“But isn’t this…” Karin looked at the front page. “A first edition? They only printed two thousand copies for the first run, and it sold so fast that they announced another print run by the end of the first day. I mean, not to humblebrag.” Suzune was aware. She’d preordered that copy. In fact, her signed copy was a second edition. Since the first edition had sold out so quickly, DIAGONAL had held a singing event as a way of thanking the fans. Suzune had attended this, too, of course. “W-well, that bookstore is really just a tiny little stationery shop! Isn’t that funny? They just happened to have an extra copy lying around, I guess! So that’s rare? Wowww, I had nooo idea…” As acting went, this was far from her finest performance. She was so nervous, she couldn’t put any feeling into it at all. “Uh-huh…” Karin closed the book. Incidentally, it was specifically a Karin Shotsuki solo photobook, not a DIAGONAL group photobook. And it also just so happened to contain her first (and almost certainly her last) swimsuit photos…in a bikini…with a centerfold. Suzune could admire the swimsuit shots for hours—they were more beautiful than any masterpiece in a museum. …Okay, well. This line of thought was not helping to slow her heartbeat in the least. Did Karin buy her story? No, there was no way she would accept such a clumsily patched-together excuse. But Suzune couldn’t think of anything else. “…Aww, too bad.” Karin put down the photobook and pouted a little. “I would’ve been sooo happy if you turned out to be a fan. What a shame.” I’M YOUR NUMBER ONE FAAAAAN! Suzune screamed inwardly. For an instant, she wondered if it would be all right to confess…but what if Karin was just saying that to be nice? If Suzune owned up to it, only for Karin to say something like “Wait, are you serious…?” and look creeped out, Suzune would never recover. A single photobook was one thing, but Suzune also had her walls covered in posters that she admired every day, and she watched DIAGONAL’s concert videos nonstop. She was a hardcore fan. Suzune didn’t even want to think about how Karin would react to a colleague who had a mountain of her merchandise at home. “Um…would you like to take a shower, maybe…?” Suzune delicately took back the photobook. “You fell asleep without one last night. Your clothes are folded up by the bathroom door.” “Thank you very much. I’ll take you up on that, if you don’t mind.” Karin put her hand on the sheets and ducked her head gratefully, then bounced out of bed and headed toward the door Suzune indicated. The bathroom was the first door when you stepped into the hallway from the bedroom, with the kitchen at the other end. Suzune put the photobook away and padded into the kitchen, still in sweats. The wooden flooring felt cool on the soles of her bare feet. Before long, the weather would be cold enough that she’d have to wear warm socks at home. She should probably get her humidifier and oil heater out of storage soon. For now, she decided to make breakfast. Her fridge contained most of a loaf of bread, as well as bacon, cheese, and an onion she’d sliced up in advance to eat in a salad. I’ll make hot sandwiches. She made them often, since they were easy and filling. Suzune took the hot sandwich maker down from the shelf. She’d bought it on impulse because of its cute mint green color, but it turned out to be quite practical, too. There was barely any actual cooking involved. She put the bread on the bottom grill plate, arranged the ingredients on top, seasoned it with ketchup, salt and pepper, and so on, then topped each sandwich with a second piece of bread. After that, all she had to do was close the sandwich maker and flip a switch, and it would automatically grill them to perfection. “Ooh, hot sandwiches!” A freshly showered Karin appeared in the kitchen, pressing against Suzune’s back, and peering over her shoulder. Nngh… Suzune nearly swooned at the sensation of her oshi’s soft chest against her. Despite her best efforts, it was hard not to react. Suzune pushed down any rising urges and reached over to put beans into her automatic coffee maker, then stopped. “Karin-chan, is coffee all right for you?” “I’d love some.” Her chin was still resting on Suzune’s shoulder, tickling her cheek. Her voice, which Suzune had always admired, was even clearer thanks to her extensive voice acting studies. She also had a sweet, pleasant scent at the moment. Even though Karin had used Suzune’s own body soap, and therefore should smell exactly the same, it was somehow different on Karin. Maybe it was mingling with her natural scent. Her arms had also slipped somehow around Suzune’s waist; Karin was essentially hugging her from behind. Karin definitely didn’t have a strong sense of personal space. As happy as Suzune was to have her oshi cozying up to her, she wasn’t sure if her heart could take much more of this sheer delight. But she wasn’t going to shake her off, of course. She couldn’t imagine doing such a thing. And so, they stayed snugly connected as Suzune finished preparing breakfast. Karin only finally drew away after Suzune had poured the coffee into mugs and put the cut sandwiches onto plates to be served. They each brought their own plates and mugs to the low table next to Suzune’s bed. Then they got started on their breakfasts. Suzune put on the radio so that the room wouldn’t be filled only with the sounds of chewing and clinking. She went with FM radio, since anime radio would just be distracting. Although what she really wanted to listen to was DIAGONAL, of course. “Mmm, this is delicious…” Karin murmured in contentment, much to Suzune’s relief. It didn’t look like she was just being polite. She was eating her food with genuine pleasure. “You don’t have a hangover or anything?” “Hrmm…” Karin prodded her temple. “No, I think I’m fine. Wow, I haven’t drunk such a stupid amount of alcohol in a looong time.” “It’s dangerous to drink like that, you know…” “I don’t do it normally, I swear. I only get that drunk in front of people I really trust to look after me, like my fellow members.” Suzune’s heart soared. Did that mean Karin thought of Suzune on the same level as the other DIAGONAL members? If so, she would be unbelievably happy. “Are you sure you don’t need to check in with anyone? You didn’t make any calls last night. Won’t your family be worried?” “Nah, it’s fine. I don’t live with my parents.” “Really?” As Suzune recalled, Karin was from Kanagawa. “I live in Itabashi with my big sister these days. And she’s away on a business trip all week, so I basically live by myself right now—I don’t need permission to spend the night away from home.” Karin made an “OK” sign with her fingers. “I take it you live alone, too, Suzune-san,” she added, looking around the room, which was decidedly barren without the array of idol merch. “Your family is from Saitama, right?” “Specifically Chichibu, yes. How did you know? It’s not on the agency’s website or anything.” “Oh, really?” Well, it wasn’t necessarily a secret or anything. Suzune supposed it must have come up by chance in a conversation with Miama or something like that. “But isn’t the rent awfully high here? Especially with the soundproofing.” “It’s not cheap. But it’s worth it, you know? It’s close to most major studios, and I can practice as loudly as I want.” “Ooh…maybe I should move in here, too.” Karin tapped the floor. You mean, move in with ME?! Suzune tried to reign in the ridiculous fantasy that her oshi was suggesting they should live together. “I just live in a regular apartment complex right now, so I can’t really go all-out when I practice. I tried it once and got a complaint from the management company.” “Ahh…” Suzune knew that struggle. A voice actor’s volume was nothing to be sneezed at. They weren’t just loud—their voices were trained to carry clearly, including through ordinary walls and windows. “So when you need to practice for real, do you go to karaoke?” Karin nodded. Karaoke places had all kinds of useful options these days, not just for singing. Many offered plans for anyone who needed to rent a party room, practice a musical instrument, or even just a quiet place to study. “It’s fine for now, but the rental fees will add up once I get busy with regular roles.” So she’s still assuming she’s going to get regular roles… Suzune was surprised, then impressed by Karin’s unwavering confidence. It took no small amount of mental fortitude to remain self-assured so soon after failing one’s first audition. But maybe that was only natural. While she was still new to voice acting, Karin had been an idol for several years already. Voice actors largely worked behind the scenes. Though more and more jobs involved public-facing events these days, that was nothing compared to idols, who constantly had to stand on stage, front and center. Maybe this was the level of inner strength you needed to make it in a business like that. After they finished their sandwiches and started sipping on their coffee with milk and sugar, Karin suddenly raised a new question. “By the way, Suzune-san, do you have a boyfriend or anything?” Suzune nearly spewed her coffee out in a spit-take. “Wh-where’d that come from…?” “Just a little girl talk. Miama-san didn’t give me any rules on the subject when I joined, so I was just wondering what a voice actor’s love life is like, I suppose.” “I guess it must be different for idols?” “There’s nothing officially in writing, but they did warn us against it. I guess when you’re an idol, people still want to assume that you don’t belong to any one person or something like that.” “I see…” Miama never said much of anything to Suzune about her personal life. The only ground rules they had to follow were the laws, obviously, and all the usual boundaries of what society generally deemed acceptable. Any detailed regulations that existed were only those that related directly to the job. They didn’t intrude on your personal life—as long as it wasn’t affecting your performance anyway. “So? Are you dating someone or not?” She’s really pushing this topic… Suzune winced. Just when she thought she’d neatly wrapped up the subject, Karin had unwrapped it and dropped it right back in her lap. “No, I’m not.” Between her work and her idol fandom, she was plenty content with her life. Besides, she’d never met anyone who seemed like “the one.” “I don’t know about other voice actors, though.” She knew some people’s relationship statuses, of course, but she didn’t think it would be right to talk about that behind their backs. “Mm-hmm…” Karin pursed her lips, looking perhaps a little disappointed at the lack of gossip. “Well, what about you, Karin-chan?” “Nope, not at all. I never had time for that sort of thing. I spent all my spare time and money on taking lessons to become a voice actor.” “Gotcha.” That made perfect sense. Voice acting was a skill-based profession. It wasn’t enough to be able to act—the job demanded much more. Anyone could just talk into a microphone, but you needed to know the tricks of the trade: how to enunciate, how to change your voice, how to raise and lower it just right, and all kinds of other skills. Learning and mastering all these was no easy task. Even though Karin’s first audition had ended in failure, it was clear to Suzune that she had studied the techniques quite seriously. No doubt, it was only a matter of time before her hard work was recognized. “What are you doing today, Suzune-san?” “Reading scripts…and maybe going to a massage if I can get an appointment.” “But you don’t have anything booked, right?” “No, not yet. I only got my recording schedule yesterday afternoon.” “Let’s hang out, then! I still want to blow off some steam for at least a day, you know? Would you keep me company?” “…Sure.” Suzune thought it over for just a moment before agreeing. She could always read her scripts in the evening. More importantly, spending the day hanging out with her oshi was a dream, the likes of which she couldn’t even have imagined long ago. “Where do you want to go, Karin?” “Retail therapy, first and foremost. And then, there’s this café I really like, so maybe we could get some yummy sweets together?” “All right.” If it would make Karin feel better, Suzune wouldn’t hesitate to offer up her time. Not one bit. After breakfast, Suzune checked in with work and answered a few emails, and then she and Karin headed toward Karin’s first destination of choice: Omotesando. Unlike Suzune, who rarely came here, Karin seemed very familiar with the area. There were a fairly large number of people here even on a weekday afternoon, mostly very fashionable, classy-looking adult women. The overall vibe was quite different from Harajuku, even though it was only a short distance away. Karin strode confidently into a designer brand store with a well-built male model out front and proceeded to grab anything and everything that caught her eye. Suzune timidly followed behind and watched, nothing more. She didn’t even dare touch the clothes. Some of them looked wonderful, of course, but she couldn’t buy them. Even if she could technically afford them, she had nowhere to wear such nice clothes anyway. And at these prices, she certainly couldn’t get away with calling it a business expense. Generally, voice actors provided their own clothes. However, there were more opportunities to get reimbursed for outfits these days, as there were more in-person events. Since the company knew their talents might have to make such appearances, it was easier to get not only clothes but also cosmetics, beauty treatments, seitai messages, and so on included in expenses. However, that didn’t mean the company would pay for everything—it still came out of the money you earned. Since it was really just a little bit that would get returned to you later, you still had to be very careful about budgeting. So as far as Suzune was concerned, this was a store for browsing, not buying. Karin, on the other hand, left the store with three large shopping bags over her shoulder. When Suzune offered to carry at least one, Karin held back at first, then apologetically handed her the smallest bag. It made Suzune happy, like a show of Karin’s trust. Even if it was the smallest bag, it contained the most expensive item Karin had purchased. As they walked, Suzune got the strange feeling people were looking at her. Or more specifically, at the bags she was carrying. Mostly, though, they were looking at Karin, of course. Even if they didn’t recognize her as Karin Shotsuki, her superstar aura was undeniable. They caught a taxi and moved on to Asakusa. Although the neighborhood didn’t fit with Suzune’s image of a trendy young woman like Karin, there was apparently a “hidden gem” sort of shop behind Asakusa Temple. They got out of the taxi on a mostly empty backroad and followed an alley to the shop in question. It certainly stood out a bit from the other buildings around it, design-wise. The railings on the second-floor balcony were stylishly wrought like a cage. There was no signboard to speak of, either. You probably wouldn’t realize it was a restaurant unless you were in the know. “Hellooo!” Karin opened the door with the confidence of a regular customer. “Welcome.” A slim waiter with a low voice strode over, his shoes clacking briskly, and took Karin’s bags for her as if it were the most natural thing in the world. When he held out a hand to Suzune as well, she wondered for a moment what he wanted. Then she realized it was the shopping bag she was holding, and she hurriedly handed it over. “Would you like your usual table?” “Mm-hmm.” Karin’s casual response was spoken like a true starlet, Suzune thought. Not in a bad way—she was genuinely impressed. As always, her oshi was on another level. The waiter led Karin and Suzune to a private room on the second floor. It looked like a noble’s room that you might see in an isekai reincarnation series. The furnishings were so fancy, everything seemingly lined with gold. They sat across from each other at a lone table by the window. The drinking water, presented in a pair of wine glasses, smelled faintly of mint when Suzune sipped hers. She was pleased to find it was room temperature. “Your menus, madams.” When Suzune opened the book-style menu, she found that there were no pictures, only a list of various kinds of pancakes. Their names were unfamiliar: Some listed what she assumed were fruits or maybe kinds of nuts, others described what must be some sort of sauce. Even with these educated guesses, she couldn’t imagine what any of them might taste like. “The usual.” Karin placed her order just like that, leaving Suzune scrambling to figure hers out quickly. But she couldn’t decide. How could she, when she didn’t know what any of the options meant? But she didn’t want to ask the waiter to explain every little thing, either. “The monthly special is really good.” “I’ll take that then, please!” Suzune latched onto the life preserver that Karin had considerately thrown her way. She must have done so a little too enthusiastically because Karin’s eyes went slightly round, and she giggled a little. How embarrassing. Like a true professional, the waiter’s expression didn’t so much as flicker. “Would you like the same drink as well?” After a moment, Suzune realized this question was addressed to her and hastily nodded. “Aah, that was so much fun!” Once the waiter left the two of them alone in the room, Karin slumped down a little lazily. “You sure bought an awful lot.” Suzune finally allowed herself to voice her honest opinion. “It’s been a really long time since I splurged like this. I’ve been scrimping and saving for sooo long, you know? I pretty much blew everything that was left in my bank account just now.” “Whaaat?!” “Oh, my living expenses and such are in a different account, of course. That was all on my card for entertainment expenses.” Even then, Suzune was still surprised. If it was her, she’d be deep in regret when she got the card statement after a spending spree like that. No doubt she’d be cursing her past self for all that shopping. “You think I’m crazy, don’t you?” Karin leaned her elbows on the table and grinned mischievously. “What? N-nooo…” “Yeah, right. You totally do. But I’ve always wanted to go to that store, that’s all.” “Huh? You’re not a regular there?” “Of course not! That was my first time.” Suzune widened her eyes, amazed at Karin’s sheer nerve. From the confident way Karin had walked in and picked things out, anyone would have thought she shopped there all the time. Certainly, you wouldn’t guess she’d never been before at all. “Gosh, celebrities really are amazing…” Karin snickered. “Oh, come on. You’re a celebrity yourself, Suzune-san.” “I’m not so sure about that…” Voice actress or not, Suzune couldn’t imagine herself in the same category as an idol. “So what about this place? Is it actually your first time here, too?” “Oh, no, I come here all the time. Me and the other DIAGONAL members used to hang out here constantly. But I guess you’re the first person I’ve brought here who’s not a fellow member, Suzune-san.” Me? I’M the first?! It was probably just a casual comment from Karin’s perspective, but to Suzune, it was nothing short of a blessing. Eventually, two plates of truly incredible pancakes were brought to their table. There were three pancakes on each plate, each of them about ten centimeters around and three centimeters thick. On top of that, they were lavishly loaded with whipped cream and all kinds of colorful sweets and fruits. There was also anko—red bean paste. Was that because this was in Asakusa, a very traditional part of Tokyo? “This restaurant used to specialize in wagashi, in case you were wondering.” “Aah, that explains the red bean paste…” It was a common ingredient in wagashi, traditional Japanese confections. The waiter smiled. “Our red bean paste isn’t overly sweet. It pairs nicely with fruit.” With that, he took his leave. Suzune hesitantly took a bite of the red bean paste along with a piece of fruit. Sure enough, the tartness of the fruit wonderfully complemented the gentle sweetness of the red bean paste. Come to think of it, that might be why strawberry daifuku and other such fruit-based wagashi were so popular. The syrup that came on the side had a woody scent and wasn’t overly sweet, either. Suzune poured plenty of it over her pancakes, cut off a generous slice, and piled a little bit of everything on top before taking a big bite. Ooh, that’s delicious. There were all kinds of flavor combinations to enjoy thanks to the variety of fruit. It was a perfect match with the heavily bergamot-scented Earl Grey tea. As they ate, they chatted about all sorts of things. Karin talked about her idol days. Suzune talked about her work as a voice actor. It was fun to learn more about worlds that were unfamiliar to one another. And they talked plenty about their favorite anime, too. Karin was truly a diehard anime fan. She was very knowledgeable about tons of series that Suzune had never seen. In this case, that “knowledge” wasn’t so much focused on the plot as the behind-the-scenes aspects of the show, such as the production companies and voice actors involved. Suzune had never paid attention to things like production companies before she became part of the industry herself. She wanted to know if Karin had watched shows Suzune had appeared in, but it seemed embarrassing to ask “Did you see me?” so she refrained from bringing it up. Still, getting these personal moments with her oshi all to herself was such a treat. It felt like Suzune was the one getting rewarded, even though this outing was intended to cheer up Karin. Even watching Karin eat pancakes was utterly precious. But just as Suzune caught herself wishing that this moment could last forever… “Heyooo!” A cheerful voice burst in as the door opened with a bang, and Suzune nearly jumped out of her seat. “Ugh…” On the other side of the table, Karin let slip an unusually rude-sounding groan. Standing in the entrance to their private room was a long-haired young woman clad in a ruffled peplum blouse diagonally divided into two different colors, a rainbowy tiered skirt, white stockings, and high-heeled, high-laced black boots. Completing the look was a heart-shaped eyepatch. “I thought I’d find you here.” She giggled gleefully as she entered the room. Suzune knew her well, though they’d never met. It was none other than Shiori Kasumi—a member of DIAGONAL. “How did you know…?” Karin furrowed her brow. “If you don’t want people to figure out where you are, you shouldn’t go around posting photos on social media.” Shiori chortled, sounding like a cooing dove. “Oh, hello there!” Turning to Suzune, she gave an exaggerated curtsy. “I’m Shiori Kasumi of DIAGONAL. Charmed, I’m sure. Thank you sooo much for looking after our dear Karin.” “N-not at all… I’m Suzune Sengu, from Earpo. The pleasure’s all mine!” She automatically responded with a businesslike introduction. But how was she supposed to think straight?! This was Shiori Kasumi! The number two member of DIAGONAL! The group’s current center, in fact! She’d gotten her start as a model for teen magazines, and her somewhat unusual fashion sense had always made her popular with girls. She was also an excellent singer—the way she held high notes especially could give you goosebumps. Even if Karin came out on top in overall performance power, there were a fair amount of songs with Shiori as the center, too. And while Suzune was a Karin stan first and foremost, she also loved DIAGONAL as a group and supported all its members. How could she possibly stay calm when faced with Shiori Kasumi in the flesh? Her thoughts and feelings were going into overdrive. And what was up with this outfit anyway?! Was it even legal to wear such a cute heart-shaped eyepatch?! A new song? Could it be the costume for a new song? No new songs or concerts had been announced since Karin-sama had graduated… Did this mean Suzune should get her hopes up? How could she not?! “Um…hello? Are you still with us, missy?” …Oh no! My brain went into mega-otaku mode there. Not good… Suzune quickly clamped her half-gaping mouth shut and swallowed the saliva that threatened to escape it. “Mm-hmm…” Shiori murmured appraisingly, as if Suzune’s reaction hadn’t escaped her piercing gaze. It felt like she’d seen right through Suzune, which made her a little nervous. “Okay, enough already. What do you want?” Karin glared at Shiori with obvious irritation. The way she didn’t even attempt to hide her feelings just showed how comfortable she was with the other girl. They had been paired up particularly often when they were both in DIAGONAL. In the candids (or photos that were passed off as “candid,” anyway), they were regularly shown doing things together or getting cozy with one another. Although Suzune didn’t know if this was true or just made-up, the story went that Shiori Kasumi had lived abroad for much of her childhood, and therefore was prone to frequent hugging and such. Those yuri-coded candid shots where Shiori was pressing her cheek against Karin’s, clinging to her arm, and so on—they were precious gifts Suzune had treasured at the time. “Well, once I realized you were probably here, I thought I’d come see if I could get you to treat me to some pancakes…but alas, I didn’t realize you were on a date.” A DATE! Suzune’s excitement rocketed even higher upon hearing the word said out loud, confirming a secret speculation she’d been trying not to examine too closely. But then… “Come on, it’s not like that.” Her feelings simmered right back down when Karin denied it. No, of course not. “Aww, don’t be shy.” Shiori Kasumi put a hand on her hip and grinned at Karin smugly. “Or have you not mentioned it yet? How you admired this lady so much you decided to become a voice actor yourself?” Pardon? Suzune couldn’t believe her ears. It didn’t make any sense. What was Shiori talking about? Of course this was the first she’d heard such a thing. Wh-wh-what does that mean? Huh? Did Karin already know me beforehand? “Stopppp!” Karin leapt to her feet so fast, she nearly knocked her chair over. Her face was bright red. She hadn’t been this flushed even when she’d gotten fall-down drunk the night before. “Whaaat? You really haven’t told her yet? I swear, for someone who’s so proactive, you sure drag your feet about the strangest things…” “I’m just taking things at my own pace, okay?!” “So, missy, you’re not going to believe this…” “NOOOO!” Suzune couldn’t say a word in the face of their exchange—they sounded like a comedy duo. You could tell that they’d spent a great deal of time together.
Chapter 9
24 min read