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After the Hobbyists’ first meetup, Minori and Nene spent all their time together, even if it was only texting each other nonstop. Granted, it was in the group chat that all four of them spent all their time together because they all agreed that they were friendless losers—but Minori and Nene managed to be the most friendless and the biggest losers.
The two of them would stay up late and night, way after Honami and Mizuki were sleeping, and make small talk about anything at all, no matter how boring. If it was raining outside, they would make it a thirty-minute conversation of useless, not-so-fun facts about irrigation and evaporation. If there was a spider on Nene’s wall, Minori would have her describe every little detail until she could figure out what it was by browsing in her enormous book of spiders she kept near her bedside.
It didn’t matter. They just enjoyed talking to one another. Even if they didn’t meet up often.
After another wild night of talking about nothing at all, a sudden Night Code PM from Minori made her heart skip a beat.
Hey, do you wanna meet in person after school tomorrow? Just us? My school ends half-day tomorrow since it’s the end of the semester.
As Nene read and re-read the message, her heart jolted back to life as if resuscitated by anxiety and became a bomb in her chest, threating to blow at even the slightest bit of kindness. Mizuki, Honami, and Minori were always so nice to her; that was always odd considering Nene knew only the negativity online, at school, and in her head before them.
Not really knowing how to reply, she sat, paralyzed, as if one of the little snakes strewn about her gaming chair had bitten her, stewing in her own ineptitude. Fingers like stone lingered over the keyboard as she watched each individual period in the ellipsis of the Empress Idolizer is typing… notification bounce up and down many times. Until she finished.
Wah! I mean, we don’t have to do it, Viper-chan! I get you may want to spend your first day of vacation with your family or playing games! It’s totally up to you!
Minori was always so adorable whenever she typed out ‘wah!’; it was like Nene could hear it! That aside, though, she couldn’t help but panic a bit after she read her message. Clearly, her silence was being seen as an obfuscated objection in Minori’s mind. Nene couldn’t let that slide, could she?
She had her reservations about Minori’s suggestion. None of it was her fault, of course. Nene was just averse to socialization in real life most of the time. Her social anxiety and terrible experiences with bullying in elementary school were to blame, but she was working on moving past that. Regardless, she knew deep in her heart things would probably be fine. You don’t make a deal with a viper and cut off its head, right?
They were just going out to have fun. It would be like the group’s first meeting. But it was just them. But she was closest to Minori, so it would be fine.
After taking a deep breath, Nene mashed her fingers against the keys, typing, deleting, and typing again until she had a message she was satisfied with.
Sure. I’d love to. Where are we going, though?
It only took a couple of seconds for Nene to receive Minori’s next message. Phoenix Wonderland!
Nene stared at the computer screen as the message had sucked her soul out of her. That place was known for being the stomping grounds of young children having tantrums and unsafe, unsteady rides that made your stomach do somersaults. One ride in particular, the Spin-Spin Happiness☆Wheel—a fast-spinning carousel, inappropriately named by the owner’s youngest daughter since it caused so much calamity and pain for others—was pretty much always coated in puke. It was supposedly a place where dreams came true, but online, many people had described it as a nightmare. It was the worst place they could go.
But anyone could understand why Minori wanted to go there. Phoenix Wonderland was where her favorite ex-idol, Haruka Kiritani, had worked now, as a part of a four-girl performance troupe. Nene didn’t understand why she stopped being an idol, but there were certainly better options than that place. Like becoming a TV personality or doing independent shows on social media.
Regardless, when Minori had her mind set to something, there was little use arguing with her afterward. Minori had posters of Haruka Kiritani all over her wall, owned many copies of all of ASRUN’s—Haruka Kiritani’s old idol group’s—CDs, and had a well-crafted wooden shrine dedicated to Haruka, which she supposedly prayed to every night according to her. Nene was roped into this creepy safari hunt, and there were no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
Nene wasn’t religious, but she said a quick prayer to every god she could think of hoping the supposedly shady bodyguards wouldn’t beat them up or something if Minori stole a straw from Haruka’s drink or something when they got there and then typed a simple message.
OK.
Minori’s next message came instantly. Just ‘OK’? We’re going to see Haruka Kiritani perform live! Isn’t that exciting!?
Truth be told, it wasn’t. Nene was never really a fan of idols. Their singing and dancing were always cute, but that chipper upbeat music wasn’t for her. She had grown up off gritty rock and metal, and the intricate orchestral compositions of video games, so that cute idol music never meshed well with her. But she appreciated Minori’s enthusiasm. Not wanting to disappoint Minori, she paused for a second, fabricating as enthusiastic a response as she could in her head before she started typing again.
Yeah, actually! I’m excited to see her dance and sing like in LINE BY LINE! We’re going to have so much fun!
Nene hoped Minori didn’t realize that she was being a bit too enthusiastic, or that she had just named ASRUN’s most popular song because she couldn’t think of any others. Luckily, though, that all seemed to go over her head.
YAY! I’ve converted you to the Church of Haruka-chan! May I now regale you with song? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° )
Before Nene even had a chance to respond, Minori typed out the lyrics of LINE BY LINE… line by line. Nene’s poor computer sounded like a police siren as a flurry of messages came in, probably faster than Night Code could handle. It was annoying… But cute and endearing, too…
After Minori finished, she then told Nene she was getting tired, and she needed to rest up for their last day of school. And, more importantly, their trip to Phoenix Wonderland. The two said their goodnights and Nene played a couple of ARAM games in League of Legends before turning off her computer and heading to bed herself.
As she laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling, Nene couldn’t help but think about Minori. As awful as Phoenix Wonderland was, it was going to be nice to see her smiling face again. In fact, the thought of it let her drift off the sleep rather peacefully, only interrupted by thoughts of security dragging them out after something Minori did a couple of times before she finally passed out.
“Phoenix Wonderland!” Minori exclaimed as she threw her hands up in the air, like the excitable protagonist of a slice of life anime.
Despite the long time that Nene had spent waiting outside of Miyamasuzaka for Minori to change out of her school uniform and into a red tee, booty shorts, and white sneakers, and egregiously exorbitant entrance fee, they were finally inside of Phoenix Wonderland.
At the moment, it wasn’t as bad as Nene expected. There was only one loud, crying toddler. So, maybe those gods from last night were being merciful to her.
“We’re here,” Nene said, fiddling with the strap of her computer bag. “Now, uh, what do we do?”
“We go looking for Haruka-chan, duh!” Minori clapped her hands together. “I have a classmate who works with her, and she should be on duty today! Maybe if we walk around a bit, we’ll find her and we can ask her where she is!”
Nene nodded, then hummed. “Can’t you just call her? I think that might be better than going around on a wild goose chase.”
Easier on her legs, too. Nene didn’t know why they ever insisted that they should still have PE of all things on the last day of school. Kids would run wild out of the streets like animals breaking out of a zoo the moment that last bell rang, anyway. They would get plenty of exercise.
“Well, uh…” Minori’s lips curled into an awkward, nervous smile. Oh, no. “See, that girl and I used to be friends, but we got into a fight recently, so I don’t know if we’re friends anymore. You, uh, you don’t want to know what it’s about. But it’s my fault! And I want to say sorry, but I’m slowly working up the confidence, y’know? And I’ll get there! But, like, it’s staff policy that they help us in any way possible! You’ll just need to do the talking!”
When did Nene agree to do the talking to some stranger that she hadn’t even met before that apparently didn’t even like Minori!? Nene would stutter and stammer through her words like a broken record if left to do that!
Well, Nene knew she was not going with that wholly stupid plan that had so many holes in it they would want to hole themselves back in their rooms afterward. They were going to go with Plan B… The wild goose chase…
“Let’s… just see if we can find Haruka Kiritani directly, okay?” Nene said, her voice soft and unconfident. “We… we can probably find her. I’m sure you’ll be able to pick her out of a crowd…”
Minori tapped her finger against her chin and nodded. “Mhm, you’re probably right in that! Let’s get rid of the middle man and hope we get lucky! I’m sure if we walk around long enough, we’ll probably see her! Plus, I’m sure we’ll be able to catch her after her show if she’s performing today!”
“Y-Yeah… Let’s do our best.”
Nene unconfidently pumped a fist in the air similar to how Minori told her the ASRUN girls used to do after every show to appease her; Minori did the same with far more enthusiasm. Her legs would hate her for walking around so much, but maybe they would find Haruka Kiritani before they ached too badly.
Without wanting to waste anymore time, Nene led Minori around the winding amusement park aimlessly. The two of them didn’t know where they were going since Nene had never been and Minori had only been a few times with her parents when she was little. And by the time Minori had remembered that you could get a map for free at the entrance, they were already too lost to figure out how to get back.
After walking for what felt like hours, but had only been eight minutes according to Nene’s phone, the two girls had finally found a girl in an odd purple and white dress adorned with multi-colored pom pom balls, who looked to be a member of staff. Screw it. If Nene had to talk to someone to figure out where they were, she would endure the torture.
Nene walked up to the girl and tapped her on the shoulder. “E-Excuse me. Can you, um, h-help us?”
The girl turned around and offered a small smile, but as she was about to speak, Minori giggled to herself. As the girl’s lips twitched and Nene got a good look at her face, she figured out who she was. This was Mafuyu Asahina, an upperclassman of Minori’s, who she told her about all the time. She was one of the smartest girls at her school, athletic, and on the student council. All in all, she was the perfect student, loved by everyone.
However, she dated a girl called Kanade Yoisaki, who was now a member of this new idol group on the scene called ‘YUME YUME JUMP.’ They were childhood friends who met online and bonded over their love of musicals. Everyone who had seen the two of them together would describe them as the ‘yin and yang couple.’ Partly because Kanade Yoisaki was known to wear light colors while Mafuyu Asahina wore dark ones, but mostly because they seemed to complete each other.
That story of robust romance only lasted a couple months, though. Their friend, Honami Mochizuki, as indecisive about her future as ever, decided that she would try out housekeeping. Little did she know, she would be under rich little Miss Kanade Yoisaki’s employ, and the two would have a whirlwind romance right under everyone’s noses. When Asahina found out, she was devastated, and the two had a big breakup over it, which became the talk of their school. And the buzz about it still hadn’t died down.
Apparently, according to Minori and Honami, that was just the kind of hellscape their school was. It was a breeding ground for toxicity and rumors, and the girls were relentless hunters who preyed upon anyone they could in order to feel better about themselves at every opportunity. Honami and Yoisaki had both come out of it all relatively unscathed, but Asahina wasn’t so lucky.
Nene felt bad. And she didn’t want Minori to get into any trouble, so she swatted her shoulder gently and mouthed ‘stop’ to her before turning her attention back to Asahina, who could finally speak.
“Right, pardon the interruption! Welcome to Phoenix Wonderland!” Asahina threw her arms up in the air and spun around. “The land where fun is plenty! And smiles are many! Yay! How may I help you today?”
A smile as bright as a supernova emphasized Mafuyu’s saccharine words. It seemed like all her vitriol had dissipated completely. Or she was just a really, really excellent actress.
Asahina hummed, deep in thought before she spoke. “I’m sorry to tell you, but Haruka-chan isn’t here at the moment! She’ll be running a little late! But we’ll perform soon! I’m sure you’ll be able to catch her afterward!” She bowed. “I hope you’ll stick around to see it! It’ll be in about thirty minutes! Sorry to disappoint again!”
After Asahina finished speaking, Minori’s mood deflated in an instant, like a balloon, and a wide frown stretched across her lips. That wasn’t good.
Personally, Nene didn’t mind the wait, but she understood why Minori wanted to see Haruka Kiritani right away. She had been so excited about this day that she probably wanted to spend as much time as she could with her. Only getting to see her after the show with a legion of fans swarming her and barely being able to get a word in because of it would be pretty depressing.
Nene didn’t know what to do in order to make Minori feel better, but she gently slapped her shoulder and said, “Hey, hey, um, don’t be sad! We’re going to watch her perform live like we planned! Isn’t that exciting, Minori?”
She then tilted her head toward Asahina as if to tell her to do something. Nene knew it was none of her business, but she needed any help she could get to make Minori smile again. She didn’t want her to stay upset.
With the briefest roll of her eyes, Asahina took the bait and spoke to Minori with that same bright smile in that sweet, calm voice of hers. “There’s no need to be sad, Minori-chan, was it? Haruka-chan is going to be here soon! In fact, this performance is going to be one of our best yet! She’s the lead character and you really, really don’t want to miss it! And if you get there early, you’ll be able to have front row seats!”
All Asahina said was some asinine corporate jargon, but a quick glance at Minori’s face, which was lit up like fireworks, proved that it was what she needed.
“Wah!? Really!? Haruka-chan will really be the main character of the show!?” she asked.
Asahina nodded. “Mhm! I wrote this script with Haruka-chan being the hero in mind! It came out really great and I’m sure you’re going to love it! It’ll be so amazing, you just have to see it!”
“Woah!” Minori’s eyes sparkled like polished diamonds as she stared at Asahina. “Really!? Haruka-chan is going to be the hero!? I have to see it! Thank you so much, Asahina-senpai!” She looked like she was about to run up and hug her, but then stopped, placing her hands on her head. “Wah! But we have no clue where we’re going… I don’t even really know where the stage is!”
Asahina balled her hand into a fist and pressed it against her mouth, clearing her throat before striking a valiant pose. “Fear not! The unbeatable and shining upperclassman, Goodness Smile, Mafuyu Asahina, will come to your rescue!” With an exaggerated laugh that sounded a little forced, Mafuyu reached into her pocket and pulled out two maps before handing them to Nene and Minori. “With these maps, you’ll be able to get anywhere you want to go! I hope you’ll enjoy Phoenix Wonderland a bunch!”
“E-Er, thank you, Asahina-san—Asahina-senpai, we’ll be sure to, um… We’ll enjoy Phoenix Wonderland a bunch!” Nene bowed. “Thank you so much!”
Minori followed, bowing so hurriedly and vigorously that she might’ve accidentally slipped and crashed her head against the pavement. “Thank you so much!”
Asahina gave a demure wave and a thin, closed-lipped smile. “Please, please. At Phoenix Wonderland, we want everyone on the premises to smile. Happy to help, really! Let’s make sure we all have a good time! And watch out for Goodness Smile, Mafuyu Asahina on stage! The powerful and unbeatable senpai!”
“I can’t wait! Oh!” Minori reached into her pocket and pulled her phone out. “Can I take a picture of you? Please!?”
Asahina nodded. “Mhm. Should I keep my pose just like now?”
“Yeah!” Minori then hovered around Mafuyu and took a couple of quick photos. “And done. Wanna see?”
“Okay,” Asahina said with another nod. “Show me.”
Nene wanted to see, too, so she sauntered closer to the two other girls. Mafuyu really did look like an actress on a Saturday morning Sentai show. In the photos, she radiated power and courage; she embodied the kind of person who could stand up against any adversity. The heroes Nene admired as a kid. She couldn’t help but smile a little. Asahina did, too, clearly pleased with her performance.
“You know, Asahina-senpai,” Minori started, “we should hang out at school more. You’re really, really cool! And you’ve helped a lot today! Oh! That is, if you don’t mind, of course! I don’t want to take up your time if you’re, like, busy studying or something!”
Asahina blinked, then spoke one word in a frigid tone, which was unlike anything she had said before. “Why?”
“Well, I think you’re a nice person!” Minori said. “And I like nice people, so I want to be your friend! That’s all there is to it!”
Asahina went silent, clearly taking in everything that was just said. Then she sniffled, wiping her eyes with her thumb. Was she about to cry?
“A-Ah? Yes, Hanasato-san,” she started, her lips curling into a small smile. “I… I would like to be your friend. Can we take another picture together?”
Minori beamed and nodded. “Of course!”
Since nothing really seemed to happen at Phoenix Wonderland at the moment, Minori and Nene sat at the food court, eating oily, refried chicken fingers like two sad grandmas eating their grandkids’ birthday cake.
Their trip to Phoenix Wonderland wasn’t as bad as Nene was expecting. The reviews online were mostly negative, but it wasn’t that bad so far. Then again, Nene didn’t go on the supposedly rickety rides yet—and didn’t plan to either—so she probably wouldn’t truly see what all the rage was about.
“Are you excited, Nene-chan?” Minori asked. “I’ve been counting! In exactly seven minutes, Haruka-chan is going to be here!”
Nene thought it was sort of impressive that she had been counting for so long, but she supposed excitement made anyone do wild things. Regardless, she nodded. “Mhm. I’m actually curious what kind of show that, uh, what was it called…? Something, something… Sunny☆Wonder?”
“Happiness Rangers Sunny Sunny☆Wonder!” Minori said.
“Yeah, Happiness Rangers… I’m curious about what show they’ll perform. I’m pretty excited to see it.”
Especially since it would be a musical, if the brochure they had found with today’s event schedule was to be believed. Nene loved musicals, and she rarely got to see any performed live. It was especially exciting considering that the Happiness Rangers wrote and performed all their material themselves. If it didn’t flop hard, Nene would probably hum along to the songs loudly, like a fool. But she was prepared for that embarrassment, maybe.
“I am, too! I’m really excited to see what they do with Haruka-chan’s role. ASRUN had a lot of darker songs during their Cynic era, and that was when Haruka-chan left the group! So, it’s going to be exciting to see a brighter, more heroic Haruka again!”
Nene had remembered that, actually. Minori had ranted to the group on more than one occasion about how the Cynic era had ruined ASRUN’s image of being kind, sweet, good girls by trying to turn them into daring divas, doubtful of what they were doing, and that drove them to their own demise. Emotionally, anyway—ASRUN’s new image was a hit with old and new fans alike. But according to Minori, the girls seemed sadder while performing, and many conspiracy theorists had penned the Cynic era to be the reason Haruka Kiritani left the group.
Then, a question came to Nene that she was shocked that she had never asked before. “Hey, why do you like Haruka Kiritani? If I can ask. I don’t think you’ve ever told me.”
Minori went silent for a second, tapping her nails against the wooden table. At first, Nene thought she was deep in thought because she wasn’t exactly sure why, but the frown on her face enlightened her to the fact that it wasn’t going to be a happy story. Still, her face took on a bittersweet expression when she started speaking.
“My mom was an idol when she was young,” Minori started, clasping her hands together and digging her nails into her knuckles. “So, we used to watch a bunch of different idol shows together when I was a little kid. I, uh, I was never great at talking to others. I was always so shy and the other girls in elementary school… and middle school… would always leave me out of everything. Plus, Mom wouldn’t ever really let me go to parties or anything since she was always so protective. So, uh, the idols on my screen sort of became my friends! Sort of, that’s, um, that’s silly, but you get what I’m trying to say.”
It didn’t sound all that silly to Nene. She was sort of the same. The kids in elementary and middle school left her out of everything, too, so she adapted to enjoying herself in the online spaces where she was welcome. Anonymity was sort of a gift to her. Nobody could judge how she spoke unconfidently or how she dressed. They just saw text on a screen and sometimes her skills in a game.
“I get it,” Nene said, looking down at the table. “Our hobbies, uh, they distract us… from that sort of bad stuff.”
“Yeah. You get it, but that’s not all, though.” Minori sighed softly. “When I was twelve, my mom… She developed cancer, right? I think I told you about that. But, uh, around that time, Haruka Kiritani came onto the scene as ASRUN’s newest member. I had been keeping up with ASRUN news a lot before, but I was like, ‘woah, a girl my age! And she can sing and dance so well! That’s so cool!’ I watched Haruka-chan fight to get to the top like how my mom was fighting cancer… And I was there fighting alongside both of them, rooting for them. And… while Haruka won, my mom lost her battle. I was always sure to look up stuff about Haruka-chan every day so I could tell my mom about how much of a rising star she was… until I couldn’t anymore about a year later. She, uh, she had a long run...”
Misty-eyed, Minori beamed, her grin forced and ugly. Maybe it was wrong to think, but it made Nene feel sick. She didn’t want to ruin Minori’s clothes with her greasy fingers, so she patted her shoulders with the bottom of her palms.
“You don’t need to force it,” Nene said. “If you want to cry, you can cry. I get that it’s hard for you. You don’t need to smile for my sake.”
“I’m not smiling for your sake,” Minori corrected. “I’m smiling because you have to smile through any adversity. That's what true strength is. It’s just show biz, baby.”
That must’ve been one of Haruka’s quotes. Regardless, Nene let it slide. She didn’t think it was healthy, but she wasn’t the authority on grief. Whenever she was miserable, Nene liked to sit with her emotions and process them. But she knew not everyone was the same. Minori’s coping methods were part of another conversation for another day. Right now, she just wanted to show that she was here for her.
“I’m sorry for your loss and all that, and I’m glad that Haruka Kiritani can make you happy,” Nene said. “You’re strong. And I hope that we’ll have a fun time seeing her show today, too.”
Minori nodded. “Yeah! I, uh, I’ll tell my mom all about it when I pray tonight. I’m sure she’ll really appreciate it.” She then paused. “Oh. The, uh, the ‘Haruka Shrine’ isn’t really a Haruka Shrine.” She awkwardly tapped her thumbs against her fingers. “I just… I call it that… Cringe, I know. But, um, it… helps… Because, y’know, it’s what we bonded over…”
Nene hummed. That was kind of odd, but Minori was an oddball. It was fine. If it helped, it helped.
“Yeah? It’s okay.” Nene donned a small smile. “I’m sure she would love to hear about it.”
“Minori-chan!” a voice came from behind them.
Both Nene and Minori turned in their seats and looked behind them where a blonde girl their age, similarly dressed to Mafuyu, except wearing magenta instead of purple, was running over to them. She didn’t look very athletic, but she still ran as fast as she could.
Minori froze in her seat, but offered an awkward wave to the girl as she stopped in front of them, panting. “A-Ah, Hello, Kohane-chan. How are you?”
“I’m good.” The girl, whose name was apparently Kohane, frowned and kicked at the ground. “Look, I’m sorry we had that fight about ASRUN. I take back what I said. I really, really under-credited the Hocus era. Going back to some of their older songs, I learned they had some really, really fun instrumentation… I… know I said some really mean things that hurt your feelings. And I want to apologize.”
Minori shook her head. “No, it’s fine. I… I think I said too many bad things about the Cynic era, too. If you like it, that’s fine. I shouldn’t have been trying to tell you it was bad. I was mean, too. Can you forgive me?”
“I can.” Kohane nodded. “If you can forgive me… I want to be friends again.”
Minori’s face lit up. “Deal!”
This must’ve been the girl that she was talking about earlier. Nene figured that the fight was over something like their taste in music, and she found that idea sort of silly at first. But when she remembered how she had fallen out with friends over opinions on games, it sort of made more sense to her. It was good that they could make up, at least.
Nene wanted to say, Are you going to introduce me? but decided against it. She wasn’t brave enough. So, she just sort of stared at the table and waited for Minori, who soon figured out what to do.
“Oh, Kohane-chan, this is my friend, Nene Kusanagi,” Minori said as she gestured to Nene. “Nene-chan, this is my friend, Kohane Azusawa! I hope you guys can get along.”
“Oh? It’s nice to meet you, Kusanagi-san,” Kohane said with a small bow.
Nene bowed back. “Y-You, too, Azusawa-chan… I h-hope we can get along…”
“Mhm! I hate to cut this chat short, but the show’s about to start!” Kohane said. “Asahina-senpai told me you guys were here to watch it, right? Go now! There are still front row seats!”
Minori shot up out of her seat like a rocket. “Wah!? Really!? I don’t wanna miss the front row seats! C’mon, Nene-chan! Let’s go, let’s go!”
Minori wrapped a hand around the sleeve of Nene’s jade jacket. Ironically, it was now her clothes, which were being covered in grease. But it was fine. Her jacket could wash and Nene did want front row seats to this show. But she was sure that even if she wasn’t excited, that would be the case. Minori’s enthusiasm was infectious; Nene wanted to keep seeing her smile.
Nene enjoyed the show more than she thought she would. All the girls involved had a natural talent for acting, and singing, too, strangely enough. Nene expected that Haruka Kiritani could sing well, but everyone on stage could keep up with her.
The show was a simple premise, but something that she enjoyed a lot. Goodness Smile actually had an alter ego by the name of Darkness Smile, who was a violent villainess; the direct contrast of Goodness Smile’s goody-two-shoes personality. It was a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde kind of deal. Asahina would switch between the two roles seemingly on the fly on stage, and her character was caught in the middle of all of that anguish, her soul bearing both good and evil.
Asahina wanted to overcome Darkness Smile, but she couldn’t. Even when she fought against her friends and Mafuyu begged her alter ego to stop with actual tears, she wouldn’t.
It was only through a rather melodramatic conversation with Haruka Kiritani, the Stoic Challenger, who placed her belief in her and vowed to stand with her through any adversity that she didn’t quite overcome her alter ego, but declared she would take life back into her own hands and tried to make Darkness Smile weaker with the power of her sheer, unbending will. She would find a way to not let it control her anymore.
Haruka and Darkness Smile had one last well-choreographed battle with glowing swords. Nene and Minori gasped a few times as the Stoic Challenger did a somersault and landed on her knee, fending off Darkness Smile’s swift strikes.
The battle ended with Darkness Smile defeated and the Stoic Challenger taking Goodness Smile’s hand and helping her to her feet. All the girls came on stage and bowed, and they were met with a roaring applause.
They really deserved it.
And apparently, future shows were going to go deeper into Goodness Smile’s and the Stoic Challenger’s characters. Nene would probably come back and see them if given the chance. Their acting was really that impressive. And Nene was actually driven to tears twice. She hid them well, though.
And now, they were backstage at Azusawa's and Asahina’s request. To meet the woman of the hour herself.
Haruka Kiritani peeked out of the dressing room and Nene could’ve sworn that she saw Minori’s soul leave her body from the sheer pressure of the situation. Nene was honestly right there with her. This was her first time meeting a properly famous person.
“Ah, Hanasato-san, right?” Kiritani started. “And you… I don’t know you. What’s your name?”
“A-Ah!” Nene figured she must’ve been talking about her. Well, no, she was talking about her. She had addressed Minori already. “N-Nene Kusanagi! It’s nice to meet you!”
Nene bowed and looked over at Minori who was muttering, ‘Haruka-chan knows my name,’ over and over. It clearly made Haruka giggle.
“Well, yes, I know your name,” Haruka said. “We go to the same school and we’re in the same year. Not to mention, I always catch you looking at me at school. But we’ve never talked. And I’ve always thought that a shame. Oh, these are for both of you, by the way.”
Haruka reached into her pocket and pulled out two signed cards with a picture of her sitting on one of the benches in the park with her legs lapped, that ‘it’s show biz, baby’ quote from earlier in fine print next to her winking face. It must’ve been a popular quote.
“Fan of mine?” Kiritani asked Minori, even though the answer was probably obvious from her demeanor.
“A-Ah! Yes!” Minori nodded. “Yes, yes, yes! I own multiple copies of your CDs and vinyls! And I’ve bought a bunch of your merch! And I still listen to all your old songs! And I’m here to watch you perform! I might be one of the biggest Spring Blossoms in the world!” Minori then placed her hands over her mouth. “That’s weird, isn’t it?” She turned to Nene. “Is that weird? Should I have said that?”
Kiritani snorted in response. “Yeah, it’s sort of weird. But I’m used to it. Saying you’re one of the biggest Spring Blossoms, though. Those are pretty big shoes to fill, but I believe you. It’s sort of cute how much you like me, actually. But seriously, though, you don’t have to go all this way just to talk to me. You can come talk to me at school anytime. I’m literally right down the hall. I’ve actually been interested in being friends with you, too. Just don’t go collecting my hair or fingernails.”
“R-Really!? I didn’t want to bother you, but okay! Sure, sure! I-I can do that!” She then bowed. “Thank you so much, Haruka-chan! Wait, can I call you Haruka-chan?”
A snicker, sweet like candy, slipped from Kiritani’s lips. “I’m fine with it. I have to be able to call you ‘Minori-chan,’ though. That reminds me. Can I have your number? Since we’re on vacation and everything. I’m not really going to be ‘just down the hall’ anymore for a while.”
“Haruka-chan wants my number?” Minori muttered to herself, as if she had just heard the craziest thing ever. Then, she nodded frantically, as if taking too long would cause her to miss her chance. “Ah! Yes, yes! Sure! T-Thank you so much, Haruka-chan!” She bowed again, then felt around her body like she lost her keys before pulling her phone from her pocket and handing it to Haruka. “Thank you so much.”
“Any time, Minori-chan.” Kiritani took her phone from her and exchanged numbers with her before handing it back. “But really, I should head back inside. The other girls and I agreed we’d have a barbeque backstage for a performance well done.” She then whispered, “I really don’t trust Emu-chan around a grill, so I’ll see you soon, Minori-chan. And you, too, Nene Kusanagi. I hope you both come back to see the next show!”
And just like that, their brief interaction ended. And Minori seemed to be over the moon, jumping up and down like she was on it. This was clearly one of the happiest days of her life. But something felt wrong—because Nene wasn’t happy with her.
No matter how she tried, she couldn’t smile for Minori. Part of her felt like a rotten friend for that, because it was absolutely baffling. But as Nene stewed in her misery, she soon came upon the horrid reason.
“A-Ah! Nene-chan, you’re frowning!” Minori frowned. “Is something wrong?”
“A-Ah, u-um…” Nene debated whether it would be best to tell the truth. She figured that she’d bite the bullet. It would probably be best to get it out of her system. “P-Promise you won’t hate me afterward? No matter what I say?”
“I promise,” Minori said, crossing her heart. “You listened to me earlier, so now… I want to listen to you, too.”
“Ah, okay… Got it.” Nene still didn’t think things would go well, but you don’t make a deal with a viper and cut off its head. So, she trusted Minori's words. “W-Well, when we both joined the Hobbyists, we… we both didn’t really have any friends at that time. But now, well, after today… you have a lot of friends. Asahina-senpai, Azusawa-san, and now Kiritani-san, too… I guess I’m just… sort of worried? Like, what if you like them better than me… I mean, you’ve been waiting to talk to Haruka Kiritani forever and now you finally have a chance, right? So, um, I guess I’m worried I’m being replaced…”
With a frown, Minori took Nene’s hands. Nene couldn’t even look her in the eye. It was utterly pathetic.
“Well, does it seem like I’ll replace you?” Minori asked, her voice soft and kind.
That was a trick question, but was there even a correct answer to it? Nene played it safe. “I don’t know?”
“If I replaced you, who would listen to me talk about nothing in the Hobbyists’ group chat all the time?” she asked with a small chuckle.
“W-Well, um, you’d just… tell… um, you’d tell Kiritani-san about all of that stuff instead.”
Minori frowned and then pounded her head with one hand. “Wah! I’m really bad at this! I tried to play it cool, but you’re outwitting me… I wanted to do it like in the movies!” Minori then huffed. “What I’m trying to say is that nobody could replace you, Nene-chan! You’re way too important to me! Yeah, I have new friends now, but I’m not going to talk to them as much as I’m going to talk to you. Even Haruka-chan, I promise. Swear on everything.”
The strong sincerity in Minori’s words moved Nene to tears for the second time that day. She wasn’t used to that kind of kindness. Slowly, Minori wrapped her arms around her and shushed her, holding her in a tight hug that was so comfortable it made her feel like she was being swaddled in a blanket.
Then, Nene asked something that was maybe a little selfish, but she had already put it out there. “Will we always be best friends?”
Minori’s answer was immediate. “Mhm! Of course! No one else could be my best friend but you! And we’ll be best friends forever! I swear on everything!”
Nene couldn’t hold back any longer. She bawled her eyes out. Maybe Phoenix Wonderland was a place where dreams came true after all. There probably truly wasn’t a better start to the Hobbyists’ holiday.
And Nene was going to keep making more memories with her best friend, Minori.