The Girl Who Shone Brighter (An Oshi No Ko Fanfic)

Ch. 12 - An idea planted in the heads of the two.

The REAL January 9th hits, bringing with it the spoils of Ai's birthday.

Obviously wary, I spend most of the morning coming to terms with the new realization that my time here has affected the way I see the anime, and now even the thought of her death scene makes me want to puke.

I walk into the living room, where she sits.

"Oh, hey baby. Look at you, all dressed up for my birthday! Are you my present by any chance, hm~?"

"You wish, you dummy. This sexy body isn't free, you know."

I do a little joke Jojo pose, which seems to make her think I was being genuine.

"Not like I was asking for it for free or anything~"

"Yeah yeah, of course. That comes later, dummy. We've got preparations to make for tonight."

I sit down next to her and lean back on the couch, leaning my head over the back of it as I look up at the ceiling.

I feel a sudden warm weight on my shoulder as Ai lays her head on me, nuzzling into my neck.

"You okay?"

"I.... I don't know. That incident with Ryosuke seems to have left more scars on me than I realized. Just the thought of what might have happened to you had I not been there to protect you... I... I can't bear it. That nightmare was... so surreal. Unbelievably so."

Ai looks at me with a concerned expression.

"You wanna talk about it? I'm here to listen and be a shoulder to cry on."

"Uh... I mean..."

I sigh.

"I guess. We were sitting in the living room holding Aqua and Ruby, just minding our own business and the doorbell rang, you got up to go answer the door and I got a twisted sense of dread, I ran into the hallway and saw you were stabbed by a mysterious guy that wasn't Ryosuke... the sight of you hunched over with blood pouring from you... I... I c-couldn't..."

"Oh my god, baby come here.."

She embraces me, hugging me tightly as if I'm her lifeline.

"It's okay, I'm alive and I'm safe, thanks to you. It's okay."

I can't bring myself to cry, but I still am emotional nevertheless. I hug her back, reveling in the warmth of her body, my nose filled with the scent of her cherry blossom shampoo.

"It's all okay, it'll be fine. Remember, I can handle myself if need be as well."

That's right. She's not just some doormat.

I keep forgetting about the yandere side of her because of how rarely it comes out, but the visual of her shedding every ounce of Ai Hoshino when she transforms into that.. killer, I have no doubt she'd be able to protect herself. T-that is... as long as she can get ahold of that not-checking-before-opening-doors thing she's got going on.

"Hey."

I say, breaking our serene silence.

"Hm?"

She looks up at me with a cute, blushing, curious expression.

"I love you."

I boop her on the nose.

She blushes, looking stunned for a moment before a dumb smile spreads across her face.

"I.. I love you too, baby."

She hugs me tighter, a loving expression in her eyes.

Just then, I feel a tug on my shirt that isn't Ai.