In Aki Rosenthal's Shadow: Feria's Secret Confession
A slightly strange school where Hololive talents attend. The popular Aki Rosenthal is everyone's idol, always having fun. But right next to her is always her best friend, Feria. Feria adores Aki. But that 'adoration' isn't just friendship. Deep down, she's secretly in love with her.
One day, a popular boy at school confesses his feelings to Aki. Watching that, Feria feels her heart shatter. 'I have to support her... as her best friend.' She thinks that, but inside she's a mess. Jealousy, sadnes
In Aki Rosenthal's Shadow: Feria's Secret Confession - "Best friend" is the cruelest word of all.
The last yakisoba bread at the school store.
The lunch break chime hadn't even finished ringing before Feria bolted out of the classroom. Aki, from the seat next to hers, chased after her with a laugh. "Wait, wait!" Their skirts fluttered as they sprinted down the hallway, indoor shoes slapping against the linoleum floor.
But just ten meters short, a third-year student walking back from the store was holding exactly that — the last one.
"Aww, man."
Feria stopped in her tracks, shoulders slumping in defeat as she caught her breath. Her long, flax-colored hair swayed against her back. Aki caught up, just as out of breath, and laughed.
"Can't be helped. Guess we should've left thirty seconds earlier."
Saying that, Aki split her melon bread in half. Her straight golden hair swayed softly, and the light blue ribbon tied on the left side glowed translucent in the light. With sparkling blue eyes, she held out half to Feria.
"Here, let's share."
Feria hesitated for just a moment, then accepted.
"Thank you."
The surface of the melon bread was still faintly warm. When she bit into it, it was lightly sweet and crisp. Delicious. And yet, for some reason, that deliciousness stung a little in her chest.
That was just how Aki was. Kind to everyone. If it hadn't been Feria who missed out on the yakisoba bread, if it had been anyone else, Aki would have split her bread with them all the same. Feria knew that well. And precisely because she knew it, she was reminded all over again that this kindness wasn't meant for her alone.
*(And that's exactly what makes Aki so wonderful.)*
She murmured it in her heart, and her fingers brushed lightly against the pink ribbon braided into the right side of her hair.
When they returned to the classroom, a handful of classmates were already gathered around Aki's desk.
"Aki, I watched your weekend stream! That talk about the new game was super interesting!"
"I watched it too! Your reactions are the best, Aki."
The moment Aki sat down at her desk, she was surrounded. Like flowers drawn to the sun, everyone naturally gravitated toward her. Aki called each of them by name and laughed happily.
"Wait, Miki, you watched too? I'm so glad! That game, actually, it took me three whole hours to clear it."
Feria sat down at her own desk, settling into the second seat from the back by the window. Next to her was Aki's seat. But right now, only the space around that seat was abnormally lively, as if it were a separate dimension. Outside the window, the Komorebi Forest stretched out, the wind rustling the leaves.
It felt just a little distant.
Watching Aki's smile from one step removed, she felt that way sometimes. Aki was "everyone's sun" to everyone at this academy. Within the miniature garden of Hoshizaki Academy, Aki Rosenthal was someone special — and she herself was just the one sitting beside her...
"Feria, come over here too!"
Aki suddenly looked her way and waved her hand energetically.
Feria reflexively put on a smile. As if to hide the cloudiness in her heart, she sprang up from her seat.
"What are you guys talking about?"
Once she joined the circle, Aki happily continued the conversation. Feria nodded along, laughed, and played the part of the normal best friend. Doing that seemed to make Aki happy, and that should have been enough.
*(It should have been enough.)*
After school, Tanabe-san, the lady who ran the school store, told them, "We just got new cream puffs in," so the two of them decided to eat them out on the cafeteria terrace. The terrace seats at Mogumogu Terrace were perfect on a nice day, and the gentle afternoon light fell across the table.
"Whoa, this is so good! The cream is all melty."
Cream stuck to the corner of Aki's mouth as she bit into the cream puff, and Feria couldn't help but laugh.
"Aki, you've got some on your mouth."
"Huh, where, where?"
The sight of Aki desperately wiping her mouth was so funny that the two of them laughed for a while. After the laughter subsided, Aki's expression suddenly turned serious.
"You know, I've never told you this before, Feria."
Aki gently touched her own ear. An ear that was a little longer than most people's, with a tip that came to the faintest point. From the very first time she saw it, Feria had thought it was beautiful.
"Back in middle school, just because I'm half and because of these ears, people looked at me pretty strangely. They stand out, after all, and they're unusual. I kind of stood out in class in a bad way."
Feria listened without saying a word. She had never known Aki felt that way.
"But then I came to Hoshizaki, and in our first year, you told me, 'Those ears are really cute.' It was such a small thing, but it made me so happy. At that moment, I thought — ah, maybe I can become best friends with this girl."
Saying that, Aki smiled, a little embarrassed.
"So I'm really grateful to you, Feria. Thank you for saving me."
She was happy. But at the same time, a sharp little pain pricked deep in her chest.
To Aki, she was neatly placed in a box labeled "best friend." Inside that box was certainly warm, and she knew she was treasured. But it wasn't the shape Feria truly wished for.
*(But that's okay.)*
Feria brought the rest of the cream puff to her mouth. Even though it was delicious, the sweetness stung her chest terribly.
On the way back to the dorms, the sunset was clearly visible from the slope of Hikari Hill. This slope, just to the west of the academy, was a little-known spot where the setting sun dyed the townscape of Hikari Hill City in shades of crimson at the day's end — not quite as famous as Sorami Lookout, but still special. Toying with the twin light blue ribbons attached to her bag, Aki murmured quietly.
"These ribbons... I'm so happy we have matching ones. Because as long as we have these, we'll always be together, right?"
Then, turning back to face her:
"Feria, you're the best best friend ever!"
An innocent smile. A straightforward feeling, without a single cloud. And that, paradoxically, stabbed into her chest like a blade.
Feria gently touched her pink ribbon. Back in their first year, when they exchanged these ribbons, she had already been in love with Aki. But she hid that, and tied this ribbon as the "Twin Ribbon Vow."
"Yeah, you're right."
She answered with a smile. This was the best she could do — the correct answer, as a best friend.
*(I don't want to be your best friend. I want to be by your side in a different way.)*
She swallowed those words, which had risen all the way to her throat. The sunset stung her eyes, and her vision blurred just a little.
Night.
Room 205 of the girls' dormitory had fallen completely silent, with only the light from the emergency lamps in the hallway seeping through the gap under the door. Aki was in the top bunk, Feria in the bottom, each wrapped in their futons. It was about time to sleep.
"Hey, Feria, are you awake?"
Aki's voice drifted down from above. Quieter than usual, but with a hint of excitement in it.
"Yeah, I'm awake."
Feria answered, staring at the ceiling. In the darkness, she could faintly make out the wood grain of the bunk bed's boards.
"Actually... tomorrow, Mizuki-kun from the soccer club asked me to meet him on the rooftop."
She thought her heart had stopped.
"I asked what it was about, and he said he wanted to talk in person. ...That's definitely a confession, right?"
Aki's voice was embarrassed, but brimming with anticipation. Mizuki-kun. The ace of the soccer club, tall with silky hair, and probably the most popular guy among the second-year girls.
"That's great. Mizuki-kun is handsome and really popular."
Her mouth moved on its own. The correct answer, as a best friend. To even manage a smile at a time like this — she really was better at being a best friend than anyone.
"Ehehe, oh man, I'm so nervous. If it really is a confession, you'll be the first one I tell, Feria!"
"Yeah, of course."
She heard the sound of Aki turning over in bed. After a while, the sound of her breathing in sleep began.
Feria clutched her phone tightly under the covers. Her fingertips were trembling. Staring at the dark ceiling, she wished in her heart.
*(I wish tomorrow would never come.)*
Tears quietly spilled over and soaked into her pillow. Only the feelings she could never tell anyone grew colder and colder in the darkness.
Tomorrow, Aki might become someone else's.
Surely, as her best friend, that was something she should be happy about.
But right now, all she could think was — she wished this night would last forever.
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