Chapter Text
“Hi there Anon-chan! Anything I can get you?”
Anon turned at the voice, her gaze landing on the ponytailed girl she had come to know as Saaya Yamabuki.
“Thanks, I’ll have a black tea, please!”
The pink-haired girl sat at her usual seat by the counter, shoulders relaxed as if she had quietly settled into a familiar routine.
“Are you looking for Taki-chan by any chance? She's off today.” Saaya asked casually.
“Oh I know. I just felt like hanging out here.” Anon replied with a smile.
It was a pleasant day out today. There wasn’t band practice and Tomori wasn’t spending time in the clubroom. Anon had a craving for some tea and cake, although Soyo couldn’t spare the afternoon with her today. Oh well. It was quite nice to have some alone time anyway.
A soft clink sounded against the countertop as Saaya placed the cup of tea in front of her. “Enjoy!”
“Thank you!”
Anon almost lifted the cup to her lips before stopping herself, suddenly remembering the sacred ritual of photographing her drinks before taking a single sip. Such was the life of a self-proclaimed social media personality.
As the rhythm guitarist adjusted her phone, angling it this way and that in search of the perfect shot, she caught the faint shuffle of approaching footsteps. Normally she would have ignored it, just another customer in RiNG, but a glimpse of long, wavy blue hair at the edge of her vision made her pause.
It was Sakiko Togawa.
She sat alone at one of the wide tables in the corner, half-hidden behind a row of indoor plants, though still clearly visible from where Anon was. The keyboardist glanced to either side before pulling out her phone and beginning to tap at the screen. Anon’s thoughts drifted. What’s she doing here?
At the very least, Sakiko didn’t seem to have noticed her.
A moment later, Sakiko lowered her head onto her folded arms on the tabletop, surprising Anon. She wondered if the girl had simply come to rest, until Sakiko lifted her head again to check her phone. Looks like she was waiting for someone, or some people.
Anon hopped onto her feet. “Be right back, Saaya-senpai!”
She had an interesting impulsive thought in her head she couldn’t push away. She could feel her lips curling upward devilishly as she approached the young lady.
“Hey, Sakiko-chan!”
“Gah!” Clearly, the blue-haired girl didn’t expect to see her at this juncture.
Amused, Anon replied, “Now, is that how you react when you see a friend?”
Sakiko looked away and straightened her posture. “Ahem. My apologies. I simply did not expect to see you here. I hope you are having a good day.”
Anon slid into a chair in front of her. “Just kidding, ahaha! I was the one who sneaked up on you, anyway.” She was feeling quite daring. And kind of bored. “Watcha doing here?”
Sakiko quickly glanced at her phone screen. “Ave Mujica will be having a brief discussion here soon.”
“Oooh! Ave Mujica!” Anon rested her elbows on the table, and rested her chin on her palms. “Everyone’s gonna be here?”
“Yes.”
“Everyone?”
Sakiko narrowed her eyes. “Yes. Is there something you mean by that?”
Anon chuckled lightly, “Just messing with you!” The pink girl paused for a moment, looking into Sakiko’s half-smiling polite expression.
She started again in a slower voice, “But you know, Sakiko-chan… RiNG here isn’t any old place you can just come and do ‘discussions’ in.” Anon tilted her chin upwards at the last word.
The keyboardist raised an eyebrow. “I don’t believe I quite understand.”
“You see…” Anon mustered a deeper voice (as deep as she could at least), “This here’s our territory. MyGO’s territory.”
“I-Is that so? I wasn’t aware…” Sakiko shifted in her seat.
“Yeah! If you wanna do your matters or the like, you gotta pay us a small fee…”
Sakiko placed her hands on the tabletop, linking them together. Her voice came out calm, unfazed. “And what fee would that be?”
Anon looked into Sakiko’s eyes, ready to fire back with something equally dramatic. They stayed that way for a few seconds, when the words started to stall somewhere in her throat. The confident grin she had been wearing a moment ago began to stiffen at the corners.
She tried to keep the act going but she hadn’t planned this far. She didn’t think too far about what she’d do at this point in her scenario.
“U-um, you see, well…” Anon stuttered as golden eyes locked onto hers. It felt like a divine aura was being imposed on her.
The silence stretched just a little too long under such godly presence.
“Ahaha!” the pink-haired girl gave up the silly pretense. “I dunno, just let me hang out with you until your bandmates arrive I guess.”
Sakiko smirked as she relaxed her shoulders.
“Very well then,” she smiled as she reached for the menu. “What are you having?”
“I had my order already, I was sitting over there- Ahh! My tea’s probably gotten cold..!” Anon stood up and looked back at her initial seat.
“Oh my, that’s a shame.” Sakiko giggled. She looked at her phone’s clock again, noting she had about half an hour before her bandmates would arrive.
“Thank you for hosting me.”