Aira was early that day when heading to the destination spot, a cafe for lunch, which was near a building where a studio was rented for ALKALOID's upcoming job in fashion modelling. Since the cafe was a little far away from Seisoukan dorm, Tatsumi had offered to drive all of them there. Of course, only Hiiro agreed to it. 

Aira quickly made up an excuse about shopping errands for himself that he couldn't delay any longer. Mayoi had an actual excuse that he was assigned a club task from Shinobu that he had to do for the day, as he said he didn't know how long it would take so don't wait up for him. In the end, they decided to just meet at the cafe as Aira and Mayoi saved their sanity and years of life by a hair's breadth. Only someone like Hiiro and the driver himself, Tatsumi could survive Highway To Heaven.

He had looked around and saw no sign of Hiiro, Mayoi or Tatsumi before deciding he was alone and scoured the cafe to find a place-

"Uyah!" Aira let out a squeak when he felt someone tapping on his shoulder and saw it was Mayoi behind him with a somewhat apologetic smile for startling him.

"You look so cute like that when startled, Aira-san... although I didn't mean to do it! Forgive me for accidentally startling you...!"

"Eh, it's nothing to worry about, Mayo-san," Aira reassured him, "Let's find a place to sit and wait for Tatsun-senpai and Hiro-kun."

"Ah... yes, let's do that," Mayoi nodded along before they did just that, finding a place where they could see the door awaiting Hiiro and Tatsumi's arrival. Aira and Mayoi started ordering their drinks when Aira stared chatting with Mayoi. Out of all of ALKALOID, Mayoi was someone he could talk more freely about his interest in idols and the latest trends since he was somehow more versed about this than Hiiro and Tatsumi.

It was the reason why he had chosen this cafe because he just wanted to try the new sundaes that had been trending on SNS lately.

"Mayo-san... seriously, I don't know which one I can choose. Like, at all!" Aira exclaimed, showing off his phone, where pictures of sundaes of different flavors in cute mascot rendition as the theme for the sundaes which would make it a shame to eat. And yet, still...

"They are really cute to be eaten though," Mayoi said, as he looked carefully at the pictures and smiled at Aira, "Why don't we just buy different ones and share amongst each other?"

"Yeah, of course," Aira said with a smile of his own, "I wonder if Hiro-kun or Tatsun-senpai would mind to buy different sundaes and share altogether. That way, it would be four sundaes together with ALKALOID... Look, how about this purple sundae? I'm pretty sure you would look really photogenic just holding this sundae and pose a wink~"

The purple sundae in question looked like a cat with it's maniacal grin and eyes that are actually banana slices with syrup dotted as pupils looking up at them. Yet, it had a cute and mysterious charm to it... much like Mayoi.

"I... I'm not sure about that... but if we are talking about sundaes, doesn't the vanilla one suit you, Aira-san?" Mayoi asked.

Then, they had swiped towards the vanilla sundae pic on SNS, which represents a snow white- bunny that reminded Aira very much of Ra*bits but he understood why Mayoi would relate such a sundae with him, considering his own cuteness that he would not deny.

"Hmm, your right, Mayo-san. Then what about Hiro-kun and Tatsun-senpai? Which kind of sundaes do you think suit them?" Aira asked, before Mayoi and Aira discussed and settled for the sundaes.

Checking  over the menu, they noticed that those sundaes were still available but decided to wait for both Hiiro and Tatsumi before they finalized their orders. That did not mean they didn't order any drinks while they wait for Hiiro and Tatsumi, who both came together and spotted both Aira and Mayoi.

"Hello, Aira-san, Mayoi-san. I hope we haven't been keeping you long," Tatsumi said.

"Ah no, you are just right on time. It's just that me and Mayo-san came in early," Aira said, as both Hiiro and Tatsumi sat in the seats saved by both Hiiro and Tatsumi. Once they sat down, Aira didn't wait to eagerly show off the menu and started recommending the deserts for them.

"If it's from Aira, I'm sure it's delicious. I would like to give it a try," Hiiro said, once he was shown the sundae for him chosen from both Aira and Mayoi.

"Fufu~ You say this sundae reminds you of me? Well, it certainly is tempting to try and since this is the last day of our modelling shoot here, might as well indulge ourselves," Tatsumi said, smiling at his unit members, which they returned.

"Yay~" Aira said, as they ordered their food and deserts. He was just happy to have his recommendations tried out and taste testing a little of everything. Aira was no Niki, but admittedly he had a sweet tooth. If his mouth had slightly salivated just by looking at the cute sundaes once the main dishes were served and eaten, that was to be expected.

"Mmm, I wonder if this will be as good as the omurice I had," Hiiro said, already reaching out for his strawberry sundae surrounded with a cute dog that seems to pop out and wag its tail at him before Aira took hold of his arm, having seated next to each other.

"Wait, before we dig in, can I take a pic of them with all of us? Just to remember by 'coz this moment will be so rabui, and proof that I actually ate the cute sundae here. Of course, I will send the pic later," Aira said, in explanation of stopping Hiiro like that and releasing his hold off him.

"Fufu, go ahead, Aira-san. Before our sundaes melt~" Tatsumi said, hand holding the glassware housing a minty choco sundae that has a frog hopping around the sundae. It's big cute eyes were staring back at Tatsumi in it's innocence. Honestly, it would be a shame to eat any of them but it is what it is. Before that inevitability, however...

"Say cheese~" Aira said, taking it selfie style with him at the front and winking for the camera while the rest of his unit members tried out other poses or simply sat there with a smile on their faces. Mayoi was copying Aira's wink, maybe following what Aira had said and also throwing a peace sign with a nervous smile.

Tatsumi simply sat how he was with a graceful smile on his face with eyes on the camera. Hiiro for his part had enthusiastically wrapped his arms around Aira with a peace sign similar to Mayoi and smiled brightly at the camera. Honestly, Aira had long learned since that Hiiro had no concept whatsoever of personal space, so completely used to it, he let him do as he pleased and snapped the photo.

The four of them surrounding the four sundaes placed together on the table, each animal facing the other in cuteness, at least that's how Aira interpreted the pic he had now taken and was pretty satisfied by it. He would send it in their unit group chat at Hold-Hands later.

"It seems a shame to dig into these cute sundaes," Mayoi said, poking it with his spoon although he gave wide berth to the cat on it. Hiiro had no qualms about it and immediately dug into the sundae as he smiled at the taste it gave.

Aira followed Mayoi's sentiment, but said, "But it would be more a shame to not eat them and let it melt, Mayo-san."

Aira had also dug into his sundae, careful not to scoop the bunny and ate with relish. Aira's eyes shot wide open, since even with the common taste of vanilla in his mouth, it simply melted his mouth and tickled his tongue. His buds decided to have a field day and thus, he couldn't stop smiling.

"I agree with Aira-san, Mayoi-san," Tatsumi said, digging into his sundae in a more relaxed pace than either Hiiro or Aira who were savoring the sundaes and kept filling their mouths with each scoop.

"Mmm... sure," Mayoi said, as he dug into his sundae too in a careful manner before a small smile settled on his face, "Aira-san really knows how to recommend deserts."

"Of course~" Aira said, "They really showed their worth that SNS preaches. Your sundaes look so delicious too, so if you don't mind..."

"Of course, just take a bite and enjoy them, Aira-san. Isn't that why you suggested buying sundaes and sharing them with us?" Mayoi asked with a smile, pushing his own to Aira who did not hesitate to scoop it and taste the grape flavor tingling on his tongue.

"It's really fun enjoying and sharing our food together. Go ahead, Aira-san. I hope it's to your taste," Tatsumi said, and taking a bite of the mint chocolate, he was reminded why chocolate was one of his favorite sweets / deserts.

"Here you go Aira. Say 'ahh'," Hiiro said, already holding out his own spoon in front of Aira's face  that he backed  away in surprise and before he knew it, his mouth ran with him at the absurd antics Hiiro could pull.

"Wha...? Hiiro-kun, you can't just do something like that! I will use my own spoon, thank you very much. I don't want to share your saliva," Aira said, with a huff as he did exactly that and leaving Hiiro to take a bite of his own scoop meant for Aira. Honestly, there really were some boundaries that he should know.

Such things as sharing food and saying 'ahh' like that were meant more for closer relationships, like boyfriend and girlfriend. Something he didn't endorse between himself and Hiiro, because if there was one more teasing material for Rinne Amagi about his little brother's girlfriend, he will swear to God, Buddha, Tatsun-senpai... well maybe not to the last one.

He simply chose to beat those girlfriend allegations, even when the man is not around to see it because Hiiro had always been a friend and rival and he let it stay that way. Despite any awkwardness, he had put that aside and thanked all his unit mates for sharing their deserts, his sweet tooth singing worthy praises that day.

When they were done with their deserts, Mayoi started looking worried when their deserts were finished that Aira had to ask.

"Ah, Mayo-san, are you alright? You don't look so great. Did the food disagree with you?" Aira asked.

"No," Mayoi said, fidgeting a little, "It's just that we have only a little time before our final model shoot... I just... the job..."

After the business with MDM was over, ALKALOID had been steadily getting jobs and having a stable hold as an idol unit. Not only Lives, among the jobs that Aira favored and yearned for the most in this idol business, they had also done talk shows, either as guests or having their own, had appeared as radio show guests, helped out with music programs, sometimes consisting them of doing Lives like Feather Touch and sometimes not, fashion modelling and publicity work.

Throughout each and everyone of those jobs, Mayoi always had anxiety before such jobs, fearing the stares of many people or involving himself with them and usually has a self-deprecating spiel before reassuring himself with the help of others and either exploding on stage or working in such a professional manner to any job that anyone who knew Mayoi the first time would suffer absolute whiplash at the utter difference of personality between his usual self and stage self. Aira still remembers the utter whiplash he had at the time he experienced it.

Since Aira was already used to it and knew how this goes, he was not extremely worried about this kind of behaviour, knowing that Mayoi would deliver no matter what kind of job they face. That he would absolutely be fine later on, as time throughout jobs proved.

He also understood anxiety because admittedly, even on stable footing and improving throughout the jobs, he would have doubts about himself from time to time. He was just... less vocal about them than Mayoi, or at least he put on a stronger front when he can...

"Well, what do you think about it?" Aira asked, choosing to engage Mayoi in the conversation gently and see what ails him this time. This was more Tatsumi's thing than Aira's with 'lost lamb' and all that, but since he started it, he might as well go through with it.

"Along with other models, we are set to finish off their 'Card Suite' theme and finish with this. Just one more day of everyone's eyes on me... and then it's finally over... it's finally over..." Mayoi muttered. He was, of course, referring to their modelling job they had to attend to in about 15 or so minutes.

Those minutes were spent in what could be routine like pep-talks to each other that were habitual whether going up the stage or performing any kind of job. The habit was kickstarted by Mayoi this time.

"Ah, so he has resorted to self-hypnosis once again," Hiiro pointed out the obvious.

"Mayoi-san," Tatsumi said, deciding to take the reins of the conversation, "We have been doing well throughout the 'Card Suite' themes these past few days and I believe that we can get through it once again since this job is well-suited to our unit's themes of poker suites. Let's finish this job with a bang and no regrets. Amen."

"Amen," the rest of ALKALOID responded to Tatsumi which he can only laugh off awkwardly.

"I wonder why do you respond to anything I say with prayers, but I'm not God so can you please stop?" Tatsumi asked.

"Huh? Is it wrong to 'Amen' to anything you say, Tatsumi-senpai?" Hiiro asked, a curious glint in his eyes as he asked it out of pure innocence.

"Ahaha, is there anything wrong to praying to our lord and savior Tatsun-senpai?" Aira asked, the glint in his eyes purely out of teasing.

Not only was he comfortable around Tatsumi as a friend to tease him like that, honestly as an idol fan, he was also soaking up any kind of reactions from the  Reimei revolutionary. It was a win-win for Aira to see any interesting reactions out of Tatsumi while bantering like he would do a friend.

"Please..." Tatsumi said with a small smile on his face as he got onto Aira's intention of teasing, "A priest can't be God, but if you want me to be your savior, I will gladly take up on that, my lost lambs."

The rest of the members smiled at that, feeling at ease with the banter they usually have with each other. After all this time, as an idol and despite how individualistic this entire unit can be, Aira always felt right at home with his unit.

"Err... I don't want to ruin the atmosphere suddenly... and I'm sorry if I do!" Mayoi interjected, "But shouldn't we get going now? Before we are late for our jobs?"

"Buh," Aira spluttered out as he also realised the time, "The bad habit of chatting has sprung up again! We still have time before the meet-up there. So, let's go! Go! Go!"

"Aira, wait up," Hiiro said, standing up and following Aira out of the cafe. They have split the bill between them and paid up before going to the stadium that they have thus far worked on those runway shoots.

The staff greeted them pleasantly when they made it to the studio, among with many other idol models who were being dressed up for the last of the 'Card Suite' theme. For some reason, they are looking really regal...

"The final outfits for the Card Suite, of course, are Kings and Queens. For these outfits, we are showing that whether you are male or female, you can dressed in anyway you want. A girl could dress like a king and a boy could dress like a queen. For these outfits, all it matters is the person themselves and how they want to express the regality of either the King or Queen of each four suites," one of the staff members explained to ALKALOID, who were among the last to arrive and get dressed.

With that said, each of the members were assigned their outfits. Hiiro was the King of Spades, Aira was the Queen of Hearts, Mayoi was the Queen of Clovers and Tatsumi was the King of Diamonds. While Aira was ushered to dress up, he looked at the number of idols who had already finished dressing up as his eyes sparkled at the sight to behold.

The idols of course were boys and girls alike as most of them were not in the ES stream, simply scouted by a famous modelling agency who offered this job for a long  photoshoot for their magazine to a certain set of people they believed could pull off their theme, which being a famous agency meant they had the pickiest standards and wouldn't accept just anyone. 

In fact, only ALKALOID was scouted out by this modelling agency out of every idol in ES, not only because they are literally card themed unit but also, by the final words of the scout that day in interviewing them all for the job:

"It's as if the card theme was made for you and not the other way around. I'm sure with each of your personalities, you are well-suited for each of the suites you represent in your unit and the outfits prepared for the fashion magazine... I can see them on all of you, as if it was natural!"

Despite that heavy kind of praise, Aira felt slightly doubtful and even though he had a few modelling jobs under his belt prior to this one, ALKALOID was never offered a job from a big time agency and was understandably nervous. Thus, he decided to ask Arashi, fellow Pretty 5 member and model who had way more experience than him. When he did so, the only advice he was given was:

"Aww, as a more experienced model, I would be happy to be your Onee-chan and teach you anything that you need to know. The most important thing, of course Aira-chan, is to have confidence and be true to yourself. You make the clothes wear and suit you instead of the other way around as you exude confidence in front of the camera to show off the prettiness that is you. Have faith in yourself, Aira-chan~ After spending much time as a Pretty 5 member, I know you have what it takes to bring out your own prettiness and follow well through our Pretty Provisos. Let it shine through your work and feel proud of it~"

Although he obviously wasn't sure what Arashi meant by Pretty Provisos despite remembering there was one meeting discussing of such, he understood and took the sentiment to heart. During those days of the photoshoot, he tried his best shining brightly per Arashi's advice, being the prettiest and truest self, a person full of love for his favorite thing, idols. He was helped by his fellow members, other idols and staff members throughout the photoshoot and he helped all of them in turn when he can, full of passion and the desire to make everyone shine brightly like the idol he aspired to be.  

He had met, talked and helped other idols, away from the ES mainstream but those he followed all the same due to mostly being an everyoneP and having a bunch of oshis in the process. Whenever there was a break, he tried to chat up with those idols, being the shining stars and swans he aspired to be which was why he was a fan to this day. They were friendly, nice and professional as they chatted easily with Aira and he learned things fans would want to get their hands on.

However, there were some that were envious of Aira as an ES idol and were more aloof although they tried to hold that back, especially the female idols. It was not unexpected since male idols had become the forefront of the idol industry due to the agencies forming the oligarchy of ES have put their bulk in up and coming idols from Yumenosaki, Reimei and Shuuetsu Academies, all of them all-boys schools. StarPro and CosPro were especially apparent in that regard, and with how much ES was trying to expand and shape the idol industry, it was no wonder anyone out of the mainstream to be bitter not to be in the tide.

Nevertheless, Aira loved all kinds of idols all the same despite it being very bad for his poor wallet. He could understand the jealousy because before ALKALOID, that was him. An idol despite being in ES away from the mainstream and later treated as an underachiever as a result. 

Back then, he couldn't help feeling jealous of those idols no matter how much he loved them and had fervently wished that he was them instead. Now, as a member of ALKALOID out of the brink of death, he no longer felt that was the case and during this job, faced with some idols that had the same jealousy in their eyes like his before, Aira simply did what he could do without fueling the jealousy. 

He encouraged people to being their best, that there was nothing to be jealous of and they had their own admirable strengths that highlight who they are in a sincere manner that only fans could muster. In a way, it was what ALKALOID had done to him and he was simply passing it along~

Eventually, those idols had been taken to Aira's sincere nature along with his pure adoration of them after listing multitude of reasons for his admiration while some accused him of his adoration being false as Aira was actually looking down on them since they thought he had it all as an ES idol and were rising newcomers as ALKALOID, but that was honestly too far away from the truth.

It took time to convince them how true his sincerity was but they eventually believed it and were happy to make Aira's acquaintance. They had also been good natured when after work, he reverted back to an idol fan and timidly asked for any details of their next concerts or their autograph sessions. 

Sometimes he outright asked for autographs although he just wanted a guarantee that he will get them made special during official sessions. He knew better than to get them informally since most idols working under agencies would need permission and he was an otaku who abided by the rules. 

But can you blame Aira for wanting guarantees, like in the case when ALKALOID had that FUSION live with Valkyrie, he asked the Shu Itsuki for his autograph right then and there because do you know how rare and hard it is to get the mighty Valkyire leader's autograph? Do you???

Back to the present, the few days of working together helped form connections between staff and coworkers that by now, any seeds of discourse due to bitterness or jealousy had long since been gone. Everyone was now trying their best to make the last day of their job end with a bang, regally and powerfully as Kings and Queens.

When Aira was dressed as the Queen Of Hearts, it was tailored made for male but gave queenly vibes that honestly remined him of Arashi, which was to be expected because she was a queen after all~ 

Strangely though, the outfit reminded him similarly of a character in a mobile game that reminded him of Tsukasa Suou appearance-wise which was why he tried it out in the first place with an interesting storyline and cool characters. Stranger still, the character was based on the Queen Of Hearts, of course from Alice In Wonderland. In that moment, Aira felt like that character...

While the staff dressed Aira in their rendition of Queen Of Hearts, it felt more like from Alice in Wonderland than the deck of cards rendition they want to base it off. Yet, with how regal and form fitting it looked on him, he couldn't help play around and even held the staff, an accessory to the outfit, up high, shouting, "Off with your head!"

"Eh... who are you talking to, Aira-san? Do you want to decapacitate my head? Umu, I don't understand but if that's your wish..." Hiiro said.

"Wait, Hiro-kun. How did you get here. Wait... please don't go looking for a sword...!" Aira shouted, now trying to stop Hiiro from doing something stupid but Hiiro smiled back, stopping completely and said:

"Fufu, I was just joking. I learned how to do that from Hinata-kun and thought to play around. He said it was that kind of reaction I should look for if I attempt at a joke, so I'm glad I did it right."

"Hiro-kun... I..." Aira said, nearly exasperated. He actually thought Hiiro meant it for real, but in hindsight, even Hiiro was not that stupid. Maybe it was just him acting like his usual self that led him to believing it.

"Ufufufu, I'm glad you are having fun now but if you are already dressed up, it's time to standby for the photoshoot," someone said, turning out to be Mayoi, the Queen of Clovers and honestly rocking the queen vibes. His long hair helped him to this advantage along with slender form and gentle eyes.

Now that Aira took a better look at Hiiro with the shenanigans out of the way, he saw the red-haired boy standing tall in a somewhat more simplistic outfit than Aira's and yet showing off what could be called kingly. He was sure that his fans would want to bow down to him if they saw him the way Aira does.

Hiiro was aware of Aira's stare as he looked down at his clothes and examining them, "Do you think they suit me, Aira? Even after wearing a lot of new clothes, I am always surprised at the different styles they have. At least this outfit is easier for me to wear in comparison to many other outfits in different modelling jobs we had."

"Mm, don't worry, Hiro-kun. I'm sure your fans would love to see this side of you very much~ Of course, it suits you," Aira said, and Mayoi nodded in agreement.

"Thank you very much, you guys," Hiiro answered in turn.

"It seems that the mummy hunter has become a mummy," the three turned to see it was Tatsumi who spoke, in King of Diamonds regalia and think of it as looking at God for a hot second before getting back your senses but still thinking the person is hot. That's how Tatsumi looked like, in Aira's fanboying exaggerations.

"Eeee... I'm sorry Tatsumi-san!" Mayoi almost prostrated himself... almost, if Aira didn't take him by the arm to make sure a scene wasn't made in case anybody else decided to stumble here.

"Ahaha, we got a little carried away," Aira said, "We are going now, alright?"

"Umu," Hiiro affirmed, "Let's have a job well done."

The last shoots came in pairings of kings and queens of different suites, sometimes same gender like a pair of boys or girl and sometimes different gender of a boy and girl. ALKALOID, of course, were a pair of boys with Hiiro and Aira as the King of Spades and Queen of Hearts while Tatsumi and Mayoi as the King of Diamonds and Queen of Clover.

Aira could say it was very much like the other model shoots he performed. Strike a pose, give the best expression you offer and follow the directions that make you most appealing. It was easy to get a feel of the outfit and act how they wanted him to be along with Hiiro. Almost as naturally as taking photos together on outings with the rest of ALKALOID when they hung out together for the memories, as Aira put it. Yeah, imagining something casual in this professional job, just to loosen up, relax and do his best.

That was until the directors wanted a bit of fanservice out of both Hiiro and Aira, to see the appeal it could get in the magazine. Knowing that fanservice was part and parcel of being an idol, Aira wasn't much fazed by it. Don't let his blushing face tell anyone otherwise. At the very least, Hiiro wasn't holding his tongue anymore. Overall, it was a good shoot.

Right along with Mayoi and Tatsumi's shoot, which Aira tried not to combust with how mature and handsome they look. They were his friends sure, but he was now secretly wishing he had that kind of appeal as an idol although he knew cuteness was more his charm while he tried to exude the coolness required for their card soldier theme.

The rest of the models had done a wonderful job, probably having the same feeling of charm and accomplishment, wrapping everything up in a bang. That was how all jobs were these days to Aira, giving his all, trying his best and acting professional... doing it sincerely from start to end with his fellow unit members. Even when Lives were the best jobs he could ask for, he did not belittle any other idol work coming his way, as long as they could reach the hearts of his fans like how his own heart was reached.

That's how he had done his jobs with ALKALOID, from their pep talks, banters and all the way to their sincere professionalism, helping each other out when they can. It would always leave Aira with a little more experience to become a better idol... all thanks to his fellow unit members, who stuck through thick or thin with their encouragement.

He remembered the scout saying that the card theme was made for them instead of the other way around and when all of ALKALOID still in their outfits gathered together with a staff member being kind enough to commemorate it in a photo as long as it was not shared publicly, Aira could look at the photo fondly and think the scout right. After all, four suites made a deck~

He would treasure the photo well. He also can't wait for the release of the magazine. Another day on the job done, with the same feelings of satisfaction wrapped up in one go.

"Now that our work here is finished, let me drive us all back home as we enjoy a break. I could cook us all early dinners if you want~" Tatsumi said.

... And those feelings crashed and burned with pure panic, as both Aira and Mayoi who silently prayed to some God up there, with as much excuses as they could possibly make up on the spot, that they would be able to save themselves from yet another shaving of their years in their own lifespans or multiple 'life flashing before your eyes' moments.

It was yet another day of work.