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Yoshiko sat on a pier, sighing. She and Riko had moved from Numazu to Shizuoka a few years ago; a few of their friends from Aqours had also moved there with them. They were in close contact with all of the other members of Aqours; sometimes, Mari would fly to Japan from wherever she was on impulse since she was rich. She looked out to the horizon, watching the sun set, signaling the beginning of the night. Riko was going to be staying extremely late at the workplace that night, so she had time to sulk; however, Hanamaru decided to interfere in her alone time. “Yoshiko-chan? You look sad, zura; what happened?”
Yoshiko looked up to her right, seeing Hanamaru’s brown hair and a piece of bread in her mouth. She sighed deeply again. “Zuramaru … it’s just that Riri hasn’t been giving me much attention lately. We’ve been married for a few years, but it feels like our relationship and intimacy are only declining. What do I do, Zuramaru, what do I do?”
Hanamaru was Yoshiko’s best friend ever since kindergarten. She was a smart girl, and Yoshiko trusted her, even with something like this. Placing her hand on Yoshiko’s head, she said, “Yoshiko-chan, I have an idea. Listen carefully ….” Hanamaru continued speaking. Sometimes, Yoshiko’s head would rise as a red hue lit her face or in pure surprise.
When Hanamaru finished, Yoshiko stood up. “Zuramaru! There’s no way I can do that!”
“Zura, it’s the most efficient way to get her attention though. Trust me on this one,” she said, smirking.
This is going to be a shitshow, Yoshiko thought. “Fine. I’ll trust you this one time. If it fails, then I’m never asking you for relationship advice.”
“See you next week for your weekly relationship therapy sessions then.”
The day to implement Hanamaru’s plans had arrived. Yoshiko was at a party with Riko; she had invited Riko to this party as her plus one. The party was among all of her company’s employees in the Shizuoka prefecture, meaning that it was a large party with many attendees. “Yocchan? Why did you invite me here?” Riko said.
“Don’t worry; you’ll be fine, Riri,” Yoshiko responded. They navigated the venue, taking some food and mingling with some of the bosses, subtly nagging for promotions. After a few minutes of aimless walking, the pair were in another place that Riko thought was a random destination that Yoshiko had brought her to; however, to Yoshiko, it was the perfect setting for her plan’s execution. “Ah, this is the place, Riri!” Yoshiko exclaimed, looking at her wife.
Riko was puzzled. “What’s special about this place, Yocchan?”
“Nothing particular about this place,” she said before turning her head in a different direction and waving. “Haru-chan! Over here!”
“Who’s this ‘Haru-chan?’”
“You’ll see, Riri.” Another woman walked over to Yoshiko and Riko. Yoshiko introduced her as Nakagawa Haruna. Riko presumed that this was the coworker that was frequently assigned to work with Yoshiko.
I’ll make sure to give her a piece of mind about getting too close to my Yocchan, Riko thought, though she placed that in the back of her mind.
Riko observed Haruna closely; while Yoshiko had talked about her in passing, Riko had never gotten a chance to look at her in the flesh. She noticed that Haruna’s hair was light blue, giving a perfect contrast to Yoshiko’s dark blue. That must be why they’re paired together so often . Haruna’s hair was styled into twintails; she used two black hair ties, and her hair practically reached her waist. That girl’s dress is too revealing. Is she trying to seduce my Yocchan? Riko’s thoughts were not without grounds; Haruna’s choice of apparel included a short dress that wasn’t covering near the shoulders or below the thighs. However, Riko decided on caution; she didn’t want to jump to conclusions and for everyone to think she was the weird jealous girlfriend type of person.
“Ah, Shima-chan, is this the ‘Riri’ you talked about?” Haruna said as a greeting.
A nickname? I’d better alert, Riko thought.
“Yes, Haru-chan! Riri, meet Haru-chan; Haru-chan, meet Riri.”
The two stepped forwards to exchange formal greetings. “It’s good to meet you,” Haruna said.
“Likewise,” Riko said, a dark glint lighting her eyes. She made sure to grip Yoshiko’s coworker’s hand extra hard to exercise her dominance. The two broke contact a few seconds after they had made it.
“Anyway, Shima-chan, what’s been going on lately?”
“Nothing much really, Haru-chan; just the usual business.” Riko listened to their conversation, trying to pick up on any hints that Haruna was acting suspicious; she thought that Yoshiko’s coworker’s choice of attire had pointed to a level of suspicion, though she held her mistrust until she was absolutely sure.
“By the way, Shima-chan, you look absolutely stunning in that. You look great.”
What the fuck? This girl is crazy, Riko thought.
“You too, Haru-chan; you don’t look bad,” Yoshiko replied.
This is getting out of hand; I have to step in.
“Thank you -”
Before Haruna could get another word out of her mouth, Riko had begun to chew her out. “What do you think you’re doing, flirting with Yocchan; don’t you know that I’m her wife ? My Yocchan isn’t falling in love with you, little witch, thank you very much.”
“W-what?”
“The game’s up; you’ve been discovered. I’m not letting you near my wife in the near future,” Riko said.
“Wait! Riri, it isn’t like that!” Yoshiko interjected, hoping to salvage the situation and the plan.
“You know what, I’m giving you one chance to explain, Yocchan; this girl blatantly flirts with you, and you’re trying to defend her.”
Yoshiko took her mouth to Riko’s ear and began whispering about the things Hanamaru had told her. Interesting, Riko thought. After Yoshiko finished, she decided to speak. “Well, Yocchan, it seems you’re good; however, this type of action still does entail punishment. While I won’t do what I said before … why don’t you come with me home right now? I’m sorry, but Yocchan and I will be leaving now.”
“Bye bye!” Haruna said, waving at the leaving couple.
When they reached the outside of the building, Riko stood over Yoshiko, detailing what would happen in nine words. “I think you know what’s going to happen, Yocchan.” Yoshiko shuddered in fear; she indeed knew what was going to happen.
Yoshiko woke up the next morning to a few notifications from Haruna and Hanamaru. She decided to check Hanamaru’s first, deciding that it would be more worthwhile. Opening the message, she saw something that sucked the life out of her face and brought her fear.
Yoshiko-chan, don’t be that loud; also, please make sure to close the curtains. I saw you two going at it.
She glared at the neighboring home’s balcony. The only response she received was a girl with some bread in her mouth waving back, smiling.