"We're here."
"Whoa, this place looks so high-end!"
Standing at the entrance of RiNG, Kikukawa Kyo and Anon peered inside. At first glance, words like professional and formal immediately came to Anon's mind, making her a little nervous.
Though it was probably too late to worry about this now… Am I even good enough to perform at a live house? Kyo had told her that in this era of all-girl bands, live houses welcomed even inexperienced groups to perform. But surely, there had to be serious, highly skilled bands here too, right?
If they ended up performing on the same stage as one of those bands, wouldn't they just get completely outclassed?
Anon swallowed hard. Things had already progressed this far—it wasn't the right time to voice these doubts. Besides, maybe she was overthinking it. She had been pretty popular on stage back in middle school, after all.
Normally, Anon liked to take the lead, putting on the air of a leader. But today was different—she quietly followed behind Kyo instead of walking ahead.
Kyo glanced at her and let out a soft, breathy chuckle. That very distinctive laugh.
For someone as socially adept as Anon, who was good at reading people, there was no way she could misunderstand the meaning behind it.
That was not a reassuring or encouraging laugh meant to ease her nerves. Nope. That was pure mockery. Kyo was laughing at her.
Anon puffed up her cheeks in protest, her displeasure obvious. On the first day of school, Kyo was just as sharp as she is now, but back then, she actually cared about people's feelings! She kept her observations to herself!
She's totally the type to start pushing boundaries once she gets comfortable!
"Sorry, sorry, Anon. But actually, this just means I feel close to you." Kyo tilted her head slightly and winked—clearly a calculated attempt to act cute and wriggle her way out of trouble.
And unfortunately… Anon totally fell for it.
"You really know how to use that pretty face of yours to mess with people, huh, Kyo?"
She poked Kyo's back repeatedly, venting a tiny bit of her frustration—but honestly, it was more playful than anything. As Anon continued to poke away, Kyo, too ticklish to handle it, quickened her pace. The two of them giggled and messed around as they walked into RiNG.
"How is it messing with people? I'm just making full use of my natural advantages." Kyo puffed out her chest, completely unashamed. "Besides, as a mixologist, in a way, looks are part of the job."
"Mixologist?" Anon perked up at the unfamiliar term. "Like… a bartender?"
She imagined Kyo with those soul-piercing eyes, her skin so flawless it looked like it would melt at the touch, and those lips—always glistening, like they had tiny droplets of water on them, making you want to wipe them dry…
Now, picture that same Kyo in a classic bartender's uniform, gracefully shaking a… what was it called again? A shaker? And then, finally, leaning forward just slightly, presenting a vibrant, beautifully crafted cocktail with that alluring gaze.
Wow.
"Anon, your smile looks so dumb."
Who knew what Anon was thinking about—her gaze had drifted off somewhere far away, and the corners of her mouth had seemingly lost all control, stretching into a goofy "hehe" grin. Though her signature cute little fang salvaged the overall impression a little, she still looked undeniably silly.
As someone who cared about her image, Anon immediately straightened her expression upon hearing that. She quickly covered her mouth with her right hand, letting out a completely unnecessary cough as if nothing had happened.
"Ahem, enough chit-chat. So, where exactly did you say Taki works, Kyo? I don't see her anywhere."
"She works at the café upstairs," Kyo said, pointing to the upper floor. However, she made no move to head up just yet. "But… can I go to the restroom first? There isn't one upstairs. You can go ahead on your own if you want."
Though Kyo's water-drinking habits often seemed reckless, she actually had pretty strict control over her intake. Usually.
But thanks to Tomori's rather peculiar setup earlier—trying to recreate an aquarium-like atmosphere—while it hadn't exactly worked as intended, it had still ended up affecting her just a little.
Which led to the current situation: Kyo had, without thinking, downed two whole bottles of water in one go.
And now, she was facing an emergency.
"I'll just wait for you down here," Anon said awkwardly. Kyo had just described Taki as a scary person, and Anon was completely unfamiliar with this place. It was probably better to go up together rather than waltz in alone.
So, while Kyo rushed off to the restroom, Anon wandered over to a wall covered in recruitment posters and job listings. She curiously scanned them—who knew? Maybe they'd even end up using one of these to find band members later.
Neither of them noticed that someone else had entered RiNG right after them.
The moment she spotted Kyo, she froze for a second in surprise.
"Kyo's here too?" Soyo's eyes lit up with excitement. "Perfect—now I can talk to both of them at once."
About reforming CRYCHIC.
---
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
discord.gg/wisetl
patreon.com/wisetl