Koharu Miura stood frozen in place, letting the evening wind mess up her hair and scatter the calm she had worked so hard to maintain.
“Whoa, isn’t that super dramatic? That’s some juicy plot right there.”
“Ugh, it’s just wishful thinking. Tickets have been sold out for a while. I don’t know what they were thinking. When my buddy tried to grab two for me, they told him they were already gone… He didn’t expect them to stop selling so early.”
“Really? It’s an Anniversary, right? What are they thinking?”
“Who knows? Those Band geniuses are on a completely different wavelength than the rest of us.”
After several people stepped out of the convenience store, they walked away, swearing and laughing together.
…Koharu Miura stood behind them at the convenience store entrance, her mind a tangled mess.
‘Arisa Kiyono is leaving the group?’
‘And it’s because of a fallout with the other members… to the point where they’d embarrass her on Stage to force her Graduation?’
‘What the hell?’
‘It’s impossible.’
In the original Game, she had never entered Arisa Kiyono’s Personal Route — but even so, in the screen time and scenes that appeared in the Common Route, Arisa Kiyono and her group members, even if they couldn’t be described as inseparable, maintained a high level of harmony.
That warm and friendly girl with long chestnut hair, who loved Idol activities, treated the members of her group like her best friends.
‘It’s completely different from the current rumors of mutual hatred.’
…Koharu Miura had also wondered if something like a “one versus nine” conflict had happened in the background story before the Game’s plot began… but that lacked logic.
That set of performance clothes that Arisa Kiyono cherished had appeared at the Store Street roadshow last time.
The ones performing with Arisa Kiyono were undoubtedly those Girls.
‘Then, what exactly is the situation now?’
” …But, if that’s the case, it would actually explain her attitude toward the Stage and why she wasn’t at the previous street performance.”
Because she already felt a rift regarding her Idol activities or the group, her attitude toward the Anniversary was negative, and she didn’t participate in the roadshow with the members.
But.
” …I can’t accept it.”
Even if there were parts that seemed easily self-consistent, Koharu Miura was still unwilling to admit it was the truth.
If what those people who just left said was the truth of “this World.”
Then what kind of harsh “Reality” was Arisa Kiyono experiencing?
Avoiding contact with others, not wanting to be noticed, and going to the KTV alone to practice singing.
Then, she was even being ostracized by the place where she belonged.
The partners who were supposed to be her close friends, her support, and her safe harbor were actually going to humiliate her in public to force her to leave the group during the Anniversary?
Don’t be ridiculous.
Since this was the World of a Text Adventure Game, a World based on that lighthearted school-themed Game —
— As one of the Heroines, she shouldn’t have to face such a situation.
Koharu Miura suddenly remembered the expression of self-abandonment Arisa Kiyono had when she handed her the ticket.
— “If you don’t go, then throw it away.”
Was the heavy emotion contained in those words even more unbearable than she had previously thought?
If it really was like those people said, and the Anniversary was a carefully planned trial to expel her…
Could Arisa Kiyono’s plot really return to its original track?
Koharu Miura stood at the entrance of the crowded convenience store as the sunset completely sank into the distant skyscrapers.
An unprecedented sense of oppression surged from all directions.
— She was just a Supporting Character trying hard to balance the plot to stay alive.
But now, she suspected that another life, one belonging to a Protagonist, was also struggling in the Abyss.
” …Calm down. I can’t do anything by going there now.”
Koharu Miura took a deep breath, forcing her chaotic brain back onto the track of rational operation.
Right now, she didn’t even have the ticket on her, so she had no legitimate reason to look for Arisa Kiyono.
Given Arisa Kiyono’s current state, any abrupt appearance or inexplicable concern would likely be treated as a probe with ulterior motives.
The sun had already set; she couldn’t stay here long.
” — Avoid them and go Home first.”
Koharu Miura tightened her grip on the Mobile Phone in her Student Bag, let out a long breath, and then headed toward the Station.
……
Sitting on the swaying bus for the return trip, Koharu Miura leaned against the window, watching the city neon lights retreating outside, while a violent brainstorm occurred in her mind.
— Infighting, ostracization, and forced Graduation…
These words were nothing more than entertainment and gossip in the mouths of others, but if they were true, it would not only be a major blow to Arisa Kiyono but would also cause a deviation in the plot Kanzaki Sou was supposed to experience later.
It was still too early to solve the problem. Although there seemed to be some progress, if she didn’t find out what happened between Arisa Kiyono and the members, subsequent efforts would have no place to start.
” …This is a huge mess.”
Koharu Miura desperately wished she could ask someone for help right now.
But she was just a High School girl. In the eyes of others, her personality was introverted and her presence was thin; she looked like she couldn’t do anything.
— In Arisa Kiyono’s case, Koharu Miura really couldn’t do much with her current conditions.
‘The only way is still to become her “Friend” first.’
‘It has to be… step by step.’
‘I must find out the source of her fear before the Anniversary.’
…Why would Arisa Kiyono, who was as warm and friendly as a little sun in the original Game, appear so pathetic in this World?
Where did that talk about having a “bad personality and acting like a diva” come from?
Was it a rumor? Or was it content deliberately released by the group members to spread rumors?
Or was it… hype from the agency?
In a situation with insufficient information, all these conjectures were possible — she needed time to investigate the specific situation.
Fortunately, the current time was much earlier than when Kanzaki Sou and Arisa Kiyono officially met in the Game… so, in terms of time, she still had a chance to achieve her goal.
‘Let’s start by “becoming familiar” with her.’
She said to herself in her heart.
She didn’t expect to become a confidant in one step, but at the very least, when they brushed past each other at School, the other girl shouldn’t immediately show that kind of guarded expression.
She had to make Arisa Kiyono feel that Koharu Miura was a background character who could be tolerated within a safe distance.
……
By the time she returned Home, the sky was completely dark.
The light in the Genkan was still on.
Koharu Miura changed her shoes, trying to make her movements look natural so as not to worry her Parents; then, she avoided her Parents’ concerned inquiries and returned to her Bedroom.
She didn’t turn on the light. She just closed the door and collapsed onto the soft Bed.
Turning her head to the side, Koharu Miura stared at the closed drawer of her nightstand.