Yuta had already finished the project proposal, but with this mess going on, there was no rush to hand it over. Better to wait until Aoi secured the funding.
In the meantime, he could get started on the scripts.
For the next two or three days, Yuta didn't even go to the office. He just stayed home and wrote. It didn't matter where he worked.
Ryouga, for his part, seemed to genuinely believe that Yuta hadn't finished the proposal yet. He didn't call to follow up.
But the guy wasn't stupid. Gradually, he started to sense something was off.
On the fourth day, Ryouga's call finally came.
"President Shido, is your project proposal still not finished?"
"It's done."
"Then when can you come by Arcane? Or would you prefer I come to Starfall?"
"No, that won't be necessary."
"Hm?"
"The proposal is finished, but Starfall will only accept investment from Aoi."
"..."
Ryouga went silent for a long moment, then asked in a confused voice, "Aoi?"
"Look, if you really believe in Clannad season two, hand the funds over to Aoi and let her handle the investment," Yuta said.
"Wait!"
Ryouga was still processing. "What exactly is your relationship with my sister?"
Yuta thought about it for a second, then said with a completely straight face. "If you're open to it, you can call me big brother."
"What the fuck!"
Ryouga finally lost it and swore, then immediately hung up.
"Studying abroad really paid off. His English is excellent," Yuta muttered to himself.
He wasn't too worried about it. It was just talk.
His relationship with Aoi was perfectly innocent, so the Fuji family probably wouldn't have him dragged off and dumped in Tokyo Bay just yet.
Sure, what he'd said was basically messing with Ryouga, but it didn't matter. Supporting Aoi meant making an enemy of Ryouga anyway.
No point pretending otherwise. Might as well be direct about it.
He set his phone down and went back to writing the script. But barely a few minutes later, Aoi called. "What did you say to my idiot brother? He's absolutely furious right now. He's demanding to know what our relationship is, and when I tell him the truth, he doesn't believe me."
"I didn't say anything."
Yuta put on his most innocent expression. "I just happened to call you 'Aoi' when I mentioned you. He probably jumped to conclusions and assumed we're dating."
"That's all?" Aoi sounded skeptical.
"Really." Yuta swore on his life.
He quickly changed the subject. "Aoi, the proposal is done. Have you figured out how to handle the funding?"
"I have an idea, but first I want to ask you something."
"What?"
"For season two, what are your projected sales? Can it break thirty thousand?"
"Well..."
Yuta couldn't guarantee that.
Sales numbers were honestly somewhat unpredictable.
Logically, Clannad season two was even more of a classic than season one, so sales should be higher. But in reality, season two had actually sold several thousand less than season one in the other world.
Then again, in the other world, Clannad season two had aired in October 2008. At the same time, several other heavy hitters were also on the schedule: Toradora, Kannagi, A Certain Magical Index, Black Butler, and Gundam 00 Season 2.
Anime discs were never cheap. If someone had already bought one show's discs, they might not have the budget for another. So Clannad season two's sales may have been cannibalized by the competition.
Of course, that was just his guess. Whether that was actually a factor, he couldn't say for sure.
This world probably wouldn't have Toradora and those other shows, but who knew if some other excellent anime might pop up?
And even without strong competition, he still couldn't guarantee thirty thousand.
It wasn't just a question of quality.
After thinking it over, he answered, "Twenty thousand should be doable. Thirty thousand I can't promise. That's not something I get to decide."
Aoi was the president of a company after all. She understood how anime sales worked, so she didn't press him. She simply said, "Understood. Once the proposal is done, just move on to the scripts. I'll get the funding together as soon as I can."
"Alright," Yuta replied.
He still didn't know exactly how Aoi planned to raise the money, but if she said she'd handle it, he trusted her.
All he needed to do was focus on his own work.
After hanging up, Yuta stood and stretched. He was about to get a glass of water when another call came in.
The number looked familiar. It seemed to be Ryouga again.
He hesitated for a moment, then picked up.
"Yuta Shido, you're done for!" Ryouga declared the instant the call connected.
"What, are you going to tattle to your father about my relationship with Aoi?" Yuta probed.
"No. That's what a child would do," Ryouga scoffed. "Your pathetic anime's second season, Arcane is pulling out. From now on, none of Starfall's anime will ever receive investment from Arcane."
"Oh, that's fine by me."
Yuta didn't care one bit. "As long as Aoi is willing to invest, that's all that matters."
"What good does her willingness do? She doesn't have any money," Ryouga said arrogantly.
"That's okay. I believe in her. And worst case, I can always find another company. With season one's track record, season two is a guaranteed moneymaker. Finding investors won't be hard," Yuta said casually.
"Ha. Then go ahead and find someone else. Arcane is never investing in another Starfall anime." Ryouga hung up after that.
Yuta scratched his head, not quite sure what the point of that phone call had been.
He'd thought Ryouga was about to declare war on Starfall and Clannad season two. But that didn't seem to be it either.
Calling specifically to announce they were pulling out? Did he have to be so courteous about it?
"Whatever. Doesn't matter what he's thinking."
All he needed to do was wait for Aoi's word.
….
The vacation he'd given the Starfall staff was ten days total.
On day six, Yuta set aside the scripts and started drawing storyboards. He powered through three straight days of storyboards.
On day nine, he switched to character design sheets.
September 19th, Tuesday.
Starfall officially reopened.
Around nine thirty in the morning, Yuta arrived at the studio. Almost everyone was already there, which showed that ten days off hadn't made anyone lazy.
Seeing him walk in, people greeted him from all directions.
Yuta smiled and responded to each one, though a small worry nagged at the back of his mind: there was still no word from Aoi. He could only hope nothing had gone wrong.
_______________________
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