lights, camera, action! ☆

Oh, good, her candy was working! Of course it would though, those were Furusawa candies - treats that sat in little glass jars on the counter of the bakery, ten yen apiece. It was impossible to not feel better when you’ve had one, Higanbana always thought.

Deciding to play along with the little bow that her classmate gave, Higanbana briefly gathered the corners of her skirt and bobbed slightly. Not quite a cursty, but a cute greeting nonetheless.

“I’m Higanbana Furusawa! SHSL Confectionery Decorator, but I enjoy baking as well. Feel free to call me whatever name you prefer.”

“That cupcake from our first week of school was from me - and if you check the dining room there might still be some of that pineapple cake I made the rest of you.”

Oh yes, Yurie was looking and sounding much better now. She just hoped that it lasted.

“That darling treat was from you? I wish I’d taken a picture of the precious thing, it was such a dear little gift. You live up to your title, Furusawa-chan. It was too good to eat- almost.”

Pineapple cake sounded more than tempting, especially with Higanbana’s proven knack for sweets... But Ouji had gone into the dining room earlier, and there was no way Yurie was risking going in there until she knew for a fact he was gone.

Ugh. Just the thought of that guy brought back some of her bitterness, but she did her best -and for a star, that is beyond the average “best”- not to let it show on her face, for Higanbana’s sake and her own.

“Sure I do. I give sweets to everyone.”

Wow. Wow, Higanbana, that was blunt.

It was true, though. Higanbana smiled a bit more as she watched Yurie pop the candy into her mouth - the sugar and toffee-taste would help calm her nerve, Higanbana was sure of it. It always helped her, at the least.

In response to the other concerns, however, she just shrugged lightly, briefly glancing sidelong. It really looked like she didn’t see the potential danger. Or if she did, she didn’t care.

“I’m not worried. I don’t think anyone here is really capable of killing someone - this is just going to blow over quickly and peacefully, anyway. Besides, even on the off-chance things do get worse…It’s only going to cause more trouble if we all distrust each other, or act afraid. It’s best to remain friends; safety in numbers, too, and all that.”

Not even a pause? At least she was honest. And most likely not out for blood, if her words and nonchalance were anything to go by.

“Such optimism… But you may have a point there. It’s probably that Ouji’s plan to break us up, with whatever he was saying about the one behind all this being one of us too. Fighting would be playing right into his grimy hands.”

Even if she hadn’t quite managed to convince herself to be as confident as Higanbana that everything would smooth out in time, she didn’t have the heart to say that to her face. It was rude to crush the hopes of considerate candy-giving girls.

The last of the sweet, slightly butter-y taste melted away on Yurie’s tongue, admittedly helping her feel the slightest bit better and washing away the memory of the freaky video. What couldn't sweets fix?

Higanbana had initially planned to go to the kitchens again, but she smelled cheesy bread and assumed someone else may need it more. She wasn’t the only one who baked or cooked here, after all.

And while yes, she might not have cared that the kitchen would be a bit crowded - Furusawa Bakery was often crowded itself - she wanted to give whoever was in there some space. If they were still there…honestly, she’d just smelled the bread and turned around to leave.

She made her way around the village, still humming quietly and keeping calm. It was all she could do, honestly - remain calm, keep a cool head…

Near the convenience store she paused, seeing a familiar (pink) figure up ahead. Was that…?

Higanbana reached into her apron pocket as she approached Yurie, clearing her throat to get the other girl’s attention.

Of course, that was just wishful thinking. With no way to get inside there wasn’t anything else to do by the building. The tarento had just spun on her heel, ready to leave, when the shorter girl approached and succeeded not only in being noticed, but in nearly startling the daylights out of her.

“Oh! ...Oh. Sure. That’s sweet of you, thanks.” 

She gently accepted the hard candy from Higanbana’s hand, popping it into her mouth with little hesitation once she’d unwrapped it. If the pink-haired classmate had happened to lace it with poison or something murderous like that, well, it was too late to avoid it.

When she hears the announcement Yurie’s first thought is finally, some action around here.

However, her relief at breaking out of the doldrums is short-lived. The second Ouji opens his mouth the moment is gone. Not to mention what he was daring to tell them, what he was trying to tell them to do…

“You want us to kill each other?! How can you say something so- so distasteful? Have some self-respect!”

He had the gall to stand there and look happy about this? Disgust rose in Yurie’s throat, the girl turning away with a “tsk” and an overwhelming desire to get away from that- that appalling look on his stupid face. Truth be told, beyond the initial shock, she couldn’t say she was truly horrified at the new rules for their life; sure, it was beyond all decency, but that Ouji and his supposed “Ousama” had to be a pair of matching idiots to think any of them would actually try to kill each other at the snap of his fingers. Besides, even if worst did come to worst, she could probably hold her own against an attempted killer.

Then the other shoe drops.

And, it seems, so does her phone- the sound of glass cracking against the ground is loud, but not nearly as loud as the growl rumbling out of Yurie’s throat. She doesn’t care about the phone. She doesn’t care about the other students around her. At that moment, her mind is fixed on the shadows of the other people in his sick joke of a video, and the pure fury rushing through her veins.

“You bastard.”

Her face and chest burned with the rage building up, so powerful it threatened to burst out. Kind, familiar faces flashed in her mind, only fanning the flames of her anger. Ouji was gone again, disappeared before the fallout. That did nothing to stop Yurie from storming over to the door he’d gone through and slamming her fist against the wall next to it, hard.

“Who do you have? Who do you have? WHO. DO. YOU. HAVE…?!”

Somehow when someone laughs right before saying there’s nothing to worry about, it just makes things more worrying. But what could she possibly want to bet that might actually be risky at this point? His life savings? She probably didn’t need it. He watches her walk over to the flower curiously, and when she actually makes her request he laughs a bit. She was right, that wasn’t a big deal at all- in fact he would have told her his name regardless, but… saying that would spoil the joke, and Nolan was no robot putting up a no fun allowed sign.

“Alright, sounds fair enough.” He agrees cheerfully, weighing the stone in his hand and considering the distance for a moment. Even if he does better than his first attempt, there’s pretty much no way he’s going to make it that far, so if it’s a straight up competition between them he’d lose. If she actually had to make it that far though, that was a different story… but, ah, what did it matter anyway? It’s not like this was really a competition, just a friendly joke.

“Well, I did want to take another shot anyway, just to see if I could actually manage to skip it this time.” Nolan tilts his head a bit, holding the stone the way he’d seen her do it and trying to measure up the distance. An expression of concentration appears on his face as he lines up his arm for the shot. “Flick the wrist, okay…”

He shoots! He- well, it skips once! That’s improvement! It sinks right after that though. Yeah this is going to take a while to get the hang of. Nolan lets out a little, slightly self-deprecating laugh and tugs on his ponytail for a moment.

“Did you actually want to take your turn or should I just concede defeat now?

Oh good, he was up for it. Or possibly just saying so out of politeness, yet given his noticeably brighter demeanor that probably wasn’t the case. Somehow, it soothes her nerves just the tiniest bit to see him relaxing. Guess there is something to be said for good company.

Yurie strolls back over to stand beside him, watching along as he makes his throw.

“That was something to be proud of! Every step- ah, skip forward counts.”

Cheesy as hell, but her sentiment is genuine. It was actually impressive for someone to manage even a single skip on their second try, after all. It’d taken Yurie herself several tries -or was it days?- to have any avoid immediate sinking, not just a second wind. Mentally, she notes down that he may be a fast learner. He doubtlessly caught on fast.

“I suppose I can save us both the trouble if you don’t mind. The koi could probably use a break too, don’t you think?”

Practiced flair makes itself known in her flourishing bow, the tarento dipping down before straightening back up. She throws two fingers up in a peace sign for good measure, unable to resist the ingrained habit.

The machine rewards her with an item!

The girl’s words do come off a little patronizing, from the phrasing if not her tone, but not enough to be off-putting. And it’s not that Nolan doesn’t notice her sideways scrutinization so much as he just doesn’t mind. He’s used to attracting some stares, and not always for good reasons. That’s just kinda how it goes when you choose to make ‘bold fashion statements’ like showing off your midriff.

Besides he’s more concerned with being embarrassed over messing up the skipping thing. True it was his first attempt, but a failure is a failure and he’s struggling to keep from getting too awkward over it, casually flipping his ponytail over his shoulder and ignoring the way his face feels hot.

“In the wrist, of course.” He mutters, leaning down and avoiding meeting her gaze under the pretense of looking for another pebble. Well, partial pretense, since he is actually looking for one. He glances up in time to see her demonstrate the proper technique, pressing his lips together in a determined line as he tries to memorize the movement of her arm. God, Nolan, it’s just skipping rocks please chill you don’t have to be perfect at it immediately.

“Hm? Oh, well,” Nolan straightens up, a new hopefully-suitable rock in his hand, and grins at her, “I guess that depends on what the bet is. I don’t like agreeing to terms without knowing what they are, even where beautiful girls are concerned.”

If Yurie was a more people-oriented person, she might notice Nolan’s discomfort at his failure. Unfortunately, contrary to what her social reputation might suggest, that is not the case- Missing the signs of Nolan’s awkwardness, subtle yet clear as they are, is just another testament to this.

She decides not to comment on his compliment (nice as it is), but instead just evenly reply.

“Good policy for you to have, ufufu. Smart move. It’s really nothing scandalous, there’s no need to worry about high risk.“

Breezily she moves along past him, striding over to where a tall flower sprouts by the water’s edge on the other side of the pond. It grows a good few feet from where Nolan stands, and is far enough beyond the first plant she’d hit to be fair game.

“If I can have a rock make it to this plant here, you’ll have to give me your name, and any other juicy details you feel like throwing in as a bonus.”

Her heels clack against the rock as she moves to one a bit closer. Just as she reaches it she pauses, though, glancing over at the rock he holds. Given she just witnessed the boy’s first ever shot at rock-skipping, it wouldn’t exactly be fair to ask him to try again if he didn’t want to.

“Do you want to take another shot, or win if I miss? Your prize is... doing things your way, even if that means walking away with no introductions and staying total strangers.”

...Really, it’s just an excuse to mix things up and skip the formal “Nice to meet you”s back and forth that Yurie has come to loathe. But Nolan doesn’t have to know that, does he? Even if he (most likely) figures it out, at least it's just simple, good fun instead of, say, the loser being sacrificed to the mysterious Ousama in exchange for answers.

The pond was definitely pretty, especially in the late morning when the sun had risen enough to shine on it and the fish were becoming active. Nolan was glad he’d decided to take a walk around it after breakfast. The natural beauty of the spot wasn’t a big distraction, but… something about watching the fish swim around was calming. Probably that’s why a lot of dentist and doctor’s offices had aquariums, it just made you feel better. Everything was still pretty scary right now, but as he watches the koi flick and dart through the pond, Nolan feels some of his tension melt away.

He’s actually contemplating returning to his room and trying to take a nap- maybe he’d sleep better than he had last night now that he’d had more of a chance to adjust- and is in the midst of covering up a yawn when a rock splashes into the pond next to him and he jumps. Oops, guess he’s still a little on edge after all. Nolan looks up at the girl skipping pebbles- wow, how had he missed her before, he must be more tired than he thought- and it takes a second for her greeting to process.

“Oh, uh, hi!” Nolan, not wanting to seem rude, quickly makes his way over to her. He’s a little weirded out by the ‘yoohoo’ honestly, he’s never heard anyone actually say ‘yoohoo’ in real life unless they were talking about the drink, but he does recognize the girl as one of his classmates. And as someone he’s probably caught sight of on TV or in a magazine before. That’s right, this is Yurie Takai, the Tarento. And whoa she is… much taller in person than he’d expected. He’d seen her around the school but never from up close, and when he’s standing next to her the six inches of height difference is that much more obvious. Why are there so many tall people around? Why is he so short? Life is mysterious.

“I guess I can try. I’ve never actually done it before though, so, please don’t be hard on me.” He says in a light, joking manner. But he does lean down and pick up a pebble. He thinks he remembers hearing or reading somewhere that you needed to use flat ones for this, so he tries to find one that looks mostly flat-ish. “Let’s see… do you just kind of, toss it at an angle?” Nolan tries to skip the pebble.

He fails. It plops into the water and sinks like a… well, like a rock.

“Oh.”

Yurie barely holds back the snicker rising in her throat as Nolan walks over, practically shrinking the closer he got. Looking down on people was something she was more than used to, but somehow it still managed to never got old. That was the trade-off for banging her forehead on nearly every doorway she walks through, she supposes.

But back to things at hand. Black curls bounce as she nods along to his words.

“Don’t you worry, I understand. There’s a first for everything.”

Her lilting words are meant to be more reassuring then patronizing with their hum- it wouldn’t do to scare new company off, especially before she’d even learned his name. While Nolan picks up his rock, the girl takes the opportunity to give him a quick once-over through a sidelong glance. What with the combination of long hair and outfit just skirting the line between stylish and casual, Yurie can only wonder what exactly his talent is. His makeup is certainly impressive enough to speak for his skills in that area, that much she’ll believe. All in all, she admits to herself, if he ever decided to give TV a try, he definitely had the face for it. As for the personality part, well, that was to be found out, wasn’t it?

Her eyes flicker away from her short evaluation and back towards the water in time to see the ripples around Nolan’s capsized stone. Just as expected, given his warning. His attempt earns a light clap, though, Yurie turning to him with a pleased grin stretched across her face.

“Points for trying! You’re on the right track, dear: It’s all in the wrist. Use your arm to draw back, then give it a flick and a spin, and there! A perfect skip!”

Another small rock launched from her hand at the end of her sentence, as if punctuating her directions. It hopped across the surface once, twice, thrice before hitting the rock-and-plant arrangement on the other side and sinking back into the pond.

The clear water of the pond shimmered in the sun’s light. Now and then, here and there, the water broke and rippled. Sometimes it was the flick of a koi’s colorful tail or fins as it swam, other times it was the lazy flick of a pebble skipping across the surface. Yurie did her best to avoid hitting the fish with the stones, launching them with enough force to skip and the right amount of aim to go right by the koi. Thankfully, the walk over to the pond along with sleeping away the entirety of their first day in Yonaki-whatsit had helped the tarento calm down some. Sure, she was still upset about their situation. But the anger had drained away and left her simply bored, without any kind of direction or responsibilities to take care of.

“Aren’t mysterious kidnappings supposed to be more… I don’t know, dramatic than this?”

Another stone skipped across the water, sinking into the shadow cast over it by someone else walking by her spot. Yurie blinked first at the shadow, then tilted her head up to squint at the nearby stranger. He was unfamiliar, of course. With so little people around, though, she supposed they’d have to meet eventually, so it may as well be now rather than later. Raising one hand to cup around her mouth, she whistled and waved at the boy, rocks still in her gloved grip.

There was a certain level of weird that should be thrown at someone in a day, and this went way over the limit.

They’d been dumped in the middle of some field like last week’s garbage -evidently- and now they were supposed to accept they were stuck here forever in a weird “game” just because some guy in a fancy kimono said so? Yurie was dirty, disoriented, and downright annoyed; she quickly scrambled up to her feet, ready to send a few choice words this “Ouji”’s way-

But, naturally, he left before she could say anything.

She settled instead for storming away to the nearest secluded spot behind some bathrooms and grinding her heel hard into the grass, shouting her frustrations to the wind in place of the face of the jerk who’d greeted them earlier.

“The hell kind of joke is this?! Whatever’s going on here- urgh! Gah!”

Cathartic as it was, after a few minutes spent venting on the poor upturned soil, she just felt tired. Shoving her cellphone into her dress pocket with little care to check for anymore lovely news, Yurie sighed. At least she knew exactly what she was going to do next: go to her new room and take a looooong nap. Maybe when she woke up again she’d be back in her bed, surrounded by the strangely missed stacks of schoolwork.

What a week…

The workload hadn’t slowed down like you had hoped- if anything, it picked up more speed as you went on. Hope’s Peak really did want their students to be the best and brightest, but at the cost of your energy like this… The excited illusions you had about the school are really starting to wear off now that Friday evening has finally rolled around.

Maybe you’re the type who would normally go out on the weekend, but not tonight. You’re just too exhausted for anything but falling into bed, the stress of the week finally catching up to you. It’s not a matter of being bad at the subjects- though that is the case for some- but rather that there’s so much work to be done. At least for now, you’re free from it, and you remind yourself of that as you close your eyes and drift off to sleep.

…

You are not in your bed when you wake up.

It takes your eyes a moment to adjust to the sunlight, but as you struggle past the blur, you realize you’re looking up at the sky, blue and bright. The sun is shining off in the Eastern sky- is it morning? As you struggle to stand and get your bearings, you realize two different and equally strange things: you are lying on the dirt ground, and you are surrounded by your classmates. Judging by their similarly groggy and baffled expressions, they’re just as confused as you are. As you turn your head to get an idea of where you are, a long row of beautiful traditional Japanese buildings come into view. Past those, you can see what looks to be a forest and a mountain range towering around you. You certainly aren’t in Tokyo anymore.

How did you get here? You reach down- almost instinctively- for your cellphone in your pocket. It looks as if the students around you have the same idea as they go for theirs. Pulling it out, you open it up. You have a full battery, but zero reception whatsoever. Despite that, a text message alert appears on your phone- and judging by the sudden cacophony of ringtones and buzzing around you, the exact same thing has happened to your classmates. Opening it up, the text is from an unknown number. It’s a very simple message:

Before you have time to become appropriately confused, the sound of someone clearing their throat directs your attention to one of the nearby buildings. A young man- no more than a year or two older than the eldest among you- has exited the building, and is now happily making his way over to your little group. He’s dressed in a kimono, and a very formal one at that. It makes his modern hairstyle stand out when compared to his outfit. The man stands about at the edge of the area where you’re all splayed out, and you start to get to your feet as he talks.

“Oh, everyone is up? That’s great! I was getting tired of waiting for you. The air conditioning in those rooms are just terrible- spring has no business feeling this warm!”

He laughs to himself, either oblivious or purposely ignorant to your baffled expressions as he keeps talking.

“Anyways, it’s nice to meet you all! My name isn’t important. Just call me Ouji for now, okay? Welcome to the village of Yonakimura! I’ll be watching over you for a while. Not too long or anything- just for the rest of your lives!”

… Wait, what? Once again, Ouji ignores your reactions, giggling and walking back and forth a bit, the teeth on his geta kicking up a bit of dust.

“Yep, the rest of your lives! And you’re all kids, so that’s gonna be a pretty long time! We’ll really get to know each other, I think. It’ll be great! I even have a game planned out for everyone so we can enjoy ourselves while we spend time here. You all got that message on your phones, right? I sent it! Pay close attention to that number- it’s how we’ll be playing the Ousama Game.”

“The Ousama Game is simple. I deliver messages to you all on behalf of the Ousama! Wait, we have some foreigners here, don’t we? Just in case you don’t know, we’d call that a ‘King’ in English. The Ousama will be sending orders to all of you. You all know your student numbers, right? They’re in your notes in case you forget. The Ousama will send you orders addressing you by your student number! That way, you don’t necessarily know who is who- mysterious, right? You can tell people the number if you want, but that’s up to you! Aren’t we nice for offering you that choice?”

Ouji stops pacing, turning back to face your group with a smile and a wink.

“If you’re ordered to do something, you can ignore it, but… Royalty doesn’t appreciate being disobeyed. You’ll be punished, ahuhu! To maximize everyone’s happiness and comfort, I think you should follow them. Anyways, in regards to being here forever- you remember that, right?- there’s a way to get out. But what could it be…? I’ll tell you later. Take a while to get settled in and explore your new home, okay? You’ll be living with a roommate for now, and I’ve left a map of this place on your cell phones! I’d recommend finding your sleeping quarters first- There’s two keys in the mailboxes. Don’t lose them, okay? If you need anything until I decide to share the rest of the information- well, you know my number! And until then, I’m going to leave you with an important message…”

Is it just you, or is Ouji’s smile starting to seem… Off?

“The King’s orders are absolute.”

And with that, he happily struts off in the opposite direction, whistling a happy tune as he turns and vanishes around the curve of the dirt road. Right now, it’s just you and your equally frightened classmates.

Nobuteru kicks his feet gently under the table, contentedly smiling as Yurie keeps talking. She certainly has the charisma of a tarento, even when speaking simply like she is right now, and he’s quite happy to keep listening to her talk. 

“It would ruin the nice moment we’re having if I had to pull out my phone and search ‘pretty tarento’, wouldn’t it? Ah, Yurie Takei! Now it’s coming back to me. You did that show with the other girls from that disbanded idol group, didn’t you?”

He simply nods in response to her asking about the good luck, smiling gently and watching her pull the cards out. When she’s done, he reaches forwards, moving his hand over each card and swiftly flipping them as he goes. Both of them can see the cards now- King of Spades, Four of Hearts, Three of Hearts. 

“Alright! Now, these cards represent something about your past, present, and future respectively. Shall I explain the meanings to you? I’ll do my best to help you interpret these cards and find out what they mean in your own life!”

Oh, he really wasn’t stopping with the compliments. Well, she wasn’t complaining.

“Point made. We wouldn’t want that, would we. You’ve got it, though! Of course, we didn’t do that show; we did that one and then some. Variety programs can never be satisfied, oho.”

Despite the chuckle, there’s a hint of bitterness lingering in the last few words. Still, she sweeps it away with one hand rising to flick a bunch of curls over her shoulder.

“But tell me about you, now- how did card reading take you this far?”

Enraptured, she watches his deft handling of the cards. Just the simple flick of his wrist, in the few seconds it takes Nobuteru to do, is mesmerizing, especially combined with the mystery of whatever message simple playing cards could hold. If she were to be dramatic (as if!), Yurie might’ve even likened it to simple magic. At his explanation she nods, leaning forward in interest.

Nobuteru beams in response as she makes her way over, happily shoving his books to the side. Can’t get confused by homework if you don’t do it. He places his deck in front of him, sitting them in a tidy little pile before looking back up with a playful smile.

“But see, your face is so pretty that it makes it difficult to remember anything else! Mufufu, but really, could you jog my memory and remind me of your name? I’m Nobuteru Asanuma, if it matters at all. Super High School Level Cartomancer.”

Reaching back down to his deck, he smoothly and gracefully spreads them out across the table, a pretty fan of cards facing Yurie. Nobuteru has done this a million times before- he knows how to make it look pretty. Settling back a little bit, he looks back up at the girl, a pleased smile on his face. He’s done readings for celebrities before, but they always came into private appointments with sunglasses and hushed tones. It was nice to look at a familiar face without any of the usual secrecy they asked about.

“You’re my first reading since coming here, you know- new beginnings energize the cards, so I think you’ll have an especially accurate reading! How exciting! Let’s figure out what the cards have in store for you. Pull three out, but leave them face down for now.”

Honestly, she shared the sentiment of shoving the paperwork to the side. Who had time for that nonsense. Partners in procrastination, or something like that.

“What a sweet-talker you are, Asanuma-kun. You flatter me.”

Please go on, keep flattering, the obviously-pleased wave of her hand says. She considers his introduction and question both for a moment, though, resting her cheek gently against her palm. Nobuteru’s own fame was lost on her, what with cartomancy not exactly being something she focused on. Still, he was chipper and charming; that was enough to deserve a pleasant introduction.

“I could… But then you wouldn’t have the fun of finding it out on your own. Well- you’ll live if that’s taken away, won’t you, dear? Yurie Takai, in the flesh. It’s a pleasure. ♪”

Careful not to nudge any of the cards Nobuteru had slid across the table’s surface she gives a slight bow: or as close as she could come to one while sitting down at a table, anyway.

“Oho! Exciting indeed! Such good luck, and we haven’t even started yet. Is that a sign of its own?”

Nobuteru liked to think he was a pretty smart kid. I mean, he’d happily explain to you that his strengths were certainly his ‘charming babyface’ and ‘puppy-soft hair’ (two terms he had literally used to describe himself before), but he was also not too bad at school. Knowing that, it made his struggle over the past day all the more painful. He was smart, right? So why couldn’t he keep up?

Knowing he’d no doubt get distracted and end up playing video games in his room, Nobuteru set up in the cafeteria after class let out, laying his books out on the table and puzzling over each confusing assignment and question. But he got just as distracted here as he would have in his room- the deck in his pocket was calling his name! Pulling out his trusty green playing card set, Nobuteru absentmindedly started shuffling them, humming a tune to himself as he glanced around the room. Maybe he could do a reading… Who was that walking in the room?

It took Nobuteru a second, but he quickly realized it- that was the tarento on all those variety shows, right? Her name was… It was a ‘Y’, right? Something like that? Jeez, he didn’t watch that much TV. Without a proper name, the only way he could communicate was by waving his hand in her direction and calling out.

“Heeeey, tarento-chan! Want your fortune told?”

For a school full of people already at the peak of their careers the classes sure didn’t show any mercy. Yurie couldn’t begin to imagine why the teachers insisted on giving them enough homework to drown in and drilling useless info into their skulls; they’d all already made it big, weird talents or not. Wasn’t it obvious they had everything they needed for success?

Whatever. She was out of class now, and that was what mattered. The tarento took her time wandering the halls, books in hand, enjoying the simple feeling of freedom. Hardly anyone turned to give the loitering star so much as a glance, she noted. There were no mutters of hey, isn’t that…?, not a single wow, that has to be…!

Now that was refreshing. Yurie, confidence back in her step and head held high, pushed open the cafeteria doors and strode in. She could snag a snack in peace, no interruptions-

The call burst through her thoughts. Her black curls whipped across her face as she spun around, eyes quickly landing on the green-haired shouter with irritation at being stopped in her tracks flickering across her face for a split second. As his words sunk in, though, Yurie’s eyes lit up- fortune-telling? That wasn’t something you got every day. She strolled over to his table, plopping down in the seat across from him with a look of mock offense.

“What, you know my face but not the rest? Shame! I didn’t get famous for a nickname like tarento-chan.”

She winked at the stranger, hand raising to her mouth as she chuckled.