A Healing Call

After our last meeting, the arrangement between me and Hajime was frozen.

It was a temporary solution. There was nothing serious behind it: she just wouldn’t be able to see me for a while because of summer club activities. She was on a 7-day volleyball club training camp.

I had no idea Hajime had that sort of a hustle to begin with. When I asked about from her it in detail, she told me she had picked up the sport in middle school after getting obsessed with High Nine – a manga about volleyball. She claimed it was a secret strictly between us.

Though, now if ever was a good time for a little hiatus.

Hajime wasn’t the only one with her hands full. My screen time had reduced considerably after finding a makeshift girlfriend and the developers of Kira-Kira Party had taken notice of it. This time, they were demanding my shabby income in the form of an event featuring my beloved Neri-nee.

Despite the fact that new cards with personal relevance did seem to have a penchant for appearing whenever I found myself questioning the reasons behind my unconditional loyalty to a 2D character, the event obviously had nothing to do with my in-game activities specifically. After all, I had been both expecting and looking forward to the struggle for quite a while.

Kira-Kira Party rotations were pretty short in comparison to most other idol franchises. The event period was five and a half days, following a three-day break, whereas the event gachas ran for a full week. Albeit, for a hopeless case like me with nothing but time, money and love to spare for my dearest, that puny length carried out mainly in my favor: it meant less days I had to spend stressing over staying simultaneously in-borders and in-budget.

I hadn’t gotten a coherent night’s sleep in days. My mobile was armed with countless alarms just in the unlikely case I happened to forget my duty. I was sleeping in two-hour cycles whenever I could to save as much resources as possible – both on my account and on myself. While Hajime’s reports implied that she was working hard improving her volleyball skills, I had been working hard for my oshi. In short, I wouldn’t have had time for any dates either.

Thus, when a pop-up notification from LIME proceeded to ruin my perfect combo, I was like a bear forcibly woken up from its hibernation. I was sharpening my verbal knives, ready to stab the one who dared to disturb the flow of my grind – until I saw who it was.

“Oh, it’s from Hajime! If it were Iruka, I would’ve slaughtered him but I guess I can forgive her this once”, I scoffed out loud.

I finished the rest of the beatmap with mediocre merits and opened the messaging app.

“Working hard for Neri-nee, I assume? Do your best, I believe in you!! (人>∀<) ~☆ Do you have a little time to spare for a talk? We’re prepping dinner right now and I finished my part already. <(｡•̀ᴗ-)>”

That was definitely Hajime, no doubt about it. Iruka’s texting style was dry as a desert and lacked any kind of punctuation: talking to him on LIME was synonymous with talking to a wall.

I decided to give the girl a call to enlighten her of her sins. Besides, there was no harm in gracing my fingers a little break – I was filling my action points using kira-kira blossoms anyway.

“Hello, you just ruined my combo”, I greeted.

“I’m so sorry! I’ll only send messages when I see you online from now on. To think you still called me, how benignant of you!” Hajime replied.

I hadn’t realized how much I had missed her voice prior to actually hearing it. That trademark giggle of hers had begun to feel almost domestic.

“It’s not a big deal, I’m way further on schedule than I need to be. I just wanted you to atone for your crimes”, I laughed back.

“Of course, m'lord. What shall I do? Do you want me to cheer you on as Neri... producer?” she teased.

She lowered her volume on the last word so drastically she was basically whispering. I was caught off-guard to some extent by the sudden shift in her character.

“N-no, it’s fine. I’m just looping her encouragement line whenever I lose sight of what I’m working for. I think talking to you will serve as a well-deserved break.”

“Good to know! I couldn’t exactly start busting out those lines here anyway. I’d be claimed mental”, she sighed.

Hajime was fine calling me her producer in the middle of a crowded train station but a bunch of jock girls were where she drew the line? Though, I guess I could kind of understand her: if I had to choose between accidentally doing something embarrassing in front of Iruka or ten strangers I’d likely never see again, I wouldn’t have to think twice before picking the latter option.

“Wait. Are you a closet otaku?” I asked.

“When you mention it, I guess so. Hana-chan and Kotori-chan are the only ones who know and that’s for two reasons. They’re my best friends and I couldn’t hide anything from them even if I wanted to, they’re so sharp when it comes to feelings. You’re the first person in my life who’s into the same things as me”, she revealed.

Knowing that, multiple puzzle pieces fell into place right away. How did it take me so long to figure it out?

“That’s a lot of pressure. Are you keeping it a secret on purpose?” I continued my interrogation.

“Well, sort of. I’ve grown up in an environment where it’s better to keep it a secret. I’m not ashamed of it or anything! I just think it makes my life easier in the long run. You won't hear it from me but if the word gets out, I’ll adapt to it somehow”, she explained.

“Isn’t that tough on you? I mean, I could never hide such a big part of who I am”, I wondered.

I had never thought about keeping my interests a secret as an option. To me, it sounded like an exhausting way to live. However, Hajime had a different perspective.

“Don’t worry, it’s not the only decisive trait I have and I’m still just as much myself without it. Besides, I’ll always have the internet on my side!”

“Are you implying loving Neri-nee is all there is to my personality?” I questioned jokingly.

Hajime’s answer was neither what I expected nor wanted to hear.

“I wasn’t! But now that I think about it...”

“Hey, really?! That was just a joke but now you’ve gone and grinded me to ashes”, I whined. “I guess that’s an honor. My love for Neri-nee is so grand it overshadows all my other qualities! How would you describe me as a person then?”

“I was also joking. I think you’re... relatable? Like you’re fun to be with. There’s never a dull moment when I’m interacting with you”, she defined. “How about me?”

I knew what was coming my way but I still hadn’t prepared an answer. So, I started listing qualities gradually, in a slightly lagging manner, as if I were the download progress bar for a newly released video game.

“Umm... Same to you. I’d also say you’re caring, quite energetic and experimental? You seem like the kind of person who’s willing to jump into pretty much anything without a moment's notice, especially if the suggestion comes from someone close to you.”

“Wow, I felt like having my mind read just now! You’re incredible. Are you a mentalist?” she commended.

“No, I’m just a big fan of Expiration Date. I grew up watching it, wanting to be like all of those cool detectives setting up mental traps and mind games. My mother is encouraging me to go into psychology but I don’t think I’m cut out to be working with people like that”, I disclosed.

“Oh my god, Expiration Date was my childhood too! Actually, Kuroi-san was my first fictional crush. I promise I've changed... And don’t take this the wrong way but you’re definitely not the therapist type!” she chuckled.

Kuroi-san was the main character of Expiration Date and one of the most famous anime antiheroes known to our generation. I used to think he was a clever character but looking back on it now, I’d actually say he’s pretty deplorable.

“Don’t worry, I agree with you. I suppose I could become a professor of some kind? That’s individual. But way too studious, I don’t want to do that either! Do you know what you’re going to do after high school?” I queried.

“I never have! I was the kid who stared into your soul if you asked me what I wanted to become as an adult. I’ve never really dreamt of labor”, Hajime answered.

“It’s a pretty cruel question to ask a kid, don’t you think?” I seeked for approval.

“I know right! When I was that age, thinking about the future meant guessing what my parents were going to make for dinner”, she affirmed.

“This is turning out to be quite the deep conversation”, I noted after a short silence.

“Shh, you’re ruining the mood!” she scolded.

The lines were quiet for another while. What came after was the cheerful, contagious laughter of the girl on the other end. Like an ocean wave, it washed over me and drew me in.

After slowly having collected the pieces of my cool and assembled them back into shape, I continued with a comforting observation.

“Well, I don’t think it’s that uncommon to be lost in life at our age. We’re all in this together.”

Hajime’s attention was clearly beginning to shift, considering how most of her reply wasn't even directed towards me.

“True. Huh, what’s up Takami-chan? Yeah, I’ll be there soon!”

Fortunately, she wasn’t the type of person to leave others hanging: neither me nor her club members.

“Sorry, my teammates are calling for me. I have to go now. We made pork cutlet to go with yesterday’s curry and that’s a food best eaten fresh. Good luck with your quest!”

“Thanks, have a good meal. I wish the remaining of nee-san's efforts will be fruitful and that she’ll have a pleasant time!” I put on my best Mikarin impression.

“Aww! Thanks for keeping me company. I love you, producer!”

She didn’t give me any time to react before hanging up. Though, it wasn’t like I could’ve gotten out a single word at that moment regardless.

That last line of hers proceeded to mess up quite a few in-game combos during the rest of the day but it was also the most motivating thing she could've done at a distance. It may have been in character, but it was the first time anyone had ever told me that.