A True Fan (2)

****

The sudden retirement of the V-tuber Ai Kyouka outraged Mai's classmates. She could feel their sadness and the anger of some across the room. Their reactions were the same as most of the internet—comments filled with anger and hurtful words directed at Ai and the company. Mai wondered how they would react if the popular V-tuber they were talking about was the silent girl in the class.

Mai never uttered a single word at school. No one talked to her, and she never started any conversations. She was always alone. Not a single person would believe that she was Ai Kyouka, but their comments made her shake in fear.

Mai wondered if she had done the right thing. Was announcing her retirement without a reason the correct thing to do? Should she reveal the truth about her condition? The atmosphere was getting more tense by the minute. Mai went out of the room and looked to find a quiet spot.

When she tried to go to the cafeteria, she discovered that it was already packed. Not only that, the students were talking about Ai. The news quickly spread through the school. She tried going to the bathroom, but it was full of girls changing makeup. Outside was off-limits as well, since some students were having lunch there.

Running around the entire building, trying to find a spot, she needed a break. She briefly stopped in front of the library. Suddenly, she thought, "What about the library? Surely that place was empty." Once she caught her breath, she slid open the door.

Upon opening the door, Mai felt the chilly breeze from the air conditioner on her body, but it didn't bother her. When she looked around, the room was empty. Not a single student was in sight. Mai sighed in relief, thinking she finally found a quiet place. Suddenly, she was caught off guard.

"Oh, welcome."

A girl popped up from behind the desk and greeted her with a small smile. Her eyes jolted, surprised. Who is she?

"I've never seen you here before."

Mai had never been to the library. She came across the library when she entered the university, but she never needed to enter. The short brown-haired girl with green eyes seemed to be familiar with it. Was she regularly coming here? Or was she in charge of managing the library? Judging from where she popped up and the tiny rectangular pin in her uniform, she assumed it was the latter.

"Y-yeah, it's my first time here."

"I see. Then please, make yourself at home."

Mai nodded and quickly went to the shelves. It was the first time she ever talked to someone in school. Although the interaction went well, she wasn't focused on the fact. All she wanted was a quiet place to stay in and she got it thanks to the library and the librarian at the front.

Mai thought of reading a book in hopes of clearing her mind. As she started searching for one, she noticed that the books were stored properly in each of their appropriate sections. From what she saw, the room was managed well.

She then went further back and stumbled upon the manga section. Mai was surprised that a school library would have a manga section. Not only that, but some of the titles seemed interesting. She saw a book titled "Fluttering Soul".

The book was a few shelves up. Despite that, she tries her best to reach it. As she tries to reach the book, her hand comes in contact with something, or someone.

"Ah."

"Ah."

Mai let out a small sound from her mouth. Her reaction mimicked the person's reaction. They both pull back their hands. The guy was trying to reach the same book. Upon looking at him, his face looked familiar.

"Torimori-san, right?"

She was surprised that someone knew who she was. She wasn't popular in the class and her presence could hardly be felt. How did this guy know who she was? Mai looked at the man's appearance.

His dark blue hair covered his forehead and part of his glasses. Mai realized who he was. He was the person who was assigned to the seat beside her, Akihito Nagai. It was the first time she looked at his face. His appearance was similar to hers yet he seemed more appealing. 'What was he doing here?' she thought. After a few seconds, she responded to his inquiry.

"Y-yes."

Despite looking at his appearance before, she couldn't look him in the eye when she answered. Akihito lent her the book, saying that he will read it afterward, and she kindly accepted his offer. She then looked for a seat and saw a free chair near the window.

When she was about to sit down, the same thing happened again. The spot was Akihito's but he allowed her to sit in it and instead sat at the table in front of her.

Now that she has sat down, she could finally clear her mind. At least, that's what she thought. Despite doing her best to read the book, she couldn't focus. Their comments were still rattling her mind. Her phone vibrated in her pocket. Mai propped up the book so one could see her.

When she turned it on, the lock screen was filled with notifications- all from Twitter. As she looked at them, they were all comments about her announcement. All of them were hateful reactions.

'You betrayed me!'

'I thought we were inseparable!'

'How can you just leave us so suddenly?!'

Scrolling down further, they all contained the same message. Ai's fans were hating on her for suddenly retiring, not knowing what she is going through.

Tears started forming in her eyes, saddened by the feedback from her fans. She thought they would understand her decision but they didn't. Ai was a symbol of happiness to most. Now that she's gone, they didn't know what they were going to do. She couldn't understand why they were acting like this. The tears slowly flowed down her cheeks and into her phone. She took off her glasses and reached for her handkerchief. Mai rubbed her tears off her face and the screen.

After reading all of those comments, she felt exhausted. She erased all of the notifications, turned off the screen, and leaned on the table, slowly dozing off.

****

Three hours have passed since Mai had dosed off. She slowly woke up and rubbed her eyes. The skin surrounding her eyes had become red. When she looked around, the library was still as quiet as before she napped.

Surprisingly, the person in front of her seemed to have also fallen asleep. Akihito was leaning on the table. Mai thought he felt tired as well.

Mai turned on her phone to check the time but as soon as she opened it, her attention was quickly drawn to the tons of notifications. Her erasing of the previous ones was useless as they were immediately replaced. The comments were again directed at her. One comment though, stood out to her above the rest.

'You lied to me! You said we were together forever! You should *** for it!'

Out of all the comments she's read, that was the one that hit her the most. No one has ever told her that she should *** for what she's done.

Soon enough, the comments quickly became the same- cursing her for everything, some also condemning her to ****. Her whole body started shaking in fear. Mai's hands were struggling to hold the phone but they gave out. Her eyes widened with utter shock. She imagined a person in front of her telling her to go ***.

Mai quickly packed all of her things and got up. She rushed out of the library and ran towards the stairs.

She passed by students and even ran into a one on the way but she didn't care to apologize. All that was on her mind were those words. Mai climbed up the stairs, passing by even more students. Eventually, she reached the rooftop.

It was empty, probably because most of the students still had classes. The sunshine was slowly fading as the clouds slowly cover it. Mai walked towards the edge of the rooftop.

She remembers the comments of her 'fans'. Seeing as how they wanted her gone, she thought it would be better if she granted their wish.

She stood atop the small wall surrounding the rooftop and looked down at the empty ground. Mai had isolated herself from the world. Now, she imagines the headlines after what she was going to do. But she didn't care. All she felt was sadness and guilt. Guilty that she couldn't tell them the truth. Guilty that she couldn't even say goodbye properly. For one last time, she thought, 'I'll grant your wish." Tears flew down her face and into the school grounds. She closed her eyes, preparing herself for what she was about to do. As she was about to end it all there, someone suddenly shouted.

"What are you doing?!"