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shivalriesSeason: Autumn
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[Studio]
Arashi: And then we have Izumi-chan's suggestion, which is to change Knights' direction around completely.
Tsukasa: S-So, it's a "suggestion" and not an "order" for Sena-senpai, I see.
Arashi: Izumi-chan doesn't have the power to order us around. He might've been heavy-handed about it, but it's not like he was trying to force anyone into anything.
Izumi: Uh, I would if I could, though.
Kasa-kun's got the final say in Knights. In my current position, all I can do is petition him, right?
Arashi: Right. That's why you keep pinning the blame on him.
...You need to be a little nicer about it if you want someone to listen to you, okay?
Leo: Yeah, that's right! Don't think everybody's gonna listen to what you say like I do!
Izumi: Hah! So you want me to slide up to him with a sickeningly sweet voice like, "I know you'll do as I say because you're a good little boy~ ♪"
Isn't that the kind of treatment Kasa-kun hates the most?
Anyway—I'm not saying we need to completely reconstruct Knights from the beginning, just return ourselves to our original goal.
'Cause right now, it feels like we're going off on a detour...
And sure, we're strong enough now to stray off course and still keep winning somehow.
But I'm sure you've already learned in history class that pride comes before a fall. [1]
While wandering around, we've been consuming something finite, so it'll eventually run out.
Nobody has infinite time and money, but being able to use those efficiently is what makes you mature—what makes a professional.
But at the moment, Knights is doing a pretty shit job at resource management.
And don't give me some pathetic excuse, like we just can't help it that Kasa-kun's not used to this, or something.
If you want to be treated like an adult, then don't expect to be babied.
Tsukasa: ......
Izumi: Actually, it's our job as the people around you to give you advice and correct you if you're going in the wrong direction. That's what I'm trying to do right now.
It's not like I'm purposefully trying to find fault in you because I don't like you or something.
Call me a demon all you want, but it's because I care about Knights that I refuse to sugarcoat my advice.
Leo: Wahaha! Call you a demon? You always act like one, anyway! Don't make the red demon cry, Sena! [2]
Izumi: Quit butting in with your cryptic comments, idiot.
Aaanyway. My suggestion is just to use the resources we have for our own benefit.
And I don't mean for some newbies whose names and faces we barely even know—but for the five of us.
We should stop pouring our time and money into other things and focus on what's more productive and beneficial for our future.
The absolute worst thing that could happen would be that we end up wasting away because nothing we tried to get involved in worked out, right?
Tsukasa: So at this late stage, we should abandon the new members that we've so carefully trained? Is that what you mean to suggest?
Izumi: Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not saying we should fire them from Knights or something.
We've gone through the trouble of raising them, so it wouldn't be worth it if we don't get back the love and finances we've given them.
We'll have the newbies work their little asses off for us, wring every last drop out of them—
I mean, it's not like you're taking care of them purely out of the goodness of your heart either, right, Kasa-kun?
Tsukasa: Indeed. I've said it many times already, but this is an investment for our future.
I extended a hand to the new members precisely because I wanted them to be useful to Knights someday.
I've no reason to deny that.
Izumi: But that's not all there is to it, yeah? Maybe you got attached to them while working together, but don't you think you're a little too invested in this lately?
So much so that you're forgetting about our original purpose?
Arashi: Yeah... People aren't chess pieces, after all. It's no easy job managing them and getting them to work for you.
These little newbies are taking a lot more time from us than I thought.
Izumi: Well, obviously. It's tough and eats up so much time—that's what specialists like producers and managers are here for.
Both ES and the agency have these kinds of people ready and waiting to do their job.
Arashi: Like Anzu-chan, huh. We also have the brand-new Producer Course at Yumenosaki, though we don't know how good those students are yet.
Izumi: Right? Why aren't we leaving this work to the pros?
Taking care of newbies isn't an idol's job to begin with.
We're idols, so we should do idol things—is that such a weird concept?
Kasa-kun, I know you just became the head of your family or something like that, so maybe managing personnel is part of your job, but...
Don't push all that extra work on us, too.
We're all equal on the surface, yeah, but we're not actually part of you—we're not supposed to be your hands and feet.
Having to engage in work we don't even wanna do is annoying and actually really crappy.
Tsukasa: ...Well, I'm not asking you and Leo-san in particular. You both seemed so busy working on that modeling career and such, after all.
Izumi: Oh yeah? You were being considerate of us working hard for our dreams, huh? I appreciate that. ♪
But that's not the problem here. I'm trying to tell you not to get Naru-kun and Kuma-kun wrapped up in your little pet projects.
Tsukasa: ......
---
[1] For "pride comes before a fall", Akira uses an altered version of おごる平家は久しからず (lit. "the arrogant Heike did not last long") referring to the fall of the Taira clan as depicted in The Tale of the Heike, which Japanese students cover in school. This is why Izumi assumes that Tsukasa's learned about it in history class.
[2] Leo is specifically referencing the Japanese folktale of the Red Oni and Blue Oni (beware, it's quite sad).
---
< Another Sleepless Night Chapter 5 || Masterlist || Another Sleepless Night Chapter 7 >
---
[Studio]
Arashi: And then we have Izumi-chan's suggestion, which is to change Knights' direction around completely.
Tsukasa: S-So, it's a "suggestion" and not an "order" for Sena-senpai, I see.
Arashi: Izumi-chan doesn't have the power to order us around. He might've been heavy-handed about it, but it's not like he was trying to force anyone into anything.
Izumi: Uh, I would if I could, though.
Kasa-kun's got the final say in Knights. In my current position, all I can do is petition him, right?
Arashi: Right. That's why you keep pinning the blame on him.
...You need to be a little nicer about it if you want someone to listen to you, okay?
Leo: Yeah, that's right! Don't think everybody's gonna listen to what you say like I do!
Izumi: Hah! So you want me to slide up to him with a sickeningly sweet voice like, "I know you'll do as I say because you're a good little boy~ ♪"
Isn't that the kind of treatment Kasa-kun hates the most?
Anyway—I'm not saying we need to completely reconstruct Knights from the beginning, just return ourselves to our original goal.
'Cause right now, it feels like we're going off on a detour...
And sure, we're strong enough now to stray off course and still keep winning somehow.
But I'm sure you've already learned in history class that pride comes before a fall. [1]
While wandering around, we've been consuming something finite, so it'll eventually run out.
Nobody has infinite time and money, but being able to use those efficiently is what makes you mature—what makes a professional.
But at the moment, Knights is doing a pretty shit job at resource management.
And don't give me some pathetic excuse, like we just can't help it that Kasa-kun's not used to this, or something.
If you want to be treated like an adult, then don't expect to be babied.
Tsukasa: ......
Izumi: Actually, it's our job as the people around you to give you advice and correct you if you're going in the wrong direction. That's what I'm trying to do right now.
It's not like I'm purposefully trying to find fault in you because I don't like you or something.
Call me a demon all you want, but it's because I care about Knights that I refuse to sugarcoat my advice.
Leo: Wahaha! Call you a demon? You always act like one, anyway! Don't make the red demon cry, Sena! [2]
Izumi: Quit butting in with your cryptic comments, idiot.
Aaanyway. My suggestion is just to use the resources we have for our own benefit.
And I don't mean for some newbies whose names and faces we barely even know—but for the five of us.
We should stop pouring our time and money into other things and focus on what's more productive and beneficial for our future.
The absolute worst thing that could happen would be that we end up wasting away because nothing we tried to get involved in worked out, right?
Tsukasa: So at this late stage, we should abandon the new members that we've so carefully trained? Is that what you mean to suggest?
Izumi: Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not saying we should fire them from Knights or something.
We've gone through the trouble of raising them, so it wouldn't be worth it if we don't get back the love and finances we've given them.
We'll have the newbies work their little asses off for us, wring every last drop out of them—
I mean, it's not like you're taking care of them purely out of the goodness of your heart either, right, Kasa-kun?
Tsukasa: Indeed. I've said it many times already, but this is an investment for our future.
I extended a hand to the new members precisely because I wanted them to be useful to Knights someday.
I've no reason to deny that.
Izumi: But that's not all there is to it, yeah? Maybe you got attached to them while working together, but don't you think you're a little too invested in this lately?
So much so that you're forgetting about our original purpose?
Arashi: Yeah... People aren't chess pieces, after all. It's no easy job managing them and getting them to work for you.
These little newbies are taking a lot more time from us than I thought.
Izumi: Well, obviously. It's tough and eats up so much time—that's what specialists like producers and managers are here for.
Both ES and the agency have these kinds of people ready and waiting to do their job.
Arashi: Like Anzu-chan, huh. We also have the brand-new Producer Course at Yumenosaki, though we don't know how good those students are yet.
Izumi: Right? Why aren't we leaving this work to the pros?
Taking care of newbies isn't an idol's job to begin with.
We're idols, so we should do idol things—is that such a weird concept?
Kasa-kun, I know you just became the head of your family or something like that, so maybe managing personnel is part of your job, but...
Don't push all that extra work on us, too.
We're all equal on the surface, yeah, but we're not actually part of you—we're not supposed to be your hands and feet.
Having to engage in work we don't even wanna do is annoying and actually really crappy.
Tsukasa: ...Well, I'm not asking you and Leo-san in particular. You both seemed so busy working on that modeling career and such, after all.
Izumi: Oh yeah? You were being considerate of us working hard for our dreams, huh? I appreciate that. ♪
But that's not the problem here. I'm trying to tell you not to get Naru-kun and Kuma-kun wrapped up in your little pet projects.
Tsukasa: ......
---
[1] For "pride comes before a fall", Akira uses an altered version of おごる平家は久しからず (lit. "the arrogant Heike did not last long") referring to the fall of the Taira clan as depicted in The Tale of the Heike, which Japanese students cover in school. This is why Izumi assumes that Tsukasa's learned about it in history class.
[2] Leo is specifically referencing the Japanese folktale of the Red Oni and Blue Oni (beware, it's quite sad).
---
< Another Sleepless Night Chapter 5 || Masterlist || Another Sleepless Night Chapter 7 >
