Chapter 477: Hope-ful Antics |
Chihiro slammed her hand on the table and said, "YOU ALMOST GOT HOSHINO'D?!"
Hope winced and nibbled on a salmon handroll. "M-Maybe...?"
Yuri looked at Hope, seriously concerned. "Okay. It's a good thing you're staying in the apartments here in HQ. Japan is technically safer than America, but stuff like that happens still."
Hope flinched. "I-It does?"
Asako sighed. "Please don't scare our kouhai, Yuri."
"But it does!" Yuri paused. "I mean, it's actually pretty rare since Maji jii-san, Kiri jii-san, and Saji jii-san are in the habit of patrolling the streets, but still!"
Hope blinked. "Maji... jii-san?"
Chihiro's eyes lit up. "Ooh, you're American, right Hope-chan? We should have you visit to see if your home's level of crazy matches up to Maji and the others."
Hope let out a nervous laugh and said, "I-I don't know about that. I've only ever stayed in the Midwest. It's usually pretty normal and boring." She paused. "...Though I guess there's a lot of cheating. And drug use. And teen pregnancies... drinking too..."
Hope blushed. "D-Did I say something wrong?"
Rin moved to Hope's side and grabbed her arm. "Kouhai... You're never going back there. Never!"
Alphy looked concerned. "If it's like that, then Papa shouldn't send you back..."
Hope felt her face burn and she said, "I-It's not that bad! I just heard that it happens. It wasn't around where I lived... kind of..."
Asako noticed and raised an eyebrow. "Kind of?"
"...I didn't have a lot of money, so I kind of lived near the place where that happens...?"
Another silence fell on the group.
And then Chihiro clapped her hands. "Okay, okay. Enough talk about that stuff. We're here to bully- I mean, celebrate our kouhai, right? So let's do that."
Shu raised her hand.
Asako noticed and said, "Yes, Shu?"
Shu said, "Um... So I know Hope-chan is technically our kouhai. But... isn't she older than a lot of us?"
Hope blushed. "I-I'm not THAT old! I'm only 20!"
Yuri nodded. "Right. Hope's not that much older than us. Besides, if we're talking about seniority, Rin's the senpai to Asako, and Asako's like thirty."
Asako's ears turned red and she said, "Rude! I'm not thirty!"
Yuri waved her hand. "You're older than 25. Practically the same thing."
Asako opened her mouth to retort. Then she realized it wasn't worth it and just sighed. "Whatever. But anyway." She looked at Shu and said, "It's fine, Shu. If it bothers you though, you don't have to call her your kouhai."
Shu nodded. "Alright! Then Hope-chan will be Hope-chan!"
Hope smiled. "Okay. Then... can I just call you Shu?"
"Yes!" Shu smiled back. "Perfect! Call me Shu, I call you Hope!"
Hope giggled.
Suzume finished folding another paper crane and then added it to the wreath. "Done." She picked up the paper crane wreath and walked it over to Hope. "Here you are. A gift, from me. A thousand cranes, folded and bound. With it, you can have one wish granted... according to legend, that is."
Hope's eyes widened. "Oh...! I've read about this." She took the wreath of delicate origami cranes and said, "It's what the little girl who survived Hiroshima did, right? She wished for good health."
Suzume's eyes widened. Then she let out a warm smile. "Yes. Just like Sadako."
Chihiro spoke up. "TECHNICALLY, the wish only comes true if you're the one who folds it... but I'm sure John would pull a miracle to make it come true anyway, so same diff."
Hope held the wreath of paper cranes and said, "A wish..."
Before, she wished for lots of things.
Friends, family, money.
Fame, love, attention...
But right now...
Hope smiled and said, "I wish that we can have fun together for a long, long time, everyone."
===
"...And this is your room, Hope." Asako led Hope to an apartment on another floor of the building.
"This is... mine?" Hope walked inside, taking a look around with wide eyes.
Mister John had said she would be staying in an apartment, but he didn't say what kind of apartment.
"This... it's so much though."
It wasn't a small studio apartment. It was a giant two bedroom apartment with a living room, washer and dryer, kitchen, bathroom, and a night cityscape view. There was even a sleek black PC set up for her along with a standing desk, all facing the window so she had a beautiful view when she used it.
Not only that, but somehow, Hope's belongings had already been unpacked and set up in the apartment.
The Aoko merch she had, the posters she printed herself, the few figurines she had shipped...
They were already put on display in glass shelves, frames, or other protective containers.
Hope walked inside, taking a look around with wide-eyed wonder.
Asako chuckled and said, "Pops doesn't do things by halves. You should be thankful he put you in an apartment instead of a house. Alphy had to talk him down from just buying a home to use as a 'home office' for you while you're here."
Hope's eyes widened even more. "Mister John was going to do that?!"
Asako shrugged. "Pops is loaded. Stupid loaded. Didn't you see how he bought out Googol?"
"He did?!"
"...I guess you didn't." Asako chuckled. "But anyway." She headed towards the door and said, "You're the star of the show, but none of us want you to strain yourself. Rest. You've had a long flight. We'll hang out again tomorrow, okay?"
"O-Okay, Asako-senpai."
Asako smiled and then closed the door behind her.
The moment it closed, there was a soft 'click' as the door automatically locked.
And then Hope was alone in her new home.
"...This is mine." Hope walked around the apartment, still in disbelief. "It's not permanent, but..."
At least for the next few months, this was her home. All hers. And she didn't have to worry about rent, utilities, the internet bill...
Hope peeked in the bathroom and saw the hot tub there. Then the walk-in shower on the other side, along with the full-length mirror.
After that, she looked in her bedroom and saw that there was a king-sized memory foam mattress, already prepped with soft pink sheets and matching pillows...
Hope giggled and jumped into her bed, flopping onto it with her arms out.
Was it the fatigue? The adrenaline finally wearing off? The joy at meeting everyone? The fact that she could finally, finally, FINALLY feel safe?
Either way, before she knew it, she was fast asleep, already dreaming of her new life here in Japan.