Chapter Text
Shiho sighs and looks down another corridor. Minori sent them off to find Kohane’s friend An about five minutes ago, to no avail. Though it could just be that they have seen her and just didn’t know… Minori’s description wasn’t really that clear.
“She’s got long hair with stars in it, and, um… she’s full of beans!” the brunette had said, nervously, before dashing off.
/Full of beans. What does that even mean? Maybe Minori’s full of beans./
Glancing around again, they turn to leave, when suddenly, a girl with blue tipped hair with stars in it rushes past them.
/Oh, that must be her./ Shiho shoots out a hand and grabs the girl's arm, who looks at them in terror. “I’ve gotta go! There's a scary wolf chasing me!” she says, looking around in fear.
“Are you An Shiraishi?” replies Shiho, electing to ignore that.
The girl stops struggling. “Yeah? How’d you know?”
“I got a rather… interesting description. I’m Kohane’s friend, Shiho Hinomori. It’s nice to meet you.”
Shiraishi grins, and their breath catches in their throat. “Nice to meet you, Hinomori. Kohane talks a lot about you.”
/Kohane… really. Ugh./ “Likewise. Ah, by the way, Kohane’s the one in the wolf head.”
Shiraishi gapes at them. “She’s WHAT?”
A chuckle escapes them. “She was a wolf for our haunted house, but her head got stuck in the costume… Minori was looking for a tool to remove it when she saw you and ran off chasing you…I don’t think she realised she scared you at first. We’ve been looking for you two for a bit.”
“Oh. That’s… why was the wolf head so scary?”
Shiho grins. “I painted it. Anyways, let’s go to the classroom. The others will be waiting.”
Shiraishi nods. “Right.”
They walked along in relative silence for a few moments, until Shiho asked, “Shiraishi, huh? So your dad put on RAD WEEKEND… Kohane said you're all working to surpass it, right?”
She visibly brightens. “Yeah! Kohane’s the best partner I could ask for, and Akito and Toya are amazing too… we're definitely going to do it. I can’t wait.”
/Ah, she’s passionate about this, isn’t she? I see that look on Saki and the other’s faces…/ Shiho smiles. “I hope I’ll be there to see it.”
An grins at them, then seems to remember something. “Ah, Hinomori? Can I ask you a favour?”
/Hmm?/ “Sure, what’s up?”
“I feel bad that I ruined Kohane’s festival… I still want to go through the haunted house, but could you tell her I said I’m sorry for running around like that? And I’ll tell Akito and Toya to wait with me in the classroom for her, so we’ll all be there.” An fidgets with the straps on her jacket.
“Ah… of course. But you know, Kohane’s probably feeling the same way, that she scared you and ruined it for you, you know? So I’ll talk to her about it, but don’t feel too bad. She’s just happy you’re here.” /Was that too much?/
An looks up. “You’re probably right. There’s no point in worrying about it, so I’ll just enjoy the festival.” She turns to Shiho, smiles again. She has got to stop doing that. “I see why you’re friends with her, aha. You really are as cool and dependable as she said.”
They flush. “I.. uh, thanks. Why does she..”
She giggles. “Just saying. Anyway, this is her classroom, right? I’ll wait here.”
Shiho nods. “Shiraishi, if I don’t see you again today, I enjoyed our conversation… I hope I see you soon. Um, bye.”
They speedwalk away, glancing into classroom windows. /Why did I say that. One damn pretty girl and I’m stuttering like a fool./ They abruptly stop walking as they notice Kohane and Minori in a classroom, wolf head on a desk nearby. They head inside.
“I just wanted everyone to have fun at the haunted house..” Kohane’s saying sadly to Minori.
“Kohane…” Minori says, looking apprehensive.
“It’s not as if it’s too late to start now, is it?” They cut in, stepping over decorations and backpacks towards the pair.
The two turn to them in surprise. “Shiho! What aree you doing here..?” Kohane yelps.
They wave a hand at Minori. “Minori texted me. Besides, Shiraishi and your other friends are waiting in the classroom. She still wants to go in the haunted house with you, you know.”
“Really?” She asks, lacing her fingers together.
“Mhm. Also- she said she’s sorry for running around scared, and that she’ll wait in the classroom with everyone.”
Kohane still looks like she might cry, so Shiho decides to take a gamble. “There might have been a lot of issues up until now, and it hasn’t gone great,” they start, “But the festival isn’t over yet, so there’s time to have fun from now on.”
This seems to comfort Kohane, and Minori by extension, the first of which who says, “...Thank you, Shiho.”
They nod, but Kohane continues. “Ah, if you don’t mind.. I have a favour to ask you- could you help me out a bit?”
---
Shiho readies themself in their position. /They’re taking a while out there…/
As if on cue, they hear chatter from the entrance, Kohane’s voice prominent and much happier sounding. /Ah, they must have reconciled. Good./
The voices move a bit, getting quieter as they enter the maze. Suddenly, a high pitched scream sounds out, which Shiho assumes is An. /From there, though, nothing should have happened..? I guess she really is easily frightened…/
The voices start to move again. Shiho tries to guess where the first scare is, and-
Another shriek echoed through the room. /Yep, there it is. Minori should be the funny wolf, so Shiraishi will be laughing./ Sure enough, giggles bounce down the hall, and they soon move forwards again.
Past the rampaging wolf, dispatched with a loud click of a toy gun, and a cute wolf, given the same fate. sIt’s nearly my turn./ They ready themself as the four come around the corner, Shiraishi and Shinonome sounding confident.
Shiho growls, low in their throat. /Ah, that came out more realistic than I thought it would./
“W-what was that?” Shiraishi whispers, worriedly glancing around.
“It sounded like a real wolf…” says Shinonome, looking just as concerned.
The two-toned hair guy- Aoyagi- who didn’t seem to be afraid, is still talking. “It does seem realistic, right? The forest.. it’s almost as if we’re trapped here.”
Shiraishi shivers. “Trapped..? It’s getting scarier…”
Shiho growls again, longer this time. /Almost…/
An yelps. “The wolf…”
/Now!/ Shiho leaps in front of them, wearing the zombie wolf mask. They snarl loudly.
Shiraishi and Shinonome nearly jump out of their skin, screeching at the tops of their lungs.
Stuttering, Shiraishi speaks. “T- t- that’s w- what Kohane was wearing, r- right? The z- zombie wolf…”
The ginger seems to be trying to save his dignity, because he doesn’t stutter, though he looks like he wants to. “Those fangs are way too realistic…”
“Calm down, guys. You said yourselves earlier that they’re fake.” says Aoyagi, sounding exasperated. Shiho holds back a snort.
The longer Shinonome looks at the mask, the more frightened he seems to get. “Y-yeah, I know that, An, go on and s- shoot it already!” he snaps.
Shiraishi seems petrified. “A- ah, I would, but my hands won’t move…”
“EH?” The boy exclaims, Shiho barely stifling a laugh.
Suddenly, Kohane speaks. “An, let’s trade!” She grabs the gun and hat from Shiraishi, brandishing it towards Shiho. “Take my hood!”
Shiho could have sworn they heard Rin say “Kohane, you’re so cool!” But that.. couldn’t be possible…?
Kohane seems to lose some of her confidence, but still shoots the gun at Shiho. “Bang Bang, Mister Wolf!”
Shiho howls and stumbles to the side. The four realise they had a chance, and run to the exit. Shiho finally lets out a laugh as they leave, pulling off the wolf head and setting it on a table. They walk outside with Minori as the four catch their breaths.
Shiho softly smiles. “So Shiraishi did have fun… I’m glad they all did.”
Kohane notices them. “Oh, Minori, Shiho! Come over here!”
They walk over, and Kohane grabs one of each of their hands. “Thank you both so much for helping!”
Shiho nods, pulling their hand free after giving it a squeeze.
Shiraishi tilts her head. “Oh, were you two the wolves we saw at the end..?”
Minori answers. “Uh huh! I was the first wolf, and Shiho was the one at the very end!”
Shiraishi whips her head towards them. “So that really scary one was you, Hinomori? That’s amazing… you’ve got some serious acting skills!”
“Ah, I just imitated the wolf sounds i’ve heard, and the rest of it was the mask…” they say.
Aoyagi nods. “That mask really was well made, like something straight out of a horror movie.”
Shinonome still looks peeved, adding in, “I get that, but you didn’t have to make it so realistic…”
/This guy is funny./ Shiho tilts their head. “You know, you’re a lot more easily scared than you look.”
“It’s nothing like that…” he grumbles.
Shiho smirks at him, but Shiraishi cuts them both off. “Thank you, you three, for that… it was really fun!”
Kohane cheers up at this, seeming to have kind of an internal monologue. /Good for her./
After a few more minutes of chatting, they seperate. /Minori and I still have to be wolves./ Shiho thought, sighing.
The afternoon passes by in a flash, and the whole time, Shiho is thinking of Shiraishi and the others. /So I finally got to meet them, huh? Why didn’t Kohane tell us Shiraishi was so pretty…/
---
Soon enough, an announcement blared over the loudspeakers announcing the end of the festival. They begin to put the maze away, the rest of their classmates soon joining. After only a few minutes, the only thing left were some tables.
“Hey, Kohane and Minori, if you’re not too busy, can you come help me with these tables?” Shiho asks, picking up one end.
The pair nods and rushes over to pick up the other end, carrying it to the edge of the classroom.
Minori sighs. “The cultural festival really is ending, huh…”
Kohane nods. “Yeah, watching the school go back to normal is kinda lonely, huh?”
“Mhm…”
“It’s not like it being over means we won’t have anything left of it, you know.” says Shiho. “There might not be anything physical, but we were able make memories we could only experience today.”
They both brighten. “Yeah, it feels sad when i stop being an idol too, but then I think, ‘All these people have more good memories now’!” says Minori, bouncing on the balls of her feet.
“Ah… yeah, you’re right!” exclaims Kohane.
“Plus, we still have the afterparty, so it’s not completely over.”
“And you’re going to perform after, right?” asks Minori.
“Yeah, after we have the party, I’m going to rehearsal with my band.”
“Good luck!” Kohane smiles.
“Thanks- We’ll make this performance really good, so look forward to it.” Shiho replies. /I’m glad they’re here to support me, they think./
Suddenly, the blonde seems to realise the same thing. “You know, you two… thank you for helping me so much today. I really appreciate it. It was because of you guys, even through the search and the requests… that everyone was able to have fun.”
“Yeah, of course. You’re our friend, after all.” the bassist says.
Minori squints at them. “What’s up? You wanna say something, right?”
Shiho shakes their head. “Nope.”
“Come on, I know there’s something!”
“It’s nothing.”
“Shihoooo…” whines Minori.
The grey-haired student shakes their head. “It’s really nothing. And even if it was, I wouldn’t tell you.”
“Eeeh..! You’re so mean…” she laments.
The three of them laugh for a minute until they glance outside.
“Oh, it’s sunset…” says Kohane.
“We should get these tables in soon, then!” Minori exclaims, picking up her end.
“Yeah, i’ve got to get to rehearsal for the afterparty, too…” says Shiho.
“Let’s hurry up then!”
Kohane keeps staring out the window. “You know, it went by in an instant, but it was a fun cultural festival.”
/I couldn't agree more./ “Yeah, it wasn’t bad.”
Minori looks at them with tear-filled eyes, throwing her arms around them. “I’m glad you had fun, Shiho!”
They half-heartedly try to push her off, smiling despite themself. “What’s with the weird energy all of the sudden?”
Kohane giggles. “That’s Minori for you, I suppose, but I think I understand. You seemed really happy today.”
/Ah, did I? Mostly because of them, I’m sure, but also…/ “Stop laughing and get her off of me already…”
---
Shiho walks into their room, tossing their backpack on the floor and setting their bass case gently to the side. They sigh and flop backwards on their bed, staring up at the ceiling filled with glow-in-the-dark stars from when the four of them were kids, and hugging a Phenny plushie.
/What was that?/ They think. /Kohane’s friend… Shiraishi. She really is pretty, and she’s funny, too… I wonder. Does she even swing that way?/ They recall that Kohane mentioned Shiraishi used to date a girl from Shizuku’s group… Kiritani? /Oh, right. Wait, why am I even thinking about this? Do I…/ They blush bright red and hold the Phenny plushie tighter. /That’s a problem for another time, I probably won’t see her for a while./
They glance to their alarm clock. /Oh, it’s already 11? I should go to sleep before Shizuku comes and bothers me./
They shut off their light and pull the covers over themself, slipping into dreams of the girl with stars in her hair.