“Y-you’re… Momotaro-kun?”

“Yes. You must be Miki-chan. It’s an honor to finally meet you.”

Miki did not expect the image of Momotaro to be this. Well, then again, he seemed to fit the description in the letter well.

“Bukiya Momotaro…”

“Wait… Bukiya? I thought it was ‘Bukiyou’…”

“Oh, that was just my pen name. I used it because it was similar to that. My real name is Bukiya; the kanji is spelled like ‘Weapon shop’. Momotarou is the same, though.”

“Ah, I see…”

“So, what do you wanna do?”

“Mm, not sure. I’ve never really been on one of these things.”

“Wait, do you think this is a date?”

“Eh?”

Momotaro started laughing, making Miki blush.

“Stop. This is embarrassing!”

“Sorry. I guess I made the wrong impression.”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t think of this as a date. Just think of it as the both of us, two regular people, hanging out. Y’know, less pressure. Okay?”

Miki smiled at his response.

“Okay!”

…..

Nana and I were watching everything from afar. It looked like things were going well so far. They were talking about anime and how they first became interested in idols and such.

All in all, they were making good conversation.

I couldn’t help but notice how much Nana’s eyes were sparkling. Obviously, she was proud.

I then felt my phone buzz and saw Miichan sent me a text.

“Where are you and Nana? We have rehearsals for the live today.”

I texted her back.

“Sorry. Nana insisted we’d watch after Miki. She’s on a date.”

I put away my phone and looked back, watching them start to walk off somewhere.

“They’re headed for the arcade,” Nana said before running off.

I got another text back.

“What?! She’s not supposed to be on a date; she can’t have a boyfriend!”

Eh..?

W-what…? She isn’t allowed to have a boyfriend?

*Well, now that I think about it, it seemed there was nothing wrong with Sae dating Sayaka, or Milky dating Sayanee… but this is different.

“Just get back here soon. We have a job to do.”

I texted her back, “Okay.” Then, I caught up with Nana and saw Miki and Momotaro playing a crane game in the arcade. He won Miki a stuffed animal.

“That seems nice…” Nana said under her breath. There was a sad look in her eyes.

“Nana,” I called out to her. “I’m going to head back. You should, too.”

“Uh, yeah, okay. I’ll catch up with you later.”

Eh? Is Nana..?

This is new. Nana would usually put work first before anything else. I’ve never seen this look in her eyes.

I decided just to leave her be, since she probably wasn’t even listening or noticed I was gone, and left.

…..

“Well, well, well~” Isako chuckled as she saw Miki on her fun date with Momotaro. “What an interesting sight. With that little girl completely lovestruck over that boy, it’ll be the perfect opportunity to destroy her.”

Momo chuckled. “Good luck. The Maou is starting to doubt you.”

“Huh?!”

“His exact words were, ‘if you fail ONE MORE TIME, you will pay the price’.”

Hayate chuckled as he hugged his teddy. “Maybe he’ll burn the witch lady at the stake~”

“Shut up, you two!” She sneered, cursing under her breath. “You’re as annoying as those brats.”

“Haa? What was that?”

“No matter. This time, I won’t fail. This girl doesn’t even notice my plan is already going under way.”

…..

“I’m here.” I said as I came into the café, seeing the others already starting rehearsal.

“Where’s Nana?” Miichan asked.

“She stayed behind.”

“EH?!” Everyone looked shocked. “She WHAT?!”

“She said that she would catch up with me later… Then again, I really don’t think she was listening.”

“That’s not like her.”

“Hold on…” Nagisa took out her phone and sent a text to Nana. “And 3, 2, 1…”

Normally, Nana would answer right away…

But, nothing came.

She then tried to call her, but she wasn’t picking up. Did Nana put her phone on silent or something?

“No good. She’s not picking up.”

“Maybe her phone was turned off.”

“We need to go back for her. I have this gut feeling something’s going to happen.”

“OK!”

…..

Nana was still watching from a distance, seeing Miki and Momotaro eating at a café.

She had this sudden, clenching pain in her chest, getting tighter and tighter. She turned away a bit, trying to take her mind off it.

“Why…?” She held her chest, trying to calm her breathing.

All she thought about was Miki. All day, she remembered hearing her voice, saying she loved her, and that bright smile.

Even though it was acting, something inside her left a hard impression. Like a scar from a painful wound.

“Why am I…? Miki…”

She then heard a scream that took her mind off things. She saw Isako attacking people in the streets.

“Not now.” She quickly hid somewhere and transformed, then ran out to stop her, summoning her spear.

“Well, what do we have here?”

“Isako, you again…”

“I’m really getting tired of this, so let’s just end it.”

She immediately attacked the young girl and blew her back with incredible force.

Even so, Nana held her ground and started her attack. She skillfully spun the spear in her hands and tried to attack, but Isako had dodged and teleported behind her, hitting her back.

“Ack!”

“Is that all you got?”

Again, that thought came into her mind…

“Miki…”

Isako saw what was happening. Nana was focused so much on Miki that she couldn’t concentrate on fighting.

The perfect distraction, she thought.

“What’s wrong? Don’t you want to protect her? That ‘Miki’.”

Nana’s eyes widened.

“Miki will be very disappointed if you lose. She may even hate you.”

“Miki… hate me?”

Isako attacked, catching Nana off guard.

“Why would she want to be friends with someone weak like you?”

“I-I… I’m not..!”

“Do you think she’ll really want to keep being friends with you after this?” She attacked her again, grabbing her spear. “See, that boy…”

Nana looked and saw the two of them, happily chatting while eating.

“She has him now. She doesn’t need you.”

That broke her. She immediately felt an emptiness, a black hole in her heart.

“No… Miki…” She dropped her spear, falling to her knees.

Isako smiled. “This is the end.”

Meanwhile, Miki and Momotaro were finishing up at the café and walking down the street again.

“So, what now?”

“Mm~ next…”

They weren’t looking and Momotaro accidentally bumped into someone.

“Ah!” When Momotaro suddenly got pushed back, his glasses fell off.

Miki’s eyes widened a bit when she saw his face.

“He’s actually kinda cute with no glasses…”

“Oh no, where did they go?” The boy got on the ground, searching for his glasses blindly.

When he did, Miki saw Nana fighting Isako not too far ahead.

“Uh-oh…”

She didn’t have time to think about Momotaro and left him, hiding behind one of the buildings and transforming.

She looked back to her dear friend, who was already at her wits end. The spear fell out of her hand and she was on her knees.

“This is the end.” Isako said as she knocked her over, making her crash into the wall.

Now, Miki was seriously angry and a new fire sparked in her as she ran over to protect Nana from her final attack.

“You?!”

“Isako… you’ve done such awful things to us in the past. You’ve attacked us when we were at our weakest. Possessing innocent people, cursing them with your magic. But, I will never, EVER forgive you for hurting Nana!”

Nana looked up, seeing her best friend.

“Miki…”

“Nana, just rest for now. I’ll protect you.”

She picked up Nana’s spear, holding it in her hands. It was surprisingly light for her; she thought she wouldn’t be able to pick it up. It must’ve been the strength from her love for Nana.

“Oh, how sweet. But, like I said, I hate sweet.”

Isako threw her attacks one by one on Miki, but she was able to cancel all of them out with the spear.

She the sword forward and sliced Isako, bringing her down. She aimed the sword at her neck and looked at her with angered eyes.

Eyes both Isako and Nana had never seen.

“Leave,” she said in a low, angered tone.

Isako growled and stood up.

“This is not the end. You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourselves into.”

“Eh?”

“The war between angels and demons will begin,” she said before disappearing.

Miki sighed as she and Nana turned back. She went to the older girl and helped her stand back up.

“Are you okay?”

“Un…”

Miki saw the sadness in her eyes and hugged her.

“It’s okay. I’m fine… so, please, don’t worry, Nana.”

Nana simply smiled and hugged her back. There was this light, warm happiness in her heart. Something she had never felt.

“Is this… possibly…?”

…..

“Nana! Miki!” We saw the two of them together, after the battle. We rushed over to them. “Are you two okay?”

“Yes.”

“I saw Nana fighting and left Momo-kun so I could…”

“Miki.”

Then, Nagisa suddenly giggled.

“What?”

“Looks like you have a diligent side, too. Just like Nana.” She said with a small laugh.

“Hey!” They harmonized.

“Miki-chan!” Then, Momotaro suddenly came up, adjusting his glasses. “I found them. So, what happened? You suddenly left.”

“Wait, you didn’t see?”

“No. Without my glasses, I’m blind. Why, did something happen?”

“Oh, uh…” She looked behind her and saw that we had moved back and hid, watching her from afar.

Ganbatte, Miki!

…..

“Uh…”

“So, what happened?”

Miki gulped a bit, gathering up her courage.

“Momo-kun…”

“What?”

Miki bowed down in front of the boy.

“Will you be my boyfriend?”

“Eh…?”

Everything was silent for a few seconds. Miki shut her eyes tighter, waiting for an answer…

“Sorry. I don’t think I can.”

“Wha—?”

“Look, it’s not that I don’t like you. I really do, Miki-chan… But, it just wouldn’t work. You’re an idol. There’s no way an idol could ever date such a dorky fan like me… See, you have work to focus on, right?”

“W-well… yeah.”

He smiled and patted her head. “Then, focus on just that for now.”

“Eh?”

“That’s what’s best for now, right? You have an important job to do. I know we can never be a couple, but we have a special relationship. I’ll keep following you, even as just a fan.”

Miki almost felt tears burst out of her eyes. Who knew a boy could be so sweet?

She smiled and nodded. “Un. Thanks, Momo-kun…”

…..

We were all watching as Momotaro left and Miki came back.

“How’d it go?”

“I think it went well…”

“Miki,” Miichan stepped up. “I hope you understand, but we have a rule that says we can’t have boyfriends.”

“Ah, I see…”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you all sooner.”

Miki shook her head. “It’s okay. I understand.”

“You gonna be okay?” Nana asked.

Miki just nodded her head.

“I’ll be fine.”

…..

The next day…

“KYAAAAAAA!!!”

Again?

“Guys~~~” Miki ran in, holding another envelope.

“Bukiya-kun again?”

“Mm-mm. It’s different!”

“Eh?” We all looked at the paper and saw a different name.

“Prince?”

We all looked at the letter and read it.

“Dear Miki, My Princess, I’ve always been watching over you. You are a star shining as bright as the sun. Your smile is what keeps me going even on the worst days. I hope for the best in your future, and I will continue to fall in love with your smile again and again. Sincerely, Prince.”

“Uwaa~ so romantic!”

“He’s quite the poet.”

“Who is he?”

“Who knows?”

Miki silently smiled, folding the paper again and placing it back in the envelope.

“But… for now, I’ll put romance aside. I wanna focus on my career now.”

“Miki-chan…”

“Besides, he said he loved my smile. That means I gotta work harder to make my smile shine brighter!”

She happily sat down on the couch, looking at her phone. Miichan walked in and saw the letter.

“Another one?”

“Un. Miki seems happy about it. But, she’s going to focus on her work more than dating now.”

“That’s good.”

“Oh, by the way, Miki meant to ask, but was there a reason why we have this rule?”

Miichan remained silent a bit, rubbing her neck.

“Well… yes. It’s the reason why we can date among ourselves, but not have boyfriends outside the agency.”

“Why’s that?”

“Takamina… fell in love with a girl once.”

“Really?”

“Yes… But, she was killed by the Maou. She still has to cope with things, but the first few days, she had a really difficult time dealing with it. She couldn’t even fight and kept having flashbacks.”

“That sounds hard…”

“That was the main reason why we can’t date people while we work here. The burden was too much to carry, and we could risk those people of getting hurt, or killed.”

So that’s why.

Wait, Nana was acting weird when she was watching Miki on her date yesterday.

What if…?

…..

After all that’s happened the past few days, Miki was exhausted. She tired herself out and was now fast asleep on the couch.

Nana came in and looked as Miki was taking her nap, a peaceful look on her face as she snored softly. The sight was cute and heartwarming, making the serious girl smile.

She knelt down and moved some of her hair behind her ear before kissing Miki’s cheek.

“Sweet dreams… My Princess.”

…..

*“Sakura no hana wa… wakare no shiori…” Yuko sang as she played the little music box, her last gift from Takamina.

She was looking out at the peaceful sunset, stood up from her wheelchair even though her legs felt numb and weak.

“Hirahira to te wo futta… tomo no kao ga ukabu…”

She thought about everyone, seeing their faces one last time. She remembered Mariko’s tears, Miichan hiding her pain, and Mako’s smile, even in the worst situation, trying to make things better.

“Sakura no hana wa… namida no shiori…”

Tears fell down her cheeks. She could already feel her slipping. She knew God or… maybe even Mariko would take her, and she could only hope and pray that the others would stop the Maou and save Eterna so she could go home.

All she prayed for that night was a miracle. The miracle of light.

“Taisetsu na… kono toki wo… itsumade mo…”

The music started slowing, and eventually came to a stop.

“Wasurenu…you…ni….”

Yuko felt her body grow weak and she collapsed to the ground.

================================

Footnotes

*1. No dating rule – Just like in real life, Akihabara48(AKB48 and 48 group) is under a strict “dating ban”. After joining, members are not allowed to have boyfriends and go on dates during their time in the group. Although it applies to all members, there have been romantic relationships among members themselves(Saeyaka, SayaMilky, MariMii, etc.).

*2. The song Yuko is singing/The song on the music box is AKB48’s “Sakura no Shiori”.