I replied without looking up.

  “You should apologize to her, not me.”

  “That’s the thing. I was talking with Reina-chan this weekend, and she suggested that the four of us should meet up. I could learn what the real Okino-senpai is like, and you could finally meet Reina-chan.”

  “Your fake girlfriend?”

  “My real girlfriend!”

  I did want to meet this girlfriend of his. And it would be good for Haruhi to make some more IRL friends. It was a win-win situation.

  “I’ll have to ask Haruhi how she feels, but I don’t see why she wouldn’t say yes.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “So, where are we planning to meet up? Like at a family restaurant, or karaoke or something?”

  “Reina-chan really wants to go to the amusement park this weekend. It would be like a double date.”

  I glared at him.

  “It wouldn’t be a ‘double date’ because Haruhi and I aren’t dating.”

  He shrugged his shoulders.

  “Fine. Would you rather I called it a ‘single date plus platonic outing’?”

  I sighed.

  “You can call it whatever you want.”

  Whatever words you use to describe it won’t change what it is.

  “I’m sorry, dude. It’s hard to turn off the banter muscles. I’ll just call it a ‘get-together.’”

  How often have we actually had a serious conversation with one another? We were always joking around. It was kind of exhausting sometimes.

  “That works.”

  “Good. Either way, I’m looking forward to it.”

  “Haruhi has to agree first.”

  “Why don’t you stop playing games and message her, then? You got her number, right?”

  “I do, but I was going to message her after we finish clearing this dungeon. It’s not like we can talk and play at the same time.”

  He looked a little surprised.

  “So she plays that game too? I wouldn’t have expected that.”

  Yeah. I’ve also thought that she didn’t look the type, but it’s not like a person’s hobbies are determined by their looks.

  “She also plays MMOs.”

  “Hmm. I guess you can meet chicks playing video games. Sorry I doubted you, dude.”

  “Duh. Girls play games too.”

  Although, some of the girls are actually guys pretending to be girls. Presumably, some of the guys are actually girls pretending to be guys too.

  I wonder what the statistics on that are...

  23 - Unreality

  That evening, I tried brainstorming some more ideas. I was relaxing in my desk chair, taking notes on my phone. Following Chiaki’s advice, I focused on coming up with singular concepts that I could develop into a short story. Nothing was really clicking, though.

  They say to write what you know; unfortunately I don’t think I know anything. I could probably write a story of regurgitated tropes, but do I have anything that I could use to make it mine?

  Maybe I should just start from there, with some tropes. What tropes do I like? Is there one that I feel is underrepresented or I’ve never seen done the way I would like it?

  Hmm...

  What about ojou-sama-type characters? Blonde curls. Rich family. ‘Ohoho’ type of laugh. Arrogant and annoying, but somehow that just makes them more appealing. I love to see them, but I feel like they’re usually relegated to minor roles. I guess it’s easy to just throw them in as a joke character.

  Okay. That’s a start, I guess. But what should she do? What’s the setting?

  Hmm...

  Fantasy would work well. She could be the princess of a kingdom—I like that. And if you’re doing fantasy nowadays, isekai is common. Although...do I really need to add another one to the trash pile?

  So, no to isekai. If the main character isn’t some isekai’d dork, then who should he be?

  Wait a second. Why have I been making this silly assumption? I had assumed that she would be a heroine and I would have a male main character, but that’s not necessary. She could be the main character herself!

  Yeah, now we’re getting somewhere. She was going to be the focus of the story anyway, so there’s no need to have some pointless guy hanging around. She don’t need no man.

  I feel like I was forgetting something...

  Now that I think about it...

  This is starting to sound awfully familiar...

  I shot up from my desk chair and hurled my phone into my pillow.

  “THIS IS JUST PRINCESS & TENTACLES!”

  After reinventing a few other light novels, I was running out of brain juice and was just spinning around in my desk chair instead of actually working. I just didn’t know if there was a story that I could actually write. I didn’t think I had any personal experiences that I could draw on either, and when I stuck to tropes too much, I ended up just coming up with something that already existed.

  Maybe that was a sign that I had done enough today.

  I tried.

  That was good enough.

  “I feel like it’s difficult for me to come up with something to write about because I don’t know enough about anything to write about it.”

  Chiaki leaned back in her beanbag chair, nodding along.

  “There’s value in knowing things, but there might be value in not knowing things too. You can present something that exists outside the bounds of our reality. I think that’s something good about fiction. It doesn’t have to reflect reality perfectly. It’s connected to reality and can make you think about reality, but at the end of the day, it is its own Unreality.”

  “That’s true. I don’t think fiction has any need to be exactly like reality.”

  Chiaki nodded.

  “I always get upset when people say that my characters don’t act like real people. Of course they don’t—they’re not! And they’re not supposed to be either! How boring would fiction be if we limited it to the bounds of reality? What would even be the point? If you’re thinking about a work of fiction as if it were real, I think you’ve already lost—you’ll never be able to appreciate Unreality like that.”

  It might not be a viewpoint shared by everyone, but I think I agree with her. She was able to put to words the disconnect I feel with how some people talk about fiction.

  I like the concept.

  “Unreality, huh...”

  “It’s important when taking advice to evaluate for yourself if it actually applies to your particular circumstances. There’s rarely one-size-fits-all advice, as different people are trying to do different things. If the advice doesn’t make sense for what you’re trying to do, then you don’t have to listen to it. Also, whoever is giving you advice might have no idea what they’re talking about.”

  “Yeah...”

  “What I’m trying to say is, don’t worry about it. Just try and write what you would enjoy, and as long as it maintains some kind of internal consistency, it should resonate with people.”

  “It seems kind of obvious once you say it like that.”

  “Sometimes it can be hard to recognize things that are right in front of you, and you need somebody else to point them out to you.”

  “That’s true.”

  She suddenly thrust her book into my face and my eyes crossed trying to read the title.

  “Like this. It says Empire of Squid.”

  Now that she mentioned it, I could make that out.

  She retracted the book, my eyes refocusing on her.

  “I already agreed with you—the physical metaphor wasn’t necessary.”

  She smiled.

  “I just thought I’d try and mix things up, do something different this time.”

  “What’s that story about, anyway?”

  She cocked her head and put a finger to her cheek.

  “There’s an empire...of squid. It’s kind of hard to describe.”

  I could have figured that much out myself...

  “And it’s interesting?”

  She nodded.

  “Yep.”

  I guess you can write a story about anything.

  Yeah, I just need to do something.

  I spent the rest of the week brainstorming until I finally hit on an idea I felt like pursuing.

  It was a story about a pair of childhood friends, a guy and a girl. Well, maybe they weren’t childhood friends; they’d just been in the same class since middle school. They didn’t actually talk to each other that much, so maybe it would have been better to call them acquaintances. And they talked even less in high school, so maybe they could be best described as just ‘people who knew each other.’ Anyway, the point was they had a crush on each other, but neither one ever brought it up with the other.

  Their interactions with each other were always kind of vague and had this subtle tension that neither could place. The girl was kind of a tsundere and the guy was more than a little oblivious, which prevented things from ever growing much between the two of them.

  Then one day, a new girl showed up. She was very forward with her feelings for the guy and they ended up dating. I thought it would be fun to explore the tsundere girl’s feelings in this situation, the insecurities that prevented her from getting close to the guy, and her jealousy at the new girl.

  That was the concept I had come up with.

  The specifics weren’t set in stone yet—I wanted to do more planning on the actual structure of the story that weekend.

  I feel like I’m forgetting something, though...

  Now that I think about it, this does sound a little familiar...

  However, I couldn’t recall any work of fiction that I might have been subconsciously copying.

  Oh well.

  Better not think about it too hard.

  24 - ‘Get-Together’

  Since we were both going to the same destination, Haruhi and I met up at the station and traveled to the amusement park together.

  “May I hold your hand?”

  “Sure. As long as it’s not ‘the usual.’”

  She cocked her head to the side.

  “What do you mean by ‘the usual’?”

  “You know what I mean—the thing where you hold onto my entire arm.”

  She looked disappointed.

  “I like doing that...”

  “It would be embarrassing doing that in front of someone I know.”

  She pouted.

  “Fine. I’ll hold your hand normally.”

  She intertwined her fingers with mine.

  I was used to it, so it didn’t bother me at all (truth).

  “Are you okay with talking about your personal situation today?”

  The main reason we were doing this was to dispel the rumors around Haruhi for Shuusuke.

  “Your friends are my friends. I don’t mind.”

  Ehh...

  “Well, if you start feeling too uncomfortable, we can just leave. They can have a nice date on their own, so don’t feel obligated to do anything you don’t want to do.”

  “You worry too much.”

  “Sorry.”

  She squeezed my hand.

  “Don’t apologize. It’s one of the things I love about you.”

  Still not used to that yet...

  When we arrived at the meeting spot in front of the amusement park, Shuusuke and Shinoyama—I had to look back at my texts with Shuusuke to figure out her family name—had already arrived. At least, I assumed the blonde girl standing next to him was Shinoyama. She was obviously wearing casual clothes instead of her school uniform, so I couldn’t rely on the only identifying information I knew about her. Even without the uniform, she still gave off a rich girl vibe with her wavy blonde hair that cascaded over her shoulders. I know Shuusuke was always talking about how cute she was, but she really was.

  This should be the first time we’ve met, yet she looks somewhat familiar...

  When Shuusuke noticed us, he waved us over and we all introduced ourselves.

  “So basically, I get really touchy-feely with my friends which leads to a lot of misunderstandings.”

  Shuusuke nodded.

  “I can see how that could happen.”

  Shinoyama agreed.

  “It’s most unfortunate that people jump to strange conclusions.”

  That went well. I’m glad we could clear things up.

  “So that’s how it is.”

  Shuusuke stroked his chin.

  “What about her saying ‘I love you’ on the train?”

  Haruhi’s eyes lit up.

  “I love everybody!”

  He nodded.

  “I get it. She’s an idiot.”

  “Shuusuke-sama, that’s rude.”

  I felt like I had to defend her.

  “She’s not an idiot, she’s just weird.”

  “Akio...”

  Maybe I made things worse...

  “I didn’t mean that in a bad way. I’m weird too.”

  “I know. That’s what I love about you.”

  Shuusuke shot me a look.

  “Hmm...”

  “Oh my.”

  Ugh, this is so awkward. I wish it was just the two of us...

  Shinoyama was afraid to ride roller coasters so we went to some of the less intense attractions first, like the haunted house. Of course, we went in as separate pairs, so it was just me and Haruhi.

  “AH!”

  “...”

  I grabbed onto Haruhi.

  Oh, it was just a fake spider hanging from the ceiling...

  I quickly let go.

  “Sorry for suddenly grabbing onto you without asking first.”

  She shook her head.

  “You never really needed to do that anyway. I don’t mind.”

  “That’s true. But it only feels fair if it applies to us both equally.”

  “If that’s what you want.”

  “...”

  She giggled.

  What’s she laughing at?

  “I can’t believe you got scared so badly by a little spider.”

  Of course, she was laughing at me.

  I raised my hand.

  “It wasn’t little! It was this big!”

  She pointed her finger into the darkness.

  “I mean, compared to that one.”

  I turned my head to look at where she was pointing and came face-to-face with a lifelike spider the size of, uhh, something big—my brain wasn’t able to come up with an appropriate comparison before going into a state of total panic.

  “AHHHHH!!!”

  I leaped away from the spider into Haruhi’s arms.

  She laughed again.

  “You’re so cute when you’re scared.”

  She called me cute again...

  I let go of her.

  “If you say so...”

  “Do you have arachnophobia? Or are you always this jumpy?”

  “I don’t know if I would go so far as to say I have arachnophobia, but I don’t like spiders. Or bugs. Frankly, any kind of creepy-crawly freaks me out...”

  Even Fuyuko’s better with bugs than me...

  Haruhi thought for a moment.

  “What about butterflies?”

  “From far away they’re pretty, but up close they’re bugs just like the rest of them.”

  “I guess that’s true... Are you feeling better?”

  Had she been striking up a conversation to give me a chance to calm down?

  “Yeah.”

  She nodded.

  “Good. I don’t think we’ve even gotten to the scary part yet.”

  “It’s gonna get worse?”

  Haruhi held her hand out towards me.

  “You know...if you’re scared, you can hold my hand.”

  I hesitated a moment before reaching out and intertwining my fingers with hers.

  Was this the first time that I had initiated holding her hand? I couldn’t remember, but it certainly felt like a first.

  ...

  I guess this is what a haunted house is all about. I never really got the appeal before now. However, we don’t really need an excuse to do things like this. We did it all the time.

  Maybe there was still some value in it, though.

  Oh, and it definitely got worse.

  After the haunted house, we started on the roller coasters, working our way up from the tamest one. Shinoyama was scared at first, but she seemed to be getting more used to them now. Because of that, we moved to a more advanced one. I’m not bad with roller coasters, but even this one was making me nervous as we stood in line.

  I was in line next to Shuusuke with Haruhi and Shinoyama talking to each other ahead of us.

  I turned to him.

  “Are you sure that taking her to the amusement park was a good date idea? She doesn’t seem comfortable with roller coasters.”

  “I told you before, it was her idea to come here. Besides, isn’t it cute how she’s pushing herself to do something she’s unfamiliar with?”

  I glanced at her.

  “I guess there is a certain moe appeal about her facing her fears.”

  He put his hand on my shoulder.

  “I don’t speak nerd, so I’m going to assume you’re agreeing with me.”

  “I am.”

  “And she does it because she loves me so much. I’m glad she’s my girlfriend.”

  “Well, good for you.”

  “Hey, dude, you’re getting along pretty well with Okino-senpai. I know it’s not like that right now, but are you sure it can’t become anything more?”

  I’m...not so sure.

  Maybe it can.

  Maybe that’s wishful thinking.

  But I would like that.

  I want that.

  25 - A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

  I feel like I’m going to throw up.

  Shinoyama also looked nauseous and was leaning on Shuusuke for support.

  On the other hand, Shuusuke and Haruhi looked like they were ready to go another time.

  “Dude, that ruled.”

  Haruhi’s eyes were shining.

  “Can we go again?”

  I shook my head.

  “I’m not going on that thing again.”

  “I concur, I am feeling most unpleasant.”