[ Honestly, good on Ruby for actually managing to keep up with Hibiki long enough to catch up with her... especially since Hibiki has plenty of stamina left to keep running. She only stopped because... well, she figured she was far enough away. Just think of this as an important and necessary exercise for becoming an idol, Ruby. ]

R... Ruby-chan...

[ Hibiki looks up from taking a breather herself, only now noticing that she's been followed, being so focused on running that she hadn't even heard Ruby's voice calling out to her... but at least it's not him. It's just... it's just Ruby. She likes Ruby. Ruby is a friend, Ruby is her friend, Ruby is... ]

Ah... Ah! S-Sorry, Ruby-chan! I didn't hear you! No, no I'm fine! I just... I really needed to run, y'know?

[ Not even Hibiki feels really proud of that reasoning. She could've just said that yes, that old guy was bothering her, but... she couldn't bring herself to say such a thing. Not about him.

So instead she just... tries to build back up her usual air of cheeriness as best she can. ]