Chapter 23: Pulling out a dangerous plug
Keima and Kumuro stood outside a TV station. They wore huge black coats around them. Their heads are covered by a huge hat, a long think scarf, and small sunglasses. Kumuro crossed his lips, gazing upon the security guards.
"I… I don't know about this approach… Maybe I should be out of disguise and just say that I'm her number one fan…"
Keima shook his head.
"Inside the TV station, only exclusive people can get in. I have gathered a sample from one of her manager's schedule book."
He pulled out a piece of paper form his coat, revealing the dates, times and notes on it.
"I got this from some fan trying to find everything from Kanon's apartment location to Kanon's interviews yet to be shown. There's some crime fiction TV show about two men in coats. They usually wear different coats to avoid any attention. Since we came here 15 minutes earlier, we might be able to have enough time to find her room before the people realise about the real actors."
Keima pulled the paper back inside the coats. He dragged Kumuro out of their hiding spot, walking towards a security guard. The guard folded his arms, glaring at incoming trespassers.
"What business do you have with this studio?"
Keima pulled out another piece of paper from his coat, handing it over to him.
"We had some trouble due to my greatest fans finding out about the driver's vehicle. So we had no choice but to walk on feet by ourselves."
The guard widened his eyes.
"Wow… It must be hard to live a life as a star, eh Jukanamo-sama?"
Keima nodded his head. The guard turned his head to Kumuro, making him whimper inside. Oh crap… what am I supposed to say? The guard smiled, closing his eyes.
"Nice work with your acting skills there! You really are talented!"
Kumuro slowly nodded his head. Damn… what a huge relief! The guard stepped aside, letting Keima and Kumuro inside the station. Keima and Kumruo strolled through the corridors, heading towards the elevator. Kumuro moved his head around, finding names of each known person. I don't even know how Keima buddy even managed to fool the others… Suddenly, a director stood in front of them, placing his hands on their shoulders.
"I thought you wouldn't make it on time! I need you to improvise with these scripts before the shots!"
He pulled out two scripts, handing them out to Keima and Kumuro. They turned their heads, facing each other (Kumuro) Umm… Keima buddy… should we actually take those? (Keima) If we don't, we'll be blowing our cover too early. The boys turned their heads to the scripts, picking them up from the director. Keima held his hands out, smiling at the director.
"You can count on us! We should be able to improvise!"
The director nodded his head.
"I stressed out on the few things that seemed controversial, and so a last minute change was made. I hope this shoot will go well!"
The director strolled away from them, heading to his room. Keima and Kumuro sighed before entering the elevator. Keima leaned towards Kumuro inside the elevator, whispering to him.
"Kanon's dressing room should be at third floor."
As the elevator swung open, Keima and Kumuro walked out. Suddenly, they froze, finding Kanon's manager there. Her glasses glinted form the room lights. She folded her arms, frowning at the boys.
"Aren't you supposed to be at 2nd floor at your dressing rooms?"
Keima scratched his head, chuckling nervously.
"Well… uh… we didn't get a chance to talk to Kanon-chan about her guest role at our show… Do you mind if we have a few minutes with her?"
The manager sighed.
"It's always about Kanon nowadays… You're lucky she's going to be aired at this show tonight. You guys better hurry before you read over the improvised scripts."
Keima and Kumuro nodded their heads. The manager turned around, walking towards Kanon's room. The boys followed after her, watching her stop at a room. She knocked on the door, grabbing Kanon's attention.
"What is it Okada-san?"
"These actors want to talk to you about the show. You want them in or do you still need to study the tests?"
Keima and Kumuro waited for Kanon's response.
"It'll be a pleasure letting them in! I think I'm fine with studying enough!"
The manager sighed. She mustn't be studying much… She turned away from Kanon's room, walking past Keima and Kumuro.
"Don't go for too long. You need to do well with that show…"
Keima opened the door, letting Kumuro enter in first. Keima carefully closed the door behind him, making sure no one had seen them. Kanon closed her eyes, smiling at them.
"That show of yours is interesting! I really want to know more about your brilliant acting."
Keima sighed, pulling off his scarf.
"I'm afraid I won't be doing any of that…"
Kanon blinked at Keima revealing his face. Kanon's eyes glimmered, feeling excited to see a familiar face.
"Keima-kun!"
She darted her body towards him, wrapping her arms around. She squeezed him tightly, making him squirm with pain.
"Oh Keima-kun! I'm so sorry I made you hide your identity from anyone! I can't believe that someone was spying on us and made them into rumours!"
Kanon sighed, thinking about Keima's misfortunes.
"Have… have you had trouble with going to school?"
Keima move away from Kanon, placing his hands on her shoulders.
"Don't worry about me. I have something that you need to know."
Kanon blinked at Keima's god-like eyes.
"What… what is it Keima-kun?"
Keima took a deep breath. It might turn out sour what I'm about to do… but if I don't say this now, the relationship will thicken unintentionally and the fans will get more worked up with this rumour becoming true…
"I think that you and I should-"
"Dammit! I must've gotten these imposters inside Kanon-chan's room!"
Kumuro whimpered, watching the door swung open. Dammit! We're done for now! The manger charged inside the room, pushing Keima away from Kanon. Keima fell on the ground, making his eye spin around. She held Kanon's arms firmly, gazing upon her.
"Kanon-chan. Are you alright? Did these imposters hurt you in any way?"
Kanon-chan shook her head.
"They just came here to see me."
The manager turned her head, facing Keima. She widened her eyes, witnessing his true identity.
"Hey… you must be that guy with Kanon-chan…"
She pulled Keima and Kumuro out of Kanon's room.
"If you at least asked me nicely, I would've at least let you see her for a few minutes! But now you're both getting out of her!"
Keima and Kumuro limped through the streets, feeling their bodies aching from the security guards bashing them up senseless. Keima sighed, feeling defeated. Dammit! I barely had a minute to at least say the finishing words… this is bad... Now I've made a worse impression to her fans… He imagined himself getting photo snapshots of cameramen around him. Now I can see knives getting thrown at me for tomorrow… Kumuro turned his head to Keima, gazing upon him.
"Now what Keima buddy? Now everyone will be watching out for us! My cover also got blown!"
Keima sighed again.
"I guess the only other option is to either wait for Kanon-chan to come to us, or find her apartment and tell her there. Since time is no longer on our side, we need to find information about her apartment."
Kumuro's head glowed, conjuring an idea in his head.
"How about we send her a text? That could work right?"
Keima shake his head.
"No… We must at least tell her in person, or I'll be worse off…"
Kumuro crossed his lips.
"You're right… but we could at least ask her where she lives right? You got her contact details right?"
Keima slowly nodded his head.
"You're right… that is a good idea! That also means I don't have to go to school tomorrow…"
Kumuro shook his head.
"Well actually... even if you did manage to stay home there... you still have to help Tazaka with her girl problems. He'll be disappointed of you if you left him like that!"
Keima lowered his eyelids.
"I don't wanna help! I can help him later on!"
Kumuro lifted his head up, gazing upon the sky.
"Speaking of which... Have you found anything for that girl?"
Keima shook his head.
"It seems like Tenri doesn't know many people at her school... I guess the only option for me is to conduct trial and error methods."
A figure appeared from an alleyway, watching Keima and Kumuro walk back to their houses.
Chihiro gazed upon the TV, watching the news reporter speaking in front of the camera.
"We've got an update on the latest celebrity gossip. Kanon-chan's alleged boyfriend had attempted to visit her during her guest shots of the famous TV show "Men with coats"."
Chihiro lifted her remote up, pressing a button on it. As the TV screen went off, she moved off her bed, strolling towards her desk. This shit's getting old now… She placed the remote on the desk next to a picture of Keima. Chihiro sighed, having memories of her and Keima pop up inside her mind. I don't get why I've been more involved with that guy… nor don't I get why I'm this much upset with him… She returned to her bed, resting her body on it. I mean… what's so good about this guy that I just keep coming back to him? He's not athletic, he plays his shitty games during class, and he's the most anti-social guy at school…
She imagined Keima lying next to her, whispering in her ear. You're the only person controlling your own body. No one else can tell you what you can or can't do! Chihiro moved her head away from the desk, gazing upon the wall next to her. Maybe the only reason I gotten obsessed with him because he was the only person who can motivate me to form a band... Yet he doesn't bother talking to people… She imagined Keima and Kanon hugging each other. Well it did bother me seeing these two together… though it's obviously impossible and beyond borderline disgusting for any normal person seeing this shit…
Her cheeks reddened, feeling goose bumps all over her. If this is actually love… love for that Otamegane… Chihiro closed her eyes and sighed. I think I really am out of my mind…
Ayumi leapt through many hurdles across the field, watching her body fly through the tracks. She closed her eyes, feeling the adrenaline rush inside her body. Wwwweeeeeeeeee! Miyako waved her arms around, cheering for Ayumi.
"Come on Ayumi-chan! Beat the record!"
As Ayumi sped past the finishing line, she pushed her feet on the ground, watching her body skid through the tracks. Ayumi waved her arms around, watching her body charging towards a wall. Not agaaain! As she descended towards the wall, her feet stopped a few metres away from the wall. Ayumi wiped the sweat off her face in relief. Boy, I thought I was gonna crash into it again! Miyako stood near Ayumi, gazing upon the spikes on Ayumi's shoes.
"Those models don't help you much with the brakes… Maybe we should get heavier spikes for you…"
Ayumi shrugged, giggling happily at Miyako.
"Well at least I had beaten the school's new record, eh?"
Miyako nodded at Ayumi.
"I think it was by a few seconds…"
Suddenly, Miyako's phone rang, beckoning her to pull it out of her tracksuit pants and place it on her ears.
"Hello?"
Amika shouted out of Miyako's phone.
"The damn otamegane! He actually is seeing Kanon-chan!"
Miyako blinked, feeling confused.
"Uhh… what happened this time?"
"The news… there were claims that Otamegane tried to sneak into Narusawa TV to see Kanon…"
Ayumi's eyes became misty from Amika's voice. An image of Keima holding hands with Kanon appeared inside her him. So… it is true those rumours… Why… why do I feel so bad about this right now? Ayumi faced away from Miyako, heading to another direction. Miyako blinked at Ayumi, holding her hands out.
"Where are you going Ayumi?"
Ayumi stopped, hearing Miyako's calls.
"I… I have stuff to do at home…"
Ayumi continued moving away from Miyako, leaving the track and field.
Keima and Kumuro drudged through the streets, groaning in disappointment. (Keima) Dammit! My mother wouldn't let me stay home because of that damn last day of tests I needed to do… How could I not forget about that? (Kumuro) I don't get why he wanted to stay home so badly... The tests are really important for him regardless of him finishing the tests early... Keima and Kumuro sighed, realising their destiny awaiting them. Kumuro turned his head, facing Keima.
"Say… did Kanon-chan send you a message?"
Keima pulled out his PFP, finding a mail icon on the screen. He opened the mail, reading through the letter.
"The locations in there. I told her we're going to meet her tonight around 6."
Kumuro held his hands out.
"Can I have a look at the address?"
Keima handed the PFP to Kumuro. Kumuro read through the letter carefully, absorbing each word into his mind.
"Wow… So she actually lives around this town… Thought she would be somewhere like Narusawa…"
Keima pulled the PFP off Kumuro's hands, placing it back inside his pocket.
"For now, we might have to avoid anything that could kill us… Afterwards, we'll meet up with that Tazaka guy and help him with his new target…"
Keima and Kumuro slowly strolled through school, finding everyone staring at him. They turned away from them, whispering amongst each other.
"Hey look! It's Kanon-chan's lover again!"
"I can't believe he's so willing to show his love for her!"
"He's very daring for an Otaku!"
"Pfft! Now he just wanted our attention through the media! God I hate those low-life scums these days!"
Keima gazed upon the target building. So far so good… just more mere gossip. However… some people will start perceiving this as a form of truth…
"I told you not to come back to school again!"
"Now I'm gonna kill you for this!"
Keima and Kumuro turned around, finding a gang of Kanon fans holding various weapons on their hands. Some held the banner reading "Stay out of Kanon-chan's life you lowlife scum! Now you're gonna get some!" One person twirled their nunchuks around, grinning sinisterly. Kumuro whimpered at the crowd, cowering in fear.
"You… you guys wouldn't hurt me and my friend… right?"
The crowd chuckled sinisterly.
"Join the parade, stay out of our way or get fucked!"
Kumuro ran away from Keima, running for his life. Keima dropped his jaws, finding Kumuro hiding behind a tree.
"Hey! I thought you're my friend!"
Kumuro whimpered at Keima.
"Sorry buddy… but this is for my own good…"
Keima shouted loudly, running away from the mob of protestors. DAMN YOU REALITYYYYY! The angry horde charged towards Keima, swinging their weapons around.
Keima groaned inside the sick bay, finding himself wrapped up in bandages. Kumuro sat near him, tending to his wounds.
"I'm really sorry for those injuries…"
Keima gasped, expressing his hate for Kumuro.
"You… are… the worst friend… ever!"
The nurse strolled towards him, holding out a clipboard with very important documents.
"You should be fine now. Those mobs involved with that massacre for you got suspended from school for around three days. You'll also be able to do your tests by tomorrow."
The nurse glared at Kumuro, making him whimper.
"You! You got more tests to do!"
The nurse dragged Kumuro out of the office, making him scream.
"Can I at least stay for a few more minutes?"
Keima pulled out his PFP, gazing upon the virtual clock. 10:50 am. I'll just wait a bit longer before the tests are over. I'm gonna assume that he thought that I would gather information from that girl for him… Suddenly, Keima heard a knock on the door.
"Hey there!"
He lowered his PFP, finding Yui at the door. Keima widened his eyes with surprise. W…WHAT THE? Yui? She smiled brightly, gazing upon Keima's glinting glasses. She strolled towards him, sitting on another bed near him.
"Are you alright, Keima-sama?"
Keima blinked at Yui, feeling puzzled. It's been long since I last seen her… So… why is she here now?
"Umm… is there something you want from me?"
Yui pulled Keima away from his bed, making him groan in pain. She rested Keima on her lap, making him face Yui. Keima blinked at her, feeling his heart thumping quickly. What the… what's going on all of a sudden? I… I never felt like this before! His body formed goose bumps, making his cheeks red. Am… AM I BEING SEDUCED AS A MAN? Yui gazed upon Keima's vulnerable eyes.
"You know… I'm glad you have both of those eyes… the calm eyes and the cute eyes…"
The nurse entered the room, strolling towards Keima.
"I'm just checking to see if you're alright and…"
The nurse widened her eyes, dropping her jaws. She watched Keima moving away from Yui.
"Yu… Yui… don't get too close to me!"
Yui grasped Keima's arms, making Keima widen his eyes in fear.
"I love you."
The nurse trembled in fear.
"TWO MEN FLIRTING AND CONFESSING WITH EACH OTHER?"
The nurse fell on the ground, making Keima turn his head facing her. Keima's eyes widened her, feeling his heart thumping faster.
"Why did you say that? You made the nurse have a heart attack!"
Yui faced away from Keima, closing her eyes. Her cheeks reddened, feeling goose bumps all over her body.
"Well… it's k… kinda embarrassing to say it…"
She turned her head, revealing her blushing cheeks to him.
"But I wanted to express my deepest feelings to you. I've felt like this ever since we've first met… You really are a special person you know…"
Keima gulped.
"Umm… didn't you hear about the rumours? That Kanon and I go out?"
Yui pressed her hands onto Keima's cheeks, making his eyes twirl around. She moved closer to his head, gazing upon his nervous face.
"I don't care about that!"
Keima whimpered in fear. I… I can't get her off me… my head… it feels… Keima screamed like a girl, jumping off Yui. He ran out of the room, escaping form his own demise. Yui blinked at Keima leaving her behind. She shrugged, lifting herself off her bed.
"Ahh... It's very nice to meet Keima-sama again..."
Yui walked out of the room, leaving the nurse behind.
Kumuro and Tazaka entered the basement, strolling through the stairs. They talked amongst each other, letting out a cheery laugh.
"These tests sure are easy!"
"It's like what the shogi master said! You must know your enemy to win the battles! I hope I'll do the same thing with this girl…"
Suddenly, Kumuro and Tazaka stopped moving, watching Keima huddle against a corner. He rocked his body around, whimpering in fear. Yui's coming out for me… Yui's coming out for me… Yui's coming out for me… Yui's coming out for me… Kumuro crept towards Keima, observing Keima's state of shock.
"Uhh… are you alright there?"
Keima turned around, screaming at Kumuro. Keima blinked at him, realising his face.
"Oh… umm… well…"
Kumuro blinked at Keima.
"Is there anything wrong?"
Keima moved him away from Tazaka, whispering in private.
"You remember that girl from the body swap incident, right?"
Kumuro nodded his head.
"Well she confessed her love to me today!"
Kumuro blinked at Keima again.
"Eh? She did? Even though the rumours are still there?"
Keima slowly nodded his head.
"This is a lot worse than before… Now she's going to succeed in make a love triangle for me… I only have two options right now… try to avoid contact with her or try and further deepen the relationship with Kanon so that Yui will never be able to try and capture my heart!"
Kumuro sighed.
"Oh god… this is a lot worse than the following months as friends…"
Tazaka waved at the boys, shouting at them.
"Aren't we gonna continue this or what?"
Keima and Kumuro turned around, strolling towards him.
"Sorry about this… I… I just wanted to clear my head first…"
Tazaka sat at his desk, straightening his arms out and handing his hands together. He smiled at Keima, showing his cute eyes.
"So… have you found information for me?"
Keima shook his head.
"No…"
Tazaka dropped his jaws, widening his eyes.
"How am I supposed to win her heart with little information?"
Keima adjusted his glasses.
"A simple yet profound answer lies inside this script."
Keima pulled out a script dropping it on the table. Tazaka whimpered, feeling his head hurting.
"Wha… what do you exactly have in mind?"
Keima pointed his finger at a ceiling.
"To start off, we will use this trial and error method to gain information from your target. You have established your presence in your life, and so we will use the same after-school event to interact with her… this time without using the cake scene or any other cheap tricks."
Tazaka slowly skimmed through the script, finding many pages of detailed events inside.
"This… this is a lot of content in there! How the hell am I supposed to memorise all of this?"
Keima sighed.
"If you don't want to read the script, you can start off by apologising to her for yesterday's clumsiness. Then you can make the conversation flow afterwards while trying to acquire some information from her. Even bits of information are enough to determine the next route."
Tazaka scratched his head, giggling nervously.
"Umm… I'm not really good with talking to girls."
Keima placed a wig on Kumuro's head, making Kumuro frown at him.
"Hey! Why do I have to be the girl? Why don't you be the girl?"
Keima widened his eyes, offended of Kumuro. He turned around, shouting at Kumuro.
"I AM NOT A GIRL, AND I WILL NEVER BE OOOONNNEEE!"
Keima blinked at Kumuro and Tazaka blinking back. Keima sighed, sitting on the ground.
"My mind's not clear today. Please, just go practice before we commence the next event."
Kumuro strolled near Tazaka, waiting for him to respond. Tazaka's cheeks blushed, gazing upon Kumuro's girly face. Keima sighed, reflecting on the past few days. This isn't good… first, that Tsukiyo girl was going on about greater beauty with me… and now Yui's acting like a man, trying to capture the capturing god… Keima frowned, clenching his fists. I can't let this dilemma become an irony of its own! I must prevent these girls from capturing me and getting me involved more with reality! I can't let anyone else overrun me! An image of Kanon appeared inside her mind. But of course… I need to think about whether to end ties with her or not…
Keima pressed his hands against his cheeks. This is going to be difficult to choose… if I end the relationship with Kanon, I'll be left completely vulnerable to enemy fire… If I decide to stick with her forever, I might fall higher if I decide to end it later on as the relationship progresses… An image of Yui and Tsukiyo appeared in his mind, holding their weapons out. In the end… it's all about who's more of a threat… Keima pulled out his PFP, reading the clock. 2:59pm. Keima lifted himself off the ground, gazing upon Kumuro and Tazaka.
"It is time. We will commence the 2nd event."
Kumuro and Tazaka turned around, nodding at Keima. Keima turned away from his followers, walking out of the basement. Kumuro and Tazaka followed after him, leaving the table and the script behind. A shadowy figure emerged out of nowhere, strolling towards the table. It lifted the script up, gazing upon the title and Keima's signature.
Ayumi and Chihiro faced away from each other, gazing upon their guitars. (Ayumi) Wha… what's wrong with me? Why aren't my hands moving yet? (Chihiro) Funny, huh… First off, I wanted to try out my new song badly… but now I don't think I'm motivated enough to even start the band off… Ayumi's cheeks reddened, having an image of Keima inside her head. Maybe it's because I'm feeling uneasy about the fact that Kanon-chan and Katsuragi-kun are going out… Chihiro closed her eyes, thinking about Keima. Maybe I've been thinking more about that disgusting guy… I should stop going to this school if that's the case…
Yui, Miyako and Amika gazed upon Ayumi and Chihiro. Miyako blinked at the girls, watching their thoughts drift off. Ever since that rumours about Kanon had begun, Ayumi-san and Chihiro-san are surely having a hard time going 100% on the practices… Is there something going on between them and that Katsuragi guy? Amika sighed, plucking her bass strings impatiently. I've been looking forward to this practice today and I suddenly have to wait for these daydreamers to get a move on… She leaned forward taking a closer look. I'll really be spewing if these two were somehow having feelings for that Otamegane…
Yui folded her arms, tapping the bass drum impatiently.
"We don't have all day ladies…"
Ayumi and Chihiro turned around, gazing upon her.
"Uh… sorry…"
Suddenly, a knock on the girl forced the girls to gaze upon Ichigou and Heihachi. Ichigou widened his eyes, gazing upon Yui. Her masculine-like face matched her hair being tied up. Her eyes glimmered, revealing her calm look. His heart thumped quickly, forming goose bumps on his body. His cheeks reddened, seeing stars sparkle around Yui. Heihachi folded his arms, grinning sinisterly at Chihiro.
"I see you have a male drummer with you huh?"
Yui frowned at Heihachi.
"You know… I am a girl…"
Heihachi laughed loudly.
"Yeah right! A tomboy looking this manly sure makes you a girl!"
The twins emerged from the school corridors, entering the room.
"I recruited these heavy metal prodigies with us! We also gave some of our audience a sneak peek preview and they say that we're better than you posies over there!"
Chihiro gritted her teeth, frowning at them.
"You only rely on metal heads like all of you to do the reviewing! Have you even got other people to tell you how shit it is?"
Heihachi closed his eyes, laughing sinisterly.
"Say whatever you want! We will also give you a sneak peek on what's there to expect from us…"
The twins placed their amps on the ground, holding their guitars carefully. The older twin waved his fingers around, creating a melody of notes. Miyako and Amika widened their eyes in awe. The younger twin pushed his hands hard and quick, creating heavy riffs of chords Heihachi pulled out his microphone, howling with his demonic voice.
"Cataclysm! Cynicism! Let your bodies rot in hell! Exorcism! Reckoning! Soon you'll be purged from here! Vindication! Desperation! No one's there to save you from us! Judgement day! Extermination! A new world shall soon be FOORRMED!"
Hehachi paused for a moment, letting one of the twins emphasise a riff. He shouted loudly, making the girls cover their ear. The twins performed a different riff, finishing the song off. Heihachi moved his microphone away from him, making him smile.
"So… you scared now? Scared that we're better than you?"
Chihiro chuckled sinisterly.
"You call that good music? You were screaming the whole time!"
Ayumi glared at the boys, folding her arms.
"I would feel sorry for people liking your trash."
Heihachi turned away from the girls, leaving the room.
"You just keep saying that. I want to see people booing at you when you perform at the Mai High fest…"
The twins lifted the amps up, leaving the room. Ichigou stood still, continuing to gazing upon Yui. Chihiro folded her arms, glaring at Ichigou.
"Are you gonna say something, or aren't you gonna leave now?"
Tazaka's body shook nervously, watching students coming out of the school gate. I… I'm now having second thoughts about this… Keima sighed, glaring at Tazaka's horrified face. Such weak-willed people! If I've been bothered enough to capture real girls at school, I would've captured 14 people's hearts by now! Kumuro placed his hands on Tazaka's shoulders.
"Don't worry there… all you have to do is to just be yourself… many girls like that…"
Tazaka nodded his head.
"I… I'll try my best."
Tazaka walked across the road, gazing upon the girl of his dreams. Keima strolled away from Kumuro holding his hands out.
"I'll meet you guys back at my place."
Kumuro watched the blue-haired girl, waving her arms around her fellow classmates. She strolled past many students, eager to go home. She gazed upon the road, watching a few people walk across the road. Suddenly, Tazaka blocked her path, holding his hands behind his back.
"Umm… sorry… about yesterday…"
She gasped at him, cowering in fear. Tazaka crossed his lips. Oh god… I don't know if I can make this… He slowly extended his arms, pointing his hands towards her.
"Umm… The name… The name is Sankichi Tazaka."
She slowly moved her hands away from her head, gazing upon his hands. His heart thumped quicker, gazing upon her glowing eyes.
"I… I didn't mean to bump into you when I was delivering a cake to my cousin's house…"
Her heart thumped quickly, gazing upon Tazaka's glowing face. His glasses glinted brightly. Her cheeks slightly reddened. She slowly walked past him, making him turn around. He hesitated, trying to grab her attention.
"Can… can you tell me your name at least?"
She stood still, feeling goose bumps all over her. She slowly turned her head, gazing upon his face again.
"Ho…Homori Miho…"
She ran away from Tazaka, running across the road. Tazaka crossed his lips, feeling a bit nervous. Is acquiring a name good enough for now? Kumuro placed his arms on Tazaka's shoulder, smiling at him.
"With this good encounter, I think you've progressed well!"
Tazaka chuckled nervously.
"Yeah… I guess you could say that…"
Keima nodded his head slowly at Tazaka and Kumuro.
"So you only got her name as a response?"
Tazaka nodded his head.
"Yeah… she didn't really say much though… I think she was kinda staring at me the whole time."
Keima adjusted his glasses, making it shine.
"Looks like we have a shy girl as your target. It clearly matched my hypothesis about her with the cake incident…"
Kumuro blinked at Keima, scratching his head.
"You didn't tell him this information until now?"
Keima sighed.
"It was only a hunch before he confirmed my suspicions. Usually with the cake incident, more active people will respond to the event, most likely with forms of anger. With passive people, they tend to get upset about certain things and avoid further contact with the person responsible for the incident."
Tazaka nodded his head.
"I get it now. The trial and error was to see more of her personalities before determining the route…"
Keima drew a picture of a girl on a piece of paper.
"There are good news and bad news. The good news is that you'll be able to use this fixed location for most of the entire capturing operation. The bad news is that she tends to give out less information before we begin the next phase of capturing your target. So we need to raise her trust points quickly for the next few events."
Kumuro crossed his lips.
"This sounds a lot harder actually…"
Keima gazed upon the picture of a girl.
"Actually it could be… we're still on the trial and error phase since we don't have enough information yet, though we can safely assume that she will be at the fixed location again…"
Tazaka sighed, lying on the ground.
"And yet I thought I was getting close to her…"
Keima lowered his eyebrows. You only triggered two events! Keima stood up, lifting Tazaka off the ground.
"For this purpose, we will repeat this method at least once more. If we have enough information, we might have to think about the next stage from there."
Keima escorted Tazaka out of his house. Tazaka stood outside the door, turning around. He bowed down to him with honour.
"I am proud to have you as my teacher of love, my capturing god!"
Tazaka strolled out of the house, walking back to his home. Keima closed the door and sighed. God that was bothersome… wish this event will end sooner… He returned to the living room, meeting up with Kumuro. He adjusted his glasses, making Kumuro blink at him.
"Kumuro, I have decided to further deepen the relationship with Kanon-chan!"
Kumuro widened his eyes in disbelief.
"WHHHAAAA-? But why?"
Keima sighed.
"What's going to happen ahead of me will be very tough to handle. Perhaps a change in tactics is necessary for now!"
Tsukiyo strolled through the streets, carrying two scripts on her hands. An image of her meeting up with the same man appeared inside her mind.
The figure sat on a bench, gazing upon the script given by her. He studied the computerised letters imprinted carefully. He flipped through a few pages, finding Keima's handwritten words. His eyes were drawn to Keima's signature. He nodded his head carefully, noting each letter imprinted on the script. He closed the script, placing it next to him. He lifted his head, gazing upon Tsukiyo's concealed face. He smiled sinisterly, making his eyes glow bright red.
"My my… how did you come up with something like a script for some success in girls?"
Tsukiyo shrugged.
"You did say to find something where it has handwriting of his…"
The figure twiddled his fingers, plotting something devious inside his mind.
"I was going to use the break up letter to get that guy out of her sight… but this… I can make him not only end up being dumped, but his reputation will also get further damaged. That way, not only would Kanon feel completely used and start hating him for that, but I can make him pay for his actions by making many other girls not like him!"
Tsukiyo gazed upon the script.
"I know he would never dare to do something like this to win my heart!"
The figure shrugged.
"Well that's your problem… it doesn't matter anyway. All the two of us can do is that you can warn Kanon about his disgusting truth. It won't take long to create a similar script, with Kanon in it. Then she will surely hate him for good!"
Tsukiyo sighed.
"Are you sure your plans will work? What happens if her love for him is too strong against the seeds of doubt?"
The figure paused for a moment.
"Look… we'll go with this plan for now… understand?"
Tsukiyo stopped moving, finding an apartment in front of her. There's the signer girl's apartment… Now I just have to find the letterbox before I leave…
"Hello… who are you?"
Tsukiyo turned around, finding Kanon standing next to her. She gasped, taking a step away from her. It… it's that singer girl! Wha… what should I do… Kanon blinked at Tsukiyo standing still. Tsukiyo took a deep breath, summoning all of her courage inside her.
"I have come here to warn you… about this man…"
Kanon blinked at Tsukiyo.
"Wha… what man are you talking about?"
Tsukiyo lifted her hands up, showing her the script.
"Ka… Katsuragi Keima…"
Kanon slowly moved towards the script, gazing upon the title carefully. Her hand shook, having her eyes widened. What… what's this? What was Keima-kun doing? Tsukiyo gazed upon Kanon's distressed face. Hmm… it seems to be working quite well…
"I had seen one student asking him for his help… I… I thought he was a decent man too…"
Tsukiyo shuffled the script around, showing her a devastating one.
"Until there was a script about him capturing your heart using this one…"
Kanon snatched the script form Tsukiyo, gazing upon the title "How to capture Nakagawa Kanon". Tears flowed from her eyes. Her body trembled in fear. Her heart ached, making her brain throb in agony. No… this can't be… Keima-kun… he can't… he wouldn't do something like that! No! She ran past Tsukiyo, escaping from her problems. Tsukiyo grinned sinisterly, feeling satisfied. Ah yes… the singer girl's now out of her way… She dropped the script on the ground. She turned away from the apartment, walking back home. Now… nothing shall stand on my way of obtaining that greater beauty between me and that man…
Keima and Kumuro strolled through the streets. Kumuro whimpered thinking about Keima's decisions. I don't know about this… Having to go out with Kanon only for "protection" against other girls… Has he even considered Kanon-chan's feelings? Keima gritted his teeth, feeling annoyed of Kumuro's whimpering. He stood still, forcing Kumuro to stop moving.
"Is there a problem you like to discuss with me?"
Kumuro stopped whimpering.
"Actually, I do."
Keima turned around, witnessing his friend frowning at him.
"I understand why you don't like her... but can you think of other ways without hurting Kanon-chan?"
Keima sighed.
"You still don't get it do you?"
Kumuro folded his arms.
"Get what exactly?"
Keima faced away from Kumuro.
"Even if I did break up with her for her own good, she might get too depressed without me and then do something crazy like killing herself."
Kumuro shook his head, folding his arms.
"So pretending to be in love with Kanon-chan is a righteous decision now, is it?"
Kumuro strolled towards Keima, following after him.
I would prefer Kanon finding true love to than to see her suffer from your damn lies!"
"Do you honestly think there is really such thing as true love?"
Kumuro blinked at Keima.
"What kind of a retarded question is that? Of course there is!"
"If true love existed, then we would be falling in love with our ideal partners, thus living happily ever after. Reality lacks having the same ideals, and so you won't see anyone have true love."
Kumuro shook his head in disgust.
"Don't be stupid! Yes... maybe today true love is rare to find... but I'm sure there are more than a few couples who have true love!"
Kumuro closed his eyes and sighed.
"What's going on with you? Why are you being bitter?"
Keima stood still again. Kumuro stopped, watching Keima clenching his fists.
"You really know what's going on with me? I have to spend all of my time helping reality with his damn problems! And since he keeps pouring problems all over me, I have no time to play more games, live the life that I had followed for years without any interruptions!"
Kumuro glared at Keima, clenching his fists.
"Wait… you only care about games? Is that it? You don't care what this so-called reality had offered you?"
Keima turned around, pointing his fingers at Kumuro.
"What good deeds have reality done to me? Tell me that! At this point, I don't really see one…"
Kumuro shook his head.
"You really are despicable… You never even thought about the friends you have?"
Keima paused for a moment. Hang on… if I said no… I may have fewer things to rely on to protect myself from reality… although he's not really useful… I guess I should pretend that I was "careless" with what I said. Keima closed his eyes, holding his forehead with his hand.
"I… I'm sorry… I wasn't thinking straight…"
Kumuro sighed.
"Man… you really should stop thinking reality's against you. You still have good things in life besides games. Even I know that!"
Keima and Kumuro continued walking, heading for their destination. As they arrived at the apartment, Keima pulled out his PFP from his pocket. He dragged a keyboard slot out of its hiding place, tapping his thumbs onto them and writing a message. A reply appeared on the screen, beckoning him to open it up. He widened his eyes feeling shocked from the message. Go away! I know what you did! You never cared about me all this time! Keima trembled in fear. Wha... what is this? What's going on? Did she somehow overhear me talking to him? Did she somehow spy on me when I was having a conversation about her?
Keima shook his head. No... I must assume that there's another explanation. I must find out what's going on! Keima ran towards the apartment entrance, making Kumuro hold his hands out.
"What's going on, Keima buddy?"
Keima leaned forward, pushing the speaker's button.
"Kanon-chan! What's going on? What happened?"
A voice boomed out of the speakers.
"It was all lies! Lies!"
Keima crossed his lips. I may have initially wanted to breakup with her... but I don't have any protection against people like Yui and Tsukiyo... Kumuro stood next to Keima, facing the speakers.
"What are you saying Kanon-chan? What did Keima buddy supposedly lie about?"
"A script! You planned this all along! You planned everything from the first few encounters, to that first kiss we made! You even said about me being stupid in falling for you!"
Keima and Kumuro cocked his eyebrow. Keima scratched his head. Hang on... I never made a script. Wait... An image of the script appeared inside her mind, watching the pages flip over. I only made a script for Tazaka... what could she mean by the script exactly? Kumuro shook his head. I know Keima buddy well… He can't be planning this all along!
"Keima buddy had never made a script about you. I had no idea how you thought that Keima did use you."
"Lies! Lies! Keima-kun never really loved me! Just what exactly did he want from me?"
Keima sighed. I have no choice but to end ties with her... but things will go sour with Tazaka if she told everyone about the script. I must do something about it quickly...
"Do you want the truth?"
Kumuro turned his head around, blinking at Keima. What is he planning now? Kanon paused for a moment.
"Go on..."
"I... I never actually wanted to be with you..."
Kumuro widened his eyes. Wha…? He's going to break up with her? What about poor Tazaka? Kumuro straightened his neck, waiting for Kanon to respond.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Keima scratched his head.
"I don't know what makes you think I planned all of this... but I... I actually didn't want to find any girls to fall in love with... that's until you came along... you... you seem to be coming back to me that... perhaps I... I might be in love right now..."
Keima closed his eyes.
"No... I don't think it is love... I... I don't know anymore... When... when we had that first kiss... I... think you got my head spinning around..."
Kumuro crossed his lips.
"Keima buddy…"
Keima shook his head.
"Hate me all you want now... perhaps this is best for me not to see you again. But please promise me one thing – don't make me the villain. Don't demonise me by using the media…"
Keima released the button, turning away from the apartment entrance. Come to think of it... perhaps this is the right time... Well I guess I'll figure something out with the two girls after me... Kumuro turned his body around, blinking at Keima.
"Shouldn't we at least ask her to show us the script?"
Kanon emerged out of the apartment building, holding the script out.
"Keima-kun!"
Keima turned around, facing Kanon. Kumuro leaned to the side. He noticed Kanon holding out the script. Kanon gazed upon Keima's god-like eye.
"If... if it wasn't you... then..."
Kanon sighed.
"You... you don't want to see me anymore?"
Keima gazed upon Kanon's disappointed face.
"It... it's for the best. You will find someone else better than me..."
Kanon gazed upon Keima's calm face.
"Don't worry about me... you should be happy without me."
Keima gently pulled the script out of Kanon's hands, smiling at her. Kumuro widened his eyes. Hey! At least ask her to look at her script and not snatch it! Keima turned away from Kanon, walking away from her. Suddenly, Kanon grasped his shoulders, moving closer to him. Keima and Kumuro widened their eyes in fear. That was a bad move to take the script, was it? She closed her eyes, smiling at him.
"I... I'll never forget everything about you then..."
Kumuro scratched his head. Well… I guess it was lucky for him at least… Keima nodded his head. He walked away from Kanon, heading to the opposite direction. Kumuro turned away from her, following after his buddy. Kanon placed her hands on her heart, crossing her lips. Wait... Do I really want him to leave me for good? He gazed upon the script, reading the title. Strange... this almost looked legit... He flipped a few pages, gazing upon the written details. He widened his eyes in fear. Everything here is almost exactly what happened. Kumuro leaned his head, gazing upon the pages. He widened his eyes in fear.
"Oh my god! I can't believe someone made these horrible comments! Who would do such a thing to you?"
Keima closed the script and shrugged.
"Whoever wrote this either stalked on us the whole time or…"
His glasses shined brightly.
"There could be someone capable of making fake things containing accurate events just by deducing from certain events from various small information they've gathered."
Chihiro, Ayumi, Miyako, Amika and Yui sat on the couch, giggling at each other.
"Man that was a fun night!"
"We should have theses more often!"
Suddenly, a news reporter appeared onscreen.
"A sudden event had changed the idol-otaku relationship... or should I say theirs had ended very soon."
The girls (except for Yui) widened their eyes with surprise. A picture of Kanon sitting near an interviewer appeared on screen.
"According to this interview, Kanon did have a relationship with him, but it ended due to the Otaku's question about his love for her. More details after this movie."
Chihiro and Ayumi's cheeks blushed. Chihiro closed her eyes and shrugged.
"Meh. It's not like they're gonna be together forever."
Ayumi smiled, feeling relieved.
"Well I guess this idol is now free for any boys."
Miyako crossed her lips.
"It was kinda sad for the two of them actually... not many people like these two actually exist as couples these days..."
Amika frowned at Miyako.
"Are you serious? You prefer Otamegane and Kanon-chan together?"
The girls (except for Yui) argued amongst each other. Yui closed her eyes, smiling triumphantly. Now I shall be able to win Keima-sama's heart once and for all! I just wanna see him again!
Tenri and Nanaka sat at a couch, gazing upon the TV screen. A new reporter appeared on TV, delivering the news.
"A sudden event had changed the idol-otaku relationship... or should I say theirs had ended very soon."
Nanaka and Tenri widened their eyes with surprise. A picture of Kanon sitting near an interviewer appeared on screen.
"According to this interview, Kanon did have a relationship with him, but it ended due to the Otaku's question about his love for her. More details after this movie."
Tenri covered her face, feeling her cheeks blushing. Keima-kun… I… I thought you would be with that girl…. Forever… Nanaka placed her hands on Tenri's shoulder's smiling at him.
"Hey Ayukawa! Looks like he's free for you now!"
Tenri smiled, feeling relieved.
"Yeah… I guess so…"
Nanaka lifted up a phone, dialling a few numbers.
"I'll go tell that guy about your love for him. Then the two of you can live happily ever after!"
Tenri widened her eyes in fear. She reached out for Nanaka, trying to pull the phone off her.
"Please! Don't! I beg you!"
Hana sat inside the backseat, gazing upon the butler. He sighed, watching the car parking at a house.
"Young lady, why must you change schools all of a sudden? I thought you are rather content with the friends you have made."
Hana closed her eyes, hearing the news about Kanon on the radio.
"I guess I felt like seeing my friend again..."
Hana moved out of the car, strolling towards the house. The butler exited the car, holding his hands out.
"This homestead is only for emergencies. Why must you use it as your new home? You parents are surely worried about this!"
Hana turned around, smiling at the butler.
"I just wanted to live a life of those lower class people, see what it's like... Have you brought the required uniforms for tomorrow?"
Two shadowy figures stood next to each other. The tall figure widened his eyes in shock.
"You're not going to humiliate that guy?"
The smaller figure sighed.
"There's something about him that makes me wonder if this is worth doing..."
The small figure gazed upon the script in front of him.
"He reminds me of someone I admired a lot. This script is actually well-written, though many idiots like you won't be able to read through this properly..."
The tall one growled at him.
"I got 6 girls dating so far! You got none at all!"
The small one sighed.
"That might be the case... but you wouldn't be able to do that without my help..."
The tall figure scratched his head.
"What should we do then?"
The small figure turned away from him.
"I have a feeling he will meet us very soon. Let's just wait for a bit... Let's see if this guy will come to us or not…"
Author's Note: There you have it. An insane chapter with many events that accelerated the plot by alot! It's kinda a shame that we may never get to see Kanon wiht Keima anymore (or will she...?). As you can see, Hana has now come to Keima's hometown to settle stuff of her own... and two mysterious men has been revealed to also be in the plot... If you want to know who they are, stay tuned for the next chapter as Keima gets down to business and wage war against reality (and its girls)
For now, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the growing series!