The Nonfiction That Only You Know

Chapter 11

Original Author: ひのはら (Hinohara)
Date Submitted to Kakuyomu: 2021/06/07

Though today is one of the rare days that Chiho finished work early, unfortunately, it's Saturday so there are no classes.
Inside the car on the way back to the campus, happy families and couples can be seen through the car window.

Since it's a weekend, everyone is going out somewhere with their loved ones.

Looking back, Chiho pretty much has no memories of going out for fun on weekends.
She gets along well with her family, but she's busy with work and rarely visits them.

She barely has any friends, so of course she wouldn't have a lover.

Chiho may not even know how people normally spend their days off.

Even though she knows Mii definitely wouldn't be there on a Saturday, she still changed to her school uniform after reaching her dorm.

She clings to the slightest possibility that she might be there.

She straightens her beautifully curled bangs with her hair straightener and puts on a mask that's one size too big.

"...Scary."

Looking into the mirror once again, she wonders how Mii can so happily talk to a girl with such a scary appearance.

Perhaps she is not too concerned about appearances or the answer might simply be that Mii is kind.

Thanks to that kindness, Chiho finds it very comforting to be together with her.

That is why she cannot turn a blind eye after seeing Mii like that.

Opening the door to the rooftop, Chiho finds herself at a loss for words.
While surprised at herself for being capable of such fiercely raging emotions, she dashes over to Mii.

Dressed in her personal clothes, Mii is crouching down in her usual position.

Bending down so that their eyes are level, Chiho clutches Mii's shoulders.　

"..."

She opens her mouth just as she remembers that she must not speak. This girl would never dare to enter the private life of Isuzu Minami.

If Mii ever finds out that Chiho's true identity is Minami, she will undoubtedly start avoiding Chiho.

That's been made apparent from her reactions so far.

While desperately enduring her frustration, Chiho takes a notepad out of her skirt pocket and writes on it with a ballpoint pen.

『Why are you crying?』

The girl who always smiled happily now has large drops of tears running down her cheeks.

She looks so sad as her tears overflow.

Even after Chiho wipes her face with a handkerchief, the tears show no sign of stopping at all.

"I had a fight with my roommate..."

Just as Chiho suspected, things aren't going well with her roommate.

Chiho immediately embraces Mii, who seems so small due to the way her body has curled up.

In order to calm her down, Chiho pats her on the back.

She wants to offer her some warm words of comfort.
She wants to reassure her with a smile.

However, all Chiho can do is pat Mii's back while biting down on her own lower lip.

"...We haven't been getting along for a while now... That girl is really smart, but... she failed to get into her first high school of choice and came to this high school instead..."

Chiho pays close attention to not miss a word from Mii's trembling voice.

That's the least she could do since Mii summoned the courage to confide in Chiho.

"That's why she doesn't seem to think well of me since I don't study much... Whenever I followed Minami-chan's activities, she'd always criticize me. I'd talk back and we'd end up in an argument... it got annoying, so I'd always escape here."

In order to escape from the roommate she doesn't get along with, she hides here.

She doesn't want to return to her dorm, so she kills time on the rooftop.

"But, today... my dream of being a hairstylist, my friends... I couldn't forgive her for saying such horrible things about them... even Minami-chan..."

Her voice chokes in frustration.
Without pressing her, Chiho slowly waits for Mii to calm down.

Another large teardrop spills out of Mii's eyes.

"She said it's gross for me to support a female idol, called me a lesbian, and warned me that I better not attack her... I got so angry and..."

There's no way Chiho can stay composed after seeing someone so pure hurting so much.
She gently releases Mii from her hug.

The words written on the notepad have been colored with anger.

There's no way Chiho can just turn a blind eye to this girl who's hurting so much from having such pure admiration be insulted.

『I'll talk to her.』

After reading the words, Mii's eyes widen in surprise.

"But..."
『Is that girl scared of ghosts?』

Mii tilts her head in confusion at the unrelated question.
She closes her eyes, perhaps trying to jog her memory, and answers slowly.

"Probably... She got really angry back when I used to watch horror movies in the living room... Come to think of it, when that rumor about a ghost being in our school was going around... well, that turned out to be Chiho-chan, but she got really scared."

Well, then that's quite convenient.
Since they have that advantage, Chiho won't engage in a direct confrontation.

The two of them are already in high school and Chiho understands that a third party should not interfere in their quarrels.

However, she can't just let Mii one-sidedly suffer damage like this.
She can't help wanting to protect this gentle girl. That's how Chiho convinces herself.