"Perfect timing, the rain stopped," Kikukawa Kyo murmured softly, glancing outside the gazebo. She still felt a tinge of longing toward the rare beauty of today's shower—especially since sunshowers were even rarer.
Kyo turned back to Soyo and Sakiko.
"We really lost track of time. Weren't all three of us supposed to be somewhere?"
"Oh…" Soyo suddenly remembered. They were supposed to go to RiNG today, and Kyo was coming along as well. Tomori and the others probably didn't even know yet that Kyo had officially joined the band.
Sakiko's expression wasn't exactly carefree either. Until today, her attendance record at the bookstore had been pristine—not a single late arrival or early departure, let alone a missed shift.
Of course, Yuu wouldn't reprimand her even if she showed up late. After all, Kyo herself was partly responsible for the delay.
But Sakiko wouldn't use Kyo as an excuse. Without Kyo stepping in today, things between her and Soyo would've spiraled rapidly toward disaster.
Clearing the air with Soyo definitely lightened Sakiko's mood.
Now she could focus better on her job—except first she'd have to deal with the inevitable wage cut from being late.
Then came another issue.
"Looking at you two right now, I don't think you'll be able to handle your original plans," Kyo pointed out gently, gesturing toward their clothes.
Although the rain wasn't heavy earlier, the prolonged walk the three had taken through the drizzle had left both Sakiko and Soyo thoroughly soaked.
Showing up to RiNG or the bookstore in this state would hardly be appropriate.
Plus, keeping those drenched clothes on was just inviting a cold.
As for Kyo herself? Neither Sakiko nor Soyo could compare to Kyo's expertise in getting rained on. By now, she could even sense instinctively whether she'd catch a cold or not.
A cold always strikes when you think you're completely fine—that's a warning Kyo regularly gave to students who intentionally stood under cold showers hoping to skip school. Odds are, the cold would patiently wait until your weekend to ambush you instead.
Sakiko and Soyo exchanged conflicted looks.
"How about this—you both go home, take a hot bath, and get some rest. I'll explain things to the band, and as for Sakiko…"
Kyo paused, glanced meaningfully at Soyo, and decided there was no point in hiding her awareness of Sakiko's situation anymore.
"I'll explain your situation as well. I've developed a tolerance to rain, but you two haven't. Colds are nasty, trust me."
She spoke gravely, respecting colds on a tactical level despite her strategic disregard for rain.
"That's really nothing to boast about, Kyo-chan. Even you shouldn't casually let yourself get soaked," Sakiko scolded lightly, brow furrowed in concern.
"That's right, Kyo-chan! You need to be careful, too!" Soyo quickly joined in with her own admonishment.
"Don't worry~! I rarely catch colds—but when I do, it's always serious, so I never take it lightly!"
"Wait a second—" Sakiko instantly seized on the important detail. "What do you mean, 'always serious'?"
"Hm?" Kyo tilted her head slightly. "Well, it's pretty rare, but whenever it happens, my fever spikes really high…so bad I can't even get out of bed or leave the house."
"Then you should hurry home too!" came two voices in perfect unison.
In the end, they agreed to abandon their original plans. Soyo felt a bit guilty about letting Anon and the others down, but she quickly messaged on LINE, promising to show up tomorrow for sure.
Was Soyo fully committed to this new band yet? Maybe not entirely. Compared to the band itself, her thoughts clearly revolved more around Kyo at the moment.
But at least now, Soyo didn't harbor any hidden resistance toward it…probably.
Sakiko's case was simpler; she just had to request a day off. Although normally such a decision would've felt painful to her—the loss of an entire day's wages wasn't insignificant…
Kyo hinted to Sakiko that she could speak to Yuu about getting paid leave, but Sakiko refused outright.
"I'll get going then. See you later, Kyo-chan, Sakiko."
"Bye-bye~"
"See you."
Soyo was the first to depart, her interactions with Kyo today having charged her up enough that she was already recalling, with a private smile, the delightful sensation of sitting on Kyo's lap earlier.
"So, Sakiko, are you heading straight home now too?"
"To be honest, I don't want to," Sakiko admitted frankly, her face uncharacteristically tinged with irritation. For someone as composed as Sakiko, this was quite an unusual lapse.
Her annoyance, however, wasn't directed at Soyo or Kyo.
Instead, it was aimed at the perpetual drunkard holed up in that tiny, dim, run-down apartment.
The mere thought of going home and being greeted by fresh beer cans scattered all over the floor, along with a drunk man sprawled out like a corpse, was enough to make her head throb.
That worthless father…
If only he'd put even minimal effort into finding work, her life would be infinitely easier.
Hah. Maybe she should be grateful that, even dead drunk, he turned into useless sludge rather than taking his anger out on her with his fists.
"If you don't want to go home, why not come to my place?" Kyo suggested lightly.
"Huh?"
"You visited last time, remember? My parents are hardly ever home, it's usually just me and my sister. If you don't mind, you're welcome to stay overnight and even sleep in my room."
"…"
"As for clothes, you'll have to borrow mine, though all I have are button-up shirts. But don't worry—the uniform can dry overnight before school tomorrow."
Kyo noticed Sakiko's expression, which seemed to grow increasingly strained as she held back some complicated emotion.
"What's wrong? You look hesitant. Don't tell me it's your pride again."
"No, that's not it…" Sakiko met Kyo's eyes, telling herself firmly that Kyo's invitation was purely innocent. Just a friendly sleepover invitation, nothing more…
Completely normal.
"I'll go to your place," Sakiko finally answered decisively.
"Good~! Hehe, tonight you'll get to taste my new specialty—I'll even prepare drinks on the side. Afterward, you can enjoy a nice hot shower. Trust me, it'll feel amazing."
As for today's victor…
Soyo had clearly lost.
---
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