Hello, everyone!
I'm back... after most likely the longest break in my posting career so far...
Unfortunately, life, laziness and difficulty of writing Kanon resulted in two and half month break and I'm very sorry for this. T.T
I'm also angry with myself for getting this done so late.
I hope this chapter will compensate for the long wait, though I'm not really sure it will...
Below are replies to the reviews:
Purifies Miracles: thank you very much. 有り難うございます! *bows*.
Guest #1: We'll see about that, I guess. :P
Ghost Man: thanks, though I wish I'd write faster. As for Eri... I don't know. I sometimes pair her with Ryō. I bet Keima and Nora wouldn't be too happy about that :P. I like you assessment of the interview. And yes, Okada is scary. Let's see how scary, shall we? ;)
Red Glasses: thank you for your opinions (though I didn't understand all you've said). Sorry the kiss wasn't to your liking.
Rt: I think you misunderstood something. I don't mind harem endings. It's true I have my own vision of this entire story, but I'd actually like to do (or see) a scenario like you said. Like every girl actually actively wanting to get a piece of Keima. That'd be awesome :P.
ZelgadisGW: Thank you very much for your review. I like that I managed to confuse you with the flow of this chapter. And yes, it's a trap *cue Okada-shaped Death Star pop up out of nowhere*. Let's he how the Okada Star will fare against Keima, shall we?
El Sasori69: I'm not sure what exactly that comparison means, but... Shyamalan also directed "The happening". I watched that :P.
Sir Sleeps-a-lot: I'm going to call that one "Apollo's excuse" meme/trope :P. Thank you for your support and for stopping shaking me :P. Compromising positions... hm... gotta use that somewhere. Heh, so Kanon got pretty used to your reviews... except for cases like explicit mentioning fu-*gets blasted against the wall alongside with you*. Hopefully, this chapter will revive you.
Shawn Raven: Thank you very much for your review. nd yes, Yui is always funny to write :). And no, Keima and Kanon are not officially dating at this point, just to make it clear.
MasterZen: according to my plans KusuNomi will happen after ShioriNomi, which will happen after KanonNomi.
Fss The Red Devil: whoa, that's a big review. Thank you very much for it. Nooo! How can you live 5 months without anime, Internet and *gasp* fanfiction!? You lie! It's impossible! But seriously, I'm so sorry for you. Well, my birthday is not in March, just to make it clear :P. Happy birthday for you though. Once again, Kanon and Keima are not dating... it's complicated xD. I love your thoughts on Diana. Had me look up her in the mythology. Gotta make DianaNomi or a one-shot of her one day :).
Big Bad Beowolf: I'm glad you're getting into it. We'll see about Yui and Shiori though. :P
Gersus: sorry you had to wait so long, but here it is. I hope you'll like it.
Rt: *in Obama voice* Yes, I can! Anyway, I'm glad you like my series. Please continue reading and supporting it *bows*.
As always I want to thank for all your support, including views, reviews, favs and follows! I'm always happy to see people enjoying my stories!
Anyway, that's enough talking, onto the chapter!
Enjoy!
(* * *)
Okada was silent.
She had this great subconscious need to do something with her hands, like tapping the tabletop. It was one of her habits she had picked up somewhere. She mostly did it when she was sitting and nervous and she rarely was both at the same time. She was often nervous when managing Kanon's daily idol live, but she was always standing and active, dealing with this or that.
But right now she wasn't doing that. Right now she was sitting by a dark-wood table, pretty much unmoving. And slowly, but steadily getting more and more nervous...
...and irritated.
And one of the reasons for her growing annoyance was the incessant sound of clicking.
They were currently inside one of the rooms in Okada and Kanon's workplace. Most of the time Kanon spend her days at different venues and used rooms and accommodation provided by them. However, Kanon also had an entire floor in one of the building in downtown of Maijima that Okada had rented. This floor was used mostly by other "Kanon team" members, like PR expert, music composer, interns and Okada herself. Here they had meetings, here they planned long-term events and goals. Here was where some of the rehearsals took place. Moreover, because Kanon's popularity was increasing they had rented more space in advance and thus some rooms remained dark and unused.
Exactly like the room they were in now.
The room was almost empty with some furniture and other equipment in the corners and leaning on the walls. However, all of that was barely noticeable in the darkness that permeated the room. The only exception was the center where a single light shone on the dark table. The light was hanging quite low, leaving the rest of the room unlit while shining quite strongly on the table and those sitting by it. The light also flickered once in a while, adding to the general atmosphere of interrogation.
On one side was Okada, her arms over her chest, sharp eyes observing the other person who was unmoving as well, except for the fingers, which continued to press the button on the gaming console without rest.
Okada had to admit – this wasn't going as she had expected it to go. The signs had been there from the start.
First, she had seen the boy herself walking with Kanon on the streets and sitting there at Café Ambrosia... but only when he had stood up Okada had realized how tall he was, something she hadn't noticed before. Okada herself wasn't nowhere near short and Keima wasn't all that much taller than her... but somehow the air around him seemed to make him taller.
Another thing was his behavior. Okada had expected the boy to panic when she had appeared, but he had not. He had just looked at her and... just looked. No panic. No surprise. The only thing Okada had noticed was something akin to... annoyance on his face? Maybe a quiet sigh escaping his lips? Like she was a pesky but generally harmless bump on the road.
Of course, Okada could just start the talk right there and then, but it wouldn't be as effective. Thus, she had taken Keima and Kanon into the car and had the driver take them to the office. She had purposely let Keima and Kanon sit next to each other in the back of the car, hoping to catch them exchanging words or glances. By driving in silence she had also hoped to instill a sense of fear into this Katsuragi boy, so when he would be across that table from her he'd be beyond panicked.
Unfortunately, nothing like that happened.
The only one who had looked distressed was Kanon. The brown-haired bespectacled boy didn't panic. At the café. During the car ride. Or now. Actually, he had just been playing that games of his the entire time as if fighting the boredom or ignoring everything around him. Okada had actually thought about taking that console, but she had no right to just take his possession from him...
...actually she had no right to take him here and had expected to need a good excuse to make him follow her inside the car, but no – this boy had just pulled his console out of thin air and followed her.
And here they were. Sitting by this table, their faces on the border of light and darkness, while Okada waited in heavy silence for the boy's spirit to crumble before she started questioning him, but with each passing minute she was losing hope his spirit would crumble at all.
Wait a minute, maybe it wasn't about his spirit. Maybe he was too dumb to understand the situation he was in.
"Do you know who I am?" she asked the boy.
"You're the idol's manager," Keima replied, not even lifting his head. That boy! Didn't he have any manners!?
"Do you know why are you here?" she continued.
"I think you're about to tell me that," he said. The sound of buttons being pressed never stopped.
"You think wrong," Okada said, "what is your relationship with Kanon Nakagawa?"
"We're classmates and friends," Keima stated calmly.
"Close friends, I presume?"
Keima finally stopped clicking his buttons and looked up to glance at her.
'Finally, there's a reaction,' Okada thought as she smiled inwardly, however her inner smile faded at the expression on Keima's face.
The expression screamed 'are you freaking kidding me?!'.
"Me, who had spent his life without need for friends or without need for the real and, her, a time-deprived idol? Close friends?" he said. "You must be out of your mind."
"W-what does that mean!?" Okada questioned, turning her surprise into another level of annoyance. "You make it sound like you're not friends at all!"
"Honestly, I didn't want anything to do with her at first," Keima said, going back to his game, "but I guess we did end up becoming friends of sorts."
'Are you kidding me?' it was Okada's turn to think that. "You're not seriously thinking I'm going to believe you didn't want to have anything to do with a national idol in your class!?" the nerve of this guy.
"I see," Keima's voice changed, it was less neutral and more cold, "you're another one of them?"
"What?"
"People who judge others by their own standards," he said, "real seems to be full of those."
Okada didn't say anything, looking at determination and something else in Keima's eyes.
"Besides," he continued, "I didn't even know Kanon was in my class until she zapped me and my PFP with that stun gun of hers for not recognizing her."
"You have good imagination and you're a decent liar, I'll give you that, kid," Okada said, her own eyes shining with determination, "I hope you didn't spread those lies so I won't have to sue you... yet."
"Lies?" Keima asked casually.
"Of course! Why would I believe Kanon would do that?" Okada said. "If she's done that then you must've deserved that."
"You won't believe it?" Keima said and Okada noticed his entire disposition, as if he earlier was just a ghost, but now he was a real presence. "That's my line."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"How can you not believe that? It didn't happen before? Or did you just didn't notice it?" he asked.
Okada blinked. What was he insinuating here?
"No, that's wrong," Keima continued, eyes narrowing, "how someone like you can be Kanon's manager in the first place?"
"How dare you-"
"When did you two meet?" Keima interrupted her. "I suppose you weren't her manager back when Kanon was in Citron, right? Did Kanon ever told you why she became an idol?"
An answer was on the tip of the tongue, but Okada didn't respond immediately, some strange feeling telling her to think the entire situation over. Something was out of place here. Something was off in this interrogation. And she realized what.
She was the one being interrogated.
"Did she tell you?" she bounced the question back.
"Not really, not directly at least," Keima said, "and normally I wouldn't care. But because of circumstances I had to learn it, even if Kanon didn't want me to. I had to understand her problem."
"Problem?"
"You can't tell me you didn't know," Keima said, "Kanon loves her job, at least the part of spreading her songs and supporting everyone, but it wasn't like that at first."
Okada knew it was her turn to say something, like as if they were playing shōgi and it was her turn to move. She realized it was wrong though. This wasn't shōgi. Zugzwang [1] didn't not apply here. She could just remain silent and wait to see if the other party will continue.
"At first," Keima spoke at last, "Kanon went into show business in order to prove herself-"
"That's as obvious as-"
"-AND," Keima continued, "because she felt invisible and people tended to forget or not notice her, so she strove to perform on stage to make people notice her. She's a national shining star with a lot of determination and talent, but she didn't start her career because of those. She was just a lost girl seeking recognition. It was a very selfish reason that could destroy everything... and it as well might've... if it weren't for me... and you never noticed a thing, did you? Some manager you are, to not notice Kanon's motivations and problems... or maybe you thought focusing on her contacts, contracts and money would be enough?"
"I'm not Kanon's mother," Okada reminded him.
"So you do not look after her and her mother didn't ask for you to take care of her, her career, her grades and to keep her from bursting from all the responsibility?"
Yet again Okada didn't reply immediately, her face was calm, but inside her head there was anything but calmness.
'This guy', she thought as she looked at him. If he were wearing a suit she was sure she could mistake him for a lawyer or a prosecutor.
This guy might be seventeen. He might be an otaku. But he wasn't stupid.
She had underestimated him... however, that meant there was no way she was going to let someone like that stay close to Kanon, at least not before gathering more info.
Despite all of her surprise she remained calm outside. A few silent moments have passed, her eyes not blinking as she fixed them on Keima, as if trying to see something invisible to normal eyes or look into inside of his mind.
"Wait here," she said finally before standing up and leaving the room.
Keima was tempted to raise his eyebrow. Did she falter already? Did she go to bring him some food in hopes to soften him? Hmpf, like he needed the sustenance of the real world. He had no weakness Okada could exploit and she should just realize that already! Just a few seconds after he said that he heard the sounds of heels on the floor and the door opened again. Keima looked up and his eyes narrowed slightly.
Smart move, he thought as he watched as Okada went to the dark side of the room and fetched a third chair for Kanon to sit down on. After that Okada sat at her old place, propping her elbows on the tabletop and putting her chin on her interlaced fingers. Without moving his head Keima glanced at Kanon and than back at Okada, before putting his PFP away and taking his hands off the table.
"Kanon," Okada said, her eyes not moving from Keima's face, "could you tell me who is that boy again?"
"This is Keima Katsuragi," Kanon replied, her face calm, a testament to her business and acting experience, "my classmate and friend from school."
"So the two of you meet in class?"
"Aah, not exactly," Kanon said, "I mean I was attending school to rarely to know anyone, so we never interacted in class... we've actually met on the school rooftop, soon after my newcomer award."
"And how did that meeting go?"
"Umm..." Kanon started to fidget in her seat, "I noticed Katsuragi-kun sitting on a bench and went to greet him and then it turned out he didn't recognize me and I... I zapped him with my stun gun."
"Repeatedly," Keima specified.
In a quick movement Okada's eyes switched from Keima to Kanon and then back to Keima again.
"When was it?" Okada asked after a moment.
"Nearly a year ago," Kanon said.
It went quiet.
"I see," Okada said, she looked calm, but Kanon knew her long enough to realize that she was more than irritated, "Kanon could you be so kind as to tell me what has happened during that year?"
Kanon nodded her head nervously and then started talking. She told Okada how Keima helped her, including her few daily emails ("Over thirty daily emails!" Keima corrected her) and how he restored her confidence in herself instead of letting her rely on the audience. Of course, she omitted the part about the kiss... and Apollo... and Mai-High festival, going straight to the winter and her budding friendship with other people.
Keima listened to the story, thinking.
He could see what was happening. Okada had obviously been trying to intimidate him and she had split him and Kanon up, most probably trying to see if their versions of the story would match. However, once Okada had realized that Keima wasn't some pushover, she had changed her strategy and had brought Kanon instead. Keima himself might not have a weakness , but Kanon was another matter. Moreover, Okada knew her much better than she knew Keima, so she could observe her reactions while interrogating Keima.
A smart move indeed.
"And that's it?" Okada asked after Kanon stopped talking.
"Aah, did, I omit anything important, Katsuragi-kun?" Kanon asked, turning to Keima.
Keima pretended he was thinking for a moment.
"No," he lied, "that's it."
Kanon wasn't making any bad moves either – it was wise to let Keima lie instead of doing it herself.
"Are the two of you going out?" Okada asked.
"No!" Kanon denied, her cheeks dusting red in what she hoped would be understood as her being offended at the accusation.
"No, we're not," Keima said calmly.
There was another moment of silence during which Okada's eyes went back and forth between both teens.
"I'll be frank," the manager said, her eyes narrowed, "I don't know which part is it, but I know you're lying or at the very least not telling the entire truth."
"That's..." Kanon continued to make an offended face, trying to look innocent. Thankfully, Okada was more focused on Keima, who went back to his game as if everything was solved.
"Don't you have any manners?" the manager asked, a vein started to pop on her forehead. "Put the damn games away!"
Keima didn't even look up, but his voice wasn't completely flat as he replied. "I'm free to do what I want. If it bothers you then you can go away."
Kanon had expected an aggressive response from already ticked-off Okada, but the woman's next line was surprisingly calm.
"Are those games so important to you?"
Keima didn't even reply this time.
"As strange as gaming may be, at least it explains your behavior" Okada continued, "if they're so important to you then no wonder you consider everyone around you as useless hindrances and waste of your time."
Kanon's eyes widened and she was about to try to stop Okada and explain that Keima wasn't like that, but she didn't even manage to open her mouth as she felt a shiver travel down her spine.
The clicking of the buttons stopped.
"What was that?" Keima looked up a dangerous look on his face, something that was rarely seen. Kanon also was fairly certain he heard everything right.
"Ano-" Kanon tried, but was cut off by Okada.
"I thought your eyes, not ears, were bad... I said-"
"I heard what you said," Keima interrupted her, "I was just surprised to hear it from someone as incompetent as you."
"It's rich to be lectured about such a serious adult thing like professional idol management from a brat who can't even take his nose out of the screen and look at the world around him."
Keima didn't reply immediately, but Okada didn't continue her attack either. And Kanon knew why was that.
As aggressive and cocky as both Keima and Okada were, both were right here... and at the same time both were wrong, so they waited, not exposing themselves and trying to bait the other person into slipping.
Keima and Okada continued their staring contest and Kanon could feel the pressure both of them were exuding. The idol was actually surprised no sparks were flying. She suddenly felt really small, like an insignificant human bystander caught between a battle between two monsters straight from a 2004 sci-fi movie!
Suddenly, Kanon remembered something from Eri's memories. Something Eri had thought about Okada back when she had been substituting for Kanon...
She's a lot like nii-sama.
Now Kanon fully understood how right Eri was.
Both Keima and Okada were task-focused no-nonsense people. They were strict and resourceful, able to quickly grasp the situation they were in and proceed accordingly. True, Keima was much younger and had more than one flaw and true, Okada wasn't quite on Keima level intellect-wise, but she wasn't a pushover. Moreover, she was the interrogator here, so Keima was on the defensive overall. She even had managed to provoke Keima just now and Kanon knew why she had succeeded.
Several months earlier Keima would either not react at all or just laugh in Okada's face... but not anymore. As much as he wanted to deny it, he was much more involved in the real world than before... but he was still inexperienced with it, so Okada's jab hit a weak spot – she had insinuated he didn't or wasn't able to deal with the real world.
The pressure was increasing and Kanon was just about to go in between them when Okada suddenly leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest, her lips neutral, but Kanon sensed she had to stop them from curling into a smile.
"Let's sum it up," the woman repositioned her glasses and Kanon once more thought how Keima-like this motion seemed, "you think I'm not doing a well-enough job as Kanon's manager, right? Any more thoughts about how bad I affect her lifestyle?"
"Kanon works too much," Keima said, his voice both confident and reluctant, "also it's her last year of high school. She needs more studying time."
"So you're saying I should disregard Kanon's career and give her more free time?" Okada asked.
"Not disregard, just manage it better," Keima said.
Okada remained silent for a few seconds, before turning to the idol.
"Kanon, you remember about that show you're supposed to play in a few weeks?"
"Ara no Kinoumade?" Kanon blinked, not understanding the sudden change of topic.
"Yes, how are the preparations for that one going?"
Keima was surprised to see Kanon go a little pale.
"What preparations?" Kanon asked. "I've already said to use a double!"
"It would be better if you played all the scenes yourself," Okada said.
"B-but," Kanon seemed really panicked by now, "you know how I feel about water!"
"Can I go home now?" Keima asked, slowly losing his patience.
"But this concerns you as well, Katsuragi-san," Okada said, her voice suddenly much more polite.
"Huh?" both Kanon and Keima said.
"The thing is Kanon exhibits surprisingly strong fear of water and swimming. This is something I was never able to take care of. Maybe I'm a bad manager after all," Okada said before smiling, "so perhaps someone else should look after Kanon with regards to that task?"
The smile didn't leave Okada's lips as she looked at Keima, who looked back at her, his brain refusing to acknowledge what his ears send its way.
(* * *)
"Keima-kun as my swimming teacher?" Kanon asked when she and Okada were finally alone.
"So it's Keima-kun now?" the older woman said with a sly smile.
"Ugh," Kanon realized she had slipped up.
"Don't try to hide it Kanon, you did a good job, but I can see it clearly now... you really like that boy."
Kanon looked away, the color of her cheeks matching that of her hair.
"And he really doesn't seem interested... can't say I exactly blame him."
"W-what do you mean?" Kanon asked.
"I mean that you really zapped him with your stun guns," Okada said sternly, making Kanon flinch. There goes the scolding.
"What made you think that repeatedly using not-perfectly-safe stun guns on a stranger was a good idea?"
"So you believe me now?" Kanon said. "Okada-san?"
"Did he really help you bac kduring your newcomers days?" the older woman asked.
"Yes..."
Okada shook her head.
"What a weird boy. His behavior defies logic... and I'm still suspicious about his motives."
"Then why did you have him help me with swimming?"
"Well, if it's him then maybe, maybe he'll be able to do something about it," Okada paused for a moment before adding, "and I guess this way maybe you can get closer to him."
It was a particularly long day, full of weird happenings, but the pink-haired idol still felt her jaw unhinge in shock.
"You mean you approve?"
"Obviously there are contracts to consider and you can't cross the line until you're sure you can handle the backlash from your fans," Okada said, "not to mention the boy seems to have his nose permanently stuck in that contraption of his, so I can't say I see what you see in him... but yeah, I approve... you're mother would have my head if I stood in a way of your happiness like that... just promise me one thing," she stopped walking and turned to Kanon, "if he tries anything inappropriate be sure to show him that he's seen nothing of your stun guns yet."
Kanon wide-open mouth slowly turned into one of the biggest smiles Okada had ever seen on her.
"Thank you!" she said and bowed.
"You're welcome... oh and be sure to notify me whenever you're meeting with Katsuragi-san, swimming lessons or otherwise."
"I will!" Kanon said, still beaming.
"Good," Okada looked at her watch, "now, go home and take your drama script for tomorrow with you. We wasted enough time with this."
"Hai!", Kanon said and walked around, a noticeable spring to her step.
'My goodness', Okada thought as she watched Kanon leave, 'she's really in love, isn't she'?
Okada sighed. She had known something was up with Kanon, but after the interrogation she was surprised that so little had actually happened. What did that Katsuragi guy do to make Kanon look at him that way? Was this caused by how different he was compared to the rest of Kanon's fans? And he could prove dangerous still. Yet, despite all of that, all of Okada's doubts about the boy, one more thing was clear.
Keima cared about her.
It was clear to Okada as day, especially given that Kanon had started their relations by zapping Katsuragi with her stun guns. Yet, their relationship wasn't bad. It was good actually. And he still cared for her. Maybe it wasn't the exactly kind of "care" Kanon was hoping for, but it was there. And much more than the boy willed to admit openly, much more that what was visible through strictness and coldness. The only reason Okada understood it was because her and Katsuragi were similar in those aspects.
That made Okada wonder... she cared about Kanon too... but maybe she wasn't portraying it right. Maybe Katsuragi had a point and she should be more than just a manager and pay more attention to Kanon before she misses something important again.
And perhaps the best start would be to begin supporting Kanon on non-idol related matters as well...
(* * *)
"So Okada-san asked you to teach Kanon-chan how to swim?" Tenri summed up as she shuffled a deck of cards.
"She didn't ask me to do it," Keima said, "she basically forced me to do it."
"I wonder about that," Tenri mused as she presented Keima with a hand of cards, faces to him, "pick a card and don't tell me what card it is."
"Are you suggesting what that pesky manager has done was okay?" he asked, picking a card, his eyes gliding on it for an instant.
Tenri giggled.
"What's so funny?"
"Oh it's nothing... just it's a bit funny to hear you speak like that about someone who's similar to you," Tenri said as she looked away, "now put the card back into the deck randomly."
"She's not similar to me," Keima said as she placed the card back into the deck, "am I pesky?"
"Well, some people might consider you that," Tenri shuffled the deck again, "but I think you're a great person," she then picked a card from the deck, "is that your card, Keima-kun?"
"We both know it is," he said, but his lips curved into a small smile, "you're getting better at this."
"Thank you," Tenri immediately flushed, "I practice a lot."
"Maybe you should practice less and hang out with more people instead."
"Perhaps you should take your own advice then, Keima-kun," Tenri said while preparing another card trick.
Keima snorted. "Even if I don't want to hang out with people it happens by itself!" he exclaimed. "Everyday there's Eri. Every school day I have to deal with Ayumi and Chihiro. I've been invited to eat lunches on the rooftop. To karaokes. And I'm not safe at home neither. Yesterday Nanaka just decided to drop for a visit."
"Yes, I know. Nanaka-san was at my place yesterday too," Tenri said.
"That's different!" Keima insisted. "What your mother sees is two classmate girls hanging out and that's fine. Now if my mother learns about several girls coming to see me it'll be a disaster!"
"I think you're exaggerating, Keima-kun," Tenri said, "you need to relax."
"It's a bit hard to relax like this," Keima pointed to the side with his thumb, where the annoyed face of Tenri's goddess was reflected in a mirror.
"Well, excuse me," Diana said, her eyebrow twitching, "I wouldn't be annoying you if you haven't come here! Why are you even here?"
"I'm reporting what happened to Tenri..." Keima said, his own eyebrow returning the motion.
"We don't need to listen to any reports of yours, Katsuragi," Diana shot back.
"...I also wanted to ask for an advice," Keima finished.
It went quiet for a moment.
"Advice?" Tenri, who was about to calm down Diana a moment ago, said and blinked, for the first time looking surprised during this conversation.
"What to do with that swimming thing, obviously," Keima explained, ignoring Diana glaring at him.
"But you've already agreed, haven't you?" Tenri said. "Besides, you're Keima-kun. Why would you even need my advice?"
"Don't give me that!" Keima said. "You were the one who told me to go along with this! Take responsibility!"
Tenri thought for a moment.
"Are you worried about those teaching lessons, Keima-kun?" she guessed.
"It's obviously a flag..." Keima said.
"And you don't know how to react to that," the dark-haired girl finished for him.
"Such flags are far from unheard of in games," Keima said, "but this is not a game."
"You could just say 'yes, I don't know what to do', you know?" Diana interjected, earning a glare from Keima.
"How about you try walking in my shoes for once?" Keima exclaimed. "It's not so simple! With any other girl it might've been different, but we're talking about an idol here! If I walk away I'm not being fair and I'm breaking my promise. If I agree to date Kanon in secret, I'm risking breaking her career. If I agree to date her officially, I'm risking being torn to shreds by her fans. Seriously, every route does seem like a bad end, however you slice it."
"You're worried about Kanon-chan," Tenri stated, no asked.
"Of course, I am!" Keima exclaimed.
"My advice is: you shouldn't treat this as a a game, Keima-kun," Tenri said, "and by that I mean you should stop acting as a player."
"Do elaborate," Keima said after a short silence.
"You should just wait and see what Kanon-chan decides to do about it and then decide in your heart how do you feel about it and act accordingly," Tenri explained.
"How does it solve anything?" Keima asked.
"It doesn't and that's the point," Tenri said, "you're worrying over Kanon's situation and career too much. It's her life and her choices. All you can do is decide whether you're going to give it a try and you have already decided that you will."
"So you're telling me to just sit back and observe?" Keima rephrased. He had been the protagonist before, so handing the control to the girl kinda seemed fair.
"Yes, but as I said previously, you shouldn't do anything you think you're forced to do," Tenri said, "just be a boy and let Kanon-chan be a girl."
"I see," Keima mused. He still had his doubts, but he had an idea how to deal with some of them.
"Also," he looked up to see a smile on Tenri's face he could only describe as sly. "I want for Keima-kun to continue making reports like this."
Keima groaned. He should've sooo seen that one coming.
(* * *)
Kanon Nakagawa couldn't decide whether to be happy or nervous.
Today was her first swimming lesson with Keima-kun!
On one hand, it meant spending time with him and it was an opportunity to get closer to him. Of course, Kanon knew better than to try a frontal assault, but it was still a chance to do something. On the other hand, there was not-so-small part of her that felt anxious and not in a good way, but Kanon shrugged it off as she got off the bus and started walking towards her destination.
Maijima Water Park.
Truth be told, Kanon had expected Keima to use the school swimming pool for this, especially as it would be free, but she didn't complain. Water parks were a lot more fun. Kanon opened her phone and saw that Keima had sent her an e-mail informing her he was already in the swimming area. Kanon took a deep breath. With Apollo's illusion preventing anyone from recognizing her and with Keima-kun's guidance she could do this!
Ten minutes later Kanon emerged from the women's dressing room and entered the swimming area, eyes scanning the place for the gaming nerd. That description proved accurate as she found him outside of water sitting on one of the chairs, people giving him weird glances.
"Keima-kun, I'm here!" Kanon said and waved to get his attention and, sure enough, Keima looked at her and got up.
"Finally, you're here," he said.
"Sorry, the recording lasted longer than we anticipated," Kanon scratched her head.
"Let's not waste time then," Keima said and approached the edge of the pool, "are you ready?"
Kanon was surprised because Keima wasn't looking at her when he asked that. And a moment later she understood why, because the surface of the water broke and from underwater a familiar figure emerged, making Kanon's eyes go wide.
"Ah, good day, Kanon-senpai!" Minami Ikoma said smiling.
(* * *)
"What is the meaning of this, Keima-kun?" Kanon whispered as the three of them were in a shallow pool.
Keima was wearing simple plain light blue trunks and the rest of his body was exposed, revealing his thin frame and a little pale skin. He also didn't have his glasses. Kanon was wearing a bright pink one-piece swimsuit with frills around the hips, the outfit which looked weird with the brown hair her illusion was currently providing. Minami, as expected, was wearing her school swimming suit, except it was not a swimming suit for middle school, but one for high school.
That's right, Minami Ikoma was now a high schooler and it showed. And not just with regards to her outfit – the girl seemed to have grown at least 2 or 3 inches and the only reason Kanon was still a good few centimeters ahead was because she herself had grown a bit in the last year. The pink-haired idol also couldn't help but notice that Minami's has grown in other aspects as well... it was either that or the swimming suit was just making it more obvious. And most important of all the girl was still a little quiet and shy, but not to the extent Kanon had remembered. And she seemed a lot more... cheerful. Whether this was because of her emotional and mental growth, presence of Kanon or presence of Keima, the idol didn't know.
"What do you mean?" Keima asked back, not as quiet as Kanon.
"Why is Minami-chan doing here?"
"She'll be teaching you, obviously," Keima said matter-of-factly.
"You were supposed to teach me!" Kanon whispered, trying to keep the jealous edge out of her voice.
"In the case you didn't notice, me and water don't work well together," Keima said, "but Minami feels very good with water, so she'll be able to assist us."
"She might like water, but she was never a very good swimmer, right?" Kanon asked quietly, not sure why she was saying that, even if it was the truth.
"She doesn't have to be to teach you," Keima said, "besides would you rather have me go fetch one of the professional instructors over there?" he pointed to the lifeguard station. "I'm sure they'd love to tutor a famous idol like you."
"Being taught by Minami-chan is fine," Kanon replied immediately. As if on cue the younger girl approached them and smiled nervously.
"Let's start then," Keima said.
(* * *)
The following lesson was a weird experience for all three of them.
Minami seemed torn. On one hand she was overjoyed at the contact with water and to spend time with her senpais. On the other hand, she was obviously nervous and a little tense, as if she had also thought she wasn't qualified to teach someone like Kanon anything. The idol had a suspicion the only reason the younger girl agreed to this was because Keima asked her to do it.
That thought irked Kanon and she had to stop herself from frowning or pouting as she did what she was told to do.
Keima himself seemed resolved to make this lesson as efficient as possible, making Kanon do whatever Minami suggested, not leaving much room for objections.
"T-that's right, you should keep your legs underwater, not letting them break the surface," Minami instructed from the side as Keima held Kanon's hands and walked backwards, letting the girl swim forward by paddling her legs.
"G-great job, Ka-I mean Tōyama-senpai", Minami said, using the name they've agreed to call Kanon with, suddenly sounding even more nervous as she continued, "now let's do that without Katsuragi-senpai helping you."
"W-what?" Kanon exclaimed. "I can't! I'll sink!"
"You won't," Keima said and Minami nodded her head as well, "Your displacement will keep you on the surface, especially if you take a deep breath before it."
Kanon thought about it for a moment, not really wanting to try. Suddenly she realized how smart was it for Okada to force Keima to do this – he might be the only one Kanon would listen to in a situation like this.
She tried to do as she was told... but, as expected, her body submerged, making Kanon close her eyes and immediately leap back, stopping and coughing.
"Why did you do that?" Keima asked.
"Liar!" Kanon said back. "You said I wouldn't sink!"
"You didn't!" Keima said.
"But my face-"
"You can't expect your entire body to stay above water, of course it will submerge!" Keima interrupted her. "But you won't sink. Just take a deep breath and try it again!"
"Ganbare, senpai!" Minami chimed in.
"Uh..."
(* * *)
In spite of Kanon's thoughts and doubts, the next half an hour went rather well in her opinion. She still felt nervous and she had drunk some water, but now she could mostly stay near the surface for a while, especially after Minami had made her float on her back, letting her get used to supporting her body by water without getting it anywhere close to her face. She was even starting to relax.
"Okay, let's get out," she heard Keima speak and opened her eyes. Get out? Already? It wasn't even an hour. And she had spend all that time learning how to swim instead of getting closer to Keima-kun.
They got out of the pool and Kanon was ready to head to the changing room, when Keima stopped her.
"Where are you going?" he asked. "We're not leaving yet."
"Where are we going then?"
"Let's do something else," he said, going in the direction of... the sliding chutes and other water park attractions! Yes, that certainly sounded more fun! Kanon started to smile and followed Keima happily until he stopped midway there.
"What are you doing?" he asked. "Get in."
"Huh?" Kanon exclaimed, following where Keima was pointing to, which was another pool.
"What are you getting surprised for?" Keima asked. "We can't do any more stuff in that shallow-ass pool, so we're moving to this one."
"T-that previous pool was fine," Kanon stuttered.
"It was a pool for children," Keima told her, "even at the deepest place it has only 120 centimeters!"
"B-but this one is too deep!" Kanon exclaimed, her voice increasing in both height and volume. "It's over two and half meters!"
"Only at the other end," Keima said, "at this end it starts at 130 centimeters. The water will go only up to your shoulders!"
"But I won't be able to reach the bottom quickly with my legs when swimming!" Kanon said even louder.
"That's the point," Keima said, noticing that people were starting to look at them, "look, you won't learn it if you keep to that shallow pool."
"Katsuragi-senpai is right," Minami interjected softly.
"But-"
"Me and Minami will support you, so you don't have anything to worry about," Keima reached out with his hand, "let's go."
Kanon looked down at his hand and then back up at him.
"No."
"What?" Keima asked, incredulous.
"I want to keep to the smaller pool for now," Kanon said.
"Don't be ridiculous!" Keima said. "I did not get roped into this for... for this," he grabbed Kanon's hand and pulled softly, but Kanon didn't budge.
"I don't want to!" Kanon said.
"It's just a pool," Keima tried to reason with her. "We have deeper pools at school!"
"I don't attend classes, remember?" Kanon said, trying to pull her hand back, but Keima didn't let go.
"Well, you are now," Keima said and tried to pull her into the pool with a sudden motion. He seemed to succeed, making Kanon move forward, but then the pink-haired idol made some strange motion as she was passing Keima, grabbing him and tripping him with her leg, half-dragging and half-throwing him into the pool, staying on the edge and watching as he crashed into the water.
(* * *)
"I'm really sorry," Kanon said five minutes later.
"Hmpf!" Keima snorted with his arms crossed over his chest.
The two of them were sitting on the benches located a little away from the pools, watching the people in the water. Minami was in a nearly Olympic-size pool, deciding to step away for a while as Keima seemed actually angry.
"Oh, come on," Kanon said, trying to sound exasperated, but inside she was anxious, "it's not like I got your console destroyed this time..."
"It's not about that!" Keima exclaimed turning to her, his eyes narrowed. "It's about you attitude!"
"My attitude?"
"It's clearly not a simple case of you not knowing how to swim! You don't fear water itself. You obviously can't swim, but you don't have a big problem with shallow water, yet what you did when I tried to get you into a normal pool was like a judo throw girls are taught for self-defense!"
"I'm sorry!"
"Sorry doesn't solve anything!" Keima told her, not paying any attention to people passing them by giving them weird glances. "I brought you here because I thought this environment would be more therapeutic and would let you relax afterwards. But I can't teach you if you don't cooperate. I need to know what the problem is before I can help you," he looked straight at her, "preferably I would like to know that before you start using stun guns on me and turning invisible."
Kanon felt a very weird feeling of wanting to laugh and bite her lip at the same time.
"I won't believe a girl who relied on me for the most trivial insecurities doesn't trust me now," Keima continued, "is it so traumatic you can't talk about it? Should we look for professional help after all?"
"No!" Kanon said a little louder than she intended, before she went silent.
Keima sighed quietly. This was tougher than he had thought. The "throwing someone in at the deep end" approach hadn't worked. Moreover, practicing at the shallow pool would take a lot of time and by now Keima understood it wouldn't solve the actual issue, whatever the issue was. Back in his conquest days he would know what to do – he would prod and probe to discover what has to be done to complete the route. But he wasn't exactly on a route right now and this was not a game. And most important of all, some games had player make some kind of sacrifice to progress. Some games had people die. And there were countless bad endings, especially with games like Crayon that were full of bugs. But even in such games a player could try over and over again. Reaching a good ending with a heroine was a success, no matter how many trials, errors and save/load cycles it took.
But this was not a game. There was no load option. Every thing he did would have consequences. He had learned that the hard way with Chihiro, Tenri and some other girls. Here he had to be careful or he would be risking hurting the only people precious to him, many of who he had hurt before. Especially...
"It happened over 10 years ago," Kanon suddenly said, making his train of thought come to a halt. Keima chose to remain quiet for now, hoping for the idol to say more.
"It was shortly after you traveled in time, Keima-kun, in August," Kanon continued slowly, rising her head, "back then I considered school to be a boring place... but I enjoyed spending time with my parents. You see, I was a single child, so if there's anyone who never forgot or ignored me it were my parents... "
This time the silence was longer.
"One day we went to the sea and I was really excited for that," the idol continued, "we have set up and we went swimming. Of course, I was wearing a swim ring and my parents were watching over me... I was a really curious kid and my father kept having to tell me to not go away too much. It was okay for a while," Kanon smiled a sad smile, "looking back on it, I was really unlucky on that day. At one point the current slowly made me drift away. Normally, my father would have reacted, but there was another similar kid there and my father mistook that kid for me."
"Of course, I didn't notice anything and kept drifting into another part of the shore, but also further into the sea, where waves were. As luck would have it, wind also picked up speed and the waves got bigger. I was alone there with no-one close to me, beach barely in sight. I started to get scared. I started to scream for my dad, but he obviously wasn't anywhere near. Eventually, someone noticed me and a lifeguard went to help me. It would be a traumatic experience anyway, but it didn't end just like that."
Keima listened to everything, not rushing her.
"I didn't notice it at first, but there was another guy, swimming somewhere between me and the shore and to the side" the idol said finally, "I think he wanted to be a hero. He swam to where I was. Both me and him thought it would be simple. He could swim and I was light, so what could go wrong there?"
"When he arrived next to me, I was already panicking for a while and scared out of my mind, so I immediately jumped on him. The guy was surprised by it. Apparently, he didn't have a training about helping a drowning person and I was nowhere near capable of calming down. It wasn't easy for him to haul me back to the shore."
Keima knew this wasn't the end of the story and, he suspected what was coming next.
"The guy have been swimming for a while before noticing me and underestimated his stamina on this. And then a big wave broke upon us. I panicked again and cling to him. And then he panicked as well. The man who was supposed to save me and my only help at the moment started to go under the surface with me."
"I don't know what happened directly after that," Kanon said slowly, "I woke up on the shore. Apparently the lifeguards saved us. I remember that dad got really angry. That was the only time he have hit someone. He hit the guy who was trying to save me, but just made things worse. It was a big shock."
Keima briefly wondered if that traumatic experience with Kanon being all alone far away from the shore with no-one noticing her disappearance was where her "no-one knows me" issue had really started.
"After that incident my parents started to be really careful with me for a while," Kanon added after a moment.
"I'm surprised they let you become an idol," Keima remarked.
Kanon shrugged. "It wasn't anything that big at first and mom and dad saw how much I wanted to do it," she said, "besides it'd been several years after the incident, so they thought I was fine. I did went to pools with them afterwards and I didn't really have problems with shallow water around them," she paused, "it's just... that every time I have to go deeper... I start to panic... as if... I don't know..."
"As if you were going to be left alone again and like you were about to fail," Keima finished her, the amazement at his accurate assessment covered by the shame Kanon suddenly felt.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be, it's not your fault" Keima said softly, "if there's anything you should be sorry for is not telling me about it sooner," he then shook his head, "I should've known it wasn't so simple after you manager couldn't solve it."
"Is it even possible to overcome it then?" Kanon hugged her knees, "I-I mean, what if this won't get fixed no matter who tries to help me? What if I'll had to forever live with-" she didn't say more as she suddenly saw Keima crouch in front of her and softly put his hands on her shoulders.
"Wha-"
"Kanon," Keima said slowly with that peculiar focused voice of his, which was both soft and commanding at the same time. And his eyes were trained on hers.
As weird for a public swimming pool as it was, Kanon suddenly felt her mouth go dry.
"You can't think like that," Keima continued, "did you already forget? About the concert back then by the waterfront?"
"What do you-"
"You can't depend on other people unconditionally like that!" Keima reminded her. "Sure, they may help you. They may want to help you. Sometimes you won't be able to do everything without them. Especially when you're young. That's why we have parents for. But still, you're you!" he said. "You need to live your own life. Have your own beliefs and goals, instead of waiting to see what others will decide for you."
"I'm not sure I understand," Kanon said.
"Maybe the reason you can't do it is because you still think you're that small girl who believes she won't make it without someone else's hand. But you're not that little girl anymore," Keima told her firmly. "You're Kanon Nakagawa. The Japan's shining star. I know you can do it, but most importantly, you need to know that you can do it! You can't do it because they want you to be able to perform before camera. You need to do it because you want to fix this!"
Kanon was quiet for a moment, mouth slightly agape as she looked at Keima, before she regained her senses.
"Letting others help me, yet not relying on them?" she summarized. "That's kinda self-contradictory. Not to mention rich coming from the guy who does everything alone."
"You need to have more of your own resolution and expectations instead of doing it because someone wants you to do it," Keima clarified, "and yes, I was like that, but not nearly as much anymore," he hesitated, "you know that right?"
"I wonder," Kanon teased him, "but I see your point," she thought about it for a moment, "maybe you're right..."
"You don't need to act upon this now... just think it over," he told her, before he started walking away, "I'm going to buy some juice for us."
Kanon continued to watch as Keima walked away until she felt some shifting and rustling next to her and turned to see Minami where Keima was previously sitting.
"Are you alright, Kanon-senpai?" the younger girl asked.
"Y-yes," the idol responded, once again embarrassed by her earlier outburst.
"I'm glad," the brown-haired girl said quietly. Kanon noticed the water dripping down the younger girl's body. The idol smiled.
"You really like water, right, Minami-chan?" Kanon asked, making the younger girl blush.
"I do," Minami responded slowly, as if she was thinking about some distant memory.
Kanon could understand that. For Minami swimming was like singing was for Kanon. Like shōgi was for Nanaka. Like rāmen was for Sumire. Like running was for Ayumi... except...
"How is your swimming at school?" Kanon asked.
Minami at the same time livened up and shrunk a little as in embarrassment.
"It's good," she said, "I mean I've just recently started going to high school, so it's a lot of work, I've to prepare for a meet-"
"You'll be in a meet?" Kanon asked.
"Oh yeah... I will," Minami answered blushing.
"So your skill have improved?" the idol asked, remembering what Minami had said last year on that memorable day when the girls had cornered Keima on the railway station.
"Uh-huh! I've been training hard!" Minami said smiling, "though... I have Katsuragi-senpai to thank for that."
"Huh?" that piqued Kanon's curiosity, "d-did Keima-kun... helped you or something lately?"
"Well, not really," Minami said, fixing her frizzled hair, "I mean... when Katsuragi-senpai had helped me back then at the Tanabata festival, I thought he has just meant for me to become stronger after closing one chapter of my life and move forward onto another... like I was supposed to not have regrets about stopping swimming and doing something else... but instead something different happened. I was back to swimming, even though I didn't have any reason to do it besides fun. And even weirder, I suddenly noticed that despite it becoming a hobby I suddenly started to get better."
"That is indeed weird," Kanon admitted.
"It's not just me though. It was similar with Kasuga-senpai." Minami said.
"What do you mean?"
"The way Katsuragi-senpai did it, Kasuga-senpai just agreed to let her feminine side have a go, but only after she reached the pinnacle of martial arts," Minami said. "Until then she was supposed to keep her feminine side suppressed. But something different happened instead. Kasuga-senpai decided to continue her martial arts training, but embraced her feminine self a bit as as well."
Minami's right, Kanon thought. It had happened with Nanaka too – even though her conquest had ended with a victory, she had also learned to deal with defeat. The idol had never thought the little swimming girl could be so insightful.
"I think Katsuragi-senpai is amazing," Minami said, further proving the point, "at first I thought he was weird and a little creepy too and he sometimes is... but he can do all sorts of things and had helped me so much... I think I didn't give him enough credit. Didn't thank him enough... are you alright, Kanon-chan?"
"Y-yes," Kanon said as she used her forearm to cover and wipe her face, so Minami wouldn't see how touched she was.
This girl... she was so innocent and sweet... she thought she didn't thank Keima enough? Then what was Kanon herself supposed to say after tasing Keima repeatedly and throwing him into the pool when he was just trying to help her?
"I think Keima-kun is amazing too," Kanon said, "he was amazing before, but after he has changed he's... I don't know... he seems like he's changed, but at the same time he still feels like the old Keima-kun," the idol paused to think for a moment, "I'm glad I've met him... but maybe I shouldn't have dragged him into this."
"Katsuragi-senpai was dragged into this?" Minami asked, surprised.
"Umm... yes... my manager had him teach me," Kanon said, feeling she had already told the other girl too much, "it's a long story."
Minami thought for a moment before she spoke. "I don't think Katsuragi-senpai was forced to do it."
"Why would you think that?"
Minami shrugged. "If Katsuragi-senpai wanted to get out of this, I'm sure he would find a way to do so."
Kanon had to admit the younger girl had a point.
"You mean he's doing it willingly then?" Kanon asked and Minami nodded. "Why?"
"Because he cares about you," Minami responded instantly as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Kanon didn't reply, feeling a wave of heat invade her cheeks. Calm down, she told herself, Minami only means it as help between friends.
And then Minami spoke again.
"You like Katsuragi-senpai, right?"
Kanon's entire body stiffened as she looked at the younger girl with a nervous smile and the worst version of poker face imaginable.
How come Minami had figured her out of all people!? Suddenly Kanon felt as stupid as Apollo ("hey, I've heard that!", a voice at the back of her heard complained).
"Aah!" Minami suddenly seemed to realize what she'd said. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to pry or anything it's not my business anyway!"
"What are the two of you doing?" both girls were sparred any further embarrassment when Keima returned, three cans of juice in his hands.
"Here," he said handing both of them their cans, "where are you going?" he asked as he saw Minami immediately stand up, her face red.
"I'm going to swim," the brown-haired girl said as she went in the direction of the pool.
"You're not supposed to run at the pool," Keima said after her, "and are you going to swim with a can of juice in your hands?"
"Says the guy who swims with PFP in his hands," Kanon teased, making Keima turn to her.
"I see you're in a much better mood now," he noticed.
"I guess you could say so," Kanon replied.
"Wanna go try the slides or something?" Keima asked.
"Huh?"
"I chose a water park to do this for a reason," Keima said, "I thought you and Minami could relax after the lesson," he explained, "so we might as well do that now."
Kanon thought about it. She definitely wanted to do that and spend some quality time with Keima-kun. However, his words echoed in her mind, telling her she was a grown girl now, not some 7 year old kid and it was time to do something, instead of letting the others' efforts go to waste.
"I agree," she spoke as she stood up, a new wave of determination surging in her, "but we'll do that just like you said – after the lesson is over."
After all if Minami Ikoma had managed to grow up, move on and achieve her goal, then Kanon Nakagawa, the idol of the masses, had no right to complain.
"Let's get back into that pool."
(* * *)
[1] Zugzwang, or "compulsion to move", is a situation in chess or similar games where players are required to make a move every turn. One is said to "be in a zugzwang" if he/she would prefer not to move at all, but rules force him/her to move (basically any move available worsens the situation, while not doing anything wouldn't worsen it)...
...in this case Okada implies this does not hold here and, as long as she keep poker face, she doesn't have to answer and can just wait for Keima to continue #longexplanationofunimportantdetail.
Ok, so there you have it: Okada was kinda pwned by Keima, while Kanon was nervously listening to the exchange. Then Okada ropes Keima into helping Kanon to learn how to swim.
Then we have Keima obediently reporting the happenings to Tenri for some weird reason.
Then the first swimming lesson happens... with weird assistance of Minami and with Kanon being stubborn...
...then we learn more about Kanon's past and where her water problem stems for.
Then Kanon has two conversations with Keima and Minami after which she decides to fight against the watery element.
I wonder how this will go from here.
Also, the references in this chapter are brought to you by Alien vs Predator (2004) movie, by Nagi no Asukara anime and by Nao Tōyama, Kanon's seiyuu. :P
Anyway, once again I'm really sorry for being this late. Unfortunately, I can't give any guarantees about when the next chapter will be out, as plot is not easy to come up with (once again, you'd be surprised how much of this chapter was not planned).
As I mentioned before, you can follow chapter progress on my profile page.
If you know how late I am and still think I deserve a review, please drop me one. I really like to hear your opinions and know that my stories are appreciated.
I think that's it for now.
See you next time!