Chapter Text
It was the midst of April. Hazawa Tsugumi was now in her second year of high school. Lately, everything had been flowing smoothly for her. Everyone from Afterglow was finally assigned to the same class, and they had celebrated Ran’s birthday just the other day, which served as a double commemoration. In addition, she was elected vice-president of the student council, with Hina taking the helm as president. It was reassuring since it was somebody Tsugumi was familiar with. Even if she couldn't fathom the prodigy's vocabulary at times, she was a capable person who could be relied upon. Significant events like these provided as a basis for contentment, gratitude and jubilation.
Except for a single pressing matter!
Unfortunately, a brief, recent recollection which was so insignificantly trivial had bored itself into the depths of Tsugumi’s mind! It acted like a stubborn parasite, draining all other sources of positivity, and that dreadful scene was drilled so intensely into her memory that it replayed over and over in her head! Even now, as she was preparing to close up shop on a crisp, Friday evening—
"Hi Tsugu!" A bright voice accompanied the soft clinking of the door as Himari ambled into the café.
"Himari-chan!" The abrupt sound broke Tsugumi out of her rumination, and she glanced up with a smile, giving her a small wave. Every so often, it was customary for the bassist to drop by during closing time, though she really only visited to rant about anything under the sun. Still, Tsugumi didn’t mind; it felt nice to contribute as an outlet for Himari’s troubles — no matter how trifling they seemed at times. "I didn’t expect you to be here today since band practice had only just ended. More things to talk about today?"
"There’s that, but there’s also Tomoe’s birthday!" Himari cheered, skipping over to sit at the table beside Tsugumi’s. "It’s coming up next Monday, and I’ve already bought her present. Since we wrapped Ran’s birthday present here, I thought you might have some leftover wrapping paper and ribbons we could use."
"Oh, right!" Tsugumi scurried over to the back of the counter, fetching the aforementioned materials from the drawer, including a pair of scissors and some tape. "My mom had to use some for the customers, but there should still be enough."
"Thanks~! We can also discuss about what to do with the cake! I was thinking that we’d try baking it ourselves this time—"
"Hii-chan... you’re being too enthusiastic. We’ve more important things at hand to discuss..."
"Moca-chan!" Tsugumi whipped around, her eyebrows shooting up in surprise. "It’s rare to see you here at a time like this!"
"She wanted to accompany me after practice to help pick out Tomoe’s present, but I know she has an ulterior motive in mind," Himari's lower lip protruded into a sulky pout as she brandished the new pair of drumsticks at Moca.
"That’s right," the guitarist drawled, sliding past the door which was left ajar to join the pink-haired girl. "Moca-chan could’ve been lying on her bed right now, sinking into her wonderful dreams about the tastiest bread... but! Hii-chan was visiting anyway, so it was a good opportunity to tag along and ask you something."
"Not even denying it!" Himari tapped Moca's head with the drumsticks, an indignant look etched on her face. "But still, I don’t think there’s a need to be so invasive..."
"Hmm?" Tsugumi's curious gaze alternated between the pair whilst her hands worked swiftly on the table’s surface with a ragged piece of cloth. She hadn’t the smallest clue on what was so urgent that warranted an immediate answer. "I don’t mind at all, but you could’ve just sent a text message or asked me earlier during practice."
"It’s not that simple," Moca replied with an evasive smile. "The problem will be dealt with much more quickly with your physical presence."
Even Himari was nodding, albeit wearing a conflicted expression.
"Ahaha..." Tsugumi's laughter fizzled off awkwardly. With how the duo was behaving, a bad premonition had settled inside her, sparking off the warning signal to flee from the situation. Despite that, her legs ignored the desperate protests from the body, dragging her over to the other end of their table where she took her seat instead. "So what's the matter?"
"Ahh." Moca pointed a decisive finger at Tsugumi. "That’s exactly what we were gonna ask—"
"You've been acting weird since band practice started!" Himari burst out, immediately contradicting her initial stance on intrusiveness. "You were fine in school, but from the time we were at the studio, you became pretty distracted. See, even now, your eyes look glazed over, like you're mulling over something! What's bothering you, Tsugu? Did something happen?!"
Tsugumi grimaced inwardly. As expected of her childhood friends of over ten years. Nothing could escape their watchful eyes! Their attentiveness was a double-edged sword, but in this instance, the blade was poised dangerously on her end. She appreciated their concern, but… she was reluctant to confide in them. It was too humiliating, and they were sure to poke fun at her if they knew!
"W-Was it that obvious?" she asked, attempting to drag it out with the sinking knowledge that it was futile to do so.
"Hmm…" Moca put a finger on her chin, examining the ceiling thoughtfully. "I don't think it could be any clearer when you were stumbling toward my guitar, thinking it was your keyboard. That wasn't Tsugurific at all."
Oh. So it had nothing to do with their alertness. It was because she was behaving like a ditz.
"Out with it, Tsugu!" Himari pressed on, while her hands twirled a roll of wrapping paper around Tomoe's present. "No use hiding it from us! Remember the other time when you kept saying you were fine and then you collapsed—"
"Alright, alright!" The keyboardist cried out, flailing her arms wildly. Skirting around the topic was only worsening the situation. "I'll talk, just— promise not to laugh, okay...?"
It was probably just her imagination, but Tsugumi thought she spotted the slightest glint in Moca's bluish eyes as she shrugged. "I mean, there are a bunch of noteworthy achievements that Hii-chan had accomplished herself, so I don't think it's gonna be that bad."
"Did I somehow offend you during our past lives, Moca?!" The bassist bristled, poking at her with the sticks which were already neatly wrapped by its beholder. "Why are you being so mean today?!"
"It's only mean if you think it is…" Moca said airily. Her head tilted downwards. "Anyway… are you poking at my chest because you're jealous that your nutrition's funneled to your own instead of your head…?"
"What?! I dare you to say that again!"
"It's only mean if you think it is… anyway—"
A chance to escape!
Ordinarily, Tsugumi would have stepped in to cease the incessant bickering, but under these circumstances, her priority rested on keeping her secret safe! As quietly as possible, she rose to her feet furtively, trying her best not to let the chair scrape against the floor...
"Sit down, Tsugu."
The pair of voices rang out dangerously in unison, even as the duo continued to glare at each other. Well, at least Himari was. Moca merely looked entertained from the unfolding chain of events. Nevertheless, Tsugumi gulped, finally giving up and dropping back onto her chair.
"Now, let's hear it." Himari flipped back to Tsugumi, her countenance instantaneously reverting to that of a paranoid mother being overly concerned for her child. "I swear on Moca's life that we won't tease you."
Tsugumi inhaled deeply, bracing herself for the worst. She began with the one sentence which had been constantly plaguing her thoughts since the occurrence of that incident.
"I… I think she's angry with me."
Tsugumi was sitting in the lounge of CiRCLE, having arrived early as usual. None of her friends were there yet, so it was just her hanging around, sipping on some canned coffee while she waited for Afterglow's session to commence.
"Oh, Tsugumi-chan!" A warm voice floated over as a livehouse staff came into view from the corner, her outstretched arms loaded with a stack of cardboard boxes which were piled one atop the other. "I see that you're early as always. As expected of a student council member, setting a good example for the rest."
"Good afternoon Marina-san." Tsugumi returned the greeting with a smile. "I just like being early, that's all."
But that was a lie!
It was well established that Tsugumi's an early bird to a fault, but her motivation for showing up prematurely to band practice had altered within the past year. Now, it was all because of a certain girl, and she was determined to see her, even if it was only for a short while. Even if she could only catch a momentary glimpse, it would be more than satisfactory. Tsugumi had verified her sessions' time slots beforehand—by casually asking a fellow band member of hers—and had taken it upon herself to book the studio directly after that!
Though their friendship had strengthened through the months, Tsugumi felt it wasn't sufficient. Since they were attending different schools, the interactions that they shared were limited to the sporadic baking sessions or shopping sprees, and the occasional text conversations whenever there was something relatively important to discuss. She wasn't brave enough to initiate anything beyond that, and it had become progressively difficult to do so, since her level of self-consciousness had scaled accordingly with each passing encounter.
Arranging for their meetings to be a 'coincidence' was the best she could do for now.
But of course she couldn't admit that to Marina. That would make her sound like the protagonist of a shoujo manga, who had fallen so helplessly in love with the said person that she would resort to such lengths, and she was confident that she hadn't adopted such an undesirable trait (she had).
"Do you need any help with carrying those?"
"It's fine, I'll manage," Marina chirped. "Thanks for asking though! Anyway, it seems like Roselia's done with their session, so you're up next. Keep up the good work!"
As she vanished toward the back of the room, the door to the studio creaked open and the members of Roselia emerged from the room, filing through the corridor which led to where the keyboardist was sitting. Tsugumi bolted upright, stiffening her back in an attempt to look more dignified.
Yukina showed up first, giving her an acknowledging nod as she proceeded toward the exit. Ako and Rinko didn't notice Tsugumi as they trailed behind their leader — they were exchanging animatedly about a game of some sort. They were followed by Lisa, whose lips had curled upwards into a knowing grin. She winked impishly, patting Tsugumi on the shoulder before breaking into a jog to catch up with the trio.
Tsugumi waited with bated breath for the final member to make her appearance. Her heart was racing uncontrollably, and her mind had turned blank. Everything was planned up to this point, but the rest had been lamentably left for fate to decide.
What was she going to say?
A simple greeting? Aim to strike up a conversation after that? What would she ask then? How school had been since they hadn't made any contact since the first day? Or maybe if she was making any headway into baking? She did mention before that she was interested to try her hand at making some brownie cookies…
Lost in her musings, a flash of teal from her peripheral vision brought Tsugumi back to reality.
It's now or never!
"Sayo-san! Good work today!" She called frantically to the passing guitarist.
The third-year student came to a halt. She shot a cursory glance behind and nodded curtly with narrowed eyes, before stalking out of the building without a single word.
Tsugumi stood rooted to the spot, gaping at Sayo's back in bewilderment even after the door had closed behind her. She was muddled with confusion. Those few seconds would return to persistently haunt her from that point onward.
W-What just happened?!
Tsugumi had been flung into foreign territory! Never had there been an occasion where she had received such treatment from Sayo. She must've done something to anger Sayo within that short span of time...
"—and that's it," Tsugumi finished sheepishly.
Himari's mouth had widened into a perfect circle as she slowly digested the barrage of words from the keyboardist.
"Silly, isn't it?" Tsugumi smiled weakly.
"Don't say that! Maybe she was just in a bad mood! You can't assume that it was your fault just because she was being scary…" the bassist offered.
Tsugumi thought back to that sequence for the umpteenth time, vividly recollecting those green, alluring, enchanting, menacing eyes—
"It can't be that simple," she flinched, trying to shake the terrifying image from her imagination.
Meanwhile, Moca had somehow gotten hold of Tsugumi's phone during her recount, and was tapping on the screen with a peculiar expression on her face.
"Here Tsugu…" She said, thrusting her arm out. "Take a look at the text and see if it's suitable to send over. You can't just sit around and do nothing."
"Alright…" she mumbled hesitantly, retrieving the phone from Moca's outstretched hand. She was right. Otherwise, she would be dwelling endlessly over the issue without producing any productive results.
As she clutched onto her phone, a fleeting vibration was emitted, which signalled the initiation of a new call.
"Hello?"
Tsugumi's hands fumbled and she nearly dropped the device. "S-Sayo-san?! Why…?"
"I should be asking you that, Hazawa-san," came the clipped reply. "You were the one who called."
Tsugumi was dumbstruck for a moment before the realization hit her. Moca wasn't typing out a message; she was looking for Sayo's contact number to dial! Panic-stricken, her brain scrambled to find an excuse, but she was too distraught to come up with an adequate answer.
Could this dire state of affairs get any worse?!
"Sayo-san…" Moca suddenly spoke up. "Tsugu would like to invite you for a walk outside right now."
Yes.
"Moca-chan?!?!" she cast a horrified gaze at her friend, silently mouthing the words. "What in the world are you doing?!"
"Y'know, for some fresh air." She added smugly, giving Tsugumi a thumbs up. On the other hand, the shade of red on Himari's cheeks had deepened while she stared at the phone, as though she were the one who was compelled to talk to Sayo.
The silence that followed was unbearable. For a split second, Tsugumi feared that the Roselia member had already hung up after listening to such a brazen request, until it was brought to her attention that the line was still connected. What was she thinking then?
She had to say something, anything! Say that Moca was merely pulling a fast one— but wouldn't that just anger Sayo further?!
"I— um, only if you'd like of course, Sayo-san… since you must be busy and all…" she trailed off lamely.
Ahhh! She just wanted to dissolve and fuse with the table, where she would be protected from the scrutiny of the overwhelming societal pressure emanating from this room. That would be comforting…
"Sure."
"EEEH?!" Himari and Tsugumi shrieked simultaneously, before cupping their hands over their mouths in shock.
"It's getting late, so let's not stray too far from our homes," the voice crackled softly from the phone's speaker, disregarding their tumultuous outburst. "Shall we meet at the park in half an hour?"
Tsugumi was nonplussed. This was definitely a dream, it had to be. Sayo was unquestionably still in a foul mood, so why…?
"Hazawa-san?"
"Tsugu!" Himari hissed. "Your answer!"
"Huh? Oh— yes, of course! I... I'll see you there!" She managed to squeak out, being acutely aware of the incremental rise in pitch of her voice with each uttered word.
A final, incomprehensible noise leaked from the phone, and the line went dead.
The cogs in Tsugumi's brain had jammed up, and they were grinding furiously against one another in a hopeless attempt to pull herself together.
She was exhausted.
A sense of quietude had assumed control over the room. Himari watched Tsugumi nervously, clearly at a loss on how to comfort her. Moca however, had leaned forward, and was examining her closely with gleaming eyes, like a mad scientist in utter fascination with her experimental subject.
Tsugumi wasn't sure how many minutes had elapsed, but something told her that she couldn't stay a mess forever. There was a crucial appointment looming ahead, and she would be running late if she were to stick around any longer.
"Umm…" she mumbled to break the uncomfortable silence, having finally forced her thoughts back into some semblance of order. "I'll need to lock up the café since my parents aren't around, so you guys will have to leave..."
"O-Of course! Don't you worry about Tomoe's birthday," Himari said quickly, jumping to her feet. "Just focus on winning Sayo's heart!"
"I'm telling you guys, it's not like what you think it is…" Tsugumi sighed. She didn't want them blowing things out of proportion. It was just a simple crush, an infatuation that will pass with time, and nothing more than that!
"Come to think of it... when is Sayo-san's birthday?" Moca asked.
"March 20th," Tsugumi replied instinctively, but instantly regretted her answer as her bandmates nodded gravely in response. "What?"
"You've done your homework…" Moca observed, picking up the unused ribbons on the table. "Too bad it's already over. You could've turned up looking like this—" she sauntered over, draping the strips over Tsugumi’s shoulders, and added a short piece to her hair for good measure.
"What are you doing now…?"
“—and then you tell Sayo-san this.” Moca pushed Tsugumi’s phone—which she had sneakily grabbed once again while adorning Tsugumi—in front of her eyes. “Read it aloud.”
Tsugumi squinted at the miniscule words in the textbox. “Sayo-san… Happy birthday… this year… I'll be your present—”
She could virtually feel the steam being ejected out of her reddened ears as her psyche wandered aimlessly into the forbidden domain, visualizing the unspeakable. Just like the protagonist of a shoujo manga.
"Moca-chan!"
“That's actually a really romantic-sounding statement...” Himari muttered, contemplating dreamily into the darkening sky as the duo were pushed out of the store by the keyboardist. "We'll be rooting for you, Tsugu! Be sure to update us on what happens!"
"My job here is done," Moca proclaimed proudly. "I'll leave the rest to you, Tsugu..."