Chapter Text
TUESDAY: Sunny, 23 degrees
Raibaru twirled around for the umpteenth time.
“Do I look good?” She exclaimed, blissfully unaware of Ayano’s twitching eyes and tense posture. “I mean, I think Osana likes this!”
Ayano bit back a scathing remark and plastered a honeyed smile over her face. “You look gorgeous, Raibaru!”
Raibaru had dragged Ayano into her house to help her “look pretty to get Osana’s attention”. Her hair was down and done in a more elaborate style with braids with pretty flowers. Her socks were colored and her uniform practically covered with cute things. She looked… not like Raibaru. Ayano wanted to gag.
“I- I really hope she likes it…” Raibaru fiddled with her fingers. “She always likes cute things so…”
Ayano zoned out the rest of her speech. She wanted nothing but to run away and throw the whole thing to hell, but it was the only way to get Osana out of the way without hurting Taro. Even so, she still desperately wanted to drown Osana in the pool and skewer Raibaru on a knife for the hell of it.
Ayano took a deep breath. Stop it. It wouldn’t do well to be hasty and careless with Taro’s feelings like that. She had to be smart about this.
She followed Raibaru to school, now having to accompany her like a puppy dog, when she could have been doing more productive things, namely seeing what her darling Senpai was up to. But she didn’t need to wonder, because Taro was talking to Osana next to a tree, chatting about that book he always carried around. Ayano had peeked at it a couple of times, and it was coincidentally also the book Ayano was reading at the time, “No Longer Human”. It made her heart flutter.
Raibaru skipped up to Osana happily. “Osana~!”
Osana turned around, about to glare at Raibaru for ruining her time with Senpai, but her mouth fell open, instead. “R-Raibaru?!”
“Yep, it’s me!” Raibaru said cheerfully, completely diverting Osana’s attention from Senpai. Perfect. “I wanted to try a new style today, and I wanted to show it to you!”
Osana’s surprise faded, save for a tiny smile on her face. “You- you look great, idiot. But you know I like how you look normally, y’know?”
Raibaru’s face fell slightly. “Y-you don’t like it?”
Ayano never wanted to hit the girl more.
But still, it seemed to be working. “No, no, I didn’t mean it like that you dummy!” Osana rushed in to console Raibaru. “It’s just that you look pretty in whatever you wear, you know? I’m just used to you being all practical and casual, idiot. You’re just more… Raibaru that way, y’know?” Osana finished pathetically.
Raibaru practically gushed. “Thanks so much Osana! I wanted to get your opinion on these socks actually, since you know so many brands and I want to try one…”
Their conversation kept going, far too dull for Ayano’s standards (seriously?! who rambles about socks ?!), but it did the trick. Osana entirely forgot Senpai in favour of Raibaru, while he just stood there awkwardly as he rubbed his head. He was so cute. Ayano pretended like she was texting someone on her phone, the colour in her cheeks rising. God, she wanted him all to herself…
“Er… Hey, Osana?” Senpai poked Osana’s shoulder slightly. “I have to go to class right now. I’d love to have our conversation sometime else, so I’ll see you later?”
The colour in Osana’s cheeks rose as she realised that she had literally abandoned her crush and left him hanging while talking to her best friend. “Uhm- Yeah, sure! Lunch?”
Senpai nodded his assent and left. Osana turned bright red, stuttering. “Hey, Raibaru?”
Raibaru’s face had darkened during their conversation, but maintained a cheery facade. “Yeah?”
“Uhm, can you not interrupt Taro and my time together? Y’know how much I have a crush on that dummy and how I want him to feel the same. I just… need some more time to rope him in.”
Raibaru’s face fell in a matter of seconds, still trying to keep up that smile. “…Sure.” Then she turned right around and walked away.
“Hey- Raibaru!” Osana called after her worriedly. “Raibaru, come back! I didn’t mean it in that way, dumbass!” But by the time she had finished, Raibaru was already gone. Ayano wanted to bite back a sigh. Osana made everything so difficult . Couldn’t she just admit that she liked Raibaru already? Because that would make everything so much easier.
She walked past a heartbroken Osana, heading into the school. Raibaru would probably be crying in a random bathroom stall or something. Seeing how things were turning out today, literally Tuesday, it seemed really likely that Osana wouldn’t run to Raibaru anytime soon, since she was planning to confess to Senpai on Friday. It would take a lot more than a week to divert the crush into a completely different lane. Fuck…
Ayano was desperate at this point. She knew she couldn’t just leave Raibaru in the dust, since the girl would probably spread the word that Ayano was a “traitor” and her reputation would bite the dust. Normally, she wouldn’t care, but if Senpai thought the same… God, Ayano didn’t know what to do if that happened. Ayano wanted to scream and tear her hair out. She had no choice but to stick to this horrid idea.
Ayano paced around the hallway. There were 3 main problems. First, Raibaru is Osana’s best friend. Not a big deal, honestly. Best friends to lovers were the most reliable tropes, right? As long as Raibaru or Osana didn’t royally mess up their conversations, being in the best friend position was a plus. Hm… Actually, maybe forcing Raibaru to act angry at Osana would cause Osana to run back to her and beg for them to talk again. Ayano filed that idea away. Jealousy was the best method, right?
Second problem, Osana is in love with Senpai. And by some miraculous means, she would have to overturn a 4 years crush (yes it was that long) on its head. Ugh, things would be so much simpler if Osana just stopped trying to steal her Senpai…
And the last problem. Raibaru and Ayano had zero idea if Osana was interested in girls. Raibaru weakly speculated that Osana had a crush on Hatsune Miku years ago, but that idea was about as reliable as Info-chan. All of Osana’s known crushes had been men. All of her fanfics had straight couples. All her celebrity crushes were male. There was exactly zero evidence suggesting that she even thought of swinging that way. Ugh… At this point, Ayano was just about to throw her reputation off a bridge and abandon the plan. She simply couldn’t waste time trying to matchmake a relationship that just wouldn’t happen. She had one last resort though, one last scrap of hope to cling onto.
Ayano grimaced. She didn’t want to. She hated the idea. But… She might have something to help. With a sigh, Ayano opened her phone and clicked to the number: Info-Chan.
You are chatting with: Info-Chan
7:15
i need you do do something.
7:17
Really?
Well then, how may I be of assistance?
i need to get a particular student’s search history
Already skipping to the illegal businesses?
How bold of you.
7:18
shut it
can you do it or not?
Why, certainly. Who’s do you need?
osana najimi
Of course, your rival.
Which package do you need?
7:19
…package?
Ohhh, right! I haven’t sent my packages to you yet.
My bad.
So.
An hour is 5 info points.
A day is 25 info points.
A month is 50 info points.
6 months is is 100 info points.
And one year is 200 info points.
7:20
…holy shit
these prices are huge
they’re not at all proportionate
we both know that if you can see an hr search history,
you can find a year’s search history
7:21
That is correct, yes.
But I still have to put in the effort of copy-pasting.
And the fact that I get more money for the same amount of work.
I’m not paying for that.
Suit yourself. :)
7:23
how do I get more info points? not with panty shots
7:24
Well, being a first time customer, you have the starting amount of 20 info points! :)))
The most reliable is panty shots, of course, but you don’t seem to have an interest in them.
20 panty shots would equate to 100 info points.
give me the other options.
7:25
I must say, your morals are quite intriguing.
No matter.
The other way is through “daily missions“.
You do something for me, like plant listening devices and/or take pictures of something.
They earn about 20 info points on a whole.
Today I have 4 missions.
7:26
that’s about enough
tell me the missions
Good to hear! :)))
The first mission: Film Ryuunosuke cheating on his girlfriend, Kyoka.
~
Ayano hated herself. She was taking time out of her precious classtime to go fulfil “missions” for Info-Chan. All so she could see if Osana had searched up “Am I gay?” in the past month. She was fuming as she trailed after Ryuunosuke, glaring up at any security camera that dared blink her way. Fuck Info-Chan. Fuck Raibaru. Fuck Osana. She hated doing so much for a couple of random people just for her Senpai. At this point, all she wanted was to bash a crowbar against Osana’s head and stage that she ran away with her cat or something. But no. If she did that, Senpai’s mental health would be in ruins and then where would she be?
It was easy enough to find Ryuunosuke cheating, to be honest. Nearly every time he told Kyoka he was going to the bathroom, or to study, or to find something lost, he would instead be fondling and making out with a brown haired girl near the incinerator. Those two literally couldn’t keep their hands off one another. Ayano leaned over from a nearby wall and snapped several pictures of the both of them making out and with their hands in rather… incriminating positions.
She walked away, job done, as she sent those photos away to Info-Chan.
You are chatting with: Info-Chan
7:43
i got them
[You attached 5 photos]
7:44
Oh, this is perfect!
You get 30 info-points, these photos are even more incriminating than I had hoped for!
The way their hands are positioned- XD
I suspected Yuna, this is amazing, especially since Yuna and Kyoka are best friends!
glad you liked them.
i want to purchase the 1 month package
Package?
Oh, right!
I’ll send you the 1 month search history in a few minutes.
Ayano tapped her foot impatiently as Info-Chan looked through Osana’s search history. It unnerved her how fast Info-Chan could get information, how easily she could break privacy.
Luckily, Ayano never had anything incriminating online. She wasn’t into drugs and illegal business (though, the thing she had just asked from Info-Chan was decidedly illegal), nor was she into porn or anything like that. So Info-Chan could look through her chats, her files, her searches all she wished, but she wouldn’t find anything. Ayano felt a rush of triumph.
Another thing that caught her notice was that Info-Chan suspected Yuna. She didn’t know for sure. If she had security cameras in the incinerator area, she would’ve known already. So, one area already secure from continuous surveillance. Good.
A “ ping! ” distracted her from her thoughts. She looked at her phone, where there were multiple screenshots of Osana’s search history, and also a txt file. Info-Chan had written an ominous “Good Luck” along with it. Ayano saved all the screenshots and files with a frown. Hackers were such a pain.
~
Ayano trudged back home with a rare smile on her face. Raibaru apparently skipped all her classes and headed back home the soonest she could, not at all like herself, and sent Osana into a frenzy. While following (definitely not stalking) Senpai, Osana kept coming up to him and asking about Raibaru, nearly tearing her hair out. Every single conversation those two had involved Raibaru in some shape and form, with Senpai sending reassurances to the tearful Osana. Good. The more distracted she was from Senpai, the better. She decided to fire off a few messages to Raibaru to tell her to keep being angry. Raibaru left her on read. Whatever.
A modicum of progress, but progress nonetheless.
As soon as she made it back home, she sidled to her computer, schoolwork laying ignored by the side. She then booted up her fairly new Saikou Desktop Computer and quickly transferred the documents from her phone to her computer.
She opened up the .txt file first. It was a block of text that somehow spanned 10 pages after she transferred it to Google Docs. Thankfully, something named control f existed, and she could save a lot more time with that.
The very first thing she searched up was “gay”. No answer. “Lesbian”, nope. “Girls”, woah, way too many things to count, like “girls stan club for kpop”. “Love”- Oh hell no. There were nearly 1,000 mentions of it. Apparently, there was a k-pop group named “Love”, with 5 members. Osana wanted to date exactly just about all of them. Ayano felt more and more like tearing her eyeballs out as she searched. Osana had a very vivid vocabulary and an imaginative mind, apparently. Most of her search history were links to her wattpad account, with a few trashy stories and a couple of hundred readers (seriously, who reads those?!).
In a fit of desperation, Ayano started searching for words that were too large for Osana’s vocabulary, such as “homosexual”, “yuri”, “sapphic”, etc. None of them worked. Ayano tugged on her hair, brows furrowed. If this didn’t work…
One last chance. She typed in the words “best friend”. Only one option showed up. “how do i know i like my best friend”.
Ayano banged her hand on her desk in satisfaction, an almost sadistic expression on her face. Perfect. There was still hope. Senpai was going to be all hers and Osana could skip away with Raibaru in her lesbian tryst. And when Osana was distracted… she could get Taro all for herself…
~
Step 1: Make Osana want Raibaru back.
Ayano had scribbled plans in her notebook all night, till she found one that was going to work. She knew Osana. She knew her search history, her diary entries, her schedule, her hobbies, everything. She knew Osana’s weaknesses. As a result, the next morning was wholly spent wheedling Raibaru into a cute sweater.
“Come on, Raibaru…” Ayano groaned, about to tear her hair out. The things she did for Senpai…
“No.” Raibaru said stubbornly. Her hair was a blonde mess, still in her pyjamas. Empty bottles of ramune and cups of ice cream surrounded her bed as her plushies guarded the mess like soldiers. Raibaru’s eyes were red, bags dark.
Ayano, however, could give care less about Raibaru’s mental state. The prize was Senpai, not her. “Raibaru… You can’t just ignore Osana forever.”
Raibaru’s bottom lip quivered. “I know!” She all but yelled. “I know she likes Senpai, and not me! I know that I’m not good enough for her! What’s the point in even trying?!” She slumped onto the bed, clutching a stuffed sheep, a minuscule “from, Osana <3” written on the tag.
Ayano stared at her, biting her lip. Truth to be told, she didn’t know what to do. With a startling revelation, she realised that what she felt for Senapi was exactly how Raibaru felt for Osana. Except Raibaru had a higher chance of ensnaring her lover, while Ayano’s plan didn’t have much except “get any person attracted to my Senpai away from him”.
“…” Ayano clenched her fingers. “Try to make her jealous?”
Raibaru stared at her, vengefully clutching the sheep. “Already tried that.”
“Distract her from Senpai?”
“Done that.”
“Become interested in whatever she likes?” Ayano grasped at strings. God, she wished she could show Raibaru Osana’s search history. But no, she would get reported if she even mentioned such a thing. Raibaru was too loyal to let something like that slide.
“I’ve tried so much.” Raibaru sounded so defeated.
“Well, try harder! Osana probably likes you, so just reveal your feelings!” Ayano’s voice went up a smidge.
“You’ve never been in love, have you?!” Raibaru snapped back. “It’s not that easy! If she rejects it, it over! Our friendship, my chances, my reputation..!”
The chances of getting Senpai looked even dimmer.
“Well, I don’t know!” Ayano said savagely. “Change your gender or something. maybe Osana’ll like you then!”
Raibaru stood up, a murderous look on her face. “Get out.” Her voice was quiet.
Ayano’s eyes widened slightly. Seriously?! She had said that sarcastically. Did normal human beings not understand sarcasm anymore? “…Excuse me?”
“I said get out!” Raibaru clenched her fist, getting in Ayano’s face. “You expect me to change every part of my personality for Osana, when it’s clear that both of us don’t want that. What’re you gaining out of helping me like this anyways?! It’s not like you get anything in return, and you give the worst advice known to mankind!”
Ayano’s gaze fixed upon Raibaru’s clenched, twitching fingers, connected to several pounds of pure muscle from years of martial arts training.
Raibaru continued on yelling. “I want Osana to be happy! I want me to be happy too! And I love Osana so, so much-” Her voice broke. “If she loves me, she’ll love me for who I am. If she doesn’t… I’m not meant to be her lover. She deserves someone who doesn’t fake to be someone she can fall in love with!”
And with that final note, Osana grabbed Ayano’s forearm with her strong fingers and shoved her out of the bedroom door, banging it shut behind her. Ayano heard a lock clicking.
Ayano looked blankly at the door for a few seconds. Then she sighed and opened her notebook, crossing several things out.
~
Step 1: Make Osana want Raibaru back.
Step 1: Text Osana
Ayano knew human emotions. After living without them for so long, she studied books on psychology and feelings to death. Dopamine, phobias, alpha waves, she knew them all. Hysteria was not a new thing. But knowing didn’t make it any easier to deal with.
Raibaru was wrong. Because just being yourself didn’t make true love. Sometimes people love others because of their actual self, yes. But most of the time, you have to hide your longings, wants, and parts of your personality in order to appeal to others. People were naturally judgy, and love wasn’t going to change that fact. Like Senpai. Why would he want a heartless, boring, emotionless girl as his lover? When there were far more interesting, prettier, and sweeter girls out there? No. Ayano needed to be smart about it. Because Senpai was going to be hers . If she had to fake her entire life for him, she would. Without a second thought. Because Senpai belonged to her, nobody else. Hers to keep .
And as such, she needed to make sure both his eyes were on her. Not Osana. Which was why she was in her house, safely bundled up in a blanket, some dango next to her. Her phone was safely tethered to a VPN, connected to the Tor Browser, and using a previously discarded sim card from a trip to Brazil. Ok, here goes nothing.
You are chatting with: 607…
[You renamed “607+” to “Osana”]
9:07
Osana.
9:11
who r u
Someone.
I know something about you.
???
I know who you like.
watttt nooooo
i dont like any1
who r u to even ask
Number 1:
Taro Yamada
ughhhhh
noooooo
hes just like a fren to me
Number 2:
Raibaru Fumetsu
9:09
wtf???????
are u fucking insane
i dont like raibaru you sick fuck
im blocking u
She likes you back.
huhhhhh???
XD
if you like lying so much choose a better 1 smhhhhh
I have proof.
okkkkk XDDDD
prove it then
[You have attached 1 file]
WHATTTTTT
WHAT IS WRONG W YOU???
IS THAT RAIBARU’S DIARY????
Yes.
you are a disgusting asshole and a fucking creep
[The user “Osana” has blocked you. You cannot send any more messages through this number.]
Ok, confession time: Ayano took pictures of Raibaru’s diary. It was meant to be a bargaining tool; a last resort. And it had been quite easy too. Raibaru needed to get changed into her martial arts clothes, and Ayano followed her. She liked changing in the shower room, not the martial arts room itself, so it was really quite easy to simply reach into her bag once Raibaru was safely locked up in the shower and click pictures of every page.
Ayano admitted it wasn’t the best idea. Osana could easily tell Raibaru about it, and Raibaru would get a lot more cautious. Scared. And violent, especially if she thought it was Ayano. She might even report the number, and though Ayano had enough faith in the softwares she used, she could be completely wrong. She’d get tracked, and then all hell would rain down. Sending it to Osana had been a huge risk. But on the plus side…
Osana might not tell Raibaru. Osana was dumb, but not quite that dumb. She was still a “star student”. She’d put the pieces together. Why Raibaru tried changing her style. Trying to distract her attention away from Senpai. Why she stopped responding to her messages, crying all the time. And Osana, being the nosy person she was, would not be able to handle her curiosity and would end up reading her diary. Though she only attached one page, that one page was absolutely enough. It included a heartfelt paragraph on how much she loved Osana, a list detailing the qualities she had that Senpai did not (Ayano found those qualities very dumb), and crude drawings of Osana and Raibaru together under the cherry tree, Senpai nowhere to be seen.
Ayano laid down in bed and chewed on a dango. Well, nothing to do now but wait. She could only hope Osana rose to expectations.