Chapter Text
“I swear mom it's fine! Stop worrying so much!” A young man said somewhat loudly over the phone over the white noise emitted by the ocean’s worth crowd of busy commuters going about their day at the train station, his distinctly bright pink hair making him stand out quite a bit amongst the flow of people.
“But Ruki! You don't understand, what if it turns out to be a scam! What would happen to you then!?” The boy, Haruki, simply rolled his eyes as he navigated the busting station.
“Like I said, it's fine mom, really, I checked everything written on the contract.” He responded, slowing down his walking as he neared the train heading to his destination. “I'm getting on the train now, I'll talk with you later, bye mom.” And before his mother could come up with more paranoid responses and all sorts of scenarios that are more than unlikely, Haruki hung up the call, sighing as he boarded the train.
“Phew…” He exhaled out, his hand reaching to grab the handrail overhead to steady himself for the ride. “... Calm down Haruki, it's your first job…” He muttered to himself, his back pressed against the glass and metal of the door inside the packed tincan riding along the rails.
Haruki pulled out his phone once more, scrolling through his messages to find the one sent by his new employer confirming the location of his workplace, as he did so he took the time to adjust his glasses with his other hand.
‘Hang on… Miyamazuka Academy… Isn’t that an all girls school?’ He thought to himself as he looked at the address. ‘Can I even walk past that place without looking like a creep?’
No response to his text just yet, and so Haruki simply focused on the ride and looked out the window as the train zoomed past the bustling urban district.
XxxxX
Unfortunately that response never came by, and so Haruki stepped out of the train completely in the dark on what to do next, and so he stepped out of the subway into the unknown. “... Okay Haruki, calm down, you’re just early… Maybe in about an hour.” He mumbled to himself, his gaze demurely shifting down to the pavement as he strolled down the sidewalk. ‘... Hopefully things go nicely-’
“Oof!” The pinkhead let out a grunt as he collided with someone, eliciting a light and airy yelp from the poor soul he accidentally knocked to the ground. “Ow…” Haruki turned to the side upon hearing the whine, his eyes landing on a cute girl with light blue eyes and long and wavy hair, dressed in some kind of school uniform he doesn’t recognize.
“Crap! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, miss! Are you okay?” He panickingly stuttered out
"Yeah… Yeah… I'm alright.." she says softly. The girl was then assisted by a fellow student wearing the same uniform as her with vibrant pink fluffy hair, a part of it tied into a small pigtail . "I should've been more careful.." "Yeah, you should" the two of them bowed slightly towards the male, a form of a silent apology. “Sorry for the trouble, mister!” the pink haired girl spoke firmly yet also vibrantly. Haruki then caught a glance of the school logo on their IDs- “Miyamazuka Girls Academy”
“Oh- Uh… Excuse me.” Taking a leap of faith, Haruki just went for it. “Hm? Yes?” The girl he bumped into responded. “I’m looking for the Miyamazuka girls academy. Do you happen to know where that could be?” He acted oblivious to the ID he saw on them just moments ago. “I’m looking for, hopefully, a few of your classmates” “Well, you asked the right people! And who are you looking for?” The fellow pinkhead seemed curious.
“Well uh-” Before he could think of an answer his phone vibrated then, and right there on the notifications, his employer listed down names telling him to find them.
“I’m looking for…” He trailed off as he read the names written down.
“Momoi Airi, Hinomori Shizuk-” He went as far as two names before the girl with similar pink hair in front of him spoke up. “Ah, that’s me!! Momoi Airi at your service!” She exclaims, puffing up her chest and lifting her hand up in an affirming salute.
“Hinomori Shizuku, present.” The girl with light blue hair then announced, awkwardly mimicking the gesture her companion did. “Eh?” Haruki dumbfoundedly said.
“Two of the people you’re looking for are right here!” The girl with pink hair, now named Airi, responded, meanwhile the other girl, Shizuku stepped forward. “You were looking for us?” And that’s when the nervousness flared up, oh no women… Haruki rarely talks to women.
“Oh uh…” He shows the two girls what was on his phone. “I was told by manager-san to look for you two among others for a job?” He sheepishly added.
Airi looked at the number displayed on the contact, and a second later her red eyes lit up in recognition as she realized who this person in front of her was. “Ooh! Are you our new editor?” She asked.
It took a moment for Haruki to figure it out but he eventually did have to come to the conclusion that the people he's talking to right now are actually his employers. “Y-Yes, I was looking for a job and stumbled on your ad…”
With that, the two girls looked at the boy up and down, memorizing every minute detail of his visual appearance. Airi in particular standing on her tiptoes and examining him intently.
“Mhm! He doesn't look too bad either, I'd say we'll get along well.” Haruki blushed slightly at Airi voicing her approval, looking to the side as it became apparent women don't really compliment him much.
Airi continued to assess the blushing pink-headed boy’s reaction for a few more seconds until Shizuku mercifully cleared her throat and spoke up. “Ahem… I'm pretty sure the others are waiting for us, shall we?”
“Oh right! You still haven't met the others yet haven't you? You're in for a treat stud~” Airi cooed, pulling out her phone and texting what Haruki presumes to be the other two people listed down on the text he got.
After a second, there was a ping on Airi’s phone which she took only a moment to confirm before speaking again. “To the park we go! And don't forget to bring the editor along, Shizuku!”
As Haruki was about to follow along, his hands briefly touched Shizuku's, the physical contact causing the two to freeze up on the sidewalk as they looked awkwardly at one another. “Uh…”
“S-Sorry, force of habit…” Shizuku mumbled out, blushing slightly in embarrassment. “... Fair, let’s keep going.” The pinkheaded boy simply responded, trying to be as calm as possible.
“Come on! The other two are waiting!” Airi called out ahead of them, a sign to pick up the pace. “Hai, Hai, we’re coming Airi-chan, don’t move too far ahead.” Shizuku said as the other girl backtracked to keep pace with them.
As the trio continued their journey Haruki took a moment to once again take in the faces of two of the people he’ll be working with for who knows how long before he has to move on with his college life. ‘Cute’ was what his mind thought of when he took in every visual detail that formed the two girls’ identities, from how strikingly similar he and Airi looked to the beauty mark on Shizuku’s face.
Once he was done staring, Haruki briefly looked at the listed names again to find the other two people he was looking for. Hanasato Minori and Kiritani Haruka, two very nice names.
He adjusted his glasses once again, storing everything he's seen inside the infinite void that is the human brain as he followed along.
XxxxX
It took some time but the 3 of them eventually arrived at the park, a nice and peaceful and open place perfect for whatever shenanigans senior high schoolers these days are up to.
“Looks like we're early.” Shizuku said, finding a more empty spot at the park before plopping down on the grass under a tree. “Means we can get to know more about the editor before everyone else!” Airi chirped, sitting next to Shizuku, not having the balls to join them, Haruki opted to sit in front of the two girls.
Shizuku leaned forward slightly, assessing the new face’s appearance for the third time before Haruki realized what was expected of him. “Ahem… Okay…” He trailed off as he took his backpack off his shoulders and opened it, grabbing the laptop inside, setting it on his lap and flipping it open.
While Haruki was browsing his numerous video edits, the 3 heard a voice call out to them in the distance. Oi! There you are!” The sudden call prompted the new editor to look up from his laptop, his eyes locking with the oceanic eyes of a girl with short darker navy blue hair, along with 3 other cute girls accompanying her.
“Oh? And who's this?” Says the girl with blue hair, eventually she and the others joined the other two and sat down. “That's the new editor! And you're just in time since he apparently prepared something for us.” Airi responded.
“Ah, there it is.” Haruki announced, selecting the video file he was looking for before rotating the laptop to face the girls and playing the video.
The group watched with anticipation as the video played, first it started out with the stereotypical vintage film reel-style countdown before cutting to a black screen. This went on for another second before Haruki’s voice started narrating in the video. “My name is Enamoto Haruki, and my job is to add magic to videos and make fantasies come to reality.”
The black screen then cuts to a short video of Haruki running towards a moving car, jumping up high over the racing vehicle and doing a dramatic roll on the ground like some kind of action movie character.
“Oooh!” Everyone collectively remarked, save for Shizuku who quietly had a look of astonishment on her face as she witnessed the stunt shown in the video. The clip then paused as Haruki’s narration continued.
“Of course I’m not ballsy or stupid enough to actually do that, instead I used the power of video effects to mash two different videos together to create the stunt.” The video then showed two different clips, one where Haruki is seen running across the empty lot and jumping as high as he could and another shot in the exact same spot showing a car driving by at speed.
The video then cuts to the next clip, showing Haruki walking towards the camera in a green screen room as he continues with his introduction. “Whether that’s an isekai world you’re looking to bring to life…” He trailed off as the greenscreen all but disappeared in a flash of light, creating the perfect transition for the scene to transform.
When the white was clear there was nothing left that hinted it was a green screen, now Haruki was wearing some kind of armor, with a fancy red scarf around his neck that was billowing in the wind as he walked closer, the grass crunching beneath his feet, then he stopped and continued his monologue.
“Or an intense Sci-fi space battle…” Another flash on the screen acted as the transition, the bright light clearing out to reveal that the scene had changed again.
Now the background was the beautiful, dark void of outer space, an asteroid belt visible in the distance with the editor now wearing a spacesuit and carrying a laser blaster in his arms. Yet the most striking detail of all was that in the same background, a massive conflict of galactic proportions seemed to be going on.
There was a giant warship with blue markings seen in the distance, its energy cannons firing viciously at the red marked ships nearby and decorating the dark ocean of black with streaks of yellow and green to no avail, eventually the blue was ripped apart in an explosion that one could argue was beautiful like a supernova.
“Or even just simple effects but eye-catching effects for a concert…” And as Haruki said that, all effects on the green screen were deleted, allowing the editor to make a heart gesture with his hands before a video effect of a heart shape shot out before dissipating. As further demonstration he raised a finger and waved it in the air, leaving trails of blue in its wake.
“You tell me, and I'll bring it to life.” Became his closing remark before the video faded to black and ended.
Haruka waited for a few moments, watching as the group of girls looked on at the empty screen of his laptop, fascinated at what they saw. “So, what do you think?” He finally asked, closing the screen of his portable computer.
That question finally pulled the group of fine young ladies out of their collective trance, Shizuku being the first to remember where they were and what they were doing here. The group of six looked at each other for another second, silently forming a single conclusion about what they saw.
“That was… More than impressive,” Shizuku finally responded, her words accompanied by a collective hum from the rest of the girls. “It was beyond anything we expected, though I do have to ask… Are you sure about working with us?” The question only earned a confused sideways head tilt from Haruki, his circular-shaped glasses reflecting some sunlight that filtered through the tree’s leaves above. “Hm?”
“I mean… We’d love it if you will but I feel like you can find a job where you can make full use of all this talent while making more for your hard work.” She raised some good points of course, for all he knows he could just approach a producer for some big-budget movie and get hired right away and earn shedloads of cash…
… But of course, the 20-year old had already decided. “Maybe that’s true, but we’ll get to that at some point.” He said, opening up his laptop and scrolling through its files once more for a few seconds before showing the girls what was on it again, the screen now displaying more deeper information about the editor that the video presentation didn’t go into detail about.
“Right now, my main focus is working with you.” He added, adjusting his glasses. “Here’s more info about me along with my contacts just in case you don’t have it already, I’m available any time of the day so long as I'm not sleeping or at university.”
The group of ladies paused, turning to face one another as they began a brief discussion. “So, what do you think so far?” Airi asked the others, the darker blue-haired girl nodding with approval as she thought for a moment.
“Well… He definitely has way more than what we're looking for, and he seems more than happy to work for us.” She said, earning a hum from another girl with teal hair that was styled in some distinct twin-tails. “Mhm… So, is it settled then, girls?” She asked them, with all 6 agreeing in perfect unison.
Finally they turned to face Haruki again, who was still sitting on the grass with his laptop waiting. “It's settled then, you're hired! Welcome aboard!” Airi announced, reaching out to shake their new editor’s hand.
“Oh right! We haven't introduced ourselves yet, haven't we?” Dark blue-haired girl said, something that prompted all the other girls to stand up before him.
"Name's Hanasato Minori, the leader of More More Jump! I'm so glad to have you join our team!" The hazel-haired girl introduced herself first. She had her hands clasped loosely and held close to her chest.
"I'm Kiritani Haruka, pleasure to meet you." The navy haired girl followed. Her hand gracefully laid on her sternum.
"Kagamine Rin, at your service! Nice to meet you, Haruki-san!" The vibrant blonde girl hopped in excitement with her arms stretched out in the air.
"And I am Hatsune Miku, we're glad that you reached out to us and decided to join us!" The girl with teal twin tails, having a robotic voice, happily greeted.
Airi too hopped up on the bandwagon, doing a little salute as she introduced herself again. “Momoi Airi, present!” Shizuku, though, remained silent, one introduction is enough after all.
Haruka, Shizuku, Airi, and Minori then stood before the editor with obvious excitement on their faces as they bunched up together before speaking and unison. “And we are… MORE MORE JUMP!”
Haruki paused for a moment, racking his brain before saying something that devastated the group of girls before him. “... Uh, never heard of it-”
“Waaaaaaaahhh!!! WHAT!?” “... Oof…” “Ah, he’s never heard of us…” The sheer disappointment that followed was both comically funny, and also kinda sad. ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have said that…’ He thought to himself, a new addition to the list of things one can say to turn a group of lively and excited people disappointed in the span of one second.
Thinking quickly, the editor changed the subject to try and save face. “Well, that might be a good thing y’know.” He said, trying to come up with anything that could help his case. “Since uh… I don’t know any of you, that means I could focus better on working and be more casual-” Despite his best efforts, those words are not helping.
“There there, Minori-chan, it’s alright…” Airi says as she and Haruka were consoling a seemingly sobbing Minori as she sniffled. “Wahhh… H-He doesn’t know us…” Now he REALLY regrets saying that.
“... Maybe I should’ve said something else?” He muttered, and Shizuku just hummed in agreement as she stood next to him. “... Yeah, agreed.”
XxxxX
“Ooh! This is really cool!” Haruki remarked as he watched an archived video of a MORE MORE JUMP! performance, eager to learn more about the idols he’s now gonna work with. “So this is MMJ huh…”
“So, are you on board now?” Airi asked as she looked at him over his laptop playing the video. The other girls sat neatly under the tree as they waited. “Mhm, so, what comes next? Any projects already?”
Haruka chimed in at that question, scooting over closer before she could explain what the girls are currently up to. “Well… There’s an MV we’re currently working on… Everything’s already been recorded so all that’s left is the editing.” Upon hearing that, Haruki immediately locked in.
“Excellent, may I have the video file then?” He then said.
“Hai, do you have SNS, Haruki-san?” As she asked, Haruka brought up her phone to show her contact details.
“Just call me ‘Ruki’, our names might cause confusion from the similarities.” He said as he logged on to SNS and typed in her details.
“Speaking of similarities… Minori-chan, doesn’t Enamoto-san kinda look like Airi?” Shizuku whispered to Minori as the two watched the interaction. “Hmmm… He does! I wonder why…”
“Hm?” Ruki looked up from his laptop hearing the discussion building up a tiny distance away. “... Please don’t think we’re related…”
“... Now that it’s been pointed out, you really do look alike, Airi-chan, Ruki-san.” Haruka added, looking back and forth between the two. “... No we aren't related, if that's what you're thinking.” He defended viciously.
“Hmmm… An editor whose name sounds like someone from MMJ, and looks like someone from MMJ… That can't be a coincidence right?” Minori added in, now it was really ramping up.
“... Yes it is just a coincidence, please don't overthink it…” Ruki said, trying his best to focus on his work despite the girls’ playful banter. “I doubt that.” Haruka responded, much to Ruki and Airi’s dismay.
“Oi! Oi! What's with this conversation!?” Airi called out, earning a laugh from the rest of the girls. “Just pointing out the obvious.” Len responded. “Maybe Ruki-san is actually Airi’s long-lost brother! They're actually 4 siblings!” Miku jokingly theorized.
It took quite a bit of effort on Ruki’s part to finally get in the zone and focus fully on editing, nothing complicated of course but it still needed his full attention. The files Haruka gave him were several bits that were recorded with multiple cameras, and so he had to mash them together and make sure they were perfectly synchronized along with the audio, nothing he can't handle of course, just needs a little time…
XxxxX
“Aaand here you go! One MV.” Ruki announced, calling an end to the group of girls’ bickering. “Ooh! Can I see? Pleasee?” Minori asked excitedly, hopping over with everybody else to see his handiwork.
“Here you go.” Ruki says as he turns his laptop around and plays the MV he made. It wasn't too complex, the video was comprised of Minori, Shizuku, Haruka, Airi, and Miku doing a dance in the park, shot from multiple angles while their cover of ‘The Vampire’ was playing, a beautiful cover of course, enhanced with the girls’ dancing and the skillful editing of their new hire.
Once the 3-minute and 4 second video concluded all the two girls could do was clap, the work was really simple all things considered, but it showed MORE MORE JUMP! what their new editor was capable of in action, and the fact this isn't even a fraction of his power only adds to the excitement.
“... Excellent work, Ruki-san.” Shizuku remarked once the video was over, her smile only accentuated by the beauty mark on her face. “Good job today.”
“Thank you, it's just the first job though so it's nothing fancy.” Ruki responded as he closed his laptop, earning a nod from her.
“Mhm, nothing fancy for now but with what you've shown us, I think we can expect more when bigger projects come up.” She added, Minori butting in after that. “Mhm! So glad to have you here, welcome!” She repeated, pulling a smile from him.
“Yeah… Thanks.”
XxxxX
“Alright! I guess this concludes today's meeting!” Minori announced, looking up at the sky to see the sun setting above. Ruki did a little stretch as he got up off the grass before carefully placing his prized laptop in his bag.
“So, this place again on Friday?” He asked, getting out an affirmative nod from Airi. “Yup! Same time and place.”
“Okay then… I better prepare my recording equipment, I'll see you girls then.” He said.
“Hai hai! See you!” Minori says, a sentiment that the whole group shared as they watched their newly hired editor depart after his first day at work. Shizuku in particular invests quite a bit of her attention watching him leave.
“Hm? Everything alright, Shizu-san?” Len asked her, breaking her out of the trance. “... Ah, yeah… It's nothing. Let's go?” Shizuku then turned to the other girls who had already finished packing their stuff, ready to leave with them. “Yup, let's go!” Airi responded, prompting the rest of MORE MORE JUMP! and their accompanying Vocaloids to finally go home.
XxxxX
“Phew…” Ruki let out a tired, but victorious sigh as he crashed down on his bed and looked up at the ceiling. Already thinking of the group of idols he's working with. “MMJ, huh?” He mumbled to himself, the natural human instinct known as curiosity setting in. And like the good weeb he was, he dug deeper into the hole.
Pulling out his phone, he dug around for more info on his employers, eager to satiate his thirst for additional knowledge about the idols who hired him. An activity that he indulged in for quite some time that night until his mind crashed out on him and he fell asleep.
XxxxX
“Okay… I'll just snag some groceries before boarding the train.” Ruki decided to himself as walked out of university, the sun was setting and he was tired, but of course he can't go home yet without food. Uni and the binge-watching of MMJ content last night took a toll.
As he sauntered down the sidewalk, he happened to pass by Miyamazuka Academy. ‘Oh right, they're close by… Convenient.’ He thought to himself, not even daring to look in the school building's general direction as a group of students came rushing out the gate. They must've stuck behind for a bit for whatever reason.
Moving on, Ruki thought nothing of it, just the school his employers study at, whatever. The minutes of walking continued then, passing a few blocks as he neared his favorite grocery store conveniently positioned close to the subway.
“Ey c’mon lady, we know where. Just follow us.” His ears picked that sentence up as he walked around the corner, and whaddya know, 4 male students from another school trying to get someone from an all-girls academy to hang out with them.
“Like I said, it's a nice offer, but I'm going to have to decline.” Oh hey, that's Shizuku, all nice and composed despite the increasingly uncomfortable situation she found herself in.
“Just trust the boss, ma'am. He'll make sure it's a good time.” One of the boys in the group then said, clearly not the most well-versed when it comes to reading the room.
Having seen enough, Ruki decided to take a gamble and intervene. “Good afternoon, Hinomori-san.” He greeted as he was approaching. “Hanging out with friends?” The group of guys didn't really seem to be keen on seeing him, not too keen on seeing this pink-haired nerd just casually conversing with their target that they've been working so hard to pester to go with them.
That, and he didn't look like his age, despite being in uni he kinda looks younger than Shizuku, just a little taller. “What’s the deal with you, kid? Can't tell she's already being taken?” One of the boys asked him. Seeing that shift in their demeanor, Ruki responded in kind. Dropping any of those child-like qualities he was known for, it was almost scary even.
“And what's the deal with you, kids? Can't tell when a woman isn't interested?”
Fin.