1

"She's been quite a handful, hasn't she?"

Kazuki, with a bored expression on his face, raised an eyebrow and looked at the classmate who was seated beside him in front of the cafeteria table. He cannot read Uehara's expression, but judging from the flat tone that she used, she was probably not in a pleasant mood as well.

"You said it."

"What's that all about, anyway? You sure you only met her in that event?"

"Hmmm..."

That was clearly not the case for Kazuki. However, he just silently nodded as he surveyed the busy cafeteria before he resumed drinking his soda.

He had been feeling lethargic the past day, much more than usual, thanks to that idol who's now his classmate. For the whole of yesterday, she had been bugging him and being uncomfortably clingy towards him. It was a really bad show, some sort of fake relationship wannabe, only it was one-sided.

At this point, Kazuki had the idea that it was to spite him. That devious idol, knowing the difference in their stature, knew exactly how to irritate him. She had school newcomer protection, and he's at the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to social influence. As an unfortunate side effect, yesterday also uncovered much of the resentment some people held towards him.

The fact that some classmates still looked at him that way hurt him more than he would like. Weren't people supposed to just get over things and forget anything happened if you just disappear and fade into the background?

Apparently not.

Kazuki recalled Hikari's worried look and words as he dropped her off her school a while ago. He could hide few things from his doting and super-competent sister, and the effects of yesterday were not one of them.

Even Hikari noticed it, huh?

"Yo, Arata. We're here!"

Walking with Amagi, Shiki made his presence felt as he approached the two. In contrast to Kazuki, Shiki was in a complete high, his lively words fitting in with the excited chatters that filled the cafeteria. With much enthusiasm, he placed his lunchbox on the table.

"What's up, Arata? You seem extra gloomy today?"

Kazuki simply sighed before Shiki suddenly shouted.

"Oh, is it anything to do with Yuki-tan? You are so lucky. Man, how do you get an idol to fall for you? And Yuki-tan, too! I'd kill for a relationship with her!"

Seeing his dreamy eyes that seemingly shone with excitement, Kazuki gave a dry laugh.

"Then do the honors and get her off me, then."

"Yeah, you should do that," Amagi immediately chimed in.

"I agree."

Uehara, with her eyes closed and arms on her chest, agreed almost instantaneously.

"Ehh? W-what's with the sudden enthusiasm from you two?" wondered Shiki as he kept looking back and forth at the two girls.

Kazuki saw the clueless expression on his spiky-haired friend and felt the urge to either laugh or facepalm.

"Nothing. It's just that I think someone as amazing as her would be the perfect fit for you, Shiki," said Uehara.

"I agree. It's time for your big break now, Shiki," followed Amagi as she put her lunchbox down and found her seat beside Kazuki.

"Awww, what's gotten into you two angels today? That's too kind of you!"

"Nothing," answered the two girls in unison.

"Oh, what's up today, everyone?"

Green hair, glasses, a confident strut that aims to showcase her body, and a loud voice. It took no time for Kazuki, and the rest of the gang, to recognize that voice.

"Ah, speaking of!"

However, Kimura promptly ignored Shiki and made a beeline for Kazuki. He was flanked by both Uehara and Amagi, and that probably caused the idol to stop her advance.

"I came to see my favorite person this lunch break, so would you kindly move aside?"

"No."

Hearing Uehara's reply, Kimura scowled.

"The seat beside me is open, by the way," whispered Shiki, who moved aside and left a visible gap on the table beside him.

"Thanks for the patronage," answered Kimura, suddenly giving off her recognizable Yuki-tan wink. "But I'm here for Arata, and I have a request for him right now. Surely, you all won't turn down a celebrity like me, right?"

"Umm... Arata's not in the mood," started Amagi. "We haven't eaten our lunch yet."

"Then how about I join the four of you?"

No objections were raised, but looking at his two female companions, Kazuki can feel the tense air sink deep into his skin. On the flip side, Shiki looked like he was at an all-time high.

"Oh, and once classes are over, we need to talk, Darling."

Kazuki sighed for the nth time in this hour and gave another look at the two girls.

"Darling?!" echoed the two girls.

"Fine, fine, whatever you say," Kazuki conceded.

"Huh?"

It naturally raised another objection from the two girls, but Kimura just winked at Kazuki.

"I knew I can count on you. I picked the right guy!"

"I'll just explain everything soon," said Kazuki as soon as Kimura skipped her way to the food stalls. He then looked at both Uehara and Amagi. "Maybe tonight?"

2

What have I really gotten myself into?

Kazuki had spent the last few minutes questioning himself while standing in front of the school building's main doors. He watched as student after student passed him by - most of them are either headed home, to club, or to whatever leisure activity they have planned.

Normally, he would have belonged to the former group, with Amagi currently being busy with practice, Shiki having to do some catch-up classes, and the presence of Nullities and Fragments not being too much of a concern lately for Uehara and Sadohara.

However, it's a bit different today. He had booked this afternoon for one person: Yui Kimura.

He felt an uncomfortable sensation over his head as he thought of the girl and her clingy moves. He could have easily turned her down, but he just couldn't.

This was probably the best way to finally get her off his trail. Perhaps doing a few favors would help the devious girl forget her grudge for what happened the weekend. He had also been looking for a way to make up to her for this weekend and the event at Imperial Tracks, so maybe a week of sacrificing and playing along would do the trick?

Still, how lucky would he be to suddenly get the idol as a temporary classmate?

"Ah, there you are! I knew you'd wait for me, Darling~"

Darling. Again.

Kazuki felt like he wanted to cringe, but he kept his stoic expression as he saw the green-haired girl prance towards him and quickly lock her arm around his. Pushing her glasses up, she smirked.

"So, how do you think of the incognito civilian look? Makes me look mature? Smart?"

"As far as I know, idols go incognito by wearing some huge hoodie, plastering multiple masks on their faces, and wearing huge shades."

"Naw, they only do that in anime! You really can't expect me to do that, right? What are you? Some kind of no life dweeb? I bet you spend your time at home messing around the Internet with some cringey edgy username."

She's not that wrong, I guess?

The commotion continued, all in front of the many passersby who suddenly looked at Yuki-tan... then Kazuki.

Needless to say, they have quickly become the center of attention, much to the delight of Kimura and the boy's disdain.

"You promised me that you'll be my friend and give me a tour of the school grounds today, right?" she said sweetly.

"Uhh, yeah?"

"Come on, show more enthusiasm! Smile in front of everyone~"

Kazuki ignored her and quickly went his way, prompting her to follow while waving at the people they left behind.

3

Minutes passed like hours for Kazuki, but he did as he was requested and gave Kimura an apt tour of the school grounds, including the quadrangle, the library, the gymnasium, the auditorium, some item shops, and the school laboratories.

They walked together, having come from the back end of the school grounds where a large workshop stood.

"You good now?" asked Kazuki. "We're almost done."

"Yeah, but you could cheer up for a bit. It's not every day you get to be a personal bodyguard to such a hot prospect like me."

She still clung onto him while they approached the quadrangle and the main gates to the school.

It was certainly not the most entertaining tour for anyone, but he did what he was told. Doing this favor helped ease his conscience towards Kimura a bit, but he hoped that it would also let her forgive him a bit.

"You can learn a thing or two from the guy in the workshop. What's his name again? Saiko or what?"

Kazuki immediately recalled the place they just came from.

They had entered the large workshop at the back of the school and were immediately greeted by the cordial student council president. The last time Kazuki had any interaction with him was at the Ishida Conglomerate's reception some time back, and the clean cut senior had retained much of his friendly attitude.

Well, I sure hope his nice attitude would have rubbed off on his good friend instead.

The laid back senior with black hair had quickly greeted Kimura and offered to help her before they began chatting. Kazuki, meanwhile, was more interested in the various tools and machinery being developed inside.

The club members were no slouches, and while they're not probably going to come up with a giant mech or anything, Kazuki saw their communications devices and motorbikes, stuff that slightly piqued his interest.

"That's Kenji Saito. Student council president, but he also spends a lot of time helping out the Engineering Club in that workshop that we just visited. Being good friends with the heir to the largest group of companies in the city does that. You haven't seen what the Ishida Conglomerate has been doing with those hi-tech things as an aside?"

"I only heard about some satellite technology thing that they'll use for my big event. They'll also use some drones to enhance the stage and create some effects. It would be a great show!"

All of a sudden, Kazuki noticed a sudden spike in the Fuyusato tourist's enthusiasm, and she quickly changed moods.

Thinking about her live really gets her excited, huh?

"Unfortunately, someone here is too stiff and stuck up to know how to enjoy my music. He will surely be missing out by not converting and being a Yuki-tan fan now!"

Kimura addressed no one in particular, but it was so obvious. Alas, he did not know how to respond.

"Oh, oh, there she is just as you said, Reijy! I can't believe an idol is here with us!"

The lively voice called Kazuki's attention, and he noticed that they had already arrived at the quadrangle by the school gates. As to who the voice belonged to, Kazuki looked straight ahead.

He gve an expression of displeasure not at the girl who called out to them, the ace of the swimming club with ponytailed hair, Akane Fujiwara. Instead, it was as at who she's with. Besides Amagi and her clubmates, the person Fujiwara's with the most just happened to be one person that he strongly disliked.

He did not mind Fujiwara, and in fact, he found it amusing when the redhead quickly ran to the side of Kimura and began chatting. The two hit up pretty well, and Fujiwara also had a motor mouth that can rival his little sister's.

However, he paid no heed to their conversation and instead focused his attention on Ishida.

"How are you finding the school? Pretty cool, huh?"

Reijy Ishida pretended that the black-haired guy was not there and addressed Kimura.

"Oh, it's great. Having a lot of fun with this guy, too."

As Kimura pointed at Kazuki, a displeased expression formed on Reijy's face.

"That's nice and all, but I would focus on your event if I were you. Yuki-tan, you don't know how much I'm depending on the success of your event. I'd rather not have you get... sidetracked and lose your edge by hanging out with wrong company."

Reijy continued while staring at the sky, giving off a longing and reflective expression.

"Just imagine it months from now, Yuki-tan has completely taken over the idol scene. All thanks to the backing of Reijy Ishida, you would have millions of fans after performing the greatest show that Shiroki City has seen in history. All you need to do is to sing well enough, and make the event an overwhelming success."

"There you go with those huge claims again, Reijy," chimed in Fujiwara. Despite her message, she had an upbeat and joking tone to her words. "You said something like that when you recruited me to this school, too. To think that I got excited when you finally contacted me again after those years only to hear that."

"But I only speak the truth, Akane. We should be focused on our goals and bettering ourselves to the best we can. We have no time to waste, especially for petty activities and lazing around."

With a bright smile, Kimura replied, "You can count on me, Ishida. I will make it a night that you would never forget!"

She then grabbed hold of Kazuki's arm and started pulling him forward. "We'll be on our way then."

"Seeya around! Hope you can hang out with us soon!" waved Fujiwara back. "Arata, don't worry about Reijy. I will handle him for you when you come hang out! Or... I can make Amagi-senpai come and help out."

Reijy only gave a nod, exclusively at Kimura, before he went his way along with the redhead.

4

As the sun set on another day and night took over, residents of Shiroki City flocked to South Quinn Street as they often did. It was a weekday, but the district that traditionally attracted the youth retained much of the vibrance that it has on weekends.

Today was not a special day, but in a little less than a week, a major event will take place at a special location.

Many teens and visitors stopped and took pictures in front of a large poster showing a winking girl with red twintails flanked by the words COMING SOON AT THE CHRONODOME. After each picture, they eagerly opened their smartphones and began murmuring as they went their way.

All of them shared one thing in common. They talked about uploading their pictures to Yuki-ON!

The whole phenomenon was seen by two people in Fuyusato Academy uniforms. Seated on a nearby bench, they looked at the people who passed the large tarpaulin by and are more than familiar with what Yuki-ON! or who the winking girl was.

"So, I take it that you know why I'm doing this," said the girl to her seatmate. She had green hair tied in a ponytail that hung down her front. Wearing glasses and a scarf that still smelled like fabric freshener used in shops, she sat with her legs crossed.

"Yeah," answered Kazuki weakly.

"Good. Now, to check what those boys have uploaded."

In a jovial tone, Kimura started tapping on her phone. She whispered to herself and happily hummed as she was seemingly browsing through the app dedicated to her, not that Kazuki cared to take a look at her screen.

All of a sudden, the humming stopped, and Kazuki saw Kimura stared blankly at her screen.

"The nerve of this guy..."

That was all Kazuki heard, as the girl quickly stopped herself and her irritated voice.

"But really, don't you think this is going a bit too far, Kimura?" asked Kazuki, feigning obliviousness to what she was doing.

"Huh? You're free to leave if you're unhappy with hanging out with me!" snapped Kimura back in a way that he had not seen before. "You can't even appreciate my kindness when people would kill to hang out with me the way you did. Just look at your classmates."

"So you can have blackmail material and make yourself look like some victim? When all I did was accidentally get a cup of your boobs? Which are fake, by the way."

Placing both arms over her chest in a snappy motion, Kimura yelled back. "You're really a terrible person, you know?"

"Yes, but unlike you, I am self-aware."

"Don't ever think that I'll forget this, you scumbag!"

It took a while before the full impact of those words reached Kazuki. By the time they did, the girl had stormed off, leaving behind some loud footsteps and her companion.

"Lemme guess, it's my fault again?"

Kazuki kept his eyes on the sky and wondered what went wrong. What's done is done, but the habit of reflecting is a hard one to drop. He had tried playing along and all in order to try to mend things between the both of them, but it seemed to have made things worse.

Was he just too frank to a fault? Either way, she had an extraordinarily short temper just now. In fact, he had never seen her snap like that before. Before that...

"Perhaps it had something to do with what she read?"

Following that intuition, Kazuki opened his phone and put his finger over the Yuki-ON! app. Clicking the chibi face of Yuki-tan, he was prompted to enter his login credentials before being greeted by a dashboard of the latest news about the idol as well as some on-app activities.

"Let's see..."

He ignored the welcome spiel as well as the lines that only get said when an account hasn't been active for a week. Instead, his eyes darted back and forth between news regarding the upcoming event, but he stopped the moment he reached the status updates.

He skimmed through most of them, but he stopped upon seeing the one where Yuki-tan opened up about finding someone she likes.

He put aside the urge to groan as he scrolled through the many selfies Kimura uploaded the past few minutes that they had been here. He nonchalantly opened the comments section of one random post, and he cannot believe what his eyes saw.

I had been a loyal fan since day one... Can't you show devotion to music like my devotion to you? – Hanazono12345

Betrayal. – DeinDeinDein

Truly unforgivable. Now I regret this username. – istanyukitan

I hate you. You are not forgiven. Wish you were dead. You are the worst idol ever! – mipporin

I just threw up. Time to burn my CDs and the prize I won from your event – waganaria001

"This is insane."

Kazuki cannot help but talk to himself while looking at the replies. Granted, the positive replies outnumbered them. However, those harsh replies stuck out like sore thumbs, and they were impossible to ignore.

A couple of them even erupted into back-and-forth arguments with other fans.

"Is this what's been bothering her all this time? Then, I just had to have the worst timing and blew everything up?"

As it dawned onto Kazuki, he leaned back on his bench and shook his head. He failed to describe what he felt upon closing the Yuki-ON! app, but he could say that it was a mixture of frustration, guilt, and worry.

Flashbacks of Tenka Peak continued to haunt him, and those seemed even more relevant now than ever. A part of him kept insisting that he owed Kimura nothing and that it was better if she's gone for good, yet the part of him that initially wanted to make amends continued to torment his conscience.

He had no idea where Kimura's headed, and he had no way of contacting her. The only hope now was to wait for a status update on her personal app.

But what if it never came?

Kazuki felt his mind being weighed by heavy thoughts, but before they could completely take over, his whole mind got pulled back to reality by a male voice behind him.

"Feeling down that your girlfriend left you? Life sure sucks, man."

Kazuki's ears perked up at the sound of the voice.

"You can tell it's all fake, right?" replied the annoyed Kazuki.

The voice had a joking tone that annoyed him more than it should have due to the circumstances. Yet, he knew who it belonged to.

He glanced back to see two seniors from his school as he expected.

Black hair done in a clean cut and a mature face. Even in the rare casual wear, Kazuki could immediately recognize Kenji Saito. Beside Saito was the other senior member of the student council, Lilya Bloomenfled, a person whom his most vivid memories of involve events on Tenka Peak better not recalled.

"What do you want?"

"No need to be so defensive, my man. I saw you feeling down, and I watched the whole thing happen and felt really bad. How about letting me help a lowerclassman in need?"

Kazuki paused and gazed at the student council president who laughed his signature laugh, a chain of four "haha"s, with a one second pause between each word. Seeing his facial expression remain unchanged, Kazuki relaxed a bit.

The person in front of him had a lot of ties with the Ishida Conglomerate, but Kazuki knew very well that as a person, the student council president would never mean any harm. In fact, he had been the pillar of support for a lot of students for as far as he had known, a stark contrast to the uptight and strict council member who stood beside him now.

The two of them had just this afternoon, and it must have been one big coincidence for Kazuki to encounter the student council president again. At South Quinn Street of all places.

"How about joining us for some sushi at a nearby store? Misawa was supposed to be with us, but she had an emergency, so we have an extra voucher."

Saito offered the voucher to Kazuki before interjecting. "Don't worry, I'll pay for all add-ons, too."

He let out his signature laugh once more, and Kazuki instead found amusement in seeing Bloomenfled's facial expression turn sour upon the president's next set of laughs.

Normally, he would have turned down the invitation, especially coming from someone who was never too close to him.

"No need to be suspicious. I just feel really bad for you. It would break my heart further if I would learn that you have some ill will towards me."

Kazuki offered no reply yet. Normally, he would have turned the invite down regardless. However, things were different now. He had learned from Tenka Peak that some of the most important advice can come from the most unexpected places, and he sure can use some advice from mature upperclassmen now, whether he would like the end results or not.

Kazuki gave it a thought, then he nodded... resulting in another laugh from the president. This time, it was interrupted by the annoyed voice of the foreign student.