My Oshi's Best Friend: The Ex-Idol in the Seat Next to Me
In the spring of his second year of high school, plain and friendless Isogai Takuto (16) is a secret hardcore fan of the super popular VTuber Himizuki Yui. At school, he tells no one, spending his afternoons watching archived streams. One day, his classmate Kurose Maria, who had just returned from a long absence, catches a glimpse of his phone while picking up his eraser. On the screen is a limited singing stream by Himizuki Yui. Maria's eyes light up.
'Wait... you're a Yui fan?'
Maria's true
My Oshi's Best Friend: The Ex-Idol in the Seat Next to Me - The day I vowed to protect Maria's voice, my childhood friend dropped a bombshell.
On the weekend, the street in front of Minase Central Station was filled with students heading home from club activities and shoppers strolling leisurely. The May air had begun to carry a hint of humidity, just enough to make you break a slight sweat in a thin shirt alone.
Takuto stepped out of the electronics store in front of the station, holding a small white box in one hand, and let out a satisfied breath.
"I finally bought new earphones... Yui's voice will be perfectly reproduced right in my ears... Seriously, it's precious."
Suppressing the urge to open the box right then and there, Takuto started walking toward the station's south exit.
(Today, her new utattemita goes up at noon. I need to get home fast and set up my listening environment.)
As he walked along thinking about that, his feet suddenly stopped near the corner by Café Lumina.
"...Huh?"
Behind the café, deep in a quiet alleyway, a girl stood alone.
Black hair. At a single glance, it looked almost artificial—glossy, lustrous black hair.
It was Maria.
She wasn't in the school uniform he usually saw her in. She wore a pale blue dress with a small white bag slung over her shoulder. She looked like she'd stepped right out of some movie.
But there was something painful about the sight.
Maria had one hand against the wall, eyes closed, humming something softly.
"...♪"
A faint hum. A melody he'd heard before.
It was a song from Hizuki Yui's limited singing stream.
Her voice was thin, distant, and occasionally cracked with a sharp hitch.
Every time her voice failed her, Maria bit her lip. Her shoulders trembled faintly. She repeated the same phrase over and over, again and again.
Takuto couldn't move.
(Maria... what are you doing in a place like this?)
While he hesitated over whether to call out to her, Maria tried to hit a high note and broke into a violent coughing fit.
"*cough* *cough*...!"
Her slender body folded forward, and she dropped to her knees. Her bag fell to the ground.
"Maria!"
Takuto rushed over without thinking.
"Hah... Takuto-kun?"
Maria looked up. Her eyes were faintly glistening, and she looked like she was in pain.
"Are you okay? Can you stand?"
When Takuto offered his hand, Maria hesitated for a moment before placing her slender fingers in his.
They were cold as ice. Even though it was a May afternoon, her hand alone felt like the dead of winter. Her fingertips trembled ever so slightly.
Something deep in Takuto's chest tightened painfully.
"...Sorry, I'm fine. I just choked a little."
Maria tried to smile. But her voice was so hoarse it sounded worn through, and he could barely make out the words.
"It's nothing. Really, I'm okay."
Maria shook her head weakly. Her voice kept breaking mid-sentence. It was as if her throat was screaming in agony.
In Takuto's mind, Hizuki Yui's beautiful singing voice and Maria's fading, fragile voice echoed at the same time.
(That's a lie. There's no way she's okay.)
Takuto picked up the fallen bag, supported Maria, and led her to a nearby bench.
"...Sit down."
"Okay."
Maria nodded obediently and curled up into a small ball.
Takuto ran to a nearby vending machine, bought two warm teas, and came back.
"Here."
He held one out to Maria.
"...Thank you."
Maria took the can with both hands and took a slow sip. Her slender throat moved. Her long eyelashes trembled faintly.
"Did you know? That I have trouble getting my voice out?"
The sudden words nearly made Takuto gasp.
"...No, but... when we talked at the café before, I thought you seemed like you were struggling a little."
"I see. ...You know, I've loved singing ever since I was little. When I was in NeoPorte, I never once worried about my throat. But lately... when my feelings get too strong, my voice just... closes up."
Maria gripped the can with both hands and stared at her feet.
"When your feelings get too strong...?"
Takuto still didn't quite understand what she meant.
"...When I feel love, my voice won't come out."
Maria's voice was so small it seemed like it might vanish into the wind.
Takuto froze, still holding his can of tea.
When she feels love, her voice won't come out.
(That means...)
"Isn't it just a cold or something?"
Takuto said it casually, without much thought.
Maria's eyes clouded over for just a moment.
"...My voice might never heal."
Maria said it in a hoarse whisper.
Takuto immediately regretted it. He felt like he'd said something incredibly insensitive.
"Sorry, I..."
"Don't apologize. ...There's nothing for you to be sorry about, Takuto-kun."
Maria's thin shoulders shook with a lonely air.
He was seized by the urge to wrap his arms around those shoulders. But he couldn't bring himself to do it. Instead, he squeezed his can of tea tightly. The can dented slightly.
As evening approached, orange light slowly descended upon the street.
Maria drank her tea in silence for a while, then eventually stood up.
"Will you walk me home?"
"...Of course."
Maria's steps were unsteady, and Takuto hesitated over whether to offer his hand again and again. In the end, he couldn't quite reach out, and the two of them walked side by side, slowly.
Silence continued. But it wasn't an unpleasant silence.
"Hey, Takuto-kun. Can I try singing just one of Yui's songs?"
Maria suddenly said.
"Eh, but your throat..."
"Just one. ...I don't know if I can sing it well, but I want you to hear it."
Takuto nodded.
Maria took a deep breath and began to sing.
Hizuki Yui's signature song. A song Takuto had listened to hundreds of times.
The moment the first note left her lips, goosebumps spread across Takuto's entire body.
Maria's voice was hoarse, trembling, and far from perfect.
But it was the kind of voice that reached directly into the softest, most vulnerable part of his heart.
"...!"
Maria's voice cut off abruptly just before the high note.
She couldn't produce another sound.
Maria couldn't sing.
"...I can't sing it well."
Maria wore an expression that was somewhere between crying and smiling.
Takuto felt a burning heat deep in his chest. Words wouldn't come.
(I don't want to lose this person's voice.)
Their two shadows stretched long across the school route, dyed in the colors of the sunset.
Before long, they arrived in front of Maria's house.
A wooden single-family home. Thirty-two years old—old, but well maintained. White flowers bloomed in a small flower bed.
The front door slid open with a clatter.
"Oh my, Maria. Welcome home."
The person who came out was Maria's grandmother, Kurose Yoshie. A petite old woman with her white hair tied back in a single bun, with a gentle demeanor.
Yoshie looked back and forth between Maria and Takuto, then smiled warmly.
"Well, well. It's been years since Maria brought a boy home."
Takuto's face instantly flushed hot, and he bowed quickly.
"U-um, thank you for having me!"
Maria let out a soft giggle.
"See you at school, Takuto-kun."
"Y-yeah."
Takuto fled from the scene. His heart was pounding like a frantic drum.
(Grandma totally misunderstood that...)
As he walked, Maria's song lingered in his ears.
On the way home, Takuto turned his steps toward the Tama River embankment.
The setting sun dyed the river's surface orange. A few joggers and dog walkers dotted the riverbank.
Takuto sat down on the embankment steps.
(I want to protect Maria's voice.)
He put it into words in his heart.
The night he'd thrown a superchat at his oshi through the screen, he'd cried when she read his name. That had been the first and last time in his life he'd ever done something for someone else.
But today was different.
He wanted to do something for a real person, standing right in front of him.
"...I'll protect Maria's voice."
It was a vow so quiet no one could hear it.
At that moment, a voice came from behind.
"Hey, Takuto!"
He turned around to find Usami Ruka standing there.
Bright brown hair reaching down to her waist. Flashy earrings jangling at her ears. Today she wore a black camisole with a floral long skirt—casual but flashy.
Ruka was out of breath. A thin sheen of sweat glistened on her forehead.
"Hah... hah... I've been looking for you."
"Ruka? Why are you here..."
"I should be asking you that. You came out of the café with a girl yesterday after school, didn't you?"
Ruka stood directly in front of Takuto, crossed her arms, and looked down at him.
"You saw that?"
"I didn't see it—I just happened to catch a glimpse. So, who's that black-haired girl?"
Ruka's voice cut sharply through the summer evening air.
"...She's in my class."
When Takuto answered, Ruka narrowed her eyes.
"That's the girl who sits next to you, right? The one who just came back from not attending school. Kurose Maria."
Takuto was at a loss for words.
"How do you even know her name..."
"I've been watching you for years, so I can tell. You like that type, don't you? Long black hair, quiet-looking girls."
"What?! N-no, that's not—"
He started to deny it, but then remembered Hizuki Yui and fell silent. Yui did indeed lean toward the long-black-hair type.
"...So I was right."
Ruka glared at him with half-lidded eyes.
"I'm worried about you, as your childhood friend. You've been acting weird lately. Suddenly getting close with a girl at school—it's not like you."
For the first time, anger mixed into Ruka's voice.
"...That's none of your business, Ruka."
Takuto shot back, slightly irritated.
"It is my business. Very much so."
Ruka took a step forward.
"That agency your oshi Hizuki Yui is in... my sister's ex-boyfriend runs it."
Takuto's mind went completely blank for a moment.
"...Huh? What are you talking about..."
"The agency Foslive. My sister's ex-boyfriend—some guy named Shinozaki—is a co-operator. He used my sister as a stepping stone to build connections in the entertainment industry. The worst kind of man."
Foslive.
Takuto's heart began to race for a different reason than before.
Hizuki Yui's agency. The behind-the-scenes of the streams he relied on every single day.
"What do you mean? Why would your sister's ex-boyfriend be connected to Yui's agency..."
Takuto pressed closer to Ruka.
"I won't tell you anything more. ...But I can say one thing. If you get involved with that Kurose Maria girl, things are going to get messy."
Ruka's voice was deadly serious.
"What do you mean, messy?"
"You're so persistent. I told you, I'm not going into details. ...The closer you get to Maria, the worse things will turn out. This is a warning."
"...A warning?"
"Hey, Takuto. Please. Don't get any closer to that girl."
Ruka's voice suddenly trembled as if she were about to cry.
Takuto had never seen that expression on Ruka's face before.
Ruka, who was always bold, brimming with confidence, and quick to tease him.
That same Ruka was now looking at him with a face on the verge of tears, pleading.
Takuto faltered for a moment.
But even so.
Maria's fading, fragile voice echoed in his head.
"I can't sing in front of you anymore."
"My voice might never heal."
That hoarse voice. Those thin shoulders trembling in pain. Those pale white fingers.
Takuto took a quiet breath.
"No matter what anyone says, I... I'm going to protect Maria's voice."
Takuto could feel his own voice shaking.
Ruka's eyes widened.
"...I see."
Her voice sounded squeezed out.
"I see. ...Okay."
Ruka stepped back.
"Ruka..."
"See you."
With just that, Ruka turned on her heel and ran off.
Her back grew smaller and smaller in the fading light of dusk.
Takuto could only watch her retreating figure.
(Ruka... was she crying...?)
Why Ruka would cry, Takuto couldn't understand.
He was utterly oblivious when it came to a woman's heart.
Darkness quietly settled over the riverbank.
Takuto sat there for a while.
Shinozaki.
Ruka's sister's ex-boyfriend. Co-operator of Foslive.
The man who'd snatched the limited goods from him at that convenience store.
His face surfaced in Takuto's mind.
No way... that guy...
Coul
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