Sasaki caught the baby castella she’d dropped at the last second and popped it into her mouth.
“That was close… What’s wrong all of a sudd—Sasa…ki?”
Just a moment ago she’d been focused only on her castella, but now she was staring at the center of the pitch with a pale face.
The guest was a former Genesistars member—meaning she was Sasaki’s old colleague. But her reaction was clearly strange.
“Here comes MIZUKI-chaaan!”
The woman singer introduced by the stadium DJ walked toward the center of the field.
MIZUKI—straight black hair, glossy and silky, her bangs swept to the left.
Her face appeared on the stadium’s big screen as the camera followed her. A beauty one might expect to see among actresses, but with sharp features and strong eyes that made her seem a little intimidating.
“MIZUKI-chaaan! Nice to meet yooou!”
“…………”
So she was a former Genesistars member like Sasaki…? But she had absolutely no charm in her expression.
“Sooo, MIZUKI-chan! The first half ended 0–0, still tied! Could you say something to the home team?”
“…………”
“Uh… hello?”
“…………I hope you win.”
“Yes! Thank you for the classic cool comment! Now, MIZUKI-chan! Please perform your new song!”
The whole stadium lit up with glowsticks, fans cheering for MIZUKI regardless of which team they supported.
Her clear voice echoed through the stadium as soon as she began singing.
I’d heard this voice before—during the national tournament theme song, I think. Her solo part sounded just like this.
But more importantly—
When I looked beside me, Sasaki was staring at MIZUKI in silence.
“Sasaki, are you okay?”
“……”
“Sasaki?”
“I… um…”
While everyone else was captivated by MIZUKI’s live performance, Sasaki looked down at the baby castella in her paper bag.
“She’s the last person I wanted to see today.”
“Didn’t you say she was your colleague—wait.”
Hold on. Sasaki once said she quit because she clashed with a member.
Judging from her reaction… could MIZUKI be that member?
If so, this must be torture for Sasaki.
MIZUKI’s voice filled the stadium.
I grabbed Sasaki’s hand and stood up.
“What are you doing?”
“Grab your stuff.”
“My stuff?”
“We’re leaving. You don’t need to watch something you don’t want to see.”
“…O-okay.”
Sasaki picked up her things and stood.
And from there, she silently followed behind me, understanding exactly why I was doing this.
✳︎✳︎
Because everyone was inside watching the halftime show, the area outside the stadium was nearly empty.
After leaving with Sasaki, I stopped behind one of the pillars outside.
“Sorry, Sasaki. I had no idea a former Genesistars member would show up for the halftime show.”
“It’s not your fault! Even if you knew, you’re not industry staff, you wouldn’t know our circumstances.”
“Circumstances…?”
“That girl MIZUKI… she’s the one I clashed with.”
I knew it.
This had to be the one behind her quitting. No wonder her face drained of color.
“So it’s not your fault. I’m the one who still gets scared… It’s my weakness.”
“Sasaki…”
She quit at the peak of her popularity. Of course it would leave a deep scar.
And she wasn’t in the best condition today either. I couldn’t push her any further.
Plus… the biggest worry was the *fans*.
“Sasaki, let’s leave the stadium entirely.”
“I’m okay! See, my face is fine now, and the second half—”
“No. If MIZUKI is here, that means lots of Genesistars fans are here too. There are definitely tons of fans of the former Kiraboshi out there. It’s dangerous to stay.”
“W-well, that’s true but… Are you sure? You bought good seats…”
“Obviously you’re more important than money.”
“Eh.”
“Stop arguing and come on.”
“O-okay!”
We left during halftime.
I felt bad for Azaki since he arranged everything, but I’ll treat him to a meal later or something.
While walking toward the station, Sasaki tugged on my shirt.
“What is it?”
“Sorry… about everything.”
“Stop apologizing. That’s not like you.”
“But…”
Even with her mask on, I could tell she was down.
Given her past, it couldn’t be helped.
We stopped at a crosswalk, and a family restaurant caught my eye.
Right, I hadn’t had lunch yet. (Unlike Sasaki, who’d eaten half the stadium.)
“Sasaki, if you want… want to get something to eat?”
“You’re hungry?”
“All I ate was the baby castella you almost dropped. But if you’re not feeling well, we don’t have to.”
“I—I want to go! I don’t want to go home yet!”
She perked up just a bit.
Food always revived her.
“Hey, Makishima.”
“Hm?”
“…Thanks.”
She muttered it shyly.
Yep, that was the usual Sasaki.
Relief loosened my expression.
“Why are you smiling?”
“No reason. So, what do you want to eat?”
“Pancakes!”
“…seriously?”
And so we ended up going around to pancake shops, stuffing ourselves with sweets.
✳︎✳︎
When we got back from our pancake tour, I got a chat message from Azaki.
Azaki? About the cleats?
“Azaki: Makishima. I have something important to tell you.”
What’s with the formal tone?
Reading it while filling the bathtub—
“Azaki: Our last group date ended in failure.”
You guys self-destructed, that’s all.
“Azaki: But next time, we’ll crush it.”
Next time…? What the hell was he—
Getting impatient, I replied.
“Makishima: What do you mean next time?”
“Azaki: I set another one up! Details tomorrow at your place!”
“That idiot… he dragged me into another group date, didn’t he.”
Looked like Azaki the troublemaker was bringing me more problems.
———
Next time, an unexpected person appears…?
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