Hand hovering over the handle, Konrad froze by the door.
Entering a store was never this exciting—and embarrassing at once.
He even considered running, but he was too late when Yuki-san smirked through the glass.
"Ohayo, Kohai-kun," she chirped as his foot crossed the threshold. "Slept well?"
He groaned.
"The audacity to ask that when we texted until 3 AM."
Not that he complained.
"Did I hold a gun to your handsome little head to make you reply?" she grinned, pulling her sleeves over her hands. "Well, I might've if I had one, but, um—that was fun, right?"
It was. Odd, yet familiar. As if this weren't the first time.
And though she wore long sleeves for the customers, for him, she—
"Took your piercings out again?" Konrad asked, eyes drawn to glossy lips.
"Hmm? You said I'm prettier without 'em," she noted with a shrug like she didn't care. "Since we'll spend the day together, I figured, why not?"
She very much cared. And boy, did she go all out?
They texted for so long that it felt hazy like a dream. If the logs weren't there—
"So, wanna grab a guitar, or have some foreplay first?"
The deadpan delivery caught Konrad off guard. Kaede's dirty wording felt tame now.
"Foreplay," he coughed, ears turning red. "My hands froze."
"Oh, gimme," Yuki-san reached over the counter, grabbing his fingers.
Her warmth made him shudder.
"Buy some gloves, Baka," she said, murmuring. "Winter's 'round the corner."
Yeah, he finally bought himself a coat, too.
And clothes so he wouldn't have to go everywhere in uniform.
"When I get my paycheck," he mumbled, although he didn't plan to be here that long. But how could he tell her that? After they—
Clicked?
His brain fought the idea, but—it felt inevitable.
They were like magnets of an opposing charge, flying towards each other from two ends of the room. He could only hope they wouldn't shatter when meeting in the middle.
"So, you into anime?" Yuki asked, still holding his hands, her fingers rubbing in circles.
He shuddered again.
"Not in particular," Konrad said, trying to keep his distance, "but I have seen a few."
The emo girl smirked, pulling him even closer.
"There's like a super old one I'd like to watch with you. It's called Cowboy—"
"Bebop," he finished it for her.
Deja vu.
"You saw?" Yuki asked, raising an eyebrow.
"We watched it together, stupid," Konrad blurted out. But—that was impossible. He definitely saw it with someone who reminded him of Yuki-san, but they had only met a few weeks ago.
"Right, right," she replied, pondering. "I forgot."
Now, you didn't, Konrad wanted to yell at her. Why did she accept his stupidity immediately?
"And we watched Girls und Panzer, too," she noted, surprising him even more.
It did happen, but it couldn't have. He nodded anyway, lost in thought.
"And you said, Your Lie in April should be next."
Yuki-san shuddered as well, reaching out to trace a finger across the zipper of his coat.
Since when did it get this hot in this store?!
"Let's not. I'd be crying too much," she shook her head, voice soft, a mere whisper. "Let's watch something where they actually come together in the end instead. Your Name?"
Her long eyelashes fluttered as she looked up at him.
What was even happening?
"Konrad Halstadt," he said, a bit confused. No, wait, the Japanese reversed the order.
She burst out laughing, slamming his chest before leaning against it.
"That's the title, Baka," she said, the words vibrating in his heart. "Baka Halstadt Konrad-kun."
When she looked up again, he had to fight the urge to kiss her more than ever. They weren't dating. They've only met, but his legs almost buckled under the weight of this Deja Vu.
"You have some crazy dark circles around your eyes, Konrad-kun," she whispered.
Not that she was one to talk. But she lifted one hand to cup his face, tracing his jaw.
"Makes me wonder who's responsible," he muttered, his palm moving on its own to do the same. "You didn't paint your circles on, either."
"Not all, at least," she smirked, her lips parting—then the unthinkable happened.
Customers entered, and they both jumped at the little chime.
"Irassa—oh, it's you guys," Yuki-san said, her voice still breathy.
She switched gears at lightning speed. Twice.
After perking up at first, she no longer put any effort into greeting her old bandmates.
"Hey, Yuki-chan. New Guy-kun," the frontman yelled, waving as they all piled in.
All five. That seemed like one extra from last time.
"You find a new band yet?" one of the sidekicks asked. Konrad still couldn't tell the difference between them. He never bothered asking for their names, either. "'Cuz we've a bassist now."
"Omedeto," Yuki replied with eyes rolling—but only until she spotted the fifth guy. "Majide?!"
Her eyes went wide, the steamy mood forgotten.
Or rather, it became a different kind of steamy, the change almost jarring.
"Sorakumo-san," the stranger greeted her. His hair was bright pink, but in a much simpler fashion than the others'. "Hope I'll be able to fill the space you've left behind in this band."
What the hell? Corny much?
And yet the girl was blushing. Hard.
Well, Konrad wasn't one to talk when he wrote much cringier messages to her last night.
"Looking to buy a Jazzmaster for Hoshi-san," the frontman claimed. "We'll see ourselves there."
The girl was bouncing on the balls of her feet the moment they turned away.
"Is he someone famous?" Konrad whispered, trying to calm her down.
But that only earned him a glare.
"You never heard of Hikui Hoshi-sama?!" she whisper-shouted back. Seeing his confusion, she added. "He's an idol, dude, a celebrity. Like, uh, what kind of bands do you have in Germany?!"
Why Germany of all places? Damn Kaede and her cover story. He could only think of one.
"Uh, Rammstein?" he muttered.
Yuki laughed.
"Imagine if their bassist showed up. Du, du haßt, du haßt mich—"
She laughed, skipping after the other guys. Whether she was making fun of him or trying to show off, the spell of their earlier intimacy was gone.
And to rub salt into the injury, the sidekick slid up to the counter right away.
Or was it sidekick number two?
"Hey man, how's what's up?" he asked without even looking. "You figured out your guitar yet? It's still not too late to cancel, you know," he said, but he didn't sound taunting.
He kept glancing behind his back, his voice low.
"Look, we weren't picking on you, or anything," he whispered. "Yuki-chan was—how do I say this? She's been through a lot since—you know. It was surprising to see her like this, that's all."
No, Konrad didn't know. He had some ideas, though.
"You mean to say I'm a bad influence?" he asked, arms crossed.
Even if she was off to fangirl around a pink-haired celebrity now, Konrad still felt defensive.
"What?! No, man, the opposite," Sidekick-san muttered. "She was like a zombie after she came out of the hospital, you know? And now, she's—well, still not the same, but like, much better?"
If there was only one thing he knew, he was definitely not supposed to tell him that.
But Konrad had already put the pieces together, whether he liked it or not.