This chapter is mainly written by Keirajoy.
Okay, this is the last chapter we've written so far meaning updates beyond this is no longer weekly or probably never, depends really. We're also not getting enough reviews as I hoped for, which will play a great part in the late chapters (polls, name suggestions, which route to take, etc.)
So if you want us to continue, hit that review button. You can make suggestions and whatnot, constructive criticism is fine too. It really depends on how fast Keira works. There's a question at the end of this chapter, please give your answer as a review or PM it to me.
Chapter 3
After eating lots of white rice with her dinner and washing the dishes afterwards, Hanayo went straight to her room upstairs. Within the darkness of her room, she heaved a tired sigh. Though it was still their break from school, she was still on-call as the appointed class representative of her class.
Today, she had to go to school to help out their class adviser organize her documents. She could've said no because it wasn't part of her duties but hearing the helpless tone of her adviser made her reluctantly agree. Their teacher was a bit of a klutz so, it can't be helped.
"Well, at least, she thanks me for what I do for her." she said. Suddenly, she recalled her classmates who continued to rely on her to do everything but never said any word of appreciation for her effort.
She shook her head and smacked her cheeks. "Don't mind it, Hanayo!" she said aloud to cheer herself up.
In her monotonous and unappreciated life, there was only one person that kept her going and that is her beloved Makoto, the talented pianist of Orpheus.
She flicked the switch on and as her room was bathed in light, she let her gaze take in the different posters on her wall and the figurines of her crimson-haired idol.
With renewed energy, she said with an arm raised, "I-I-I'm home, Makoto-sama~!"
"Ah!" Suddenly, she looked behind her and saw the life-sized Makoto standee attached to the back of her door. "D-Don't surprise me like that. Mou~" she said in feigned surprise.
For a few seconds, she nodded as if listening to its response. Then she said, "A-All right, I'll forgive you. Only if you give me a kiss~"
She puckered her lips and slowly leaned towards the standee. When she came close to his violet eyes, her face flushed and she backed away, waving her hand excitedly in front of her. "No, no, no! I-I can't! T-This is too much!" she said with her face flushed, unable to meet the standee's gaze.
"Yosh! Now I'm all fired up!" she said, feeling strangely energized. Call her crazy but it was only in these private moments in her room where she can feel like she can take on the world.
Satisfied with her little roleplay of the day, Hanayo stretched her arms and took a seat in front of her laptop. Upon turning it on, she put on her headphones and immediately assumed her alter persona online as "Pana".
While listening to her Orpheus playlist and literally squealing as Makoto's vocals came on, she prowled the different forums to get the latest news about his band, Orpheus. Suddenly, a new window poped-up.
Nico-nii : yo
It was her internet buddy, Nico-nii .
Pana : Good evening, Nico-kun!
She replied. He hasn't been online for almost a week, probably working on a new cover. Nico-nii has a NND channel where he would post his guitar covers of the band's songs and he has a lot of subscribers. Pana made a lot of request for him to cover and he was kind enough to play some of them, that's how they came to be friends.
Nico-nii : why r u so excited?
Nico-nii : hav u listened 2 their last song, "Soldier Game" ?, again?
Pana : Oh yes~ I literally eargasmed the first time I heard it. Makoto's vocals is the best~
Nico-nii : ew
Nico-nii : tmi
Nico-nii : why is it called "Soldier Game", anyways? they could have done it better.
Pana : Mou~ You always notice something's off in their songs and its semantics.
Nico-nii : ofc
Nico-nii : they're gud but not as gud as me!
Pana : Nico's so strict! :c
Pana : Btw, have you heard about Eli's new drama? It's going to air next week! I'm so excited! :D
Nico-nii : dat blondie is so busy cleaning up after that scandal
Pana : Yes! Oh, my poor Makoto-sama T_T
Nico-nii : geez can u lyk not talk abt him for 5 sec?
Pana : But Makoto-sama is my priority.
Nico-nii : u and ur weird makoto fetish
Nico-nii : ur chatting with the awesome 10x moar better
Nico-nii here!
Pana : Yeah… Says the guy who hasn't shown his picture in like… forever!
Nico-nii : hey i am very private, k?
Nico-nii : i dun wanna be discovered b4 my big debut
Pana : Stingy!
Nico-nii : 'sides, u dun send me pics neither!
Pana : Fufufu~ my beauty if for Makoto's eyes only~
Nico-nii : HAH
Nico-nii : i'm waaaaaaay btter than him and erry1 in his band combined!
Pana : You're so full of yourself! :((((((
Nico-nii : hmpf!
Nico-nii : k
Nico-nii : b lyk dat
Nico-nii : guess u dun wanna know the new rumor is abt
Pana : (ToT) No, no, no. I'm sorry, Nico-sama! You are the coolest guy ever!
Nico-nii : even cooler than Makoto?
Pana : (o3o) Urgh. Please don't make me say it. I know you have a heart of gold, Nico-sama! m(_ _)m
Nico-nii : fine since u asked so nicely
Pana : Yay! :DDDDDDD
Pana : I'm listening.
Nico-nii : there's goin 2 b an audition
Pana : OMG! Is that for real?!
Nico-nii : uhuh
Nico-nii : my source is legit
Nico-nii : :)
Pana : Waah! I wanna join!
Nico-nii : idiot! it's for guys only
Nico-nii : no girls allowed
Pana : T_T Meanie!
Nico-nii : just sayin' :P
Nico-nii : neweiz i'm off
Nico-nii : work 2mrow
Pana : aight.
Pana : Good night.
Nico-nii : peace out
[Nico-nii is offline]
"Uwaa~ an audition, huh?"
Even after Nico went offline, Hanayo continued prowling the internet for more gossip, music videos, interviews and fanfictions about her Makoto and the band. Finally, she saw the official post on the band's website about the audition.
"It… It's here…. I-I-It's finally here!" she squealed, jumping up and down for joy about the news. It took all her effort to stop herself from going out of her balcony and shouting out her glee. She did that once before and the landlady reprimanded her for it. She didn't want that to happen again. It was too embarrassing to explain her side of the story without mentioning anything about Orpheus. She was practically shaking as she settled on the floor.
"OMG! OMG! OMG! I-I have to tell him about this! Yes! H-He should know about this! Kyaaa~!" Hanayo can't keep herself still as she dialed the number she knew by heart. She has to share it with Ryouta-kun, or else, she'll faint out of happiness. She can't go back to her normal, functioning self without letting it all out on him. He's the only one who knows about her obsession with Orpheus and her uber crush on Makoto. She's very lucky she doesn't have to hide anything from him because he's her only best friend since childhood. Soon, she brought her phone to her ears and heard the other line ring.
Tsukurimashou
Tsukurimashou
Sate sate nani ga dekiru ka na
Hai, onigiri desu ne~
The certain ringtone disturbed the stillness of the room and roused the orange-haired boy from his slumber. He groaned loudly as he recognized who is calling him at such a time. There was only one person from his contacts that he assigned a ringtone about rice.
Without opening his eyes, his hand reached for his phone on the bedside table nearby. Once he had grasped it in his hand, he flipped the cover open and brought it to his ear, "Hello?" he answered.
A loud squeal from the other line made him flinch and put the phone away from his ear. Once the sound died down, he placed the phone back to his ear again. "Kayo-chin, do you have any idea what time it is now?" he yawned.
"Huh? Oh! Yeah! Uhmm, It's… t-t-three in the morning now, Ryouta-kun!" She chirped.
Ryouta literally face palmed. He wanted to throw his phone away and flip his bed over because it's just freaking 3 o'clock in the morning! Yeah, he simmered inside. He wanted to scream because of his lack of sleep and the shitty incident back in the ramen shop but that won't do. This isn't the first time she called at such an hour so, he won't start complaining now.
"So, what's up, Kayo-chin?" he asked, reining in his temper.
"Guess what? Guess what! GUESS WHAT?!" She repeated the line with varying degrees of excitement.
"What?" he asked, wide awake now.
"O-O-Orpheus! Orpheus is going to have an audition! An audition! Can you believe it?!" she announced then she let out another loud squeal.
"Orpheus? Ah, that band."
"Yes, that band." Hanayo giggled. "E-E-Exciting, isn't it?! Ah! I can't wait for it to start!"
Ryouta sighed. "Why are you excited? It's not like you can join it." He pointed out.
"Ehh… That's- that's true but- but it's better that way!"
"Huh? Why?" he asked, confused. His mind is still foggy from sleep.
"T-The new members will be guys so… Ma-Makoto-sama will be safe from girls!" Hanayo reasoned. "Unless he- he swings the other way… ah, that's right! That reminds me of the fanfic I've read about…" She giggled mischievously.
"I- I don't want to hear any more of this!" Ryouta said, embarrassed.
"Wh-what's wrong, Ryouta? Y-you used to like it when I share with you what I just read…" She asked innocently.
"N-not about that!" he complained.
Hanayo giggled. She could almost imagine his flustered face. "Oh! Oh come on~ Let me tell you a short one about my cool Makoto-sama and-"
"Do that and I'm gonna hang up!" Ryouta threatened, his voice came out rather sharply. The other girl on the line went silent and all Ryouta could do was scratch his head and mutter, "Oh shit" under his breath.
"I-I-Is something wrong, Ryouta-kun?" Hanayo asked in a panic. "Am I… Am I bothering you?" her breath caught in her throat at that thought.
"No! No, no, no! That's not it, Kayo-chin!" Ryouta said desperately as he got out of his bed and paced the floor. "You're not bothering me, okay? I promised I'll always be here for you so, you can call me any time. You got that, Kayo-chin?" He explained, gripping his phone tightly out of fear that she'll hate him for this.
"I…I got it." Hanayo answered and the guy sighed in relief. "So, uhm, if… if you don't mind me asking… what's the matter, Ryouta-kun? Did… Did something happen?" she asked in concern.
"Well…" Ryouta sat back down on his bed and took a deep breath. "I had a fight with someone. It was entirely my fault and yet, he got fired from his job because of me. I just feel… guilty about it. I'm sorry I took it out on you, Kayo-chin. I'm really sorry."
"It-It's all right, Ryouta-kun! You can count on me, too!" The girl said spiritedly. "Don't worry. I'm sure that person will forgive you once you apologize. So, cheer up, Ryouta-kun!"
Ryouta closed his eyes and smiled. He could almost imagine her shaking her fist as if cheering him up with invisible pompoms. "Thank you, Kayo-chin." He said gratefully.
"Eh? I-I should be the one thanking you because you always listen to me." Hanayo said. "You don't mind it when I talk on and on about Orpheus and Makoto-sama…"
And we're back to Makoto, Ryouta thought with a sigh. He opened his eyes and silently listened to her ramble on.
"…I wonder who will be Makoto-sama's new band members. Makoto-sama will always be the best though... He's really… he's really the best…" she muttered dreamily.
"Okay, that's enough. Just go to sleep for now. You're obviously wasted, sleepy head." Ryouta said, finally interrupting her endless chatter about Makoto.
Hanayo chuckled and then, let out a yawn. "Hmm, you're right. Good night, Ryouta-kun. Ah, that's not right. Hmmm… good… good morning~" She said sleepily, all her excitement was finally exhausted.
"Yeah, good night... err, morning." He said softly and the line was cut off. He sighed as he looked at the time on his phone. He lay spread-eagle on his bed but his sleepiness was long gone now.
He sat up again and scratched the back of his head. "I guess I'll go eat some ramen…" Ryouta thought then he got out of bed and went to the kitchen to prepare a cup of his favorite instant ramen.
He sat on the floor and set down the simmering cup of ramen on the low table. While he waited for it to cook, he browsed the pictures of him and Hanayo when they were still kids stored on his phone.
"You used to think I'm the coolest guy ever." He said as he zoomed into Hanayo's face. "I have always protected you and yet, you're all about that Makoto guy!"
Annoyed, he put his phone down, grabbed the chopsticks and split it in two with such a force. "Girls… I can't understand them." He grumbled, as her removed the lid from his instant ramen.
It was a pity he could only eat instant ones. He used to visit the ramen shop nearby but he still felt guilty about claiming his one month's supply of free food. He was at fault for meddling with those girls but he couldn't stand them gushing about Orpheus and that Makoto guy. They remind him so much of Kayo-chin's fangirling and he let out all his anger on that poor waiter.
Ryouta groaned. "Geez! What's so good about that guy anyway? Are band guys really that awesome?"
He slurped the noodles noisily. "I bet I can totally be like them!" He said haughtily.
That little comment was like a spark of genius as his eyes widened. "That's it! I can totally be a part of that band!" he declared.
He put his cup of ramen down and hastily retrieved his laptop from his room. Later, he continued eating his ramen as the page about the audition Hanayo was talking about loaded.
He read the details and once the application form appeared, he slurped the remaining ramen in his cup.
"Just you wait, Kayo-chin." Ryouta said while cracking his knuckles in preparation. "I'll prove to you that I'm way cooler than that Makoto!" he vowed, his chartreuse eyes bright with determination.
Meanwhile, Hanayo sneezed as she felt a sudden chill. So, she grabbed her comforter and she settled in her bed. "Hmm~ good night, Makoto-sama." She said before she dozed off to dreamland.
If you have a pet, what's its name and why?
BETA & Co-writer: Keirajoy
