Outside a certain pub.
Rika blinked a few times and looked at Yuta. A hint of wariness crept into her eyes as she took a small step to the side. The words came out of her mouth at lightning speed. "President, are you trying to get me drunk so you can take me home and have your way with me? I mean, you're a nice guy and all, and you're pretty good-looking, but sorry, I'm not that kind of girl."
"What are you even talking about? I brought you here because there's something really important going on, not to satisfy some personal fantasy." Yuta didn't hesitate to bring a karate chop down on top of Rika's head.
"Owww!"
Rika yelped and grabbed her head. "If that's not what it is, you could just say so! Why did you have to hit me?"
"No reason. I just had this sudden urge to mess with you," Yuta said as he walked straight inside.
Rika pouted. She lagged a step behind, but she still followed him in.
Once inside, the two of them found a spot, ordered some food and drinks, and waited quietly.
"President, I thought you said there was something really important?" Rika asked, looking confused.
"We're waiting for someone. They're not here yet," Yuta said.
"Oh." Rika nodded.
Yuta said, "I heard you're the best drinker in the whole company."
Rika froze for a second and then immediately got suspicious again. "President, I knew it! You are trying to get me drunk! Look, you really are a nice guy, and I'll admit you're handsome, but I'm sorry, I'm seriously not that kind of girl."
Without a word, Yuta raised his hand.
Before the chop could even land, Rika folded instantly. "Wait, President, that's not what I meant! What I'm trying to say is, yeah, I can drink a lot, it's just that..."
"Just what?" Yuta pressed.
"People say my behavior gets a little questionable when I'm drunk. But for the record, I absolutely refuse to admit that," Rika said with a completely straight face.
"Doesn't matter." Yuta shrugged it off. "Three guys are going to show up soon. Your job is to keep toasting them. Just keep the drinks coming and get them hammered."
"Huh?"
Rika was thrown for a loop. "President, you brought me here just to get people drunk?"
"Would you rather I actually was trying to have my way with you?" Yuta shot back.
"Nope, nope, definitely not." Rika shook her head vigorously.
A moment later, she mumbled under her breath, "Yep, I really am just a tool."
Yuta glanced at her, thought for a second, and then said, "If you do a good job tonight, I'll consider it a major contribution. Once you've built up enough experience, I'll put you forward for a promotion to production manager or episode director."
"For real?" Rika's eyes lit up instantly.
Yuta smiled and nodded.
Rika was so excited she nearly chugged two glasses right then and there, but Yuta stopped her just in time.
"Why do I feel like I'm tricking a high school girl?" Yuta muttered to himself.
Rika Zenba was petite with a baby face. If she were wearing a school uniform, people might actually mistake her for one.
Regardless, Rika was on board. Now they just had to wait for the guests to arrive.
After a short wait, three men finally showed up.
"President Shido."
"President Shido, long time no see."
"Hey, when President Shido called and said he wanted to buy me a drink, I figured it'd just be me."
The three of them chatted as they made their way over to the table.
Yuta quickly had Rika move from across the table to the seat beside him, then stood up. "Come on, guys, drop the formalities. Just call me Shido like you used to. Sit down, sit down. I've been waiting forever for you three."
Once the three of them settled in across the table, Yuta introduced them to Rika. The one in the middle was Raizen Kurosaki, a key animator who specialized in backgrounds. On the left was Shidou Arisugawa, a cinematographer. And on the right was Retsu Kurogiri, an episode director.
Raizen, Shidou, and Retsu had all worked at the same studio as Yuta back when he was still a production manager. The four of them had been pretty close, but the company eventually went under.
When Yuta started Starfall, he had invited all three to join, but Starfall's future was uncertain at the time. It was a brand new company that could only take on outsource work and had no shot at landing a prime contract, so all three of them had turned him down.
In truth, Yuta hadn't just called these three. They were simply the only ones who agreed to come out tonight. But the flip side of that was that if they were willing to show up, there was a chance he could recruit them to Starfall. The ones who didn't show weren't even worth thinking about.
After the introductions, Yuta shot Rika a look and gave her a subtle nod.
Rika caught on immediately and raised her glass.
"Gentlemen, you're all friends and former colleagues of the president, which makes you my seniors. Please allow me to start by offering a toast to my elders."
If it had been a guy trying to toast all three of them with a single glass, that would have been a hard sell. But with Rika doing it, none of the three saw any problem with it.
They said a few polite words and drained their glasses.
Yuta quickly had the glasses refilled and offered a toast of his own, thanking them for coming out.
Since Yuta was the one treating and it was just the first round, the three men drank up without any fuss.
After that, Yuta stopped toasting.
He just chatted casually with the three of them, complaining about this and that, while Rika took charge of the drinking, serving up toast after toast without pause.
The three men occasionally raised a glass to Yuta in return, and he happily drank along. But since he was the one with a plan and they weren't, he ended up drinking the least of anyone at the table.
Time ticked by, and once Raizen Kurosaki, Shidou Arisugawa, and Retsu Kurogiri all looked sufficiently buzzed, Yuta pulled out his phone and turned on the voice recorder.
"The three of you told me once that whenever Starfall got big enough to land a prime contract, you'd jump ship and come work for us," Yuta said.
"Did I? When did I ever say that?" Raizen scratched his head, looking like he genuinely couldn't remember.
Shidou and Retsu both shook their heads, insisting that never happened.
"You definitely did. I remember it very clearly," Yuta continued. "What, now that you're all settled in at your current jobs, you want to go back on your word?"
"Go back on my word? No way!"
"I can't speak for those two, but Retsu Kurogiri has never broken a promise in his life. I'm not about to start now."
"Hey, Retsu, what's that supposed to mean? You think Shidou Arisugawa isn't a man of his word?"
The three of them were clearly wasted, because they were one step away from starting an argument with each other.
Yuta jumped in and calmed them down with a wave of his hands. "Alright, alright, I know all three of you are men of your word. So just go ahead and quit your current jobs and come to my company."
"Well..."
The three of them were pretty far gone, but even drunk, some instinct told them something wasn't quite right.
Yuta kept pushing. "Let me ask you guys something. Do you want to work on a truly great anime?"
"Hell yeah!" All three answered without hesitation.
"Do you want to make a name for yourselves in the industry?"
"Hell yeah!"
"Then come work for Starfall."
"Jump ship... yeah! Let's do it!"
Raizen was the first one successfully reeled in.
The other two still felt vaguely that something was off, even through their drunken haze, but after Yuta poured them two more glasses, they both caved as well.
Yuta quickly stopped the recording and pocketed his phone, then pulled out a notepad, a pen, and an ink pad that he had prepared ahead of time.
"Come on, come on, just sign your names here and press your thumbprints right next to them."
"We have to sign and give thumbprints too?"
"This is just in case you guys forget, that's all. Don't worry, I probably won't even need to use it."
"Oh. Okay."
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