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Mafuyu sat on a bench in the Miyamasuzaka school courtyard. Having nothing better to do, she pulled out her phone to check the time. It’s a while before I need to go to archery club, she thought. Glancing up, she noticed her peculiar pink-haired lowerclassman exiting a school building, looking upset about something.
Hmm… is something wrong with Otori-san? the purple-haired second year wondered. She wasn’t able to ponder it long before Emu noticed her.
“Hey, Asahina-senpai!!!” Emu waved enthusiastically and smiled, in sharp contrast to her previous appearance.
“Hi, Otori-san. I noticed your look just now. Is everything all right?” Mafuyu employed her good girl façade in a flash. That seemed to strike a nerve, because Emu’s smile disappeared just as quickly as Mafuyu’s appeared. Mafuyu added sweetly, “Don’t worry. You can tell me, if you want. It’s up to you, hehe.”
The younger girl hesitated but eventually decided to give a response, “O-oh, it’s just about one of my troupe mates...! N-nothing serious...!!”
“Did you get into a fight with him?” Mafuyu asked.
“N-no—” Emu paused in shock, “wait, how did you know this was about Tsukasa-kun?!?”
“Oh? Is that his name?” Mafuyu smirked. “I didn’t know before, but I do now, hehe~” She had helped other kids with a similar problem in the past, so she was able to quickly guess what was up. The question was whether the boisterous pink girl was willing to admit it or not. “If it wasn’t a fight, then…hmm… do you like this guy, perhaps?”
“Of course, I do! I like all my friends! They’re all very wonderhoy!”
Mafuyu was still unsure of the meaning of “wonderhoy” but elected not to comment on it at this point. “I’m glad to hear that, Otori-san, but that’s not the kind of ‘like’ I was referring to.”
“Hwah?!?” Eyeing the slight redness appearing on her lowerclassman’s face, Mafuyu knew her assumption was correct. She had aided other kids in romantic endeavors before, yes, but she couldn’t be certain she enjoyed helping them… she merely felt obligated to help others out when they are in need. This time however, she felt something different, perhaps a sense of…eagerness? She wasn’t quite sure… to help the younger one. The purple-haired girl promptly made a decision to do just that, if she possibly could.
“What school does your friend go to?” she asked calmly.
“Eh? Kamiyama High School. Why?”
What a fortunate coincidence. Mafuyu smiled, already planning to speak with a certain friend later. “Oh, no reason really~ Could you also tell me his surname?”
It was a lame excuse but somehow Emu was satisfied and gladly gave her more info, “He is Tenma Tsukasa, world future star!” Emu struck an odd pose as she said this.
What a strange individual this Otori Emu is… but Tenma Tsukasa sounds strange as well if she calls him “world future star.” Mafuyu kept these thoughts to herself and simply replied, “Thank you Otori-san! I will be rooting for you.” After she finished speaking, she checked the time and realized she needed to leave for club presently. “Ah, it’s time for me to leave, Otori-san. Let’s talk about this again later, okay?”
“Okayy~! Bye bye, Asahina-senpai!!” Emu waved eagerly and began to walk away herself.
I wonder why senpai is so interested in this...? the pink-haired girl thought as she walked, and glanced back to be met with Mafuyu’s characteristic fake smile. E-eh, better not question it. I’m sure she doesn’t mean any harm...! Yeah, for sure. She shook these thoughts from her mind as she left the school gates behind her and started in the direction of Phoenix Wonderland.
~~~~~~
Yawning boredly, Mizuki decided to mess around a bit on their phone. It wasn’t near 25:00 so the other N25 members weren’t online yet… or so they thought. To their surprise, there was a notification from… Yuki?! What does she want? She rarely DMs me like this.
Yuki: Amia, I need your help with something.
That was… not at all what they expected to hear from her.
Amia: What is it, Yuki? they typed quickly, very curious now.
Yuki: Do you know a certain Tenma Tsukasa?
Amia: Eh?? He goes to the same school as me. We’re not particularly close but I guess you could say we’re friends. Why are you asking?
Amia: Do you… perhaps like this guy? Mizuki thought they’d tease Mafuyu a little.
Yuki: No. I’m not asking for me, but for a friend. I haven’t even met him, that’s why I’m asking you.
Yuki: You probably don’t know her, her name is Otori Emu.
Why does that name sound familiar… Mizuki pondered before replying.
Amia: What’s this Emu person look like?
Yuki: Bright pink hair, big pink eyes, smiles a lot and is extremely energetic. But I fail to see the relevance…
Amia: Hmmm… I think I know someone of that description, actually. She likes to invade our school to see her friends.
Hehe, I always suspected she liked him, I saw her invade his class a few times. To think Tsukasa-senpai would always try so hard to hide her… so cute~
Yuki: She really is a strange individual, isn’t she? But to get to the point, I want you to find out how Tenma-san feels about Otori-san. I’d rather not give her confession tips and then have them go to waste.
Amia: You don’t want your tips to go to waste, huh? Why did you decide to give tips in the first place…?
Yuki: Because I am supposed to be a reliable senpai, obviously. Just do as I ask and inform me once you have results.
Yuki… it’s so weird to see her care about something like this… did she feel something...?
Amia: I will do as you ask~
~~~~~~
Emu chuckled to herself as she snuck into Kamiyama High as she had done many times in the past at this point. Now to go to 2-A and surprise Tsukasa-kun hehe! ~ He definitely won’t be expecting me here today! She had been told that today was a test day for many Kamiyama students, with Tsukasa implying that she should not by any means attempt to visit today. Emu wasn’t one to pay much attention to his warnings though. After all, if she did, she wouldn’t visit him at school at all. She couldn’t help it though! It got so lonely knowing the others were all at a different school, she wanted to see them there sometimes. Especially Tsukasa…
Soon, she came to his classroom, only to find someone had already approached him. Upon looking closer, she saw that it was Mizuki. I didn’t know Akiyama-san went to this school! Guess I’m the one who got surprised today haha!
“Oi, Tsukasa-senpai!! Can I talk to you for a minute?” Mizuki called to him.
“Hm? Mizuki? Do you need something?” The blonde replied with a tone of apprehension, considering they had tricked him in the past. Emu decided to just watch from the hallway for now, being very curious.
“I just wanted to ask you… is there anyone you like~?” Mizuki spoke with a very innocent tone.
“Eh? That’s- that’s private information, you know??” Tsukasa responded rather slowly.
“That means there is someone! So who is it, oh star performer?”
Emu was starting to feel a bit uneasy with the direction of their conversation but wasn’t sure why. Am I afraid of him mentioning someone else’s name? She quickly shook her head, this seems private, maybe I shouldn’t be here. Thus deciding, she rushed off. Little did she know that Tsukasa had noticed her right as she was leaving. “Emu?! Didn’t I tell you not to come today—hah?!? She ran off… that girl! Comes all this way when I told her not to and then doesn’t even say hello?!? What is with her…”
“So it’s that girl, huh?” Mizuki smirked proudly, having connected the dots.
“Hm, what do you mean…?” The blonde seemed genuinely confused.
Is he that dense? Mizuki laughed to themself. “The one you like! It’s Emu, isn’t it?” Their question is met with silence. “Senpai...? Are you listening to me?” They scanned his face for any sort of reaction. Upon closer inspection, they noticed his ears were a bit red. Hehe, as I thought. Mafuyu will be happy (as happy as is possible for her, that is) to hear this news~
“Will you look at the time? Seems I should be getting back to my own class now~ bye bye Tsukasa-senpai! Good luck with the confession!” Mizuki stuck their tongue out at him as they left, feeling very satisfied with what they had learned.
“Confession?! What are you going on about?! I don’t like-” but Mizuki was already gone before he could finish his retort. He huffed and returned to his class, wondering why Emu had shown up and disappeared like that. After all this time she still surprises me with her actions…
Then his thoughts turned to what Mizuki had said, “The one you like! It’s Emu, isn’t it?” Is it true…? He wondered to himself, do I really like Emu that way...? He pondered it for a while, but eventually realized it was a fact. The question now was what to do now with his newly found feelings. Mizuki mentioned a confession… can I really do that? He shook his head, of course I can! I am a future star; this will be a piece of cake for me…! But doubts still clouded his mind. What if she doesn’t feel the same, and ends up hating me for this?
~~~~~~
Usually Mafuyu spent lunch break studying, but today she had different plans. Scanning the lunchroom, it didn’t take her long to spot the pink-haired girl she was looking for. “Hey, Otori-san! I have news for you!” She called with her sweetest voice.
The pink-hair in question looked up in surprise, “Oh! Asahina-senpai! Hello!” Turning to a girl sitting next to her, “Sorry, Honami-chan! I have to go, I think Asahina-senpai has something important for me.” Honami gave her a curious look but simply nodded and moved out of the way so she could leave.
Once they reached a quiet part of the school grounds, Emu initiated the conversation: “What was it you needed to tell me, senpai?” She spoke with mere curiosity, as if she had no idea what kind of news Mafuyu had for her… perhaps she didn’t. Emu could be a little forgetful sometimes.
“Tenma-san returns your feelings.” Mafuyu was rarely this direct with anyone outside of Nightcord, but she figured it’d be better to just say it straight.
“Hwah?!”
“Hm, Otori-san, is something wrong?”
Emu stared ahead into space for what seemed like an hour before responding, “He… he does…?” So many things went through her brain, but she couldn’t say anything but that. Mafuyu looked as if she expected a louder response from Emu and just stood there a little stunned but also somewhat disappointed. “That’s… that’s it?” she mouthed, not intending for Emu to hear it, but she did anyway.
“What is it?” Emu continued to speak in a muted tone, looking at her senpai curiously.
Mafuyu was taken aback to say the least, but she quickly composed herself and replied, “Oh, nothing! Just… what do you intend to do now, Otori-san? You could confess if you want. I’m sure it will go well, considering what I’ve told you.” She waited for a loud positive response from Emu, but yet again she was quiet. “…Otori-san?”
“E-eh?! O-oh uh, I-I don’t know if I-I’m ready yet.” Emu was tripping over her words a bit, which wasn’t exactly new to Mafuyu, but she had thought they’d gotten past the upperclassman nervousness, so she figured it was something else. But she decided not to press the pink-hair further. “I see… if you like, I can give you some advice to help it go well when you decide to!”
Emu gave her a small smile and responded, “I-I’d really appreciate it, Asahina-senpai.”
~~~~~~
“Tsukasa, that was the lamest ‘You shall not defeat me!’ I’ve ever heard from you, and that says a lot.” Nene expected him to get all offended like he usually does whenever she insults him, but instead he simply nodded and tried again. “What? You didn’t even try to argue this time? Are you finally getting over that-” she stopped when she looked at his face. He seems troubled about something.
Nene, Rui, and Tsukasa were practicing together today, but Emu happened to be absent because she had something at home to attend to. They decided to go over their lines for the next play, and Nene mentally prepared herself to deal with the blonde boy's boisterous personality for a few hours as always, but to her surprise, he was very quiet today. She wanted to celebrate the fact, but that look in his eyes… something was wrong. “Tsukasa, is everything all right? You don’t seem yourself today.” It felt weird for her to show a bit of concern for him, but even Nene isn’t completely heartless.
“Nene’s right, Tsukasa-kun. You seem less enthusiastic today than normal.” Rui added.
“Ha ha ha, whatever do you mean? As you can see, your star is in top shape!” He struck an epic pose, but it looked too half-hearted to be truly “epic”.
“So convincing…” Nene muttered under her breath.
“What’s wrong, Tsukasa-kun? You can always tell us, you know.” The purple-haired boy said gently.
Tsukasa was silent for a bit, but finally murmured, “It’s about Emu.”
“Oh? Emu often drags you into stuff, but I’ve never seen you down about it like this. In fact, you usually seem rather happy, though you never admit it.” Rui teased him a bit.
“No, it’s not that!!!” Tsukasa huffed in reply, “it’s…”
“Spit it out, dummy. We don’t have all day.” Nene grumbled.
“Now, now, Nene. We have plenty of time, let him procrastinate if he wishes.” With that, Rui patted her head softly. Her face reddened a bit at the sudden gesture, but she hoped it wasn’t conspicuous. Unfortunately for her, Rui noticed and chuckled a bit. “You’re so cute when you’re flustered~”
Nene coughed and quickly turned to face Tsukasa, ignoring Rui’s comment. “Can you just please tell us what’s up?”
Having watched that whole exchange, Tsukasa pieced something together: They would be the right people to talk to about this, seeing as they are already in a relationship. “I think I like Emu.”
“Is that all this is about?! You made us worry for nothing!! We’ve known this a long time already.”
“You what?!?!”
“Did you only just come to terms with it, Tsukasa-kun? I thought this had already been established.” Rui commented.
“How did you guess?!!?” Tsukasa was flabbergasted. His friends already knew about this, possibly before he did?!?!
“You’re not very subtle, you know. I’ve seen the way you look at her.” His purple-haired friend laughed.
Sighing dramatically, Tsukasa turned to face the wall. “I want to confess… but… what if she doesn’t feel the same? What if she ends up hating me for this? I want to keep making shows to make the audience smile, and that could be ruined if we end up on bad terms.”
“I don’t think that will happen, Tsukasa-kun. Emu-kun isn’t the type to hate someone for something like that.”
“Rui’s right. Where’s the courageous star Tsukasa we all know? Worrying about this seems kinda out of character for you.”
“Hey!! I can have doubts too you know, I’m not a robot!!”
Rui and Nene collectively laughed at that statement. “Either way, Tsukasa-kun, it’s good that you’re finally figuring out your feelings on this. Nene and I support you all the way.”
Tsukasa felt he would get emotional if this conversation continued any further, so he decided to end it there: “All right, troupe! Let us return to practice! We have a show soon after all!” Rui and Nene nodded and they went back to their scripts. Tsukasa only hoped his feelings wouldn’t get in the way of their shows in the future.
~~~~~~
For a few weeks after that, life was just normal. Neither Emu nor Tsukasa brought up the subject, and they seemed just fine that way. Mafuyu asked Emu for updates periodically and was disappointed to hear there was no development. She never showed this disappointment, though, and merely responded in the same way every time, “I’m sure you’ll find the right time soon.”
Of course, they seemed fine, but in truth, Tsukasa was struggling with his feelings every time he saw Emu. Several times he nearly came out and said it, but for some reason held back. Was this future star really so nervous over such a thing...? He had done many confessions in shows before. But this was different, wasn’t it? This was real life. There were real consequences to this that he would have to deal with in the aftermath. What those consequences would be precisely, that was left to be determined.
~~~~~~
“Today’s the day, Asahina-senpai! I will confess to Tsukasa-kun!!”
“Oh, is that so~? Hehe, good luck, Otori-san. Oh! Speaking of that, I have a gift for you!” The older girl promptly took a flower out of her bag and handed it to Emu.
“This is…?”
“A lilac. A symbol of budding love, according to some. It fits your situation rather well, don’t you think?” For a moment, the pink-haired girl swore she saw a genuine smile on the upperclassman’s face, but it was too brief to be sure.
“You’re right, senpai… thank you. For everything.” Emu’s tone was surprisingly mellow as she spoke.
“It was not all me! Mizuki played a key role as well. You should be grateful to them too.” Mafuyu chuckled lightly, which slightly creeped Emu out, but she had gotten mostly used to the façade by this point. “But enough about that! Good luck with Tenma-san~”
~~~~~~
WorldFutureStar🌟: Today’s the day, Rui! No more hesitation! I, Tenma Tsukasa, world future star, will confess to Emu today!!
Ruikamishiro: This is rather overdue, don’t you think, Tsukasa-kun? You should’ve done this weeks ago.
Tsukasa was greatly vexed by this reply but curbed his frustration and haughtily replied,
WorldFutureStar🌟: The past is in the past! A true star should never let his previous failings overcome him!
Nenegaming20: Did you quote that from somewhere, Tsukasa? I can’t imagine an idiot like you saying something so smart.
WorldFutureStar🌟 is typing…
Ruikamishiro: Before you send whatever long retort to Nene, shouldn’t you be focused on other things right now? As I recall, you have a class starting in 5 minutes!
WorldFutureStar🌟: OH NO!! You’re right!!! Farewell for now!!
WorldFutureStar🌟 has left the chat.
~~~~~~
And so the both of them went about their day, preparing for the moment they met each other, but neither knew of the other’s intention. Tsukasa had a difficult time focusing during classes because his thoughts were filled with what he should say to Emu. Emu on the other hand was happily participating in her classes with the lilac in her pocket, smiling bigger than usual (quite a feat for Emu, truth be told). This was of course because she knew something Tsukasa did not: that her feelings were returned. Some of her friends noticed this behavior and asked her about it, but she would only reply “It’s a wonderhoy-ful day today~!” and continue along like it was nothing.
~~~~~~
“You need a bit more feeling in your action, Tsukasa-kun! You want to radiate an aura of victory to show the audience your pride in finding the treasure.”
“Right! Like this?” Tsukasa did the move again.
“Hmm… it’s missing something…” the director put his hand on his chin thoughtfully.
Kaito piped up, “perhaps if you reached out your hand a bit further? It doesn’t feel dramatic enough for your usual style, Tsukasa-kun.”
“Ah, Kaito-san, solving problems as always~” Rui clapped his hands together.
The three continued to go over the choreography for the next show in the Sekai until a certain pink-haired girl appeared out of nowhere. “Tsukasa-kun, Rui-kun, Kaito-niisan!!” She waved enthusiastically.
“Ah, Emu-chan! Here already? Is Nene-chan not with you?” Kaito greeted her.
“Ahaha, no, I came alone.”
Rui, Kaito, and Tsukasa shared a quick glance. “Well, Emu-kun, it is very nice to see you, but I must be off. I have to work on some projects at home.”
“Aww, bye bye Rui-kun! I can’t wait to see what sparkle pow pow ideas you come up with this time!”
“Of course, Emu-kun. I’ll inform you soon.” With that, he nodded to the girl and the two other guys politely before pausing The World Hasn’t Even Started Yet and presently disappearing from the Sekai.
“Yes, I should be off as well, I need to see how Meiko and the plushies are doing right now. See you Tsukasa-kun, Emu-chan!” Kaito waved before promptly walking away to a different part of the Sekai.
In the end, Emu and Tsukasa found themselves alone. Emu looked at Tsukasa with her eyes sparkling, and he suddenly felt a sense of dread. What is she planning this time… They stared at each other for a few seconds before he quietly spoke, “Emu, what’s up? You have that look in your eyes…”
“Hehe, I have a present for Tsukasa-kun!” To his surprise, she pulled a flower out of her pocket and gave it to him. A lilac...? Hmm... I remember Saki telling me that meant something special… but what was it?
“Ha ha ha, thank you very much, Emu! I shall treasure this gift!” he struck his grateful pose while still holding the flower. Suddenly, he froze. A lilac… represents young love… could it be?!?!
“Tsukasa-kun?” Emu looked at him curiously.
“Ahem...! Emu, there is something important I must tell you!” She cocked her head expectantly at him. He found himself a bit confused by the gesture but shook it off so as to not distract himself from what he wanted to say. “I think… no, I know, I have fallen in love with you! You are one of the kindest, (albeit loudest) people I have ever met, and you are an inspiration to me! I love bringing smiles to the audience’s faces with you, but even more than that, you have made me smile more times than I can count…” he looked down at the floor, “but I understand if you don’t feel the same. We can continue to be friends and pretend this never happened if you wish…”
“No, Tsukasa-kun!!” Emu shook her head violently.
“Huh?”
“I don’t want to pretend this never happened!!”
“Eh? You don’t…?”
“Of course not! Because… I feel the same way! You make me feel sparkle fizzle pop pop!!!”
“Ha ha ha! As expected you would fall for me! I am a star after all!” He said as if he wasn’t just doubting whether she felt the same half a second ago.
“Wahaha! But really Tsukasa-kun… you have done so much for me, for Phoenix Wonderland… I don’t know how I could ever repay you for all that… you too are an inspiration to me and have made my life more wonderhoy than I could ever imagine. I just want to say thank you for that… you mean the world to me.” Emu used a much softer and more sincere tone as she spoke, and Tsukasa couldn’t help but redden a bit at her words.
“So… does this mean you’ll be my girlfriend?”
“Of course, silly! I love you too!” With that, she tackled the blonde to the ground in a big hug.
“H-hey Emu!! Do you have to do this every time!!??” Tsukasa acted annoyed, but inside he felt very happy. Knowing Emu returned his feelings lifted a heavy weight off his shoulders.
~~~~~~
Nene hummed to herself as she tapped The World Hasn’t Even Started Yet on her phone. Hopefully Rui will be there… I need to have a talk with him… or maybe Tsukasa or Emu will be there and will know where he is. What she witnessed upon arriving in the Sekai was something she didn’t expect.
“I love Tsukasa-kun~!” a loud voice came from nearby, and it was pretty obvious to Nene who it was. Did I just walk in on a confession??
“Can you stop, that’s the third time you’ve said it already!! I get it, you love me, I don’t need overabundant praise like this!!”
Hmm… I feel like I shouldn’t interrupt, and let Emu torture him some more, but I really need to talk to Rui, so comedy will have to come later. Nene walked into the clearing where Tsukasa and Emu were and called out, “Hey, you two! Have either of you seen Rui?”
“Nene?!?”
“Nene-chan?!?”
“Yes, it’s me, you can get back to your flirting in a bit, just tell me if you know where he is or not.”
“We weren’t-”
“Rui-kun said he had to go to his house to work on some projects!” Emu interrupted Tsukasa without a thought.
“Seriously? I knocked on his door and didn’t get an answer… guess I’ll look elsewhere. Thanks anyway, Emu. Bye you two love birds, I’ll see you later.” Before Tsukasa could argue with her, she was gone.
“Now she thinks we’re dating, great job, Emu.”
“We literally are, Tsukasa-kun~!”
“R-right…” he shook his head and laughed. It would take a bit of getting used to for him, but these consequences weren’t bad at all, he decided.
~~~~~~
“Asahina-senpai!! Asahina-senpai!!” Emu shouted probably a bit too loudly so that the whole school could hear her, but she didn’t seem bothered by the fact. The purple-haired upperclassman in question looked up from a textbook in front of her to see the energetic girl approaching her at high speeds. Before she knew it, she was tackled in a hug. “Oh, O-otori-san… good morning...! I take it you have good news for me?” Emu smiled apologetically and let her go before answering, “It’s Tsukasa-kun!! He is my boyfriend now! Thank you again for all your help! And thanks to Akiyama-san too! You’re both very wonderhoy!”
“Oho? Is that so? I’m very happy to hear that, Otori-san. Congratulations! I’m sure Mizuki will be very happy to hear this as well.”
Emu could swear she saw a real smile on Mafuyu’s face that day.