Oshi No Ko FanFic (A Spiteful Reincarnation) DNF

Chapter 18: Mariko's Borrowed Copy of 'Sweet Today'

Sorry for the long wait. So here is a chapter. It is a bit more scattered than I hoped.

Mariko was not particularly interested in reading the manga "Sweet Today," but she needed to get a grasp on the source material before she could make accurate assessments of the live action adaptation. So the next day when Aqua left to meet Kana, Mariko walked right up to Aqua's room and tried the handle. The door was unlocked and swung open with ease. Mariko was impressed by how organized everything looked. There was not dirt and grime everywhere, but there were still a few signs of unhealthy obsession. There were small posters of Ai all around his room. Mariko just stood at the entrance analyzing the room. If Aqua was as organized as he seemed, it would be very easy to locate his stash of manga from the entrance. Soon enough she saw it tucked neatly into the bookshelf. As Mariko walked into the room to grab the manga, she could not help but feel uneasy. It was definitely the Ai posters. The eyes of the idol were looking directly at her from every angle as she crossed the room to the shelf. Mariko grabbed the book and turned around to leave but couldn't. She did not like being reminded that she could have actually done something to save Ai. As she stopped she began to think, "Well, technically I could have stopped the stalker attack but Kamiki-san would have just sent someone else or the same person another time so it's for the best I did the bare minimum." "Come on, you know I am right." Mariko said pointing at the poster directly in front of her. "Plus, I believe I put in a lot of effort into keeping you alive at the hospital. You should be grateful." Mariko thought, nodding to herself. Her self-talk didn't really elevate her guilt. It was definitely something about those eyes. They held something Mariko found deeply unpleasant. She didn't see the stars on the poster but her brain had superimposed them onto the image. Those eyes captivated so many people but she started to loathe them. She didn't know when she started to hate them but she did. "Truly, you are the most perfect idol. A huge liar who can only smile." She said clenching her teeth to refrain from screaming the words at the poster. She suddenly relaxed as she shook her head slightly. "Wow, you're so stupid for talking to a poster. She is not even real." Mariko said while pointing out that that poster was not actually a person. As Mariko walked out of the room she whispered, "If it is any consolation. I, personally, didn't have to do anything. Heh, now I am doing it ... again."

Mariko got back to her room and tossed the manga onto her bed. She walked right up to one of the many micro computers and connected it with the monitor on her desk. It showed that the script it had been working on had finally been generated. Mariko looked through the script and fixed some of the grammar mistakes before analyzing the point of view and the tone of the script. The script generator was getting a lot better at making scripts that sounded like it came from the characters Mariko had created to be the faces of her many channels. When she was satisfied with the results, she started the process of creating a MP3 file from the script using one of the AI voices she created. She then logged into the YouTube channel and looked at the last live premier. She had to check if the chatbot in charge of the live premier chat was working correctly. After the initial failure of her AI YouTube project, she relegated the chatbot to only respond in chat. A slight glance at the chat logs showed that there were no problems so she disconnected that particular micro computer and moved to the next one. Once they were all in the process of generating the audio files Mariko finally had an opportunity to rest. "What should I do with that book? I don't want to read it, but I don't know where I can find a narrator." Mariko thought to herself as she stared at the manga. Then she remembered that Ruby seemed to be very passionate about the story, and the differences between the manga and the live adaptation.

Ruby was on her bed scrolling through social media when she heard a knock at her door. A second later Mariko opened the door and let herself in. "Ruby, you seemed to know a lot about this manga." Mariko said while waving the copy of "Sweet Today." Ruby recognized the copy in Mariko's hand and said, "Didn't you say the other day that I should go into other people's rooms?" Mariko walked over to a chair and sat down before saying, "Aqua has a copy why would I go and buy another. Plus, I just asked about my room last time I never said anything about Aqua's. So I just wanted your help in giving me a rundown of the plot." Ruby was a bit surprised at this. Mariko had never shown interest in Shōjo manga but now she was asking about "Sweet Today." "What's with the sudden change? Mariko had always read Shōnen manga so why the change?" Ruby thought to herself as Mariko placed the manga on the table next to the chair.