After a short wait, Taki walked over with a tray of drinks, just as Kyo had predicted—three cups, lined up neatly.
She placed the tea and coffee in front of their respective recipients, and when she reached Kyo, she eyed the cappuccino she had put extra effort into decorating. Compared to Anon's, the latte art was noticeably more refined. With just a bit of extra force, she set it down in front of Kyo, making a deliberate thud on the table.
"Hmph."
Expecting Taki to say something like Enjoy your drink was wishful thinking—especially toward someone she knew well. A simple exhale through her nose was the only acknowledgment she gave.
Kyo couldn't help but mutter, "Honestly, if this were my café, I'd give your service a big fat X and personally teach you what hospitality is supposed to look like."
Taki rolled her eyes in an elegant display—those striking violet irises making even such an ungraceful gesture look captivating. It was almost a shame that she was the one making it…
"Like you have room to talk about etiquette. Just look at yourself right now."
"I'm talking about a barista's standards. Even if all you're doing is serving drinks, that still falls under the responsibilities of a barista," Kyo huffed, clearly unwilling to let this slide. "What happened last time was an accident, but next time, I'll make sure to correct you properly."
Puffing up in indignation, she pointed a finger at Taki from across the table to make her stance clear. But then her gaze dropped to the cappuccino in front of her, still releasing its rich aroma of coffee and steamed milk.
"Heh. Just from looking at it, I can already tell—you've improved a lot."
Kyo still hadn't forgotten the bitter memory of her first taste of Taki's coffee. The sheer awfulness of it had left such an impact that she literally cried. Something like that wasn't easy to forget.
But she wasn't worried about a repeat of that situation.
Back then, she had never experienced emotions like that before, which was why her reaction had been so intense. Now that she knew what to expect, there was no way she'd have such a dramatic response again.
Besides, the emotions in a drink were tied to the mindset of the person making it. As long as she didn't deliberately push Taki toward that kind of thinking, at worst, the drink would only carry a faint hint of those feelings.
Last time? That had been entirely her own fault. She had played herself.
"You're already complimenting it before even taking a sip," Taki scoffed.
She was actually a little happy about the praise, but of course, she wouldn't admit that. Turning away to hide the involuntary curve of her lips, she prepared to leave.
"Ah, wait a second!" Anon suddenly called out.
Taki turned back. "What is it?"
"I'm Anon. I'm forming a band—would you like to join?"
Taki fell silent for a moment.
Did she want to join a band? Of course, the answer was yes. But the band she wanted to be in was one where Tomori was. Only Tomori's lyrics could shake her to her core.
And she had only just met this Anon girl. Most likely, Kyo or Soyo had told her about Taki and sent her over.
"No—"
She was about to refuse when Soyo spoke up at just the right moment. She knew exactly how to keep Taki from walking away.
"Tomori is in the band too."
"!?"
Taki immediately turned around, eyes wide. "Is that true? But… wasn't Tomori still hurt from what happened before?"
"Yes, Tomori agreed to join—she's forming a band with me," Anon explained. She didn't know the details of the past, but she had seen firsthand how much pain Tomori carried. Those moments when she would suddenly grow quiet, looking lost in her own sorrow—Anon and Kyo had spent plenty of time comforting her. "It's all thanks to Kyo's help, too. Tomori wanted to come today, but she got caught up with club activities."
"If Tomori is willing to form a band again…"
For the first time, Taki's expression softened.
"Then I'll join too."
"Yes!" Anon let out a small cheer. Finding two band members in just one day—this was amazing!
Kyo glanced at the overly excited fool and silently offered her a moment of sympathy. She hoped Anon could survive the sheer pressure that came with having Taki in the band. If nothing else, with Taki around, their live performances were definitely going to be intense.
Taki, ever serious about everything, immediately switched into work mode and began asking about the band's structure. "Who are the current members, and what are their roles?"
Anon counted them off on her fingers. "Tomori is the vocalist, I'm the guitarist, Soyo is the bassist, and Kyo told me you're the drummer. That pretty much forms a full band, right? Though, like Soyo mentioned earlier, we might need a keyboardist at some point."
The moment she finished speaking, the atmosphere shifted.
Soyo and Taki both turned to look at a certain someone, their expressions immediately changing when they realized a particular name had been left out.
"Kyo, you're not joining the band?" Soyo clenched her hands tightly, while Taki simply raised an eyebrow, looking surprised.
Kyo took a slow sip of her coffee, acting busy.
"She never said she was joining from the start," Anon spoke up, surprisingly stepping in to explain for Kyo. "Though she did trick Tomori and me into thinking she would." Her tone quickly shifted into mild accusation—clearly, she was hoping that, with two of Kyo's former bandmates here, she might finally be pressured into saying yes.
Soyo looked anxious. If they weren't in public, she might have already rushed over to demand answers.
"Kyo, why don't you want to join? Is there some kind of misunderstanding?"
"I'm just not interested. It has nothing to do with any of you," Kyo said, setting her cup down. Her tone was calm—not dismissive or irritated, just neutral.
And that, more than anything, made Soyo feel lost.
She had never considered the possibility that Kyo simply wasn't interested. If that was truly the reason, then what could she possibly say to bring her back?
"But... we were happy back then, weren't we?" Soyo's voice softened, filled with hesitation. "Sakiko, Mutsumi, Taki, Tomori... and you, Kyo."
Her gaze grew increasingly desperate, searching for something—anything—in Kyo's eyes.
But Kyo only lowered her gaze, avoiding Soyo's.
This is exactly why I don't want to join the band.
She wasn't avoiding Soyo's expectant look because she felt guilty.
She was doing it because she didn't want anyone to see the disgust slowly welling up inside her.
How ugly.
---
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
discord.gg/wisetl
patreon.com/wisetl