Boyfriend-kun?

"You've been speaking Japanese this whole time, haven't you?" Toyokawa Sakiko asked Riki, looking puzzled.

"Ah, I thought you, as a young lady, had studied Chinese, which was why you could talk to me so fluently." Riki was just as baffled.

Neither of us speaks the other's native language, so how have we been communicating?

Did Sacred Kara bring us together?

"Anyway, there must be some kind of connection between us. Otherwise, no one but me should be able to understand what you're saying," Riki said. "The worst-case scenario is that you won't understand anyone when you end up in the Japan of my world, either."

Toyokawa Sakiko sighed, looked up at Riki, and said, "Would it be all right if I stayed here for one night? I'll leave tomorrow. I'll pay you... Um, I'll work to earn the money."

"It's fine, it's fine." Riki waved a hand. I'd be happy to have her stay at my place.

Toyokawa Sakiko frowned. "Please don't give me charity."

Right. Teacher Da Xiang was a proud person like that.

Riki thought for a moment. "Then how about we charge you the price of a youth hostel? Forty yuan for one night, about eight hundred yen."

As a former young lady who'd just been forced to retire from the Young Lady Club, Toyokawa Sakiko had no idea what hotels in China cost. She pretended to think it over, then nodded. "All right. I'll be in your care tonight."

That sounded a little strange.

Riki started working on his freshman assignment. Toyokawa Sakiko leaned over curiously. "Are you a music student?"

"I picked a major at random. Mostly, my mom thought that since I got into Jiuba Wu, I might as well study music." Riki answered casually.

"Your mother sounds interesting." Toyokawa Sakiko's expression softened, and she couldn't help smiling.

Riki was dazzled by her radiant smile.

I let my guard down. I didn't dodge.

So this was Teacher Da Xiang's White Moonlight form?

No wonder Empress Akari had fallen for her. She showed up with a full six-item build. Losing to that was no shame.

"Did you write this piece?" Toyokawa Sakiko asked curiously.

Perhaps because she was in an unfamiliar place, she no longer had to force herself to maintain the dignity of a young lady. Instead, she and Riki chatted happily.

Before they knew it, they were talking animatedly. At some point, Toyokawa Sakiko dozed off, leaning against Riki's shoulder.

Toyokawa Sakiko suddenly opened her eyes. The bright morning light streaming through the window was a little dazzling. The smell of beer in the room made her realize she was back in her "home."

Had yesterday been... a dream?

Toyokawa Sakiko stared blankly at her fair palm. Then she caught the scent of the shower gel on her body—the kind used in the home of a man named Riki, in another world.

A small smile appeared on her face.

It wasn't a dream. That was nice, too.

Toyokawa Sakiko got up, put on her Haneoka uniform, and headed to Haneoka Middle School without expression. She didn't greet anyone along the way. Then she spotted a gray-haired girl walking ahead of her, waddling like a penguin: Takamatsu Akari.

Takamatsu Akari saw Toyokawa Sakiko, too. She opened her mouth to speak, but Toyokawa Sakiko said nothing and walked straight past her, expressionless.

Toyokawa Sakiko had completely let go of the past. From now on, she would be someone new.

"Sakiko-chan..." Takamatsu Akari couldn't help hurrying after her.

"Takamatsu-san, please don't speak to me." Toyokawa Sakiko kept walking, her voice calm.

Takamatsu Akari's face fell.

Toyokawa Sakiko walked on, holding her schoolbag. She knew Takamatsu Akari would have her own band in the future, and she didn't belong there.

Toyokawa Sakiko studied hard all day at Haneoka Middle School. She needed a scholarship, so she never slacked off when it came to her studies. But after school, she still had to go to work. As soon as she walked out of the school gate, though, she saw a brown-haired girl in a Tsukinomori uniform waiting there. The girl's eyes lit up when she saw Toyokawa Sakiko.

"Sakiko-chan, I've been waiting for you. Let's have a proper talk." Nagasaki Sose hurried over.

Toyokawa Sakiko suppressed her irritation and kept walking, expressionless. "I have nothing to say to you."

But unlike Takamatsu Akari, Nagasaki Sose was persistent. She hurried after her.

"Why did you leave Crychic? We could definitely help you!" Nagasaki Sose pleaded anxiously.

"What would you know!?" Toyokawa Sakiko snapped. Seeing how naive Nagasaki Sose looked made her anger flare.

"You're just a student. Don't make promises you can't keep!"

Nagasaki Sose froze.

Toyokawa Sakiko's phone rang. She answered it, and Nagasaki Sose noticed a photo of a boy she'd never seen in the open gallery on Toyokawa Sakiko's phone.

She hadn't seen him at all in the past three years.

Who was he?

Then she heard Toyokawa Sakiko exclaim in surprise. "Riki, you said you're at the park... No, don't even mention waking up with a garbage bag covering you. I'll be right there."

That person's name was Riki? Nagasaki Sose furrowed her brow.

Why was Sakiko-chan so worried about him?

What was he to Sakiko-chan?

Boyfriend-kun?

"Are there any landmarks in the park?" Toyokawa Sakiko asked Riki over the phone.

"Um, let me see... Two deer are eating the hem of my shirt."

"That's Shikano Park. Don't move; I'll be right there."

Toyokawa Sakiko hung up and hurried off. Fortunately, Shikano Park wasn't far away. Five minutes later, she spotted Riki sitting on a bench, feeding leaves to the deer.

Toyokawa Sakiko stared at Riki in disbelief. He was really here. "Why are you at Shikano Park?"

"I'm alive. I have to be somewhere, don't I?" Riki said.

He was just as confused. When he woke up, he'd found himself in the park. If he ruled out the possibility that Teacher Da Xiang had gotten murderously bold and harvested his kidneys, there was only one explanation: he'd crossed over to her world, just like Toyokawa Sakiko had crossed over to his.

What was this?

A two-way journey?

He'd tried calling Toyokawa Sakiko and hadn't expected it to actually go through. So the code in this world was C, too?

"By the way, who's the beautiful girl behind you?" Riki looked at the brown-haired girl behind Toyokawa Sakiko. She wore a Tsukinomori uniform, and her chest strained against it, far beyond what you'd expect from a high schooler.

He had a pretty good idea who she was: Mygo's biggest villain, and its biggest punching bag, Nagasaki Sose.

Toyokawa Sakiko looked at Nagasaki Sose behind her and frowned in surprise. "Why did you follow us?"

Nagasaki Sose strode up to Riki, her expression hostile. "You're the man in Sakiko-chan's phone, aren't you? You're the one who made Sakiko-chan leave, right? Why would you do something like that?!"

Nagasaki Sose was worked up.

Riki: "?"

What had he done?

Nagasaki Sose turned to Toyokawa Sakiko. "Sakiko-chan, you must have been led astray by this man. He doesn't look like a good person. You'd be better off staying away from someone like him!"

Nagasaki Sose had clearly misunderstood, blaming Riki for Toyokawa Sakiko leaving the band.

She'd also mistaken the relationship between Riki and Toyokawa Sakiko for something special.

Toyokawa Sakiko paused, but realized that, in a way, her relationship with Riki really was special. The two of them used the barrier between worlds like a curtain, passing through it to visit each other. She sighed and said calmly, "My relationship with him is none of your business. Riki, let's go."

Toyokawa Sakiko took Riki by the hand and led him out of the park.

Riki looked back at Nagasaki Sose, who stood frozen in place. He almost felt sorry for her.

"You were a little too harsh with her," Riki said quietly.

"Are you closer to her, or to me?" Toyokawa Sakiko looked at Riki.

Riki faltered. "Well, obviously I'm closer to you."

Toyokawa Sakiko huffed.

Why are you acting like a child?

Riki glanced back at Nagasaki Sose. She didn't look like she was going to give up, and she might even set her sights on him next.

Teacher Sose, I'm breaking out in a cold sweat.

Can you please leave me alone?

"Based on last time, we should be sent back before long. Just wait here for a bit," Toyokawa Sakiko said as they walked.

"What about you?" Riki asked.

Toyokawa Sakiko pointed to the office building in front of them. It was obvious.

Customer Service Xiao Xiang was about to clock in.

Riki understood.

Toyokawa Sakiko went into the office building. She worried as she walked about whether Riki would manage here, but with work about to start, she cleared her mind, sat at her desk, put on her headset, and got to work. Working in customer service wasn't easy. Some customers were completely unreasonable; others called just to hurl abuse. There were plenty of wrong numbers, too. But Toyokawa Sakiko had gotten used to the job. After all, she'd been working there for a month.

"Hello, this is Sakiko, representative number 5247. How can I help you?" Toyokawa Sakiko asked in a practiced, emotionless voice.

"Um, Customer Service Xiao Xiang, do you have anything for repelling mosquitoes?"

"I'm sorry, you've reached the wrong number... Wait, why are you calling me?" Toyokawa Sakiko froze. The voice on the phone was unmistakably Riki's.

"I saw the phone number on the sign outside the office building, so I called. I'm right below you, getting eaten alive by mosquitoes, and my nose is itchy, too."

"There are lots of mosquitoes in Japan in spring, of course. And it's normal for your nose to itch. It's pollen season in Japan, so put on a mask quickly." Toyokawa Sakiko frowned.

China didn't plant as many cedar trees for greening as Japan did, so people there didn't need to take the same precautions. In some Japanese prefectures, as many as fifty percent of people suffered from hay fever. It was practically enough to cough you to death.

"I don't have any money," Riki said helplessly.

Like Toyokawa Sakiko, he'd arrived with nothing.

Toyokawa Sakiko sighed. She glanced at her coworker, who was working diligently, then took mosquito repellent and a mask from her bag. Without a word, she walked to the window, leaned out, and quietly called down to Riki, who was struggling against the mosquitoes below. "Hey, over here. Up here... I'm dropping the stuff down."

The wind blew the mosquito repellent into Riki's head. Toyokawa Sakiko worriedly looked down and saw him crouching with his arms over his head, rubbing it. She couldn't help covering her mouth as she laughed. Then she went back to her desk, put on her headset, and continued the call. "Remember, don't use too much mosquito repellent. I bought it on sale at the supermarket, and it has to last a month."

"Got it, got it." Riki hurriedly said, "The cap's off, but how do I spray it?"

"Press down first..."

Toyokawa Sakiko talked Riki through spraying the mosquito repellent, which he managed after some fumbling, then hung up. She leaned back in her chair and sighed.

That guy's unexpectedly a bit of an idiot.

He'd still managed to get into university. From what he'd said, Jiuba Wu was about on par with Keio University, wasn't it?

Toyokawa Sakiko was still thinking when the young woman at the next desk chuckled. "Sakiko, are you talking to your boyfriend?"

"Huh? No, no, this is..." Toyokawa Sakiko hurried to deny it.

"It's fine. I sometimes have my boyfriend call me so I can take a break. With so many annoying calls, who could stand it otherwise?" The coworker grumbled.

So that was a trick people could use?

Toyokawa Sakiko blinked.

She felt like she'd discovered a secret to the job. She'd even forgotten to deny that she'd been talking to her boyfriend.

"By the way, you're in a great mood today. You're usually expressionless, and I'm afraid to talk to you. But you've been smiling all day. Did your boyfriend give you a present?" The coworker asked curiously.

Had she really been smiling that much today?

Toyokawa Sakiko froze. Her hazy reflection in the computer screen showed her soft lips curled into a faint, captivating smile.

She must be mistaken.

Two more hours passed. After work, Toyokawa Sakiko saw Riki and walked over. "Did anything happen while I was working?"

"Nothing much. Apart from seeing a monster invade Tokyo, then piloting an EVA to defeat the evil Zoffy, everything was fine," Riki said after a moment's thought.