Waves of Destiny (Twisted Wonderland)

Chapter 47

Chapter 47

"N-Neige?" Vil said with a sniffle.

Neige let out a loud gasp when he reached us. "Vi, I've never seen you cry outside of an acting role before."

Vil wiped his eyes. "Well, you caught me at a bad time. Heh... I'm always second to you."

Neige frowned. "Maybe that's what the numbers said. But you guys gave an amazing performance that nobody else could have pulled off. Sure, I took first at the competition... But your group is number one in the hearts of everybody who voted for you."

Vil appeared stunned. "Neige..."

"So c'mon, Vi. Don't cry!"

"Heh. The Roi des Neiges is right," Rook said. "Your smile is far more becoming than your tears, Vil. Here. Take my handkerchief." He handed him the piece of cloth.

"...Thanks," Vil mumbled.

Neige turned to Rook. "Ah, you're the one who flagged me down before opening time. Your name is Rook, right?"

"Oui," said Rook. "My apologies for rushing you.

"You're 'R,' aren't you? The one who comes to every single one of my meet-and-greets and writes me letters?"

"WHAT?!" the rest of us shouted in complete shock.

"Meet-and-greets?!" Vil exclaimed.

"Letters?!" Epel cried.

"Ah...!" Rook said, eyes wide in surprise. "How did you know?"

Neige smiled. "There's only one fan of mine who writes letters addressing me as a fancy name like Roi des Neiges. It hit me when you called me that earlier. I knew R buys each of my photos at fan events and composes poems to share their impressions of each picture... But I certainly wasn't expecting R to be a man. I was so surprised!"

"What?" said Deuce. "Rook's a fan of Neige LeBlanche?!"

"Dude, if he's writing poems about every single photo the guy publishes, that's WAY down the hardcore fandom rabbit hole!" Ace said.

Jamil gasped. "Wait a minute. When you brought that heavy photo album with you to training camp..." His eyes went wide. "Was that entire album nothing but official photos of Neige LeBlanche?!"

"WHAAAT?!" we all shouted again.

"Wow!" Kalim said with his usual grin. "If you're that big of a fan, it must be nice getting to meet him up close! You should ask him for a handshake!"

"A-ah... I suppose..." Rook said a little awkwardly. Then he looked away.

"Rook's gone awfully quiet," Epel said softly. "What's the matter?"

"Heh. Feeling awkward, are we?" Vil teased. Rook simply sniffled in response, taking Vil by surprise. "H-he's quietly weeping..."

"Roi des Neiges..." Rook said quietly. "Allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Rook Hunt... Member #0000002 of the Neige LeBlanche fan club, Eternal Snow!"

"You're in his FAN CLUB?!" Deuce exclaimed.

"And you've got a single-digit ID in it?!" Ace cried.

"Your work has shone a light upon my life and allowed me to live with hope in my heart," Rook said. "It is such an honor to speak with you face-to- face. Thank you so much for everything today."

"You carry yourself so differently here than when you come to my meet-and-greets," Neige said. "I'm sorry I didn't recognize you sooner. Thank you for always supporting me!"