"Before we officially head to the shooting location, you two try on the outfits we'll be using."
In the practice room of [Watanabe Production], [Summer Zodiac]'s manager, Higuchi, said this to the two idols who had just finished their lessons for the day:
"It would be a pain if we got to the location only to find the clothes don't fit... If there are any problems, tell me right away. I'll be waiting outside."
"Yes!"
Ai and Misumi Uika nodded, then took their respective clothes from their manager.
Since she had already seen the outfits at the studio beforehand, Uika didn't have any particularly special reaction.
"Oh! It's the one Higuchi-san mentioned before!"
And Ai, as usual, opened the cloth bag in her arms with a cheerful smile.
"I remember they specifically found a designer to make these for us, right? I wonder what they look like~"
However, when Ai took her two outfits out of the bag, her expression immediately froze on her face—
"...Eh? This pattern... is it?"
Unsurprisingly, Ai spotted the six-pointed star on the cuff of the pajamas almost immediately.
Not only that, but the moment she took the pajamas out of the bag, the texture she felt in her hands intensified the turbulent emotions in her heart—
"Wait... no way, right?"
With a dazed look, she hugged the pajamas tightly and quickly walked over to a nearby seat to pick up the faded old towel.
"It's the same... it's the same!"
The same material, the same pattern...
Could such a coincidence really exist in this world?
"..."
On the other side, watching Ai stare blankly at the pajamas and the towel, Uika couldn't help but show a very conflicted expression.
It was just as she thought. It wasn't just Chihaya-san; Ai also remembered him all this time. But for some reason, Chihaya-san didn't seem to think so, and even stubbornly hoped that she would conceal his existence during the shoot.
(So what is the deal with you two!?)
Just as Uika was still wrestling with the incomprehensible relationship between the two, Ai buried her face in the pajamas, muttering a certain name...
"Tetsu..."
"Whoa..." (muttered)
A certain name? Isn't that Chihaya-san's name! And it's even such a unique "pet name"!
So, it's already this obvious. Do I really still have to keep Chihaya-san a secret?!
...
"Um... Ai?"
After hesitating for a long time, Uika tentatively started a conversation with her.
"Are you okay?"
"I, I..."
The usually quick-witted and cheerful Ai was now opening and closing her mouth dazedly, like a fish out of water.
But soon, she suddenly remembered something very important.
"Uika... I remember Higuchi-san asked you to go pick up the clothes, right?"
As if grasping at a lifeline, Ai quickly walked in front of Uika and gripped her shoulders forcefully:
"Did you see the person who made these clothes!"
"..."
This was the first time Uika had ever seen Ai lose her composure like this.
Although she would occasionally be a bit clumsy and make some cute little mistakes during practice or in her daily life, she always maintained that cute and sunny idol image.
But now... forget idol aura, her undisguised urgent tone, her eyes filled with obsession and madness, and this behavior that could only be described as a loss of composure, it had almost reached the point of insanity...
So, why on earth would Chihaya-san think Ai would have forgotten him?! Isn't this girl about to go crazy from missing him!
Uika, whose shoulders were starting to ache from the grip, was now caught between a rock and a hard place.
If she could, Uika really wanted to tell the truth right away and help Ai find this person she missed to the point of madness.
However, considering that he was Sakiko's benefactor... and the "religious painting"-like scene she had witnessed at the studio that day, as well as Chihaya Tetsuya's obvious resistance when they parted, she just couldn't bring herself to open her mouth...
...
"The person who gave me the clothes that day was the director of that studio, not the designer who made them for you."
After careful consideration, Uika decided to take a more compromised approach.
"However, that designer did indeed leave a message..."
"What is it!"
Ai immediately pressed on impatiently:
"Tell me!"
"...He said, in order not to affect your work, he'll have it told to you after your shoot is over."
Although she didn't directly relay the words Chihaya Tetsuya wanted her to, she did truthfully convey his reason for the delay to Ai.
"But from your reaction just now... even if I don't say anything, you probably already have an idea, right?"
"..."
After hearing Uika's ambiguous answer, Ai's eyes and expression descended into chaos.
Joy, anxiety, unease, panic, urgency, madness...
An increasingly dangerous aura radiated from those purple eyes, making Uika feel an unprecedented pressure.
But... it was precisely because of Ai's extremely shaken state at this moment that Uika felt for the first time that she had come into contact with the true essence of her partner.
Her demonic charm might indeed be an undeniable natural talent, but... that cute, sweet, and flawless idol aura, it now seemed, was perhaps just a disguise she used to protect herself.
She was not a god, much less a born idol... she was nothing more than a young girl with a slightly more complicated past.
Thinking of this, Uika couldn't help but let out a faint sigh.
There were still five days until Golden Week... which was also when their shoot would end.
Could she really endure this longing that was nearly tearing her apart for these five days?
And when she heard Chihaya-san's message, which was so brief it was practically a farewell, could her fragile heart really bear it?
"...May Sakiko protect me. Please don't let anything happen... and even if something does, please don't let the blood splash on me..."
Feeling the "active volcano" beside her that could erupt at any moment, Uika couldn't help but pray with the utmost sincerity in her heart.