Marin Kitagawa, smiling, tore open a cat treat, hoping to lure the cat with food.
"Want some?" she asked, extending it toward the cat.
The little cat sniffed it, took a lick, and its ears instantly perked up as it began to lick the treat nonstop.
When she tried to reach out and pet its head, the kitten instantly darted back behind Chihaya Kaiser's legs.
"Aww... just let me pet you," Marin Kitagawa pouted at it, but still offered the treat for it to eat freely.
"Here." He scooped up the kitten, holding it by its sides, and presented it to Marin Kitagawa. In his arms, the kitten focused on eating the treat, no longer afraid of her.
"So biased. Kaiser-kun gets to pet it all he wants." She reached out and stroked the kitten's head, her tone slightly disgruntled.
But the fluffy feeling made her beam again. She started petting the cat a little more firmly, which didn't seem to bother it.
He watched the kitten finish, then let it go. It leaped onto a wall, looked back at them, licked its paws, and watched them leave.
The cat was just a small interlude; it didn't stop them from heading to the station together.
Along the way, many women were stealing glances at Chihaya Kaiser. Marin Kitagawa would silently meet their gazes, and most of them would back off upon seeing her.
When someone was that good-looking, it made many women mentally weigh whether they could even compete with Marin Kitagawa.
But only those who sounded the charge, even knowing they would lose, could be said to have a knightly spirit.
Chihaya Kaiser was still approached several times along the way, often by women in office lady attire. Before he could refuse, Marin Kitagawa would say he was busy and pull him into the station.
It was nice having someone run interference for him.
After arriving at the station, the flow of people intensified, with pedestrians rushing to and fro.
"I'm going this way," Chihaya Kaiser said, pointing down a path and looking at the girl beside him.
"Then let's part ways here."
Marin Kitagawa smiled and waved, then suddenly closed the distance, grabbed his wrist, and said in a higher-pitched tone.
"You have to come on Saturday, okay? It's a promise."
After saying that, she pulled away and ran off like a fawn, turning back to wave at him with a bright, sunny smile.
Being with Marin Kitagawa always felt easy. The atmosphere was lively enough to be cheerful, yet also comfortable.
Compared to the other girls in his class, they were a bit noisy.
He boarded the train and opened his phone.
Scrolling through the messages in his part-time job group chat, he found a gig that looked decent.
The time was 3 PM tomorrow, the location was Akihabara. A man named Dr. Nakabachi... was holding a press conference about time travel and needed a set of photos taken. The pay was 8,000 yen.
Surprisingly, no one had taken it. Everyone was just making fun of it. The messages in the group were all jokes about how time travel was impossible, that the client probably wouldn't pay, and that only Doraemon could pull off time travel.
Chihaya Kaiser figured it was just a waste of a little time at worst. If he didn't get paid, he wouldn't hand over the photos. He sent a private message and took the job.
Just as he was about to exit the chat, he noticed a new message.
Ryo: "I need to see you about something urgent. Can you come?"
His gaze froze on the screen. After a soft sigh, his fingers tapped a few times, forming a short message.
"Where."
"Please hurry."
After getting the location, he got off at the next stop and transferred to a train heading to Shimokitazawa.
The roar of the train seemed to pull him back to that summer—from the excitement of their first time on stage, which kept them up all night, to someone suggesting they should write songs to please the audience, to the explosive arguments, and even someone almost getting physical with Ryo.
Now, it was all over.
Everyone had gone their separate ways.
He had taken a punch for Ryo, a solid hit to his left cheek, and was naturally seen as being on her side.
Since then, he had decided he would never play in a band again, unless someone paid him to.
But at his skill level, who would hire him?
That fight felt like it happened yesterday, not just sometime last summer. Every detail was crystal clear in his memory.
He could count on one hand the number of times he'd seen Ryo in the last few months. He had no idea what this "urgent matter" could be.
But Chihaya Kaiser couldn't just ignore it.
After the train stopped, he walked quickly down the street, weaving through the pedestrians, until he reached a coffee shop.
Inside, by the floor-to-ceiling window, a wooden plank served as a long counter. A lone girl sat at the edge, legs crossed, one hand supporting her body, exuding a "don't come near me" aura.
A cool, composed, stylish, and elegant beauty.
Suddenly, through the glass.
Their eyes met. Ryo covered her mouth, a secret smile tugging at her lips, and waved to him outside.
She raised her hand and called a waiter. "Two espressos, please."
Just then, the door opened.
The sound of the wind chime drew everyone's attention. Nearly everyone who looked up was captivated by the sight of the pink-haired boy, feeling an instinctive sense of warmth toward him.
His gaze swept the room, confirmed his path, and he walked past the long counter to the window, taking a seat on the round stool next to Ryo Yamada.
The waiter brought the espressos. He said his thanks but didn't pick up the cup, simply asking.
"What's the emergency?"
"It's on me," she said, pointing to the coffee.
"Business first." Chihaya Kaiser held the cup but had no intention of drinking it. He preferred sweeter things.
"Lend me some money, Kaiser." Ryo Yamada picked up her coffee cup, sniffed its aroma, then set it back down, her tone dead serious.
Chihaya Kaiser: "???"
Weren't a lot of people asking him for money lately?
Yanami Anna still owed him money.
He looked at Ryo Yamada. Her cool, stylish demeanor from earlier had vanished completely, not even lasting three minutes.
She cleared her throat, raised an eyebrow, and looked at his face with a hint of surprise.
"Kaiser, it's been a while. You seem to have changed a lot. Gotten a little more handsome, maybe."
"It's just your imagination," Chihaya Kaiser said.
"Well, still not quite as cool as me."
Ryo Yamada turned to look at her reflection in the glass, not paying it much mind as she explained.
"Nijika, a kouhai, and I recently formed a new band, so all my money went into upgrading my gear.
Lend me some money for food, Kaiser.
You're the only one I can count on."
As she spoke, her eyes suddenly welled up with tears. She bent her index finger and wiped the corner of her eye with the back of it, as if she were really crying.
Chihaya Kaiser felt like a husband who'd taken his wife's hard-earned money. The stares from the people around them were a bit piercing.
"Alright, how much do you need?"
"Lend me ten thousand for now," she said, instantly back to normal as she held out her hand.
Even though she was a year older than him and his senior in the band.
Chihaya Kaiser stood up. "Don't have it. Goodbye."
"Wait, five thousand is fine too." Ryo Yamada grabbed his wrist, biting her lower lip as she started her act again.
"One thousand, max. And that includes my train fare for coming all the way out here," he said, sitting back down with a deadpan expression and an icy tone.
"Fine, this is to cover your train fare."
Ryo Yamada shoved a piece of paper into his palm. When he unfolded it, it was a ticket to a live show.
______
🎉 BIG NEWS! To celebrate our new story, the director is offering 25% DISCOUNT! Your support means the world <3
When you join, you get instant access to:
✅ Until 40 advanced chapters of ALL stories!
✅ Exclusive content and updates!
Help us hit our community goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone
🚀 55 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters of ALL STORIES!
Claim your 25% OFF spot and unlock everything now:
👻 patreon.com/Walnutchan