Blackout

Some of you might be wondering why have I posted a new chapter this early despite what I wrote last chapter and what happened to the poll. The thing is, I received an advise that I was rushing the story too much. Upon careful consideration, I decide to take that reader's advise and take things slow. That said, this chapter might not make much sense. Even so, I hope you will continue to support me.

   It’s December now, and you know what that means. Christmas is coming soon, and boy do I hate it with a passion.

   Don’t get me wrong, Christians. It’s not that I’m disrespecting Jesus Christ. I have issues on couples using His sacred birthday as an excuse to flirt with each other even more openly than usual. I never understood the reason behind it. It’s His birthday, for crying out loud, and instead of celebrating it, they make it their very own special day. Bloody heretics. Just so you know, I didn’t bring this out because I’m jealous. Nope, I’m definitely, absolutely not jealous.

   And you know what’s worse? Our client has increased by threefold since a lot of the students find it special and meaningful to celebrate Christmas with their newfound boyfriend/girlfriend. Some are just sick of celebrating it with their family year after year. Some want to celebrate with their old flame. To all these people I say-

   ‘Screw this. I’m leaving the club until New Year’s over.’ I tell Nagano after getting way too many appointments.

   ‘What? You can’t do that!’

   ‘Watch me.’

   ‘But-’

   ‘Listen, Nagano. A vast majority of them are just trying to get on the trend to celebrate Christmas with their so-called loved ones. I honestly doubt they even care whom they celebrate it with. Do you think those kind of couples would last?’

   ‘Well, no.’ she admits grudgingly.

   ‘I’m glad that you understand.’

   ‘But that’s no excuse for us to turn away clients! Can you at least listen to them before refusing them?’ she bargains stubbornly.

   ‘...Fine. I’ll at least listen. Who’s our client for today?’

   ‘Um, it’s someone called Akiyama Miyuki.’

   She then tilts her head in confusion.

   ‘Strange. I don’t remember anyone with that name in this school.’

   ‘It sounds kind of familiar, though.’

   ‘Wait, there’s actually someone you knew in this school that I don’t?’

   Suddenly, the door the the club room opens. It’s Nitta.

   ‘Hey there, it’s me, Japan’s number one idol~!’ she says loudly while striking a cutesy pose.

   ‘What are you doing here? Don’t you have to go to student council?’ I ask her.

   ‘The thing is, I asked for an off day, since I need help from you guys again.’ she replies.

   ‘That’s rough, but you know the rules around here. No appointment, no consultation.’

   ‘But I did book an appointment!’

   ‘Since when is your name Akiyama Miyuki?’

   ‘She’s the real client, so I decided to put her name instead of mine.’

   ‘Wait a minute, now I remember where I heard that name. She’s a fashion model.’

   ‘That’s right. You know her too?’

   ‘Not me, but my cousin is a huge fan of hers. So, what about her?’

   ‘It’s better if she’s the one who tells you. Can all of you meet me at the train station at nine o’clock on Sunday?’

   ‘Sunday, you say? I’m sorry, but I have things to do at Koikana.’ Nagano apologizes.

   ‘...My parents are coming back home on that day.’ Suzu says.

   ‘Oh, they are? Guess you can’t go and help as well then.’

   Suzu nods in conformation. I could be wrong since she has zero emotion on her face as usual, but she looks kind of gloomy right now. I guess this is not a good time to pry.

   ‘Fine, I’ll go alone. See you then, Nitta.’

   ‘Right.’

   When Sunday arrives, I went to the train station thirty minutes earlier than the agreed time just to be polite. At nine o’clock sharp, I see a disguised Nitta heading towards here.

   ‘Good morning, Bandou-kun. You’re early.’ she notes.

   I shrug. ‘It’s a common courtesy.’

   ‘Wait a second. I know what this is. You just can’t wait to see me, huh?’ Nitta grins smugly.

   ‘What?’

   ‘No need to be embarrassed. I’m pretty famous, after all.’

   I let out a sigh. Looks like someone need to be taught a lesson. I grab her shoulders without warning. She looks absolutely shocked by my action.

   ‘B-Bandou-kun?’

   ‘You’re right. I’m constantly thinking of you. When you asked me out, I couldn’t sleep for the whole night. Forget about the client. Let’s go on a happy, fun date right now.’

   Nitta starts to blush furiously.

   ‘We can’t, Bandou-kun! I belong to all my fans!’

   ‘I’m your fan too, remember? Just for today is fine! Be mine!’

   Her face is beet red, and it’s definitely not because of the cold weather.

   ‘W-Well, if you insist so much, I guess I could-’

   I let go of her shoulders.

   ‘Right. Enough fooling around. Where’s the client, lead the way.’

   Her expression turns from being bashful to shocked in an instant.

   ‘You were fooling around?’ she asks me while still looking surprised.

   ‘Sure was. What did you expect? Oh my, turns out Japan’s number one idol is kind of easy, huh?’ I snicker while covering my mouth with my left palm.

   She puffs up her cheek like a hamster with its mouth full of food and trembles in rage. She turns and stomps away.

   ‘Just follow me.’ she tells me with barely-concealed anger.

   ‘Right behind you.’

   She brings me to a huge production company. Holographic Entertainment and Production, or HEP for short. This is the company that Nitta belongs to. She then walks to a security guard who’s standing right in front of a huge gate and shows him her staff’s ID. The guards nods and looks at me curiously.

   ‘He’s with me.’ Nitta tells him.

   ‘I still need to see your identification card, sir.’

   I shrug and take it out for him to examine. ‘Fair enough.’

   While looking at my card, the guard mumbles my identification number to the walkie-talkie strapped to his shoulder so that his colleague could identify me. After making sure that I’m not a criminal, he give me back my card.

   ‘Thank you for your cooperation, sir.’

   ‘Anytime.’

   The guard slightly opens up the gate so that we can pass through. Right after we did that, he closes it once more. We’ve went inside for five minutes, and I already saw ten security guards patrolling the area, either by walking on foot or riding on Segways. All of them, including the one at the gate, are armed with guns.

   ‘The security around here is very tight, huh?’ I comment to Nitta.

   ‘Can you blame them? You’ll never know when an insane fan will wander in and starts attacking people.’ she shudders.

   ‘Speaking of which, I’m surprised that your manager actually let you wander outside by your own.’

   Nitta takes out a taser and a crime prevention buzzer from the pocket of her jacket. ‘She always make sure that I have these before giving me the permission. She wanted to come with me to get you, but someone might recognize her and through her, me. That’s why I told her to wait here.’

   I nod in agreement. ‘Makes sense.’

   Her manager is waiting at the entrance. She’s someone in her mid-20s who looks prim and proper while wearing a thick jacket and long pants.

   ‘Bandou-kun, this is my manager Mino Yayoi-san. Yayoi-san, this is Bandou-kun, the person I told you about.’ Nitta introduces us to each other.

   The two of us bow at each other.

   ‘Thank you for coming here today.’ Mino-san says to me respectfully.

   ‘No worries. Nitta is my acquaintance, after all. If she wants my help, I will do the best I can.’

   ‘Thank you. Right this way please.’

   I see lots of famous artists and idols inside. That’s a production company for you.

   ‘I would like to use this chance to thank you for helping Yuki.’ Mino-san tells me all of a sudden.

   ‘Um, what did I help out on again?’ I ask just in case Mino-san doesn’t know the full story about Nitta and Furuta.

   ‘For trying to act as a match maker for Yuki and her childhood crush. And protecting her when she was about to be harmed.’

   Oh, so she knows pretty much everything.

   ‘Please wait a moment. You’re actually fine with Nitta having a boyfriend?’

   ‘For me, Yuki isn’t just an idol, she’s also a young girl with every right to love as everyone else. The higher-ups would never agree with me on this one, though.’

   ‘And with good reasons, if we look from their point of view.’

   ‘True. Still, I just want her to be happy instead of just doing her job as an idol.’ she says while looking at Nitta like an affectionate elderly sister.

   Nitta tries her best to hold back her tears. ‘You’re the best manager I could ever ask for, Yayoi-san.’

   ‘Thank you. Now let’s go meet Akiyama-san, shall we?’

   Mino-san and Nitta bring me to a photography studio where Akiyama-san is being photographed by a photographer while standing in front of a background and surrounded by some lights. A haughty-looking man is watching her from the side. Her manager, I assume.

   I’ve looked at some the fashion magazines which featured her since my cousin wouldn’t leave me alone if I didn’t. She’s 19 years old this year, and her career had been smooth sailing ever since she debuted when she was 17.

   After quietly observing her for a while, I notice something odd about Akiyama-san. Her facial expression and body pose are kind of stiff, despite kept on getting instructions from the photographer. It’s like she’s a total amateur.

   The haughty-looking man notices us and claps his hands loudly. Both Akiyama-san and the photographer turn to look at him.

   ‘Let’s stop here for today.’ he tells them both.

   They both nod. The photographer leaves the studio after packing his stuff and gave us a polite nod, while Akiyama-san heads over here with her manager. Introductions were made once again, and the man introduces himself as Kuwahara Nobuyuki, Akiyama-san’s manager of three years.

   Kuwahara looks at Mino-san and points at me.

   ‘Are you sure he can help us?’ he asks her rather rudely.

   ‘To be completely honest with you, I cannot give you an exact answer since this is the first time I met Bandou-kun.’ Mino-san answers. ‘However, Yuki trusts him. That’s all the evidence I need.’

   ‘Don’t you trust me, Kuwahara-san?’ Nitta asks Kuwahara sweetly.

   I know the look Nitta is giving him. It’s the expression women make when someone has the nerve to challenge them. Kuwahara knows this look too, and he gulps loudly.

   ‘O-O-Of course I trust you, Nitta-kun.’ he stutters.

   ‘That’s good to hear. Go ahead, Bandou-kun and Akiyama-san.’

   ‘Right. So what kind of problem do you have, Akiyama-san?’ I begin by asking.

   ‘The thing is, I’m having photo shoot sessions for the past few months to promote all sorts of clothing brands. However, I could never get things right, as you may have seen just now.’

   ‘As a result, she’s getting less and less job.’ Kuwahara continues. ‘We’re really at the end of the road here.’

   ‘Do you have any idea on why your performance have dropped? Anything at all?’ I ask Akiyama-san.

   Akiyama-san sneaks a glance at Kuwahara before answering.

   ‘Well, if there’s one thing, it’s after my photographer has been switched-’

   ‘That’s completely irrelevant.’ Kuwahara interrupts her.

   ‘But Kuwahara-san-’

   ‘No buts! We’re not getting him to be your photographer again. Period.’

   ‘Who exactly are you talking about?’ I ask her.

   ‘My previous photographer. He’s still a high school student, but he’s really good at it. Not to mention that he’s caring, knows how to make me feel relaxed, and-’

   Kuwahara interrupts again by clearing his throat loudly. Akiyama-san stops immediately. She’s also blushing and looking like a maiden in love. Ah. So that’s what it is. I was wondering about the reason I’m called here.

   ‘Can I at least know his name?’

   ‘Kato Seiichi.’

   Wow. Talk about a small world. I take out my phone from my pocket.

   ‘Excuse me for a moment.’ I tell them before making a phone call.

   It only took three rings before Kato pick up my call.

   ‘Hey, Bandou. What’s up?’ he asks over the phone.

   ‘Morning, Kato. I just want to ask you something.’

   ‘Sure. Ask away.’

   ‘Did you ever became the photographer for Akiyama Miyuki?’

   I hear him falling from his chair or something.

   ‘What? Why do you know that?’ he asks me after a while.

   ‘Oh good. So it is you. I thought I got the wrong Kato for a moment.’

   ‘Again, why do you-’

   I ignore him and cut the connection. I turn around and find Akiyama-san standing way too close from me.

   ‘Bandou-kun, you actually know Sei-I mean Kato-kun?’ she asks me while barely able to conceal her excitement.

   ‘Yes. We’re classmates.’

   ‘It doesn’t matter!’ Kuwahara says angrily. ‘I’ll say this as many times I have to! Kato-kun will not become Akiyama-kun’s photographer ever again!’

   I ignore him and continue to talk to Akiyama-san.

   ‘Do you want to improve your performance?’

   ‘Yes.’

   ‘Then do two simple things. One, have Kuwahara-san removed from his position as your manager.’

   The person in question gasps angrily.

   ‘What? How dare you! I’m Akiyama-kun’s manager-’

   ‘Who’s terrible at his job.’ I end his sentence for him.

   ‘It’s not my fault! Akiyama-kun is feeling down, that’s all!’

   ‘Yes, she’s feeling down because you fired her boyfriend who acts as her photographer.’

   ‘B-Bandou-kun! He’s not my boyfriend!’ Akiyama-san corrects me quickly with a red face.

   ‘Oh, so the two of you are not going out? My apologies then.’

   ‘Well, it’s not that I don’t want to be his girlfriend. But still, um, well…’ she mumbles while twirling her index fingers.

   ‘Anyway, Kuwahara-san should be let go for making Akiyama-san’s performance drop like this.’

   ‘What do you know, brat? Do you know how much I tried to help Akiyama-kun?’ he starts to rant.

   ‘All I know is she’s not getting any proper jobs for several months.’

   I look at Akiyama-san. ‘My cousins used to be a huge fan of yours. Every time she bought a fashion magazine which featured you, she would call me and keep on telling me how beautiful you looked. But she doesn’t do that anymore. I remember clearly the last time she called me she complained that you weren’t sparkling like you used to.’

   She covers her mouth with both her hands in horror. ‘Oh my. What have I done? I actually disappointed my fan.’

   ‘It’s not you, it’s him.’ I nod towards Kuwahara-san who’s close to frothing at his mouth.

   ‘But, I can’t just ask to have him fired…’ she tells me hesitantly.

   She’s saying that, but her expression is telling me that she had thought of it at least once.

   I shrug. ‘That you can at least hire Kato again. I feel bad for your current photographer, but you need Kato.’

   ‘You can’t, Akiyama-kun!’ Kuwahara tells her. ‘If he’s around, you’ll constantly get distracted!’

   ‘Is that true?’ I ask her for clarification.

   ‘Well, it’s true that there were a few occasions that I got way too distracted by Kato-kun and caused trouble to everyone.’ she answers while looking ashamed.

   ‘But ultimately, you still got your job done, right?’

   ‘That’s true, but-’ Kuwahara starts to argue.

   ‘But nothing.’ I cut him off. ‘Getting her job done at the end of the day is much better than getting delayed, wouldn’t you say?’

   Kuwahara lowers his head and grits his teeth. Good. He’s starting to lose his resolve.

   ‘At the end of the day, you’re the one who has to decide this, Akiyama-san. It’s your call.’ I tell Akiyama-san.

   Akiyama-san looks at Kuwahara and bows at him.

   ‘Kuwahara-san, I apologize for going against your wishes, but I truly believe that Kato-kun can bring out the best of me. So please, allow him to work for us again.’

   ‘...Fine. If that’s what you truly desire.’

   Kuwahara is still furrowing his eyebrows. He’s obviously not happy with this, but he has enough sense to think of Akiyama-san first and foremost.

   ‘Well, now that it’s been decided, I’ll have Kato to come right over.’ I tell them.

   ‘There’s no need for that, Bandou-kun. We can do it ourselves.’ Akiyama-san offers.

   ‘It’s fine. Really. My phone had been vibrating for a while now. Pretty sure it’s him.’

   I take out my still-vibrating phone to confirm. Yup, it’s Kato, all right. I press the answer call button and put the phone near my ear.

   ‘Hey, Kato. Come to HEP right now, and don’t forget your photography tools.’ I tell him.

   ‘What? What’s this-’

   ‘When I say right now, I mean it. Pronto. Akiyama-san needs you.’

   I hear him inhale loudly.

   ‘Right. Tell her that I’m coming this instant.’

   ‘Got it.’

   ‘What did he say?’ Akiyama-san asks me anxiously once I put my phone away.

   ‘He said he’s coming here right now.’

   ‘That’s good to hear!’

   ‘But please keep it professional.’

   ‘Of course I will! I’m always keeping it professional!’

   ‘Have you conveniently forgotten the time when you dragged him out in the middle of a photo shoot just to try out a limited edition ice cream?’ Kuwahara reminds her.

   ‘E-Except for that one time!’

   ‘I could go on and on for hours.’

   ‘Okay! I get it! I promise you that I will act like a proper professional!’

   Kato reaches here around thirty minutes later, and Akiyama-san breaks into a huge smile the moment she saw him, and vice-versa.

   ‘Please remember to keep it professional.’ I remind her one again.

   ‘Of course. I’m born to be professional.’

   Honestly, her smile isn’t really convincing me nor Kuwahara.

   The two of them greet each other a bit stiffly, and Akiyama-san is really trying her best to stop herself from hugging Kato. They get to photo shooting after Kato set up his stuff, and I had to leave since the atmosphere around them is way too bright.

   ‘Leaving already?’ Nitta asks me.

   ‘Yup. I feel like I’ll go blind if I had to watch those two any longer.’ I say while rolling my eyes.

   Nitta chuckles. ‘I’ll see you out, then.’

   ‘Allow me to join you.’ Mino-san says to us.

   ‘Thanks for your help once again.’ Nitta says to me on my way out.

   ‘Think nothing of it. Just one thing, though. Are those two going out? I’m not that close with Kato, so I have no idea.’

   ‘Sure looks that way. Every time I pass by them, they had the couple feel to them, despite how much Akiyama-san denies it. The two of them are at least at the stage where they’re less than lovers but more than friends.’

   ‘They won’t have to separate, right?’ I ask Mino-san. ‘I mean, Akiyama-san isn’t an idol.’

   ‘I hope that’s the case, for their sake. By the way, I fee like I have to apologize to you.’

   ‘What for?’

   ‘We could have easily solved this incident among ourselves. Even so, we chose to ask for your help instead since we were worried that things might get out of hand if a manager barged into the affair of another manager.’

   ‘What she said. We’re really sorry for using you, Bandou-kun.’ Nitta apologizes as well.

   ‘It’s fine. I had to do similar things at my school anyway, so this is no big deal. Just call me again if you need my help. I don’t know how helpful I can be, but please remember that you can rely on me.’

   ‘Yes, we will keep that in mind.’

   Nitta pats my back. ‘You’re a good person, Bandou-kun.’

   I chuckle bitterly. ‘Trust me, I’m not.’