Sakura, Sakura (1)

…

(HiMERU-han’s scrolling through his phone, and it looks like he’s in a pretty good mood.)

(Is he looking at newbie job posts again? I think it was sometime in the summer when he said that seeing “earnesty” made him smile¹. And like I said before, I just don’t get it. I really don’t understand that kind of hobby…)

(Oops. This isn’t any time for me to be escaping reality and being on my computer. I’ve got a problem on my hands.)

(No other way to do this comes to mind, so I’m just gonna…)

⁠—Hey, HiMERU-han. I wanna ask you for a bit of advice, do you have a sec?

Yes, what is it?

Actually, I was finally called about my “personalized costume”, and when I said that I had no idea about idol costumes, Anzu-han said that we should think about it together.

“Crazy:B” is pretty far removed from all the other “units” Anzu-han compared us to, so I don’t wanna rely too much on that. I told her that I would get back to her after I came up with a few ideas of my own, then we went off our own ways.

…And? Have you come up with any ideas?

Nope. I thought I could try it on my own and I’d have it under control, but I’m not getting anywhere. I’ve never even thought of designing my own costumes before, so I haven’t got a clue.

So, I need a bit of advice. HiMERU-han, if you were me, then what kind of costume would I pick?

That’s a difficult question. HiMERU is HiMERU, and he isn’t anyone else.

The same would apply to you. Wouldn’t it be best to try asking this question to yourself?

Duh. But, if I could do that, then I wouldn’t be having such a tough time…

I think it’d be better if idols wore western clothing, but I’ve also always worn kimonos at home so I really don’t know what’s what.

“Outerwear” and “innerwear” are all fancy words I didn’t know until I moved here, y’know? It’s all so complicated.

No need to daunt yourself. If all the choices were truly infinite, then everyone would also be lost.

You should take your time in thinking about it. You don’t really need to decide today or tomorrow, since it’s “Oukawa Kohaku’s personalized outfit”.

I get that, but if I can’t come up with anything then what should I do? I don’t want to spend all my time worrying about it…

Yo, Kohaku-chan! Rinne-kun is here to give you a hand~

Ugh. The number one person I didn’t want involved at all showed up.

I hate it when you involve yourself in things, because everything just gets even more complicated.

“Number one” you say, I’m so loved~

So, I hear you’re having trouble crafting up a “personalized outfit”, right?

I’ll come up with something unique. Here, hand over your sketchbook.

Rinne-han will help? I dunno what I should expect.

Gyahaha! Just leave it to me.

(It’s hard to see anything from here. He’s just humming and drawing smoothly. Fashion sense, I think is what it’s called? Does he have a good fashion sense?)

♪〜♪〜♪

There, all done.

Where…

What’s with that weird looking outfit? For some reason, it looks a little like Rinne-han’s “personalized outfit”. I don’t like it much.

If I showed up to a “Crazy:B” performance in this, people will just think we’re wearing the same outfit.

Heh, “Crazy:B“‘s performance huh…

You remember when I said “when everyone’s personalized outfits are ready, we’ll all wear them and put on a show”²? You’re pretty sharp, Kohaku-chan~

Th-that’s not it. We’re part of the same “unit”, so I just thought that the opportunity might come up for us to do that one day–

Thank you for waiting. Here’s hashbrowns for four~

Isn’t this a bit much for four people?

Don’t worry about that, because I’ll eat half of it! Thank you for the meal~

Mogumogu…I overheard something about “personalized outfits”, so I guess it’s Kohaku-chan’s turn next. What kind of outfit are you going to wear?

I’m still trying to figure out what I’m gonna do, but I really can’t come up with anything…

Niki-han, what do you think?

Uuuun. If I had to pick, then I’d definitely choose colorful clothes. If it was plain white, it’d just get dirty when I cook.

That would help you, Shiina, but it wouldn’t really apply to Oukawa’s case, correct?

Yup, yup. That’s why I can’t really come up with ideas and help answer any questions~

Fashion isn’t really my forte! Whenever I buy new clothes, I just ask the shopkeeper to help me find things that would look good on me…

So, if you’re really worried about it, Kohaku-chan, then why don’t you just let professionals help? That would be your best bet.

(In other words, I really should just leave it up to Anzu-han? That’s no good. If I rely on her, then I’d be back to where I started. Well, it’s not like I’m getting anywhere here…)

I’ll go think of “personalized outfit” ideas somewhere else. Niki-han, you can eat my share.

…

(I tried borrowing an idol magazine from the office to use as a reference…but all the clothes in it have already been worn by someone else, and I don’t think any of them would fit me much.)

(“I want you to design as freely as you want” is what Anzu-han told me, but I can’t even put a single line down.)

(Is this what it means to have freedom valued this much nowadays…? Isn’t it just becoming an obstacle…?)

Oukawa-shi, how is the design process coming along?

Vice Prez-han, Nagisa-han…

Fumu. It appears as though you’ve hit a deadlock³.

Well then, since I’m a member of the same agency, I’d like to offer you a bit of advice from a “producer” standpoint.

If the design is meant to be about the idol themselves, then why not give incorporating “amber”⁴ into the design a try?

Amber…? Isn’t that just sap with dead insects in it?

…That may be true, but that’s not all there is to it…This piece of amber is for you.

Nn? Thanks… Oh, that’s not a bug, but a flower right?

Yes. It’s speculated to have bloomed around ten million years ago.

To begin with, the flower was wiped off the earth a long time ago–but since it was protected by the sap, it can be sustained for a very long time.

…Amber is a stone of miracles.