“Shinpei Nakameguro (thirty-four), an employee of the major entertainment agency Queen Smile, was arrested on suspicion of violating the Unauthorized Computer Access Prevention Act. At around five PM yesterday evening, the police received an anonymous call. When they rushed to the scene, a public restroom in Tokyo, Nakameguro was found naked and detained, along with numerous pieces of evidence. It seems Nakameguro has been arrested at this time after the receipt of multiple reports of violations from talents belonging to his agency. The Metropolitan Police Department is proceeding with the investigation and are adding additional charges of intimidation, coercion, and assault. In addition, Nakameguro had bruises all over his body and three broken bones at the time of his discovery and was believed to have been involved in some kind of altercation. This is being investigated as a separate case.”
A voice reporting from a WayTube news clip was being streamed in our living room.
Shiika, staring at the phone propped horizontally on the low table, turned her gaze toward me, muttering:
“Did you do this, Gak?”
“I have no idea what you mean.”
“Systema, wasn’t it? Some sort of martial arts–combat technique? Gak, whenever you’re not online gaming, that’s what you’re practicing in your room, isn’t it?”
“Hey, Akiba! Where’s that tuna?! Shiika wants maguro! Hurry it up!” I yelled over to Akiba in the kitchen, ignoring Shiika’s accusations. Please don’t poke any further, Shiika. If this gets exposed, I’ll be put in jail for sure.
“You just need to take the lid off the tuna, so do it yourself! I’m making sea bream soup just because you two said you wanted some! Do I have to do everything around here?!”
“You don’t want an exclusive interview with the new top singer in her year or what?”
“I’ll boycott.”
“Darn it! Thank you both! For the collab!!!”
Akiba screamed and went back to making miso soup with sea bream.
“Don’t put tears in it—you’ll spoil the taste.”
“Demon!”
We were just bantering back and forth like that.
Then the doorbell rang.
“Akiba, get the door.”
“Move your lazy butt! Ah, whatever. It’s open! Just come in,” Akiba yelled.
Our house was a run-down apartment with zero soundproofing except for inside Shiika’s closet, so we were able to communicate with people outside just by shouting. There was a clatter from the door opening, and I heard footsteps.
“Excuse the intrusion. Wow, it smells good. Soup?”
“Hello… So this is where Shiika lives? It’s a bit small. But it looks very clean. About what I expected.”
Erio Shibuya and Nokia Komae appeared in the dining room.
We were all here for a reconciliation party, and it also served as a strategy meeting for future collaborations.
“You’re lucky the smell of the soup is strong. And if it looks clean, that’s because of my efforts. Ah, it’s so hard being the unsung hero every time…”
But never mind Akiba’s complaints.
Erio and Komae each took one side of the low table. Our place was small, but four could still sit comfortably. Ah, how convenient it is to have a low table. I got the impression there was nowhere for Akiba to sit, but that didn’t matter, since she’d be busy cooking. If she got mad, I’d deal with it then.
“Shiika, Gakuto. I’m really, really sorry for everything up until now!”
“I told you; you don’t have to do that. You apologized to Shiika yesterday, didn’t you?”
“She did. She said sorry A LOT.”
“I mean, I don’t know what I was thinking. I didn’t know myself… I didn’t know what was really important,” Erio said self-deprecatingly while staring at the surface of the barley tea that Akiba had swiftly served.
“Last year, my manager told me that I wouldn’t be accepted in the professional world as I was, so I worked hard to acquire a special singing voice. Once I began, I started to get instant results, so after that, I felt I couldn’t back down.”
“Honestly, six octaves is a lot. Even Shiika can’t do that.”
“I could. If I tried really hard.”
“No, no, don’t try it. I mean it.”
“When Shiika criticized my singing voice…I felt like I’d been heading in the wrong direction. Like I’d been manipulated. I’d sensed it all along, but that just blew it wide open. And my relationship with Komae had grown awkward, which made everything worse.”
“That was my fault, too… I should have made time to talk with you more seriously.”
“No, it was all my fault. I was immature and just wanted to show off the power I’d obtained. So I rejected your song meant to have mass appeal to the crowd. Gosh, I was awful.”
“No, I was the one in the wrong. I knew you’d be hurt if I gave that song to Shiika. Because of my own petty jealousy, I…”
“No, I’m at fault!”
“No, it’s me!”
“No, I insist! Nokia, you did nothing wrong!”
“Can you stop yelling? You’re going to blow my eardrums out with that voice of yours.”
“Huh? You’re one to talk! You’re the one whose voice sounds like Gian from the Doraemon cartoon!”
“You didn’t have to go that far!”
“All right, all right, that’s enough! The walls are thin here! You’ll disturb the neighbors! Okay?!”
I felt compelled to step in and put an end to their argument.
Erio and Komae seemed to shrink before the master of the house.
“Sorry…”
“My bad…”
Good, just as long as we were all on the same page.
“But you two… Even after making up, you act like…like a quarrelsome couple.”
“Couple! Cuppy-cuppy-couple!”
Shiika joined in, harmonizing with me. Erio and Komae went bright red.
“No! We’re business partners!”
“We’re business partners only!”
It was funny, the way they both denied it at the same time, in almost exactly the same fashion. I had to laugh.
Shiika also chuckled. Whoa, that’s unusual.
Ahem. Erio cleared her throat.
“Uh, anyway… So I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. And I’ve decided to end my contract with Queen Smile.”
“Because of Nakameguro?”
“That’s part of it. To be honest, I got goose bumps when I heard from Nokia about what he did. I don’t think I can get past it. But… But that’s not all.” Erio laughed. “I have a new dream now.”
“A dream?”
“Yeah. To be honest, I’m not sure if this incident was an arbitrary decision by Mr. Nakameguro or if the company was involved.”
“Hmm, yes. In truth, there were many talents who were successful with that kind of production policy. In the adult world, it might just be a practice that’s tacitly accepted.”
“Right. So I was thinking of giving back.”
“Giving…back?”
“That’s right! With my own individual strength, I’ll produce results that are comparable to those of the big agencies that exist today! Just by doing what I want to do, I’ll gain the kind of influence that’ll make adults bow their heads! I’ll show everyone the right way to do things isn’t just limited to the methods they espouse! We can succeed, even when we do it our own way. I’m going to prove it!”
Erio clenched her fists with excitement. A flame was burning in her eyes.
Even with a change of direction, her aggressive stubbornness was still intact.
“Wow, that sounds great. Good on you.”
“Go for it, Eri.”
Clap, clap, clap. The Ikebukuro siblings applauded her.
“Why are you talking like it doesn’t involve you?”
“Well, how does it involve us?”
“I need to grow to the point where I’ve got a first-rate agency trembling in its boots. I need a strategy, right? Neither Nokia nor I have the brains. We can’t come up with strategies on top of everything else. And you’re fellow Music Department students, aren’t you? Not to mention Shiika’s got crazy talent. There’s no way we won’t team up, right?”
“Wait, wait, Erio. You mean… Team up with Shiika and me?”
“Right! And PR expert and strategist Mana!”
“You seem to be discussing some really crazy stuff while I’m in here cooking, but… Eh, sounds good. Count me in!”
“Awesome, Mana. You know just what I’m getting at. And once we succeed, we’ll form our own agency. We’ll create the best musical units in town! What do you say? Wanna set the music world on fire?!”
“Oh yeah. Um… Well…”
She pushed her face right up to mine, and I found myself looking down. It wasn’t just her singing that was breathtaking. She was like a tornado.
It certainly was an interesting prospect. Our position at Ryouran High would be solidified, and we wouldn’t need to worry about living expenses for the next three years. No need for me to work, either.
All that sounded great.
It just depended on what Shiika wanted to do.
The more people involved, the greater the danger that Shiika would come into contact with unpleasant sounds. If Shiika didn’t seem into it, then sorry, Erio, but I was going to have to decline with a will of steel.
“Gak.”
“Yeah? What do you wanna do, Shiika?”
“I want to do it.”
She answered with no hesitation.
Then I didn’t need to hesitate, either.
“Okay, let’s do it. Both Shiika and I are on board!”
“On board!”
“Y-yes!!! Thank you, Shiika! All right…let’s do this thing!”
Embracing Shiika and squeezing her like a stuffed animal, Erio was in high spirits.
Crushed by her embrace, Shiika looked annoyed, but only for a moment. Then she looked calm and relaxed, as if she were being rocked in a cradle.
I felt relieved to see the look of happiness on my sister’s face.
“All right, everyone, here’s the soup you’ve all been waiting for! Hey, why has no one opened the tuna?! Get out plates! I’ll open it, then!”
“It’s the expensive kind from the basement floor of the department store, right? Looks delicious… Wait, aren’t there only three pieces of fatty tuna?”
“Thank you! Here, Shiika, I saved a piece for you.”
“Thanks. Good work, Gak.”
“Then I’ll take the remaining one.”
“Hey! Nokia! That one’s mine!”
“You’re on a diet. I’m only helping you.”
“Excuse me?! What’s that got to do with this, huh?!”
“I see no one’s going to leave any tuna for me! You should show more appreciation for the chef!”
“Shiika, here, have another piece.”
“Nom… Mm, delicious.”
“What are you doing, you gluttonous siblings?! There’s none left!”
Team Name: Ryouran High Music Department (Working Title)
Members
Gakuto Ikebukuro. Impachi Live Subscribers: 0 (No account registered.)
Shiika Ikebukuro. Impachi Live Subscribers: 36,400
Mana Akihabara. Impachi Live Subscribers: 8,800
Erio Shibuya. Impachi Live Subscribers: 502,700
Nokia Komae. Impachi Live Subscribers: 185,000
A colossal force that would shake all the students of Ryouran High to their very cores was born.
The launch of this team would rouse the interest and fighting spirit of all the talented students in the school and would eventually serve as the catalyst for a huge change involving both the online streaming world and the entertainment industry.
But it was only later that we would come to realize that.
To be continued…