As usual, Sakiko arrived at Kikukawa Bookstore twenty minutes early to prepare for her shift. Her routine involved checking the day's tasks, prioritizing them, and planning out her time accordingly.
By doing this, she could complete her work efficiently and free up as much time as possible for reading and studying.
It wasn't just books about music—since she planned to attend Haneoka High School, an academically rigorous institution with scholarships on the line, she needed to maintain strong grades. She had already started studying high school material in advance.
Yesterday was mostly about catching up on schoolwork. Maybe today, I can look for some books on music...
As Sakiko mentally organized her plans, another thought surfaced.
I told Mutsumi about my job here before. We agreed to meet today and talk about family stuff...
Her thoughts stalled for a moment. Beyond the family issues weighing on her mind, thinking about Mutsumi inevitably reminded her of CRYCHIC.
She wondered how the band was doing. Even though she had been deliberately avoiding anything related to it—wanting to sever ties with her past ignorance and immaturity—memories of it still crept in.
Should she ask Mutsumi about them?
No. That would only make things messier.
"Good afternoon."
Walking into the store, Sakiko maintained her usual graceful demeanor and greeted the store owner, Kikukawa Yuu, who sat behind the register.
"Ah, Sakiko! I was just thinking you'd be arriving around this time." Yuu grinned mischievously.
"Did you need something from me, Miss Yuu?" Sakiko asked, puzzled. It was a normal workday, and her arriving at this time was expected. Why was Yuu acting as if she'd been anticipating it?
"Ahem. Nothing, nothing at all." Yuu suddenly seemed to reconsider her words and cleared her throat. "Just go about your work as usual."
"...Alright."
Sakiko smoothly made her way to the employee room, set down her shoulder bag, and put on her store apron. Then, she headed out to find the coworker who had started earlier than her, ready to take over the shift.
Eventually, she found them in the bookstore's cozy reading corner—an area filled with cushions and bean bags for customers to relax in.
Holding a vacuum cleaner and looking ready to clean the space was Miss Oga, a college student who worked at the store. Before Yuu had dropped out, the two had attended the same university. Apparently, Oga had moved to the city from the countryside, and her demeanor was always a little shy and reserved.
At the moment, however, she looked flustered.
"O-um, Kyo... could you move for a bit? I need to clean here. It won't take long."
The reason for Oga's distress was clear.
Sprawled out across a pile of cushions, completely motionless, was Kikukawa Kyo.
She had stacked several pillows and throw blankets into a nest, where she now lay lazily, looking utterly lifeless. A ridiculously long straw—formed by sticking two or three straws together—was in her mouth, the other end poking into a carton of milk pudding.
Sakiko's expression remained polite, but inwardly, she felt pleased as she approached.
Meanwhile, Kyo, still chewing on her straw, responded to Oga without lifting her head.
"Don't worry, Oga. I'll do my duty as a cleaning cloth in a bit—just gonna roll around and wipe the floor clean myself. Sis won't be mad at you."
"That's not the problem..." Oga muttered helplessly, staring at Kyo's boneless, languid posture. She placed the vacuum aside, fidgeting nervously as she searched for a way to lift Kyo off the ground.
Sakiko, observing this rare sight, tilted her head.
"Miss Oga, what's going on?"
"Sakiko! Please talk some sense into her. She's been lying here like this for over an hour!"
An hour?
Sakiko blinked in surprise. She glanced at Kyo's milk pudding carton—it hardly seemed like something that could sustain her for a whole hour.
Shifting her position slightly, Sakiko quickly noticed the pile of empty bottles and snack wrappers hidden behind the cushions.
"Miss Oga, is this the last section you need to clean?"
"Yeah..."
"Then why don't you take a break? I'll handle things here. Kyo and I will clean up together."
Sakiko's gentle smile was truly infectious. It didn't take long for her to reassure the still-worried Oga, promising that she would call for help if needed. Only then did Oga reluctantly leave to take a break.
"Kyo."
The curve of Sakiko's smile seemed to deepen slightly as she settled herself beside Kyo, carefully choosing a cushion that wasn't being squashed under her weight. With both hands, she lightly smoothed the fabric over Kyo's shoulder before gracefully sitting down, her posture poised yet comfortable. The subtle closeness between them narrowed the space between them even further.
"What's wrong this time? You look completely out of it."
In order to keep the straw in her mouth, Kyo hadn't buried her face entirely in the pillows. Her head was tilted to the side, but even so, she had very little room to move. At this angle, Sakiko—now sitting beside her—completely filled her vision.
Most of what Kyo could see was Sakiko's neatly placed legs, positioned gracefully to one side after she had taken her seat. Beneath her apron, she wore a simple, elegant white dress. Since she was sitting, the hem had lifted slightly, revealing a glimpse of her full, softly curved thighs. Her knees, tinged with a faint rosy hue, rested lightly against the cushion.
From there, her shapely calves extended downward, encased halfway by a pair of delicate white stockings trimmed with simple lace. At her feet were polished, round-toed black leather shoes.
Kyo tried to shift her head, making an effort to catch a glimpse of Sakiko's face, but she could only manage a partial view from the corner of her eye. And even then, her vision was blocked—by something noticeably fuller than Sakiko's thighs.
Her eyes flicked upward a few times in vain attempts before she gave up entirely. With an air of defeat, she let the now-empty straw slip from her lips, her voice weak and barely above a whisper, as if she were about to drift off to sleep.
"Yesterday, I suffered a humiliating, crushing defeat. Completely lost face. As a bartender, to be so disgraceful behind the counter… it's an unforgivable failure."
It was all Taki's fault.
Kyo had always known that, beneath Taki's cool and somewhat distant demeanor, there was a warmth hidden inside. But the fact that someone as proud and hardworking as Taki was pushing herself so hard just to drown out her own self-doubt—her uncertainty about her own worth—had hit Kyo like a punch to the gut.
No… if she really thought about it…
With a small groan, Kyo twisted her body, rolling over onto her back in a completely defenseless sprawl beside Sakiko. The movement left her disheveled—her button-up shirt had come undone in the process, the topmost button hovering dangerously between fastened and undone. The hem had ridden up slightly from the friction, exposing a delicate strip of soft, pale skin along her stomach and the slender curve of her waist.
Sakiko hadn't even had time to fully process the sight before Kyo, now staring straight up at her, suddenly muttered:
"The root of all evil…"
"…Huh?"