Greedy Epilogue

# Epilogue

    "So what've you brats found? Please tell me that you weren't totally useless."

    "We learned a ton, Boss. Not just about Interlunium. Asa and I dug up dirt on pretty much half the company. Turns out that once you get those girls talking, some of them can't wait to tell you every little thing they know. It used up all of my best mud masks, but I think you'll find it worth it." Yuu, true to his position as leader of the group, shared the good news with Goro. His infiltration of the girl's dorm had indeed been quite successful, and he had spent hours gossiping with a room full of young idols, collecting nuggets of controversy as payment for his carefully honed expertise at skincare.

    "We got it all right here, Mr. Matsubara! Something on nearly all of them!" A bright red notebook waved back and forth in the air. As Yuu had worked the room, Asa had carefully hovered nearby with her friends, meticulously writing down everything that seemed potentially useful, which she then dutifully organized into her notebook. Now she was in her usual spot, trying hard to cozy up to the idol next to her on Goro's sofa. "Our plan worked perfectly. Yuu had those idiots spilling everything they knew the moment he showed up."

    "We did a little digging in the company records, too. At least the ones we could access. You may need to take a look at some of the secure stuff yourself, Boss." The blond idol was leaning against the wall across the room from the others, as has been his habit of late. "There's not a lot in there that we didn't already know. We tried to dig up dirt on the Aihara girl, but she's totally clean except she was almost fired before changing producers. Same with the one with the French stage name. The green-haired one was probably going to get the axe too if she didn't snag a producer when she did. None of that's exactly scandalous though. If anything it makes them look like they were just determined to succeed. People eat that kind of stuff up, so I'm not sure it's actually useful."

    "Junko's file is completely sealed. There has to be something there they don't want getting out. Not that we're going to need it. I have that situation locked down." Natsuki chimed in from the couch. The girl next to him looked uncomfortable, but bit her tongue. "There's a couple things we found that we can probably use though. Some of the higher ups are still a bit annoyed at some of their recruits. They aren't thrilled that the Korean one joined in the first place since she had a decent solo career going, and they had plans for her that got majorly interrupted because she apparently pulled some major tricks with her contract recently. And they'd already marked the little Chinese one for a big push before they poached her for their group. With her big break they kind of feel like their hands are being forced to support the group and they aren't exactly happy about it, even if the accountants are ecstatic."

    "The bottom line though is if their group doesn't deliver major, major profits on their next project, they're done for. Publicly, the management has gone all in, but the accountants only understand one thing." Hayate led Goro to the conclusion the rest had already reached.

    "So what yer sayin'..." Goro's thick, stubby fingers wriggled about against his chin like a confused squid. "What yer sayin' is that if this big project Mr. Shishito keeps harping on about goes bust, then they're all as good as done for."

    "That's right, Boss. If we want to really hurt them, we hurt the project. They sunk big money into it."

    "I see… Hmm…" The producer drained his glass and clinked the ice annoyingly. Eager to earn his approval, Asa hopped up off the couch and went to fix everyone another drink. "They're asking for volunteers to help out with the project. I bet if some of you-"

    "Already on top of it, Boss. You're looking at Yuu Tobe, official I MY ME Makeup Artist on the company's next big project." The boy laughed cutely at the end of his declaration, hiding the insidious intent behind this move. "It was a no brainer. If we're successful, Kerberos becomes number one. If we're not and they hit another home run, I get a credit on their project. Either way, Yuu comes out ahead."

    "Me an' my girls signed up too, Mr. Matsubara. Here's your drink, just how you like it!" The blonde girl set the highball glass down on Goro's desk with a heavy thunk. "Whiskey, filled to the top, with two ice cubes! We're gonna be helping out with the props and the set dressing, so just let me know what you need us to do!"

    "Thanks, darlin'. Keep provin' yerself and maybe you'll be a real star someday." Goro took a huge sip of the lukewarm spirit and ended it with a big, wet slurp of his lips. "Okay, let's get serious. Tell me everythin' new you dug up."

    "Well Boss, to start, one of the girls used to go to middle school with Kanon Mitsuboshi. She had some very revealing things to say about her…"

    "Turns out the girl used to be a total delinquent! A real degenerate! Who knows how her friends would react if they found out exactly what she used to get up to?" The blonde trying to ingratiate herself offered glasses of amber liquid to each of her co-conspirators in turn, though the blond boy turned it down, waving her back to the couch. Left with an extra glass Asa gave it a taste, making a sour face but taking another large sip to fit in with the boy she adored and his friends. "I can't believe the company signed a girl like that. We aren't that kind of agency! I MY ME is a good honest agency! Not some kind of edgy setup like Absynth!"

    "That just means we need to be flexible. We can't predict what kind of secrets they're hiding. We need to be one-hundred percent committed. If that's what you need to do, that's what you need to do." Natsuki ran a hand down Asa's back, causing her to shiver with a highly visible shudder of contentment.

    "You guys aren't thinking big enough." Hayate stepped forward and grabbed a glass he had previously rejected from his best friend, downing it in a single large gulp. His eyes narrowed with frustration, and he spoke with a force of personality none of his group mates had ever seen before. "I'm tired of all the dumb ideas you guys keep coming up with. Delinquent pasts and stupid rumors won't do anything if they have half a brain between them. If we really want to teach these girls a lesson we need to get serious about it. You really want to know how to take down Eimi? Let me tell you how to turn all of her friends against her…"

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