The Nonfiction That Only You Know

Chapter 8

Original Author: ひのはら (Hinohara)
Date Submitted to Kakuyomu: 2021/06/05

It is not uncommon for fans who come to a live performance to put extra effort into their appearance.

This is especially true for female fans, who sometimes not only pick out fancy clothes but also elaborately style their hair before coming to the venue.

Mii seems to be one of those types. She puts extra effort into looking cute at live performances and handshake events.

Chiho knows a lot of hard work goes into that.
She's doing her best to try out new styles for the sake of Minami, the member she supports.

"Hmm... maybe like this?"

Chiho was curious and went to the rooftop and found Mii there as usual.

There's no set schedule for when she goes to the school rooftop after school, but maybe it will be nice if she meets her once a week.

Although they only see each other once in a while, Mii always looks happy whenever Chiho shows up.

"You really saved me by coming here, Chiho-chan."

Sometimes they play games on their smartphones together and sometimes they talk about Isuzu Minami.

However, today is different.

After telling Chiho she came at the perfect time, she's practicing different hairstyles on Chiho in order to prepare for the upcoming live performance.

"I arranged it as a heart last time I went~... bear hair is also cute, but it might bother the audience members nearby..."

After deftly curling Chiho's hair with a cordless hair straightener, she repeats the process of tying and untying it many times.

The live performance is this weekend and she wants to practice her hairstyle.

In order to make Minami happy, she's practicing on that very same person.

It's such a comical scene that if there was a third party, they'd definitely be laughing.

"Ah, I like this one."

Under the condition that she doesn't touch the bangs, Chiho allowed her to use her hair. Mii seems quite skilled at this and has been creating one cute hair arrangement after another since earlier.

After writing down, 『You're really good at this』and passing it to her, Mii smiles happily.

"Actually, I want to be a hairstylist."
『If you're this good, you'll definitely be able to.』
"Thank you."

She seems to know exactly how much pressure to apply since it doesn't hurt at all when she's styling Chiho's hair.

In addition, she's so good at curling her hair that Chiho would have liked her to become Minami's exclusive stylist.

If she's already this good as a high school student, she has a promising future.

"Okay, let's go with this."

The final hairstyle is a low ponytail.

Compared to the hairstyles she tried earlier, this one gives off quite a mature impression.

Chiho thought she would have gone with something more flashy.

Rather than a high school student, this hairstyle matches the image of girls that are around university age more.

"Minami-chan looks so mature that it's hard to believe she's only one year above me. She's cute, yet so elegant... that's why I wanted to try something closer to that."

『You really love Isuzu Minami, don't you?』Mii looks embarrassed for a moment after reading that.

Then, she looks towards Chiho's eyes and responds confidently.

"Yes, I love her!"

There's no person who wouldn't like being told that with such honest eyes.

Chiho notices that she's uncharacteristically thinking of Mii as cute.

This girl who can think this much about one person seems so alive.

"Next, I'll make a fanservice fan~"

She takes out a large fan and paper from her tote bag.　

Chiho has seen these fans many times from the stage, but this is her first time seeing one being made.

"I'll ask her to do a bunny pose."

Seeing her work so hard to make it, Chiho feels tempted to do that pose for her right now.

However, that's not what Mii wants.
She wants that request granted by the Isuzu Minami on the stage.

It's truly difficult understanding the complicated feelings of a fan.

"..."

So the fans work this hard for Minami's sake.

That's why Chiho swears in her heart she will definitely make the next live performance a success as well.

Live performances are only made possible thanks to the support of many staff members.

That includes the lighting staff, sound staff, and many other unsung heroes who support them.

The performers and the people supporting them all work together to make the live concert a success.

"Isn't Minami's solo outfit super cute today?"
"I know, it really suits her."

Chiho thanks her group members for the compliments.
After rehearsing for the last few days, they arrived at the real event.

They finished the first half of their setlist and are currently in a short intermission.
When that ends in 30 seconds, the second half of the show will open with Minami's solo song.

Her mini skirt is ornate and very cute, befitting an idol.

That in addition to her headdress will surely make her stand out on stage.

"...Okay."

Chiho takes her position on the dark stage.
Then, right on time, the spotlight turns on just as the intro of the song starts playing.

The crowd immediately erupts in cheers and everyone's glow sticks turn pink.

The venue fills with pink lights to support Minami.

Suddenly, a fanservice fan enters her vision.
However, it isn't that girl's, so she secretly searches for it while she sings.

Of course, there's no way she would find it in such a huge venue.

If things were going to be like this, Chiho should have asked Mii where she was going to sit.

She worked so hard to make that fan, so Chiho wanted to respond to it.

She wanted to see Mii happy.

"Everyone, keep on loving me."

At the climax of the song where she says this line, she faces the camera and poses with bunny ears.

Perhaps it's because she tilted her head playfully, but the audience's cheers explode, possibly the loudest of the day.

Was that girl happy too?

"..."

At that moment, Chiho realized that she had given one of her fans special treatment.
Even though up until now, she had engraved in her heart that this was something unforgivable.

She wanted Mii to be happy, so she subconsciously favored her.