The Nonfiction That Only You Know

Chapter 31

Original Author: ひのはら (Hinohara)
Date Submitted to Kakuyomu: 2021/06/24

In the dead of night at 3:00 AM when she would normally be long asleep, Chiho faces the mirror while getting ready.

She's putting on a large mask and straightening her long bangs.
She couldn't show her face, but the first person she'll meet in the New Year will be Mii.

Chiho does not intend to ask for anything more selfish than that.
Leaving her room 10 minutes before the meeting time, she uses the emergency stairs to make her way up to the roof.

With each step, she feels herself getting nervous.
Just meeting the person she loves makes her heart beat this much.

When she opens the door, the girl that arrived first slowly turns around.
It's so cute how Mii smiles the moment she sees Chiho.

"Chiho-chan, Happy New Year!"

Of course, she couldn't say the same greeting out loud, so she writes it on her notepad.

With this, she has already written so much to communicate with Mii that the notepad is already completely full except for the last page.

Tomorrow, she will have to buy a new notepad.

It is still a little early, so the two of them lean against the wall and wait impatiently for the sun to rise.

"Chiho-chan, are you going back to your parents' house?"

Chiho nods and Mii replies, "I see."

"I've been told to go home too. Maybe I'll return tomorrow. Ah, that reminds me. I'm growing flowers on the balcony."

The way she speaks while smiling happily is just so adorable.

Chiho wants to answer her.
Chiho wants to enjoy the conversation.

Instead of through her bangs, Chiho wants to look at Mii directly and converse with her.

Her selfish feelings overflow more and more.

The person she loves likes her in the same way.

Mii is right in front of her, but Chiho can't answer her.

Just by looking at Mii, Chiho ends up thinking, "Aah, I love her."

She's glad she met this girl after all.

Even if they're far apart, no matter how tough her work is...

If Chiho remembers these days with Mii, she feels like she could keep working harder.

It's starting to get a little brighter, so they both stand up and approach the fence.

As they wait for the sun to fully rise, Mii begins to speak with a somewhat serious tone in her voice.

"I have a friend that said she saw the ghost with the long bangs... she saw you, Chiho-chan, entering the performing arts dormitory."

Chiho's heart jumps.
Chiho desperately tries to look calm as she looks in Mii's direction.

"Chiho-chan, who are you...?"

If she's going to say it, now would be her chance.
The desire to reveal her true identity is unbelievably strong.

She wants to say, "I love you too."
She wants to hug Mii and tell her that she feels the same way.

"I won't mind no matter what you look like, you know? I really love you, Chiho-chan. I love you so..."

Chiho wants to abandon everything and embrace her.
Tears slowly begin to well up in her eyes.

She opens her mouth before closing it. She does this many times.

"No matter what your face looks like, I won't come to hate you so... show me the real Chiho-chan."

Chiho's tears blur her vision.
Chiho takes out the small notepad from her pocket.

"..."

Trying her best to suppress her emotions so she doesn't end up speaking out loud, she writes some simple words on the last remaining blank page.

Without giving Mii any time to see the words, she forces Mii to hold the notepad.

In her mind, she says sorry.
Those are the only words she can convey to her.

After covering Mii's eyes with her left hand, Chiho removes the mask she was wearing.

The area is enveloped in a dazzling light.
With the morning sun shining down on them, Chiho clumsily presses her lips against Mii's.

Their lips only touch for a moment, but Mii's lips are extremely soft.

With her hands still trembling, Chiho quickly puts her mask back on.

"Eh..."

With her cheeks dyed red, Chiho quickly makes her exit, leaving Mii in a daze.

The tears she had been holding back finally fall, making her mask wetter and wetter.

Chiho runs down the stairs and returns to her dorm before she finally lets out her voice.

"...I love you."

Crouching at her doorway without even taking off her shoes, she lets her feelings for Mii overflow in this quiet room.

In the end, she couldn't say those words she wanted to say so badly in front of Mii after all.

Her throat stings and she couldn't stop the tears from overflowing.

What exactly was the right thing to do?

Should she have abandoned everything and thrown herself at Mii?

Should she have confessed everything without worrying and disillusioned Mii?

Where did she go wrong?
What should she have done to have a satisfying future?

No matter how much she thought about it... even though it was already too late...

The feeling of Mii's lips she had just touched would not go away.
How long will her hot stinging lips remember the touch of that girl?

This feeling of love she shares with her precious, beloved Mii will end in neither of their feelings being answered.

Anzu said that Chiho returned to her old self, but that's not true at all.

Just from coming into contact with Mii, she has become this bad at giving up and unable to control her emotions.

After knowing love, Chiho can never return to her old self again.