— — — — — —
The moment he heard the words "experienced in protecting government ministers," Oikawa forced a smile.
It was exactly what he'd imagined. Men in suits, carrying briefcases, looking serious, but probably useless.
Bodyguards? If that was the case... honestly, he could do without them.
Shinzo Abe had gone down so easily to Yamagami's gun.
In Oikawa's eyes, bodyguards were practically worthless. If even the best of the best couldn't protect Japan's prime minister, what good were they?
...
After hanging up, Oikawa searched online for the bookstore chain called Tsutaya.
"A chain that only started showing up in public these past few years? Looks rich too."
Reading through the official company profile, he saw they'd opened more than twenty stores in the last five years. A grin spread across his face.
He liked working with rich people like this.
It was like directors working with nouveau riche backers or shady financiers laundering money through films.
Plenty of money, no meddling, and the heroine was always a beauty.
You could doubt their investment sense, but never their taste in women.
"Two hundred thousand copies sold before release... that's one hell of a sign." Stretching, Oikawa walked over to the fridge to grab a drink.
But the red sticky note on the door caught his eye, freezing his hand in midair.
{I made curry for you. It's in the fridge. Just heat it up in the microwave. Even if you're busy, don't forget to eat.}
It was Saki Kawasaki's handwriting.
Oikawa paused. Then he slowly looked around the apartment.
The floors had been mopped. The laundry was washed and hanging neatly to dry. A faint lavender scent lingered in the air.
In the bedroom, the electric blanket was already turned on, and the messy nightstand had been tidied up.
It was like a faerie from some folktale had snuck in and cleaned the whole place.
Oikawa dropped onto the bed, feeling the warmth beneath him.
The smile on his face just kept growing.
After thinking for a moment, he picked up his phone and sent the faerie a message.
『Oikawa』: "Even if you're a faerie, does that mean you can just walk into someone else's room whenever you want? Sigh... That's breaking the law. Expect a lawyer's letter."
It took a while before she replied.
Oikawa guessed she was probably helping her little brother study.
『Kawasaki』: "How is it sneaking in? I texted you during the day. You just didn't reply."
Oikawa scrolled up.
She really had.
But for some reason, none of the messages had shown as unread.
[Oikawa, I made curry for you. Are you home yet?]
[You there?]
[I'm heading over.]
[I left the curry in the fridge. I'm leaving now.]
Four messages.
Not one notification.
『Oikawa』: "Didn't get any alerts... sorry."
『Kawasaki』: "It's fine."
The generous faerie was only a little annoyed, but she could understand. Working for the Service Club really must have been exhausting.
『Oikawa』: "Looks like registering your fingerprint was the right call after all."
『Kawasaki』: "You forced me into that."
『Oikawa』: "Hm? Funny, I don't remember someone resisting all that hard."
The two of them kept chatting.
Though most of the time, it was Oikawa sending long messages while Kawasaki only answered with simple replies.
Mm. Oh. Or just a few short words.
Looking at it, it almost seemed like Oikawa cared more about Kawasaki.
But appearances could be deceiving. In most relationships, girls' feelings came later, but when they did, they crashed in like waves.
As for men... once the heat of desire cooled, they could turn into strangers overnight.
...
..
Christmas arrived right on schedule. December 25th.
Sobu High and Kaihin High began rehearsals at the civic hall. The people who'd actually been formally invited, of course, didn't come.
The ones who showed up were the labor force. The cast of The Little Prince musical had also all been dragged in.
Even Hachiman Hikigaya, former Service Club member, had been hauled over unwillingly by Zaimokuza to help.
The rehearsal was rough. Messy, stumbling, full of mistakes. But in the end, they managed to get through the whole thing.
That alone settled everyone's nerves a little.
That night, everyone dispersed peacefully.
Oikawa went downstairs to the vending machines and stood there for a while before finally picking hot milk.
Too bad there wasn't any tea.
Sitting on the sofa in the lobby, he suddenly spotted an unexpected pair.
The pair that caught Oikawa's eye were Hachiman and Orimoto Kaori, the Kaihin High girl who'd asked for his number before.
"How are those two walking together?" Oikawa muttered, curiosity kicking in.
"Senpai, they were classmates in middle school." A voice spoke beside him.
At some point, Isshiki had sat down next to him.
Today she was wearing a blue coat over a turtleneck sweater, with a white skirt falling past her knees.
It wasn't really her usual style. If anything... it looked more like something Yukino would wear.
"And from what I know," Isshiki added, "Hachiman-senpai confessed to Orimoto-senpai once. She rejected him. Badly."
Then, catching Oikawa's disdainful gaze lingering on her clothes, Isshiki cried out, "Senpai, where are you looking, you pervert?!"
She made a dramatic fuss, crossing her arms over her chest, though the teasing glint in her eyes gave her away.
Oikawa rolled his eyes at her. "There's barely anything there to look at. Even if you offered, I'd pass."
"That... that's seriously hurtful!" Isshiki puffed out her cheeks.
"The truth hurts." Oikawa fired back mercilessly. "Listen, as your senpai, I'm saying this for your own good. You need to face your shortcomings and work on them. I heard plastic surgery's pretty advanced over in Korea. Might be worth a try."
"..."
"Hmph. One day I'll make you eat those words, Senpai. Definitely!" Unable to think of any comeback, Isshiki could only throw out an unrealistic promise about the future, refusing to accept reality.
Just then, voices sounded from outside.
The two of them instantly shut up and listened in.
"Hachiman Hikigaya, I didn't expect you to be part of Sobu High's student council too. Doesn't really suit you." Orimoto tilted her head, surprise flickering across her face.
"I'm just helping out." Hachiman looked away, his expression flat.
Orimoto let out a small laugh, brushing her hair back. Her tone turned casual, almost careless.
"Oh, by the way, that Oikawa guy at your school is seriously full of himself. He acts like he's the student council president or something." She clicked her tongue and shook her head. "I kind of feel bad for Isshiki-senpai."
Taking the opportunity, Isshiki leaned close to Oikawa's ear and whispered softly, "Isshiki doesn't feel pitiful at all. I'm actually really grateful for your help, senpai."
The conversation between Hachiman and Orimoto continued.
And to be honest, Oikawa was curious how Hachiman would answer.
"Hachiman, don't you hate Oikawa too? He's so arrogant, like everyone else is stupid and he's the only smart one. Guys like that are the worst." Orimoto patted Hachiman on the shoulder. "You think so too, right?"
Hachiman paused for four or five seconds.
Then answered slowly, "...I don't."
Orimoto frowned, but he kept going. "You're only looking at Oikawa that way because he turned down your attempt at friendship, right?"
Her expression stiffened.
And Hachiman had no intention of stopping. "Honestly, you don't need to take it so personally. From what I've seen, Oikawa never gets close to girls who don't meet his looks threshold. And you're not the first."
Damn.
Not only killing the person, but stabbing the heart too.
Hachiman, you definitely did that on purpose. Revenge really does taste sweet, doesn't it?
Meanwhile, Isshiki leaned closer again, but this time Oikawa stopped her with a palm against her forehead. "Senpai, if you're willing to talk to me, does that mean I pass your standards? But wow... that really does make you sound like a scumbag."
Oikawa opened his mouth, but no words came out. Well, he knew he'd been acting like a scumbag lately. But even if he could defend himself, there was no way he'd ever admit it.
On the other side, things were starting to heat up between Hachiman and Orimoto.
"Hachiman, what are you so smug about?!" Orimoto snapped, practically stomping her foot. "You confessed to me back in middle school, remember? Who do you think you are now?"
"And you said it yourself," Hachiman replied calmly. "That was back then. Anyway, if there's nothing else, I'm going home."
With that, he slung his backpack over his shoulder, caught up with Tetsuya Saika Zaimokuza, who had been watching the drama from nearby, and the two of them walked out of the civic hall side by side.
Orimoto stood there, face pale and stiff with anger.
It took her a long while before she finally left.
The second she was gone, Oikawa and Isshiki burst out laughing.
That kind of face-slapping comeback never got old.
"I didn't know Hachiman-senpai could be so ruthless," Isshiki said, giggling. "Oikawa-senpai, I think his sharp tongue rubbed off on you. People become like those they spend time with."
The first half of her sentence was light and casual. The second half carried deliberate emphasis.
Oikawa raised his hand and chopped her lightly on the head.
"Ow! Senpai, I told you not to hit me! What if it makes me dumber?" Iroha Isshiki looked up with teary eyes. "If I get dumber, are you going to marry me?"
Oikawa rejected that instantly, "Sorry. Flat runways aren't my type."
"Ugh! Stop saying that! I'm seriously getting mad! I told you, I'm still growing, okay!"
The two of them started fooling around on the first floor of the civic hall, filling the place with laughter.
Isshiki chased after Oikawa, determined to get revenge. But dealing with her was easy.
All Oikawa had to do was stretch out one arm, and she couldn't get close.
Still, Isshiki was persistent. She refused to give up.
The two kept at it.
Isshiki chasing from behind, Oikawa running ahead, stopping every now and then just to throw another taunt at her.
Adding fuel to the fire.
It was childish. But somehow, it was always fun.
...
..
Meanwhile, Full-Drive Bunko moved fast.
With an investment of two hundred million yen, the anime adaptation of Your Lie in April was progressing smoothly.
Money really could solve everything. And if it couldn't... that just meant there wasn't enough of it.
That Christmas night, Full-Drive Bunko's official account reposted a tweet. The caption instantly caught everyone's attention.
On that day in April, I told a lie, just one. And that lie brought you to me, Arima Kousei. April was both a beginning... and an ending—
—Your Lie in April officially premieres January 8th on Tokyo TV.
And then came the promotional video.
The moment viewers clicked on it, sorrowful music began to play.
On screen, Kousei Arima and Kaori Miyazono were smiling.
But for the readers who already knew how it ended, it was impossible to hold back the tears gathering in their eyes.
At the very end, the image froze on a hospital bed.
Kaori's arm hung limp at the bedside. A nurse's panicked cries of "Miss Miyazono!" rang out.
And Kousei's hands trembled uncontrollably.
"Goodbye." Kaori's soft voice echoed gently.
Then the screen faded completely to black.
The comments section exploded.
[What the hell is this? A-1 Pictures is not even pretending to be human now. You're only adapting the first half, so why make the promotional video this depressing?]
[Seriously, what kind of sick move is this? Not even a warm-up, just straight for the kill?]
[Saw "Copycat-sensei" in the script credits. I get it now... Dammit! Copycat, you damn dog, you deserve death.]
[Man, I'm honestly scared to watch this. I cried enough reading it. Now it's animated, with music? They're trying to drain my tear ducts dry.]
[What do we do? There's no way A-1 Pictures would be cruel enough to start handing out emotional damage this early... right?]
[A-1 might not pull something like that, but Copycat definitely would. That bastard has no bottom line. He's the BxB, the Bastard of Bastards.]
[That's it. I'm bringing a knife to the signing event and making him rewrite Kaori back to life. I deserve a happy ending. We all do. And my Kaori deserves happiness too.]
[Good plan. Count me in.]
[Me too.]
...
Oikawa stared at the comments, completely dumbfounded.
What the hell.
This really wasn't his doing.
Wasn't this straight-up slander?
When the anime adaptation of Your Lie in April had first started production, all he'd done was talk to the director about the piano pieces and a few technical details.
That was it. He absolutely had not told the director to cut the promotional video like this.
This was the biggest injustice of his life.
Why were they threatening him with knives? Go find the director!
Oikawa felt aggrieved beyond words.
If it had really been his fault, fine, he'd take the heat.
But this? This had nothing to do with him.
Just as he was gearing up to message the director and demand an explanation, a LINE notification popped up.
It was from Yukino Yukinoshita.
『Yukino』: "Heh. I always knew you could be awful, but apparently I still underestimated how low you'd sink."
At this hour, there was no question she'd seen the repost from Full-Drive Bunko.
『Oikawa』: "It really wasn't me."
Yukino's reply came almost instantly.
『Yukino』: "Heh. If not you, who else would come up with something this disgusting? Just wash your neck and wait. Signing day will be your execution. When there's a blade at your throat, let's see if you're still this stubborn."
After that, she stopped replying.
Oikawa collapsed onto his bed, looking like he was about to cry.
Damn it. It really wasn't him.
So why did no one believe him?
…
..
Christmas night.
The trees lining the streets of Chiba were draped in silver-white lights, glowing beautifully in the dark.
Snowflakes drifted down from the sky. As if winter itself had decided Christmas was worth celebrating.
It was the first snow of the season in Chiba.
The first snow. And of course, the perfect time for a confession.
There was a Korean saying: when the first snow falls, lovers would find happiness together.
Oikawa had no idea what lovestruck fool came up with it, but a lot of people believed it anyway.
Still, after checking the time, he put on his coat, picked up a giant panda plush nearly as tall as he was, and headed out.
People on the street couldn't stop staring at the oversized panda.
The stares kept coming all the way until he climbed into a taxi.
"That's one huge panda, kid," the driver said with a laugh. "Going to see a friend?"
"No." Oikawa smiled confidently. "My future wife."
The driver blinked, then burst out laughing.
『Oikawa』: "I'm coming to get you."
Oikawa sent the message to his faerie.
A reply came quickly, "Okay."
Then he messaged her little brother, Taishi.
『Oikawa』: "Taishi, you remember what we agreed on, right?"
『Taishi』: "Oikawa-nii, don't worry. Keika and I already talked it over. When the time comes, she'll say her stomach hurts. We definitely won't interrupt your date with Saki-nee."
Reading the reply, Oikawa nodded in satisfaction.
『Oikawa』: "Don't worry. I'll get you that signed copy of Clannad like I promised. And Keika's snacks too. I won't forget."
『Taishi』: "Mm. Keika and I believe in you. Good luck~"
A smile curled at Oikawa's lips.
This time, there was no way he'd fail to win over Saki Kawasaki.
Everything was in place. All he needed now was the right moment.
And the whole plan had been set. Tonight, no matter what, he was going to make real progress.
He'd had enough of waiting.
.
.
.