Chapter 3

————New book, seeking recommendations and collections——————

Takuro Watanabe gave a deep look at Kaoru Kawa.

"Young man, you're quite impressive. Come... let me buy you a drink." Takuro Watanabe poured a glass of alcohol and handed it to Kaoru Kawa.

"Thank you, President..." Kaoru Kawa bowed deeply and respectfully to Takuro Watanabe.

He drank the alcohol in one clean gulp...

Takuro Watanabe had been watching Kaoru Kawa all along. Seeing Kaoru Kawa drink the alcohol so cleanly, his alertness gradually relaxed.

"Alright, you can leave now..."

A hint of coldness flashed in Kaoru Kawa's eyes. He bowed deeply and slowly exited the room.

After returning to his own room, Kaoru Kawa patiently waited.

Soon, loud gasps and moans came from the adjacent room.

A smile appeared at the corner of Kaoru Kawa's mouth.

What a beautiful sound, like a symphony that was intoxicating...

Kaoru Kawa sat quietly on the train.

He had slowly gotten used to his current identity and life.

After finishing a series of trivial matters in Sapporo, he could finally settle down and carefully plan his future.

His first destination was Akihabara.

The boundaries of the Akihabara area are not clearly defined. According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Akihabara area extends from the east at Showa-dori to the west at Chomei-bashi-dori, to the south at Kanda-gawa, and to the north at Kura-mae-bashi-dori. This area includes parts of Chiyoda-ku, such as Sotokanda 1-chome, Sotokanda 3-chome, Sotokanda 4-chome, Kanda-Sakumachō 1-chome, Kanda-Hanakomachō, Kanda-Aisai-machō, Kanda-Neribei-machō, Kanda-Matsunaga-machō, and Taito-ku Akihabara. The core of the Akihabara area, centered around the JR Akihabara Station and the Central-dori from the north of Manseibashi to the intersection of Sotokanda 5-chome near the end of the Ginza Line's Suehirocho Station, is known for its electronic shops and subculture-related stores. JR Akihabara Station has east-west lines like the Sōbu Line and north-south lines like the Yamanote Line and the Keihin-Tohoku Line (Tōhoku Main Line), and it connects with the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line Akihabara Station and the Tsukuba Express Akihabara Station, forming a major transfer point with a large number of people. In terms of residential areas, the area in front of the Electric Town entrance is Sotokanda 1-chome, the north side of Central-dori is Sotokanda 4-chome, and the west side is Sotokanda 3-chome.

On the train to Akihabara, Kaoru Kawa received a piece of news that was quite interesting to him.

Takuro Watanabe, the second son of Sapporo's finance commissioner Ichimoku Watanabe, had been working hard despite his illness for a long time, and he passed away at home in the early hours of the 24th.

Kaoru Kawa smirked. He always had a premonition... this matter was far from over!

…………….

The weather in January 2006 was much colder than usual.

A new wave of idol culture emerged in Akihabara. Yasushi Akimoto, the famous lyricist who had previously established the Hello! Project, formed a new group called AKB48. Unlike previous idol groups, this group took a more populist approach.

In December of the previous year, the first batch of members had already been assembled...

The initial results were not good, but with the members' continuous efforts, AKB48 gradually gained popularity. In this situation, Yasushi Akimoto decided to recruit a new batch of members...

At the performance on the 26th, the first-generation members learned this news.

As expected, everyone fell into silence.

After the performance, the dressing room was filled with a deathly silence.

"We've been betrayed." Aimi Ōshima looked furious.

Atsuko Maeda glanced at Aimi Ōshima but said nothing.

The center of AKB48 had always been reserved, and to her teammates, this girl didn't seem like an ACE at all!

"Captain, what should we do?" Shizuka Watanabe looked at Ayumu Orimoto, who was deep in thought, with a panicked tone.

The others also looked at Ayumu Orimoto.

Ayumu Orimoto scanned the faces of her teammates.

"I see panic and confusion on your faces. You lack confidence... Since they've decided to recruit a second batch of members, what can we do? Our only option is to work hard on our performances... We just have more competitors now... We can't be fragmented and fight among ourselves anymore... If there are any conflicts, please discuss them behind closed doors, don't let others see our weaknesses!" Ayumu Orimoto's expression was very serious.

As the temporary captain of AKB48, she knew the issues within this new group.

Due to the different ages and backgrounds of the members, as well as the intense competition, the members were divided into different factions... Of course, this was all allowed by Yasushi Akimoto, who wanted this intense competitive environment...

Especially after the recent addition of Mariko Shinoda, the relationships among the members became even more delicate...

Mariko Shinoda, being a new member, remained very quiet in the dressing room...

"Alright... if there's nothing else, everyone can go." Ayumu Orimoto glanced thoughtfully at Aimi Ōshima.

The members, hearing this, left the dressing room with their belongings;

Except for a few members who lived far from home, most lived in apartments provided by the management.

Only Mariko Shinoda continued to live in Tomohiro Togasaki's café.

Even though she had joined AKB48, Mariko Shinoda still worked part-time there.

She had gotten used to working there, and it also helped reduce her living expenses.

Once again, she walked into the familiar café, changed into her server's uniform, and began her busy day.

In the evening, the café was quite empty...

In this country, there is rarely any leisure time, especially at this hour.

Mariko Shinoda stood at the counter, bored and waiting.

Suddenly, the door to the café was pushed open...

A young man wearing a silver down jacket, with a high nose, thin lips, and sword-like eyebrows that slanted into his temples, entered. His handsome profile was flawless, and the golden glasses he wore made him look even more refined.

"Welcome, what would you like?" Mariko Shinoda quickly recovered from her shock.

"Hello... can I have a hot coffee, no sugar... thank you." The young man's smile was like the warm sunlight of spring, making Mariko Shinoda feel very warm.

"Sure."

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