> META
>
> A new month as arrived!
> You have to pay Kaiba’s salary! (-$5.000)
>
> Budget: $70.000
> Date: March 1, 2015
>
> Time ticks forever onwards.
> What’s your plan for the next two weeks?
>
> Idol Task: Kaiba Aoi
> >1 - Have Kaiba work on her SKILL_HERE using the office’s in-house tools
> >2 - Train with a consultant (-$10,000, +10 modifier to the roll)
> >3 - Ask Matsui to find some work appropriate for Kaiba
> >4 - Write-in
>
> Manager Task: Nagata Miho
> >1 - Write-in
>
> 2 decisions (4 weeks) until your performance review.
>
> Winner
> >1 - Have Kaiba work on her SKILL_HERE using the office’s in-house tools (50 energy)
>
> >1 - Help out people in need from the office for favors.
> >1 - "Accidentally" meet Riko's manager and have an innocent discussion with him about the hardships of idol management. Try to get a handle on Riko's character and intentions.
> >Also drop a fake tidbit about Kaiba's emotional vulnerability. Something very specific and not something Kaiba would actually be hurt by. Like a phobia of clowns or something. The goal is to see if Riko makes use of this info later.
There’s only a few weeks left until your performance review and although Kaiba is steadily improving in all kinds of ways, your budget is slipping.
They never mentioned what kind of key performance indicators (KPI) they’d be looking for during your performance review.
Did they want you to prioritize profits or prioritize people?
In the end it’s always about profits, this is a company after all, but the company did tell you they’d be comfortable turning a loss if it meant you learning some things about idol management.
Matsuno Inc. Idol Agency’s end goals are a bit of a mystery.
In the end all you can do is speculate and guess, so you decide to put it out of mind and focus on the here and now.
You’re still spending quite a bit of time on marketing efforts for the upcoming handshaking event, but most of the grunt work is done.
The advertisements have been placed, Kaiba promised to mention the event during her live-vlog as often as she could without being pushy about it, and all you can do own is keep an eye on the analytics and then hope for the best.
Your mind drifts back to you earlier worries – the performance review.
Even if you don’t have a clear idea what it is you’ll be judged on, you suppose you could still check in with your competition to see how they’ve been doing.
Matsuno Kojiro is in the final month of his idol management course and probably not doing much of anything.
I suppose he could be trying to get some contracts in place for when he acquires a new idol, “keeping his leads warm” as the salespeople are fond of saying.
But what about Yukimori Kyroden and Ichihara Miko?
Hailing from vastly different departments combined with that fact that Yukimori Kyoden’s team never seemed to suffer from any issues HR had to get involved in, you can’t remember any time you actually sat down with the man to talk. Ever.
He has always struck you as a very stern, serious man and honestly a bit scary.
Luckily there’s one more place you can pop into to get some information.
It’s time to visit some old friends.
----------------------------------------
The office is familiar and brightly lit, there’s plants everywhere and the desks are littered with small decorations and reminders of home.
Wide windows grant a view of the streets below.
A woman comes rushing towards you, her wild green hair swaying from side to side, as she extends her arms to embrace you.
“Aaaah, Miho-chan,” says the woman as she wraps her arms around you, “We barely see you anymore!”
[https://assets.legendkeeper.com/ffce4faa-c3fc-49ef-a563-4aedb597fbe5.png]
You hug her back, patting her on the shoulder a few times, “Don’t be sad, Yui-chan,” you reply, “I’m here now aren’t I?”
Kitabayashi Yui is a current employee over at the Matsuno Inc. HR department, a good friend, and the person you used to share an office with.
“I bet you’re just here because you need something,” replies Kitabayashi, pouting her lips, “I bet you don’t even like me anymore…”
You can’t help but roll your eyes, “Yes, yes,” you say, exasperation clear in your voice, “I love you lots.”
She turns away slightly, feigning embarrassment, “M-miho-chan,” she says, holding her head in her hands, “Has our flower finally bloomed?”
Kitabayashi says this while side-eyeing you for your reaction.
Knowing this’ll carry on for at least another fifteen minutes, you sigh and don’t even bother to answer, “I need your help, Yui,” you say, “I was wondering if I could get a look into the budget of the other new managers.”
Kitabayashi looks shocked and even takes a step back, “Miho-chan, that’s very illegal,” she says disapprovingly, then fails to keep a straight face and laughs to herself, “Which one do you want to look at first?”
“Let’s have a look at Matsuno Kojiro’s records,” you say, “Considering what happened there’s probably not a lot in there.”
Kitabayashi looks down for for a moment, “Ah, poor Maki-chan,” she says, then raises her voice a fair bit, “I felt so bad for her!”
She then walks over to her computer and opens the program the company uses for internal records.
You try to shake off the wave of sympathy suddenly flooding through you.
It’s enticing to reminiscence, but you’re not here to chat right now, “Most people don’t get to realize their dreams,” you say.
Kitabayashi gives you a look, a grin appearing on her face, “Uwaaa,” she says, holding a hand in front of her mouth, “Turning into a cold business woman, huh?”
From any other person this comment might’ve hurt, but knowing you’re still more empathetic than most of the managers and people you interact with, you just shrug it off, “I guess I am,” you say.
Kitabayashi types away on the keyboard, “Can’t say I dislike it though,” she says, “Date me?”
“No,” you reply flatly.
“Ouch, I’ve been rejected again,” she says matter-of-factly, “Ah, here it is. Matsuno Kojiro.”
Kitabayashi looks over his employee profile for a bit, lingering on his picture, “You think I have a shot with him?”
“Don’t date the enemy,” you say, retrieving an office chair from a nearby vacant desk.
“Booo,” replies Kitabayashi, inflating her cheeks, “Not my enemy.”
At twenty-five, she should be too old to be acting like this, but that has never stopped her.
Before she retired, Kitabayashi Yui used to be an idol herself and a lot of the mannerisms of her persona have become ingrained.
Matsuno Kojiro’s financial records are as followed:
Week
Description
In
Out
Week 1-2
Initial budget of $100.000
+$100.000
Week 1-2
Maki did a job for Genki Clothing
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
+$4.000
Week 3-4
Maki did a job for Genki Clothing
+$3.800
Week 5-6
Pay Maki Sumi (Retired) Salary
-$5.000
Week 5-6
Maki did a job with Genki Clothing
+$7.200
Current
$110.000
“Geh,” cries Kitabayashi, “It’s just a long string of child-labour. Aren’t you supposed to be nurturing your poor little baby idol?
You recall meeting Matsuno Kojiro in the breakroom shortly after the scandal that would’ve ended up becoming Maki Sumi’s downfall.
He had said that things had been going well, that he had managed to get some big contracts with companies he had ties with from back in his days back in sales.
The only thing you really know about Genki Clothing is that they predominantly sell children and pre-teen clothing.
He probably had some kind of plan in the works, but hadn’t been able to put it to use.
“How about Yukimori Kyoden?” you say.
“Aye, aye,” replies Kitabayashi, fingers working the keyboard.
Yukimori’s profile came into view and you watch Kitabayashi for her usual reaction, some off-hand comment about the man’s appearance, which doesn’t happen.
“What?” you ask, “Not your type?”
Kitabayashi waves a finger dismissively, “Tch, tch, tch,” she says, “I happen to know that he’s happily married with two children. I’m not going near that.”
“Gosh,” you say, “Morals.”
Nodding approvingly at her own actions, Kitabayashi goes on to say, “His wife told me as she hit me with her purse after I made a move on him at last year’s company party.”
“Of course…”
“Never looked at women the same way since that purse-beating…”
“…”
“Records?”
“Records.”
Yukimori Kyoden’s financial records are as followed:
Week
Description
In
Out
Week 1-2
Initial budget of $100.000
+$100.000
Week 1-2
Did a job for Aoki Education
+$7.200
Week 3-4
Did a job for Sapphire Jewels
+$3.200
Week 5-6
Pay Ichihara Riko Salary
-$8.000
Week 5-6
Paid for Maki’s severance package
-$15.000
Week 7-8
Paid for consultant for PERSONALITY
-$10.000
Week 9-10
Pay Ichihara Riko Salary
-$8.000
Current
$69.400
Yukimori is ever so slightly behind in budget compared to you, but his idol has already made over $10.000 while Kaiba has only made $5.000.
Once again the uncertainty about what you’ll be evaluated on is vexing.
You have half a mind to just go and ask, but that’ll have to wait.
“They paid $10.000 to have some consultant fix her personality,” observes Kitabayashi, “Shortly after the whole Maki incident.”
“I don’t think it worked,” you say as you remember that Riko is skulking around in Kaiba’s chatroom.
“Uwaaa,” says Kitabayashi, wide-eyed, “I forgot how much idols make. Or maybe I repressed it.”
Considering she was an idol for a number of years, she should have had plenty of money saved up.
“What happened to all your idol money?” you ask.
Kitabayashi sticks out her tongue and gives you a wink and peace-sign, “Host clubs,” she says.
“Ah… Yui-chan…” you say, disapproval radiating from you.
“Don’t look at me like I’m a bug!” cries Kitabayashi as she wraps her arms around herself.
You slap your knees and get up, “Thanks for your help, Yui-chan,” you say, “I need to gather some more information about all this.”
Realizing that playtime is over and you all need to get back to work, Kitabayashi sighs.
“Okay, commander,” says Kitabayashi, throwing in a quick mock salute, “Good luck out there.”
Feeling generous, you salute her back, then wave, “Bye-bye.”
----------------------------------------
You leave the HR department behind.
The strange, but familiar interaction lifts your spirit somewhat.
You’re simultaneously disappointed and relieved that the other co-worker, Mori Kotone, wasn’t there today.
Still the effort proved useful.
You’ve managed to verify that Yukimori Kyoden isn’t okay with the behaviour of Ichihara Riko and simply allowing it to happen.
The fact that he brought in a outside consultant and paid heavy money to improve Riko’s behaviour somewhat attests to that.
It might just be that he isn’t aware of Riko prowling around in Kaiba’s chatroom under a second account.
It’s time to get to the bottom of this.
You take a deep breath and get ready to confront Yukimori Kyoden, then you walk towards his office with a determined stride.
Once there, you briefly exchange some pleasantries with his assistant before he makes a quick call to Yukimori, gets the go-ahead, and allows you to into Yukimori’s office.
Yukimori’s office is as minimalistic as they come. Only the bare essentials have a place here.
You’ve heard that he has always been the kind of person to optimize and perfect things, but you weren’t aware that mindset extended to his environment.
Beside Yukimori’s own desk and chair, there’s some filing cabinets and a square meeting table surrounded by simple chairs.
His black hair is slicked back, his beard trimmed.
Yukimori’s attention seem to be focused on the papers on his desk.
“Nagata-san,” says the man without looking up from his papers, pen in hand, “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Well,” you begin, eyes drifting around the office, “I was wondering if you had a moment to chat.”
For some reason the entire interaction thus far has had your nerves on edge.
There’s a sharp click as Yukimori puts away his pen, “Of course,” he says, gesturing towards the table in the middle of the room, “Take a seat.”
Wondering how you’re going to even breach the subject, you take a seat at the table as casually as you can.
'Hello, sir. Excuse me, but your idol is being a rat bastard.' is probably not the way to do it.
The man sits opposite from you, hands clasped and resting on the table.
If he feels inconvenienced at all by this sudden talk – his face doesn’t show it.
You realize that this man has probably spend more years as a manager than you’ve spend employed in total.
There’s a weird kind of pressure in the room, stifling.
Is this because he considers you a competitor? Or is this how he is all the time?
“It’s about Ichihara Riko,” you say, “We’re concerned about some of her recent behaviour.”
The man nods, “What behaviour concerns you in particular?”
“Well, she’s been active in the chatroom of Kaiba Aoi as of recent,” you reply.
The man frowns, “This may seem blunt,” he says, correcting his posture a bit, “But could you share your entire story at once? It feels to me like you’re repeatedly making me ask for the obvious follow-up question. Which right now is: Why would her being active in a chatroom be concerning?”
That was awfully blunt, yes, but he’s not wrong.
In your mind you’re still trying to find a way carefully breach the subject.
Perhaps there is a thing as being too sensitive or empathetic.
“I’m simply trying to respect our time,” he says.
That also felt blunt. Almost an insult. Like he tells you to hurry up.
But that’s okay. You can simply play this conversation by his rules.
After taking a moment to set your shoulders, you speak, “We believe that Ichihara Riko has been active in Kaiba’s chatroom under an account named Okir99. She’s been making snide comments and offering small donations with comments such as ‘For future ramen’,” you say, “I hope you can understand the concern of such a comment after she basically ruined a different idol’s career only last month.”
The ever so slight shift in posture and twitch near the eyes tells you that the existence of the Okir99 account was unknown to him.
This account means that Riko is side-stepping all the social media restrictions that were forced on her.
With an account name like Okir99 she isn’t even being subtle about it.
If anyone figures it out her words could lead to a repeat of the Maki incident.
Noticing that he seems to be listening carefully, you to continue, “We’re concerned that she’s trying to gather information about Kaiba’s fears, phobias – like insects, or past to use against her,”
You try to play it cool, you’ve never been much good at lying – nor have any desire to be.
Kaiba doesn’t have a fear of insects, but you mentioned it to see if this morsel of information finds its way to Ichihara Riko.
[https://assets.legendkeeper.com/ac26a38a-dc79-47c1-af42-97bd49b51a2b.png]
There is total quiet for a brief moment as Yukimori processes your words and their implication.
During this time he props his hand up on the elbows and rests his chin on his clasped hands, barely hiding the bottom of his chin.
The quiet is nerve-wracking and is honestly taking far too long.
There can only be one reason for this, he consider you an enemy -– an enemy he should be wary of sharing information with.
The man is weighing his options.
Will he show weakness, admit his ignorance of the account, and try and ask for help wrangling Ichihara Riko back in line?
Or is he still confident he can solve the problem that is Ichihara Riko by himself?
After what feels like forever he unclasps his hands and sits upright, “I will talk with Ichihara and ensure she stays out of your chatroom,” he says.
It seems like he’s determined to face this problem alone.
He gets up and straightens his suit, “I understand that recent developments have made you more wary of Ichihara Riko and her intentions,” he says, “But I’ve had her consult with both internal and external psychiatrists in an effort to improve both her behaviour and personality.”
It seems that negotiations have fallen flat.
“Be at ease and know that we’re doing everything in our power to make Ichihara Riko an asset to the Matsuno Idol Agency,” he says, throwing in a light smile almost like it is an afterthought.
“That’s reassuring,” you say, smiling back, “I’m glad we had this conversation. It helped a lot.”
You say your goodbyes and return to your own office.
That conversation didn’t help at all.
----------------------------------------
Blissfully unaware of all the company politics going on inside the business, Kaiba Aoi can simply focus on becoming the best possible actress she can be.
Shielding your idols from drama and interruptions and allowing them to focus on the task at hand is a job in itself – and you now know that job is called manager.
This knowledge doesn’t extend to that one part-time job you had back in high school where the manager was just lazy and delegated all jobs to you.
> Acting Roll
> Rolled 64 (1d100)
> Rolled 8 (1d10)
>
> Kaiba Aoi’s acting increase by 8, making her new score a 53.