Headquarters for Star Rise Entertainment, the talent agency that managed Koibito, were located in Osaka’s Umeda district. And that was where Saori planned to begin her quest to reach out to Ayano Kuroki. Most of the idols in Japan were managed by these talent agencies, who maintained strict control over their stars.
Saori walked up the steps to the main entrance. The building was mostly glass and she pushed open the clear door, walking past other people as she approached the reception desk. There were three women who sat behind the large desk and one of them looked up at Saori with a smile on her face.
“Welcome to Star Rise Entertainment, how can I help you?”
Saori produced a business card with Nakamura Detective Agency printed in Japanese kanji across the top, her name right underneath with the title of ASSOCIATE in a smaller font beneath her name. She passed it to the receptionist.
“My name is Ikeda, I work with the Nakamura Detective Agency. Our clients are the parents of Akane Suzuki.”
“Akane Suzuki?” repeated the receptionist. The other two girls turned their heads, now paying attention to the scene.
“Yes. Her parents just want some kind of closure after her suicide. Want to know more about her life since she started working as an idol. So we’re going around, asking the people who were close to her some questions.”
“I see…” said the receptionist. “I don’t know how I can help you.”
“I was hoping to speak to her former bandmates. I understand her and…” Saori took a palm-sized notebook out of her purse and pretended to read from it. “Ayano Kuroki were close.”
“I’m afraid I cannot help you,” said the receptionist. “All interview requests for speaking with our clients must go through the respective agent.”
“But this isn’t for a magazine interview or anything like that.”
“Yes, I understand. But that is our company’s policy.”
Saori sighed. She figured it wouldn’t be that easy, but she had hope. “Okay, who is the agent?”
“That would be Mr. Miyashita.”
“Is Mr. Miyashita in right now?”
“He is, but I believe he is in a meeting at the moment.”
“That’s okay, I’ll wait.”
“I don’t think…” The receptionist paused. “It could be awhile, Ms. Ikeda.”
Saori looked at the clock on her phone. Nine in the morning. “That’s okay, I’ve got a new game on my phone.”
The receptionist gave a hesitant nod of understanding. “Very well. I will call his assistant and let him know you are waiting.”
Saori flashed a smile and walked over to a seating area. She plopped down in one of the chairs and crossed her legs. She took out her phone and opened the Facebook app. Before, there were too many Yuki Ichikawas to choose from. But now, thanks to Kyoko, Saori knew what he looked like. If she could find his profile, then that might make things a little easier on her.
A Line notification appeared on her screen. Saying she had a new message from Teppei. Saori sighed and clicked the button to view the message.
“Hi.” Followed by a smiling cat emoji.
Saori quickly typed a message out. “Hi. Sorry, I’m at work right now. I’ll talk to you later.” She included an emoji of a waving hand and hit send, then switched back to Facebook. There wasn’t even time to search through a few results before another message notification appeared.
“Sorry.” Accompanied by a sad, teary-eyed emoji.
Part of her felt bad. Maybe Nobu was right, maybe she had been a little too cavalier in the way she treated Teppei in order to get information on Yuki. But she couldn’t really worry about that right now. There was a case to focus on.
Saori found a Yuki Ichikawa in her search who looked like he could have been the same guy from the picture Kyoko showed her. She clicked on the profile, but there wasn’t much there. Only a few of the photos were set to public. If she was going to see more, she’d have to be friends with him.
Her thumb hovered over the ‘Send Friend Request’ button. But before she could hit anything, she heard her name being called. Saori looked up and saw the receptionist looking at her. Practically springing from the seat, Saori collected her purse and pulled the strap over her shoulder, walking up to the desk.
The receptionist rose from her seat. “Mr. Miyashita said he has a few moments to speak to you. Could you follow me?” She gestured to a pair of elevators down the hall. The elevator doors opened and both the receptionist and Saori entered. A well-manicured finger pushed the button for the thirtieth floor.
“Top floor,” said Saori. “Big deal, huh?”
The receptionist just smiled and clasped her hands in front of her black business skirt. Saori tapped her foot impatiently against the floor. She felt the vibration of her phone again from inside her bag. The sound even caused the receptionist to look at her. Saori just smiled at her.
The elevator came to a stop and the receptionist led her down a corridor. An office sat at the end of the hall and she knocked once on the door. A young man opened it and the receptionist motioned to Saori. “This is Saori Ikeda.”
“Thank you, I’ll take it from here.” The young man opened the door wide and the receptionist bowed to both him and Saori before retreating down the hall.
Saori took another business card from the case she kept in her purse. She bowed as she handed it to the man with both hands. “I’m sorry for the interruption, Mr. Miyashita.”
“Oh, I’m just his assistant.”
Saori frowned. “Oh. I’m sorry, I thought—”
“I’ll take you to him.” The assistant led her deeper into the room. There was a small waiting area as well as a desk, which Saori assumed was his. Just past the desk were two large, double doors. The assistant knocked once and a grunt came from the other side.
Once the assistant opened the doors, Saori stepped into the large office first. She looked around at the walls and saw they were lined with awards and photographs of who she assumed was Miyashita with various famous figures in the areas of Japanese music, television, film—even politics.
The man himself stood behind a large desk. He wore a smart, black suit with a red tie and had a slender build. Glasses perched on the edge of his nose and his hair had turned a fine white, with a warm smile on his face. Saori thought he looked more suited to the job of a salaryman than talent agent.
“Good morning, my name is Jo Miyashita.”
She pulled a fresh business card from her holder and walked over to his desk. Just as before, Saori bowed deeply to him, holding out the card with both hands. “I’m sorry to bother you. I’m Saori Ikeda. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.”
Miyashita bowed and accepted it. Then he returned the gesture with his own card. Saori accepted it. Miyashita looked past her to his assistant. “We’re fine now, Anzai.”
“Shitsurei shimasu,” said the assistant, then bowed before leaving and closing the door behind him.
“Please, have a seat.” Miyashita gestured to the two large chairs in front of his desk. He sat down as well, resting in a high-backed, leather chair.
Saori bowed in thank you and sat. She found herself nearly sinking into the chair. It was so large, felt like she was a little kid again. From her purse, she took out her notebook and a pen.
“Nakamura Detective Agency,” said Miyashita, reading her card. “I’ve been told you’re investigating Akane’s suicide?”
“More like her life,” lied Saori. “Her parents want to know what could have led to such a tragedy.”
“Hmm, I see. Well, I’ll tell you what I can…”
“Actually, I was hoping I could speak to Ayano Kuroki.”
Miyashita raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“I understand her and Akane were quite close, so I thought she’d be willing to help us out by answering a few questions.”
“They were friends, true. And I am sure Ms. Kuroki would love to assist you. Unfortunately, Koibito’s schedule is fairly packed at the moment. There are rehearsals, vocal training, costume fitting, recording sessions, and so on. The life of an idol doesn’t give you much free time.”
Saori stopped herself from showing any disappointment. Of course it wouldn’t be that easy. But maybe she could get some information from Miyashita.
“That’s unfortunate. But you’d be willing to answer some questions?” she asked.
Miyashita nodded. “Please, by all means.”
Saori readied her pen to start writing. “Akane was fired from Star Rise Entertainment last year, isn’t that true?”
Miyashita sucked air through his teeth. “I don’t like that word. But yes, we had to let her go due to breach of contract.”
“You mean because she was dating.”
Miyashita paused for a moment and then said, “That’s correct.”
“Do all your contracts ban your clients from having relationships?”
“You must understand something, Ms. Ikeda.” Miyashita leaned back. “We are not simply selling albums or t-shirts or other merchandise here. What we are really selling is a fantasy. These women—”
“Girls,” said Saori.
He continued, ignoring her interruption. “These women have a certain image that appeals to our customers. That they are virtuous, chaste.”
Virgin fetish sounds like a better way to describe it, she thought to herself, but didn’t vocalize that opinion.
“But our contracts are not the topic of discussion here,” said Miyashita. “The courts have already ruled that our practices are legal and even ruled in favor of an agency who sued a client for violating the clause.”
Saori gave a sweet smile which contrasted with her words. “And another judge recently dismissed a similar lawsuit, ruling that these contracts are a violation of Article 13 of the Constitution, guaranteeing the right to pursuit of happiness.”
Miyashita looked surprised at Saori’s knowledge. Underestimation was something she often dealt with in her life. Sometimes, she could even use it to her advantage in a case.
“I know what you’re referring to. But please remember, Ms. Ikeda, that was one case and the judge did not specifically find these clauses illegal. You see, the law is quite complex.”
Her fingers tightened around the pen. A fantasy of stabbing it right through Miyashita’s eye briefly flashed in Saori’s mind. The condescending manner he used was infuriating, and she imagined she wasn’t the only woman he spoke to that way.
“Regardless, we simply ended our association with Ms. Suzuki. It was a difficult choice to make—she easily received more fan mail than any other member of Koibito. It started to go to her head, too. In addition to the situation with her love life, she was feuding with her co-stars, and then the rumors of drug use. Although we were well within our rights to bring a lawsuit against her, we did no such thing.” Miyashita gave a smile that sent a chill down Saori’s spine. “You see, here at Star Rise, we care deeply for our clients.”
Saori tried not to laugh at how ludicrous that statement sounded. But it was clear Miyashita wasn’t going to be very forthcoming. Already he was hiding behind the law to justify his company’s actions.
“Is that all?” he asked.
“For now.” Saori stood and though she hated doing so, she bowed to him. “Thank you for your time, Mr. Miyashita. If you could pass on my card to Ms. Kuroki and her bandmates, it would be appreciated. I think they could shed some further light on Akane’s mental state.”
Miyashita stood as well and bowed, too. “I will do what I can. Otsukaresama deshita.”
Something told Saori that Miyashita had no plans to tell the members of Koibito anything about her visit. Which meant she’d have to find another route.