The name that popped into Oikawa's head was, without a doubt, Kentaro.
Whenever something weird happened out of nowhere, odds were this guy was behind it, and ninety percent of the time he had nothing good in mind.
Oikawa knew him way too well.
Back before Oikawa got famous, this guy had been the biggest poster of lewd pics in their private group chat. The guy lived for the attention.
"That jerk is definitely up to something again. I was wondering why they all went quiet after taking such a beating last time."
Oikawa muttered to himself, then opened his official fan group chat for the first time in ages.
He'd barely shown his face in there lately. At most he dropped an emoji now and then, just to prove he was still lurking.
Honestly, once you get famous, trouble comes crawling out of the woodwork.
The reason he hated showing up in the chat was the way everyone swarmed him the second he appeared.
[Copycat Transmigrator]: @Kentaro "Was this your doing?"
Oikawa tagged Kentaro without any buildup and went straight to the accusation.
[Kentaro]: "Huh? Copycat-sensei, what are you talking about?"
Reading Kentaro's reply, the corner of Oikawa's mouth twitched up, and he swore under his breath. "You little punk. It really was you."
If he'd been ninety percent sure a moment ago, now he was a hundred.
A guilty conscience always gives you away. Normally this guy would never be so well-behaved as to call him "Copycat-sensei."
[Copycat Transmigrator]: "Hm? Go ahead and tell me it wasn't you. And I'd bet there are still a few stragglers from your little crew in this group."
Oikawa sent another message.
This time, the group went wild.
Before Kentaro could even answer, the members had already started flooding the chat.
「Copycat-sensei, your life sounds so sad! I'll definitely support your new book! Can I ask how you got into writing? How do you keep facing life with a smile despite everything you've been through?」
「Copycat-sensei, can I ask something? What does it take to still see a little light in the world and write such a happy book?!」
「Copycat, you... sigh~ Take care of yourself, fam. Seriously.」
「....」
Watching the messages pour in, Oikawa honestly felt a headache coming on.
The chat scrolled so fast that he couldn't find Kentaro's reply anywhere.
Left with no choice, he sent Kentaro a friend request.
After they'd friended each other, Oikawa kept grilling him. "What are you guys scheming this time?"
[Kentaro]: "Copycat-sensei, it really wasn't me. I swear."
Oikawa rubbed his temple. This guy clearly planned to deny it to the death.
[Copycat Transmigrator]: "Kentaro-kun, we're friends, right? Quit stirring up trouble!"
At the word "friends," Kentaro froze, then broke into an ecstatic grin.
Friends. Copycat-sensei considered him a friend!
Kentaro felt like this was the proudest moment of his entire life.
[Kentaro]: "Don't worry, Copycat-sensei. I promise nothing weird will happen again. I swear on my reputation."
...
..
The "tragic family background" buzz, meanwhile, refused to die down.
Oikawa was getting nearly a thousand private messages a day, most of them telling him not to wallow in the sorrows of the past and to bravely face his new life.
He was at his wits' end.
This was not the persona he wanted!
Out of options, he posted a clarification on Twitter.
I'm really not pitiful. I don't have a childhood friend named 'Kaori' or whatever, and I definitely didn't grow up in an orphanage. And let me say this one more time. I write depressing novels purely because I enjoy it! Time to come clean: I keep the joy for myself and give all the sorrow to my readers.
Feel pain. Think about pain. Accept pain. Know pain. Let the world feel suffering. That is my ninja way!
Oikawa thought that post was about as ruthless as it could get.
But the comments section turned out nothing like he expected.
「My heart aches for him! Brother Copycat clearly has a defensive alter personality. If you can, please see a therapist soon.」
「Some people heal their whole lives with their childhood. Others spend their whole lives healing their childhood.」
「As a mom whose kid just started middle school, I hope you meet someone you can rely on for the rest of your life.」
「Copycat-sensei, even if Clannad really is depressing, I wouldn't say a single bad word about it.」
「Copycat is using nothing but the pen in his hand to fight against the entire world. He isn't the one who's wrong. The world is.」
「....」
Oikawa stared at the comments, and something inside him snapped.
What the hell?!
Who the hell has a defensive alter personality? Who the hell is spending their whole life healing their childhood?
He really, truly didn't have a tragic childhood. He wasn't trying to fight the whole world!
And yet.
The power of a "persona" was just too great.
His phone suddenly buzzed with a notification. It was a voice message from Chris Yamada.
[Chris]: "Oikawa-sensei, you planned this PR move yourself, didn't you? It's brilliant. Truly a once-in-a-century genius. The whole internet thinks you're a tragic young boy now. Countless bloggers are promoting Clannad for free, which saves us a huge chunk of the marketing budget! Isn't there someone you've been dying to do an event with, Yoshihiro Togashi-sensei? Sleep tight, we've got this!"
Oikawa had no energy left to reply.
What was he supposed to do? He was innocent!
He clenched his fists, practically trembling with rage. He felt like standing on a balcony in the pouring rain and howling at the sky. Then he did the next best thing and half-collapsed, yelling like a man at the end of his rope, "Heaven above, all I wanted was to be a depressing-novel writer! Why is that so hard?! Can you hear the scream in my heart? I don't want this persona!"
...
..
The next day, another school day ended.
In the club building, Oikawa and Yui walked side by side toward the Service Club.
"Oikawa-kun. Did you hear about Copycat-sensei? He is such a pitiful person. Has he ever told you about any of that?"
Yui was just trying to make small talk.
But Oikawa's face went into a very strange expression, and he answered reluctantly, "Kind of... yeah, he's mentioned it."
"What do you mean, 'kind of'?! Either he told you or he didn't. Oikawa-kun, that was such a lazy answer." Yui huffed, assuming he didn't want to talk to her, and started sulking all on her own.
"It wasn't lazy," Oikawa said with a smile. "He only brought it up a little. It's not like I could pry."
"What about 'Kaori'?" Yui's eyes lit up, brimming with curiosity. "Is she really Copycat-sensei's childhood girlfriend? What does she look like?"
Oikawa's headache got worse.
After a moment of thought, he answered, "In my mind, she looks a lot like you, Yui."
"Liar. You're so good with your sweet talk."
Yui bashfully dropped her gaze to her indoor shoes, but the corner of her mouth was curving into a bright smile.
Hearing him say that made her really, really happy.
"It's true. More true than true. Don't believe me? Feel for yourself."
Oikawa took her hand and pressed it against his chest. Yui felt his slow, steady heartbeat.
Her palm tingled from the thump, but she couldn't bring herself to pull away.
Just then, footsteps echoed down the corridor.
Yui bolted like a startled rabbit, yanking her hand back and dashing toward the Service Club.
The passing student council vice president saw her run off and gave Oikawa a puzzled look. "What's up with Yui?"
"Nothing."
Oikawa brushed him off and quickened his pace toward the Service Club.
The club room door opened for him once again.
It was a world apart from the freezing hallway. Warm air and the scent of black tea hit his nose at the same moment.
And right alongside them came Yukino's oddly knowing smile. She eyed Oikawa for a couple of seconds, then went back to the light novel in her hands.
Yui was already chattering away beside her. "Yukinon, did you see the news about Copycat-sensei? Apparently 'Kaori' was based on his childhood friend who died. Isn't that kind of romantic? I bet Copycat-sensei is a guy who's romantic down to his bones."
"Romantic?"
Yukino picked up her teacup and sipped her tea, quietly studying Oikawa over the rim.
After a while, she finally spoke. "Oikawa-kun, isn't Copycat-sensei a friend of yours? Do you think he's a romantic person?"
At Yukino's question, Yui turned to look at him too, curious.
"I guess... maybe."
A playful curl touched the corner of Yukino's lips, and her expression turned meaningful.
"Perhaps."
That was all she said, calmly and lightly. Everyone settled back into their seats, and the Service Club fell quiet again.
Yui had dug up a light novel from somewhere and was reading it with her tea.
Everyone sat in their usual spots, and only the electric heater in the corner kept working diligently. In that moment, the Service Club felt less like a school club and more like a cozy little home.
The snack on the table was daifuku.
Ever since Oikawa mentioned the word once, it had started showing up in the club room with absurd frequency.
Honestly, it was a great feeling.
Oikawa nibbled on his daifuku and felt the urge to flop onto the table for a quick nap. Today seemed like perfect weather for sleeping.
He never actually made it to dreamland.
He'd barely put his head down when voices drifted in from outside the club room.
"Hina, even if we're asking for help, did we really have to come to a place like this?"
"They're super useful, I promise!"
Hearing those two voices, Oikawa knew another job was on its way.
The voices outside didn't last long. Soon there was a rhythmic knock at the club room door.
"Come in."
After Yukino's cool voice rang out, Ebina tiptoed in and poked her head around, grinning as she scanned the room. "Hello, hello! Is now an okay time?"
"Hina, what are you doing here? Come in, come in!" Yui jumped up the moment she saw who it was, waving at her with a huge smile.
"Sorry to bother you," Ebina said, and walked in. Miura, behind her, looked awkward and fidgety.
"What can we do for you?"
Yukino took off her glasses. She clearly didn't want outsiders seeing her in them.
"Um... Hina, maybe we should just go back." Miura felt awkward.
"We're already here."
Ebina wasn't the least bit shy about it. She walked up to the three of them and spoke openly. "Second year might be the last time we all get to be together, so Yumiko..."
"Hina." Miura cut her off. She took a deep breath, like she was working up her nerve. "Never mind, I'll say it myself."
"Okay, so... how do I put this. I want to make chocolate by hand, once, and give it to someone. Put my feelings into it."
Her voice grew quieter, and her cheeks flushed pink.
Seeing her like this was rare. She usually carried herself like a queen and never forgot to play the part, proud chin and all.
If anyone had seen the weak side of Yumiko Miura before, it was probably Yukino.
The thought was kind of funny. Quiet, reserved Yukino had actually managed to make Miura cry when they were alone together. What a frighteningly strong fighter.
"Valentine's Day is coming up. This is my last chance." Miura twirled a strand of her blonde hair around her finger, as if that could hide how nervous she was.
"It really is your last chance," Yukino said, agreeing with her for once. Her eyes drifted to Oikawa without her meaning them to, though she pulled them away before anyone noticed.
Anyone except Ebina, who had been watching Yukino the whole time.
Ebina saw it all. Then she glanced at Yui, who was listening to Miura with total sincerity, and a helpless smile tugged at her lips.
'Such an airhead!'
She scolded Yui silently in her head.
"Yumiko, didn't you say homemade chocolate was pointless?" Yui puffed out her cheeks and stared hard at Miura. That morning, Miura had sworn up and down she wasn't making any.
Liar!
She hadn't even thought about it lately because of that. If she'd known, she would have started practicing earlier.
"Well, that's..."
Miura didn't know how to answer, so she secretly shot a glance at Oikawa, her expression a bit strange.
Was the Oikawa in front of her really the "Copycat-sensei" with the tragic backstory everyone was talking about online?
Every time she compared the two, it felt like a dream.
But she'd seen him sign a copy of Your Lie in April with her own eyes that day. He could only be Copycat-sensei.
"I'm the one who talked Yumiko into making it by hand. It shows more heart, you know? And I'm planning to make a few for you guys too, as friends." Ebina chimed in.
"Huh? Hina, you're making chocolate yourself?"
Yui blinked in surprise. As far as she remembered, Hina hated that kind of thing.
"Well, we're all going our separate ways soon. We should say a proper goodbye."
A bright smile spread across Ebina's face, bright and sad at the same time, like the sun sinking at dusk.
She knew the road ahead was uncertain. But she was heading into the unknown anyway, even if it meant vanishing into endless darkness.
.
.
.