Gratitude, Change, and

[nebulancer]

 Gratitude, Change, and

[The door opens.]

Issei: We’re back.

Eichi: Ah, they’re home. Welcome back, you two. Good work out there.

Ichiru: We’re back~. Eichi.

Eichi: Yes?

Ichiru: Milk—.

[The plastic bag rustles as Ichiru hands over the bag to Eichi.]

Shu: What is it, Ichiru? You don’t seem to be in good spirits.

Ichiru: Mm? Nah, I’m as good spirits as I can be, but…

Eichi: Was work really that tiring?

Issei: No, that’s not what it’s about. Actually…

—

Shu: So that’s what happened. I’d assumed that something upsetting happened at work.

Ichiru: We’d have contacted you guys right away if it was something about work. And in the first place, we wouldn’t get all depressed over work like that. You better trust us a little more, got it?

Shu: Well, yes, I do trust you.

Issei: *chuckles* You’re a worrywart.

Ichiru: Jeez. Aren’t we always saying that we’re not little kids?

Shu: Sorry about that.

Eichi: But didn’t things turn out for the better? You managed to find your phone without problems.

Ichiru: Well… yeah, I guess…

Issei: …But I can’t feel all that good about it. He was so nice to us, and we didn’t have any time to properly thank him. We didn’t even get a number to contact him on.

Ichiru: Yeah! Yeah, that’s it…

Eichi: I’m sure he would’ve been satisfied by just having you two thank him. Though it does surprise me… that he called over a taxi and chased after you two.

Shu: His body might have moved of its own accord.

Ichiru: That’s what the guy said.

Eichi: Hehe. Even though it would’ve been enough for him to give it to the studio. His ability to take charge is stunning. I’m sure he must be an incredibly diligent and righteous person.

Ichiru: But…! I wanted to at least thank him. Makes me feel bad havin’ people do things for me one-sidedly.

Shu: Mm. Then how about… doing two good things to make people happy?

Issei: Two? Why two?

Shu: If you return two favors, rather than one, there will be twice as many smiles. If everyone ends up in a good mood, then it’ll make its rounds and might eventually reach that person someday.

Ichiru: The heck’s up with that? That’s talking about something way into the future, isn’t it? And you won’t even know if it’ll get to that person. But… it’s way better than doing nothing at all!

Issei: Mmhmm. I’ll try doing that too. I’m relieved that you found your phone without any problems, so I want to thank him.

Eichi: So do I! …And with that said. This is sudden, but I’ll treat you two to a special feast for your meal, because you’re so hungry!

Ichiru: Oh, yeah! *claps* I was hungry, wasn’t I! I totally forgot!

Eichi: I’ll go reheat it right now, so wait a bit, okay?

Ichiru: No~ I won’t wait~! I’ll help ya out!

Issei: Me too!

Eichi: Thanks. But before you do that… put your things down and change.

Ichiru: *pouty* Bleh… Fine, I got it… I’ll be back in a flash, so you better leave me something to do when I get back!

Issei: Wait for us, Eichi!

[They walk out.]

Shu: Then, I’ll go pour the tea again.

Eichi: Fufu. It’s like there’s no end to it.

Shu: Hm? No end to what?

Eichi: See, if you do one thing to make people happy, everyone will return that with smiles as thanks, won’t they? Then, because you’re happy about those smiles, you do two things to return that… Hehe. Right? There are too many “thank you”s going around that you can’t catch up.

Shu: You’re right… We won’t be able to return them no matter how long we live, huh?

Eichi: So that means, we’ll always be able to stay smiling for forever.

Shu: Heh. I guess so.

—

[The car drives up.]

Eichi: Sorry to keep you waiting. Get on, guys.

[Everyone gets into the car.]

Ichiru: Here, Issei, get inside.

Issei: *sleepy* Mhmm…

Shu: Sorry for making you drive first thing in the morning, Eichi.

Issei: *sleepy* Thank you…

Eichi: You’re welcome.

Ichiru: Heave~ho!

[The car door shuts.]

Eichi: Icchi, you ready? Put on your seatbelt?

[The seatbelt clicks.]

Ichiru: All right! I’m A-OK!

Eichi: Okay then, let’s head out!

[The car drives out.]

—

Eichi: This is nice. The roads are empty today. We’ll be able to reach the location with time to spare.

Ichiru: Oh, yeah, haven’t you been driving a lot recently?

Issei: But wasn’t it the managers who had time to spare that were doing it for a while?

Eichi: Apparently, the management department’s lacking people, so they’re stuck in a rut.

Shu: About that, Eichi. Regarding what we talked about yesterday…

Eichi: A-aah… Hnn, how about it? I can’t ask the impossible, but…

Shu: How about we leave the stiff formalities for once and try meeting him with the four of us? I think it’d be good to take a close listen to the other party’s feelings on the subject.

Eichi: Mm, yes! Thank you, Shu!

Ichiru: Huh? Whatcha talking about?

Shu: We’ll be going to meet with Eichi’s acquaintance in the near future. He’s a person who might become our manager.

Issei: Eh? Our manager? For QUELL?

Ichiru: Someone who’ll be like Haiduki-san for SolidS?

Shu: Yes, exactly. 

Ichiru: Awesome! Sounds cool!

Issei: Ah, I just remembered! At the location yesterday, we were asked to get in touch with them about the schedule. Eichi, could we get you to contact the agency about it?

Eichi: Of course. I’ll contact the person who’ll be easiest to talk with.

Issei: Thanks. If we got an exclusive manager, it’ll take a weight off your shoulders too.

Ichiru: But, Eichi, why one of your acquaintances?

Issei: Because they’re lacking staff members?

Shu: That’s one reason, but…

Eichi: Actually, he contacted me yesterday… Turns out that the company he’d been working for had gone bankrupt.

Ichiru: BANKRUPT!?

Eichi: Yep. Apparently, he’d been running about until the very end, asking around whether or not there’d be anyone willing to take him in, whether it was related companies or business partners. But in the end, the company was dissolved and went bankrupt. 

Ichiru: That sounds like… a lot to deal with.

Issei: Mmh… What kind of work was that person doing?

Eichi: The one now was probably a design-related sales company… He was working as an affiliated manager for a talent production before, though.

Issei: He quit being a manager and then went into sales?

Eichi: Ah— well… A number of various things happened back then. He’d gotten all fired up and hyped himself up that it was a new chapter of his life, so he’d work hard. I cheered him on, but…

Shu: He’s a fantastic person when it comes to managing work.

Ichiru: You know him too, Shu?

Shu: Not in person, but I know his name. Back then, he used to work as an exclusive manager for a female actress.

Eichi: The agency itself wasn’t that big of a name, though. That actress had a breakthrough when she showed up on variety shows a bit.

Ichiru: Ooh…

Eichi: He helped me out a bunch of times for a number of things back when I was an AD. That’s why I thought it’d be nice if I could return the favor, and I consulted Shu about it.

Shu: I remembered his name, too. If he’s someone that Eichi trusts, then I’m sure he’s reliable. I can leave QUELL to him without qualms.

Eichi: I can vouch for his character and attitude towards work.

Ichiru: If you two are going that far to compliment him this much, then it’s basically settled already.

Shu: No, I want to decide this with all four of QUELL’s members.

Eichi: Yep. So do I. We’ll meet him once and, after the four of us have talked it out, we’ll finalize our decision about whether or not we want to go through with it.

Ichiru: Eh— But… y’know… if we ended up saying no… wouldn’t you feel real bad about how things turned out, Eichi?

Eichi: You don’t need to worry about something like that! It’s fine! It’s more important that we treat it as work and decide if we can do things well from now on. Compatibility is something that exists, right?

 

Shu: Even in the off-chance that QUELL doesn’t agree on something, we’ll be able to introduce him to the agency. You have the right to veto it. We’ll also have to hear from the person himself, about whether or not he’d like to return to the managing occupation.

Eichi: Mmhmm. So would you want to meet him once and get talking, like on the level of a regular chat?

Issei: Mmh! I’d like to meet him!

Ichiru: If that’s the case, so do I! Don’tcha think we’d be able to hear a bunch of stuff? *teasingly* Like stories of Eichi from the past~

Eichi: Eh— EHH?

Ichiru: What is it~? You worried that there’s something you wouldn’t want us to hear~?

Eichi: Ah— well, that— I don’t THINK that’d be the case, but… Uhh. I thought that you’d end up only hearing stories of when I screwed up again and again…

Shu: Isn’t that fine? I’d definitely want to hear those stories.

Eichi: I just hope the especially embarrassing anecdotes don’t pop up in our conversation… Heheh.

Issei: He might know something about Shu, too.

Ichiru: I was thinking the same thing! We might get to hear about how Shu was in his previous unit, too!

Eichi: That sounds good! I’d definitely like to hear some gossip along those lines!

Shu: …Looks like I stirred up a hornet’s nest for myself.

Eichi, Issei, Ichiru: *chuckle*

[The car drives off.]