"Mm…"
The scenery outside the window gradually changed as the train swayed like a cradle through the center of the city. The blue-haired girl, in light sleep, fluttered her eyelashes. Morning light gathered into beams, casting a gentle halo on her porcelain-white cheeks. Her skin glowed with a faint shell-like color, like glass, almost translucent.
"Where… are we now?", The drifting voice was still tinged with drowsiness. Sleepy-eyed Sakiko sounded like she was talking in her sleep.
But suddenly, she felt something off, the sensation beneath her head wasn't right. She seemed to be resting on something. A scent like sun-warmed grass was right under her nose. The girl blankly opened her eyes and happened to meet the president's gaze.
"We're about to arrive."
Kaito still maintained perfect posture, just adjusting his position slightly so she could rest more comfortably, "Do you want to nap a bit more?"
The just-awakened little secretary's CPU was still lagging. After a moment, she finally realized what was happening.
Her small face flushed red and she quickly waved her hands, "N-No, I'm good now! But President, you didn't get squished or…"
Screeech—
The train screeched against the rails loudly and jolted unexpectedly, cutting Sakiko's words short. Like a lily bending in the wind, she toppled forward. Out of instinct for self-preservation, her fingers clutched at something in a panic.
Kaito also lowered his head at that moment, supporting the girl by her arms to help her regain balance.
Once the carriage stabilized again, the rebalanced little secretary realized she had accidentally grabbed something hard.
She instinctively opened her palm. A silver-white round object lay quietly there, faintly reflecting light.
Looking toward the president's chest, the once neatly arranged uniform was now missing a part. The second button from the top had completely vanished.
"S-Sorry, I didn't mean to—"
Togawa Sakiko's face turned even redder, like it might bleed. Her clumsy blunder made her want to bury her face in her hands.
"It's alright. It's just a button."
Kaito shook his head. Shuka Academy's boys' uniform was styled like a suit. It was more decorative than practical.
"Then…", Sakiko asked timidly, "President, do you still want this button?"
"It's yours," Kaito didn't care in the slightest, "Of course, it's fine if you throw it away too."
"Is that so?"
The girl lowered her head slightly, staring at the button in her palm with a thoughtful look, "I understand."
Seeing that she didn't plan to toss it but instead carefully tucked it into the inner pocket of her uniform skirt, Kaito said no more. He simply turned to look out the window.
The changing scenery slowly came to a stop.
The train arrived at the station.
———
[Shuka Academy, Class A Classroom]
The usual familiar spot by the window in the back row. Only…
'Why isn't Chihaya here?'
With that pink milk dragon missing, Kaito suddenly felt a little unaccustomed.
'Maybe she just overslept?'
'Thinking about it, that's definitely something Anon would do.'
He glanced at the wall clock in the classroom. There were still a few minutes until the class bell.
He stopped thinking about it, pulled out his textbook, and started prepping for the upcoming civics lesson.
Bzz~
At that moment, his phone vibrated.
The sender's name was "Sumita Mana."
Kaito was slightly surprised.
It had been a while since he added the celebrity as a friend, but they hadn't exchanged many messages.
That was normal. After all, the two were just casual acquaintances at best. Even if you stretched it and called them friends, the distance was too great to easily find common topics.
Not to mention, as an idol, her schedule was packed with appearances. Even if she wanted to chat, she might not have time.
Their last chat ended when he asked Mana about the inside story behind Sumimi's potential disbanding. After that, they hadn't talked.
Her profile picture was a delicious-looking donut, currently blinking faintly.
[Sumita Mana: Kaito-kun, are you there?]
[Sumita Mana: The first stage play I'm starring in, Romeo and Juliet, will be running soon. The theater provided internal tickets for the leads, which offer the best seats in the house. You can even visit backstage afterward.]
[Sumita Mana: I thought Anon might be really interested. So, if you two are free, would you like to come watch?]
'A stage play, huh?'
Kaito thought for a moment but didn't rush to reply.
Sure enough, after about two or three minutes, a panting figure appeared at the classroom door.
A girl with long pink hair, still munching on half a piece of bread, burst into the classroom in the nick of time, barely dodging the start-of-class bell.
"Ah, Kaito, good morni— cough! Cough cough!"
Chihaya Anon choked while trying to swallow the bread too fast and pounded her chest frantically to avoid death by bread.
Kaito: "…"
He might've just discovered the true nature of Chihaya's bad luck.
'With the way you're hammering yourself, even Susanoo would end up dented.'
"Mana's stage play is about to premiere," Putting his thoughts aside, he shook his phone, "She thinks you'll be interested, so she invited us to go watch."
"Eh?", The pink-haired girl froze, "But… why didn't Mana message me directly?"
"Maybe she didn't have time? Being a super popular idol and all, she probably barely managed to squeeze out enough time just to message me."
Anon thought it over. That actually made sense.
'Still… something feel a little off.'
Kaito didn't notice her odd expression and kept reading the production stills Mana sent, "Internal tickets, best seats, backstage tour, and even a photo op with the cast. But only with the two leads, one is Mana, the other is… Misumi Uika?"
"Eh? Even Uika's in it?"
The pink-haired girl's mouth opened slightly. Ever since she met Kaito, her attention had strayed from idol fandom, so she hadn't kept up with Sumimi's recent news. Naturally, she didn't know they'd made such progress in the entertainment world.
Just recently, they were caught in the crisis of disbanding, and now they were already starring in a stage play? That's a huge turnaround, it's practically a full comeback.
Though surprised, the little fan Anon was genuinely happy for Sumimi's success. So she nodded without hesitation.
"Of course I'm interested. Mana's career is on the rise, even as a friend, I should go congratulate her properly!"
Not to mention, she could get photos with both Mana and Uika.
"Then I'll reply to her accordingly."
Kaito nodded slightly, accepting Donut Girl's kind offer. He was also somewhat interested in stage plays. Learning new things wasn't a bad idea.
[Kaito: Anon and I will come.]
[Kaito: Wishing you a smooth run in advance.]
———
[Office Building, a Bright Rehearsal Room]
A gentle girl with long brown hair looked at the message on her screen. Her cherry lips curved slightly, forming a soft arc.
Sweet and lovely.
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