Hello, everyone!
Here's the newest chapter of KanonNomi. Sorry for such a delay, but things happened...
Before moving on, I once again changed the icon for the story (though I don't know if you can already see it). Please tell me what do you think of it and which of the 3 icons was the best.
Okay, with that out of the way, I want to make the author's notes short, so thank you all very much for the support for the last chapter. Here are replies to the latest reviews:
Sir Sleeps-a-lot: Yeah, Kanon has a lot of disadvantage here… Truth be told, I didn't think about the "message daily" thing. Love the train metaphor xD. Can't promise the Nishihara plot will be interesting though… No, I don't know how Pink Deco Motion actually sounds… You're right about the "It's all right", though, a funny thing is that there are two manga chapters, one title "It's all right" and the other titled "It's alright" and one is originally in Japanese, but the other is in English. Yay for Nanaka omake! :)
Leyknar: Yeah, it's going to be hard and yeah, let's see ;).
Shawn Raven: Thank you very much for the detailed review :). Yeah, there are risk involved with Chihiro. I wonder about the thing with Eri as well :P. The zombie joke was actually a reference to the Mummy movie, but yeah. We'll see about Okada and Kanon's parents.
ZelgadisGW: Well, with Keima not being particularly keen to get a real girlfriend, waiting is one of the few viable opening strategies… Yeah, I had to do quite some reading for the omake :P.
Firefoxmonik: Good advice: focus, Kanon, focus! xD Elsie/Eri will save the day? I wonder about that :P. I don't know if my brain is spicy, but I tend to think too much, so it might be stodgy food :P.
NiteyNite: Thanks :). And laughing at the "KamiNomi Z" bit. DBZ much? ;)
Ghost Man: Lol, laughing at the d20 roll thing. Apollo rolled 20. Critical hit! Apollo says something smart for a change! xD. Interesting question about the "fail" scenario. Let's hope that won't happen. Kanon recommending Keima for the role seems nice at first, but people don't know he's her biggest fan (and he probably isn't really) and Keima wouldn't agree to it – half the male population of Japan would try to murder him, especially with his names in the open in the credits xD. I agree that Keima can act though. The clothes thing… it's less of an issue how it looks like and more of an issue how each piece of clothes is called, because I suck at it.
I think that's enough. On with the chapter!
Enjoy!
(* * *)
"You've got to be kidding me," Keima Katsuragi exclaimed the instant he looked on the sheet of paper his sister Eri handed him.
"Huh?" the girl in question titled her head, "what do you mean, nii-sama?"
The siblings were on their way to school and had just passed the gate of Maijima Private High School.
"I mean this," Keima showed her the sheet, which had eleven names written on it in various handwritings, "what is this?"
Eri furrowed her brow. "That is the list for the tutoring before the upcoming final exams you've promised to do," she explained as if it was obvious.
"I've promised to tutor you!" Keima reminded her.
"But when I asked if I could ask if anyone else wanted to join then you agreed," Eri defended, pouting.
"Anyone else?" Keima repeated, before looking at the sheet and reading out loud, "Eri, Ayumi, Chihiro, Yui, Kusunoki, Minami, Mio, Shiori, Tsukiyo, Urara and Kanon." he turned back to Eri. "That's eleven girls. ELEVEN!"
"So?" Eri asked, as if she really didn't understand the problem.
"So how did it end that way?" Keima asked. "I can understand you and Ayumi, cause you both need help studying. Minami and Kusunoki are understandable as well, as they're graduating. Urara is a perfectionist when it comes to exams-"
"Then you and her have something in common," Eri said quietly.
"-and a worrywart, so tutoring her is not a surprise either," Keima pretended he didn't hear her. "But the rest? Why does Chihiro needs tutoring? Did Kodama threaten to dissolve the Light Music club if she gets anything lower than 100% on any of her final exams?"
"I think she plans to attend the tutoring, do nothing else and get at least 60% without much effort," Eri commented, "And Yui-san kinda doesn't have a choice… her mother-"
"Yui's mother can get the best private tutors out there! It doesn't need to be me!I bet Yui plans to use this opportunity and try to seduce me again!" Keima shivered. "And there's still Shiori, Tsukiyo and Mio. Why do they need tutoring? And where do you plan to do it?" Keima looked at Eri, his eyes narrowing. "You're not going to invite them to our house?"
"Why not?" Eri asked.
"I'd rather live," Keima said and shivered again as he imagined his mother's reaction.
"Then we'll have to hold it in one of the classrooms. I'm sure Nikaidō-sensei will let us use one." Eri said in thought, "we could also split it into more than one tutoring session."
"Absolutely not!" Keima exclaimed. "This is annoying enough as it is and I've never agreed to it anyway," he patted the sheet of paper in his hands. "Seriously, name one girl from the school that I know who's not on this list!"
"Fujidera-san?" Eri tried.
"I've never talked to her," Keima reminded her.
"Umm…then Mobuko-san?"
"Who's that?"
"How about Miyako-san?"
Keima groaned. "Good thing Miyako goes to cram school and doesn't need-"
"What I don't need?" a voice asked, making Keima comically freeze in place with his mouth open.
Keima and Eri didn't notice that they were already in the corridor and close to their classroom. Close enough to run into the queen of interruptions, Miyako Terada herself.
"Miyako-san!" Eri greeted enthusiastically. "We were just talking about the tutoring session nii-sama is going to hold," the bubbly Katsuragi said, not sensing her brother glaring daggers at her.
"Hmm… Ayumi did get a hundred last time Katsuragi have been tutoring her," Miyako put her finger to her mouth, before exclaiming, "Okay. Count me in. When is that tutoring session happening?"
(* * *)
"It's not my fault, nii-sama!" Eri said when Miyako left.
"How is it not your fault!?" Keima hollered, before sighing in defeat. "Still, even Miyako is less unexpected than this," he pointed to one particular name, written just above Miyako's.
"You mean Kanon-chan?" Eri asked curiously, "doesn't she need the most help studying because she doesn't go to school?"
"But she said she wouldn't be able to attend the session because of her schedule, correct?" Keima queried.
"Well, yes, at first she said that," Eri admitted, "but Kanon-chan called me and wanted to be added to the list."
"What?" Keima seemed honestly surprised. "Impossible. That's the first time I've heard of it and you wouldn't be able to not babble about Kanon calling you."
"It's because it was late at night yesterday. She called when I was already asleep" Eri explained.
Keima was quiet for a moment.
"Kanon Nakagawa?" he said slowly and Eri nodded, "called you in the middle of the night?" another nod, "only to be added to the tutoring list?"
"Yeah…" Eri admitted, "I mean, she sounded desperate, but when I asked what the request was, Kanon-chan started answering and then went quiet for a moment before asking to be added for the tutoring," Eri scratched her cheek in confusion.
"Is that so?" Keima asked, pondering about it.
On one hand, Kanon stressing over the smallest of things was nothing new as the girl had enough of a yandere in her to call someone in the middle of the night over something relatively minor...
...on the other hand, Keima hadn't seen anything like that from Kanon in months and after her conquest, the girl have become much more independent and nice. The last outburst of hers was back when Fiore tried to assassinate her.
That reminded Keima – now that he knew that Fiore was indeed the one who stabbed Kanon, he needed to ask Haqua what became of the Vintage's mook, to ensure she got proper punishment.
Truth be told, Keima still wasn't over the fact that Kanon had gotten stabbed. It had been his fault.
Yes, he had managed to save her through his own skill.
Yes, that event had been an important catalyst that had sparked and then solidified his resolve, to commit to the search of the goddess.
Yes, it had been an event that had made him go through the week before the festival without as much as touching his PFP.
And yes, it seemed like everything was supposed to happen that way, because that what the future and past demanded. It was what the fate demanded.
And Keima was sick of that. He had been sick of this 'fate' thing ever since his travel to the past. Ever since that mess with Kaori and the Romeo and Juliet performance.
The time-traveling orb had been made to drag him and others into this shitty game, but Keima would have none of that. True, he had stopped deciding everything for everyone as if they were all game characters that he could control, but he was still sick of this entire situation.
He had made a lot of people cry. He had hurt a lot of people. He had put Kanon's life in jeopardy because he hadn't been attentive enough.
He wasn't going to make the same mistake again.
And Kanon calling Eri at night to ask for something that she could ask for in the morning just as well certainly made alarm bells sound off in his head. He was near certain Kanon had meant to ask for something else.
In short, something was bothering Kanon and Keima was keen on figuring out what it was.
Fortunately, he'll have the chance to do it today.
(* * *)
"I don't understand why you need another classroom for something like a tutoring session," Nikaidō remarked when Keima visited her in the staff room.
"Do I have any other way?" Keima questioned. "I need a blackboard to do this."
"Why not simply use 2-B classroom for that?" Nikaidō asked back. "It's available for everyone after school."
"Exactly," Keima replied, "and that's why it's not an option. I'm not risking anyone walking in on us."
"It shouldn't be a problem... unless you mean to do more than tutoring" Nikaidō said, shooting him a nasty look.
In response Keima gave her a look that seemed to say 'seriously?'
"I don't want any rumors about the otamega being in one room with a dozen girls, some of them pretty famous in this school. I care for for my own health. And for the girls' reputations, you know?"
"That's news to me," Nikaidō handed him the keys to one of the empty clubrooms, but held them when Keima tried to take them, making him look at her, "Just tell your classmates that this rote learning method of yours will not help them much on my tests."
"Got it," Keima took the keys, but he didn't move from his spot. Nikaidō raised her eyebrow. "Do you need anything else?"
"School is over for today," Keima noted, "how about you get out of here?Relax. Hang out with Jun or something."
Nikaidō looked wide-eyed for a moment.
"What?" she asked finally.
"I told you before: your life cannot be limited to saving the world and teaching. You need to live."
"Am I hearing this right?" Nikaidō's eyebrow was now twitching. "The nerd among the nerd is telling me to go out and enjoy life? And it's not 'you' and 'Jun'. It's 'Nikaidō-sensei' and 'Nagase-sensei' to you."
"No, Jun is not my teacher. Notyet anyway," Keima turned to walk away, "Speaking of Jun, when she starts working here, you can give her some of your work. I'm sure she'll help you out gladly."
And with that he was gone, leaving Nikaidō staring at where he had left.
(* * *)
Keima walked to the designated classroom and unlocked it, walking inside. Then he put down his materials on the teacher's desk. The materials were the results of his research on various teachers. After all, tutoring a dozen people from various classes for final exams was on a completely different level than tutoring four classmates for one test.
It was 4o'clock and Keima was just in a middle of writing down the basic points in a very small font in order to fit everything onto the blackboard when the door opened and a group of girls walked in.
First were the members of 2-B pencils: Eri, who had a motivational headband wrapped around her forehead, Chihiro Kosaka, who was happily chatting with Ayumi Takahara and Miyako Terada and Yui Goidō, who waved at Keima enthusiastically (Keima pretended not to notice). The light music club members took their seats when the next four girls arrived in two pairs.
The first pair was Shiori Shiomiya and Tsukiyo Kujō. Both girls were quiet, with Tsukiyo walking elegantly and proudly as if she didn't notice anyone around her, while Shiori looked rather uncertain and suggested they take seats away from the rest. The moon-lover didn't object.
The girls from the second pair were less similar: Urara Shiratori looked as if she was heading for battle, what with all the books, notebooks and pencils. Mio Aoyama, on the other hand, had but one small purse with her that could barely hold one notebook although Keima was certain it held nothing aside from a sandwich or two.
After that the subsequent people walked in alone. First was Kusunoki Kasuga, who as usual radiated an aura of discipline, confidence and strength. It was completely opposite to Minami Ikoma – the middle school girl found her way throughout the empty high school corridors, but just didn't seem to find the courage to enter a classroom full of senpais and stayed outside till Eri noticed her through the glass and dragged her inside with a cheerful smile on her lips.
Minami clearly was embarrassed by the commotion she had caused. But if she wanted some event that would make everyone forget about her then her prayers were heard as soon as the door opened for the sixth time and a certain pink-haired idol walked in.
"Kanon-chan!" Eri was obviously the first to react and half the girls left their seats to stand next to the idol.
Kanon tried to greet everyone, shake hands, sign pieces of paper and answer all the questions when there suddenly was a sound of a chalk being tapped against the desk in an irritated and impatient manner.
"Are you done now?" Keima asked, his voice calm as usual, but his eyes were sharp.
"No, we're not," Chihiro replied as she hold her bag for Kanon to sign. The idol hesitated. It was her first meeting with Keima in a long time and the last thing she wanted was to disrupt his tutoring and take more of his time than necessary, "five more minutes won't kill you."
"You can have that five minutes after you're done studying," he noted. Chihiro stuck out her tongue at him, but stopped and took a seat when she saw Kanon's pleading stare. Or perhaps Tsukiyo's and Kusunoki's scolding ones.
"Now, let's start this," Keima said, turning back to the blackboard.
(* * *)
The studying group was divided into two subgroups, six girls in each one. The first subgroup consisted of girls who were just aiming to pass with decent score without having to study too much. This group had Mio, Tsukiyo, Shiori, Ayumi, Chihiro and Eri in it and was easy to handle – they concentrated on writing down Keima's notes from the blackboard and then Keima spent 10 minutes with each girl, which was very small amount of time for final exams.
The other group included more ambitious girls or the girls who needed better marks for other reasons. Kusunoki, Minami, Urara, Kanon, Miyako and Yui were in that group and here was where the problem started. Keima had prepared more detailed ad-hoc notes for specific subjects and then copied them during the recess and now handed them over. After that he started individual tutoring, which promised to last for several hours.
In short, this tutoring session was turning out to be troublesome. Keima just hadn't predicted how troublesome it would be.
"I have a problem with this math problem," Miyako said when Keima sat in front of her and raised his eyebrow. He personally thought that Miyako was most likely the smartest girl here. Why would she have problems with math?
"What is the problem?"
"It's from probability theory and combinatorics," Miyako said, "It goes like this: in a box there's 100 red orbs and 20 green orbs. Twelve orbs are picked out from the box. What is the probability that all the picked up orbs will be red?"
"You need to compute the number of combinations using binomial coefficient and then construct a fraction from that," Keima started calmly, while writing on a sheet of paper, "in the numerator there'll be the number of combinations in favor of the event: this will be binomial coefficient of '100 choose 12' and in the denominator will be the number of all possible combinations, so '120 choose 12', which gives us," Keima stopped for a while, "around 10% probability. Understood?"
"Perfectly," Miyako replied with a smile, "but what about if we change the problem slightly?"
"Like what?" Keima asked.
"Like, for example, in Mai High there's 1000girls and 200 boys… what is the probability that 12 people during your tutoring session will be all girls?"
Keima was surprised, but didn't show it. However, he saw several girls stop whatever they were doing and Shiori and Minami even started to fidget uncomfortably and Keima was sure it didn't go unnoticed by Miyako.
"I'd say 2-B pencils count as one, especially since I tutored them before," Keima replied calmly, "Moreover, Aoyama-san and Shiratori-san are Yui's friends, and Shiomiya-san is Kujō-san's friend, so I'd say it's 6 girls not 12, in which case the probability would be around one third. Not so unlikely, right?"
"And since when do you know who is whose friend, Katsuragi?" Miyako asked back, making Keima glad he had used family names instead of given names.
"It wasn't hard to figure out," Keima replied, not batting an eyelid, "trust me, it wasn't information I wanted to learn."
With this he stood up and moved to the next person, who was Minami. Miyako's remarks were troublesome though, as the girl certainly wasn't stupid, so it was no wonder she started to question why there were only girls here. It didn't help that Minami was now sporting a luminescent blush. Keima was really hopeful it was caused by middle school girl's embarrassing memories and not by her still having feelings for him.
(* * *)
"Okay, that's it," Keima said finally, trying to not let the tiredness be heard in his voice, "If you follow this and study on your own you should be able to get at least 90%."
"I can get more if I study with you more," Urara insisted, apparently fine with sleeping in the school building for the sake of her grades.
"Why would you even want a higher score?" Keima questioned.
"Look who's talking, Mr. '99% is a tragedy'," Urara countered, crossing her arms over her chest.
"My studies are different from anyone else's," he commented, "unfortunately, I have no time to help you more."
"I can pay you," Urara tried.
"Then you can pay someone else to tutor you instead," Keima said with finality and stood up, only to hunch over when Yui wrapped her hands around him from the back.
"That's right, Keima-kun can't tutor you, 'cause he needs to relocate his attention somewhere else. Like me!" the drummer finished, rubbing her cheek into Keima's."
"I don't need to r-relocate anything anywhere and c-certainly not in your direction!" Keima snapped, but he stuttered a bit and stopped completely when Yui put her finger to his lips.
"Shh…" the drummer said, getting closer, "just let it happen and-WAAHH!" she shouted when she a pair of strong hands caught her and threw her off Keima's back with considerable force.
"Please, cease this behavior of yours," Kusunoki stood between Yui and Keima with her arms crossed over her chest and she was really imposing considering she was taller than Yui by half a foot, "harassing a weak boy is not a way to express your gratitude for the tutoring!"
"What she said!" Keima said, pointing an accusing finger at Yui.
Kanon watched the exchange and sighed soundlessly. She was kinda jealous of Yui – a girl who met Keima daily and could be so open with her intentions. While Yui wasn't getting closer to Keima (at least Kanon hoped she wasn't), she wasn't falling behind either. On the other hand, Kanon's situation would immediately worsen if she were to go on the offensive like that…
Kanon sighed again. She might've sounded confident about her strategy when talking to Apollo, but reality wasn't so easy. Seriously, how was she supposed to do anything in a situation like this? Today was the first day in a long time when she got to talk to Keima, but all they had talked about were tests and Kanon had had to use half of her focus to keep her face from going red, while enduring gazes of her classmates and friends.
Several minutes after that the tutoring session was over and Urara and Yui left the classroom willy-nilly. Kanon also left after thanking Keima for his help, but it didn't feel anywhere near enough. Kanon would love to thank Keima more, but she didn't know how she could do so at the moment.
Though she did make a resolution to buy Keima as many games as he wanted once she managed to get closer to him. God knows how long will that take though…
Kanon was walking through the corridors when Eri ran up to her. The idol was surprised the bassist was still at school, as the less ambitious group of girls had left some two hours ago.
"Kanon-chan!" the dark-haired girl fell into step besides the idol. "How was it? Did nii-sama help you prepare for the exams?"
"Yes!" Kanon replied. "Keima-kun is really amazing to be able to do things like that."
"Yeah, nii-sama's pretty amazing," Eri confirmed and then stayed quiet for a moment, "Kanon-chan, did you really need help that much to call me late at night?"
Kanon flinched a bit, but Eri wasn't looking at her, so it went unnoticed.
"Well… because of what happened in November my test results worsened, so I need to get really good grades now, so my parents wouldn't worry."
"Oh, I see," Eri lapped it up, "then I wish you do great on your exams. I know you will!"
Kanon smiled at that.
What she had told Eri about her exams was true – she really needed to do great now – but that wasn't what she had had in mind when she had called to ask Eri a favor last night.
No.
What she had been meaning to ask back then was for Eri to substitute for her during the drama shooting kiss scene. It would definitely solve the issue of Kanon having to kiss another boy.
At least that's what Kanon had thought at first…
...but with the call already made and with Eri waiting to hear the requests, the idol had faltered.
Would that really solve anything? For the viewers,fans and – most importantly – Keima, Kanon would still be kissing Daisuke Nishihara. But there was something even more important than that...
For Kanon that would be a second kiss in her life (third, if that peck on the cheek she had got while unconscious counted). And this was something she had unfortunately agreed to. But Eri hadn't kissed anyone in her life yet! And she was such a pure cinnamon roll too! In that case all Kanon's plan would've achieved would be to taint Eri. And in the name of what? Kanon's very own selfishness.
Once she had realized that, Kanon immediately felt disgusted with herself. No, as unwanted as the kissing drama scene was, it was her own problem and responsibility and Eri had nothing to do with it.
Kanon and Eri walked past the gate, where the cab Kanon had called for was already waiting. Kanon said her goodbye to Eri and entered the cab.
"To the-"
"Takes us to Wai Wai Road," a voice to her left interjected.
Kanon almost had a heart attack. She turned to the source of the voice and as surprising as it was, there was another person already in the cab.
Even more surprising, that person was Keima.
"Keima-kun?" Kanon asked, thinking she was dreaming.
"Do you have more friends that look like me?" the boy asked rhetorically.
The driver looked at Kanon, who hesitantly nodded her head.
After that, everything was a blur. After they had arrived at Wai Wai Road, Keima had led Kanon some blocks away and into one of the restaurants.
"We have a reservation here," he said to the waitress and moments later Kanon found herself sitting by a table in a small alcove. What more, the table was not empty – there was already food there and it wasn't cold.
"W-what?" the idol had managed.
"This alcove is hidden from the rest of the restaurant and the staff won't look here from now on either, so you don't need your disguise here," Keima pointed to the coat and beret Kanon was wearing since she had left the school building, "so here you can relax. Also I think you could use a good and warm dinner once in a while. Itadakimasu," he finished as he grabbed his silverware.
"B-but this restaurant has to be pretty expensive," Kanon objected.
"Don't worry about it," Keima said, giving her one of his more authoritative gazes.
"L-let me at least pay for half of it," she suggested.
"Fair enough... Now let's eat."
Kanon hesitantly grabbed her own fork and knife and started to eat. Only now did she realize how famished she was. She also realized that Keima was right – the last time she had eaten a proper dinner like that could be a month ago.
However, the third realization hit her the hardest. This entire setting… a teenage boy and girl eating a dinner in a restaurant alone like this…
Didn't it feel like a date?
As soon as she had thought that, Kanon had to excuse herself for a moment in order to go to the restroom and splash some cool water on her flushed face.
"Wow!" her reflection suddenly flashed, revealing the beaming face of her goddess, "I was very skeptical about this plan of yours, but it seems to have worked really well! You're already on a date with Katsuragi!"
"Not now, Apollo!" Kanon pleaded, before going back to the alcove.
After that she quickly understood that the restroom wasn't the best of ideas – by the time she was back, Keima had already finished his meal and was now free to watch her with those piercing eyes of his.
"Thank you for the meal," Kanon finally said, even though there was a substantial amount of leftovers on her plate. Nevertheless, she opted to leave as quickly as she could – the situation seemed dangerously close to an interrogation, which was even worse than the regular interviews Kanon had to endure.
"Kanon…" with this one word from Keima, the idol's resolved was shattered and she struggled to choke a word out.
"Y-yes?" she managed finally, eyes focusing on his bed hair in order to avoid having to look him in the eye.
"Is something bothering you?" he asked suddenly.
"N-no, nothing unusual," Kanon replied, hoping her voice was as steady as she wanted it to be.
"I see," Keima was quiet for a moment. "One more question then."
Kanon let out a mental sigh of relief. Whatever question was coming at least the kissing thing would be kept under wraps.
"What is the thing that is bothering you?" Keima said.
So it was a trap. And Kanon fell right for it – her slightly open mouth and widened eyes immediately signaling that Keima had been right and something was indeed bothering her.
"That was dirty!" she accused while fighting the urge to pull out her stun guns. It wasn't an answer though.
'He's not making fun of you,' she thought, 'he's just trying to help. He just doesn't know he's the source of the problem.'
"Well, if it's any consolation, then it isn't 'have Nora steal your underwear' level of dirty."
"I'll say it in advance," Kanon started, "I will have no qualms about tasing any panty thief until he's burned to a crisp."
"I got you… not that I'd ever need to use that knowledge," Keima said.
Kanon gave him a look that said she wasn't convinced, but she had to admit that this little exchange did take her mind off the kissing issue and she did feel a little better now.
"It's not about your bed hair again, is it?" Keima tried after a moment, giving Kanon a surprisingly serious gaze, making the idol smile at the memories of their past 'consultations'.
"No, it's not," she laughed.
For the next five minutes Keima continued to probe for various issues, which were obviously not what the problem was about. No, his aim was to help Kanon relax and it worked – soon Kanon got back to her food, deciding that that it was too good to leave any leftovers.
"So," Keima started again when Kanon cleaned her plate and leaned back in satisfaction, "it seems, I won't be able to guess what the problem is, if you don't tell me."
Kanon sighed in defeat. Part of her was still wary, but Keima's voice was soothing and she wanted to get this off her shoulders. She guessed she could tell him part of it.
"There's this drama shooting where I play the main character," Kanon fidgeted for a moment before continuing, "when it first started, I saw it as a great way to increase my popularity… because I was… umm…"
"Starved for attention," Keima finished for her. "So you don't want to star in this drama anymore?"
"It's not exactly like that," Kanon bit her lip, "I mean, I signed a contract and by doing so I have agreed to some stuff I'm not so sure about anymore…"
Keima could relate to that, because he remembered his own contract with New Hell all too well. However, he had been forced into the contract, while Kanon had agreed to everything.
"So which part of the contract bothers you? They don't want you to go through some risky stunts, do they?"
Kanon shook her head.
"You have to play some character you don't like?"
"No…"
Keima went quiet, not sure whether to head in the direction of more trivial or more serious things…
"It's not about nudity, right?"
"Oh, God, noo!" Kanon exclaimed, suddenly glad being an idol meant being a role model and that excluded any… bold scenes. She also meant a mental note to never agree to any such stuff.
"Then I'm going to continue guessing until you tell me-"
"Ihavetokissaguy," Kanon said faster than the electricity arc could travel between the electrodes of her stun gun and it was clearly too fast for Keima.
"What?"
"There's a scene where I have to kiss a guy," she repeated, aware that the color of her face was indistinguishable from the color of her hair, "and by this I mean I have to kiss for real."
"I didn't see you have any issue with kissing before," Keima noticed.
"T-that was different!" Kanon exclaimed as she stood up, feeling the need to defend herself, a weird mix of anger and embarrassment making her face go even redder.
Keima didn't jump back, but she did notice him tensing a bit, as if he was expecting her to shock him again. The thought made her wince a bit. Did he think she was going to hurt him over that?
"I-I mean it was private, not done in public and I-I kinda wanted to do it back then," Kanon glanced away, certain that Keima would figure her intentions out if she looked him in the eye.
"Okay, I got it," Keima said and sighed, "I take it you have already talked with your manager, staff and the director," Kanon nodded, "and you wanted for Eri to take your place, but reconsidered?"
"Y-yes," Kanon confirmed. Her amazement at Keima figuring out this much was reduced by fear. This means Keima knows she was close to using his little sister, right?
"It's good you've reconsidered," the gamer said and Kanon could feel his piercing gaze on her, "because Eri would have agreed to it even if she didn't want to kiss random guys. You shouldn't abuse your popularity like that…"
"I know! I was just panicking, okay?"
"Then you might wanna try taking things a little more calmly," Keima said seriously. "More planning and reasoning. Less fussing or relying on emotions."
"Like the reason and logic you use when playing your games?" Kanon asked. "But reality is not that simple. And it is an emotional problem, you know?" she accused.
"Maybe," Keima admitted, pulling out his PFP, "but you're an idol. Famous in all of Japan. I know you want to reach to everyone and spread your songs, but being an idol is also a job. A business. And a lot of other people's jobs depend on need to be able to make careful and informed decisions or you'll be sorry when the consequences happen."
Kanon bit her lip. To that she had no reply. It was times like that that made her envy Keima. He was a brilliant human. Where she needed a team of professionals to spread her songs, he was guiding his "gaming lost lambs" by himself and himself alone. She was certain he could have succeeded as an idol if only he hadn't hated reality and had been a girl. Pfft… he didn't even need to be a girl, Kanon thought as she remembered his cross-dressing episode.
"I see you understand," Keima commented on her silence, "unfortunately, I don't think I can help you with that one. This is something you have to decide for yourself."
"You say it as if I actually have a choice..." Kanon said darkly.
"You can always break the contract," Keima commented.
"But there would be consequences for that!" Kanon reminded him.
Keima nodded."Of course, there would be, but if you do nothing there will be consequences as well. It's only a matter of what you prefer," he was quiet for a moment, pressing the buttons on his console, his eyes reflecting the light from the screen. "After all... humans are limited by reality. They have free will and the ability to choose, but there are always some restrictions... some limits that humans cannot overcome. Humans are always in some kind of cage, even if the cage is too big to see it. Thus, 'freedom' and 'choice' isn't about humans getting out of cages, but choosing the cage they feel most comfortable in."
"That's really deep… and sad," Kanon commented, before looking up. "Is this what you truly believe? Is this why you play games?"
Keima shrugged. "Reality is certainly a shitty game. It's imperfect and unreasonable," he replied calmly. "I've understood it even better after I was forced into all this Hell and Heaven mess. It was a 'restriction' put on me and my gaming time. However," he looked up, "Neither Hell nor Heaven, nor other people decide who am I and what I believe in," he stated seriously. "I'm the one who chooses whether my life is fun or not. You should know that already. You should try to follow that too."
"So you fight against those limitations in order to stay in the cage that is most comfortable for you, right?" Kanon asked and Keima nodded. "And that means the cage when you play games and ignore everyone? In such case 'the most comfortable cage' is just 'comfort zone'. You should step outside of it sometimes," Kanon finished.
"I have stepped out of it. I wouldn't be here otherwise," Keima said, gesturing to both of them and the table. "And I'm not exactly the same any more. You should know that as well…"
"I know that and I'm really glad Keima-kun is more in touch with reality now," Kanon smiled at him.
"Then perhaps you should step outside your comfort zone as well? Which brings us back to the issue at hand," Keima turned the tables on Kanon, as he put his console next to his empty plate, crossed his leg sand pushed up his glasses. "What are you going to do about this drama problem?"
"I… will think about it," Kanon said slowly.
"Good answer," Keima praised her. "Now let's go, before your manager finds out about it and skins me alive."
"Ahaha!" Kanon chuckled nervously, but she got up as well. It was late already, but the idol still had a thing or two to do today.
(* * *)
"Thank you very much for today, Keima-kun," she told him when she was already in the cab, while Keima was outside.
"You're welcome," he hesitated for a moment before adding. "And good luck on your tests."
Kanon beamed. "I don't need luck, I have a great tutor," she winked, before giving the driver her destination and waving to Keima. "See you next time, Keima-kun!"
And with that the cab drove away.
Keima remained on the spot for several moments, before he put his hand inside his pocket and fished out an electronic device.
"Hey, it's me," he said after a moment, "I need you to check one thing for me."
(* * *)
"Okay, move it there! Put your back to it people!" the director was bossing the stage designers, cameramen and other members of the movie crew around, "it's only March, the sun won't stay high forever, you know!"
Kanon wasn't being bossed around, yet she'd rather fix cameras with her stun guns or move heavy equipment around than be where she was, looking at the sky, hoping a sudden rainstorm would save her from her predicament, but the sky was surprisingly clear.
And any rain would be a temporary relief anyway...
Today was the day when she was supposed to kiss Daisuke Nishihara.
And not just one kiss. I mean, the script called for just one, but Kanon had enough experience with drama shooting to know that it won't be filmed with one take. Moreover, the scene was the most important in the series thus far, so Kanon was sure the director would want to repeat the scene until it was perfect (or until Kanon put her foot down).
After much deliberation, she had decided to try and go along with the script and bravely face the consequences of her choice… except she had problem with the 'bravely' part.
Actually, Kanon was nervous to say the least. The fact that Keima now knew that this would happen didn't help her mood much if at all. I mean, how was she supposed to do that? The only experience she had was a quick kiss that she initiated. It wasn't long, passionate or anywhere near the kisses that were portrayed in movies or teenage dramas. Now she was supposed to have a guy kiss her like that, but she had never had a kiss where a guy had been the one to initiate the act!
That meant that Kanon didn't actually know how it felt to be kissed by a guy. How it felt to have a guy want to kiss her, especially a guy who had experience. She wondered how Keima's kiss would feel like, considering he had more practice than some people twice his age, as ironic as it was. It was likely that he'd be a good kisser…
And yet, Kanon was supposed to kiss someone else...
Of course, it was probable that half of the male teenage population of Japan would like to be the one to kiss Kanon, especially since they thought it'd be her first kiss…
And Daisuke Nishihara certainly wasn't an exception to that…
It might be some kind of prejudice Kanon had towards him, but her opinion on Daisuke got lower and lower. She was pretty much the same age as the character she was supposed to play. It was different with Daisuke though – the character he was playing was close to eighteen years old, but Daisuke himself was twenty. Well, it was common in filming business to have people in their mid twenties play the role of teenagers, but it seemed to make him more… haughty…
Kanon wasn't denying that he was a gifted actor and a celebrity, but she had the feeling he had been patronizing her...
And Daisuke definitely had experience. It wouldn't be the first time he'd be kissing a girl on stage and, from what Kanon had heard, he had considerable kissing experience outside of movie shooting as well and it. This irked Kanon and not because she was jealous.
As if to make matter worse, people around Kanon had noticed her nervousness and had mistaken it for her being shy in front of Daisuke. The last thing she wanted now was for rumors that she liked him to start…
Calm down, she told herself, a few more days. A few more days and it'll be over. Drama shooting and the tests will be over and she'll be able to relax. She was already looking forward to the spring break and the delayed 'offstage birthday' party.
"Kanon," the voice of Okada brought her out of her musings, "the crew is done. They're ready for shooting."
""C-coming," the idol responded, while trying to put a smile on her face, but not quite succeeding.
It was time to get this thing over with.
(* * *)
"Aaand cut! We've got it!" the director announced and Kanon let out the breath she had been holding.
It was barely 2 PM, but she was already tired. It usually took at least three takes to film each scene. Not that it was anything new, but Kanon was surprisingly sick of it today and the longer the filming took, the closer her nerves were to snapping.
"Okay, everyone, with this we have everything, except for one last scene," director said, turning to the idol, "are you ready, Kanon-chan?"
"Y-yes," Kanon lied through her teeth.
"Then-"
"Don't you think we could use a little break? We've been filming non-stop for the last 5hours" Okada interjected out of nowhere, her hard gaze focused on the director, "You don't want to have the quality of the acting decreased because of tiredness, right, Director-san?"
"But we have to film while the lighting is still good," the director argued, "there are clouds on the horizon and soon-"
"As long as I'm Kanon's manager, it's my responsibility to look over her and ensure she doesn't overwork herself," Okada said more forcefully, making several of the movie crew members step backwards involuntarily. Anyone who had enough guts to object the director openly like that was to be feared,"Kanon will resume filming only when I say so and I say she needs a break now."
"You worry too much, Okada-san," Daisuke appeared out of nowhere and put his arm on Okada's shoulder, "I assure you that Kanon is in good hands," he winked and smiled at the idol, obviously not noticing the glare Okada was sending his way.
Kanon herself felt her innards clench in a mix of embarrassment and anger, the boy's action confirming what she had noticed earlier in the day.
He was hitting on her!
And in front of everyone like that! When the two of them were running through the field in one scene and hugging in another, he was definitely holding onto her far longer than necessary!
She swore, one more… event like that and she was going to introduce Daisuke-kun to her trusty stun guns!
"See, Okada-san, there's no need to-" the director tried, but faltered under Okada's hard gaze, "all right, all right! You get20 minute-break."
Daisuke was about to say something, but in this exact moment his cell phone rang and the boy answered it and smile.
"Hello, Charlotte-chan," he started and the listened to his caller for a moment, "actually, I got a short break. I'll be with you in a moment," and with this he walked away.
So he was hitting on Kanon and flirting openly with another woman? Kanon clenched her fist. The gall of this guy!
(* * *)
"Are you okay, Kanon?" Okada asked when they were back in the idol's room.
"Yes, I'll be fine. Thank you."
After that Kanon spent her break relaxing by listening to some music, while trying not to mess up her make up or hairdo – the director would freak out if they were forced to waste another half an hour on characterization.
However, the break ended quickly and soon Okada was knocking on Kanon's door. Fortunately, by now Kanon has regained her resolution and put on her acting persona.
In no time at all she was back at the stage and everyone seemed ready, except…
"Where's Nishihara-san?" Kanon asked, taking care to address Daisuke by his family name.
"He had to answer that phone call," someone from the crew said, "he's been gone since then."
"Preposterous!" Okada wasn't even hiding her opinion, "Here we are, all of us and he dilly-dallies now out of all times!"
"I'm very sorry," there was a voice behind them, "but I used the break to browse through the script and I took the liberty of making some changes for the plot of further episodes."
He had done what? Kanon thought. Who do he think he is? Did he wnated to add more kissing scenes perhaps? Was he planning to seduce her that way? That's it! She turned to him to tell him bluntly what she thought of him and his inflated ego. She opened her mouth… and it stayed that way.
In front of her stood Daisuke Nishihara. His clothes were exactly as when she had last seen him 20 minutes ago and his voice was the same, maybe a little less haughty than normal. Everything seemed to fit. Except his face, because it wasn't the face of Daisuke Nishihara.
It was the face of Keima Katsuragi.
"Nishihara-san?" Okada said, looking closer. "Did you change your hairstyle?"
"A little bit," Daisuke-Keima replied.
"Who did this?"
"Me," another voice interjected as an adult woman with very light blond hair and dark complexion appeared behind the boy and waved in the direction of Kanon. "Hiiii…"
Kanon closed her mouth and opened it again. Still no effect.
"Never mind that…" the director said,clearly irritated,"what do you mean you made some changes to my script!?"
"Well, I thought the changes were necessary to bring out the full potential of my skills as an actor," Daisuke-Keima said, handing the director a few pages full of handwritten notes.
"How dare you! Do you think you can come out with some clever-" the director stopped, his eyes skimming through the notes, "t-this is brilliant, Daisuke-kun!" the director exclaimed several seconds later.
"Glad you approve, Director-san," Daisuke-Keima bowed his head a little, "now, how about we continue the filming? You said the time is short yourself."
"That's right! Get ready, people!" the director shouted and the filming crew members started to run in various, seemingly random directions.
Kanon continued to just stand for several more moments, before she blinked.
"W-what?" she managed, looking around and seeing the crew buzzing past her, before she looked back at Daisuke-Keima. The feeling that he wasn't Daisuke was getting stronger by the second. "K-Keima-kun?"
"What are you talking about? He's Daisuke-kun, isn't he?" the blond woman from before put her hands on Kanon's shoulders from behind as she whispered and Kanon finally realized why the woman seemed familiar.
"Nora..." the idol whispered.
"Now, now, if I were you, I'd try to remember my lines right now!" with that, the woman backed away.
"Aaand… action!" the director said.
"Maron…" Keima addressed Kanon by her in-drama character's name in Daisuke's voice, except it was full of emotion. "Are you okay?"
"Y-yes," Kanon replied, coincidentally matching her line in the script. She realized the camera was on and the feeling of duty surged in her, so she went along with it, although it wasn't easy – after all, those were Keima's piercing eyes that were looking at her. "What did you call me out here, Hayate-kun?"
Keima kept to the script, with slight modifications – he didn't reply immediately, looking away from her, as if not wanting to answer her question.
"Hayate-kun?" she repeated, taking a step forward. She had to applaud Keima's acting skills – it really felt as if he was ignoring her, making her heart clench. "Is everything all right?"
"I'm scared," Keima-Hayate replied.
"Hayate-kun? Scared?" Kanon-Maron repeated and shook her head. "That's impossible! Hayate-kun is the bravest person I know!" she praised him. "The way you faced many enemies at once back then was really cool!"
Keima-Hayate shook his head. "Facing men or demons is one thing. But there are other things. Things far more frightening…"
"What do you mean, Hayate-kun?" Kanon-Maron asked, making sure her voice was uncertain and her facial expression conveyed confusion and anxiety. "What could be more frightening then the fight back then?"
"The thought of losing you," Keima-Hayate said bluntly, finally looking at the idol actress. With shocking results – Kanon widened her eyes and was quiet for a moment.
A bit longer than what the script dictated.
"Kanon!" Okada delivered the quietest shout possible from the sidelines. "Your line!"
The director was also mouthing words to her and Kanon caught it from the corner of her eye.
"W-what do you mean?"
"All my life I was running away, not able to trust anyone, all I cared for was survival and nothing else," Keima-Hayate walked closer, "but back then, I just couldn't bear to imagine life without you, Maron-chan."
"H-Hayate-kun?" Kanon-Maron questioned and involuntarily stepped back – this wasn't in the script as well.
"Maron-chan," Keima-Hayate stepped closer and suddenly the starting tunes of 'Love Call' could be heard thanks to sound effects crew, "I've never met anyone like you. You're like a shining star. A beacon that lights my path that was shrouded in darkness till now."
They were now face to face, but they weren't Hayate and Maron anymore. They were Keima and Kanon.
Keima reached out with his hand and brushed Kanon's pink lock away, before cupping and caressing her cheek.
"B-but why?" Kanon questioned.
"Because you're the most amazing, the most beautiful and the most important woman in my life," Keima said, gaze turning serious. "Because I love you and anyone who'll want to hurt the woman I love will have to step over my dead body first."
"I," Kanon started, but her voice stuck in her throat. "I love you too."
The next thing Kanon knew was Keima leaning in closer and her own head tilting to the side on its own, before she closed her eye and felt Keima pressing hislips to hers. This was when the flimsy suspension of disbelief she was clinging to popped like a soap bubble.
She didn't know what happened to the real Daisuke Nishihara, but the person kissing her right now wasn't him. The person in front of her was Keima Katsuragi. Her crush. The boy she was in love with.
Keima Katsuragi was kissing her to the sounds of her very own song and the lyrics were now at the "I LOVE YOU" part.
Keima was kissing her!
And it felt divine.
Keima wrapped his arms around her and brought her closer. Kanon mimicked his motion and started to kiss him back in the earnest, pouring all she had into the kiss. Her heart was beating like crazy and her entire body was on fire, with the source on her lips, but it was the best fire she'd ever felt in her life.
It was the warmth that brought her peace and safety. It made her feel alive. Like a piece of a puzzle that was missing before.
Alas, Kanon felt Keima pull back eventually and she let out a whimper at the loss of contact. Nonetheless, she opened her eyes and realized it wasn't a dream. The thought made her smile warmly. It was a smile of happiness.
"Aaand cut! We've got it! We've got it on the first take!" the director said, bringing Kanon back to reality and making her turn only to see a lot of people clasping their hands and cheering.
"That was great!"
"It looked so professional! Where did you learn to kiss like that?"
Kanon was quiet for a moment, as if she didn't understand.
"What do you mean 'we've got it'?" she asked. "W-won't you need another take on this?"
"Why?" a voice to her left asked. "Would you like another try?"
Kanon froze. Slowly, she turned to her kissing partner and noticed they were pretty much still hugging. Keima's eyes were trained on her and they seemed to see right through her. Maybe even through Apollo.
Kanon could still hear 'Love Call' in the background and suddenly realized she had kinda made a love call just now and it might've been a little too effective, conveying more than she had intended to disclose.
"So I was right," Keima's eyes narrowed. "Then that's your play..."
Kanon gulped.
Keima was aware of her feelings for him now.
(* * *)
Ta-daah!
So here it is! It's only third chapter, but Kanon and Keima are already on a date... kinda.
They are already kissing... kinda.
And Keima already knows! What are you going to do now, Kanon-chan, I wonder? :P
Anyway, this chapter contains a lot of parts not really essential from the point of Kanon, but I couldn't resist adding other girls (the tutoring) or adding the scene with Nikaidō.
The chapter is also largely philosophical, what's with Keima talking about freedom and responsibility.
I also feel I should explain the thing with the party and Kanon's birthday. Kanon's birthday is March 3 and it already happened off-screen, though Kanon was meeting with fans mostly. However, she's also planning to have "second" birthday party with her friends (including Keima) during the spring break and after the tests are over. Just sayin'.
And ouch, Keima doesn't even know who Mobuko is... I know she's just a background character, but she's still a classmate. Harsh, Keima, harsh... xD
As for Maron and Hayate... I took "Hayate" from "Hayate no Gotoku" (not that I watch it) or from the dog in Full Metal Alchemist. As for Maron... well, you should know. :P
Finally, there's the math problem Miyako described. The intention was for Miyako to slyly point out that it was really unlikely that Keima would tutor 12 girls and not a single boy. I took effort to make Miyako's questions and Keima's answers actually mathematically correct... I've never did it in English though...
I think that's mostly it. As usual, I kindly ask you to drop me a review. Tell me what you think about those developments! Favoriting and following this story would be nice as well!
And await the next chapter (I hope you won't have to wait 3 weeks for it).
See you next time!