"Five outfits in ten days... Eh? Are you serious?"
After hearing the "mission" Tetsuya brought back, Sakiko was practically turned to stone.
"A-Although I know you're amazing, Chihaya-nii, making five outfits from scratch in ten days is just too ridiculous, isn't it?!"
"...? From scratch?"
Hearing Sakiko's cry of alarm, Tetsuya was the one who froze for a moment, before nodding in realization.
"Ah, I see. Until now, I've only ever shown you how to make custom pieces from scratch, but I've never taught you how to modify ready-made clothes."
As he spoke, Tetsuya walked towards the product room and beckoned to Sakiko.
"Come, Togawa. I'll show you [KaZoKu]'s real battlefield."
...
Before this, because she had only ever seen Tetsuya create garments starting from fabric and patterns, Sakiko had never entered the product room where the ready-made clothes were stored.
And when she actually stepped inside, she couldn't help but let out a gasp.
"How many... clothes are there in here!?"
In the product room, which was no smaller than the office, every bit of space, aside from a workbench at the far end for storing boxes and ribbons, was occupied by clothing racks and garments.
Men's wear, women's wear, long sleeves, short sleeves, tops, bottoms—they had everything.
"Because we have to change the stock every season, there are probably only about a thousand pieces or so."
Tetsuya said as he casually picked up a sweatshirt from a nearby rack.
"Since we're a clothing studio that primarily focuses on [RealClothes] (daily wear), modifying existing pieces is a much more efficient approach than designing from scratch."
"...That makes sense."
If every single piece of clothing had to start from a design sketch, the efficiency of a studio whose main selling point was daily wear would be far too low.
And in the end, the reason Tetsuya had treated those two garments with such seriousness and caution last time was entirely due to the special status of the person they were for.
Hoshino Ai...
Thinking of the top idol who was currently rising in popularity, Sakiko's heart was filled with conflict.
On one hand, it was because of the shocking secret she was hiding from Tetsuya. On the other, it was the envy she felt for the irreplaceable relationship between the two of them.
That set of clothing, made exclusively for Hoshino Ai, was something Tetsuya had practically poured his entire being into creating. It was a garment that belonged only to Hoshino Ai, and similarly, that state of nearly burning himself out was also something reserved for Hoshino Ai alone.
At least for the current Sakiko, there was still a very long way to go to catch up to Hoshino Ai and stand on equal footing with her.
Not only that, but with Hoshino Ai's recent activities, the gap in their statuses would only continue to grow...
Eh? Speaking of which... if Chihaya-nii starts his own brand, a [Model] will probably be a very important element.
If he could get Hoshino Ai to be his model, it would be a huge boost for the development of his personal brand. And Hoshino Ai would surely not refuse...
B-But... if that happens, wouldn't it put them right back into a close working relationship, bringing the two of them closer? If that's the case, wouldn't all the worries she'd had before start to come true?
"Ngh... What should I do?"
Sakiko was immediately caught in a dilemma.
Meanwhile, Tetsuya had just finished picking out a dozen or so items of clothing and was now wobbling his way over to her, his arms full.
"What's wrong, Togawa? Is something on your mind?"
"Eh? Ah, it's nothing!"
As if waking from a dream, Sakiko hurriedly took some of the clothes from Tetsuya's hands.
"Are all of these for modification?"
"That's right."
Tetsuya nodded.
"Including some pieces you can use... Anyway, let's move them to the workbench first."
"Yes!"
Then, under Tetsuya's instruction, Sakiko laid out the clothes on the workbench, spreading each one flat.
"Now, what we're going to do is find the parts we need from these ready-made clothes, based on our designs."
Tetsuya said as he picked up a jacket with a lot of graffiti-style patterns.
"Take this one, for instance. I like the way the cuffs are done, so we can just..."
Snip—!
Under Sakiko's stunned gaze, Tetsuya used a pair of fabric shears to cut the jacket into several pieces—
"Eh?"
Sakiko was taken aback.
"You just... cut it off like that?"
"Mhm. I only need a small part of it, after all. Not the whole thing."
Tetsuya said with a calm expression.
"And for us, with so little time left, this kind of patchwork method is the most feasible—don't worry, the overall style and silhouette will still be based on my design, so it won't constitute plagiarism."
"I-I see..."
Sakiko nodded in understanding.
"Then, are all these other clothes going to be taken apart too?"
"That's right."
Tetsuya said as he set aside the parts he could use.
"We'll assemble the usable parts by sewing them together. If we really can't find a suitable material, then we'll make it ourselves. This is a common technique in many handmade clothing shops."
"I see. Then... what about these leftover parts?"
"Throw them away."
Tetsuya answered decisively.
"Since they can't be used in our design, they are useless parts. Just throw them away."
"..."
That assertiveness and ego, so different from her own perception of him, sent a strange, thrilling tingle through Sakiko's skin.
Although it was just a few words, Sakiko could feel his extremely strong, personal assertion as a designer in his words and actions.
Not only that, but his serious attitude when designing for Hoshino Ai, and the extensive knowledge he displayed when discussing the summer special—everything proved that he was someone completely and utterly devoted to fashion design...
So, would a person like Chihaya-nii really give up his career as a designer for Hoshino Ai?
If she were to tell Tetsuya about Hoshino Ai's feelings before Hoshino Ai herself did, what kind of choice would he make?
Sakiko once again fell deep into thought.
But at that very moment, the phone in her pocket suddenly began to vibrate.
When she took out her phone and looked at the caller ID, a slightly surprised expression appeared on her face...
"Uika? Why is she messaging me at this time?"
With a hint of curiosity, Sakiko opened her chat with Misumi Uika.
And then, the content of the message instantly made her freeze on the spot—
[Sakiko, regarding Hoshino Ai and Chihaya-san, I have something important to tell you!]