A figure brushed past her, bringing with it a faint, cool fragrance.
The scent was distinctive, like a pine forest after winter snow. Clean and distant.
That smell triggered something in her memory.
Tomori instinctively looked up, catching only a glimpse of a familiar pale blue ponytail disappearing around the corner.
"Huh?"
Her feet froze in place, as if someone had cast a binding spell on her.
The practice books in her arms lost their balance and scattered across the floor with a clatter.
But she didn't notice. Her eyes stayed fixed on that corner.
"Was that... Sakiko?"
Her mind raced with confusion.
"No... that's impossible, right?"
"Sakiko should be at Tsukinomori. There's no way she'd be at Haneoka..."
"But that silhouette just now... it really looked like..."
Doubt and uncertainty flooded her heart. She even started wondering if exhaustion was making her hallucinate.
Just then, an energetic voice rang out.
"Tomori! Are you okay? Why'd you suddenly drop all your books?"
Anon Chihaya, her vibrant pink hair flowing behind her, rushed over like a cheerful breeze.
She crouched down and quickly gathered the scattered practice books, chattering encouragingly as she worked. "It's fine, it's fine! As long the books aren't damaged!"
The sudden concern pulled Tomori back to reality, but her gaze still couldn't leave the empty stairwell.
She hesitated, then said quietly, "Anon... I think I just saw someone I know..."
Anon finished stacking the books and stuffed them back into Tomori's arms, then followed her line of sight to the stairway, curiosity lighting up her face. "Really? Who? Does Tomori have friends at our school? That's great!"
Tomori's lips moved for a long moment before she finally managed a name. "Toyokawa... Sakiko."
"Sakiko Toyokawa?" Anon tilted her head, those clear eyes of hers blinking as she searched her memory.
A few seconds later, recognition dawned, and surprise crossed her face.
"Oh! You mean that girl with the beautiful blue hair? I know her! She's really popular in our year!"
Anon lowered her voice like she was sharing a secret.
"Actually, I tried talking to her before, but... she didn't seem interested in socializing. Everyone says she's really cold."
Tomori was stunned. "Cold?"
How could that be?
The Sakiko in her memory was proud, dazzling, surrounded by everyone, always wearing a gentle smile.
Was the person Anon was describing really the same Sakiko who had been like the sun itself?
"?"
Anon immediately noticed something was wrong. The smile vanished from her face, replaced by concern.
She reached out and steadied Tomori's trembling shoulders.
"Tomori! What's wrong? Your face is so pale! Are you feeling sick?"
Tomori gave no response. She just stood there, dazed.
...
...
Haneoka Girls' Academy. The after-school bell rang.
Sunset poured into the astronomy club room like molten gold, dyeing the dust motes floating in the air a warm orange.
Tomori Takamatsu sat in a corner chair, staring blankly at the clouds painted red outside the window.
Her eyes had no focus, as if she was searching for some figure that had long since vanished beyond those brilliant evening clouds.
"Tomori!"
Anon's energetic voice shattered the silence.
She bounced over like a tireless pink butterfly, stopping right in front of Tomori. Hands behind her back, she leaned forward, eyes fixed intently on her friend.
"You've been spacing out this whole time! Are you thinking about new lyrics? Or... are you thinking about that Toyokawa girl again?"
At the name, Tomori's shoulders jerked like someone had flipped a switch.
She lowered her head, fingers nervously twisting the fabric of her skirt. Her voice came out barely above a whisper. "Anon... I..."
"Still don't want to talk about it?"
Anon pulled up a chair and sat across from Tomori, resting her chin on the backrest. "You've been so out of it lately. If we're friends, sharing your troubles is only natural, right?"
Under Anon's sincere gaze, the walls Tomori had built around herself finally began to crack.
"Actually... I..." Tomori bit her lip, gathering her courage. "Sakiko and I... we were in a band together."
"What?!"
Anon's eyes went wide with shock, then she let out an excited gasp. "Seriously?! You and Sakiko Toyokawa? The one who seems cold as an iceberg?"
Tomori nodded softly, her lashes lowered. "The band was called... CRYCHIC."
"CRYCHIC..." Anon repeated the name, already pulling out her phone. "If you were in a band together, there should be something online, right? Let me search..."
A few seconds later, she cheered. "Found it! There's only one live video, but it has pretty decent views! 'Haruhikage'... is that the song?"
As Anon pressed play, the phone screen flickered to life with slightly grainy footage.
It was a small livehouse.
The lighting was dim, but when the piano intro began, all the noise of the world seemed to mute itself.
Anon held her breath.
She watched Tomori on the screen, the girl who was usually so timid. But the moment she gripped that microphone, it was like her soul caught fire.
But what surprised her even more was the figure seated at the piano.
Sakiko Toyokawa wore a pure white performance outfit, her long hair cascading over her shoulders like a waterfall. Her slender fingers danced across the black and white keys with elegance, composure, purity.
The spotlight bathed her in a soft glow, as if she were a moon goddess descended to the mortal realm.
When she turned to look at Tomori at the vocalist's position, those eyes that seemed cold as ice were filled with warmth and an encouraging smile.
The song ended.
The video had long since finished, but the astronomy club remained utterly silent.
"That was amazing..."
After a long moment, Anon finally snapped out of her trance.
Her eyes sparkled with stars as she spoke with genuine admiration. "That song was incredible! And... Sakiko back then... she was like an angel! Completely different from now!"
Hearing that praise, Tomori's eyes immediately reddened.
"Yeah... that's who Sakiko was." Her voice carried a hint of a sob. She gently touched the smile frozen on the phone screen. "She's the one who picked me up when I was lost. She was so gentle, so radiant... she gave me a place to belong."
"Then why..." Anon asked, confused. "Why did things end up like this? If you had such an amazing band, why did it break up?"
Tomori's expression darkened.
In her memory, on that rainy night, Sakiko's cold words echoed like a curse: "I only formed the band to debut" and "Practice isn't enough."
"It's all my fault..." Tomori hugged her knees, curling into herself. "I wasn't good enough. I didn't practice properly... I dragged Sakiko down. She must have been completely disappointed in me. That's why she became like this..."
"Tomori...?"
Watching her friend spiral into self-blame, Anon's heart ached. She reached out and took Tomori's cold hand in hers.
"That's not true!" Anon declared firmly. "Your singing is so powerful! I almost cried listening to it just now! It's definitely not your fault!"
Looking at the angelic Sakiko on the screen, Anon's mind quickly constructed a perfect narrative.
"I think... Sakiko must have some kind of secret pain she can't talk about." Anon analyzed. "Look, someone as gentle and noble as her couldn't possibly abandon her friends for a reason like that! Her coldness now might be an act, to protect all of you!"
"Protect... us?" Tomori raised her head, looking at Anon through tear-blurred eyes.
"Exactly! Just like in TV dramas, carrying the burden of family expectations, or suffering alone so she won't drag her friends down..." The more Anon talked, the more convinced she became. She gripped Tomori's hands tightly, eyes burning with purpose. "Tomori, we can't just give up! If she's really that kind of person, as long as we get our feelings across, we can definitely clear up the misunderstanding!"
Looking at Anon's sunny smile, a flame that had died deep in Tomori's heart seemed to flicker back to life.
Yes.
Sakiko was "the light."
The light can't be wrong.
There must be some misunderstanding somewhere!
If I try hard enough to reach her, surely I can...
"Mm!" Tomori nodded firmly, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Tomorrow... tomorrow I'll definitely go find Sakiko! I'll apologize properly and tell her how I really feel!"
"That's the spirit!" Anon beamed. "And I want to be her friend too! We're going to bring back that gentle moon princess!"
In the sunset's glow, two girls' hands clasped tightly together.
...
...
At the same moment.
In the heart of Tokyo, inside Seiji Fujiwara's luxurious penthouse apartment with its panoramic city view, there was no trace of the sunset's warmth.
Heavy blackout curtains sealed away every ray of light.
The air hung thick with a decadent, murky scent. A mix of expensive aromatherapy, fine red wine, and the unmistakable aftermath of a man and woman's passion.
"Mmn..."
A low moan drifted from the wide black velvet bed.
Sakiko Toyokawa struggled to open her eyes. The moment consciousness returned, soreness flooded every inch of her body, making her brow furrow.
She tried to shift her legs, and immediately, a slick, viscous sensation spread from between her thighs, a vivid reminder of just how wild and debauched the previous night had been.
Seiji Fujiwara... was an insatiable beast.
"Awake?"
A flat voice, devoid of any emotion, came from beside the bed.
Sakiko startled, instinctively pulling the blanket up to cover her body, which was covered in red marks. She looked toward the source of the voice with fear in her eyes.
Seiji was already fully dressed.
He wore an immaculately tailored white dress shirt with the top two buttons undone. He sat in a single-seater sofa by the bed, holding a cup of hot tea, lazily scanning a financial report.
But in Sakiko's eyes, that face was more terrifying than any demon from hell.
"Since you're awake, I have two things to tell you."
Seiji set down his cup without looking at her, speaking in a tone as if issuing orders to a subordinate.
"First, you don't need to go back to that place of yours after school today. Megumi already sent someone to pack your things. Starting today, you live here."
"What?!"
Ignoring her body's exhaustion, Sakiko sat bolt upright in bed. "No! The contract only said I provide services daily. It never said I have to live here! I have my own life!"
"Life?" Seiji let out a soft laugh, his eyes full of mockery. "You mean that drafty rental apartment? Or waking up every night to your drunk neighbor's arguments?"
He rose and walked slowly to the bedside, looking down at her.
"The contract requires you to be available on call."
"I don't have time to wait for you to drag yourself over from that dump in the middle of the night. And I have zero interest in going to a filthy hovel like that to find you."
"You can move in on your own, or I can have you brought here by force. Your choice."
"..." Sakiko bit her lip hard, unable to argue.
"Second," Seiji extended a slender finger and lifted a strand of her disheveled hair, twirling it idly around his fingertip, "quit that customer service job."
"No! My job..." Sakiko's eyes went wide.
"Job?" Seiji scoffed. "Sakiko, understand your priorities. Five million a month. I don't want your body getting worn out from long shifts and affecting the quality of your nightly... service."
"Besides," he leaned close to her ear, his voice low and cruel, "you're not some reputable young lady with a good name anymore. Why should I trust a high school girl holding that much money not to run off with it? Having someone keep an eye on you is only reasonable, don't you think?"
Five million...
Those words crushed what remained of her spine.
Her mouth opened, but no sound came out.
Like a broken doll, she collapsed back onto the pillows, silent.
Seeing she'd stopped resisting, Seiji smiled with satisfaction.
"Good. Looks like you understand now."
He glanced at his watch, his tone becoming casual and dismissive.
"Now, come here and clean up. Don't forget your duties."
Sakiko's body trembled.
She knew exactly what "clean up" meant. Over the past few days, it had become a fixed morning routine.
Swallowing her humiliation, she lowered her head and walked over to Seiji, kneeling before him on the floor.
Even though she'd done this many times now, the taste still filled her with intense revulsion.
Seiji leaned back in the sofa, one hand resting on top of her head, enjoying this morning "service." The sense of conquest swelling in his chest was immense.
"Your technique is improving quickly," Seiji commented with a smile.
A long time later.
"Cough... cough cough!"
Sakiko coughed miserably, silently gritting her teeth.
Damn it. Every "cleanup" was never just a cleanup.
"By the way, just a quick wash-up will do."
Seiji leisurely straightened his clothes and fastened his belt, a wicked curve playing at the corner of his mouth.
"What do you mean?" Sakiko didn't understand.
"I mean, what's inside your body." Seiji's gaze swept over her slightly distended lower belly, his eyes playful. "I worked pretty hard last night. I think... all of it stayed inside, didn't it?"
Sakiko's face changed. She instinctively clamped her thighs together. That overwhelming fullness became acutely vivid, as if the slightest relaxation would cause it to spill out.
"I need to wash..." she said in a panic, trying to scramble toward the bathroom.
"No."
Seiji's icy voice pinned her in place. "Go to school just like this."
"Wh-what?!" Sakiko stared in disbelief, fear making her voice tremble. "I can't do that! It'll leak out... there'll be a smell..."
"Then be careful, won't you?"
Seiji stood, a malicious grin spreading across his face.
"If you can hold out until you reach school, I won't say another word..." He bent down and pinched her stricken cheek. "Think of it as a fun little game."
"The car's waiting downstairs. Better hurry, or you'll be late..."
With that, Seiji walked out of the bedroom without looking back.
Leaving Sakiko alone, kneeling on the cold carpet, her face frozen.
The heavy, sloshing weight in her abdomen was no longer just the lingering aftermath of last night. It was a bomb that could go off at any moment.
School...
If anyone found out...
Sakiko covered her face in despair.
But she had no choice.