Hours turned into days, and days turned into weeks. Ryuuji's recovery had been slow and kind of irritating, but it would all be over soon. Today was his last day. He had turned back to his active self. He had forgotten how fast of a writer he was, or that he was an average athlete. In the course of two weeks, Ryuuji turned from temporarily handicapped to fully functional, minus his mind.
Ryuuji would spend most of his time studying. Ami, Taiga, Kitamura, and Minori had been generous to lend him some reference books and notes during the weekends. His weekends were just copying pages of notes while he would spend time on assignments during the week. In those two weeks, since physical rehabilitation classes were three hours a day, he was able to catch up from the beginning of the year to the beginning of September. Though some of the knowledge from the notes he did not understand, what he accomplished in a tight span was extraordinary.
During his time there, the person who helped him out on schoolwork the most was Ami. Sure, she worked during the weekends during visiting hours, but she was there every weekday. Taiga was there every weekend and some weekdays, because if she was hungry after school, she would eat out, get stuffed, and forget to visit him. Then the following day, she would come in with an half-ass apology while Ami would crack a small joke. Ryuuji got used to their company separately. However, them being in the same room could change the atmosphere from calmness to fire in a second. Needless to say, by the time Ryuuji could walk, he could stop their fights or leave the room.
Today, on his last day, Taiga and Ami had come by to help him with any questions he had. Ryuuji had pulled up a chair to the nightstand and used it as a desk. Ami sat near him on a chair while Taiga laid on the bed, relaxing and having open ears. Ryuuji continued to scribble down answers for the math assignment as Ami tried to explain what was going to be next.
"So, did you copy the section on how to solve for x with trigonometrical expressions in them, like sine of two x plus three equals fifteen?"
Ryuuji nodded as he continued to write. Ami was slightly disappointed and kind of proud of him that he did not stop working on his homework to say that he did.
"Oi, Stupidchi," called a lazy Taiga. "Did you work it out?"
Ami nervously smiled.
"I think so."
Taiga sat up on the bed and narrowed her eyes at Ami.
"You think so? Wasn't that phone call from your manager?"
"Manager?" Ryuuji wondered.
He stopped writing and faced Ami.
"Kawashima, your manager called you?"
Ami shot a death glare at the silently smirking Taiga and then sighed.
"It was on our way over here. She wanted to talk to me about something, but I don't really care. Besides, she's not supposed to call me during the middle of the week."
"Mm? But, doesn't that make it more important?"
Ami blushed in embarrassment and turned away from Ryuuji.
"Geez, you're not my boyfriend."
"He might as well be."
The three turned towards the door to see a panting women in a formal blue blouse and light tan pants standing near the door. Her hair was reddish-brown and curvy, and it reached the back of her shoulders. She wore semi-circled glasses with a red frame around them. Her skin was slightly darker than Ami's skin, and her red fingers had just been painted yesterday. Her right hand gripped onto a magazine tightly, wrinkling it. Her brown eyes only focused on Ami.
"That was rude, Kawashima. I know that I'm supposed to not call you, but this is on an important matter."
She looked around the room, calming down a bit.
"So this is the hospital you told me about."
She looked to her left to see Taiga and Ryuuji facing her.
"Oh, hey. I'm Fukumi Rin, Kawashima's manager."
Taiga smiled.
"Oh, so you're her manager. Kawashima must have ignored something important if you had to come here."
Ami blushed as she gritted her teeth.
"T-T-Taiga!"
"I'm Aisaki Taiga," smiled Taiga.
Taiga faced Ami and smirked.
"Looks like your time with Ryuuji is up."
And then I make the memory of my friend come back while you're gone.
"Hey, don't be mean," said Ryuuji and faced Rin.
He bowed his head.
"Nice to meet you, Fukumi-san. My name is Takasu Ryuuji."
"Takasu Ryuuji," repeated Rin. "They even got the name right."
"Huh?"
Rin faced Ami and handed her the rolled magazine.
"Here. This is what I want to talk to you about."
Ami took the magazine and unrolled it. The magazine was one of those gossip magazines. They were the lowest of the low, spying on the private lives of celebrities. Yet, they had made billions. On the cover page of the magazine was a orange, long haired girl with a Sword Art Online Asuna costume on. It was Ami's rival: Kumiko Izumi. Ami met this princess once, and she seemed like the matured type. However, this photo of Kumiko in a manga convention buying books told Ami she was an inside geek.
"So what? Izumi is an inside geek. I could tell that girl was a tad bit off, but I didn't know she was a closet geek."
Rin shook her head.
"Turn to page eleven."
Lazily, Ami flipped to the page and looked at it. Her eyes widened as she silently trembled. Out of panic and embarrassment, she closed the magazine and set it on her lap. Taiga and Ryuuji were astounded by her reaction. Ami stood still, not speaking up or making eye contact. Taiga half-closed her eyes and quickly snatched the magazine before Ami had anytime to react. She stumbled out of the chair to retrieve the magazine, but by the time she did, Taiga had turned to the page in question and shock was written on her face.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!"
Ryuuji, now curious, focused his attention at Taiga. Taiga's cheeks reddened as she panted out of shock.
"You and Ryuuji-"
"Give me that!" Ami exclaimed, snatching the magazine from her.
She gritted her teeth and tried to tear the magazine in half.
"I swear I'll find whoever did this, and make them pay for saying something so...so embarrassing."
A confused Ryuuji turned from Ami to Taiga.
"Me and Kawashima? What did it say?"
Why would I be in a magazine? I'm just an average person. It's not like I'm a model or star like Kawashima. Taiga made it sound like I and Kawashima were part of an article. Why though? What did that magazine say?
"It seems that you and Kawashima are a couple in the modeling world," Rin bluntly said.
Ryuuji's mouth trembled at her words as a small blush formed.
"W-W-W-WHHHHHHHAAAAAAAATTTTTTTT!"
Ryuuji shot a glance at Kawashima. She was just looking down, too embarrassed to face anyone. Still, she was able to move her lips.
"You're going to fix this, right?" said a settled Ami. "I mean, it's a lie what they wrote there. Takasu-kun and I haven't been dating. I've just been seeing him to help him because he's my friend."
Rin put a finger to her lips and pondered. She genuinely smiled and clapped her hands together.
"No."
"Huh!" the three high school students chorused.
Rin's smile died down, and she sighed.
"Kawashima, I've been meaning to talk to you. For the last three months, your model status has declined. Currently, you are in the top forty percentile. That's why we have only done local photo sessions."
"B-B-But that's okay, right?"
"Kawashima, you once told me you got into modeling because you want to follow your mother's footsteps and become an actor. Well, if we do locally, then you can't reach that goal."
Ami trembled at her manager's words.
"I say this is a blessing in disguise," Rin winked.
"How can that be?!" exclaimed a panicked Ami. "We are in that kind of shameful magazine! Those are lies they're telling my fans!"
"Yeah, but...when Izumi's secret was out, sales for her next month's photo shots went up. She went from the top thirty-five percentile to the top twenty-five. Listen, all you have to do is keep what they say up until your popularity increases."
"But how do you know if it will work?"
Rin took a second to think.
"I have no idea."
She received three blank stares.
"But, it won't hurt to try. Plus, dating a commoner will make you more desirable."
"That kind of hurts if you think about it," commented Ryuuji quietly.
"B-Bu-Bu-t," Ami stuttered
Soon, a cell phone rung. Rin reached into her pocket and answered it.
"Hello. Yes, this is Kawashima-san's manager Fukumi Rin... An interview this Friday at three-thirty? Yes, she can do that. Hm? Her boyfriend?"
She faced Ryuuji with a dull faced and then smiled.
"Yeah. He'll be there."
Ryuuji soon felt the weight of her words as he stared blankly, not sure how to react.
"Alright, then. Bye."
Rin hung up the phone and smiled.
"See, Kawashima. That's going to be your third time on television. Plus, it has been awhile."
"Hey, Fukumi. What do you mean that Takasu-kun will be there."
"Mm? Oh, it's only natural, since you two are now dating."
Ami tightened her fists, but soon, she found herself imagining a date with Ryuuji. She turned red as her fists dissolved. Rin nodded.
"Listen, I'm just suggesting this to you that this will help you. You don't have to actual date in your private lives. Just make it a show...unless you two really like each other."
Ryuuji and Ami both grew faces of shock. Rin winked.
"Alright, Kawashima. Don't forget, we have that photo session on Sunday."
Rin turned around and started to walk out the room. Before she exited, she looked back and smiled.
"Oh, and Takasu, you are to come as well on Sunday."
Rin left the room, leaving a unknown fragment in the room. The three friends looked at each other, speechless on what had happened. Ryuuji was the first one to snap back into his senses and checked the time.
"Oh, visiting hours are almost over."
"GR-R-Right," said Taiga with a dismayed face. "Kawashima, let's go."
Ryuuji looked back at Ami, who had covered her face with her hands. She silently stood up from her seat and turned away from Ryuuji. She dropped her hands.
"I-I guess I'll see you at s-sc-chool."
With that, Ami and Taiga walked out of the room, leaving Ryuuji alone with his thoughts. He sighed and went back doing his work. Though he had a pencil in hand, he found no new written numbers or letters on the paper. His mind was only thinking one thing.
So, I'm her fake boyfriend now.