#kurima

Kurikoma's tablet buzzed. She clicked the notification, opening discord to her latest message from mchan, immediately feeling the tension drain from her shoulders.

"Hi!!! Hope ur sleepovers going well <3 I'm gonna be busy w friends today but we can call when I get back??"

Kurikoma hid her smile behind her tablet. She'd only known mchan for a few months, but she could already feel the stirrings of an internet crush forming.

Mchan wasn't very knowledgeable about the internet, originally messaging Kurikoma to ask her to explain a post she'd made using a certain meme format. Mchan had been polite, but eager to learn, and Kurikoma spent the rest of the night explaining niche internet memes to her new friend.

The conversations spiraled from there, quickly turning into personal anecdotes and jokes passed between them throughout the week. Kurikoma followed her back after that, and the rest was history.

"Ok send me pics" Kurikoma hesitated before quickly typing and sending a heart emoji, closing the app before she could second-guess herself. She took a breath.

"Komakoma!" Onagawa popped up beside her, pressing against her shoulder, "talking to your giiiirlfriendddd'" he drawled, wiggling his eyebrows. She huffed.

Onagawa had found out about mchan not long after Kurikoma did, taking notice of the influx of asks and reblogs circling between the two girls. He'd brought it up after breakfast, teasing Kurikoma about a crush she didn't have at the time, but definitely did now.

Kurikoma scowled at him.

"Go away," she said turning her attention to her screen, pulling up a video on advanced knitting techniques.

Onagawa rolled his eyes.

"You can't hide from me, little mouse," he said, booping her nose, "I know you," he said, chuckling darkly before switching demeanors once more, "plus! Watari told me he overheard you two flirting on call the other day,"

His voice was smug and Kurikoma really wanted to punch him.

"I don't even know her," Kurikoma said in lieu of punch, "besides, she travels a lot, it wouldn't work out,"

"Ah! Don't give up hope, Komakoma! I'll help you with th-"

Kurikoma clamped a hand over his mouth, murder in her eyes.

Onagawa squeaked.

"No," she said, glaring at him with all of her intensity. Onagawa shrank beneath her gaze, nodding rapidly. She removed her hand and stood up, walking away without a goodbye. Onagawa didn't deserve one anyway.

--

Kurikoma was tucked into bed when she got another notification, this time alerting her to an image attachment.

She opened it, her breath catching in her chest as she stared at the picture filling her screen. It was a picture of mchan- wearing a mask of course- making a peace sign at the camera. There was a blur of blue and black hair in the background, probably one of mchan's friends, blocking the sign for the yogurt shop they were posing in front of.

"How was ur sleepover?" mchan had typed.

"Good," Kurikoma typed back, "my friend kept bugging me abt u,"

More typing.

"Oh?"

"Ye, he's @tantanagoyoshi on Tumblr, u've prob seen me rbing his stuff,"

"He's a big jpop fan, right?"

"Ye, his fav is the tan tan girls,"

Mchan was quiet for a moment, leaving Kurikoma to wonder if she said something wrong. A new message popped up a few minutes later.

"Do you like them too?"

"Sometimes, I'm not rly into jpop tho,"

"I see,"

She sees? Sees what? Ugh, this was getting to be too much.

"Hbu?" Kurikoma asked, hoping to gain some more insight.

"I like them too I guess, the fandom can be a bit much though,"

"So tru, I love Onagawa but he's a fucking disgrace,"

Mchan sent a series of laughing emojis before letting Kurikoma know she was logging off for the night. Kurikoma looked at her dead icon, already planning how to word her good morning text.

--

"What if we met,"

The message disappeared seconds after Kurikoma read it, another one quickly taking its place.

"Haha ignore that pls?? Idk what I’m saying,"

Kurikoma blinked.

"It's just"

"I'm in Miyagi for the weekend, and I realized that I kinda actually trust you?? I just. Idk."

Kurikoma watched those messages get deleted too, fingers hovering over the keyboard as she decided what to say.

"I trust u 2, if u wanna meet I'd like that, if not that's also fine, dw abt it,"

Mchan typed for a while before sending a meme of a cat crying. Kurikoma smiled. Mchan really loved cats.

"I can’t promise I won’t cancel but...meet me at the yogurt shop downtown on Saturday? I have to leave at 2, so around 11 maybe??"

Kurikoma's breath lodged in her chest. She hadn't expected mchan to agree, much less plan out a time and place. It sounded like, well, a date. Kurikoma blushed.

"Is this a date?" She pressed send. She needed clarity; it wouldn't do to spend the next two days worrying. Mchan typed for a moment.

"I'd like it to be, if that's okay?"

Kurikoma smiled, hiking her shoulders up to her cheeks.

"It's very okay, see you sat!!" She sent a heart emoji before closing discord and pulling up messenger, typing a quick text to Shida to let him know about the plan.

He'd taken her to meet internet friends before and was familiar enough with mchan to understand the situation. He sent an excited cat kaomoji, confirming that he was free, and wishing her goodnight. Kurikoma fell back into her bed, kicking her feet for a moment before switching to Tumblr to scroll for a bit before bed. She had a date, an honest to goodness date. Oh, she couldn't wait to rub this in Onagawa's face.

--

Saturday rolled around quicker than expected, but slower than she hoped. She was tapping her foot against Shida's car door, her legs too short to reach the floor.

"Relax, Asa-chan! He said, "she asked you out, so she must be interested in meeting you!"

Kurikoma nodded, scrolling back to the messages mchan had sent her that morning.

"Looking forward to seeing you!! I feel like I should prepare you though, I'm not...I'm not exactly what you're expecting,"

"I'm still me, haha!! I'm the person in the pics I've sent, and I'm definitely more real with you than I am with most people in my life, I just...I'll explain when you get here, okay? Promise not to freak out?"

Kurikoma hadn't responded yet, figuring it'd be easier to talk in person.

In person.

She still hadn't fully convinced herself that this was real, the lingering fear of mchan pulling out at the last minute ever present in the back of her mind.

The car pulled to a stop beside the yogurt shop, Shida backing into a parking space before turning the key and sending Kurikoma a comforting smile.

"You've got this, kid!" He said, giving her a thumbs up. She smiled, nodding her head, and stepping out if the car. She caught sight of brown pigtails almost immediately, her heart thumping wildly.

She came. She really came.

Kurikoma steeled her nerves, stopping herself from running over, choosing to walk carefully instead. She tapped mchan's shoulder.

"Uh-"

Mchan turned around, her eyes growing wide as she jumped to her feet. She threw her arms around Kurikoma, pulling her into a hug, which Kurikoma gladly reciprocated.

They both laughed, mchan's muffled behind her ever-present mask.

"You're real!" She sobbed, tears pooling in her pretty brown eyes.

"Did you think I wouldn't be?"

"I don’t know!" She pulled Kurikoma into the seat next to her, not letting go of her hand. Kurikoma blushed.

"I ordered for you, is that okay?" She asked, fiddling with her mask.

"Yeah," Kurikoma nodded, her fingers twitching up to trace the floral material hiding mchan's face. She flinched, and Kurikoma pulled away.

"I'm sorry," mchan said, grabbing Kurikoma's other hand, "I didn't want to risk anyone seeing me before you got here, but..." She seemed to be steeling herself for something.

"I trust you, mchan," Kurikoma said, letting go of her hands.

"Right, about that," mchan pulled down her mask, taking Kurikoma's breath away with it, "my name isn't actually mchan, it's-"

"Ma-chan," Kurikoma breathed, "you're ma-chan," she blinked rapidly, pinching her thigh to see if she was dreaming. Ma-chan laughed awkwardly.

"That's my stage name, yes, but my real name is Masami Kudo...I’d like for you to call me that too, if you'd like?"

Kurikoma nodded, quickly regaining her bearings. So mchan was ma-chan, so what? Kurikoma was never into bandom, it's not like she'd ever really cared about ma-chan before. She didn't have any preconceived notions about her, the girl before her was just mchan, her internet friend and crush. Who also happened to be a global pop star. No big deal.

No, Kurikoma found her head spinning at the idea of an international idol taking time from her busy schedule to spend time with her, to answer her 3am rambling texts, to send her pictures that would prove catastrophic if leaked. Kurikoma’s blush intensified.

"So, you're leaving soon?" She asked, changing the subject.

Masami nodded.

"Yes, I've got a fan signing in Sendai...but I'll be back next week?"

Kurikoma smiled, "can we meet then? I'll show you the tech shop I told you about, and we can get boba after?"

"That sounds perfect!" Masami's smile was bright and shiny, it was no wonder Onagawa was infatuated with her.

Onagawa...

Kurikoma smiled, a devious plan sparking into motion.

"Masami, do you mind if we take a quick selfie? This'll blow my friend's mind,"

--

Onagawa's phone buzzed, a message from Kurikoma lighting up his screen.

"Met mchan today, we r dating now. I think I kno her from somewhere, does she look familiar to u?"

Onagawa quirked an eyebrow, opening the attachment. His phone fell from his hand, clattering to the floor.