Chapter 84: An Unscheduled Collision

The day of the Cosmode photoshoot is a storm of nervous energy. Our newly-formed six-person supergroup arrives at the sleek, modern skyscraper that houses the magazine's headquarters. Kenji is practically vibrating, taking pictures of the lobby with his phone.

"This is it, my friends!" he proclaims. "The hallowed halls where fashion and otaku culture meet! I can feel the creative energy in the air!"

"It is just an office building, you moron," Haruka mutters, but even she looks a little intimidated by the high-fashion models striding through the lobby.

As the others- Rina, Haruka, Miki, Hana, and Kenji- are herded inside by a cheerful-looking assistant, my phone buzzes. It is a rare call from our parents, who are on a business trip in Kyoto. I wave to the group.

"You guys go ahead! I have to take this. I will be right up."

Rina gives me a suspicious, worried look, as if she thinks I am about to be kidnapped in the next five minutes, but Miki pulls her along. I step outside the main entrance for a bit of quiet, leaning against the cool glass of the building as I talk to my mom. The call is brief- just the usual checking in, reminding me to make sure Rina is eating vegetables and not just surviving on snacks. I promise I will, and hang up with a sigh.

I am just about to head back inside when a sleek, black town car pulls up to the curb. The back door opens, and a girl with long, lavender-purple hair gets out. She is looking down at her phone, her brow furrowed in concentration. She is dressed in a simple, stylish dress, but she seems flustered, in a hurry.

Distracted by her phone, she turns from the car and walks directly towards the entrance without looking up. Directly towards me.

"Hey, watch out-" I start to say, but it is too late.

She walks right into me with a soft thump. The collision is not hard, but it is enough to make her stumble back with a surprised yelp. Her phone and a small, delicate-looking pouch she was carrying go flying, scattering across the pavement.

"Oh! I am so, so sorry! Are you okay? That was completely my fault!" a soft, shy voice says.

My brain stops. The voice. It is high, a little hesitant, and has a distinct, melodic accent that I have heard before. I look at her face as she looks up at me, her own eyes wide with mortified apology.

It is Aiwa Matsuki. My new classmate.

"Matsuki-san?" I ask, completely shocked. "What are you doing here?"

Her face, which was full of apology, instantly freezes. A wave of pure, unadulterated panic flashes in her eyes. It is the look of a spy whose cover has just been blown.

She recovers in a split second. Her entire posture changes. She stands up straighter, the shy, apologetic slump vanishing, replaced by a cool, regal confidence. The panicked, rabbit-like look in her eyes is gone, replaced by a cold, distant professionalism.

"I am afraid you have me mistaken for someone else," she says. Her voice is completely different. It is deeper now, more resonant, without a trace of an accent or her earlier hesitation. It is the voice of a completely different person.

I am so thrown by the sudden transformation that I cannot even speak.

"You dropped this," I say, my voice a confused mumble as I bend down to pick up the items that fell from her pouch. One of them is a small, crystalline pendant in the shape of a five-pointed star. The 'Starlight Paladin' crest.

I pick it up and hold it out to her. "Here."

She looks at the pendant in my hand, then at my face. For a second, her cold mask falters. She snatches the pendant from my hand, her fingers brushing against mine. "Thank you," she says, her voice a clipped, formal whisper.

Without another word, she gathers her things, gives me one last, unreadable look, and practically flees into the building, leaving me alone on the sidewalk, my mind a complete and utter mess.

What just happened? I heard Aiwa's voice. I saw Aiwa's face. But the person who spoke to me at the end was a complete stranger. A stranger who just so happens to own the exact same rare, vintage anime pendant as the one Aiwa was so passionate about. My day has barely begun, and it is already hopelessly complicated.