Ri Kotone's Route, cont.
On the next day of work, Kenji limps into the office with his calf still recovering. Kotone appears before him looking pretty guilty. Just before Kenji arrived, Kaito told Kotone everything about what happened that one night. She thanks Kenji for helping her escape from those thugs, but feels sorry that he got hurt for her sake. Here she was thinking Kenji was just another one of those selfish, dishonest, loathsome boys who have been messing with her for so long. He could have just left her in the mercy of the bullies, but he risked his life to save hers…not because it was his job but because he instinctively wanted to. All this time Kenji really did care for her and she didn’t even know it because she was blind and too quick to judge. Feeling as though she is in his debt, Kotone decides to fully put her faith and trust in Kenji. It was not just Kenji either. The more she worked with Kaito and the President, the more she began to see their kindness and thoughtfulness and the more she felt as though she could trust them. “Perhaps not all men are evil after all aru…”
Kotone’s unit soon bounces back after their loss to Himeko. Later, after they reach Rank C and compete against 961/Ryuuguu Komachi in a festival, Kotone decides to invite Kenji to her family’s tea house the following day. Kenji accepts, feeling he could use a little refreshment after a long, tough festival earlier. Since Kotone really praises her grandmother’s special recipe, he figures he could try some himself.
The next day, Kenji arrives at the tea house. He really enjoys the peach tea—a specialty of Kotone’s mother. Kotone introduces Kenji to her mother and grandmother. They are both very pleased to meet him and thank him for all the help and kindness he has given their little girl during her idol career. Still, they find it interesting that Kotone has grown to trust him after so many years of her talk of how much she hated men. Feeling curious upon hearing the words “so many years,” Kenji wonders what caused Kotone to distrust men so much. Kotone is unsure if she wants to tell him the truth, but her mother insists she do so. If she really does trust Kenji, she should let him know how she truly feels. When Kotone was just a baby and lived in China, she had to put up with one of the worst possible fathers she could ever have. He was a drunkard and an intense pervert. He constantly abused her mother physically, verbally, and sexually. Even worse, he considered Kotone a pain and would abuse her every time she cried or misbehaved. Unable to put up with the man’s harsh treatment any longer, Kotone’s mother and grandmother took Kotone, snuck out of the house while her father slept, and fled to Japan to begin their life anew. There, they reestablished the family’s tea house in the town of Nara. According to Chinese authorities, the father went insane after he found out that his wife, daughter, and mother-in-law ditched him. He began trashing the house, drinking even more heavily, and sexually assaulting women in their mid to late teens. Authorities finally captured him in his home after he kidnapped a prostitute and attempted to rape her. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for his crimes. Kotone’s mother was relieved to finally get her former husband out of her hair forever. However, once Kotone began to go to school in Japan, some boys would always bully her because of her origins, often mocking her clothing, accent, and use of the suffix “aru”. Some even consider her an S-L-U-T, believing Chinese girls are like prostitutes. The more Kotone was tormented by male bullies, heard news of dirty men on the news (i.e. sex offenders and domestic violence), and eventually learned the truth about her father, Kotone began to develop prejudice and hatred towards all men. While she showed hostility even towards boys with good intentions, she did show respect for her male teachers and authoritative figures…she knew better and believes they are much more mature than pretty much all the other guys she knew. Once Kotone began working with Kenji, though, her views began to change. She learned to accept the good with the bad in terms of men. Kotone’s mother tells her daughter that for every creepy man like her father, there is at least one honest man, maybe even more. She also thanks Kenji for being so kind to her daughter and keeping her safe, especially after the incident in the alley (which Kotone had told her mother about the night before). Now she can rest easy, knowing Kotone is in good hands…hands that helped Kotone open her eyes to the truth that was once blind to her. Kotone thanks Kenji for spending some time at the tea house and then gives him a taste of her signature plate-spinning act. Everyone admires it, especially Kenji. As Kenji leaves, he wishes the best for the success of the tea house. With their mascot girl’s success as an idol, their future looks pretty bright.
Before ZetaPro heads off to the venue where the IU preliminaries are being held, Kotone gives her partners some of her tea house cookies for good luck. She figures they will need it, knowing Himeko will definitely participate in a tournament this big. Preparing for the worst, Kotone expects and is ready to face Himeko again upon discovering that ZetaPro and NAZO have been placed in the same competition block. Once Himeko arrives with the rest of NAZO, Kotone tells Himeko she will not be psyched out by her lies anymore. On the contrary, Kenji really has been a great help on her path to success. Himeko laughs at her statement, claiming her producer is taking full advantage of her kindness and continues to deceive her. Perhaps a good thrashing here worse than the one she got at the Sunny Beach Festival will teach Kotone her place. Both Kotone and Himeko are surprised that ZetaPro managed to pass the audition. However, the distance in scores between them and the first-place NAZO is immense. Kotone proudly claims to her rival this is the ability she gained after her time with Kenji led her to trust him and stop prejudging all men. Himeko, beginning to feel a little desperate, claims she will not lose to a foreigner with flawed morals. Why bother using your idol status to try to promote a family-owned tea house that will eventually be run into the ground? The more big chain companies that arrive near a small business, the more the smaller one will succumb to the competition. Himeko makes it a high priority to run Kotone’s family out of business. Kotone decides to psyche Himeko out and claims she is just bluffing and/or does not like her tea. Himeko tries to put on a poker face and say she has no time to listen to peasants, but deep down, she feels a little anxious.
Back at the office, Kotone is not willing to let what Himeko told her get into her head again. She has been doing her very best to invest some of her sales into her family’s tea house to help keep it afloat despite the harsh competition. Even if it still isn’t enough, it is her family’s heart and soul…she, her mother, and her grandmother would never want to sell it and succumb to the will of greedy chain tea house and café franchises. The President soon arrives with bad news for Kotone. While Kenji and the others were away, she got an urgent email from her mother. Recently, a new tea house from a big chain recently opened down the street and has been drawing customers away from her business. It has grown so bad they had to put a mortgage on the tea house. Unless Kotone earns enough to pay it off soon, her business will be forced to shut down. Kotone feels horrible. She wants to prove once and for all that Himeko is wrong, but it is becoming more of a challenge considering the current state of her family’s business. Kotone asks for a favor from Kenji—help her become more successful as an idol so she can earn enough sales to pay off the mortgage and keep her family’s pride and joy standing. Kenji promises her he will do whatever it takes to help her. The tea house is just too special to him, Kotone, and the Ri family. He is not at all willing to let it succumb to big businesses.
As Kotone bonds with her partners, some of them (depending on who they are, especially Shiori) start to become regular customers at her tea house to continue to support her. With her trust in Kenji growing stronger and stronger, Kotone feels ready to take on NAZO again once they challenge ZetaPro to a competition at the Harvest Moon Festival. Unfortunately, both performances are cancelled due to a pyrotechnic malfunction. As Yamato shows up to pick up NAZO, he swings by ZetaPro to mock Kotone. According to him, the real reason why Kotone and her unit are so weak compared to NAZO is not because their producer is a man, but because he is of the middle class. Both male and female commoners are cheap, selfish, greedy, dishonest, and all-around filthy creatures. Yamato is a high-quality producer of the elite upper class, destined by fate to succeed. The same logic is true for businesses. Small businesses shell out cheap products that rip off the bigger companies. In due time, they will eventually fail or sell themselves to a bigger company. In the end, money is power. Kotone is a fool to continue to fight for a run-down family-owned tea house. All she is doing is delaying the inevitable. Kenji soon takes a stand for Kotone. Her tea house is special. It does not rip off chain restaurants…it instead depends on special family recipes that have been passed down through generations. It still might not be doing as well as it should be, but at least the staff (Kotone’s mother and grandmother) is free from the tyranny of big business CEOs. Yamato scoffs at Kenji’s defense. Not only will he lead NAZO to victory at the IU, but he and his idols will be sure to run the Ri family out of business. Yamato laughs as he and NAZO head back to his limo. Kotone cannot believe how horrible Yamato is. Still, she knows not all men are like that. There are guys like Kenji who really care for her and her dreams. Besides, she has two other idols/friends in her unit who have always been by her side. Kotone is not worried about the situation at all.
One week later, the entire unit has earned enough to pay off the mortgage on the Ri family tea house! The other two idols pitch in with some of their sales to help Kotone add the necessary funds and then some. The tea house is back in service! Yamato hears the news and is infuriated. If Kotone’s unit advances further into the IU, Yamato decides to hatch an ultimate plan that will forever ruin Kotone.
(to be continued)
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