After replying to every mail you’re mentioned in, you’re in need of a breather. Some coffee and a snack will do you good, so you make your way tot he break room. When you arrive in the break room you spot someone there you haven’t seen in a long time.
“Tachibana-san,” you say, “How have you been?”
The older gentleman in the overcoat looks up from his cup of coffee. A cane rests against the counter next to him.
”Nagata-san,” he says, “It’s been a while. Things have been kind of quiet for me lately, so I figured I’d come and bother people at the office.”
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Previously a private investigator, Tachibana Ichiro now works as a talent scout at Matsuno Inc.
He’s one of the people responsible for noting down the statistics and observed traits of people coming to auditions.
His job typically keeps him away from the office, so It’s been at least a year since you’ve last spoken.
“A welcome break, I’d say,” you reply.
Tachibana sighs, “I guess,” he says, “Still, I get antsy when I’m not doing anything.”
“If I linger for too long, I might end up acting my age,” he adds with a chuckle.
“Well, if that’s the case then I hope they’ll soon be overworking you again!” you say with a playful smile.
The man bellows a hardy chuckle, “If only!” he says, then sighs.
He takes a sip from his coffee. “I heard you’ve been promoted to idol manager,” he says.
You nod. “Yeah, this and that happened and I’m in charge of several wonderful idols now,” you say, “Some of the girls working for me right now might even have been screened by you.”
“That so?” he says, “I hope it works out, Nagata-san. You’ve always been a kind girl, but the world of show business can be hard.”
“I’m working hard, Tachibana-san. Doing the best I can,” you say.
“As you should,” he says, taking another sip of his coffee, “But don’t overwork yourself. Delegate tasks when you should.”
He goes quiet for a moment as he considers something, then seems to make up his mind.
”In fact, as your senior, let me help you a bit,” he says, “I’ve got some time as I’m not on any assignments right now. Is there anything you’re curious about? I can screen somebody for their potential as an idol or investigate something if you like. Pro bono, of course. I’m not one for office politics or owing favours.”
Tachibana has decades of experience as a private investigator and it allowed him to cultivate an eye for people that he now puts to use as a talent scout.
Perhaps there’s a matter you’d like to have investigated?
Or maybe you’ve met some girls you feel may have potential as an idol that he can screen?
As a major agency, Matsuno Inc. mostly does their scouting through large, formal auditions, but a lot of talented individuals may never appear at those.
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This prompt will be rather open-ended, but any person or location is a viable option.
I have a lot of stuff to write, so I’m basically hoping this will foster some discussion to buy a bit of time.
The top voted item will be scouted / investigated.
> Decision
> >1 - Send him to scout at...
> >2 - Investigate...
> >3 - Write-in
>
> Winner
> >Write-in - Some dirt on the guys we own a favour to. Fuck that magazine bitch
It’s a great offer and you have no reason to turn it down.
“Well,” you say, “I suppose there is something…”
Back when you were dealing with Kaiba’s scandal you had to make some unfavourable deals with various companies for some last-minute damage control.
One of them with a variety show, Cupid-san Shintaro, that was about to have a gossip episode where they would discuss the scandal.
You managed to stop that segment from airing by pledging Enatsu Mari to have a dating episode earing in the near future.
Another deal was with a magazine hoping to trade you one scoop for another, larger one.
“Oh?” says Tachibana, finishing off his coffee as he notices your expression.
“This feels like it could get interesting…” he says.
You look left and right. This isn’t the kind of conversation you should be having in the break room.
“Let’s discuss it in my office,” you say, gesturing towards a corridor.
Tachibana shrugs and follows.
Once there, you share the details.
Everything Idol is a gossip magazine that bought the details of Kaiba’s scandals from an unknown source, probably EmikoDesu55, and was going to publish a piece that would tear Kaiba apart.
Luckily, Matsui managed to learn of the company’s intentions before they published it and you managed to make a deal with them.
Rather than their previous piece, they would rewrite their article to paint Kaiba as the victim in an unfortunate scenario way beyond her control.
However, they’re expecting you deliver them a different, even juicier secret in the near future.
You did what you thought was best at the time, but knowing there’s a company out there impatiently waiting for you to deliver it some career-ending gossip is anything but pleasant.
You reveal as much to Tachibana and ask if there’s anything he can do.
“Hmm,” he says, stroking his small beard, “I’ll see what I can find. Do you want me to look for a piece of gossip that’ll satisfy them or would you rather have me find something to threaten them so that they cancel the deal.”
In the first scenario the victim will probably be some unknown idol and her scandal.
If you deliver details about such a scandal on a silver platter, then Everything Idol will shout it from high heaven.
In the latter scenario the victim will be your relationship with Everything Idol.
If Tachibana manages to find something then you’re in the clear for now, but they’re almost certain to hold a grudge and will be difficult to work with in the future.
There's also a small chance that Tachibana finds something so devastating that Everything Idol has no choice but to submit to you.
> Decision
> >1 - Find a piece of information to satisfy Everything Idol. (1d100, degrees of success)
> >2 - Ask Tachibana to find a way to blackmail Everything Idol into submission. (1d100, degrees of success)
>
> Winner
> >1 - Find a piece of information to satisfy Everything Idol. (1d100, degrees of success
“I don’t want to make Everything Idol my enemy at this point,” you say, sigh, “If I antagonize them, they might end up publishing every random rumour about my idols just to spite me.”
“More likely than not,” says Tachibana with a shrug, “So, just try and throw the dog a bone?”
“Yes,” you say, with a nod, “Try and find something to get them out of my hair.”
Tachibana takes his cane that had been resting against a nearby counter.
“Will do,” he says, “I’ll be off then. You have a good one, Nagata-san. I’ll get back to you once I find something.”
“Thanks, Tachibana-san. I appreciate it,” you reply.
With that Tachibana leaves and you get your coffee and snack.
It might be a while until Tachibana returns with results.
But he always does.