Kaede stood in front of her house, still reeling from the events of the day. Her mind raced as she tried to process everything. Mirei was alive, casually talking to her as if they had been friends for years. But how? Why was everything suddenly different? And what happened to the idol group Celestial? She had so many questions, but no answers.
She had been standing in front of her house for at least ten minutes now, lost in thought, when she heard a familiar voice next to her.
"Kaede, seriously, are you just going to stare at your house all day?" Mirei teased with a playful grin, nudging her slightly on the shoulder.
Kaede snapped out of her trance, her heart skipping a beat. She had been so lost in her thoughts that she forgot Mirei was still there. Embarrassed, she stumbled over her words. "I-I was just... thinking."
Mirei raised an eyebrow, clearly not convinced. "Uh-huh, sure. You've been acting weird all day. Should I be worried? Do you need a doctor?"
Kaede tried to brush off her awkwardness, but the words slipped out of her mouth before she could stop them. "Can I... go inside your house?"
Mirei blinked, staring at her in confusion for a second before bursting into laughter. "Wow, you're really on a roll today, Kaede. You've been to my place a million times before, why are you acting like it's your first time?"
Kaede's face flushed red as she realized how bizarre her request sounded. She was trying so hard not to come off as weird, but everything she did only made things worse. "Y-Yeah, sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me today," she muttered, trying to play it cool.
Still giggling, Mirei shrugged. "Sure, come on in. I guess I'll pretend like it's your first time again, though you're making it super awkward." She winked playfully, causing Kaede's stomach to flip.
They entered Mirei's house, which was smaller than Kaede's, but cozy and familiar. Mirei didn't call out to anyone as they stepped inside, and Kaede couldn't help but wonder if she lived alone. Normally, you'd say "I'm home" when there were family members around, right?
Mirei kicked off her shoes and glanced back at Kaede. "Come on, let's head to my room. I'll grab us some tea or something."
Kaede hesitated. "You don't have to, really. I'm fine."
Mirei waved her off. "Nonsense. You're acting too polite today, it's weird." She walked off to the kitchen, leaving Kaede standing awkwardly in the entrance for a moment before heading up to Mirei's room.
The room was surprisingly... normal. It looked like any other high school girl's room, with a small desk, some posters of pop stars on the wall, and a few books and school supplies scattered around. There were also a few photo albums on a shelf, something Kaede hadn't noticed before. As she scanned the room, it struck her that Mirei was a fan of idols and music herself. How ironic, Kaede thought, given that in the world she knew, Mirei was the idol.
A few minutes later, Mirei returned with two cups of tea. "Here you go," she said, handing one to Kaede as she plopped down on the bed. "So, what's with all the weird questions today? You've been to my place a hundred times. Did you hit your head or something?"
Kaede laughed nervously, trying to hide her awkwardness. "N-No, I just... I guess I've been a little out of it."
Mirei smirked, leaning in slightly. "Out of it? You've been acting like we just met or something. Are you sure everything's okay? You're not crushing on me, are you?"
Kaede's heart skipped a beat. She almost choked on her tea as she frantically shook her head. "N-No! I'm just... a little off today, that's all."
Mirei giggled. "Relax, I'm just messing with you. You're way too easy to tease."
Kaede tried to relax, but it was hard to maintain her composure. Her crush on Mirei was real, and now that Mirei wasn't an idol anymore, it was even harder to act normal around her. The playful teasing didn't help. She needed to keep things casual.
"So," Kaede began, trying to shift the conversation. "Sorry if I'm already asking this before, but you're living here alone?"
Mirei nodded, stretching her arms above her head. "Yeah, my family's back in Fukuoka. I moved here to Tokyo for high school because, you know, I wanted to be an idol someday. But that's a pretty common dream, right?"
Hearing the word "idol" stung Kaede, reminding her of the tragic news from the other world where Mirei had taken her own life. She bit her lip, feeling a wave of sadness wash over her. But she quickly reminded herself that in this world, things were different. Mirei was just a normal high school girl, not burdened by the pressures of fame.
"Yeah... that's a pretty big dream," Kaede muttered, trying to sound neutral.
Mirei tilted her head. "You're acting all sentimental now. I'm really starting to worry about you, Kaede. Should I be taking notes or something?" She stuck her tongue out playfully, causing Kaede to laugh despite herself.
After a while, they wrapped up their conversation, and Kaede stood up to leave. "Well, thanks for the tea, Mirei. I guess I should head home."
"No problem. You're always welcome here, weirdo," Mirei said with a smirk, waving her off. "Don't act so strange tomorrow, okay?"
Kaede chuckled, trying to hide the fact that her heart was racing. "I'll try."
As she walked home, her thoughts drifted back to everything that had happened. When she finally got to her room, she instinctively looked at her walls, expecting to see her posters of Celestial and her collection of idol albums. But they were gone. There was nothing. No trace of the idol group she had once obsessed over.
Frowning, Kaede quickly pulled out her phone and searched for Celestial online, but no results came up. It was as if they had never existed.
"Is this... a dream?" Kaede whispered to herself, still trying to process it all. Everything felt too real to be a dream, but nothing made sense anymore. With a sigh, she lay down on her bed, her mind still racing as she tried to piece everything together.
Exhausted, Kaede's eyes slowly closed, and before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.