Chapter 4 – The Suspiciously Accurate Light Novel
Misao's POV
"Ooh~! I already have so many likes on Twitter for the video! And a few retweets, too!"
"Did you seriously post that video on Twitter?" Ayano asked me.
"What? It's a funny video. A bunch of Japanese school kids singing and dancing to an American song…though, I am shocked that it was about girls having big butts and stuff like that."
"It's America. What did you expect?"
"Yeah, true."
Probably explains a lot as to why Patty isn't all that bothered with talking about sex so casually…
It was after school and I was at Ayano's house once again. This time, she's making me study with her before we do anything fun for the night. I didn't want to at first. But I eventually agreed. Mainly because I was bribed with the leftover cake we got from the monster café.
Me and my damn sweet tooth…
"Ugh. How much longer, Ayano? My brain's starting to hurt."
"Oh, alright. I suppose I made you suffer long enough."
"Yay! Cake!" I shot up from the floor in glee.
"You and your sweet tooth, Misao." Ayano said with a light giggle.
…
Which, for some reason…made my heart skip a few beats.
Geez. Here comes that oddly sharp pain again…
"Misao…Misao!"
"H-Huh?"
"You okay? You were spacing out all weird-like."
"O-Oh, really?" I rubbed the back of my head. "I guess school made me really tired this week. Thank God Golden Week starts on Monday, am I right?"
"Y-Yeah. Sure thing." Was all Ayano said. And I'm pretty sure she said it in a sad tone, too.
Meaning that I screwed up somewhere in my speech.
Damn…now I've gone and done it. I knew she was upset about me going away for the holidays. And I just HAD to causally bring it up like that. Way to freaking go, me!
"U-Um…l-let's just eat some cake now. Wh-What do you say?"
"Yeah. Sure thing, Misa-chan." Was all Ayano said. And again, I felt really bad for it.
*sigh* Some friend I am…
Some time had passed and the atmosphere between us became better rather quickly. We ate some cake and played a few rounds of a fighting game that I had brought over. And even though I kept losing (I'm not really good at video games), I still had a lot of fun. Probably because I was with Ayano the whole time. And got to see her cute smile.
…
W-Wait! Wh-Why did I say that?! Ayano's smile?! C-C-Cute?!
…
I-I mean, she is a girl. I-It's only natural that a girl's smile is cute, right?
…
Although…I'm not really the type of person to be "cute". It's not in my stereotypical tomboy DNA.
Maybe I can get Ayano to teach me…
"*sigh* Man, that was fun." I said as I laid on the floor. "What do you wanna do now?"
"Well, actually, Misao…I kinda want to read that light novel."
"You mean the one Chibikko gave us? What was it called again?"
"Uh…Happy Go Lily 2: High School Days." Ayano read the title.
There's ALREADY a sequel?! I thought this Toma-To person just debuted!
"Right…you seriously want to read it?"
"Don't get me wrong. The fact that it's Izumi-san's is still really concerning. On our end. But at the same time, I'm actually curious about it. I mean…a best-selling light novel about two high schooler girls who are childhood friends and…a-at some point, fall in love with each other." Ayano said that last one with a small blush on her face. "O-Other than that last one, doesn't this sound a lot like us?"
While trying to ignore the cuteness of the sudden smile (as freaking hard as that was for some reason), I thought about what Ayano had said to me. And even I had a hard time denying the fact that I was also interested in the book. Despite it belonging to that perverted midget.
Not only that, but the coincidences are rather strange. While I was posting that video on Twitter, I secretly looked up the book. And I swear, one of the main characters is like a doppelgänger of me. Long straight brown hair compared to my short uneven hair with bangs. Black eyes compared to my brown ones. She even has a small fang-shaped tooth on the left side of her mouth (mine's on the right, in case you didn't know).
And get this. Her name is Risao Kasakubo. If that's not based on my own name, then I don't know what is.
So, yeah. I want to read the book. But mainly to see what else of this character's life is based on mine. It's so freaking weird. How the hell does this Toma-To person know about my life almost to an EXACT detail? Maybe it is just a coincidence?
…
…
…
*sigh* Oh, well. At least I get to read this thing with Ayano. That should at least calm my suspicious mind a bit.
"Alright, Ayano. Let's read the book together." I said with a smile.
"*giggle* Sure thing, Misao." Ayano returned the smile to me. And I swear…her sudden cuteness overload is going to be the death of me.
Maybe I can also use this chance to figure out why I think Ayano's so cute all of a sudden…
So, we read the book together for a few good hours. The original plan was to only read the first chapter. But, damn this story…we were so freaking hooked mid-chapter that we ended up reading up to the end of chapter 6 before either one of us realized how long we were reading. It was that freaking good.
Now I can see how a pervert like Chibikko managed to get hooked on it…
Anyway…starting from chapter 1, the story starts out with Risao (still bothered by that name…) being woken up by a voice calling out to her. Turns out, it was coming from her one and only childhood friend. Trying to wake her up for school.
Now, about this childhood friend…you know how I said earlier how this Risao Kasakubo character was strangely similar to me? Well, this next character, who is named Ayame Negishi, was strangely similar to Ayano. Short shaggy orange hair with no headband, green eyes instead of blue, average physique, and her personality was definitely a girly one. Much like Risao's was definitely tomboyish.
This Toma-To person is starting to creep me out. Not only does he/she have characters that strike a strange resemblance to Ayano and me, but the setting was also near dead-on accurate. Kyou High School, in Kikuube, in the Utama Prefecture…
Even the short summary on the back was a little concerning.
"Risao and Ayame are childhood friends who enjoy each other's company to the fullest. But what happens when both question their feelings of friendship? And wonder if it could be more? Follow both girls in this light-hearted romance light novel as they each try to discover their own true feelings."
Tr-True…feelings? What is that supposed to mean? If I'm right about this story being based on us, will whatever happens to Risao and Ayame be the same outcome for us?
Will I…be in a relationship with Ayano?
…
…
…
Well…I-I'm not against it or anything. People should have the right to love whoever they want.
B-But do I really…no, can I really…love Ayano?
*Internal groaning*
"Uh…Misao?"
"H-Huh?" I reacted to hearing my name being called.
"Are you okay? You were spacing out for longer than usual."
"O-Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Just…thinking of stuff."
Very intense stuff, to be completely honest…
"I see…"
The room went dead silent as neither one of us knew what to say or do in this situation. It wasn't until a minute or two later that Ayano spoke up again.
"S-So, uh…did you notice that the characters in this story…"
"…Were strangely similar to us? Yeah. I noticed."
"Risao Kasakubo and Ayame Negishi…it's almost scary how similar their names are. And their personalities, too."
"Yeah. No kidding." I then thought for a bit. "You think we can sue the author for ripping us off like this? We could get some big money…"
"*giggle* No, you idiot. Even if this was intentional, there's no way we'll win. After all…two childhood best friends gaining romantic feelings for each other is an all too common cliché in the writing world. Especially here in Japan."
"Yeah, true."
Both of us went silent again. With the same problem as before: not knowing what to say or do.
So freaking awkward…
*NOTIFICATION CHIME*
"Oh. The video got another retweet! 119 in a single day, baby!" I cheered as I looked at the message I got on my phone.
"I still can't believe that you posted that video on Twitter. Aren't you worried that someone might recognize you and start criticizing?"
"Well, your cousin seems okay with it."
"What?!" Ayano then snatched the phone out of my hands and saw that her cousin Ayano was truly one of the people who liked the video. "Oh, come on, Ayano! Really?!"
"What's the big deal? The video itself isn't harming anyone."
"Y-Yeah, but…" Ayano went silent for a bit. Then after a quick sigh, she grabbed her own phone and did something on it before resting it on the table in front of us.
And then…
*NOTIFICATION CHIME*
"*rirattanu_lover91 has liked your recent post.* Really?"
"I-It was funny, alright? I actually wanted to join in, too. B-But I was busy filming you guys." Ayano said all of that while blushing mildly.
"A-Ayano…" Which, in a very cliché matter, made me blush, too.
And then once again, the room was dead silent.
…
…
…
"W-Well, we should go to bed now. I-It's rather late now, isn't it?" Ayano asked.
"Y-Yeah. I-It is." Was all I said.
And so, we got changed into sleepwear and went to bed at 12:43 in the morning. Falling asleep just 10 minutes later.
…
Well…Ayano did. I couldn't sleep at all. I had that damn story still rambling inside my mind. It was seriously an emotional roller coaster. From the very beginning to where we left off. I couldn't stop thinking about those two characters and how they truly belonged together.
…
By the way. What happened in chapter 6 was…basically, it was the moment Risao realized that she had romantic feelings for Ayame.
…
Much like how I realized…that I have romantic feelings for Ayano.
Ayano's POV
It was the next morning and I woke up to being the only one in the room. I figured Misao was raiding our fridge again. A common thing she does whenever she spends the night here.
That is until I saw the note laying on the nightstand next to me.
"Hey, Ayano.
I had to go back home to pack for the trip. I wanted to tell you in person, but you wouldn't budge. You're a deep sleeper, ya know.
Anyway, I'll bring you a souvenir for when I come back. See you in a week.
Misao."
So, she went home, huh? To be completely honest, I'm glad she did. I don't think I would've been able to look at her normally. Not after reading that book last night.
…
Still though…the fact that she left still hurts like hell. Now that I've figured out what this sense of loneliness was…that I have romantic feelings for Misao…it's going to be rather hard to keep it all together for nearly two freaking weeks.
"*sigh*Well, I might as well start trying." I said as I finally got out of bed at 10:04 in the late morning.
After brushing my teeth and making myself look good, I went down to the kitchen to grab some breakfast. I wasn't alone, though. Already there was my older sister Ayuko. Eating a bowl of cereal while messing around on her phone. Probably texting her boyfriend or something.
"Morning…" I greeted her.
"Oh, hey. About time you woke up. You're usually not the type to sleep in on a Sunday."
"Y-Yeah…some things happened that made me really tired."
"Huh." Was all she had to say on that.
"So, where's Mom and Dad?" I asked as I grabbed a bowl of my own and started pouring some cereal.
"They went to the store. Picking up last-minute items for their cruise. They leave tonight, you know."
"Yeah, I remember. And you're going camping with your boyfriend and a couple of friends, right?"
"Yep. We're heading for a secret spot in Sapporo that my friend knows about. Fun fact: clothing is optional. *giggle*"
"Wh-Why would you…" I then stopped myself from asking that question. As I did NOT want to imagine my sister naked. "A-Anyway…while everyone's out of town doing their own thing, I'm going to be at home by myself."
"What, you're not gonna hook up with your boyfriend or anything? Now's the chance to "get stuff done", you know."
I wanted to blush hard from what she was implying. But I managed to stay calm and let out a small sigh.
"Y-You do know that I only made up the boyfriend thing just so boys at my school would stop asking me out, right?"
"Yeah, I know. Such a shame, too. You got such a nice pair that I'm sure boys your age would go crazy for."
"L-Leave my breasts out of this!" I yelled with a full blush on my face. Completely failing at staying calm.
"*giggle* You're so easy to embarrass, Sis. No wonder Misao likes to push your buttons sometimes."
Misao…oh, yeah. She does like to do that. It annoys me to no end…but the way she does sometimes is rather…c-cute…
"Aw, whatevs. I'm gonna go take a nap before I have to start packing. What are you gonna do? Hang out with Misao?"
"No. Misao's going on a trip with her family tomorrow. She went home early this morning to pack and I don't want to bother her."
"I see. Well, I'm sure you'll think of something. Later."
"Yeah. Later." I said as I stared at the milk-less bowl of cereal in front of me. I'm honestly not in the mood to eat anything. The thoughts of seeing Misao in that way are clouding my sense of hunger.
This was a truly big deal for me. I mean…not only did I fall in love with my best friend, but my best friend is another girl. And despite people claiming that it's no longer a problem, homosexuality is still heavily frowned upon in certain areas.
I want to see where this goes…getting together with Misao and playing out as the book described it all (it's still really creepy how that character is near identical to me). But there's always the possibility that it won't work out as the book strangely predicted. That it was all just a huge coincidence that characters that resemble Misao and I realized their love for each other and began a lesbian romantic relationship. And our current friendship will forever be stained with awkwardness.
Plus…I'm not sure how I should even go through with it. It's not like I can just ask an actual lesbian for advice or anything.
…
W-Wait a minute…
I picked up my phone and searched for a specific contact to talk to. Then I typed a simple text that may give me all the answers I need to figure out what to do in this deep situation I'm in.
"Hey, are you busy today? I need advice on something."
And then, just a few minutes later…
*NOTIFICATION CHIME*
"Sure, Cousin. I'm free. Come by anytime."
Yes! She's available! I'm one step closer to knowing what to do!
…
And knowing for sure if my feelings for Misao are truly justified.
Author's Note: After reading the light novel handed off to them, Misao and Ayano both realize that its events are a lot more accurate than they originally believed as a coincidence. And now they wonder if they should continue the path that the book had strangely predicted.
As they both try to understand their true feelings.
This is a different approach to how I normally write romance stories. Normally, the characters don't realize their romantic feelings for each other until the second-to-last or even the very last chapter. With this one, I decided to have this point earlier in the story. It might help in future chapters…especially since I don't know how long this one's going to be. Perhaps 12 chapters. Maybe close to 15. I haven't decided yet.
Also, I forgot to mention this earlier. Ayuko is the name I gave to Ayano's older sister. Since her actual name (alongside appearance and personality) is completely unknown. As far as I know. Her name was brought up in chapter 2. But I forgot to mention it then.
Thanks for reading. Later.