ID Chapter 3

# Chapter Three - "A Walk in the Park"

    After that pitiful display earlier, I had nearly panicked. This decision - namely, to join Interlunium - is one that, if I'm honest with myself, I'm not entirely sure why I made. I'm already a success. I'm better than a success. I'm a star! I knew that most of these girls were only just starting out, but something about the way they operate as a group made their offer… well not enticing, obviously, but the least bad offer I've received in a long time. After hearing that attempt at lyric writing though, I'm second guessing myself.

    And I *never* second guess myself!

    I'm Eimi-freaking-Inagawa.

    So when I was offered a chance to get out of there and it was someone else's idea, of course I jumped at it. And it had actually turned out to be… nice. Pleasant enough that I've been reluctant to let this rare, relaxing Saturday end. My first instincts about Megumi had been more correct than I'd thought. Which means that even though she still can't climb a rock wall, she isn't *completely* useless. It also jogged my memory a bit and reminded me why I'd never really given her a hard time at school.

    Megumi is actually a lot less annoying than the girls I'm used to.

    We walked around the city a bit, enjoyed the brisk autumn air, and had dinner at a little tea house that Megumi says "reminds her of home." She's been polite and generally pleasant, which is a nice change from the usual sycophants and fans who won't leave me alone. It felt a lot like the usual game I play with the people around me, only for once there was a second player also wearing a mask of a perfect angel, which made the entire experience a little bit more fun. Actually, it made it a *lot* more fun…

    All of this to say that while I'm still not sure this was a good idea, I no longer think it was the absolute lousiest idea I'd ever had.

    "The trees are quite lovely this time of year, aren't they?" We had settled into a small park not too far from our dorms, just sort of meandering around. It had been I don't know how long since I'd spent a Saturday doing something this unimportant - and it would probably be just as long before I did it again - but, for a bunch of trees turning red and orange, I guess she wasn't exactly wrong.

    "Why yes. The leaves do have quite a fetching color before winter comes, don't they?"

    She nodded, then looked at me in the sort of creepy way she had a habit of. Like she was looking at a ghost or something just behind me instead of at me.

    "Say, Ms. Inagawa..."

    "What is it, *Ms. Aihara*?" I kept a big smile on my face, despite feeling the weight of Megumi's gaze.

    "If I may be so bold, I'd really prefer it if you dropped your facade. I've met many women like you, growing up as I did, and it can be rather an… unpleasant experience, going along with it all the time. It's quite beautiful, but I'd rather bond with the real you than with your mask." I smiled through her accusation, even as I felt clammy beads of sweat forming around my hairline.

    "Wh-what are you talking-"

    "Please, there's no need to be coy, Ms. Inagawa. We both know exactly what I'm talking about. We've been classmates for some time now." She began to giggle, while maintaining her unmenacing, calm expression… which somehow made it come off as even more sinister. She *looked* completely harmless, but her words were anything but. I lost my cool, feeling a bit betrayed by someone I dumbly thought I could trust.

    "Did Rinko give me away? I thought she was better than that! When I get my hands on her-"

   "Please, Ms. Inagawa, it wasn't that hard to see all on my own. Maybe it is for the other girls, but I grew up serving people. You have a hard time acting politely when you aren't expecting something to happen. Interactions with fans are easy. They already see you as wonderful. Dealing with a group of new, unpredictable people must be quite stressful, though."

    I eased up. Maybe I hadn't given Megumi enough credit, because nothing she was saying was wrong, just irksome.

    "So, are you gonna rat me out?"

    Megumi's smile persisted - she's extremely good at maintaining her composure, in a way that would be impressive if it isn't a bit annoying - as she did what she seemed to always be doing: merely looking through me with gentle green eyes.

    "Of course not. That would be awful. But I would recommend you do so yourself, at least to the other members of the group. It's not good to lie to people after all, especially when they should be able to trust you. Just be yourself! I certainly wouldn't mind seeing more of the real you." A sly wink exaggerated her playful tone at the end of her speech - not the first time she'd done something like that, though the first time I felt I knew her tricks well enough to be expecting it.

    "Ok, then, if that's what you want. Let's go." I grabbed her hand and started leading her in the direction of home.

    "W-What are you doing, Ms. Inagawa?!"

    "You said you 'wouldn't mind seeing more' of me, right? I've got a private bath in my suite. It'll be a little cramped, but that's just more fun right? So let's go."

    "E-Eimi! H-Hold on a second! I was j-just-" The words barely managed to sputter out of her poor tongue-tied mouth.

    "You were just not being yourself either. Right, *Ms. Aihara*?"

    "I was so! Why, the nerve of the accusation, Ms. Inagawa!" Thin fingers ran through Megumi's admittedly very nice brown hair as she gathered her composure.

    "Alright, have it your way. I look forward to the day we get to properly meet each other." Was her secret anything near like mine? I don't think so. That would be a heck of a coincidence, wouldn't it? No, I think it's more likely that it's less significant than that. I think, most likely, Megumi just has a lot more going on behind that confident smile than she admits. But since *she* doesn't know that *I* don't know whatever it is she's so sensitive about, it just means that we have an excuse to continue this new game of ours.

    "It's getting awfully dark. We should head back now, Ms. Inagawa."

    "Of course, Ms. Aihara."

    I walked beside Megumi as we walked back to the dorm, at a bit of a loss at what to do. First Rinko, then Junko, and now Megumi had discovered my "secret", and I didn't even have a reason to believe they would keep it. Would it really be a good idea to trust the whole group with it? Especially when I don't even really know any of them, and who knows what sort of things they're all keeping hidden.

    "H-Hey, Eimi?"

    "Yes, Ms… Yes, Megumi?"

    "What would you have done if I'd called your bluff?"

    "Well… I guess you'll never know now, huh?" I flashed her my best, most innocent smile, until we both broke down into laughter almost immediately.

    The sun finished setting sometime on the walk back, before we reached the I MY ME building, but I barely noticed. I was actually having fun on my evening out with Megumi, and if that were possible, maybe being honest with just a few people wouldn't be the end of the world.

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