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 more time we spend together, the more it steals my voice—a cruel diagnosis and the approach of a dark shadow.
The white curtain in the nurse's office swayed gently in the breeze.
Isogai Takuto looked down at Kurose Maria's face as she lay on the bed.
Just a little while ago, Maria had collapsed on the banks of the Tama River. Alone on the path, trembling faintly. The coldness of her hand when he'd held it still lingered on Takuto's fingers.
"……Mm."
Maria slowly opened her eyes. Their gazes met.
"Takuto-kun…… is this the nurse's office?"
Her voice was hoarse. Thin like a frayed thread, so faint it seemed it might snap at any moment.
"Yeah. You collapsed by the riverbank. Do you remember?"
Maria stared at the ceiling for a moment. Then she gave a small nod.
"……Yeah. Sorry for causing you trouble."
"It's not trouble."
Takuto pulled over a nearby round stool and sat beside the bed. The chair creaked softly.
They were alone in the nurse's office. The school nurse had been called to the staff room and wasn't there now. From outside the window, the distant shouts of club activities could be heard.
"……You went to the hospital, right? What did the doctor say?"
Maria was silent for a while. Her long black hair spread across the white pillow.
"……The doctor said it's psychogenic."
Maria's voice was terribly small, like she was confessing a secret to someone.
"To be more specific……"
Maria paused for a moment.
Takuto stayed silent, waiting for her to continue.
"The doctor said…… the stronger my feelings of love for someone become, the more I lose my voice."
"……What?"
Takuto couldn't process the meaning.
"So, um…… being with you, Takuto-kun…… might be what's taking my voice away."
Maria lowered her eyes. Her long eyelashes trembled faintly.
Takuto's mind went completely blank.
(I'm…… taking Maria's voice away?)
His heart began pounding like a frantic bell.
"Hey, so does that mean if you stay with me, someday you'll completely lose your voice?"
"……Maybe."
"Don't screw with me…… why? Why would falling in love make you lose your voice? I've never heard of a disease like that."
Takuto had unconsciously clenched his fists. His nails dug into his palms.
Maria slowly shook her head.
"It's called Voce Lost Syndrome. Only twelve cases have been confirmed in the country over the past fifty years. It's an extremely rare disease."
"What the hell is that……"
"It's also known as 'Voice Eater.' Your voice gets eaten. Your feelings for the person you love feed on your voice, and your throat gradually closes up."
Maria said that much, then coughed lightly.
"*cough*…… *cough*"
"Hey, don't force yourself to talk."
Takuto stood up and poured water into a paper cup that had been placed nearby.
"Here."
Maria accepted the paper cup with her slender fingers. She drank a little water, taking small sips.
"……Thank you."
Maria smiled softly.
That smile was painfully fragile.
"But it's not your fault, Takuto-kun. This is a problem with my heart. A problem with my feelings. It's no one's fault."
"……That's not the point."
Takuto sat back down on the chair.
"You know your voice is disappearing just from me being near you, and you can still smile? Why do you look so calm about this?"
Maria wrapped both hands around the paper cup.
"Do I look calm?"
Maria's voice trembled.
"The truth is, I'm terrified. Every day, I even dream about what I'll do if my voice never comes back. If I can't sing anymore, it feels like I won't be me anymore."
A single tear spilled from Maria's eye.
"But…… more than that, the thought of not being able to see you, Takuto-kun, is so much scarier. So much scarier."
Maria's voice was hoarse, scattering like the wind.
"What the hell……"
Takuto hung his head. His hands trembled on his knees.
"Then what am I supposed to do? What can I do to protect your voice?"
Maria didn't answer. She just cried quietly.
In the nurse's office, only the distant shouts of the sports clubs echoed faintly.
"……Today, after school. Do you have time?"
Takuto clenched his fists tightly.
Maria wiped her tears with the back of her hand and gave a small nod.
"After the hospital…… the Tama River bank. Please, I want you to come."
"Got it. I'll be there."
Saying just that, Takuto stood up from the chair.
He left the nurse's office without looking back.
The moment he stepped into the hallway, he put his hand against the wall.
"……Damn it."
Takuto muttered, forcing the words from the back of his throat.
The back of his eyes burned.
(I'm the one—my very existence is killing Maria's voice.)
He punched the wall once with his fist. Thud.
Through the nurse's office door, he thought he could hear Maria crying.
―――
The Tama River bank at dusk.
The grass on the embankment swayed in the wind.
The sun would set soon. It was the most beautiful time—when the sky shifts from orange to purple.
Takuto sat on the embankment, waiting for Maria.
(What am I supposed to do from here?)
He picked up a small stone and threw it toward the river.
The stone rolled for a while, then dropped into the water. Plunk.
"Takuto-kun."
He turned around. Maria was standing there.
She must have come straight from the hospital—she wore a pale blue cardigan. Her black hair flowed softly in the evening breeze.
"Did you wait long?"
"……No, I just got here."
Takuto patted the spot next to him on the embankment.
Maria sat down beside him, just barely close enough to touch. A tiny distance.
"……The sunset is beautiful."
Maria's voice was still hoarse. But it was a little steadier than it had been during the day.
"Yeah."
Takuto looked up at the madder-red sky.
The surface of the Tama River sparkled, reflecting the light.
A quiet moment passed between them.
"……Hey, Maria."
Takuto spoke as if forcing the words out.
"I think…… I shouldn't see you anymore."
Maria said nothing.
"I can't stand watching your voice get any worse. So…… let's make today the last time."
His voice was shaking.
Takuto stared straight ahead and said it.
(This is right. This should be right.)
Maria was silent for a moment.
Then he heard her take a small breath.
"……I don't want that."
Maria's hand grabbed the sleeve of Takuto's uniform, holding on tight.
"I know we can talk normally. I know I want to see you. Making today the last time—I can't accept that."
"Maria……"
"Please. I want to be with you, Takuto-kun. Losing my voice is scary, but not being able to see you is so much scarier."
Maria's grip on his sleeve tightened.
Her voice was faint, but desperate.
Takuto gritted his teeth.
(No good. I can't shake her off.)
He couldn't pull his sleeve free from Maria's hand.
"……What if your voice completely disappears? What if you can't sing anymore? Are you telling me to give up on your dream? Don't you want to see Yui?"
Takuto's voice was wrenched from his throat.
Maria's shoulders trembled.
"……Yui is…… fine."
"What do you mean, 'fine'?"
Maria looked down.
"I do want to see Yui. That feeling is really strong. But right now, what I want to say out loud more than anything is to you, Takuto-kun…… 'I want you to stay with me.'"
Maria's words pierced deep, deep into Takuto's chest.
"……Why me?"
Takuto spoke as if dazed.
"Why does someone like me—zero friends, plain, with nothing going for me except my oshi—make you say something like that?"
Maria raised her head.
With tear-soaked eyes, she looked straight at Takuto.
"You don't have zero friends, Takuto-kun. You're right here, next to me. That alone is enough. To me, you're my one and only…… someone special."
Maria's voice melted into the twilight.
Something deep in Takuto's chest crumbled with a sound.
"……"
Before he knew it, Takuto was holding Maria's small body in his arms.
Maria wrapped her arms around his back too.
The two of them held each other on the riverbank at dusk, tears streaming down their faces.
The wind from the Tama River slipped between them.
"……Takuto-kun. I won't give up. Even if I lose my voice, I want to be with you. This is my answer."
Maria's voice reached his ear.
That voice was definitely trembling.
But it resonated stronger than any other voice.
"……Idiot."
Takuto tightened his arms around Maria's back.
"Don't decide things on your own. I'll protect your voice. Absolutely. Don't give up. I'll…… I'll figure something out."
Takuto spoke as if telling himself.
He had no basis for it.
But he couldn't help saying it.
Maria nodded softly against his chest.
The setting sun stretched their shadows long, long across the ground.
―――
Night.
Takuto sat at the desk in his room.
No one else was there. It was quiet and dark.
On the computer monitor, a limited singing stream archive of Hizuki Yui was playing.
A clear, beautiful singing voice.
'――♪'
Yui's voice filled the room.
Takuto pressed new earphones into his ears and listened carefully.
(This voice. It's the voice of my oshi that I listened to every night.)
Maria's faint, fading voice from today echoed in the back of his mind.
'I want to be with you, Takuto-kun.'
Yui's singing voice overlapped with Maria's voice.
'I absolutely don't want Yui to find out.'
(Maria said she doesn't want Yui to know about her illness.)
(But if she met Yui, maybe Maria's voice could be cured. Yui is Maria's best friend, after all.)
Takuto stared at the monitor, thinking.
'I'll let you meet Yui sometime.'
Maria's words spun around in his head.
(She wants to see Yui. But she doesn't want Yui to know about her illness.)
(How do I resolve this contradiction?)
He couldn't figure anything out.
Before he knew it, his cheeks were wet.
The tears wouldn't stop.
It was the first time.
The first time watching his oshi's stream didn't fill his heart.
Yui on the other side of the screen was perfectly beautiful today, as always.
And yet, his heart remained captive to Maria.
Takuto turned off the computer.
He stared at the dark ceiling and crawled under the covers.
(What should I do?)
(How can I save Maria?)
The answer wasn't lying anywhere.
―――
The next morning.
Takuto left the house having barely slept.
The morning commute.
Mingling with the people heading to the station, Takuto walked with heavy steps.
(What kind of face am I supposed to make when I see Maria at school today?)
His thoughts wouldn't come together.
With leaden feet, he headed toward Minase Central Station.
That was when it happened.
A man in a suit crossed the intersection in front of the station.
For an instant, a familiar profile.
"……That guy."
Takuto stopped in his tracks.
The man who had snatched the limited goods at the convenience store that day.
Shinozaki Kaito.
Co-operator of ForsLive.
Ruka's sister's ex-boyfriend.
The man walked toward an office building a short distance from the station.
"ForsLive headquarters…… that's Minase Third Building, right? Eight minutes from the station."
Takuto unconsciously followed after Shinozaki.
(To protect Maria, I need to find out what that guy really is.)
(If he's trying to do something to Maria, even more so.)
His heart pounded like a frantic bell.
Sweat seeped into his palms.
Shinozaki walked through the crowded station front without hesitation.
Takuto walked several meters behind, careful not to lose sight of him.
They entered a district lined with office buildings.
A four-story mixed-use building with "Minase Third Building" written on it.
Shinozaki walked straight toward the entrance.
Takuto hid himself in the shadow of a utility pole across the street.
—But.
Suddenly, Shinozaki stopped in his tracks.
He slowly turned around.
"……Oh?"
Shinozaki's low, lingering voice echoed through the quiet street.
"I thought I had an awfully enthusiastic stalker on my hands this morning, and it turns out to be the boy from the convenience store the other day."
With a thin smile on his face, Shinozaki slowly walked toward Takuto, who was hiding in the shadow of the utility pole.
Takuto's legs froze.
(He noticed……)
"……You're Shinozaki Kaito, aren't you?"
Takuto forced his voice out.
"Oh? You know my name. Did you hear it from Usami's li
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