Rule Four || Dream

·4·

Shizuka rushed in late the next morning. She slept in on accident because she left her phone in the living room, which also doubled as her alarm clock. All she could do was take a quick shower, throw on the first thing she saw--a button-up shirt with dress pants--and throw her hair into a ponytail since she hand do a decent bun. Her make up had to be done in the car, and she skipped breakfast.

The manager went into the building and hurried to her office. She couldn't even get coffee, which made her a bit cranky already. She was about to call Aya when she saw who was in her office.

"Good morning, Nishida-san," Erie greeted, bowing.

Shizuka bowed back before looking over at the table. She saw a plate with what looked like okonomiyaki on it with a mug of what smelled like coffee.

"What's this?" Shizuka asked.

"Breakfast! I made the food for you, and when you weren't in here, Aya-san thought you would be late. So she helped me brew the coffee."

Erie brought the cup to Shizuka, who sat her things down and took it. She sipped it, instantly recognizing her usual cup.

"Is it okay? Aya-san told me how you liked it."

"It's delicious, Erie-san. You didn't have to do this."

"I wanted to. You deserve it. You work so hard everyday, caring for people who take your services for granted. You need to be more appreciated,  Nishida-san."

Shizuka thought Erie was so cute. She never expected her to actually cook for her. She never asked her to. But here she was, her second day of training, giving her gifts. None of her other trainees did that.

"You're so sweet. Arigatou."

Erie smiled. "You're welcome. I'd spend more time with you, but I have to go train. See you later."

"See you later, Erie."

Erie walked out, Shizuka watching after her. And she realized getting rid of Erie may be harder than she thought.

***

A while has passed by, each morning given breakfast and coffee from Erie. Then she'd occasionally go to watch Erie's progress. She was getting a lot better, and looked like a pro on the dance floor. Shizuka let Erie dance at two concerts as back up dancer for a boy group she used to manage.

More girls auditioned and got in, being trainees as well. Many were dancers as well, and Shizuka guessed they auditioned from seeing Erie's audition tape and seeing videos of her dancing. She was popular now and there were rumors of a girl group coming up.

"Have you seen the rumors?" Ami asked Shizuka as they sat in the manager's office one day.

"Hai. Are we going to release another group?"

Ami let out a sigh. "Erie-san's ready. She's showed me she was. And I already found a vocalist to pair her up with. Some of the new trainees seem...almost ready."

"If she could sing, we could debut them two together like W. Who are the other girls you had in mind?" Shizuka asked.

"Um...Yurino...Sayaka...Kaede...and a few other girls. I forgot their names. But Washio Reina is definitely the main vocalist for the group. I know she's ready."

Shizuka nodded and pushed some hair from her face. "So is she the only vocalist?"

"At the moment, hai. It'll be weird, though, don't you think..."