“KYAAAAA!!!” Miki suddenly squealed as she came in.

“Eh? Miki-chan, what’s wrong?”

“Look!” She showed us a pink envelope.

“What is that?”

“Could it be… a fan letter? Or is it..?”

“Un. A love letter!”

“EEEEEH?!”

“The woman in the lobby gave it to me. Look, read it!”

I took the paper and unfolded it.

“To Nishino Miki-chan, I’ve been a fan of yours for a long time and have been following you ever since you debuted. At first, I was only interested in anime and 2D characters, but then a friend of mine who’s an idol otaku showed me the beauty of 3D. That is idols. And you, Miki-chan, were so bright, you stood out like a spec of gold in grey gravel. If it’s not too much, I would love to get to know you better. Meet me in the intersection of Akihabara tomorrow. I’ll be waiting. –Bukiyou Momotaro”

“Bukiyou Momotaro(Awkward Momotaro)?”

“I’ve gotten fan mail before, but never something like this!”

“So, this is like a date?!”

“Mm~… well, maybe~. Hahaha.”

“Eh~? That’s great, Miki-chan.”

“Wait…” Nana spoke up. “Is this… your first date?”

“Yeah.”

She smiled. Then, she walked over and held her face with both her hands, looking at her intensely. “If this is your first date, it needs to be perfect.”

“N-N-Nana, what’s gotten into you?!”

“We’re going to give you lessons! Lessons of LOVE!”

“EH?!”

…..

“Naachan…”

“Yes?”

“WHY ARE WE DRESSED LIKE THIS?!?!?!”

“Just go with it.”

Nana opened the door, and when Miki saw us, her eyes widened.

“What the…?”

“Hey, Miki. Sorry to make you wait,” she said in a cool tone.

We were all dressed in *danso. I didn’t think Nana’s seriousness could go this far, but apparently, I underestimated.

Mio was the shy and gentle type, Meru was the cute little brother type, Nagi was the wild type, Ryouha was the intellectual type, and I was the energetic, smiling type. Nana, of course, was the serious and romantic type.

Miki was standing there, flabbergasted by our attire.

“N-Nana… is this..?”

“Miki, for now, please call me Okada-kun or Nanao-kun. We’re all going to be roleplaying as your boyfriends.”

“Boyfriends?!”

“It’s just a simulation. We don’t know what kind of person Momotarou-kun is, so you’re going to test various types in different dating situations.”

“And this is going to help?”

“Miki, trust me.” Nana held both of Miki’s shoulders. “This will work.”

Miki looked a bit hesitant, but sighed. “If you say so…”

…..

Lesson 1

“Meeting at the intersection.”

“Nagi-kun.” Miki walked up to the wild boy, who was twirling his long bangs with his finger.

“Yaa.”

“Sorry I’m late.”

“Nah, it’s fine. What happened, though? I was starting to get worried.”

“Well… I was thinking too much about today, I couldn’t sleep.”

“Miki…”

*Ding*

“*Moe point earned!”

…..

Lesson 2

“Walk in the park.”

“It’s nice out today, isn’t it, Ryou-kun?”

“Yes, it is.”

He closed his book, reciting a poem.

“Falling sakura, coming of the spring season, life is born today.”

“Oh~”

“*Haiku is easy. You try?”

“Mm…” Miki thought about it before saying, “I have this to say, ever since so long ago, I really love you.”

Ryouha blushed, breaking out of character. Miki laughed.

*Ding*

“Moe point earned!”

…..

Lesson 3

“Eating at cafe”

“Hey, hey, nee-chan, let me feed you!”

“Eh?”

“Hai. Ah~” Meru pretended to spoon the food and feed it to Miki.

“Mm! Delicious!”

“Haha, you’re so cute.”

“I’ll feed you, too.” Miki picked up a spoon and did the same thing.

“Yummy~”

*Ding*

“Moe point earned!”

…..

Lesson 4

“On Ferris wheel”

“Nee, is it too high up, Miki-chan?”

“No. I was a bit scared at first, but since you’re here, I’ll be fine.”

“That’s good.”

The Ferris wheel stopped and the two looked out at the view.

“Beautiful…”

Miki slowly scooched closer to Mio and held his arm.

“Eh?”

“Everything’s better with you.”

*Ding*

“Moe point earned!”

…..

Lesson 5

“In karaoke box”

“What song do you wanna sing?”

“Anything’s fine.”

“Hmm~” Mako looked through the list. “Wanna do an AKB song?”

“OK~ Jyaa…” She chose a song and took the microphone.

“1, 2, 3, 4!”

“I want you~” She pointed to Mako, making her smile and blush.

*Ding*

“Moe point earned!”

…..

Final lesson

“Confession”

Miki stood in front of Nana a bit, her hands fidgeting as she couldn’t even look at the ikemen.

“Um, Nana…”

“Mou, Miki, I told you, I’m a boy right now.”

“I-I know… but, could you do the confession first..? To show me.”

Nana smiled at her shyness. “Got it.”

She took her hand suddenly and pulled her close.

“Miki, I love you.”

“Nana…”

“Hehe, it’s Nanao-kun.”

Miki nodded and got herself ready. She turned back around and took a deep breath.

“Nanao-kun.”

“Yes?”

“The truth is… mm, being with you.. well, it was amazing… You always make me really happy and I…”

Miki was so nervous, she felt her heart pounding. She took another deep breath and looked up at the boy.

“I love you.”

*Ba-BUMP*

Nana didn’t say a thing. She looked like she had just been shot.

“Nanao-kun..?”

Still no answer.

“Nana.”

Nana blinked and she was brought out of her trance.

“O-oh, uh…”

“Was that alright?”

“Ah. Yes. I-it was perfect.”

“Really?!”

“Yeah. You’re ready, Miki.”

“Yatta~!”

…..

The next day…

“Today’s the day…”

Miki stood nervously at the intersection, waiting for Momotaro. She remembered her lessons from Nana, and had been practicing how things would go in her bedroom.

Honestly, she believed all those situations only existed in dating sims, though.

“Will I be okay?”

Then, she accidentally ran into someone.

“Oh, sorry.” The boy said.

“Ah…”

He was wearing a light pink polo shirt under a dark grey jacket and grey scarf. He had khaki pants and navy Converse sneakers, and on his head was a tan fedora and glasses on his face.

He wore a checkered belt on his waist, and there was a shining silver dog tag around his neck.

The name on it read “Momotaro.”

“Could it be… you’re..?”

The boy smiled. “Yes. I’m *Bukiya Momotaro.”

“Eh?!”

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

Footnotes

*1. Danso – Male attire; when women cross-dress as girls.

*2. Moe – A phrase that represents cuteness.

*3. Haiku – A type of traditional Japanese poetry, the syllables separated 5-7-5. Usually represents nature or the four seasons.

*4. Bukiya Momotaro – A member of the male idol group, Fudanjuku. In here, he is not a member and is a regular guy.