Achievements

After the school day, which had been quite normal except for the spectacular events of lunch break, she went back home with her best friend Hana.
"I've noticed that you radiate so much joy. You weren't like that before school so what happened that made you so happy, Ai-chan?" Hana remarked.
"So, I was planning on becoming friends with Sato-kun and I tried my luck on lunch break."
"Hmm, I get the feeling that it worked?"
"Yes, it worked!" Airi was jumping for joy.
"Congratulations Ai-chan! I knew you would make it. I'm really happy for both of you."
"Yes! And we talked about his favorite streamer and you won't believe what he told me."
"Okay, what did he tell you? Don't let me wait." Hana said eagerly.
"It is me! He said that HikariAi is his favorite live streamer and that he loves her streams. So he basically loves me, right?" Airi was no longer herself. She was usually calm and composed, but now she wanted to jump to the moon for joy.
"Wow, calm down my beloved. You're way too excited. You and your internet persona aren't the same. Even though you try to be the same in your live streams as in the real world, it doesn't work like that. People always play roles when they are online and so do you as well. But you don't really notice it for yourself Ai-chan." Hana tried to calm her down and bring her back down to earth after reaching new heights that were too high for her.
"Oh, okay..." Airi answered saddened.
"I'm sorry to kill your mood but I see it a realistic way. I know you're very happy and full of excitement now but please don't let it take over your head. You have to think straight, especially with the summer festival right in front of us."
"Yeah, you're right, I guess. It's better to see it as it is. Him loving my internet persona isn't the same as loving me."
"Correct. But you're a very lovely person Ai-chan so you just have to let your charms play and then he will fall for your real you as well, hehe." Hana tried to cheer her up again.

Meanwhile, Ren and Haruto were walking home as well.
"And how was your lunch break Ren?"
"Definitely not boring, haha." Ren answered with a smile.
"That's good to hear. I guess something good happened to you? You seem so happy."
"You could say that, I guess? I'm still a little confused about what happened but I guess something good happened." Ren replied vaguely.
"Oh, come on Ren. Do I have to drag everything out of you? Please just tell me what happened!" Haruto begged with his hands folded together.
"Fiiine, if you must insist." Ren was a little annoyed by this interview-like conversation of Haruto but he easily gave in and started with the story.
"So I was trying to look for my boxed lunch when Fujimoto-san suddenly stood up and came up to me. Then she turned the desk and chair in front of me around and sat down. I was really confused because it happened so suddenly and so I asked her what she was doing. She then said, out of nowhere, that she wanted to eat lunch with her friend and then I was really taken aback. Me? A friend of her? Because I looked so taken aback she asked me if we were friends or not,"
"And what did you answer her?" Haruto interrupted.
"I was just about to say that but you interrupted me..."
"Oh, sorry. Please continue!"
"So I said yes."
"YES! Very good Ren! You did everything right. You're now a friend of one of the most famous and beautiful girls in our class and even school. I'm so happy for you!"
"Don't talk like I achieved a trophy! She's not an object!" Ren scolded Haruto.
"Oh, we're in defense mode now, haha" Haruto teased Ren and got therefore punched onto his left arm.
"Ekk, sorry. We have digressed, please continue." Haruto apologized.
"Okay then, so she sat there and was really happy about my answer I gave her and then I searched for my boxed lunch again to let the whole scene sink in. Then we ate our lunch together and we tried each other's lunch."
"Oh, so she gave you something from her and you had to say 'Ahhh'?"
"NO! Can you please refrain from making unnecessary comments?!" Ren said annoyed.
"Okay." Haruto replied meekly.
"Yeah, and then we talked about where we eat at home and I said, that I watch anime or my favorite live streamer and so she asked who my favorite streamer was and I said HikariAi. Suddenly she fell quiet and seemed lost in thoughts. So I asked what was going on and she only replied nothing and then told me that she never heard of HikariAi."
"Hmm, there's something wrong. Most definitely."
"Why?" Ren asked.
"It seems like she lied to you about not knowing her. Maybe she knows HikariAi in private?" Haruto speculated.
"Maybe, or maybe not. Yeah it seems like there is something wrong but I don't think it was because of the streamer. Or maybe it was but she was only thinking about if she knew her or not. Maybe she heard something similar and thought about whether it was HikariAi or not. And she came to the conclusion that it wasn't HikariAi."
"Yeah, I see. Speculation doesn't bring us anywhere. But overall I have to say, that we have to celebrate this date. I'm really happy for you and that you could let another person into your life. You make big progress in healing. Keep going!"
And with that their ways parted and Ren continued walking home alone. He was still thinking about the things that happened and it put a smile on his face.

Airi unlocked the front door to her apartment and went inside. She still wasn't hungry after eating her mother's boxed lunch. She loved it when her mother did something for her. It wasn't often that her parents in general did something for her. Leading a company is no small task that can be accomplished in a short period of time and with that, there was not much time left for her parents to do something for or with Airi.
She put her school bag on the floor next to her desk and changed into black hot pants—she only wore them at home for comfort but didn't want to wear them outside because she didn't want to be stared at—and a pink cropped top. Then she booted up her computer and started a live stream.

Ren however didn't need to unlock the door to his house because just as he was approaching the door, Yumeko came and opened the door. She ran out and hugged her brother as tight as possible but she couldn't harm Ren. She didn't have enough strength to do it.
"Welcome hooome big brother Ren-chan!!!" Ren still had to gasp for breath because he was really surprised and therefore couldn't catch it fast enough.
"Why so energetic Yu-chan?" Ren asked his little sister and tried to push her away from himself.
"Because I saw you walking down the street and I wanted to greet you soo much. Can't the cutest sister in the world miss her big brother soo much that she wants to greet him?"
"Well, of course you can but it's just too sudden for me."
"Oh, so you want me to shout out of the window that I'm happy to see you and that I'm going to let you in?"
"Ermm, I don't think that it would be a great idea to do so. It would be especially annoying for our neighbors so please don't do it."
"Oki doki, so I'm gonna surprise you as always!"
Ren sighed. If you would ask him he would tell you that none of this has to happen anyways but he just let it happen because it was his cute little sister Yumeko and he couldn't say no to her, especially when she's having fun with it.
"Could you please make dinner for us? I'm hungry and I want to eat with you." Yumeko asked him with a puppy dog look.
Ren sighed again. "Okay. Do you want sushi?"
"Oh, yes! But can you please deep-fry it so it has some crunch?"
"Where did you get that from? Since when do you deep-fry sushi?"
"I heard from a friend that in other countries it's likely to find deep-fried sushi and that it tastes really good."
"Okay, I guess I give it a try but you have to clean the mess afterwards."
"Sure thing!" Yumeko promised.
They went inside the house and Ren tried to deep-fry the sushi. It went better than he thought and then they ate together at the dining table in the living room.
"Hmmmhmm, sooo delicious!" Yumeko raved. "Your cooking skills are soo good that it's nearly a waste that you're only cooking for me."
"You know what, I'm gonna cook for someone else too."
"Ah, yes, and who?" Yumeko answered curious.
"I have a new friend now and I want to cook for her when we meet again." Ren answered without realizing what he said.
"Huh?! You have a new friend and it's a girl? Wait, so it's that girl from your school you told me about the other day, right?"
"Yes, I'm now friends with Fujimoto-san."
"WOW, I'm so happy for you big brother! I never thought you would make new friends!"
"That sounds really depressing..." Ren was feeling sad now more like being happy about his new achievement everyone, he told so far, was excited about.
They finished eating their early dinner and Ren went into his room while Yumeko, as promised, cleaned the kitchen and the dishes they used.
Ren changed into his favorite sweatpants and a t-shirt and sat down in front of his computer. He started it and thought about what to do but then decided to watch his favorite streamer HikariAi, since she was live now.

The live stream was running since a while ago and so he missed the beginning but Ren tuned in at the right time to hear HikariAi answer the question if she had a good day or not.
"I had an excellent day! I have a new friend in my live now and I'm super duper happy about it."
[User9897]: "Is it the guy you talked about before?"
[Night_Owl]: "Huh? A new friend? Congrats, I guess?"
"Yeah, I talked about him before. He's super nice and we ate lunch together. There will be a summer festival soon at our school and I'm glad to know that he's there helping me and maybe we can go together and look and experience what the other classes did."
[ShadowHeart]: "Sounds like more than friends. Do you love him?"
[Aoi221]: "I'm a little jealous of you to be honest."
[User_777]: "Aww, how cute."
Ren didn't know what to say or think. Airi told him, that she didn't know who HikariAi was but why is what HikariAi says in her livestream chat so coincidentally similar to what Ren experienced with Airi? It made no sense. Did she lie to him and she was HikariAi the whole time? Ren was super suspicious but tried to stay calm. Maybe it really was a big coincidence and HikariAi's life was just changing like Ren's and Airi's at the same time. Without real evidence, he didn't want to confront Airi.
"Uhm, it's a little embarrasing to say but I'm in love with that guy, yes. But that's far enough so don't expect me to go on any further and to say more stuff about it. I want to play some video games now!" HikariAi sounded embarrased and the live stream chat went crazy.
[ShadowHeart]: "But I/we love you! You don't need the love of anyone else!"
[K0ko]: "OMG, how cuuute! I wish you the best of luck and much courage for your proposal!"
[(MOD) HanaH]: "Guys, calm down or we will have to ban you! Please respect HikariAi's wish and stop writing about the topic and write something nice which can benefit the stream. Thank you!"
Ren was blown away. He didn't know that HikariAi was in love. Some could tell but he couldn't. Then, he realized that if his suspicions were true, Airi would be in love with him and she said it live on the internet. His heart began to pound quickly and strongly for a moment. 

Then he went into the living room where Yumeko still lay on the couch and was watching a show on TV.
"Do you want to run with me? I have to clear my mind. I'm not going to answer your questions. Please just say yes or no."
"What?! What did I hear?! That I can witness the time that you ask out on running together." Yumeko sobbed out of joy. "I really love you big brother Ren-chan!"
Then they changed into their sportswear and went running.