The next day.
Inside Rin Ito's room, he wasn't at the studio. Instead, he was back at his computer, a rare sight lately, focused on his drawings. Rita, having no school and nothing to do, leaned over the back of his chair, her chin resting on the headrest as she stared at the monitor.
Kaede, Suzu, Nanami, and Mashiro had all headed to school. Only Rin and Rita remained in the house.
"The band stuff is all settled?" Rita asked out of the blue.
"Pretty much," Rin replied casually.
Sakiko had successfully put the squeeze on Nyamu. Hatsune had recruited Umiri Yahata from her class as the bassist, and thus, Ave Mujica was born. Beyond providing an escape, the band's formation served as Sakiko's way of "returning" a band to Mutsumi.
Mutsumi was the one who had said she never enjoyed being in a band, but Sakiko knew that was a lie—a shield to draw fire away from her. Mutsumi loved Crychic, she loved her friends, and she loved making music.
If it were the Sakiko of now, she probably would have agreed if Tomori and Soyo asked to rebuild Crychic. But it was too late for that.
Rin's responsibility ended at finding the members; the rest was up to them. Besides, he had fallen behind on his actual work—drawing adult manga—while helping them.
However, there was still one loose thread in Ave Mujica: Nyamu.
Just like in the original story, Sakiko decided everyone would wear those hard-to-stomach fetish masks, vowing not to unmask until they reached the Budokan.
But the reason had changed. Now, it was to prove that Mutsumi reached the top through talent alone, not because she was "Minami Mori's daughter." It was a path for Mutsumi to find her own identity.
If it worked, it would be a cure for Mutsumi. If it failed, it could shatter her mind completely.
Nyamu, of course, wanted to unmask for the sake of her viewer metrics. In the original animation, Sakiko wasn't cold enough or ruthless enough to stop her. But Nyamu was just a vlogger; Sakiko could easily dominate her if she found her spine. Sakiko was still just too "sweet."
Rin knew he had to find a way to kill Nyamu's desire to unmask once and for all.
But that was a problem for after Ave Mujica officially debuted and gained some traction. Reaching a deal and signing contracts was easy, but organizing a professional group was a nightmare of logistics.
Lyrics, composition, rehearsals, venues, marketing—everything took time. The "mask incident" could wait until then.
Rin glanced at Rita out of the corner of his eye. The weather was turning cold, and Rita, now in long sleeves, was no longer generously displaying her massive cleavage.
"Haven't you decided to pick up the brush again?"
"It's harder than I thought..." Rita stretched and collapsed onto Rin's bed. "Being a lazy bum feels pretty great though~"
"If you don't draw and don't take care of Mashiro, Nanami really is going to steal her from you. How is your little contest going?"
"Well... ahahaha. Nanami is currently leading..." Rita gave an awkward laugh to change the subject. "Nanami doesn't draw either, so why would Mashiro choose her over me?"
When she first arrived, Rita assumed Nanami and Mashiro were like her and Mashiro—a "Mother" figure looking after a "clumsy child."
But after weeks of living with them, she realized that wasn't it at all. They were keeping a secret from her.
It wasn't simple friendship, but it wasn't a standard romance either. Rita couldn't put her finger on it, but it felt... wrong.
Watching her struggle with the mystery, Rin wanted to laugh.
Wrong?
You bet it's wrong!
How could they ever tell her about the group sex and the training?
Lately, Rin and Mashiro hadn't had many parties. Rin was busy with the bands, and Rita was always lurking... sneaking a quick fuck with Mashiro wasn't satisfying enough.
When they were alone at home, Rin would often carry the petite Mashiro, fucking her while he walked around. With every step, he would lift her tiny frame and drop her back onto his member, her entire weight concentrated on a single point. Mashiro loved that.
Then there was the pet-walk play, the feeding play, or holding her over the sink to let her urinate. Unlike Karen, who acted like a pet to relieve stress, Mashiro just enjoyed the pure sensation of being "owned."
She didn't need to handle human complexities; she didn't need to worry about anything but her art. She just needed to be fed and used.
Because they hadn't played like that in a while, Mashiro was starving for it. But more than that, she had a bigger goal: dragging Rita into the abyss with her!
Mashiro was definitely planning to corrupt Rita. How she did it was up to her; Rin wouldn't interfere.
As the idle Rita read manga on his bed and Rin focused on his work, the school day finally ended.
BZZZT! BZZZT! BZZZT!
Rin's phone, sitting on the desk, vibrated violently with incoming messages. He glanced at the screen—it was a barrage from Mortis.
Mortis: [When are you eating Saki?]
Mortis: [When are you eating Saki?]
Mortis: [When are you eating Saki?]
It wasn't just three. Mortis had sent over a dozen messages the moment Mutsumi's classes were over. Rin's lip twitched at the wall of text. Is Mutsumi really this desperate? Sakiko was currently buried in work, trying to arrange their debut.
But, why not?
Rin took a screenshot of Mortis's demands and sent it directly to Sakiko. It took a while for her to respond—either she was busy or she didn't know what to say.
Sakiko: [What do you think?]
Rin Ito: [Mutsumi's state is stable for now. My advice is to strike while the iron is hot. Are you free this weekend?]
On the other end of the line, Sakiko grit her teeth.
Apparently, being used like a pet and forced to leak urine wasn't enough to satisfy Mortis's grudge or earn her forgiveness. Do I really have to go all the way?
Sakiko was truly grateful to Rin for discovering Mutsumi's condition and helping her, but she didn't want to give her virginity to a man she had no feelings for... especially such a promiscuous one!
She knew Rin likely just wanted to take advantage of the situation to devour her, but for Mutsumi's sake...
Consider it atonement.
Sakiko: [Fine. Tomorrow, then.]
Sakiko: [Try to be as rough as possible. It might satisfy Mortis more.]
Rin Ito: [No rush. Tomorrow, I'll introduce you to some friends first.]
Sakiko stared at the screen, her brow furrowed in confusion.
If Karen wanted to introduce someone, she'd understand. But Rin? What kind of friends could a manga artist have that were worth her time? Karen had already told her Rin was just an artist. What friend could be more important than him breeding her to satisfy Mutsumi?