radicalducati Chapter 2, First Time in the Pool
Chapter 2, First Time in the Pool
"Nagahama Naru... is it Sleepy?"
Back in his car, Rito sat in the driver's seat, a smile involuntarily playing on his lips. As a devoted fan of the golden age of idol culture, he knew this name all too well: Nagahama Neru, nicknamed Sleepy, the undisputed second member of Keyakizaka46, the mother of Hiragana Keyakizaka46, and the only member to simultaneously hold two Sakamichi titles, holding a special place in the Sakamichi Series. Unfortunately, due to various unforeseen circumstances, she left the group early. While her achievements as an idol weren't top-tier, her undeniable talent and potential were unquestionable. Her later transition to acting also proved her talent, demonstrating both the management's excellent judgment and their disastrous management.
"She's still in Nagasaki right now. She'll come to Tokyo once the selection announcement is released, so there's no rush. Let's see what this general pool selection is all about first."
Rito's mind raced through Shui Shui's stunning face as she continued reviewing the tutorial that flashed through her mind. Besides Nagahama Neru, the package also included three chances to pull from the regular gacha pool. While the regular gacha pool was generally considered "trash" by players in gacha games, Rito felt relieved after reading the rules—the pool was divided into two categories: members and songs. Even songs marked as featuring non-core members or of average quality were still useful; she might even pull a member she liked, so it couldn't be considered useless.
Rubbing his throbbing forehead, Rito didn't intend to claim the reward immediately. Having just transmigrated, the fragmented memories forcibly crammed into his mind were still throbbing. He studied this internal combustion engine car—a type of vehicle long since relegated to a museum in his time—for a while, then lightly pressed the accelerator. The car roared powerfully, carrying him into this familiar yet strange urban landscape.
After spending the afternoon adjusting to normal human life at the beginning of this century, Rito went home and took a short nap. When he opened his eyes again, it was pitch black outside. He reached out towards the bedside table, his fingertips touching the cool texture of the iPhone 4's metal casing.
This smartphone, which only arrived in Japan in 2010, was an absolute must-have at a time when flip phones still dominated the market. But in his eyes, it was no different from the gas car he drove that afternoon, and shouldn't be seen anywhere except in a museum—but unfortunately, it was 2011 now, and this was his best option.
"2:30 a.m. is the perfect time to draw cards."
Silently reciting "since I'm here, I might as well make the best of it," Rito put his phone back and let his thoughts drift into his mind.
"System, begin the general pool draw." Looking at the gacha system that had traveled with him to the Hall of Thought, Rito took a deep breath and issued the command.
"Please select the number of draws." The emotionless electronic voice was exactly what he wanted. If this system were truly like those in old online novels, designed as a sharp-tongued little girl, he wouldn't be able to accept it.
"I'll draw all three at once." Without the slightest hesitation, Rito chose to go all in.
The electronic voice didn't respond further, but instead conjured up a gashapon machine shimmering with colorful lights in his mind. Rito silently grumbled about this extremely outdated design, but the gashapon machine remained unmoved and started operating on its own. A few seconds later, three gashapon capsules rolled out of the dispenser: one pure pink, one with double white stripes, and one with double pink stripes.
"Double white stripes... is that Kyoko? No, Minami also has this support color, and so does Aya. Double pink stripes, is that Hayashi? As for pure pink, who in Sakamichi has this as their support color again?"
After fiddling with the gashapon capsule in his hand for a moment, Rito didn't rush to open it. Instead, he started playing a guessing game. As a former Sakamichi nostalgia enthusiast, he knew the members' information by heart. After narrowing down a few candidates in his mind, he held his breath and twisted open the gashapon capsule with the double white stripes.
"Nogizaka46 first-term student・Sayuri Inoue"
A character card popped out of the gacha, revealing the identity of the member drawn. Rito raised an eyebrow in surprise, somewhat taken aback by the result, but not disappointed at all.
"Oh, it's Yuri-chan. I'd completely forgotten about you. Not bad, you're a first-generation student again this time. I hope you won't have such a miserable time like before."
Rito held the card between her fingers for a moment, then chuckled softly. With a slight exertion of her fingertips, the card shattered into countless tiny particles of light, dissipating into the air. At that very moment, a girl named Inoue Sayuri appeared out of thin air in an ordinary family's home in Saitama Prefecture, seamlessly blending into this world as if she had always been meant to be there.
"Next, Double Pink Pattern, let me see who you are."
Having no time to marvel at the system's wonder, Rito focused intently on opening the second gashapon capsule. This time, a cute, translucent face with a distinctly Japanese aesthetic appeared on the card, with the following introduction clearly stating: 'Keyakizaka46 First Generation Student / Sakurazaka46 First Generation Student - Uemura Rina'
"Oh, I see. It's Sister Hao. You're lucky."
Seeing that it was a member he was more familiar with, Rito raised an eyebrow, his mood improving slightly. Taking advantage of this good luck, he decisively twisted open the last gashapon capsule. But this time, instead of official photos of the members, a stack of sheet music appeared, and at the same time, a familiar melody slowly began to play in his mind.
"Tsk, it's 'Nogizaka46'. It's a good song, but what I need most right now is people. Oh well, it's fine."
Rito expressed a slight dissatisfaction with the fact that he only got a song and not a character in the last draw. However, after glancing at the full list of tasks in his task list, he quickly put aside his anxiety about the lack of manpower. He clapped his hands and exited the gacha interface in his mind.
He opened his eyes, only to be met with an impenetrable darkness. But compared to the anxiety of just a few minutes earlier, Rito, feeling he had gained a great deal, was in an exceptionally bright mood. He turned on the light to dispel the darkness, stretched, and sat up in bed.
"All we have to do now is wait. Team formation, team name confirmation, official announcement, selection process—there are at least a dozen more chances to win in between. Especially when the selection process starts, there's a limited-time C-position pool reward. As long as we don't draw that unspeakable character, plus the double-C configuration of Shui Shui, the start should be pretty much guaranteed."
Stepping into the living room, she drew back the curtains, and the Tokyo cityscape at night unfolded before her. Rito sipped the warm water in her glass, muttering to herself softly.
Even though he arrived here with memories from a time beyond his years, he was ultimately just an ordinary person who enjoyed nostalgic idol culture. Half of the composure he displayed when facing Sony's executives during the day was an act. He wasn't entirely confident he could successfully manage a girl group. Moreover, in this timeline, all the predecessors who should have paved the way for the Sakamichi Series were gone. Could the same dazzling flowers of his memories still bloom on this barren soil?
Kubo Rito felt a mix of excitement and uncertainty about the future.
Just as he was lost in thought, three abrupt knocks suddenly sounded in the quiet night.
Knock knock knock.