Tokyo: Oreimo

“…”

Upon hearing Hayakawa Shizuka's words, the three teammates, including Asakura Mirai, all showed thoughtful expressions before obediently completing their protective measures.

"Once you've finished resting, go out for rehearsal. Don't keep Uncle Ito waiting."

After resting for a while, Shizuka Hayakawa stood up and was the first to leave the lounge.

The remaining three girls looked at each other in bewilderment.

"You really do look like a captain, Shizuka-chan."

"Yes, even though she was criticized, we could feel that she was doing it for our own good."

"It's not just because he's the oldest that he was chosen as the captain by Ito's manager; he's actually leading the team very well."

Asakura Mirai looked at her back, her eyes no longer filled with the previous grievance, but instead with something called 'longing'.

In a way, the things the other person had said earlier inexplicably gave her a feeling of coolness.

Shizuka Hayakawa knows exactly what she wants and pursues her dreams with integrity and unwavering determination.

Asakura Mirai stood up, softly murmuring the lyrics.

Chapter 53 Assembly

In the rest room, Shizuka Hayakawa expressed her views to her teammates.

After leaving, I started to feel a little regretful.

As the saying goes, honest advice is hard to swallow, and even when her older sister was lecturing her, she would sometimes feel a little resentful.

The four of them communicate far less than sisters, so it's only natural that they would be disliked for saying those things rashly.

Will I be isolated because of this?

Shizuka glanced back and saw that her three teammates didn't seem angry on the surface, so she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"The break is over, so let's begin the formal rehearsal now."

Shinpei Ito clapped his hands, and the four of them immediately got into the zone.

Through the mirror in the practice room, Hayakawa Shizuka noticed two figures, one tall and one short, outside.

.....

It really was this girl.

Takashiro Ryouno glanced at Ryosuke standing beside her and couldn't help but purse her lips.

Dressed in glamorous idol attire, the song began, and a youthful and vibrant aura wafted over, making it hard for even her to look away.

What? Is this guy really that popular with women?

That's infuriating.

Gao Chengling felt inexplicably annoyed and resisted the urge to kick him.

Ryosuke, unaware that he had just narrowly escaped 'domestic violence,' nodded to Shinpei Ito as a greeting.

In the practice room, through the mirror, Ryosuke saw Hayakawa Shizuka looking at him and politely waved.

The girl opposite immediately broke into a smile.

.....

The rehearsal lasted a long time, continuing until 9 p.m.

The four girls collapsed onto the practice room floor like machines stripped of their gears.

As for Ryosuke Takagi, after watching the rehearsal twice, he left with Ryouna without disturbing them further.

Two teammates returned to the dormitory early. Hayakawa Shizuka and Asakura Mirai had their own places to live, so they did not leave with them.

After resting for a while, Shizuka went to the changing room, changed back into her everyday clothes, and prepared to leave.

Just as I was about to leave, someone suddenly grabbed my arm.

"Is there something you need, Asakura?"

The soft touch on her arm was something only that person in the small group could feel; she could even tell who it was without seeing their face.

"How cold, Shizuka-chan. You can call me by my name."

Asakura Mirai gave her a cute smile, as if she were being affectionate.

We're not familiar enough to call each other by name yet, are we?

Hayakawa Shizuka was having some trouble handling it.

Besides, I taught the other person a lesson in the locker room that afternoon. Shouldn't they be dissatisfied with me?

“…”

"Don't worry about what happened this afternoon. I was just following my senior's advice, but now I think Shizuka-chan is more right."

"Really? That's good."

Shizuka Hayakawa breathed a sigh of relief; she had originally intended to get along well with her teammates.

If they debut together, they will work together for a long time. If they have grudges against each other, it will be very uncomfortable for them to get along.

"Can we be friends? Let's walk together. You're going to the station too, right?"

“...Alright then.” Shizuka hadn’t expected Asakura Mirai to be so outgoing, but since they were going the same way, she couldn’t refuse.

The two walked out of the company, with Asakura Mirai holding her arm the whole time.

"By the way, when rehearsals just started this afternoon, I noticed Shizuka looking outside."

"Huh?"

Hayakawa Shizuka didn't expect that her teammate would have time to observe her.

"Were you looking at that boy? You were smiling quite happily at that time."

"that...."

She was unsure how to answer.

She had asked Takashiro to come watch the rehearsal because of her own selfish reasons, and it was indeed something to be happy that he was able to come.

To be honest, she was a little nervous at the time and almost made a mistake, which was pointed out by Shinpei Ito afterward.

Is it someone you like?

"No...no, if I had to say, he's my benefactor. The song I mentioned this afternoon was written for me by him."

Hayakawa Shizuka blushed slightly and hurriedly denied it.

"Oh, really?"

Asakura Mirai chuckled, a slight smile playing on her lips.

"Writing a song specifically for Shizuka-chan? How romantic."

"Huh?" Hayakawa Shizuka was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly noticed the ambiguous look on her teammate's face. She quickly waved her hand, "It's not what you think!"

"whee."

It's really not what you think!

"I know, Shizuka-chan, you can rest assured. I, Asakura Mirai, am very tight-lipped and won't go around saying anything."

The girl patted her chest and made a promise.

“…”

Hayakawa Shizuka suddenly felt like she'd been caught red-handed.

.....

After the voice actor selection was completed, Ryosuke Takashiro made two more trips to Tokyo over the next two weeks to supervise the voice recording process.

Ling Nai, on the other hand, focused on meeting the deadline for the final draft.

Everyone was busy with their own things, and time flew by.

As the seasons change, spring comes to a close amidst its busyness, and the weather begins to get a bit hot.

But in Akihabara, a new trend has emerged.

Starting in April, the well-known company Sony began promoting a device called a DVD drive, which can be connected to computers and most audio-visual equipment.

The new technology allows for the storage of more content, including but not limited to audio and video files, on the same size optical disc, and offers faster transfer speeds compared to the previous CD-ROM format.

DVD-based audio-visual discs began to appear in large quantities on the market.

Ryosuke also noticed this, and immediately realized the problem he had previously overlooked.

The CD-ROM format simply couldn't contain the sheer volume of "Fate/stay night," so he immediately contacted Saori Hououin.

"Shi Yuze, who do you think I am? I've already considered this."

I heard my friend's playful laughter coming from the other end of the phone.

"Don't worry, I know how to use this technology. With Sony promoting it, even if it is released in DVD format, it will not have a significant impact on the final sales."

"The store is almost sold out of external DVD drives, but I saved one for you. Your sister will need it too, won't she?"

Ryosuke breathed a sigh of relief at Phoenix Institute's reply.

"Thank you very much."

As far as I can remember, this technology only appeared in the late 90s and was not widely adopted until the early 21st century.

A large number of high-quality visual novels also began to flourish during that period.

He had overlooked such an important thing: if this positive change hadn't happened suddenly, they might have had to cut most of the illustrations and voice acting to fit it into the CD.

That means most of the costs were wasted.

In early June, Ryosuke handed over all the prepared materials to Hououin Saori.

The Fate/stay night series has gathered all the pieces and is now in its final assembly.

All that's left to do is wait.