O' GLORY !

          ‘  you must be chiemi-san. thank you for allowing us to perform in your venue; if there is any specific requests you have in mind, please let us know and we will do our best to fulfil your wishes.  ’

                            ❝  ………………    you  think  i  look  beautiful  ?  ❞

he  doesn't  know  what  to  do.    he  doesn't  even  understand  where  it  came  from.    he  might  be  on  the  verge  of  fainting.    he's  already  leaned  against  a  chair  like  he's  about  to.    tatsumi  calls  him  the  most  beautiful  ?    most  ?    out  of  everyone  ?    now  his  whole  brain  is  flattered  &.    confused.

          ‘ it’s not just looks, though you’re exceptional in that department as well. ’    dealing with mayoi, he’s learned by now, was like coaxing a kitten abandoned out in the rain, flinching away from hands that sought to love instead of hurt. tatsumi is often caught in the line between the two, confusing one for the other and not realizing his mistake until it was too late        it’s no wonder mayoi was so hesitant, but... 

tatsumi smiles at him, voice softer. he does not want to overwhelm him, but keeping quiet while such a wonderful person doubted his worth bordered on blasphemy. 

It’s an omen. 

Maybe one stroke of bad luck could be blamed on coincidence , but three times was far too many. If this job’s success wasn’t what stood between Mankai and closing their doors forever , he may have taken the next flight home instead.

The first sign of inevitable failure comes at six A.M. in the morning , as he blinks blearily at his too-bright phone screen , only to be greeted by a 72% phone battery. Even with duct tape his wire wasn’t tilted at that perfect , exact angle for it to charge fully overnight. The second warning delivered itself in the form of a vacation. For his luggage. Apparently it had ‘disappeared’ on the flight here , talk about hard mode. He’s got his essentials ( electronics ) on his carry-on , but damn it , Itaru has an appearance he has to keep up too. Underwear worn inside-out , than backwards , and forwards just wouldn’t cut it for work. He needs to be the professional , reliable , Itaru , not 72-hour streamer Taruchi. 

Bad luck , of course , comes in threes. Just as finishes the his last LP , waiting for his contact to meet him, the little LEVEL UP banner fills his screen. He watches in horror as the energy bar refills. Any other time that’d be great , and he’d just click way for another half-hour or so , but he’s supposed to meet someone , well like , right now , and he won’t be able to get away to rank again for a while. Screaming sounds nice , but he forces his pained grimace into friendly smile as he stands up politely to greet his new colleague.

“ It’s nice to meet you. I’m Chigasaki Itaru , I hope I didn’t arrive at a bad time. ”

          alkaloid isn’t quite yet in the position to be critical of the jobs they choose to accept, but when anzu came looking for him specifically for this task, tatsumi must admit he had a moment of hesitation before saying yes. there are better songwriters within the agency, let alone the renown composer genius outside of it, but he won’t look a gift horse in the mouth, and he is eternally grateful that she takes pity on the underdogs and feed them more than the leftover scraps that the more veteran idols leave behind             but he must admit, too, that he’s excited to learn a new skill to pass down to hiiro and aira, should they struggle in this position in the future as well. 

          ‘ itaru-san, we finally meet in person. my producer and your director have been the ones in direct contact until now, so it’s a pleasure to see you at last. i am tatsumi kazehaya, and on behalf of starpro, i welcome you to ensemble square. may your stay here be blessed with good fortune. if there is anything you need, please make sure to let me know. ’

          ...though tatsumi would have extended the courtesy regardless, the more depressing truth was that alkaloid were still not seen as legitimate idols, therefore they weren’t given the staff and resources that other units were free to utilize whenever, often having to do the heavy, menial work themselves. he keeps a soothing smile on regardless, and peers around itaru to see what he should start carrying. 

first things first, tatsumi is not a priest himself. his feature scout story talks about him feeling unworthy of wearing such an outfit BECAUSE he is not a priest and has not won the right to wear it like his father. what he DOES have is a priest-like persona, but it isn’t something that he implemented himself, it just kinda came to be because he naturally speaks like one due to his family running a church and growing up in one full of old people lol (he doesn’t discourage it because he wants to show that not all religious people are scary, it’ll make more sense later down the post). 

what he does make sure to preach is acceptance and equality, which he does say explicitly at one point.  

the kazehaya family weren’t christians in the way people in the west are familiar with. they specifically were kakure kirishitan (literally “hidden christians”, some articles here and here), and a lot of their tradition remains in their family today. 

christianity was banned in japan starting the 17th century and was decriminalized in the late 20th century. as his ancestors were prosecuted and killed for their religion, tatsumi naturally grew to have trauma related to it. it doesn’t make sense for a guy who comes from such a background to force his religion on other people. if he comes across as overbearing with the way he talks it’s not because of religion, it’s because he naturally worries about others a lot (sometimes to the point of being overwhelming) and what soothes him is his faith, so he shares bits and pieces of it to help them too. his entire life revolved around his religion, it’s obvious he’s going to look and sound the part of a priest.

moreover, though his family is just barely supportive enough of his career as an idol, they think him weird and scary for wanting to become one instead of becoming an evangelist, which he’s made a point to say he does NOT want to do. he just wants to be an idol. he’s not gonna force people to believe in god. might make him sad but that’s just all. 

          many times tatsumi has been considered old-fashioned by both peers and himself, and perhaps his views of marriage are no different. it's something he seeks to improve for the sake of keeping up with the little ones, as much of a daily struggle as it is — regardless, when rinne swings a clear bait in front of his face, he closes his eyes and falls back into old teachings.

          ‘ the foundation to a healthy marriage does not rely only on what either of them can bring to the table. ’   hands folded over his lap, his serene voice is carried through the room like a sermon.   ‘ above all, love is most important; love is forbearing and kind. love does not brag or is conceited. it is full of trust, of hope, and endurance. ’

          he smiles.