Hello, everyone!
I'm back yet again!
I'm sorry that you had to wait over 6 weeks for this, but at least this chapter was posted faster than the last one... also this chapter turned out to be over 12500 words (without author's notes)... and this is the reason I decided to split it into two chapters of more acceptable sizes (yes, apparently nearly 9000 words is "acceptable size"). Frankly, I'm not the happiest about that, because the cutting point is not the best, but I couldn't find any other way to cut it.
And don't worry, the second chapter of the two is pretty much done and should be posted in under a week.
I want to thank you very much for your patience and for your support. Here are replies to the latest reviews:
Big Bad Beowolf: Thank you very much for you kind words. I can't guarantee how fast will the relationship progress you seek happen. But it will come at some point. Just stay patient. :)
Purifies Miracle: Okaay, not sure what you mean by Nikon, but I'm glad my chapters make you happier. :P
Red Glasses: sorry, but I pretty much don't get what you're saying.
Sir Sleeps-a-lot: Thank you very much for your in-depth review. You're completely right, there's not enough Kanon's song references. Hopefully I'll fix it soon. I'm glad you liked the Okada-swimming-life-story plot. :) *stumbles a little when you jump on me, before I start to run* How did it end up with Kanon chasing me? Shouldn't my author skills control that? I feel so Shiori now. xD
El Sasori69: It's not yet the time for Minami to get aggressive. Then again, I wonder how aggressive Minami would look. And thank you for the review. :)
ZelgadisGW: I'm glad you liked the "Keima meets Okada" scene and the "conversations near the pool" scene. Also, am I detecting "everything right with" reference there? :P
Rt: thank you for your reviews. No, I'm still here, though it does take a lot of time to prepare the chapters. Also, next time you want to know what is the progress on my next chapter, you can check it on my profile (near the bottom, above the list of my stories). I'd respond to your question with a Private Message, but you reviewed as a guest and not as a registered users. Thus, I want to suggest for you to create an account on this site. As for your "Vulcan villain" idea... I'm very not sure about this. Keima learning about that stuff is kinda hard to control and kinda messes with one of the important points on how this entire "orb business" is supposed to work. The part about the feelings being stored in the orb and seeping out alone is not bad though, so I might use it somewhere in the future. Thanks for suggestion.
Mid or Feed: thank you very much :). As for "Keima vs. Okada" scene, well, Okada might be less brilliant than Keima and not prepared (Keima knows a lot more), but she isn't exactly a pushover and could use some Keima-level arguments. Also, Keima is at this time getting a little more to the real, which makes him a little more vulnerable. In general, Keima is changing, so he might become OoC compared to his old self. This particular scene just happened to emphasize it, I guess.
Ghost Man: thank you very much for your reviews and pointing out the typos. Okada didn't know who she was dealing with, so she has an excuse :P. And yep, she played it well. Heh, in my opinion Tenri managed to one-up Keima at more than one occasion in the manga :). Also, let's see if Kanon will swim or sink to the bottom as a rock. :P
Okay, that's it for this author's note. Let's get into the chapter, right where the previous one ended.
Enjoy!
(* * *)
"I can't do it after all!" Kanon shouted, sputtering the water around.
"Don't give me that!" Keima said angrily as the idol caught onto a nearby safety line. "You barely done anything!"
Minami, who was right next to Keima and seemingly effortlessly staying on the water surface nodded slightly in a shy agreement.
"But I can't go under!" Kanon complained. "My body just stays on the surface!"
"Seriously?" Keima asked. "The first time we've done this water thing you complained you were going to drown and now you're complaining because you float on the surface? How about a little consistency?"
Kanon bit her lip and Keima sighed.
The three of them were in otherwise empty swimming pool of the sports center building of the Maijima Private High School, over two weeks after the first swimming lesson Kanon had. (author: okay, maybe not where the previous chapter ended :P) Because of the idol's tight schedule and the difficulty of getting the pool all to themsveles it was only their fourth session, but compared to the unremarkable frequency of meetings, the actual progress of Kanon's swimming skills was spectacular.
Near the end of the first session Kanon's nervousness and fear of water had been substantially decreased. Then, as promised, the three of them had gone for the fun part of the Maijima Water Park, which Kanon's had enjoyed almost as much as Minami had. It had been the first time in forever when the pink-haired idol truly enjoyed contact with water. That coupled with the possibility of spending time with Keima again had smashed the remnants of her water anxiety to pieces.
The second session had been divided between "learning to swim" part, where Kanon had gotten more comfortable with staying on the surface of the water and "having fun" part. After that second meeting Keima had decided that they should focus solely on the "learning" part and thus the third session had happened in the Mai-High swimming pool. At the end of it Kanon had learned the basics of several swimming styles, but she had kept her face above the surface at all times. Which had led to the topic of today's lesson.
Diving.
"Umm, the reason you stay on the surface is the air in your lungs," Minami interjected, "you need to expel it. Then you'll dive."
"But I can't dive without air!" Kanon complained.
"You can survive 15 seconds without air," Keima said, "besides your lungs won't get completely empty. Even when you expel to the best of your ability there's still a liter of air remaining!"
"Senpai is right," Minami said in case Kanon wanted to doubt his statement.
"Do we really need to do that?" the idol asked.
"We do and you know it," Keima said, "you're supposed to play the role of a nautical creature. That means being able to stay underwater. Besides," he crossed his arms over his chest, "me and Minami didn't reserve 3 hours of our time and this pool to be done in an hour or spend the time doing what we've done previously."
"Please, just try again, senpai!" Minami said, apparently preferring for both of her seniors to come to an agreement.
(* * *)
Kanon did as she was told, exhaling as much air as possible and finally succeeded to some degree. They repeated this a few times, but during one of the exercises Kanon resurfaced quickly and started to thrashing her limbs around, seeming regressing to the first session.
"What happened? Easy, easy!" Keima added the last part when Kanon tightly clung to him, as if he were a rescue buoy.
"I-I tried to open my eyes and then it suddenly stung," the idol said, rubbing her eyes over and over, the burning feeling not fully subsiding.
Keima sighed.
"I figured eyes would be a problem at some point," he said.
"I can just dive with my eyes closed," Kanon tried, but predicted the reaction.
"No you can't!" Keima said firmly. "You need to be able to see where you're going underwater."
"But it stings!" the idol complained.
"I know it feels that way at first," Minami interjected uncertainly, "but it's mostly the fear of opening your eyes. Once you get used to it it'll be okay!"
"It's not so easy to do when I have to swim as well..." Kanon noticed.
"Then maybe we could do it differently," Minami said, "there's an exercise where you expel the air and sink to the bottom of the pool, sit and then open your eyes. When you need to surface you just kinda move as if you wanted to stand up and jump," she explained.
"I can't get to the bottom here!" Kanon said in panic.
"It's okay, we can move to the shallow parts for that," the younger girl suggested.
Kanon wasn't too certain about it. In any other situation she'd argue. But Keima was there, sacrificing his time for her sake. And she wanted to impress him with her courage (well, more like lack of fear). To continue spending time with him. And thus she agreed.
(* * *)
They moved to the shallowest part of the pool and Kanon tried to do what she had been told – expel as much air as possible, pinch her nose and dive. It wasn't as if there was no progress, but Kanon still couldn't drop to the bottom of the pool and panicked after trying to open her eyes.
"It's stress that holding you back," Minami diagnosed, "you need to relax and motivate yourself more."
Kanon thought about it for a moment. Something that would help her relax...
"Can we take a 10 minute break?" she asked.
Minami nodded before Keima could say anything. "I need to go to the bathroom anyway," she said, before swimming in the direction of the nearest ladder.
This was exactly what Kanon wanted. As soon as Minami was out of the earshot, the idol tossed Keima a meaningful glance that made the gamer raise his eyebrow.
"What are yo-"
"Let's do it together," she said.
"What?" he questioned, his voice not fully level. What did she mean by that?
"I can't do it on my own right now," Kanon said and paused, her cheeks reddening before she continued, "b-but... but if Keima-kun would do it with me and hold me close, t-then I'm sure I could do it."
Keima was thinking. The ways she had phrased it was vague, but he understood what she had meant – if he were to embrace her and sink with her, she would feel safer. And she'd open her eyes more willingly if she knew that the sight in front of her would include Keima.
"Let's get it done before Minami returns," he said, getting closer to her.
Kanon tried with all her might to stop herself from beaming.
"Like that," Keima said as they held hands, "now breath out. On three. One... two... three!"
They dove together, crossing they legs as if they were sitting. This time they've reached the bottom and Keima squeezed Kanon's hand, signaling her to open her eyes. She tried to to so, but it stung again. She started to panic, bubbles of air escaping her mouth. She was just about to propel herself up, when she suddenly felt a hand clamp over her mouth.
She opened her eyes in surprise.
The first thing she felt was disappointment as her vision wasn't very clear. She briefly wondered if this was how Keima viewed the world when not wearing glasses. She could also feel her eyes burn and sting. Her lungs demanded air as well. A familiar sense of fear clenched her stomach.
But she could see.
In front of her was Keima, one of his hands still on her mouth, the other on her shoulder, steadying her. She couldn't see them, but she knew his eyes were fixed on hers, trapping her even more than his hands did. Her eyes still stung, but this couldn't compare to the burning she felt where his hands were on her body, keeping her in place. The need to breathe was getting stronger, but Kanon fought it. Minami would not be in the bathroom forever and Kanon would rather not have the younger girl see them like that. And they definitely won't have another chance to do it today – this might as well be the closest she'll be able to get to Keima-kun in a while.
So she faced her panicking senses bravely, and his presence gave her all the courage she needed.
(* * *)
"Congratulations, Kanon-chan!" Minami exclaimed happily hour and half later when Kanon emerged from the water after successfully traveling several meters completely submerged. It had taken have many tries, but she did it!
"Great job," Keima praised her as well, "I suggest we finish for today. We'll meet in two days."
"Um, I don't think I'll be able to come," Minami said.
Keima shook his head. "Kanon has learned the basics, so I can take it myself from here," he said, "and that will be our last lesson. After that you should train on your own or have someone from your staff assist you."
Kanon nodded. "Thank you very much for your help, Minami-chan," she told the younger girl, "if you ever need tickets for one of my concerts..."
"You don't have to thank me," Minami replied with a heavy blush, "I-I think I'll swim some more," and in a blink of an eye she was in the other part of the pool, swimming through the water like a miniature speedboat.
"I don't get it why she still wants to swim after staying in water for 3 hours like that," Keima said, looking at the wrinkles on the skin of his fingers.
"I disagree," he heard Kanon speak behind him, her voice distinctly cheerful, "I think I understand why she likes it so much."
Keima turned around and saw that not only her voice was cheerful.
Kanon was leaning back on one of the safety lines, her arms spread, but barely touching the rope, letting it rest on her shoulder blades instead. The water was reaching her breasts level, small waves only serving to accentuate the curves of her body. Her legs weren't reaching the bottom of the pool either – they were raised with one of them breaking the surface in a manner reminiscing of water ballet. It was almost flirtatious. The same could be said about the small smile on Kanon's lips and the way she was looking at Keima. The image was completed with clothes Kanon chose to wear. Instead of normal swimming suit, the idol was wearing a sleeveless and pleated pink one piece that perfectly matched the color of her eyes and hair. The costume hugged her slim waist nicely and the deep V neckline indicated Kanon was not a girl anymore, but rather a young woman.
The sight and swimsuit didn't affect Keima much. He was focused on something else.
"You should pretend to be more nervous while in water," he said, "otherwise your manager's going to faint in shock."
It wasn't exactly an exaggeration – Kanon's entire disposition was filled to the brim with confidence. She was comfortably and casually leaning on the rope and smiling, which was totally different from where she started three swimming sessions earlier.
"And I have you to thank for that," the idol said, her feet outside of the water describing lazy circles in the air absent-mindedly, "you and Minami-chan."
Keima said nothing. He wasn't sure whether Kanon was aware of the flirty-ish tone of her voice, but the answer wouldn't change the fact that it was there.
Maybe it was Apollo instead of Kanon? Keima was pretty certain the goddess could hide her wings and halo if necessary.
"Thank you, Keima-kun," Kanon reiterated, her voice a little more serious, "thank you for putting up with me on this."
"You're welcome," Keima said, looking away, hoping the flag will disappear if he won't look its way. Kanon exploited his lack of vision by splashing him with water, making him squeal as if he wasn't standing chest-deep in water right now.
"What are you-" he started as he turned around, but stopped when he noticed how close Kanon was.
"How am I going to thank you?" the idol wondered aloud.
"You don't have to thank me," Keima replied, but Kanon seemed to not have heard it. She had this weird look in her eyes. It was both focused on him and foggy at the same time. Water movement told Keima she got even closer, her hands reached forward, as if trying to reach him. Her fingers were were moments from touching his naked chest.
"Huh? You're still in the water?" it was Minami who asked that. Fortunately, from where she was behind Keima she couldn't see what Kanon was doing, but the idol still reacted by widening her eyes and trying to jump back, which didn't work too well in the water, making her almost go under for a moment.
Not a minute later she was already out of the pool and rushing in the direction of the changing room, one thought making rounds in her head.
Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap...
(* * *)
Kanon spent the rest of the day worrying. After all she had done something she wasn't supposed to do. Yes, diving with Keima had helped her to do it properly. Yes, her getting more confident was good. Yes, Kanon wanted to get closer to Keima and yes, she had decided to flirt a bit.
But it had gotten out of control! She had looked as if she had been seducing him! She had been seconds from embracing him romantically, which was even worse as Keima had firmly said that physical contact was forbidden!
Of course, Apollo saw it as a great progress. Thus two days later, when Kanon was having her last one-on-one swimming lesson with Keima, Apollo was spurring her on, the face of the goddess of arts appearing on the water surface every once in a while. However, Kanon was determined to not let anything like that happen this time. She made sure not to touch Keima and to listen to all his instructions. She also made sure to keep the eye contact to minimum, while also trying to stay calm, even though she was more nervous than while on stage.
The lesson ended without any major incident (much to Apollo's chagrin) and Kanon didn't know whether she should be happy that she avoided anything bad or should she be sad that the distance between her and Keima had increased again.
Well, at least her swimming skills had improved greatly. Truth be told, when Kanon realized how used she had gotten to being in the water with just a few lessons, she was more than surprised.
And, as she would soon find out, she wasn't the only one.
(* * *)
"What's this?" the idol asked, raising her head from the sheet of paper her manager had handed her.
The idol had just got down from the stage where she had been performing a song called "Help-ru ME ME!" in a collaboration with another singer.
"Those are results of popularity rankings for TV series last month," Okada replied, "it says so at the top of the page."
Kanon furrowed her brows. That part was right. But still...
"Ne..." Kanon spoke again, "Ara no Kinoumade has aired during the second half of April, right?"
Maybe she remembered wrong?
"That's right," Okada said, "20th of April to be exact."
Kanon's brow furrowed further.
"Then how come is it the most popular TV series here?"
Okada rolled her eyes.
"Right, because TV series you play in always have low popularity," the manager said sarcastically.
Either some of Keima personality traits had rubbed on the older woman during their short meeting or Kanon had just never noticed that side of her manager before.
"But this is too sudden!" Kanon said. "Only 2 episodes have aired! This makes no sense!"
Okada sighed.
"You really don't get it?" she asked.
"Don't get what?" Kanon asked back.
"Two months ago you were very anxious about this show and insisted on using doubles," the manager said, "you knew this. Your staff knew this. Pretty much your entire fanbase knew this. And then bam!" Okada made an exploding gesture, "you suddenly get comfortable with water to the point you can play all your scenes yourself and actually look like you're honestly enjoyed yourself."
"You mean that-"
"Your popularity is growing so quickly not only because you get new fans," Okada said, "it's also because you don't lose old fans. Even if your fans grow older they do not stop being your fans. They are attached to you. They know you. They know, and seen, about your struggle with water. And now they see this," the manager indicated to the TV series. "You know what this means?" Kanon shook her head to that. "It means you've shown them determination and growth. You have shown them how to overcome your weaknesses and issues. Like a true role model. Of course your popularity would skyrocket. Honestly, I only thought this happens every time you remove a part of yourself, but," Okada smiled, "maybe this time around we should add something instead. How about a certain brown-haired boy?"
"Please don't joke about that," Kanon said.
"Why?" Okada asked. "Are there any problems with Katsuragi-san?"
"Not per se," Kanon said, "but there'd be problems if I were to bring him into this," she gestured to her surroundings, meant to indicate her general idol life.
"Perhaps you're right," Okada said, "anyway, we should end this conversation for now. Your mother will have my head if I take more study time away from you."
Kanon couldn't agree more.
It was the beginning of May, meaning the third year of high school was upon them for some time now. And it was hard. Kanon still didn't attend school on regular basis, but she now spend much more time studying.
Of course, studying would be a great opportunity to spend some quality time with Keima-kun, but unfortunately it wasn't so simple. She did manage to get Keima's help, but it was mostly notes. And they were delivered by Eri, who attended pretty much every public event Kanon had in Maijima and had a pass that allowed her backstage. Keima didn't attend such events and Kanon wasn't exactly surprised, considering the sheer number of her fans. If Keima was ever to watch her concerts, he'd do it from his house.
So, studying and strengthening relations with Keima weren't going stellar. Work was better though. As Okada mentioned, Kanon had played her part in Ara no Kinoumade herself, impressing the filming crew with her swimming and diving skills. Right now she also had no problems with having swimming lessons with other people.
Still, she'd have preferred to swim with Keima-kun.
Of course, it wasn't as if she didn't speak with him. Far from it. But it was mostly though e-mails and a lot of it was about studying. Kanon did tend to ask Keima for help or advice sometimes, but she took care not too rely on him too much. Yes, Kanon needed to keep in touch and Keima could help her with a lot of stuff, but she didn't want to become a bother for him.
While most of the communication happened through e-mails, Kanon and Keima did meet in person four times since the swimming lessons (the most recent time being Ayumi's birthday). Of course, when outdoors Kanon was using the illusion to keep her identity hidden. And, of course, Okada was informed about those meetings.
And it wasn't as if Kanon was avoiding any romantic undertones. Yes, she was very careful after the swimming pool incident and, yes, she wasn't being pushy or using physical contact. But she still did try to get closer to Keima-kun, as much as their weirdly-defined relationship allowed. Smile here, compliment there. She was just trying to show Keima what kinda girl she was and prove to him that real-life romance was worth it.
Of course, she didn't say that in the open, but hoped that Keima could read between the lines. She also didn't hide the fact she enjoyed their meeting and looked forward to them. As subtle as it was, she made sure that even a real-world romance knucklehead as Keima-kun knew she had her eyes on him, both figuratively and literally.
All-in-all it would be a stable and positive situation if it weren't for two things.
First, as unsurprising as it was, Yui was on a permanent offensive, pretty much the only thing Keima was ever complaining about.
Second, despite the situation with Keima being stable-ish on his side, it wasn't exactly like that on Kanon's side.
More specifically, daily life was getting harder and harder. Maybe it was because of this new show. Maybe it was because she needed to study more, leaving her with even less time to herself. But deep down Kanon knew it was because her heart was denied what it wanted and when what it desired was so close.
So close and yet so far away...
Going back from those depressing thoughts, Kanon began to study. After that was over and done with (for now) she was back to her "usual" idol schedule and busied herself with work. The day was slowly passing, but during the less intense moments Kanon's mind begun to wander again and Okada noticed that.
"Are you listening Kanon?" the manager's voice brought the idol out of her musings.
"Yes!"
Okada smiled. "Thinking about Keima-kun again?"
"Maybe," Kanon admitted, knowing better than to pretend otherwise.
To her surprise Okada sighed.
"I'm very sorry to interrupt your happy thoughts, but you have a less... pleasant task to attend next," the manager said with an apologetic expression, standing in front of one of the doors. Kanon suddenly had a bad feeling about this.
Please, she thought as she opened the door, let it be just a ten thousand fans waiting in line to get an autograph.
It turned out her guess was somewhat off. There was only one fan. And he certainly wanted more than her autograph.
"Hello, Kanon-chan," Daisuke Nishihara said with his usual beaming smile.
Oh crap...
"What are you doing here?" Kanon asked as soon as she regained her composure.
"Waiting for you, of course," the blond boy replied, not looking thrown off balance at all. Not that Kanon was surprised. The boy's stubbornness and apparent denseness was something that Kanon was well-acquainted with.
And the reason for that was because Nishihara was appearing in Kanon's life a lot lately. He was never really blunt when it came to his words. However, small (but expensive) gifts and flowers did speak about his intentions clearly enough.
It's not as if Kanon despised him or thought he was trying to use her. He might even like her – as far as a narcissist can like someone besides themselves – but this didn't change the fact that his attempts at wooing here were beginning to seriously annoy her. And to make matters worse, Kanon couldn't openly reject him. It was unanimously decided that in the absence of other candidates (and Kanon couldn't reveal the existence of Keima to her other co-workers and business partners) it was best for Kanon to either not reject Nishihara to keep her options open or, Kanon shivered, accept him as her boyfriend.
"I've heard that your latest show is a huge success," Nishihara said and Kanon almost felt sorry for him, as this sounded like an honest compliment. This goes any longer and he might actually fall in love with her.
"Really?" Kanon asked. "Then you must be better informed than me."
"I doubt it," Nishihara said as he got closer, "I'm sure you keep tabs on how your career develops very closely."
"Hardly. My schedule is far too busy to worry about that, so I leave such stuff to manager-san," Kanon replied, "besides, I'm more concerned with bringing happiness to my fans. I've told you that before."
"Yes, you have. And such dedication is very admirable of you, but," Nishihara said, before he pulled the hand he was holding behind himself forward, revealing a bouquet of roses, "perhaps you should think more of yourself or else you will collapse with exhaustion."
"Not red ones this time?" Kanon eyed the bouquet.
"Pink works better with your eyes," Nishihara explained with a smile.
Kanon bit her lip. His "take care of yourself" words weren't exactly wrong. And his act wasn't half bad either.
If only he were Keima...
"Thank you," Kanon said, accepting the flowers, but made sure to make her tone ice cold. It wouldn't do any major damage anyway – he'd just think she was playing hard to get and he needed to buy her more stuff. The fact that she didn't accept any of his non-flowers or more expensive gifts didn't seem to deter him in the least. The boy opened his mouth to speak again, but Kanon beat him to it.
"As I've told you, my schedule is tight, so I must leave you now, Nishihara-san."
The boy sighed. "You work too much," he said, "but I've already spoke with your manager to schedule some time for us. It's a date," he added.
"Assuming there'll be such a time," Kanon said evasively, fully aware that it was his most bold and direct courting attempt yet.
(* * *)
"I'm sorry," Okada said a minute later, "but he's really persistent and it would be suspicious if I kept making excuses and not letting him see you."
"It's alright," Kanon said, "he seems to be even more persistent today for some reason."
"And I think I know that reason," Okada said and, when Kanon looked at her, she continued, "well, he's the only guy your fans see around you. And your fans aren't blind. They see what he's trying to do. You're also seventeen by now."
"You mean my fans are getting used to the idea of me having a boyfriend?" Kanon asked.
"I wouldn't say so," Okada shook her head, "it'll take much more for your fans to get used to that idea, especially considering you recent popularity growth. You know how new fans are..."
"I know," Kanon said, "and that growth wasn't all that much,"
"I beg to disagree," Okada fixed her glasses Keima-style, "this is actually something I wanted to talk to you about," the older woman said as she led Kanon into conference room.
(* * *)
Ayumi, Eri and Miyako were chatting happily, while Chihiro sat between them with a girl's magazine in her hands. It looked like a happy setting, but in reality the four girls were just using the period before the morning homeroom to relax and socialize to prepare themselves for a long day of schoolwork. Being a third year high school student was hard. Keima was sitting in his usual spot, PFP in his hands and earpieces in his ears to separate himself from the surrounding noise. All-in-all it promised to be a normal day at Mai-High.
And it was then when the noise from inside the classroom was drowned out by the noise from the outside of it.
"What is going out there?" Miyako was the first to react, followed by the curious stares from her friends. Even Chihiro looked up curiously from her magazine.
Keima of course didn't react to it. He didn't react when the noise increase. He ignored the collective clamor that soon followed. But even he couldn't ignore when Eri grabbed his arm and started to shake it.
"Nii-sama, nii-sama!"
"For Kami's sake!" the boy exclaimed, taking off his earpieces. "What is it!?"
Eri didn't say anything, but her eyes, like the eyes of all their classmates were fixed on the doorway. Keima looked that way at the perfect moment to see Kanon Nakagawa walk in the classroom, their eyes meeting.
Any chances of the two of them exchanging greetings were forgotten when a chorus of "Kanon-chan!" was heard, Eri's voice the loudest of them all. The following pre-class period was filled with Kanon's classmates bombarding her with questions, relating to everything ranging from her songs and the recent airing of "Ara no Kinoumade" to... questions about Diasuke Nishihara.
Kanon was really hoping Keima-kun wasn't listening too closely.
As for the boy himself, he didn't seem to pay attention to the ruckus. Ayumi and Chihiro didn't approach Kanon either – they were somewhat closer to the idol than the rest of the class and they would rather talk with her in a calmer atmosphere.
Soon after that Kodama-sensei entered the classroom, quickly dispersing the crowd, stating that famous idol or not, it was time for (his version of) English. Ayumi, Chihiro, Eri and other members of anti-Kodama front just sighed, while Keima continued to play his games. At least till his PFP beeped (good thing he was using earpieces), indicating that he had received an e-mail. He went to check it, predicting what his mailbox would contain. And he was right. Kinda.
From: Kanon Nakagawa.
Topic: Lunch break.
Keima-kun, please be at the rooftop during lunch break or otherwise you're going to miss your reward!
Love, Kanon.
Keima looked at the mail and then risked a glance at Kanon, but she was not looking at him. Well, it wasn't as if it was unexpected. It was actually pretty expected.
Just when did punishments got replaced with rewards?
(* * *)
Keima barely entered the rooftop park when he heard his name being called.
"Keima-kun!"
He turned and was not surprised to see Kanon waving at him. Nor he was surprised to see her using her 'Apollo's illusion made me look like a normal boring brown-haired girl' disguise that was apparently going to become a permanent thing. If there was anything that surprised Keima then it was the fact that Kanon managed to leave class, lose people following her, use the illusion and arrive at the rooftop before him.
Then again, it was Kanon and Apollo – the only more surprising duo he knew were Yui and Mars.
Keima walked to where Kanon was sitting on a bench. She indicated for him to sit down.
"Good day, Keima-kun," Kanon said with a smile.
"Good day," Keima responded. Only now he saw she had an earpiece. Kanon noticed his gaze. "Oh, just listening to something to pass the time."
'How long did you think it was going to take me to get here?' Keima thought. Out loud he asked. "Is it one of yours?"
"Well, kinda," Kanon said with a smile, "it's, 'Please take care of my love!', a song me, Lime and Yuri did back during Citron times!"
"I see," Keima said as he looked at the cheerful expression on her face, "you look pretty happy today," he noticed.
It was true. Kanon seemed to be in good mood and it showed on her features. Actually, Keima was pretty sure that her facial expression and mannerism would make her recognizable, at least for someone who knew her circumstances and was standing close to her, like him right now.
"Uh-huh!" Kanon said. "It's because I've got to got to school and spend time with you, Keima-kun! And I also have songs with me!"
Right, him, lessons and songs – three of the things Kanon liked. They were missing only poems now.
"You said something about a reward," Keima reminded her.
"Aah," Kanon suddenly looked sheepish, "well, calling it a reward might've been a bit too much... it's more like compensation."
"Compensation?" Keima repeated as Kanon rummaged through her bag.
"Here," she said, presenting Keima with... a pink PFP.
"For the one I fried before," Kanon said, red dusting her cheeks.
"You're joking," Keima said.
"Why?" Kanon asked, clearly disappointed. "Should I have picked a different color?"
"Not that," Keima said, "I don't need another PFP! Dokurō gave me back every one she confiscated, remember?"
"Oh, right..." Kanon deflated, before getting another idea, "how about I buy you a game or two instead?"
Keima had to admit – it was tempting, but...
"But you bought a PFP already," he noticed.
"It's fine," Kanon waved her hand, "I'm not exactly poor you know? Still, it'd be nice if you had a PFP from me," then she got another idea, "maybe I should sign you one?"
"You have already," Keima said.
"Ehh?" Kanon was surprised. "The one when we first met? B-but that's the one I fried!"
"Not that one," Keima told her, "the one you signed for Eri in November."
Kanon was silent for a moment.
"But isn't it Eri's PFP?" the idol asked.
"Eri has enough of your autographs and the PFP is mine," Keima said.
"And you didn't throw it away?" Kanon asked again.
Keima sighed and then showed her the back of the PFP he had in his hands. Kanon gasped when she saw her own name there.
"Y-you really kept it," Kanon said, her eyes swelling with emotion and Keima was pretty sure that their relationship not being fully romantic was the only thing stopping her from jumping on him and only barely. And she still got much closer, her eyes fixed on him, as if he was the idol and she was some love-struck boy.
Her gaze was also weird. Barring her original conquest, Kanon was one of the girls who didn't injure him or weren't all that pushy. At the same time she had a certain type of innocence and gentleness that only a few of his conquest, like Minami or Tenri, exhibited. Of course, Keima noticed that before, but now that become even more relevant and brought them to an important topic.
Kanon liked him.
"I like you, Keima-kun," Kanon said as if reading his mind.
Keima tried to stop his blush from forming, but he didn't fully succeed.
"You know I cannot reciprocate," he said, "not now at least."
"I know," Kanon said, her voice and expression saddening suddenly. It was expected, but Keima had a feeling there was more to it.
"Is something wrong?" he asked.
Kanon sighed.
"I talked with Okada-san recently," she started.
"Let me guess, another meeting?"
"No, not like that..." she paused for a moment, "there's a possible proposition, a contract for me to sign."
"What does it have to do with this?" Keima asked. "Do you have to do something you don't want to do? Like go overseas for some time?"
"Not exactly," Kanon said, "the thing is, my popularity has been growing a lot."
"It's not exactly something new," Keima noticed.
"Yes, but my popularity reached a certain level... It's not 100% certain as some of this is a wild guess, but Okada-san and my advisors are fairly certain that the people I have contracts with think that I'm ready."
"Ready for what?" Keima asked, though he could guess what she meant.
"For the next step," the idol said, "it's been some time since there was a solo idol with such popularity. So, they'll probably want to make a new, different contract."
"What would change then?" Keima asked.
"We'd get better financing and marketing. I guess that means I wouldn't need to work so much with gravures and odd jobs like that. That I could focus more on singing. Also, with such contracts I'd be able to reach more people with my songs. Maybe make some Chinese or English songs. Do some concerts outside of Japan."
"It's good then, right?" Keima asked. "This is what you wanted. To reach the hearts of people."
Kanon shook her head. "Yes, but I won't succeed until I reach one heart in particular," she said, her hand raising, as if absent-mindedly reaching for Keima's heart.
"I'm not sure I get it," Keima said.
Kanon sighed again.
"I like you, Keima-kun..."
"I know that!"
"...I want you to like me back. And I want to be an idol. I don't want to abandon one for the other," she said, "but this contract thing... if it does happen and I accept it, then it means I'll be spending even less time in Maijima. I will also have even more responsibility and I'll have to be more careful about my image. Things like spending time with you will be impossible to hide all the time and if people discover it, it could become a scandal."
"It's funny how you worry about that only now," Keima said, "but I guess that means you have grown out of that girl that was starved for attention."
Kanon nodded, not sure if there was more compliment or scolding in his words just now.
"So," she took up after a moment, "my point is, that I'm not sure what I shou-"
"Sign the new contract," Keima told her.
"W-what?" she asked. "B-but-"
"Listen to me," he interrupted her again, "I know you. And unlike those business people, I have your best interest and well-being in mind. And I promised you I'll give it... us a try."
"If you promised, then why are you-"
"Exactly because I promised you," he told her, "look, Kanon. You're only seventeen. We're still in high school. There's no rush. If we both ever were to come to a conclusion it was time for more then we always can do it. I promised you, so I'll still be here... the business people on the other hand," he resumed after pausing, "they count their profits. If you can't provide it to them, they'll turn to something else... what I'm saying is: I'll still be here, but the contract is quite possibly a one-time thing. One-time chance to realize your dream. Are you certain you can let that chance slip by?"
Kanon bit her lip.
What Keima was saying was to be patient. A part of Kanon feared Keima was doing that in hopes of her meeting someone else and losing interest. That was probably at least half-truth. On the other hand, if she didn't meet anyone like that Keima-kun would keep his word, so there was a lot of truth to what he was saying as well. Actually, the only reason Kanon didn't want to do that was because she was tired of waiting and her heart yearned for Keima-kun.
"That's your advice," she said, "but what are your actual feelings?"
"If you're asking if I feel the same for you as I feel for my game heroines, then I don't," Keima replied.
"No, I know that. Games and reality are different," Kanon said, "I mean what you think of me? Of us?"
Keima shrugged. "I don't know. Considering you're not frying my consoles and we don't have all that much time to meet, it's not bad. And... well, you're one of my friends... you're one of-"
"One of your girls," Kanon finished for him, "and you're fond of me."
That much she didn't have to ask him. She knew that. And that knowledge warmed her heart.
"I suppose so," Keima admitted, "but I also think it's not what you were expecting to happen."
"It's ok," Kanon said, "as you said, we have time," she stood up and pointed her finger at him, a determined look on her face, "No matter how long it's gonna take, I will snipe at your heart! And I won't ever let you go!"
Keima blinked.
"Referencing your own songs now, aren't you?" he said.
"You noticed?" Kanon was pleasantly surprised.
"You kinda forget I have incredible memorizing skills and my sister sings your songs aloud half the time," Keima reminded her.
"Be careful," Kanon wiggled her finger in front of him, "anymore and I'll start thinking you're my fan."
"Well, maybe not to the extent you think, but I am your fan," Keima told her, further surprising Kanon, "which is why I'll support your decision."
"You mean-"
"Whether you choose to sign this new contract or not, it's up to you," Keima said, "though my advice is still to sign it and I can't guarantee anything if you choose not to. Oh, and one more thing."
"Yes?" Kanon asked, uncertain.
"I think there's been enough secrecy concerning your love life," Keima said as he stood up. "You cannot have a boyfriend no-one knows about. As long as there's distance between us," he gestured to the both of them, indicating to their vague, but not official and not fully romantic relationship," it's fine to keep it a secret. But I'll be blunt – if you ever want to cross that line," he swept his leg over the ground between them, drawing an imaginative line, "I won't agree to it unless you decide to make it public."
Kanon bit her lip again.
"What about my fans?" she asked. "Like wouldn't you be afraid of them... pestering you?"
"You mean them trying to lynch me?" he clarified.
"I'm sure it wouldn't be that bad," Kanon said quietly, but not all that convincing.
"Going out in secret and then being found out would be even worse, but yeah, if this thing with us being together is to ever fly, you'd have to make it in such a way that your fans don't go ballistic on me."
Kanon furrowed her brows. So she couldn't make Keima fall in love with her if she will not spend time with him and he won't go out with her for real unless she can keep her fans in check. In such circumstances going out with Keima-kun right now would be... difficult.
"No-one said it would be easy," Keima said, once again as if reading her mind, "you should know that."
Kanon paused to think about it. Keima-kun was right. As things were, signing the contact and waiting for a few years to make the two of them possible sounded more plausible... It might be the best course of action... assuming her heart would survive this.
While Kanon was thinking it over, Keima observed the girl, lost in his own thoughts. Curiously, his thoughts concerned the pink-haired girl in front of him. The basic principle of romance in dating sims was encounters and events. The more they were the quickest the romance proceeded. Thus it was surprising for him that such a small number of events led them this far. Don't get him wrong – Keima Katsuragi didn't get in to the real. Not fully. What he felt towards Kanon certainly wasn't mad love. But whatever it was, it was there. It was a bit similar to the bond he shared with all of his previous conquest girls, but certainly stronger. And nothing, not Kanon efforts, not her looks, not her voice, not even his guilt over what had happened to her in the past could explain this.
Truth be told, Keima Katsuragi didn't believe in real-life romance. Or rather he considered it inferior to the romance shown in games. But he suddenly realized that he wouldn't mind trying it. Wouldn't mind having Kanon try and romance him. Wouldn't mind seeing where it could take them. Of course, it wasn't perfectly fair to the other girls, but most of them acted towards him more like friends now (friends that tried to take away his gaming time, but friends nonetheless) rather that lover candidates.
He sighed inaudibly. It was ironic that the biggest obstacle to them becoming a couple wasn't him, but Kanon's career. Had she been any other girl and asked him out, he would have agreed at this point.
"You're right," Kanon said slowly, bringing him out of his thoughts.
"So, have you decided?" he asked.
Kanon shook her head. "No, not yet. I need more time to think this over."
"And that's the best decision you could make for now," Keima praised, smiling at her and making her heart skip a beat. "If you understand this, then I suggest we end this conversation before-"
"There you are!" Keima was interrupted by a familiar voice. Him and Kanon turned around only to see Eri, Chihiro and Ayumi entering the rooftop. They got closer to Keima and blinked, eying the girl he was with.
"Huh? Otamega with a girl?" Chihiro exclaimed in genuine surprise.
"Who are you?" Ayumi asked with a hint of suspicion.
"What's going on nii-sama?" Eri asked.
Keima face-palmed. "Can't you recognize her?"
"?"
"It's me, Kanon," the idol said.
The three girls blinked and looked closer, before letting out a perfectly synchronized "EEEHH!?"
(* * *)
Here you have it.
As I said the cutting place is not very good, but ending the chapter in the middle of the rooftop talk would be even worse.
So, it's not the most fast-paced chapter, but things are progressing. Kanon gets more comfortable with water (in no small amount thanks to joint diving exercise :P)... so comfortable in fact she gets carried away a bit and gets pretty closer to Keima than she is supposed to.
Anyway, Kanon plays in her new TV series and uses her freshly-earned swimming skills so well that her popularity spikes again, impressing her staff, fans and... Daisuke Nishihara, who even managed to book a date for a... date.
It'll probably be a shocking date. Anyone wanna bet on the voltage? :P
And as intolerable as Nishihara is, I tried to make him less hopeless in here and and in my opinion he at least tries.
Anyway, Kanon gets to school, sends Keima a less-threatening-then-usual email and reveals her most recent plight – whether to sign the new and improved contract and leave romance for later or abandon this very possibly one-time chance to reach more fans and remain at her current level.
And no matter what Kanon chooses, Keima is still making conditions. Not that I blame him – if they date in secret and someone finds out, Keima can really be lynched by Kanon's fans... curiously at the same time Keima is seemingly progressing himself with regards to Kanon.
So close, yet so far away...
Trivia time! The title of the chapter is a pretty obvious reference to the song by the Beattles.
Ooh and if you're wondering when Kanon had signed Keima's PFP it was in Flag 6, sixth chapter of The World Not Only God Knows. I've written 66 chapters since then... time flies. I also never thought I'd use that tidbit of information here. :P
As usual, I would like to kindly ask you for your support, including favorites, follows and, most importantly reviews – they're the most effective method of showing me what you think of the story and that you enjoy it. Please show me how many of you are there!
Meanwhile, stay tuned for the next chapter which should be posted in a few days.
See you later!