Work Text:
It was lonely up here in Tokyo. Who knew that the Kita and Shinjuku wards would be this calm.
This part of town was filled with music. Not idols, but rock bands. All girl bands to be exact. But the college student and former idol, Mao Isara didn't mind. Ever since he moved to Tokyo, he had been distant from being an idol since. He still keeps in contact with his friends but he found it lonely and depressing being all by himself.
Mao considered making new friends since he was really sociable and outgoing, but his loneliness to see his childhood friend, Ritsu, and his former idol group, Trickstar, has been getting to him. He missed them badly.
There were barely any males in this part of town to hit on, anyways.
But going to some live house concerts at CiRCLE was pretty cool. He went there often to relieve some stress. College always stressed him out more than ever. He was always used to overworking a lot to the point of nearly passing out in high school but college, boy, it was different!
A lot of the performances were just so nice to listen to, it was heart pounding too! Especially this one band that reminded Mao of Trickstar.
Poppin'Party was the name, he believed.
The vocals, The instruments, everything! It was also worth mentioning the band's chemistry, though. Just how nice and heartwarming it was. It hit close to home. Even the star-shaped guitar the vocalist had, gave him flashbacks when he was back at Yumenosaki.
God, he missed it.
He missed everything back home. But he wanted to go here for college since there was a good school that he wanted to major in. Back at his dorm, he contacted Trickstar about the band.
One day, they promised to go see Poppin’Party, all four of them, as Trickstar.
*One month later*
After a long lecture, Mao decided to go downtown. He was running out of money and his next allowance from his parents was on friday.
And today was monday.
And he spent it all on food and live house concert tickets!
Well, it was perfect timing to go apply for a part time job. But before that, he should hurry up and eat something. For some apparent reason, he started jogging. then slowly began to run. Why was he running?!
CRASH!
Bread started flying everywhere! Croissants, chocolate cornets, red bean buns, you name it! Mao was on his ass at the moment, weakly opening up his eyes. His vision was blurry and all he could see was buns on the floor, surrounding him.
A groan slipped out but wasn't from him. It was way more high pitched, a more girlier tone.The college kid looked in front of him and saw a girl on the ground, who was just on her ass as well.
She was wearing a soft blue apron, her curly brown hair was held up in a high ponytail. The way she was coming from was near the bakery. Perhaps she worked here?
The brown haired girl's hand was on her head, touching where she got hit. Mao began to see more clearly and it seemed like the girl was going to deliver fresh bread that was gone to waste.
"I'm sorry, I didn't look where I was going." Mao quickly got up and helped the bakery girl up as well. He finally got a closer look at her face. Her eyes were royal blue and had such a welcoming aura.
She gently laughed. Her carefree smile made Mao relax a bit, "Don't worry about it. My dad always makes a fresh new batch in case this happens."
The girl crouched down and started picking up the buns on the floor. Despite them still being on the ground, the bread still had a strong scent to them that people would still eat it.
Mao went out of his way and helped pick up some of the bread, "A-again. I'm really sorry!" He apologized again as he got up with a bucket full of chocolate cornets in his arms.
"Don't sweat about it!" She nervously smiled. "Hmm. I have never seen you around! Are you a local?" She still had a smile on her face.
"I go to xx university just around here. I moved from xx to here."
"Same here. Oh! If you don't mind, could you help me put these breads in the garbage?"
"Of course. I still do feel bad for bumping into you."
At the back of the bakery, the girl opened up the garbage can and dumped the bread in.
"Uhm. before you go.” Mao stopped the girl in her tracks but only for his stomach to growl.
His face flushed red, the blue-eyed girl laughed and took him inside the bakery.
It was called Yamabuki Bakery. The bakery was a nice and somewhat old fashioned place. The pastries were neatly sorted into cabinets and carefully wrapped in plastic. The girl asked Mao to pick out any bread that he liked and said it was for free.
This girl was being too nice to him!
She went to the back door and picked a fresh new batch of chocolate cornets and neatly placed it in a bag. Meanwhile, Mao picked up some sweet flavored pasted buns and some cinnamon rolls. The bakery girl came back and asked how he was doing.
"I'm doing alright. thank you for all of this, really." Mao responded.
"Of course! I'll be heading off to deliver these breads, now. I'll see you around!"
Mao instantly felt guilty.
Damn, how many times does this girl do errands?
He wanted to offer to help but she had already disappeared. Plus, this was a perfect opportunity for a job! He did leave a good reputation, he hoped.
Mao ran outside and went to the back of the bakery before the girl left, "Excuse me, but… Do you have any job applications?"
"Hmm, let me think." She thought about it before going on her delivery bike. "Maybe a delivery person? Sorry, I don't know because my family runs the Yamabuki Bakery. But you can help deliver these breads!"
Ah shit. There was no gas. The only option was for them to walk the bike to the gas station and bond a little.
"I never got your name." Mao began as they walked on the sidewalk. "I’m Mao Isara."
"I’m Saaya Yamabuki. I've been working at the bakery ever since I was a kid. College can't get in the way of working."
"Wow, you sure sound busy."
"Yeah, but I managed! I’m glad my friends are still around. Some of them are out of state for college. So we only see each other once a month or possibly… never. I-it's hard without them." Saaya's voice darkened and her facial expression saddened.
"Yeah. It's hard without closest friends. I understand how you feel. I miss my friends back at xx. We promised that one day, we would all see a band concert together."
"That's awesome!" She brightened up, "Which band are you guys planning to watch?"
"Poppin’Party, I think that’s the band’s name?"
Saaya stopped with the bike, which was still being held by her. Mao stopped as well to see what was wrong.
"PoPiPa..." She whispered. It was a bit quiet for the other teen to hear. "Ah! Sorry, I got sidetracked. Let's go get the gas!"
She held on tightly onto the bike handles and continued to walk towards the gas station.
***
It was finally time to make the bread delivery!
Mao got on the bike, the bread was placed on the basket that was in front of it. Saaya went behind Mao and watched him go. Well, mostly struggle. She couldn't help herself from laughing. It gave her memories of when the daughter from the butcher shop tried to ride on the same scooter.
Saaya caught up with Mao and held onto the handles, "Nooo~! You're doing it all wrong!"
"D-don't let go, or else I'm gonna fall!"
Saaya eventually took over the scooter, Mao sat right behind her. Oh my god, she smelled like bread!
"Hold onto me, this road is really deep!" Saaya yelled over the scooter's engine.
Where should he hold her though? The waist? No, no. That’s too weird. Perhaps her shoulders? She's wearing an off the shoulder top. He wouldn't touch her bare skin. Ah shit! Here comes the slope!
The scooter took off, both teens were screaming. Saaya was more joyful, Mao was just screaming. Out of nowhere, he wrapped his arms around Saaya’s waist and held on tightly.
Just a couple of strangers being friendly.
Saaya went through this road when she was on delivering duties. It was dangerous but the most fun and fastest route. She took a deep turn right after the drop, nearly bumping into cars that were parked outside of peoples houses.
Mao was amazed by this girl's fantastic handlings! Her grip was really strong on the handles. He wondered how she could do this.
The scooter finally started to slow down a bit and stopped in front of a house. The atmosphere of the house felt lonely. Saaya got out of the scooter and told Mao to wait. She went in front of the house and knocked on the door. the door opened, it was a girl who was shorter than Saaya. She had short black hair and bangs.
"Saaya-chan!" Mao heard the girl from a distance. Suppose that girl was just a friend of Saaya’s.
"How's online school going for you, Rimi-rin?" Saaya asked.
Rimi sighed, "So much pressure. I'm sorry I can't hang out with you a lot, Saaya-chan… I hope Poppin'Party can..! Ah! Sorry…"
Saaya remained quiet for a while, then she smiled. "It's okay, Rimi-rin! Take care, okay!"
The shorter girl nodded, took the Yamabuki bag and closed the door. Rimi looked more tired and weak nowadays, ever since college started.
Poppin'Party, Poppin'Party, Poppin'Party… Echoed in Saaya’s mind.
Saaya went up to her scooter and started the engine. Saaya’s sudden expression concerned Mao, "Yamabuki-san, Is everything alright?"
"Yes. Would you like to drive, Isara-kun?" She grinned.
"H-huh?! I-I don't think-"
"Haha~! You're going to be fine! Here, I'll help you when needed." She grabbed his waist and pulled him up towards the handles.
Mao's cheeks went pure red. She was touching a little bit too close for comfort. Saaya sat behind Mao and grabbed onto his shoulder and started to guide him as he moved the scooter onto the road.
Eventually, at one point, her hands went over Mao’s hands to help him more. Which only just made him blush more. Saaya was really getting herself comfortable.
"Oh sorry, Isara-kun! You don’t mind this, right? I can stop if you want."
"N-no! It's alright, I need assistance anyways." He desperately tried to hide his visible flustered face.
Slowly, but surely, Mao was getting the hang of this! Saaya let go of his hand and enjoyed the ride back to the bakery. The scooter was parked in the back of the bakery. Mao and Saaya both got off. It was already dark and Mao had to go back to his dorm before his curfew.
"I enjoyed our time together, Yamabuki-san." Mao smiled, his pearl green eyes lit up.
"Same! We should hang out next time. You can find me here, I’ll always be at the Yamabuki Bakery."
Both college students exchanged numbers and went their separate ways.
*The next day*
Mao was just about to enter the Yamabuki bakery for his first shift. He bumped into a short ivory blonde haired girl. She hissed at him and walked away with her bread. He looked back in shock, then proceeded to walk inside still looking the same.
Saaya greeted him with a laugh, she witnessed what she had seen while leaning on the bakery counter, "Good afternoon, Isara-kun! Ready for your first delivery?"
"Yes ma'am!" He walked towards the counter in confidence.
Only for it to break when Saaya dropped a shit ton of bags filled with pastries, almost knocking Mao out of his feet.
"Fufu~ feel confident now?"
"A-ah... Y-you got it..!" His voice shakened then recovered to his regular tone.
"Be back soon, there's a whole bunch of orders!"
*Few delivers after*
“Phew! T-that was a lot…” Mao parked the scooter outside of the bakery. Saaya was leaning on the wall, crossing her arms, waiting for Mao to return back.
“How’s your confidence?”
Mao pointed down at the ground and made a whistling sound as he dragged it further down. Showing that he had enough of delivering bread.
“Pfft- You did great, Isara-kun. Let’s go celebrate your first shift!” Saaya laughed.
Both of them went inside the Hazawa Coffee shop. Saaya loved to come here with PoPiPa a lot when thinking of new band ideas. But she hadn’t come into the coffee shop anymore since she had no one to hang out with.
But, Mao was with her now. A new friend to bring along with her to the coffee shop, she didn’t feel alone. But she still couldn’t let go of her old friends. What did happen to them?
The door of the coffee shop jingled when the college students walked in.
“Welcome!” A short brown-haired girl greeted them while closing her eyes and smiling. She opened her eyes, they widened. “Oh! Saaya-chan?”
“Hi, Tsugu! Weren’t you going to college in Osaka?”
Tsugumi was surprised to see Saaya again after all of these months. She realized that she had broughten a boy..?
H-her boyfriend?
“Ah! I was but we have to take online classes for now. Health precautions...” What should Tsugumi say to this boy?! She never saw any boys around the area.
Play it cool, Tsugu!
“What would you- would you like to eat me- I MEAN! N-no! Th-that’s not what I- NO!"
The red-head and the light-haired brunette exchanged glances in shock. Mao was way more confused and concerned. Tsugumi was still correcting herself over and over but kept on messing up.
“Tsugu~, Himari won’t be happy if she heard this.” Saaya teased. Which only made it worse in the other girl’s case.
“Yamabuki-san! Don’t scare her!” Mao sweated. He turned towards the girl behind the counter, “I-it’s okay, I don’t mind what you said. We all make mistakes..!”
No, this wasn’t okay for Mao. What girl panics and accidentally asks a guy if she wanted to do… that.
“Ah- R-right… Please order!” A notepad and pencil appeared into the girl’s hand as she tried to hide herself with it.
After they made their orders, Mao and Saaya both sat down at a table and made themselves comfortable. Mao loved this place already. A really relaxing and warm cafe, he should’ve come here often. But, Tsugumi would be panicking.
Tsugumi wasn’t trying to hit on Mao or anything, she was taken by Himari! Oh, but Himari would’ve said the same thing accidently if she met Mao… Or any boy. Tsugumi and Himari were just a match made by bisexual panicking.
“It’s a nice place, right?” Saaya asked, enjoying the sight of seeing the decorations in the shop.
“Yeah. If this was near my high school, me and my friends would’ve come here all the time! Maybe even everyone back at Yumenosaki.”
“Cute! I used to come here all the time with my high school friends until college. It’s good to be back here,” Saaya’s royal blue eyes longingly stared into Mao’s green eyes, “with a new friend!”
Saaya’s stomach felt upset after saying that. It’s not like she didn’t want to be with Mao, it was just her sadness of not seeing PoPiPa anymore. She wanted to spend time with Mao, but very time it happens, she always thought of Poppin’Party. But when she always thought of them, it would always be a negative feeling.
*Few days later*
House after house. Block after block.
Mao growing was tired. Being a delivery boy was surely a chore. Just one more house and then he was done for the day. He stopped at a familiar house. It was the house where Saaya made her delivery last week.
He took the last bag filled with chocolate cornets. The bag was stained with chocolate, it had melted on the way to Rimi's house. Mao stopped at the doorway and knocked on the door. He heard distant footsteps approaching inside the house going to open the door.
The same short girl answered. "Saaya-chan?" Her voice was very gentle but raspy at the same time. She had eye bags and was wrapped around in a blanket. Her hair was all rugged up and all over the place.
"Oh sorry, you aren't Saaya-chan.'' Her crimson eyes awkwardly avoided eye contact in embarrassment.
"It's alright!" Mao sheepishly smiled and handed her the bag of her favorite pastries.
The short girl blushed and nodded. Her arm reached out for the bag and took it. She started to search for her money in her pockets.
"Oh, Yamabuki-san said it's on the house."
"Ah. Saaya-chan is so nice." Rimi weakly smiled, "Thank you for being patient with me and thank you for looking over Saaya-chan."
"Heh, no problem." Mao smiled and scratched the back of his head. "I should get going now, take care."
"Y-yes!" She blushed again. Mao turned around and walked back to the scooter.
Rimi sighed in awe, Mao was really cute. Too bad Kaoru Seta went overseas for college.
Ah! What am I thinking?! I should go back to class...
Rimi closed the door as soon as Mao left.
*Yamabuki Bakery*
"Welcome back, delivery boy!" Saaya giggled when Mao entered from the back doors of the bakery.
Mao sighed, "Hi Yamabuki-san. Today was a lot busier than other days. but, at least I did it." he groaned and laid his head on Saaya’s shoulders.
"You did it, though.” She patted his head, “To celebrate, let's go to a cafe."
“Please not the Hazawa shop...”
Saaya and Mao secretly took the scooter to the cafe. As they arrived Mao ordered some pastries while Saaya sat down at one of the tables. Mao had been here before but only waiting for a CiRCLE concert to start and never ate here.
“Yamabuki-san,” Mao started, carefully holding two fruit tarts in his hands, slowly approaching Saaya, “I have a question about that girl we saw last week.”
The boy finally sat down and handed a plate of fruit tart to Saaya.
“The girl who was intensely air drumming?” She laughed, “What about that girl?”
“Huh? Wait, no. I meant the chocolate cornet loving girl! Is she alright?”
“Oh. Rimi-rin? Yeah, she’s alright. It’s just college that’s stressing her out. Rimi-rin’s one of my friends that I don’t see a lot, unless I deliver her favorites. Mostly for my friends, college has been stressing us out.”
“I see. College does stink.”
“How about you, Isara-kun? How are your friends doing?”
“Hmm.” How would he know what those idiots are doing? “Beats me, probably getting into trouble. God, I remember getting them out of the ruckus they’ve made. They’re such a pain, but I miss them.”
Mao jabbed a fork into the fruit tart and grabbed a good chunk of it and ate the tart.
Woah, this is good! It feels like my body is leaving me...
“Haha, sounds like fun! Those must’ve been really nice memories.” Saaya’s sudden laugh shocked Mao, though it wasn’t visible.
Meanwhile, Saaya’s mind admittedly shot back to Poppin’Party fooling around at CiRCLE. Everywhere around her was just memories she could think of.
No, Saaya. Stop thinking about them! We aren’t close anymore, stop it! I have Isara-kun with me, what more do I need?
“Yamabuki-san!” Mao yelled.
His sudden yell made Saaya snap back to reality.
“Jeez, you scared me. You completely blacked out on me! U-uh, are you okay?”
“Oh, sorry! I completely zoned out. This fruit tart really made me think I was leaving my body.” Saaya knew how fantastic this fruit tart was and how the satisfaction felt when eating it, so she took it to her advantage to lie.
Would Saaya even bother to tell Mao? He would understand how she felt, anyway. But why not tell him now? Maybe when the time was right.
Or maybe when Saaya absolutely breaks down.
*Few days later:
Saaya's room*
Saaya was getting ready for the mall. Well, she was already finished but she had to put her ponytail up. She opened one of her drawers and decided which hair accessory she should wear today.
Once she found one that matched with her outfit, she held up her hair and started tying it up. Her arm bumped into one of her shelves.
A book fell out.
It wasn't actually a book. It was a photo album. Saaya went down to pick it up, she automatically remembered when she did photography.
She opened up her photo album to see what beautiful pictures she has kept.
Poppin'Party…
Every single page was just filled with them! All of these precious memories Saaya wanted to forget. Why did she want to forget about them? The girls that hung out with her basically everyday in school.
The more she thought about PoPiPa, the more pain she felt when thinking about them.
"Yamabuki-sannn!" Mao was already waiting for Saaya to finish up outside her room.
I want to see that time again.
She didn’t say a word nor hear him at all. She was lost in all of the memories she took, flipping every page, admiring every picture. She wanted to see that time again! She wanted to remember the things she tried to forget for all of these months.
Saaya missed Poppin'Party with all of her heart.
Before she knew it, Saaya was on the last page. It had finished with her friends graduating from Hanasakigawa. She closed the photo album and held it tightly. Tears overflowed her eyes, no matter how much she tried to wipe them away, the tears just wouldn’t stop.
Mao gently opened the door and walked towards Saaya. “Yamabuki-san?” He crouched down to see his friend.
Without a thought, he lightly brought Saaya’s head to his shoulder, she started sobbing. Tears drenched his shirt. Mao rubbed her hair, comforting her. He noticed some photos laying down on the bedroom floor. He noticed that Saaya was looking through her time at high school.
“Y-Yamabuki-san. We can make new memories together. Nothing’s blocking our way.” Saaya backed away and looked up at the red-head, still speechless. Mao panicked if he worded that correctly, “Well, of course, keep those precious memories of your friends too. It’s nice to look back at them.”
Saaya gasped which concerned Mao even more, worrying that he made Saaya even more sad.
She jumped on top of him, hugging him for dear life. Her head was buried on his shoulders again. “Of course!” She muffled and sobbed once again.
***
Sobbing sucked the life out of Saaya that the two of them couldn’t go to the mall. So they sticked to hanging out in her room. She was currently laying down in her bed with her pajamas on, Mao sat on the end of the bed.
The room was dark, the lights were turned on and the curtains were closed. It was still the afternoon.
“I have been trying to forget all of those memories with my friends.” Saaya started. Mao stayed quiet for her to continue. “But just thinking about those memories made it hurt. My friends are… my friends are Poppin’Party, Isara-kun.”
“H-huh?!”
“We’ve recently departed; Rimi-rin, Arisa, O-Tae, Kasumi, and I. O-Tae and Kasumi have gone out of Tokyo to continue their music journey into a career. Arisa, I haven’t contacted her in a while and Rimi-rin… well you know.” Saaya sat up and faced Mao, “But, I have you and other friends that are still in town. We can still make new memories.”