Quiet Alarm

No matter how hard I tried to forget about yesterday, it kept coming back, particularly Mitsuki Mira. After we got back on the van, I tried asking her what happened, but it seemed like she didn't wanna talk about it. No one did. In fact, the mood was... off, as if there's an underlying aspect to this that I'm not yet aware of.

I don't think I should pry any more on it, but I should apologize to Mitsuki when I get the chance.

The next day, I stepped through the empty hallways of the studio. I've never been in this early before, but Manager Na told me to get used to it.

He gave me a list of tasks I need to complete every morning from here on out, spouting some nonsense that it's my role as their assistant.

I went down the line on my phone.

"Get to the rehearsal room, switch the lights on, warm up the sound desk," I said, before letting out a sigh. "This sounds like something the manager should be doing, but it's like he's pushing it all onto me. Classic manager behavior."

At least it's Manager Na this time. I know he's a good person, unlike some of the other managers I've worked for in the past. I'm willing to do this much if that's what he wants me to do.

Honestly, I don't mind. It's not like I get enough sleep anyway. As long as I've got my headphones on, I'll be alright.

Right as I was about to turn the knob to open the rehearsal room door, I noticed that the lights were on. That's strange. I definitely turned them off yesterday.

I pushed the door open, and my eyes widened. I took off my headphones as I watched Natsume Nabi was dancing solo in front of the mirrors, sweat dripping down her face. There wasn't any music playing, and it didn't seem like she was wearing any headphones or earbuds. She was so concentrated that she didn't even notice me walking in.

It took a bit, but she finally turned to look at me. When she did, she let out a very brief scream, before tripping and falling.

"Y-Yozora...?" she mumbled.

"Good morning," I greeted her with a bow.

"When did you... get here?"

"Just now. You looked like you were locked in, so I didn't wanna bother you."

"Ah... I see..."

I tried to ignore her as I made my way to the sound desk, but I noticed her red face shining brighter than the lights themselves.

"You don't have to be embarrassed," I said. "Suguha already showed me the video."

"Eh?! She did?!" Natsume exclaimed.

Well... That clearly wasn't the correct answer. I replayed a bunch of scenarios in my head until I formulated a possibly okay-ish response.

"Don't worry..." I gulped. "I didn't laugh or anything. Suguha was definitely making it seem worse than it actually was. I actually admired the way you shook it off and got back up."

Her eyes lit up. "R-really?"

"Yeah. So, cheer up. Even professionals can fall sometimes, right?"

Natsume tilted her head down. Shit... Did I say the wrong thing again? How do I fix this one?

Right when my mouth opened, she let out a breath, before a soft smile formed beneath those mellow eyes. That didn't give me as much confidence as I thought it would, especially since I've learned that smile from any of these girls means something is about to go down.

"Thank you, Yozora," she said. "I really appreciate it."

"Eh? A-ah... Yeah..." I stuttered. "Anyway, I'll leave you be. I'm just here to check on the sound desk, per Manager Na's request. I'll be out as soon as I'm done."

"You don't have to rush. Please, take your time."

While Natsume continued her dance practice, I went over to the panel in the wall and opened it up. I then pulled my headphones back up, cracked my knuckles, and got to work.

Let's see... It seems like this thing has been altered quite a lot since I last went in to fix it. The many buttons and knobs were all over the place. I wonder if the person who changed the settings even knew what they were doing, because this looks like a mess.

Oh well. I guess that's why I'm here.

"Ack!"

I turned around and saw Natsume curled up on the ground with her hands on her ankle. Immediately, I bolted over to check up on her.

"Natsume! A-are you okay?"

"I... I think so..."

She slowly pulled her hands away, revealing a faint red glow near her ankle. I knelt beside her, lifting my arm to check, but she flinched the moment I moved.

"Natsume? Does it... s-still...?"

The words caught themselves in my throat as I noticed Natsume’s gaze drifting, her expression clouded with distress. My body locked up, unable to move. She was shaking, and that look on her face—it wasn't just pain or discomfort. She seemed... genuinely frightened.

"Na... Natsume...?" I gulped.

"A-ah... Sorry. I was just..."

Her eyes flicked to my hand, still hovering just above her ankle.

Oh. Oh, crap… How could I have been so careless? Without so much of a second thought, I was about to put my hands on her. Of course she’d be terrified, especially with us being all alone here this early in the morning.

I threw myself back, and that was when Natsume finally snapped out of it.

"I'm sorry, Natsume," I bowed my head and said. "I didn't realize that I had gotten so close until it was too late."

"Eh? N-no... It's not your fault."

"Still, I should've known."

Natsume took a deep breath, before slipping on a gentle smile. However, it was clear that she was still distraught.

"I'm okay, Yozora. Trust me, it's not you... It's... It's nothing."

"...If you say so. Anyway, what about your injury there? Is it fine now?"

"Um..."

She attempted to get up. Although it was wobbly and inconsistent, she was able to stand.

"I think I'm okay," she said. "It doesn't hurt as much as I thought it did."

"Phew. That's good. Be careful, alright?"

"Yeah. Thank you."

As I got back to work, I couldn’t help but steal glances at Natsume. She moved around with such elegance and grace, her confidence shining through like she’d been dancing since the day she first learned to walk. It was mesmerizing, and I still can’t believe that I’m in a position where I can watch something so amazing with such ease.

I slipped back on my headphones and returned to the sound desk. Since all I'm going for here is a simple playback of music through the connected device, I just need to twist and turn a couple of knobs. After doing that, I took one last look at whole thing. I think that just about wraps up my job here.

Suddenly, I felt a soft tug on the sleeve of my jacket. I pulled my headphones to the side and turned around, only to find Natsume standing there. She had a strange look in her eyes, one that made it seem like she wanted something but was hesitant to ask.

"This is kind of reminiscent of a certain situation a while back," I scoffed. "But Suguha was there last time."

"Oh, yeah. I didn't even think about that."

"Well, it's not like was a significant moment to remember. Anyway, what's up?"

"Can you... Can you tell me a bit about yourself?"

My mind went blank for a split second, followed by another couple of a second.

"Where's this coming from all of a sudden?"

"I just thought... Since you're our assistant now, I should probably learn more about you, right?"

"I'm only gonna be here for three months. There's no point."

"Still, I want to know anyway."

Natsume seems insistent to know, and I can’t help but wonder why. I’m not the most interesting person in the world. Compared to her, my story isn’t cool or appealing. She’s a famous idol. Whereas I… I’m just me.

I’m…

"Yozora?" Natsume’s soft voice broke through my spiraling thoughts.

I snapped out of it, realizing she was staring at me with wide, worried eyes. In an instant, I pushed everything back down, forcing my thoughts away, and cleared my head.

"There's really nothing you need to know about me, Natsume," I said as I shut the sound panel. "Anyway, I gotta go. Manager Na sent another task my way, and I have to take care of it before the others show up."

"Oh. O-okay..."

As I walked past her, the guilt of making her sad gnawed at me. Unable to shake off the feeling, I turned around and gave her all I could in that moment.

"Maybe one day, Natsume. I'll tell you everything about me. Just not today."

"Ah..." she mumbled, and her face was quickly overtaken by a smile. "Okay! I... I'll look forward to it."