Chapter 344 - The Dynamic Duo

Flutters of speckled color weaved across the stage as a joyful melody embraced the audience. A young, animated girl took graceful steps, bouncing around with glee as she sung. To her fans, she was a soaring butterfly, delicate and vibrant.

A hand reached out for her, as if wanting to snatch her up for itself. But trembling fingers stopped abruptly as they hit an LCD screen. Skin dragged across the surface, gently, as if showing affection regardless.

A sigh interrupted the melody that came from the computer speakers. The one it came from was a normal high school girl, sitting languidly at her desk.

“How much I wish that I was her….”

It felt silly to be enamored by a fictional character. But she was hopelessly entranced regardless.

A knock sounded on the door before a caring voice interrupted the girl’s viewing pleasure.

“Saki, it’s dinner time! Curry rice! Come down before it gets cold!”

“Yes, Mother!”

Saki pulled herself away from the screen, where she had been watching videos of her favorite virtual idol, Hanako Nakajima. She loved the colorful 3D model and animated flair that the amateur singer brought out to the stage. It was a desire that contrasted the image of herself – plain, quirky and unapproachable.

But somewhere along the way, she had forgiven herself for it. One look around her room showed figurines and posters of cute anime girls all around, no longer hiding them in the depths of her closet from family.

Saki could display what she liked without fear of rejection. And after a long time worrying over what-ifs, she finally came right out and said it.

“I love girls! How cute they can be! How cheerful and bright they are! They make my heart soar at the very sight, and I don’t care anymore if you may think I’m weird. That’s who I am!”

Her parents arched a brow in surprise, but that only lasted for a moment.

“If you’re that passionate about it, then I don’t see why we should place societal boxes around you. If it gets you out of your room and happy, then that’s all we can wish for.”

It was a breath of fresh air. Her parents had literally opened a window in that musky room that she always hid herself in, with the excuse of being ‘different’. She had been scared for nothing. In a moment of courage from who knew where, Saki had blown away the stifling air that swirled around her family.

Perhaps, it came from seeing her favorite idol do her best. But regardless, she smiled as she left the room, glad that her home felt comfortable now. She would take little steps, just like Hanako did.

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“Class, we have some new transfer students today.”

Saki perked up as she scanned the room’s reactions. What incredible timing! It was her chance to make some new friends who hadn’t been poisoned by her image already!

“Sucks for them. The only seats open are next to the ‘Creep’.”

“I hope she doesn’t sour our class’s image.”

Saki ground her teeth in annoyance. Already, her classmates were ganging up on her to make her look bad. Instinctively, she put her head down to drown out the slander.

“Hey, that’s a Hanako keychain, isn’t it?” a bubbly voice called out to her from close by.

Shocked, Saki panicked and looked to her right in surprise. An unfamiliar girl with brown hair and a devilish smile greeted her. Not even bothering to wait for her response, the girl reached over from her seat and held the keychain in her hand.

“Her songs have been trending, enough that her limited merchandise is hard to find. Seeing as you’re a fan, how does karaoke sound? Oh, excuse me. I’m Kasane Katsura, the new transfer student.”

Saki’s voice failed on her. Wide eyed and fumbling, she struggled to put an answer together, to confirm what she was hoping for – a chance to make friends. Imagine, a cute girl wanting to be her friend. She had to thank the growing popularity of Hanako for that!

Just then, an unfamiliar boy looked back as well, sliding into the conversation.

“I kind of know the songs too. How about a little rendition in falsetto?”

The two girls blinked before Kasane answered.

“That… would probably sound horrible…”

“Of course, it would. But that’s the spirit of karaoke. Yuito Kurabe is the name.” He gave a salute to the two of them.

Saki was surprised. Even with all the smears thrown around about her, the two new students didn’t seem to care. At least, that was her hope. But she had been burned badly before.

After classes were over, a group of classmates walked right up to them.

“Yo, Yuito, Kasane! Come and hang out with us! There’s no need to be dragged down by Miss Gloom and Doom over here.”

The two transfer students got up from their desks and walked over, making Saki sigh.

‘Of course, they are going to be picked up by the popular kids. I guess they can already feel the room.’

But then, Yuito grabbed the boy calling out to them and gave him a noogie.

“Hey, don’t be like that! Saki seems like an all-right gal. If you’re going to invite us, then why leave her out?”

Someone else from the group spoke up.

“Ew, why would we? She’s got all these secret hobbies that she doesn’t want anyone to find out about. Always looking at us weird while staying silent. She’ll do the same to you.”

“Maybe she’s just shy.” Kasane glided back and latched onto Saki from behind. “See! Her face is all red like I predicted. Not good with words is all.”

The group looked like they wanted to say something but was cut off by Yuito.

“And everyone has secret hobbies. But not everyone has the shamelessness to reveal them. Take me, I like to size people up for the purpose of cosplay. And right now, the lot of you are looking pretty swell as snooty nobles picking on a townsgirl.”

“Oo, oo, do me!” Kasane raised her hand.

“My dear Kasane, you’d look pretty drip as a female knight.”

“All right! I’m ready to bust some moves!” Kasane picked up a meter stick and got into position, wrapping one arm around Saki like she was a suave protector.

Perhaps with how eccentric Yuito and Kasane were being, the rest of the crowd slowly backed away. During that whole exchange, Saki couldn’t get in a single word. But she didn’t have to. The smug faces of Yuito and Kasane carried a satisfaction of having done something they wanted to.

“You know, I didn’t think we would start a new school life this way, but live life with no regrets. If someone is going to make being weird something bad, then we’ll just have to show how fun weird can be!”

Yuito’s charisma and simple solution blew away Saki’s problems in an instant. The feeling of having someone to stand by you – it was warm and inviting. But then again, she was still being hugged by Kasane. Saki’s face reddened again at the realization.

“Whoever said that you were ‘gloom and doom’ obviously doesn’t know what they are talking about,” Kasane laughed as Saki fidgeted in her grasp.

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In no time, the three of them became friends. The days became brighter, and Saki’s places to be herself grew in number.

“It was fun singing songs together!”

Kasane walked with a spring in her step, hand in hand with Saki. Yuito trailed behind them, admiring the wholesome scene.

“The two of you really were on fire. While it is painfully clear that my guy-ish voice is unsuitable for the likes of stirring young hearts.”

“I know, right! Saki’s singing is so on point. I could almost feel Hanako in the room!”

Saki looked down sheepishly. “I-I only know those and ani-songs….”

“Nothing wrong with that. Music makes the experience. Regardless if it’s something cutesy like the Lovely Cure songs you two were singing or blood pumping like what I lean towards.”

Saki shivered as she recalled Yuito belting out notes and screaming to the one ani-song that he knew of: The R*mbling. The girls weren’t cute in that show, so she hadn’t bothered to watch it.

Saki and Kasane fled comically as Yuito started to hum the song again, but then, the pull of a girl stopping caused Saki to stop awkwardly. She turned to see an arcade center right next to them. Kasane had the look of a child eager to play.

“What’s wrong? Don’t you want to go in?” Saki asked.

“Of course, I do. I was just waiting to see if we were thinking the same thing. I realized that this was something you probably wanted to do.”

“How is it that we’ve only known each other for a few weeks, Kasane?”

The three of them walked right in. While the two girls competed in Taiko and DDR, Yuito stood back and watched. The ferocity of the two were evenly matched as notes and arrows flew across the screen, limbs fighting to keep up with the beat.

Eventually, the two conceded to a draw, as each of their matches were won back and forth by a sliver of the point total. Saki and Kasane slumped onto a bench, heads against each other and exhausted.

“Well, aren’t you two an item? Those were some fancy moves there, trying to one up each other on the highest difficulty.”

“You… could have… tagged in… Yuito….”

“And miss two girls in bloom? Nah. But here are some drinks from the vending machine.”

Saki and Kasane took the bottles of green tea and chugged them down. After several minutes, they had finally regained strength to amble outside.

Kasane shot Saki a mischievous glance, silently asking for cooperation. Picking up on it instantly, the two girls backpedaled toward an unsuspecting Yuito, clinging onto him from both sides. The gesture made him wince in disgust.

“What the-! You two are sweaty and sticky! I don’t have a fetish for the sporty type of waifu, you know!”

“Well, tooooo bad! You’re stuck with us for the time being!” Kasane stuck her tongue out playfully at him.

Saki did the same, meekly joining in on the teasing.

“Oh, come on, Kasane! You’re teaching Saki all your bad habits! You know that your only good one is being ‘expressive’, but I certainly don’t need another you.”

Yuito playfully flung their arms away before speeding ahead. Kasane ran forward, chasing after him, while Saki smiled. Her new friends felt like they had always been by her side. And if asked why, she would have no idea why it was that way.

Suddenly, Saki clutched her head as a voice in her head struck her.

“You are a friend because I decided that you warrant such a place in my heart. And no one reason clearly tells me that ‘this is exactly why I befriended you’.”

That was the worry that Saki carried in the back of her mind. Where was this ‘friend’ now? She couldn’t recall anything but this single voice, and the feeling of companionship it carried.

“Silly girl. Never knowing what’s best for you. But I love that about you…”

Who was it that loved her? That knew her so well that she offered a tearful smile as she vowed to be by her side.

Saki looked ahead at Yuito and Kasane, who were walking side by side, looking every bit like a nice couple.

That was her worry. That the two of them would move on without her. Because they possessed courage. The will to do whatever was needed to move forward. And Saki was merely along for the ride, pulled by their whims.

The two of them turned around, wondering what was keeping Saki. But rather than join back up, she made a gesture that she had to go another way. It was strangely painful to be with them at certain times.

Saki returned home and went about her day. Sitting in her pajamas and scrolling through the internet as per her norm for evenings, she froze as an unexpected bit of news popped up.

‘Rising Virtual Star – Hanako Nakajima – disappears from the internet!’

Saki had no idea how to react to that. It was like the world had betrayed her one source of confidence. She reached for her mouse, wanting to understand just what happened.

But then… her computer screen went black.

And when it lit up again, the face of Hanako Nakajima was staring right at her. A few long moments passed as they stared at each other. The voice on the other side of the screen spoke.

“Saki Himejima. I am waiting for you. Come forward. To your stage.”