"Hey! (^v^)" [Read]
"Huh?" Aine, sprawled on her bedroom couch at night, stared at her phone screen, confusion etched on her face.
The message itself wasn't weird. What was weird was who sent it. The account with a Shinjuku Sky Tower avatar belonged to none other than her classmate, self-proclaimed "friend," part-time coffee shop worker, and the girl who'd forcefully swapped contact info with her—Nero Fortuna.
Okay, maybe that was a bit harsh. Nero herself wasn't abnormal. The abnormality was her sending a message like this.
Let's talk about Nero Fortuna. Blonde hair, blue eyes, transfer student, total knockout. Top grades, athletic, the whole package. According to her, her family were legit European nobles with land and titles back in the day. Sure, her grandpa ditched the noble status when they hit the modern era—which, honestly, only made her cooler—but Nero still carried herself like a straight-up princess. Her looks, her manners, her everything screamed royalty.
So why the hell was this elegant, refined girl's first message to Aine loaded with a cutesy emoji? It was light-years away from the poised vibe she gave off in public.
If anything, it was… kinda gap moe? Aine's deep-seated grudge against her actually wavered for a second.
"No, no, no, can't fall for it." Aine shook her head, banishing the thought. "She's the enemy. Yup, enemy…"
As she glared back at the screen, her phone buzzed with a new message alert.
"Oh."
Aine froze, baffled. This time, it was a cute hamster sticker. Still from Nero Fortuna.
After briefly wondering if she was dreaming, Aine realized she was in deep trouble. The sticker had already switched to "read" the moment it popped up, meaning Nero knew Aine was glued to their chat!
This was gonna get misunderstood! She wasn't sitting here grinning at the screen like an idiot!
Panicking, Aine typed a quick reply to play it off. "Thanks for swapping contacts, Nero."
Instantly marked as read. Nero was clearly waiting for her response. Aine bolted out of the chat, tossing her phone aside. It took a while for the next buzz—Nero's reply.
Aine lit up the screen, glancing at the lockscreen notification: "It's my first time using a phone, so I'm a bit slow typing. Please bear with me. (OvO)"
No wonder it took so long. So the emojis and stickers were just this rich girl stumbling across them for the first time, thinking they were fun? Aine didn't open the message yet, waiting to see if Nero would send more.
Sure enough, she had a feeling this was a heads-up for a longer message, explaining why Nero was typing so much and asking Aine to hold off on replying.
And there it was: "If you're cool with it, wanna hit up Ikebukuro with me tomorrow? (==)"
Okay, real talk—by Wano standards, Nero was way too forward. Aine had dealt with her at school, and they weren't exactly on bad terms, but this invite was out of left field. They weren't that close. This wasn't some pickup line at a bar—why was she jumping straight to asking Aine out?
But, like… okay, fine. Aine's barely-contained grin wasn't lying.
She was kinda stoked.
If tomorrow wasn't a day off, Aine would've been flashing her phone at school, "casually" letting people see the message and soaking in their shocked looks. I mean, it's Nero. Who in class wouldn't give Aine some serious cred for this?
She mulled over her reply, kicking her feet up and scrolling through her usual video site on her tablet. Once she'd made up her mind, she grabbed her phone and opened the chat.
Ugh, fine. Nero's new in town, totally out of her element. If Aine didn't step up to help, who would?
At that moment, Chihaya Aine was deeply moved by her own kindness and greatness.
"No problem. If you're cool with it, Nero, how about we meet at the coffee shop where you work tomorrow?"
Typed, checked, sent.
"Done."
Aine tossed her phone aside, diving back into her video site with full commitment.
"Done."
The same word echoed in a sleek, spacious high-rise apartment. Nero perched on the rooftop, gazing down at the bustling city lights, swiping away Aine's message.
With messaging apps that show when someone's read your text, the pro move is to not open it until you've decided if and how to reply—assuming you don't forget about it. Aine played that card with Nero, and Nero hit her right back with the same trick.
Never used a phone? Yeah, that was a lie so blatant it could've glowed. Sure, in her sixteen years in Fortuna, she hadn't touched a single gadget. But that was just this lifetime's sixteen years. It was all part of the persona—
Though, convincing herself of that, Nero had to admit she was thrilled to hold a smartphone again after sixteen years. Hoarding a ton of stickers wasn't just for the act. How much of her performance was genuine? Honestly, hard to say.
Her plan to meet Aine tomorrow had layers. Top priority: pry some info from Aine about that "Little Ace" character. Problem was, Aine probably wouldn't spill something that big to someone she barely considered a friend. Nero was ready for the long game.
Sure, she could just barge into Aine's place as her other persona and demand answers, but that'd be like kicking a hornet's nest. One wrong move, and the target could vanish for years. Nero was starting to get why her uncle Dante always had it rough—half the time, he wasn't choosing to slack off; it's just that getting serious scared off the bad guys. Over time, that laid-back vibe just became his default.
Her other goal tied into where she'd pick for their hangout. She wasn't sure if it'd pan out, but hey, no harm in trying, right?
Nero smirked, opened her phone, and started typing her reply to Aine.