“Ichigaya! Get up already!”
“Hng... Awuh...?!”
I woke up to my covers being yanked away from me. Kokoro, my beautiful girlfriend, was standing next to my bed in her pajamas, glaring down at me.
“It’s past noon already!”
“I haven’t been getting enough sleep lately... The deadline for that assignment is closing in...”
“Did you forget what day it is?!”
“...O-Of course not!”
Still somewhat dozy, I went downstairs and joined Kokoro in the living room. She’d already prepared my breakfast—or my lunch, I guess.
“We can’t be late! We’re leaving in thirty minutes tops, got it?!”
“I-I know! Oh, and thanks for breakfast!” I said, shoving the food into my mouth.
Afterwards, I changed my clothes, fixed my hair, and left the house with Kokoro.
We got off the train at Aomi station, where Iroha and Mikoto were waiting for us. It was the first time in months that we’d seen each other.
“Hi!”
“Hello!”
“Heart-chan! Ichigaya! It’s been so long!” Mikoto said when she saw us.
“You two already look like husband and wife, huh?” Iroha added.
“What?!” Kokoro exclaimed, embarrassed by the sudden remark.
“How long have the pair of you been living together now?”
“It’s not been that long! Just about a year...”
Right after graduating from high school, Kokoro and I had moved into an apartment together. My parents were surprisingly okay with it, and hers were downright ecstatic.
“Living together fresh out of high school... Kids these days have no sense of decency...”
“M-Mikoto! What are you implying?!” I cried.
Mikoto and Iroha had changed so little that just chatting with them brought me back to when we used to work together. We’d only been colleagues for a few weeks, but I was glad to still be friends with them after so long.
We all walked together from the station, catching up along the way.
“It’s so weird to be in Odaiba with you guys for something that isn’t otaku-related,” Iroha said.
“Totally!” Kokoro replied. “We always seem to meet up for some cosplay event or other, Summer Comiket, and stuff like that.”
“I still can’t believe Ichi was friends at school with the Elaina... Thanks again for the tickets by the way!”
Elaina... That was Elena’s stage name. Today, we were going to attend her first live solo performance. She’d become huge as a voice actress and had just released her debut album as a singer. Her VTuber channel now had more than three million subscribers, and her growing popularity often led to more voice acting opportunities. Her role in an idol-themed anime had allowed her singing skills to become so widely recognized that there was now enough demand for her to host a live performance by herself.
Her good looks had certainly helped, but the greatest reason behind Elena’s success was her talent. I, of all people, knew that the most—I’d been following her career the whole time, even after we’d broken up.
＊ ＊ ＊
We had entered the venue and reached our seats, and were now waiting for the show to start. When the lights went off, the audience began to squeal in anticipation, but that was nothing compared to the shouts that welcomed Elena onto the stage. I could tell from the voices that she had just as many female fans as male ones.
This whole crowd gathered here to listen to her sing. So many people love her.
Her first song was the opening theme to one of the anime she was currently starring in. I was obviously somewhat biased, but her sweet voice ringing along with that rock music was goosebumps material.
Even though we couldn’t see her that closely from where we were sitting, she looked incredibly beautiful. It was hard to believe that the girl who was moving such a huge crowd with her performance had once been, even if for a very short time, my girlfriend.
Now that Elena was a celebrity, I knew just how important it was for her that private details about her past remained just that—private. I’d never posted anything about our relationship on social media, nor said anything to anyone other than Kokoro and Ai, who had both promised to keep it a secret.
I’d even stopped sending Elena my thoughts on her latest videos over LINE, since I knew boy-related gossip was lethal for voice actresses of her caliber. Sometimes Kokoro would invite her over to hang out, but I’d cut all personal connections with her.
As a fan of hers, the last thing I wanted was to hinder her career. My only wish was to be able to root for her as she kept on shining like the star she was.
On the train home, Kokoro was still raving about how much she’d liked the performance.
“Elena was so cool! Seeing her like that, I can’t believe I’m really friends with someone so awesome!”
“Yeah, me neither...”
“Say, Ichigaya... do you ever regret it?”
“Regret what?” I asked, confused.
“Breaking up with her! Do you ever think, like, ‘Why did I leave such an amazing girl?’”
Is this what she was talking about?! I can’t even tell if she’s joking. Kokoro was staring at me, as if to gauge my reaction.
“I don’t regret it one bit,” I replied. Of course, I was being honest, but perhaps Kokoro had asked me that because she was feeling insecure. “I’ve told you before, but I’ll tell you again. You’re my perfect otaku girlfriend, Nishina.”
“H-Huh?!” she cried, her face lighting up like a stop light. “Y-You can’t say something like that in public!”
“You asked me!”
“Y-Yeah, but...!”
After silently fidgeting for a while, Kokoro spoke again, still blushing. “I didn’t think you’d reply like that... Thanks.”
I thought back to when I’d been worried that Kokoro would end up dating someone else and wishing that she’d be happy like that. Now, things were different. I was going to make her happy myself. Forever.