Episode 5: Going Viral

I woke up the next day with my alarm clock ringing faintly in the background. I rubbed my eyes as I got up to a sitting position. I reached out to shut off the ringing, but fumbled as my hand met nothing but the couch. That’s right. I slept in my living room last night. I never made it to bed.

With everything that had happened, sleeping peacefully in my own room was the last thing on my mind. I had to make sure my front door was secure. Heck, I had to make sure my entire house was.

I grabbed my sweats and got ready for my early morning jog to the gym. But in the back of my head, I couldn’t help but wonder: was it safe to go out? What were the chances I might get assaulted by a crazy Rika fan? They knew where she lived now, or should I say, used to live.

After the disaster that was last night, I didn’t even get to properly apologize to Rika. I tried when I quickly got up from on top of her. I said I was sorry quite a few times, all while shirtless and standing in front of the cameras and ring lights.

The chat was still going off with reactions and comments. Most were enthused about my physique. Others wanted to know whether I was Rika’s boyfriend or not. Some were busy doxing us. A few were obsessed with Mai’s butt for some reason. But throughout the entire ordeal, Rika was silent. She didn’t say a single word to me or her friends, who likewise appeared shocked by the sequence of events.

She just kept staring at me, flustered from embarrassment. Even when her friends helped her to her feet, she didn’t say a single word. That was when Rana, remembering her duties as a protector, rushed into the apartment, killed the live stream, gathered up the girls, and they disappeared.

I shook my head, snapping my brain back to the present. I needed to focus. I had run every morning for over six hundred days. It was part of my routine for success. I couldn’t stop now.

Even if I ran the risk of running into a few of her fans, they probably wouldn’t be interested in me. I was a nobody after all. Rika was the celebrity they were after. But the nagging feeling continued to eat away at the back of my mind. So, I reluctantly grabbed a hoodie on my way out. Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

Two minutes into my run, I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. I jogged down the same Sakura Street I always did, passing by houses, shops, a tennis court, and a T-junction. Everything was normal; nothing was out of place. Maybe the live stream wasn’t as big a deal as I thought it was.

Yes, it did have a lot of views. A lot. But maybe I was just freaking myself out, thinking that a bunch of strangers were suddenly going to start coming to look for me just because I had appeared in a celebrity’s live stream. Again, I was a nobody. It was absolutely ridiculous to think people would want to come after me because of that…

“Oh my god! There he is!”

".!"

I skidded to a stop when I heard those words. I wasn’t sure what direction they had come from. I looked left, looked right, then finally saw the horror in front of me.

It was an army of high school girls. An entire wall of them, blocking off my path at the end of the street. The leader was pointing directly at me. She was holding up a pink megaphone.

“Sota Sato.”

Wait. They know my full name!? How the hell did they find that out!?

The girl drew in a deep breath as she prepared to shout her next words, her hair and dress billowing in the morning breeze.

“Please go out with me, Sota Sato! I love youuuu!”

".!"

What the heck did she just say? And how the hell did they recognize me through the... I proceeded to frantically feel for my hood. Crap. I'd been in such a rush, I'd never actually pulled it up to cover my face.

“I know most people see you as a depraved stalker who wanted to have his way with our Queen, Rika Riot, during last night’s live stream.”

Wait… Some people saw me as what now?

“But I am different, Sota Sato,” the girl said, placing her hand on her chest. “Myself, and the girls behind me. We saw your declaration of love to Rika Riot last night, and we thought it was the most beautiful thing we have ever heard.”

Confession of love? What was she even talking about? I didn’t confess anything to anybody. My mind raced through the jumbled mess of last night—the panic, the apologies. Nothing I'd said could be twisted or misinterpreted, could it? Where was any of this coming from?

“So, since she hasn’t given you a direct answer yet, and would probably say no because she is a celebrity idol who would rather protect her reputation, I want to use this opportunity to tell you how I feel, Sota Sato. I fell in love with you the moment I saw you on the live stream. You are so handsome, and cool, and hot, and I want you to go out with me…”

Shortly after the leader had made her announcement, another girl pushed through the wall behind her and forcefully grabbed the megaphone.

“Hey… What are you doing? That’s mine.”

“No, Sota Sato! I love you! Don’t listen to her or any of these girls!… Hey… Give me that back. I’m not done with my confession!”

Yet another girl stepped forward and stole the megaphone.

“I love you too, Sotaaa Sato! Marry me!”

".!"

Marry what…?

I was mortified. I slowly backed away as more girls came forth and began fighting for the megaphone. These ladies were clearly psychopaths. I needed to get out of here while they were distracted…

“Hey! He’s getting away!”

“Grab him!”

I booked it out of there as fast as I could, running as if my life depended on it, which I was pretty sure it did. I didn’t want to imagine what they would do to me if they caught up. What the hell was happening? Why were these girls chasing after me? Shouldn’t they be looking for Rika?

“Follow him!”

“Don’t let him out of your sight!”

I ran all the way back to my apartment and shot past the front of the building. Even though they already knew my street, I didn’t want to lead them directly to my house. My intent was to lose them and circle back to the complex. But that was easier said than done.

The mob of girls ferociously kept up with me, nearly appearing animalistic in their pursuit. They constantly pushed each other to gain the lead and ran into traffic without a care in the world. It was insane. Why was any of this happening to me? I mean, I knew why, but why?

My pursuit of peace and quiet had yielded me the exact opposite. And it was all her fault.

"Damn you, Rika Riot! Damn youuu!"

***

My heart was pounding with adrenaline as I tried to keep my breathing under control. I peered out from the corner. It looked like I had finally lost them. The herd of obsessed fan girls was looking around in confusion, unaware I had ducked into a nearby alleyway.

“I don’t see him anywhere. Anyone got eyes on the hottie?”

“No, maybe he’s hiding in the next street over.”

“Good idea. Come on, let’s go.”

I didn’t relax until the coast was clear. I rested my back against the wall and slid down from exhaustion. This day had to be some kind of weird dream. It just had to.

Where was my peace and quiet? I just wanted my former life back. Not a hundred girls chasing after me due to some grand delusion of perceived romantic interest, not any of this.

My phone began ringing in my pocket, breaking me out of my thoughts. I pulled it out and discovered it was Kenji calling. I guess he was still alive. The red-headed lady hadn’t killed him for groping her.

I accepted the call.

“Kenji, are—?”

“Check the news.”

“But, are you—?”

“Just check the news, Sota.”

His voice sounded rough, almost like someone whose face was swollen. I just wanted to find out if he was okay before telling him anything else about my current predicament.

“Can’t really talk right now after that red-haired security lady busted my jaw wide open,” he said. “For now, just do as I say and check the news. Call you later.”

So she did end up beating him up pretty badly, I thought. As soon as he ended the call, I switched on my internet. The notifications began popping up on their own, each more unhinged, ridiculous, and damaging than the last.

Stranger assaults Rika Riot live on stream.

Hot grumpy neighbor confesses feelings to Rika Riot.

Rika Riot sexually assaulted by stalker neighbor.

Full name of stalker revealed + address + school.

My eyes widened in horror as I read each headline. These were career-ending accusations, and they were all being directed at me. How had things spiraled out of control so fast from a single accidental moment on a live stream? Was this what people thought of me now?

The narrative online was greatly misunderstood. I never confessed my feelings; I didn’t have any. And did they really think I actually assaulted her? It was an accident. But I was betting the cameras in her room did not capture that part.

Mom and Dad. I needed to make sure they were okay. That was why Kenji had called me. One of the news articles I saw mentioned an address. But when I looked it up, it was the address to my parents’ house, not my apartment.

I called them, but they weren’t picking up. How were either of them not close to their phones? This wasn’t unusual for them, but today it was just ten times more frustrating. Crap. Looked like I had no choice then.

I was back on the move, sneaking behind buildings and through alleyways. Eventually, I was able to catch a cab when I risked stepping onto the main road.

“Oh my god! There he is! Sotaaa!”

“EEEEEE!”

“I will pay you double if you drive as fast as you can. Now!”

“But… Sir, there are girls on the road. I might hit one of them.”

“Just go! Try to be careful, but those aren’t girls anymore.”

The driver was still hesitant to move forward, but as if to validate my point, one of the girls running toward us instantly leaped into the air mid-sprint and landed on the windshield.

“I love you, Sota! Please marry me!”

“WHAAA!”

The driver and I simultaneously screamed. Finally understanding the severity of the situation, the man immediately stepped on the gas. The tires screeched in place before the vehicle lurched forward.

He turned, swerved, and swiveled his way through the ocean of obsessed fan girls in the street, expertly avoiding hitting any of them as he desperately searched for a way out of the fray. He soon found one and quickly took the opportunity.

“I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you!”

Somehow, the girl on the windshield was still glued to the front of the car.

“Wanna make a baby with me, Sota? I’m sure they’d come out looking just like you.”

“Driver?!” I yelled in panic. “Now I really need to get away from these girls!”

“Got it!”

The man flicked on his wipers. Struggling to latch onto the vehicle, the girl fell off a second later.

“Wait, is she okay?” I asked. The man briefly stopped, and we peeked out the window to gaze behind us.

The girl was lying unmoving in the middle of the street. For a moment, I was worried she might have been seriously hurt, and I was just about to tell the driver to go back. But then, in the blink of an eye, she jumped back up, fully recovered, and resumed bolting after the cab.

“Wait for me, Sota, my love! I’m comiiiing!”

“Nope! Go, go, go!” I shouted at the driver. The man returned his foot to the pedal, and we gradually sped out of the city, finally putting some distance between myself and all of the insanity.

Or so I thought.

***

We arrived at my folks’ place about an hour later. The entire front yard was packed with reporters and influencers specializing in reaction content, and at the center was my big sister holding back the crowd with a machete.

“Hey! Get back! Y’all better get the hell off our property. I’m warning you.”

She repeatedly swung the large blade back and forth, threatening those who dared to get close. And knowing my sister, she wouldn’t hesitate to chop off a limb if it meant keeping our parents safe.

I directed the cab driver to circle around to the back of the house. No doubt most of the reporters were asking about me, and I didn’t want to add to the chaos by showing up at the front door.

“Ma’am, could you just tell us a little about your thoughts regarding the situation? Do you think your little brother is capable of this? Assaulting a public figure like Rika Riot the way he did last night?”

“Back off, cameraman. I’m warning you.”

“But ma’am, I just want to know your thoughts. Some people online are calling for your brother to be immediately suspended from school, arrested, and even detained. What sort of punishment do you think would be fitting? Do you think…? Ah!”

Ruka instantly sliced off his camera lens with a single swing. Seeing this, the rest of the crowd began moving back.

“My little brother is not a stalker, alright?!” my sister shouted over the crowd. “I’m sure there’s a logical explanation. For now, y’all stop throwing around baseless accusations. You’re only making things worse.”

“But none of the accusations are baseless,” one of the influencers added. “We all saw your scummy little brother on the live stream yesterday, trying to sexually assault… Eek!”

The man was suddenly cut off when a knife flew past his neck.

“Call my little brother that word one more time, and I promise, I will not miss the next throw. Now get out of here! All of you! Get! Get!”

Ruka resumed swinging her machete over her head as she advanced, causing the remaining reporters and influencers to scatter in fear. Meanwhile, I paid the cab at the back of the house, covering my face with my hoodie as I made a break for the kitchen back door.

I needed to call an emergency family meeting and explain everything to my sister and parents. And I needed to do it now.