Masking Emotions - Oshi No Ko

Chapter 3: A new.. Friend?

The girl huffed, looking very mad.

"I'll have you know that these quarters are NOT for running, girl!"

She was.. About the same age as Kokoro, but she seemed was too cautious to be a girl of 5 years.

"Oh, I'm sorry!"

Kokoro says quickly, acting as if she was actually scared of the girl. She was impressed by this girl's acting-- she was so good at playing the role of a mean person. But why was she pretending? Was she even pretending at this point?

"My name... my name is... Kokoro! I'm so sorry, I didn't know I wasn't supposed to run here,"

Kokoro says, acting as if she was afraid of the girl.

"Well, good! You should know better than to do stupid stuff like this!"

The girl spit on Kokoro's shoe, Kokoro's face faltered slightly, but she kept playing the role.

"My name is Nagisa Ogawa, I'm the best kid in this entire school, and the greatest actress ever and ever!"

The girl proclaimed, crossing her arms. This girl was really a brat, huh?

Kokoro felt herself grow slightly annoyed at the girl. She knew that she was just acting mean-- but it was still annoying. She felt her smile slip away, and the fake fear in her eyes grow dull and unfeeling.

She was still playing the role of the scared, submissive girl-- but she wasn't enjoying it nearly as much anymore.

Then she saw something that surprised her: Someone was standing behind the girl, laughing at her for acting so mean to Kokoro. It was... A boy?

The boy had soft and short blonde hair and yellow eyes, his eyelashes seemed almost fake.. But they were real, naturally long lashes!

"Hohohoho! Girls, girls! You're both veeeery pretty! Now let's settle this!"

He said, as Nagisa growled slightly.

"Ughhh, why don't you mind your business, Hajime?"

Kokoro was still playing the role of a scared and submissive girl, as she looked up at the boy. His long, blonde hair and yellow eyes were... beautiful. She liked how he spoke, how he acted, how he treated her.

It didn't feel fake like Nagisa's behavior did. In fact, it felt genuine and honest. She felt herself blushing slightly, which confused her-- she wasn't supposed to feel such emotions. But she couldn't help it... She liked this boy.

"Oh, but I just can't! Nagisaaa, maybe YOU should know better than to bully the newcomer!"

He said, a big smile on his face as he patted Nagisa's back.

"Hmph, leave me alone, you stupid boy! You're not the actor here, I am!"

Says Nagisa, huffing.

Kokoro was in a trance with this boy.. Hajime, this boy... He seemed so... Genuine, to the point it didn't seem real. This, now this... Hajime was exactly how she wanted to seem to the world; Genuine. And in a blink of an eye, Her star pupils grew brighter, her smile widening.

"My name is Kokoro Miura, nice to meet you, Hajime!~"

She exclaimed, her facade changing from innocent victim to happy-go-lucky.. It was like she completely studied Hajime's mannerisms from a couple of seconds of him speaking.

Hajime smiles warmly as he hears Kokoro's new, happy voice.

"I am Hajime Tsuruya! Nice to meet you too, Kokoro!"