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>> HANA: (*sigh*...You'd think I'd be getting used to being so tired after work...)
(At least today was the good kind of tiring that makes you sleep well at night, as opposed to that party...)
(Speaking of which, no complaints have been raised against the agency since then, even though I haven't really done anything about it...)
(That seems to be more or less what Takane was expecting to happen, but...I wonder if Ohtomi really did just drop it...?)
(...Did I just hear Takane's voice?)
(It is Takane. What's she doing all the way out here? Hope everything's all right...let's get closer and see.)
(...? A map? OK, what's she doing with that? ...It's not a treasure map or anything, is it?)
!! ...All right all right, you found me.
Um...nothing in particular, Takane; this is just how I go home from work. My house is over that way.
Well, that's OK. Probably a good instict to have, if you're gonna be out walking so late...
Speaking of which, what are you doing out here so late? I thought you'd be all worn out after today's Festival...
...Yes...?
Ah...so you just wanted a chance to literally cool off, huh? Well, I can understand that. More than anything...
Today ended up being a really heated battle, didn't it?! The best of 765 going head-to-head...what could be better?
(Huh...for claiming to have been so fired up, she doesn't really seem that invested in this conversation...)
(It's like her mind is elsewhere...there's not anything going on that's bothering her is there...?)
...What? H-Hey, Takane! ...And, there she goes running off again.
(Is it my imagination, or did she not really want to talk to me?)
(Ugh, all these bad thoughts have been flooding my mind ever since her stone broke...)
(...I can't help worrying; I gotta follow her. I just hope I'm not too late to stop anything from happening this time...)
...? O-Oh, no...I, um...
(Is this cafe the place she was looking for when she got lost? ...Ugh, I feel so out of place again...)
...N-No, it's nothing...um...you didn't see a girl with silver hair come here earlier, did you...?
...S-Sorry! Never mind; you don't have to answer that. Um, are there any tables available right now? A-Anywhere's fine...
(*sigh*...And the trauma comes rushing back to me. Why did Takane have to come here anyway...?)
(Wait...what if she's just having a little get-together with her butler and stuff? I'd just be in the way then!)
(If that's the case, maybe I really shouldn't be here after all...)
>> OHTOMI: Wahahahaha! I think there's still some hope for you after all, Missy!
>> HANA: (...! That voice!)
>> OHTOMI: ...But I'm still waiting for you to give me an answer. You will accept my proposition, won't you?
>> HANA: (Isn't that Ohtomi from Emperor Records? What is he doing here with Takane...?!)
>> OHTOMI: Aww, why the bitter look on your face? Of course even that can't hide your raw beauty. Heheheh!
Wahahahaha! Aren't we having fun!?
...You know, I don't care if you turn me down though.
I'm sure I'm sure I'll find someone -else- to atone for your transgressions.
Maybe those two other girls, or your precious producer... they'd be more than happy to do that, don't you think?!
Ah-ah-ah, let's not lose our temper now.
Whether I'm able to keep my end of the bargain is entirely dependent on your acceptance of my proposal. ...Well?
>> HANA: (I can't quite make out what they're saying...but judging by their tones, I'd have to say he's threatening her somehow...)
(And that would mean...she's meeting with him to try to take the heat in my place?!)
>> OHTOMI: ...No matter. I'm positive you'll be coming around eventually. Hmhmhmhmhm...
>> HANA: (...Crap, she's leaving already! Well then, I can't spend any more time here...!)
I-I'm very sorry, Miss; something just came up and I have to go. I promise I'll come again!
(*pant*...*pant*...Why does Takane keep disappearing on me? I feel like this happens way more often than it should...)
(And somehow, I get the feeling if I don't hurry up and track her down, she really is going to disappear for real this time...!)
Found her...! Takane?! Hey, Takane!
...Yes. It's me.
...This isn't a coincidence, Takane. I'm sorry...but ever since we split up earlier, I've been keeping an eye on you.
I'm going to ask you straight out. Were you meeting with Ohtomi-san in that fancy cafe you went to just now?
Takane, I don't know all of what's going on; maybe you have some kind of reason. But I really need to tell you what I think...
...You're being a damn idiot!
I know what you were doing. You were trying to take it upon yourself to smooth over the issues from the party, weren't you?
-That's- what I'm calling idiotic. That was a stupid thing for you to try to do by yourself. Even I wouldn't!
The origin is not the issue here, Takane! Do you really have so little trust in me that you would do this?!
Then please do, Takane. Talk to me; rely on me. I would never think that unreasonable of you.
I'd understand if I come across as too unrefined and untrustworthy to you...
But believe me when I say: no one in the world wants what's best for you girls more than I do.
So please, if that's too much to ask, I at least don't want you to feel like you have to lie to me.
...Just do this for me, Takane. Whatever you discussed with Ohtomi- san, I don't know. But I don't want you seeing him ever again.
I'll make our official apology to Emperor Records with the President tomorrow, and that'll be the end of it.
You can count on me, Takane! After all, I'd just look like an idiot if I let you down now.
...Oh, and by the way, could you maybe keep this between us? Wouldn't want Miki or Mami to get all worried for nothing...
(Ahh!! Where'd this wind come from...?!)
...?! T-Takane...?
(...Why? The matter should be settled between us now, right? So why does this still feel so unsettling...?)
(...No; it's just nerves, I'm sure. She just said she'd leave it to me, didn't she?)
(So the next day, the President and I paid a visit to Emperor Records and formally apologized to Ohtomi.)
(It should be over now. He just talked with the President and me with that big, booming laugh of his like it was nothing...)
(We can get back to focusing on the Grand Prix together; there shouldn't be anything to worry about anymore. So why...)
(Why, in my head, did it feel like every word out of his mouth was beating against my pocket, shattering Takane's stone into even tinier pieces...?)
(So we're holding another fan appreciation event today. Originally, we were going to do it at a live house, but...)
(For some reason, Takane started pressing to have the venue changed to a bowling alley. Wonder if she wanted to play...?)
Hey, is everything all right Takane? You've been looking around kind of conspicuously for a while...
Well, there are a few other things to do here besides bowling. I mean, they have some arcade machines set up, and there's...
Huh...maybe I was mistaken. Do you...not actually know anything about bowling, Takane?
...What?! How do you figure that?! 'Bow', 'Rin'...
...All right. I gotta level with you, Takane. What you just said there was...
...an absolutely fatal mistake. You can't just guess from sounding out the word. We're talking about sports here, for one thing.
Wait, stop. Waterfalls?? Just what kind of sports are you thinking of? ...Never mind.
Look, we really need you to memorize the basics of bowling quick. I don't want you to have to embarrass yourself in front of your fans.
(Well, I'm glad we cleared up that misunderstanding ahead of time, but...now I need to figure out how to explain bowling to her...)
A-All right, I'll do my best to give you a quick rundown on how to play.
In bowling, players take turns forcefully rolling a heavy ball towards those objects at the end, called pins, to knock them down.
The more you knock down at once, the more points you score; highest score wins. That's not all, of course. This is bowling; there are rules...
But hopefully, that'll be enough to know for the event.
Well...this is just what I like to do, but...before you roll, hold the ball upright and raise it up to right around here...
Yep. From here you can use your arm and the weight of the ball like a pendulum, and launch it forward with about medium force.
Yeah, that would be too dangerous. In that case, maybe we should practice. There's still a little time before the event...
Hope you're ready for the best crash course I can muster!
(Well, I don't think it was quite hell, but we did spend just about all the time we had on nothing but practice rolls...and then...)
(All right, look at that! She nailed it! She wasn't kidding about the fruits of her efforts!)
(On that note, the event proceeded to be quite a bit of fun for both the fans and Takane.)
(With just a little practice, she finished with practically a record-setting score.)
(Looks like I've uncovered another one of her hidden talents!)
(So today, we're appearing on this sports-themed variety show to participate in an idol ping-pong tournament.)
(All the Units are really fired up, since there's a 'fabulous prize' in it for the winner. Well, I already know what it is, but...)
Huh? ...Oh, yeah. Guess it's almost time. Could you call them over here for me please?
(All right, maybe now's a good time to try to reply to some of those offers that have been piling up in my inbox while I have a minute...)
...Oh! Takane? What's wrong, did you forget something?
...Ah, that. You mean the prize for the ping-pong tournament, right?
Are you interested in it too, Takane?
This isn't Journey to the West, Takane. I don't think they have any legendary magatamas to hand out.
...Actually, you'd probably be disappointed if I told you what the real prize is, unfortunately.
...Well, OK. I guess I'll go ahead and tell you.
It's really not anything -that- amazing or anything, it's just...uh...well, it's ramen.
A year's supply of it, for what it's worth. Although, when you think about it, it probably is worth a decent amount of money...
Um...it has? ...Well, OK; as long as it's got you excited, I guess it's all good...
>> STAFF: Your attention please! Would all tournament participants please gather on stage for a rehearsal!
>> HANA: ...That's 'rehearsal', Takane. (Wow, I've never seen her so fired up...she's like a different person all of a sudden!)
>> STAFF: Now starting the next practice match! Would the challengers from 765 please step up to the table!
>> HANA: (What an amazing serve...! She'll plow straight through the entire tournament like that!)
>> STAFF: Good job, everyone! That concludes the rehearsal. We'll be recording shortly, so please be ready!
>> HANA: (...Oh, good. Looks like the rehearsal's over. So, where did the girls go...?)
(Huh...looks like Takane got called over by the director. I wonder what happened...?)
Good work, but...is everything all right, Takane? It looked like the director had something to speak with you about...
Really...? Your performance looked just fine to me. Stellar, in fact. What was it that he needed to warn you about?
Ugh...so the problem is that you were -too- stellar, huh? Wow, you girls must really want that ramen...
So then, did the director advise you of anything you should do instead?
Ugh...that's what I thought.
Yeah...we're between a rock and a hard place here. It's important for the show to be exciting, but I do want you girls to stand out...
...All right, for the real tournament, why don't we just do this:
Do what you just did, Takane. Play with all of your might. All of it.
He has a point. A string of plain old victories might be a little underwhelming. So I want you to aim for a string of overwhelming victories!
Don't let any of your opponents even score a point!
I just call it like I see it, Takane. ...But, I have been known to see pretty well on occasion. Haha!
(...Well, it's either that or we're just going to leave the viewers completely dumbfounded.)
(But all I can do now is trust Takane to pull it off. I know she really wants to!)
>> STAFF: With that, let's start the tournament!
>> HANA: (Wow, that actually went over better than I was expecting!)
(The studio's already in an uproar over her bold proclamation. This strategy of ours might pay off yet!)
>> STAFF: And now, the results! Today's champions are... the overwhelmingly powerful Hana Yori Uta!!
>> HANA: (So the girls ended up dominating the tournament without ever giving up a point or even losing a volley.)
(And just as planned, the audience became extremely excited with the proceedings, and the director seemed satisfied with how it went as well.)
(And Hana Yori Uta got to stand out, and the girls got a crapton of ramen! How's that for a day's work!?)