Chapter 22: Attempted Identity Exposure And Stadium Date


TL: Akabane


***


As was the case when we went for pancakes, Sasaki never speaks on the train.


Standing in a corner of the crowded train, she would incessantly look down at her phone, and he would create a wall between me and the other passengers by making me stand right in front of her.


Incidentally, when her eyes meet mine in, she never looks away until I look away, which is kind of scary. Is it because she hates to lose?


As the station we were getting off at approached, I tried to tell her with a hand sign, "I'm getting off next," but Sasaki ignored me and handed me her phone.


...... hmm?　What's that?


[Behind you on your left. There's a girl looking at you the whole time.]


The moment I see that sentence written on the note on my phone, my blood starts to boil.


It's a lie .......


I checked my left rear and sure enough, there was a girl of elementary school age staring at me.


...... No, no, no, I don't understand.


She's wearing a mask and glasses.


Her hair is dark brown, not the light brown of the current generation, and her thick-soled boots make her look taller than she is.


And, just like when I first recognized Ayane Kirahoshi, no matter how suspicious I thought she was, I would not be able to make a determination without seeing what was under the mask.


As I'm fretting in my mind, it seems we've arrived at our destination station, and the train stops.


"Let's go."


I take Sasaki's hand and get off the train, looking around as we pass through the ticket gates.


We reverse out of the stadium and finally stop when we come to the shade of a less popular apartment building.


"......Hey, are you sure you want make it this far?"


We've reached a secluded spot and Sasaki doesn't speak.


I look at Sasaki, wondering if something is wrong.


"S-Sasaki?"


I look back at Sasaki and see a small shadow behind Sasaki .......


I don't know why Sasaki doesn't speak.


The hand opposite of the hand she held me.


There was a girl who holding that hand. She was an elementary school age girl on the train.


"Onee-chan ...... could it be, you're Ayane-chan?"


The girl asks in a thin voice.


Sasaki, who was not even recognized by the girls in the same seminar, was so easily ...... recognized.


"Sasaki, tell her she has the wrong person and let's go already."


When I try to back out, Sasaki says, "Wait," and crouches down to meet the girl's eyes.


"Are you a fan of Ayane Kiraboshi?"


"Yeah. I love Ayane, and ...... I've always wanted to be as pretty as Ayane, she's always been my goal!　But I haven't seen her on TV lately."


The girl says this with a lisp. Sasaki gently patted the girl's head.


"Ah, is Onee-chan ... Ayane-chan ......?"


The girl asks with an anxious expression.


Sasaki nodded silently in response.


What, you admit it......?　Are you sure, Sasaki?


"Hey, what's your name?"


"S-Shizuku......."


"Shizuku, huh? If I'm your idol, does that mean you want to be an idol too, Shizuku?"


"Yes!　I want to be an idol who can cheer up everyone like Ayane!"


"Cheer up ......?"


"Yes!　I've had a bad stomach for a long time, and it was hard for me to make friends, but after seeing ...... Ayane, I was able to go out in good spirits!"


"...... I see. I'm glad to hear that."


Sasaki stood up as she replied and naturally took my hand.


"Shizuku-chan, shall we keep what you and I talked about here a secret between us?"


"Eh?　You're not going to let that guy over there in?"


"Yes, this guy is my bodyguard."


"Hey, who's the bodyguard?"


Sasaki grabs my hand with an unbelievable grip.


"Guh!"


As I writhe in pain, Sasaki searches for something in her handbag.


"If you promise me, I'll give you this catsuit."


Sasaki pulls out a red catsuit from her bag and hands it to the girl.


"Wow. That's okay⁈"


"In return, can you keep your promise?"


"Yes!"


The girl took the bandage with great care and put it on her head.


This will be a treasure for life.


"Hey, Ayane-chan, did you come to watch the game today?"


"Yes, I did."


"Well, then, by any chance!　Today's----"


At that moment, a ringtone is heard from the girl's pocket. (Genesistars music, of course.)


The girl picks up the phone and a bitter look appears on her face.


She must have been angry with her parents or friends who came to the stadium with her.


"Oh, thanks, Ayane-chan! See you later!"


"Yeah."


Sasaki lightly waved her hand and watched the kid run off toward the stadium.


"She's gone, huh?"


"...... Hmm. It's been a while since I've dealt with fans, so I'm tired."


"Good job. You're surprisingly good with kids."


"Of course, I am!　I'm big sister."


Sasaki is probably smug, puffing out her chest, which she doesn't have much of.


We slip out from behind the apartment building and head out onto the main street, "Stadium Avenue," and walk to the stadium.


"I'm surprised she know you're here."


"Kids don't feel any shame if they're told they're wrong, so if they think they look even a little bit like you, they'll probably call out to you, right?"


"If you feel that way, you didn't have to reveal it, did you?"


"...... because I did the same thing with her."


"What?"


"Me too, when I was a child, I once approached an idol I happened to see on the street."


Sasaki opens the photo folder on her phone and shows me the picture.


The photo showed Sasaki as a young girl with dark hair and a woman with light hair color next to her.


"She's the one who inspired me to become an idol."


I don't know much about idols, but to those who do, she must be a famous person.


"I was thinking about the girl from earlier and me on that day. Normally, I would have said that I was not."


"I see."


As we approach the stadium, more and more people are walking down Stadium Avenue, and Sasaki's speech becomes less and less.


As we climbed the white staircase at the end of the avenue, the huge stadium appeared before us.


Spectators wearing the same or enemy team uniforms as themselves pass in front of the stadium.


"A great number of people ....... Are all these people here to watch soccer?"


"Yes, they are. Tokyo Frontier gets more than 10,000 to 20,000 people for every game."


"Wow. ......."


Well, maybe it's not surprising coming from Kiraboshi Ayane, who used to draw tens of thousands of people to every show when she was an idol.


Sasaki and I walked along with the flow of people, showed our tickets to the staff in front of the entrance, and passed through the baggage check.


I feel a sense of elation as we approach the stadium, which I haven't seen in a while.


I haven't been able to come to the games lately because of college games and practices.


I wanted to see the pitch right now, so I decided to enter the stadium right away.


"Hey, Makishima, there's lots of food!"


Sasaki tugged at my hand as I tried to enter the stadium.


"Stadium food, huh? There's a long line, and we need to get to the pitch faster than that."


"No!　We have reserved seats, so why don't you take your time? Come on, let's go buy food first!"


"Yeah!"


Sasaki pulled me by the hand and I got in line with her for the stag meal.


"So, what are you going to eat?"


"Sponge cake, crepes, and tacos!


"Crepes and tacos?　They're the same thing."


"No problem!"


Sasaki was excited before the game.



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