The appointed day soon arrived.
That evening, at the [KaZoKu] studio, when Sakiko saw the person following behind Uika, the corner of her eye began to twitch uncontrollably—
"Why did Hoshino Ai come with you..."
"Well, she heard the contents of our phone call. Did you really think she'd be able to sit still?"
Uika shrugged with a look of resignation.
"Compared to letting her continue stalking Tetsuya-san like a pervert, I thought it would be better to just let her come openly."
"..."
Ai paid no mind to Uika's obviously sarcastic remark. She simply looked around, searching for Tetsuya—
"Where's Tetsu?"
"He's in the product room on the phone... discussing new fabrics with the factory."
Sakiko first answered truthfully, then immediately reminded her with a displeased look:
"Let me make this clear. Chihaya-nii is planning to focus on work today. He has no time to fool around with you."
"Heeh, what a coincidence. I just wanted to watch Tetsu work today, I wasn't planning on doing anything..."
At this, she suddenly remembered something and a playful smile appeared on her face.
"Speaking of which, it seems you still owe me a 'thank you'."
"...Hah? For what?"
"Because thanks to me, Tetsu has finally started to see you as a 'member of the opposite sex,' hasn't he?"
Ai looked Sakiko up and down, her gaze finally landing on her chest.
Even in a very loose work uniform, the rise in front was still clearly visible.
"I see. No wonder Tetsu's become aware of you..."
"You...! Don't think of Chihaya-nii as being as vulgar as you are!"
Sakiko subconsciously covered her chest with her hands, then glared at Ai.
"And you have the nerve to ask me to thank you? After doing such... such a shameless thing, don't you have even a shred of shame?"
"Shame? Can something like that help me get Tetsu?"
Ai tilted her head.
"If anything, I'm still a little regretful. I should have stolen his first kiss that night as well."
"You, you—"
Hearing this, Sakiko's face couldn't help but turn red.
"You're unbelievable!"
"...Alright, Saki-chan, there's no point in arguing with her about this."
Uika walked over to Sakiko and gently patted her shoulder.
"Ever since she found out about Tetsuya-san, her brain hasn't had room for anything else. Forget shame, she'd even throw the law out the window."
"Hmph, that's right."
"That wasn't a compliment..."
Seeing Ai's completely unrepentant look, Sakiko couldn't help but retort:
"This is hopeless, it's completely impossible to communicate with this person... Hey, where are you going?"
Having found the sign for the product room, Ai said without turning her head:
"To find Tetsu."
"Hah?! No, you're not allowed!"
Sakiko quickly blocked her path.
"I will absolutely not let you pass. Who knows what you'll do if you're alone with Chihaya-nii!"
"...Hn?"
Seeing Sakiko's firm attitude, Ai raised an eyebrow.
"Then tell me, what do you think I'll do to Tetsu if I go in?"
"W-what else could you do, of course it would be the same as that night!"
Sakiko said, blushing.
"I told you, Chihaya-nii is working right now! For his sake, can't you just hold back a little!"
"What a self-righteous person."
Hearing Sakiko's words, Ai couldn't help but laugh.
"When did I ever say... I was going into the product room to find him? I just wanted to wait for him at the door until he finished his call."
"Eh?"
"You, on the other hand, got all worked up and started spouting a bunch of your own fantasies, and your face is so red... Hey, tell me, you're not imagining that kind of scene, are you?"
Ai asked with a grin.
"Or is it that the one who actually wants to do those things is you?"
"What did you say?!"
Sakiko glared at Ai, furious.
"I'm not shameless like you!"
"Is that so~ You'd better remember what you just said."
Faced with Sakiko's glare, Ai just said nonchalantly:
"If you ever can't hold back and make a move on Tetsu, you'll become the same kind of 'shameless' person as me."
"Like I said, I won't lose control!"
Sakiko said through gritted teeth.
"I will never do anything against Chihaya-nii's will!"
"Alright, alright... you two are getting too loud."
Feeling that their volume was getting out of hand, Uika clapped her hands and came between them.
"Even though it's just us in the studio right now, Tetsuya-san is still on the phone. If the other party hears you two fighting, it might affect his work... Ai."
"What?"
"You said it, didn't you? That you would wait until the May live for Tetsuya-san to show you his 'possibility'."
Uika said to her calmly.
"If you can't even keep a promise like this, what do you think Tetsuya-san, who hates lies, will think of you?"
"..."
Ai's face faltered for a moment. She then averted her gaze and clicked her tongue in annoyance.
"Fine, I get it... I'll just wait here with you, alright?"
With that, she stopped bickering with Sakiko and went straight to Tetsuya's workbench, sitting down in his chair—
"...How do you know where his desk is?"
"There's a photo of him working on the [KaZoKu] official website. You can tell just by looking at the background."
"..."
Although it was a simple answer, Sakiko felt a subtle chill run down her spine.
Analyzing someone's information from the background of a photo was something obsessive fans of idols did. She never thought that this popular idol herself would be the one doing such a thing...
(When Chihaya-nii establishes his own brand, I'll have to be even more careful to guard against her.)
Sakiko thought.
(Otherwise, she'll definitely keep trying to get close to Chihaya-nii by any means necessary, just like now...)
Last time, they had managed to interrupt her crime before she succeeded. If they weren't in time next time, given Tetsuya's sense of responsibility, he would probably be forced to choose Ai.
That absolutely cannot happen!
To protect Tetsuya, and for her own future, she couldn't be as weak as she was that night!
"Phew, that's finally settled... Ah, Uika's here. Eh? Ai is here too?"
Just then, Tetsuya, having finished his work call, finally walked out of the product room.
However, before he could greet his two guests, Sakiko immediately stepped between him and Ai.
"...Eh? What's wrong, Sakiko?"
"Nothing."
Sakiko said, glaring at Ai, who glared right back.
"Chihaya-nii, you go discuss the outfit with Uika. Leave the rest to me."
"Ha, haah..."
Although he didn't quite understand the deeper meaning behind Sakiko's actions, his next order of business was indeed to discuss matters with Uika—
"Uika, please come with me to the product room."
Under the somewhat stunned gazes of the three girls, Tetsuya said:
"There's something I need to talk to you about alone."