"While I'm happy you said I'm a good person, you can't ignore my talent." Ichigo, hearing Arisa's disparagement, couldn't help but retort.
However, the others present ignored Ichigo. Their eyes were fixed on Hiko and Arisa.
Arisa disregarded Ichigo and looked straight at Hiko. "It's not that I absolutely won't acknowledge you, but you need to show us strength that we can recognize. Otherwise, I won't follow your command."
"Do you all think the same?" Hiko asked, glancing at the other four girls.
All four showed similar expressions, making their disapproval clear.
'Even you don't approve?' Hiko noticed Ai wearing the same expression as the others and thought to himself.
But what he didn't know was that Ai did approve of him; she just felt that if she didn't act the same as the group, she might end up being alienated.
"Alright, I understand."
Hiko thought for a moment, choosing his words carefully so they wouldn't sound aggressive.
If he hadn't coincidentally obtained the song, things would have been much more difficult.
"You've been practicing for a month, and you still don't have an exclusive song, do you?" Hiko asked, waiting for their reply.
Although he hadn't been around, he had learned this from his casual chats with Ai.
Arisa stammered, "Exclusive song… our skill isn't enough; we can't write our own songs…"
As she spoke, she kept glancing at Ichigo.
Ichigo felt as if she was blaming him for not arranging someone to write songs for them, so he quickly spoke up: "I've already commissioned someone to compose and write songs for you… it just needs more time…"
Ichigo truly had commissioned someone, but he had only found a willing composer three days ago. The time had been short, and the other party hadn't finished yet.
"When the song comes out, you'll also need choreography, right?" Hiko pressed.
"Yes." Ichigo answered and explained, "Right now, having them practice basic movements is just training. Once the song and choreography are ready, they'll only need to practice them together."
"So, after all this preparation, you…"
Hiko thought to himself: it had already been a month, and only now had Ichigo found someone to make a song. He wanted to point out how slow that was, but he stopped himself, saying it in front of everyone wouldn't be good.
He had to save face.
"So, you're still just doing basic training right now, correct?" Hiko rephrased instead.
The five members nodded in unison.
"Why are you asking that? It has nothing to do with you, does it?" Arisa asked, puzzled after nodding.
"Arisa, you're really too blunt. I hadn't even finished speaking, and you cut me off." Hiko sighed and said, "Of course it has something to do with me, because I can give you a song, and I can also choreograph for you."
He said it calmly, making sure not to mock anyone.
"What?!" Arisa couldn't believe it.
Hiko was only twelve years old.
How could a child possibly produce both a song and choreography, things from completely different fields?
At best, he might be able to come up with something perfunctory.
But in that case, the so-called song and choreography would surely be terrible.
Arisa looked at Hiko mockingly. "Don't bite off more than you can chew. Don't use shoddy goods just to fill the gap."
"How can you assume I would?" Seeing her hostile tone, Hiko retorted, "I wouldn't even try to use trash to fill the gap."
'Only you, who've done that before, would imagine me doing the same.'
He didn't say that part. Better not to make relations too stiff.
"You! You! You!…" Arisa was so angered by being called a trash that she stammered, "You idiot! Bastard! Scum!"
"If you can't win an argument, you resort to insults? Did idol activities make you fall behind in cultural studies?"
Hiko was completely unfazed by her insults. The words weren't harsh, and the tone was mild. "I didn't even insult you."
Hearing this, Arisa lost her composure and charged at Hiko.
Ai, quick on her feet, grabbed her. "Ari, don't be impulsive. Let's hear what he has to say first."
"Ai, how could you? This bastard is insulting me!" Arisa struggled harder, furious at Ai's attempt to calm her down.
"Ari, calm down. Fighting isn't good." Watanabe, seeing her about to break free, rushed in to help Ai.
"That's right, Ari, calm down." The other two members also stepped forward, blocking Arisa from lunging at Hiko.
"Why are you all taking his side?" Arisa, restrained, could only sulk angrily.
Ai smoothed things over and asked Hiko, "You don't want to argue either, right? Just say something that can convince us."
"I don't want to argue with you either. Someone just talked back without thinking, and that's how it escalated." Hiko nodded, then continued, "Both the song and the dance are already in my head. Later, I'll hum the tune for you, and drawing out the choreography will take a bit of time. But I won't disappoint you."
He asked Ichigo for paper and a pen. Then, while waiting, he used all the cards he had just obtained, including the song.
"Hum hum hum hum hum…"
Hiko hummed the tune of START:DASH!!.
With the blessing of a music master, the melody flowed smoothly.
Even without accompaniment, the tune was excellent.
"How is it? My song isn't just filling space, is it?"
Hiko looked at the troublesome Arisa.
Arisa inwardly admitted the song was good, but stubbornly said, "So-so, barely passable."
"You can be stubborn if you like." Hiko saw through her thoughts, said that much, and then picked up the paper and pen from Ichigo. He began to draw.
With his master-level drawing skill, he sketched simple stick figures within minutes, marking out a rough schematic of the dance steps.
"This is the choreography. Even if the group adds more members in the future, I can adapt it to include them."
Hiko, using his artistry, slightly adjusted the original multi-person dance so the steps fit the current five-person group.
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Hiko x Ai - 53: Authority
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Hiko x Ai - 83: Earnings
Hiko x Ai - 84: Scoring Twice
Hiko x Ai - 85: New Members
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