“Eh?” you say, shocked, “Why would you? You’ve barely begun.”

“Nothing ever goes my way,” replies Kaiba, a pained smile on her face, “… I’m a born failure.”

“Why would you say that, Aoi-chan?” you say, “Don’t talk about yourself like that…”

“…It’s what my mom always says,” says Kaiba.

Ah. Kaiba Kioko. You spoke on the phone. She didn’t seem like a nice person at all.

You distinctly remember her being clearly envious of the salary Kaiba was pulling in.

“Well, she’s wrong,” you say, “There might be some bumps on the road, but I still believe you have what it takes.”

“I’m not so sure anymore…” says Kaiba, “I even failed the audition just now.”

You sit up a little straighter, “You know who else failed the audition?” you say, “Everybody else but one person. That’s how auditions are. Only one person takes the prize.”

Noticing you have Kaiba’s attention, you continue, “Yes, you don’t get paid if you don’t get the part, but they’re not like other jobs where not winning has consequences. You can simply apply elsewhere and try again.”

Performing poorly at a job like modelling will end up with the company that hired you talking badly of you.

Often this is mostly out of spite because the company still has to pay your fee.

As word spreads, such badmouthing might affect your reputation and other places are less likely to hire you.

As in, your desirability and fame go down.

No such things with auditions.

Not getting the role simply means not getting paid.

If similar badmouthing happened with auditions where there’s twenty applications for one role, then the voice artist industry would purge itself of all its young talent.

“Even failing just ends up being practice,” you say, “Just do your best.”

“What if my best isn’t good enough?” says Kaiba morosely.

“Then you practice until your best becomes a little better and try again,“ you say.

Kaiba wraps her arms around herself, hunching forward a bit.

She speaks, but seems too embarrassed to look at you directly, “Thank you, manager-san,” she says, “For being so patient with me… I know I’m not doing a good job… I’m certain any other manager would’ve fired me by now…”

“Lucky for you I’m not those managers,” you say, somewhat teasingly, “So, you get to try, try, try, and try again and I’ll support you every step of the way. I won’t let you quit that easy!”

Despite your best efforts, the barrage of bad news and failures seems to get to Kaiba.

Kaiba reaches for her purse as she notices herself tearing up, probably searching for a packet of paper handkerchiefs or the like.

Much like the backpack from a few days ago, the purse is filled to the brim and as Kaiba tries to pull the paper handkerchiefs from the depths of her purse – things overflow and fall to the ground.

Nothing major. Just some lip-gloss and folded papers.

“Let me get that for you,” you say, reaching for the items.

Thoughts elsewhere, Kaiba apologizes with a distant stare and then nods.

However, as you pick up the items, she seems to change her mind.

“I’ll get it myself!” she suddenly shouts, reaching for the folder papers.

But it’s too late. You’ve already seen.

They’re flyers, brochures, and printouts for apartments in the Tokyo area.

[https://assets.legendkeeper.com/357430ba-a2fb-497a-9df8-37f13a46abb8.png]

“You’re moving out of your parents' home?” you ask, not sure why there’s such a need for secrecy.

“Ah…” says Kaiba, mumbling, “In a w-way, yes…”

“There’s websites for these things now, you know?” you say, “That’s easier.”

“I know,” says Kaiba, “But my phone is still broken…”

Kaiba is making a very generous salary.

She could’ve just bought a new one.

“Then use the computer at home,” you say.

Kaiba looks away.

“I’m sorry…” she says.

“What are you sorry for?” you ask, “What’s the matter?”

”I can’t go home anymore…” says Kaiba.

“Eh?” you say, “Where have you been staying?”

“Hotels…” says Kaiba, struggling to keep her lower lip from quivering.

Things start to lock into place. For the last few weeks Kaiba has been gradually letting herself go.

She hadn’t bothered with make-up for a while because she didn’t have any.

That’s why she bought the travel-size make-up kit when you were shopping the other day.

A lot of her items are probably still at her parents' house.

Wearing the same clothes for days at a time boils down to have no place to wash them.

The big backpack that she drags around probably contains everything she could carry.

You did notice Kaiba with clean clothes every now and then, perhaps she visited a laundromat at times.

“I really wanted to do a good job this time,” says Kaiba, on the verge of tears, “I practiced for hours in the hotels.”

“Where are you staying now?” you ask.

“In a hotel in Toyama in the Shinjuku ward,” says Kaiba.

That’s only a short distance away from Kabukicho, Tokyo’s gambling and red-light district.

It’s cheap, yes, but a girl shouldn’t be walking those streets late at night.

“Those streets are dangerous!” you cry, “There might even be yakuza… Why didn’t you say something… or go somewhere safer?”

“I didn’t have the money…” she says, “My mom kept my bank book when she kicked me out, I only had the money I was able to withdraw before that…”

Bank books are used in Japan to withdraw money from ATMs.

Without it, Kaiba would be locked out of her bank account.

She can order a replacement, but that often takes weeks and if she did it would end up at her home address…

“How are you going to sign up for an apartment without a bank book?” you ask.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Kaiba’s eyes widen, “I… I d-didn’t think about that… I don’t know what documents they need, I’ve never had an apartment before.”

She’s hopelessly unprepared to stand on her own in the real world.

“Why did you parents kick you out in the first place?” you say.

“They…” says Kaiba, wringing her hands, “Heard about the scandal… They said being an idol is a …b-bad influence on me and that I should quit, but I don’t want to… so they kicked me out.”

Bad influence? Isn’t this job allowing Kaiba to get out of her shell?

What part of the scandal could’ve… Ah. A relationship with another women.

Truth is that the larger part of Japan still frowns upon same-sex relationships.

Same-sex marriages or unions aren’t legal anywhere in the country.

Although public opinion is slowly shifting, Kaiba’s parents, being of an older generation, are probably not as free thinking.

Furthermore, Kaiba is eighteen, so her parents have no legal obligation to care for her.

“They said I could come back home if I stopped wasting time on being an idol and went to college instead,” says Kaiba.

If her parents kicked her out around the time of the scandal, then that means she’s been homeless for around two weeks.

You fold open some of the papers still scattered on the floor.

The printouts have a little line at the bottom that mentions they were printed at a library.

She could’ve opted to use her computer at work, but for some reason decided not to.

Perhaps she was scared of the notorious “IT Monitoring Software” that, according to you, caught trace of Kaiba’s chats with EmikoDesu55.

“Why didn’t you say anything…” you say, looking at Kaiba.

“I didn’t want people to know I was homeless!” she cries, “I feel like dirt… Watching other people get on the train, to go home, and I don’t have that… I can’t go home.”

“Instead,” she continues, “I have to go find a hotel or spend another night hiding if I can’t find a room… I didn’t want anyone to think of me as some bum…”

Kaiba face begins to flush, getting angry, “What kind of joke idol is homeless!?” she shouts, then calms down a bit, “What if word got out… that’d be another scandal for sure…My idol career would end…”

There’s absolutely no sense in the way Kaiba handled her problems.

Shouldering them all by herself. Not telling anyone about them.

If she had reached out to you then you could’ve helped, why would somebo--

Ah. You did the same didn’t you?

Kept things quiet because you were afraid of other people’s opinions.

As far Kaiba’s concerns for her career go, it’s a miracle that nobody noticed her skulking around with a giant backpack and visiting hotels.

She probably has to owe her lack of personal upkeep to that, the grubby Kaiba walking around late at night is probably very different from the professionally styled Kaiba that appeared on live vlogs.

“You can’t stay in those hotels anymore, Kaiba…” you say.

Your own apartment has an occupancy limit of two, so perhaps you could take Kaiba in for a while.

However, the relationship between you and Kaiba is moving further and further away from a professional one.

It might not be a good idea for an idol and her manager to live in the same house.

That’s how rumours of idol favouritism start.

Perhaps there’s somebody else you can ask.

> Decision

>

> >1 - Explain the situation to Kitabayashi and request a favour and ask if Kaiba can move in with Yui-chan for a while.

> >2 - Make use of the favour that Watase still owes you and ask if Kaiba can stay there for a bit.

> >3 - Request a favour from Matsui Tomo and ask if Kaiba can temporarily stay at her place.

> >4 - Kaiba can stay with you in your own apartment.

> >5 - Front Kaiba some money from the budget so she can stay in hotels in a nicer area until she finds a place of her own (-$10.000)

>

> Winner

> >1 - Ask for a favour Kitabayashi: ask if Kaiba can move in with Yui-chan for a while.

Deciding that you’ve squatted long enough in Studio MAPPA’s waiting room, you tell Kaiba that you’ll continue the conversation in the car.

Once Kaiba’s seated in your trusty Renault Twingo, your open the driver side door and lean in.

”I need to make a quick call, okay?” you say.

Kaiba nods.

As much as you’d like to offer Kaiba a stay in your own apartment, doing so would jeopardize your work relationship even further.

It probably wouldn’t be much fun for Kaiba either, to spend the evenings with her boss.

Must feel like you’re supposed to working all the time.

There’s somebody you can call that would probably take Kaiba in.

Somebody with a two-bedroom apartment: Kitabayashi.

Asking somebody to open up their home to what to them is a stranger is no small demand.

You’d feel terrible if you called in the car with Kaiba next to you and Kitabayashi would say no.

Taking out your phone, you check the time: 12:40.

Around the time Kitabayashi usually takes lunch, so it should be alright to call.

You make the call and Kitabayashi picks up shortly after.

“Miho, hallo~,” says the voice of Kitabyashi, “If you’re calling for lunch, I’m already at a place, sorry!”

“Yui-chan, hello,” you reply, then glance at your surroundings to make sure no passer-by overhears, “…Yui-chan, can you please listen to my shameless request?”

“….Oeh, ah, let me take you off speaker-phone…” says the voice of Kitabayashi.

…

You feel your face flush, “Why would you pick up with speaker phone!?”

“I’m eating!” barks the phone in Kitabayashi’s voice.

There’s a sound of a chair scooting backwards, a few moments later, you hear Kitabayashi’s voice again.

”You owe me a warm lunch…” says Kitabayashi in mournful tones, “But I can talk. What’s wrong?”

You sigh, “I’m about to owe you a whole lot more than that… It’s about Kaiba-san.”

“What about her?” asks the voice of Kitabayashi.

“Well,” you reply, “I found out today that her parents kicked her out a while ago. She’s been homeless and living in and around hotels since then.”

“Eeeeh?” says the voice of Kitabayashi, “How did that happen?”

“Her parents learned about the scandal and want her to quit to go back to college because they think being an idol is a bad influence on her… in certain ways…” you say.

“In what ways?” asks the voice of Kitabayashi.

“Eh… Did you read the leaked chatlogs?” you ask, glancing at your surroundings.

“No,” says the voice of Kitabayashi, “I haven’t. Only read what you showed… Miho, as much as I like gossip, I know the pain of a scandal… I hate reading about those sorta things, knowing other people have to go through that…”

Oh, no. You glance at your surroundings again.

You’re gonna have to walk Kitabayashi through the contents.

“Ah…” you begin, “Well, it seems like Kaiba-chan and this other girl were a lot more … i-intimate than we initially thought. Their chat continued for a while after that and they have even been making… like… calls, but at night…”

“Anyway!” you cry, “Her parents saw all that…”

There’s a long moment of silence.

“Uwaaa…” says the voice of Kitabayashi, “I’d totally die inside. On the spot.”

“So, I think her parents may have kicked her out because of the ….eh… yeah…” you say.

“I see,” says the voice of Kitabayashi, “I think I can sort of tell where this is going… You want me to take in Kaiba-san for a while?”

“Would you, Yui-chan?” you say, pouncing on the opportunity, “I’ll make it up to you! I swear! It’ll just be for a little while, until we can find Kaiba-san an apartment of her own. As her manager I don’t feel comfortable taking her into my own house, it’d be weird…”

“I suppose,” says the voice of Kitabayashi, “It’d be pretty weird if the woman that’s a target of all these office romance rumours suddenly took in a young girl…”

Eh?

“What have you been up to, Yui-chan…” you ask, holding the phone a little closer to your ear.

“Not me, you idiot!” says the voice of Kitabayashi, “You!”

“Me!?” you shout into the phone, “What rumours!?”

[https://assets.legendkeeper.com/32b3d827-eca3-4775-b248-ceb95617bce5.png]

“You know Watase-san has a certain reputation, don’t you?” says the voice of Kitabayashi, “If you’re spotted going into a taxi with her then people are going to talk! Then there’s also the rumours of the two of you being drinking buddies during the hot spring trip?”

“I’m losing my Miho-chan, am I?” says the voice of Kitabayashi, full of panic, “Are you being conquered?!”

“I’m not!” you shout into the phone, “She asked me if we could have lunch, that’s all!”

“Well, yeah, I figured as much,” says the voice of Kitabayashi, completely calm again, “But you should still be careful. Word goes that Watase didn’t job hop for better prospects, but rather because things were getting too hot under her feet. She has a thing for office ladies that behave like small animals, you see…”

“Oh…” you say, “….Wait. Me!? I’m not a small animal!”

“Has she tried anything?” asks the voice of Kitabayashi.

There was the thing in massage parlour.

The advances during drinking.

Waking up with her naked next to you, with her fondling you.

“N-no,” you say.

“Miho!?” shouts the phone in the voice of Kitabayashi.

“Can we talk about Kaiba-san, please?” you plead, “She’s been staying in a hotel near Kabukicho, I don’t want her to stay there anymore…”

“Kabukicho? Uwaa… yeah, that’s pretty bad,” says the voice of Kitabayashi, then sighs.

“Kaiba-san can stay with me, I’ll clear the other bedroom in my apartment, it’s sorta just been dusted over exercise equipment in there anyway…” says the voice of Kitabayashi, “But you owe me big!”

“Thank you, Yui-chan. Thank you!” you say, bowing with the phone in hand purely by habit.

“I’m gonna drive to Kaiba’s hotel now and pick up her things, can we meet at your apartment after work?” you say.

“Sure,” says the voice of Kitabayashi, “Make it around 6 PM. I should probably stock with the fridge with something other than beer…”

You finish up the call and join Kaiba back in the car.