Eriri was fuming.
Ever since the day she caught Kasumigaoka and that green tea girl riding ho together, she'd been watching Kasumigaoka and her secret Twitter accounts like a hawk.
She wanted to keep an eye on Yukinoshita too, but that girl didn't even have Twitter. Or Instagram. In this hyper-connected modern world, Yukinoshita actually lived without Twitter or Insta.
Kasumigaoka's main account, "Kasumi Shiko," only posted updates about her writing career news about her books, events, that sort of thing. It was a professional front, strictly business, with zero personal drama.
Naturally, Eriri followed that account she was a fan, after all but what Kasumigaoka didn't know was that Eriri had dug up several of her alt accounts too.
So were for gossip, others for clapping back at trolls, and still others were full of lodramatic little essays emotional rambles so cringe that if soone screenshotted them, she'd probably want to curl up and disappear from sha.
Originally, Eriri had followed these alts just to collect dirt. One day, she'd spring a few screenshots in front of Kasumigaoka and watch her die of embarrassnt.
So of those old posts were truly bizarre.
From over two years ago, the tone was:
"In the end, I still have to bear it all alone..."
From about a year ago, it was:
"The world kissed with pain, and still demands I sing in return."
And recently, the tone had shifted again:
"So it turns out... I can be soone's star too."
Eriri practically felt her skin crawl. Thank god Kasumigaoka didn't write like that in her books, or she definitely wouldn't be able to keep reading them.
As much as she hated to admit it, the mood of Kasumigaoka's posts had beco noticeably... brighter lately. She'd post snapshots of clear blue skies, rays of sunlight at the edge of a window, or a lush little pot of greenery she'd been growing. The photos and captions were all soft and peaceful, like sothing from a self-care influencer.
Too bad Eriri personally knew that exact plant had died four tis and had been replaced each ti.
And today, Kasumigaoka had updated again.
"Took my little kitty to get her shots today~"
Attached was a photo of the kitten the very sa one Eriri had seen in the arms of Kasumigaoka and Yukinoshita that day.
Damn it. Sothing was definitely going on between them.
But if she asked Kasumigaoka about it directly, she knew she'd never get the truth.
That woman was way too good at pretending.
If Kasumigaoka were getting close to anyone else boy or girl Eriri might've felt a little lonely, but she wouldn't be this furious.
But Yukinoshita... that woman had once crushed her dreams, her hopes, and her feelings underfoot like they were garbage.
Just thinking about the way Yukinoshita had acted back then was enough to send Eriri spiraling.
And now the person she'd thought of as her steadfast ally, her comrade-in-arms Kasumigaoka was betraying her at this exact mont?
Eriri was equal parts angry and confused.
Fine. If that's how it is, then it's ti to bait Yukinoshita herself.
What, like she couldn't play at being a flirt?
Please. Laughable.
After thinking it over seriously, Eriri created a new LINE account, picked one of the most popular "iken" avatars trending in Japan right now, and gave herself a slick, showy userna: "Dream of Every Japanese Girl."
For her profile photo, she used a chiseled abs pic she'd found online, and threw in so interior shots of luxury cars from her dad's collection.
Finally, she added the LINE ID she'd spent ages tracking down Yukinoshita's.
No girl could resist this kind of guy. Not even that green tea woman.
Ha! If Eriri was going to play the scumbag playboy, she'd be a genius at it.
[Your friend request has been declined.]
[You have been blocked. You can no longer add this account.]
…
This weekend, Yukinoshita had plans to take the kitten to the vet with Kasumigaoka for a checkup, deworming, and vaccinations.
She'd just gotten out of bed when she saw the friend request from soone she didn't recognize, along with a ssage from Kasumigaoka sent the night before probably while she was watching sign language tutorial videos.
After blocking the ridiculous friend request, Yukinoshita finally opened Kasumigaoka's ssage.
Kasumigaoka:
You bought all this?!
Kasumigaoka had sent a series of photos: cat trees, toys, treats, dried sardines… the works.
Yukinoshita cleared her throat softly and replied:
Yukinoshita:
No.
Kasumigaoka:
Don't give that! Who else could it be?! Do you know I stayed up all night installing the cat tree?! I'm dying over here!!!
Yukinoshita:
…I specifically scheduled the installation service for the next day.
Kasumigaoka:
I knew it was you! And you still tried to deny it!!!
Yukinoshita:
...
Damn it.
Even Kasumigaoka had picked up how to set verbal traps now!
Still, even after staying up all night, Kasumigaoka had finally, reluctantly, sent her a quiet thank-you.
Originally, Haruno had said she'd stop by Yukinoshita's apartnt this weekend to make sure her "poor little sister" hadn't starved to death in her room but she called yesterday to say she had a last-minute business trip to the neighboring prefecture.
Haruno had been... oddly busy lately.
She'd always been swamped with responsibilities as the Yukinoshita family's heir, but back then she still had ti for weekend visits. Not anymore.
Oh well.
Yukinoshita got dressed in her casual clothes and headed downstairs. Since she'd told Mr. Itou, her driver, not to co today, he had taken the day off.
She pulled out the map she'd planned in advance, along with the detailed train route she'd highlighted: station nas, transfer points, and the final eting spot.
Then she checked the weather one last ti clear skies.
Perfect.
Since she almost never took the train, Yukinoshita was extra cautious, terrified sothing might go wrong and she'd embarrass herself in front of that girl.
So, she left half an hour early.
With her serious, no-nonsense attitude, she arrived smoothly at the musical fountain plaza the spot she and Kasumigaoka had agreed to et.
Truly, Yukinoshita was a genius.
Just as she was quietly patting herself on the back, a familiar voice interrupted her thoughts:
[Automatic scan in progress… A high-popularity character with extre negative emotions toward you has appeared…]
It was the first ti since taking over this morally-bankrupt system that she'd heard its voice unprompted, without a keyword trigger.
In other words
A boss had shown up?
Instinctively, Yukinoshita looked up.
At that exact mont, the music reached a powerful crescendo, and the fountain erupted in sync with the rhythm, water jets soaring high into the air, forming a sweeping curtain of mist and spray.
Through the dazzling cascade of sunlight-drenched water, Yukinoshita could just barely make out a shadowy figure on the far side of the fountain.
Slender and graceful, she stood there like a faint crescent moon hanging in the sky.
————————————————————————————————————————————————
Already hooked? Let know what caught your attention—your review fuels the adventure ahead!
The season is shifting. Dive into OneJourney and stay a step ahead of the pack.
[email protected]/yanxx
Change @ to a.
Reviews
All reviews (0)