You end the call, then sigh, “She’s a terrible liar…”
As far as you’re aware, Kitabayashi seemed fine when you send her a message.
Maybe she’s just embarrassed that you found out she tried to set up you and Kitabayashi.
Despite her reasons, it’s true that you’ll need your idols to start acting alone before long.
You pull up the details of Kaiba’s job. Yoshikawa Sailing doesn’t have a particularly bad or great reputation, you’ll just have to hope for the best.
----------------------------------------
“Uwaaa, yours are so big,” says a blonde-haired girl with short twin-tails, “I hope they don’t put my pictures next to yours…”
She pats her chest, then frows – flat, “At least I’m slimmer though,” adds the girl.
[https://assets.legendkeeper.com/a58c08f9-e25e-4739-be43-3e16f3216f52.png]
“Ehehe….” says Kaiba, chucking nervously as she moves around the cabin, “Where do I…?”
She’s holding her swimwear in her hands, a flimsy bikini.
The blonde-haired girl shrugs, “Just right here is fine, I guess.”
“Eh?” says Kaiba, eyeing the various portholes and windows, nothing to say about the open door to the deck, “But they’ll…”
“Peek?” says the blonde-haired girl, shrugging, “Probably. They might see a nipple, who cares? That’s the life of a gravure idol, I guess.”
Kaiba clutches the bikini to her chest, “I’m not a…”
The blonde-haired girl rolls her eyes, “Come on… With boobs like those?” she says, shaking her head knowingly, “It’s a matter of time, girly. The offers will come and they’ll be too good to ignore. Happens all the time.”
“Before you’ll know it, you’ll be doing poses like this,” she says, eyes rolling up and sticking her tongue out, then laughs to herself.
Kaiba looks away, feeling like she’s staring at something indecent.
The blonde-haired girl laughs, “You’re fun to tease, y’know?” she says, “I’m Yanase Kioko, by the way.”
“Ah,” says Kaiba, still looking away, “Kaiba Aoi. Matsuno Inc. Idol Agency.”
“Hmm?” says Yanase, moving closer and trying to place herself in Kaiba’s line of sight.
Kaiba turns away, opting to look at a wall.
“Arara?” says Yanase, moving towards that wall.
Kaiba looks away again, lips pressed into a firm line.
“I think I know…” says Yanase, moving into view only for Kaiba to look away again.
Yanase jumps in front of Kaiba and points an accusing finger, “Loner!”
“Hueh!?” says Kaiba, looking while simultaneously trying not to look at the girl.
“The sheltered way of a girl who has never known girl bonding!” shouts Yanase.
“No… I…” tries Kaiba.
“Look at me!” says Yanase, placing herself in front of Kaiba again.
Instructed, Kaiba manages to hold eye contact for a good five seconds before looking away.
Yanase sighs, then nods sagely, “You’ll never survive in the industry,” she says, “I suppose it’s my responsibility as your senior to ensure you get the proper education to last…”
Her hands are raised threateningly, lined up with Kaiba at chest height.
“Eh? What?” says Kaiba, holding up her hands while she slowly steps backwards.
A sliding door opens, then closes.
“Bedroom's free,” says another girl, a red-haired woman, who came up from deeper in the ship.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
She carries the half-lidded gaze of somebody whose simply tired of it all.
“W-w-what for?” says Kaiba, panic racing across her face.
“Changing, of course,” says the red-haired girl, raising an eyebrow.
“Eh? But… she said…” tries Kaiba, looking towards Yanase.
The red-haired girl stares at the way Yanase has her hands held out.
“Kioko,” says the red-haired girl, frowning, “You’re gonna get reported, y’know?”
Yanase folds her arms behind her head, “I was just messing around,” she says, “Ehe~”
“Just get changed,” says the red-haired girl to Kaiba, “They want to shoot soon.”
Kaiba nods and hurries towards the bedroom to change.
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The three girls sit beside each other out on the deck, painfully aware of how badly the entire crew is staring at them.
Kaiba has chosen to cover up with a jacket, while Yanase is indulging in the attention.
The red-haired girl is smoking a cigarette, watching the waves coast past as the yacht sets out to deeper water – sailboat in tow.
[https://assets.legendkeeper.com/7f35ed72-1d98-40f7-8747-cef07f2ef0ef.jpg]
Kaiba shifts her gaze left and right, “They’re staring….” she says quietly.
Yanase shrugs, “So?” she says, “Let them. That’s our job, y’know?”
Her phone is placed face-down beside her, a pink phone-strap dangling.
“I know, but still…” replies Kaiba carefully.
Yanase’s face darkens, an empty stare towards the distant horizon, “People won’t be calling you cute forever, y’know. You’ll get older and taller and then those damn lolicons won’t care about you anymore… whatever fans you have will get bored with the usual… your jobs will dry up… and all that’s left are the increasingly perverted jobs…. haaa….”
“Kioko, your true feelings are showing…” says the red-haired girl, taking a pull of her cigarette.
“Oh?” says Yanase, slapping her cheeks, then smiling, “Ehe~ Sorry, Mu-chan~”
Her phone buzzes, a text message. She picks it up.
“Your boyfriend?” asks the red-haired girl.
“Nah, we broke up,” says Yanase, tapping away on her phone with a smile, “So, I’m just keeping my options open at the moment. So much work sometimes.”
Kaiba Aoi – a girl whose daily message count is in the single digits.
Outside of a brief stint with a certain con-artist that is.
“It’s not that bad, is it?” asks Kaiba.
Yanase nods half-heartedly, “Well, most of them are low maintenance, but there’s two that are kinda clingy. I would’ve ghosted those already, but they’re like super rich,” she says as she types out another response.
Cigarette pinched between two fingers, the red-haired girl leans an elbow on the railing of the ship, “How’d your date go? The Matsuno guy?”
“I’m not seeing him till tomorrow, Mu-chan,” says Yanase, sending off another message, “You’re thinking of Serizawa. It was okay, he bought me a bracelet. Kinda lame.”
The red-haired girl exhales heavily through her nose, “Can’t keep track sometimes…”
“Mu-chan, you back together with your ex yet?” asks Yanase, eyes fixed on the screen of her phone.
“No,” replies the red-haired girl, “He still can’t cope with me doing shoots like this. Even though he met me on the set of a shoot just like this. Hypocrite bastard.”
“Ehehe~ Jealous types are the wooooorst~” says Yanase.
Lionel Taylor claps his hands together, “Alright, girls. We’re in position. Get ready.”
The girls chorus acknowledgement.
> Need one “Acting” roll for Kaiba Aoi.
> Please roll one 1d100+58 (DC 60)
>
> Rolled 35 + 58 (1d100 + 58) – Success
The shoot itself is a success.
Yoshikawa Sailing’s promotional campaign is off to a good start with this combination of photos and footage.
In truth, things started off rather poorly, with the only direction given being: ‘Just imagine yourself being on your boyfriend’s boat.'
Yanase, the blonde girl, easily accepted the instructions and was found all over the sailboat and yacht with big grins and stretched out in suggestive poses.
The red-haired girl, whose name turned out being Oshiro Mutsiki, was mostly found lounging and relaxing in all kinds of places.
The environment and task so unfamiliar to her, Kaiba had a harder time putting herself on display.
Still, though the initial job asked for actors to highlight the joys of sailing – it wasn’t Kaiba’s personality that ended up on display.
[https://assets.legendkeeper.com/40bcaf67-6655-48c2-b596-67484397df70.jpg]
Yoshikawa Sailing’s approach boiled down to: If you want a girl like this – then get a boat.
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“…and there we go!” says Yanase, “Added! Now we can chat whenever!”
The three of them are once again standing on the docks in their usual attire.
A taxi-driver stands beside his car in the distance, impatiently tapping his foot.
Kaiba nods, looking down at the two new names in her Line account, then smiles, “Thank you, Yanase-san.”
“Networking is important, y’know!” says Yanase, arms firmly planted in her side, ‘Just call me Kioko.”
“Okay,” says Kaiba, nodding again, “Thank you, Kioko-chan.”
Oshiro, the red-haired girl, speaks up.
“Good luck out there, Kaiba-chan,” says Oshiro with a casual wave, “Bye, bye.”
Kaiba bows and says goodbye, then returns to the office using the taxi.
Both Yanase and Oshiro stand in silence for a moment.
“…If I had boobs like that, I’d be on every magazine cover,” says Yanase.
Oshiro sighs, “Yes, yes, breast complex. Let’s go, we got to return to the agency.”
Job completed.
Payment: +$7.500
New budget: $105.500
Kaiba’s fame has increased by 1 (0 > 1)