Best friend

That night, Mariya spent the night at my place at my insistence. We had slept over with each other before, but this time, everything was somber. Mariya's eyes looked lifeless as she laid on the sofa, focusing her field of vision solely on the ceiling above.

My first thought was to try and let her sleep it off, hoping she'd be back to normal and joking around the next morning. Unfortunately, she didn't seem to have improved.

"Chika... I shaved my head in repentance... Will... Will things be saved now?" Mariya mumbled as she swayed to and fro at her seat at the table.

"I'm sorry. I was just teasing. I didn't know-"

"If I told you, you'd expose yourself... Your an airhead, a kind airhead. You'd throw away everything to save me, inadvertently ruining everything for all of us."

"Am I really that naive, even after all these years in the industry?"

Mariya began to glare. "Yes... You fucking shaved off all your hair, on a stupid whim too! Sure the guy blurted it out, but you rejected it at first, and he was fine with it! Yet after effectively kink shaming the man, you decide to fully embrace the kink! YOU'RE A FUCKING IDIOT!" she shouted as she smacked her bowl off the table.

Her reaction was like Zane's, albeit with far more anger behind it. As Mariya is actually older than me, she's often assumed an older sister role for me in private. She'd often tease me, lecture me, but always sought to help a fledgling like me as I was one of the few seiyuus she truly respected. Now, she's truly mad at me, but equally at herself as well.

It's not her fault. It really is all on me, yet Mariya's kinder than she gives herself credit for. Really, all this is my fault. If I had kept my distance from Zane at the start, we'd never be in this mess. Ruma Mill might still pursue him, but it wouldn't make waves like it s with me being a factor. It's just the story he wrote resonated so greatly with me, and seeing how handsome and strong he was up close... I really am a bad girl...

A predictable call from my agency came in, prompting me to answer. I still hadn't told them about what I did, nor could I now that Mariya had sacrificed her hair.

"Is Mariya safe and sound?" my agent asked.

"Yes. She's still a bit distraught."

"... Why'd you decide to organize that presser?"

I glanced over at Mariya, who despite her resentment began typing on her phone before showing the message to me.

"Mariya was so distraught by Ruma Mill's stalking, that she confided in me for help."

"The man she's with, that's the author for that basketball babes project. Are the two having an affair?"

"If I were to say, yes?"

"I guess that's an issue for her agency. Though you've been caught on camera with that man quite a few times as well. Is he flirting-"

"No, no, no. I just view him as a friend. Mariya too, but she's just a bit more... flirty?"

A loud sigh emitted from the other end of the line. "Very well. She's not part of our agency, so it's not an issue for us. Hypothetically, since it sounds like she isn't in an actual relationship, that author is the one that needs to watch his back. First and formost, he's a foreigner, and a foreigner getting in a relationship with one of the country's most beloved idols, who's also working on an adaptation of his work, is scandelous in every sense of the word. Outrage would naturally ensure, and if there's outrage, companies clam up and panic, some even goign as far as to cancel projects well into production if they feel doing so will save their skin from the scandal. It matters not if Mariya's the one that initiated it, when it comes to scandals, a foreigner will always be judged more harshly than a native."

And with that chilling line, my agent ended the call.

"The ball is squarly in your court now, Chika. Thanks to this, you not only got all the attention taken away from you, but we can provide an out for that bald head of yours," Mariya growled as she rubbed her eyes.

"I'm going to come out as "shaving my head to support you, but overdoing it", yes?"

"Guess you have gained some street smarts. With the personality you've built up, all will seem natural, and while you will get some flak, public opinion will probably sway your way as it'll be viewed as an act of kindness. You said you recorded your shave, yes?"

I procured my phone and the video in question.

"You sprayed your hair pink? Well, guess it works as a disguise. Hmm, pretty sure we could change your hair color back to normal with a filter. Alright, we'll make this work. All we gotta do is pick an outfit. No, maybe we need to edit things a bit more. Or, maybe we gotta do some staging. We can't risk the barbershop you went to getting a foothold in this. I know!"

###

Wearing my favorite tan overcoat along with a light green t-shirt, black yoga pants, and white sneakers, I sat down in the salon chair at the studio Mariya had dragged me to. Luckily, they had a cape the same color as the one used on me at the barbershop, though we ended up opting for a cape of a different color at Mariya's insistence. Sporting the wig once more, though this time not with the added superglue to keep it from being yanked off, I smiled and allowed Mariya to get all the angles she needed in order to make her plan work.

"Alright, now you don't need to worry about the wig anymore," Mariya smiled as she took off the wig.

Though she might be smiling now, I can tell by her eyes it's forced.

Next up in the photoshoot was me with my head and drawn-on eyebrows covered in shaving cream, then another with my face encased in cream as well. And for the final creamy photo, my fake eyelashes were peeled off, before Mariya wiped everything off with a towel.

"I thought I was going to get shaved," I pouted.

"You're seriously into this?"

"Yes?"

Mariya let out a sigh as she shook her head. "My hair better grow back, dammit."

"So, are we done?"

"Yes."

"No wax?"

"'No wax'!? They don't have wax here!"

"Boo."

Mariya gave me a disappointed look as she uncapped me and ushered me over to the wall. After a few quick poses and pics, I began filming a video message.

"Hi, Chika Tetsu here. I felt bad for Mariya-chan the other day, so well... I got a matching haircut! Mm, think they might've made me a bit too smooth," I smiled before pretending to be unable to contain my laughter. Starting a new video, I continued where I left off. "Now I know this is radical, but I want to support my friend, Mariya-chan. Thus, until her hair grows back, I'll be keeping my head shaved exactly like this. Yup, no eyebrows, no eyelashes... Hahaha. Anyway, I'm aware this will take a lot of getting used to... for all of us, but I ask kindly for your support through all of this. Don't cry, Mariya-chan, I'll stay bald as long as you are."

And with that, all that was left to do was edit the messages into a single video and post to sns. Both went seamlessly with Mariya coordinating her response to my post with a "Idiot... Thank you!" post moments after my video message went live. Next was posting all the pictures we took, helping sell the illusion. Once more, seamless. And just like Mariya predicted, public sentiment appeared to favor me heavily.

"Chika Tetsu is bald! The lambs of the Church of Chika shall shed our heads of hair POSTHASETE!" -ChurchofChika.

"You go girl! Give society the middle finger if they bitch and moan. You went bald for a friend, and that's badass!" -Officeslavefighting.

"A noble endeavor. Chika Tetsu, you truly are a saint." -LawyerofChika.

"Ew, ugly. Dropped!" -KatsuragHaeter.

"#Chikariya ftw!" -Chikashipper409.

Turning to Mariya, I smiled and embraced her in a hug. "Thank you... It's all because of you-"

"No, it's just me stepping up to the plate to cover up for an idiot that fell so hard in love, she shaved her head without thinking of the consequences. Now don't you dare get caught. Tell that guy to lay off the dates. We can keep things contained in the studio over the guise of lunches being brought in."

"Mariya, are you alright?"

A smile mustered itself on Mariya's face. "Now? Yeah. I can manage."