Rebuilding Sakamichi in a chaotic worldline

Chapter 56 Nagahama's Cleverly Designed Scheme

Autumn arrives later in Osaka than in Tokyo. The September breeze still carries the lingering scent of summer, and young people wearing short sleeves can be seen everywhere on the streets of Namba. Only the scattered yellowing leaves at the top of the roadside trees reveal the secret of the changing seasons.

Nogizaka46's first solo concert was held at Zepp Namba in Namba, with all members required to stand. The venue had a capacity of 2500, a significant challenge for a group whose influence was primarily concentrated in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Fortunately, ticket sales were excellent; the venue was not only packed, but a large number of fans who hadn't managed to get tickets also gathered outside. Two hours before the concert, the streets of Namba were filled with young people wearing Nogizaka46 merchandise t-shirts, some holding homemade support fans, others carrying backpacks overflowing with merchandise for exchange, and small groups gathering in front of convenience stores to share information—thanks to Rihito's encouragement and the proactive efforts of the fans, the idol culture that had thrived in another timeline was beginning to take shape.

Rito stood at the door for a moment, then led the three people accompanying him—Hashimoto Nanami, Suzuki Airi, and Hirate, who is scheduled to debut the year after next—through the staff entrance into the backstage area. Of course, he would not be absent from Murasaki's first concert. After all, if he dared not to come, not to mention anyone else, Nana Min beside him would be the first to not let him off the hook.

The backstage area was in complete chaos. It was the first time that everyone was participating in their own independent concert. Even though most of them had a lot of performance experience, they were too nervous to maintain their best performance. For example, Xiao Zuzong rushed out of the dressing room with one bare foot and bumped into Rito's chest. Then he was dragged away by Qiuqiu, who was in a bad mood.

"This guy." Rito and Nanamin exchanged a glance, their eyes full of laughter.

After walking through the noisy corridor, the four arrived at the largest dressing room area backstage. Most of the members had already changed their clothes and were making their final preparations. Upon seeing the president arrive, the Snake team quickly stood up and led everyone in bowing to him.

"It's alright, please sit back down." Rihito waved his hand and introduced the three people next to him to them.

"Hashimoto Nanami-san, my friend, works in the financial division of Dentsu. She likes you all very much, so we came to see the show together. This is Suzuki Airi, my assistant; some of you may have already met her. And this is—"

"Hirate Yurina." Hirate took the lead herself, giving a slight bow. Since news about Keyakizaka hadn't been released yet, she hadn't given herself any titles. She was wearing a black shirt today, the sleeves rolled up to her forearms, standing half a step behind Rito. Her eyes calmly swept over the group of girls in their glamorous stage outfits, showing little envy, her composure belying that of a rookie about to debut.

"They're from the new batch of kids we enrolled last year," Riren added for her.

The first-generation members reacted differently to Hirate's arrival. Sleepy glanced at her, said nothing, and continued checking her bangs in the mirror. Nana, whom they had met once before, took the initiative to go over and greet her. Hirate nodded, called out "Nishino-san," and said nothing more.

Just then, Sayuri, who had just changed out of the dressing room into her stage outfit, pushed through the crowd and walked quickly towards Rito. Her outfit today was a completely new design, adorned with silver tassels that rustled softly as she walked. She stopped in front of Rito, tilting her head slightly so he could check the position of her earpiece—a habit she'd developed since training. Rito would do a final check for each member before going on stage; of course, this only applied to the first generation members, as none of the second generation members dared to do it yet.

Then her gaze passed over Rito's shoulder and landed on Suzuki Airi.

"Hey, isn't that so-and-so?"

Unlike Nanamin, who only had partial memories, her memories were complete. She immediately recognized Suzuki Airi, the ACE of Morning Musume's ℃-ute, a super idol, famous singer, well-known actress, and amateur MC, and asked in a low voice, "Do you know who she is?"

"Who? Airi?" Rito followed her gaze and said with a smile, "This is my assistant."

Sayuri's eyes widened instantly, and she slapped Rito's arm hard: "How could you steal someone from Morning Musume too?"

"Good morning? What's this?" Rito rubbed his arm, which was a little numb from being patted, and looked at her, completely bewildered. "Are you alright? She's always been mine, hasn't she?"

"Good morning, don't you know Morning Musume?" Sayuri glared at him, then remembered that he was from the future and might not know much about this era. She quickly leaned close to his ear and told him about everything Airi did in that world.

"Oh—" Rito didn't react much after hearing this. No matter how exaggerated Sayuri's claims were, the girl he knew was always the unlucky girl who was chased to the point of having nowhere to run and could only rely on him as her last lifeline. She was the excellent assistant who got into Tokyo University through her own efforts and could help him handle the things around her. She was not some savior of Morning Musume, a top student at Keio University, or Tanaka Midori's fiancée.

Finding her well-intentioned advice met with such a dismissive response, Sayuri glared at him and tried to slap him again, but this time he nimbly dodged. The two then began laughing and joking in the backstage corridor, Sayuri chasing after him and slapping him three or four times before finally stopping. This scene was captured in its entirety by a camera filming behind-the-scenes footage—in the shot, Sayuri laughed without a care in the world, while Rito was chased and forced to retreat, finally leaning against the wall and raising his hands in surrender; the distance between the two was almost negligible.

"This section probably won't be usable, right?"

The photographer in charge of shooting the behind-the-scenes footage scratched his head, but since it was common for the president and members to joke around, he didn't take it too seriously and recorded it as usual.

Soon, it was time for the performance to begin, and Rito, along with Nana Min, Airi, and Hirate, stood in the staff area. If he had come alone, he could have found a seat in the audience, but bringing three girls was a no-go; who knew what kind of trouble it would cause if they were photographed.

The lights dimmed, and the intro began. Zepp Namba's venue wasn't large, but the moment all the light sticks lit up simultaneously, the sea of ​​light ignited in the darkness was enough to make the rookie idols and their management hold their breath. The Nogizaka46 members filed out from both sides of the stage, their positions precise and their movements synchronized. They had been preparing for a long time to step onto their own stage.

Rito stood with her arms crossed on the side of the stage, her gaze slowly moving across the stage. Shiramas, as the top single's center, once again stood in the very center, dominating the entire audience with her imposing face. Yamato and Sumi stood on either side of her; in the upcoming fifth single, they would be Nogizaka's new centers, though they themselves didn't know it yet. Further back was the next-generation group of Kyuuki, Kominami, and Meme. Although Kominami had already been proven to have no potential to reach the top even without in-group romances, Kyuuki was focused on acting, and Meme's personality made her unsuitable for the front, Rito didn't have any other promising talents to promote at the moment, so she placed the three here—at least they were pleasing to the eye.

There was also Sayuri standing on the far left of the third row. Her position wasn't ideal, as she was mostly blocked by the members in front. But during a break in the formation change, Rito saw her complete a beautiful spin, landing with her knees slightly bent and her center of gravity extremely low—the millions of yen in medical expenses had indeed had an effect; even an elderly person could keep up with the movements of a young person, which was truly commendable.

Rito turned around, wanting to say something to Nana Min, but found that her eyes were already red.

"Not bad, right?" He patted her shoulder. This time, she was unable to step onto the familiar stage with her former companions. Although it was her own choice, it was normal to feel ashamed of being a deserter when watching them give their all for their dreams. He didn't try to persuade her, believing that Nana Min could get through it on her own.

Nanamin didn't turn her head or say anything. She simply took his hand silently during the interlude of the next piece, held it for about three seconds, and then let go. No one noticed the entire process.

At the end of the performance, the entire audience stood up and applauded, and the call for an encore lasted a full five minutes. When the members held hands for the curtain call, Shiroma gave a thank-you speech on behalf of the entire group. She choked up halfway through, and Shuishui next to her finished the last two sentences for her. Some fans in the audience shouted "Don't cry," but as a result, even more people on stage cried. Rito, who was standing backstage, couldn't hold back anymore and made an excuse to go to the second floor of the venue alone.

As the members returned one after another, many had a lot to say to the president. However, neither the staff nor Nana and Airi told them where Rito had gone. Most of them could only go back to the dressing room to change clothes dejectedly. Only Shui Shui rolled her eyes and secretly disappeared at the end of the group.

The sound of footsteps came from the stairs. Rito turned around and saw who it was. He wasn't too surprised and leaned back on the railing, watching the crowd leave and disperse along the road.

Soon, he felt a warm sensation on his back. A shapely body pressed against him, still warm and sticky from their intense exercise. Rito turned around and, without any disgust, hugged her tightly.

"We did alright today, right?" Sleepy was still buzzing with excitement from the stage, her voice remaining loud. Rito smiled, stroking her long hair, and teased, "It was just a small event. Next up are the Budokan, Tokyo Dome, and the National Stadium. Is it really necessary to be so excited?"

"Seriously—" Shuishui rolled her eyes dramatically. "I don't know where you get such confidence from. It's already good enough that our idol can hold a concert. You're still complaining. Let's talk about those things when we actually go up there. Can't we even celebrate?"

Li Ren laughed, grabbed her waist with both hands, lifted her up, and spun her around. Shui Shui cried out in surprise and instinctively gripped his shoulders. When she was put down, she was a little unsteady on her feet, stumbled forward half a step, and bumped her forehead against his chest.

"What are you doing!" She looked up and glared at him, but her eyes were curved into a smile.

"Didn't you say we should celebrate?" Rito said.

Shuishui didn't let go. Her hand was still on his shoulder, and she looked up at him, so close they could feel each other's breath. The lights on the second floor of the venue were dim, with only the green indicator light for the emergency exit emitting a faint glow in the corner.

"I heard that Meimei ran into you outside last time, and you even bought her a dress. Is that true?"

After a pause, Shuishui suddenly spoke, her target being her classmates.

Li Ren nodded. There was no point in hiding it. He usually bought Shui Shui all sorts of things, and her clothes could fill a whole closet. It was just that she couldn't wear them out much to maintain her image as a simple and honest girl from Kyushu. Even so, she pouted and gave him a flirtatious wink, saying with feigned annoyance:

"You're going to lay a hand on a lamb? Are you even human? How old is she?"

Rito raised an eyebrow, knowing she was different from some of the second-generation members and wouldn't easily get jealous over something like this. He gave her a half-smile, gently brushed away her bangs that were stuck together with sweat, and asked softly:

"Tell me, what have you taken a fancy to this time?"

Shuishui chuckled, quite proud that he could always keep up with her train of thought. She jumped down from his arms, spun around, and said somewhat shyly:

"Don't you think I've gotten better in shape lately? The underwear in my closet is all too childish. I want to buy some more mature styles. Can you take me?"

"Huh?" Rito's face immediately turned troubled. It wasn't that she was worried about the money, but she felt it was a bit strange for a man to go to that kind of place. "Can't you go by yourself? I'll pay you whatever it costs."

"Oh," a woman's ability to change her expression is innate, and Sleepy is no exception. Her eyebrows furrowed, and her gaze turned hostile. "It's not like you get anything out of it. Why would I buy it if you don't like it? Do you want me to show it to other men?"

"Hey, hey, hey, Nagahama Neru, what are you saying?!" Upon hearing these outrageous words, Rito's temper flared. She quickly pinned her against the railing and slapped her on the bottom. "You've gotten quite bold, haven't you? You'll say anything now, even resorting to provocation for something so trivial. What, haven't you ever been tortured by the invisible hand of capital?"

"Um, President, I was wrong." The clever Sleepy is all about being flexible and adaptable. Seeing that he was really angry, she immediately changed her attitude and obediently admitted her mistake. Rito snorted coldly, released her, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke again.

"Tomorrow is your birthday, right? I've already prepared a birthday present for you. You can choose: do you want the wish you just made, or do you want the present?"

"Can I ask what the gift is?" Shui Shui asked shrewdly, her eyes darting around.

"She's an exclusive model for a fashion magazine, the first one from Nogizaka46." Of course, Rito wanted her to choose the gift. Lingerie stores are inherently unsuitable for men. Once inside, it's a dilemma whether to look or not; it's no different from being in prison. He's living a good life, so there's no need for him to torture himself.

Seeing his embarrassment, Shui Shui smiled gently, wrapped her arms around his neck, stood on tiptoe, and her lips were almost touching his earlobe. Her breath still carried the warmth of her dance, and she gently brushed against his earlobe, her voice soft and low, like a spoonful of honey secretly added to a glass of strong liquor.

"I'm already Kubo Rihito's exclusive model, so I don't need any gifts."

Her fingers traced circles on the back of his neck, one circle, two circles, the movements so light they were like a feather brushing across water. Rito looked down at her, and just then she looked up, her beautiful eyes reflecting the faint green light of the emergency exit sign, making her look like a cat perched on a windowsill, its tail swaying gently.

Li Ren looked at her, then suddenly shook his head and chuckled, "You're such a clever girl, I'm almost afraid of you."

"Really? Do you need me to act a little clumsy?" Shui Shui shifted her weight to her other leg, loosened her grip on his neck, took a half step back, and made a cool gesture.

"There's no need. Even if a smart person tries their best, it's not as good as a fool's quick thinking. The track for idiots is already saturated, so don't bother joining in."

Li Ren smiled and declined her offer. Shui Shui blinked and immediately thought of something she had heard before. She glanced at him thoughtfully but didn't elaborate. She simply took out her phone and sent a pre-prepared address to his Line.

"La Perla in Ginza, I'm free from tomorrow afternoon to evening, time is up to you, I'll be going now~"

After saying that, she turned and walked towards the stairwell, her steps much lighter than when she came, her back slender and upright. Rito watched her figure disappear around the corner of the stairs, shook his head, and then realized that the corners of his mouth had unknowingly turned up in a smile.

"You're something else, Nagahama Neru."