Nightshade

Situated at a park camp site in the city of Shizume, deep within the darkest part of the wooded area there, stood a lone man, dressed in a lavender yukata. Beside him was a tent and a fire pit, although the fire was not lit despite it being so dark and cold. Instead, the tall man had his back turned to the pit and he was talking to no one in particular. The tone of his voice had a creepy edge to it, like you could hear the creepy smile plastered on his face just by the tone of his voice alone. 

Whether you had been stumbled upon him from the beginning or had just gotten there, one could assess that he had been recounting a very terrifying tale. “And then... the man awoke in the middle of the night to see a dark figure looming over him. Even as his adrenaline kicked in, making him more alert, his eyes were still blurry from sleep. The face of the figure wasn’t immediately seen, and although the man’s mouth was agape and his eyes wide, the figure could tell he was having trouble adjusting to the dark and so.. He leaned in closer... and closer... until...”

At this moment Gen whipped around, the flashlight he held under his chin illuminating his features in an unflattering way and casting part of his face with dark shadows while the rest were illuminated by the light. His face was contorted into a wide grin. “THE FIGURE’S FACE BECAME CRYSTAL CLEAR! TWO BLACK HOLES FOR EYES AND A PERFECTLY ROUND BLACK HOLE FOR A MOUTH! AND LEAKING FROM THOSE DARK EYES WERE THIN STREAKS OF RED!!” 

“Mmhm! That sounds good!” Yuuka nodded rather happily, satisfied with their current deal. So he’d find people and send them her way? That sounded fine to her. As for training, she’d be able to handle it on her own. Gen would probably have to be available to help out, but she could show any new members the ropes perfectly fine on her own. As he left the table to place their order, she returned her attention to one of the many mobile games she enjoyed.

She only put her phone down when her parfait was placed in front of her. With a genuine ‘Thanks for the meal’ she was quick to lift her spoon and begin savouring the taste. Despite her usual energy and fast pace, she ate at a steady pace calmly, which might’ve been a little surprising considering just how noisy she usually was. Eventually, her glass was cleared and her spoon was placed neatly on the table on top of her napkin. “Thank you for the food, Gen-chin. I appreciate it.”

Reaching for her phone, she glanced at the businesscard a few times before successfully inputting the number and sending a text.

It’s Yuuka! I’m counting on you, Gen-chin! (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)و

“There! Now, Gen-chin…is it fine if I give you something? I gave one to Ran-chin too…I want to give them to all my friends, so…” Reaching into her pocket she pulled up a charm bracelet, although the only charm on it was a single angel wing. “Here. It’s cute, right?” She grinned before holding up her right arm, where she wore a matching bracelet. “Oh, I should get us new charms so we can remember today! I wonder if they make parfait charms…”

Even as Gen slowly ate, he studied the way Yuuka ate into her parfait. She was a hard one for him to get a good read on so he was the most interested in studying her at any given opportunity. Seeing how she ate less spirited than he originally anticipated left him strangely pleased by the new discovery. She had surprisingly good table manners? Or maybe she was the type to enjoy things at a slower pace?

He blinked at her, his naturally narrow eyes widened just slightly by the genuine gratitude. He couldn’t help but let out a slight chuckle. Once again he was surprised again by her actions. Well, even if his intentions weren’t the best, he genuinely was interested in her. People that he couldn’t get a read on were so much more interesting to be with than those he could understand. “You’re welcome~” deciding to respond in kind, the almost pleasant and civil exchange almost felt out of place for a moment until he saw her right back on her phone again. He wondered if there was a good chance she’d do what he wanted right away.

Gen’s phone pinged, the standard sounds that had come with the model that was a dead giveaway he hadn’t customized it to become personally his. He picked up the phone, his dark eyes scanning over the screen, smiling at the message he received from the young idol sitting across from him. He then saved her contact in his phone simply as Yuuka-Chan. Satisfied, he slid the phone back into his pocket and trained his eyes back on her. 

“Something for me?” He wasn’t sure what to expect but he definitely hadn’t expected to be given a charm bracelet with an angel wing. Putting on his best smile, he hummed in agreement. “Very cute! It really suits Yuuka-chan!” Naturally, he didn’t think such a motif suited him at all. After all, he was the very opposite of angelic but thanked her nevertheless since usually it was what people wanted to hear when they gave someone a gift. He took the bracelet from her and then attached it to his own wrist, holding it up to show their new mark of friendship. 

Perma starter call for Gen Asagiri of Dr. Stone

Gen enjoys long walks on the beach with pretty girls, managing RAMbunctious (didja see that @idlemaid​ ) idol girls, recruits pretty girls for idols who may or may not have weird eccentricities. His dream is to just have a harem of girls around him (or maybe just one pretty lady in particular hweehwee) and he can be bribed with cola for most things. He is also a walking flashlight and a limitless physical embodiment of an energy drink thanks to new clan powers so if that.. somehow... excites you or gives you ideas in any ways then uh... there ya go.

So uh, yeah. SMASH THAT MCFUCKIN LIKE BUTTON BRUH

“That’s right. Rem and Ram have the same face,” she answered. “Truthfully, I feel Rem would be better suited..” but knowing her, she might be too shy to really see it through. But if this was legit, if she could trust this…it’d be a good idea to make a comfortable life for her sister. All the more reason she needed to talk it over. If it was for her sister, she was willing to do anything, even if it meant expending the energy necessary to dance and sing.

Her eyes narrowed slightly at his words, slowly reaching out to take the card from him. “Ram is certainly confident in her looks, so that isn’t something to worry about.” What she did need to figure out were those headaches that came on suddenly with no warning. Resolving that would also come first. If she did go through with this, then she’d need to make that known, just in case. 

“Alright then. I’ll keep that in mind,” she continued. Her eyes scanned the card, noting it certainly seemed like a proper business card. “I’ll discuss it with my sister, and when I’ve arrived at a conclusion, I’ll let you know.” It was probably easier said than done though, but Rem’s insight would be appreciated. 

But…why did she get the feeling her sister would tell her to go for it…?

Gen watched the pink haired maid carefully as if trying to get a read on her thoughts through her expressions. At first it didn’t seem like she would be interested but somewhere along the way something he said must have struck a chord in her. Perhaps it was the money that was the tempter. It seemed though that this twin sister of hers would be the deciding factor. Maybe he should try talking to her as well, but it seemed there was no need.

He almost reminded her of a fox, a smooth talker. He was certainly someone who knew what he was doing, though she wasn’t sure why he seemed so interested in recruiting her. Surely there were more suitable candidates? Even if he was legitimate. She couldn’t be sure. She wasn’t one to trust easily…though she could almost see her sister encouraging her to try.

She grimaced, partly because of that thought, and partly because as he’d just described it, it definitely sounded like a hassle. “Isn’t that something you have to train for?” she asked, her face schooling back into its neutral expression with only the tiniest hint of a raised eyebrow. “I prefer to take the easiest route possible with minimum effort.” Or no effort, in some cases. Perhaps even nothing at all. Though leisurely days did sound promising, would it be worth the effort she’d have to expend to be on stage? And then there was the matter of her headaches..

“Cute? While it’s true I’m a lovely and elegant maid, if I’m cute then it’s because I share the same face as my precious little sister.” Really, she still felt Rem should be the one getting this offer, not her. If anyone fit the image of an idol, it was certainly her. Perhaps she was wrong, but she didn’t think anyone would be all that interested in a lazy idol who was only willing to put in the bare minimum effort. It certainly wasn’t like the maid cafe where she could coast by on as little work as possible and making sure perverts kept themselves in check.

Her eyes fell to the screen as he showed his phone, a frown on her lips. She supposed that certainly would help prove everything he’s saying was true. Well, it was better to investigate as best as she could before sending in Rem. After a moment of silence, she folded her arms over her chest.

“Would it be acceptable if I had some time to think it over?” she asked. “I’d prefer to talk it over with my sister before I come to any decision. But should that conversation swing in your favor…then I might be willing to speak with this idol of yours.”

If it worked out though, wouldn’t it be a good idea..? Sure they made a decent living working in the cafe, but if there was something she could do as the elder sister to give her younger sister a more comfortable life..

“Interesting.. So you and your sister share the same face? Why not ask her to join as well? It’d be double the money you know?” Not only for those twins but how many idol groups carried two cute twin sisters!? They’d definitely be a hit!

Though now that she was mentioning her own laziness and lack of work ethic, Gen was reconsidering. He totally had her pegged the wrong way. He was pinning his hopes on the fact that if she saw someone goofing off that her sharp gaze and words could be used as a weapon, but it seemed she was just as lazy herself. If he’d known that before asking he may not have been so gungho about it. There’s no way he had the patience to whip one easily distracted idol and one lazy one into shape.

If it were not for that very vital and juicy information that she was part of a set, he definitely would have reconsidered. 

“Of course, take all the time you need. You’re definitely worth waiting for.” The business card he’d produced earlier had been entirely ignored by her at first, so he slipped it secretly and easily back into the sleeve of his shirt, now that she appeared interested again, it fell back into his waiting hand and he held it up as though it had just magically appeared, and indeed it had happened so fast one normally wouldn’t have noticed.

Although Yuuka had received the text from her manager, it would be completely false to even imply that she had paid it much mind. Really, the only thing that she really took note of the large letters that warned her not to be late, and that flipped a switch in her mind that told her that just maybe…this was important. She had been all over the place all day, mostly perfecting the choreography for a song she wanted to cover at a show with Ran. She began to make her way over to the Cafe after showering and changing into a more casual outfit, consisting of white shirt adorned with bows and a black skirt. She carried a bag at her side that was designed to look like a bear, not really paying much mind to the time.She was honestly lucky that she managed to make it to the cafe at exactly 5 pm. 

“If the elevator doors…open and it became a castle, how nice~” As she opened the door to let herself in, she quietly sang the lyrics stuck in her head from the song she had practiced earlier. “Gen-chin, I’m here! What’s up?”

Honestly, she’d just planned to go home and relax for a while, since it wasn’t like she needed to go to the shop for anything. But, as she was quickly finding out, she’d really gotten wrapped up in a whirlwind. She wasn’t entirely sure what she was going to be walking into but she was supposed to be moral support…? Or something. That was how she came to stand in front of the maid cafe, wearing a black shirt with sleeves that ended at her elbow, and a cream colored skirt that stopped at her knees, complete with black leggings. A bead of sweat rolled down her face as she faltered in front of the door. Was she in the right place…?

Steeling herself, she slowly stepped inside. “T-Teramoto-sann…w-was this where you wanted me to meet you..?” she called softly, feeling more than a little self conscious now that she saw the place was practically empty. God, she was going to feel awkward if this was the wrong place.

Inosuke hadn’t been able to find Yuuka. Who else was he supposed to go to whenever he needed to let some steam out? Or just alleviate his boredom. Yuuka had somehow been able to keep up with him in battle, and that just wouldn’t do. Each subsequent rematch made Inosuke feel like he could understand Yuuka a little bit better, even if he hadn’t.

So when he had seen the note on the table, he figured she had gone somewhere, even though Inosuke couldn’t read it. He at least knew it was specifically left for him to find. But Yuuka attached a picture of a location, so Inosuke figured he might as well try to find the place in the image.

As he burst in, he saw her and the other two white clansmen. What were their names…? “I finally found you, Yako! And Goya and Riku are here too! But why are you all here…?”

“Ah, Yuuka-chan! Welcome! Right on time too!” Gen raised his hands in a welcoming gesture, his clothing completely different from the norm that it would have been a bit difficult to recognize him if not for the telltale signs of his unusual two toned hair. Even with the large beanie on it was still noticeable, but the interesting triangular red sunglasses he wore that obscured his eyes and his white baggy shirt gave off the a very urbanesque vibe. It wasn’t something he normally wore but he was trying to remain inconspicuous, even though it stood out in a different way. 

“Eh? Ran-chan’s here too? Well, I did tell you to bring a pretty girl and--” That was when the teen with the face that didn’t match his voice or physique burst into the room. “Am.. Am I meant to be Goya?” He sighed, shoulders slumping forward as if all his energy had been depleted. “Well, he’s got a pretty face.. I guess... It sort of counts. But not really. Anyways, we’re all here to celebrate a special day! Yuuka-chan, can you guess what day that is?” 

“Mmhm!” She wasn’t sure how much Gen knew about idols, but he didn’t seem clueless in the slightest. The members of groups she had seen always had to bounce off of each other well. Clashing images or characters would be a problem, though Yuuka didn’t have any fears of this kind of thing with Ran. She was the opposite of Yuuka in just about every way, and that meant there MC corners would probably be entertaining. Ran would have to play the straight man on stage, she assumed. “We don’t have to rush to recruit or anything…even starting with the two of us is fine. Members can always be added later.” She shrugged before finally looking back to the menu she had put down in favor of her phone game.

“Well. Ran-chin is…shy? She’s quiet, but a hard worker, I think. And she’s super polite! She’s not like Yuuka at all!” Although this was something like a compliment, Yuuka shook her head as she recalled how the girl had trouble speaking casually to her. It’d probably be a little hard to get her used to singing and dancing at the same time, but Yuuka was confident that it could be done. “Ran-chin is a kind person! She’s never done anything like this before though, so I’ll do my best to teach her everything.”

Yuuka very obviously wasn’t that concerned about it, and her order quickly took priority. Her stomach had to be filled before anything else was decided on. “Oh, Yuuka wants a strawberry parfait!” 

“Mm, that’s no good Yuuka-chan.” While it was true that they could get started with just the two of them.. Yuuka seemed to misunderstand something. He wasn’t helping her out of the goodness of his heart, after all, he wasn’t the type who did things out of goodwill. He operated only to sate his selfish desires and the only reason he had volunteered was to create a harem like no other. Well, it’s also not like he expected these idols to throw themselves at him either, least of all Yuuka who was still a minor, but still it was something of a dream to at least be surrounded by them. Not to mention weren’t there plenty of those types of games where the manager became popular and you could choose which girl to pursue? Things like that really got his blood pumping. 

Well, Yuuka didn’t need to know all that. In his eyes, she was still a child. He wasn’t that depraved. “You can attract more people with variety you know? In any case, leave the recruiting to me! And obviously any potentials I pick will get your final say. How about that?” 

“Alright, then. I’ll leave the training entirely to you.” With that he tapped at the table to show he was leaving and took off for the register where he ordered one Strawberry Parfait and a chicken club sandwich for himself. When he sat down he noticed Yuuka still playing on her phone, entranced by whatever game she was playing and so he decided not to bother her given that she probably wouldn’t have replied anyways and busied himself with staring out the window until their food arrived. 

Once their food did, the lady set the giant parfait in front of Yuuka and slid the plate with Gen’s sandwich in front of him. She didn’t even need to ask whose was whose. “Thank you~ Time to eat~” Gen chimed in as he picked up and bit into his sandwich. Once that was done and out of the way, he licked the crumbs from off his fingers and pulled out his phone. 

Ram’s expression soured further as he spoke. “It’s not like that?” she repeated. “That’s exactly what a pervert would say, you know.” How long had this guy been watching her? Irritation crawled over her skin at the thought, even if it was nothing new from her time working in the maid cafe. Still, she pursed her lips and allowed him to speak his piece as he approached. 

“Ah, a shady talent scout,” she noted once he’d finished, glancing at the card. Taking it from him, it certainly did look official, but how in the world was she supposed to trust someone like him? She didn’t trust him as far as she could throw him…which honestly wasn’t very far. 

She hummed in thought, looking up from the business card to fix him with an unimpressed look. “This card looks official, but it’s easy for a shady conman to pull the wool over everyone’s eyes with fancy tricks. Can you prove it’s legitimate and not just an elaborate scam to trick innocent girls like me out of millions?” Well, maybe that was a stretch, but surely he didn’t expect people to just trust him at first glance.

“Being an idol sounds like too much work anyway..” She did the bare minimum at the cafe as it was already. Not to mention the headaches. That was likely something she’d also have to deal with more often, and she wasn’t exactly keen on that. “There’s definitely more motivated girls you could be targeting. What exactly about me makes you think ‘idol’?”

Well, if she were to picture anyone as an idol, it’d probably moreso be her sister. Rem would definitely fit that image more than she would.

“I think a pervert would say many things~ And I won’t deny to being one myself but this is purely business. And i don’t mix business with pleasure.” Well, that was sort of a lie. He wouldn’t have taken on this job if it wasn’t gratifying in some way. He was, after all, a superficial and greedy man.

“Hm, well that’s a good question. For one thing I haven’t asked for a single cent from any of the other members.” In fact.. Hadn’t he been paying for everything himself?! They still hadn’t gotten enough work for the work to pay for itself, but.. Well, it wasn’t like he didn’t have the funds to do it anyways so it wasn’t really a huge problem. Besides, there was no greater joy then buying girls food or cute clothes. 

His smirk widened at her words. She certainly had a sharp tongue and there was definitely a place for someone with her eccentricities among the other members. “I won’t lie and say that it isn’t. Dancing and especially singing while dancing is no easy feat. But the pay is definitely worth it. I think you could make more than quadruple what you make here, not to mention the dancing is only the hard part and isn’t even everything to it. There’s certainly a lot of leisurely days as well.” Handshake events being one of them, not to mention certain modeling shoots. 

“What about you doesn’t scream idol? You’re insanely cute! You’re definitely a type that caters to a specific crowd and we could definitely use every flavor in our unit.” Not only that, he wondered just what kind of effect she’d have on Yuuka in particular. That girl with her easy going, go with the flow attitude and then there was this maid with her harsh, unforgiving gaze. It was almost like the saying, when an unstoppable force meets an unmovable object. Honestly, he was dying to know what their dynamic would be and even more so if she could whip Yuuka into being just a little more productive. 

Emilia made no show of it, but she had definitely been startled out of her thoughts. It wasn’t exactly anything of great import, she supposed, having only gone over what she’d done for the day and what she still had left to do.. She was quite a busy person but always tried to make extra time for herself. She couldn’t be sure it was her the voice was calling out to but she turned nevertheless. 

The man who called out to her had curious hair himself, half black and half white. She tried not to make a show of staring at it and then caught him doing the same at her. Emilia grew self-conscious at that. Having others stare at her so much made her worry that her appearance was disturbing them.. especially considering that before she ever came to Shizume she had been hated for it. Thankfully, the legend of the Witch was not prevalent here, but her odd eyes still made others do a double take at times. 

She fidgeted a bit under his gaze, her gaze cast downwards but would glance up at him to see if he’d do something else besides stare. “Um.. Yes..?” She finally questioned, no longer able to bear the awkwardness. When the male finally introduced himself in such an upbeat manner, Emilia finally looked up, relieved that he appeared so friendly and she allowed herself a tiny, but awkward smile. 

“Nice to meet you too, Gen Asagiri-San.” She was still a bit wholly unfamiliar with the customs the people of Shizume observed. When one introduced themselves she found it was just better to use whatever name they gave and was sure to add the honorary -San to show respect. Until now, it worked out perfectly well since most were quick to correct her if necessary. 

Emilia blinked. “Eh? Something in my hair?” She raised her hands and patted the smooth silver tresses, her fingers feeling for anything odd. “Hm.. Where is it? I don’t feel anything..” When Gen Asagiri offered to help, Emilia dropped her hands, clasping them together in front of her chest as she tilted her head, standing still for him as she regarded him curiously, wondering what it was that he’d pull from her hair. She blinked at his hand, nothing the thin, small sturdy piece of paper between his fingers which only added to her confusion. How had something like that gotten caught in her hair?

Emilia listened carefully to his words as she turned the card over, her eyes fixated on the text that read his name and it clicked. “What a funny trick!” The next words that were spoken did not come from her mouth, but instead from the small, gray cat that emerged from behind her hair and flopped over onto Emilia’s shoulder. 

“Puck?” Came Emilia’s reply as she blinked, her eyes glancing off towards the shoulder he had perched himself on.

“An idol group, huh? I can definitely see why you’d recruit my Lia for that.” Saying this, the cat folded it’s arms and nodded sagely. 

“Um..” Her amethyst eyes looked between Puck and Gen, her expression relaying the confusion she felt. “What’s an idol group?”

Puck seemed to know what it was but wasn’t willing to reveal that to her. Instead the cat simply fixed it’s gaze on the two-toned haired male before them as though giving him a chance to speak for himself. 

“Why, thank you~ thank yo-- Whoa!” For a moment one could infer that Gen’s poker face was just that good but it had taken a moment for it to sink in that the one who had actually spoken wasn’t the silver haired girl, but a gray cat. “Did the cat just talk? It talked, didn’t it?” Gen let out a weak, awkward laugh as if all of his energy had just been depleted. He guessed he shouldn’t be so surprised given the state of Shizume City. After all, he was currently a holder of a special power himself now. 

The cat, who the silver haired girl had addressed as Puck, seemed to agree with Gen’s scouting methods, at which Gen could only smirk, once more getting his bearings and nodded. But his expression once more fell as the girl, completely confused questioned what an idol group was. Gen feigned shock. “What!? You don’t even know what that is!?” Well, the shock wasn’t entirely all an act. But, well, she did look a little foreign so it was possible she just didn’t know. 

“Idol’s are Japan’s beloved! Beautiful girl’s who shower the nation in love and energy! Tell me, Puck-chan~ When you see a cute girl dancing and smiling, giving it her all in cute clothes, don’t you feel energized? Happy even?” He addressed the cat, seeing as how he at least seemed to know what he was talking about. 

@genkiangel​ @wisteriahill​ @pigheadedboar​

TEXT: AUGUST 5th 2020 TO: Yuuka-chan  Hey, Yuuka-chan~ You should stop by Cafe Au Lait later~ 5PM DON’T BE LATE

P.S. Feel free to bring any pretty girls with you, okay~? <3

He had to put it in all caps otherwise she probably wouldn’t pay attention to it. Wearing a self satisfied smirk, Gen pocketed his phone into his black jeans and folded his arms, his eyes scanning over the now empty maid cafe that he’d just bought out for the evening. Well there was one very disgruntled maid working that he still had yet to work into their little team but he hadn’t given up on her yet. 

Gen Asagiri had a lot more time these days thanks to the request he'd put in to his manager about lowering the rate in which he appeared on TV. This was so that he could focus on his new endeavors as the newly appointed manager for the something or other idol group. As he traversed through the town he had only one goal in mind and that was to visit as many maid cafe's as he could. Cute girls were abundant there and cute girls were exactly what an idol unit needed. But that wasn't the only requirement. Not only were cute girls needed but different types as well. Gen stopped in mid walk, breath hitched in his throat as he caught the sight of white hair in his vision. Long white hair that was tied towards the end that reminded him of an animal tail. He was certainly mesmerized by it since white hair certainly wasn't common. Considering the dress they wore, the owner was either female or a trap. Well, he'd deal with whatever it was as long as he could see her face first. "Excuse me! Hello, hello~!" Gen called out, quickening his pace to catch up with the girl. As soon as she turned around Gen was frozen to the spot. What a beauty!! he thought, his jaw practically dropping as he took in the sight of her features. The most striking had to be those purple and blue eyes of hers that gave her an ethereal feel. An idol like this would certainly captivate audiences!! Actually wasn't he already captivated? "Yes, you~!" Now that he'd gotten her attention he confirmed that he had been indeed calling out to her. "I'm Gen Asagiri. Nice to meet you~" The male smiled at her and then pointed to her hair. "I couldn't help but notice you had something stuck to your hair." He let that sink in for a moment to await her reaction, knowing that even if she tried to pull whatever it was she'd never find it, and that was because.. "Here, let me help." He reached forward but of course never laid a hand on her, instead he pulled his hand back just far enough so that it stopped in front of her face so she could see what he held there. Pinched between his two fingers was a white card with Gen's contact information. "For you." he grinned, holding it there until she took it. "The truth is I manage an idol group. We'd be honored to add someone as pretty as you to our group~ What do you think? It's hard work but you'll gain the love and affection of hundreds of adoring fans! Not to mention the chance to amass fortune. A pretty attractive deal, isn't it?" He must have seen dozens of pretty girls wandering through Shizume but he was extremely picky, only stopping girl's that seemed unique. 

from stood up to meet up || gen & ran 

“Implying something..?” Ran blinked curiously, confused by what he meant. What could she be implying with that? She simply meant she’d be working and wouldn’t always be able to answer if he texted if she wasn’t on lunch or if it wasn’t a slow day–but then he continued, and once more, her cheeks turned bright red. “E-EH?!” she nearly slammed her knee against the table as she jolted.

“N-no, no! I-I just meant..I-I may not be able to answer right away depending on how busy the shop is..” she floundered, pressing her hands to her cheeks as she tried to calm down. Jeez, he really was having a field day with teasing her like this, wasn’t he? Still, to actually be interested in someone like her…

Today was really just full of surprises, wasn’t it? Though she could honestly say that it was a lot better than the day she’d had planned. It likely would have been awkward and stiff with those girls from school, and she’d gotten a pleasant conversation partner who…actually wanted to meet up with her again. Not only that but a celebrity. 

She rubbed her cheeks, choosing to stare at the parfait instead of his face, knowing she’d just start blushing more. “I-I’m usually the only one working since my grandma has to take care of my grandpa so..b-but I’m usually free for lunch..”

Gen couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear at Ran’s continued endearing reactions, but the action probably just made it look obvious that he was teasing her. In a way he was, but also she didn’t seem opposed to the idea of meeting him in the evening.. But meeting with a guy in the evening implied more of a date than the standard morning or afternoon coffee shop meetup. Though hearing that she was free for lunch he’d take her up on that too.

“I get it, I get it~ I’m also a pretty busy man myself.” His grin thinned into a wide smile. “But I’ll try to make time for Ran-chan~” With those words hanging in the air, he decided to leave it at that. He didn’t want to spend the whole day with her and have her getting to know him more and more.. It would defeat the purpose of having an excuse to get more encounters with her. Besides, he didn’t want to overstay his welcome. He hadn’t exactly masked his appearance, though so far no one in the cafe seemed to really recognize or cared who he was. 

He’d very slowly munched at his plate during their exchange and now there was nothing left save for a few bread crumbs. He dabbed at his lips with a napkin then placed it on his plate. “Well, I better not take up much more of your time..” He slid out from the booth and got to his feet, turning to face the girl with a smile that bordered on kind and as charming as he could muster. 

“I’ll be eagerly awaiting our next meet up. Ah, don’t be a stranger, okay? Feel free to text me anytime, though.. I can’t promise I’ll respond right away, but I’ll definitely respond.” He didn’t want her to feel flustered or stressed if he didn’t, but as they’d both already stated they were busy, working adults. “Until next time, Ran-chan~” Keeping that smile on his face, he held up his hand to signal his departure and then walked out of the shop, the bell chiming above the door signalling his exit. 

If she were the type to think things through even slightly, she would’ve been relieved that Gen decided to foot the bill. However Yuuka was in no way the type to even worry about that kind of thing. If he had demanded she pay, she would’ve simply declined and pushed the responsibility back onto him. After all, he was her manager…didn’t he have to do things like this too? As he pointed at a coffee shop, she only nodded and followed along, more than happy with the idea of ordering whatever she wanted from the menu. 

Yuuka seemed a bit overjoyed to be sitting in such a comfortable booth, though instead of looking to the person who was treating her, her attention seemed to be scattered. First she had been excitedly looking around the coffee shop, then poking around the menu, and finally she tapped at her PDA as she played some kind of phone game, pressing the big button on her screen that allowed her to roll for ten new cards. She didn’t seem to be paying attention to him at all, and she was just a bit too noisy. “Oh! A SSR!” Yuuka grinned wildly at the screen as Gen tried to hold a proper conversation, only realizing that he had been asking her questions after. 

“Hm?” Oh, that was right…Gen was supposed to be her manager, which mean she’d need to try and pay attention if she wanted to stop working solo. She finally placed her PDA into her lap and instead focused on him, trying to recall what he had asked. “Well…I worked as an idol alone for a year and that was fun but…isn’t it more fun with more people? Performing alone can get lonely. That’s why I scouted Ran-chin.” Though she didn’t seem to have quite caught exactly what his questions were, she managed to answer them one way or another.

Gen didn’t consider himself a serious person and he knew that he was also perceived in this way, so when Yuuka’s gaze continued to be captured by other things his only response was to sigh and shrug his shoulders. Within the time of their brief exchange of one another, Gen had already gotten a good grasp on the young female’s personality. As someone who had extensively studied psychology he even internally began diagnosing her, and wondered if she’d ever been officially diagnosed for some version of ADD. Despite his career, he wasn’t a professional and honestly he preferred to view her simply as being quirky.

“Yuuka-chan... Are you listening?” After fiddling with her phone and giving her a moment to process that she was being spoken to, Yuuka decided that it was probably in her best interest to respond which to Gen’s relief she did. Despite how she’d ignored him for a good solid five minutes she either had been listening or was just speaking coincidentally. “Mm! Group idol’s are very popular these days! There’s rankings and different personality types and styles.. Things like that get people really excited!”

Seven seemed like a good solid number and now that he thought of it Yuuka probably considered herself the center, so the number seven made sense. “Alright, I’ll do my best to recruit, let’s see.. five more?” Though he was excited to hear that she’d apparently had success in recruiting at least one person. “Ran-chan, huh.. What kind of idol is she like?” They already had Yuuka who was.. energetic. They definitely needed a cool, cute, and a sexy type. 

wisteriahill​:

She rubbed her cheeks, a fruitless attempt to quell the burning that came with the blushing. He seemed to take this in stride, and she wasn’t sure if she should count that as a good or bad thing. At the very least, she’d decided to take him at his word. If he said he was being serious, then she’d believe that until he gave her a reason not to. Well, even then, she felt like that would happen at any minute. She was a gardener after all.

Most of her time was spent elbow deep in potting soil. What if he didn’t find that attractive…? Wait, wasn’t she getting ahead of herself? All he’d said was he wanted to do this again, not that he wanted to date her! That thought made her feel even more embarrassed. Jeez, just what was she doing? She needed to get a grip and calm down!

“A-ah..alright,” she murmured, slowly accepting the business card from him and reached for her phone. “Then..I’ll send you  a text,” she began, carefully reading the card to make sure she entered the number right. Just a simple “hello, it’s Fujioka” would be fine, right? Would kaomoji be too much? …Well, it felt too distant without one, so she picked a plain smiling one. There, that should be good.

Before she could second guess it and type something completely different–or rather, spend more time than necessary typing something in front of him, she hit send and made sure to save him as a new contact before setting her phone down. Had exchanging phone numbers always felt so embarrassing?

“Ah, I should mention..during the day, I may not answer much. I work at my grandparents’ gardening shop. It’s, ah, Fairy Ring.”

Gen was actually pretty giddy when his cellphone chimed. He produced the phone out of his pocket and checked it over. Sure enough there was Ran’s message complete with a smiley face emoji. How cute.

“Busy during the day, huh..” Gen placed his phone back in his pocket then rest both his elbows on the table, once more lacing his fingers together which obscured part of his face as he narrowed his already narrow eyes at her. “Are you implying something with that? You know what it means when a man and a woman meet up in the evening right?”