Animated Performance

Only one day after finishing Blossom Stars, Umi had already come up with the next song but, instead of doing everything by herself, everyone was going to work on it. Meanwhile, I had another job to fill.

I left the studio just one hour after the meeting started to head back to Saitama District. As I walked on the sidewalk of the busy avenue, I realized something I hadn't thought about.

How am I going to convince the owners to let complete strangers perform at their business? I know I have more chances of finding a venue in the Trading District, but I wanted to try here. There's only one problem: what am I going to show them? I have nothing. Not even flyers. I don't want to ask Aki to make them, they already have a lot of work. I guess that leaves me with one option.

I put my glasses on and called Jun, who was studying something related to design.

I hope he's not busy with that girl again.

A few seconds later, he answered. "What's up?"

"Hey, are you busy?"

"Nope."

"Great. By any chance, are you looking for a job?"

"Nope."

"Oh… And what about commissions?"

"Sure, money never hurts. Most of the time, at least. What do you need?"

"I… have no idea," I giggled.

As we talked, I kept walking and looking around for any interesting places.

"Then why did you ask for a commission?"

"I mean, I want something to advertise my idol group, but I don't know what, exactly. It could be a flyer, a poster, an animation…"

"Idol group?"

"I forgot I didn't tell you that time, since you were with that girl."

"Don't mention her, we already broke up."

"That was fast. Anyway. I needed a business for my final project, so I made an idol agency and it has one group. It already has five members and we are working on the first songs. You know what an idol is, right?"

"Yeah but, why an idol agency?"

"Long and weird story, I'll tell you another day."

"Okay… So, you have no idea of what you want."

"Nope."

He stayed silent for a moment. "I'm looking at idol stuff now. I'd suggest an animation, so people can see the liveliness in the motion."

"Sure, you're the expert."

"However, I need material for reference. Do you have videos of them performing or anything?"

"I don't."

He stopped talking again. "I need references. If not, it will end up weird and without the essence of the group."

"In that case, come see them perform in person. They haven't performed in front of anyone yet, so someone else's opinion would be great."

"Sure. When?"

I could tell Tomokazu as well, so there are two opinions.

"Let me ask Tomokazu. We can discuss the date in the chat group we haven't used in weeks."

We said goodbye and hung up. I called Tomokazu and asked him to come to see the performance; he immediately accepted. We chatted a bit in the group and chose the date for the next day.

I walked around for another hour and marked the places that caught my eye. I returned to the studio and told the girls about Jun and Tomokazu. They seemed nervous at first, but they were just as excited.

We worked on the new song and its choreography for the rest of the afternoon. Aki, Umi, and I walked together for five minutes towards the university, then we split. I arrived early at the lecture, but Professor Fuku was already there. We chatted until the lecture began.

For the third day in a row, Professor Fuku and I walked together throughout the campus and headed to her apartment. I dropped her off and returned to mine. Even though I didn't run into Aki again, I still couldn't figure out what was going on with me. But I believed there was some progress.

I headed to the studio the next day and we worked on the song until Jun and Tomokazu arrived. I opened the front door for them and we stepped into the studio.

"Girls, I want to introduce you to my friends: Tomokazu and Jun."

"Hey," Jun greeted.

"Hello, ladies," Tomokazu smirked.

"Tomokazu, Jun, they are the group I'm managing: Blostars. Aki, Umi, Astra, Risa, and Sanae."

"Hi!" they all smiled.

Out of nowhere, Tomokazu walked forward and approached Astra.

"Hello—"

"Don't even think about it," I warned, crossing my arms next to him.

After calming him down, Tomokazu, Jun, and I sat on three of the five chairs. Jun took out a QPad and a pen from his backpack. The girls warmed up a little before starting to perform. Since we couldn't make any noise, they only danced without singing. The song already had their voices and they played it in low volume.

The room was quite small for them to dance properly, forcing them to be especially careful. They had only practiced for two days, so their movements weren't the sharpest yet.

After they danced the entire song, they struck the finishing pose. Jun put his QPad on the floor and stood up to clap. Tomokazu didn't stand, but he also clapped.

"Amazing!" Jun said.

"Truly heartwarming," Tomokazu added.

The girls looked about to explode in joy. They congratulated each other.

"I guess you liked it," I said to Tomokazu and Jun.

"It wasn't perfect, but I can feel the emotion," Tomokazu replied. "With a little refining, it will be a success."

Jun nodded. "I was able to draw a few sketches for the animation. It will be ready in two days."

"That's fast," I said.

"Do you have a logo?"

"No, but we have the costume."

"Send me that. I'll make you a logo. And, because you're my friend, I'm not going to charge you for its license."

"No, no. Let me pay you properly; it's your job, after all."

"If you insist. I'll send you the invoice later."

He didn't even hesitate.

"I'll also ask you a few more things about the group," he added. "Please reply as soon as you can."

"Understood."

"What about me?" Tomokazu asked. "What can I help you with?"

"You already helped a lot by advertising the auditions. Astra found out about them thanks to that."

"I'm glad to hear that. But I can be even more helpful."

"How?"

"Just think about it. I'm a connoisseur of this entire anime culture. I know what the fans want."

"Like, marketing?"

"Precisely! I know what products they are willing to buy and how to sell them to them."

"But aren't you studying something about biology?"

"That's not going to stop me from working on what I'm passionate about."

I stood still, thoughtful for a moment. "It doesn't sound bad, but I think it's too soon to think about marketing."

"It's never too soon, dear friend."

"I mean that I'm very tight on money. I won't be able to pay you."

"I'll do it for free until you can."

"You know I'm not going to do that. Don't worry, I'll ask for your help when I need it."

"That's what I like to hear."

After chatting for a few more minutes, Tomokazu and Jun left. The girls took a break to go to the bathroom and eat something. As usual, I bought food for them. The delivery drone never took more than five minutes to arrive.

We dragged the chairs from the studio to the small dining room and started eating at the table. Everything in the building was antique, so the bathroom, the kitchen, and the dining room also had a classical style.

"Kaito," Astra called. "Are you struggling with money?"

"I'm not. Why do you ask?"

"You told your friend that you're tight on money. And you receive less money from the government because you only have one lecture a day now."

"Yes, but I still have my savings. I calculated your salaries based on them; I will be able to pay you for a few months even if we don't earn anything, but there isn't much to spare. Of course, the plan is to earn something by then."

"I see. Sorry for asking too much," Astra giggled.

"It's fine, I know you also worry. Also, I want to rent a proper dance studio, but I'm waiting for Umi to solve her situation."

"Situation?" Sanae wondered.

"I'd rather you didn't tell everyone about my personal life," Umi complained. "What does my situation have to do with renting a dance studio?"

"Once it's certain we can use your studio to record, I plan to rent a place in that building and turn it into a dance studio. That way, we won't lose much time going from one to the other. And the building is in the Saitama District, not too far from here. It will be closer to everyone."

"Ohh!" everyone uttered—except for Umi.

"That means Risa and I will have to walk there," Sanae said.

"Don't worry, we can go together," I replied. "Is that okay for you?"

Sanae and Risa nodded with a smile.