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Waking up that morning, Lisa knew something was off. She couldn’t figure out what. The weather was pretty good; sky was clear, sun was shining, not too cold, not too warm, a perfect day by all standards to go outside.
The perfect day for an unnatural chill to run down her back. It wasn’t just because she could feel Moca’s stare as she wiped the cooler doors. She’d already been feeling a little cold since she woke up. The sensation only amplified as her head grew warmer in comparison.
“Staaare~” Moca droned out loud.
That was probably her cue to say something. “Yes?”
“Ah, she noticed me! What should Moca-chan do? Should she approach with a confident walk, or should she instead smirk and dish out the smoothest pick-up line ever? Choices choices...” Lisa heard her take a generous sip of her drink.
“New game or something?” asked the bassist, largely unaffected by her co-worker’s antics.
“Yep, but not a video game. I made it up after reading those books you like.” She waved one such book, to which Lisa was very grateful no customers were in the store. The last thing she wanted right now was for her ‘tastes’ to be exposed. “Super dicey stuff by the way. Chapter 16 was-”
“Ahahaha, Moca you’re such a joker! Let’s put that thing away now .”
Moca stared blankly at her, again. “Alrighty,” she complied. “I was gonna say that door was already squeaky clean, but you just kept going.”
Lisa looked back at the spot she was rubbing furiously. It was noticeably cleaner than the other doors. “W-Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“You look hot,” she deadpanned.
Lisa hated how that line made her breath catch for a second. She wondered which kind of ‘hot’ was she talking about. Her heart twisted at the thought of either one. “Jeez… now’s not the time for jokes,” she reprimanded, taking her place behind the counter.
“No, I’m deadly serious.”
Moca and her strange wordplay were never a problem for Lisa. But now she found herself frozen stiff, despite the girl insisting the contrary. “Mmm, I don’t know what you mean.” Lisa said, walking back to her spot behind the counter. “It’s only because you’re looking so much, y’know? Anyone would feel a little red in the face.”
Moca’s expression was ever the unreadable one as she never looked away from the senior. Lisa decided to ask her later about her strangeness. Sure, the moment right now was opportune since there were no customers, but that probably wasn’t wise. They could be interrupted any moment. Knowing the girl as well as she did, she could use that opportunity to wiggle her way out of questioning.
“Lisa-san.”
Her thought process was interrupted as a hand reached out to her face. Lisa turned her head, screwing her eyes shut when she saw Moca’s ever calm waters. Her fingers brushed against a lock of hair on the side of her face. If she wasn’t hot before, she definitely was now. The burning sensation contrasted against Moca’s cold hands.
Rather than her cheek (which she was not secretly hoping for, nope), the icy palm laid against Lisa’s forehead. The difference in temperature made her flinch back a little. She certainly didn’t remember feeling this heated earlier. Maybe Moca really was onto something?
“Owie!” Her junior waved her hand playfully. “See? Moca-chan just burst into flames.” She blew on it, as if to ease the invisible pain or get rid of the non-existent fire. Or both.
“We don’t know if it's a fever just yet. Give me a little while and-” A stinging headache disoriented her for a split second. She bit her tongue. “I-I’ll be fine.”
The younger girl seemed unconvinced. “Well then,” she said. “We’ll be done in ten minutes. Hang in there a little longer.” As Moca said that, the cold sensation returned to her forehead, though not her hand this time. A water droplet ran down her nose. She pulled it away from her head to get a better look. It was a soft drink from the cooler.
“When did you?...”
“I swiped it while you were cleaning earlier. Lisa-san is so married to her work that she forgets about poor ol’ Moca-chan… Boo-hoo, I want a divorce~”
“Daw, you know I would never-” She cut herself off. “Wait no! Y-You can’t just steal from the store!”
“Relax, relax!” Moca flashed her wallet and opened the cash register. “I’m paying for it right now, see? Gotta support the business.” Lisa mutely nodded as the sound of a few hundred yen coins echoed in the empty store. Now she felt a little less guilty about using the drink as a cooling pad.
She had to put it down as the front door chimed though. “Welcome!” They said in sync. The man who walked in sluggishly strolled through the aisles. Awaiting to be of service, Lisa became more aware of every second that passed. Her mind became a blank slate and the only thing she could process was how cold or hot each part of her was feeling. Sweat poured out from her forehead and chilled her to the bone as it dripped down her neck.
The fluorescent lights of the store flooded her vision and there was nothing but white.
Lisa realized she must have a really bad fever when she found herself in the break room with little memory of what happened. She could recount the details but as if she was talking about a dream. The man stood there, confused at the lack of a response. Moca tapped her shoulder and took her place. Soon after, she was guided to the break room by someone. There was a cold cloth on her forehead. She recognized it as Moca’s handkerchief. Was she still dreaming?
Next to her on the table, the same drink from earlier rested. It was a little less cold, but enough so to be soothing against her face. Her eyes traveled slowly towards the clock. Somehow in her haze, their shift ended. Five minutes overtime to be exact.
Lisa decided that it wouldn’t hurt to relax a little until she could get her bearings together. She felt bad for Moca, who probably guided her into the room while there was a customer out there. Moca might’ve left but Lisa doesn’t blame her. She couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed by that regardless.
With the drink starting to warm faster than it was cooling her down, Lisa forced herself up from the chair. It was easier than before, but she should really get home. Lisa began removing the apron and gathering her things. What greeted her sight was a pleasant surprise; Moca’s stuff was still here.
She put the lukewarm drink into her bag. Lisa opened the door slightly, seeing Moca bow to a retreating group of girls that definitely weren’t there earlier. “Moca?”
“Ah, Lisa-san,” she called nonchalantly. “How are you feeling?” The reassuring smile Moca shot her way made her heart flip.
She cleared her throat, rationalizing it as soreness settling in. “Oh, uh, still a little warm b-but I’ll be fine once I get back home.”
Moca nodded, quickly leaving the counter. “Manager-san~ We’re leaving now!”
The glow of the soon-to-be-setting-sun painted everything is a golden color. Lisa’s face was still a bright red, though it probably looked more like an orange color now. Moca offered to walk her back to her place, which Lisa saw little point in arguing against given her position.
“Wooah, it’s beforeglow~” Her junior spoke suddenly.
“B-Beforeglow? What’s that?”
Her steps slowed to match Lisa’s own tired pace. “It’s the glow before Afterglow! They’re a mega popular band, didn’t you know?” She smirked, looking off into the horizon. “Some say they’ve been a band since they were in preschool. Big audiences for them, even in diapers.”
Lisa, even in the midst of a peaking fever, cracked a loud laugh at Moca’s antics. “That so? You’ll have to recommend some of their stuff to me sometime, alright?”
“Ehh, how terrible. I was testing your love for Afterglow, but you oshihen so quickly! You’re fully devoted to Minato-san but not to your best band?”
Just before Lisa could come up with a retort that, she lost her footing from sudden dizziness and tripped over her own feet. It really was a good thing Moca was with her. For more reasons than just the girl making sure she didn’t fall flat on her face.
“Lisa-san? How are you holdin’ up?”
She wasn’t sure if having her arm slung around Moca’s shoulder was good for her health either. As she expected, there was a strong scent of fresh bread that clung to the younger girl. If she didn’t know any better, Lisa would’ve thought Moca was the one making all of Yamabuki Bakery’s bread. The scent was oddly calming in such a way that was hard to describe. It was like her kitchen. Well, that was a little bit of a stretch; Moca wasn’t hers.
“Lisa-san~ Moca to Lisa! Is anyone home?” She called out, shaking her friend gently. “...You didn’t pass out, right?” Her hand came over her forehead once more. Lisa leaned into the touch.
“Hey, Moca?”
“Mm? You’re still awake. That’s good.”
“Right, but how long was I asleep for earlier?”
Moca took a pause to think about it. “Uhhh, I don’t really remember, but you didn’t pass out. Just really out of it I think, since you walked to the break room by yourself for the most part. Manager-san let you sleep until you were well enough to walk,” explained the guitarist.
“Oh, I gotcha.”
The topic switch was abrupt. “This guy came in, right? He was pretty quick after he found what he needed. But! Right after him came a group of girls on a field trip from the country probably. They took a while just looking around and, believe or not…” This pause was one of dramatic effect. “One of them tried getting Moca-chan’s number!”
She hummed. The gyaru held the other girl a little closer. “You’re not pulling my leg, are you?”
Moca had a mock hurt expression. “It’s all true! When would I ever lie to you?”
Lisa put up a smile. “Aren’t you the popular one as always?”
“Hehehe~ Aren’t you jealous?”
Her answer didn’t come so easily, much to her surprise. “...Nah, I don’t blame them for fawning over you.” Her eyes moved to the sky. “After all, you’re the super kind Moca who looked out for the store and took care of her sick co-worker. Who wouldn’t love that?” A fond, sincere smile grew, and she gazed at her junior with gratitude. “Thanks for that, really.”
Moca was strangely silent before responding. The silence dragged on until the yellow became a bright orange. “I’m glad you finally see what Moca-chan has always had. That and the power of Babanbo-sama…”
“Yeah…” Lisa responded, pointedly ignoring the last statement. The conversation trailed off as her house came into view, painted in the reddish-orange light of the sun. “Here we are.” Moca nodded, and neither of them moved. They watched the sun rays flicker over her home. “...Hey, one last favor. Can you hear me out?”
She nodded. The scenery blurred and Moca was the only thing close enough to direct her focus on. “Sure.”
Her head was growing heavy, and Lisa felt her consciousness drift away from her. “My keys, check the front pocket…”
“Huh?” Moca maneuvered herself to shift through her purse. “These?”
Lisa nodded. She reached her other hand out, patting around to find Moca’s cheek. She pulled it lightly. “Inside…No one’s home, so can you help?...” Her vision faded to black. Lisa fell asleep.
Lisa woke up to a crashing sound. She blinked herself awake and took some time to adjust to the bright lighting. When she did, her eyes focused on a person with lightly colored hair over her bed. “M-Moca?”
“No, Minato Yukina.” Said the girl. Her nose was a harsh red. Lisa looked down at the floor and her purse was laying on its side, all the contents spilling out. “Sorry about your purse by the way.”
“O-Oh, I see.” She sat up wearily, still wearing her clothes from earlier. The sun was gone and the night fell. Lisa examined her friend’s face, inspecting her nose for any signs of bleeding. When there was none, she leaned back. “When did you get here?”
“Just a few minutes ago. Aoba-san called me over.”
“Huh? W-Why-” Lisa broke out into a coughing fit. A bottle was thrusted towards her. Lisa only held it, feeling her throat clear up. “What did she say? Where did she go?”
Yukina shifted her gaze. “She went back home. Said it would be better if I stayed here until your parents got back.” Lisa stayed silent under the sharp, judging eyes. “Why didn’t you tell her that they were out of the country?”
Lisa chuckled weakly. “Kinda slipped my mind… though I didn’t think she would leave so soon.”
“You don’t have to push yourself so hard when you’re all alone… Think about how that would affect your performances,” chided Yukina, crossing her arms with what Lisa knew was her concerned face.
“Yes ma’am!”
She glanced down at the bottle. What was strange to her was that the drink was already half empty. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was the soft drink from earlier that day, still very warm.
“Um, Yukina?” She called. “This came from my purse, right?”
“Yes. It… fell out.” No further explanation was needed on that matter.
Lisa’s suspicions grew, afraid to know the truth but excited at the prospect of it. “And you didn’t drink from it, right?”
“No. I don’t really like them. I thought you knew that?”
“Ahaha, sorry! Just making sure.” With that said, she drank a large amount of it, despite knowing it was probably not the best idea for her to be drinking sodas when she was sick. Even Yukina looked a little too concerned.
It was very warm, but Lisa found a hint of sweetness that made it addictive. “Uh, Yukina? Can you pass my phone?”
Moca threw herself face first onto her pillow, burying herself into its fluff. She couldn’t bring herself to change her clothes or do anything else. “So tired~ Need sleep!” Despite saying this, her eyes stayed wide open. She reasoned this was because of that drink earlier in the day; too much sugar or something.
“...I thought I was a goner.”
Moca stared up at her ceiling. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to just drop her senpai off on her bed and leave. She should’ve changed her into something more comfortable, or made her something to eat later. But she knew the longer she stayed there, the more dangerous it would’ve been for herself. Maybe that was a little too selfish of her.
“Minato-san is the better choice to care for her… at least, I think so.” A pit grew in her stomach as she recalled Lisa’s stories about the vocalist. “...I should send a message to her.” Her hand lazily lifted the screen over her head, wincing as it fell on her face immediately.
There was a new message; one from Lisa. Moca swallowed the lump in her throat and opened it.
“ hey u wanna come visit me tmrw? ” Moca was about to make an excuse before another couple of messages popped up.
“ my parents are on vacation btw ”
“ also yukina cant cook so i need help asap ”
“Lisa-san… so unfair.” She didn’t have the heart to repress her smile.