly catching on the title of it as he did so, which made his expression briefly change into that of an annoyed scowl in response. This isn't the folder that I wanted, so I just wasted my time in grabbing it off of the shelf.

Rumi looked down at the fabric of the couch for another moment, then shifted slightly and turned her head to look back up at him over her shoulder, a small sad frown now making its way across her face as she did so, "I'm aware we barely know each other," She said, her voice quiet and soft, "But is it alright if I ask you a question?"

"Knock yourself out," He leaned up a bit on his feet and pushed the folder back into place on the shelf, then drew his hand back and let himself carefully land back on his feet again, slightly turning his head to look over at her as he did, "I'm not really having much luck with finding the right folder to give to Murashige, so knock yourself out with any questions you'd like to ask me."

She hesitated for a moment, then turned to lay on her back on the couch, her gaze still focused on him as she did so, the frown on her face growing a little wider in the process, "If you don't mind my asking you this," She said, her voice now more subdued than it had been before, "But why exactly do you want to get on Murashige-san's good side? I mean, I can't imagine that would be something that a manager such as yourself would care that deeply about."

A slight exasperated sigh escaped his lips, and he turned his attention back to the shelf in front of him, then reached up to grab a few sheets of paper that were jutting out from underneath a stack of five folders, "The reason for that is sort of complicated and a bit embarrassing," He stated, his voice low and serious, "So I'd rather you didn't attempt to ask me about it and would instead prefer for you to ask me about a different subject altogether."

She averted her eyes from him, and turned her attention back to the fabric of the couch as she did so, "I'm sorry if that question was a bit personal for you to answer," She said, "It was just something that I was wondering about, I didn't mean to offend you with my trying to question you about it."

"It's not really your fault in wanting to ask me about that," He said, his voice still low, though now a bit softer, "It's more or less my fault for being embarrassed about it."

Chapter Text

Motohiko frowned as he leaned forward slightly to pick up a small book that was lying on the table in front of him. I'm honestly super bored right now, so I might as well entertain myself by attempting some light reading.

He straightened up a bit in the chair, then brought the book a bit closer to his face and took a cursory glance at the title, a faint glimmer of interest forming in his eyes as he did so, though the frown still lingered on his face. Even though this book looks like absolute dreck that should be thrown away, it's my only real option for entertainment right now, so I should just grin and bear it and read it without any objections or complaints.

"I wasn't expecting to run into you here," Yokota placed a stack of folded dresses down on the table, then straightened up and smiled a bit broadly at him, her eyes a little twinkly as she did so, "But it's still a nice surprise regardless."

A deep blush rose up in his cheeks, and he almost quickly pulled the book a bit closer to his face to try and obscure it, his heart now pounding a little furiously in his chest as he did so, "I-I also wasn't expecting to run into you here," He stammered, "E-Especially when I'm on a break and in the middle of trying to entertain myself with this book that I just picked up." Crap! Why does she have to be here? Particularly when I'm trying to avoid people during my break so that I can relax and take my mind off of everything for a pretty long while?

"Nice to see you trying to keep yourself entertained whilst on a break," She returned her attention back to the stack of dresses on the table, then bent back down to pick them up again, "I'm currently in the middle of tidying up my idol wardrobe to prepare myself for a concert tomorrow, so I can't really stay and chat with you for long, but it was definitely nice getting to see you again regardless of my busy schedule."

Chapter Text

Murashige placed a single sheet of paper down in front of him, then turned away to grab an already uncapped pen out of a small pile of them that were gathered together on his desk, his expression neutral for the most part, though there was a trace of frustration in his eyes. I don't even want to do any work right now, but I don't have any real choice in the matter.

"Here's all the stuff that you asked for," Tadokoro set a semi-large box down in the center of the Murashige's desk, then straightened up and stepped back a little, a small grin forming on his lips as he did so, a mischievous glint now shining in his eyes as well, "I had to put all of it in a box to keep it all together 'cause of the amount that you asked for, in case you were wondering."

A light frown tugged at Murashige's lips as he briefly glanced up at Tadokoro, his expression now growing a bit noticeably frustrated as he did so, "I think I could automatically tell that you had placed everything that I had asked for in this box, Bon-san," He stated, his voice low, but with a hint of irritation to it as well, "You didn't really need to point it out to me like that, you know, it was unnecessary."

Tadokoro's grin faded a little, and he folded his arms across his chest, raising one eyebrow in slight confusion as he did so, "What crawled up your ass and died?" He asked, "You're usually more jovial and upbeat than this."

A small sigh escaped Murashige's lips in a sudden release of tension, and he turned his attention back to the paper on his desk, and used the pen to write the date down on it, "I apologize for my sharpness," He stated, his voice now a bit calmer and quieter, "I've just been stressed out lately owing to a particularly vicious and difficult argument that I had with Hisao-san over his treatment of Rumi and making her upset with his comments about her wardrobe and looks, and how I wasn't pleased with his attitude toward her and wanted him to take back these comments and apologize for them, which he initially refused to do until I threatened to have him reported and fined for his attitude and actions toward her and other people at the agency, which then eventually lead to him finally finally agreeing to apologize to her and to everyone else at the agency for how he's been treating them for the last few years, something that made me a bit happy to see, even if it meant that I had to lose my temper in order for it to happen."

Chapter Text

Rumi draped a dress over the back of the couch, then turned away to bend down and pick up another dress out of a box that was on the floor, a twinkle of giddiness as well as anticipation now lighting up her eyes, an almost broad smile plastering itself onto her face in the process. I'm pretty excited about today, especially with the song recording that I'll be doing later on.

" Getting stuff ready for some important idol related thing, are you?" Tadokoro set a stack of papers down on a table, then straightened up and turned to look at Rumi, his expression seemingly innocent, but with a hint of slight mischief in his eyes, a faint smile already tugging at the edges of his lips, "I think this is the first time that I've seen a pop idol place a bunch of dresses all over the room as if it were her own private dressing room, you know? That kind of thing is usually done in the privacy of one's own home, not out in the open like this where people could gawk and stare at you."

A frown quickly formed on Rumi's face, and she paused what she was doing to turn her attention fully to him, her expression now growing a bit aggravated as she did so, narrowing her eyes a little in the process as well, "Don't you have anything better to do than to bother me while I'm busy?" She asked, her voice sharp but even, "Or are you so incompetent at your job that you don't know when not to interfere in someone else's life and ruin their good mood?"

He grinned a bit, then turned his attention back to the papers in front of him, and reached out to pick up two of them, "I wouldn't say that I'm incompetent at my job," He said, "Rather than I'm a bit unqualified for it, but otherwise still more competent than most, especially when it comes to the paperwork and all the signing that it entails."

Chapter Text

Rumi placed the second dress down on top of the first one, then turned away again and bent down to carefully pull a few ribbons out of the box, a slightly determined expression crossing her face as she did so. I should probably try to get some mileage out of these ribbons and apply them somewhere on one of my dresses.

"I'm fully aware that I already apologized for my actions yesterday," Hisao set a blank sheet of paper down on the table in front of him, then moved to sit down on the couch in a carefully concise and graceful manner, his expression serious, but with a hint of apologeticness mixed in, a faint frown already affixed to his face, his tinted glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose, exposing his eyes in the process, "But I feel like it wasn't enough, and just seemed like an insincere attempt to save face, so I've personally come down here to apologize again and hopefully fix things between us in a way that could potentially make up for all of the past abuse that I've put you through."

He hesitated for a moment, and turned to look down at the floor for a split second, then looked back up at her, his expression now a bit more remorseful as he did so, "To start," He began, his voice an uncharacteristically gentle and low whisper, "I should apologize for all of the terrible comments and insults that I've been making about your weight and body type for the last month and a half, none of what I said was right nor was it necessary to be said, and I'm deeply sorry for any pain or misery that I caused you because of my words."

He hesitated for another moment, and turned to look down at the floor again, the frown on his face now widening slightly as he did so, "Instead, I should've tried to be more understanding and sensitive about your weight and figure," He continued, "And also at least try to help you to not feel so self-conscious about it to the best of my abilities, instead of putting you down and treating you like some grotesque circus act, something that I feel deep remorse and regret for doing to you, so I'm sorry for that as well."

She straightened up a bit, and returned her attention to the couch, then carefully started laying down each of the ribbons that she had pulled out of the box, her gaze briefly flickering up to look at him as she did so, "I'm actually a bit surprised that you're apologizing to me for the second time in a row," She said, "I would've assumed that Murashige-san metaphorically twisting your arm behind your back would've been enough to get you to apologize, but I guess I was wrong to think that way."

A small sigh escaped his lips, and he turned to look back up at her once more, his expression now a little sheepish as he did so, "I know it's surprising for me to apologize to you over the course of two days," He said, his voice still uncharacteristically gentle, "But seeing as I'm currently fifty-one and death is inevitably hanging around my backdoor waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike, I thought it would be best to continue apologizing to you before I invariably kick the bucket one of these days and end up a dead man with a lot of regrets."

Chapter Text

Rumi sat down on the couch, then placed the first dress and two ribbon strips together in her lap, a faint smile crossing her face as she did so. It was a good idea for me to try and use these ribbons for this particular dress. She hesitated for a tiny second, then carefully lifted the dress up, and just as carefully stuck the ribbon underneath it, the faint smile now growing a bit wider as she did. Especially as a way to fancy up this dress and give it a bit of some much needed flair.

"Nice that you're trying to liven up some of your dresses, Rumi-san," Sawa placed a box of sealed vinyl records down on the table, then straightened up and promptly crossed his arms in front of his chest, smiling brightly at her as he did, "Not to be rude or unfair sounding about them, but they're admittedly pretty bland for idol dresses, so it's nice that you're trying to spice them up by applying ribbons to them and make them seem more interesting and unique to wear."

A deep blush automatically crept across her cheeks, and she paused what she was doing to avert her gaze elsewhere, her heart now audibly starting to thump inside of her chest, "Y-You aren't really wrong that these dresses are rather bland and a bit uninspired," She stated quietly, "Especially compared to some of the more elaborate and colorful ones that I've been given over the last few years or so," She briefly glanced back at him, then quickly averted her gaze once more, "Which is why I've taken it upon myself to try and add some colorful elements to these to make them stand out a little more and elevate them beyond their blandness status."

He reached out to lightly pat her on the shoulder, the sensation causing her heart to metaphorically go haywire inside of her chest, and start thumping even more audibly and rapidly than before, "I think I appreciate you going out of your way to do that for these dresses, honestly," He said, "Not a lot of idols ever attempt to improve or at least experiment with the outfits that they're given by other people, so it's nice to see you thinking outside of the box for a change and trying to elevate your outfits to a higher level."

Chapter Text

A small frown formed on Rumi's face as she looked down at the repetitive spiraling pattern on the carpet, her heart fluttering with nervousness and anxiety as she did so. Why do I have to do this exactly? I honestly don't see a point in coming to the psychiatrist if I'm not sick or anything like that. She paused for a moment to briefly glance around the room and then returned her attention back to the pattern on the carpet, her frown growing a bit in the process. I mean, if I'm mentally sound and healthy, then I don't see a need for me to come here, you know? It's not really fair to make me come here if I don't have anything wrong with me, I should be allowed to make my own decisions on whether there's something wrong with me mentally or not.

"Excuse me," A hand reached out to gently touch her shoulder, which made her flinch slightly and caused her to turn her head to see a nurse with a faint smile on her face, though there was also a slight hint of concern in her eyes as well, "But are you Rumi Hidaka?"

Rumi turned her attention back to the carpet, then awkwardly kicked at it with her shoe, her expression now unreadable as she did so, "I am," She stated quietly, "My agency ordered me to come here to see a psychiatrist for some mental health thing," She kicked at the carpet a bit harder with her shoe, then turned to look back up at the nurse, a grimace now forming on her face as she did so, "But which I don't want to do, since there's not really anything wrong with me and I'm pretty perfectly fine and sound for a woman my age."

The smile on the nurse's face faded slightly, and she reached out to gently pat Rumi's shoulder, "I don't think you should be so quick to assume that there isn't anything wrong with you like that," She said, "I'm certain your agency had a good reason to send you here to speak with Dr. Chiba and get a good evaluation done, so don't be so quick to dismiss the idea that there's nothing wrong with you."

"I guess you make an okay point there," Rumi turned her attention back to the carpet again, and kicked at it once more with her shoe, "I shouldn't be so quick to dismiss the possibility of something being wrong with me and should wait until I get my evaluation done with Dr. Chiba before I make any assumptions about myself."

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Rumi hesitated for a second, then turned and sat down on the edge of the chair, her heart fluttering a bit with nervousness as she did so, her gaze automatically fixing itself to the floor, "I don't really want to be here right now, to be perfectly honest with you, Dr. Chiba," She said, her voice quiet, "I'd rather be back at home, or at least somewhere safe and inconspicuous, where I won't feel like I'm being put under scrutiny and judged for my actions for some reason, if that makes any sense."

"I fully understand why you don't want to be here, Ms. Hidaka," Dr. Chiba placed a chair in front of Rumi's, then sat down in it and looked at her, a simple but reassuring smile already forming on his face as he did so, "But your agency said that you needed to be here to get a thorough mental health evaluation out of concern for your well-being after an apparent episode that you had about three days ago," He turned away to pick up a clipboard from off of the counter next to him, then placed it down in his lap and looked at her once more, the smile on his face now a bit more prominent looking as he did so, "Which your producer told me was a particularly bad one that made him worry about you and your mental state, and was the primary reason for his sending you to me for this evaluation."

A deep frown quickly formed on her face, and she averted her gaze to some cabinets that were on the other side of the room, a trace of both embarrassment and shame creeping into her features as she did so, "My producer's the actual reason why I have to do this?" She asked, "Did I hear you correctly?"

Dr. Chiba nodded, then turned his attention to the clipboard in his lap, and reached out to lift up the top sheet of paper on it so that he could look at the paper underneath, "In a way, yes," He stated, "After he accidentally witnessed you crying intensely and attempting to harm yourself with a pencil over being denied the chance to use one of the agency's back rooms for something related to your career as an idol singer, he and some other people thought it was best to send you here to get you some help and therapy, as well as you get evaluated to help figure out and explain just exactly what's going on in that head of yours that would make you react in such an extreme manner to being denied a simple request."

The frown on Rumi's face deepened a bit more, but she kept her gaze focused on the cabinets, and reached out to quickly wipe away a few small tears that were forming in the corners of her eyes, her expression now more ashamed than it had been a moment ago.

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Rumi slumped back in her chair, but kept her gaze focused on the cabinets next to her, more small tears pricking in the corners of her eyes as she did so. I really wish I was anywhere else but here.

"Now, Ms. Hidaka," Dr. Chiba carefully tore a page out of the clipboard in front of him, and turned away slightly to place it down on the counter next to him, his expression now a bit somber as he did so, though there was an incredibly faint trace of concern in his eyes, "I'm going to start our evaluation session by asking you a series of questions about you and your mental state, starting from the episode that you had about three days prior to coming here and ending with your current feelings about being here." He paused for a split second, and glanced up at her, then back down at the clipboard and reached out to carefully tear out another sheet of paper, "If you're okay with being asked these questions, that is, if you aren't, then you should say something before we go any further."

She reached up to wipe at her face in a swift gesture, then straightened up in her chair and forced herself to look at him, her expression now quite serious, though there was something of a strain in her features, "I'm fine with answering any questions that you ask of me," She whispered, "I'm just currently nervous and distracted since this is my first time doing an evaluation with a medical professional."

He turned away again to place the second sheet of paper down on the counter on top of the previous one, then turned back to face her, and reached out to lightly pat the back of her hand in a comforting gesture, which made her relax a bit, though not by much, "I wouldn't worry too deeply about this, Ms. Hidaka," He said, "The questions that I'm going to ask you are relatively light and basic, and are just a way for me to gauge your mental state and diagnose you properly, so I think you should just relax and not work yourself up too much about it, and let me do my job."

A slight smile formed on her lips, and she nodded, her expression now a bit calmer than it had been a moment before, "I think I'll try not to worry myself about this too much and let you do your job as a psychiatrist, Doctor," She said, "Thank you for attempting to ease my mind about it, I feel a bit more comfortable about it now since you did that for me."

He smiled a bit in return, then turned his attention back to the clipboard and carefully tore out two additional sheets of paper from it, "I don't think you necessarily need to thank me for that, Ms. Hidaka," He said, "I'm just trying to do what I think is right in terms of my job and psychiatry in general, including offering comfort or reassurance when it is needed or asked for, or when it is appropriate to provide it."

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Rumi sat back in her chair slightly, and turned her attention over to a cabinet in the corner of the room, a small neutral frown curling up on her lips as she let her gaze trace the slight crack that was forming in the wood, a faint trace of boredom creeping into her features as she did so. This has oddly gotten to be a bit boring, but I guess that's to be expected during a mental health evaluation.

"To get this evaluation out of the way quickly," Dr. Chiba placed the clipboard down in his lap, then turned his attention over to the counter next to him, and reached out to pick up the sheets of paper that he had torn out, "As well as to also get these questions out of the way too," He said, "I would like to know the details surrounding the episode that you had about three days ago, and why exactly you decided to react the way you did during it."

A small grimace flashed across her features, and she let her eyes drift down to the floor, shame now starting to creep into her features as she did so, "I honestly don't really know why I reacted the way that I did," She said, "I mean, I was upset about being denied the chance to use one of the agency's back rooms for something idol related, but I don't really know why I had such an extreme reaction to it," She paused for a moment, and turned her attention to her skirt, then reached out to lightly smooth it out with two of her fingers, her expression now more thoughtful rather than shameful, "It might be because I don't usually get told no when it comes to wanting to do things related to my career as an idol singer, and am used to getting my way a lot, so being denied like I was probably triggered something within me and caused me to spiral negatively and have that extreme reaction, and probably is what also lead me to attempt to hurt myself with that pencil, which I wasn't successful at doing of course, since I only managed to make a tiny prick in my skin and not the deep cut that I was aiming for."

Dr. Chiba placed the sheets of paper down within the clipboard, then glanced back up at her, his expression now a bit questioning as he did so, "Do you feel any regret or otherwise remorseful over your episode and your reaction?" He asked, "Or have you already moved past it and forgiven yourself for it?"

She paused again, and turned to look back down at the floor, the grimace on her face now growing a bit more pronounced, "Not really," She said, "I actually still feel a lot of regret for it, and wish that I hadn't reacted the way that I did over being denied something that I had wanted to do pertaining to my idol singer career."

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Rumi hesitated for a second, then she turned her attention to her shirt, and then reached up to start fidgeting with the neckline, a small frown crossing her face as she did so. Why does it have to feel itchy all of a sudden?

"Before we get started on the second question," Dr. Chiba picked up one of the sheets of paper from within the clipboard in his lap, then turned it over briefly to skim the contents in a quick glance, then frowned a little and placed it back in its' spot in the clipboard, "I want to use this brief period of tranquility to give you a few words of consolation regarding your feelings about the episode that you had." He said, "Just so that you can be in a bit of a better mood for the rest of this session, and not be too dour about events that happened in the past."

He picked up the clipboard with his other hand, then set it aside on the counter next to him, then returned his attention to her, and reached out to lightly pat back of the hand that was still in her lap, which caused her to glance back at him, and elicited an unexpected blush in her cheeks from the warmth of his touch, "I just want to tell you that I don't think you should feel ashamed or bad about your episode and your actions during it," He added, "Instead, I think that you should try to have a more positive outlook on it so that you can possibly try to see it from a different perspective and work on making sure that you don't cause a similar episode to happen again."

The blush in her cheeks deepened, and she turned her attention towards the floor, then forced her gaze to lock onto it, her heart now starting to audibly thrum in her ears in a noticeable and noisy manner, "I-I appreciate your words, Doctor," She stammered, her voice low and quiet, "I think trying to see it from a different perspective might be a good way for me to process it better and work on making sure that I don't go through a similar situation again."

He smiled slightly at her, then drew his hand back and sat back in his chair, "Working on it is a good way to kickstart the process of bettering yourself and how you react to things," He said, "So I definitely appreciate you apparently taking my words to heart and wanting to better yourself for the world around you."

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The blush in Rumi's cheeks deepened as she looked down at the floor, a deep frown now forming on her lips as she did so, her heart now beating rapidly in her chest as well. I can't be attracted to Dr. Chiba, I just can't. She briefly glanced back up at him as he was straightening out a few sheets of paper in front of him, then looked back down at the floor again in an attempt to seem inconspicuous, her heart now beating even more rapidly as she did. He's obviously a married man, going by the ring on his finger, as well as him briefly mentioning having an infant daughter just a few seconds ago, all of which gives me the full impression that he's way out of my league and that I shouldn't even bother with trying anything with him.

She glanced back up at him again briefly, then looked back down at the floor, her heart now beating a bit harder and more loudly in her chest in the process. But on the other hand, I can't really stop myself from looking at him and thinking about how handsome he is, as well as how kind and caring he is as a psychiatrist, really helping me to be at ease while we do this evaluation together.

"Hope you're okay with this second question sort of tying into the previous one that I asked you, Ms. Hidaka," He shuffled the sheets of paper into a neat stack, then picked them up with one hand and moved them over to the counter next to him, "But I would like to learn a bit more about these episodes of yours, and why you have them when things don't go your way."

A much deeper blush rose in her cheeks, and she forced herself to look up at him, "I think I'm okay with you wanting to inquire further about my episodes," She said, her voice quiet, "Talking about them in detail like this has already helped me to feel less bad and ashamed about them overall."

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Rumi looked down at her shoes, then leaned forward slightly to adjust the strap on one of them, the blush from earlier still lingering on her cheeks, though she tried to ignore it, a slight frown curling up at the edges of her mouth in the process. I need to find things to do to distract myself from thinking about Dr. Chiba and how attractive I find him, lest my mind wanders to the wrong places and I end up with thoughts that I never want to deal with in any capacity.

"Now that we've gotten a few things straight between us," Dr. Chiba returned his attention to the clipboard that he had placed down on the counter, then reached out to pick it back up, his expression gentle though serious as he did so, "I think now would be the best opportunity for us to lock onto the rest of the session and focus on finishing up the remaining questions that I have for you in order for me to give you your proper diagnosis and send you on your way."

The blush in her cheeks deepened again, though she tried to continue ignoring it, intently focusing on adjusting the strap on her shoe as she did so, the frown on her face fading away somewhat in the process, though it still lingered a bit at the edges of her mouth.

He turned back around to face her, then placed the clipboard back in his lap, his expression now a bit more serious as he did so, though there was still a trace of gentleness in his eyes as well, "For the second question that I want to ask you for this session," He said, "I would like to know just how long you've had your episodes and how much of an impact they have had on your life thus far and if they've ever proven to be difficult for you to deal with or control."

She let go of the strap on her shoe, then sat upright in her chair, and turned to look up at him, the blush in her cheeks now deepening further as she did so, "I've been having my episodes for as long as I can remember," She said, "And they've had a pretty negative impact on my life so far," She paused for a split second, and turned to look down at the floor, then looked back at him, "But they haven't really proven to be difficult for me to deal with, quite the opposite in fact, they're pretty easy for me to control and manage for the most part."

He smiled a bit at her, which made her blush deepened a bit more in response, "That's good to hear," He said, "I'm glad that you've been able to control them and keep them at bay for as long as you have been able to do so."

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Rumi sat back in her chair, and turned her head to look up at the ceiling, a slight smile playing on her lips as her gaze raked over a slightly long crack along the middle of it, the blush in her cheeks now fading a bit, though it still lingered somewhat.

"You know, Ms. Hidaka," Dr. Chiba turned away slightly and picked up a blank sheet of paper, then turned back around to face her and placed it down in his lap, his gaze flickering up to her face briefly, then back down to what he was doing, "That previous question you answered for me gave me a bit of an idea for the next question that I want to ask you." He said, his voice low, "Another one that correlates with your episodes and your experiences with them, to be exact." He paused for a moment, and turned away again to grab a pen from a small table that was on his opposite side, "As well as the situations that you find yourself in that would trigger these episodes and which causes you to react the way that you do during them."

The blush in her cheeks deepened anew, and she turned to look back at him, her expression now a bit curious as she did so, "Not to be rude or anything, Dr. Chiba," She said, "But aren't you getting a bit bored with constantly returning to the topic of my episodes?"

A slight chuckle escaped him, the sound of which made her heart skip a beat in response, and he glanced back at her, "Not at all," He said, "I personally find that there is a great deal of material to be found in the topic of your episodes worth exploring and discussing," He returned his attention to the paper in his lap, then used the pen to write on it, "Even if we might end up hitting a sort of dead end regarding the topic at some point in time, I still think it's worth it to continue exploring it for as long as I can manage to."

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A small frown tugged at the corners of Rumi's mouth as she turned her head to look down at her skirt, and noticed an obvious stain stretching across the outer edge of the hemline. I don't know where this stain came from, but I can't let anyone else see it before I leave here today.

She reached down and started to aggressively rub down at the stain with two of her fingers, the small frown on her face now deepening a bit as she did so, her eyes narrowing as well as she concentrated on rubbing the stain away.

"I doubt that this will come as a surprise to you, Ms. Hidaka," Dr. Chiba placed the pen down on the sheet of paper, then turned to look up at her, a smile forming on his face as he did so, "But this next question that I'm about to ask you is a bit of a doozy in terms of its content, so I want you to exercise a bit of caution in your response when I ask it."

A blush rose up to her cheeks, and she paused what she was doing to look up at him, "I think I can handle whatever question that you have for me," She said, her voice a bit low, "I'm an adult and a professional idol singer after all, I should be able to handle whatever things are thrown my way, questions or not."

His smile widened slightly, and he turned his attention back to the pen that he had placed on the paper, then reached out again to pick it back up, "It's good to know that you're seemingly a strong and capable woman when it comes to being asked difficult or otherwise challenging questions," He said, "A lot of my other patients usually try to back out of answering any questions that require serious subject matter that they have to deal with in their lives, but it's nice to see you being readily prepared to take on whatever questions are thrown in your direction."

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"To get this final round of questioning done and out of the way," Dr. Chiba pulled his chair up a lot closer to Rumi, the unexpected move making her heart flutter a bit in her chest in response, "I would like to know if you frequently self harm outside of the episode you had a few days prior, or if you ever have any recurring thoughts of wanting to harm yourself in any way, or even wanting to harm others also?"

A small frown formed on her lips in response to his questions, and she averted her eyes to the floor, shame now creeping into her features as she did so, tears now welling up in her eyes as well, "I-I do self harm outside of my episode from a couple of days ago," She whispered, "But not all that frequently, and only when I'm severely upset about something or if someone has upset me severely somehow," She hesitated for a split second, then turned her gaze back up to him, the tears now starting to slip down her cheeks in small streaks, "And I only sometimes think about wanting to harm myself or others, but only when I'm extremely angry and never once try to act on them, out of the fear of tarnishing my reputation as an idol singer and losing my job at the agency as a result of doing so."

He leaned forward a bit, then reached out to gently take her hand in his, the sensation of his warm touch making her heart flutter a bit more in her chest, his expression gentle and sympathetic as he did, "I can understand that, Ms. Hidaka," He said softly, "But I don't think you should be fearful of losing your job over these thoughts that you have sporadically," He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, making her heart flutter even more, then let go of it and drew his hand back to let it fall down to his lap, "They're just thoughts manifesting themselves in your mind in attempts to hurt you or upset you, they usually don't mean anything and aren't necessarily a real representation of who you really are as a person," He turned his attention back to the clipboard that was still in his lap, then reached out to pick it back up, "Much like intrusive thoughts, as I've just now realized during this session, they're just a manifestation of urges or impulses that you don't want to think about or act on, but which push themselves to the forefront of your mind persistently no matter how much you try to ignore them or think about something else as a distraction."

She sniffled a teensy bit, then reached up to wipe at her face, a small albeit shaky smile now forming on her face as she did so, "Thank you for explaining that to me, Dr. Chiba," She whispered, "I actually feel a bit better about myself now after hearing that."

He glanced back up at her, and smiled back at her gently, a small blush now rising in her cheeks in response to his smile, then turned his attention back to the clipboard again, and reached out to flip one of the sheets of paper attached to it up so that he could read the one underneath it, "You don't really need to thank me for anything, Ms. Hidaka," He said, "I just didn't want you to feel bad about your thoughts and how they impact your life as a whole."

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Rumi wiped at her face a bit more, then sat up a bit straighter and turned her attention down to her skirt, then reached her other hand out to smooth out a few wrinkles that had formed in the fabric, a frown forming on her lips as she did so.

"Now, this next question that I'm going to be asking you is a bit of a complex one," Dr. Chiba placed the clipboard down on the counter next to him, then returned his attention to her, his expression a bit gentle, though there was a trace of seriousness in his eyes, "But I would like to ask you it nonetheless."

She paused smoothing out her skirt to look up at him, though she didn't say anything, her expression now becoming a little curious in the process.

An appreciative smile formed on his lips in response to her expression, then he turned his attention back to the clipboard, and reached out to pick up a sheet of paper off of the top of it, "Essentially," He stated, "I would like to know if you've ever heard of the concept of splitting, or in more general terms, black and white thinking, as it's known outside of psychology."

She hesitated for a moment, then she turned to look back down at her skirt, "I don't think I've ever heard of either term before," She said, her voice quiet but unsure sounding, "Psychological stuff isn't really my forte," She hesitated again, then turned to look back up at him, "Sorry."

He leaned forward slightly, and reached out to pat the back of her hand gently, the sudden gesture making her heart flutter a bit in response, "That's alright, Ms. Hidaka," He drew his hand back as he moved to sit back in his chair, his expression still pretty gentle as he did so, "It's not exactly the most common concept to come across outside of the field of psychology," He said, "But it just means a failure to think in nuances, or in simpler and more understandable words, a failure to bring together the positive and negative aspects of something into a cohesive and realistic whole."

She paused in thought for a few moments, then glanced down at her skirt again, and reached out to tug at it in a confused but nervous fashion, then looked back up at him, "I don't really think I understand what you're getting at, Dr. Chiba," She said, "Sorry."

A small chuckle sounded from him, and he leaned forward once more, "You don't really need to apologize twice for not really understanding what I'm getting at, Ms. Hidaka," He said, his voice sounding a little softer now, "It basically just means that an individual has a tendency to see others as having only good traits or bad traits with no middle ground in between," He straightened up in his chair, then turned his attention back to the paper in front of him, "I was a bit inspired to ask this based on some of the descriptions that you gave me of the people that work with you at your agency, and how you seem to not be able to bring together the good and bad traits that exist in some of them into a realistic and cohesive manner," He turned the paper over to the back side for a moment, then turned it back around to the front again, "So I thought it would be fair to ask you this question going off of those examples that you gave me of your co-workers and their individual personalities and behaviors, and how you seem to only view them in black and white terms as being either good or bad with nothing in between."

Another small frown formed on her lips, and she turned her gaze back to her skirt to tug on it once more, "I guess I can kinda get what you're saying now when you describe it that way, Dr. Chiba," She said, "I don't think I've ever really realized that I was doing it that way, but I think I can sort of see it now based on how you described it to me."

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Rumi stared down at her skirt for a moment, the small frown on her face deepening slightly as she did so, then she redirected her attention to the ceiling, her expression now growing a bit anxious in the process. I don't think I can continue sitting still like this for much longer. She stared up at the ceiling for another second, then turned her attention away from it and redirected her attention towards the wall behind Dr. Chiba, the anxiousness in her expression now fading a little as she did. I'm starting to feel a sense of restlessness that I've never experienced before just by being confined to this chair, so I hope Dr. Chiba hurries up with the last question soon so that I can finally leave this place and carry on with the rest of my day.

"Now, for the last question that I want to ask you before I properly diagnose you," Dr. Chiba placed the sheet of paper down in his lap, then turned to look up at her, a simple smile curling up at the corners of his mouth as he did so, "I would like to know if you've ever had any difficulties with managing your emotions in the past, like in childhood or in settings like school or your agency?"

The frown on her face deepened a bit more, and she turned her head to look at him, her expression now growing a little ashamed as she did, "I have had trouble with managing my emotions at times," She stated, her voice now a little quieter than it had been earlier, "But mostly when I was a young kid and my parents were in the middle of a divorce and dissolving their marriage," She paused for a moment, and averted her eyes down to the floor, then slowly raised them back up to meet his, a troubled look now forming in her eyes as she did, "The atmosphere in that period of my life was pretty unpleasant and caused me to act out at school and at home, and lead to a lot of inappropriate reactions to the stress that I was under at the time."

He reached out and gently placed his hand on top of hers in a comforting gesture, the warmth of his touch making her heart beat a bit faster in response, "Do you have a bad relationship with your parents, Ms. Hidaka?" He asked, his voice soothing and gentle.

She hesitated for a moment, then slowly nodded, her expression now more troubled rather than ashamed, "I do," She whispered, her voice soft, "But only with my mother, I have a relatively good relationship with my father, since he primarily took care of me after he and my mother divorced, which wasn't always the easiest life for either of us to live at times, but we managed and I was able to maintain a good relationship with him that I still have to this day."

He gently squeezed her hand in a reassuring gesture, the sensation making her heart beat a bit more rapidly than it had before, "What about your mother?" He asked, a bit cautiously, "Is she still a part of your life? Or have you cut her out of it?"

She hesitated again, then looked down at his hand on top of hers, her expression now a lot more troubled as she did, "She isn't a part of my life anymore, not since she divorced my dad and moved halfway across Japan to live with a younger man 15 years her junior," She said, "Something that I'm frankly happy about, oddly enough, since she was an overbearing and controlling woman who was always trying to control and mold me into something that I won't ever be for her, and I don't really feel any love or affection for her anymore because of her treatment of me."

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"What pray tell brings you to my office this afternoon, Rumi-san?" Hisao placed a stack of paper down on his desk in front of him, then glanced up at Rumi, his expression a mix of confusion and questioning, "Having trouble with adjusting to things after coming back from your psychiatric appointment? Or is something else bothering you?"

"You could say something like that, Enomoto-san," She set her bag down on the very edge of his desk, then moved to sit down in the chair behind her, her expression a bit serious as she did so, "But it's actually a little more complex than what you would be expecting as an answer." She said, "So I'm currently a bit too nervous to be able to tell you what it is."

"I don't think you should be nervous with telling me something that's bothering you, Rumi-san," He straightened up, then turned to place his hand on her shoulder in an attempt at a comforting gesture, his expression now a bit gentler as he did so, "I'm not the person that I was once before, so you shouldn't worry about me becoming angry or abusive with you over something that's bothering you, particularly if it's something personal like the events of your appointment to the psychiatrist."

Her shoulders relaxed slightly, though she averted her eyes to the floor, her expression now more ashamed rather than serious, "I'm aware that you're not the same person that you were before in the past," She stated, her voice now a bit quieter than it had been before, "But I can't really stop myself from reflexively tensing up or worrying about your reaction to things that I want to or have to tell you, like what happened with my psychiatric appointment today, or even the progress that I've made with my upcoming album." Her eyes grew a bit teary, and she very slowly raised her gaze to look back up at him, "I'm sorry if what I'm saying seems nonsensical, Enomoto-san, but you're really the last person that I can't bring myself to feel comfortable or safe around because of the past insults and abuses that I've endured from you previously."

A small sigh escaped him, and he gently took his hand away from her shoulder, his expression now growing a bit remorseful as he did so, "That's something that I can unfortunately understand, Rumi-san," He said quietly, "My past self dealt a lot of damage to you that will probably take a while to repair or dismantle properly, and which I feel a deep sense of regret over," He turned away from her, and moved to sit down in his own chair, an apologetic look forming on his face as he did so, his arms moving to rest on his desk as well in a simple gesture, "So I can understand that it must be difficult for you to relax or feel at ease around me based on my actions towards you in the past, which is why I'm not going to try to pressure or rush you into being comfortable with me or try to make you accept me as your friend," He glanced back at the stack of paper that he placed down on his desk earlier, then reached out with one hand to pick one of them up, "Instead, I'm going to wait for when you would feel comfortable enough to attempt a friendship or something of that nature with me, and when you do, I'll try my best to be a decent friend to you and not let myself fall back to old habits or ways of behaving towards you like in the past."

Her shoulders relaxed a bit more, and she smiled a little in response to his words, "I appreciate you trying to make yourself a more decent and more likable person, actually, Enomoto-san," She said, "It's actually helping me to be a bit more at ease around you right now, if that makes sense."

He smiled slightly at that, and placed the paper closer to himself on his desk, then turned away to pick up an already uncapped pen, "It's good to hear that you're already starting to feel a bit more comfortable with being around me," He said, "I personally hope that things will only get better between us as time goes on, and as your career as an idol singer continues to progress and you become a bit of a bigger star than you are now currently."

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"So," Rumi reached out to pick her bag back up off of the edge of Hisao's desk, then placed it down in her lap, one hand moving to fidget with the bag's strap as she did so, her expression a mix of nervousness and uncertainty, "I don't really know how to start or describe the results of my psychiatric appointment to you without it sounding jumbled or messy or whatever," She said softly, "Especially since I'm still trying to make sense of it myself, so I apologize in advance if I come off incoherent or anything like that."

"I don't really think you need to apologize in advance for what you're about to share with me, Rumi-san," He placed the pen back down on his desk, then folded his hands together and smiled assuredly at her, his expression warm and gentle as he did so, "I'm pretty certain that I'll be able to handle whatever information that you got as a result of the psychiatric appointment that you had today, even if it's not exactly something that I would be wholly familiar with or comfortable with, I would still try to do my best to be supportive of whatever you're about to divulge with me and not let any of my own personal biases or prejudices get in the way of it."

A small frown formed on her lips as she redirected her gaze down to her shoes, moving them slightly as she did so, her expression still a mix of nervousness and uncertainty, "I understand that, Enomoto-san," She stated, "But I can't help but feel the need to apologize in advance for the things that I'm about to share with you," She hesitated for a split second, then returned her gaze up to meet his own, "Since I often had to apologize and explain myself to you in the past whenever I was seemingly out of line or doing something that wasn't appropriate or right for an idol to do or say or even act on, so I can't really stop myself from falling into the old habit of doing so again now, even though I know that I shouldn't have to do so since things between us are different now."

His smile faded slightly at her words, though his expression still remained a bit warm, "That's another thing that I can unfortunately understand, Rumi-san," He said, his voice quiet, "My past self has made it quite difficult for you to be able to trust me fully and freely share whatever would be on your mind with me, something that I'm deeply sorry for, but also which I understand, since I was never the easiest person to share information with in the past."

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Rumi looked down at her bag for a moment, then turned away to place it down on the floor next to her chair, a small frown tugging at her lips as she did so.

"You know, Rumi-san," Hisao picked up the sheet of paper in front of him, then set it aside on the opposite side of his desk, "If it makes you feel any better," He said, "I've had my own personal experiences with visiting the psychiatrist and getting evaluated and diagnosed for a mental disorder or two, mostly when I was a much younger man and not yet the manager that I am today."

She straightened back up in her chair, and then turned to look back up at him, her expression now a little curious as she did so, "You have?" She asked, her voice quiet and even.

He nodded slightly, then turned away a little to grab a small blank sheet of paper out of a stack from the corner of his desk, a light smile now playing at the edges of his lips in the process, "I have," He said, "I've been meeting with my own personal psychiatrist since at least the late 70s, and have gotten diagnosed with a few, how you say, mood disorders along the way stemming from my not-so great upbringing in southern Hokkaido, which I'm pretty tight-lipped about, if you can understand that."

"I think I can understand that, Enomoto-san," She returned her attention back to her bag, then bent down slightly and reached out to adjust it slightly so that it lined up better with the chair, "There's some parts of my past that I prefer to keep to myself and not bring up with anyone, even those that I'm the closest with, like Murashige and his wife, or even Sawa and some of the other people that I work with here at the agency."

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Rumi looked back down at her bag once more, then reached out to gently pick up the strap attached to it, and coiled it up so that it was resting on top of her bag in a neat pile, a small satisfied smile slowly creeping up on the edges of her lips in the process.

"Since I shared that little bit of information about myself with you, Rumi-san," Hisao placed the blank sheet of paper down in front of him, then turned to glance up at her, the light smile from earlier still present, "You probably feel a bit more comfortable around me enough to share the results of your appointment to the psychiatrist with me, right?"

"I do, actually," She let go of the strap of her bag, then straightened back up in her chair and turned to look at him, the smile on her face now morphing into something of a gentler one as she did so, "Knowing that you've been through sort of similar situations makes me feel more at ease and pretty much ready to tell you about my trip to the psychiatrist," She said, "And also makes feel a teensy bit appreciative of you as a person as well, if that makes sense."

"I think that does make sense," He paused for a moment, then turned away to grab another blank sheet of paper from the stack in the corner of his desk, "Being able to relate and share with someone who has been through similar ordeals and who knows what it's like to have mental issues that affect everyday life is a big step in helping us to become a little closer together and to form a decent bond with each other as we attempt to put the past behind us once and for all," He said, "As well as to also repair the damage that my past self has wrought onto you and try to become a better person and manager overall for you to be able to trust and rely on in your career as an idol singer, along with any other endeavors that you decide that you want to pursue or at least try out as a way to gain experience in other entertainment fields."

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"So, basically," Rumi sat back in her chair, then folded her arms in front of her, and looked up at Hisao, her expression now a bit serious as she did so, though there was a hint of a smile at the very edges of her lips, "After I met with the psychiatrist and answered a bunch of questions for him about my mental state and stuff, I got diagnosed with something called 'Borderline Personality Disorder'," She said, "Apparently because I displayed several of the symptoms and behaviors according to some criteria that he had with him at the end of our session, stuff that I wasn't really aware qualified for mental illness symptoms, like my episodes or my occasional moments of self-harm, or even the way I think and see people and things in social situations, like you and my career as an idol singer and other stuff like that."

"I don't necessarily know how to truly react to you getting diagnosed with a disorder that I'm not fully familiar with," He turned away again, and reached out to pick up another blank sheet of paper from the stack in the corner of his desk, this one slightly smaller and more rectangular than the previous few were, his expression also serious, but there was a trace of concern in his eyes as well, a small frown forming on his lips in the process, "But I suppose I should try my best to learn about it on my own so that I can understand it and accommodate you better and your needs as my client and sort of friend, and also help you to readjust your life and career in any way that I can as well," He said, "Only because I'm not sure if you can balance being an idol singer whilst dealing with a mental disorder and other possible issues that you might have that I don't know about."

A frown tugged at her lips, and she turned to look back down at her bag, then bent forward slightly to reach into it to pull out a small book, "He also said something about it being 'comorbid' with another disorder called 'Multiple Personality Disorder', whatever that means," She sat up straight up in her chair, then placed the book down in her lap, and looked back at him, her expression now a bit worried as she did so, "Something that sort of worries me, if I'm being honest, since I can tell what it entails and the idea of having some alter ego in my life that could potentially mess things up for me and my career is rather frightening to think about, if you know what I mean by that."

"I think I do know what you mean by that, Rumi-san," He turned his attention to a drawer in his desk, and reached out to pull it open, then reached in to pull out a small pen from it, "Having an alter ego that you couldn't potentially control or manage is understandably frightening, especially if it could spell doom for you as an idol singer and the road that lays ahead of you in the music industry as a whole."

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Murashige stared at the vending machine in front of him, a small frown crossing his lips as his gaze slowly raked over each of the snacks on display, his expression unreadable, though there was a small tinge of curiosity in his eyes. What should I get as a pre-work snack? There's really too many good options for me to choose from.

He paused for a moment, then leaned forward slightly to better read one of the labels, a faint smile now starting to tug at his lips as he did, the curiousness in his expression now growing a little more noticeable. Maybe a chocolate bar would make for a decent snack before I tackle any work, it's light enough that I don't think it'll make too much of an impact on my diet, or the dinner that Kaneko's going to be making for me later tonight, which is supposed to be a pretty big one according to her, so I should probably limit the amount of snacks I eat as the day goes on.

"Excuse me, Murashige-san," Rumi gently placed her bag and the small book down in the center of a table, then straightened up and turned to face him, her expression serious as she did so, a frown already on her face, "There's something pretty important that I need to tell you," She said, "It's a little personal and complex, and not really something that it's going to be easy for you to readily digest or understand, but I still want to try and tell it to you regardless of its complexity."

"I'm sure that I'll be able to handle whatever it is that you have to share with me, Rumi-chan," He straightened up, and turned away to pull a few dollars out of his pocket, then returned his attention to the vending machine and carefully stuck them inside of the slot, the smile on his face now widening a little as he did, "We are good friends after all, and have known each other for a pretty good while, so I'm plenty sure that I'll be able to handle whatever stuff that you want to tell me, even if it's something complex that might end up going over my head at first, I'd still try not to let any preconceived notions cloud my judgment and thoughts about you to the point that it changes how I see you as a person and as a friend."

A light smile of relief tugged at her lips at his words, and she turned her attention back towards her bag and the book, "I appreciate that you're willing to go above and beyond for me, Murashige-san," She said, "I was honestly a little worried about even saying that I had something to share with you in the first place, but it's nice to know you're already pretty much prepared to hear it and handle it to the best of your ability as my friend and producer."

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Murashige pulled his chair out from under his desk, then straightened it up a bit and turned his head to look at Rumi, a gentle smile now slowly creeping across his face as he did so, "Even though this thing that you're sharing with me is going to be pretty complex and something personal to you," He said, "But I'm still ready to hear it out and try to handle it as best as I can, being that we're good friends and all that, and that I also care about you a lot as well, so I personally think I'm pretty prepared to take on the thing that you're sharing with me."

A light blush unexpectedly rose up in her cheeks, and she turned her attention to the chair next to her, one hand of hers reaching out to fidget with the tiny strap that was attached to the back of it, "I appreciate how far you're willing to go for me with this thing that I'm going to be sharing with you," She said quietly, "But I'm actually currently a little too nervous to really share it with you right away, though, so I might have to take a teensy break to calm myself down a bit before I can really do so."

"I think I can wait for you to get yourself together before you share it with me," Murashige moved to sit down in his chair, then turned away to grab a few sheets of paper off of a stack adjacent to him, his expression now a little more serious as he did, "I understand that it's not easy sharing something personal with someone, so I can respect if you want to rest and wait until you're really ready to tell me all about it."

A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips, and she turned her head to look up at him, the light blush in her cheeks now deepening a little as well, "I appreciate your patience with me, Murashige-san," She said, her voice now a little quieter than it had been before, "Especially when it concerns personal information that I'm going to be sharing with you."

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Rumi looked down at the chair next to her for a moment, then moved to sit down in it, her heart now fluttering a bit fast in her chest as she did so, her gaze automatically fixating itself to the floor as well, a nervous frown already forming on her face.

"I don't think you should feel nervous about sharing this thing with me," Murashige shuffled the sheets of paper in front of him into a neat pile, then placed them down on his desk, his gaze flickering up to her in brief intervals as he did so, "I mean, we are good friends after all, so I think you should be able to trust me enough to feel at ease and share something personal with me like this."

"I guess you make a decent point there, Murashige-san," She shifted slightly in the chair, then sat back in it a bit, turning her gaze up to look at him as she did so, her expression now a little calmer than it had been before, "But I still can't help but feel nervous about sharing this with you," She hesitated for a moment, and turned her attention towards her skirt, reaching out to tug on it a bit with her fingers as she did so, "Especially something sort of personal and complex," She said, her voice quiet, "It's actually a little hard for me to calm myself down long enough to be able to prepare myself to say it to you, if that makes any sense."

"I think that it does make sense, Rumi-chan," He turned away slightly, and reached down to open up a drawer in his desk, then drew his hand back to reach into it and pull out an additional sheet of paper, "If it makes you feel any better, there's certain things in my life that I'm nervous with sharing with my wife and you and other people who are close to me," He said, "Though, a lot of it is on the grimmer side of things and is stuff that's not necessarily safe enough to say or share out loud without garnering a few strange looks and questions, so I've sort of made it a point to keep it to myself and wait until I feel I'm ready to be able to share it with all the people in my life that I care about."

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Rumi tugged on her skirt a bit more, then let go of it and glanced back up at Murashige, her expression now more serious as she did so, "I don't really know how to really describe this to you without it sounding bizarre," She said, "But that psychiatrist that you had me get sent to diagnosed me with a disorder called 'Borderline Personality Disorder' after he asked me a bunch of questions and then evaluated me based on the answers that I gave him."

She hesitated for a moment, then looked back down at her skirt, reaching out to lightly touch it with her fingers as she did so, a small trace of troubledness now working its way into her features in the process, a frown now forming on her lips as well, "It's honestly not something that I've been able to properly comprehend or deal with in any real way yet," She added, her voice now much quieter than before, "Outside of talking about it a little with Enomoto-san and being able to find a bit of solace in knowing that he's apparently not all that different from me, I've been struggling with a lot of these thoughts and emotions that've been overwhelming my mind and making it hard to focus on anything positive to distract me from spiraling into despair."

"I don't really know a lot about mental illnesses and what they entail," Murashige placed the additional sheet of paper down on top of the pile of papers in front of him, then turned his attention to look back at her, his expression now a mix of gentleness and assurance as he did so, "But I think I can try to change a few things in our friendship to better accommodate you and your needs, and also try to do a little research on your behalf as well to better understand this disorder that you've been diagnosed with," He said, "So that I can be more sensitive to you and better prepare myself to be able to deal with and support you like I have before in the past, and help you in any way that I possibly can as well."

A faint smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, and she looked back up at him, her expression now a bit relieved as she did, "I appreciate you wanting to already try and help me with this predicament, Murashige-san," She said, "I was honestly a little worried that you'd have a negative reaction to my diagnosis and my apparent mental illness, but it's nice to know that you're apparently willing to try and accommodate me and help me with this as much as you possibly can."

"I think I can sort of understand why you would assume that I would have a negative reaction to something as serious as you being diagnosed with a mental illness," He turned away again to grab a pencil, then turned back around to place it on top of the papers in front of him, "But I think you should know that I can't ever bring myself to judge people that I'm friends with for having personal issues that they can't really control or change on their own."

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A small sigh escaped Rumi as she sat down on the edge of the couch, her expression unreadable, though there was a mix of listlessness in her eyes, a frown already plastered on her face. I'm glad that I was able to finally tell Murashige about the stuff that happened at the psychiatrist and me getting diagnosed, but I weirdly feel empty now after having done so, and I don't really know why.

She paused for a moment, then turned her attention towards the ceiling, the frown on her face now deepening a bit as she did so, her eyes now starting to grow a bit unfocused as well. Like, there's this big hole in my chest now that feels like it's gaping painfully and I can't really find anything to stop it from hurting like that and make it seem normal like before. She stared up at the ceiling for another moment, then turned her attention to the floor, and kicked at it lightly with one of her shoes, her lower lip now trembling slightly as she did so. The gaping isn't actually there, but it still hurts like it is, and I really wish I knew what to do to fix it so that it doesn't hurt so much.

A few tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, but she quickly blinked them away, and turned her attention back up to the ceiling, her lower lip now trembling a bit more strongly as she did so. I've never really felt something like this before in my life, so I honestly feel a bit lost about how to properly deal with it and make it go away, or at least make it feel less intense and not like I'm about to pass out and die or something along those lines.

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Tadokoro placed a stack of files down on the floor, then straightened up and reached out to grab the top one, his eyes flickering back and forth from what he was doing to Rumi in the process, who was curled up into a ball in a corner of the couch, "Any reason why you're laying like that on the couch?" He asked, his voice low, though there was a faint trace of concern in it, "I mean, we barely know each other, but that doesn't seem very like you to be on the couch like that."

She curled up into an even tighter ball, but kept her eyes focused on the floor as she did so, "I'm just not feeling all that well today," She whispered, her voice barely audible, "It's not really something that I can easily share or talk about, let alone with a stranger like you." I hope that didn't come off as rude or anything, I'm just not in the mood to deal with this Tadokoro guy and his annoying antics right now, even if he seems relatively calm and harmless at the moment, I still don't want to deal with him in any way right now.

"I suppose that's understandable," He turned his attention back to the stack of files, then reached out with his other hand to grab a second one, then quickly shuffled the two files together into a small pile, and turned away to place them on the shelf next to him, "I'm not particularly in the mood with interacting anyone myself today either," He said, "Since I kinda woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning and have been mostly grumpy all day, so I can sort of understand where you're coming from with not wanting to share your predicament with me."

A slightly surprised but brief look crossed her face, and she tilted her head a bit to the side, though didn't say anything, then laid her head back down on the couch, her expression now changing into a slightly more unreadable one.

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Tadokoro turned his attention back to the stack of folders close to him, then reached down to grab another one, his expression now more serious as he did so, though there was a trace of curiosity forming in his eyes, "I know I should probably leave you alone right now," He said, "But I kinda accidentally overheard Murashige-san and that one guy talking earlier about you and a trip that you took earlier today to see a psychiatrist for something that I couldn't quite make out, but based on the hushed tones that he and that guy were using, I could tell that it was something pretty serious."

An embarrassed frown formed on Rumi's lips, and she curled into an even tighter ball on the couch, very faint tears pricking in the corners of her eyes as well, though she blinked them away before they could really be noticeable, "I did go see a psychiatrist earlier today," She said, her voice now a bit shaky sounding, "But it's not really something that I want to remember right now, so please don't try to ask me about it or anything of the stuff that happened at it either, okay? I mostly want to forget about it and focus on other things in my life."

A slightly surprised frown tugged at the corners of his mouth, and he turned his head to look over at her, "Did something bad happen to you while you were at the psychiatrist?" He asked, "Or are you just being over dramatic about what actually happened back there?"

"I-It's the latter rather the former," She briefly glanced up at him in a small gesture, then turned her attention back to the couch, one hand of hers moving to touch the fabric that was underneath her as she did so, "I-I'm mostly just being over dramatic about it, but for good reason, though, since it wasn't really something that I enjoyed all that much to begin with, so it's really just me being pretty dramatic about my trip there in general."

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A sigh of annoyance escaped Murashige as he placed an empty sheet of paper down in the center of his desk, his expression frustrated as he did so, "You know that arguing in circles about this isn't really going to help either of us, right?" He asked, his voice low and sharp, "Especially when it concerns how to handle Rumi-chan's career since she's been diagnosed as mentally ill, something that I don't think neither of us are going to be able to deal with in the correct way that we should be able to do as her producers."

"I know going around in endless circles about this is pointless," Sawa pulled a chair over to Murashige's desk, then hastily turned to sit down in it, his expression unreadable as he did so, though his gaze was averted to the side to avoid looking at Murashige for an unclear reason, "But what else are we supposed to really do? This agency isn't really equipped to handle situations as complex as this one is." He said, "Let alone one concerning someone that happens to be a close friend of ours, as well as a vitally important client to the agency as a whole, one that's currently responsible for keeping it floating above potential financial ruin and possible collapse."

"You make a few fair points there, Sawa-kun," Murashige sat down in his chair and leaned back into it, slumping into it slightly as he did so, his expression now a lot more visibly frustrated, "But I feel like you're a bit wrong about our agency not being able to handle a situation like this," He said, "Since you've been here for as long as I have, I think you'd remember the alleged bipolarity of a certain well known drummer who was signed to this agency at one point as a solo act, who was often too erratic and irrational to still be an effective performer, and who often butted heads with multiple personnel here at the agency, including me and my wife, and Sakaguchi-san, which eventually lead him to being let go and inevitably banned from ever being allowed to step foot into the agency again, making it pretty clear that his behavior and personal issues weren't going to be tolerated by anyone here, no matter how minor or irrelevant they were as a whole."

"I do remember that incident," Sawa leaned forward to grab a few pieces of candy from a bowl that was sitting on the edge of Murashige's desk, then sat back in his chair and popped one of them into his mouth, "I think I may have been producing the short lived group CINDY ANGELS around that time," He said, "I wasn't necessarily involved with dealing with his erratic behavior directly, but I recall feeling worried about him and his mental health, especially after he was let go and banned from being anywhere near the agency." He paused for a moment as he chewed the candy, then looked back up at Murashige, a much calmer expression on his face now, "I often wonder about what happened to him after that, and what he's up to nowadays, and if he still struggles with his mental health and possible bipolarity."

"Last time I heard," Murashige turned away to grab a pencil off of his desk, then turned back to the paper in front of him, and quickly used the pencil to write his name out at the top of it, "He was able to get a bit of help for his mental health issues and has been a bit more mentally stable ever since, plus has been able to get back into being a more regular musician by being signed to a much smaller and more independent agency with a smaller roster of artists at its disposal."

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Rumi looked down at a small book that was laying haphazardly down on the floor underneath the table, then leaned forward slightly to rake it towards her with one hand, a slightly interested smile slowly curling up at the corners of her mouth in the process.

"I'm aware that we barely know each other, and are barely acquainted strangers overall," Tadokoro placed the folder down on the shelf next to him, then paused for a moment to turn his head to look at her, a faint hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as he did so, "But how would you feel about going out with me for a meal? I know a pretty decent French restaurant around downtown that's usually a pretty good pick me up when I'm feeling a bit blue and not my usual self."

A faint blush slowly rose up in her cheeks, and she slowly raised her head up a little to look at him, albeit shyly, "I'm not really sure if I would want to do something like that with you," She said, "I mean, like you said, we barely know each other, and are barely acquainted with each other outside of us both working at this agency, so I don't really think it would be a good idea for us to go out for a meal together when the only thing I know about you is your last name and what you do for a living here at the agency."

"I know me asking you out for a meal probably isn't the best idea," He turned his attention back to the stack of folders close to him, then reached out to pick up another one, "But I was hoping that we could maybe try to get to know each other a bit better and set aside any past hostilities or misunderstandings between us for a while," He said, "And maybe try to develop a friendship of sorts between us to smooth things over a bit and make things more reasonable and easy as a result." I feel a little bad about lying about the real reason why I want to go out with her, but I don't think this Rumi woman needs to know that I secretly pity her and feel sorry for her because of the psychiatrist stuff that she went through.

The blush in her cheeks deepened a little more, and she turned to look back down at the book still on the floor, her hand now pulling it a bit closer as she did so, "I guess I wouldn't mind going out for a meal with you," She said, "It has been a while since I've gone out to do something with other people, so maybe this wouldn't be a bad time to do it."

The smile on his face grew a bit more, and he turned his head slightly to look back at her, "I definitely don't think you'll regret going out with me," He said, "I can be a pretty fun guy and a real life of the party once you get to know me a bit better."

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A slightly perplexed frown formed on Rumi's face as she placed the book down on a small table next to the shelf of magazines, a sense of uncertainty coming over her as she did so. What am I supposed to do now? I suddenly feel pretty bored and don't really want to read this book anymore, so I'm not really sure what I could possibly do next.

She hesitated for a moment, then turned away from the shelf and moved to sit down in an adjacent chair, the frown on her face now slowly growing a little more in the process, her gaze now unfocusing itself as it drifted down to the floor. I could always try thinking about happy things in an attempt to clear my head and get back on track for my music.

A faint smile tugged at the corners of her lips after that thought crossed her mind, and she turned her head to look back over at the shelf, her expression now a bit more upbeat than it had been just moments before. That actually wouldn't really be a bad idea, I definitely need something to distract me from all of the stress and weirdness that's been building up inside of me since I got back from my trip to the psychiatrist, so trying to clear my head and think about only positive things for a while could actually prove to be quite helpful.

She sat back in the chair, and turned her attention towards her shoes, the faint smile on her face now fading slightly, though it still fought to hang on to the edges of her lips. Though I'm not entirely sure what kinds of happy stuff I could think about to clear my mind, I haven't really had any time to engage with any of the stuff that I usually like since I got back here, so I feel like it's going to be a bit of a struggle to try and think happy thoughts.

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Sawa placed a box down on the floor, then straightened up a little and turned his head to look over at Rumi, a light smile curling up on his lips as he did so, "Hey, Rumi-san," He said, his voice soft, "I know it's been a while since we last saw each other, but there's something that I want to discuss with you."

A deep blush rose up in her cheeks, and she quickly averted her gaze to the floor, her heart now beating pretty frantically in her chest as she did so. Oh no! Why is he here?

He straightened up a bit more, then turned to walk over to her, his expression now a little more serious than it had been before, though the light smile still lingered on his face, "It's a bit of a personal topic regarding you," He said, "But I imagine that you wouldn't really mind it regardless of its seriousness nature, since you seem to be no stranger when it comes to personal matters."

The blush in her cheeks deepened into a bright and noticeable crimson, but she kept gaze fixed to the floor, her heart now beating even more frantically the more he came closer to her, her lips now also pursing into a tight little line as well.

He stopped a few inches in front of her, then moved to gently kneel down, the sensation of him being that close to her now causing her heart to suddenly start beating wildly and out of control in response, propping one arm on his bent knee to support himself as he did so, a very soft and reassuring smile now forming on his lips as well, "I heard through Murashige-san that you had an appointment with the psychiatrist earlier today, and that you got diagnosed as mentally ill and been having a bit of a tough time adjusting to this new information," He said, his voice now soothing and gentle, the tone making her cheeks grow a bit hot as a response, "Which is why I decided to come and visit you here so that I can try and offer some sort of comfort to you in the wake of this and make you feel a bit better about it all."

Her cheeks grew even hotter from his words, but she still kept her eyes fixed to the floor, her heart now beating even more wildly in her chest, almost painfully so, the sensation causing a loud thrum in her ears that was hard to ignore.

He reached out and gently took one of her hands in his, the sudden gesture causing her heart to beat even more wildly in response, his eyes now comforting and warm as well, "Basically," He said, his voice now a soothing whisper, "I don't want you to think that you're alone or without understanding in this," He reached out to take her other hand in his as well, then held both of them gently, causing her to turn her head slightly to look up at him, "And that you also shouldn't feel ashamed or embarrassed about it either," He squeezed her hands lightly in his, then let go of them and let his own hands fall to his lap, "Instead, I think you should try to come to terms with your mental illness and try to look on the bright side of things instead of dwelling on the negativities associated with having a mental illness, only because doing so will only end up hurting you even more in the long run."

Her heart fluttered in her chest, and she turned her attention back to the floor again, "I guess you make a fair point there," She said quietly, "I should try to come to terms with my mental illness and see the bright side rather than dwell on the negativities that come with it as a whole and accept it as a part of me and my life as well as I can."

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Rumi watched as a crowd of people passed by her in a single file, a displeased frown already spreading across her face as she did so, her eyes narrowing a bit as well. I feel like I'm already starting to regret agreeing to this.

She watched the people go by for another moment or two, then turned her attention to her purse, and pulled the strap up onto her shoulder, her eyes still narrowed as she did so, now more irritated than they had been before. Everyone looks like some sort of weirdo or bum, and the city looks even uglier up close than it does from my window, and also smells pretty bad, too, now that I think about it.

A small sigh escaped her lips, and she turned her attention back towards the streets, her eyes now narrowing a little more as she watched as a man hand in hand with a woman walked by in front of her, which elicited an even more displeased frown from her in response. Also seeing all these various couples, young and old, walking about together all happily and stuff is making me incredibly envious and worsening my already bad mood. She paused for a moment, then turned her gaze towards her shoes, and crossed her arms in front of her chest. Which is why I hope that Tadokoro guy shows up soon so I can get out of here and away from all these awful couples, just watching them is making me grow more and more aggravated and frustrated.

Another small sigh escaped her lips, this one more sad and forlorn, and she turned her gaze up towards the night sky, a slightly sadder look now crossing her face as she did so. I certainly hope he shows up soon, I don't think I can take being stuck out here much longer.

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A deep frown crossed Rumi's face as she continued to look up at the night sky before her, her expression now more annoyed than sad, a trace of irritation now forming in her eyes as well.

"Hey," Tadokoro leaned down slightly in front of her so that he could get a look at her face, his expression a mix of remorseful and apologetic, an equally apologetic smile to match, "Sorry for being a bit late," He said, "I got held up by a commotion back at my boarding house because the resident manager there had the bright idea to pick a fight with some kid named Bunji or whatever who kept kicking a ball into one of the broken windows in the back, which then turned into a pretty ugly situation when the kid's parents got involved and lead me to have to figure out a way to sneak out of there without getting too caught up in the drama of it all."

She huffed slightly, then turned her head slightly to look at him, her expression now a bit more annoyed than it had been before, "Am I supposed to believe that?" She asked, her voice razor sharp and cold, "That your resident manager picked a fight with a kid because he kept kicking a ball into a window?"

The apologetic smile on his face faltered a bit, and he straightened up slightly, his expression now also faltering as well and changing into a more serious one, "I mean, yeah," He said, his voice now sounding somewhat strained and lacking in the lightness that it had before, "It's something that actually happened to me, and I'm not really the kind of person to make up stories to either get out of trouble or to explain myself to other people," He paused, and averted his eyes to the side, then back to her, reaching up to rub the back of his neck as he did so, "The latter of which I've never been particularly good at anyway, so it'd be a little unlike me to do something like that, especially to a sort of stranger like you, if you get what I mean."

An unexpected blush rose up in her cheeks in a surprising way, and she quickly turned her head away from him as an attempt to hide it, "I guess I get what you mean by that," She said, "But that still doesn't really explain away my annoyance with you being late and making me have to wait for you, particularly on a slightly chilly night like this, where I'm barely dressed appropriately for it and can't really stand to be outside any longer as a result."

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Rumi jabbed her fork into a piece of sausage, then gently tore it off from the greater link and brought it up to her mouth for a small bite, her gaze flickering up to Tadokoro's face, then back down at her meal, her expression a mix of bewildered and disbelieving as she did so. He lives in a boarding house, but yet he's somehow able to afford this? It doesn't make any sense.

She jabbed her fork into another piece of sausage in the same manner as the previous piece, her gaze continuously flickering back and forth between him and her meal. He might be lying about his living situation, so I might have to employ my investigative skills on him and uncover the truth and make him be more honest with me as a whole.

"I don't know if this is too weird of a question for me to be asking you," He placed his fork down on the edge of his plate, then turned to look up at her, his expression serious but questioning as he did so, "But is it common for idols like you to be so quiet and intense looking, or is it just you that acts like that?"

An embarrassed flush rose up in her cheeks, but she kept her gaze focused on her meal, and dug her fork a little deeper into the sausage to tear off a much larger piece in a sort of aggressive way, "It's just me that acts like that," She said in a small voice, "I'm prone to overthinking things a bit and letting my mind go in all sorts of directions as a result, particularly when I'm in a social situation that I'm not really accustomed to being in," She paused for a small moment, and glanced up at him, then back down at her meal again, and took a bite of the piece of sausage that she had just ripped off, "If that makes any sense at all, I guess, I've never been the best at explaining myself to others."

"I think it does," He smiled slightly at her, then turned his attention back to his own meal and reached out to pick his fork back up, "I've never been the best at explaining myself to other people all that much either, so I can sort of relate to you there on that front."

A different kind of flushing rose up in her cheeks, but she still tried to keep her gaze on her meal, and jabbed her fork into the remaining portion of the sausage on her plate to bring the rest up to her mouth for a bite, her heart now beating a bit faster in her chest as she did so.

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Rumi glanced down briefly at the remaining portion of sausage on her fork, then carefully turned it over to drop back down onto her plate. I don't feel like eating the rest of this for some reason, like my stomach has suddenly become too full to be able to handle additional room for more food, which obviously isn't true in the slightest. She paused for a moment as the piece of sausage fell back onto her plate, then turned her attention towards her glass of water, a small frown curling up on her lips as she did so. But yet at the same time, it might be a bit true somehow, only because I feel like I can't bring myself to take another bite of the sausage, lest I explode or something.

"So, I heard through the grapevine recently that you and that terrible manager of yours have patched things up and are now on better terms than you were apparently before," Tadokoro used his fork to scoop up some of the fish stew, then brought it up to his mouth for a quick bite, his gaze flickering between her and the food as he did so, "Something that I find rather surprising, to be pretty honest with you, since that guy seemed pretty abusive and all that, and didn't really seem like the kind of man who would see the error of his ways and try to make amends with someone that he's mistreated and hurt with his insults and generally condescending attitude, but I digress."

A small blush rose to her cheeks as she slowly placed her fork down on her plate, then she reached out to gently pick up her glass of water, a slightly relieved look crossing her face as she did, "I think I can I kind of understand why you would assume something like that about my manager," She said, her voice soft, "Speaking from personal experience with him, I never really pictured him as the kind of man who would go out of his way to realize how wrong his actions were towards others and try to make up for it, but I'm actually a little glad that he has, only because I now feel a little calmer and more at peace with him now that he's decided to make up with me and try to be a better manager overall to me, as well as to some of his other clients that he has in his stable."

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Rumi brought her glass of water up to her lips and took a small sip of it, her gaze wandering away to glance over at the rest of the restaurant as she did so, a frown now curling up at the corners of her lips as well. A lot of the patrons here don't really seem like the kind of people who enjoy French cuisine, honestly, some of them seem either too bizarre or too idiotic to be able to enjoy the rich and luxurious atmosphere this establishment offers as a whole.

She faltered a tiny bit as she continued to sip from her glass, and then redirected her gaze back to the half eaten meal in front of her, the frown on her face now widening slightly as she did so. Then again, I'm one to talk, since I don't necessarily seem like the kind of person who enjoys French cuisine nor do I look like the kind of person who enjoys it either. A trace of sadness formed in her eyes, but she tried to ignore it, her gaze now growing a bit distant in the process. Compared to some of the other patrons here, actually, I look like a real weirdo and stick out like a sore thumb amongst some of the classier women that permeate the place, something that I hate being reminded of since it makes me feel self conscious and messes with my self-esteem quite a bit as a result.

Her hold on the glass of water trembled a bit, but she managed to tighten her grip on it and carefully pulled it away from her lips, then slowly placed it back down on the table, albeit shakily, very faint tears now pricking at the corners of her eyes as she did so. I honestly wish I didn't look so lumpy and out of place next to some of the women here at this restaurant, and that I was more conventionally attractive and well put together just like they are.

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Tadokoro scooped up another forkful of fish stew, and brought it to his mouth for a slow bite, his gaze wandering over to look at Rumi's face as he did so, a concerned frown tugging on the corners of his lips in the process, "Is something wrong with you?" He asked, his voice low, "You look like you just saw a ghost."

"I'm fine," She briefly glanced at him, then hesitantly turned her attention towards her meal, and reached out to pick her fork back up, very faint tears fighting to form in her eyes as she did so, "I'm just feeling a bit sad about some stuff," She paused for a second, and glanced back up at him, then looked back down at her plate and jabbed her fork into an entire sausage link, "It's not really anything that would concern you," She murmured, her voice now barely above a whisper, "It's personal women stuff that a guy like you wouldn't understand, so I'd prefer if you didn't try to pry into it and instead just let me deal with it in a more private manner, okay?"

He raised an eyebrow at that, but then didn't say anything else, and returned his attention to his fish stew, and scooped up another forkful of it, now suddenly a bit preoccupied as he did so.

She hesitantly glanced up at him once more, then looked back down at her plate and brought the sausage link up to her mouth for a quick but very deliberate bite, a faint embarrassed flushing now rising in her cheeks as she did, a frown now slowly spreading across her face in the process, though the faint tears still fought to form in her eyes, but she tried to ignore them and focus on her meal. I hope that sudden silence means that he understands and isn't offended in any way by my not wanting to talk about what's currently bothering me, lest I have to deal with unexpected consequences that could worsen things between us.

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Rumi took another bite of the entire sausage link, then pulled the remaining portion away from her face and placed it back on her plate, her gaze flickering up to Tadokoro's face, then back down to her plate, a frown already spreading across her features as she did so. I wonder if I should force myself to tell him right now about what's troubling me, or if I should wait until after we start eating dessert to tell him? Either way would probably be good, but I feel telling him while we eat something sweet would probably be the best way to go about it.

"So," Tadokoro placed his fork down on his plate, then glanced up at her, a small smile slowly forming on his lips as he did so, "Since we're mostly finished with eating dinner," He said, "Why not discuss what we should get for dessert? I personally have a few good options in mind that I'd like to get a chance to try and possibly share with you as well."

A strong but confused blush automatically rose up into her cheeks, but she kept her gaze focused on her plate, and tried to ignore the warmth that was now starting to spread throughout her entire body, the frown now growing a bit shyer as well, "I think that would be a good idea," She whispered, "I was starting to get a little tired of eating my sausage, so I don't think I'd mind finally setting it aside in favor of dessert." Why did I suddenly blush after he said all of that? It doesn't make any sense, especially when he isn't an attractive guy in the slightest.

She paused for a second, and looked back up at him, then quickly looked back down at her plate, causing the blush in her cheeks to deepen, her heart now fluttering a bit inside of her chest as well. I mean, compared to the handsome hunks that I work with at the agency on a daily basis, he's like the visual equivalent of a car accident, ugly and not at all easy on the eyes. She glanced back up at him again, the blush now deepening even more as she did so. But yet, for some odd reason, he's making me blush and feel flustered and nervous like a schoolgirl, something that I don't think I understand or appreciate, since he isn't my type at all, as I still find him to be a weird nuisance not worth my time.

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Tadokoro smiled a bit lopsidedly as he looked down at the plate of profiteroles in front of him, his expression elated, though there was a faint trace of giddiness in his eyes. It was a good idea to order these for dessert, they're really one of the better things to come out of French cuisine.

He paused for a split second, his gaze wandering up to the ceiling, a small frown now replacing the smile temporarily, then he looked back down at the profiteroles, the smile quickly returning to his face as he did so. Barring Angel wings, of course, since those are one of the best pastries to originate from France as a whole.

Rumi looked down at her own plate of creme caramel, then glanced up at Tadokoro, albeit shyly and briefly, a much deeper and stronger blush rising up in her cheeks as she did. Maybe it's because he's being pretty nice and easygoing with me? Or maybe it's because I'm sort of shy right now and letting him do a majority of the talking for the both of us? Whichever way that it is, something about him is making me feel very flustered and shy like a young schoolgirl with a crush on someone.

"Aren't you going to eat any of that?" He glanced up at her for a small moment, then looked back down at his plate of profiteroles, and turned away slightly to pick up his fork, "I mean, I don't think it would be fair for you to let it go to waste, especially since it's a pretty expensive dessert that I shelled out a bit of my money to pay for."

The blush in her cheeks deepened a bit more, and she turned her attention back down to her plate, then hesitantly reached out to pick up a spoon that was only a few inches away from the creme caramel, "I guess you make a fair point," She said, her voice low and shy, "It wouldn't be fair for me to waste this without eating at least a portion of it."

He smiled gently at that, then used his fork to jab it into the center of one of the profiteroles, his expression now a mix of happy and satisfied as he did so.

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Rumi scooped up a bit of the creme caramel, then leaned down a bit as she carefully brought the spoon up to her mouth for a small taste test. Maybe eating something sweet would be a good way to distract myself from my current flusteredness.

She took a teensy bite of the creme caramel, a small smile slowly forming on her lips as she did so, her expression now also relaxing a bit as well. It's actually pretty delicious tasting, definitely surpasses whatever expectations or assumptions that I had about it based on its name alone.

"Hope this doesn't come off as either too rude or too forward of a question to ask you," Tadokoro placed his fork down on his plate in a temporary gesture, then looked up at her, his expression a bit curious as he did so, a slight frown forming in the corners of his mouth as well, "But are you ever going to tell me what was bothering you earlier?" He asked, "I'm still pretty curious as to why you seemed upset and uncertain of things during dinner."

A light blush rose up in her cheeks, but she kept her gaze focused on the creme caramel, and took another bite of it, "I would still like to tell you about what was bothering me earlier," She said, her voice quiet and low, though also a bit shy as well, "But I think I would like to wait and finish eating my dessert first before I do so, if that's okay with you?"

"I think I can wait for you to finish eating before you decide to tell me about it," He turned his attention back to his own plate, then picked up his fork and brought it up to his mouth to take a bite out of the profiterole that was stabbed onto it, "Especially when I have my own dessert to eat and finish as well, so I think I can wait a bit longer for you to finish yours in the meantime."

The blush in her cheeks deepened a bit, but she shyly looked up at him and smiled, and then gave him a short nod, then turned her attention back to her dessert, and used her spoon to scoop up another spoonful of the creme caramel, "Thanks for understanding," She said, "I was actually a bit worried that you wouldn't be happy about me not telling you right away, but it's nice to see you be understanding and patient with me about it instead."

Chapter Text

Sakaguchi stabbed his fork into a large slice of pork, and brought it up to his mouth in a distracted and almost hasty bite, his gaze narrowing hard and intensely as he looked over at Tadokoro and Rumi, a deep unhappy frown forming on his lips as he did so. Of all the men at the agency, Rumi-san had to pick the ugliest and most reprehensible one, one that draws great anger and contempt from me, and who also aggravates me with his blatant disregard for the rules of the agency as well, making me wish up unimaginably terrible things to happen to him as a result.

He chewed on the pork slice in a slow and precise but angry manner, his expression darkening with sheer and unbridled rage as he did so, his gaze narrowing further as he continued to watch the two of them. Tadomura doesn't deserve to be sitting at that table with Rumi-san and eating dinner with her like he's someone that she knows. A small blush unconsciously rose up in his face, but he ignored it as his gaze narrowed even further, sheer contempt now forming in his eyes as he moved his fork down to stab at another slice of pork, almost angrily so. That instead should be me out there eating with her and conversing with her, not some lowly gross man like Tadokura, who obviously doesn't appear to be appreciating her beauty and delicate personality in any way that a man of his age should.

A strong sense of disdain and absolute irritation suddenly filled him, and he averted his gaze elsewhere as a method of trying to suppress it, his grip on his fork now tightening to an almost painful degree as he did so. A woman of Rumi-san's degree and caliber shouldn't be slumming it up with such a repulsive lowlife like Tadoshimi, definitely not. His grip on his fork tightened even more as he fought back the urge to get up from his seat and march over there to punch Tadokoro hard in the face, his expression darkening even further as he did so. NO! She should be with a sophisticated and well to do man like me, one who would appreciate her for who she is and all that she's brought to the idol industry, and one who would graciously show her the proper respect and love that a beautiful and talented woman like her should be shown, not a man like Tadokuro, a lazy and worthless man who only uses the agency as a place to nap and who disrespects every single rule laid out before him and all of the hard working men and women who pour their livelihoods into it as well as the fans that buy up the records and other merchandise that are sold.

He hesitantly turned his attention back to look over at them, his eyes narrowing even more in a hard scowl as he did so, then he redirected his gaze towards his meal, and brought the slice of pork that was stabbed onto his fork up to his mouth to take a bite of it. He just grossly disrespects all of that and treats the agency like it's a joke to him, which is why the fact that he's apparently having a dinner date with Rumi-san is nothing short of infuriating to me, especially as her secret admirer, since I'm obviously more the type of guy she needs over that awful idiot Tadomuro.

Chapter Text

A calm smile crossed Rumi's face as she scooped up another spoonful of creme caramel, her expression now a mix of relaxed and happy as she did so. I haven't been eating this for very long obviously, but this honestly has possibly become one of my new favorite desserts that I've had the pleasure of trying, this year or any year for that matter, and in a short amount of time, too.

She took a bite of the spoonful, then chewed it a bit slowly, her gaze wandering up to the ceiling as she did so, a childlike sense of wonder now forming in her eyes in the process, the calm smile now being replaced by something of a full-blown grin as well.

"You seem to be really enjoying that dessert," Tadokoro carefully slid a half eaten profiterole off of his fork, and onto his plate in front of him, his gaze amused as it flickered back and forth between her and what he was doing, "Even more so than I was expecting you to, since it's a fancy French dessert and all that, but it is nice to see you enjoying it regardless of that fact."

A surprised blush quickly spread across her cheeks, but she averted her gaze to the side, the grin now fading from her face in the process, a trace of embarrassment now forming in her features, "I am," She said, her voice soft and shy sounding, "I think it's one of the better desserts that I've had in a long while, as well being pretty delicious and filling, especially after the dinner that I just had." She paused for a moment, and glanced back down at her dessert, then reached out to turn her spoon around in it, "So much that I might have to get it the next time that I come here," She briefly glanced up at him, then looked down at her dessert again, "That is, if there is a next time."

His eyes gentled in a sense, then he reached out to pat the back of her hand lightly, which made the blush in her cheeks go haywire and spread out to her face in a noticeable way, "I think I can arrange for us to have dinner here again," He said, his voice now uncharacteristically gentle, "Just so you can have this particular dessert a second time."

The blush deepened into a bright red as it continued to spread across her face, though she tried to shyly smile at him, "Thanks for offering to take me here again," She said, her voice still soft and shy, though now a bit shaky sounding, "I appreciate it."

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Rumi watched as a small crowd of people passed by her in a single file fashion, her expression bored and almost disinterested looking as she did so, a small frown curling up on her lips as well. A lot of these people look like they don't know what they want to do with their lives, which is sad, honestly.

"So," Tadokoro reached out to lightly touch the back of her hand with his fingers, the sudden gesture causing her heart to flutter in her chest, as well as bring a small blush up to her cheeks, her gaze fixating itself on the people as they continued to pass her by, "What do you want to do now that dinner is over?" He asked, "Head back to either of our places or stay out late and explore most of Tokyo until sunrise?"

The small blush in her cheeks deepened a bit, and she shyly turned her head to look up at him, "I don't really know what I would want to do next after the dinner we had tonight," She said, her voice soft and low, "Except maybe head back to my apartment to unwind and relax for a bit," She paused for a split second, and briefly turned her attention towards a crowd of four guys as they passed by the two of them, then turned her attention back to Tadokoro, the blush in her cheeks deepening further as she did so, "All that food that I ate back at the French restaurant was pretty filling and stuff, so I think a bit of resting and relaxing is in order for me."

"Heading back to your place to relax wouldn't really be a bad idea, honestly," He reached up and put his arm around her shoulders, then pulled her just a teensy bit closer to him, the sudden gesture causing her heart to flutter even harder and faster in her chest, "Especially as an excuse for me to get a look at your apartment and see it up close and personal for myself." He said, "And as well as also use it as a place for myself to also unwind and relax after an incredibly long workday."

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Rumi placed her bag down in the center of her table, then turned away and sat down on the couch behind her, a small frown curling up at the edges of her mouth as she did so, a faint trace of tiredness also forming in her eyes as well.

"Pretty nice apartment you've got here," Tadokoro took a seat next to her on the couch, a wide grin plastering itself onto his face as he did, oblivious to the tiredness that she was now starting to show, "Much better looking than I was expecting it to be, honestly," He said, his voice low and almost a whisper, "And also much better than the place that I currently live in, if you catch my drift."

A faint blush rose up in her cheeks, but she averted her gaze to the floor, her heart now beating a little faster in her chest as she did so, the frown on her face now growing a bit more pronounced as well.

He slipped an arm around her shoulders, and pulled her back towards him, the sudden gesture making her heart beat even faster as he did, the grin on his face now widening even more in the process, "Any reason why you're being all shy and quiet right now?" He asked, his voice now a bit more softer than it had been before, "Cat got your tongue? Or is it something else that's got you all silent and shy right now?"

The blush in her cheeks deepened a bit more, and she very slowly turned her head to look over at him, her heart now beating even more quickly in her chest, the warmth of his arm around her shoulders making her body tingle a bit as a result, "I'm only acting like I'm shy because I feel pretty tired after all the walking we did just to get here," She said, her voice soft, "So I would prefer if you didn't bother me right now and let me catch my breath before you start poking and prodding me with questions and such."

"Suit yourself," He took his arm away from her shoulders, then moved away from her and pushed himself up to his feet, "I'll leave you alone for a while so that you can catch your breath and rest," He said, "And let myself explore your apartment for a while as well while I'm at it," He straightened up a bit more as he stood up from her couch, then turned his head to look back at her, a smaller and much more warm smile now forming on his face as he did so, "Just to give myself something to do while I wait so that I don't end up getting bored and restless here, and to let myself be immersed in your humble home, too, since I am a guest and all that jazz."

The blush in her cheeks deepened even further, but she shook her head slightly, then returned her gaze to the floor, her heart now beating even more quickly in her chest in the process.

Chapter Text

A sigh escaped Rumi's lips, and she moved to lay down against the arm of the couch, the frown on her face growing even more pronounced as she did so, her body curling up into a semi-small ball as well, her gaze wandering around the room in the process, aimlessly as it moved from the floor, to Tadokoro as he looked at a row of items on her shelf on the other side of the room, then back to the floor. I honestly feel like taking a nap at this point, but I don't know if it would be a smart decision because of a certain someone currently being here at the moment.

"If you don't mind me asking you this question," Tadokoro picked up a small ornate cat statue off of her shelf, but then turned his head to look at her over his shoulder, his expression a mix of curious and confused as he did so, "But how can you afford all of the items on this shelf when they all seem so expensive and extravagant?" He asked, his voice fairly serious, "I mean, I find it hard to believe that you, an idol singer, would be able to afford such fancy-schmancy items, but I guess I shouldn't judge a book by its cover when it comes to you, since you seem like a real piece of work."

The frown on her face grew a bit further, but she kept her gaze on the floor, and her body curled up a bit more tightly into a ball, "You'll probably find this hard to believe," She murmured, her voice soft, "But a lot of the items on that shelf are actually hand-me-downs or at least second hand," She paused for a tiny second, and looked over at a small dolphin figurine that was situated in a corner of the room, then looked back up at him, a smile now trying its hardest to form on her lips, "And with some of them also being gifts from a fan of mine as well as an older cousin that I struggle to stay in contact with sometimes, but who means a lot to me in a similar way that a brother would."

"I actually think I can relate to you on that," He turned his attention back to her shelf, and carefully placed the cat statue back in its original spot, then turned his head slightly so that he could look at her once more, a much gentler look crossing his features as he did so, "My room back at the boarding house that I live in is filled up with a lot of items that either were gifted to me by my friends or by members of my family, or even some that I purchased myself, so I can definitely relate to you there."

A deep blush rose up in her cheeks, but she tried to ignore it and redirected her gaze back to the floor, her heart now starting to loudly thrum in her chest as she did so.

Chapter Text

Rumi paused for a moment, then sat up slightly on her couch, and moved to lean against the arm, a slightly giddy smile now crossing her face as she did so. I just remembered that I have a special book that I recently bought that I should really get around to reading. She leaned forward a bit more, then reached down to grab at a small book that was sticking out from under the couch. One that I've accidentally been neglecting for quite a while now, so I should definitely use this opportunity to actually get on it and read it.

She pulled the book out from under the couch, then held it up a ways from her as she moved to sit back against the couch again, the giddy smile on her face now widening as she did so. Eiko Shimao is one of my favorite forgotten actresses of all time, so I definitely can't wait to read this unauthorized biography of her and her life in Japan and abroad, it's surely to be a great read.

"Apologies for probably interrupting whatever you're currently doing," Tadokoro leaned against the back of the couch, and smiled gently as he craned his neck to look down at her, though there was a trace of curiosity in his eyes as he did so, "But would you be okay with me pilfering a snack from your kitchen while I'm here?" He asked, "I'm aware that we just came back from having dinner together, but I'm actually still a bit hungry."

Another deep blush rose up in her cheeks, and she almost quickly tried to cover it up by pulling the book up to her face, her heart now fluttering a bit with surprise as well, "I-I'd be okay with it," She stammered, her voice shy and slightly shaky, "But only on the pretense that you promise not to spill or break anything while you're in there."

He reached out and patted her on the shoulder, the sudden touch causing her heart to flutter even more, "Don't think you should worry about me doing anything like that," He said, "I'm actually a surprisingly careful and graceful person when it comes to getting a snack from a stranger's kitchen," He drew his hand back and let it fall back to his side, his other arm still leaning against the back of the couch, "So don't worry about me wrecking or spilling anything in there whilst I'm a guest in your apartment."

Chapter Text

Sakaguchi pulled his coat off of the back of the chair, his expression dark with anger and disdain, a deep scowl already etched onto his face, almost permanently so. I can't believe they left the restaurant together, the nerve of those two. He narrowed his gaze a bit as he held his coat in his hands, then paused for a second, and redirected his gaze up to the throngs of people as they walked by him and out of the restaurant, his gaze focusing on nothing in particular as he did so. It's honestly wretched just how much Tadokura has gotten away with stealing my precious Rumi-san from me, just who the hell does he think he is, snatching away an innocent maiden like that from me? It's sickening and a real travesty of justice.

A sense of almost primal rage tried to bubble up from within him, but he pushed it back and redirected his gaze back to his coat, his grip on it now a lot tighter than it had been before, his expression further darkening as he did so, the scowl now growing even more pronounced and angrier as well. He doesn't deserve to be consorting with her like he is, only I deserve that right. Another sense of almost primal rage fought to bubble from within, but he fought it back and forced himself to focus on the task at hand. I'm the only man in all of Japan, no, Asia, who deserves to be in the presence of a beautiful and fair woman like Rumi-san.

He paused once more, then slowly and almost deliberately pulled his arm through the sleeve of his coat, his expression now calming slightly, though there were still lingering traces of anger and disdain in his eyes. Not a gross wretched creep of a man like that Tadomuro loser, no, he doesn't deserve to be anywhere near MY Rumi. A sense of disgust rose from within his throat, and he let it through, his expression now growing a bit angry once more. The thought of him touching her soft and angelic skin with his rough and disgusting looking hands is enough to make my stomach churn with revulsion and pure hatred.

He finished slipping his arm into his coat, but then stopped and turned his head to look through the window of the restaurant, and out at the night sky, a much more thoughtful but otherwise still angry expression now forming on his face in the process. I need to think of something to stop this from getting any worse, as well as also find a way to permanently get that Tadotomo away from Rumi and get him and that irritating client of his kicked out of the agency for good, lest things go from bad to worse in a hurry.

Chapter Text

A small frown tugged at Sakaguchi's lips as he felt a cold gust of wind blow against his face, his gaze trying its hardest to keep its focus on the street ahead of him. I need to figure out my first course of action to get that Tadohima jerk away from my Rumi-san and get him kicked out of our precious agency for good, just before things could get even worse for all of us involved and doom seeps into our lives like the grim reaper looking for his next victim.

He paused slightly, as his gaze briefly flickered over to a group of five people as they passed by him, then returned his gaze to focusing on the street in front of him, his expression now darkening slightly with a mix of rage and intense hatred as he did so, the frown on his face now deepening as well. It enrages me to imagine just what he might be doing to my sweet maiden Rumi, especially at a time in her life where she's apparently vulnerable and in need of care and protection. He unconsciously clenched both of his fists tightly as a trace of frustration welled up inside of him, his eyes now narrowing slightly as he tried his best to keep his focus on what he was doing. Something that I could give her, as her friend and as her secret admirer, not that gross Tadoshima loser, he's simply too uncouth and crude to be able to provide the type of companionship that she truly deserves at her age.

"Pretty peculiar to see you out here by yourself, Sakaguchi-san," Hisao stood on the last step of the stairs of a loomingly large restaurant, his expression apparently hard to discern, but there was a pretty obvious element of surprise hidden within his eyes, his voice loud enough for the other man to hear, "You're usually holed up in your home at this hour watching Tamayo's music memories or reruns of that Chiko's town anime that you never shut up about," He said, "Which I'm already tired of hearing about, just so you know."

The rage in Sakaguchi's expression dissipated somewhat, and he turned his head to look up at Hisao, "I could say the same about you, Enomoto-san," He said quietly, "You usually stay behind at the agency and do paperwork to prepare yourself for the next day," He paused again, then folded his arms in front of his chest, and turned his attention towards Hisao fully, a much calmer but serious expression now on his face as he did, "I never really took you as the sort of guy to go out for a night on the town, you've always come off as pretty closed off and guarded, but I guess I was wrong to make that assumption."

"It's not necessarily a wrong assumption to make about me," Hisao stepped down off the last step, then started to make his way over to Sakaguch, something of a small smile forming on his face as he did, "I'm definitely not the type of guy to go out on the town and indulge myself like that," He said, "But I only really came out here to meet up with an old childhood friend of mine from Hokkaido and try to catch up with him after about sixteen years of not having seen him, something that I was more than happy to do, amusingly enough, since it's not everyday that I get to see any of my old friends from my old stomping ground."

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"So, Sakaguchi-san," Hisao said, his voice now uncharacteristically quiet, and with a trace of interest mixed into it, "What brings you out here exactly anyway?" He tilted his head slightly to the side as he looked at Sakaguchi, his expression now more curious than it had been earlier, "I'm only really asking because it still seems pretty peculiar for you to be out and about on the town."

Sakaguchi rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, then turned his attention towards a group of people as they passed by the two of them, his expression a bit awkward as he did, "Well," He began, his voice also quiet, though with a sense of sheepishness in it, "You'll probably find this hard to believe, but I came out to eat at this French restaurant downtown that I've been hearing good things about," One of his fists unconsciously clenched, and he turned his head back to look at Hisao again, something of a grimace now forming on his face in the process, "Which was a fine dinner for the most part, but which unfortunately was marred by the worst possible situation that could have ever arisen in connection to our agency, something that angered me and has left me feeling quite jealous and bitter about it all."

Hisao raised an eyebrow as he continued to look at Sakaguchi, then he crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head to the other side, "Huh," He said, his voice still pretty quiet, though now a bit more curious than it had been just a moment earlier, "Does this by any chance have to do with Rumi-san? Or are you talking about something else entirely?"

Sakaguchi hesitated for a few seconds, then averted his gaze to watched as a man and woman with their arms around each other walked past, then awkwardly turned his head back to look at Hisao, the grimace now widening out and turning into a full-fledged frown of visible embarrassment, ".....It does." He stated quietly, "Whilst eating dinner at the French restaurant, I saw Rumi-san with someone that I never expected to see her with, someone who I despise greatly and who I want kicked out of our agency completely and for good."

Hisao reached out to pat Sakaguchi's shoulder in a gesture of understated sympathy, then drew his hand back and let it fall to his side, "If you're referring to who I think you're referring to, Sakaguchi-san," He said, "Then I can definitely relate to your feelings of resentment and wanting this person to be kicked out of the agency."

A bit of a smile curled up on Sakaguchi's face, and he turned his head away again to watch as a few more people passed by, a sense of relief now forming in his eyes as he did so.

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Sakaguchi looked down at the small tray in front of him, a slightly goofy albeit sheepish smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as he did so. I don't usually let myself indulge in fattening gunk such as this, but seeing as how I'm currently being embroiled in a pretty serious situation concerning the agency and my precious Rumi, I figured finally letting myself give in to my base desires and eat a bit of fast food would be a fine enough idea, especially as a method of calming myself down.

He hesitated for a moment, then reached out to gently pick up a small burger with one hand, the sheepish smile now morphing into something more of a genuine grin as he did so. Admittedly, this feels a bit risky, but I feel like I owe it to myself to give in to a simple indulgence like this and let myself relax a bit from the stress, even for only a short time. He reached up with his other hand to unwrap a portion of the burger's wrapper, revealing its contents to him as he did so, the genuine grin now spreading wide across his face as well. This is something that I think I deserve after all, particularly after all of the hard work that I've been putting in recently at the agency, so indulging myself in this little treat only feels right.

A deep frown formed on Hisao's face as he looked up at Sakaguchi across from the table that they were sitting at, a trace of irritation forming in his features as he did so, "Are you really going to focus more on pigging yourself out and acting like a ninny instead of telling me who it was that you saw with Rumi-san earlier tonight?" He asked, his voice low and tense, "Especially if it's who I think it is, since he's been a real stain on the agency ever since he first joined, and has been nothing but trouble since then as well."

A sheepish smile quickly tugged at Sakaguchi's lips, though he tried to obscure it with the burger that he was holding up in front of him, "Apologies for this lack of cooperation on my part, Enomoto-san," He said quietly, "But it's been a very long time since I last got to eat a burger from Burger Knight, so I couldn't really resist the urge to indulge myself and buy the Junior Deluxe burger with extra onions and tomatoes, since it used to be my go to item to order back in the day before I adapted my current sophisticated and elegant way of living and eating, so I really couldn't stop myself from wanting to relive my past and eat it again as a treat and reminder of who I used to be."

Hisao rolled his eyes in visible irritation, and shook his head and sighed, then shifted to sit back in his seat and avert his gaze elsewhere, his expression now a mix of frustration and anger as he did so, the frown on his face now deepening in the process as well.

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Hisao glanced down at the tray of fast food a few inches away from him, then reached out to grab at one of the fries, a sense of hunger that he had been trying to suppress now finally overcoming him, though a displeased frown formed on his face as he did so, embarrassment making its way into his features as well. I can't believe I'm letting myself give into eating this gunk when I didn't really want to order it in the first place, but was forced to by the stupid teenager that works the cash register and who has one of the most annoying voices that I've had the displeasure of hearing in a long while.

He hesitated for a small second, and brought the fry up to his mouth and took a small bite out of it, then placed the remaining portion back down on the tray, his expression now growing a bit mortified as he did so. Though, as much as I hate to say it, the food here is pretty good for fattening fast food drivel, so maybe giving in a bit to my hunger and eating some of it isn't really a bad thing after all.

"So, I know you've probably already figured out who the person I saw Rumi-san with was," Sakaguchi placed his now mostly eaten burger down on the tray in front of him, then turned his attention towards Hisao, his own expression now more serious as he did so, though there was a bit of a smile visibly tugging at the corners of his mouth, "But I can't really stop myself from still needing to say who it is exactly like I'm revealing something very obvious to you."

Sakaguchi drew both of his hands away from the burger, then folded both of his arms together in front of him on the table and leaned forward slightly, his expression now becoming a bit somber as he did so, "Essentially," He began, his voice now a low and serious whisper, "Back at the French restaurant, I saw Rumi-san having dinner with that gross bastard Tadoshimi and slumming it up with him like they were the best of friends," A sense of anger and jealousy started to well up within him, but he fought it back down, and continued on, "Which, of course, made me very unhappy and jealous, and which also sent me down a path of trying to figure out how to get them apart from each other fueled by said jealousy and unhappiness, albeit one that I haven't been able to follow through on just yet."

"I'm honestly not at all surprised Rumi-san's decided to go out and have dinner with that Tadokoro moron," Hisao glanced back at his own tray of food, then reached out to pick up the remaining part of the French fry from earlier, "She often has this misfortune of deciding to mingle with some of the worst possible people that the agency has employed within the last few years or so, which, embarrassingly enough, somehow includes us and her producers, but I'm still not very surprised that she's decided to go out and have dinner with that annoying Tadokoro and become friends with him for whatever reason that she has."

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Tadokoro opened up a cabinet and looked up at the contents for a few minutes, then frowned a bit and closed it back up, his expression a mix of annoyed and frustrated. I swear, I feel like I'll never find a good snack to eat in here, it's just been the same healthy crap over and over again for the past two and a half hours.

A slight sigh escaped him, and he turned away to look up over at the next cabinet, the frustration in his expression growing a bit more noticeable as he did so, the frown also becoming a bit more pronounced as well. I mean, nothing against the healthy stuff, but that's not the kind of thing that I want to have as a snack, even if it was a last resort sort of situation and I had nothing else to eat, I still wouldn't eat it.

"How's it going in here?" Rumi leaned against the doorframe slightly, a small curious smile already forming on her face as she did so, her expression curious to match, "Did you find anything to snack on yet? Or are you still looking?"

A faint flush rose up in his face, and he slowly turned his head to look over at her, his expression now a bit sheepish as he did so, "I'm actually still looking for something to eat," He said, "I haven't been having a lot of luck so far," He hesitated for a moment, and turned his attention back to the cabinet that was a bit further away from him, then reached out to slowly pull it open, "I keep running into the same healthy stuff over and over again, which has been getting more than a bit aggravating, especially when I just want to eat something that's not healthy and sugary and not worry about my weight or anything like that."

A small laugh escaped her lips, which made the flush in his face grow a bit more, "I'm not all that surprised that you keep running into my cache of healthy food," She said, her voice now a bit teasing, "I did buy a lot more than humanly necessary, so I can't really say that I blame you for getting frustrated with the selection."

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Rumi sat down on the couch, and returned her attention to the book that she had placed down on the edge of the table, then reached out to pick it back up, a smile now forming on her lips as she did so. I should probably try to focus on finishing this, especially since I'm already at the good stuff and want to see how it all ends.

She pulled the book back to her, then placed it back down in her lap and resumed reading, the smile on her lips now widening a bit as she did so.

"I finally managed to find a good snack to eat," Tadokoro placed a small bag down on the table, then turned to sit down next to her, the gesture making her heart flutter a bit in response, a grin already plastered onto his face as he did so, "Something pretty sweet and fattening, and something that I just know that I won't care if it leads to me gaining even a few pounds as a result of eating it."

A small frown tugged at her lips, but she kept her gaze focused on the book in her lap, her heart still fluttering a bit, now a teensy bit louder and more noticeably, "You don't really need to announce something like that to me, you know that, right?" She asked, her voice shy and quiet, "I mean, I don't really care that whatever you're eating is going to make you gain some weight, it's not really something that you need to announce to either me or the whole world."

A slight laugh escaped him, and he reached out to pat her shoulder in a semi-rough manner, his touch causing the frown to deepen a bit as well as a faint blush to rise up in her cheeks, "I know I don't really need to announce it to anyone," He said, his voice light and amused sounding, "But I can't really help it whenever I end up getting a good snack, you know? It's just something that tumbles out of me like a weird instinct or something."

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Rumi reached out and gently bent the corner of the page down, then drew her hand back and used her other hand to close the book, a satisfied smile now forming on her lips in the process. I think it would be fair for me to stop here, and continue with my reading a bit later tonight. I got a lot out of the chapters that I read so far, and I think I'll get even more from the rest once I resume reading it, so it would only be fair to take a break right this second and come back to it at a later time.

She straightened up slightly, then reached out to pick up the book with both hands and placed it down in the center of the table, the smile on her face now widening a bit more as she did so. You never know, maybe I'll get a pretty spontaneous urge to go back to reading more of this book after a few minutes away from it, since that's something that usually happens for me with really good books that I've gotten into.

"Y'know," Tadokoro reached out to pick the small bag that he had placed down on the table back up, then set it in his lap, his expression a bit serious as he turned his head to look at her, though there was a bit of a soft smile dancing around the edges of his mouth, "I just remembered that there was something that you were going to tell me back at the French restaurant, but which I think you forgot to do so."

Another faint blush rose up on her cheeks, and she averted her gaze elsewhere, "I'm aware that I forgot about the thing that I was going to tell you," She said softly, "But I don't really think I want to remember it now and actually tell you about it," She hesitated for a small moment, then turned her head to look back at him, the faint blush now deepening a bit in her cheeks as she did so, "Instead, I'd rather focus on relaxing and enjoying this time that we're sharing together right now instead of bringing up something that I forgot to tell you about."

He reached out to pat her shoulder once more, the sudden touch making her heart skip a beat in her chest, then took his hand back and let it fall back to his side, "I think I can understand that," He said, "I'll wait until you're a bit more ready to talk about it then, or at least more comfortable to do so."

A small smile curled up on her lips in response to his words, then she averted her gaze down to the table in front of her, her heart now starting to beat steadily but wildly in her chest as she did so.

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Rumi hesitated for a moment, then slowly moved to stand up from the couch, her heart still beating steadily, but wildly, a small frown now forming on her face as well. I guess I should probably start one of my pre-bedtime chores before I prepare for bed, it'd only be fair. She hesitated for another moment, then turned on her heel and walked over to a small shelf that was on the opposite side of the room, the small frown on her face now slowly morphing into a slight smile as she did so. Plus, doing one of them will also be a good way to get rid of the lingering guilt over accidentally neglecting them for the past few days in favor of relaxing and reading before bedtime, since it's been weighing pretty heavily on me and making me feel bad, so finally doing them will be a great way to ease that guilt away and make me feel better about it.

Tadokoro raised an eyebrow as he watched her walk over to the shelf, then he tilted his head a bit to the side and frowned slightly, his expression a bit confused as he did so, "What are you doing?" He asked, his voice low. and with a trace of questioning in it.

She stopped only a few feet away from the shelf, then shyly turned her head to look at him over her shoulder, the smile on her face slowly fading away as she did so, an embarrassed flush now also rising to her face as well, "I was about to start one of my pre-bedtime chores," She said quietly, "I've been accidentally neglecting them for the past few days, and thought it would be a good idea to finally get them done to ease the guilt that I've been feeling about it."

The slight frown on his face spread a bit wider across his lips, and he rested his head in the palm of his hand, "Is it really worth it to waste time doing pointless chores when you could continue relaxing with me on the couch instead?" He asked, "I mean, you could easily just save those chores for another time, like during the afternoon when you first come home and aren't busy with other things yet."

A bright pink blush rose up to her cheeks pretty quickly, but she averted her gaze down to the floor, and folded her arms across her chest, "I suppose you make a pretty good point there," She said, "I could easily rearrange things and save doing my chores for another time, since doing that would give me a bit more free time to be able to do other things that I enjoy, like reading or watching my favorite shows."

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Tadokoro looked back down at the small bag in his lap, then reached down to gently tear part of it open with one hand, a slight grin curling up on his lips as he did so. This was the best choice that I could've made for a snack, especially one right after dinner. He reached in with his other hand, and pulled out a small handful of candied nuts, then brought them up to his mouth for a simple bite, the grin on his lips now widening up a bit in the process. And especially one right before I have to worry about bedtime and preparing for sleeping and stuff, since I'm way too preoccupied with other things to even be concerned with thinking about sleep at the moment.

"You're honestly a very piggish man, you know that?" Rumi walked over and stood next to the couch, then crossed her arms over her chest and glowered down at him, "And a real hypocrite, too, now that I think about it."

He paused his eating for a moment, and glanced at her briefly, then turned his attention back to the candied nuts, and brought them back up to his mouth for another bite, "If this is about me suggesting that you could just skip your pre-bedtime chores and save them for some other time," He said, "Then I don't really see how that would make me a hypocrite, if anything, I see it as me imparting pretty reasonable advice to you, and showing you that you don't really need to worry about trivial things like doing chores before bedtime, since it would be a waste of the hours where you could be sleeping instead and gathering the energy you need to be awake and functioning to do all the things that you need to do the next day."

An embarrassed flush crept up her face, but she ignored it and averted her gaze to the side, "I hate that you apparently make a good point with all of what you just said," She muttered, her voice now a harsh but soft whisper, "Especially when it leaves me feeling like an idiot who can't come up with a witty or otherwise clever retort to get back at you for it to hopefully knock you down a notch or two in the process."

The grin on his face widened a bit more, but he kept it concealed and focused on eating the rest of the candied nuts, a glimmer of accomplishment now shining in his eyes as he did so.

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Rumi hesitated for a small second, then turned to sit down on the edge of the couch and instinctively reached out to pick up the remote control, a frown forming on her face as she did so. Might as well watch some TV before I decide to go to bed, just to waste time and help me to get drowsier quicker than a book would be able to do for me.

She glanced down at the remote briefly, then up at the TV in front of her and pressed the 'on' button that was situated at the bottom of the remote, a faint smile now playing along the edges of her lips as she watched the screen begin to light up. Plus, maybe watching some TV will also help to put me in a good mood and make my time sleeping at night more enjoyable as a result of the good shows that I watched beforehand.

"What do you plan on watching?" Tadokoro skooched a little closer to her and put an arm around her shoulders, the sudden touch making her heart flutter in her chest a little, and also drew a deep blush to her cheeks as well, his expression curious, and with a tiny smile already forming on his face, "One of those terrible soap operas with bad acting and even worse storylines, or one of those annoying variety shows with hasbeen celebrities way past their prime but who still manage to force themselves into the spotlight regardless of their deteriorating careers and the fact audiences no longer enjoy them as a whole?"

The blush in her cheeks deepened slightly, and she turned her head to look up at him, "I actually don't really know what I want to watch," She said softly, "I was more or less thinking I would just flip through the channels until I landed on something decent and watch that until I end up getting bored and then change the channel again."

"That sounds like a fair plan to me," He took his arm off of her shoulders and let it fall to his side, the tiny smile on his face now widening a bit as he did so, "And also sounds like something that I would do myself, funnily enough," He said, "Though I don't think I would ever end up stopping my search for something decent to watch and actually probably keep it going until I'd eventually decide to turn the TV off entirely and go and do something else instead."

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Sakaguchi pulled his coat off of the back of the chair, then started to slip one arm into it, a faint smile curling up on his lips as he did so.

"I'm curious to know, Sakaguchi-san," Hisao folded his jacket over his arm in a neat and simple fashion, then redirected his attention to the other man, his expression curious as he did, though there was a trace of exasperation in his eyes as well, "What do you plan on doing to get Rumi-san away from that wretched Tadokoro? Something drastic? Or are you planning on something much more subtle and underhanded so as not to arouse any suspicions? If it's the latter, and not the former, then I have a few good suggestions that may prove to be vital and quite useful overall."

"I actually haven't really thought any farther beyond feeling jealous and bitter, embarrassingly enough," Sakaguchi further slipped his arm into his coat, then pulled it up over his shoulder, a slightly sheepish grin now forming on his face as he averted his gaze over to focus on a group of people as they walked by their area, "But I should probably try and think of a plan to get those two away from each other and bring my precious Rumi-san over to my side and convince her that I'm the better man for a potential romantic choice for her instead of that gross and disgusting Tadoiwa, who obviously doesn't deserve her or to be in her angelic presence for that matter."

A deep almost irritated sigh escaped Hisao's lips, then he reached out to whack the side of Sakaguchi's head in a hard and swift motion, instinctively causing the other man to bow his head slightly and rub the spot on his head that had been struck, a clearly shameful expression now plastered across his face as he did so, "You absolute dunderhead ," He hissed, his voice a low and menacing whisper, "Have you forgotten, that as an idol singer, Rumi-san isn't supposed to be romantically involved with anyone, including people that she works with at the agency, no matter how much she may want to be with them?"

A frown tugged at Sakaguchi's lips, but he still kept his gaze averted as he solemnly nodded his head, "I'm aware of that now, Enomoto-san," He whispered, "But I still don't really want Rumi-san to be shackling it up with that living embodiment of waste that is Tadokora, so I sort of let my mind run wild and let jealousy get the better of me for a moment, which I apologize for."

Hisao reached up and patted the other man on the shoulder in an apologetic manner, then drew his hand back, his own expression now much calmer and a teensy bit remorseful, "You don't necessarily need to apologize for that, Sakaguchi-san," He said, his voice a bit quieter, "It's my fault for overreacting a bit in my anger and striking you, so you don't need to give me any sort of apology for it, as I do understand how you feel about this whole situation and also want to get her away from that awful moron, though for different reasons than what you want for her."

Chapter Text

A slight smile formed on Sakaguchi's lips as he watched a small group of people walk past him carrying a semi-large and colorful plastic statue of a bird with its wings outstretched in a triumphant manner, a glint of childlike wonder forming in his eyes as his gaze followed it. Such an interesting statue, I don't really recall seeing one of that particular size before, nor do I recall ever seeing one in those colors before either, which really just serves to make it even more eye catching, now that I'm thinking about it.

"This is sort of an awkward question for a man of my age and calibre to be asking you," Hisao reached out and lightly touched the other man's arm, which caused Sakaguchi to turn his head to look down at him, an awkward frown already on his face as he did so, "But do you think you would be alright with letting me spend the night in your apartment? My own home is too far away and I'm not really in the mood to take the long trip back to it, since it's pretty late and I'm not fit enough anymore to be walking around in the dark for that long of a time," He hesitated for a moment, and turned to look down at his shoes, the frown on his face now deepening as he did so, "Nor do I even want to bother with the trouble of having to cross various streets just to get back to it in the first place, as I've often gotten lost in the past when trekking back home in the dark after working late at the agency, so I'd rather play it safe and stay at somebody else's place for the night and worry about it in the morning before work."

The smile already on Sakaguchi's face grew a bit, and he reached up to give Hisao a friendly pat on the back, which accidentally worsened the frown on the older man's face, "I wouldn't mind letting you spend the night in my apartment with me, Enomoto-san," He said, his voice low and quiet, "It's been quite a while since I've had a guest stay the night in my place, so it really wouldn't be any trouble at all for me to let you do so."

A faint smile tugged at the corners of Hisao's mouth, but he tried to hold it back and gave Sakaguchi something of a nod instead, "I appreciate you being alright with it, Sakaguchi-san." He said quietly, "Usually people don't want me as a guest in their home for some arbitrary reason or another, but it's nice to see you be polite and welcoming enough to let me stay the night in your place instead of hostile and unaccommodating."

Chapter Text

Sakaguchi slipped his coat off in a simple but swift manner, then hung it up on the top hook of the coat rack in a similar way, a pleased smile crossing his features as he did so. It's good to be back home, especially after the long night I just had.

He adjusted his coat on the rack slightly so that it hung in an orderly fashion, then drew his hands away and turned away to bend down to pet a small sleeping cat that was curled up a few feet away from the coat rack, a more loving smile forming on his face in the process. And with my beloved Francine-chan as well, who has been nothing but a loving and caring companion to me since I adopted her as a kitten seven years ago, very much one of my fondest memories in life, right next to when I first got my job at the agency when I was a younger man of only twenty-five, not yet the man with experience and wisdom I am today.

He gently stroked the cat's head, eliciting a happy sounding purr from her in response, then bent down a bit more and reached out to gently scoop her up into his arms in a light embrace. It may seem silly to others, but I truly do love my cat and value my relationship with her as her owner in the same way I value my relationships with the people in my life, almost like she's my child rather than just a simple pet, which is probably a bad way to look at it but I don't necessarily think I care either way, she's my cat and something I cherish and hold very dear to my heart, so I can really do whatever I want with her, including treating her like the closest thing to a daughter I have and valuing our relationship together in a way that feels natural to a man like me.

He straightened back up, then gently hugged the cat to him in a more tender and loving embrace, leaning down slightly so that he could gently nuzzle the cat's fur as he did so, which elicited another happy sounding purr from her in response, the smile on his face now widening up even further in the process. Besides, I can tell that my Francine-chan sees me as something of a father figure to her in her own cat way, so really, it's something of an equal opportunity relationship between us for us to view each other as something similar to a parent and his child, and not just as an owner and his pet.

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Sakaguchi gently nuzzled the cat's fur with his face a bit more, then pulled back slightly to look down at her, the smile on his face widening as he did so, "I'm very glad to be back home with you, Francine-chan," He said quietly, "I had a pretty long and eventful night whilst I was out, and I missed you a great deal, so I'm very glad to be back here and in your furry presence."

He gently pulled her a bit closer to him, then leaned down again and tenderly pressed a kiss against the top of her head, "You're my pet, so you're used to being showered with constant affection from me," He whispered, "But I can't really help myself from wanting to make sure you know just how much I love you and how much you mean to me as a whole, as my pet cat, and as the closest thing to a daughter that I'll ever have."

He let his lips linger against her fur for a moment, then finally pulled back slightly and moved to nuzzle against her cheek in a light and very gentle manner, his expression soft and warm as he did so, "I love you, Francine-chan," He whispered softly, "Your papa is very happy to have you in his life, and also to be able to help you to grow up into a fine and healthy cat with a lot of unfinished exploring to do in the big world."

"Apologies for interrupting what appears to be a very serious conversation between you and your sleeping cat," Hisao leaned against a small table that was nearby in the kitchen area, his expression a mix of serious and curious, "But I was wondering if you could tell me where it is exactly you keep the guest bedrooms," He said, "Seeing as I'm pretty tired from the increasingly bizarre night that we've just had together, I would like to know where they are so that I can find them and settle down for the night."

A small frown curled up on Sakaguchi's lips, and he pulled away from the cat to turn his attention towards Hisao, a trace of annoyance at being interrupted sneakily making its way into his features, "If you must know," He replied, "They're down the hall to the left of the closet where I keep my socks and shoes alphabetized and in order of color, and pretty easy to find if you keep your gaze focused as you walk down that way."

A smile formed on Hisao's lips, and he gently straightened up from the table, then slightly turned on his heel and started to make his way towards the hallway, "Thanks for the directions, Sakaguchi-san," He said, "I appreciate them and will make sure to keep them in mind if I ever decide to stay here again."

Sakaguchi shook his head slightly, and rolled his eyes a little after Hisao had further walked away, then returned his attention to Francine, who had by now opened her eyes and was now purring pretty happily and contentedly up at him, which drew a softened smile to his face in response, though a little apologetic in nature, "I'm sorry that you had to witness that, Francine-chan," He said, his voice quiet and tender, "Your papa has a pretty welcomed but not so pleasant guest staying here for the night, and he's already proven to be quite the nuisance thus far, so sorry for his already weird behavior and unnecessary need to ask for directions from me for something as simple as where to find the guest bedrooms."

The cat shifted slightly in his arms, then leaned up and gently bumped her head against his cheek, a slightly louder purr sounding in her as she did so, though oblivious to what he was saying to her, a sort of smile forming on her face in the process.

His expression softened in response to her gesture, then he held her a bit more closely to him, and reached up with one hand to gently rub along her back, "It's a good thing you're a cat, Francine-chan, and that you can't really understand what I'm saying to you," He whispered, "But I think I can tell you get the gist of it regardless in your own unique cat way, even if there is a language barrier between us as a result of being different species."

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Rumi looked down at the remote control for a moment, then leaned forward slightly and set it down on the table in front of her, a slight smile forming on her lips as she did so.

"So," Tadokoro slipped an arm around her waist and leaned in a bit, his expression curious, though there was a hint of a grin playing on his lips in a secretive manner, the sudden touch making her heart flutter unexpectedly in her chest, though she tried to ignore it, "What do you plan on doing after you're done with watching this rerun of Moonlit Palace?" He asked, his voice a bit lower than it had been before, "Staying up a bit more with me by your side? Or are you going to go and retire to bed and go to sleep like a boring person usually does at this time of night?"

A small frown tugged at her lips, and she turned her head slightly to look at him, her expression now a bit annoyed as she did, though she still tried to ignore the warm sensation of having his arm around her waist, "I don't know if you've already somehow forgotten what I told you earlier," She said, her voice unexpectedly low and sharp, "But I don't plan on going to bed until after I've watched enough TV and feel drowsy from having done that, so I don't think I plan on doing anything else afterwards."

A frown of his own formed on his face, and he extricated his arm from around her waist, and moved a bit away from her on the couch, his expression now a mix of annoyance and mild disappointment as he did so, "You don't really need to be snippy with me about your after TV plans, you know that, don't you?" He asked, his voice now also low, though with a trace of frustration mixed in with it, "I mean, it was just a simple question that I just asked you, not a command or anything like that, so I don't think you really need to act all snippy and mean with me over it, especially when I'm a simple guest in your home and just hanging out with you for the time being."

A slight flush rose up in her cheeks, but she returned her attention to the TV and shifted slightly so that she could lean against the arm of the couch, her expression now calming slightly as she did so, though there was still a hint of annoyance in her eyes, the frown from earlier still evident in the corners of her lips as well.

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Rumi pulled the blanket of her bed back so that she could look at the mattress underneath it, a slight smile forming on her lips as she did so. I honestly can't wait to finally lay down and go to sleep, especially after the day that I've just had.

She hesitated for a moment, then turned away and bent down to pick up a small pillow from the floor, the smile on her face growing a bit more as she did. I just know that I'm going to have a good night's rest that will help me forget about some of the stuff that happened that day as well.

"Sorry for potentially intruding on your space as you're preparing for bed," Tadokoro leaned against the doorframe to her room, and tilted his head slightly to the side as he did, a bit of a wry grin tugging at the corners of his lips as well, "But do you have a place where I could sleep for the night? I'm gettin' pretty tired and not really in the mood to be traveling back to my place just to crawl into my bed, you know? I'd much rather bunk somewhere for the night and worry about getting back to my place tomorrow evening after work."

A small blush rose up in her cheeks, and she placed her pillow down in the center of her bed, then paused temporarily and turned her head to look over at him, "There's a small guest bedroom that's at the end of the hallway that you could use if you'd like," She said, her voice a bit quiet, "It's a little cramped and doesn't have much in the way of furniture outside of a single one-person bed and a small empty chest that's in a corner of the room, but I think you'll find it to be a decent enough option instead of having to make the trip back to your place to go to bed."

A much gentler smile formed on his lips, and he stood up from the doorframe and turned on his heel to start walking away, "Thanks for the offer," He said, "I'll make sure to return the favor to you somehow in the future as a way of expressing my gratitude for letting me sleep here tonight."

The blush in her cheeks deepened a bit as she watched him walk away, then returned her attention to her bed and reached out to better adjust the pillow so that it was aligned with the other pillows on the bed, a bit of a wide and satisfied smile forming on her face as she did so.

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A soft sigh escaped Rumi's lips as she placed her bag down on the table, her expression a mix of dread and resignation, a frown already settled on her face as well. The start of another agonizingly boring day at the agency, and one which has already apparently decided to test my patience by letting me still be groggy and slow to wake up, something that I don't want to be at this point in the morning.

She paused for a small moment, then slowly and hesitantly turned away from her bag and towards the small couch that was behind her, the frown on her face now deepening a bit as she did so, though there was also a glimmer of relief in the corners of her eyes. Though, on the bright side, I at least get a few hours or so of peace and quiet to myself here, since no one else has shown up yet, which is certainly a plus, honestly, especially for the morning that I've been having so far.

She glanced back down at her bag for a second, then redirected her gaze back to the couch, and started to slowly walk over towards it, her expression calming down a bit and becoming more of a relaxed one as she did so. Honestly, now that I'm thinking about it, this might be the only good thing to come out of my entire morning, or even my entire day, actually, which I'm not entirely sure is a bad thing at all.

She stopped in front of the couch, and looked down at it for less than a moment, a small smile creeping onto her face as she did so, then she turned around and sat down in the middle of it, her expression now becoming a bit more relaxed in the process. Besides, relaxing by myself for a little while here on the couch could also help to recharge my energy a bit and give me time to think about some of the things that have happened to me recently, too.

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Tadokoro placed a folder down on the shelf, then turned away and bent down to pick up another folder that he had set down on the floor a bit earlier, a calm smile forming on his lips in the process. I do this particular task a lot, so I'm pretty used to it by now, but I can't help but find it oddly calming, like it's a way for me to take my mind off of things that annoy or otherwise aggravate me, especially regarding some of the people that I work with here at the agency who drive me up the wall and who I also can't stand to be around for too long as well, like that Sakaguchi guy or that Hisao and his annoying need to try and ruin my fun, or even that annoying Murashige for always telling me what to do and how to do it right, both of which are things that I personally and really wish I didn't have to hear on a daily basis, but I put up with since I really can't afford to potentially lose my job here at the agency and get kicked out, so I've learned to just grin and bear it and accept it as a part of my daily routine here as a way to keep myself from getting kicked to the curb.

"So, Bon-san," Murashige set an empty box down on a small table nearby, then straightened up and turned around to look over at Tadokoro, a wide smile forming on his face as he did, "Do you think you'd be interested in going out with me and my wife for dinner later tonight?" He asked, "There's a pretty nice Polynesian restaurant not too far from here that we like to go to from time to time, and which I think you might enjoy as well."

Tadokoro paused as he stood back up and turned his head slightly to look at Murashige, his expression a mix of curious and somewhat surprised, holding the second folder he had picked up earlier in his hands as he did, "Why are you asking me to have dinner with you and your wife exactly?" He asked, "I mean, I feel a bit flattered, but why exactly?"

Murashige shrugged slightly, then turned away from Tadokoro to face the shelf next to them, and reached up to pull a random folder out of the top shelf, "I dunno, really," He said, "My wife mostly suggested it that I ask you because she thinks you're lonely with that client of yours being the only real companion that you hang around with here, as well as thinking that you need to have some more social interactions in your life besides him, since he doesn't always seem like the most reliable friend that you could have at times, which is something that I agree with, oddly enough."

A slight frown formed on Tadokoro's face, and he turned his attention to the shelf and placed the folder he had been holding down next to the one that he had placed there earlier, "Your wife isn't necessarily wrong about that," He said, "Motohiko-kun isn't the bestest friend that I've ended up with in my career as an agent, but he's one that I've put up with long enough that it doesn't really bother me anymore."

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Motohiko set his bag down on a small table, then straightened up and turned to look around the agency, a frown crossing his features as he did so. It seems really odd here at the agency today, but I can't really put my finger on why.

He paused temporarily, then folded his arms in front of him and let his gaze wander over to an empty chair that was propped up in a corner of the room, the frown on his face deepening in the process. Maybe it's the fact that I haven't seen Tadokoro-san all morning? Which is highly unusual, by the way. Or maybe it's the fact that I'm currently the only one in this room? Either way seems like a reasonable explanation to me.

"I don't think I was expecting you to be out here this early," Yokoto placed her bag down on the table next to Motohiko's, then stood back up and turned to face him and smiled brightly, her expression gentle as she did so, "But it's a pretty pleasant surprise regardless, I must admit."

A pretty deep and bright blush rose up in his cheeks, but he kept his gaze forward and tried to ignore the growing heat in his face, his heart now starting to beat a little faster in his chest, "I-I also wasn't expecting you to be here this early either," He stated, his voice accidentally coming out a little shaky, which made the frown on his face deepen a bit further as a result, "Especially at a time when I usually meet with my agent to discuss my career and my upcoming album that I'm still working on and have just been tweaking it to fix a few minor things here and there to prepare it for the final mixing and mastering process before it's ready to be released to the public."

"That sounds pretty exciting," She turned back to her bag, then bent down and reached inside of it to pull out a small magazine that was folded over, "I'm actually also still working on my own album, though it hasn't gotten as far as yours has, and is still in the planning stages regarding the lyrics and music, so it'll take a while for it to get finished and released on time."

A slight smile curled up on his lips, but he kept it hidden and tried to keep his gaze focused on the chair in the corner, the blush in his cheeks growing deeper as he did so, "It definitely is exciting," He said, his voice now a bit more steady sounding, "Particularly as my comeback album since my career hit a bit of a snag not too long ago, so I need all the hard work and excitement I can muster in order to get this album off to a good start."

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Yokota looked down at the magazine that she had just pulled out of her bag, then smiled to herself and turned away to sit down in the chair behind her.

"Sorry for intruding on what appears to be a moment of relaxation for you," Sugamoto placed a box down on the floor, then straightened up and turned to look down at her, a simple smile curling up at the corners of his mouth as he did, "But I just wanted to remind you that recording one more song for your album is scheduled to happen later today at around 3:15 pm in the afternoon, so I want you to be prepared and on your toes as the recording is expected to be quite long and grueling."

She placed the magazine in her lap, and opened it up to a page that she had marked with pencils, then paused for a tiny second and turned to look up at him and smiled, "I don't think you need to worry about me being unprepared for my recording session later today," She said, "I've actually been mentally going over all of the songs and their respective lyrics for the past two and a half hours since I woke up this morning, so I'm pretty much ready to tackle the recording and finish the songs needed for my album."

"That's good to hear, actually," Sugamoto turned his attention back to the box he had placed down on the floor, then bent down a bit to open it up and pull out a small stack of papers, the simple smile on his face now growing a bit more pronounced as he did, "I'm glad to know you're prepared for the recording session and that you're not letting any stress or anxiety get in the way of finishing up the album to finally prepare it for release, which is something that I'm looking forward very much to hearing, by the way."

"I'm also looking forward to hearing my album once it's completed," She said, "I just know it's going to be one of my best and most ambitious albums to date."

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Motohiko hesitated slightly, then turned to sit down in the chair behind him, his expression unreadable, though there was a trace of tiredness in his eyes, a bit of a frown forming in the corners of his mouth as well. I think now would be a good time for me to sit down for a couple of minutes and rest, especially before I decide to go out and look for Tadokoro so that I can talk to him and discuss my upcoming album at length.

He sat back in the chair in a comfortable position, then folded his arms in front of him and turned to look over at the TV that was propped up in the middle corner of the room, the morning news segment of TCT playing with the volume at an almost muted level as it did, the frown on his face now widening a bit as he looked at the screen, though there was a glint of bemusement as he did so. I don't feel surprised to know that some freakishly ugly college kid apparently got arrested last night for attempting to stalk local celebrity and model Sandy Makiyama and follow her into her apartment building to do god knows what to her, seems that's been happening with a ton of guys my age or younger all around Japan lately.

He watched the TV screen for a few more seconds, then turned away and leaned forward in the chair to pick up a book that was leaning against the leg of the table, his attention now elsewhere as he did so, though the bemused glint in his eyes remained. Assuming that just because they happen to be self-proclaimed big fans of these female celebrities, that somehow entitles them to stalk or harass them to the point of either getting the police called on them or pushing the female celebrities in question into taking matters into their own hands and enacting their own form of justice against these men, something that I admittedly endorse as a guy that's had to put up with female fans trying to cross boundaries and invade my personal space, though I relied on security to help me rather than turning to violence and intimidation to get them away from me.

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Sakaguchi placed a stack of papers down on the edge of Hisao's desk, then turned away to bend down and pick up a small empty box, his expression serious as he did so, though a bit of a relaxed smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as well.

"So, Sakaguchi-san," Hisao placed an already uncapped pen down on his desk, then paused for a tiny moment and turned to look up at Sakaguchi, a bit of a smile already on his lips as he did, "Do you think you'd be interested in having lunch with me at one of the downtown cafes this afternoon?" He asked, "I was thinking we could use it as an opportunity to discuss our plans in getting Rumi-san away from that Tadokoro moron and prevent them growing any closer together in the process."

"I think I'd be more than happy to have lunch with you at one of those cafes downtown this afternoon, Enomoto-san," Sakaguchi straightened up and turned back around to face Hisao's desk, the smile on his face now slightly wider as he did, "I have been craving good tea and some sort of pastry for a good while now, so I'd definitely be up for lunch with you to satisfy those cravings and discuss our Rumi related plans as well."

"Us having lunch together at one of the cafes to mostly discuss our plans for Rumi-san will be a pretty good way to have a lot of space and time to go over each other's ideas without having to worry about being interrupted by other people or overheard as well," Hisao turned away slightly, then reached out to pick up a blank piece of paper off of a corner of his desk, "Especially if we want to try and keep this as covert and stealthy as possible, since things could potentially blow up or go astray if the wrong people get wind of our plans and try to interfere to prevent them from going forward."

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Rumi looked down at the couch cushion for a split second, then sighed softly and redirected her attention elsewhere, a slight frown curling up on her lips as she did. It really wouldn't be all that fair of me to take a nap on the couch, especially at this time of day, so I should really try to fight it and focus on more important things like singing and songwriting.

"Hey," Tadokoro bent down slightly in front of her, a gentle but curious smile forming on his lips as he did so, "How are you?" He asked, his voice low and uncharacteristically gentle.

A deep blush spread across her face, but she kept her attention focused elsewhere, her heart pounding slightly in her chest as well, "I-I'm fine," She said quietly, "I'm just sort of tired and kinda preoccupied with my thoughts at the moment, and also sort of cranky and moody after waking up this morning, but that's neither here nor there."

"It's nice to know you're okay even though you're apparently cranky and tired," He straightened up, and turned away to walk over to the shelf on the other side of the room, his expression becoming a little more serious as he did, though the gentle smile still lingered on his lips, "I was actually slightly worried about you when we parted ways back at your apartment and you were acting sort of off and not how you usually apparently act around me, but it's nice to see you being a bit more normal today compared to this morning."

The deep blush in her face spread a little farther, and down to her neck, but she tried to ignore it and redirected her gaze to the floor, her heart now starting to pick up in pace and beat very hard and fast in her chest in the process, a slightly wider frown also forming on her lips as well.

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Murashige opened up a folder, and set it down in his lap, then reached out to gently pull out a small rectangular strip of paper from it, his expression fairly calm, though unreadable.

"You're probably going to find this good news that I have to share with you hard to believe," Sawa placed a book down on the edge of Murashige's desk, then drew his hand back and turned to look over at Murashige and smiled a bit broadly, "But I also think you're going to be pleasantly surprised and happy for me as well, so maybe you won't have much of a problem believing it like I assume you will."

Sawa paused for a second, then turned his attention over to a bowl of candy, and reached out to scoop up a handful in a single motion, the smile on his face a bit wider and even broader than it had been before, "Basically," He added, "You know how I have a pretty obvious crush on Sagisu-san and try to talk to her almost every day, even if she's busy and not supposed to be interacting with anyone?"

Murashige placed the strip of paper down on his desk, then stopped to look up at Sawa in a slightly confused fashion, raising one eyebrow as he did so, "Yeah?" He said, his voice somewhat quiet, "What about her?"

A slight blush rose up on Sawa's face, and he redirected his attention towards unwrapping one of the candies in his hand, "Well," He began, his voice now more serious, though with a trace of nervousness in his tone, "I actually worked up the courage to ask her out on a date to the park yesterday, which she unexpectedly accepted to my surprise, since I was expecting her to turn me down for one reason or another, but it's still a pretty pleasant surprise overall for me, as I wasn't having the best week so far, so I'm actually quite glad she agreed to go out on a date with me."

"That's nice to hear, actually," Murashige looked back down at the opened folder in his lap, then reached out again to pull out another sheet of paper from it, a smile now slowly forming on his face as he did so, "I was sort of afraid that you'd never really get around to letting her know that you have a crush on her, but it's nice to hear that you were able to pull it off without much issue and worked up the courage to do it so in the process."

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Tadokoro looked up at the shelf before him for a few seconds, then reached up to gently grab a small folder that was sticking out of a middle shelf, a slight smile curling up at the edges of his mouth as he did so. Just the exact folder that I've been looking for to hand over to Murashige-san to finish my first round of tasks for him, as well as earn myself my much needed rest and relaxation time for today, which I particularly need today because of some stress that I've already been experiencing these past few hours and a half.

Rumi watched as he gently grabbed the folder off of the shelf and pulled it down to him to open up and inspect, her expression curious, and with a faint frown forming on her lips, a small blush also rising in her cheeks as well, "Are you alright with me asking you a random question?" She asked, "There's something that I've been wondering about for the last couple of minutes or so, and I was hoping that you could answer it for me as a result."

"Usually, I think I'd accept your wanting to ask me a question and have it be answered," He closed the folder back up, and moved to tuck it under his arm, then turned his head to look over at her and smiled a bit apologetically, "But I actually have a fairly busy work schedule today, which involves a lot of me zippin' around fulfilling various tasks for Murashige, as well as several other people, so I really don't have much time to be able to sit down and chat with you and answer your question like I would be able to otherwise."

The small blush deepened a little in her cheeks, but she averted her eyes from him and turned to look down at her lap, her heart now fluttering a bit in her chest as she did so, "I guess I understand that," She said softly, "I think I'll hold onto my question for now, and wait for a good opportunity to be able to ask you it later on."

His smile widened a little bit, though it still remained apologetic in nature, then he turned on his heel and started walking out of the room in a now silent and semi-serious gesture, his expression now becoming a bit more serious to match the tone of his walk in the process.

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Tadokoro placed the folder down in the center of the table, then turned away and bent down to pick up a small empty plastic container that had apparently been discarded on the floor, eliciting a frown from him as he did so. I don't think I understand the point in throwing away what appears to be a perfectly good container, especially since it doesn't look like it has any particular defects or flaws that would justify discarding it, so throwing it away just seems like an unnecessary waste of good resources that could be put to better use.

He straightened up again, and turned back around, then placed the container down on the table beside the folder, the frown on his face now slowly but gradually changing into a smile as he did. Since the owner of this container apparently doesn't seem to be around, I might as well claim it for myself and take it back home with me at the end of the day, maybe to use it as an extra storage space for some of my clothes, or better yet, as a way of storing some of the additional pairs of pants that I don't have room for in my closet.

"I'm aware that we don't know each other very well," Sawa set a magazine down on the arm of the couch, then straightened up slightly and turned to look up at Tadokoro and smiled, "And that our only source of contact is through both interacting with Murashige and fulfilling different positions and duties for him here at the agency," He said, "But I would still like to try and get to know you a little better in the hopes of starting a potential friendship between us, even if it might take a while to do so."

"I think I'd be up for starting a friendship between us, actually," Tadokoro turned away and bent down to pick up a scrap of paper that also had apparently been discarded, then stood back up and turned back around to place it on the table on top of the folder, "I've personally been sort of curious about you since I see you flittin' about here and there with Murashige pretty much wherever he goes, so I don't think I'd mind actually getting to know you a little better and becoming friends with you in the process."

A semi-broad smile formed on Sawa's face, and he returned his attention back to the magazine on the couch, then reached out to pick it back up, "You definitely won't regret becoming friends with me," He said, "I can be quite the colorful and interesting guy to hang around with, so you definitely won't regret an ounce of time spent with me as a result of our soon to be friendship."

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Rumi looked at a small pile of magazines in front of her, a slightly curious smile forming on her lips as she did so, then reached out to pick up the top one, her fingers carefully gripping the spine so as to keep it together. I don't usually go out of my way to read magazines, so this would be a rare occurrence for me to do so.

She straightened up slightly, then brought the magazine up to her face and opened it up to a random article, the curious smile now widening a bit in the process. Especially not ones about fashion, as I'm quite fashion conscious at times, so I tend to avoid them as much as humanly possible.

"It's been a while since we last saw each other, you know," Murashige placed a stack of folders down on a small table that was off in a corner of the room, then straightened up and folded his arms across his chest, a friendly and warm smile forming on his face as he did, his expression gentle to match, "I was actually starting to get a little worried that you were starting to close yourself off from everyone here at the agency and keep to yourself like some sort of hermit, but I'm glad to see that not be the case at all, and that you're still as much as the Rumi-chan that I know and love as my friend."

An embarrassed flush rose up to her cheeks, and she shyly lowered the magazine away from her face, then slowly turned her head to look over at him, a much smaller and shyer smile now forming on her face as she did, "I've just been pretty busy with the rest of my career as an idol," She said, her voice slightly quiet, "So I haven't really had the time to stop and hang out with you guys and chat like I would like to have been doing, if you can understand that."

"I think I can understand that," He turned away and bent down to pick up a small notebook that had been left behind on the floor, then straightened back up and turned back around to place it on the table next to the pile of folders, "I've also been a bit busy with my own career and life as well, including producing music for other artists and focusing on my wife in preparation for a visit from her entire family this coming weekend, so I can definitely understand being busy and not having the time to stop and hang out with everyone like you wish you could."

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Sakaguchi gently stabbed his fork into a piece of cake, then brought it up to his mouth for a small bite, his gaze wandering over to watch as streams of people passed back to and fro on the street adjacent to his table, a slight smile forming on his lips as he did so. I enjoy this little view of central Tokyo that sitting here at this table affords me, it's very wide and vast, and really lets me take in all of the sights and sounds of the city that I enjoy experiencing on a frequent basis.

"So, Sakaguchi-san," Hisao placed his own fork down on his plate, then turned his head to face the other man, his expression a mix of regret and displeasure, and with a trace of seriousness in his eyes, "Since we're currently discussing plans involving keeping Rumi-san away from that moronic Tadokoro, as well as ensuring that they don't get any closer to each other than they already probably have," He said, his voice low and measured, "There's a small request that I have for you to consider to better ensure that these plans go smoothly and without incident, but are a little out of the ordinary and harsh for me, but hopefully you'll understand it once you hear what I have to say."

He hesitated for a moment, and glanced down at his plate, his expression growing somber as he did, a remorseful frown tugging at his lips as well, then he redirected his gaze back to Sakaguchi, "Since I'm aware you have a bit of a huge crush on Rumi-san and want her to notice you somehow as a potential romantic option," He continued, his voice now a bit lower and more regretful sounding than before, "I request that you tell her your feelings about her and confess your crush to her as well as a way of getting over it and letting it go so that it doesn't interfere with our plans to stop her from getting any closer to Tadokoro and his general tomfoolery here at the agency."

The smile on Sakaguchi's face faded almost completely, and he slowly turned his head to look over at Hisao, his expression sobering into an unhappy and serious one in the process, "I suppose I can make do on that request for you, Enomoto-san," He said, his voice a bit inaudible, "But I can't guarantee that it'll be easy or simple for me to follow through, as I'm not the kind of man who can just let a girl go without putting up a fight for her and winning her over with my charm and wit."

"I'm plenty aware that this is a particularly painful request to make for you," Hisao turned his attention back to his own plate, and reached out to pick his fork back up, his expression now unreadable, but there was an obvious hint of remorse in his eyes, "But this was the only thing I could think of to try and help our plans succeed in the best way possible and be accomplished in the exact way that I want them to be, even if the path to that end goal might end up being littered with heartbreak and misery for everyone involved."

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Hisao stared down at the food on his plate for a few seconds, then used his fork to tear off a wedge of the cake, a somber expression now forming in his features as he did, a deep frown also tugging at his lips as well.

"This request you made of me is really not going to be easy for me to fulfill," Sakaguchi set his fork down on his plate, then turned his attention to his cup of tea and reached out to carefully pick it up, his own expression a mix of seriousness and sadness, "But I will try my best to do it regardless of any misery or pain it might cause me in the process," He said, "Particularly if it's to help our plans to succeed and get Rumi-san away from that awful Tadomuro and his bad influence on her, as I want her to be happy and free from any harm or suffering that he's trying to inflict upon her."

"Even if it might be a painful task for you to undertake for me, Sakaguchi-san," Hisao brought the piece of cake up to his mouth, and took a bite out of it in a slow manner, his gaze now focusing almost intently on his plate as a way of avoiding looking at the other man, "I still appreciate you deciding to do it for me and not let any personal biases or opinions get in the way of it as a way of letting our plans succeed and reach the goals that we've set for ourselves to obtain and accomplish."

A faint smile began to curl up at the edges of Sakaguchi's mouth, but he kept his expression serious and his gaze down as he brought the cup of tea closer to him, "Like I said earlier," He said, "This particular request you've made of me isn't really going to be easy for me to fulfill for you, but I will still try my best to do it nonetheless, even if it might bring me a lot of personal heartbreak and suffering to do so and make me a much worse off man in the end for it."

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Rumi closed the magazine, then placed it back down on the small pile, a small but satisfied smile forming on her face as she did so. It was a good idea to have spent some time reading this magazine, it was something of a nice read and I learned a little bit about the fashion industry that I didn't already know about.

She drew her hand away from the magazine after placing it back down on the pile, then turned away and bent down to pick up a small plastic cup from off of the floor, a slight glint of confusion now forming in her eyes as she did. I wonder who keeps leaving all this random stuff all over the place? It's pretty unusual for this much junk to be lying around all over a busy place like the agency, but maybe I shouldn't find it too surprising, as stranger things have been known to occasionally happen here.

She looked down at the cup for a moment, then turned back around to the pile of magazines, and placed the cup down a few inches away from them, her expression now a bit more serious than it had been a moment ago. I think I'll just leave it here in case the owner comes looking for it and wants to take it back with them, as it would be rude for me to take it from its owner without their knowledge or permission, since that would qualify as theft and would end up making me the bad guy, which isn't an image that I would ever like to have associated with me.

"Hey, Rumi-chan," Sawa set an empty box down on the floor, then straightened back up and folded his arms over his chest, a broad smile plastering itself onto his face as he did, "It's been quite a while since we've last seen each other, you know?" He said, "Almost made me wonder if you'd gotten a bit too busy being an idol to hang out with me anymore, but I maybe it was a bit wrong of me to make such an assumption, since you're a nice person and all that, and you always go out of your way to keep up with the people you're friends with regardless of your job and how busy you might be."

A small blush rose up in her cheeks, and she turned her head to look over at him, now suddenly feeling a bit shy as she did so, "I've just been pretty busy with my work as an idol lately," She said, "Which has kind of made it hard for me to be able break away from it and hang out with the people that I'm friends with, so I'm sorry for not being able to make time to spend with you or Murashige-san or the other people that I'm friends with here at the agency, as being an idol has really consumed a lot of my time recently and made things more difficult as a result."

"I don't really think you need to apologize for that," He turned away again, then bent down to pick up a stray sheet of paper off of the floor, "I think I can understand that your career as an idol has made it harder for you to get away from it and take breaks so that you can hang out with your friends," He said, "As my career as a producer has also made it harder for me to stop and relax and do the things that I want to do, so I can definitely relate to your predicament pretty well."

Chapter Text

Rumi looked back at the pile of magazines for a moment, then reached out to pick up another one, her expression mostly serious, though there was a faint smile on her lips. I guess it wouldn't hurt to read a different magazine while I wait for the time to pass.

Her smile grew a bit as she picked up a magazine that had a picture of a dense forestry area with flowers blooming around the foreground. This appears to be some sort of a nature or otherwise plant related magazine, perfect for me to read while I wait, actually, as I've always been fascinated by nature and interested in maybe having my own personal garden someday.

She brought the magazine closer to her and looked over the cover for a second, then almost hastily tucked it under her arm and turned away to walk over to the couch, the smile on her face now wider and broader as she did so. Having my own personal garden would really be a dream come true for me, as I've been wanting one ever since I was a little girl and not yet the idol singer that I am now, especially a large garden with every possible type of rose that I could possibly ever want in the entire world, along with a whole ton of other flowers, but I mostly want roses as I find those to be the most exotic and fascinating flower of them all.

She stopped in front of the couch, then turned away slightly to pull the magazine out from under her arm, her expression now a bit more serious as she did, though the smile still remained on her face, now fading slightly and less prominent as it had been a moment ago. Having a huge rose garden would really be a great little addition to my career as an idol singer, really, as it could easily boost my popularity and make me seem like more of an interesting person to all of my fans as well as all of my friends and relatives, while also helping to create an interesting image that would make me seem like a mature and sexy idol with a penchant for gardening and a love for roses in particular, which would probably help to bring the hunks my way and attract them to me based on that fact alone, as I know guys often go for ladies who enjoy gardening and flowers and such.

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Tadokoro placed a small box down on the floor, then straightened up and turned his head to look over at Rumi, a bit of a cheeky grin tugging at his lips as he did so, "I don't think I was ever expecting to run into you here," He said, "Let alone at this hour of the day, as you're usually off doing your own thing down in the recording studio."

A deep blush rose up in her cheeks, and she pulled the magazine up to her face to obscure both her face and the blush from him, "I-I'm aware that I'm not usually here at this time of day," She said, her voice a bit quiet, "But I only came here to relax and do a bit of reading while I wait for the time to pass," She said, "And as soon as the time passes, I'll be heading to the recording studio to work on sprucing up some of the songs that I've been working on for my upcoming album, which is still a bit of a work in progress, if you're wondering."

"I don't think I was wondering about your little album that you're working on," He turned away from her, then bent down a bit and reached out to pick up a different small box from the floor, this one flatter and more narrow in its design, "But I suppose it's nice to know that you're still chipping away at it and making progress with it in the same way my own client is with his, though his still has a long way to go before it can reach the final stage of completion, I'm afraid."

The deep blush in her cheeks spread a bit further up her face, but she ignored it and pulled the magazine closer to her face to try and focus on the article that she had been reading, her heart now also fluttering slightly as she did so, a faint shy frown now also playing along the edges of her lips, though barely noticeable as it was, her expression now also a bit more subdued and unreadable as she held the magazine up to her face.

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Rumi gently pulled the magazine away from her face to glance up at Tadokoro, a deeper blush creeping across her cheeks as she did so, though she tried to ignore it, "Are you okay with me still wanting to ask you that question from earlier today?" She asked, "Because if you are, then I'm actually quite eager to share it with you and hear your answer to it."

"I think I still am okay with you wanting to ask me a question," He straightened up and turned away to place the second box down on top of the one from earlier, "I have been sort of curious about it and have been waiting for a good opportunity to have you ask it of me," He said, his voice a bit soft, "Especially if I think the topic of it is the topic that I think it is, as I'm quite interested in seeing how you ask me about it and having me figure out how to respond to it as a whole in the process."

Her heart fluttered a bit from his words, and she pulled the magazine back up to her face again to obscure the growing heat in her cheeks, "It is the topic you think it is," She said softly, "I've been thinking about it almost the entire time I've been awake and have been quite restless in wanting it to be answered by you," She hesitated for a slight moment, then gently lowered the magazine again to look at him, her expression now a bit shy as she did so, "If that seems logical to you, that is, as I realize what I just said sounds like the ramblings of a madwoman."

A slight chuckle escaped from him, and he straightened up once more and turned his head slightly to glance over at her, his expression now a bit uncharacteristically gentle as he did so, "I don't think it sounds that crazy, honestly," He said, "If anything, what you just said is pretty reasonable and something that I can understand very easily, particularly as I also have questions of my own that I almost always end up constantly thinking about for long periods of time and often also feel pretty restless about them when I do so, so I can sorta relate to what you said just now."

Her heart fluttered from his words again, this time harder and more loudly in its beat, then she pulled the magazine back up to her face again and tried to find the strength to focus on the article in front of her instead of the heat that was now slowly but assuredly spreading throughout her body and making it feel like it was on fire in the most embarrassing and unpleasant way imaginable.

Chapter Text

Rumi hesitantly lowered the magazine away from her face again, and watched as Sawa entered into the room and placed a box down on the floor, her heart now beating at a rapid pace in the process, a bit of a shy frown tugging at her lips as she did so. Oh no, why is he here? 

Sawa straightened up after placing the box down on the floor, then turned his head to look over at her and smiled, which made her cheeks flush a deep shade of red as she quickly averted her gaze back to the magazine and tried to pull it back up to her face, "Hey, Rumi-chan," He said, his voice soft, though loud enough to be heard from across the room, "This is the second time today that we've run into each other, you know? Not that I mind, of course, but it's a little surprising regardless."

Her heart fluttered a little from his words, and she quickly pulled the magazine back up to her face to once more obscure it from view, "I-I also find it a little surprising to be encountering you for the second time today," She stammered, her voice low and shaky, "E-Especially when I assumed that you would be leaving early today to go to some doctors appointment that you mentioned to me at some point, since you said it was an important one and that it would require you being gone for pretty much the entire day,"

"I did say that I had to go to a doctors appointment to you," He turned away and bent down to pick up a small empty folder from off of the floor, then straightened up once more and quickly tucked the folder under his arm, his gaze now returning to her as he did so, "But it's actually not until tomorrow that I have to deal with it, so I'm still going to be stuck here like usual for the rest of the day until the work ends and I can leave to tend to my own personal business."

Her heart fluttered again from his words, but she kept the magazine in place to hide her face and tried once again to focus on the magazine, her cheeks now flushing a bit more as she did so, though hidden and not all that visible from his view, her lips now also pursing into a thin line as well, again not visibly so.

Tadokoro watched the two of them for a moment, his expression a mix of questioning and bewilderment as he did so, raising one eyebrow as well, then turned away and redirected his attention over to a shelf and reached out to pick up a small stack of two sheets of paper from it, trying and almost failing to keep his attention focused on this and not the unusual sight that had just transpired in front of him.

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Tadokoro turned away from the shelf, and bent down slightly to place them both on the floor, his expression now a lot more serious as he did so, though there was a hint of a smile at the corners of his mouth.

"You know," Sawa pulled the folder out from under his arm, and leaned forward slightly to place it on top of the two boxes that Tadokoro had placed there earlier, "Seeing as we've sort of decided to be friends with each other," He said, "I think it would be a pretty good idea for us to properly introduce ourselves to each other, since we don't necessarily know each other that well yet at this point."

The smile on Tadokoro's face became a bit more pronounced, and he paused temporarily to look up at Sawa, "I don't think I would mind that at all," He said, "I actually usually enjoy introducing myself to other people when I first meet them, so I'd have no real issue with properly introducing myself to you as a way to really kick start our friendship."

A smile formed on Sawa's face in return, then he straightened back up and turned to look back down at Tadokoro, "I'm a bit glad to know you're okay with wanting us to introduce ourselves to each other," He said, "Especially after I realized that our friendship wouldn't really work without us knowing each other's names and such, which is why I came up with the idea that we should introduce ourselves to each other and put our friendship on the proper footing to begin with."

A slight chuckle escaped Tadokoro's lips, and he turned his attention over to a small blank sheet of paper that was lying upside down on the floor, "Again, I enjoy introducing myself to people when I first meet them," He said, "So I don't really see a problem with it, especially since I prefer if people know my name and all when they first meet me or befriend me, as it would help to give them a better idea of who I am and what I'm like as a person as well as a friend."

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Tadokoro straightened up, and turned his attention to the shelf next to him, then reached out to place the blank sheet of paper down on one of the shelves, his expression fairly serious, though there was something of a grin slowly forming at the corners of his mouth in a secretive way as he did.

"You know," Sawa set a small book down on the arm of a chair in a corner of the room, then straightened up himself and turned his head to look over at Tadokoro, his expression slightly cheeky as he did, "Since we plan on properly introducing ourselves to each other as the first logical step in our friendship," He said, "I was thinking that we could meet up tomorrow afternoon for lunch at a nearby restaurant and chat about things as the main way for us to get to know each other better and really kick our friendship off in a proper way."

A warmer and more genuine smile spread over Tadokoro's face, and he paused what he was doing to look over his shoulder at Sawa, "I think I'd be up for doing something like that with you," He said, "It'd be a pretty smart way for us to get to know each other and further develop the friendship between us in a way that would benefit us both."

Sawa smiled at him in return, then returned his attention to the chair and moved to sit down in it, "I'm glad to hear that you'd be up for my little plan," He said, "Particularly when I almost assumed that you'd be possibly hesitant or unsure about it and maybe reject it for some reason or another."

A faint chuckle escaped from Tadokoro's lips, and he shook his head slightly, then turned his attention back to the shelf in front of him and reached out to grab an empty folder from a middle shelf, "Don't think I get why you'd assume that I'd reject the idea of having lunch with you, honestly," He said, "I'm usually up for going out and having lunch with people, especially ones that I've just befriended and want to know better and strengthen the bond between us with food and conversation."

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Rumi stood up from the couch, the magazine tucked under her arm in a neat manner, then shuffled a bit closer to the table and turned her attention to the magazine to reach up and start to gently pull it out from under her arm, "For the question that I've been meaning to ask you since yesterday," She said softly, "I mostly want to know if you actually live in a boarding house or if you're lying about your living situation just to make yourself seem more sympathetic and down on your luck to everyone around you?"

"I do actually live in a boarding house," Tadokoro opened the folder in front of him, then straightened back up and turned away to face the shelf to grab a few sheets of paper from a stack on the highest shelf, his expression a sudden mix of frustrated and disappointed, a frown also forming on his face, though he kept it concealed, "It's an aging one at the end of town that I moved into about six years after I lost my apartment to an unexpected accident involving broken pipes and flooding that I couldn't really recover from, and which my previous landlord was unsympathetic about and promptly kicked me out with only the most basic necessities on hand," He said, his voice low, "Which is why I decided to move into a boarding house in order to find a better and more stable place for me to live in and slowly rebuild my life again after I lost my apartment to that accident, regardless of the fact that it's older than my apartment was and that it has issues of its own as well, as I don't really care about the issues and just try to live my life as best I can in these circumstances."

A small frown formed on her lips as she placed the magazine down on the table in front of her, but she didn't let it show on her face, and instead focused on the task at hand, extremely faint tears forming in the corners of her eyes as she did, though she fought them back. Oh.

He paused slightly, and turned his head to glance at her, his expression gentling slightly as he noticed her attempting to hold back tears, then he returned his attention to the papers in his hand, though in a hesitant and uncertain manner, his gaze still glancing in her direction, "On a much lighter note, though," He said, attempting to lighten the mood, "The people that I share the boarding house with are pretty nice and friendly, and I've made a few valuable friends in the process, which I consider to be one of the few bright spots in my life these days."

A faint smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, and she turned to glance up at him, though the tears still tried to form in her eyes, "That's nice at least." She said, "Having friends in a place that you share with them is a pretty nice way to maintain your sanity and keep you relatively happy."

"That's a pretty good way to put it, actually," He said, "Having friends to talk to and who you share a place to with can be a pretty decent way to keep yourself in check and make sure that you don't lose yourself in the madness of everything that goes on around you."

Chapter Text

Rumi hesitantly glanced down at the table, then reached out and picked up a small plastic ring, which elicited a slight smile from her in the process. This'll be an interesting addition to my secret collection of trinkets.

"You know," Tadokoro turned his attention to the opened up folder next to him, then leaned forward slightly to stick the stack of papers inside of it, "If you're alright with this, I have a question of my own that I've been meaning to ask you since yesterday," He said, "One that's a bit on the personal side, and is related to when we had dinner together at the French restaurant the other night."

She turned away to the side slightly, and carefully stuck the small plastic ring into her pant pocket, "I think I'd be fine with answering it for you," She said, "Especially as a way to return the favor since I asked you a question and you answered it for me earlier, so I think it's only fair for you to do so as well."

A slight smile formed on his face, and he paused what he was doing to look up at her, "That's a pretty good way of looking at it," He said, "Us asking each other questions is admittedly a good way of returning the favor for each other, and maybe could also help us learn more about each other in the process, too."

A deep blush formed in her cheeks, but she kept her gaze focused on the task at hand, her heart now beating a bit faster than usual in her chest, "You make a pretty good point there, really," She said, her voice a bit softer than it had a moment before, "Us asking each other questions like this could help us get to know each other better and also maybe understand each other as well in the process."

Chapter Text

Tadokoro closed the folder in front of him, then turned to look at Rumi and smiled at her, albeit a bit crookedly, "Basically," He said, "I want to know why you seemed upset back at the French restaurant during our dinner last night."

A small frown tugged at her lips, and she turned to look down at her shoes for a moment, then redirected her gaze to the floor, "The reason I seemed upset was because I started to feel self-conscious about how out of place and weird I looked amongst the other patrons there," She said quietly, "Which gave me a bit of low self-esteem as well and is the primary reason why I seemed upset, as I was spiraling into a bit of a slump about my appearance and felt like a weird lumpy mass in comparison to everyone else there."

His smile faded slightly, then he straightened up a bit and crossed his arms, his expression now a bit serious, and with a pang of sympathy, "I don't think I was expecting that to be the reason you seemed upset back at the French restaurant," He said, "If anything, I kinda assumed you were upset because of something more minor, like the food not being up to snuff or the staff being rude or spotty or what have you."

Her cheeks flushed a little, and she turned her head to look over at him, her own expression now slightly annoyed as she did so, "I'm not sure I understand why exactly you'd assume I'd be upset about something minor rather than something more serious," She said, "With some exceptions, I'm not usually the type to be easily affected by minor things, such as restaurant staff being rude or the food not being high quality and up to par with my expectations."

He shrugged a little, a gentle but slightly goofy grin now forming on his lips as he did, "I dunno why I assumed you'd be upset about something minor, really," He said, "But it might be because you sort of seem like the type who'd be easily affected by minor things and throw fits over them as a result, even if it would end up making you look bad in the due process."

A deep scowl formed on her features as she shot a bit of a glare at him, but then folded her arms in front of her and redirected her gaze back to the floor, her cheeks now flushing a shade deeper and more noticeably as she did so, "That's honestly a terrible assumption to make about me," She said, her voice now a bit sharper than it had been before, "Even if there is some truth to it, it's still a horrible assumption to make about someone that you still barely know."

Chapter Text

Rumi sat down on the edge of the chair, then turned away to place her bag on the floor a few feet away from her, her expression a mix of curious and uncertain, her gaze flickering up to Hisao, then back down to what she was doing, "I'm actually quite curious as to why you decided to call me into your office like this, Enomoto-san," She said, "Especially on short notice like this."

A bit of a sheepish grin slowly tugged at his lips, and he redirected his attention to a small paper on his desk, then reached out to pick it up, "I'm aware it's a bit unusual for me to call you in to my office at random like this," He said, "But I have something pretty special that I'd like to share with you regarding your upcoming album and the hard work you've been pooling into it as a whole."

Her cheeks flushed slightly at his words, then she released the strap of her bag and moved to sit back in the chair so that she was facing him, "Are you about to praise me for the work I've been putting into my album?" She asked, "Or am I mistaken?"

His sheepish grin grew a teensy bit wider, and he turned to the other side of the desk to place the blank sheet of paper down, his gaze looking in her direction as he did so, "I am," He said, his voice a bit quieter than it had been before, "I'm quite proud of the work that you've been putting into your album, along with the extensive songwriting and personal arranging that you've been doing as well, really shows how far you've come as an idol singer in a pretty short amount of time, in my opinion at least."

Her cheeks flushed a bit more, and she shyly redirected her gaze to her shoes, "I think this is the first time I've been praised for my work by you," She said, "I don't know how to feel about it, honestly."

A pretty faint chuckle sounded from him, and he turned away once more to pick up a small pen, "I'm aware that me praising you for your work seems out of the ordinary for me," He said, "But, I really am quite proud of you and all the work you've been putting into your album to ensure its quality and sound comes out top notch and on par with some of your previous albums."

Chapter Text

A slight grin formed on Tadokoro's face as he looked down at the bowl of soup in front of him, then he turned away to pick up a spoon, the grin now widening slightly as he did so.

Sawa placed a fork down against the edge of his bowl, then paused and looked up at Tadokoro, a grin of his own forming on his lips as he did, and with a hint of amusement already displaying itself in his eyes, "Do you usually get soup when you come to this restaurant?" He asked, "Or do you order something else instead?"

Tadokoro paused to briefly glance up at Sawa, then looked back down at the bowl in front of him, and used the spoon to pick up a small chunk of mushroom out of it, "I usually order a cheap noodle dish to eat here instead of bothering with the more expensive dishes," He said, "But seeing as this is our first lunch together, I thought it would be best to order something a bit nicer and more refined than what I normally would prefer to order."

"I think I get that," Sawa turned his attention back to his own bowl and reached out to pick his fork back up, his expression now slightly more serious as he did so, though there was a lingering trace of amusement still there, "I also often order pretty cheap food whenever I go out to eat somewhere," He said, "But sometimes, when I'm with someone, either a new friend or a long time friend, I usually go out of my way to order something a little more on the expensive side of things to try and impress them and make them think I'm a lot fancier than I appear to be."

A slightly amused grin tugged at Tadokoro's lips as he brought the mushroom piece to his mouth for a small bite, "Sounds like we have a lot more in common than I first thought," He said, "Particularly when it comes to ordering things more expensive than normal just to impress the people around us, or at the very least make them think we're more sophisticated than we let on."

Chapter Text

Tadokoro brought the mushroom piece back up to his mouth for another bite, then pulled the spoon away from him slightly and let the remaining portion slide down into the bowl in front of him, his expression serious, and with a faint frown playing along the edges of his lips. This soup is good, but I feel like it's missing something key, like additional ingredients or maybe a few spices, but I'm not entirely sure if the latter part would be helpful in any way to the overall flavor, as spices would probably offset the overall taste and flavoring of the broth and make it taste too heavy or too overwhelmingly rich.

"You know," Sawa placed his fork back down inside of his bowl and turned his head slightly to look up at Tadokoro, a bit of a sheepish smile playing on his face as he did, "Since we're having lunch as a way to get to know each other better," He said, "We should probably tell each other our names as the first proper step in the process, as having lunch together without knowing one another's names would just be a weird experience in and of itself, in my personal opinion, of course."

Tadokoro scooped up another piece of mushroom with his spoon, and took a small bite of it, his gaze mostly focused on his bowl as he did, "I don't know if I'd agree that having lunch with someone and not knowing their name would be considered weird," He said, his voice low, "Speaking from my experiences, I've admittedly had lunch with people that I've never learned the names of more often than I have with people I know, so I don't think it's necessarily weird for us to have lunch without knowing each other's names, as it's something that I've been through more than once in my life."

Sawa raised an eyebrow in confusion at Tadokoro's words, but then he turned his attention to his own bowl, and reached out to move his fork around a bit, "I suppose you make a valid point there with that," He said, "But I still think that it would be better for us to learn each other's names to enhance the experience of lunching together and have it be the first logical step in our friendship with each other as a way to make things smoother and less awkward overall."

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Tadokoro placed the spoon down inside of his bowl, then turned his attention over to a small glass of water, and reached out to pick it up, "I guess I'll go first and say what my name is," He said, "Along with stating my job at the agency and who my client as well, as I don't think you're aware of what I do for a living."

He brought the glass of water up to his lips for a slight sip, then placed it back down on the table and straightened his posture up a bit as he turned his attention over to Sawa, "My full name is Bunzo Tadokoro," He began, "But I mostly prefer to go by my last name or my nickname of Bon instead of my first name, since it's pretty old fashioned sounding and doesn't jibe with my career choice as an agent."

He paused for a moment, as if in thought, then turned his attention back to his bowl and continued, "And my client is male singer Motohiko Kanayama," He added, "Who is a bit of a nuisance at times, but he's pretty talented and means well, so I'm willing to put up with his tomfoolery and other odd behavior as his agent, since it's a high paying job and we're pretty good friends regardless of his antics."

Sawa jabbed at a piece of beef in his bowl with his fork, then brought it up to his mouth for a brief bite, "I kinda already figured that Kanayama guy was your client," He said, "We actually briefly met once outside of the recording studio and had a nice but short chat about music and such, and where he also referenced you in all but name as his agent, so I'm already quite familiar with him in a loose sense."

"That's good to hear, actually," Tadokoro reached out to pick his spoon back up, then used it to scoop up some broth from the bowl, "I was sorta worried I'd have to go through an elaborate introduction of him to you, but it's nice to hear that you already sort of know him and are also sort of familiar with him as well."

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Tadokoro took a bite of the broth slowly, then placed his spoon back down in the bowl and turned to glance back at his glass of water, something of a smile forming on his face as he did so. This soup is good and all that, but it's a bit dry at times and really leaves me parched that other soups don't usually do, which is why I've been pausing every so often to drink some water before going back to eating. so that my taste buds can be replenished and I can relax before the next bite I take.

"Since you introduced yourself and stated your name and all that jazz," Sawa placed his fork down against the edge of his bowl, then glanced up at Tadokoro and smiled, "It'd only be fair for me to do the same and properly introduce myself to you as a way of returning the favor."

He paused for a moment, and turned to look back down at his bowl briefly, then returned his gaze to Tadokoro and smiled a bit more broadly, "My name is Asao Sawa," He began, "And I'm a producer that works alongside Murashige for the most part, but I sometimes do a bit of solo work as well, as a way of lessening the workload for him and to also sharpen my skills in a few areas without his guidance or assistance overshadowing me by accident in the process."

"I kinda figured you were a producer of some kind based on how much you hang around Murashige-san," Tadokoro brought the glass of water close to him and took a sip of it, "But I'm a bit surprised to know that you occasionally do solo work as well, since you seem like the kind of person that prefers to work alongside a partner when it comes to producing music."

A slight chuckle escaped Sawa's lips, and he returned his attention to his bowl, and reached out to pick his fork back up, "I'm plenty aware of how surprising it is that I sometimes work solo," He said, "But working solo is actually how I got my start in the music industry to begin with, as I used to be a sound engineer and occasional studio musician involved with percussion before I became the producer that I am nowadays."

Chapter Text

Rumi looked up at the bookshelf before her and smiled slightly. Maybe some reading will do me some good.

She hesitated for a moment, then leaned forward a little and reached up to grab at a small book, the slight smile on her face growing a bit as she did so.

"I'm quite aware that this is sudden," Sakaguchi placed an empty folder down on the table, then straightened and turned to look at her, his expression a mix of seriousness and regret, and with a frown already on his face, "But I have an important matter to share with you regarding our friendship and how I feel about you as a whole," He said, his voice quiet and somber, "It's not something that will be easy for me to share or explain, but I'm willing to risk things for the sake of making sure you know how I feel about you and about our friendship as well."

She tucked the small book under her arm, then turned to look at him, which caused a faint blush to rise in his cheeks in the process, the slight smile on her face now a bit wider and more inviting, "Even if you say it's pretty important and not easy for you to explain or share with me," She said, "I think I'd be willing to hear you out and try to rationalize or make sense of it all regardless of its difficulty or the risk that it imposes on our friendship."

The blush in his cheeks deepened a bit, but he ignored it and smiled a little at her, "I appreciate your willingness to hear what I have to say rather than immediately dismissing it," He said, "Even if it might be a disastrous risk for our friendship and might also complicate things between us in hindsight, but I appreciate it nonetheless."

A slight flush rose in her face, then she turned away from him and pulled the small book out from under her arm so that she could look at it more closely, her expression now more serious as she did so, and with the smile fading away in favor of a more neutral looking frown in the process.

Chapter Text

Rumi placed the book down on the edge of the table, then straightened up and looked at Sakaguchi, a shy smile crossing her face as she did so, "If it's alright with you," She said, her voice soft and low, "I would like to hear the thing you want to share with me before I decide to read this book so that it doesn't interfere with it and doesn't take up too much of your time as a result."

A faint blush rose in his cheeks, but he ignored it and smiled warmly at her, "I appreciate you deciding that me sharing this thing with you is more important than reading," He said, his voice quiet, "Shows how much of a priority our friendship is to you at this point in your career as an idol, since it's a bit of a triviality in comparison to the rest of it, statistically speaking, of course."

Her cheek flushed slightly, and she turned to look back down at the book in a casual glance, "I don't really see it as a triviality, Sakaguchi-san," She said, her voice now a bit softer, "Our friendship has always been pretty important to me and has also helped to get me through some pretty turbulent times in my career as well, so I think it's a bit unfair to treat it like it's unimportant and not worth my time or attention when I consider it a priority in the same vein as any other aspect of my life."

The blush in his cheeks grew a bit stronger, and he redirected his attention over to a box on the floor, his heart now beating faster than normal in his chest, "I suppose you make a good point there," He said quietly, "It's not very fair to treat our friendship like it's unimportant in the grand scheme of things in comparison to either your career or our respective lives in the agency and outside of it." He paused for a second, then turned to look back at her, a much softer smile on his face, "So I try to treat it as a priority and give it the respect that I believe it deserves in the same way that I would with anything else in my life."

Her cheeks flushed a bit more, but she nodded in agreement and turned to look up at him, "I think treating it like a major priority is the best way to go about things," She said, "Prioritizing friendships should be an important part of one's life, even if it's just a minor element of it."

Chapter Text

Sakaguchi hesitated for a moment, then turned to sit down on the couch behind him, a strong blush rising up in his face as he did so, his gaze fixating itself on the floor as well, "Basically, Rumi-san," He began, his voice quiet and low, "For the longest time since we've known each other, I've had a very deep and intense crush on you, one that only a very small handful of people have ever known about, as well as one that has really interfered with my work and my life in unforeseen ways, negatively mostly and rarely positively."

He paused, and looked down at his shoes, then up at Rumi, the blush in his face now deepening into a bright and hard to ignore shade of absolute crimson, his heart now also beating a bit in his chest, "I'm sorry about this, Rumi-san," He whispered, his voice now a lot quieter than it had been before, "Hisao-san told me to tell you about my crush to help me get over it and move on with my life, so I'm sorry if this is too abrupt and out of the blue for you to handle or deal with right now."

She crossed her arms in front of her, and looked down at him for a second, then turned her attention to the floor and kicked at it lightly, a faint blush now starting to form on her cheeks, though she ignored it, "I don't really know how to truly react or respond to this," She said, her voice soft, "I might need some alone time to think about it for a while in order to process it and come up with a reasonable way to react to it in a way that doesn't come off as rude to you or unkind to your feelings, if that's okay with you?"

He nodded his head slightly, then averted his gaze over to a wall on the opposite side of the room, "I think that's fine," He said, his voice now much quieter, "I understand if learning about my crush on you is a lot to unpack and process right now, so I think I can understand why you would want to have some time to yourself to think about it and hopefully process it in a manageable and healthy way."

Chapter Text

Rumi pulled a chair from under the table, then moved to sit down in it, her expression uncertain, though there was a trace of contemplation in her eyes, the faint blush from earlier now stronger and more noticeable than it had been before. I really don't know how to handle knowing that Sakaguchi-san had a crush on me pretty much the entire time that we've known each other, it feels weird and not right.

She hesitated slightly, then shifted so that she could place her arm on the table and rest her cheek in the palm of her hand, her gaze drifting around the room in a lingering and slow manner, a frown now forming on her lips as well. I mean, on one hand, an admittedly attractive guy like Sakaguchi-san having a crush on me after several years of friendship is certainly something that makes my heart flutter, but on the other hand, Sakaguchi-san is someone that I can only see as a friend and not as a potential romantic partner, thus I don't think I would be willing to pursue a relationship with him, as I personally prefer him as my friend and enjoy the friendship that we have together more than anything else, so a romantic relationship between us would likely be a bad idea and ruin things between us as a result.

She paused, and turned her head slightly to look over at a shelf lined with books of varying colors and sizes, then redirected her gaze down to the table in front of her and glanced at her reflection in the polished wood, the blush in her cheeks now more noticeable than it had been just a moment ago. Plus the 10 year age difference between us would also complicate things and make it hard for me to focus on a hypothetical romantic relationship with Sakaguchi in total, as my mind would be too preoccupied with the fact that he's a great deal older than I am and has more of an established life than I do, since I'm in my early twenties and life hasn't really been perfected or even settled down into a normal way just yet.

The blush in her cheeks deepened a bit as she looked down at her reflection, but then she averted her gaze away, and over to a different shelf on the opposite side of the room. Though, since I'm thinking about the age difference between me and Sakaguchi-san, maybe him being a lot older than me wouldn't necessarily be a problem for our hypothetical romantic relationship, since I think I like older men and he is pretty handsome, and has always been a very gentle hearted and caring friend to have in my life, give or take his more negative traits like his anger issues and his tendency to get overly worked up when things don't go his way, both of which I think I could overlook if we entered into a relationship together. Her heart fluttered a bit, and she redirected her gaze back to the table, then reached up to lightly touch the wood with the tips of her fingers. So maybe he wouldn't really be a bad choice for a romantic partner, since he's always been a good friend to me and we've always gotten along really well together, and the age difference could easily be ignored or brushed aside, as it's not a super important thing anyway and is just an arbitrary number in the grand scheme of things, so I don't really think it could impose serious harm on our relationship if we were to have one.

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Rumi glanced up at the ceiling briefly, then looked back down at the table and reached out to lightly touch the wood with her fingertips, her face now reddening slightly as she did. Though, the more I think about it, maybe Sakaguchi wouldn't be a good fit for a potential romantic partner for me based on his anger issues, only because I'm not sure if I'd be willing to deal with the turmoil and anguish that would come from having to deal with his apparently intense and uncontrollable temper, as that wouldn't be something that I'd be accustomed to dealing with, since that's something that's generally out of my wheelhouse as both an idol singer, and as a human being in general.

She traced a small half circle in the wood with a fingertip, then paused a little to look up at the ceiling again, her face now reddening a bit further as she did. But, on the other other hand, maybe I could try to help him with his anger issues and figure out a way to curb them and get them under control in a way that would be beneficial to the both of us in the long run, regardless of whether or not we'd be romantically involved or not.

A slight smile curled up on her lips, and she turned to look back down at the table, her face now returning to its normal color as she did, though the red still lingered in her cheeks a bit. If me and Sakaguchi-san are to end up in a romantic relationship with each other, maybe I should try to focus on helping him with his anger issues and setting him down a path of bettering himself in order to make him a more acceptable potential romantic option for me, rather than just accepting his anger issues and letting them be a part of this hypothetical relationship of ours.

Her smile widened a bit as she traced a tiny little line in the wood, then she turned her attention toward the light fixture on the ceiling and watched as it briefly flickered in and out as it essentially tried to fight for life. Helping him with his anger issues before we can potentially have a romantic relationship might be the best way to go about this, I'm certain of it.

Chapter Text

Hisao set a small book down on his desk, then used one hand to open it up to a random page that had been marked with several circles drawn around each descending paragraph with a comment written next to each circle, a slight smile forming on his lips as he did so. Only fair I continue with this little project of mine.

He looked over the page for a moment, then turned away to pick up an already uncapped pen, then turned back around to the page and drew a slightly large and oblong circle around the second to last paragraph, then added a small comment on the outer edge of the circle in a lower corner of the page, a more satisfied smile now forming on his face in the process.

"It was admittedly a bit hard for me to pull off, particularly with the confessing part," Sakaguchi pulled a chair out from under Hisao's desk, then turned to sit down in it and looked over at a row of photos that were lined up on the desk, his expression a mix of tired and relieved, though there was a frown on his face, "But I was able to successfully tell Rumi-san how I felt about her and also get over her in the process as well," He said, his voice low and quiet, "I now feel slightly relieved after pulling such a thing off, like a burden has been lifted from my shoulders and I'm finally able to move on with my life in a way that I didn't know I wasn't expecting to be able to before, if that sounds sensible to you, that is."

"It's nice to hear that you were successful in admitting your crush to her and subsequently moving on from it in the process," Hisao said, briefly glancing up at Sakaguchi to smile at him, then returned his attention to the book in front of him and resumed what he was doing, "Particularly as the first of many steps in our plan to prevent her and that awful Tadokoro from getting any closer than they have already, since it was a bit of worthy if hard work on your part to get over your crush on her and prevent any personal feelings or heartbreak for yourself in the process, which I'm very glad you were able to accomplish regardless of how hard or tortuous it must have been for you." 

A faint smile slowly spread across Sakaguchi's face, then he sat up a bit in the chair, and leaned forward to grab a small chocolate from a bowl on Hisao's desk, "I guess it was worth it as part of our plan," He said, "I initially felt a bit sad about having to confess to something personal to someone that I've been friends with for a good while, but as I said a bit earlier, I now feel relatively relieved to have been able to pull it off and now also feel like a newer and more refreshed version of myself as a result of my confessing it to her, so I don't really feel burdened by it or sad about it at all anymore thanks to my own actions."

Chapter Text

Sakaguchi gently slid his jacket off of his shoulders, then straightened up a bit and hung it up on the coat rack, his expression serious, though with a trace of relief mixed into his eyes, a small frown playing along the edges of his lips as he did so. At least the day is over.

A slight sigh escaped him as he moved away from the coat rack, though his expression remained serious, but now with a hint of thoughtfulness forming in his eyes. And I can forget about it and the necessary but hard sacrifice that I had to make regarding my crush and feeling towards Rumi-san, someone who I hope understands and doesn’t feel too bothered by my now gone crush on her.

He hesitated for a moment, then he turned on his heel to walk away from the coat rack and make his way over to the couch, a trace of tiredness now slowly spreading across his features as he did so. Even though I feel pretty relieved to be rid of my crush on her, I can’t help but feel like my life is empty now since I confessed it to her, like I have no real purpose in life anymore and everything feels particularly pointless and hollow.

He sat down on the couch, then hoisted his legs up and shifted so that he was now more or less lying down, though still sitting up slightly, a much deeper frown now forming on his lips as he did so. I honestly don’t even know what to do with myself now I confessed my crush to her and she knows about it, like, my entire life up to this moment doesn’t really feel the same and I should probably quit while I’m ahead, figuratively, but maybe literally as well, since my career doesn’t feel right anymore now that my crush is known information to the least likely person I could have ever imagined.

His eyes softened when he heard a small purring noise, and he turned to look down at Francine, a smile now forming on his lips as he did so. Maybe life isn’t as pointless and hollow as I thought it was, since I still have my sweet Francine-chan, and she’s the one bright spot in my life who can always bring a smile to my face, no matter the situation and circumstances.

He sat up a bit, then leaned forward to gently pick Francine up, eliciting a slightly louder purr from her as he did so, which drew a bit of a grin from him in response, his expression now softer and more relaxed as well. Really, my beloved Francine-chan might be the only thing that matters to me now that my crush on Rumi-san is out in the open and known to her, maybe more so than the friends that I have and the job that I do, or even the relatives who still willingly hang around me, which might be cruel coming from me, honestly, but seeing as I’ve burned far too many bridges with them, maybe that isn’t such a harsh thing to think in regards to them.

He gently drew her into his arms, and shifted her so that she was nestled into the crook of his arm and cradled against his chest, a loving smile now forming on his lips as he did, his expression now a lot more at peace than it had been just a short while ago, a content purr now sounding from her as she snuggled into his chest, something similar to a smile forming on her face as she did, which made his eyes soften even more. The more I’m thinking about it, maybe it isn’t a bad thing to discount my real family in favor of my beloved pet cat, as she’s the closest thing I have to a daughter and she loves me unconditionally and supports me in her own unique cat way, way more than any relatives of mine have ever shown or demonstrated in my life, even the ones who I have positive relationships with, but I digress on that last point.

He snuggled her closer to him, then leaned down to press a light and small kiss against her fur, which made her purr even louder and lean up to bump her head against him in return, “Your papa missed you a lot, Francine-chan,” He whispered very softly, though a bit serious sounding in tone, “He had a not so great day today, and had to make a hard but necessary sacrifice today that’s left him feeling rather hollow inside, but now that he’s back home and with you, he now feels a bit happier and relaxed, and less like a hollow shell of his former self.”

A soft mew of happiness escaped from her, and she nuzzled her head against him as he pressed another light and small kiss against her fur, his arms now a bit tighter around her as he held her close to him, his expression now more loving than it had been just a minute ago, one hand of his now gently stroking her fur as he did, “Even though you’re a cat and not capable of understanding the complexities of human emotions and relationships,” He whispered against her fur, “I love you, Francine-chan, and I’m very happy to have you in my life as my beloved pet cat, and as my pseudo-daughter, as you bring a lot of joy and happiness into my life that I really can’t seem to find anywhere else, not even in my job or my friendships, which might be bizarre for a man of my age and status to admit to, but I don’t think I truly care about what other people might think of that, as having you in my life makes me truly happy and delighted over anything else."

Chapter Text

Rumi watched as a small crowd of people walked past her, a small smile forming on her lips as she did, her eyes also twinkling a bit as well. They all seem to be in a good mood.

“If this is an alright question to ask you,” Tadokoro gently put his hand on her shoulder, which made her turn her head slightly to the side to look at him, her heart fluttering slightly from the warmth of his touch, “But is there a reason why you seem extra giddy this evening? You’re usually a lot more calm and shyer than this, if that makes any sense.”

A slight blush rose up to her cheeks, and she turned her attention away from him, and towards the ground, her heart now fluttering a bit as she did, “I’m just feeling that way because of something that happened earlier today between me and Sakaguchi-san, that’s all.” She said, “But I’d rather wait to tell you the full details until we get to the French restaurant, if that’s alright with you, as I’m sort of still reeling from the experience and might need to wait to calm down before being able to share it with you properly.”

He reached up to lightly pat her shoulder, which made her heart flutter a bit more in response, “I think I can understand that,” He said, “I’m alright with waiting until we get to the restaurant for you to share the reason why you’re a lot giddier and more energetic than you usually are around me,” He gave her shoulder one more pat, then drew his hand back and smiled at her in a gentle manner, “It’s not too much of an issue for me, and I’m plenty fine with waiting to hear it once you’re a lot calmer and more composed.”

The blush in her cheeks deepened, but she ignored it and nodded her head a little, though her gaze remained focused on the ground, “I appreciate you understanding that and being patient overall with me,” She said, “It actually makes me feel a bit calmer and more at ease to know that you’re willing to put up with my current state and wait until I’m ready to share the main reason why I’m acting unusually giddy and energetic this evening.”

Chapter Text

Rumi picked up her fork, then turned her attention towards her plate and used her fork to jab at a slightly large piece of chicken, a small smile forming on her lips in the process.

“I admittedly find it a bit surprising to know that your current giddiness is apparently from an interaction between you and that Sakaguchi guy,” Tadokoro placed his spoon down on the edge of his plate and turned his head to look up at her, his expression a mix of faint surprise and curiosity, and with a small frown already on his lips, “I mean, to be really honest with you, I wouldn’t have figured the two of you to have any kind of a connection to each other, let alone apparently over something that’s made you giddy and excited like a little kid.”

A faint flush of red formed rose up in her face, but she kept her gaze focused on what she was doing and took a bite of the chicken, “I know it might seem surprising to you,” She said, “But me and Sakaguchi have a friendship that goes back a couple of years now, one that started before you would’ve started working at the agency, and one that I’ve always valued or at least cherished highly, as he’s always been a good and very understanding friend, especially when it concerns things like me being pretty shy around people or my career as an idol singer creating a lot of stress or pressure for me, both of which I struggle with and which he’s always been very understanding about, and has also helped me with as well, particularly the latter, as my career is pretty demanding at times and causes me a lot of undue misery and stress, which is why I value our friendship and him in particular so highly.”

“I can’t really imagine him going out of his way to help someone with their career, honestly,” He turned to look back down at his plate, then reached out to pick his spoon back up, “Maybe because the few times that we’ve interacted and talked, he acted like a snobby jerk who thought highly of himself and looked down on everyone else, usually for apparently breaking the rules or not following the apparent coda of the agency and its atmosphere, which to me, sounds like he made up to justify his own sense of superiority and self-importance over me and the other people that work there.”

“I can sort of see why you would find it hard to believe that he would go out of his way to help someone like me with my career,” She jabbed her fork at an additional piece of chicken, then brought both of them up to her mouth for a bite, “But being someone who’s known him for a long time, I can tell you that there’s a lot more to him than meets the eye, and that he’s not as bad as you might think he is, even if he does come across as a cranky and very unkind jerk sometimes.”

Chapter Text

Rumi took another bite of the chicken, but then gently pulled the fork away and let the remaining portion fall onto the plate, her gaze flickering up to Tadokoro, then back down to her plate, “Basically,” She said, “The reason why I’m so giddy right now is because of Sakaguchi-san sharing the fact that he apparently had a crush on me for a while, which has really created a whirlwind of emotions inside of me that I haven’t really been able to process just yet.”

She jabbed her fork into a smaller piece of chicken, then brought it up to her mouth for a quick bite, her gaze slowly flickering back up to Tadokoro, a small blush now rising to her cheeks as she did so, “It’s admittedly hard trying to wrap my head around it,” She added, “Especially since I’ve never had a guy confess to me before, nor was I ever really expecting to hear something like that from someone I consider to be a pretty close friend, so it’s been a bit of an emotional roller coaster for me to deal with.”

“I think I can sorta understand why you'd consider it a bit of an emotional roller coaster,” He scooped up a bit of soup with his spoon and brought it closer to him for a bite, then pulled it away and turned his attention to her, a bit of a smile on his face as he did, “Even if I don’t necessarily like the guy and also barely know him on top of that, I can still kinda understand why you would feel a bit mixed or overwhelmed by the fact that he confessed to having a crush on you, as even from the limited interactions I've had with him, he doesn’t really seem like the type of person who would have a crush on someone or even be the type of person to have romantic feelings in general, so I can definitely understand why you'd be a bit caught off guard by it, as it seems out of the ordinary for a guy like him to do something like that.”

Chapter Text

Tadokoro scooped up another spoonful of soup, then brought it up to his lips for a small bite, his gaze slowly drifting over the restaurant around him as he did, a frown of distaste spreading across his face as well. Everyone here looks very garish and artificial, and not at all like real people, more like mannequins or something along those lines.

“Sorry if this seems like an odd question,” Rumi placed her fork down in the center of her plate, then turned to look up at him, a faint blush settling in her cheeks, though she ignored it and smiled a bit shyly, “But do you ever have to deal with people admitting to having crushes on you? Or do most people avoid you because of your looks?”

He paused slightly as he turned his attention towards her, as if in thought, then turned to look back at his soup once more, and placed his spoon inside of it to scoop up another spoonful, this one a bit larger than the previous one, “Not that I can recall,” He said, his voice slightly quiet, “I think most women avoid me because of my looks and the fact that I’m not necessarily the nicest and most approachable guy to be around, as well as the fact that I can be a bit crass and insensitive at times and don’t really know how to handle myself in situations that require me to be serious or otherwise reserved, since I find it a bit hard to keep myself composed and serious and not let my emotions or opinions get the better of me in an overreactive or insensitive way, if that makes sense.”

The faint blush in her cheeks deepened a bit, and she returned her gaze to her plate, then reached out to pick up her fork again, “I think that makes a lot of sense,” She said, “I also find it quite hard to keep my emotions in check and control how I react in certain situations that require seriousness and being more subdued than would typically be expected of me, so I can definitely find something relatable in your words.”

Chapter Text

Sakaguchi placed a stack of books down on the edge of a table, then straightened up a bit and turned away to sit down on the couch behind him, a slight smile curling up on his lips as he did so. Now would be a good time for a distraction from some of my current thoughts regarding life and relationships.

He hesitated for a second, then reached out to pick up the top book of the pile, and brought it up to his face to look at the cover, the slight smile on his face widening a bit as he did. And would also be a good opportunity to finally read this autobiography of Junichi Otaki, as he's a personal favorite director of mine and someone that I admire in a devoted and almost fanatical like way, with almost having seen all of his films and some of the other things he's been involved in over the years, from TV shows to commercial spots and even occasional animated stuff and the rare acting roll from him, all of which I've steadily consumed in numerous quantities over the last few years since I first discovered him as a young boy in the mid to late '60s in my old home town of Asakusa, which are some of my fondest memories, really, but I'm getting a bit off track with myself there.

He sat back on the couch a bit, then placed the book down in his lap and opened it up to the first page and started reading, his expression becoming a bit more serious as he did so, though the slight smile from earlier still lingered. Really, I know there are other famous directors all across Japan who are bigger household names and have longer filmographies as well as longer lasting legacies that still resonate across the land, but I still personally believe that Otaki-san is really the best out of all of them, as a lot of his films have a down to earth quality that I think a lot of those other directors lack, as well as a personal connection with some of the actors and actresses and other film crew members he's worked with over the last few decades, like his ex-wife Chiyoko Fujiwara as well as his personal favorite actress Eiko Shimao, along with his uncle Junnosuke Otaki, as well as other actors like Kiyohiko Ichida and Yahiro Kurusugawa and multi-talented actresses/singers like Lindy Matsui, who I admittedly have a bit of a fanboyish crush on that also goes back to my youth in Asakusa, but that's really neither here nor there, as I'm just rattling off a bunch of recognizable names here in the midst of my gushing over Otaki-san and his phenomenal filmography that he's put out within the last 48 years without pause or any real hint of slowing down, and which only really stopped because of his death last year, but that's not really the point here, as gushing over the man and the legacy he's left behind is.

Chapter Text

Sakaguchi turned to the next page in the book, and started reading it, a slightly amused smile forming on his face as he did so. I never really imagined that Otaki-san would be from Niigata of all places, as I've always assumed he'd be from a different prefecture altogether, like Hokkaido or even Fukuoka, not a place like Niigata and its variou-

His eyes softened almost instantly when he felt a tiny paw touch his kneecap, and he pulled the book away from his face, then turned his head to look down at Francine, a much softer smile now forming on his lips as he did so, "Do you want to join papa in his reading?" He asked, his voice low and quiet, "Or is there something else that you want from me?"

She leaned up on her back legs and gently brushed her head against the back of his hand, a small purring noise coming from her as she did so, his eyes now softening a bit further in response.

He let go of the book, and moved his hand to reach up and pet her head, which elicited a much stronger purring noise in response, "I take it you want to join me in reading this book, huh, Francine-chan?" He asked, "You only ever bump against my hand like that when you want to join in on what I'm currently doing, which I've never minded in the slightest, as it's only fair to have a pet join in on what her owner is doing to help strengthen our bond in a way that benefits them both."

He gave her head one more pet, then leaned forward a bit and gently moved his arm to wrap around her in a protective hold to scoop her up into him, which made her purr a bit louder in response, "Though, Francine-chan, I doubt you'll find this book that I'm currently reading to be all that interesting," He said softly, "As it's an autobiography of a director that your papa happens to be a big fan of, thus it's pretty serious and doesn't really have anything that a cat such as yourself would find enjoyable or entertaining, but I might be wrong on that, since you do have some pretty eclectic tastes for a simple cat of your pedigree and upbringing."

He sat back on the couch, then gently and carefully placed her down in his lap, where she quickly laid down and shifted into a small loaf like position, her eyes slow blinking in contentment, a steady but slow and otherwise strong purr now sounding from her, his gaze gentle as he looked down at her and reached down to lightly pet her head, "I've definitely been surprised by some of the niche things you've shown an interest in," He added, "Like my preference for reading autobiographies over biographies, or my collection of sculptures from the legendary sculptor and artist Hisataka Hiruta, a hobby which I started a bit before you would have been born and also before I would've adopted you as a small kitten, and one that I still haven't really finished exactly, as I haven't gotten around to finding the most recent sculpture that the man has completed and auctioned off just yet, but which I intend to get around to doing as soon as I get a break off from work."

Chapter Text

Tadokoro picked up his spoon, then used it to slice off a wedge of cake, a small smile forming on his face as he did. It was a good idea to order a simple cake for dessert, nothing too fancy and enriching, but just the right amount of sweetness to end tonight's meal with, if I do say so myself.

"I'm sorry for asking you another question, especially when this one is a bit more out of the blue compared to the previous one," Rumi placed her spoon down in her bowl of pudding, then looked up at him with a sheepish but curious expression on her face, and with a faint blush rising to her cheeks as well, "B-But would you ever go out with me if I asked you to?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper, "Even if it would be somewhere simple like the park or something along those lines?" Why am I asking him this? What's wrong with me?

He jabbed the spoon into the wedge of cake he had cut for himself, then brought it up to his mouth for a small bite, "I suppose I would," He said quietly, "You are a bit cute and I've admittedly grown pretty accustomed to your company enough to consider you something of a friend to me, outside of work at least, as I see you mostly as my co-worker that I barely interact with back at the agency, which I personally think complicates quite a bit in regards to the relationship that we've developed over the course of the past few months and a half I've been employed by the agency, but I could be a bit wrong about that last part, as our dynamic in work and outside of work doesn't really feel all that different no matter how you slice exactly."

The faint blush in her cheeks darkened at his words, then she redirected her gaze to her bowl of pudding and picked her spoon back up to scoop up a small amount of it, "I guess you make something of a good point there," She said, her voice low, "Our general dynamic with each other isn't really all different inside of work and outside of it, which I don't think I was aware of all that much, even if it might've been in plain sight this whole time and I just hadn't realized it yet."

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Rumi stared down at the bowl of pudding in front of her, a much deeper and darker blush now rising in her cheeks as she did so, her hand trembling slightly as she held the spoon in a tight grip, her heart also fluttering a bit in her chest as well.

"You know, now that I'm realizing it," Tadokoro placed his spoon down on the edge of his plate, then turned his gaze towards her, his expression a mix of mischief and questioning, "The fact that you asked if I would go out on a date with you must mean you have some sort of a crush on me," He said, "Only because a woman that I'm sort of friends with wouldn't normally ask me such a heavy question for one reason or another, if you catch my drift, that is."

The blush in her cheeks deepened into an intense blush, but she kept her gaze focused on her bowl of pudding and shakily scooped up a small spoonful of it, her heart now fluttering a bit harder in her chest, "I-I d-don't have a crush on you," She stammered out, her voice barely inaudible, "I-I just asked that question as a hypothetical, m-mostly to see if you would be interested, but also because I wanted to try and be nice and expand this burgeoning friendship between us."

A slightly amused grin formed on his face, and he leaned forward so that their faces were now only a few inches apart, which made the blush in her cheeks deepen even more, "I doubt that's why you asked me that question," He said, his voice now a bit lower, "I'm pretty certain it's because you have a crush on me, but you're too shy to admit to it, which is why you phrased it in the form of a question to try and be sneaky about it."

She frowned slightly, and sat back in her seat to move away from him, a faint trace of anger now forming in her eyes, the blush in her cheeks now fading slightly, though it still lingered somewhat in her face, the grip on her spoon now a bit tighter as well, "I don't know what kind of wacko nonsense you're going on about," She said, her voice now stronger and firmer than it had been a moment ago, "But I definitely do not have a crush on you just based off of me asking you a simple question, one that has no real ulterior motive under it, just to be clear with you."

His grin widened a bit more, and he pulled away from her to sit upright in his seat, his eyes now filled with amusement as he did so, and with a glint of curiosity as well, "You say that," He said, "But I'm rather sure you have a crush on me, but you just don't want to admit to it for fear of a negative reaction from me."

She rolled her eyes at his words, then looked back down at her bowl of pudding and brought the spoon up to her mouth for a small bite, the frown on her face now a bit more pronounced as she did so.

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Rumi bent down and picked up her bag off of the floor, her expression a mix of annoyed and frustrated, a deep frown now forming on her face as she did so, though she tried to ignore it. This dinner turned into a real disaster, literally and figuratively.

"I know this might come off as a bit intrusive to ask you at this point," Tadokoro pushed the chair back under the table, then turned to look up at her, his expression serious, though there was a trace of curiosity in his eyes, "But would you be okay with me staying the night in your apartment for the second night in a row? I don't really feel like making the trip back to my place tonight and would rather stay at the home of someone I'm familiar with, if that seems fair to you."

A deep and bright blush unexpectedly rose up in her cheeks, but she averted her gaze elsewhere and focused on slipping her bag onto her shoulder, "I suppose I would be okay with you spending the night in my apartment again," She said quietly, "But only on the grounds you behave yourself and don't touch or try to tamper anything in my home, as I just got it cleaned recently and would like for it to remain that way during the time you spend the night with me."

He reached out to gently pat her shoulder, which made the blush in her cheeks deepen slightly, then drew his hand back and let it fall to his side, "I think I can promise to behave myself while I'm spending the night in your home," He said, "Especially since I was a pretty good guest the last time I was there, so I'm sure to uphold my promise and be the best guest that I can be for you tonight."

The blush in her cheeks deepened a bit more, but she ignored it and kept herself focused on lifting her bag further up onto her shoulder, her expression now softening into a neutral but otherwise serious look in the process.

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Rumi sighed softly, then slipped her bag off of her shoulder and set it down on the edge of her table, her expression a mix of tired and frustrated, and with a frown already on her lips. I honestly just know I'm going to regret letting that Tadokoro guy stay here for the second time tonight, I just know it.

She hesitated for a moment, then turned away from her bag a bit and moved to sit down on the couch behind her, her frown growing a bit more pronounced as she did, her expression now a lot more frustrated than tired as well. Based on how he's been acting towards me tonight, I just know he's going to be a horribly behaved and piggish man and awful house guest during his stay here, I can almost sense it in my bones.

She hesitated for another moment, then turned her attention to the TV remote and leaned forward slightly to pick it up, the frown on her face deepening as she did so. I really doubt he's going to be a good guest here in my apartment like he's promising to be for me, if anything, he's probably got some ulterior motive for why he wants to stay here with me again and wants to get closer to me to enact it, something that I don't want to happen, especially not in my own home with all of my personal belongings and stuff.

She glanced down at the remote for a second, then pressed the 'on' button on it and redirected her gaze up to the screen to watch as the nightly news program came on, the frown on her face fading slightly as she watched it, though it still lingered in the corners of her mouth. If anything, I might have to keep myself on my toes around him and keep an eye on him so that he doesn't destroy anything that belongs to me here as well as also make sure he doesn't do anything to harm either me or himself somehow as well, lest that spell doom for either of us and our respective careers, too, as anything potentially risky could be liable to get either of us fired and get our contracts with the agency terminated in the process, all of which I don't want to happen, especially concerning my career as an idol singer, as it's the single most important thing going for me right now at this point in time.

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Rumi watched the TV for a few minutes, then turned her attention away from it and shifted slightly so that she could lean back against the couch in a bit of a slouch, a much smaller frown now forming on her face as she did so.

"I can tell you're probably a bit too grumpy right now for whatever reason to probably interact with me," Tadokoro placed a small candy down on the table, then straightened up and turned to join her on the couch, which made a faint blush rise up in her cheeks, though she chose to ignore it and keep her gaze averted elsewhere, "But I still wanna try and talk to you about something that's been on my mind lately since we started becoming decent friends to each other and got to know each other a bit better as well."

The blush in her cheeks deepened slightly, but she pursed her lips to keep herself quiet, her heart now fluttering a bit with anticipation in the process.

He paused for a moment, then looked back down at the small candy on the table and reached out to pick it back up, "I don't really know how to word this without it sounding cheesy or silly," He added, "But I guess I just want to say that, even though we initially started off on the wrong foot and still have a bit of tense relationship at times," He undid the wrapper on the candy, and brought it up to him for a brief inspection, then smiled and popped it into his mouth, "You've become a pretty good friend to me at the agency, as well as someone that I can relate to from time and time and also rely on, mostly in a work sense, but maybe also a bit of a personal one too."

The blush in her cheeks deepened a bit more, and she turned to look down at her lap to hide the now slightly shameful expression that was now starting to form in her features. Oh.

He sat up slightly on the couch, and turned to look at her and smiled, then reached out and gently patted her on the shoulder, which made the blush in her cheeks deepen even more in response, "All of what I just said is actually the primary reason why I asked to stay here tonight," He said, "Just so I could tell you all of it without having to wait for the right time and place to share my gratitude in regards to our friendship."

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Tadokoro looked at the TV in front of him for a few minutes, a small frown slowly forming on his face as he did so. How the hell does this show qualify for good entertainment? It looks like trash, and not the enjoyable kind either, but rather the repulsive kind that you don't want to touch with a ten foot pole.

He watched the TV for a few more minutes, then redirected his attention over to a small magazine on the floor a few feet away from him, and then leaned forward a bit to reach out and grab it. Maybe reading this would be a better alternative than watching television. I probably might also gain more entertainment value from this over the TV anyway, so, if anything, it might be a bit of a winning situation for me here.

He sat back up on the couch, then placed the magazine in his lap and automatically opened it up to the first page, a slight smile now spreading across his lips as he did so.

Rumi watched him out of the corner of her eye for a second, then looked down at the floor and lightly kicked at it with her toe, "I know you probably want to be alone while you're reading that magazine that you found on my floor," She said quietly, "But there's something that I want to tell you, and it's rather serious, and I don't think it can really wait to be shared, since it's something I just realized and it's made me feel rather bad over an assumption I made about you."

He glanced up at her briefly, then looked back down at the magazine in his hands, "I think I would like to hear whatever it is you want to tell me," He said, "But I think I would prefer to finish reading this article first before you do that, since it's rather engrossing for an article about cars and I don't want to be distracted too much from it by whatever it is you want to tell me."

A faint smile curled up at the corner of her lips, and she briefly turned her head to look up at him, though there was a faint flush rising to her cheeks as she did so, "I think I can wait until after you're done with reading that magazine," She said, "My mind is rather all over the place right now anyway, so I might need some time to myself in order to work my thoughts out and make them more coherent and sensible as a whole."

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Tadokoro briefly glanced back up at the TV, then looked back down at the magazine again, and reached out to turn to the next page, a slightly satisfied smile forming on his lips as he did so. This was definitely a better choice than watching TV, I'm sure of it.

Rumi watched him for a moment out of the corner of her eye, then turned her attention to her lap and reached with one hand to fidget with the hem of her skirt, "I know I should probably be leaving you alone right now to read," She said quietly, "But I just want to let you know that I made a pretty bad assumption about you to myself earlier regarding you staying here for the night, which I want to apologize for and make clear that I appreciate what you said about me being a good friend to you a couple of minutes ago."

He paused his reading, then turned his attention to her and reached out to lightly pat her shoulder, the sensation making her heart skip a beat in her chest, a smaller and warmer smile forming on his lips as he did so, "I don't really think you need to apologize for having any bad assumptions about me or my intentions with staying here for the night," He said, "I'm aware I'm not the most trustworthy or respectable looking person around, so I'm used to people assuming the worst about me and making me out to be a bad guy with nefarious intentions, which I find irritating to hear or deal with, but which I've tried to ignore and act like it doesn't bother me, because in the end I usually win these people over somehow through a combination of personality and actions, both positive and negative."

A slight smile formed on her lips, and she turned back to look at her lap, and fidgeted with her skirt once more, a calmer expression now on her face as she did so, "Thanks for saying all of that to me, honestly," She said, "Knowing you're not bothered by any negative assumptions I had about you makes me feel a bit better about myself and makes me feel less ashamed about it as a whole, so thanks for saying that to me."