It was two weeks since that fateful collision and Yamada Ryosuke was starting to think that the little missile was a figure of his own imagination which kept him dreaming most of his days away.

Nakajima Yuto had to keep smacking his head to keep him out of lala land and it's a good thing that he is taller than strawberry boy (Insert charming evil smirk.)

“Honestly, Ryosuke! I know that you don’t like school very much, but you have to at least try to make an effort to do better or Johnny-san will kill you sooner or later!” Nakajima Yuto rolled his eyes in annoyance.

Why did he have to draw the shortest straw for this hopeless mission?

Chinen Yūri would have better luck of keeping that boy’s attention in studies! That hopelessly cute but turned mad study slave driver of a teacher whenever it comes to studying for examinations, could have easily drove any of the Hey! Say! JUMP boys to an early death with that kind of intensive teaching!

Cute little Yūri just do not get it that ordinary boys like them, are not perfect little scholar material like him!

With a heavy sigh, Nakajima Yuto returned to his mission of the day, to stop the spirit of Yamada Ryosuke from floating off to dreamers’ land for the hundredth time.

Yuto could have sworn that it is mission impossible to keep Yamada’s attention on anything other than band practices and soccer sessions.

That boy has one hell of a one track mind that makes everything impossible.

“Da-rin Da-rin ironna kakudo kara kimi wo mitekita…”
Sang Mr Children softly, announcing an incoming call for Yamada Ryosuke.

Oh… and Ichinose Miki too, Nakajima Yuto snickered in a knowing manner, Yamada's crush with that teen actress is legendary among his bandmates and painfully obvious that he is surprised that no outsiders have catch on so far.

It sure did not help that Yama-chan seems to use the poor girl as the blueprint for his ideal girlfriend.

Short hair, short hair, pretty eyes and strong, just like in juuyon sai no haha...
Feminine with long hair and do not give up easily, as per  Seira-sama in Shokojo Seira....

And Yamada Ryosuke can be very stubbornly protective when it comes to his favourite teen actress, despite how the mentioned girl had once crushed his heart by ignoring him on the set. He is sure Yama-chan would have gladly fought a battle for his fair maiden if needed to.

Though Nakajima Yuto did wonder if that girl is good enough for the real down-to-earth dorky Yamada Ryosuke.

Rumors have it that she is unapproachable and an arrogant loner. To make things worse, many insiders have claimed that the success of being widely acknowledged as the acting genius of her age must have made her lost sight of the ground.

Strangely though, her all of previous co-stars and directors however, have nothing but high praises of professionalism for the actress. But there was nothing being said about her person, unknowingly fueling the unkind whisper that she is yet another ungrateful brat of showbiz.       

A pity really, she did seem so nice and lovely on screen.

It is really not easy being true to oneself and to be unaffected in this confusing world of showbiz, everybody wears masks.
Idols or artistes, they all have some standards to achieve and pressure to be the best they can be.

“Yuto,” Yamada Ryosuke snapped him out of his wandering with a pat on his back, announcing happily he was asked to return to Johnny’s for a briefing.

“He is happy to do anything to get out of school”…. Yuto shook his head and laughed at Yamada’s bright happy aura and silliness.

It is official, Pop Idol or not, Yamada Ryosuke is a closet dork!

Oh well, Nakajima Yuto guessed that would be a mission completed since that would have meant that Yamada Ryosuke will be out of the school for rest of the day?

Thank goodness for little blessings….

The Second time Yamada Ryosuke was surprised by Shida Mirai

Yamada Ryosuke had to laugh at the strangeness of outturn of event. It seems that whenever he has a meeting with her, it will be filled with strangeness. And yes, she really is not a figure of his imagination.

He was about to step out of the school gates and head back to the office when he spotted her and became a stalker by hiding behind a book shelf in the library.

He used to hate the library, but now, Yamada Ryosuke thinks the world of the library. No more thoughts of musky dusty sleep-inducing heavy tomes, her sudden appearance and choice to visit the library made it all possible.

And the best thing ever? He saw a 180 degree change in her upon entering the library.

She has been nervously glancing around the school as though she was expecting someone to yell at her. Her eyes stayed stubbornly on the ground refusing the opportunity to meet anyone.

If Yamada Ryosuke could describe her now, she seemed very much like a victim projecting a strong sense of helplessness and vulnerability. It did not help that she is rather petite in size and looked like a child wandering around looking lost.

He supposed it was the reason why he decided to follow her and saw another side of her.    

Like seeing her wear her cute geeky black frame spectacle and face mask, attempting frowning at the book thoughtfully.

Hearing her reading out to herself softly and being able to recite the exact passage word for word second later.

What which is the most notable difference about her in the library is how her sense of helplessness and vulnerability disappeared completely.

She was completely in her element in the library, running her fingers over the rows of books happily, whispering “Tadaima, my friends” to the books in a cute and loving manner which made him laughed silently.   

Her friends…. She calls those books her friends!
Yamada Ryosuke realized suddenly and stopped his laughing...

He looked at the happy girl in shock.

She sees those dusty old tomes as her friends and not living human beings? How is it possible…?!
Even that world’s greatest book nerd Yuri does not see books as his friends. There is afterall a big difference between books and humans.

“This is very wrong….”
Yamada Ryosuke said to himself, no one should have only books as her friends, especially not someone with eyes as expressive as hers.

It was then during their second meeting, Yamada Ryosuke promised himself that he will be the one to be her first human friend and adviser to watch over her.

I will not let history repeat, this girl shall not be the next Aizawa Asuka.

Yamada Ryosuke remembered how heartbroken and angry he was with everyone when he watched Wataachi no Kyōkasho, Mi-chan’s first death role. It was a fairly small role, considering she was only star-guesting in the drama.

But it was the role which haunted him most.

 Aizawa Asuka’s words that “it’s alright, if it is me, then no one will ever feel sad for me,” had sent Yamada Ryosuke crying repeatedly whenever he watched the drama.

Just because Aizawa Asuka was an orphan should not mean that she should be uncared for. Why had that silly girl decided upon herself to become victim of the school bully? Simply because she wanted to save her only friend from being bullied and that she has no family and friends?

No, He will not let this girl be the next Aizawa Asuka.

With the decision set firm in mind, Yamada Ryosuke stepped out of his hiding place and started to walk towards the girl with the intention to befriend her.

He was barely a metre away from her when his phone rang again, causing him to swore at the ill timing and allowing her to react badly.

“Da-rin Da-rin ironna kakudo kara kimi wo mitekita…”
The familiar tune startled the said girl, causing her to freeze at the recognition of the song.

The library is her sanctuary from the world no more; the unspoken alarm jostled her into action immediately. She must escape...

“Shirushi…” The girl identified her favourite song with great panic, jumping out of her seat and dashing out of the library once again, leaving behind her notebook and pile of unreturned books.

“Matte Kudasai …” Yamada Ryosuke tried to stop that girl, but she was gone again, in a blink of eye.

Depressed, Yamada Ryosuke sat on her seat and dropped his head on the table.

It was then he found it, his second surprise was almost buried in the pile of forgotten books.

A pink hello kitty notebook belonging to Shida Mirai, of class 3D.

“Huh? She is my classmate?!”
Yamada Ryosuke gasped in surprise, shocked that he has never seen that girl in his class.

If she is indeed a student of class 3D…. then our student council leader, Nakajima Yuto must know of her!
He grinned at his own brilliance. Finally he could put a name to the face and get to know her better.

Shida Mirai…. He traced her name on the notebook and tried saying her name.

Mirai… means future in Japanese… just like how Mi-chan’s name carries the hint of hope in future…
That's another similarity Mirai-chan has with Mi-chan...

“Mirai-chan…”
Yamada Ryosuke repeated, trying to add a personal touch to her name by adding an honorific.

But he then decided in a heartbeat to share his special nickname for Ichinose Miki with this girl,
“Mi-chan sounds better… afterall she did remind me of Mi-chan.”

Delighted at the discovery and pleased with his decision, Yamada Ryosuke proceeded to return books to their shelves and carefully placed her notebook in his bag for safe-keeping.

The notebook has become one of his most precious things because it is the only evidence which proved of her existence.  

With a beat in his step, Yamada Ryosuke exited the library singing softly to himself.

I will be there for you

It's a beautiful kibou ga kirameku

Kumo no ue kara migoroa our future

Turn around atarashii kaze ni nori deatta bokura

Shiny day Mokuteki dake wa kokoro tomo ni ara

Sorezore no mirai made mayoi naku kakenukeru

Author Note:

Wow... this is a surprisingly fast update.... And longer than I expected.... I hope you will like this update. Though my next update may not be as quick as this, still I would love to hear from all of you. Do let me know whether you have enjoyed this update! Thank you!

Oh... and Aizawa Asuka is a seemingly minor character Shida Mirai played in the drama Wataachi no Kyōkasho.

The character is a 14 year old school girl who was intially thought to have either committed suicide or been pushed to her death by her classmates as she was revealed to be badly bullied by her classmates. She was an orphan and has chosen to protect her only friend from being bullied by setting herself up as the target. While her being bullied was witnessed and known to all, no one chose to protect her, even after her death, calling her incident an accident.

A very interesting drama with a shocking ending... :)