"My head hurts..." Zen said, rubbing his temples. "I don't know what I'm doing here either- And what am I wearing?" The actor looked down at his clothing, the costume that Unknown had provided for him. It looked like a clothes of someone in a very old fantasy book, but then again, he didn't read much. "God, this is so tacky." The actor suddenly smiled, turning to look at Kido and then pointing at himself. Did he just say what he think he said? Even Unknown standing off to the stage, stared at Zen, incredulous at how quickly the drugs were wearing off. His head became more and more clear the more he looked at the many faces of Madoka... and Kido as well. Yes, this wasn't real. He was just... reliving a memory. A bad memory, but still something of the past.
And the drugs? They weren't real. It was all in his head.
But it didn't look like Unknown was about to give up anytime soon. Not when he had three people in his grasp. The savior, the wellbeing of Mint Eye. He was going to make them prosper, and maybe their leader would finally look at him with the emotions he deserved?
"... Pay? The only payment you get from Magenta is true happiness. The one thing men seek. Stop being surrounded by all the liars of the world, Producer Kido." He chuckled lightly, trying to look unaffected by the events happening before the white-haired man. "Doesn't it hurt knowing that all of them could betray you at any second? All of those little girls? They'll toss you aside once they become famous and well-known. Humans are so greedy and selfish~ People here in Magenta don't do that. We'll love you forever."
"Kido PD-ssi isn't stupid," Zen hissed. A few years back, he may not have said anything. This was something for someone like Jumin or Seven to handle. But at this point of his life, he had matured to take action for himself. He wasn't going to run away anymore, not from his past. Not from anything. "No one wants to join a creepy religious cult where they kidnap innocent ladies and threaten to blow up apartments."
"Actually, that makes you guys sound like terrorists. Leave the RFA and everyone else alone."
"This'll be a decision you'll regret, Zen! Nobody out there truly loves you for who you are. Humans out there were created to lie. This is a safe haven, a safe paradise!" The young man began ranting, clearly becoming more and more agitated and angered. "You're just an actor, people will only ever love you for your fame!"
"Well, not everyone is like that~ Right, Madoka PD-ssi?"
Now, he had to find the right one.
He sauntered off to one of them, her hands gripping tightly on the bar, trying to peer out to see who was approaching. "Yeoboseyo, mademoiselle~" he called out, trying to catch the attention of as many Madokas as possible. "Did you all miss me~?" he grinned up, all faces looking down at him. "I wanted to see you as well, thank goodness you're alright~"
"OPPAAAAAAA!"
Well, that one was definitely not the Madoka he knew. He ignored her, even as she seemed to disappear like smoke, wisps oozing out of the steel bars of her cage. Another one seemed to be shaking hers, so the actor walked up to this peculiar Madoka, only for her to throw a guitar out of the bars and at his head, the actor having to duck very quickly to dodge it. It smashed against the ground, the strings snapping and the wood splintering into thousands of pieces. Turning back to look at this Madoka, she began letting loose a long string of Japanese words. He wasn't very fluent with the Asian language, but he assumed it was filled with indecent language and phrases.
"Sorry, but I'm kind of more into jobs that pay the money while the employees make the happiness, you know, a regular job," Kido smiles as he throws a final paper aeroplane into the sky.
"Well, the sound of that does break my heart, I can't deny it, but that's why I want to make the most out of our todays. I still have Halloween and Christmas, and the other Halloween and Christmas. And that Summer event... a lot to cover. I've kind of already accepted the fact that some of them want to quit idolhood when they grow older, become authors and stuff.
Besides, it's my responsibility as a Producer to prevent them from going that path. There was this one colleague of mine who said - there are no bad idols, only bad Producers. I can turn tough and rough to sweet and elegant, surely I can turn haughty, arrogant and snobbish to... whatever the opposite of that is. As someone who has faith in my abilities, I think I'll use them for that purpose, instead of... let's say, avoiding that side of humanity altogether."
He then stands up, and looks at the various Madokas in cages. They all seemed to be holding a piece of paper each, and with more careful observation, they seemed to have been... folded into paper aeroplanes before being opened? Also the backs of these pieces of paper seemed to be those... umm... posters Kido used against the Chimeras.
Kido smiles as he pulled a cane from behind a cage and starts to tap his shoes.
"I have this feeling that I've failed the interviews. On each of those pieces of paper is a question only my real sister can answer - I asked her to name every idol she has recruited into her department in the order from first to last. I'm not good at intepreting the subtle things, but like Mr Zen says, I'm not as stupid as I seem. I've learned to love Mr Zen as a friend over this big fiasco, just takes a little push, if you get what I mean."
And so it begins.
My Sister leads a Marching Band
By uh
By yeah
"My sister leads a marching band
Knows every member at the back of her hand
Bust-waist-hip, height and weight
Hook line sinker, bite the bait."
Kido starts to examine what each Madoka replica wrote on their sheets of paper as he hummed. With each line, they began to disappear into smoke.
"Five members only? There's seventeen.
You didn't include the lass who's mean.
You forgot the forgettable? But you're their Producer!
Well, I guess you'll be gone forever."
More tapping.
"Where's the loli voiced by Sato Amina?
What's with this doodle of TTGL's Kamina?
I'm starting to run out of rhythm and rhyme.
At this point I'm just stalling for time.
My sister leads a marching band
Knows every member at the back of her hand
Bust-waist-hip, height and weight
Hook line sinker, bite the bait.
That's not even CG, that's Million Live!
Guess I do have a little connive.
That's not your department, that's Project Krone!
It doesn't even exist in the realm we call home!
Those aren't idols, they're instrumentals!
That's a unit I produce, Individuals!
You know, you should just play Fate/Grand Order.
Um, screw this, I'm close to over.
My sister leads a marching band
Knows every member at the back of her hand
Bust-waist-hip, height and weight
Hook line sinker, bite the bait.
My sister leads a marching band
Knows every member at the back of her hand
Bust-waist-hip, height and weight
Hook line sinker, bite the bait.
Hook line sinker, bite the bait!"
And so, Kido and Zen pranced upon the same cage. The last one. The Madoka in the cage handed Kido the piece of paper.
"Mmhmm... well, they're in the correct order... wait, why is Zen the 18th member? He's not little, he's not a girl, and he's not marching bandy. Maybe the real Madoka is actually hidden underground..."
"Because," Madoka says with the flair of sternness that Zen would recognise, "He is under my temporary supervision until the end of this fiasco, and this fiasco isn't over. That is my duty as a Producer. Brother, if you didn't know me well enough, we wouldn't have gotten through this."
"Aw," Kido scratches his head, "it was nothing."
"And Zen," Madoka blushes for a bit, "th- thanks... thank you for recognising what wasn't me."
Madoka phases through the iron bars like they were made from air. "I would like my two cents in this. I fear losing my girls, but I also fear them never moving on. The entire motif of my department revolves around moving on from me and improving, going lengths I cannot help them reach. Utopia isn't possible, and it isn't flawless either. Zen may be a celebrity, but he is not without friends, we are living proof of such."
@Sen
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