The mysterious creeper who called herself Mio Kuruma and I made our way to the nearest park, where we paused by a vending machine.
“Want something? My treat.”
“Oh, then, umm...corn soup?”
“You got it.”
The creeper pressed the button for a can of hot corn soup, then handed it over to me. And, I mean, yes, I did know that I probably should’ve been running away...but she’d asked me if I could spare a second, and come on, how was I supposed to argue against that?! Like, imagine if I tried to resist and she decided to do something to me! How scary would that be?! I was keeping my phone constantly in hand, just so I could be ready to call the cops at any second, and she definitely did notice that. But even though I was being as openly suspicious as I could possibly be, she just grimaced and didn’t actually say a word about it.
The creeper bought a can of black coffee for herself, then led me over to a nearby bench where we sat down. Okay, honestly—why am I going along with this?
“Sheesh...” the creeper grumbled. “I really wasn’t counting on you not recognizing me at all. This kind of stings.”
“Have we, umm, met somewhere before?” I asked.
“No, this is definitely our first meeting.”
“O-Oh, okay...”
In that case, why would she assume that I would know her? I wondered as I took a sip of my canned corn soup. It was nice and hot.
“You and Maki just looked so close. I assumed that if you knew her that well, it would only make sense for you to know me too,” she explained.
“Maki...? You mean Makina...? Meaning... Huh?! Are you Makina’s stalker?!”
“No! Why the hell would I stalk someone like... Well, I guess depending on how you look at what I’m doing, it’s not actually that far off, but still.” For some reason, the creeper let out a very drained sort of sigh.
Huh? Hold on a second. Now that I’m looking at her again, it does sort of feel like I’ve seen her somewhere before.
“Mio...Kuruma... Oh!” I exclaimed. I’d finally remembered. I had heard the name Mio Kuruma before! “Are you in Makina’s group with her? Shooting Star?”
“So...you did know.”
“Ah, umm! I just, well, forgot.”
“You realize that makes it sting even more than before?”
“Sorry...”
I hung my head, but also tilted it upward just enough to steal a peek at her face. Mio Kuruma was a member of the same idol group that Makina belonged to. She was the group’s second-in-command, in fact, and the way she could harmonize with Makina was really incredible. It was supposedly the biggest reason why Shooting Star had caught the world’s attention, actually, or something along those lines...according to a Wikipedia article that I was pretty sure I’d read at some point in the past...probably. Most likely. Pretty sure.
“Well, fine. You’re right. I’m one of her—of Maki’s—coworkers. Meaning I’m not a creeper or a stalker. Got that?”
“Y-Yup!” I yelped. Her irate energy was terrifying enough that I ended up standing with perfect posture, nodding vigorously. “But, umm, in that case, why are you dressed like that...?”
“If anyone knew it was me, it could turn into a whole thing. Would you want to have to deal with that?”
“O-Oh, that makes sense.” Guess that’s the sort of outfit that idols wear when they want to go incognito. But, wait—she also got all offended when I didn’t realize that she was an idol, so... Nope. Don’t get it. I just don’t get idols, period.
“So, what’s your name?”
“Huh? Ah, umm... I’m Yotsuba Hazama.”
“Yotsuba...? Hmm. Yotsuba. I’ll remember that.”
Sh-She’s jumping straight to using my first name, just like that?! Idols are incredible!
“Well, Yotsuba—it looks like you and Maki get along pretty well, don’t you?” she pressed.
“Huh?” I grunted.
“You walked home from school together, didn’t you? And you seemed pretty chummy too.”
“Bwuh?! O-Oh, did we, now...?”
“You wouldn’t think it, but Maki has a pretty big bubble when it comes to personal space. It’s not normal at all for her to walk so close to someone her shoulder nearly bumps up against theirs.”
It isn’t...? Huh. That was news to me. Makina had always given me the impression that she wasn’t really bothered by that sort of casual closeness...but then again, looking back, I couldn’t actually remember ever seeing her get that close to anyone else at all.
“Well...now I’m getting annoyed.”
“Huh?!” I yelped.
“Oh, no, not with you. I’m annoyed that Maki looks like she’s having such a good time with all this,” the creeper said in a tone that came across as both a little bored and a little on edge. Wait, no, not the creeper! I meant the idol—or, er, Kuruma, I guess...?
“Just call me Mio.”
“Huwah?”
“You looked like you were tying your brain in knots trying to figure out something stupid along those lines, so I took a guess.”
“Are you a mind reader?!”
“I’ve talked with a lot of different people through my work, and you’re one of the easier types to read. Your face says it all.”
“Oh! Yeah, I get that a lot.”
“You do, huh...?” Mio said with a look in her eyes that all but screamed, “So then why haven’t you tried to fix it?”
Huh? Wait a second—am I turning into a mind reader too?!
“Oh, and quit acting so tense. You’re a second-year in high school, right? That means we’re the same age.”
“Oh! Yes, I am.”
“It really pisses me off when people my age walk on eggshells around me. It always feels like they’re making fun of me.”
“B-But they probably don’t actually mean it that way, right...?” I tensely replied.
“...”
“I-I mean, I bet they’re just trying to be nice! Yup!”
Oh, god, that glare! That was a glare that could kill! This girl is so scary!
Apparently, people Mio’s age treating her like she was some sort of authority figure was a major pet peeve of hers. I didn’t really understand why, but I had a feeling she’d get upset if I asked, so I decided against it.
“So, umm...I should just call you Mio, then?” I confirmed.
“Right. Do that,” Mio replied.
“Mio, Mio, Mio, Mio...”
“Wait, wait—I didn’t say to keep saying it forever!”
“S-Sorry! I’m just not used to calling people by their first names right off the bat... I need to practice or I won’t get it right!”
“O-Okay, I guess?” Mio—yes, Mio—gave me a look that felt a little pitying, almost?