Chapter Text
“At 9:36pm, authorities received the report that a student of Kamiyama High had tragically passed away. The school has issued a statement and have closed the school for a week, allowing students to grieve this sudden loss. Any information about the student will not be released to respect the privacy of their family.”
“Minori?”
The brown haired girl was heavily breathing, sweat dripping down every crevice in her body, and her face red with exhaustion. She leaned forward— heaving for a full breath that never came. Three other idols stood around her, but they weren’t struggling as hard as the rookie in front of them.
“I-I’m fine..! One more! I can go for o..one moree! !” She heaved out, raising a hand and shaking it to show she wasn’t struggling at all. Minori stumbled back, her legs wobbled back in exhaustion when she stood up.
Haruka lunged forward and caught Minori with a worried expression. She looked up and nodded to Airi, who rushed for a cold press and held it against the brown haired girl’s forehead. Shizuku grabbed a bottle of water and handed it to Minori with a sigh.
“You overwork yourself too hard, Mino-Chan..” She shook her head.
“We need to do more stamina training, hm?” Haruka teased Minori a little with a caring smile.
“Hah…” Minori tried to choke something else but still struggled with her mind in such a confusing frenzy.
“Don’t forget we have that hike planned for tomorrow, ya know!” Airi pointed out with her free hand on her hip assertively.
“Mm..” Shizuku nodded, her memory jogged.
“Tomorrow… already?! I thought it was another week..” Minori sighed after finishing.
“We can continue practice, Minori, you need to go rest back at your home, alright?” Haruka lifted Minori fully onto her feet. “We’ll pick you up in the morning.”
“R..right…”
“The train is a block away, you’ll be okay to walk over there, mm?” Shizuku confirmed.
Minori nodded without another sound— other than her thanking the other members for their care and dedication to her health and safety.
It was around dinner time, meaning her mother would be cooking, allowing Minori to rest up after the short walk home. Not being able to catch up to her group had left her feeling defeated… her hand unknowingly clenching in the packed train. She’s tried so hard for a whole year now— and with not a whole lot of progress to show for it in her mind… those feelings wouldn’t change.
But she knew she could never stop.
Just because she felt bad doesn’t mean she had to stop and give up, it doesn’t lead you anywhere. A feeling can exist while an action continues, you just have to make the choice.
She fought through businessmen off the train, a typical part of her day after school or practice. Her brain had shut off from her previous exhaustion- a husk simply trying to make it home to her family and rest before a long day tomorrow.
It was summer— cicadas crying on the urban streets like a tornado warning that never wavered. It created a white noise in her brain, static that pushed her to hurry home as fast as her body would allow her.
Samo was there to proudly greet her with a bark— her mother’s cooking filling her senses with a warm hug that let her know that she was home. She could hear her brother watching Pokemon on the television as she took the steps upstairs to her room. Her sweaty body collapsed face first onto her bed- allowing herself a few moments of rotting before she continued any other action— sometimes a good rest is all that is needed.
“Tomorrow is a new day.” She thought before getting up.
Nothing of note occurred to her as the family ate together, another day, another night, it all blurred together. She didn’t let her bleak mood rain down on her family though, as she kept a bright smile and laughed at their jokes and teasing. It wasn’t as if she were pretending to be happy- she just knew there was a time and a place to express her exhaustion.
Now wasn’t the time— but when she was journalling later that night… She let her book know of her thoughts.
“I’ve improved… right?” Minori looked down at Samo-chan who was asleep right next to her chair, cosy on the hardwood floor. She smiled, shaking her head slightly… it was ridiculous of her to ask a dog who had no concept of improvement unless it were a race dog… Were those real?! Dogs– racing just like horses at a track?!
“Off topic!” She said out loud, catching her mind wandering. It was around 10pm by the time she closed her journal,and her group would be there in twelve hours to pick her up for…. The Hike.
Just thinking about it sent chills around her body, making her movements almost comically stiff as she stood up— careful not to wake the delicate Samo. A hike with her group wasn’t the worst thing in the universe, but getting so over heated with bugs everywhere didn’t sound too appealing.
She’ll just have to pack a lot of bug spray!
Minori changed into light pink pajamas, accidentally waking Samo in the process who joined her in bed without a second thought. She ended up lying there on her side— one hand stroking the top of her dog’s head and the other scrolling on her instagram feed until she became sleepy. The girl knew it wasn’t an admirable routine but she couldn’t help herself– sometimes the best ideas for videos came from here.
“…Huh.”
Her thumb twitched, stopping mid scroll when she saw a picture of Kamiyama on a news page. It wasn’t like her feed to show her something from the news… but what she soon heard shook her core.
“...A Kamiyama student’s tragic passing…” The words looped in the background of the video. Minori frowned — she remembered hearing about it weeks ago, but seeing it pop up on her feed now made the loss feel fresh. She instantly opened the comments as slight tears crept into her eyes. She wasn’t particularly close with any of the Kamiyama students she knew… but a tragedy was a tragedy. Heart-wrenching comments such as:
“[If it’s who I think it was, then it’s a really sad day. May they rest in peace.]“
Seems as if no one truly knew who the student was… yet.
Minori couldn’t handle the sadness any longer, shutting off her phone and setting it under her pillow so she could sleep. She couldn’t imagine passing away at such a young age… yet alone shake up a community with her death despite her popularity. This student was loved dearly. Minori hoped the student knew that before they passed…
Closing her eyes, the city around her felt too alive. But it reminded her that life continues in the face of tragedy. The cicadas outside wouldn’t have known about the news, and others are forced to focus on their own lives. The world wouldn’t allow anyone to dwell in its current state. A dark thought… but Minori didn’t let it shake her as she knew that you could always work around a restriction with enough hard work.
Samo-chan’s breathing slowed in pace of Minori’s, allowing the two to drift off into a new day.