Chapter Twenty-Six - Famous

Things had continued, with us eating lunch together, but you’d have to be blind to think nothing had changed. The tension between Mizuki and Emi was palpable, with Emi being sullen and disinterested in anything Mizuki said. I found it difficult to even look at Mizuki and Yuto chatting with each other without imagining the horror she’d confessed to in the back of my mind. Unfortunately, Daishi had also decided he was going to darken our table with his odious presence throughout lunch like an unwanted houseguest who refused to leave and then going away. Not only was Daishi invading the table his little peons had come with him, so our table was overflowing. To say things were tense seemed a bit of an understatement.

Not to mention once the euphoria of going somewhere with Aria on Christmas faded the fear of my mom and Jun’s intentions began to bleed into my joy to the point I was nearly suffocating with trepidation. At the end of the day I couldn’t trust either of them really.

My mom always had her own agenda and Jun’s agenda lay squarely in his pants and both combined to make me feel ill. I couldn’t discount the distinct possibility my mom was trying to set Jun up with Aria. If that was the case my mom couldn’t be bothered by something as trivial as legality. After all, she’d proven many times over that the wants, needs and desires of the prodigal son was foremost in her mind. As such, everything else; including the fact Aria was a minor, was of little consequence.

It was, in such a strangely ironic way I could barely fathom it, that my hopes centered on her “relationship” with Daishi, honestly. Perhaps, and it was a rather bizarre hope, if Jun found out Aria had a “boyfriend” he would call off my mom and they’d both slink back to the drawing board and allow me to stay safe in my rapidly collapsing cocoon for a bit longer.

Of course, I could always admit she was my girlfriend and deal with the fallout, but I truly did not want to. Logic told me I’d probably have to eventually own up to my sexuality, but the pragmatic side of me saw no reason to rush into an ill-advised confession at this point. Or, preferably, ever, actually. At the best such a thing would end any relationship with my mother and father. Not a terrible loss as our relationship was frosty at the best of times. On the other end of the spectrum such a confession would possibly kill my relationship with Aria. Not to mention Jun certainly wouldn’t stop pursuing Aria if that was his goal even if I did admit we were going out.

Did I think Aria would do anything with Jun? I didn’t want to think so. I really didn’t. Our relationship had definitely been on the uptick since after the party and I hoped to continue that upward trend going forward. But at the same time Aria played things very close to the vest and as much as I wanted to trust her, I simply couldn’t bring myself to do so.

Which, in and of itself, seemed more than a bit problematic and a bad sign. What kind of relationship did we actually have where I couldn’t trust my own girlfriend? The problem, most likely, lay with me. I was naïve but rather than making me more blissfully ignorant, my naivete seemed to have the opposite effect of making me even more suspicious. After all, as a saying I’d once heard went, just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean everyone’s not out to get you.

Which is why work had become such a blessing. I could throw myself into the job fully and set my mind on auto, which given its currently full plate of things to blow up to nuclear proportions, was welcome. I didn’t have to think about the rise and staggering quick collapse of my small group of friends. I didn’t have to bemoan the loss of the joy I had once held looking forward to lunch and I certainly didn’t have time to deal with Jun and my mom’s bullshit while I was working.

I would focus on work and hope I’d still manage a reservation at Kentucky Fried Chicken. I realized Aria seemed confused by the whole thing but going to KFC for Christmas was a tradition we’d done since I was a child, and KFC felt like something personal I might be able to share with her. The chicken wasn’t very good. I knew a lot of people loved the greasy crunchy bird, but the atmosphere was important to me and, oddly enough, screamed Christmas. I had applied for a reservation but could only wait, now, to see what happened.

Komari agreed to give me as many hours as possible and I fully intended to take advantage of it. Maybe I’d even be able to buy Aria’s tennis bracelet long before her birthday, which would lower my workload later on. I moved on to the other figures in the case I was working on, picking up each one individually and wiping the dust off carefully with a rag.

“And a good evening to you, Lady Sora,” I bowed slightly to the cat which was staring at me with mild interest. Her tail swished slightly, and she yawned. She was certainly a strange cat, I thought. She came and went as she saw fit and seemed to have taken quite the liking to the large cat girl figure on the shelf, laying beside the thing each time she came into the store through the cat door in the room which acted as the warehouse.

“Who is this?” Komari asked, shoving her camera into my field of view.

“Gah!” I yelped, jumping in surprise. “Don’t do that!”

“Deal with it,” Komari sniffed impatiently. “Who is this?”

I peered closer at the grainy CCTV still and glanced over at Komari, eyebrow raised dismissively. I found it nearly inconceivable she didn’t know who Rei was. I also found the concept of her being in an Otaku shop in Tottori of all places staggeringly remote.

“You really don’t know who that is?” I asked, trying hard to keep the disbelief out of my voice.

“If I knew I wouldn’t have asked, would I?” Komari growled. “What are they teaching you kids in school these days?”

“Well, grandma, that’s Rei Hanamori. She’s in Kunoichi,” I grinned at her. “My question is why was she in here?”

“That’s that gross pop band idol thing, right?” Komari mused, peering at the image on her phone.

“You are probably the only human in Japan who wouldn’t recognize her,” I chided her. “I’m pretty sure even half the animals grasp who she is. You are severely out of touch.”

“Unlike you, I am not an impressionable child,” Komari scowled.

“Whatever you have to tell yourself,” I shrugged, glancing down at her lovingly cared for and slightly tattered Sailor Uranus t-shirt then meaningfully at the store around us.

“Don’t judge me,” Komari snapped.

“You still haven’t answered my question. Why was she in here of all places?”

“She was looking for a limited run Kannazuki No Miko figure,” Komari murmured thoughtfully.

“Wow, that’s some deep dive stuff there,” I breathed in admiration.

“Yeah,” Komari seemed conflicted. “Too deep dive for some idol to be interested in.”

“Look who’s being all judgy, now,” I grinned at her teasingly. “We don’t have anything like that, though.”

“It’s ok, I know someone who had one and got the figure for her,” Komari waved her hand as if finding the impossible was mere child’s play.

“Awesome! So when’s she coming to pick it up?” I enthused, hoping I would get to meet her. Suddenly the bell chirped as the door opened, letting in a blast of freezing wind.

“Um, now,” Komari replied, straightening her hair quickly and turning toward the door, her face breaking into an unfamiliar smile. “Welcome back, dear customer!”

“Good afternoon!” the girl replied enthusiastically, closing the door behind her. She pulled off her hood and shook her hair free, the deep green bob fitting her elfin face perfectly. I was actually a bit surprised to find she was smaller than I was. On the TV and online they all looked far taller than I guess they actually were. It seemed somehow surreal I was actually in the same room with a famous person.

“I have that Reiko Ota figurine you ordered,” Komari bowed slightly. “Let me go get her.”

“That is so cool! Thank you!” The girl enthused. “Hi!” She turned to me.

“Gggh!” I managed nonsensically, my nerves causing my throat to suddenly close up tight.

“It’s my pleasure to meet you,” the girl bowed slightly. “My name is Rei.”

“I-I know,” I finally succeeded in forming actual words. The effect of famous people was scary. “I’m a fan of your group.”

“Well, I always love to meet people who like what we do,” Rei smiled, and I felt like a character in a manga faced with a brilliantly radiant protagonist. So bright, I thought.

“I-I don’t suppose I could have your autograph?” I had resisted the urge as long as I could but finally succumbed. I imagined it would annoying to have to sign your name for everyone wherever you went but the chances of me ever meeting anyone famous again was slim to none and to pass up this chance seemed the height of foolishness.

“I’d be happy to!” Rei replied graciously. I fished in the apron I was wearing to clean and quickly pulled out a pad of paper and pen I’d been using earlier to take inventory. I turned to a blank page and handed it over.

“Thank you!” I enthused, staring alternately at her and the pad of paper like a first grader angling for an ice cream.

“What’s your name?” Rei glanced up at me with a warm smile.

“Oh! Uh…” I thought hard for a second, my own name escaping my mind for a long moment. “Oh! Kasumi!”

“Are you sure?” She giggled, a tinkling sound I found strangely soothing.

“Yeah, I’m sure!” I laughed. She was far easier to talk to than I thought someone famous would be. However, having never met anyone famous before, admittedly I had a very limited knowledge pool to draw from in that regard.

“I have to ask,” I finally managed as Rei was signing my book. “Why are you in Tottori? I mean, it’s not exactly interesting or anything.”

“Well, I like to take pictures,” Rei answered, handing my pad back to me with a smile. “I love nature and old shrines and stuff like that and so I was here taking pictures of Daisenji and figured I’d take a few photos of the remains of the castle and the dunes and museums and Jinpu-kaku and stuff, while I was at it.”

“Ah, ok, that makes sense,” I nodded. Touristy stuff. All of which could be completed in less than a day in most instances and allow the unwary tourist to flee back to wherever they happened to hail from once the reality of being in Tottori set in.

“Then when I was walking past here, I decided to see if you could get a figure for me from my favorite anime,” Rei gestured at the store. “Komari was kind enough to order it in.”

“And here is your figure,” Komari reappeared from the back room., a box wrapped in bubble wrap carried in her hands.

“Delightful!” Rei clapped her hands excitedly as Komari handed it over. “Are we still on for our date tonight?” My mouth dropped open as I stared at first Rei and then Komari. Date? Was Komari dating Rei? How was this sort of thing possible when Komari didn’t even know who she was before a few minutes ago? When the hell did this happen? What was going on?

“Ah,” Komari glanced at me quickly, her face turning red. “Uh, yeah. I mean…definitely.”

“Perfect! I’ll pick you up at 6, then?” Rei grinned. “It was lovely to meet you, Kasumi.”

“Y-Yeah, definitely!” I stuttered.

“Maybe we’ll see each other again someday,” Rei gave me a quick hug, then folded Komari in a longer hug before turning with her box and leaving the store.

“You sly fox!” I giggled, jabbing Komari in the ribs gently with my elbow.

“Sh-Shut up and go back to work!” She sputtered. She turned on her heel and stalked off, her face the color of a tomato.