Meeting the idols

I expected the door to open to meet the first person. Instead, someone else arrived the same way we did: from the hallway. A young woman, with shoulder long black hair approached. Rimmed glasses were resting on her nose. Combined with her business attire, she embodied the image of an office lady. She was reading through files on a clipboard while walking. Looking up from it, she was surprised to see me and Takeshi sitting in the break room. “Takeshi, why are you here?”
‘I mean, that’s an obvious question to the guy with a cast, sitting at work like nothing happened.’
“What do you mean Megumi? I am doing my job.” Just as I had imagined, once he was talking to a young girl, his voice changed, from the cool professional older man, to a grandpa talking with a grandchild.
“We heard you were injured and treated at the hospital? How come you are here?”
“Ah, they couldn’t keep me in for long, so I returned to work. Got the boss to agree too. Well, under the condition that I mentor a new guy, and do not do the actual work.”
With his thumb, he pointed to me. I rose, and introduced myself.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance. My name is Moriya Shuuichi, and starting today I will be working with you. At least until Takeshi has recovered.”
She stood there for a few seconds. After taking in the situation, her professional air returned. “Ah, yes. My name is Miyamoto Megumi. Nice to meet you.” We shook hands. “Sorry for that. Your name seemed familiar, so I tried to remember where I knew it from…”
“Really? I think this is our first time meeting directly, but if memory serves me correctly, we might have passed each-other in school. How you learned my name is still beyond me.”
“…And that you manged to remember the face of someone who happened to attend the same school and had no interaction with is not?” ‘And that comes from the person who knew my name?’ I held back that comment. And my question, as to how she got my name. I didn’t remember doing anything during school that would make me stand out that much, unlike her.
“Well, you stood out a bit.”
“Me?” Disbelief was in her voice and on her face.
“Yes. Though, most people likely wouldn’t think so. You always accompanied your friend. Especially at that time during the last culture festival, where they got to take the stage.”
“Ah, the performance brings back memories.” She smiled fondly on her school days.

“Sigh.” Takeshi made himself known. “It might be okay in the current situation, as you apparently know each-other from before, but strive to stay formal while talking to your charges.”
“Ah. Yes!” It had slipped my mind for a moment. But, the rebuke was not as harsh as I would have imagined it.
“At least, until you had the time to judge the proper distance to take with them, and what is more comfortable for them. There are times where talking normally or even informally are okay, at a few times even preferable. But until that is established, stay formal.”
I may have gotten my first lecture, but it was nice knowing that there is someone looking out for you when you do something for the first time, helping you iron out and learn from mistakes. Done with his short advice, Takeshi continued.
“So, you coming back from a meeting?”
“Yes, I had just confirmed the timetable for next week’s practices.” She flipped through her notes. “There weren’t any changes. Furthermore, the date for the CD recording has been finalized.”
“So, the little birdies finally get their own CD, not just a single.”
“Yes. And while it is not confirmed yet, a larger event is planned after the next concert. They are still looking into possible venues, but the idea is pretty much settled. It may be further off in the future, but it is still something to look forward to.”
There wasn’t much I could contribute, so I waited in silence. Not for long however, as the door from the recording room opened, and three girls emerged. Instead of uniforms, they wore track suits. And to my surprise, I recognized one of the faces.
A girl with long brown hair framing her friendly, open face. Hazelnut eyes sat in the middle, holding a gentle glint. She was talking with the other two people flanking her, who I didn’t know. The larger one of the two spoke up.

“Yo Megu, you done preparing? Eh, wait. Who’s that guy?”
“Ah!” My acquaintance exclaimed.
“You know him?”
“Yes, you might say that.”
I took it as my sign to introduce myself. “Pleased to make your acquaintance. My name is Moriya Shuuichi, and I will be assisting Takeshi and you for the foreseeable future.”
Upon mentioning him, the three looked behind me, to see him sitting at the table, cast as prominent as ever.
“Alright, Asumi, Shizuka, get a wheelchair. Shuuichi was it? Can we count on you to carry him into a chair?” The energetic girl handed out commands.
“Alright.”
“Leave it to us.”
“I can carry him for sure, but I can’t change the current situation.” I glanced back at him, hoping my next words wouldn’t be met with any kind of rejection. “You probably know him better than me, but he is stubborn. Boss allowed him to stay at work for now, but all physical work falls to me. In the meanwhile, he will instruct me on the finer details of looking after one group for a longer time.”

Three faces still looked at him with concern. Seeing they won’t be backing down easily, he decided to share his plans with them. “Currently, everything is fine. I just have to rest some more than usual. Also there are regular check-ups scheduled, so my situation won’t worsen without anyone noticing. Plus, if it gets worse, I will go home and recuperate properly. So don’t worry.”
Him acting on a rational was enough to soothe them. Now, with the immediate problem sorted out, we returned to the previous point.
“Anyway, I’m Sakai Haru. Nice to meet you.” The energetic girl introduced herself first. Taking charge of the conversation earlier, she seemed spontaneous and trailblazing. A short, lightly colored pixie haircut added to her a tomboyish style, accentuating her sportive figure.
“And I’m called Kojima Shizuka. Pleased to meet you.” The smaller girl gave a curt bow. During this, her hip long hair fell partly above her shoulders. With her dignified and calm attitude, she gave of the air of a library committee member.
“Thank you again for last time. My name is Tokisaki Asumi. Nice to meet you again. So, you work here too?” Senpai asked.
“Yes, already for a year. Seems we just never ran into each-other.”
“Which department do you work for? If you are assisting Takeshi, than probably?”
“Yes, just as him, I work in security too.”

“Not to interrupt, but,” Sakai cut in “how do you know Asumi?”
“She was my upperclassman in high-school.”
“You went to the same school as Asumi and Megumi?”
“Yes.” Thinking it should be alright, I added a bit of dramatic flair to my next sentence. “And I managed to witness the moment an angle descended upon-”
“I told you to cut that out!”
“Yes yes, sorry about that.”
“What are you referring to?” Sakai asked
“Ah, did she not tell you the story of her concert during the cultural festival of her third year?”
“No. Come, tell me!”
“No!” A blushing Tokisaki-senpai interrupted Sakai and me.
Behind her, Kojima appeared, poking her friend in the sides.
“Hm?”
“I have a friend that went to the same school. I can give you the story later.”
“Wha-! Why haven’t you told me before.”
“I wanted for her to tell us herself.”
“I can understand that. But! Why am I always left out on these things!”
“Don’t worry. She hasn’t talked to me about it either, so we are both left out together.”
“Oh Shizuka. I will never leave you.” She went in for a big hug. The smaller girl looked as if she was starting to suffocate. Unknown to me whether this was a proof of friendship to them, or they were just horsing around, it ended with a smack of Miyamoto’s clipboard to the back of Sakai’s head.

“Sorry to interrupt you, but you should take the break while you can.”
She restored peace to our talk, and the band members took their seats, helping themselves to the drinks and sweets assorted before them. They had been on the table before, so I guess Miyamoto had taken care of it before the meeting?
“Asumi, you said something about thank you for last time. Has something happened?” Not wishing to let that point slip past too, Sakai pushed back into talking.
“Ah, yes. Do you remember last year February, where there have been people following me.”
“Ah yes, those scumbags. Wait, is he-” “Yes.” “One of them?” “No!”
“More likely he was the person that interrupted and drove them of.” Kojima was able to read the situation properly
“Oh, is that so. Thank you very much for looking out for our girl here.” Sakai gave me an excessive bow.
“You are welcome.” Another play was over. As the most serious looking person of them, Kojima spoke to Miyamoto.
“What are our plans for today?”
“You got singing lessons next, and then time to work on your performance.”
“Please no.” She looked down dejectedly, will to live drained from her.
“That’s why I told you to build up some stamina.”
“But…”
“No more, we had this discussion before. Several times.”

A wholesome scene was unfolding before my eyes. During it, someone spoke up to me.
“You can take a seat too.” Tokisaki told me. From when they got out to now, I had been standing in a ready position. Maybe I was giving of a tense aura that disturbed them?
“Yes. Also, no need to be formal with us. We got to deal enough with uptight people as is.” Sakai threw in.
“Alright. Currently, you are the boss, so I will be more casual.”
“Oh, that sounds awesome! What can we ask of you?”
I took a moment to think, as it might be a serious matter. Clear communications are important, as they can prevent misunderstandings and resulting trouble from occurring in the first place. “Anything that Takeshi might do too. Unless it is regarding matters of security, you get pretty much free hand, I guess?” ‘And if things were about to go out of hand, I am sure my senior would step in.’
“So, if we ask you to dress up and play-”
“Rejected.”
“But I didn’t even-“
“Rejected!”
You had to be firm at these times, otherwise, you would get dragged down to depraved depths. I already had to experience it before. The memories alone made me shudder.

“But… isn’t that pretty much an assistance’s job, and not a guards?” Kojima made an acute remark. I was faced with a question that had permeated my thoughts too. However, I had found an answer to it.
“You are correct, but.”
“But?”
I could only shrug at that point. “We really landed in a strange company.” This was the answer I would use for anything ludicrous thrown at me: Accept it, and move on. It was the best way to survive most situations, not only the corporate environment. Not only that, but also gave quicker response time to unexpected situations, like someone approaching a charge. With this, I had learned that training for work could also be applied to real life situations.
“Still, the employees are nice here. And we get proper pay, and nearly no overtime.”
“And if we do, they actually pay us.”
“Not to mention the share from our sales is generous.”
“Yeah, that’s good and all…”
“But?”
“Do you know what kind of trouble and paperwork I have to face as your manager?”
“Well…”
“…”
“And for this, we continue to count on you!”

I wanted to put in a point to, and not just act as a passive observer, no more than decoration. “Miyamoto, thank you for your hard work.” It seemed like I had a comrade that understood the crazy side of our company.
“Sure… Also, you can use my first name. I think this goes for all of us.” She turned to the others, that gave approving nods.
“Are you sure?”
“As before, we have enough uptight situations to deal with.”
“And, we will be working together for some time form now on. It should help build trust in each other.”
“I don’t mind either.”
It seemed like i had earned their approval. Just to be sure , I turned my head to Takeshi. He didn’t interject. As he too had already told me to use his first name, I took this as sign it should be alright.
“Then, please call me Shuuichi too. And once more, nice to be working with you.”
“Likewise.”
“Looking forward to good cooperation.”
“Welcome.”

“Now, sorry to interrupt.” Miy- , Megumi spoke up, diverting our attention to her. “You guys have training to do.”
“Ugh.”
“But, I can give you something to look forward to.”
“What would that be?”
“That’s right, you had been in a meeting, no?”
“Hmmhmm, that’s true. And the result was: the concert is approved.”
“Fuck yeah!” A pen flew to Haru, who was posing like a rock star.
“Watch your behavior. Not only that, the CD deal was approved too.”
“Now, that is what I call motivational!”
“Thank you Megu. It must have been hard to convince them of this deal.”
“It was some work, but that is what I am here for.”
“Take some.” Shizuka handed her something from a pouch. Was it candy?
“Thank you. Now, with the situation as it is, I am sure you can return to work.”
“Sure as hell. Come on, let’s go.”
“Yes yes.”
“You were the one complaining not a second ago.”
The three rose, and made for the recording room once more. Megumi looked after them, entering and bantering. Once they had closed the door, a slightly tired expression spread over her face, and she got up too.

“Where are you headed?”
“Paperwork. In the meeting now it just meant it was approved. I still have to file the necessary forms and write collaborative letters to other devisions among other things. Now, here is to working together in the future.”
“Sounds tough. Please take care of yourself too.”
“Thank you, will do. Now.” She turned away, and walked to her own battle-station. Which left Takeshi and me alone, sitting in the break room.
“Then, what do we do?”
“Well, there is always work to do.” He rose, and I followed suit. “Before I tell you about that, first, let’s check out the surroundings, shall we?”
“Yes.” Well, it made sense. I had to get the lay of the land before I would move about it. But, that left me with one concern. “Aren’t we supposed to be next to the girls?”
“Usually. When we are outside, at all times. But, that changes when we are in designated safe areas. You are familiar with the concept?”
“Yes.” I mean, I had already worked a year here. If I didn’t know the basics, it would amount to nothing.
“Good. In general, the entire building is deemed safe. Intruders rarely get far, if they even find the courage to tackle such a challenge. Now, changing and preparations room during concerts are only partially safe. Say, have you ever worked in one of those positions?”
“No, not yet. My first year was spend on usual patrols or securing areas and perimeters. But I had apprehended people that tried to spy on them.”
“Alright. Then, I will teach you about the finer details regarding such locations at another occasion. Now, let’s get going.”

With this, we moved about. I learned the layout of the floors, connections to other devisions, escape routes, etc. The productive afternoon ended soon, and we got back to our position.
The three members of the idol band were sitting, comparing notes, and checking with each other certain parts.

“Good work.”
“Ah, good work.” Takeshi had announced our return, and we were greeted by a cheerful Asumi. He took a seat, and after a few seconds of deliberation, I did too. Now, we were only one member short of completion.
“What about Megumi?”
“When we set of, she said she would take care of paperwork.”
“Then, I will head over to her when I go.”
“Thank you.”
One of the things I got told was that I should try to develop an understanding of what my charges were doing, so I can tell when their behavior changes, and possible examine what is wrong. With that I mind, and praying I didn’t interrupt them, I asked them. “What are you currently doing? Comparing notes, or?”
“Ah yes.”
“Sometimes, we can’t notice what we do wrong.”
“But the others notice. After practice, we tell each-other what to look out for.”
“Then, we take notes, and try to improve on the things.”
“Thoughtful of you.”
“Yes, but tiring.”
“Come on, you don’t even have that much.”
A short discussion ensued. But, they soon finished.
“Then, let’s stop at that for today.”
“No objections.”
“Agreed.”

They got up, smiled at each other, and started walking. But, stopped, and turned to us two bodyguards. Looking, but saying nothing.
“Ehm… until tomorrow?”
“Oh, you still have work?”
“I… don’t know.” I turned to Takeshi.
“Normally, I leave with them, and we say goodbye at the exit. However, we still have a few things to discuss, so excuse us for today.”
“Is that so?”
“Then, until tomorrow.”
“See ya.”
“Until tomorrow.”
The three left, talking amongst themselves. With this, I turned to Takeshi, and waited for him to talk. He in turn observed me, and, after a while, finally started speaking.
“Well, for your first day, you did alright.”
“…That’s it?”
“What, do you want to be scolded?”
“No, it’s just… I had imagined a harsher evaluation.”
“Boy, no, Shuuichi. It was the first day. I had taught you things today you did not know beforehand. I do not judge people that lack knowledge. But, I will be judging you on how you implement what I teach you. So, try to not just listen along, but reflect on the things I tell you. Do that, and there won’t be any problems during work. Alright?”
“Understood.”

“Good.” He nodded to himself once more. Then, he got up. “That’s it for today.”
“…Wait, that was it.”
“Yes. You picked up what I told you. Now, let’s go.” He moved away. Quickly, I rose form my seat, and followed him.
“Something on your mind?”
“Eh, no.”
“You want a smoke?”
“No. Sorry, but I don’t smoke.”
“Shame. So, what do you want?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“You are the one following me.”
“Yes.”
“Sigh. Look, work is over for today. Grab a bite, go home, I don’t care. I for one will enjoy a cigarette, and then move home.”
“Huh. In that case.” I bowed. “Thank you for your guidance.”
“Stop that crap.” He gave me a light chop on the head. I rose in response. “Listen, I may teach you, but you have probably seen which level of distance is alright with the people around you. Try to stay at the same level. Even if I am technically your superior, currently I am out of command. So, try to act more on your own. I will help you when it is need, but otherwise, you are on your own. Got it?”
Around me, he was more direct and jaded than when the girls are around. So, whenever I have harder things to discuss, I ought to make sure they are around.
“Yes.”
“Now, fly of to wherever it is you young’uns go to.”
“Then, see you tomorrow.”
“Yes yes.” He waved me off.

With this, I went home … For several meters, before turning around, catching up to him, and asking Takeshi. “When should I be here tomorrow?”
“Same as regular, eight is fine.”
“Alright.” Before heading of, I quickly thought once more. “And where?”
“Wherever the girls are. Check the board for that.” He meant a board in the entrance to the current section. It had a time table that scheduled when which room would be occupied by which group. He had shown it to me before during the showing around. On it, there would be the idol’s band name: RainySunshine. I wanted to ask them about it, but would wait for a god opportunity to arise.
“Alright. Then once more, see you tomorrow.”

Without gracing me with another reply, he simply went off. I did the same, and headed to my place. While I did have some free time now, I wanted to make sure that I properly kept my head in order. ‘Mayhap I should check out some of the information we have online?’ We were handed folders, both in paper and digital, that listed information if one should wish to read up on certain duties. I knew that Hanami had read through almost all of it, and that Seiko probably had never even touched it.
With thoughts revolving around work and coworkers, I left the workplace, without leaving the work behind me.