Philophobia 2.0

Friends Like These

When Osamu and Suna make it to class the following morning, they find themselves replaced—by three girls.

They hadn't even noticed at first, only finding themselves surprised Ai's seat was empty when they first walked in. She seemed the type to always get to class early, and thus far, she was proving her type right. It wasn't until Suna and Osamu sat down, given a full view of the classroom in front of them, that they saw Ai sitting a few rows ahead, surrounded by three girls. Upon closer inspection, the pair realized they knew their faces—they'd shared a class with these girls since their first year of high school but never bothered to learn their names.

As they watched Ai conversing with them, although the trio of girls were doing most of the talking, a sudden thought occurred to Osamu and Suna. They contemplated how quickly gossip moved through their fanbase and realized that word was likely going to spread soon—if not already—that the team snagged a new manager in the form of the stunning and clever, but expressionless, new girl.

That was when various questions began floating through their heads.

What if those girls—whatever their names were—were their fans?

While Suna and Osamu were well aware Ai had a tongue as sharp as a blade and plenty of wits to boot, would she fare as victoriously if she were physically attacked?

They realized they were unnecessarily (for now) protective over Ai in the face of their unruly fans, but they put no merit to it. Surely, they only felt such a way because she was a part of their team now. That was all.

All the while, Ai hadn't even noticed Suna and Osamu's arrival, let alone did she pick up on their gazes. While she didn't exactly show it, she was happy she'd come to class even earlier than normal—she intended on catching up on everything she missed in her daze yesterday—which was around when three of her classmates walked up to her desk. Each of them, while different, donned similarly sweet smiles while they introduced themselves.

Ai was surprised but felt warm and pleasant when the girls revealed they had wanted to befriend her on her first day at Inarizaki. The only reason it took so long for them to say so much as a hello was because of the intimidating volleyball players she was sandwiched in between.

"Heyo, Kimura, right?! Matsuoka Aiko, professional basketballer in the making, at yer service!" She grinned cheekily with an outstretched hand, the first to introduce herself.

Aiko was the obnoxious friend of the group; a loud and carefree girl obsessed with basketball. She was the tallest out of all the girls and kept her blonde hair short in a pixie cut, telling Ai it was so she wouldn't have to be bothered with bobby pins and ponytails. Her eyes were small, but considering the way they were always widened in excitement or mischief, they didn't stay confined in their small shape for very long.

"Gah, Aiko, settle down! I'm truly sorry about her, Kimura-san, Aiko here doesn't know the meaning of an inside voice—" Aiko interrupted her with a betrayed expression, but Yuki seemed to pay her no mind, only fixing her eyeglasses when they slid down her long and slender nose. "Oh hush, you know it's true. My name is Fujino Yuki. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

Yuki was clearly the voice of reason—giving Ai the indication that they'd get along swimmingly. She was what someone might call the bookworm of the group, the kind of girl who always had her nose in a book, be it for knowledge or pure fun. Ai learned Yuki was very fond of learning new things constantly, and thought it too rude to say it aloud, but she wondered how Yuki managed to keep so much information in her head. Her appearance was impeccably neat, true to her personality—Yuki's brown hair was cut into a perfect, shoulder-length bob, and not a strand was ever out of place. Her glasses lacked the typical smudges Ai had often seen on a megane, and even her uniform was in pristine shape.