As this beautiful pink haired girl sat down once again across from me, I could feel my trope detector going off.
I've practically developed a sixth sense for this type of situation by now. A finely tuned internal alarm honed through emotional trauma and multiple webs of misunderstandings and confrontations.
It was like a gut feeling, like when animals know an earthquake will happen beforehand, or when people smell rain or a storm coming.
Regardless, my instincts screamed at me: Beware of this girl
And there she was, smiling, looking so calm and harmless.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, tilting her head. "Did I grow a second head or something?"
I said nothing. Just narrowed my eyes like I was in a detective drama.
I need to confirm it. Carefully. Subtly. I thought to myself.
I didn't want any more heroines to suddenly pop out of nowhere into my life. Especially when you've seen how much I struggle with one already.
I can't make any hasty moves, if I trigger the wrong flag, there's no telling what sort of development could happen.
But what can I say to make her admit she's an idol?
What should I ask-
Before I could form a plan of action, Misaki casually leaned forward, "So, I've given your suggestion some thought."
I blinked. "My what?"
"About quitting." She smiled faintly, resting her chin on one hand.
There was a dramatic pause and a sparkle in her eye.
"I think… I'm going to quit being an idol."
Clink
The sound of ceramic shattering hit the floor behind the counter. The old lady working the register stood frozen in shock.
Misaki turned towards the old lady and in a worried tone asked, "Aunty? Is everything okay?"
Meanwhile, I began to choke violently on my drink.
"Wha—COUGH—id—cough cough—what—"
"You, okay?!" Misaki asked, turning back to me with concern.
I choked so hard on my drink that it nearly shot through my nose, but I barely managed to recover.
"S-say that again?!" I managed to say, gripping the edge of the table like I was just about to faint.
Misaki blinked, looking even more confused than before.
"That… I'm quitting?"
"No! The other part!"
"That I'm an idol?" Misaki asked with an innocent frown and look of confusion.
Cut me some slack man. Isn't this too hasty of a reveal? Isn't she supposed to be trying to hide it or something?! Slowly build up to her suspenseful reveal?! But just like that!
Deny it no longer I could. Another problematic development had occurred.
A new heroine had shown up in my life.
Cliché #9: The idol.
Misaki handed me a nearby napkin which I used to clean myself up.
"I thought you knew," she said in a matter-of-fact way. "I mean, I am quite famous after all." She leaned back slightly, resting her chin in her hand with a proud, dazzling smile.
"And I mean, I also told you from the very start who I was and why was here in Kamakura… were you really not listening the entire time?"
I could feel a single invisible tear run down my cheek.
I spaced out man…
I bit down on my teeth, realizing I had just missed a critical plot detail that I couldn't rewind.
Misaki let out a long, disappointed sigh.
"Guess there's no helping it." She said calmly.
"Alright," she continued, standing up from her seat and walking into the middle of the café, flaunting her skirt with a flair of theatrical elegance.
"Let me introduce myself properly then… again."
She closed her eyes as if getting her mindset ready.
A cheerful and confident smile grew on her face, and she opened her eyes.
In one swift and smooth motion, clearly having been rehearsed many times over, she did a full 180 twirl and struck a sparkling idol pose right there in the middle of the café.
"Catching the stars and putting them in your heart, Starlight Symphony member, Seo Misaki at your service!" She exclaimed in a cutesy voice and ending it with a wink. "Also known as Lumi."
A sparkle sound might as well have played in the air.
The café's background jazz music couldn't even compete with the sheer level of flair and heroine energy this girl was giving off.
As for my reaction. Internally, I was already crying.
Why.
Why do I keep attracting these types of people?!
She sat back down, like nothing had happened.
"Ehem." She cleared her throat in a mock-serious tone. "Though, right now, I'm nothing more than civilian Seo Misaki on a temporary leave from the stage."
I took a deep breath, trying to rationalize and calm myself down.
Damn it Naoki! Lock in! You can't let yourself be stunned like all those other protagonists.
"That… was impressive" I said with a shaky smile.
"Right?" she responded while looking up with a proud smile. "Aren't you honored to be in my presence? Hohoho~"
I clutched my forehead, externally I looked fine, but internally I was thinking of where I had gone wrong this time.
There was no indication, none! To suggest this was an event!
I stared at my empty drink.
Wait, that time she was drowning at the beach… you mean to tell me that triggered an event?! C'mon that's not even fair! How was I supposed to know that triggered a flag!
No- wait there's an even more pressing issue at hand…
"So… are you seriously thinking of quitting your job?" I asked with a concerned expression.
"Well yeah, after thinking about it, you're right, what's the point if I'm not happy doing it" She replied.
"Wait, wait, wait." I said frantically, "Slow down, don't you think you're being too hasty about all of this?! I mean it's literally a life changing decision!"
"Why are you changing your mind now? You were the one who told me to quit in the first place."
I should really learn to shut up.
"That was BEFORE I knew all the details! Besides, my ideas are always stupid, and this definitely isn't the exception, so I'm being serious here, you should reaaaally think this through again."
"Well too bad! I already made up my mind." She said with a stubborn expression.
God damn it, if her fans ever find out I talked her out of her job I'm definitely dead meat.
"Misaki," the old lady behind the counter interrupted suddenly with a sharp, firm voice. Like a mom who just caught their kid doing something stupid. "Shouldn't you discuss that with Asahi first?"
Misaki flinched, like she was caught doing something bad. "Ugh… she's right…" she groaned.
Then she looked at me with an embarrassed grin. "Oh yeah, forgot to mention, she's Tanaka's wife. This café actually belongs to the two of them."
I looked at the woman behind the counter again.
Well that explains a lot.
She gave me a polite smile.
"Nice to meet you, young man," she said in a sweet, grandmotherly tone.
But her eyes…
Her eyes were definitely saying, "you're a bad influence for my daughter."
I straightened my posture instinctively.
I'm definitely being judged here.
Just then, the TV in the corner flickered to a new segment.
[Starlight Symphony – Behind the Curtain]
The screen cut to footage of the remaining members, a girl with long purple hair, another with short bright orange hair and finally a green twin tailed girl, all smiling and laughing.
It was an interview with the members of the group.
"Sera what do you have to say about the rumors circulating that there's friction between all the members of the group?" One reporter asked.
The girl with purple haired stepped up and with a soft smile answered, "Those are all just baseless rumors started by people who just want attention. I assure you, in our group, we are all, and treat one another like family."
"Then why hasn't Lumi shown herself recently? Did something happen to her?" A different reporter asked.
"She's doing juuust fine." She responded with a smirk, "Lumi just felt a little homesick which is why she hasn't been around recently. But we still keep contact with her, after all she's like the sweet little sister of the group."
The questions continued, but I decided to glance back at Misaki.
She was still watching, but her eyes had lost their usual sparkle.
That bright personality of hers faded just a little.
And for a moment, she looked very tired.
Yep. This girl also has that emotionally complicated, slow burn, backstory look.
My experience was telling me that just by getting involved with Misaki, I would somehow be dragged into her drama.
And if I wanted to avoid the same type of situation like with Kido, then I was left with one single option.
I gotta dip.
But before I could even begin to retreat into excuse-making Misaki spoke first.
"Hey," she said quietly.
She then turned to me.
"I'm glad I got to talk to someone like this today. Unless…"
She looked slightly down and looked at me with a sad puppy-like expression.
"…You changed your mind after hearing I'm an idol?"
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-
It was a full emotional attack.
While she gave me those begging eyes, the old lady in the back was glaring at me, clearly warning me to be careful with my answer.
I stared at her for a long second. Then sighed, defeated.
It is what it is.
"No, I had a good time too," I muttered, dragging out my words like I was signing a contract with the devil.
Misaki's eyes lit up instantly.
"Great!" She chirped and the sad expression she had before dropped faster than my guard.
What.
She leaned forward, with a smug smile stretching from ear to ear.
"I knew those puppy eyes wouldn't fail me."
My jaw dropped. "Wait. That was just an act?!"
"of course it was," she said, absolutely shameless. "I'm an idol so I'm pretty good at putting up an act you know? And besides, you're not getting rid of me that easily, Naoki-kun."
That mocking smile returned, full of confidence, chaos, and bad decisions waiting to happen.
Then, before I could react, she leaned in closer, way too close for comfort, until her lips were practically brushing my ear.
Her voice dropped to a low, provocative whisper:
"And you also have to take responsibility for your actions now."
My spine stiffened.
I instantly backed off; the chair scraped slightly against the floor.
"Oi! Don't make this weird outta nowhere!" I reprimanded her.
"Misaki straightened, giggling. "Haha~ Not very effective anymore, is it?"
I stared at her.
This girl isn't just troublesome.
She's dangerous.
I took a sip at my cup.
But another great tragedy had taken place. The cup was empty. I was out of choccy milk.
….
Not long after I bid my farewells to Misaki and the old lady.
As it turns out, Misaki was actually living on the second floor of that building for the time being. Something about feeling more comfortable with people that were real.
But that encounter with her left me with even more things to think about. Like what she meant by 'taking responsibility'.
Just thinking about it gives me shivers.
Anyways, I continued walking for a while, especially because it was an unfamiliar area I wasn't used to.
But eventually I found myself at a stop light I recognized.
10…9…8
I counted down as I watched the remaining time left until I could cross.
3…2…1…
Just as the lights turned green, giving me the right of passage, a black limousine suddenly did a screeching stop, blocking me from crossing the street.
What the…
I stared at the Limousine with a frown on my face.
It continued to block my path without moving for a solid minute. And after what felt like an eternity, I finally decided to go up to knock on the window.
As I was itching closer and closer to the car, I had a moment of realization.
Wait a minute… I've seen this car before.
But before I could deliberate on it any further, the door inadvertently slammed open, and before I got to react. Two mysterious figures grabbed me by the collar and dragged me inside the dark interior of the limousine.
You can't be serious.
As if straight out of a movie, I just got kidnapped in broad daylight in the middle of Japan!