Intertwining Path

Big Show Ahead

Ricardo Pov.

"I guess they're ready enough" Ricardo fondly looks at the group as they each fulfill the practice regime he set out for them

"Are you sure they are I mean..." The manager fidgets her hands nervously as they get prepared to tell the big news to the group

Ric chuckles looking at the nervous girl beside him. "Ms. Takanashi, you trust in their talents, don't you? Then you should trust them that they won't fail this. Even if they do they are not the type to give up so simply like that" 

"So cheer up" Ricardo lightly pats the manager's shoulder

"I guess you are right Ricardo-san" The manager sighs and takes a deep breath before giving him a gentle smile 

A couple of weeks has passed since the day he had them sing at the park. At first, Ricardo only planned for them to sing for only a week or two for them to get a better grasp of what kind of people their audiences are and what they expect from entertainers. It was hard especially the first few days where some people told them to shut up or took out their anger on them. Luckily it wasn't too bad because trust him he's seen and experienced worse. At least no one tried to beat them up or dump trash on them. Although Ricardo still wouldn't have intervened even if they did unless it got too bad. (Well he might have bailed out Tamaki and Iori considering that they were still minors.)

Still, that didn't change that it was hard for these rookies to receive some light criticism (In Ric's opinion) directly from their audience. For people like Ric who are used to facing criticism and discrimination as well as having their moves watched over by those hyenas 24 hours a day a little bit of shouting and gawking here and there don't phase him in the slightest. But for rookies who are still new to the industry and take things at face value, it was a pretty harsh experience even sparta as the Japanese would say.  

But they needed to learn what kind of world they were stepping into and what kind of people were out there waiting for them as well as what they expected of them. If they don't then they will easily be crushed by the harsh realities of the entertainment world. As an entertainer, they should be ready to face any kind of situations no matter how hard or grueling it is. Life itself is already full of unexpected surprises as it is, the life of an entertainer even more so. You can never predict what will happen or what kind of reaction people will have. 

That is why they need to build a solid foundation in order to be able to stand up and ride the waves as they come and go. 

Ric has seen many artists struggle with this and fail to ride the waves. If they are lucky it will just end with them giving up their careers, at worst they will start destroying themselves over it. One of his friends who was a talented dancer nearly ended up committing suicide because of this. She wasn't able to handle the pressure and criticism by the public that she resorted to using drugs to deal with her problems. In the end, even the drugs couldn't comfort her and she attempted to commit suicide despite still being so young. 

It was by a sheer stroke of luck that the landlord decided at that timing that she was going to kick her out of the apartment for not being able to pay her rent on time. When his friend didn't answer the door ring the landlord thinking that she was dodging her again finally lost her patience and decided to call the police on her to have her forcibly evicted. Unexpectedly when the police arrived and barged in after receiving the reports of drug abuse (yes the landlord knew about it but kept her mouth shut because his friend was good cash when she was still selling well) they found his friend in the bathtub with her wrists cut. 

Luckily the police called the ambulance on time and they were able to save her life by a margin. Although she was arrested by the police after that, she was able to get immunity under the condition she would go through therapy at a drug rehabilitation center for at least a year. She did and it helped her a lot. In the end, she seemed much happier though she decided to give up her career.