I May Be A Mob But Because My Favorite Is Here, Everyday Is Fun

A few days have passed since I went to Taiga-san’s house. On Friday after school, I was in the middle of taking out what I needed from my desk and putting them in my bag when Ichika came and spoke to me.

“Mariko, are you free now?” 

Thinking that maybe she has something she wants from me, I immediately answer her in a heartbeat. 

“I am. Why?”

“I’m planning to go karaoke with Maeno and Ichinose-kun after this. Wanna come with us?

Karaoke after school! That’s so high-schooler-ish! Moreover, it’s girls and boys going together like normies! I’m currently acting like a normie!

But… I remembered that I got scolded by Taiga for sharing an umbrella with Maeno-kun the other day…. Maybe it’s better if I don’t go to karaoke? But there will be four of us, and I already told Taiga the other day that nothing is going on between Maeno-kun and me, so maybe it’ll be alright? No, wait, what the heck am I thinking? It’s not like Taiga restricts all of my freedom. Don’t even dream of him feeling jealous just because he’s been nice to you lately. He’s the Taiga-sama, you know? There’s no way he’ll be that interested in what a girl like me does. Yup, yup.

“I’ll go!”

“Great! Then let’s go.”

Ichika said as she looked at the corridor where Ichinose-kun and Maeno-kun were standing by the door. 

I gave them a slight nod as a greeting, thinking it had been a while since I last saw them. I hastily put my stuff into my bag, hoisted it on my shoulder, and headed to where they were together with Ichika.  

We were having a light conversation as we headed to the karaoke bar. But, since today is Friday and it is located near our school, the karaoke bar was already quite crowded with several groups of high school students when we got there.

Thank God we quickly managed to get a room since some of them were empty. 

Once we sat down, the seating order naturally went like this: Ichinose-kun, Ichika, me, and Maeno-kun. 

Looking at the seating arrangement, I really think that my guess that Ichinose-kun has a crush on Ichika is right on the money. And I think falling in love with your childhood friend is amazing. Ichika is cute, reliable, kind, and pretty much good all over, so it’s understandable why he likes her. I don’t think Ichika is currently aware of Ichinose-kun as a possible love interest. Still, I think something may happen if he works hard enough. Ichika also said that she wanted a boyfriend this year…. I’m going to secretly tell Ichinose-kun about it later. 

While I was looking at them while drinking melon soda that I ordered from a drink bar, Maeno-kun, who sat next to me, spoke:

“Takahashi-san, I’ve read the manga you mentioned the other day.”

He’s talking about the things we talked about on that rainy day. I was so fired up when we spoke about manga that day and recommended some to him. It looks like he remembered them and honestly read them. Maeno-kun is truly a good guy. 

“Really? How was it?”

“It was so interesting! The part where the protagonist fought together with his rival had me choked up in my emotion.”

“I know, right?! That part was such a major development, wasn’t it?! I’ve re-read that scene over and over again.” 

“Me too! Man, I don’t know what I have been doing in my life for not knowing that such an interesting manga exists?”

“There aren’t many people who read that manga, but I’ve always wanted to talk about it with someone!”

“You can talk to me anytime you want.”

“Yay~ I’m happy! Let’s do it!”

We were having a blast; we didn’t realize that Ichika had chosen a song and was about to sing at some point.

We talked in a low voice as we listened to Ichika sing her song. We also chose a song to sing since we were in the karaoke bar and spent our time singing in a rotation between the four of us.

It’s been a while since I’ve had karaoke.

I’m not good at singing, but singing at the top of my lungs really does well in relieving my stress. Though, I don’t really have stress or anything!

I wonder if Taiga goes to karaoke too… I don’t know if he does since it wasn’t mentioned in the game, but I made him go several times now in my imagination. Taiga is a good singer in it. Of course, this is only all in a maiden’s dream.

I wonder what kind of song he’ll sing if he goes to karaoke…? A popular song? Or maybe his favorite song? A happy song, perhaps? But ballads seem to suit him well, so ballads it is. No, wait, what about rap? A western song? Maybe he’ll sing some love songs, too, or something? Or maybe, he sucks at singing, so he doesn’t sing at all.   

It’s fun to fantasize about Taiga. Moreover, Taiga exists in this world. The fact that Taiga is living and breathing in this world right now means that whatever the canon information doesn’t know has become canon itself….No, I mean, not canon, but more like understanding who Taiga really is. It feels so unrealistic that it makes my heart filled with happiness. Taiga’s actions are no longer my imagination– they have become real. And every little thing he does makes me feel happy.

*sigh*I’m so glad I’m alive. I didn’t know that having Taiga in my life would be so much fun.

Moreover, I feel like crying because I can relate so much to the part of the lyrics of the love song that Ichika is currently singing. It says, “I’m happy just by being with you.” Like, it’s true~ he brings me so much joy just by existing. It makes me love this world even more when I think that Taiga is living somewhere in this world where he has his own thoughts and feelings, and I am also living in it. I feel like I can now ascend to become immortal. 

Liking someone from the bottom of your heart is such a fantastic thing, isn’t it?

I wonder if everyone feels this way. Like, feeling happy just because their eyes met or something. Or the mere touch of their hands makes them feel both kind of content and shy. And it’s almost like a miracle to be in love with each other. I mean, what are the odds that your crush likes you back? That itself is amazing. I didn’t realize how much I actually liked Taiga until I fell in love with him. But many people out there feel the same way I do for someone else and then have their love reciprocated and their hearts broken. Human beings are amazing. Emotions are amazing. Hold on, I really do feel like I’m going to reach enlightenment. 

“Takahashi-san, you look like you’re having fun.”

Maeno-kun, who sat next to me, spoke to me while I was daydreaming about Taiga in my head. 

“Yup, very much!”

“Takahashi-san, you look like you’re always having fun. It’s kind of infectious.”

Those words made me happy.

Because if I seem like so to others, that means it’s all thanks to Taiga since I always think about him every single day. It’s like they are saying that it’s all thanks to Taiga that I seem to be having good times. 

“Because every day is fun, I spend every day feeling happy!”

I can’t help but smile as I speak. That’s right, I’m feeling happy every day. I’m delighted because Taiga is alive. That’s why I’m glad I’m living such a bright, fun life day after day.

 I quietly went out of the room, carefully not to disturb singing Ichika while holding empty cups after informing Maeno-kun that I would refill our drinks.

I walk down the corridor and head to the drink bar while listening to a stranger singing a song leaking from another room.

There were some people at the drink bar already. Three high school girls are deeply immersed in their conversation while choosing their drinks. I lined up a little further behind them. When it was my turn after they finished choosing their drinks and left, I similarly had trouble deciding what to drink, just like them. 

Melon soda does taste good, but I think I want to drink something warm this time…. 

So I decided not to use the cup I brought with me, but I took a mug instead and pressed the hot chocolate button. 

Someone suddenly poked me in the back while I waited for the mug to be filled with hot chocolate.

I shivered while letting out a strange shriek at the unexpected poke.

How many times do I have to tell you? My back! Is sensitive!

The only person who would ever do this to me is Ichika. I turned around while holding the area of my back that was poked while trying to rebuke Ichika. I only managed to say her name out loud before my voice suddenly stuck in my throat. Because there’s a familiar wall in front of me. 

I was so shocked that I couldn’t even utter a word, and all I could do was shift my gaze upward with my eyes wide open.

“Yo.”

The man in front of me greeted me with a satisfied smile, knowing he had successfully pranked me. 

“Taiga, san…?”