CHAPTER 1
Love Spiral Tower
Sakurauchi residence,
Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture,
January 10
Riko woke up to the lavish smell of passion flowers. It was an exotic fragrance, hauling in a nuance of tropical islands into her small room. The flowers were not indigenous to Japan, so they must come from abroad, which made them very, very expensive.
Rolling rightward on her bed, she picked up a different smell, a sweet syrupy smell from a dozen scented candles on her nightstand. Each one had slightly different smell, yet still in the same spectrum, amplifying each other's strength. Again, some of them were clearly imports, evident from the alien marques each of them flaunted on their stickers.
Riko sat up on her bed, thinking how much of her life had changed since she joined Aqours not 8 months ago. She was a transfer student from Otonokizaka High School, thinking that life in the small fishing village of Numazu would not be as hectic as in Tokyo. But music changed her life in one night, and now, she was living in the steps of The Muse, as if Otonokizaka wouldn't let her get away easily.
"Riko-chan," her mother called her from outside the room. "You have another one from your special fan!"
Riko looked at her room, a small 3-by-4 meter box with a glass door that overlooked Takami Ryokan on the other side of the street. Her small table was covered with flowers, chocolates, trinkets, and cute colorful plushies. She didn't even have space to do homework. Her piano, her safe haven from all the bad things at school and the world in general, started to get buried under dozens of picture frames featuring her photos during Aqours performances at various venues. All 4 corners of her room were filled with more flowers, more chocolate boxes, more cute colorful animals, and more trinkets.
"Okaasan, I don't have any more space to put it in my room," she muttered. "Could you just put it in the living room?"
"Riko, this one is very nice, put it in your room before it withers," her mother insisted.
"I have 20 more like that in here," Riko replied halfheartedly, not even knowing what 'it' actually was.
"Alright, but you better come downstairs to enjoy it," her mother said.
Her mother's voice was still echoing in the room when Riko's phone rang. She knew who it was. She was thinking of ignoring it. As a matter of fact, she did try to ignore it. The result was a flood of goodies, so many she couldn't breathe. It was like a double-edged sword. Answer, and she would send the wrong message. Ignore, and she would be bombarded with more things than she could handle.
Typical aspiring musician would be thrilled to have such a devoted fan, but Riko was not amused. Fame came with the quality of music, and she didn't think she deserved said fame. Yet. And come to think of it, it was not fame. It was infatuation of one rabid fan. And Riko knew what was going on. She didn't want it, but it seemed that she did not have a choice.
Her phone rang incessantly, and with a heavy sigh, Riko pressed the receive button.
"Good morning, Riko-chan!" Inasa Yoarashi, the rambunctious Pro Hero student from Shiketsu High School greeted her as soon as she established connection. She set the volume low, but her phone still vibrated from the sheer volume of Inasa's voice. "I take you received my latest gift?"
"Ah, uhm, yes, it is very nice," Riko replied, hoping Inasa wouldn't ask any more detail about it.
"Good! I know you will like it! I have searched every place in Japan, and I can only find one in Shikoku. It took me half a day to acquire it, but I did it for you because you are special! As you can see, I am a passionate man, and I hope this gift is yet another attestation that I really really like you! Now tell me, Riko-chan, which part of it you like the most?"
Oh God! Riko choked. "I uh… I like every part of it."
"Ha! I am happy that you like it!" Inasa barreled out, forcing Riko to flinch away from her phone. "I listen to Aqours songs every day, especially your solo parts! You sang your parts with genuine passion, especially your solo Love Spiral Tower! I have listened to it many times and still can't get enough of it!"
"That's uh… that's good, Yoarashi-san," Riko tried to be modest. "I am flattered and humbled by your attention. But you shouldn't spend so much money for me. I don't deserve such embellishment from you."
"Oh, you don't have to worry about money, Riko-chan! Money worth nothing compared to the beauty you bring to the world! I will happily give you more exotic goodies from around the world. They will make you stand out among your friends at school. Not that you are not stand out among your friends because of your natural beauty and your talents, but those gifts will make you even more stand out among your friends! I'm happy to be of your service. Tell me, Riko-chan, what do you wish you had but never do?"
"I don't have any wish!" Riko quickly said, lest Inasa bought more goodies for her. "You have done enough for me, and words cannot express how grateful I am to receive all your kindness. But I'm afraid this is more than what you can handle, and you are actually burden yourself by doing it."
"I am happy to do it for you, Riko-chan," Inasa just wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. "Tell me what you want, and I can make it happen. I will make it happen, Riko-chan! Just for you! Hey, how about we meet on the weekend and you show me what you want to have. Maybe this weekend I come to Numazu?"
"I appreciate it, Yoarashi-san, but I can't," Riko massaged her temple. "As you may have known, Aqours is preparing for Love Live Finals in two months. I have to practice. My friends depend on me, as I do on them. I do not want to disappoint my friends."
"Oh, well, I understand," Inasa finally gave up. "I'll let you go. I take it you have school today, right? As do I. We'll talk again after school… if you're not busy practicing. Good luck on the practice, Riko-chan! I know Aqours will win the finals! I have much faith in you! Well, I have faith in Aqours, but mostly in you!"
"Thank you, Yoarashi-san. I have to go now," Riko said and quickly hung up. She buried her face on her pillow, thinking what she could do to let Inasa Yoarashi know that she was not interested in an exclusive relationship with him. She was just a young girl trying her wings to fly, an aspiring musician who just came off a discouraging experience. She had much to learn, much to do.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Riko walked outside to her balcony. Chika was on her own balcony, looking at her with wonder and awe. She got a glimpse of the boxes and flowers in Riko's room, and her eyes widened as if her eyeballs were going to pop out.
"Subarashi desu ne! Somebody really, really, likes you," Chika muttered in utter amazement.
"I would give the whole world for him to be just a fan," Riko grabbed her mantle and sat on the chair, braving the cold January breeze.
"Most aspiring artists would give the whole world to have these," Chika muttered.
"I don't want all these," Riko replied morosely. "All I want is to sing, to play music with my friends. I don't want attention. I don't want relationship with a boy." She looked at the sea for a while, then turned to Chika. "Is it possible to have a friend with a boy without the emotional baggage? Like the friendship I have with you?"
"Don't look at me, I'm guilty as charge," Chika smiled awkwardly. "So he wants a relationship with you? A romantic relationship?"
"Well, look at the things in my room. I told him to stop sending me goodies. He didn't listen. He kept sending me gifts with hope that I would return his 'generosity' by becoming his girlfriend."
"Maybe you're not discreet enough."
"Discreet?!" Riko shot an aggravated look at Chika.
"You know, why don't you just 'come out'? Just tell him who you really are. The quickest way to creep out boys is by telling them you're…"
"I don't want to creep him out," Riko sighed. "I don't want to lose him… as a friend. He's a good guy. He genuinely cares for me. I just want him to be my friend, not special friend, or boyriend. Just friend that respects me. Respect my space. Respect my decision that I am not looking for a relationship at the moment. I have things I want to do, and I have no time for romance. I want him to understand, not creep out."
"Sometimes you can't get everything you want, Riko-chan," Chika leant on the railing. "You just have to make the best of any situation." She looked at all the goodies in Riko's room. "I wonder where he got that amount of money and all the exotic goods, though. Yosetsu-chan never gave me this many gifts, and everything he bought me was cheap. I don't mind, though, because he's still a student."
"I know, right!" Riko replied. "Sometimes I'm scared that Yoarashi-san is actually doing something illegal. Like selling drugs or ghostwriting."
"He doesn't look like somebody who writes or sell drugs, but looking at his size, he might moonlight as a club bouncer. Which is legal, by the way."
"Still, I don't want him to do it if it's just because of me," Riko buried her face in her palms. "Why can't we stay friends like today, and think about relationship when the time is right? Not that I'm interested."
"Chikaaa!" Chika's sister Shima screamed from the street below. "I have to go to the library so I'm taking you to school! Hurry up!"
"I'm coming!" Chika shouted back. She gave Riko a warm smile. "We can continue this discussion after school."
"Alright, I'll see you at school," Riko nodded. She returned to her room, looking at all the gifts Inasa sent her for the last few weeks, then proceeded to the bathroom to take a shower.
Translation
Ookasan: Mother
Subarashi: wonderful
