Rikki Pressures Aine

You're saying that too?!

You really think of me as one of the guys, huh?

Riki stared blankly at Toyokawa Sakiko.

Sakiko was stunned too. Her face had nearly turned as red as a ripe apple, and she hurriedly waved her hands so fast they blurred. "No, no, no..."

After denying it three times, she didn't know what else to say. She stood awkwardly where she was and murmured, "Are the clothes dry? I'm taking them back."

Dry?

Riki reflexively rubbed the clothes in his hands twice, then nodded. "They're dry."

Huh?

What did I just do?

Sakiko glared at Riki, her face red, then hurriedly took the panties and bra from his hands and put them back in the plastic box in her "bedroom." Her face was still burning red, and her heart was racing.

"Is this underwear... not too ugly?" Sakiko murmured, looking at the pale-blue bra in her hands.

Would Riki like it?

But he'd looked so calm just now. Did that mean he didn't like it?

The girls in class always said that boys loved this kind of thing. Was Riki different?

Uneasy, Sakiko muttered, "You could at least act a little excited."

Riki took a long, hot shower. Spring in Tokyo was like two extremes at once. The scenery was lovely, with cherry blossoms and plenty of popular attractions, but there was also so much pollen. He'd done his best; the pollen was just too powerful.

"Riki, can I come into your room?" Sakiko's clear voice came from outside the bathroom.

The bathroom would've been fine too.

Riki answered through the door. After he finished showering, he saw that Sakiko had set up a small table in his room. She looked up at him with a smile. "I've been having a little trouble with my studies lately. Could you help me with them?"

Riki, please teach me!

That was probably what Sakiko was thinking.

Riki didn't mind. Japan's relaxed education system wasn't too much trouble for someone like him, who'd made it through the hellish difficulty of the Chinese education system. Besides, this was only first-year high school material.

"I used to have tutors come to the house, but my grades have been fluctuating lately. I can still get a scholarship, but I should work hard to make sure I keep it," Sakiko said.

She went to school in the morning, worked part-time after class, then studied a little longer at night to keep her scholarship and help with household expenses. On top of that, she spent thirty minutes before bed thinking up the worldbuilding for Mujica.

Hardworking little bee, Sakiko.

"I can't help you with Japanese, but the rest should be fine," Riki said, sitting down beside Sakiko.

He was sitting next to me?

Sakiko's heart skipped a beat. She pretended to focus on the test in her hands.

"For this math problem, you can use L'Hôpital's rule—ah, no..."

Riki wanted to slap himself twice.

L'Hôpital this, L'Hôpital that. Was he going to use it for everything?

No wonder he'd scored 120 in math.

Riki thought it through carefully, then worked through each problem with Sakiko. The two countries' curricula were different, but math was universal, and Sakiko was smart. She often understood things right away.

Damn, she was good.

"Oh, right. I talked to Mutsumi about Mujica today. She said she'd think about it, which surprised me a little. She didn't accept right away. It seems she's grown," Sakiko said suddenly with a slight smile.

"Speaking of which, how are Akari-chan and the others doing with practice? You went over there, didn't you?"

"Yeah, they've improved a lot."

"And then?" Sakiko asked. "Where did you go to be home so late?"

"The light at Sose's house was broken, and her mother was injured and couldn't come back for the time being, so I went to help her," Riki said.

Sose?

He called her by her first name?

Sakiko pictured Nagasaki Sose's face.

"I see. In that case, there was nothing to be done," Sakiko said with a smile.

Why did her expression seem a little scary?

Riki continued studying with Sakiko. This time, they worked on English. Sakiko was actually pretty good at it, but there was one problem... her Japanese accent was deadly.

Like how Ultraman got pronounced "Urotoraman."

But Sakiko had no plans to go abroad anytime soon, so there was no need to set the bar too high.

Riki had at least passed CET-4 in his first year of college. The only word that came naturally to him was "abandon," pronounced with perfect diction.

Sorry, that was the only word he remembered after passing.

Sakiko found Riki's conflicted expression amusing. "It seems our pronunciation really is different."

Maybe it was just a difference between men's and women's voices. Sakiko-bao didn't need to worry about it.

"Riki, how do you pronounce this?" Sakiko asked, pointing to a word in the book.

"Love," Riki said after glancing at it.

"I say 'love' too." Sakiko smiled at Riki. "Looks like our love is the same. I suppose 'I love you' would sound the same too."

Riki froze. Sakiko tucked a strand of blue hair behind her ear with her slender fingers. Her delicate ear turned red as she glanced at him from the corner of her eye.

Toyokawa Sakiko, you succubus!

"That's true," Riki said.

With the performance coming up soon, Riki was called to Ring again.

But as soon as he walked in, he saw Nagasaki Sose's smiling face.

Danger!

Chapter 56: Rikki Pressures Aine

Riki walked into Ring's café and glanced toward the counter. He only saw Narita Michi-senpai; Shiina Riki wasn't there. He went over and took a seat.

Looks like there wouldn't be a thoughtful little note from Rikki today.

Disappointing.

"Are you disappointed that Rikki-chan isn't here?" Nagasaki Sose said with a smile. "I'm terribly sorry that I'm the one sitting here. Rikki-chan and Akari will be here soon."

Was that sarcasm?

The Japanese had really turned up the pressure with their specialty.

"You went to see Mutsuki-chan yesterday, right?" Sose asked, looking at Riki.

"She was the one who staked me out. It was only a little while after I left your house." Riki tried to reenact what had happened.

"But the result is the same, isn't it?"

Damn, taking things out of context. Girl help girl, huh?

"She just came to ask me something. It was about Sakiko," Riki said, resting his chin on his hand. "You don't bully her at school a lot, do you?"

"I'm a good friend of Mutsuki-chan's," Sose replied with a smile.

Women's "good friends" were like men's game libraries. Once a new game came out, the old one got shoved in storage and never saw the light of day again.

Riki looked at Sose. "It's about time you faced reality. Crychic isn't coming back. Wouldn't joining a new band be a good thing?"

Sose's expression changed at once. She stared coldly at Riki. "This is something between the five of us in Crychic. It has nothing to do with an outsider like you, does it?"

"But all five of you are my friends. I can't just stand by," Riki said.

Sose's hand paused as she held her tea. Her eyes lowered, and after a moment, she said, "If that's how you feel, then stop getting involved."

That way, at least they could remain friends.

Sose bit her lower lip.

Her resolve was absolute. From the beginning, all she'd wanted was for the five of them to be in Crychic.

But Riki's sudden appearance had thrown her plans into disarray. Sose had hated him—or at least, she had at first...

As time went on, though, she realized Riki wasn't so bad. And sometimes, being with him made her happy.

That was the biggest problem of all.

She actually wanted Riki to stay by her side.

Lying in bed late at night, Sose had wondered more than once how wonderful it would have been if Riki had joined when Crychic was first formed.

If Riki had been there, perhaps Crychic wouldn't have disbanded. He would have helped Sakiko through her troubles, and they would all have helped Toyokawa Sakiko together. They could still have been the best of friends.

But dreams didn't come true. The cruel reality was that Riki had arrived too late.

Riki had only come into Sose's life after she'd awakened from that dream.

Sose would never give up on Crychic—but what did she want from Riki?

Even Sose didn't know. She was wavering. She'd even begun to sense a terrifying truth: being with Riki made her feel as safe as she had when she was in Crychic.

Riki looked at Sose. Neither of them said a word.

"Sorry I'm late. I spent a little time working on the new song... What's going on with you two?"

Shiina Riki hurried into Ring's café and saw Riki and Nagasaki Sose sitting across from each other in silence. In Rikki's eyes, both of them were people worth learning from when it came to conversation. Their topics should've been as plentiful as Fukushima's radiation. Why were they both sitting there without a word?

"It's fine. We were discussing how L'Hôpital's rule applies to mathematics. The conclusion was that you can use it for everything. Sit down. Where are Akari and Aine?" Riki said.

"They'll be here soon. I've almost finished the new song. Could you take a look?" Rikki asked nervously.

"Sure." Riki put on an exaggerated foreign accent. As he looked it over, he asked, "Did you skip your shift at the café today to work on the new song? I thought there'd be a little note waiting for me."

"What note? I-I was just... thanking you a little for helping me before."

Rikki hurriedly explained.

Sose sipped her tea as she watched Riki and Rikki.

Riki looked over the new song carefully. Seeing Rikki's nervous expression, he nodded. "There's nothing seriously wrong with it. I think it's good enough for a live performance. Now it just needs lyrics."

Rikki let out a sigh of relief and nodded. "Akari can handle the lyrics. Hers are better than anyone else's."

Rikki, I'm telling you, don't get too attached.

You love Akari so much it's practically spilling off your face.

Just then, Chihaya Anon and Takamatsu Akari, who were in the same school and class, arrived too.

"Sorry. Akari and I were on cleaning duty today, so we're a little late," Anon said. "By the way, what are we discussing today? The band's outfits, the styling—and of course, the name!"

Anon looked excited.

"Huh?" Rikki frowned and said irritably, "Those aren't things we need to worry about. The most important thing for a band is performing."

Anon was displeased too. "A girls' band has to look pretty, and how can we attract anyone without a good name? You're the one who doesn't understand anything!"

Rikki slapped the table hard and shouted, "Then let me ask you this: aside from all that, have you even been practicing guitar? From the first practice until now, you've barely improved. Do you even realize that we have a live coming up?"

"I... I know that!" Anon took a step back at the shout, then turned away and stammered, "I'll get better before the live, anyway."

"When?" Rikki demanded. "Every time we talk about practice, you change the subject to outfits and the band name. What are you trying to avoid?"

"I... I'm not avoiding anything."