Kakeru is a typical high school sophomore who is totally obsessed with the super popular Vtuber, Muna Hoshinova. But one day, he accidentally discovers that the new transfer student, Hazuki, is actually Muna in real life! Hazuki begs him to keep it a secret from everyone at school, making him her only confidant.
But keeping that secret is way too hard! His classmates Yuzuha and Akari keep pestering him because they know he's a Muna fan, and his childhood friend Sakura is getting suspicious of h
A Secret Kiss Behind the Stars - The End of Summer and the Moon's Radiance
Why does summer vacation always end so fast?
Aikawa Kakeru walked the familiar path with slightly heavy steps.
September 1st. The opening ceremony for the new semester. Halfway up the gentle slope leading to Minase Municipal Aoba-dai High School, he suddenly stopped and looked up at the sky.
It was blue. Endlessly blue, but the clouds weren't summer clouds anymore. Clouds with blurred outlines, tinged with the scent of autumn, drifted slowly by.
"......Ah, man."
A sigh escaped him.
He'd devoted almost his entire summer vacation to a single Vtuber. Muna Hoshinova. 3.8 million subscribers. Now a national idol who appeared in TV commercials constantly. It was only in the last few years that Vtubers had gained this much influence, and walking through town, there wasn't a day he didn't hear Muna's voice. Even the shopping mall in front of the station, "Corridore," had a life-size panel of her on display.
Kakeru had been completely swept up in that social atmosphere.
Staying up late to chase streams, watching Super Chats, and before he knew it, the morning sun was streaming in. Over and over. Falling asleep with earphones in, listening to Muna's "Starry Night," sung against a backdrop of the night sky, had become a habit.
(I'm seriously a degenerate...)
He scratched his head. His slightly overgrown black hair was sticking up with bedhead.
"Hey, Kakeru!"
A voice flew at him from behind. Turning around, he saw two girls with ponytails bobbing, chasing after him at a light run.
Yuzuha and Akari.
"Good morniiing! Whoa, that face!"
Yuzuha jumped right in front of Kakeru. Her bright chestnut ponytail bounced energetically. Her round, cat-like eyes sparkled with curiosity. Her always-stylish hair tie — today it had a star charm on it — reflected the morning sun.
"You stayed up late again, right? You were watching Muna's stream, weren't you!"
"Huh? No, it's not really—"
"Liar. Your eyes are totally red, and your hair's got bedhead."
Yuzuha pointed her index finger at him. Kakeru instinctively took a step back.
(How does she know...)
"Yuzuha, you're being too loud for the morning."
Akari, standing beside her, quietly chided her. Her semi-long black hair, tinged with blue, flowed smoothly in the breeze. Her glossy, well-maintained hair was the very picture of her meticulous personality. Her narrow, sharp eyes stared intently at Kakeru. A gaze that seemed to assess him, yet also seemed somehow amused.
"But it's true, that sleep-deprived face of yours is pretty bad. Muna's new song stream was yesterday, after all."
"You guys know about her too?!"
"Of course! Wait, Kakeru, so you really were a Muna fan!"
Yuzuha happily poked Kakeru's arm. She was standing so close.
"Jeez, you should've said so sooner! I thought we'd have stuff to talk about!"
"There was no need to say anything, really..."
Kakeru averted his eyes.
This sense of closeness was a little hard for him to handle.
—For a long time now, he'd been unable to keep secrets.
Back in elementary school, he'd confided in a close friend once. The name of the girl he liked, whispered softly. They promised they'd absolutely never tell, but the very next day, the whole class knew.
Just remembering it, even now, made his chest ache sharply.
The laughter that echoed through the classroom. The curious stares. Someone whispering, "Don't ever tell him anything real."
(People connect through secrets. But secrets can also destroy.)
Since that day, Kakeru had made a vow.
He would treat anyone's precious secrets as heavier than his own life. Absolutely.
"Kakeru? You got all gloomy there."
"Huh? Oh, no, I was just spacing out from lack of sleep."
He hurriedly put on a smile.
"See! You *were* watching Muna!"
Yuzuha laughed brightly. Akari said nothing, just kept staring at Kakeru. He couldn't read the meaning in her gaze.
(I feel like she sees right through me...)
The three of them passed through the school gate. The shouts of sports clubs could be heard from the schoolyard. Weeds that had grown long over summer break still remained here and there.
—
The classroom for Class 2-3 was already noisy.
Classmates meeting for the first time in a while clustered together everywhere, chatting excitedly about their summer vacation memories. Went to the beach, worked a part-time job, marathoned games — it seemed everyone had their own kind of summer.
"Ah, Kakeru."
He was called out at the classroom entrance, and Kakeru stopped.
Soft, fluffy bobbed hair the color of cherry blossoms. A small braid on the right side only. Slightly upturned, dark brown eyes stared intently at Kakeru.
It was his childhood friend, Sakura.
"......You stayed up late again, didn't you. That face."
"You too?!"
"I can mostly tell with you. I've been watching you forever, after all."
Sakura furrowed her brows slightly. Her expression seemed to hold worry and — what was it? — a tiny hint of loneliness.
"......Well, make sure you sleep properly. The new semester starts today."
"I know, I know."
When Kakeru smiled at her, Sakura's lips softened for just a moment. But immediately, she noticed Yuzuha and Akari behind Kakeru, and her expression froze solid.
"......What? The three of you walking to school all buddy-buddy from the morning?"
"Sakura, let's talk about Muna too! We just found out Kakeru's a hardcore fan!"
"......Hmm."
Saying just that, Sakura returned to her seat. A seat by the window — diagonally in front of Kakeru's. He felt like she glanced back at him as she sat down, but maybe he imagined it.
(Is she in a bad mood?)
Tilting his head, Kakeru took his own seat. The very back, by the window. This was his usual spot.
—
Even after the opening ceremony ended and they returned to the classroom, the noise continued.
Kakeru slumped over his desk and secretly put his earphones in.
Muna Hoshinova's "Starry Night."
The quiet piano intro began to play.
—Winter of his third year of middle school.
Back then, Kakeru hated going to school and couldn't help it. A small rift in a friendship had grown large, and he'd become isolated from his group. He had no place to belong, but he still had to study for entrance exams, and every day was just gray.
One night, fiddling with his phone in bed, he stumbled upon a stream.
On the other side of the screen, an avatar in a white dress adorned with moons and stars spoke against a backdrop of the night sky.
"Hey everyone, do you ever feel like you're all alone in the world? But you know, even on nights like that, if you look up at the sky, the moon is always there. As if it's telling you, 'It's okay.'"
Tears spilled from Kakeru's eyes.
He didn't know why. But those words had gently loosened something he'd been holding onto by a thread.
Even if the smile on the screen was a mask, even if that voice was fabricated, he had definitely been saved.
That fact was never a lie.
—
"......What are you listening to?"
A voice suddenly came from behind him, and Kakeru jumped. Turning around as he pulled out his earphones, he saw Sakura standing there.
"S-Sakura?!"
"......School's over. Everyone's already gone home."
Looking around, the classroom was indeed empty. Outside the window, the sky was beginning to turn a deep crimson.
"You sometimes make weird faces when you're alone, so I was worried."
"Weird faces..."
"......Never mind. Hurry up and get ready to go home. And don't stay up late again."
Sakura said curtly and left the classroom ahead of him.
The sound of her footsteps going down the stairs faded away.
Kakeru gripped his earphones tightly.
(She probably knows, doesn't she. That I was listening to Muna.)
She was his childhood friend. They'd lived side-by-side for over fifteen years. She wasn't someone he could hide things from.
But still.
(Keeping secrets isn't easy, after all.)
Kakeru stood up and looked out the window. The townscape of Minase was dyed in the sunset. The Sorami River glittered. The cluster of buildings in Tokyo loomed faintly in the distance.
Vtubers. Masked entertainers on the other side of the screen.
He had definitely been saved by their existence.
(If there's anyone who treats someone's secrets lightly and hurts them... I will never forgive them.)
Resolving that in his heart, Kakeru left the classroom.
—
On the way home, Kakeru passed by the shopping mall in front of the station, "Corridore."
On the giant screen, the PV for Muna Hoshinova's new song was playing. A white dress dancing against the moonlight. Several people looking up had stopped to watch.
"Muna-sama is seriously an angel..."
"I wonder if I can win a ticket to the handshake event..."
He could hear voices like that.
(She's amazing. Attracting this many people.)
But what did the person inside think?
Hiding her name and face, unable to show her true self to anyone, constantly bathed in the gazes of thousands, tens of thousands of people.
"......Is she lonely, I wonder."
Murmuring to no one in particular, Kakeru started walking again.
—
The next morning.
Rubbing his sleepy eyes as he arrived at school, the classroom was strangely buzzing.
"A transfer student, they said!"
"Isn't that rare for this time of year?"
"A guy? A girl?"
When homeroom started, their teacher, Mr. Dojima, stood at the podium. A gentle-looking Japanese teacher in his forties.
"Erm, starting today, a new friend will be joining us."
The classroom fell silent.
"......Come in."
The door slowly opened.
Kakeru felt it somehow.
(Something is about to begin.)
Whether it was something good or bad...
He didn't know yet.
Outside the window, the wind of summer's end gently swayed the curtains.
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