The moment Nagasaki Soyo saw that smile, her mood immediately brightened.
Saki seemed to have made up with her.
The two of them were friends again.
But…
The joy on her face gradually faded into melancholy.
It felt like they were only ordinary friends now, the kind of friends no closer than unfamiliar classmates.
She could tell that Saki’s attitude toward her was distant, as though she wanted to cut herself off from everyone.
So it really was because of CRYCHIC’s breakup…
Was there truly no way to bring CRYCHIC back?
Memories of the band flashed through Soyo’s mind one after another.
A loose strand of hair fell across her forehead, hiding the disappointment on her face.
After leaving school, Touma headed straight for the newspaper office.
The moment Sakiko recognized the route, she had a bad feeling.
Sure enough, this guy was here to quit.
After that came the convenience store.
He collected the remaining wages, quit both part-time jobs, successfully putting an end to the struggling Part-Timer Sakiko, then returned to the shabby apartment.
Meanwhile, at the Togawa residence…
Togawa Sadaharu answered a phone call.
“I see.
She quit all of her part-time jobs?
Good.
Then pull all of our people back.” With that, he hung up.
The gloom on his face disappeared instantly.
So you’ve finally decided to come back and inherit the family, Sakiko.
Inside the shared body, Sakiko sulked in silence.
Everything was gone.
Every part-time job she had worked so hard to find had been thrown away by this guy.
She understood that he had his reasons, but she still couldn’t accept it so easily.
Just then, the apartment door opened.
A worn-out Togawa Kiyotsugu walked in.
Compared to yesterday, when his face had been gaunt from hunger, his cheeks were noticeably fuller now.
It was obvious he’d had a hearty meal somewhere.
“S-Sakiko…
You’re home early…” The blue-haired girl stared at him with an icy gaze, making him awkwardly wipe the grease still lingering at the corner of his mouth.
Has Sakiko changed too?
Looking at his daughter, Kiyotsugu felt an indescribable emotion well up inside him.
Perhaps the beer bottle incident from a few days ago had left too deep an impression.
He didn’t dare linger any longer.
Carrying a bag of beer, he hurried back into his room.
“See that?
Grease all over his mouth.” Touma said it specifically for Sakiko to hear.
She had seen it clearly herself.
After a long silence, she finally spoke.
“…Yeah.
But where did Dad get the money to eat?
Don’t tell me…” “Hurry.
Go check my room!” Her voice suddenly became anxious.
Confused, Touma followed her directions and found a small box hidden beneath a secret compartment under the bed.
Opening it, he found quite a bit of cash inside.
Well, well.
Looks like Sakiko had her own little stash.
“Eighty-two thousand yen.” He counted the worn bills.
Saving up this much couldn’t have been easy for Maestro Sakiko.
But the next second, Sakiko cried out.
“It’s missing!
There should’ve been one hundred thousand yen!
Eighteen thousand yen is gone!” “Eighteen…
eighteen thousand yen…” “It was stolen…
But…” “I’m the only one who knew this was here…” Her emotions spiraled out of control.
Then her voice gradually grew quieter.
Soon, soft sobbing echoed in his mind.
Who else could have taken it?
There was no need to ask.
The pain came from realizing the answer.
The person closest to her had betrayed her.
Touma immediately came to the same conclusion.
Togawa Kiyotsugu.
That useless old man had his own hidden savings, yet he still stole his daughter’s money?
Sticky fingers, huh?
Then let’s deal with it.
He rolled up his sleeves.
A scene flashed through Touma’s mind, Sakiko crying during the Night of the Black Blade.
(It was the precise moment her world shattered.
With her father saddled with a crushing 100-million dollars in debt and utterly unable to provide for her, she had been left completely abandoned to pick up the pieces, thus forced to cut ties and endure the fallout of CRYCHIC’s demise just to survive the harsh reality of her new life.) He spoke loudly.
“Quit crying already.
Crying all day isn’t going to solve anything.
Stop crying and watch this.” Those words instantly stopped her tears.
He walked over to Kiyotsugu’s sliding door.
With a hard shove, the door slammed open.
He strode inside.
“Is…
is something wrong, Sakiko?” Seeing the murderous look on the blue-haired girl’s face, Kiyotsugu swallowed nervously, trying to look innocent.
Silence filled the room.
“Stand up.” Touma crooked a finger.
Kiyotsugu wanted to refuse.
But hearing that ice-cold voice, all thoughts of resistance disappeared.
Obediently, he stood.
Touma grabbed him by the shoulder.
Then drove his knee straight into the man’s stomach.
The attack came too fast.
Kiyotsugu had no time to react.
His body instantly folded over, eyes bulging wide, saliva spraying from his open mouth.
An overwhelming wave of pain exploded through his abdomen.
Even breathing became difficult.
Touma did not continue.
He simply stood there, paying attention to Sakiko’s reaction inside their shared consciousness.
Seeing that she made no attempt to stop him, he nodded inwardly.
Looks like Maestro Sakiko is angry too.
He had originally planned to throw a couple more punches.
But seeing the man looking half dead already, he decided against it.
He really was afraid of accidentally killing him.
Even that knee strike had been held back.
“Keep your hands to yourself from now on.” Leaving behind those words, Touma returned to his room.
Silence lingered for a long time.
Then Sakiko’s voice quietly sounded in his mind.
“…Thank you.” “Mm.” Touma said nothing more.
“Oh, right.
Those moves just now…
How do you know them?
Could you teach me?” Her mood had improved as she asked.
“I was born with them.
It’s just sanda, really.
I can’t teach you right now, though.
Maybe later.” Touma answered honestly.
Born with them?
Was that even a thing?
Sakiko found it strange but didn’t dwell on it.
“Since something like this has already happened…” “Let’s move out.” Touma brought the conversation back on track.
“…Yeah.
Once I sell my first song, together with the money I’ve saved, it’ll be enough to rent a small apartment.” For the first time, Sakiko genuinely agreed with the idea.
“Then you’d better work hard.” The moment those words reached her ears, Sakiko suddenly realized she had regained control of her body.
Outside the room, faint muffled sobs drifted in.
A trace of worry rose within her.
The next second, she forcefully cast it aside.
Thinking back on everything that had happened today, Sakiko took a deep breath.
Determination slowly filled her eyes.
Continuing to worry about that scumbag would not only be irresponsible to herself, it would also be unfair to Touma.
Right now, the most important thing was making a living.
She could earn a respectable income simply by composing music at home.
It was far easier than working customer service.
So she had to work harder.
Much harder.
At the very least, she couldn’t let Touma’s efforts over the past few days go to waste.
With renewed confidence shining in her eyes, Sakiko lowered her head over her desk and began composing in earnest.