For most students, class time was something to endure. But for Anon, who actually paid attention in class, the morning lessons seemed to pass in the steady flow of ink from her pen as she took notes.
Ding, ding, ding—
The bell signaled the end of the final morning class. Laughter and chatter filled the room as students grouped up, pulling out their lunch boxes or getting ready to head to the cafeteria.
"Alright, Tomari, let's hurry!" Anon quickly packed her notes into her bag, pushed in her chair, and grabbed Tomari by the wrist. Tomari, still a beat slow in closing the notebook with a Swimming Fish cover clutched in her arms, barely had time to react.
"If Kyo went to the cafeteria for lunch, we'll miss her if we don't get there fast!"
"Ah—o-okay!"
With Anon tugging her along, Tomari—whose athletic ability was practically nonexistent—ended up running alongside her. The two of them quickly arrived at the entrance of Class 1-B.
Students were still trickling out, and Anon and Tomari carefully scanned every face, afraid of missing Kikukawa Kyo.
But even after most of the students had left, there was still no sign of her. The two peeked inside, sweeping their eyes over the classroom—yet Kyo was nowhere to be found.
"Ugh, are we too late?" Anon let out a small groan of frustration. If Kyo had gone to the cafeteria, it would be packed with students by now. And if she hadn't gone there at all, maybe she had just bought some bread from the convenience store instead. In that case, where would they even begin looking?
Beyond just wanting to talk to Kyo about the band, Anon had also been secretly hoping to share a meal with someone as well-known as her.
"K-Sakiko…" Tomari suddenly spoke up, her gaze locked on a spot by the window inside the classroom.
Hearing the name, Anon followed Tomari's line of sight—and sure enough, there she was. Sakiko, who somehow gave off an even stronger ojou-sama vibe than Soyo, was sitting at her desk.
"Sakiko probably knows where Kyo went. Should we ask her?"
"Mm-hmm." Tomari nodded, agreeing with Anon's suggestion.
But… should they just walk in like that?
Sure, visiting other classes wasn't unheard of, but from elementary school all the way to high school, there was always this subtle sense of territory when it came to classrooms.
Walking into another class carried an odd psychological resistance—it meant stepping into a space full of unfamiliar people, making their presence immediately noticeable as "outsiders." Even if the attention was just mild curiosity, it could still feel a little overwhelming.
Luckily, since it was lunchtime, there were only a few students left in the room—mostly those who had brought their own lunch, chatting with their usual groups or quietly eating alone. The pressure wasn't as bad as it could have been.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Anon took the lead and stepped into Class 1-B. Tomari quickly followed behind her.
By that time, Sakiko had already noticed them approaching—and it was obvious they were headed straight for her.
Her already neutral expression darkened.
She had planned to stay in the classroom a little longer, read a bit more, and wait until the cafeteria rush died down before grabbing lunch. She hadn't expected to be found.
Letting out a quiet sigh, Sakiko schooled her expression back to normal and spoke up once they reached her desk.
"May I help you with something?"
Whoa, that was cold. Anon mentally grumbled. If she hadn't already noticed how much Sakiko cared about Tomari from past interactions, she would have thought Sakiko absolutely despised the two of them right now.
She really is a handful… just like Kyo said.
On the bright side, Tomari seemed to be getting used to Sakiko's distant demeanor. She no longer looked hurt by the seemingly indifferent response.
"Uh… actually, we just wanted to ask if you know where Kyo went," Anon said. For a brief second, she considered mentioning that she had already roped in most of Sakiko's old CRYCHIC bandmates into her own group.
Would she take it as a challenge…?
…Better not. Kyo would probably tell her eventually anyway.
"Kyo took the day off. She has a fever and a cold, but it's nothing serious."
"Wait, Kyo's sick?!"
"Ah—!"
Anon and Tomari exclaimed at the same time.
---
Kikukawa Kyo stretched her body as far as it could go, arms reaching over her head. From her fingertips to her toes, she tensed every muscle before suddenly relaxing all at once.
"Haah—"
She let out a long, satisfied sigh, her entire body melting into a state of complete relaxation, as if she had turned into a puddle of sludge.
Then, with unfocused eyes staring blankly into space, she sluggishly let her thoughts crawl forward—just enough to confirm that she was, in fact, still alive.
What should I do now?
Since she had taken the day off, it wasn't any different from a normal rest day. Usually, she just made drinks at home, watched TV or read a book, or went to the bookstore. Sometimes, she'd stop by VA-11 HALL-A, mix herself a drink, and then read there instead.
But now, she actually had something new to do—the band.
Maybe I should practice keyboard? RiNG had instrument rentals, after all. That was where she had originally rented a guitar.
With no real reason to hesitate, Kyo made up her mind. She finished the drink she had left open before falling asleep, fueling her body just enough, then sat up.
"Ah, my phone's dead."
Glancing at the 3% battery warning, she quickly pulled up LINE, found her sister, and typed out a message: Going to RiNG.
The moment the message was sent, her phone promptly passed out—falling into deep sleep, just as Kyo herself had done that morning.
And with that, she completely missed Anon's message asking where she was.
Plugging her phone in to charge, she set it aside. She wasn't particularly dependent on it anyway. After grabbing her wallet from her bag, she headed straight out the door.
RiNG wasn't far from the Kikukawa house—just a short walk away. That was another reason she didn't bother bringing her phone.
In no time, Kyo arrived at RiNG's entrance.
Huh, Miss Ririko isn't at the front desk today?
Not seeing the familiar store manager downstairs, Kyo crossed her arms and thought for a moment before deciding to head upstairs to the café.
And sure enough, that's where she found her.
"Why are you on shift here today, Ririko-san?" Kyo greeted her casually, ordering a cappuccino without a second thought.
"Becoming a manager isn't all it's cracked up to be, you know." Ririko let out a small chuckle, the kind only adults burdened by responsibility could manage. "It seems like a big promotion, but in reality, it just means turning into a jack-of-all-trades who has to do everything."
After airing out a bit of workplace frustration, Ririko quickly switched back to her usual demeanor.
"Isn't today a school day? What's my dear little Kyo doing here at noon?"
"Took the day off."
"Ohhh—" Ririko gave her a knowing look. "I get it. Back in my school days, I'd sometimes just not feel like going either. But you should still take your studies seriously, alright?"
"Mhm."
Just as Ririko turned to start making Kyo's coffee, the café door suddenly swung open. She immediately glanced back.
"Welcome—wait! Raana?! What are you doing here?"
Someone Ririko knew?
Kyo turned to look as well.
Short, silvery-white hair. Heterochromatic eyes—left blue, right gold—clear and striking like gemstones. She was about a head shorter than Kyo and wore a Hanasakigawa uniform.
For some reason, Kyo had an inexplicable feeling.
She reminds me of a cat.
Two students skipping school at the same time, huh?
---
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