The Heroine's Best Friend

Chapter 1 Part 4: Academy Bound

Harry Potter. 

Heh? 

HEEEEEEEEEEEEEH?!!!!

"Have you been reincarnated too?!" I yell rather loudly and not lady-like. 

"Yes! YES! I'm from Japan!" She's shrieking right along with me. "My name is Hamata Yukiko!" She was practically in tears. 

"Hi, Yukiko-san," I say starting to break down. "My name is Mackenzie Brown." I can barely say my old name as I start crying. We both hug each other sobbing. I didn't realize how badly I needed to say that. Everything up until now was a dream. That someday I would wake up and find out I was in a coma this whole time. But I said my name out loud. And with someone that, even though lived on the other side of the world as me, understood what it meant. 

"Mackenzie-chan!" Maria/Yukiko cried. "We're best friends now." 

Pulling our embrace apart to look her in the face, I nod. 

"Yes. We are most certainly best friends now!" 

-----

After some time of mindless sobbing into each others' shoulders, we calm down enough to sit near the coffee table to talk. Maria and I decided that we are going to use our in-world names since we are now those people. But also agree that our old life names can be used if we needed to relay messages in secret. 

I found out that Maria, in her past life, was only a teenager. She died at 17, which makes her the same age as our characters now. She laughed when I told her how I died by truck-kun. Luckily she didn't ask me details. I didn't want to explain the details.

"I played all the routes of Doki Doki Magic Heart Academy! It was my favorite game. I'm so sad I died before the sequel!" Maria told me. 

"There was going to be a sequel? I had no idea." I said sipping the herbal tea Lindsay made us to calm down. What a sight for my poor maid. She walked in on two girls, who are essentially strangers, sobbing their eyes out together. We made up some lie about how stressed and scared we were about starting school and were happy and relieved to have found a nice roommate. She brought the tea and I dismissed her so Maria and I could talk about our situation. 

"Who was your favorite capture target?!" Maria askes me excitedly. 

"Well.....To be honest I only cleared two routes. The game had only just came out." 

"It's been out for 5 years though?" she asks puzzled. 

"Ah. Well not in America. We have to wait until games like these are translated. And it always takes a long time before we get them."

She makes an O face in comprehension. 

"But my favorite isn't important," I lean in expecting to hear some good gossip. "I'm not the heroine. So who are you going to pick?!"

"Oh gosh. I have no idea. I romanced them all in the game!" 

"Actually," I sit back up. "Who are the capture targets? I only played Prince Levi's and Sir Grey's routes." 

"Sir Grey's bad ending was so sad," she said with a whimper. 

"His bad ending?" 

"You mean you never saw his bad ending?!" 

Now I start feeling guilty. I thought that by playing two routes (I got their good endings) was like half the game and was feeling fairly accomplished. But I just now realized that Japanese otome fans play the WHOLE game. All the targets, both good and bad endings, unlocking secret endings, unlocking secret capture targets. In comparison, I barely scratched the surface. 

"I guess I don't know that much." 

"That's ok! I will teach you! And you will have to help me pick!" 

I nod. Yes, that's a good idea. Maria is both physically and mentally 17 whereas I'm physically 17 but mentally 28. Let this oneesan weed out the bad guys. If I even caught the whiff of a yandere, I'm going to steer well clear of that psychopath. 

"I can do that! But first, you need to tell me who we are looking out for." 

"Right!"