In the end, Anon didn't dare turn her head, afraid that Kyo might catch her in the act. Ahem, I only wanted to see Tomori's reaction—but what if Kyo misunderstood?
To ease the increasingly awkward atmosphere inside the tiny karaoke room, Anon scrambled to find a topic of conversation.
"Kyo, how were you suddenly so strong just now? I didn't even have time to react before you yanked me down. Right, Tomori?"
Dragging Tomori into the conversation for backup—truly the work of a naturally wicked pink-haired gremlin.
"Mm… hmm? Huh!"
Tomori, clearly still in a daze, seemed lost in her own thoughts. No one could tell what had been going on in that little head of hers, but when she heard Anon mention her name, she instinctively let out a soft hum. A few seconds later, she finally caught up and nodded.
"My arm strength is just a little stronger than usual," Kyo answered, sounding the most normal out of the three—though that was if you ignored the fact that she was in a tiny room changing clothes with two other people present. Unlike Anon and Tomori, whose heads were filled with needless thoughts, Kyo remained entirely unfazed.
"I have a hobby of making mixed drinks. One of the motions I have to do a lot is shaking cups to mix the ingredients. When you spend a few minutes every day shaking a cocktail shaker filled with various drinks and ice, you inevitably build up a little extra strength in your arms."
As it turned out, Anon's attempt to ease the suggestive tension in the room was quite effective. Kyo's naturally cool and detached tone—one that always carried a crisp clarity, no matter her actual mood—helped dispel the unspoken awkwardness. On top of that, her steady voice conveniently masked the occasional sounds of shifting clothes, fabric brushing against skin, and the soft rustling of a towel, preventing Anon and Tomori from dwelling too much on the fact that, behind them, a girl was in the middle of changing.
But Kyo's words suddenly reminded Anon of something else.
Mixing drinks?
The term immediately brought to mind a certain online personality—"Rainy Lady," someone infamous for her deep enthusiasm for all kinds of beverages. And given everything Kyo had said and done today…
Could Kyo actually be Rainy Lady?!
Cold sweat ran down Anon's back. No way… right?
If Kyo really was Madam Kyo, then why hadn't she reacted to seeing Anon at all? If she was, she definitely would've recognized Anon's face from social media… right?
No, no, no! That's the last thing I need!
On the very first day of my fresh start, I run into someone who knows my embarrassing past?!
Not only that, but they had spent the entire day together—was fate messing with her or what?!
Yet, despite everything, Anon found herself surprisingly calm. She wasn't as anxious or terrified about being exposed as she thought she would be.
Maybe it was because, throughout the whole day, Kyo had given her the impression of someone patient and easygoing—someone who wouldn't go around exposing others' secrets.
Or maybe… it was because she resonated with what Kyo had told Tomori earlier.
Anon, too, didn't want to remain stuck in the past. She had run away from her old problems, but she was also trying her best to start over.
"All right, I'm done changing. You can turn around now."
Hearing Kyo say that, Anon and Tomori finally dared to slowly turn their heads. Anon even squinted her eyes, leaving just a tiny gap—half-afraid of seeing something she shouldn't, but also, maybe, just a little curious.
Unfortunately (or fortunately), Kyo had simply changed into a very normal outfit—the same shirt-and-pants combo she usually wore. The only difference was that instead of long pants, she had opted for shorts about the same length as her school skirt, leaving her slender, toned legs fully visible.
Anon also noticed that the bag Kyo had originally used to carry her change of clothes was now holding her damp ones. And judging by what she could see inside, it wasn't just her outer clothes—she had changed her undergarments as well.
Kyo's the sports bra type…
Another strange piece of trivia had now been stored in Anon's brain.
Tomori, on the other hand, was much more pure-minded. As soon as she turned around, the first thing she did was rush over to her bag, pulling out a small tin that Kyo immediately recognized. Without a word, she took out a few band-aids and handed them to Kyo.
"Band-aids? Wait, Kyo, are you hurt somewhere?"
Anon quickly ran over as well, circling behind Kyo to check the areas where she might have hit her head earlier.
"I'm fine. The only issue is that I sweat a lot, but that's nothing new. That's why I always carry a change of clothes."
She hadn't chosen longer pants simply because they took up too much space in her bag.
"Then the band-aids are for… Oh! The little penguin design is so cute! I love penguins."
That statement immediately flipped a switch inside Tomori. Her eyes lit up, and she turned to Anon with rare enthusiasm, holding up the band-aids in front of her.
"These are chinstrap penguins!"
"Chinstrap?" Anon hadn't expected Tomori to suddenly focus on her, let alone with such excitement. She instinctively echoed the word.
"The white markings on their faces—it looks like they have beards, right? They're part of the Pygoscelis genus. Adélie penguins are too. And this one here…"
Tomori was now passionately explaining different penguin species with more energy than Anon had ever seen from her.
Realizing she might lose Tomori to the penguin talk forever, Anon quickly spoke up.
"Uh, weren't you giving those to Kyo?"
"Ah."
Tomori froze mid-search through her tin, then looked back at Kyo with an embarrassed expression.
"…I forgot."
"It's fine, I don't actually have any injuries that need band-aids," Kyo said, waving a hand dismissively. Still, she accepted the ones Tomori had offered.
The moment Kyo took them, Tomori visibly brightened.
Has she already forgotten that Kyo refused to join the band? Anon wondered helplessly. Isn't she way too easy to distract?
"Anon, this one is an Adélie penguin, and this is an emperor penguin."
"Huh? I get some too?"
Anon looked at the pair of shining amber eyes gazing up at her and took them without thinking.
"Tomori, you really love penguins, huh?"
"…They're cute."
For some reason, Tomori sounded oddly unconfident when she said that.
"I'm just collecting them. I think… I like searching for things."
"Oh, I get that! When I see cute pens, I buy them even if I don't need them."
Kyo nodded in agreement, crossing her arms.
"Same here. Even when drinks taste nearly identical, I still want to try every variation. That, and collecting different tools and cups—if I see something interesting, I can't help but buy it."
As someone who had been scolded since childhood for her obsession with bugs, Tomori felt an unexpected warmth from being understood for once.
I'm so happy…
I actually got her to drop the topic… / Tomori really fell for it, huh…
As the two others watched Tomori bask in joy, they both had the same thought.