Disclaimer: I, Phoenixflames19, wish to clarify that the anime/manga/video game(s), THE iDOLMSTER, are the property of outside companies (A-1 Pictures, Namco Bandai Games, etc) and claim no ownership of the characters.

Spoiler: This chapter will primarily focus on the Producer, which we know is the protagonist from the games, and the Co-Producer. The Producer has a little more screen time on this one. The idols, for once, will serve as minor characters here. There will be a recurring character from the anime. Those fans should be able to recognize her, despite her extremely small role.

Note(s): Hey, it's been a while since I last updated. I want to apologize for my lack of attention on this fanfic. It is due to my somewhat laziness and that I am occupied with my obligations and other hobby (which is drawing). However, I promise not to abandon the story and will continue working on it whenever possible. My goal is to complete the fanfic by the end of 2011 (before January 1, 2012), and my capable plan is to write at least one chapter a week.

This chapter has recently been completed and is mostly a raw material. Only a few edits and revisions were applied. I still tend to make mistakes throughout the course of writing. I usually return to the chapters to fix them, but I can still be oblivious of other errors. If there's anything wrong with this chapter, let me know.

In all honestly, I am a little worried for this chapter. Though, I will leave the evaluation to you, the readers. Again, I am open for suggestions that will make this fanfic more sound and interesting. Please be sure to review. I'll gratefully appreciate it.

Without further delay, proceed with the read and review for this chapter.

Chapter 13 Oblivious Consequences

Days had elapsed since Kamei's private discussion with President Takagi. He had given some of the staff at 765 Pro an uneasy feeling about his supposedly beneficial, but vague plan. They were filled with doubt. Though, the other half believed that his scheme would likely succeed, that is, if he took his role seriously.

Presently, it was one of those industrious moments of the week, the period where the brightest star was at the highest pinnacle in the afternoon sky. The time of day was 2:00pm, an hour before the idols return to the music company. It was also a perfect moment for the Producer to commit his own commendable action and speak with Kamei. Since he was still a beginner to the whole music business, the Producer decided to take him under his wing and instruct him on how to properly produce the idols. He planned to at least teach Kamei for short intervals whenever he was available in the company. There were previous moments where the Producer could have applied this step sooner, but he and Kamei were both occupied with their own obligations; with the Producer maintaining and supervising Project Viola, and Kamei handling the renovation project.

Time was of the essence since the Producer only had one hour before the idols arrive. The moment to initiate his action was now. Completing his tasks at his desk, he rose up from his swivel chair and exited the office room. Once outside, he walked down the stairs to the second floor and approached the door leading into the area where Kamei and his construction team were. As soon as he was about to place his hand on the handle, the door suddenly opened from the inside.

Appearing in front of the Producer was Kamei, who gave him a nonchalant expression. "Eh? Oh, heya Producer. Sorry about this but you can't go in here."

The Producer became puzzled. "Eh? Why not?"

As he spoke, Kamei turned his head and glanced away. "It's… complicated back there. Noisy and crowded and all that…"

"Oh well, that's fine," the Producer said, refocusing on the reason why he was here. "Anyways, I am not here to check your progress. I am here to inform you that I will be instructing you in the ways of music production for today."

"Eh? That's nice of you but I'm pretty busy right now," Kamei said, still avoiding eye contact.

The Producer lowered his head slightly and eyed him with a somber stare. "I am well-aware of it. I am busy as well, but that is no excuse for you to shirk work as a co-producer. You really need to manage your time more carefully."

"…Hmm. Good point." He shifted his gaze back to the Producer and unveiled a friendly smile. "You sound just like Ritsuko… quite admirable."

The Producer sighed as he crossed his arms to his chest. "Please, take this seriously Akimoto-san. To start off, you will need to be professional."

Kamei glanced is eyes away again. "Um… aren't I already professional? I mean, I've been a pianist, mechanic, and renovator for quite some time. I've also recently became a co-producer."

"T-That's not what I meant…" the Producer said, hanging his arms and leaning forward. "I guess I should've been more specific."

Kamei returned his attention to him and smiled casually. "What was that, Producer?"

The Producer straightened himself. "What I am trying to say is you need to look more professional. You need to wear a business suit and get rid of that hat. It's hard for everyone, including me, to take you seriously."

"But I like my hat…" he said, placing a hand on his head and then stretching his vest. "And what's wrong with the way I look? Besides, I don't like wearing suits. It makes me feel… so formal."

The Producer closed his eyes as he pressed his hand against his face. "…That's the point." He lowered his hand and looked at him. "Anyways, I want you to come with me right now. I'll instruct you on how to handle the girls' schedules."

"…Hmm, alright then," Kamei said, complying with the Producer's command.

Before leaving, Kamei informed his renovation team to continue the project without him. The team simply answered with nods and resumed their assigned tasks. Then, Kamei turned and followed the Producer back to the office. Once there, the Producer guided Kamei to the white board that was located in the small meeting and positioned on the wall.

"Alright, Akimoto-san. This is pretty simple," the Producer said, facing Kamei as if he was the colonel of an army. "All you have to do is write down the schedule on this white board. Each event corresponds to the names of the idols. It's basically like a drop down list. Furthermore…"

As he continued to lecture, Kamei gradually became bored and started to space out. He looked at the Producer and pictured him as a man who was ranting with nonsensical noise emitting out of his mouth. Blah blah blah was the gibberish that formed in his mind.

Shortly, the Producer noticed Kamei's facial expression and immediately stopped his lecture. "Akimoto-san, are you listening to me?"

"Oh, yeah. Of course," Kamei said, simply nodding and casually smiling. "Keep going, I'm listening to you crystal clear."

The Producer scrunched his eyes and became suspicious. "…Hmm. Alright then. As I was saying…"

After another five minutes of lecture, the Producer completed his lesson and handed Kamei his and Ritsuko's daily planners and a black marker in order to start writing down the events on the white board.

"I'll be in Shachou's office. He needs me for something. I'm counting on you, Akimoto-san."

The Producer departed from his presence and entered Takagi's office, leaving Kamei all by his lonesome. Kamei glanced around with his relaxed eyes before focusing his attention to the planner. He opened and scanned through the various pages until he located the appropriate one that corresponded with today.

"…This should be it," he said as he started to write down the appointments.

After five to ten minutes of transferring the plan onto the board, Kamei finally completed the task he was given. Satisfied, he closed and placed the planner on the Producer's desk and departed from the office with a pleased expression. Immediately after his departure, the Producer emerged from Takagi's office. He returned to the meeting area but discovered that Kamei was gone. Crossing his arms, he made an assumption.

"He must've finished. It is to be expected since it's not a hard task," the Producer said, smiling afterwards. "He's done well for a beginner. Hopefully, I'll see more of that."

An hour had passed. Most of the idols recently had been released from their classes and arrived at 765 Pro. Once inside the office, the first action they committed was to check today's schedule. As soon as they peered on the first couple of events, they became puzzled, believing that the arrangement of the appointments seemed rather misplaced.

The first girl to react was Chihaya. "Eh? Is this… correct?" she said, her tone of voice rising in slight disbelief.

The girl next to her, Takane, responded to Chihaya's claim. "I do not believe this is accurate. It must be a certain error."

Shortly, the Producer and Ritsuko arrived and noticed that the girls were bickering in doubt about their schedules. Like them, he became confused, but he attempted to assess the situation.

"What's going on?" the Producer said, grabbing their immediate attention.

Chihaya turned as she answered. "Producer, there is something wrong with the schedule."

The producers became more baffled. When they approached the white board, the girls separated from each other to allow them passage. Facing the board, they examined the schedule until they caught a glimpse of what Chihaya was insinuating. To be sure, they asked Miki, who was closest to the desk, to bring over their planners. She complied with their request and gave them to the producers. With the items in their hands, they compared the events. After a few seconds, their doubts became justified.

"Chihaya is right!" Ritsuko said, exclaiming in surprise.

Like her, the Producer was stunned. His belief of Kamei performing well on a simple task was crushed underneath the heavy weight of uncertainty and disbelief. It was not a huge error though since the original arrangements still remained in their planners, and they could simply correct the mistake. But it did not change the fact that Kamei issued a blunder on his part.

"Producer, didn't you assign Akimoto-san for this task?" Ritsuko said, glancing at him with a suspicious stare.

The Producer focused his eyes on her. "Yeah… In a way it's my fault but it's too difficult for someone not to notice the names on the planner. I mean, it's well-organized and in plain-sight."

Ritsuko nodded as she looked at the planner again. "That's true… I don't think he had paid attention to you at all."

"I… had the feeling," he said, sighing.

Chihaya approached them with a somber expression. "So, it was Kamei's doing?"

"Yeah, unfortunately. But let's not stray from the reason why we are here today."

Shortly, Ritsuko and the Producer began to inform the idols of what their actual schedules were. As soon as they received and understood the agendas, they departed from the company. Before the producers left, they entrusted Kotori with their planners to reorganize the white board.

When they left, Kotori sighed in dismay. "Why make me do this? Isn't this Akimoto-san's doing?"

Prior to the Producer's departure from the company, he paid Kamei a visit at the second floor, pre-production, dance studio. He opened the door and entered the room. There, he found him on the floor, leaning against the wall with the shadows covering his eyes. His sitting position was of a style where one leg was bent on the surface while the other knelt up with the sole of the feet touching on the floor. It was strange that no one else was present in the room. The Producer assumed that the rest of the renovation ream took a break or ended their work for the day. Unfortunately, there was no time to continue thinking further of the situation for he had to drop some of the idols off to their events.

"Akimoto-san! I need a word with you!" he said, raising his voice and approaching him with stiff movements like an authoritarian.

Kamei did not budge a finger until the Producer's shadow overlapped his figure. Opening his eyes, he raised his head and glanced exhaustedly at him. "Oh, heya Producer. How goes it?"

The Producer briefly remained silent as he icily stared at him. "…Akimoto-san, I've been informed that you swapped events around on the schedule."

"Eh? I have no clue what you're talking about," he said, shifting his gaze afterwards. "I followed your instructions… more or less."

"More or less? You weren't paying attention at all, weren't you," he said, his hear full of doubt.

Kamei became silent as he scratched the back of his head.

"I knew it…" the Producer said, scrunching his eyes in loathe.

After a short moment of quietness, he regained his composure and uttered a deep, but gentle sigh. "No reason to get worked up by a simple mistake… but next time I won't let you off that easily."

"…Hmm. Did you say something?" Kamei said, focusing his eyes and grinning nonchalantly at him.

"O-Oh, nothing…"

The Producer thought to himself. Don't let him push your buttons… He just needs someone to steer him at the right direction.

"A-Anyways, I have another task for you. This one is much simpler than you think," he said, refocusing his attention to Kamei.

Kamei cocked his head slightly. "I wasn't thinking at all… so what do I get to do now?"

"You're going to supervise a dance session," the Producer said, scrunching his eyes with a stern expression. "Afterwards, you will bring the assigned idols to their destinations via car."

Kamei glanced away as he unveiled a reluctant demeanor. "I feel like I'm going to become bored out of my mind."

"It's not about you, it's about them," the Producer said, crossing his arms in slight annoyance. "Any Producer should know that."

"…Hmm. Good Point."

Kamei pushed off the floor and gradually pulled himself upward. His body wobbled a bit but he gained his balance. He offered the Producer a casual smile. But this made him become a little suspicious. Keeping his cool, the Producer lowered his arms and headed for the door.

"I hope you know how to drive a car," he said, reaching the handle and opening the door. "If not, that's just sad."

Kamei shifted his eyes away as he followed the Producer. "Well, that's a little harsh… but sure. I can drive… More or less."

Some time had elapsed; about thirty minutes. The Producer entrusted Kamei to accompany a few of the idols, which were Yukiho, Makoto, and Haruka. Haruka was switched with Hibiki in order to lessen the tension between her and Kamei, since she and along with a few others did not particularly and warmly welcome him in the iMS family. Fortunately, this gave Kamei an opportunity to bond with some of the idols who have yet to disapprove him.

Haruka, Makoto, and Yukiho were the first to enter the dance room of the studio. Kamei was the last individual due to his sluggish movements. To be precise, he seemed very distracted and uninterested ever since arriving there. It was his first time accompanying them to this three- story building that looked like an apartment. He almost became lost until he noticed where the girls headed. Before joining the girls, he bought himself a smoothie from one of the vending machines. He gradually started to drink it, savoring the cool, fruity liquid every time it touched his taste buds.

"…Not bad," he said, approaching the door of the dance room. "But I prefer the smoothies at bakeries and pastry shops."

Once inside, he witnessed a dance rehearsal from the idols he accompanied. Judging by the bodily movements and the energy that the girls were exerting, he assumed that they had only began the practice. He had no idea what routine they were dancing but he wanted to know out of curiosity.

When Kamei shifted his eyes to the left, he noticed a young woman in a white jogging suit. Her dark brunette hair reached down to her shoulders and had her bangs combed back, exposing her forehead. He speculated that she was the dance instructor, and approached her.

"Heya, don't mean to bother ya," he said, glancing at her with his usual, relaxed eyes.

The female instructor gave a quick gaze. "Oh, not at all," she said, shaking her head and smiling. Raising her hand, the girls temporarily ceased their routine. "You must be the Co-Producer of 765 Pro."

Kamei nodded as he spoke. "That I am, Miss Instructor. I am taking over the Producer for today's session."

"Since that's the case, I'm counting on you to decide on whether or not your idols should remain at their current pace."

He nodded again as he continued to drink his smoothie.

The instructor shifted her attention to the girls. "Alright! Let's take it back to the top!"

The girls repositioned themselves and quietly waited for the instructor's cue. When the instructor started to clap her hands and count from one to three repeatedly in a steady beat, the girls initiated their dance routine.

Kamei silently watched their performance. After around thirty to forty seconds of practice, he noticed that one of them was lagging behind. The slow girl, Yukiho, seemed to be having a difficult time keeping up with Makoto. Haruka was a little sluggish but she still managed to keep in rhythm with her.

"Stop stop!" the instructor immediately said, her tone of voice loud and commanding.

The girls ceased again from dancing and straightened themselves.

The instructor stared at Yukiho in slight irritation. "Hagiwara-san, you're timing are still slow like always. Please, keep up."

Yukiho became startled, jumping lightly in response to her comment. "Y-yes! I understand!" she said, stuttering in a soft, timid tone.

The instructor turned her attention to Makoto. "Kikuchi-san, you're still a little too fast. Please, slow down a bit."

Makoto staggered in surprise, reacting similarly like Yukiho. "A-Ah! I'm still too fast?"

Haruka raised her hand as soon as she finished speaking. "Um, how did I do?"

"…Hmm. Well, there's this and that," the instructor said, crossing her arms and contemplating on Haruka's previous mistakes. "Just a little adjustment and you'll be fine."

"I'd say we increase the pace a little," Kamei said, glancing at the girls dully. "That way, it'll motivate the slow ones to work harder."

The instructor gave him a worried expression. "E-Eh? Are you sure about that?"

"B-But Akimoto-san… I-I can't…" Yukiho said, trying to verbally express her feeling about his decision.

Kamei shifted his eyes to her. "It's either that or be removed from the program. Can't disappoint the fans, right?"

When she processed those statements into her mind, she became stunned, widening her eyes to the thought of being excluded from the event she had worked industriously for. Her throat tightened, as if something plunged and clogged in there, and was unable to speak any more. All she could do was lower her head and stare at the floor in guilt with her teary-like eyes.

Makoto stepped forward as she protested against the idea and defended Yukiho. "Akimoto-san! How could you say that? Yukiho has been working hard, trying her best," she said, giving him an aggravated stare.

"Under these circumstances, 765 Pro can't keep idols if they can't continue moving with the flow," he said, turning his head away to avoid eye contact.

"T-That's true but…" Makoto paused, not sure on what else to say.

Yukiho shook her head. "No… Akimoto-san is right… No one wants to keep an idol like me who keeps failing…"

"Y-Yukiho, what are you saying? Don't think that way!" Makoto said, yelling and protesting against her negativity.

"…I'm not going to perform in the next event… it'll be best to do it without me," she said, shivering lightly as if she was about to shed tears.

"Yukiho!"

As soon as Makoto was about to reach for her, Yukiho immediately jerked her body and rushed out of the dance room with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry!"

The door opened and Yukiho stormed out of the room. The instructor, Haruka, and Makoto were surprised to witness such a reaction. As for Kamei, he was unfazed and simply stared off at the open door.

"…She'll be fine," Kamei said as he finished the last of his smoothie with a long slurp. "Just continue with the dance practice so we can return home sooner."

Makoto swung her arm down and stomped her foot on the floor. "No way! We're not practicing without her!"

Haruka, who had been silent the whole time, finally spoke with a somber expression. "Makoto!"

Startled, Makoto switched her attention to her. "H-Haruka?"

By glaring deeply into Haruka's eyes, Makoto understood the message that she was transmitting to her. She told her that they would deal with the issue later once the dance practice was over. Makoto clenched her hands into fists for she did not favor the idea, but it must be done.

The instructor looked at him, still worrying about Yukiho. "Are you sure about this?"

Kamei simply nodded. "…More or less."

The instructor thought to herself. Is this guy for real? I worry for the idols' futures.

A few hours had elapsed; it was now 9:30pm in the evening. Most of the idols had completed their tasks and recently returned to 765 Pro. Though, the only female idol that had not shown in the office was none other than Yukiho. Due to her depression, she departed early from the dance studio, having her father bring her home by car. Obviously, the idols that had no knowledge about her odd behavior would become worried.

When the Producer entered the office to count the girls who were present, he noticed that Yukiho was missing. He became awfully suspicious of her absence and demanded an explanation from Haruka and Makoto. He could have asked Kamei, but he was already at the second floor room before he arrived. Fortunately, he still received an elucidation from the girls, who seemed very eager to tell him on what occurred.

After a moment of information processing, he understood the situation and proceeded out of the office and towards the second floor. He stomped all the way there with an austerely aggravated expression, nearly tripping over the stairs due to the ignorance for his own safety. Once there at the room, he hastily swung the door open and approached Kamei who was overlooking the progression of the renovations.

"Akimoto-san, I need a word with you," he said, his tone quick and demanding.

Kamei turned around and faced the Producer, almost fazed by his attempt to surprise him. "Oh, heya. What do you want to talk about?"

"…In private," the Producer said, lowering his voice not to disturb the construction workers.

"No need to be shy," Kamei said, unveiling his usual, nonchalant grin.

"I'm serious! Stop joking around!" he said loudly, raising his shoulders and stiffening his body.

Despite his effort to keep a low profile, he still managed to alert the workers much to his dismay. The workers stopped dead in their tracks and gave him awkward stares, as if the Producer had gone insane.

Kamei shifted his glance away, adjusting his eyes to have a fatigued expression. "Well, that's rather aggressive and uncalled for…"

The Producer began to stutter. "H-Hey! It's your fault that you're not taking me seriously! A-Anyways, just come! This is important!" Regaining his composure, he turned and headed for the door.

Kamei blinked his eyes a few times in bafflement. Reluctant at first, he simply shrugged his shoulders, informed the workers to continue renovating, and casually strode after the Producer.

As soon as he exited the room, the Producer immediately shut the door tight. He briefly became silent until he shifted his attention to Kamei. His glasses glistened as he gave him an awfully scornful glare.

"I've heard what happened at the dance studio," the Producer said, his tone agitated and hostile. "What you did was completely unacceptable."

Kamei turned his head, avoiding eye contact. "…Hmm. I don't know what you're talking about. Rather, I don't remember things too well."

"Then allow me to explain it for you in the simplest way I can express. You made Yukiho cry and doubt her capabilities as an idol. She had been working for more than 2 years now. All of a sudden, you shut her down like that? That is completely intolerable."

"She's a grown woman… she'll get over it," Kamei said, oblivious of the true consequence behind his action.

"You really think it's that simple? She's maturing but she's still a girl!" he said loudly, nearly losing his patience.

"…Hmm. Good point."

The Producer adjusted his glasses and crossed his arms as he continued to speak. "Honestly, you don't really know what you're doing… It's only been a day and yet, you don't follow my directions."

Kamei lowered his head until the shadows covered his eyes, and slowly formulated a grin on his face. "I wouldn't be so sure about that."

"W-What?" the Producer said, his voice stuttering and his heart filled with doubt for his response.

"I, indeed followed your directions, but you never 'supervised' me for errors," Kamei simply said, raising his head to glance at him. "Besides, isn't it your fault that you never rechecked the schedule?"

The Producer twitched his hand and felt something nearly snapped inside him. "So, you're being a smart-ass now, huh? It's pure common sense, especially in music business. We are all busy in this company. That is why I entrusted you with these tasks, which became your full responsibilities. A co-producer does not ignore details of a schedule, and it is his job to assure that an idol's career continues. He encourages his idols to continue doing their best, not shut them down just because they're not doing their best. You really don't know how these girls feel, do you?"

"… Not really," Kamei said, shrugging his shoulders. Then, he offered a casual smile. "None of that matters much now, does it?"

The tension against Kamei grew and the anger within the Producer gradually accumulated. After a short moment of intense silence, the Producer closed his eyes and sighed deeply. Pushing aside his aggravation, he resolved the dilemma with his next statement.

"What am I going to do with you? I've already evaluated your results and they are very unfavorable…" he said, his tone now calm and collected, as if he had dealt with this situation many times before. "The renovation project is no excuse for you to perform poorly as a co-producer…"

Kamei shifted his glance away again. "I usually don't like long speeches."

"All I can ask from you is three simple things. Complete the project, take over for the vocal instructor whenever she is absent, and most importantly… stay out of our way," the Producer said, staring icily at him with a poisonous glare.

After a long moment of awkward quietness, Kamei lowered his head, allowing the shadows to cloak his eyes, and smiled sincerely. "…As you wish, Producer."

Though, the outcomes could have been much more amicable, the situation was at least settled. For the Producer, it was a temporary ceasefire; or the calm before the storm. In other words, he had yet to unleash his full fury against him in his and the idols' names.

The Producer walked passed Kamei with their shoulders lightly colliding. He refused to look at him, or even to speak another word. Instead, he allowed the cold, eerie aura that emitted from his body to express his feelings about him. As he reached halfway up the stairs, he stopped to give one last glance at Kamei.

"You're lucky that I won't get you fired so easily. I am sorry… but next screw up, and you're out of here…"

It was unusual for the Producer to react with such a behavior, but it could not be helped. Those who do not find Kamei a pleasant man would respond similarly, especially when he had no care for the consequences and does whatever he find pleasing.

With that said, the Producer returned to the direction he faced and walked up the stairs. Turning the corner, he vanished, leaving Kamei by himself the sound of his stomping.

Remaining silent, Kamei turned his smile into a frown as his face changed into a saddened expression. So much for my plan…

~End of Chapter~

Note: Though I was reluctant, I believed it was necessary to bring Kamei down and turn him into a slight jerk. Please, tell me what you think of my decision. Also, forgive me if the Producer seemed out of character. I only believed that everyone would react the same way for Kamei.

© 2011 Phoenixflames19