Bonus SS:
The Struggles of a Multi-Oshi
Back when I was ten years old—less than a year after I’d made my first friend—I spent most of my afternoons at Hina’s house.
I wish I could’ve invited her to my place instead, but… well, family circumstances made that difficult.
We didn’t just play games or read manga, though. No, what we did was practice our Lux abilities.
I’d fling objects around the room while Hina worked on her acceleration. Naturally, we ended up breaking things—smashing into walls, sending stuff flying—until Hina’s exasperated mom finally set up a shockproof, soundproof room for us.
We felt bad, but we definitely took full advantage of it. If we wanted to get into the Training School, we had to put in the work. And honestly? That shared goal was probably why we bonded so fast.
For me, it was about proving myself.
For Hina, it was fulfilling a dream.
Different motivations, same path. Comrades in arms.
So while most elementary schoolers were busy playing, our days were filled with training, training, and more training.
Which is why I remember even the tiniest things—like the rare times we almost ran into the boy next door. Not that we never took breaks. On the rare occasions we did, Hina got to pick where we went. And her choice was always the same.
“Rui-chan, let’s go to karaoke after school!”
I looked away.
“But… I don’t have any money.”
“Fufufu~ Behold!”
With a triumphant grin, Hina pulled out an envelope and waved it in my face.
“Mom gave me allowance! You helped clean our house last time, remember? The shelves, the top of the doors, even behind the clock—”
“That was just part of my Lux training.”
“But it helped us! So Mom said, ‘Go have fun with this!’”
“Still…”
“And besides—”
She leaned in, voice sweet and coaxing.
“I really wanna hear you sing, Rui-chan~”
“—Let’s go.”
◇◇◇◇◇
“We used to go to karaoke like that all the time.”
“Was the whole ‘convincing you’ part really necessary to include?”
We were seated at a tucked-away table in a café. As Rui reminisced, arms crossed, I couldn’t help but interject.
“You folded at one line.”
“Hah? If Hina asked you like that, you’d say yes too, wouldn’t you?”
“I would, but—”
“You’re disgusting.”
“Want a mirror?”
“It’d just reflect a beautiful woman.”
“Wow. The confidence…”
She grimaced at the word “beautiful,” but—well, it was the truth.
That said, the woman in the mirror looked a little different today. Normally, as Excia, she dressed in white, her signature color.
But today? Black leather jacket. Denim shorts. Black boots. A boyish look, topped off with headphones draped around her neck.
“…You’ve been staring a lot today.”
I snapped out of it to find Rui crossed his legs and gave me a icy stare.
“Is this what you like?”
She’s tilting her head, one hand tugging at her jacket.
“N-No, no, no—!”
I waved my hands frantically—but internally?
────Of course it is??????
I mean, come on. She’s my Oshi too, okay? Even if she’s technically an enemy now.
This isn’t just a “different vibe”—this is unseen content! She’s never dressed like this in Watayume! There was one bookstore bonus illustration where she looked boyish, but that’s it!
I showed up two hours early to our meetup spot, but she was already there—and when I saw her outfit, my heart literally stopped. If I hadn’t been shocked back to life, I’d be six feet under right now.
Up until the Branch Tour, I’d kept my inner otaku locked away because… well, complicated reasons. But I’ve always Oshi Rui too.
Which brings me to my current dilemma.
After the Branch Tour battle, to earn her trust, I screamed my love for Hinata-chan in front of everyone.
So, uh. If I admit I like Rui too, will she kill me?
Not all otaku are the same. The fandom ecosystem is as diverse as the Ogasawara Islands—except instead of harmony, we’ve got infighting.
And the conflict between me and Rui? It’s a classic case discussed in every “Otaku Biology Textbook”:
──Solo-Oshi vs. Multi-Oshi.
In this scenario:
– Solo-Oshi: Rui, a Hinata-chan supremacist.
– Multi-Oshi: Me, a hardcore Watayume Otaku.
Both are otaku, right? “That’s exaggerating,” if you think that way, try typing “multi oshi” in your browser. Among the top suggestions, you’ll normally see “multi oshi hate.” It’s seriously scary.
Well, I understand what they’re trying to say. I get the feeling of not wanting someone who flirts around with various interests (or seems to) to treat your oshi lightly.
Because I, who was a genuine otaku only for [Watayume] among many manga, could also be called a [Watayume] single-oshi otaku. I don’t want someone who praises other manga to talk about the greatness of [Watayume], OK. …That’s a lie, I’d be happy if it’s praised. I’d be genuinely excited.
However, unlike me, what about Rui who is a passionate Hina fan (an enthusiastic, high-firepower otaku)? She would almost certainly coldly (literally) dismiss it with: “multi oshi? That deserves a thousand deaths.” Reconciliation is impossible.
After talking at length, my current situation was essentially “being right beside my hard-to-reach oshi while not letting them realize I’m their otaku.”
“…………It’s impossible!”
“What?”
“Nothing……”
Rui looks at me with a suspicious eye. Then she reached out, took a sip of the tea placed on the table, and asked me.
“So, is this enough for ‘Hinata-chan’s past story’?”
“—Ah, it’s plenty.”
I had promised earlier to go to the zoo and hear about Hinata-chan’s past, but that was… various things happened and it didn’t come true. It just ended with us gaining memories of an animal theme park. Rui seemed to be depressed, thinking it was her fault. That her substitute Umbra had held her back again.
I denied it many times (I mean, calmly thinking about going to the zoo with my oshi… what???) but her expression wouldn’t clear up, so we set up this opportunity today to talk again.
Like last time and this time, Rui’s eagerness to dress up is a mystery, but her mood doesn’t seem bad at all, so I’ll take that as a good sign.
“But you used to train at Hinata-chan’s house in the past. It’s strange we never met, right?”
“………..”
“Rui?”
“Hm? ……Yes, that’s right.”
For some reason, Rui stared intently at my face.
♢♢♢♢♢
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.GITHUB.IO
One day, on my way home from elementary school, walking near Hina’s house.
“—Ah”
She suddenly stopped with a faint voice.
Following her gaze, a boy in uniform was coming out of the house next to the Soehi family. Next, a black-haired girl in uniform.
Perhaps shopping? They weren’t carrying school bags, only the boy had a shoulder bag.
From a distance their appearance wasn’t clear, but they seemed to have a somewhat cheerful atmosphere.
They walked away in the opposite direction without noticing us at all. Because.
“You don’t need to hide, right? Hina.”
“B-but, I don’t know how to greet them……”
My dear friend seemed to feel quite a distance just because they had entered middle school.
She’s always like this, so I’ve never properly seen his face.
Since we were in the same elementary school, it wouldn’t be strange if we had passed by somewhere, but given my complete lack of interest in human appearances, I have no memory of it.
If we had met face to face, I would have at least thanked him for giving me and Hina the opportunity to form a connection…….
“Ugh, but they’re in uniforms. ……He looks so cool in it.”
At this rate, when will it ever happen? The School apparently has dormitory life, so if we’re unlucky, our meeting might not happen until after we enter high school.
By that time, surely Hina will be able to face her beloved “Onii san” without being shy. ……I don’t know if something like love or affection lasts that long though.
“Come on, let’s go, Hina.”
“Okay……”
Well, Hina is cute, so I don’t care about anything else. He’s someone who has nothing to do with me anyway.
♢♢♢♢♢
—Or, that’s what I thought back then.
“?”
Rui, seeing the puzzled face of the man in front of her, suddenly became uneasy and looked away.
She never imagined that a day would come when she, without Hinata-chan knowing, would have tea with “the neighbor’s onii san.” Of course, she hasn’t the slightest suspicion that the otaku sitting across from her is actually her fan.
Whether that day will come, or whether it will trigger the outbreak of war, is unknown to the two of them now.
TLNOTE : Please leave a comment if you have any info about next volume
Visit the request page If there’s a Japanese Light Novel (LN) or Web Novel (WN) you’d like me to translate
When the donation goal progress bar above hit 100% one novel will be chosen for translation
| Table of Contents | Next* |
Support the Author by Buying the Original Books!
