Third POV
While Kayaba Akihiko was busy fucking Rinko like his life depended on it—pounding into her with the same obsessive intensity he'd poured into building Aincrad—the rest of the cast was trapped in a very different kind of performance.
Aqua, Mem-cho, Yuki Sumi, Akane Kurokawa, Nobuyuki Kumano, and Kengo Morimoto were all stuck in a ridiculous, manufactured dating show spectacle.
They were pretending to be normal, boring young people, doing their absolute best to play their assigned "romantic partners" for the cameras while keeping their real selves buried beneath layers of performance.
Because Aquamarine Hoshino had entered the scene and broken the original balance, things had shifted dramatically.
In another timeline, Yuki Sumi would have been entangled with those two gay guys—Nobuyuki and Kengo—playing out a messy love triangle that kept the audience hooked.
But that wasn't happening here.
And as for calling them "gay"?
That was just a joke, obviously.
They weren't actually into each other like that.
But since Yuki wasn't orbiting around them anymore, the two boys had defaulted to playing up their own partnership—a "brotherly friendship" that the production team quickly realized had commercial potential.
The rotten girls in the audience didn't care about the truth. They saw two moderately attractive young men spending time together, and their imaginations ran wild.
Secretly, all over AO3, fujoshi were already writing BL fanfiction about Nobuyuki and Kengo, complete with tags like "Enemies to Lovers" and "Accidental Confession."
The production crew knew about it. They didn't stop it. In fact, they quietly encouraged it. In the entertainment industry, hype was always more important than truth.
A perfectly innocent friendship between boys, twisted into a gay romance for the sake of a dating show's ratings?
Don't be surprised.
If you search hard enough on AO3, you'll find people writing slow-burn enemies-to-lovers fanfiction about Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
Nothing is sacred.
Nothing is off limits.
Yikes, indeed.
Anyway, while those two were busy cultivating their unintentional BL circle, Aqua was dealing with his own complicated situation.
In another timeline—one where he hadn't met the Crow Goddess so early— he might have been hiding in a corner with Mem-cho, two introverts bonding over mutual discomfort.
But here, in this reality, he was being pursued from two directions.
A full-blown love triangle had formed around him, with Mem-cho on one side and Yuki Sumi on the other.
The atmosphere between the three of them was thick with the kind of ambiguous tension that made for great television.
Lingering glances, accidental touches, meaningful pauses—it was all there, playing out under the hot studio lights.
The producers were practically salivating.
This was the price of fame.
Aqua's song, Viva la Vida, had become a genuine phenomenon overnight.
It was everywhere—trending on every platform, covered by amateurs and professionals alike, dissected by music critics who couldn't agree on whether it was genius or derivative.
The shockwave was still rippling through the internet, and the show's producers were determined to milk it for everything it was worth.
They wanted him on screen as much as possible, they wanted the drama, they wanted the buzz.
Could he refuse? Technically, yes. He had enough leverage now to push back if he really wanted to. But in the entertainment industry, playing the "privilege card" too early was a death sentence for your career.
Arima Kana was the perfect example of that—she'd had all the talent in the world, but she'd been difficult, demanding, unwilling to play the game.
Look where that had gotten her.
Aqua had no intention of repeating her mistakes.
He would grin and play along with the dating show farce, and use every second of screen time to build his foundation.
There would be time to burn bridges later.
Right now, he needed to build them.
Yuki Sumi was watching him closely, her expression soft with concern.
She was playing her role perfectly—the young maiden hopelessly infatuated with her dream lover.
Every glance, every flutter of her lashes, every slight parting of her lips was calibrated for maximum audience engagement.
"Are you alright, Aqua-kun?" she asked, her voice a gentle, worried whisper. "Do you want to rest? Or maybe... you'd like to..."
Her face flushed a delicate pink, and she trailed off, letting the implication hang in the air like perfume.
They were still on camera.
Still in the middle of a dating show. Whether her blush was genuine or acting, nobody could say for sure. That was the genius of it—the ambiguity kept viewers guessing.
Any ordinary boy, some shy virgin who'd never held a girl's hand, would have been a puddle on the floor by now.
Flirted with by a famous, beautiful young model like Yuki Sumi?
Nosebleed territory.
Instant emotional meltdown.
But Aqua wasn't ordinary.
He met her gaze directly, his expression calm, his smile soft but controlled. "I'm fine, Yuki. I think I'd like to..."
He let his eyes drift downward, lingering on her lips for just a fraction of a second too long.
It was a tiny gesture, barely noticeable, but the cameras caught it.
The directors probably rewound it three times in the control room.
Yuki's blush deepened, and she nervously twirled a strand of her hair, playing the flustered maiden to perfection.
Before the moment could escalate, a cold, wet pressure suddenly clamped against Aqua's cheek.
"Aqua-kun, here's some bottled water if you'd like some."
Mem-cho stood there, smiling sweetly, the ice-cold bottle pressed firmly against his skin.
Her expression was pure adorableness, but her eyes—her eyes held a glint of something territorial.
She wasn't going to let Yuki have all the moments.
Aqua accepted the bottle with a nod, unscrewing the cap and taking a long, deliberate drink.
The cold water was a welcome relief from the hot studio lights and the even hotter atmosphere.
"Thanks," he said simply.
Mem-cho's smile widened. Yuki's eyes narrowed, just slightly, before she smoothed her expression back into gentle longing.
The competition between the two women continued without brake.
"Aqua-kun... Aqua-kun! Over here! Try this!"
"How is it, Aqua-kun? Do you like my bento? I woke up extra early to make it special just for you!"
"Aqua-kun... please, you have to taste my cookies. I spent hours on these!"
Fuck.
Aqua barely stopped himself from audibly cursing. He was surrounded—completely hemmed in—by two stunningly beautiful young women who were both actively, aggressively pursuing his attention.
And they weren't just bringing themselves; they brought offerings.
Cookies.
Bento boxes.
Drinks.
Little homemade treats.
It was a constant, unrelenting barrage of affection wrapped in food, and their intense competition showed no signs of slowing down.
Meanwhile, the Dating Show's traffic was absolutely exploding.
A love triangle between a rising top singer (Aqua himself), a famous model (Yuki Sumi), and an influential YouTuber (Mem-cho)?
Of course it was pulling in viewers by the millions.
The internet thrived on this kind of drama.
The producers knew it, the network knew it, and the audience couldn't get enough.
Every lingering glance, every accidental touch, every awkward silence was dissected and memed within minutes of airing.
The two girls kept going because they knew—they knew—they were on exactly the right track. The buzz was real. The chemistry was undeniable.
And neither of them was willing to be the one to back down.
Only...
Aqua noticed movement from the corner of his eye.
Akane Kurogawa was approaching.
She walked with visible hesitation, her steps small and uncertain, her face flushed a deep, nervous pink.
She looked like she was trying to psych herself up for something terrifying—which, in a way, she was.
"Uhm..." Her voice came out small, almost swallowed by the ambient noise of the studio. "Everyone... can I... can I join too?"
Yuki Sumi and Mem-cho exchanged glances, their expressions shifting from competitive fire to genuine confusion.
The atmosphere, which had been thick with romantic tension, suddenly curdled into something awkward and uncertain.
This was the problem with newcomers. They broke the rhythm.
But Aqua wasn't about to let Akane stand there like a lost puppy.
He gestured to the space beside him. "Come and sit here, Akane."
She nodded quickly, almost bowing as she moved, and settled onto the spot with the careful, deliberate motions of someone afraid of breaking something.
Her hands fidgeted in her lap.
"So," Aqua said, keeping his voice gentle, "is there anything you wanted to ask, Akane?"
She looked up at him, then at the two women who were now staring at her with open curiosity.
Her blush deepened. "Can I... also taste the cookies?"
The silence that followed was deafening.
Yuki Sumi blinked. Mem-cho tilted her head.
The romantic tension that had been carefully cultivated over multiple episodes—the longing looks, the meaningful pauses, the unspoken competition—formally died in that single, awkward, painfully innocent question.
Cookies.
She'd asked about the cookies.
Aqua felt a small, genuine smile tug at his lips. Akane was a disaster in social situations, but she was a sincere disaster.
There was something endearing about her complete inability to play the game.
He decided to save face for her before the awkwardness could completely suffocate them all. He clapped his hands together lightly, drawing everyone's attention.
"Okay, everyone. Please take care of Akane. It seems like she wanted to talk to both of you—girl talk, probably. I'll leave you to it."
He leaned down, lowering his voice to a whisper meant only for Mem-cho. "Help her out. She's nervous. Don't let them eat her alive."
Mem-cho gave a tiny, almost imperceptible nod, her eyes flickering with understanding.
Then Aqua stood, brushing off his pants, and made his escape toward the other side of the set—toward Nobuyuki and Kengo, the two boys who had, apparently, become an accidental BL pairing in the depths of the internet's rotten heart.
He really hoped their fate wouldn't mirror the bizarre, inexplicable fanfiction crossovers between Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
The internet was a strange and terrible place, and once you ended up in certain corners of AO3, there was no coming back unchanged.
Honestly, unless it was absolutely necessary, Aqua wanted nothing to do with that particular rabbit hole.
Who knew what those fujoshi would write about him if he got too close?
But for now, his escape was tactical. He would stay away just long enough for Akane to calm down, to find her footing, to talk things out with Mem-cho and Yuki Sumi about whatever had driven her to approach them in the first place.
It wouldn't be easy—he knew that.
Akane was awkward by nature, and navigating the unspoken rules of a dating show's social dynamics was like asking a fish to climb a tree.
But Mem-cho was good with people.
She'd handle it.
He glanced back once, watching the three women settle into an uncomfortable but necessary conversation.
Good luck, Akane.
He thought.
You're going to need it.
...
Note:
Yeah, I was pretty much alive, but now I'm sick and currently recovering. I'm having a lot of difficulty updating old stories compared to creating new ones because recalling and using my brain in my current state takes a toll on me.
I should be active again by the weekend. Next week, I'll either post a new story for Mobuseka or Fate for you to read in your spare time, while also updating this one at the same time.
Yeah, my DxD and COTE fics are pretty much stalled, I have no idea what to write for the next chapters of those two, especially DxD.
I kind of shot myself in the foot when I wrote that the MC would have sex with Ai Hoshino because of the Panty Note. I don't know how to write their chemistry before the sex scene happens, or how to justify it.
Maybe I'll rewrite the last chapter and change it to something easier to write. Maybe I'll get new inspiration, who knows?
As for info on my new fanfics: For Fate, the MC will be Merlin; for Mobuseka, the MC will be reborn as Olivia's brother.
But whether I post them or not, we'll see later. My health isn't great right now for writing many fanfics, so for now I'm focusing on this one and will update it as usual on the weekend after I've rested.
Don't forget the powerstones, and let me know if you're still reading this story.