Miku Izayoi felt like her entire world had come crashing down around her in an instant. Just days ago, everything had been perfect, her fans adored her, her idol career was at its peak, every performance ended with roaring applause, and her social media was flooded with praise and love. She was living the dream.
And then it happened.
When her manager cornered her in the dressing room, trying to force himself on her, she reacted without hesitation, shoving him away and slapping him hard enough to leave a mark before bolting out of the building.
She avoided him afterwards like he was the plague itself, refusing to be alone with him, refusing to give him any opening to try again.
But that was when the rumors began to spread.
The whispers twisted into poison.
People started saying she was nothing but a whore, an idol who slept her way to the top, who spread her legs for her managers and even for her fans.
And worst of all everyone believed it.
The same crowds that once screamed her name now turned on her, boycotting her concerts, spitting venom online, slandering her at every chance, becoming the eager executioners of her reputation.
She was utterly bewildered.
Everything had happened so fast she barely had time to process it. It felt like being hit by a wave and dragged under before she even saw it coming.
Watching fans she recognized, people who used to smile at her, wave at her, cheer for her now turning their backs and hurling cruel, venom-soaked words on the internet… she couldn't even understand what she had done wrong.
She sat curled up in her chair, knees to her chest, eyes glued to the screen as vicious comment after vicious comment poured in.
Words calling her a slut, a fake, a talentless bitch who only knew how to spread her legs.
Her chest felt tight, her throat raw from holding back sobs.
Then her phone rang with a notification sound, cutting through the suffocating silence of her apartment.
It was a message from one of her fans, someone she actually knew.
She remembered him well. Occasionally, he'd show up at her signings with his girlfriend. Because they came as a couple, she never had her guard up around them.
She assumed the man had no reason to make a move on her while his girlfriend was there, so she'd even allowed the two of them to chat privately with her from time to time.
When she opened his message, her tense expression softened a little.
"Stay strong, Miku-chan. How about we wind down a bit and go out for a drink?"
It was a simple offer, but it felt like a lifeline.
Encouraged, she pushed the hateful noise of the internet out of her mind and typed back a quick "yes."
Even if the whole world seemed to hate her right now, at least there were still a few people who believed in her.
She wiped her tear-stained cheeks, dragged herself into the shower, letting the hot water run over her trembling body until her skin was pink.
After drying off, she slipped into a fancy dress, something that made her look like the old Miku again, the one who could still turn heads.
She was going to meet Khan and Kiana at their usual spot.
"Ah, Miku-chan, I'm really glad you weren't completely affected by that nasty rumor," Kiana greeted her with a faint smile, her voice trying to sound casual but carrying an edge of concern.
"I…" Miku's voice trembled. She wanted to speak, to deny it, to tell them she was fine, but the words wouldn't come.
She couldn't lie to herself. The rumor had affected her. It had dug into her chest and festered like a slow, rotting wound she couldn't cleanse.
Khan watched her closely, seeing the weight in her posture.
His tone softened, the strength in it meant to steady her. "Come here, Miku-chan. Sit down. Let's talk this out, slowly."
Miku nodded silently, her shoulders slumped. Kiana went over to a small table and returned with a chilled glass of mango juice, the condensation sliding down the glass.
She held it out gently. "Here, we bought this for you, Miku-chan. I hope you like it."
"...Thanks." Miku accepted the drink, the cold glass biting into her palm.
After that, no one said anything for a while.
The three of them simply sat there, letting the air hang heavy, giving Miku time to gather herself as she took slow, small sips.
The sweet tang of mango coated her tongue, but it didn't do much to lift the weight pressing on her chest.
Finally, Miku let out a long, unsteady sigh. "I don't understand…"
Her confusion wasn't mild, it was edged with helplessness, the frustration of someone watching their own life crumble while being powerless to stop it.
Khan leaned forward, meeting her eyes with calm certainty. "You don't have to understand all of it right now, Miku-chan. What you're caught in… it's beyond the scope of what you've known until now. Tell me honestly, do you truly believe your ordinary manager had the power to make everyone turn against you?"
The question hit her harder than expected. She had been drowning in grief and hatred for so long that she hadn't looked beyond the obvious.
But now, with Khan's words pressing against her thoughts, she began to see the cracks.
Her manager wasn't powerful. He wasn't at the top of the industry. His influence was small, his reach limited.
Even if he tried to stir trouble through cheap media tricks, there was no way that alone could have fueled such a widespread, venomous wave against her, one that came not just from fans but from complete strangers who had no reason to care.
The realization left a bitter taste in her mouth.
"This doesn't make sense…" she muttered, more to herself than to them.
Then she looked up, her voice tight. "So… who do you think is really targeting me, Khan?"
Before Khan could answer, Kiana's lip curled in disdain. "Who else if not the Original Spirit? Oops…"
She immediately clapped both hands over her mouth, realizing she had said too much.
Khan shook his head slowly, his eyes flicking to Miku's confused expression. "She hasn't met the Original Spirit yet."
Miku's confusion deepened. "Original… Spirit?"
"Even if we explained, you wouldn't truly understand who she is," Khan replied evenly.
Then he turned to Kiana. "Show her."
Kiana stood up without hesitation.
Her boot slammed into the ground with a sharp, resonant crack.
The floor beneath them split apart, forming a jagged hole that seemed to drop into nothingness.
Miku gasped sharply, her whole body jolting back in shock and fear. "You… what are you!?"
"We're your allies. Your friends," Khan said firmly, his voice steady and unyielding. "Remember this, Miku-chan, if someone offers you a crystal, accept it. It will grant you strength. The same kind of strength we have."
"Yes, Miku-chan," Kiana added, her tone softer now. "You have to stay strong… because we won't always be here for you. We came back from the future just to warn you, but our power is limited. We can't stay. We have to return to our own time."
Miku's hands tightened around the glass of mango juice as her head lowered, the reality sinking in. "So… this is goodbye?"
"Yes…" Kiana let out a slow sigh, her own eyes dark with reluctance.
Miku sniffled, her voice shaking as tears welled up and spilled down her cheeks. "Thank you, Kiana. Thank you, Khan. Thank all of you… for being there for me, even when no one else was."
After lowering her head for a brief moment, she slowly lifted it again, meeting their eyes directly.
Her gaze no longer wavered; her expression hardened into one of determination.
"Since both of you came from the future… then let's meet again. Can both of you promise me that?" she asked, her voice steady yet carrying a faint tremor underneath.
"We will," they replied in unison, nodding solemnly without hesitation.
"Then… goodbye, my friends. I envy you, Kiana, you have a good boyfriend. And you too, Khan, you have a wonderful girlfriend." Miku's lips curved into a bittersweet smile, her words filled with genuine blessing even as her eyes betrayed the pain in her heart.
Khan and Kiana smiled back warmly. "Goodbye to you too, Miku-chan."
She gave one last firm nod, and in the next instant, their figures blurred and vanished from sight.
When they disappeared completely from her field of vision, Miku's composure shattered.
She couldn't stop the tears that welled up and spilled down her cheeks as she stood alone in the park.
The sorrow came in heavy waves, her sobs trembling in the cold air as she mourned the loss of the people who had been her most important support.
They were gone, leaving her to face the oncoming storm alone, without anyone to hold her hand.
Her chest ached with despair as she finally turned away, her legs carrying her aimlessly through the empty streets.
She wandered without purpose, each step heavy with loneliness and sadness.
Then, out of nowhere, the phantom appeared before her eyes, a chilling, surreal sight. Her friends' prophecies came true in an instant.
In that moment, she gained a power far beyond her comprehension, a strength that defied reason.
But it came with a devastating price, she lost everything.
Her fame was torn from her, her friends were gone, and despite all that overwhelming strength, she couldn't use it to find the ones she longed for.
Far in the distance, Khan and Kiana watched all of this unfold.
"Another me… why do I suddenly feel like we should just leave?" Kiana asked, her tone uncertain. "Isn't this the perfect time for you to go to her, comfort her… maybe even make her yours?"
Khan exhaled a long, heavy sigh. "Let's just leave. I know she might seem nasty in the anime, but right now… she's genuinely seeing us as friends. Not tools. Not enemies. Just… friends."
In the end, in canon, she became cruel, a man-hater, and toxic because the Original Spirit had decided to use her as a pawn to resurrect Shido, just as she had used all the other spirits before.
In his past life, countless people on the internet despised her toxic man-hater and yuri tendencies.
But they had all picked the wrong target to hate. The real piece of shit in this story wasn't her, it was Shido. If it weren't for that trash, none of the spirits would have become victims in the first place. They would have lived happy, unbroken lives.
Kurumi would still be laughing with her friends.
Miku would still be standing on stage as an idol, bathed in the cheers of her fans.
Even Kotori wouldn't have been forced to endure the tragedy of killing her own parents, all because of her useless brother and the Original Spirit pulling strings from the shadows.
That trash Shido didn't deserve any of them to begin with.
Coming here, witnessing this world with his own eyes, had only solidified the truth.
Now, he realized he needed to reassess his entire mentality.
He couldn't keep viewing these girls as tools, stepping stones, or objects for conquest and lust. In the end, they were victims, innocent in their own ways, even if flawed.
They were lovely, sincere, and kind at heart. Treating them the way he had treated most women in his life would be impossible for him now.
With that decision firm in his mind, he and Kiana turned and vanished, slipping away as if they had never been there at all.