He knew something was up with the girls. It's not as if Ishi was blind to things happening around him. Especially not when after he had returned, something seemed to have rattled Youna. They didn't do anything physical to her, so whatever was said during his time gone was not liked by that girl.
However, he decided to hold back on his revealing his suspicions for once. Normally, the boy would consider confronting one of them, isolating one of those girls to get to the bottom of things. However, now was a terrible time to do so. Both Rinse and Chiana had to perform tonight and he'd rather not disappoint every person here just because of his own situation.
For now, he was going to bite his tongue and leave it be for the time being. It's not like they were running out of time, so he would be able to find the opening eventually. Either that, or it wouldn't matter at the end of the day, but his curiosity was going to get the better of him one day.
"We'll see you two after the concert." Otoya bid farewell to the idols as they made their way backstage. Meanwhile, the others were going to be finding some decent spots to watch the performance. Though unfortunately for Ryugi, that spot was not going to be near Ishi at all. The gal's friends had finally caught up to her and they didn't seem all too happy to see her.
"You went and, like, decided to ditch us again." Ritsuko complained to her as the other two grabbed both of her arms.
"Well, I just thought that it might be fun to roam around a bit." Ryugi replied, nervously laughing as they dragged her away.
"Looks like that's the last time I'm seeing her tonight." Ishi commented as he witness this silly display.
"Wow, a popular girl abandoned her friends just to hang out with us." Otoya took this sight positively. "Aren't we lucky? I bet she just couldn't resist my charm."
"Or she probably just wanted to be able to hang out with some professional idols." He reminded his friend of the company they kept. That made the most logical sense to him, but if she was willing to ditch her friends instead of asking them to come along. What was that supposed to mean? It didn't seem like she disliked any of them, so getting an edge didn't seem like her. Perhaps there really was more truth to his best friend's words than they knew.
So now this only left him with just Otoya and Youna. Chiana's dad had also left them to go backstage to presumably help out with the production. Now most people would want to get as close to the front to really get the concert experience. Ishi wasn't most people, but his friend was.
"I'll just sit back at those tables." He informed Otoya right before that boy rushed in. Now that only left Youna, who was now nervously realizing that she was left alone with Ishi again. "I'm guessing you want to join me?"
"J-join you?" After her conversation with the girls, she now had the thought in her mind again that maybe he did like her. Sadly, that only filled her with more anxiety about spending any alone time, or even just talking with him. "Wh-what makes y-you think I want to come with you?"
"Because I know you don't like large crowds?" He answered, confused that she was jumping at the opportunity. "What's wrong? You usually don't mind being with me."
"No, I'm fine." She tried to calm her nerves. Now she was nearing that edge that if he found out the truth about her feelings, he was going to give her an answer. Considering the current times, it was likely she would have to suffer rejection. So she needed to not tip her hand. "Let's go."
Being assertive to try and throw off the trail, she took his arm and led him to the spot for once. This was a new feeling for him, since she had never done something so bold before.
"This place should be good." He stopped her before she went off the deep end and brought them away from the concert. "I can see the idols pretty well and their music reaches here too."
"Great." She said, sitting down at the table. Youna kept her eyes glued onto the stage, trying her best to avoid eye contact with him. The show had barely just began, and neither of their friends had taken to the stage yet to allow her actions to make any sense.
"What did you girls talk about when I was gone?" He asked, since they were left with nothing to talk about until the real show began. Even though he originally wasn't planning on bringing it up, this was a golden opportunity. Here Ishi was alone with Youna, the one girl who would most likely tell him the truth as well as not affect the show in any capacity. "After I got back, you seemed kind of distant."
"Aww, I can't hide anything from you, can I?" She lamented as the girl dug her face into her arms as she laid her head onto the table.
"Most people can't." He patted her on the head to assure her that this wasn't unique to her.
"Well, they just asked me about back at the camp, when I cut myself." She explained to him that they thought he was acting strange about it. A boy that normally seemed to never fuss over details was being very doting to her.
"I see…" He knew that Ryugi was jealous about it, but the others also took note about it.
"It's not just that either. I guess they think you act different with me." She continued on. Though she left out what they believed could be the reason behind it. "But I don't agree with that. I think that you do the same things with them too."
"Oh, good." He breathed a sigh of relief at her beliefs. "So you really know me the best." It made her feel real happy that he was glad about it. More so that she apparently was closer to him than she thought from her position. "It's probably weird for people to see me like that, but I just get really worried when something bad happens." Specifically, he felt bad if it was something that he blamed on himself.
As they chatted, Rinse and Chiana made their appearance on stage. The pair sang a beautiful song written for their duet, which the crowd absolutely loved.
He smiled while watching their performance. "I see Rinse really is feeling better."
"Hmm? What do you mean?" To Youna, it sounded like that girl was singing at the usual quality that everyone had come to expect.
"Sorry, it's just that she was still upset about the whole snake incident." Ishi explained to her. "She was upset about the idea that I could've died, and to be honest, I get how she felt." Youna's eyes widened as she heard him admit the truth to her. Normally, he might call how someone thought about a situation as silly, but never did he say outright that he related to them. "It was just like back on the beach when she nearly drowned. So I guess… I've gotten really close to her now."
"Well… It's good that you're friends." Youna was disappointed to hear that. Not that she was upset about him getting closer to someone of Rinse's reputation. More so that… The ground she had gained in time seemed to be challenged by someone she considered to be leagues better than her. Maybe she really didn't stand a chance with Ishi after all.
The two enjoyed the concert together alone in the back. The idols in this agency truly were talented, and Ishi knew that the producer was a man with a real eye for scouting. It was also during this time that Youna really wished that she could've confessed to him. The two of them were all alone with no one to bother them, and this concert and festival provided the perfect backdrop. But alas, her personality prevented her from speaking out about her true feelings to him.
"Guess this means the night's going to be over soon." He said as they got up from their seats to join the audience with applause. All that was left in terms of major events was the fireworks show that was set to begin soon.
"Guys! Guys!" Quickly, Otoya rushed up to them to deliver some important news. "I was just asked by one of the stage hands that we could come visit backstage. Oh, this is going to be so much fun." He was hyped up from the amazing show put on by the idols. Of course, he was also overjoyed that they were going to be able to hang out with Rinse and Chiana more in their environment.
"I guess I spoke too soon." Ishi responded as they followed him back to where Rinse and Chiana went to. Now that the production was over, it was mainly the crew cleaning things up. Everyone was a lot more relaxed compared to when he was here earlier as the stage was being set up.
The trio had planned to meet up with Rinse at the dressing rooms, but someone grabbed Ishi by the shoulder, which stopped him. The other two didn't notice, which led to him falling behind as a voice spoke to him.
"Ahh, you're just the person I was looking for." It was the producer, Teruhisa. "I hope you don't mind if we have a little chat before you meet up with your friends."