Bad News

Another day at work, I came in as usual, and headed to the practice room. Thinking the girls would be pretty excited about their largest concert yet coming up, I was surprised to see them down in the bumps. The three of them were sitting on the bench, their heads hanging low. Luckily, they hadn’t noticed me, so I stepped outside. Megumi was just approaching, giving me someone to talk to.
“Hey, so… what’s up with them?
She hesitated for a moment. “You know about the next concert?”
“Yes, they were pretty hyped about it. ! It can’t be, was it canceled?”
“No. Rather, it is the opposite.”
I didn’t get much info from that. “Please explain.”
“You see, during their last live, they teased about having a concert in a larger avenue, to allow more people to see them live. Which is where we encountered a problem. Until now, it had been relatively small stadiums. The next step up would be a medium sized one. However, there were none available anymore. Just outright canceling the event would bring too many repercussions, so it was decided to instead go with a large stadium. Frankly, it is too large. We are unlikely to fill it up. There have been times when idol groups went too big too soon, and almost always it ended in ruin.”
‘No wonder they are concerned.’ “And talking to management?”
“I am trying to get everything together for a formal request to reconsider. We just got the announcement, so they are still a bit shocked.”
I tried to come up with something useful, but only drew blanks. Misplaced cheering up might make it worse, so…

The door next to us opened, and the three of them came out. To be honest, they did not look their best. A mix of defiance and desperation could be seen in their eyes.
“Ah, Shuuichi, you came too. Judging from how you look, Megu already told you about our situation.” Asumi’s expression was just tiredness.
“Well, yes.”
Shizuka, whom I least expected to, started talking with a glimmer of hope in her voice. “Don’t worry. We figured something out.”
“She’s right!” Haru pumped herself up. “We just need to put in even more effort! Get more hyped! And it might work itself out.”
Those two tried to convince themselves that it wasn’t so bad. However, looking at their general appearance and the cracks in their voices, it didn’t look to be successful. ‘Like this, they are in no shape to pull this of.’ And I wasn’t the only person thinking that.
“What is with you? You are all shaking, and your eyes look red.” Hanekawa came over. Knowing her, she might have wanted to check in on them and celebrate the announcement of their chosen venue.
“Oh. Well…” We brought her up to speed. Her expression turned sour.
“What is up with them? They know this won’t go well!” She obviously held contempt for the decision by the management.
Asumi tried to calm her down. “Still, better than the alternative of-”
“That’s it!” Unsuccessfully. Hanekawa turned around and started walking away.
“Where are you going?” Megumi inquired.
“To management, where else. I am going to lodge in a complaint.” Deviance was visible in her eyes. The only thing preventing them from hardening entirely was her empathy for the idol group
“Wait!” I called out to her.
“What do you want? Stop me?” She seemed irritated.
“No, I want to tag along.” I didn’t know how I might be able to help, but it was better than standing around and doing nothing.
“I will be going too. I planned to anyway. Just wanted to have everything prepared.”
“Then, we…” Three uncertain gazes fell upon us.
Hanekawa was the first to respond to them. “Don’t worry. The three of us will make things work out.”
“And if we screw up, it was an independent action. No repercussions for you.” Megumi, as always, was putting them first, and already thought of preventing further harm to fall onto them.
Not saying anything in this situation would lay wrong with me, so I made a simple call-out. “Just hold on tight. We will be back soon.”
At first, they seemed hesitant. But looking themselves into the eyes, their expressions cleared. Facing us, they gave a bow. “““We are counting on you.”””
Having been entrusted with their faith, we made our way to the offices.

We entered a certain floor in the managerial department. To the front was Hanekawa, storming forward and carving us a way. Following her was Megumi, who’s the one on official business. I brought up the rear, occasionally glaring people down that tried to go after us.
Once we reached the correct door, Hanekawa gave a short knock, and opened it before we received an answer. On the inside, we saw… something completely different from what I had expected. Instead of a mean looking suit, we saw a distraught office lady, with papers all over her desk. Looking at us, her melancholic expression deepened.
“Hello. I take it you are here for the case of RainySunshine?”
“Yes.” We are all a bit taken aback. It didn’t seem right to direct our frustration at this person.
“I can’t fault you. I really tried, you know. Getting the best thing possible. But, I couldn’t find a better solution.” She looked to be on the verge of crying. With her anger now being unfunded, Hanekawa lost her gusto. Instead, Megumi stepped forward.
“Would you mind if we take a look at the documents. With how much work you put in, I doubt that you oversaw anything. But, just maybe…”
A resigned smile appeared on her face. “You are welcome to. And please, do. If it ends up working out, I don’t mind being told I made a mistake. Heck, I would be happy about it. I just want to see them succeed.”
‘With such a vested interest, I guess she might not just want to do her job, but be a fan privately too. It must be devastating, potentially causing a group you like to fail.’
Hanekawa and Megumi set to work, everyone looking through a stack of available listings. With not much else to do, I decided to help out, even if it might be for naught.

We worked in silence, only the rustling of paper filling the air. Checking through all these listings really made me aware how much live concerts are valued. I didn’t know that there were that many stadiums around. Skimming trough all of them, I stumble over a band name I recognized, and remembered from more than just listening to their music.
“Not to get anyone’s hopes up, but what about a stadium of this size?” I sheepishly pointed to the listing.
Everyone’s eyes turned to me. Megumi, who was closest to me, snatched the paper, and checked the entry.
“This one would be good. A bit smaller than what we want optimally, but better than what we have now. But it is already booked.” The hope that started building up in the other two vanished upon hearing her last sentence.
“Well, I can’t promise anything, but I know the band that plays there. They have been getting really successful, and were always complaining how they couldn’t get any large stadiums without a company backing them. So I thought, if I talk to them, and they agree to trade spots, we would have a possibility.”
I didn’t really know how all these organizations work, so I turned to the person who’s expertise it was. She was in thought for a while. Finally, she looked up from the paper, and gave her verdict. “It might work. If both bands, and the higher ups agree… It would need paperwork, and confirmation with the stadiums… The sooner the better.”
Upon hearing this, Hanekawa walked up to me. “Can you contact them?”
“Yes… I would need a bit, but on my next day off-“
“Now.”
“…What?”
“Take care of it now.”
“As much as I’d like to, technically I am on the clock.” I peered over to Megumi, waiting for her judgment.
“Currently, you are still stationed under Takeshi, right?”
“Yes.” Her take was correct.
“I doubt he would have any problems if we explain it to him.” I could see where she was going with that. As much as he liked the girls, there was no way he would refuse anything I did if it had a possibility of saving the situation.
“Leave that to us, and focus on getting your part done.” Hanekawa essentially ordered me to do it.
I wished to see the girls succeed too. And with this much encouragement, there was just one answer I can give: “Leave it to me!”

Being filled with confidence, I got on my way. …A few meters away, to a quiet place, where I could make a phone call. As it hinged on this, I hoped I could convince her. I dialed a number from my contact list, and waited for the call to connect. Then, the ringing stopped.
“Hello, Master. I hope I am not disturbing.”
“You aren’t, so don’t worry Shuuichi. What’s up? Shouldn’t you be working?”
“Actually, I have a favor to ask of you. It is connected to work.” I tried to take on a serious tone. As a response, I got a small laugh.
“You know, if I can, I will try to help you. So, what is the problem?” I thought about whether to give her the whole story now or not, and decided against it. Master might just feel for them, turning this into emotional extortion. And I wanted her to decide this without any direct involvement.
“I would like to tell you the whole story another time. In short, I need the phone number of one of the band members from the Silver Crows.”
“Sure.”
“...Wait, that easy? Nothing about protecting guests’ privacy?”
“Normally, yes, I’d want the whole story. But they came by again recently, and asked me to contact them when you plan to show up. Or, if it was easier, that you should call them yourself. So, they gave me their private phone number for you.” I was stunned silent, with how lucky I got. “I know you are busy, and help out here form time to time, but try to show up a bit more often. As a guest. My request aside, I will send you the contact details.”
A minute later, I got a message on Line. The number had the name Saji attached to it. It was the bassist of the band. With no time like the present, I decided to give him a call.

“Hello. Who’s there?”
“Good day. My name is Moriya Shuuichi. I don’t know if you remember me, but-“
“Oh, Shuuichi. So the owner gave you the number directly. You going to show up soon? We missed you, you know. You really need to cook-”
“I… am sorry to interrupt, but this is not the reason as to why I have called you. Naturally, I plan to come and meet you, but there is something more pressing I wish to discuss with you. I know, using your contact info like that is not a good thing to do, however-”
“Whoa, chill dude. Relax, we ain’t so tight, you know that. So, what’s the important business?” I was blessed to be surrounded by understanding people.
“…May I ask where you currently are. If preferable, I would like to meet up in person.”
“That official, huh? I am currently near a guitar shop in downtown…”
We proceed to talk about time and place, and settle on a nearby café in two and a half hours.
“Again, thank you very much.”
“Don’t thank me too early. But if you wish to,” ‘What is he planning?’ “Next time you come to the bar, drink one with us. You turned twenty this year, right? So now it is legal, and the owner can’t get in our way.”
I smile formed on my lips as I remembered what he referred to. “You are the one who tried to give me sake while I was working. And sixteen years old.”
“Come on, I knew you could take it. I would have never thought she would get that furious. I still shudder to remember that day.” Both of us laughed. “Anyway, see you soon, I guess.”
“Yes. Again, thank you very much for agreeing to meet so soon. See you.”
I hung up. Checking the time, less than half an hour had passed since I had left the office.

Returning to the waiting room, I saw five distraught faces turn to me. Instead of Hanekawa, who likely had to do her own work, Takeshi was now present. It didn't seem that he wanted to say anything to my absence, so the matter must have been smoothed over. Not knowing how to sneakily separate them, I instead opt for the direct approach.
“Megumi, could you accompany me for a minute.”
While the others didn’t really know what to make of it, she seemed to realize my intention, and followed me around the corner. I give her a quick rundown of the phone calls. The information was met with astonishment.
“You got it done so fast.”
“Really, I just got lucky. Also, the harder part is still up. As I am not much in the organizing side of things, I wanted to ask if you could accompany me.”
“Naturally. I will quickly go and get all necessary papers. Prepare for departure in an hour.” With that, it was decided. She headed over to the others.
“I… have received some other work, so I will be gone for a bit. And I will be taking Shuuichi with me. Is that alright Takeshi?”
Surely, the others had some speculation as to what was going on. But I didn't want to tell them, in case it didn't work out. Giving them hope now, just to crush it before their eyes would be more than cruel.
“Ah, yes. There is no problem with it.” While he was nearing full recovery from his injury, he was lacking even more energy than when he was unable to use his arm. I had a feeling before, but he might really think of these girls as his grandchildren.

To make sure to cheer them up and restore their spirits, the next part had to be a success!