While Tetsuya was still in the product room talking with Uika, the atmosphere in the office was, to say the least, incredibly awkward.
Ai, who had commandeered Tetsuya's seat, had no intention of leaving, and Sakiko couldn't think of any common ground she could possibly have with this lawless pervert.
If anything, it was a blessing that the two of them hadn't started fighting...
(But then again... she's been a lot more behaved than I expected.)
Watching the girl who was currently staring blankly at Tetsuya's workbench, Sakiko felt a little surprised.
She had expected this girl to shamelessly rummage through Tetsuya's personal belongings and then take something for herself, but to her surprise, she was just sitting there quietly. Not only was she not rummaging through things, she didn't even show any curiosity towards the sewing supplies...
Just as Sakiko was marveling at how inscrutable Ai's logic was, Ai suddenly spoke up.
"Hey, Togawa Sakiko."
"...What is it?"
"Where are Tetsu's gloves? Aren't they here?"
"? Gloves?"
The sudden mention of this word made Sakiko's expression incredibly puzzled.
"What gloves?"
Faced with Sakiko's question, Ai's expression also showed a hint of bewilderment.
"...Hm? Tetsu doesn't wear gloves when he's doing handiwork anymore?"
"Oh, you mean his work gloves."
Sakiko nodded in belated understanding before answering.
"Chihaya-nii only wears gloves occasionally to increase friction when handling slippery fabrics like silk. He usually doesn't wear them."
"I see..."
Ai nodded somewhat blankly.
"Tetsu has gotten so good that he's no longer afraid of the sewing needle..."
"...Afraid of the sewing needle?"
Another unfamiliar concept had just popped up.
"Chihaya-nii used to be afraid of sewing needles?"
"Mhm."
Ai said, shifting her gaze to the sewing machine on the workbench.
"At the orphanage, he once saw someone's hand get pierced by a sewing machine, so he wore gloves for a long time while working."
"Eh..."
Although her tone was incredibly calm, the image she described still made a flash of shock appear on Sakiko's face.
Because she had also used a sewing machine, the horrifying scene Ai described wasn't that hard for her to imagine. And the fact that Tetsuya had seen this during his time at the orphanage... that is, as a child, made her heart fill with an unshakable sense of sympathy and pity.
"It wouldn't be strange at all if he was not only afraid of needles, but developed a lifelong psychological trauma..."
"Even so, for the children at the orphanage, if you didn't work, you didn't eat."
Ai said with a blank expression.
"So in order to survive, even if you were scared, you had to keep doing it."
"..."
Just as Tetsuya never proactively pried into her past, she rarely asked about his.
As companions who both had complicated experiences from childhood, the two of them always maintained a tacit understanding, keeping a safe distance that wouldn't touch each other's scars.
However, now that she had actually heard about Tetsuya's past, she suddenly realized that perhaps what he had gone through was far more painful than her own...
"Since you and Chihaya-nii are from the same orphanage... does that mean you used to do handiwork like him?"
"No."
Unexpectedly, Ai shook her head.
"Because I was just too clumsy, I couldn't do that kind of thing at all. And so Tetsu, to prevent me from being scolded or hit by the adults at the orphanage, would always do my share for me as well."
"...So Chihaya-nii has been that caring since he was young."
Sakiko couldn't help but remark.
But then again, that was probably the reason why Ai had fallen so deeply for Tetsuya at that age...
"That's the most unbearable part."
However, to Sakiko's surprise, upon hearing her remark, Ai's eyes instantly became vacant.
"To Tetsu, my existence might be important, but it's by no means necessary. I've always been the one being taken care of by him, and yet, I've never been able to do anything for him..."
At this, she suddenly looked up at Sakiko.
"Do you know why I can't stand you and Chihaya Anon? It's because of this. Chihaya Anon, who also only ever received his favor, easily stole my place just because she was lucky enough to become his family. And what I've never been able to do, you've done so easily. Honestly, it pisses me off."
"How unreasonable..."
Although the reason for her hostility was just Ai's own selfish narrative, for Sakiko, the reasoning wasn't that hard to understand.
Even she, who had already provided some assistance to Tetsuya's work, still felt a sense of indebtedness to him. Let alone Ai, who had only ever been on the receiving end of his care.
...
"By the way... the reason you didn't go all the way that day, it wasn't just because of us, was it?"
Suddenly, Sakiko said.
"Although no one else noticed, I actually saw a little bit that day... If you had really been determined to go through with it, neither we nor Chihaya-nii would have been able to stop you."
She looked up at Ai's eyes, which seemed to sparkle with starlight.
"You're very worried about losing Chihaya-nii, but you don't want to destroy his ideals with your own hands, do you? Otherwise, you've had far too many opportunities to make a move. There was no need to set this May live as a deadline at all."
"Heh, who knows?"
Faced with Sakiko's words, Ai just let out a small laugh.
"All I know is that if you had arrived a little later that day, I would have eaten him without a second thought. And also... if he doesn't show me a possibility that can put me at ease before the May live, I will still announce our relationship at the live."
"...I really don't get you."
Whether it was the "possibility" she spoke of, or the many contradictory thoughts she held for Tetsuya, all of it was very difficult for Sakiko to understand.
But in any case, seeing her now, it seemed there was no need to worry about her prematurely initiating her "self-destruct" plan for the time being...
"Speaking of which, you and Misumi Uika seem to be childhood friends, right?"
Ai suddenly seemed to remember something.
"Do you know what type of man she likes?"
"How would I know that?!"
Faced with such a rude question, Sakiko replied irritably.
"Stop treating every other girl as your enemy. Don't you ever get tired of it?"
"...What a clueless person."
Faced with Sakiko's response, Ai just shook her head.
"I hope you don't regret saying that one day..."
Creak—
"Well then, I'll go change now... Remember what we agreed on, Tetsuya-san."
"Mhm, I know."
And so, under the gazes of the two, Uika, holding a large pile of clothes, walked into the changing room with a strained expression.
"See... what did I tell you?"
Sakiko pouted at Ai.
"There's nothing going on between them."
"...It'd better be that way."
But at least from what Ai knew of Uika, even when faced with the most troublesome work, she had never worn that kind of expression...
I hope I don't get another powerful rival out of nowhere within this month...
Ai thought, gazing at the tightly closed door of the changing room.