"You know." Ishi said as he wiped the spit from his face. "Most people don't spit on their fans as a way of expressing their gratitude."
"I'm never taking a shower again." Koto had a very different reaction to this development. His older cousin simply glared at him for saying something so weird in front of a stranger.
"I'm so sorry." Chiana responded with helping them clean up with a spare towel laying around. "It's just that… I was a little shocked to see someone like you here." Her excuse was that Ishi didn't seem the type to want to be meeting idols. He would've taken offense to be the reason why someone just spit our their drink on him. Though there was a point to be had about his presence.
"I'm only here because I know Rinse." He answered. "And because my cousin is more of a fan of idols anyway. So I'm keeping an eye on him."
"Right, I see." He couldn't understand why she seemed so nervous when talking with him. It sounded like she was attempting to change her voice so that he wouldn't recognize her tone. Odd, since they've never met each other before.
"Chiana!" Another voice joined in their conversation. It was Rinse who had made her return from greeting the producer. The pair exchanged their own greetings by hugging. "I'm so glad to see you again."
"Me too." She responded brightly. "I've gotten the chance to meet your two friends."
"Right, Ishi's my neighbor. So I figured I'd invite him to check out our work." While they were talking, there was something else that both Ishi and Koto took note of. That being Rinse no longer wearing the same clothes she had on when they came here. Instead she had on a colorful outfit more fitting to an idol. The girl also somehow found the time to get dressed before returning to them.
"You look really beautiful." Koto wasted no time in complimenting her appearance. "Are you going to perform?'
"It's just some rehearsing." She answered. "They'll probably end up changing it a little by the time a real performance happens. A major event was going to be happening towards the end of September, in celebration for a town festival. What better way to make a debut here than during something like that?
"I'm surprised with all the dancing around, that you'd be wearing such a short skirt." Ishi had no idea of these performances looked like. But wouldn't these girls have some sense of shame seeing as they'd be in front of hundreds, if not thousand? "Does it feel embarrassing to do that, or did you get used to it?"
"Don't worry, we all wear safety underwear during performances." She had no reservations about lifting up her skirt to show the two boys. "It's not embarrassing because it's not real panties." Koto looked like he was going to explode from being graced such a sight from an idol he loved so much. Ishi was less impressed, and a little offended considering what it turned his cousin into. Quickly, he wrapped his hands around the young boy's eyes to block his vision.
"Next time, don't flash us to prove you point, you pervert." He said.
"Great, well I guess I should be going now." Chiana seemed way too eager to leave them, especially since that involved leaving someone she was friends with.
"Wait." Ishi stopped her from leaving. "Something doesn't seem right here." She paused, anxiously turning to meet his gaze. Something about this girl rubbed him the wrong way. "What was your name again?"
"She's Chiana Kamagata." Rinse answered the question for her friend.
"Kamagata?" That was a name that reminded Ishi of an important fact. That was the same family name as Chinae, the girl he had to help with homework earlier this break. Now that he was thinking of her, those two shared a major resemblance to each other. Their facial structures matched almost to a tee. "Like, Chinae Kamagata?" Even their names were nearly identical as well.
"That girl?" Rinse was able to put the pieces together rather quickly when he mentioned that name. "Huh, they do look very similar."
"Chinae?" Chiana nervously spoke as they all were staring at her. "You must mean my sister."
"I didn't know she had a sister." Of course, it wasn't a huge surprise that the girl wouldn't mention having an idol sister. Considering the reaction when Rinse made her arrival would probably get a bunch of boys interested in her. Only for them to want to use her to try and get close to her sister. This girl was apparently only a year older, so she'd be in college right now if it wasn't for this job.
"I guess that explains the similarities." Said Rinse. "I can't believe you have a younger sibling. You've never talked about your family to me."
"She doesn't really like it when I talk about her." Ishi could agree to that standpoint. If he had a famous brother, he'd like to just disappear from the spotlight. So despite their disdain for the other, it appeared that the two had more in common than he'd expect.
This also explained something else much more important to him. Back when he was helping her with homework, he was suspicious of her for wanting to be with Rinse more. Since her sister knew of her from work, it made a lot more sense to want to be with someone that was somewhat familiar. Even if they had never met each other.
"I see now." He said. "Then, when you talk with her again, can you tell her that I'd like to apologize." His statement caught all of them off guard. This was unexpected coming from him.
"Why?" Koto asked, who had no clue about the situation to begin with.
"I made a poor judgment of her with a lack of information." He explained himself. "I shouldn't have thought she had poor intentions with a lack of evidence. I'm not too prideful to admit my faults."
"Okay then." It seemed that Chiana was the most surprised to hear this from him. "I'll definitely make sure she gets the message." She smiled, bidding farewell to the trio as her day had ended.
"You two want to see me practice?" Rinse asked, to which Koto answered with enthusiasm. Ishi, on the other hand.
"No thanks." He declined the offer. The boy believed he received more than enough to understand her work obligations. He was more than prepared to leave, but of course since his cousin wanted to stick around. The boy was left with little choice but to wait for him. "I'll go grab some fresh air outside. So can you make sure Koto doesn't get into any trouble?"
"Okay…" She was disappointed to hear that, but the girl wasn't about to force him to attend. Plus, time was of the essence now that she was here. So the plan B of begging was not viable during this time. "But don't just go around avoiding me all day, all right?"
"Don't worry." He replied. "I won't be a complete stranger." That was a lie. He was more than content to spend the rest of his time here right outside. So Ishi exited the building to breathe in the fresh air and to check his phone. As someone who didn't have any social media, the only thing for him to do was to read up on some news. Then he went about playing some mobile game that wasn't anything meaningful, but was a good time killer. It was a good thing that Rinse still didn't have his contact, so she would have to go looking for him if she wanted him back.
That girl certainly was a special one, he thought to himself as he matched some buttons to get them to get off the board. Why should an idol be so interested in someone like him? Before meeting her, Ishi would consider himself to be a mostly average guy with a rather standoffish personality. Which is why he didn't have many friends. Actually, he more or less only had one friend with Otoya, and that wasn't because of something he wanted.
He got lost in both his thoughts and his game. So much so that the boy didn't hear the running footsteps of a person who was in such a hurry, that they didn't see him either. In this mix of unfortunate behavior, the two ended up running into each other. The force more than enough to send both tumbling onto their backs.
"Hey, look where you're…" He regained his bearings first. Ishi wanted to give whoever this was a piece of his mind, even thought this was partially his fault as well. However, he got himself a nice view of the girl who ran into him. That being a nice view of what was under her skirt which was apparently… just like the safety underwear that Rinse showed him earlier.
"Hey, stop staring your pervert." That voice. He looked up to see that it was Chinae right in front of him. The girl was hastily regaining her footing to not give him any more of a show. "Sheesh, can't you pay attention to your surroundings?"
"You should pay attention to where you're running." He countered. She was the one moving around. At least there was a good reason for her to look where she was going. "You know, I met your sister and she's a lot nicer." Ishi was a little surprised that she wasn't surprised to see him here. Idol agencies aren't exactly his kind of hang out spot.
"Whatever, I'm in a hurry." Quickly, she ran past him.
"Wait." he forced her to stop in her tracks once more. "I just wanted to apologize for the way I treated you before. But I never would've expected that your sister was familiar with Rinse. So I can see why you'd want someone you kind of respect with you when studying."
"Whatever." Her response to his apology was lukewarm at best. "Don't worry about what I think about people." With that, she sprinted away from him. The pair of them didn't even exchange farewells.
"That's what I get for being nice." He quipped to himself as she reentered the building. However, there was something about her that he couldn't get out of her mind. Why was she so eager to leave? Wasn't her sister here too?