Friday.
Since Hiko had gone home early yesterday, the new documents Hasegawa sent were quickly sorted, allowing him to sleep earlier than usual.
Because of that, when he arrived at the classroom today, not many people were there yet.
Ai hadn't arrived, and neither had Haru.
Hiko noticed this subconsciously.
He suddenly realized that he usually wouldn't even think of Haru, yet now, the moment he arrived, he instinctively looked for her.
But that was all; Hiko wouldn't start caring about someone just because she had confessed to him.
His goal was clear: Ai, and Ai alone.
Although he didn't truly love Ai yet, he believed that day would come sooner or later.
He pulled out "Grammar of the Film Language" again and began flipping through it.
After a while, Ai walked in from the back of the classroom.
Hiko heard the footsteps and looked up in that direction. Today Ai wore a white shirt on top and a blue pleated skirt below, walking in with a brown school bag in her hand.
As she moved, the blue bow at her collar swayed with each step.
"Good morning, Ai," Hiko greeted with a smile when he saw her enter.
"Good morning, Hiko-kun," Ai returned the smile, walked to her seat, pulled out her chair, hung up her portable school bag, and sat down.
"Do I have your bento today?" Hiko asked.
"No~" Ai shook her head.
"Did you meet the new members when you went yesterday?" he continued.
"Yes, they've arrived, and the president also announced when they came that I would be the lead and the center," Ai answered, then added, "I just joined the group and immediately became the lead and center. Won't the seniors who joined before me be unhappy?"
"This is already decided. Even if they're unhappy, they can't change the fact," Hiko reassured her.
Although Ai was the direct beneficiary, she felt guilty about it. "But I don't want the other members to harbor resentment because of this."
"If you feel guilty, then just do your job as lead well and fulfill your role as center, so they have nothing to complain about and will have to acknowledge you," Hiko suggested. "Besides, since you've signed on as professional idols, the role of leading isn't that big. The company will help assign jobs and customize training plans. You just follow the company's arrangements."
Ai listened but felt Hiko's advice was unreliable.
If she didn't get along with the other members and relied only on the company's enforced arrangements, wouldn't problems show up very quickly?
"Can't signed idols change the company's arrangements?" Ai asked, looking at Hiko.
She had been scouted, and before this, she only had a surface-level understanding of idols.
She only thought idols on stage were always smiling, bringing joy to the audience and fans, and never considered what idol groups were like in daily life. Only after joining the group did she realize idols needed to create personas, and those personas might be very different from their true selves.
Precisely because of this, she was troubled by the group's relationships, and now she was announced as leader on top of it.
She hoped the members could get along well.
But Ai felt it would be very difficult. Everyone wanted to be center, yet she had been designated as both lead and center by the company. This would inevitably worsen her relationship with the others, even though she still wanted to get along with them.
So she asked Hiko, who knew more about the idol industry than she did: "Is there any way? I hope the members can get along well."
"There is a way, but it's very difficult," Hiko replied after considering his years of understanding of the industry.
Every group had a fixed lead and center. While this helped attract fans, it also meant the group's success or failure depended entirely on the center's performance.
"Don't keep me in suspense, just tell me," Ai urged, pulling out a sheet of paper and a pen, ready to take notes.
"The method is to make every member the protagonist during performances," Hiko explained, recalling a certain idol group from Love Live, μ's[1].
Although that group also had a center, their lyrics and choreography accommodated every member, and the results were outstanding.
"It's impossible to implement your method, isn't it?" Ai frowned, trying to picture it but failing.
She felt that if everyone became the protagonist, choreography, lyrics, and character settings would be difficult to unify.
And if all members stood as protagonists, their individual styles could clash, creating a disharmonious performance.
A disaster.
Not to mention, if the center role was changed rashly, fans might turn on each other.
It wasn't uncommon for fandoms to feud when the center shifted, and there had even been cases where companies were harshly criticized because of it.
"Although groups have fixed centers, don't they still give other members some showcase time during each performance?" Hiko pointed out. "So this method is actually feasible. Saying everyone becomes the protagonist doesn't mean idols stop cooperating on stage."
"I don't quite get it," Ai admitted after some thought, resting her chin in her hand. "But if it's as you say, it could resolve disputes over the center position and improve relationships among the members."
"But can this convince the president?" she asked doubtfully.
"I'll handle him," Hiko answered confidently. He had just told Ichigo he wanted to be Ai's manager. Taking on her entire group would be perfect.
"Thank you~" Ai said gratefully. Then, remembering how often she relied on him, her expression dimmed. "I'm sorry… I'm useless, always making you help me."
"Don't worry about it. You'll carry the whole company in the future. Just don't complain the company's too small once you become famous," Hiko said with a wave, reassuring her. "You're not having an easy time either. You're busy with school, and you still have to train daily, otherwise how would you have the stamina for long performances?"
"But that's what idols are supposed to do…" Ai sighed, helpless. "If I were smarter and had a better memory, I wouldn't need you to tutor me, and I could save more time for practice."
"Don't blame yourself. You can't stand on stage without confidence," Hiko comforted her.
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[1] pronounced "Muse", was the school idol group of Otonokizaka High School formed and led by Honoka Kosaka in Love Live!
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