I head upstairs and dress up in some shorts and a t-shirt, fixing my hair

  What could she want us to talk about? Another movie she got an offer, in which I should voice a character? Or does she want to recruit me somehow in her idol group?

  I head downstairs. She is all dressed up, ready to leave.

  “Let’s go for a walk on the seaside alley!”

  “If that’s what you wish…let’s go!”

  We leave the house quietly, to not make Kaguya aware.

  But she was peeking from her door. She overheard us.

  So…they lied to the group and have alone time?! What are they going to do? Is Mizuki in love with Kaito?! I need to go after them and see what they’re up to!

  Kaguya also leaves the house and starts tailing us, in a disguise.

  Walking on the path to Mizuki's desired place, under the full moon and the starry sky, I take a deep breath, feeling a moment of relaxation.

  "Mizuki, where do you want us to go?"

  "You will see! It's a very special place for me!"

  I wonder what that is all about...

  Being a few hundred meters away from the villa, we walk to the place Mizuki planned to reach. A small vantage point which Mizuki always went to when she was young.

  The only thing there is…a small bench and a railing. We are about 5 meters above the sea.

  I sit on the bench, expecting Mizuki to stay next to me. Instead, she pushes herself lightly against the railing.

  She turns her head back to me, revealing a smile so heartfelt it almost looked like one of her idol performances.

  “Kaito, the thing I wanted to talk about is…”

  She started stuttering and blushing.

  Wait! Is this a love confessio-?!

  “I want you to act with me again in an upcoming movie!”

  Oh.

  I look at her interested, “Why did you stutter for such a small thing?”

  “I was afraid you’d turn me down!”

  “Why would I do that? I overcame my problem and I’m down to act with you in a movie. Anime character voicing again? Who is it?”

  She turns her head sideways.

  “Well…you see…we are going to be actually acting in a movie. We are going to be the main characters…”

  Huh? My face turns blank.

  “I told you that I suck at normal acti-“

  She looks frustrated at me. She puts her hands in a crossover position.

  “Why do you keep lying to me?”

  “I’m not lying…”

  “I asked director Hagayama for footage of you acting as a kid.”

  WHAT? She went that far? Is she obsessed with me?

  “Im not sure if that’s okay…”

  “It is if you’re not honest with me! Why don’t you want to act in regular movies?!”

  I hesitate to answer.

  “I don’t want to let anyone down…”

  Mizuki looks at me, worried.

  “You’re still not fully over it, are you?”

  My eyes widen as I look at her.

  “You saw Suzuki-chan doing fine, right? What’s holding you back?”

  She’s right. I overcame my trauma, but…why would she want that desperately to act with me in a movie…I don’t get it.

  “Goodness…you’re quite smart, aren’t you? I will give it a shot…I guess. But don’t be unhappy with me if my acting skills let me down!”

  Her face lit up like a firework, revealing a childish expression, “Yaay, thank you!”.

  “Now…what about the movie. What is it’s plot?”

  “Hmm…an idol gets stalked heavily by a deranged fan and she almost gets murdered, but someone comes and save her in the last second possible. I will be the Idol, while you are the main hero.”

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Sounds…like something I’ve read in a manga…”

  “Uhh…yeah, I guess.”

  That's...not good. The plot sounds deranging...

  “But wouldn’t that make you a target?”

  “How so?”

  “A fanatic fan of yours could try and recreate the same events after an incident…”

  Mizuki looks at me confused, brushing it off as she starts to laugh at my imagination.

  “That only happens in movies. Don’t bother about it, let’s just do it. Since you agreed, I am calling director Hagayama to let him know about your participation.”

  “Okay…”

  I need to be careful. There are many deranged fans out there. If let’s say Mizuki gets a boyfriend…things could go wrong. Heavily wrong. She might be a victim, but…I think I read too much manga. Am I losing it?

  She pulls out her phone out of her pocket, leaning on the railing.

  The phone rings, vibrating through the old metal bars.

  “Hello, director Hageya-“

  A sound of rustling could be heard echoing through the silence.

  For a split second, Mizuki’s eyes met mine. Wide, terrified, before she dropped with the broken metal.

  "KAITO!"

  “MIZUKI!”

  She reaches her hand out to me as she starts falling, but my fingers miss her by a split second.

  She doesn’t know how to swim!

  Upon impact, she goes about one and a half meters down. She struggles, but it only makes it worse.

  I tore my jacket off and dove in after her.

  Mizuki was struggling to breathe. Her eyes scream of desperation, gasping to get air, “Kaito…please…save me.”

  Her eyes start to get blurry, seeing a sillhouette under the fractured moonlight, coming to her. Am i going to die?

  I see her in the calm sea. I give my all, pushing my limits to reach her faster, lunging my hand out for her.

  Almost!

  My fingers wrapped around her wrist.

  I pull her to my chest, but I start to run out of oxygen. It was exhausting to swim and pull her at the same time, while she was struggling.

  Damn it! It's exhausting, but...

  I see the surface, rushing towards it with Mizuki who was still hanging on. We broke through.

  “MIZUKI! Are you alright?!”

  She gasps for air, coughing hard.

  “Kaito!”

  “Just hold on to me! I will get us both to the shore!”

  Kaguya was there when she saw Mizuki fall into the water.

  As I start swimming, I hear a splash behind me. Someone took Mizuki’s hand along her neck, as a support.

  It was Kaguya.

  “Are you two alright?!”

  I stare in disbelief at her,

  “Kaguya?!”

  “We’ll talk on the shore! Let’s get her there!”

  It was easier to swim now that 2 of us were carrying Mizuki.

  We were not far out in the sea but the vantage point was 50 meters in a line away from the beach where we played yesterday.

  We lay Mizuki on the sand while we catch our breath.

  “Kaguya, how?!”

  “Uhh…”

  Her face let out a reassuring smile.

  “I overheard you as I was preparing to sleep and I thought she was plotting something…”

  “Huh? Plot exactly what?!”

  “Uhh…you know…haha.”

  “What do you mean haha…”

  She starts looking as if she was sorry for coming after us, somewhat guilty.

  “Sorry, Kaguya. I was just surprised. Thank you for coming to Mizuki’s help.”

  Her face lit up again, feeling like a brave heroine under the spotlight.

  “You’re welcome!”

  “Anything I can do to share my gratitude?”

  “Hmm…I’ve always wanted to try this…give me headpats!”

  What?!

  “Okay…”

  I start giving headpats to Kaguya, gently brushing her soft hair with my palms.

  “There, there…thanks for helping us.”

  Her face looked genuinely enjoyed by the situation. “Hmm…hmm!”

  Mizuki wakes up.

  Huh…where am I? Did I not die? I was deep in the water and lost my consciousness…did Kaito come to help me?

  She opens her eyes and sees me giving Kaguya headpats.

  “Kaito…”

  We both stop to look at her.

  “Mizuki!”

  Without any hesitation, she got up and lunged for a hug, crying.

  “Kaitooo! I was so scared! I’m never coming close to the sea without my floatie again!”

  I look at her worried, and Kaguya does too.

  “It’s okay, Mizuki. It’s over now.”

  Mizuki pulls back from me, and now she seems relaxed.

  Kaguya lunges to hug her.

  “Don’t make me worry so much! I thought you two were done for!”

  “I’m sorry…”

  Kaguya starts headpatting Mizuki.

  “There, there…it’s okay. You’re safe now. Let’s talk a bit in our room.”

  We recover from the incident and head to the villa, where lights were out.

  “Huh…nobody’s home. I wonder what happened with the other three.” remarked Kaguya, intrigued by the silence.

  We all exchange glares, sharing the same thought.

  “Speaking of which…let’s not mention anything about this to them.”

  “Deal. It would be a hassle to explain.”

  I look tired, yet again. I head to the bathroom as the two of them have a chat.

  “I’m going in the jacuzzi…you two, change into pajamas and let’s watch a movie together. How does that sound?”

  Kaguya’s eyes had stars in them.

  Movie night with Kaito! Yessss!

  “Sure! Sounds great!”

  Mizuki approves. “Anything for the earlier scene, Kaito. I’m really thankful.”

  I let out a reassuring smile as I head up the stairs.

  “No worries, Mizuki. I promise to take care of you any time it is required. You’re my close friend, after all.

  Her eyes lit up. Now she also had stars in her eyes.

  Kaito…thank you. From the bottom of my heart. You helped me overcome my outsider issue, trampled over your heart to act with me in ‘Fight, Kyano!’ and now you saved me from drowning…I’m eternally grateful to you.

  Now it’s just the two of them left on the living room couch, dressed up into pajamas.

  Kaguya starts an interrogation, while snacking on some peanuts.

  “Mizuki…what was all that about earlier?”

  She looked confused.

  “Huh?”

  “You know…you lied to the others to get some alone time with Kaito.”

  Her face went red, as she tried to cover it with her palms.

  “It’s not what it looks like!”

  “How so?”

  “I just proposed to him…”

  Kaguya went white.

  WHAT?! SHE DID WHAT?!

  “To act with me in an upcoming movie.”

  She returned to earth, expecting a much bigger hit.

  “Oh…is that all?”

  “Yes, take a look.”

  Her phone was somehow still working, and she showed the call log. It was a call to Director Hagayama that confirmed her story.

  “I see…it’s okay. Thanks for letting me know.”

  Okay, she wanted to act with him again, but…alone? Why not do it here? Does she maybe…

  I come back from the jacuzzi, small water drops still coming out of my hair. “Alright! Let’s start up the de-tensioning movie night!”

  I grab the remote, put on a comedy romance movie and we all laugh at it while feeling the atmosphere.

  I'm happy to do this with Kaito!!! (Kaguya)

  This feels so cozy and warm... (Mizuki)

  The other three came late at night, at about 1 A.M.

  Mai was tired, holding some bags, while Akane and Hikaru looked as they were about to pass out.

  “We missed the bus and that’s what happens…”

  “Yeah…we had fun though!” said Akane through her heavy panting.

  “Well…this is making up for an unforgettable memory!” smiled at them Hikaru.

  “I guess you’re right.”

  Mai noticed us on the couch. Kaguya and Mizuki were sleeping leaning on me. I was also asleep.

  All three of them smile at us. "Aren't they a cute bunch?"

  Akane takes a photo of us.

  “I wonder what they did until we came home. Let’s leave them be for tonight.”

  Mai and Hikaru agree, and they head to their room. They close the TV, the lights, and everyone goes to get some rest.

  Mizuki started to sleep-talk, beaming with happiness, as silence overtook the house.

  “Kaito…I love you.”