Saki Is About to Fall

What would he say later?

Knowing him, he definitely wouldn't admit that he missed me, right?

He'd probably stammer and awkwardly change the subject again.

He thought I hadn't seen through him all this time, but he was actually pretty cute like that.

Toyokawa Sakiko let out a light laugh. When she turned the corner, she found the sunlight just right. Two people were standing in front of the Hachiko Statue—one was Nagasaki Sose, and the other was... Riki.

Why were the two of them standing together?

Toyokawa Sakiko froze. An unfamiliar emotional shock left her feeling dizzy.

Were they looking for me?

Sose wanted to reform Crychic, so she was waiting for me, right?

Toyokawa Sakiko didn't dare think too deeply. If it was the relationship she didn't dare imagine, she would definitely...

Toyokawa Sakiko took a deep breath, revealed the brightest smile she had ever shown, and ran toward Riki in the Japanese style. Before either Riki or Nagasaki Sose could react, she threw her arms around Riki and hugged him tightly.

"I missed you so much!!"

Toyokawa Sakiko shouted.

Her face was filled with smiles.

Her voice was filled with joy.

Toyokawa Sakiko's voice was so loud that the surrounding pedestrians all turned to look. Seeing such a beautiful girl proclaiming it so loudly, they immediately felt a sour ache in their hearts. Then they looked at Riki, whom she was hugging tightly, and noticed Nagasaki Sose standing beside him, equally youthful and radiant.

You bastard, you really ought to die!

Riki hadn't expected Toyokawa Sakiko to give him such a huge bear hug after a week apart, and he was deeply moved.

Miss Sakiko, every encounter in this world is a reunion after a long separation.

"Sakiko, you can let go of me now," Riki hurriedly said. Too many people nearby were staring at him, and he was terribly embarrassed.

"Are you embarrassed?" Toyokawa Sakiko asked with a sly smile.

Riki stared blankly at her smiling face, momentarily at a loss for words.

No, seriously, how did your Succubus form level up again after just one week?

As a big boy with lions hidden in his eyes, Riki was shamefully flustered when faced with Sakiko's Succubus form. He had to admit that Sakiko had played this one too well, leaving his hands trembling.

"Of course not. I was born this way. I'm famous at school for being a shy guy. Everyone calls me Brother Shy," Riki said. There was no way he could admit that Toyokawa Sakiko's teasing had gotten to him.

Just as I thought, he starts saying nonsense shyly when he gets like this...

Toyokawa Sakiko looked at Riki and couldn't help covering her mouth as she laughed.

Seeing that Toyokawa Sakiko still refused to let go, the pedestrians thought of their own youthful high school days... They, too, had once watched others embrace like this. Their eyes filled with murderous intent as they glared fiercely at Riki.

Riki had only one thought in his heart—this is so damn satisfying.

"Um... Sakiko-chan!"

Nagasaki Sose, who had been standing beside them, finally reacted. Toyokawa Sakiko's actions had completely exceeded her expectations. In her mind, Sakiko had always been a calm and graceful girl. She had never seen her hug a boy so tightly like this.

Could it be...

Does Sakiko really like Riki?

"I came here to wait for you too. Listen, I know about your situation now. Things must be really difficult with your family having problems, but I have quite a bit of pocket money every month. I can give it all to you, Sakiko..."

Nagasaki Sose hurriedly spoke, looking at Toyokawa Sakiko expectantly.

"Sose!"

Toyokawa Sakiko interrupted her, saying disappointedly, "You know everything now, but you still haven't changed. You're still only thinking about yourself."

"That's not it. I really want to help Sakiko-chan. Then Sakiko wouldn't have to form Mujika either. To me, Crychic is the best band!"

Nagasaki Sose spoke anxiously.

"That's exactly why I said you're only thinking about yourself!"

Toyokawa Sakiko said coldly. Looking at Nagasaki Sose's distracted expression, she continued, "Haven't you already formed a new band? Forget about Crychic."

"But..."

Nagasaki Sose still had more to say, her expression anxious.

"Riki and I are members of the same band now. He'll provide me with technical support. Are you saying you want Riki to join Crychic too?"

Toyokawa Sakiko's tone was cold.

"Riki's other band?" Nagasaki Sose stared blankly.

It was something she had never considered.

Wasn't he Mygo's music adviser?

Why had he become Mujika's technical support?

So he wasn't exclusive to Mygo?

Because Riki had helped Mygo's members so naturally, Nagasaki Sose had never considered that he didn't actually have to help them at all.

The feeling that something belonging to her could easily be taken away... made her uneasy.

Nagasaki Sose subconsciously looked at Riki beside her, took a deep breath, and said gently, "Sakiko-chan, I think I understand now. I won't bother you anymore for the time being, but please believe that I've always cared about everyone."

Toyokawa Sakiko looked at Nagasaki Sose, her once-close friend, and in the end couldn't bring herself to say anything cruel.

"Then I'll go to school first," Nagasaki Sose said with a smile.

She gave Riki a deep look, a thoughtful glint flashing through her eyes.

She understood completely now. The key lay with Riki.

Everything could be solved by starting with Riki.

Nagasaki Sose would never give up on Crychic.

The Hachiko Statue was, after all, a popular area in Shibuya. Riki and Toyokawa Sakiko had already stayed there too long, and Sakiko herself was eye-catching enough as a beautiful girl, so they had no choice but to leave on foot first.

If I'd known, I should have arranged to meet in Ikebukuro. That place is the true embassy of China.

Stop using Japanese to ask about everything. This is Ikebukuro!

"Which way are we going now?" Riki asked.

"Toward the hospital."

"Huh, you know I caught a cold?"

"You caught a cold!?" Toyokawa Sakiko paused and hurriedly asked.

Sakiko-bao, I thought the two of us had the superpower of being telepathically connected.

I was even ready to pay my respects to the great Sakiko staff member.

Give me back my emotional moment.

"I asked my teacher for leave, saying that my older brother had broken his leg and I needed to visit him at the hospital. My teacher told me to take a photo after I got there as proof," Toyokawa Sakiko explained.

"Huh?" Riki froze. How did you learn to lie too?

Sakiko, that excuse isn't very good. Remember to say that one of your family members got hit by a car next time.

If your dad got hit, we could open champagne together.

It wouldn't matter if I got hit. I'm an art student. I picked the World War II talent, so I can remake myself.

"It's because you're always talking about what excuses to use when taking leave from school. I hear you say things like that all the time... so I ended up using one," Toyokawa Sakiko said awkwardly.

That's because I'm the top student in my grade!

What about you?

Oh, right. You also get a scholarship from Haneoka High School, Sakiko, so never mind.

"You still haven't told me how you caught your cold!" Toyokawa Sakiko hurriedly asked, her face full of concern.

Riki told her what had happened when it rained earlier. Naturally, he tactfully cut out the part where Sose had been wrapped in a bath towel, to avoid having a bad influence on a minor.

"Sose..." Toyokawa Sakiko said calmly. "So that's what happened. I understand. We'll buy some medicine while we're at the hospital."

"Actually, there's no need. I'm almost better."

Toyokawa Sakiko was extremely stubborn. She pulled Riki into the hospital and registered him.

"Please bring your boyfriend over, Miss Sakiko. The doctor is free now," the nurse said.

Nurse, actually, we haven't reached that stage yet...

"Okay, I'll take him over right away," Toyokawa Sakiko replied with a smile. Then she turned to Riki. "Let's go."

Riki blinked.

Did Sakiko not hear what the nurse said just now?

Or did she forget to clarify?

Toyokawa Sakiko held Riki's hand and chatted with the nurse with a smile.

For some reason, when he looked at Toyokawa Sakiko's beautiful amber eyes after a week apart, he felt as if they held some unknown emotion. For some reason, Riki always felt that the Earth's gravity had increased slightly.

Had he... been captured by gravity?

******

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Chapter Thirty-Eight: Sakiko Is About to Fall

"Miss Sakiko, please have your boyfriend use the thermometer."

"Okay." Toyokawa Sakiko smiled.

Something was wrong.

Riki felt that Toyokawa Sakiko was a little off. Although she had already been a fragrant Sakiko-bao a week ago, she now possessed something else besides her fragrance—a faint, imperceptible sense of pressure.

"Riki, hold your hand up. I'll help you position the thermometer." Toyokawa Sakiko's pretty face appeared before him, her eyes curved into crescents.

No problem. If it's Sakiko-bao, I can hold it up anytime.

Wait, something seems wrong.

"Oh, oh, oh, you mean my hand..." Riki hurriedly raised his hand.

Toyokawa Sakiko looked at Riki strangely. But when boys said things that sounded incomprehensible, half the time they were talking about something lewd, the other half they were laying the groundwork for something lewd, and in extremely rare cases they were discussing fictional characters.

Toyokawa Sakiko blushed and angrily pinched his cheek.

"There are a lot of people at the hospital today. Sorry for making you squeeze through the crowd," Riki said.

"Actually, there aren't that many people. People from out of town don't really want to come to the hospital and waste money, so most of the visitors are locals from Tokyo," Toyokawa Sakiko said, shaking her head.

An old Tokyo boy's grandfather is still a grandfather, kid.

The fear of death itself has been surpassed!

When Toyokawa Sakiko finished positioning the thermometer, she looked at Riki's wrist. The four-leaf clover bracelet she had given him was there, and a beautiful smile immediately appeared on her face. The four-leaf clover necklace beneath her clothes swayed faintly.

I'm wearing the necklace you gave me properly too.

So we'll never be separated.

"Weren't you going to take a photo for your teacher? Hurry and take one while I'm weak. Otherwise, once I'm back to full health, it'll be hard to take a convincing picture," Riki said.

"That's true."

Toyokawa Sakiko sat beside Riki, pressed against him, and picked up her phone.

This felt less like taking a sick-day photo and more like taking a couple's picture.

Riki's nose was filled with the fragrance wafting from Toyokawa Sakiko. Her youthful, soft body rose and fell gracefully beneath her clothes, inspiring endless imagination.