The Nonfiction That Only You Know

Chapter 6

Original Author: ひのはら (Hinohara)
Date Submitted to Kakuyomu: 2021/06/04

In order to build stamina as well as maintain her figure, Chiho goes to the sports gym once a week.

Smiling while singing and dancing on the stage uses up a lot more energy than one would imagine.

In addition, she wants to be able to protect herself if by any chance something happens.

She refuses to be someone who needs others to protect her.

Some may call that uncute, but Chiho just wants the power to protect herself. She definitely hates the idea of relying on someone else in order to live.

She gradually catches her breath while refilling the mineral water she bought.

She's completely exhausted by the combat course she attended.

"Good work. Aren't you in kind of a bad mood today?"

Chiho slowly raises her head after hearing that voice.
She has seen these gray shoes and yellow laces many times.

She got along with Seto Anzu after their frequent encounters at the gym.

Chiho has few friends and Anzu is one of them.

Like Chiho, she also attends Sakuragawa Academy but belongs to the standard program.

Naturally, they do not meet within the school and only see each other here.

Although Anzu knows that Chiho is an idol, she still treats her as a normal girl so Chiho finds this relationship with Anzu rather pleasant.

"I kind of ended up interacting with one of my fans at school."
"Wow, that's rare."
"Well, I hid my identity though."

When she further explains, including how she wandered around the school dressed like a ghost, Anzu bursts into laughter.

If anyone else was here, they surely would have had the same reaction.

"What's with that? So you tried to tease that Mii girl?"
"Well, that was my intention, but..."
"Her reaction caught you off guard and you're the one who ended up getting irritated."

Having that pointed out so frankly, Chiho stays quiet.

Even when dealing with the idol Isuzu Minami, Anzu shows no mercy when talking back.

According to her, she has absolutely no interest in celebrities. Chiho was surprised when she never even heard about Minami.

"Don't pick on her too much, okay?"
"I'm not picking on her...! Besides, I don't understand what's up with her. Even though she likes me, why did she ignore me when I was in front of her? What's she thinking..."
"I've never liked any idols, so I have no idea either. If it bothers you so much, why don't you just ask her?"

Against such sound logic, Chiho has no retort.

For better or worse, Anzu is rather frank but that does not mean she's apathetic.

In fact, Chiho remembers how Anzu once told her that she goes to the gym in order to gain the strength to protect someone important to her.

Anzu also told Chiho this in secret, but it seems Anzu has had an unrequited crush on that person for many years.

"Both you and Mii... I don't understand how you two can care so much about one person."
"Chiho, you sometimes say things that make me wonder if you're a psychopath."
"That's not true..."
"Well, I'm sure you'll experience it one day. To love someone so much that your chest... no, your very heart heats up."

Since Chiho has not experienced that a single time, she doesn't understand what Anzu is talking about at all.

She couldn't imagine herself getting so sentimental and having such strong feelings for anyone.

She dismisses Anzu's words as worthless.

Even with her body exhausted from the gym, her feet still naturally lead her to that place.

It is already past 7:00 PM so she probably wouldn't be there, but Chiho is still curious.

Perhaps it's because she wants to ask why Mii ignored Minami at that time.

Stepping onto the rooftop, she finds Mii in what has now become her usual position.

Chiho opens her mouth to call her, but then remembers that she should not use her voice.

When she moves closer, seeing Chiho in her ghostlike disguise, Mii exclaims in surprise.

"Uwah...! Oh, it's Chiho-chan... Seeing you at night is bad for my heart."

Chiho sits down beside Mii after being prompted and takes out a small notepad from her pocket.
On an empty page, she writes, 『What are you doing here this late?』 and hands it to Mii.

"Idol support activities. I was watching Minami-chan's new music video and it got late... Ah, speaking of which, Minami-chan came here two days ago! After you left, she showed up soon after... I was so surprised..."

As expected, Mii is very talkative when she's with Chiho.
Since she doesn't know what Mii is like in her everyday life, Chiho wonders just which one is the real Mii.

When she's not in front of Minami, the way her expression frequently changes from one to the next is adorable.

Being like this seems to bring out her charms best.

"I didn't want to intrude on Minami-chan's private time, so I left the roof as quickly as I could."
『Why not say something to her?』
"Nope, no way! I mean, that's a breach of etiquette. Even I'm extremely curious about what Minami-chan is like in private, you know? Since we're in the same school... I even wondered if I'd be able to meet her, but when she was actually in front of me, I ended up running away."

Even though Chiho communicates through writing, Mii seems to be really enjoying herself.
She reads Chiho's words carefully and then replies happily.

Little did she know, Minami is right in front of her.
If Chiho reveals that the person in front of her is Minami, will she run away like that again?

It's because Mii loves Minami too much that she keeps her distance.
Chiho feels satisfied knowing why she ran that time.

The surrounding darkness makes the screen of Mii's smartphone seem really bright.
As usual, the screen shows a recording of Minami.

This girl truly loves Isuzu Minami.

However, although she says she's doing idol support activities, she basically just comes here to keep up with Isuzu Minami on her smartphone.

Since the dorms are less than a five-minute walk away, wouldn't it be much easier for her to do that in her room?

If she sits on concrete for a long time, it will end up being bad for her back.

When Chiho asks her in writing, Mii's expression stiffens for a moment.

"Well, you know..."

Mii smiles to dodge the question.
Just exactly what is she hiding?

As Chiho examines her face, she suddenly realizes something.

She was not sure who, but she feels like she's seen this face before.
This sense of deja vu makes her extremely uncomfortable.

However, no matter how much she thought about it, she was not able to figure out why her face looked familiar.