Sunlight of the waning afternoon filtered through the glass of the corner coffee shop. Customers filtered in and out of the doors in slow, singular droves. An auburn-haired high school girl sat by the window by herself, clasping her paper cup with both hands. She was dressed in a standard navy blue high school uniform, specifically one belonging to Otonokizaka High, a yellow bow on the side of her head.

Honoka Kosaka looked outside the café's floor-to-ceiling window, absentmindedly watching the cars that drove past in their evening commute home. She sighed, heart faintly pulsing in nervousness. This was her first time really being alone with a boy, and on top of that, she was supposed to be interviewing him for a job. The designated meeting time was five minutes ago, and she had arrived about an hour earlier than that just in case. Kotori and Umi had offered to stay for company, but she refused. She was the leader of µ's, and this was her responsibility.

µ's was on the fast track to being one of the biggest idol groups in Japan. With every performance, their followers would double. However, with the fame came more and more responsibilities. Searching for venues, balancing budgets, solving the puzzles of demographics. The work began to amass in unmanageable heaps, stumbling out of the juggle of schoolwork and extracurricular activities.

Finally, during a meeting after school, Nico presented a solution.

"We need to hire a producer!" she exclaimed, her red eyes glimmering with resolve. Around the table of the club room, the nine members of µ's exchanged varied reactions ranging from bemusement to excited 'ooh's'.

"Uh, what exactly is a producer?" Kotori asked, her meek smile almost a small apology.

The other girls turned their attention to Nico, expectant for her reasoning behind the proposal. All of the work was finally catching up to the poor girls, and every plan that had been proposed and executed had failed. They were too big to carry everything on their shoulders anymore.

"Well," Nico said confidently, rising from her chair to bound over to her collection of idol memorabilia, turning her back to the eyes of the group. "The thought came to me the other night when I was playing some Idolmaster. If you're not familiar with Idolmaster, it tells the story of an idol group up and coming with a novice producer of a production company. To make a long story short, you play as this producer, and you manage the entire group, helping them reach their goal for stardom."

Turning back around, Nico produced a copy of the anime adaptation, slamming it down onto the table dramatically (with some amount of care of course, considering the rarity of the limited edition boxed set), earning a few surprised gasp with a collective interested gaze.

"Now as you can tell, the plot of this game is similar, if not exactly the same, to our very own quest," she continued, extracting the disc from the case, sitting down in at the club room's computer station. She pushed the anime into the computer's awaiting tray, waiting for the machine to load up. "The only difference is that no matter how much better we may be than these fictional 2D idols, their difficulties only abound in the amount of energy they pour into performances. All of the other mundane tasks, the searches for venues, the calculations of collateral rank boosts, balancing budgets, all of that is our producer's job."

Nico finally clicked play, leaning back in her chair as the group of girls huddled around. She folded her arms with a satisfied grin, watching as the other eight members watched the designated episode.

By the end of the episode, the eight girls had either reached a conclusion of agreement, or aroused more questions of skepticism.

Maki spoke up first, her usual finger playing with her hair as she retook her seat.

"The idea of a producer does sound good and all, but are we really going to believe that hiring one is going to magically solve all of our extra problems? What about the cost of hiring one? Also, if we have a producer, doesn't that mean we have to sign up for a label and join a production company even if we agreed to remain an independent group of creators?"

A murmur arose amongst the girls, their opinions swayed. Maki's skepticism had brought about some good points, causing Nico to sit back in her chair with a grimace of contemplation.

Suddenly, amongst the worried din, Honoka stood up, blue eyes shimmering with her signature determination. All at once, µ's silenced themselves, attentions turned towards their leader.

Her face of resolve cracked sweetly at the warm smile on her lips.

"Nico, thank you so much for your proposition," she said kindly, earning a grin and a nod from the pony-tailed president. "However, Maki-chan does also have some good points. Money, as we all know, is a factor that has been a burden for our group since the beginning. And we all swore to never commercialize ourselves by signing onto a label. So the idea of a producer does that have its problems."

She paused, letting the factors of the situation sink in. The setting sun began to flood in through the windows behind her.

"However, even with these potential risks, I believe that in our situation, a producer seems like the best bet to bank on," she continued, growing excited with each word, the lively smile on her face glowing as bright as the sun behind her. "So as the leader of µ's, I will take this responsibility to find us a suitable producer. Right now, I know that the fame and production values are really getting to us. But with all of the troubles we have overcome, I think it's we've come too far to give up who we are. µ's must stay µ's, and I am determined to find the solution to help us stay on the path to our dreams!"

All at once the girls shared expressions of awe, feeling their own hearts pound with a newfound determination. On that day, the quest to find a producer began.

The girls knew it wouldn't be easy to find an independent producer willing to help a relatively new group with minimal pay. So in the following weeks, hope seemed to grow dim. No matter where they searched, no help seemed to arise. It seemed that every decent producer was already managing another idol group.

Then, Honoka came across it one night as she was scrolling through local school idol forums.

Young Independent Producer willing to Aid Up-And-Coming idol groups. High school education/Self-taught. Willing to work for any price! Help my dreams come true and I'll help yours!

Honoka nearly squealed with delight, her eyes shimmering with excitement. It seemed too good to be true.

"It's too good to be true," Umi said defiantly, eyes shut adamantly. "Who knows who this creep is? Who does he think he is, pleading for a job for an idol group with only a high-school education? Does he think that being a producer is an easy job?"

"But Umi-chan…," Honoka begged, shaking her arm as they walked home together, Kotori tagging alongside them with an amused grin. "I really have a good feeling about this one. What's ever happened whenever I have a good feeling about something?"

"Hmph," Umi scoffed. "Either a disaster or a miracle. Regardless, it's always something crazy."

Honoka skipped in front of her, halting her progress down the sidewalk. The wind ruffled through her auburn hair, the sight peppering some blush on Umi's cheek.

"Exactly. Let me just try something crazy. µ's wouldn't be here if it wasn't for my gut feeling, and it wouldn't be where it is now without all the crazy things I've made us do."

Umi tried to retort, but against her better judgment, she stayed silent. She let out a frustrated groan.

"…fine. I'll let you interview him, and if you like him, we'll give him a test run of a month. Deal?"

Her breath was suddenly stolen from her as Honoka leaped into her arms for a hug.

"Thank you, Umi-chan! I knew you'd understand!" she giggled excitedly.

Umi blushed before smiling softly, brushing her fingers through Honoka's hair.

She separated and they shared a smile before Honoka suggested to stop by a crepe shop around the corner.

A few days and phone calls later, and Honoka is waiting in that café, the producer still nowhere to be found. She raised the cup to her lips to find that it was empty. She pouted slightly before looking at her watch again. Maybe it was too good to be true. Maybe the ad really was just a lie.

Before disappointment could seep into her heart, the door of the café burst open, attracting the attention of every patron inside. Honoka looked at the man hunched over in the doorframe, curiosity cementing her worry. He was catching his breath as if he had run a half-marathon. He was dressed for business, however his suit jacket was draped over his left shoulder haphazardly, his tie was loose, and his hair disheveled.

Suddenly, he stood back up again, realizing the scene he had just caused. A blush blossoming on his cheek, the man bowed to several of the gazes embarrassingly, clutching his suit jacket with both arms, pushing his wireframe glasses up his nose after every dip.

Honoka's heart suddenly struck with a realization. Was this…the producer?

The young man suddenly walked past the entrance portion of the café, eyes looking over each table with a searching gaze. Honoka looked around with him before settling on the notion, that yes, this was the producer she was going to interview.

She cleared her throat softly and raised her hand, catching his attention. The young man's face lit up with a smile and he made a beeline for the table, straightening himself out along the way. By the time he was next to the table, the man had put on his suit jacket and somewhat straightened out his hair, a very, very prominent cowlick extruding from his scalp.

"I'm so sorry, Miss Kosaka," he said sincerely, bowing down low. At her side. Again, he was making a scene, making Honoka blush. "I caught the wrong train and I somehow ended up in Shinjuku. I apologize again, Miss Kosaka."

"N-No, it's no trouble at all. P-Please, just sit down," she spat out, at a loss for words.

"Thank you," the young man said, pushing the wireframe glasses up his nose again.

He pulled up the chair adjacent from Honoka, sitting himself down with a smile. Honoka grinned back best she could, wary of the glances thrown in their direction. Why was an older man being so respectful to a second-year in high school.

But now that they were settled, Honoka could finally get a good look at the prospective producer. He was surprisingly young-looking, a straight face accompanied with a defined jawline. His brown hair was combed over to the side in a way that was obviously how it shouldn't be. But it's quirky charm lent some appeal to his overall character along with his thinness.

Honoka was definitely not very familiar with boys, considering she had been through an all-female education system throughout her whole life, but what she did know was that this particular man had a killer smile. Not in a way that was necessarily "hot" or even "attractive" per se, but one that made her heart dip nonetheless. Honoka found herself getting caught up in her observations, adding to the slight blush on her cheeks. The young man looked on at her expectantly, eyes sparkling in a way that made matters a little worse.

She cleared her throat, slightly disconcerted in her actions as she pulled out a small folder from her school bag, extracting a paper with a list of questions. After a moment of reading them over to herself again, she apologized and began with the easier questions. What his name was, his current occupation, etc.

Then, Honoka cleared her throat again, her visage turning more serious as she got to the questions that actually mattered.

"So, in your ad you stated that you're willing to work for any price?"

"Yes, I am. As long as I can work with an idol group to help them achieve their dreams, then I don't need the money," he said, with a hampered enthusiasm. Honoka nodded slowly, captivated by the energy he exuded.

"Okay…how about your training? How can we know that you're qualified to even be a producer for us?"

The young man suddenly chuckled a little and scratched the back of his head.

"Well, as I said, I only have a high school education. However, I am completely self-taught in all the skills that I need to have!" he said. "I've read countless books on economics, business management, and leadership. I have also spent countless hours with idol material, studying behind-the-scenes clips, taking notes of every interview with the biggest producers in Japan! I've even studied everything I could about µ's," he continued excitedly. "I know every one of you and your specifics, which is information a responsible producer should always retain, such as your eye and hair colors, your exact heights, your blood type, horoscopes, et cetera, et cetera."

Honoka looked at him with a gaze that couldn't decide on whether or not to be repulsed or impressed.

So he's currently unemployed, an otaku, and he dropped college…

A thought suddenly struck her.

"Wait. So if you dropped school last year, doesn't that mean you're technically a college sophomore?"

"Yes, indeed, Miss Kosaka."

"…so you're…"

"I'm 19, Miss Kosaka," he said with a confident gleam.

Honoka gulped hard, reaching for her cup. She realized again that it was empty.

Here was a prospective "producer", and yet he was unemployed, self-taught, and only nineteen? Just the thought of hiring such a man to help µ's with their efforts made her depressed. He was no better than a NEET!

"Well then," Honoka said nervously. She needed to get out of here before she gave him any ideas. Umi was right. This whole thing was too good to be true. "I-I thank you for your time, but I think I've found out all that I need to know. I will contact you when we've made our decision."

The color drained from the young man's face as she packed up all of her stuff in a hurry.

"W-Wait, so am I hired?"

Honoka looked at him with a gaze that almost equated pity. She felt terrible, but she knew µ's needed more than this man had to offer.

"…I'll contact you," she said softly with a smile before turning to leave.

"Wait!"

Suddenly she stopped, her hand tightly gripped by his. Her heart hammered at the contact. She turned around, her gaze met by his. He was standing now, and those brown eyes of his were dead set with a determined glare, his brow furrowed. The intensity of his eyes melted the wireframe glasses set on his nose, gripping Honoka's attention tightly. Her eyes found themselves glued to his, searching within his gaze for something that he had intentionally buried right beneath the surface.

He was causing another scene, but his assertiveness made it hard for her to notice.

"Look, Miss Kosaka. I know that I don't sound like much, but please believe me when I say that I will pour my body and soul into helping you girls if you hire me. Ever since I was little it's been my dream to reach stardom with a group that has the same dream. And nowadays with all of these school idols, I figured that it would be my chance. I could make my dream come true while helping make somebody else's come true as well. I know I'm young, I know I may seem inexperienced, I know that you're probably seeing me as just some pedophilic NEET who just stalks idols. But I have something I don't have," he took his other hand and clasped Honoka's, tightening his grip. A determined grin had formed on his mouth, his eyes revealing their trueness. Honoka found herself entranced, for in his determined glare she found a spark she had never seen in anyone else before.

He continued, "Nobody else has my passion for this dream. And I know for sure that together, we can make our dreams come true. If people put their minds to it, they can do anything!"

Honoka almost gasped, her decision swayed and toppled, influenced by the whispers of her heart. The man that held her hand in the middle of that café had spoken to her in a way nobody else had ever done. For in his gaze, she saw a spark bigger than hers.

In less than a week, Honoka made the decision that he would become their producer, much to his excitement.

That day, in a rented meeting room of a nearby office district, µ's met their producer for the first time. He stood at the end of the long table, dressed in his unfitted business suit, tie loose, hair slightly disheveled.

"Everyone, this is our new producer. He's going to help us reach for our dreams, faster than we ever could by ourselves," Honoka introduced. She and the producer shared stare, their expressions mirrored. Everyone else in the room cast skeptical, suspicious glances. Nozomi in particular sensed the strange electricity already present between the producer and their auburn-haired leader.

"Hello, µ's. I am your new producer. I will work as hard as I can, and I know that together, we can make our dreams come true!" he said with an enthusiastic determination that could only be matched by Honoka herself. The resemblance was uncanny. Just by his first few seconds, the members' attention was transfixed. "I hope that we can work well together. Thank you!" He bowed low, his back straight as a table.

µ's stared on with bemusement as silence permeated for a few moments. Then, the producer's head whipped up again, and he gave them all a grin. Eye contact was made with Honoka, and he gave her a nod, which she curtly returned with a grin.

"Alright, since we're all here, let's get started."

With that, the producer wasted no time getting to work. In the next few hours he shot questions, pulling out a whiteboard jotting down statistics and figures. Graphs of demographics and their correlation to specific performances and lists of prospective venues lay themselves out on the table. It didn't take long before several members of the group fell asleep.

By the end of the night, the producer had successfully organized their next venue, balanced their budget, and completed their scheduling for the next three weeks.

"Well, looks like it's getting late, girls," the producer said after briefly glancing at the clock on the wall. "Best be getting home before it gets too dark."

The members of µ's looked at him with looks of apprehension, shock, or grogginess after just waking up with a snort. He gave them all one last bow, thanking them for their hard work.

Umi looked at the stack of completed work on the table, brow furrowed at the sheer amount of labor that the group had completed within such a short timeframe. She cast a glare at the producer, alternating between the completed workload and his beaming face. She couldn't believe it. From the beginning when Honoka had addressed them about his background, she knew this man was not right for the job. And yet, he had just successfully cut their problems in half.

She looked at him again, catching his gaze.

"You said you're…self-educated?" she asked skeptically, an icy tone on her tongue.

The producer nodded, adamant in his smile. Umi wasn't convinced.

Then, the whole group left, murmuring thanks when they filed out the door. Honoka stood by the exit, smiling widely with satisfaction. Umi approached her after everybody else left.

"I don't trust him," she whispered, casting glances over her shoulders at the man as he stacked the papers and rolled the graphs, depositing them in respective binders and folders. "He's apparently 'self-educated', yet he just did all of that paperwork as if it were nothing. Being a producer usually takes at least about five years before you're really familiar with the ropes. How does have all of this knowledge without even graduating from college?"

Honoka hummed with her ditzy smile, patting Umi on the shoulder.

"Look, Umi. Does it really matter? He got the work done, didn't he? Not only that, but he really enjoys it. Look at him," she said, pointing towards the producer's direction with her chin.

The girls looked back at him, their gazes distracting the producer for only second. He gave them a smile and a wave, which only Honoka reciprocated.

"See? This is his dream. And it's our dream. What's wrong with accomplishing it together?"

Umi sighed. She cast one more glance over her shoulder before she looked Honoka dead in the eyes.

"Fine. But remember, this is only the beginning of the two-week trial run. If he slips up or hinders us just once, you have to get rid of him. I have a bad feeling about him," she said worriedly.

"Oh, phoo. You're just scared of men," Honoka said with a playful clap on the shoulder.

Umi blushed.

"N-No I'm not. I just don't trust him," she hurriedly muttered. "Anyways, it's getting late. I'm leaving."

Umi hurriedly shuffled away, joining up with Kotori, who was waiting outside the door.

Honoka giggled to herself before she looked back at the producer who was just finishing up the cleaning. She looked on at him in silence, the grin still on her lips. She didn't know what it was, but the producer's dedication did something to her inside. It wasn't a spark of friendship. She knew its familiar warmth all too well. No, the producer and his presence made her feel more…alive. Whatever that meant.

Her heart dipped again, snapping Honoka back to her senses. She shook her head side to side. She had to get herself together. She had only known this man for a few days.

"So, Mr. Producer…what do you think?" she said as she slowly walked over to him, his back turned towards her.

A slight jolt accompanied his swivel to face her.

"Oh, Honoka! You're still here. Well, I thought it was wonderful. I can't believe how much work you guys have had piled up though, but I guess that's understandable since you are only high schoolers…curricular work can get in the way of your dreams, can't it?"

"What, you're going to encourage me to follow your lead and drop school altogether?" she scoffed.

"Of course not," the producer said, taking off his blazer as he sat himself down at the table. "But I think you girls are doing the right thing, hiring a producer. I'm just happy that I'm the one you chose for the job."

Honoka grinned.

"Even though you're underqualified in just about every department, especially your looks."

"Well, excuse me, Miss Side-Ponytail, but I get along just fine, thank you."

They shared a laugh before a silence settled, and their shared eye contact proved to last too long. The producer cleared his throat as he pulled out a folder beneath the table, spreading out some more spreadsheets and stats.

"Anyway, I'm going to stay here until late to keep chippin' away at your budgets. Maybe I might be able to start on your prospective merchandise deal that you had stashed in the back of your folder."

Honoka smiled, gathering her things.

"You know, Mr. Producer, you still have yet to win the trust of everyone else in the group. To them, you're still under a two-week trial."

He raised his hands in a playful surrender.

"I know, I know. I'll just have to work harder to convince them. Remember, if people put their minds to it-"

"-they can do anything," Honoka finished, feeling her cheeks warm with another blush.

The producer shared the same sentiment and a smile. And cleared his throat before the atmosphere turned awkward again.

"Exactly. Now then, you should go along home. It's getting pretty dark."

"Well, alright. Are you sure you're gonna be fine working through the night? There's always tomorrow."

It was the producer's turn to scoff.

"Miss Kosaka, I'm just getting started.

A few blocks away, Nozomi and Eli walked home together on their usual route. The sun had set a few moments before, the neon of vigil streelights buzzing to life.

"Hum…"

"What is it?" Eli said, her eyes still maintaining a shine in the darkness.

"Well, it's just that this whole walk, you haven't really talked about our new producer. What do you think about him?"

Eli sighed, as if she knew the topic would arise sooner or later.

"To be honest, I don't know. His underqualification worries me. Yet, there's something familiar about him. It's not his eyes or his smile it's just…his drive and excitement it's like…"

"Honoka?" Nozomi suggested with her grin.

Eli's eyes widened with the realization.

"…yeah. I just didn't realize that until now."

Nozomi giggled.

Eli cast her a curious glance.

"How about you? What do you think about him? This whole walk you've been grinning that evil smile of yours," she inquired, gaining yet another chuckle from her twin-tailed friend.

"Nothing really. However, I did notice something else about Honoka...and I believe it's something that's going to affect all of us in the next coming months."

"Months? You really think that guy's going to pass the two-week trial?"

"Oh, no doubt," Nozomi said matter-of-factly. "And his presence around us girls is going to make things interesting. Much, much more interesting."

She pulled out a tarot card from the deck in her pocket. A glint in her eyes reflected the conflict of mischief and worry in her soul as she and Eli looked at the card beneath the neon lights of the street.

"Yes, much more interesting…"

The card was lovers.

Thank you for such a warm welcome to the community! ^.^