mijobooks Chapter 48 The Fox and the Otter
Chapter 48 The Fox and the Otter
After Aiki, Mio was blessed with incredible luck and pulled two third-generation members, Mukai Junha and Murayama Miu. However, perhaps because the "law of non-lucky draws" was starting to take effect, her next three pulls were Sato Shiori, Nagasawa Nanaka, and Yoneya Nanami, all first-generation members and the least popular members in their respective generations. Although it wasn't exactly a bad draw, Mio still felt a little sorry for Rito, so she refused his offer to keep pulling.
"Then it's my turn." Rito didn't stand on ceremony. He shook the tokens in his hand and started throwing them in like crazy. One gashapon after another rolled out until he had only one token left with a golden glitter in his hand before he finally stopped.
"It's more fun to save up and open them together, let's split it in half."
After enjoying a round of gashapon, Rito generously shared the even more enjoyable card-opening part with Mio. The two of them sat cross-legged on the ground without any regard for their image and opened the gashapon one by one.
"Wow, the Golden Legend! It's a chestnut!"
"Look, look! It's Zono-senpai!"
"Kirako is here too, that's great."
"It's Rika-chan! I'm so happy!"
After a series of howls and screams, all the gashapon capsules were opened, including quite a few from the first, second, and third generations. Rito collected the third-generation members and put them aside, waiting for the day when everyone would be there. As for the first and second-generation members, he crushed their cards, which turned into starlight and scattered them throughout Japan.
Meiqing tried to catch the starlight, but of course, she failed. The starlight passed straight through her palm, demonstrating a penetrating power unlike normal light. She didn't seem too frustrated, and wobbled back to Rito's side. She glanced at the only token he had left and asked:
"What, are you saving one for next time?"
Li Ren smiled and said, "No, it's just that this isn't used here."
Upon hearing this, Mei-ching raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms, seemingly saying with her actions, "I'll be watching."
It was rare for an audience member to join in this segment, so Rito certainly wouldn't let her down. After another snap of her fingers, a gashapon machine of the same model, but much smaller, descended from the sky and appeared in front of the two of them.
"How novel! Even Akimoto-sensei knows to switch from WoW to 'yeah' when writing songs, so why does your gacha system reuse materials?"
Mei Qing chuckled, as if she had found some flaw, and began to mock him in a sarcastic tone.
"What's the point of telling me this? It's not like I made the game. Maybe this is the only one in their asset library that fits the theme. Do you think it's free to create your own models?"
Rito rolled his eyes, leaving her to her own devices, touched the exterior of the gashapon machine, and suddenly let out a somewhat hollow laugh.
"What's wrong?" Meiqing asked curiously.
Rito smiled and pointed to the gashapon machine, saying, "Do you know what this machine is for?"
"How should I know? Just tell me!" Meiqing couldn't stand his beating around the bush and slapped his arm.
"Ouch—that's really violent." Rito rubbed his arm, finally stopping teasing her, and explained, "This is for hitting Keyakizaka's center position."
"Huh? But—"
"But everyone knows that Keyakizaka has only ever had one C." Rito added the second half of her sentence, then shrugged and put the token into the machine. He felt like an unlucky player who had just won the pity system and knew that the next draw would definitely be a good one. There was no joy, only a faint sense of 'I know you're coming, hurry up and come'.
Unsurprisingly, the gashapon capsule that rolled out produced Hirate's chubby face. Rito smiled slightly. It was precisely because he learned about this event that he was in such a hurry to build up the framework of Keyakizaka. Although the number of members was still a bit insufficient, he did not plan to start the project so quickly. After all, the lesson of the Keyakizaka Dynasty in his previous life, which left a vast expanse of white after the fire, was tragic enough. He would not launch Green Troupe rashly without making thorough preparations this time.
(No matter how many times I watch it, I'll still be amazed.)
After everything was arranged, Meiqing was about to ask him how to leave, but just as the thought crossed her mind, the dizziness she had felt before returned, and when she opened her eyes again, she was back in the practice room.
"Let's go, it's time to go back."
Rito stood up, already used to this feeling, and reached out his hand to Mio, who was still sitting on the ground in a daze. Mio grasped his hand and was pulled up by him, but almost fell back because her legs were numb. Rito quickly caught her shoulder.
"Thank you." She turned to look at him, nodded in acknowledgment, but her gaze seemed to be wandering elsewhere, as if she was still lingering in the memory of that pure white space.
"By the way," Rito said after waiting a while, "if any of your contemporaries want to meet you in advance, I can have her come out first. As for idols, a two or three-year age difference is actually fine."
Meiqing paused for a moment after hearing his words, and after a few seconds, she slowly shook her head.
"Come on, take me to my place."
Rito shrugged, offering no further advice, and led her out of the building. By now, it was completely dark, and the sparsely populated streets carried an eerie atmosphere. The car drove through several quiet residential streets, finally stopping in front of a relatively new-looking apartment building.
"Sixth floor, 602. I won't go up. Everything that needs to be provided is already there. If you're missing anything, just buy it yourself. You can surely afford it, right?" Rito took a bunch of keys out of his pocket and put them in her hand. "The company covers the rent. You pay for your own utilities. Goodnight."
Meiqing took the keys, weighed them in her palm, and suddenly chuckled, "Hey, Kubo Rito, you're not a fan of mine, are you?"
"No, that's not it." Rito opened the car door and helped her take her suitcase out of the trunk. "I'm a fan of Risa-sama. After she graduated, I guess I'm a half-third-generation suitcase fan."
Meiqing gave a soft snort, said nothing more, waved her hand, and walked into the apartment building alone. The incandescent light above her head hummed, casting a long and thin shadow of her.
-----------------
Over the next month, Seed & Flower, a contract company affiliated with the original company, was officially established and began operating at a speed that seemed almost insane to outsiders. Since there were no immediate plans to publicly announce the Keyakizaka concept, a low-key audition, ostensibly to recruit trainees, was launched under Rito's instruction. Of course, this low-key approach was in comparison to the Nogizaka second-generation auditions in the latter half of last year. In reality, given Nogizaka's aggressive expansion among young people, even if Rito wanted to keep it low-key, it would probably be impossible. He simply didn't invest any money in publicity, but since some people were willing to act as paid trolls, he couldn't stop them.
As for the selection criteria, they were written vaguely and broadly—"Perfect singing and dancing skills are not required, only a unique personality and expressiveness are needed." This is slightly different from the standards of Nogizaka46, which clearly follow the orthodox route. However, this vague recruitment announcement attracted a large number of applicants. After all, personality is different from appearance and figure. Everyone has their own standards, and most people are very confident in them.
Of course, just like the two auditions for Nogizaka46, the real target for this audition was already locked in from the beginning.
The audition was held on the first floor of the three-story Seed & Flower building. Compared to the professional studio rented for the Nogizaka auditions, this place was much smaller, but the number of people who came was just as large. The line in the corridor stretched from the lobby on the first floor all the way to the steps outside the building. Girls of all kinds carried bags and held application forms, their faces filled with similar nervousness and anticipation.
Rito sat on the far left of the judging panel, next to two Nogizaka46 management members. They had little say and were merely there to fill positions, a fact they were well aware of. They sat there motionless, as composed as Zen monks. In a far corner of the hall, there was a mysterious figure wearing a mask. Even among the staff, no one knew her identity, only that she had been brought by the president.
"Next up is Ozono Rei, from Kagoshima, 18 years old."
The staff outside the door called out names in a loud and clear voice, as if it were a cabinet minister.
When the door was pushed open, Rito was unscrewing the cap of a mineral water bottle. He looked up for a second, then stopped what he was doing.
The girl who walked in wore a plain white cotton-linen shirt, the sleeves rolled up to her forearms, revealing a slender wrist. She wore a simple dark blue long skirt and canvas shoes, and carried a small crossbody bag. She wasn't the type to immediately stun you; her features weren't particularly refined, her makeup was almost nonexistent, and her hair was simply held back behind her ears with a hair clip. But the moment she entered, stopped, and gave a slight bow, the air in the room seemed to fall silent for a moment.
It was a kind of charm that was hard to describe in words—not the natural, captivating beauty of Nagahama Miyu, nor the dazzling, filter-like radiance of Shiraishi Mai. Ozono Rei stood there, like a glass of perfectly warm water, tasteless, yet you just wanted to pick it up and take a sip.
So Rito took a sip of the water in the bottle, then put the lid back on and placed it on the table.
"Please begin your self-introduction." He gestured with his hand.
"I'm Ozono Rei, from Kagoshima." Her voice was soft and gentle like most girls', but it had a magical quality that made people listen attentively. "I'm timid and cry easily. My wish is to become someone who shines in the future."
After saying that, she stood there silently, without adding any more self-promotional words. Her hands were awkwardly clasped in front of her, and her gaze swept across the judges' panel, lingering on Rito for a moment before quickly looking away.
"What about a talent show?" the staff asked.
"Is it okay if it's not the serious kind?" she asked, mustering her courage.
The staff looked at Rito, and Rito nodded.
Ooen Rei didn't act immediately. Instead, she took a deep breath, as if preparing herself mentally. After a while, she slowly raised her head, covered the lower half of her face with her hand, and made strange "dududu" sounds from her mouth.
The people present exchanged bewildered glances, wondering what this innocent-looking girl was up to. Rito was initially confused as well, but then he turned to look at the mysterious figure in the corner, and suddenly a flash of inspiration struck him. He clapped his hands and laughed:
"I see, you're imitating a hand dryer, right?"
"Cough cough."
Almost as soon as he finished speaking, a cough came from the corner.
The cough wasn't loud, but everyone present inexplicably sensed a sense of exasperation in it. Curious, but given the serious atmosphere, no one turned to look.
"Ah, no, I was imitating the sound of a cell phone vibrating."
Oozono Rei shook her head hastily, but her voice remained steady and gentle, and her unhurried pace inexplicably gave people a sense of reassurance. Rito leaned back in her chair, watching the warm orange sunlight streaming in from the window fall on her face, and suddenly remembered the promotional text Akimoto wrote for her photobook: The light and shadow on her face, like shards of sunlight swaying in the wind in the forest, sparkling brightly.
Ms. Akimoto, you're a great writer!
Li Ren smiled, lowered his head and pretended to look at the information, then reminded the girl, "It's quite interesting, but remember to explain it before you start next time."
"Hi, private Marseille." Ozono Rei quickly nodded in agreement.
Afterwards, the two managers routinely asked a few questions—why she wanted to participate, whether she had experience in dance or music, and what her understanding of the idol profession was—her answers were all honest, without any deliberate embellishment or feigned modesty.
"I don't have much experience, but I'm willing to learn." These were her last words.
After she left the room, Rito picked up a pen and circled her name. The operations manager next to her glanced over and whispered, "This girl has a unique air about her, but she seems a bit timid. Will she be able to keep up with the training?"
"Then you've been fooled by her," Rito said, his tone so certain that it drew stares from those around him. "She's a very cunning Kagoshima fox."
Upon hearing this, the operations staff wisely refrained from asking further questions. The mysterious figure in the distance rested his chin on his hand, glanced thoughtfully at the closed door, then looked at the person in question, a slight wrinkle appearing on his mask.
About an hour later, all the people who arrived were strangers. Rito idly flipped through the registration form in his hand, when suddenly his eyes narrowed. The announcement of names outside the door rang out again. He looked towards the door in the direction of the sound and saw the highlight of the selection—the only emperor of Midori, Hirate Yurina.
"Why did it take so long to get that bob haircut?"
After Hirate went in, the door remained closed for a long time, until the later candidates began to complain. Only then did she finally push the door open, and with a complicated expression, slowly leave.
A few days later, all the selected participants were confirmed. The Seed&Flower practice room suddenly swelled to nearly twenty people, ranging in age from thirteen to eighteen, with personalities so diverse it was hard to believe they came from entirely different planets. There were those like Masumoto Kira, overflowing with energy and unable to stop their antics; there were those like Watanabe Rika, quiet but occasionally revealing their idiotic side; there were those like Oda Nana, carefree and clueless about makeup; and there were those like Endo Hikari, taciturn but always the first to arrive and the last to leave training.
The most dazzling member is undoubtedly Hirate Yurina. Her talent is growing wildly in the practice room at a speed that can be seen with the naked eye. She can learn the dance moves taught by the dance teacher after one try, and can dance them with her own feeling on the second try; she doesn't need to repeatedly correct her pitch in the exercises assigned by the vocal teacher, but the feeling she sings is always different from others - completely different from the textbook, it is something between a singer and an ordinary person, but it is clearly mixed with a lot of personal color.
But at the same time, she was also the most withdrawn. During breaks, while the other girls chatted in groups of three or five, shared snacks, and joked around, Ping Shou always sat alone in a corner, wearing headphones and gazing out the window in a daze. Occasionally, someone would try to approach her, and she wouldn't refuse, but her polite yet distant attitude made most people hesitant to strike up a conversation with her.
Oozono Rei was one of the few people she didn't reject. Oozono didn't deliberately approach her, but simply stayed quietly by her side, doing her own thing—reading, stretching, and organizing her training notes. Occasionally, the two would exchange a few brief words, but it would end after just a few sentences, and neither of them seemed to think there was anything wrong with it.
"How wonderful." Rito stood by the window, which was one floor above the two people, and sighed softly as he looked at the harmonious scene of the two of them each occupying one side of the table.