Oshi No Ko FanFic (A Spiteful Reincarnation)

Chapter 7: Connections with Friends and Idols

It has been two years and 3 months since Mariko's reincarnation. Over the last year or so Mariko has been busy befriending Aqua and Ruby as well as playing the part of the perfect daughter for her parents. As she grew more aware of her surroundings the more it seemed familiar but she definitely could not accept that reality. So she did the best she could to block a certain work of fiction from her mind. If the voices ever start coming back she would just remind herself that she is not in that story and so this is definitely not that story. "Everything will be fine." Those words have become a daily reminder that she had said to herself to make sure that the voice that she got rid of when she was young never came back. Currently Mariko was in the family car getting driven to pick up Aqua and Ruby for their first day of preschool. Sure it was not going to be a daily occurrence but since the twins were masquerading as Miyako and Ichigo's children it would be odd that the parents did not show up for the first day.

While Mariko would like to have thought that she had everything planned out, it was hard to act on anything in her current state. "Ah, Mariko-chan." The voice of Ai's greeting was enough to drag Mariko out of her thoughts. "Ai-san," Mariko replied, slightly dipping her head acknowledging the greeting. This slight nod was a skill she had honed in her previous life in America. A slight chuckle from Ai was followed by a very energetic Ruby jumping into the car and nearly toppling Mariko over. Mariko did not really understand Ruby's reaction; she almost said, "What, never been to a preschool before?" However, she stopped herself obviously, she had never been to a preschool this was her first day after all. "I have to remember that I am reincarnated and not everyone around me has as much experience." She thought to herself and Aqua carefully entered the car. "Sorry, I was just excited Mariko-chan." After hearing these words from Ruby it was hard not to flinch. Her American past life was refusing the honorific being placed on her. "It is quite alright Ruby. I can understand that you were just excited." Mariko forced the words out along with the smile on her face.

When she was a baby she had always preferred to interact with Ruby but as she grew older her constant bubbly personality became too much for Mariko. In fact now that she had befriended both the twins she rather spend her time with Aqua. It was just much more relaxing. He seems somewhat bored all the time which was not a good thing but it sure beats loud which is what Ruby was. It was just the fact that Ruby had wild hopes and dreams which was expounded on each and every day they met. Mariko's past life still refuses to allow her to indulge in what should be her own childish behavior.

Ruby saw the sad look that washed over Mariko's face as she turned to face forward. Ruby did not want to disturb Mariko in her current state but the longer she observed Mariko the more down she looked. The silence was broken by Aqua who said, "You think too much." Ruby saw Mariko almost jerk herself back into reality. "What do you mean Aqua?" Mariko's voice sounded distant even to Ruby. "Every time you go quiet you just look like you ate the world's most bitter food." The sound of a slight chuckle emanated from Mariko's direction. After the chuckles had died down Mariko said, "If me thinking puts such a damper on the people around me, I might as well be an airhead." To Ruby's surprise Mariko started laughing. It was time for Ruby to start questioning herself. What was Mariko even laughing about it wasn't like anyone had told a joke. The conversation between Mariko and Aqua continued after Mariko had stopped laughing. Mariko's reactions and words continued to confuse Ruby for the entire trip.

After the adults had dropped off the twins at preschool. Mariko was now sitting on a plastic chair watching Ai and her coworkers practice in the dance studio. She was pretty sure that she looked pretty creepy to most of the people there. She was just sitting in the back silently watching like an overseer. She was glad that most of the B-Komachi idols ignored her and just interacted with each other. They really were not good at hiding their feelings when interacting with each other. The pleasantries were layered on so thick that there was no way they could be genuine. It was really laughable how they all presented to be a cohesive group on stage. Mariko wondered if all idol groups were like this. Mariko felt the stare first before she turned her head to look at the individual who had been staring. Mariko smiled slightly and waved. As the girl began to walk toward her, she realized this was going to be a long day.

School
Aqua and Ruby were in a play structure when Aqua spoke, "Mariko is a strange one isn't she." Turning to look at Ruby he started again, "Her development is constantly with normal children but something is just wrong about her." Ruby shrugged, "We already went through this. She is not us. Plus you know she would talk to someone if she was reincarnated. You know how hard it was not to talk. If she could talk she would have. We both went through it." Aqua looked down slightly and said, "Speaking of reincarnation, how old were you before this?" Ruby jumped up from her sitting position and put her hands on her hips. "I was a grown woman you know, and besides don't you know that it's rude to ask a woman her age. On top of that none of the stuff before reincarnation really matters anyway. Humph." As she finished her statement she swung herself down the slide. On the other hand Aqua was deep in thought. "I guess Ruby is right, it doesn't really matter." He thought to himself. Then he finally realized why Mariko's actions had bothered him so much. Mariko's facial expressions while thinking mirrored his own. Plus she did it way more often. He thought, "Is there another reason why she didn't talk?"