Heart of Gold and Ice Cream

By some miraculous luck that's not Anzu's own, a girl who frequents the ice cream parlor constantly succeeds in buying out the last of the peach-flavored ice cream.

So how does she respond?

...She talks to her.

YTTD; Kinashi Anzu, Kizuchi Kugie, Ryuu, Kinashi Anzu's friend (miniepisode), Kizuchi Kanna, Hiyori Sou; Non/Pre-Death Game; Written for the Yuri Turn To Die! fanzine.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: a very HUGE thank you to @corvidcrowned on tumblr for betareading!! much love to everyone who participated in the yuri turn to die zine, and ESPECIALLY my dear friend @melon-mastermind on tumblr, who made art for this fic! you can check it out here!

“Waugh!? What do you mean they’re out of the peach flavor again…?”

Anzu’s friend shook their head. “They’re out. The guy up front said this girl with this giant screw in her hair had taken the last of it.”

“Girl with a giant screw…?” She repeated, completely despondent. “Is it… the same one who got it yesterday? And the day before that?”

“And the day before that,” they confirmed. “I’m sorry, Anzu. Do you want to just get mint chip again?”

“Urg… No choice, huh?” Anzu placed her head against the table. “Fine…! Beggars can’t be choosers, I guess…”

…But nonetheless, she couldn’t help but wonder who the girl in particular was. Surely, she’d notice something as prominent as a giant screw in someone’s hair, so it couldn’t be anyone who attended her school. That just made it like, ten times harder though! The chance she’d run into that girl was significantly low…!!

Anzu couldn’t help the groan that escaped her, making this loud sound in the ice cream parlor. All her friend could do was offer a small pat on the back.

In the presence of an excited audience, it was hard not to get so riled up herself. The crowd wasn’t particularly loud or anything, but there was this general sense of awe that overtook any face she focused on, this different form of praise filling her ears and beckoning her to bow early to express her gratitude. The sound of pictures being taken and coins clattering into the rather small hat in front of the duo would have inflated anyone’s ego, swelling up their pride and confirming that their talent was worth something.

Still, Anzu knew better than anyone than to have her attention wander elsewhere, especially when this act required patience and focus.

Though the reality was that these were no more than party tricks, with enough hype from her and her mentor, it still came across as eye-catching to those watching! Even a friend of hers in the crowd had begun visiting her regularly, continuing to walk her home after every performance, despite the fact that she only talked about the same thing every time. It was nothing but the exhilaration of being in front of all those people and cameras, the compliments that flew her way after the show, and just that general giddy feeling in her chest for being part of something that made people happy. Of course, they talked about other things too, like whatever recent event had gone on at school, but the topic always circled back to the performances, one way or another.

At first, she worried her friend was annoyed about it. It wasn’t like she doubted her friend’s support was genuine, that certainly was far from it, but she wondered if the girl had grown tired of the same topic. When brought up, however, they always assured her they liked seeing her so happy about something. It was inspiring , as they had put it.

Ah, right! She couldn’t bear to let herself get distracted right now—there was still a whole half of an act to do! If she were to mess up in front of this small crowd, she’d never recover!

She focused all her attention on juggling the three plastic balls in her grasp, moving her wrists rhythmically so when one got tossed into the air, another was caught, and the third one was simply being passed around. And the balls would rotate, making them appear as if they were traveling in a circular motion—up in the air, into one hand, then to the other, and repeat!

Beside her, her mentor approached her, leaning down ever so slightly to signal he was about to say something important.

“Ready?” Ryuu asked, quietly enough so no one in the audience would hear their conversation. With the masks and the loud music that roared over any voice that was nearby, no one would be able to even tell they were talking at all!

Anzu hummed, grinning behind the mask. “You got it!”

He reached to the side, picking up the small items of plastic and tossing them into the air one at a time, just as she had moments prior. Despite the fact they’d been rehearsing this for the past few days, she still couldn’t help the initial mesmerization. She noticed he wasn’t the most graceful, but it was likely nobody but her noticed—and even if they did, the act would still be amazing nonetheless! It had to be!

Within moments, the two were juggling the plastic balls side by side. Anzu let it sit for a few moments, then threw the one in her hand upward and continued tossing the rest from one hand to another, following the simple routine that was practiced. From the corner of the mask’s eye, she spotted the ball fly just past Ryuu’s face, and just like what was supposed to happen, he pointed his foot upward so the ball landed right on top.

Then, without any hint of hesitation or waiting for a reaction, he flung it back into the air with his shoe, and he caught it in his hands. At this point, it was impossible not to feel so completely enthused in the act—if she couldn’t take her eyes off it, there was no way anyone in the audience could!

Even so, there were more important things! Her big part was coming up next!

Anzu tapped the floor with her foot, signaling she was prepared to continue on. There was no use in keeping the audience waiting!

…Yet, though she knew better than to get distracted so easily, something—no, someone —caught her eye.

In the distance, a teenager who looked about her age stood under the hot sun of August, a green uniform blazer tied around her waist, a book bag slung over one shoulder, and a bright yellow screw appearing as if it had been snugly fit into the side of her head. In her hands, Anzu spotted a familiar color of ice cream. The parlor around here was one of the only places someone could get ice cream, much less in a cone—it was undeniably from that shop that she frequented.

More importantly, however, it was the flavor she'd been craving for weeks, booking it to the parlor every day after school or before rehearsals to buy it. She didn’t think she’d be seeing her anytime soon, much less in the middle of a performance.

The ice cream thief… It had to be this stranger! The ice cream in the cone would have mostly melted if it were bought in the morning, and the clerk likely wouldn’t have sold to someone skipping classes… even if he was sort of weird.

Anzu’s focus was disrupted entirely, though she managed to keep her hands moving so she could still juggle. Her gaze settled on the girl with raven-colored hair and the yellow hairpiece that stood out against it so brightly. How had she never seen her before? Surely, she didn’t attend her school, but if this girl also visited that ice cream parlor as often as she did, how had they not run into each other yet?

Embarrassingly, while she was in thought, a plastic ball smacked her in the face and fell onto the floor beneath her. When she looked over at Ryuu, he only looked back, continuing to juggle the other items in his hands. Even with his mask on, she knew he must've been confused.

Her gaze moved to the individual in the audience again. She was staring right back at her, though with Anzu’s mask on, she doubted she could tell she was looking at her. Nonetheless, she quickly looked away out of her own embarrassment—there was surely more important things right now! She could worry about that ice cream thief later…!!

Luckily, the two practiced what to do worst case scenario, considering Anzu was still only under his wing as an apprentice. She carefully moved her foot towards the discarded ball and gently kicked it back to Ryuu, who then kicked it upward with ease. Paying more attention this time, she caught the ball, adding it to the items she was juggling with her hands.

And just like that, the rest of the show had gone by easily, ending with the same forehead trick Anzu had become familiar with since the day she started training. With the cheers from the crowd, the two street performers took their bow and walked off, heading for the changing rooms.

Before Ryuu went in, though, he placed a hand on her shoulder.

“You did great,” he said, like he always did. He never failed to remember to commend her for the day’s performance, even if there was a mistake or two.

She giggled, her heart pounding at the praise. “Thanks, Master! Sorry for the mess up, won’t happen again!”

Ryuu nodded, and though she couldn’t see through the mask, she figured he was returning the smile behind her own disguise. “The important thing is that you recovered swiftly! Next time, of course, we’ll make sure we don’t get distracted, yeah?”

Anzu playfully saluted. “Alright, boss! You can count on me!”

And with that, her mentor had gone off into the men’s changing room. She stood around for a few moments, and instead of going inside the other dressing room, she had a realization. She had to talk to that girl.

So, taking off her mask so she could navigate the dissolving audience, Anzu ran off, searching for the ice cream thief with the screw-like headband. It wasn’t that hard for her to slip past most of the crowd, ducking under people’s arms and squirming past those who were walking. All the while, she shouted quick apologies, so much so she couldn’t really tell exactly what she was saying—she knew they were meant to be apologies, though!

Once she passed all those people, she looked around, attempting to locate the girl from earlier again. The plaza was full of those who were still enthusiastic about the performance, much to Anzu’s gratitude, but that ice cream thief didn’t seem like she was with anyone in the audience—or maybe she was misremembering. Her memory wasn’t the best.

Despite it, however, thanks to whatever luck she had, she wound up spotting the teenager with the ice cream cone in her hands. There she was!

Without much thinking, she ran after her, waving her hand in the air as if the other would see her with her back turned. By the time she was close enough to talk to her, she was a little bit out of breath, gasping for air.

“You…!!”

Dramatically, Anzu pointed a finger at the teenager with short, raven-colored hair. More specifically, it was towards the tub of ice cream in her hands, which was certainly the last of peach flavor that coincidentally ran out before she could make it to the ice cream parlor today. And the day before that. And the day before that day. And the last few weeks.

Of course, it wasn’t polite to point at strangers in such an accusatory manner, but she didn’t think she could be blamed. Not a single drop of peach-flavored ice cream had come into Anzu’s possession, and seeing the remains of it in this random teenager’s hands made her craving for the specific flavor all the worse!

And besides, this was a girl who seemed to be about her age—at worst, she’d get a weird look that totally wouldn’t make an imprint on the inside of her brain for the rest of the day.

“...Huh?”

Then, all at once, Anzu’s confidence in pointing this out to the stranger fell. All the girl did was pause in her tracks, her eyebrows furrowed and creating a small wrinkle near the bridge of her nose. The reasonable reaction, she knew, but that didn’t meant it was any less embarrassing!

Still, if there was anything she learned from being a performer, it was to not let her guard down and keep up the act. Even if she didn’t totally know where she was going with this, she’d see it through until the end…!! Improvisation wasn’t the hardest thing in the world, after all!

Though… what could she say next?

“I, um…!! I saw you in the audience…!” She exclaimed, shifting her weight to one leg to make it easier to stand. “With… your ice cream…!”

Anzu never thought something so utterly deranged could ever leave her tongue. Weird, sure; strange, probably—but not even she could make proper sense of what she just said. Maybe improvisation wasn’t her strongest skill, after all.

The thief didn’t respond, instead only cocking her head to the side. The longer the silence lasted, the more awkward Anzu had felt. Maybe such a direct confrontation wasn't the smartest idea either, but it was too late for her to back off. She kept her gaze on those dark brown eyes of the other, and the beauty marks that littered her face like stars and the unmoving expression she wore.

Up close… She was kind of really pretty.

Without even trying, it was like her face had captured her in some silly trance, only leaving her at more of a loss of what to say. She knew it was definitely weird she was staring—but she didn’t quite realize it until the girl snapped her fingers, like a lightbulb had just gone off in her head.

“Oh, hey! I know you,” she said, completely disregarding her embarrassing remark with a smile. “You’re that performer, yeah? From the plaza?”

A feeling of dumbfoundedness washed over Anzu, but she quickly grounded herself. She already looked like this big fool! She couldn’t afford to look any worse!

And so, she slowly nodded, like this were a casual conversation between friends. She put on a friendly grin in return. “Yep! That's me,” she replied. “And, umm, sorry about the—”

“It’s cool to meetcha,” the girl swiftly interrupted. Whether it was on purpose or not, she couldn't quite figure out. “My little sister loves ya, y’know. She’s got art club today, but I like to come anyway and watch. You're really good.”

“I–I am?” The clown can’t help the way she instinctively tilted her head. Then, she cleared throat. “I mean, 'course I am! I’ve learned from the best, y’know?”

“Right, right. That one person with the bright pink hair?” A hum sounded from the other’s lips, and Anzu watched as she carefully moved her arm behind her back, attempting to hide the ice cream out of her view. Did she think she hadn’t seen her?

While keeping a close eye, she continued to talk. “Yeah, that’s him! He used to do shows by himself before I came around. Did you watch those too?”

“Sort of. Like I said, I only really came around because my sister likes to watch before we head home—I only started paying attention when someone new started performing. A one-man show is usually only impressive like, once. More people means more opportunities to impress people, y’know?” Her gaze rested on Anzu casually, a sharp contrast to her watchful stare in return. “In a way, you keep things interesting, and now you’ve got me hooked. Good on you, I guess.”

…This stranger had to have thought she was crazy. Even with that compliment, Anzu could tell she seemed a little nervous—maybe leading by coming up and raising her voice wasn’t the best way to introduce herself to someone, no matter how much she had been driven by something as stupid as ice cream.

“...I’m Kugie.” She introduced herself anyway, adding onto the confusion in the clown’s brain furthermore. “I don’t think you go to my school, but hey! It was cool meeting ya.”

If someone in this conversation had to take the prize for Most Awkward Conversation Partner , Anzu wasn’t entirely sure who would get it. On one hand, she didn’t really know what she was doing. Talking wasn’t her strongest suit, and even now, she was sort of mentally questioning why she had come up to Kugie in the first place.

On the other hand, Kugie looked like she thought she was about to attack her for that ice cream cone, if the way she hid it was anything to go off of.

Attempting to salvage whatever good impression she could make, Anzu offered out a hand to shake. “Good to know I’m doing my part! A show isn’t a show if it doesn’t evoke some kinda emotion out of ya!! Anyway, call me Anzu! Nice to meetcha too…!!"

Kugie squinted at her hand, almost as if she couldn't see, then reached forward and accepted the handshake. Seemingly unsure of what to say, she said nothing, keeping her grip firm—though not harsh—and shook the clown's hand.

For a few awkward moments, Anzu said nothing, simply bearing the same smile and standing there. She knew she wasn't the best at making first impressions, but this was far too awkward. Was she really just going to let this stew? There was a reason she decided to strike conversation in the first place, after all!

Clearing her throat, the clown pulled her hand away from the ice cream thief’s. She still wanted to ask about the ice cream…!

“Oh, and—I was trying to ask you this earlier, but—do ya go to that ice cream shop down the block from here?”

Nonchalantly, Kugie shrugged. “Everyone does. It’s like, the only one around here," she pointed out, bluntly. "It’s really funny, though. I always get peach flavor, and somehow, with my luck, I end up getting the last bit of it every time. It's a bit amusing.”

Anzu's eyes widened. So she was that ice cream thief all along! She was right!

“Really?” She asked, simply playing it off. “I know someone who loves that flavor too— She hasn’t really had it in a while. I think she was talking about missing the taste of it the other day, ehe.”

“Huh.” Kugie noted, eyeing her. Could she see right through her indirectly throwing shade over something so silly? “Maybe she should just show up earlier then, yeah?”

This girl…!!

“Oh, totally!” She chirped, giving a small giggle. Putting up an act wasn’t the most difficult thing in the world, of course.

Though, before she can add on to her response, Kugie chuckled, her laugh as attention-stealing as anything else. Anzu was sure that if she had laughed during the show, the audience would no longer look ahead at the performance, but at her instead.

“This was really nice. Again, it was cool meeting ya,” she said, giving a small, satisfied hum. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve gotta head out. I’ll see ya around though, Parlor Girl!”

Parlor Girl. Surely, Kugie probably knew her name, but the nickname felt rather silly anyway. It wasn’t very mean either, so Anzu had a feeling it’d stick around in her brain for a while.

Ah, but maybe she had gotten too caught up on that part—because the next time she zoned in, the girl had already stepped backwards, away from Anzu, and turned away. Awkwardly, she perked up, waving her arms in the air to try and get her attention again.

“Waiiit!!” She yelled out, regardless of how much of a fool she still looked like. “Kugie…!!”

The girl seemed like she had sped up, much to Anzu’s disappointment. There was no way she had made a good impression—what with her impulsive reactions and whatnot… and maybe holding her clown mask in her hands, unable to hold onto anything else to fidget with.

“Kugie…!! Hey!”

Anzu assumed the girl had decided to ignore her.

Dang it!

Sweat drips off Anzu’s forehead. She’s always hated the school uniform of Harukaze High, but running in it while it was summer ? It was a nightmare, even if it was self-imposed. Worse than anything, really, but even with her friend attempting to get her to reconsider bolting out of the classroom the very second the bell rang, her determination remained unwavering; she had a goal, after all.

Ever since her run in with that ice cream thief , all she had done these past few weeks was spend her determination on something that… ultimately, to others, wasn't very important— However, that wasn't the point! It was important to her ! That was what counted, of course.

She wondered what the situation would be like if she somehow managed to get the last bit of peach-flavored ice cream this time around; if her luck had decided to work in her favor today. That ice cream thief—Kugie—would probably wound up pretty upset, if she hadn’t managed to get any before Anzu came around.

The thought sort of disappointed her at first. She really didn’t like making people sad…!! But then again, thinking back on all those times she’d attempted to get even a drop of the ice cream before, the same thing had happened every single time—

"Sold out on that peach again," the strange guy would say, lifting his cap off of his green hair and fanning himself.

“N–No way!! You're telling me she got it again…!?”

The man laughed nonchalantly, though it was oddly… misplaced. It was as if Anzu had been trying to be funny on purpose that time, but she certainly wasn’t.

“As always. Though, you must be getting better at running these days, surely! Don't be so down, Miss Anzu.”

Still, the clown frowned, gazing at the large tub with no peach-flavored ice cream. Wordless, she pressed a hand against the glass in a dramatic fashion—the man didn't seem to be swayed by such shows of emotions, but maybe it would get her somewhere, just this once…!

After a moment of silence, the mourning period for the day's ice cream having passed, he casually continued:

“Ahaha, you look so despondent right now. May I offer you your second option? Mint chocolate chip, if you've somehow forgotten,” he hummed, picking up the ice cream scooper, surely already knowing her answer.

Anzu perked up suddenly, her face lighting up with some spark of glee. “Is it on the house?”

Another laugh. “No. That’ll be three-hundred yen, Miss Anzu.”

…But today was different! It had to be—not because something else had happened for today to be some sort of change from the usual, but just because Anzu had that gut feeling that always seemed to mean she was right. She was feeling luckier than she did yesterday, so that had to count for something!

By the time she made it to the block, she was somewhat out of breath—maybe running so quickly was a bad idea when she'd left her water at home today, but there was no time to waste thinking about it! Her goal was surely calling to her…!!

So she egged herself on to keep walking, quickening her pace with every step. She wasn't exactly sure what time it was, courtesy of allowing one of her siblings to borrow her phone while she walked her to school that morning and forgetting to take it back, but surely she was still earlier than usual. She had to be. There was no way that the thief had made it here before—

The bells jingled just as Anzu approached the door. To her horror, the teenager with short hair and a screw headband exited, holding a cone of ice cream in her hand. She seemed focused on her phone initially, though as soon as the clown froze in her spot and the door swung closed once more, she was forced to meet her gaze. Dark eyes almost glistening in the mid-afternoon daylight, the sun raised high in the sky and not helping the sweat pouring off her forehead.

“Oh, you again,” Kugie said, bluntly. Despite it, a smile drew across her face—was she happy to see her? “The nickname sure has been sticking, huh? I've been hearing about a girl who keeps coming in for the same flavor around this time every day, y'know.”

The guy was supposed to keep that a secret…!!

“Are ya teasing me…?” Anzu asked, her eyebrows scrunching up.

The girl laughed, putting her phone away and switching the ice cream cone to her other hand. “I was talking about your friend. You know, the one you mentioned yesterday?” She shrugged, attempting not to seem smug at all by making circular gestures with her wrist as she spoke. “I guess my piece of advice still applies. Show up earlier, and whatnot. You snooze, you lose… or something of the sort.”

“Hey!! I'm not slow—”

“Anyhow, there's still other ice cream flavors inside,” Kugie interrupted, tilting her head to the door. “No peach, because… you know,” she gestured to the cone in her hand. Was she rubbing it in?

Dejectedly, the girl sighs. There would be another day.

Wordlessly, she walked past Kugie, but before she could even open the door, something else pushed against it, allowing it to swing open. Instinctively, Anzu jumped back.

Kugie snickered. “What, did I scare ya or something? I’m just opening the door for ya, not killing you.”

Anzu scoffed, brushing off her initial surprise. “I knew that,” she nonchalantly replied, stepping into the small building. The door was open for a bit longer before the bells indicated it finally shutting, and when the clown turned to see who else came in behind her—

“...Are ya following me?” She asked, impulsively.

“You take me for some kind of stalker…?” Kugie returned, not exactly pleased by the assumption. “I’m already halfway done with my cone, and my sister's still at clubs, so I may as well get another. Plus, you’re funny.”

“Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

She remained unamused. “What do you think?”

Anzu paused. “Probably?”

“There you go, then,” Kugie lightheartedly nudged her with her elbow, breaking into a grin once more. She stood next to her on the line, as if they're buddies buying ice cream together. It was sort of difficult to fathom why, to be honest—as far as she knew, didn’t she think she was totally weird? What was she doing spending more time than needed with her?

Still, Anzu watched the small laugh Kugie suppressed. The way her teeth showed itself when she opened her mouth even slightly, and the way her cheeks flushed as she momentarily lost herself in her own joy. She wasn't sure what it was, but it made her heart beat fast in that moment. Maybe she just liked being complimented. Being funny was kind of her whole thing, after all.

There’s a silence that set itself between the two of them as they waited. Kugie’s laughter died out, quickly enough, leaving the clown some time to think about what was just said.

Huh.

That girl thought she was funny.

Even though Anzu could easily tell herself the same thing, it was nice to hear it from someone else—after all, it made it just a little more clearer why Kugie was even talking to her right now. A smile danced across her face. If she was willing to talk to her, even with how awkward she had been yesterday, then that had to mean her impression wasn’t all bad, right?

“...What flavor are ya getting?” Anzu inquired, if only to learn more about the girl next to her. “I’d be happy to try whatever you’re getting! It’s been a while since I’ve deviated from my usual, y’know?”

“Way to put the pressure on,” Kugie chuckled, biting into the remains of her ice cream cone. The line was getting pretty short already, so it was likely that she was hurrying to finish the first one. “Don’t really know, though. What are you getting?”

“Hey, don’t just turn this back on me!” She exclaimed. “I asked first!”

“But I don’t know what I’m gonna choose!” The other teenager raised her voice in return, like they were two friends simply bantering. “Guess we’ll have to choose something random then! Quick, pick a number from—”

“Forty nine!”

“—one to ten.”

There was a brief moment of quiet between the two. She was sure that some people in the parlor had looked their way by now, just due to the sheer volumes of their voice that filled the room.

“ What? ” Kugie looked completely bewildered at the exclamation.

With a nervous laugh, Anzu corrected herself: “Um… How about seven?”

Then, the ice cream thief snorted, briefly covering the bottom half of her face with her hand, though she was laughing nonetheless. Slowly, Anzu allowed her laugh become a little louder, though it felta little forced. Is she laughing at her? She’s totally making fun of her, surely—there’s no doubt about it, but all she can do is laugh along, and—

Kugie’s laugh began to die down. Naturally, Anzu allowed her own to fade, an uncertain look drawn across her face. She’s not entirely sure how to describe it, but… the girl next to her even laughs in a pretty way. Standing directly under the parlor’s light made her features glow, in some way that caught her in yet another trance. Her eyes were squeezed closed for just another moment, a tear forming in the corner of one, only to be wiped away with her hand. Even then, a trace of it remains, glistening in the light. She wasn’t sad. She seemed to be enjoying herself, even with a girl she didn't know all too well.

Anzu's had people laugh at her before. Not in the sense that she was genuinely funny, but out of malice, sometimes. They were cruel and relentless, concluding her to be strange from the very way she carried herself in front of other people. The guard for her own heart was one people poked fun at, and their laughs indicated so. It was always shared with another, actively alienating her, and they wore this expression that regarded Anzu as lesser. It was bullying, in the simplest terms, but she'd always gone along with it—why not, after all? If people were laughing, it didn't matter why that was the case.

But in this case, it was different. Her laugh was genuine. Like her siblings at home, innocently giggling and mimicking whatever funny trick she had pulled to the best of their ability. They were impressed, they were humored, and more importantly, it wasn't making her feel bad about anything. Kugie's laugh was similar to that of her friend's, unable to contain themself as she dramatically went through the events of a day that wasn't actually all that exciting. It was like the laughs of those three teenagers from a different school she'd seen at the arcade once, making inside jokes and enjoying themselves. It was good laughter. It was kind laughter. The kind of laugh you share with friends.

Is that what this was? Were they—

“Okay, okay!” Kugie shook her head, interrupting the clown's thoughts successfully. She wore a grin, slightly teasing, though it wasn’t malicious nor intimidating. She smiled pretty . “"Seven, right? Not forty nine?”

“Hey!! You know that was just a slip up!” Anzu whined, playing along. She sighed, giving a small pout before replying. “But yes, number seven! Hurry up and choose the flavor, we're almost next…!!”

“You’re so impatient! That flavor is…” Kugie trailed off, quietly pointing to each bin of ice cream set behind a thick glass. Anzu watched her lips silently mouth the numbers as she counted; one, two, three, four…

Anzu glanced up, attempting to count with her in silence. Five, six, seven!

“I think that’s… chocolate?” Kugie tilted her head up to get a better look, pushing herself up on tipped toes. There was a pause, and then, she nodded, more confidently. “Yeah, definitely chocolate! How's that sound?”

A glance was sent her way. It took her a moment to realize she was genuinely being asked the question, to which she eagerly hummed in confirmation. “Mhm! No objections here. Chocolate’s real sweet!”

Kugie hummed in return, presumably to confirm she had heard her. Their conversation lulled again, albeit this time, it was certainly less uncomfortable. It felt like a breath of air, like the way she felt when inhaling in front of an air conditioner.

Before Anzu can find herself fawning over what was probably just nothing, the person in front of them stepped off the line, holding a cone in their hand. Kugie walked up to the parlor man, tensing up to seem the slightest more professional—she followed suit, though she felt anything but professional. If anything, she was currently more akin to a lost puppy, and the thought of it only embarrassed her more. God, what was with her today?

“Two chocolates,” said Kugie, before the green-haired man could even greet her. “One for me, and one for my friend here.” She gestured to Anzu by tilting her head towards her. For a brief moment, her short hair brushed off her face, revealing even more constellation-like beauty marks across her cheeks, and—

“That would be me…!” The clown forced a laugh, if only to dodge the sudden attentiveness of her thoughts. Since when did she start noticing things like this? “Nice to see ya again, ice cream man.”

Awkwardly, Anzu managed to shoot finger guns. She would probably have been better off staring at Kugie like she was a painting than this.

“Ahaha, I wasn't aware you two were acquainted,” the man chirped, pausing for a moment, even when there were still people on the line. He offered the same, somewhat unnerving smile as always, then got to work. “Cups or cones?”

“Cone.” Kugie remained blunt. She glanced at Anzu, and despite her piercing gaze, she could still see the midnight black in her eyes—with one of the ceiling lights reflecting in them, it was like the sky of a full moon, she realized. “Is that what you want?”

Eagerly, Anzu nodded without much thought. “Mhm! That's good…!!”

She felt a shiver crawl up her spine when the man sweetly hums, walking over to the seventh— not forty-ninth —bin from the left and scooping up some into the cup. As if to worsen it, while he was there, serving chocolate ice cream in two cones for just the two of them, Kugie leaned in, whispering into Anzu's ear—

“This guy gives me the creeps. Always freaks me out when he talks to my little sister for a while—be careful.”

—which of course, does nothing to help her own nerves. Her breath tickled her neck, initially causing her to nearly jump out of her own skin.

As nonchalantly as she could manage, she waved her hand dismissively. “I already know, don’t worry! I come here all the time, remember? Thanks for the concern, though!”

For a moment, Kugie looked dumbfounded. “Oh, yeah. You mentioned that when we met, huh?” She paused, staring at her—if her goal was to get Anzu to melt into the ground like a glob of ice cream in the summer heat, it was working, probably. Nonetheless, she shrugged, as if totally unaware; "My bad. Good to know you've got yourself handled, though.”

She grinned, seemingly pleased knowing that the clown could take care of herself. All she could do was return the expression, nudging her elbow into the other girl. At that moment, she spotted the man reappear at the register, in front of the two again. Kugie’s expression faltered, so quickly that if Anzu hadn’t noticed the clerk, she would have assumed she had done something weird again.

“Quite the talkative duo, you two are,” he comments. They hadn’t been too discreet about the fact they had been whispering, Anzu realized. Even then, however, he bore a smile no less creepier nor bothered than moments prior, holding two cones of chocolate ice cream in his hands.

“You know me…!! All I ever do is talk!” Nervously chuckling, the clown reached over the counter to get her cone, though the man pulled it just out of her reach, even if she stood on the tips of her toes to try and reach for it.

“Tut-tut, Miss Anzu,” he shook his head, akin to the way one of her siblings would shake their head in mock disapproval. “That’ll be three-hundred yen—for both of you, of course. Unless you’ve decided to pay the two yourself? This is Miss Kugie’s second, after all.” He leaned forward, jaded green eyes staring wide at the clown.

“I’ve got it.” With a swift movement, Kugie placed her payment onto the counter, surely unamused.

“Yeah, yeah! And, erm—” Anzu patted her bag, spinning around as she struggled to open the zipper and pull out her money from the wallet. How Kugie managed to get her money out so quickly, so flawlessly, she wasn’t quite sure. Her school uniform probably didn’t have any pockets either, so was it some magic trick?

After a few moments of awkwardly rummaging through her belongings, and then fixing them so they were back in place inside her bag, she slapped the money onto the counter next to Kugie’s. She glanced over at her, who only stared with a partially amused expression, though it was clear she was trying to keep it together.

She knew what that meant; she thought she was being weird again…!!

Anzu looked away, sheepishly directing her gaze to the clerk with their ice cream cones. This was taking so long! The others on line would surely be getting annoyed, if they weren’t already!

His gaze had hardly faltered, the whole time. Had he just been staring like that, waiting for the full payment? He hadn’t even given Kugie her cone, despite her paying already…

“...I’ll take it now?” The thief asked, placing both of her hands outward expectantly. Anzu hadn't followed suit, looking over at her companion with the expression of a curious puppy.

There was a beat of silence, and then, the man passed one cone to Kugie, freeing his hand so he could quickly count the money—most likely to ensure they weren't cheating him—and then gave her the second one too. He smiled, pressing his eyes closed and holding his hands under his chin. “Have a lovely day.”

Anzu nodded in return, yet Kugie walked off the line almost immediately, both cones in her hold. No way, had she scammed her out of her money!? Stolen her ice cream for real this time? Maybe that had been her plan all along! Maybe—

Kugie stopped near one of the tables, allowing the clown to pull up right next to her. Before she could mention the rightful owner of one of those ice creams, however, she stepped back, avoiding the girl’s arm as it extended one of the cones towards her. Simply, she stated: “Here.”

“...Eh?”

“I didn’t want you to drop it, y’know? We held up the line long enough thanks to him.” She didn’t hesitate to shoot a glare behind her. He hadn’t seen her, having been preoccupied with someone else, thankfully. “Like I said, he’s weird. I prefer not spending too much time around him.”

Anzu felt a little dazed, but slowly, she nodded and took the cone from her. That made a lot more sense than the conclusion she jumped to moments prior.

Kugie cleared her throat, proceeding to gesture to the table. “...Anyway, are we gonna sit down, or what?”

The question successfully managed to catch Anzu off guard—quite honestly, she had expected them to buy their ice cream and then go separate ways. It had seemed to make the most sense, at least until she was offered otherwise. Did she want to sit with her? Spend more time with this ice cream thief, even though it could only provide more opportunity for Kugie to come to the conclusion that she was just some freak?

“Ah… um,” the clown hummed thoughtfully, considering her options here as quick as possible—if she gave off the vibe she wasn’t interested, that would make her look even weirder!! And it wasn’t like she was totally disinterested—Kugie seemed nice, sort of… and she hadn't stolen her ice cream intentionally . That was probably a good sign.

…Thinking isn’t really her strong suit. It’s the least the clown can do in return for her putting up with her—and again, getting to know her didn’t seem like the worst thing in the world!

And so, Anzu plopped herself down in the booth, tapping a non-existent watch on her wrist with her free time. “I mean, sure, why not? I've got loads of time!”

Kugie smiled, seemingly relieved she hadn't excused herself out of there. She moved to sit down at the opposite side of the table. “Sounds good. I'll stick around until I have to pick up my little sister, then.”

“I told you that guy seemed weird!” The girl with dark brown hair shook their head, scoffing. “I mean, yeah, it was super cool to see you super passionate about a thing, but like—he was totally suspicious!”

Anzu groaned, shoving the ice cream parlor’s door open. It probably would have made sense to be mindful of her volume, considering how many people were around, but it ultimately hadn’t crossed her mind—she was a little too busy moping about the loss of her mentor.

“Well, duh, I know that now!! There’s something totally weird about the whole thing, but especially that girl, y’know!?”

Her friend nodded as they hopped on line, shortly followed by Anzu. “For sure. The way you describe her, who do ya think she is? Aside from that whole troupe thing, of course. There’s gotta be something more than that, don’t you think so!?”

“I don't know!! I didn’t even have time to ask! The lady was all like—” She cleared her throat, placing her hands on her waist. Mimicking the woman from yesterday as best as possible—which was no more than simply making her voice higher pitched—she repeated:

“ Don’t think about contacting Ryuu again. ” Anzu dramatically placed a finger against her cheek, shutting her eyes and tilting her head away in disgust. “ He’ll be very busy from now on. Don’t bother him. ”

“Yikes.” Her friend clicked their tongue.”And he just… went with her? Despite everything , all those shows you guys did? Did he even say goodbye?”

She shook her head, looking back over at her and returning her arms back to its usual position. “He did, he did!! But he was all like, thanks for all your time, Anzu —” She did air quotes with her fingers as she spoke. “And anyway, I was thinking, like—maybe it’s his sister, and this is some complicated family business thing? But then I was like, no, that can’t be it, they look nothing alike!”

“They don't have to be similar in appearance to be siblings, though,” the other rebutted.

“Right, see, I figured that!” Anzu grinned, feeling like a detective with her trusty sidekick. “But I can detect siblings from a mile away, biological or not—those two were not it, for suresies!”

The girl crossed their arms. “Okay… Then what are you thinking?”

“Alright, so here's my theory! I’m thinking, maybe that girl was Master Ryuu's ex!?” She paused, almost for dramatic effect. If this were a scene in a movie, that pause would have been accompanied by a few gasps in the room, even if it was just the two of them talking, and maybe even followed by a dramatic dun, dun, duuuun! —but of course, that wouldn't make sense in real life, so she simply continued. “Maybe she’s like, totally toxic, and that's why she told me not to contact him anymore, you know? It’s possible!”

Anzu’s friend was woefully unconvinced. “That doesn’t sound right. I mean, like firstly, it doesn't have to be a romantic partner, obviously. It could just be a friend. Secondly, isn’t it like, a bold accusation to call someone toxic by meeting them once?”

“Well, whatever!” Anzu smacked her own forehead, leaning back as the two made their way up the line. “I just still can’t believe he just left like that. It sucks, y’know?”

They nodded. “It does. I’m really sorry, Anzu.”

“I mean, like, how easy could it have been to just leave our silly show thing behind? Did he just not care from the beginning?” She paused yet again, though not for dramatics this time. It was rare for Anzu to feel this torn up about something. Usually, she would be able to find something to distract her mind from it, even if it was something stupid like cracking the same joke over and over again—this time, however, it didn’t feel right .

“It’s…” After a moment, the clown snapped her fingers, slightly irritated. “Urg!! I can't get my thoughts together. It’s just frustrating!”

They patted her back, in an attempt to console her, though they didn't seem to have much to say to her anymore. Anzu knew it wasn’t because they grew tired of her, but rather just ran out of things to say to comfort her. She didn’t really mind it, though—physical comfort was easier to process than words sometimes, anyway.

The person in front of them stepped to the side, and the realization only then just hit her that it was their turn to order. Anzu perked up, golden eyes widening as she quickly shook her friend off and took their hand instead. She led them to the glass that separated them from the ice cream, scanning the available flavors—with just a slither of hope, her gaze immediately flicking the slot that would normally have been empty at this time, and—

“GAH!! It’s there this time!!” She exclaimed, glancing over at her friend. They peered over her shoulder, raising an eyebrow at first, though it quickly shifted into a shared excitement.

“Hell yeah!” They cheered, grabbing her by the shoulders. “Quick, get it!”

Anzu turned her attention to the clerk behind the counter, smiling the same way as always. This time, however, it didn’t creep her out—she was far too excited to even pay any mind to it!

“One peach-flavored ice cream!” She yelled, much louder than she had intended. When she had realized, she cleared her throat, shrinking back slightly and looking over at her companion again.

“...And, um, what are you getting again?”

Her friend laughed. “Cookies and cream for me.”

“And one of those for them…!” Anzu added. “Both in cones, too!!”

The man grinned, his chin propped up on his hand. “Excitable as ever, Miss Anzu, aren't you?”

“Well, duh! I haven’t had any in forever…!!”

“Ahaha. There’s no reason to lose your head, it isn’t going anywhere. Not a lot, but I don’t take you to be the greedy type.” Jaded green eyes stared into Anzu’s, widening as if he didn’t have to deal with the sting that came with opening them that wide. The teenager placed her hand on the counter, tapping her fingers against it out of habit.

Before Anzu—or her friend—could say anything, the man behind the counter straightened up, closing his eyes and tilting his head to the side, placing his arms behind his back. As always, that smile remained. At least he seemed somewhat pleased…?

“But yes, anyhow—one peach, and one cookies and cream! I won’t be long, aha!”

Her friend shivered beside her, crossing their arms in an attempt to still themself. “Why do we come to this place again? That guy’s so… weird. Doesn’t he strike you as weird?”

“Waugh!! Keep your voice down…!!” Anzu shook her head, elbowing them instinctively. “He’s gonna hear us if you talk like that so loudly!!”

The girl hissed, rubbing their side and shooting a glare towards the clown. Nonetheless, they seemed to recover quickly. “...I doubt he doesn’t already know. I mean, you aren’t that creepy by accident, right? There’s no way he’s not doing it on purpose.”

"You’d think something like that would getcha fired…!!” She agreed, glancing at the man to make sure he wasn’t coming back yet. “Like, especially if tons of people complained and all that? Maybe if we all complain about it, he’ll be removed or something!!”

“...This is a local place, Anzu,” her friend said with a sigh. “I don’t think we’ve seen anyone else work here. I’m pretty sure he’d be the only one we could complain to.”

“Gah, whatever!! Shhh, shh!! He's coming back…!”

As naturally as possible—which wasn't very natural at all, she figured—Anzu straightened up, not-so-casually leaning on the counter by the time the man returned with their cones. She managed a small grin, keeping up her playful attitude as per usual.

“Three-hundred yen, right, ice cream man?”

He hummed. “That would be right, Miss Anzu. For each one, of course.”

The clown nodded, digging into her bag with one hand and searching for her wallet. Like last time, instead of taking it out to pull out the money, her fingers had insisted on dancing with the zipper, pulling on it until it opened, and she pulled out the small sum of money she carried with her. She counted it out, slid it across the counter, and got her ice cream.

“Have a lovely day!” The man gave a small wave, chuckling to himself.

Anzu was the first to walk away this time, shortly followed by her friend, already digging into the treat—and while she should have done so as well, especially considering how long she had waited for this, she felt something stirring in the pit of her stomach. It felt like if she tried to eat it right away, it would only taste sour.

“I still can't believe he did that, y’know?” Anzu said aloud, frowning. She stopped by one of the tables, gesturing the other over to sit next to her. “It’s just… Ugh!! I should have gotten his number, just so I could try and keep in contact with him…!”

They sat on the seat, sliding towards the window so Anzu could take the outer spot. “I mean… It would have been pretty weird. What would you have said?” They cleared their throat, and with as best of an impression of her they could manage; “ Hey, weird question, but is that girl who picked you up your sister or lover? Also, please come back because I need a show partner? …Or whatever you were saying earlier?"

“Gah!! Don’t take me like that!” Anzu whined, resting her chin on her hand. “It’s just… you know, I didn’t even get to wish him off. I would’ve probably only texted him to thank him for everything!”

They raised an eyebrow.

“...A-Among other things, but is that super relevant at all…!?”

“Ooh, are you guys talking about the guy with the pink hair?”

Anzu jumped, startled, turning her head to find a girl with short, raven hair, night-like eyes, and star-like beauty marks scattered across her face.

“Kugie…!!” She exclaimed, embarrassed for having been snuck up on like that.

“Hey…? What are you screaming for?” Kugie raised an eyebrow, leaning against the table. “Did I say somethin’ weird?”

The clown shook her free hand rapidly, not wanting the other to feel bad. “No, no!! I was just telling my friend here—” She quickly gestured to them, emphasizing her point. "—about something that happened the other day, y’know?"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw them nod in agreement. Kugie hummed.

“I heard a little about it. You two are kind of loud,” she said, shrugging. “Did he really just up and leave like that? He must be real stupid if he did that.”

Before Anzu could answer, her friend leaned in close to her ear, cupping it as if it were anymore subtle than the initial act was. Their breath tickled her skin, not at all assisted by the feeling of their hair on her neck.

“Is this that ice cream thief you keep talking about?” They whispered, startling the clown once more—

“EEP!!”

—and causing her to drop the ice cream cone, when she had instinctively attempted to push them away. The peach-flavored treat landed upside down on the floor between the three. In that very moment, Anzu felt her stomach drop, her eyes widening helplessly.

“Oh…”

It was quiet among them for a few moments. Anzu’s eyes remained locked on the pool of sweetness below her, just by her shoe. Every passing moment made the puddle a little bigger, the ice cream slowly melting and seeping into the crevices of the tile floor. All that time waiting had suddenly burned to ashes before her eyes.

“Ah…!! Your ice cream!!” Her friend shook their head, guilt filling their voice. “I’m so sorry! Please, forgive me…!!”

The clown didn’t respond right away, eyes locked onto the contaminated liquid. Surely, not even the cone would be salvageable at this rate! Curse her dumb luck…!!

“It’s fine…!” There’s a tone of disappointment she just can’t shake, no matter how hard she tried to seem unaffected. Despite it, however, she cleared her throat, throwing on a reassuring smile and awkwardly laughing—it wasn’t like this was anything super important, anyway. “But, um, do you happen to have any money left…?”

They sucked in their teeth, slowly patting their leg. “No… I used it all on this one. You could have it if you want?”

When the teenager tilted their cone towards Anzu, she playfully stuck her tongue out in disgust. “Nooo!! You keep it! It’s good, I’ll just buy another one tomorrow…!”

Another voice popped into the conversation. “...Or I could buy you one?”

How long had Kugie been standing there again!?

“You don’t have to…!!” Anzu insisted, shaking her head. She waved her hand dismissively, hoping to brush off the offer—no matter how tantalizing it seemed. “Seriously, it’s no big deal, Kugie! I'll live!!”

“I don't mind, really.” Holding her cone with one hand, she dug her hand into the pocket of the sweater around her waist. She pulled some money out, holding it between two of her fingers. “See? It’s on me.”

“I appreciate it, but–!!”

“She’ll take it!” Her friend interrupted, lighty shoving her shoulder. Anzu turned, looking at them with wide eyes and a partially anxious-looking expression.

“What? It's free ice cream , Anzu,” they whispered, this time, not so close to her ear. “How can you possibly turn that down?”

“...I'm right here. You're not really subtle,” Kugie bluntly pointed out, her arms crossed.

They clicked their tongue, pulling away and speaking at a normal volume. “Either way, I feel really bad. You should get the ice cream—I’ll pay her back for you if that’s what you're worried about!”

The other shook her head. “No one has to pay me back, seriously— It's free, okay?”

Anzu considered her options. On one hand, she definitely felt bad—none of this would have happened if she were more careful, and she wasn’t really sure why Kugie was offering in the first place. It wasn’t like anything was her fault!! And nothing was her friend’s fault either!

But on the other hand…

The clown looked over at Kugie, staring at her for a few moments. She only stared back, periodically eating away at her ice cream. Was she just being nice…?

She sighed, surely revealing she was giving in. Joined by a small smile across her face, “Y'know what? Sure, let’s go…!!”

Anzu hopped up to her feet, finding her spirits lifting up just a little bit. She turned around, waving to her friend, despite the fact they’d only be across the room.

“We’ll be back in a bit!!” She exclaimed, then proceeded to pull Kugie by the arm and back towards the line—which was notably shorter, at this point.

“H–Hey!! Anzu…!!”

She managed to get them to the back of the line without much problem, even when Kugie was holding a half eaten ice cream cone—for a moment, she had feared she would have accidentally gotten her to drop her treat too, and then she’d backtrack on her offer.

Yet when she peered behind her and saw the item still in her hands, she felt relieved.

“Oh, by the way,” Anzu started, as Kugie flattened her uniform down with one hand. She looked up eventually, humming to prompt her to continue. “Are ya sure you don’t want me to pay you back? I swear I can!! Maybe not today, but tomorrow…!! Same time as now, I promise!”

“Jesus, Anzu, it’s fine! I mean it!! If I were just messing with you, I wouldn’t keep up the act that long.” Kugie seemed partially disappointed by the thought, momentarily casting her gaze to the side. “It’s a treat on me, alright? You don’t have to pay me back, and I don’t want you to pay me back.”

Anzu stared at her, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Eventually, she slowly nodded. “...Okay. If you're sure!!”

Kugie broke into a small smile. “I am.”

At that, Anzu couldn't help but return it, humming in satisfaction. “Good!! Because if you suddenly switched up on me later…!!”

The threat remained vague, and even if it weren’t, there’d be no way to take it seriously with how far her lips curved up and the way it seemed like absolutely nothing could intimidate Kugie. In fact, all she did was give her a small smirk, almost as if egging her on to see what she could come up with.

“Um…!! Well, I dunno what I’d do if ya did,” she chuckled, dropping her shoulders. “I’d probably just pay you back the next day still, so… I guess you still have the chance to take it back either way…?”

The girl laughed. “For the last time, I won't.”

There was a pause that followed. Admittedly, it was likely because Anzu had stared for a touch too long, having to tear her gaze away from the girl’s features being highlighted by the parlor’s lights again. Kugie had been staring back at her too, causing a warm feeling to flare up through her until it got so bad she forcibly had to look away to make it fade away.

Notably attempting to avoid prying too much, Kugie asked: “...So, what happened with that other clown guy?”

Anzu tilted her head. “Eh?”

“If you’re fine with talking about it, that is,” she quickly added, tapping her foot on the ground. “It's cool if you aren’t.”

“I–It’s not that I mind…!! Just, erm…” Out of habit, she tugged on the sleeves of her uniform, though she tried not to act so caught off guard. “I mean, like– Why so curious?” She wore a small, clearly playful smile in order to deflect. “Aww, are you worried about li’l old meee?”

“I guess I am,” replied Kugie. “Who wouldn’t be?”

Anzu’s expression fell. That wasn’t really what she had been expecting.

“...Oh,” was all she said at first, pressing her lips together as she thought of what to say.

“And besides,” Kugie was quick to continue, seemingly embarrassed by openly admitting her concern. “I was just wondering, because… you know, you seemed like you admired him. And I didn’t hear everything you were saying to your friend back there, so…”

Instead of finishing her thought, she seemed to opt for biting into her cone, one her nails picking at the waffle-like details in the treat. Anzu couldn’t help the dry chuckle that escaped her—despite the uncertainty, she appreciated that she cared, even if they weren’t super close.

“Well… y’see,” Anzu glanced at the length of the line, then back at Kugie. She had time. As long as she didn’t go off the walls like she did the first time she told her friend about it, it wouldn’t hurt to talk about it.

“Master– Or, erm, just Ryuu now, I suppose– He was sorta my mentor, y’know? I always thought clowns were super cool, but I didn’t have a chance to look into it beyond studying them and circuses as much as possible. My mom says it’s the only thing I willing sat down to read about as a kid!"

Kugie nodded in understanding, though she was clearly trying not to laugh at her.

“And anyway, the whole school year I’ve been sorta… avoiding clubs—and I know I’m like, not supposed to do that, but none of ‘em ever just stuck , I guess? Does that make sense?”

Another nod, though this time, it’s accompanied by a hum. “I getcha. None of the clubs at my school suit me either—I mean, I like soccer and basketball, but the good teams are for boys. The girls, on the other hand…” Kugie shuddered, her nose scrunched up in disgust.

After a moment, she shook it off, continuing to eat into her treat and gesturing with her free hand. “...But anyway, continue.”

Anzu giggled. “I’m still not in a club, so like, it’s all good! We can be clubless together!!” She nudged her with her elbow and watched her grin. Then, she cleared her throat and resumed her ramble;

“But like I was saying… It wasn’t until my friend and I saw Ryuu performing, and he randomly called on me to help him out—I was sorta freaked out, but in the end, I… kind of liked it!! Not to mention, performing on the street would be a good income for money… So, I worked up all of my courage to ask him to let me keep performing with him!!”

“And I’m assuming that worked out for a bit, right?” Kugie chimed in, showing she was paying attention.

“Mhm…!! And so, for the past few weeks, after school, we’d rehearse and perform shows on Fridays, and people would watch and toss some yen in if they had any to spare. We would split whatever we had later on, and that compared with my other job, it’d be enough to help my mom out, y’know? The whole thing was more than just a passion-filled pastime—it was a job .”

Anzu’s smile faded, shoulders dropping.

“...And then, the other day, after a show, some lady showed up. Ryuu looked totally surprised to see her!! I dunno who she was, but apparently he was in some troupe with her, and he left a while back because they wouldn’t take him seriously!! But then she said all this stuff about everyone missing him so much…!!”

“He didn’t believe her, did he? Tell me he didn’t believe her.”

“Oh, he did! He was all like, ‘oh, thanks for the time, it meant so much to me,’ and then left! ” Anzu ran a hand through the red and blue strands of her hair, wishing she were wearing her hoodie right now so she had something to fidget with. “And then, get this, it gets worse ! The lady came up to me specifically, and she was all like—

The clown paused. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to pull out her impression of the lady again, as funny as it would have been.

“She told me to stay away from Ryuu!? Which was like, totally weird, y’know! I dunno what her deal was!!”

“Jeez… It sort of sounds like they both suck, to be honest,” said Kugie, flicking the end bit of the treat into her mouth. Anzu noted how quickly it seemed she went through ice cream cones… That, or she had been talking so long that she managed to finish it in that time.

“Gweh!? Even Ryuu…?”

“Yeah, him too. I mean, you seem really good at what you do. He should be lucky you asked to perform with him, yeah? But apparently he just upped and left ya, that jerk.” Every word was clearly coated with genuine earnesty, and it almost confused her for a moment. It was nice she cared, but…

“I wouldn’t go as far as to call him a jerk…!!” Anzu wasn’t very good at defending people, especially because she wasn’t all that good at defending herself with her own words, but she didn’t think that he was all bad. “Like, yeah, what he did sucks! I’m pretty upset about it, but I’m not… I don’t hate him for it. I’m sure he had his reasoning!”

“Anzu—” The girl stared, her expression softening—did she feel bad? She opened her mouth, though she didn’t say anything right away. After a moment of silence, she finally added, “...I get it. Sorry if I overstepped there.”

The clown shook her head, gently bonking her head on Kugie’s shoulder. “Nah, don’t worry about it!!”

When she looked up at her again, her night-like eyes were wide open, her cheeks dusted in a warm color. Nothing at all was said, even though they were staring right at each other at that point—did Anzu do something wrong?

Suddenly, Kugie looked away, lightly clearing her throat. “Right, right. Thanks. I guess I just didn’t get it; I’ve seen you perform, you’re really good—like, insanely good. And he just dropped ya like that? It doesn’t make any sense.”

Nonchalantly, Anzu shrugged, attempting to brush it off. “It’s… It’s whatever now!! It’s not like I can go find him and make him apologize, so it’s fine!” She grinned, opting for waving her hand dismissively as opposed to something so… affectionate . “And, hey, I can always put on shows by myself! It’ll take me a li’l while, but I’ll figure it out!!”

“That’s good, then,” she replied, seeming just a bit relieved at that. “If there’s anything I can help with, let me know.”

“I’ve got it, I’m sure!! And hey, maybe I’ll be the first one-man show that won’t bore ya to death! I’ll make it super exciting, just for you, ‘kay?”

The embarrassing look on the girl’s face returned, though this time, she laughed instead of attempting to hide it away. “Geez, dude, I didn’t think you were so forward, ” she teased, shaking her head. “But I’m looking forward to it. My offer’s still open, though.”

“Aww, you’re calling me forward, yet you’re the one actively trying to hang out with me!” She shot back in jest. “Ask me for my number already, coward!”

Kugie feigned disgust, leaning away from the clown. “And what, give my number to a stranger? Did no one ever teach ya about stranger danger, Parlor Girl?”

“Ooh, are you telling me I’m dangerous? Didn’t think you’d be so threatened by me!!”

“What? You? ” She gestured to Anzu, raising an eyebrow. She reached over, flicking a strand of bright pink hair hanging over her forehead. “Threatening? I don’t think I should be scared of someone with hair that looks like highlighters.”

“Gwah!? Highlighters…!?” Her taunting came to a quick halt, attempting to look up at her own hair as if she could see it from that angle.

Kugie laughed so hard she snorted, her head dipping back and her hair getting a little messy. She raised her hand, adjusting the headband with a big screw decoration so it wouldn’t fall off.

All in all, it was really endearing. Anzu couldn’t take her gaze off her, watching her indulge in her laugh—she didn’t even have it in her to join in this time, allowing her joy to sing out on its own.

“Ahem,” the clerk up front cleared his throat, calling attention to the gap between him and the duo simply standing there. “I believe your turn has come? Unless you wish to give your spot up for someone else, that is.”

Kugie quickly calmed herself, wiping her eye with the back of her hand of the few tears that had formed in her boisterous laughter and her smile disappearing. The clown felt her disappointment overtake the momentary butterflies in her stomach. She really didn’t like that guy, huh? It seemed like every time he made his presence known, it soured her mood.

The girl walked ahead of Anzu, fishing her wallet out of her pocket again.

The man smiled as she came up from behind, jaded green eyes staring at her before flicking to the raven-haired teenager. “Seconds again, Miss Kugie? You may as well buy out the whole store this time too, ahaha!”

“Not enough money,” Kugie replied, digging two fingers into the small bag and searching for the money. She pulled out three-hundred yen, placing it on the counter like it came as easy as breathing. “I’m getting some for Anzu. She dropped her ice cream because of me, and I feel bad about it.”

…What?

“Ah,” the clerk clicked his tongue, placing two fingers atop the bill so it couldn’t be taken back. “Well, then, what’ll the lady be having?”

Anzu watched Kugie’s gaze soften as it hopped from the clerk to her. She considered herself to be pretty observant, all things considered—it’d proved to be important when trying to discern whether or not the audience was becoming bored, and when a classmate at school was starting to becoming irritated by her incessant chatter, and when a teacher was slowly losing their patience with her supposed lack of interest in classroom material.

Instead of showing her all of those things she was always worried about, however, her observant nature felt almost rewarded —did Kugie like her?

“Peach, right?” She asked. Her face was pointed away from the man with green hair, making it easy for her to smile without allowing for the weirdo to see her.

Butterflies flew around again, like colored spotlights at a concert that searched for the main performer on the stage. Anzu barely managed to crack a joke along with her answer. “You know it! Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten? It hasn’t been that long since we’ve spoken, y’know!”

Kugie hummed, sharply exhaling in response as opposed to outwardly giggling. When she turned around, her smile melted again, though the giddy feeling remained. Ah…

Despite all her teasing, Anzu felt slight dread for the moment where they’d part ways for the day. She would like to hang out more, to be honest. It’s a silly thing to wish, considering how it likely wouldn’t be the last time they met. After all, they were both in high school, and frequented this ice cream shop often. As long as they both kept coming, there would be more interactions.

But there were a lot of days she wouldn’t be able to visit at all. She couldn’t keep blowing money at an ice cream parlor, after all—it just wasn’t right. Most of this money should be going to her mother and the rest of her siblings, not spent on one-time treats that she couldn’t even share with them before it all melted away. That wasn’t even considering how much would be wasted if she were to buy six cones per day, seven days a week. She wasn’t really a math connoisseur or whatever, but that would be… a little over twelve-thousand yen every week? That was a lot —and sure, if it were only a one-time thing, then maybe it wouldn’t matter as much… but any amount to count towards rent was a good amount. The higher, the better.

Anzu frowned. Scheduling time to hang out with Kugie would be hard, anyway, she figured. Her schedule was pretty busy, what with her job and having to figure out what to do to pick up the slack now that Ryuu was gone—not to mention that she couldn’t afford to miss any more homework, not unless she wanted to start failing… There was just no time.

Not to mention, she didn’t really know what the other girl liked. What if they just had no similar interests aside from ice cream? What if she said something stupid and made things super awkward!? Even worse, what if she accidentally overstepped with her teasing, and pushed Kugie away? What if the very suggestion of hanging out more often than fate let them would freak the other out?

…It’s probably for the better, then.

“What!?”

Kugie’s strong voice successfully managed to snap the clown out of her thoughts, shaking her head to catch up with reality.

“Huh…?”

“What do you mean it’s all sold out? ” Kugie exclaims, clearly upset. Anzu doesn’t think she’s seen her this enraged yet, especially publicly. “I literally just bought some a few minutes ago! There was more left!! It’s not even that popular of a flavor!”

“Oh, Miss Kugie… Do you think I purposefully sold the remainder of the flavor as soon as you got yours? Tut-tut, I’m not so cruel.” Even in the face of a teenage girl screaming, he remained ever unphased, wearing a smile and leaning over the counter. He almost seemed sickeningly happy, like it was the first exciting thing that had happened all day. “It’s nothing but rotten luck, on your part. You’d be better off apologizing to Miss Anzu, rather than yelling at me, ahaha.”

Kugie looked like she was about to yell yet again, looking so utterly distraught—Anzu couldn’t quite figure out why. It was just ice cream, wasn't it?

She put a hand on her shoulder, gently shaking her with a sheepish grin. People were staring at them—and even though she wasn’t a stranger to people looking at her, that didn’t mean she didn’t like it right now. “Kugie…!! It’s fine, it’s fine!! I’ll just get mint chip, ‘kay? Do we have any of that?”

She glanced at the clerk, who still seemed completely unbothered. It was so nerve-wracking; it was almost like being yelled at by a teenager was a daily occurrence, though Anzu had been here enough times to know that wasn't the case. People usually didn’t get so heated over ice cream.

Which begged the question: why Kugie?

“Aha! See, now was that so hard?” He said, just barely tilting his head to the side. “Let me see… There's a good amount left, yes! One mint chip cone, then.”

Before the angered teenager could say anything else, he slipped the bill off the counter, swiftly tucking it into the register and walking to the further parts of the ice cream displays.

“What was that!?” Anzu whispered suddenly, albeit quite loudly. She wasn’t mad, certainly not, but she did feel… embarrassed. “You didn't have to yell on my behalf, ya goof!”

“Goof…?” Kugie's voice fell from the harsh tone from seconds before, shoulders untensing as she processed the weight Anzu was applying.

“Yeah! Everyone’s starin’ at us, y’know…? I didn’t want you to yell at the guy for doing his job,” she continued, subtly gesturing with her head without whipping around and meeting their eyes.

She raised an eyebrow. “They are?” With the guts that Anzu surely didn't have any of, she glanced up, scanning the room quickly before her night sky eyes widened and looked back down at her with a regretful look. “Shit, they are. I'm really sorry, Anzu.”

“It’s– It’s fine!!” Anzu shook her head. An apology wasn't what she was looking for… it was sorta scary to be dragging this much attention, but it sort of came with performing on stage. The only difference was, more or less, a small group of people clapping and cheering—not judgingly staring at them. “You don’t gotta be sorry to me…! Or that guy. I’m getting the idea that he didn’t really care about what you said… at all.”

Kugie groaned, running a hand through her hair. “I didn’t think about it…!! I was just… I felt bad, y’know?”

Any ideas on what to say died before her throat could form the words. “You feel bad?” She repeated. “I just said it’s fine, you don’t gotta feel bad for—”

“No, I mean—” The girl raised her hand, waving off the clown’s words and further confusing her. “I feel bad for earlier. With the whole ice cream thing. It’s my fault you dropped it in the first place, yeah?”

“...Waugh!?”

“I was eavesdropping. It’s not nice, duh, but I thought if I popped into the conversation it’d make you feel a little better. I didn’t know you were gonna drop your ice cream—and then the fact ya couldn’t get the flavor you were hoping for, it just made me feel worse. I wanted to make you feel better, and I…”

Kugie balled her hands up into fists, so harshly, Anzu had saw them shaking , but then she had simply let it go, followed by an exhale. She shifted her weight to one leg, not bothering to look up.

“Sorry, Anzu. We don’t even know each other that well, but I… guess I wanted to do something about it.”

“Woah, hey!!” She shook her again, though slightly harsher this time. It was a desperate attempt to ground the other girl, finding herself slightly freaked by Kugie’s sudden self consciousness. “It’s not your fault, seriously…!! I never even thought it was!”

Anzu pressed her head against her shoulder again, though the touch lingered longer than it would if it were a simple tap from her forehead. She wasn’t all that much taller than her, yet reaching her shoulder was a little… difficult. “It’s no one’s fault, y’know? It was just an accident. You didn’t know I’d drop the cone—like, if you pushed me or something, that’d be a different story, but!! You clearly didn’t mean it on purpose…!”

Kugie didn’t react that much to the touch this time, though she could feel her tense up a little under her touch. The clown continued, lowering her voice so it didn’t sound like she was actually scolding her friend.

“...Is that why you wanted to buy it for me?” She asked, looking up at the raven-haired teenager. From this angle, the lighting still highlighted her features—though it didn’t really look magical this time, or anything like that. “Just because… ya felt bad?”

“No…! I mean, that was part of it, but—” Kugie couldn’t meet Anzu’s gaze. She was only left wondering what was going on in that brain of hers, what strings were being pulled and what was worrying her so much. Aside from the initial embarrassment, which quickly melted away now that they had quieted down, she couldn’t figure out what it was.

“...I just wanted to do something nice for you, okay? Like, yeah, I felt bad, but I don’t want ya thinking it was solely out of pity. You were really sad, and I wanted to do something to help.”

Anzu watched her lip quiver like it had been every time she had become embarrassed. Maybe it would have been better to talk about this in private—though, it wasn’t like they would be seeing each other outside of this place all that much. She had already figured it’d be best to keep their interactions restricted here. For both Kugie’s sake, so she wouldn’t be disappointed in her when she inevitably had to continuously ditch in favor of figuring out her own situation, and for her own, so she didn’t have to deal with the dilemma at all.

“Is it stupid to say I care about you?” Kugie asked, suddenly. The question made the clown’s own eyes open wide, her arms tensing at her sides so quickly that it actually hurt . “I mean… I don’t really know anything about you, but… You’re fun to be around, I guess. That’s not super ridiculous or anything, is it?”

What to say…

“Not at all,” is what Anzu settled on. It wasn’t the fact that Kugie cared at all was what irked her. It was actually pretty sweet, and she’d be lying if she were to act like she didn’t appreciate it—yet, she couldn’t help the stirring feeling of anxiety in her stomach. She said it herself; she didn’t really know anything about her. So why—

The sharp clearing of a throat caught the clown off guard once again, instinctively pushing herself off Kugie’s shoulder and nearly causing them both to lose their balance. It wasn’t like she was embarrassed or anything, certainly not, but…

The clerk held an ice cream cone out, wearing the same smile as earlier. It was still unnerving, but she found herself focusing on Kugie out of the corner of her eye instead of the man in front of her.

“Your treat, Miss Anzu.”

“...Thanks!” She chirped, accepting the cone and beckoning Kugie to follow her off the line. Surely, she should have gone right back to her friend, but she would have liked to finish her thought before that interruption—and now, she wanted to get the last bit of it out of her system, just so it wouldn’t drive her crazy. And though it felt pointless to worry about embarrassment sometimes, especially with how often she went ahead and humiliated herself anyway, she would rather not bring Kugie’s troubles in front of her friend.

“So… as I was trying to say,” the clown managed a smile, vaguely gesturing to the green-haired man without calling too much attention to it. “Thanks, Kugie. Really… I don’t think caring about people is dumb at all! Just… you don’t have to go out of your way for me, ‘kay? I’ll live if I don’t eat ice cream for a day.”

Hoping to cause the other to laugh, she pulled her head back and then bumped it against her shoulder. “You, on the other hand, maybe not so much. Did you seriously buy out all the ice cream in the store one time?”

Much to her success, it earned a small snort from Kugie. “It was a few weeks ago, yeah—it was a dumb dare from my younger sister. She didn’t expect me to actually go through on it,” she explained, nonchalantly shrugging. “You should have seen the look on her face when she saw me walking out with so many tubs of ice cream. It was priceless!”

“A few weeks ago?” Anzu mused with a hum. The day she had met Ryuu initially, she vaguely recalled something like that happening… Though, her memory wasn’t all that good, admittedly. “Did you even eat everything…!? That would have been so much gone to waste…!”

“Of course we didn’t! Don’t go thinking I’m crazy, now!!” She grinned, leaning against the counter. “We gave most of it out at my sister’s school for free, and took whatever was left home. We only kept the peach and mint chocolate chip flavors; the rest I sold the next day at lunch.”

“Mint chocolate?” Anzu perked up. “No way, do you like it too!?”

Kugie's nose scrunched up again. “Not really… It’s never been my thing. My sister likes it, though. I don’t really get why, but it’s whatever.”

She paused, staring at Anzu for a few moments. This time, she doesn’t feel like she’s being judged. Kugie was just… thinking, it seemed.

“You two would get along, I’m pretty sure," she noted, almost like she was putting two and two together. She was positive a lightbulb had gone off in her head. “Her name's Kanna. She's a really sweet girl, energetic too.”

“Aw, are you gonna introduce me to your family now? Man, I’m blushing,” Anzu teased.

“That confirms it. She’ll love you.” Lightheartedly, Kugie rolled her eyes, shaking her head. “She likes romance, both in books and in my life. The second she sees you, it’s over for me.”

The clown can’t help her giggle. It’s a little funny to think about, to be honest—it wasn’t even like she consider the idea of them being friends without getting in over her own head, much less going ahead and thinking they were anything more than that. It was a ridiculous concept, but it was just a joke, surely.

“Hehe… I’m excited to meet her then!” Taking a lick of her ice cream, she nudged her with her elbow. Then, she managed to hook her free arm around Kugie’s, tugging on her a little. “And speaking of, you should come talk to my friend—they’re really nice, come on!”

As Anzu practically dragged Kugie across the room, she walked backwards, watching a smile form on the other girl’s face.

“I can walk myself, y’know,” she said, not exactly arguing much for her case otherwise.

“Yeah, but like— This is more fun, isn’t it?”

Kugie paused, then shrugged. “I guess it is. Lead the way then, Parlor Girl.”

No peach again.

Anzu stared at the mint chocolate chip cone in her hands. She was starting to get a little sick of the flavor, to be quite frank—she had chocolate a little while ago with Kugie, but she hadn’t had the heart to order it again without her. It was a little stupid, considering it had only happened once, but it just seemed like something that was weird to do on her own.

Though, generally, getting ice cream alone was often a little dissatisfying. It cooled her off, sure, but it was always different when she had people around.

Half-heartedly, the clown glanced up, biting into her ice cream and scanning who was there. Some people looked familiar, but nobody that she actually knew—just the other regulars, and maybe the occasional classmates that she couldn’t really remember the name of. With her friend busy after school, Anzu was left by herself at the parlor.

Ah… maybe it would be more reasonable to take her leave, at this point. She already got what she came for, unless she was expecting something to happen—

“Anzu?”

Just as she approached the door, a voice called out her name. After the initial feeling of jumping out of her own skin, the girl glanced around the room—it wasn’t very big, with very few people inside, so it didn’t take her very long to find exactly who she had expected to see.

Kugie.

The other teenager leaned over the edge, carefully holding her cone upright as she stared at her. Behind her, sitting in the seat on the opposite side of the table, was a younger girl with green hair and a blue pail perched atop her head. Could that be…?

“Hey!!” Anzu called back, waving. Instead of leaving, she immediately made her way to the two with a sudden skip in her step, happy to see people she could talk to.

“Ehe… Hello…!!” The younger one waved. Upon closer inspection, she figured she must have been a junior high student. Anzu waved back, offering a friendly smile that she always gave around kids.

“Oh, yeah!” Kugie snapped her fingers, scooting closer to the window and patting the empty spot, beckoning her to sit. “Anzu, this is Kanna—I mentioned her to ya, right?”

“Mhm!” She hummed.

“Right, okay. And Kanna—this is Anzu.”

Kanna smiled, waving again with more force. She eyed the cone in her hands, seemingly contemplating what to say before finally pointing and asking:

“Is that mint chocolate chip?”

“Gweh?” Anzu glanced at her cone, the light green color staring back at her.

With a look at Kanna's treat in her hands, she quickly put the pieces together—and she remembered what Kugie had said a few days ago, but that wasn't the important part.

“Ohh, right! Yeah, it is!!” Anzu chirped. “You like it too, right? I remember Kugie telling me something like that…!”

“It's Kanna's favorite!!” She happily paused to indulge in her treat, her upper lip coated in smudged chocolate and mint ice cream. “Kugie keeps thinking it tastes like toothpaste… You tell her!! I'm sure she'll listen to you…!!”

“Geez, Kanna, it hasn't even been five minutes and you're already turning her against me?” Kugie teased. Anzu noted she looked quite happy, enjoying her treat while the two got along. It probably meant a lot that they were immediately hitting it off.

“Gasp!!” Anzu exclaimed, offended on both her and Kanna's behalf. “No… Have you even tried the flavor before!? Or brushed your teeth…!?”

“Yes, to both? Why are you so loud…” Kugie mused, clearly not understanding what she was trying to get at.

“Then you should know they don’t taste the same at all!! Do you think all mint candies taste the same!?”

Her face slowly became more confused. “It’s… all mint?”

“Kugie!!” Kanna whined, squashing her cheek against the palm of her hand. “Most mint candies are combined with ingredients that affects how it tastes. Like how different chocolates have different concentrations of cacao…!”

Anzu nodded with a hum. “Exactly!! Toothpaste doesn’t taste as sweet, anyway. Have you even tried it yet, Kugie…?”

Before Kugie could come to her own defense, the girl with the bucket hat shook her head. “No… Kugie’s too busy making sure she gets the last drop of peach-flavored ice cream every time we come here to try it.”

“Hey!” Kugie held back a small laugh to feign offense. When she clearly failed to do so, she reached over, running her hand through Kanna’s hair and ruffling it up. The bucket hat fell off her head, landing off to the side as she giggled and attempted to pry the older girl's hand off. The sight made Anzu's heart feel warm, and not even she could hold herself from laughing at the sight—not that she was good at keeping in her laughter, anyway.

“Kugieee!!” She squealed between her laughing. “You’re gonna knock down Kanna’s ice cream! Stooop!!”

Despite the command, Kugie proceeded for a little longer, unable to help the smirk dancing across her face as she messed with her younger sister. The girl swatted her arm away with her free hand, holding the other one as far away from her as possible to keep it steady.

Eventually, though she was sure Kugie would be more relentless were they not in public, she pulled her arm back, leaving Kanna to recover from her own laughter with heavy breaths. She buried her lip in the ice cream, picking up her bucket with her other hand and fixing it on top of her head again. Anzu sort of wondered what kind of dress code Kanna's school had—not that there was anything suspicious about a bucket for a hat, but she knew dress codes were weird. Schools were weird.

“Oh! Umm, Anzu…!!” Kanna suddenly chirped, sounding almost guilty for momentarily leaving her out. “Do you have any siblings?”

Anzu perked up, blinking a few times at the question. Right, a conversation…!! It’d only be awkward if she just sat there saying nothing the whole time, wouldn’t it?

“I do!” She happily answered, kicking her legs under the table a little. “I’ve got five younger siblings, and I’m the oldest! In the house, anyway… I’ve got an older sister, but she’s been away at college these past few years, so I take care of things back at my house!! With my mom, of course!!”

Kugie suddenly seemed more invested in the conversation. “ Five ? Plus you, as well as your sister…” She paused, tapping her fingers against the table to make sure. “Your mom had seven kids?”

“Ehh, not really,” Anzu shook her head. It didn’t seem to make much sense without the full context, but she continued anyway. “Long story. We'd be here all day if I went on about it!”

”That’s so cool…!!” Kanna leaned forward, looking all excited at the thought. “Having that many siblings… Kanna bets they all must look up to you!!”

“Sounds like a hassle,” Kugie teased, though the smile on her face indicated she hadn’t really meant it. “Having one sibling is enough, I couldn’t imagine four more of this one running around.”

Kanna pouted, and next thing Anzu knew, there was a small thump underneath the table, likely the sound of Kugie's leg being lightly kicked in retaliation while her mouth was full of ice cream.

“Ow.” It clearly did not hurt. Still, Kanna giggled, innocently smiling like a typical younger sibling would.

“Mmm,” the junior student taps her cheek, brushing past the moment as if it didn’t even happen. “Kanna thinks it'd be like having four more friends at home than usual. You’re never alone…!”

“Assuming she gets along with all of them,” Kugie pitched in.

“Hey!! Of course I do!” Anzu puffed her cheeks out, somewhat irked by the implication. “My siblings and I are the closest bunch you’ve ever seen! I don’t like fighting with them, and most issues can be resolved pretty easily, ya know? I consider myself a pretty good older sister!”

“Ah,” Kugie's expression fell. “I–I wasn't trying to imply you weren’t… I’m glad you’re close with them, yeah? Kanna and I didn’t get along that well when we were younger—it can be tough, y’know? That doesn’t make anyone a ‘bad’ sibling.”

“A–And we get along now!!” Kanna added, humming happily. “So it’s a win for us both!! It makes Kanna feel better knowing you're a good sister, too.”

Anzu could have sworn she had seen Kugie's eyes light up next to her, if only for a moment. The quick sight was enough to make her smile as well; they really did seem close, despite their aforementioned difficulties.

“Ehehe, thank you!!” She beamed, accepting the compliment without complaint. Her smile can’t even be hidden by the treat in her hands, she knows, but it feels a little embarrassing to be praised for something as simple as “being a good older sister”. Nonetheless, she doesn’t argue.

And with that came a few moments of silence, and admittedly, she couldn’t help but feel like she was being stared at when she wasn’t looking up—yet every time she glanced over at Kugie or Kanna, they were staring at each other, making faces as a form of communication that wasn’t using their voices, leaving the clown at a loss for what was going on.

Kugie glared. Kanna smiled brighter. She tilted her head towards Anzu a little, as if she wouldn’t notice, and the older sibling of the two rapidly shook her head.

“...Erm—”

“So!!” Kanna began, purposely raising her voice a little bit. “Do you come here often!?”

Anzu glanced over at Kugie. She seemed rather embarrassed, yet she couldn’t quite figure out why; it wasn’t like the question was anything bad. If it were something silly, like, are you two dating?, then she’d understand being reasonably awkward about it. Unless this was building up to something, which wouldn’t be too unexpected of a junior high student, but there was no use assuming the worst right away…!

“I mean, it’s the only ice cream shop around here,” she replied, notably quoting something Kugie had told her the first time they met. “So, yeah! I guess I do! Why do ya ask?”

“Yeah, Kanna, what’s up with ya?” Asked Kugie, uncharacteristically panicked. She was staring at her with these wide eyes, her hand gripping so tightly around the cone that any more pressure and it would break.

“Oh, you know,” Kanna hummed sweetly, absentmindedly running a finger over the cone's edge. “Kugie's been talking a lot to Kanna about this ‘parlor girl’... And she sort of thought it was about you, maybe?”

One moment passed. Then two. Anzu blinked at the question, seemingly processing. Then, her lips cracked into a small smile—is that what Kugie was so embarrassed about? It wasn’t anything weird.

“She talks about me?” The clown found asked, looking over at Kugie. She repeated; “ You talk about me? ”

“I don’t!” She denied, hoping that covering her face with the remainder of her cone would work—though, considering all that was left was a small bit of the cone, it didn’t do all that much. “I don’t know where she got that. I’ve mentioned you like, once, and I couldn’t really remember your name at the time!”

“Liar!! You were talking about how cute she was yesterday!!”

“No, I wasn’t! Kanna!!”

Anzu giggled, leaning her head on Kugie. Again, she tensed, but she saw her face turn rosy, like the color of the strawberry ice cream served here. “Aww, don’t go falling in love with me now! Unless you mean to say that you like me or something, ehehe.”

The other teenager groaned, shooting a glare across the table. “Whatever. Believe what you want,” she said, her expression suggesting she was just about ready to sink into the floor. Anzu laughed, remaining leaned against the girl—eventually, she felt her relax too, slumping against her and anxiously looking away.

Aww. Anzu decided against cooing about her friend out loud.

Though, when she didn’t say anything, Kanna made up for it with a small giggle. She, too, tried to disguise it by burying her face into the cone, but there was far too little of it for it to be anywhere near effective.

“What’s so funny?” Kugie blurted. It was clearly a cheap shot at directing the spotlight off them, she realized. “You wish you were us with that girlfriend of yours.”

Any semblance of wittiness on Kanna’s face dispersed quicker than the wind. “Girlfriend…!?”

Finally getting the upper hand in their teasing, Kugie grinned. There was the confident smirk that Anzu was more accustomed to, thus far. “You heard me. Don’t think I haven’t seen you and that girl with the really long pink hair. You’re head over heels for her!”

“Am not!” She argued, placing her hand over her cheek. “Sh–She’s just Kanna’s friend…! She got transferred recently, y’know!!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Kugie waved her hand, clearly in disbelief. She ate the last piece of her cone before continuing; “And you’ve been asking Mom to pack you more food recently for no reason at all?”

“Yes! I told you, I’ve just been hungrier…!” Kanna sunk into her seat a little, messing with her bucket. “A–And maybe she shares it sometimes, but only when she’s asked!!”

Kugie gave her a knowing look, one that read as the classic “I don’t believe you” expression.

“Ah… Anzuuu!! Back me up here…!!” With how completely unconvincing her argument was, it had clearly been a last ditch effort to convince Kugie.

“Hmm… I dunno.” She shrugged, licking at her ice cream. “Sounds like you two have a thing for each other!”

“See?” Kugie clicked her tongue, shaking her head. “It’s pretty obvious. Just ask her out already! You’ll never know if you try—”

Another thunk under the table, this time causing a quick swear and a hiss to fall from Kugie’s lips. “What gives?” She asked, lowering her voice to a loud whisper.

“You, of all people, should not be talking…!!”

“What do you mean I shouldn’t be talking!?”

“You know why!” Again, Kanna vaguely gestured to Anzu, not-so discreetly glancing over at her. Kugie was even less good at hiding it, full on turning her head to get a glimpse of the clown.

“I… don’t?” Anzu tilted her head, momentarily nuzzling her forehead against Kugie's neck. “I think I might be missing a lot here.”

“It’s– It’s nothing,” Kugie quickly replied, just before Kanna could have a chance to do so. Upon looking over at the youngest of the group, she only shrugged, focusing back on her ice cream.

That… still didn’t answer anything. Even though Anzu glanced between the two of them, hoping for some kind of clue, neither of them was looking at her anymore. Awkwardly, she decided on shifting her gaze to the ice cream cone in her hands, the dark brown chips standing out against the light green color of the treat.

Regardless of how it seemed now, she still felt like she was having fun. It was nice learning more about Kugie, for sure—she had brought up Kanna a few times in the past, even before she had introduced herself. If anything, that was a pretty telltale sign that she cared about her a lot.

She couldn’t help but laugh. Now that she thought about it, it wasn’t all that unusual for siblings to just have that kind of unsaid understanding between them. It was probably less of Anzu missing something and more of just being out of the loop, which wasn’t all that bad—it didn’t seem like they were talking bad about her, anyway. Kanna seemed to be enjoying herself, and Kugie…

The clown looked up at her, who seemed to be staring out the window instead of anywhere else. From this angle, she had a pretty good view of the side of her face, as well as the multiple piercings on her ear. There were three different stud earrings, she noticed; a dark green triangle, a tiny outline of a dragon, and a tiny red flower with a long, stem-like piece in the center. Even though she couldn’t quite make out what kind of flower it was, she thought it looked fitting on her.

A smile managed its way onto her face. Feeling so comfortable on Kugie’s shoulder made it easy to relax, even if she was in public. Though she didn’t intend to fall asleep, she couldn’t help shutting her eyes, if only to bask in the moment of silence.

Anzu wanted ice cream. As usual.

So after her first time performing in front of a group of children, wearing the outfit she had made to match Ryuu’s, she booked it out of the front yard, counting through the money she had on her to make sure she had enough as she ran. Even though some part of her already knew the peach-flavored ice cream wouldn’t be there, with her kind of luck, she wanted to at least try and get there quickly. If not, she could buy mint again, and head home—there wasn’t much to do. Her friend would be at clubs until way later, far too late for Anzu to hang out with lest she decide to leave her family hanging.

The quicker she went now, the quicker she’d be able to get her ice cream—whatever the flavor would be! She was starting to become less picky with the flavors, willing to take anything if it meant she could cool off. Maybe it would be better to save up for a metal water bottle or something, just so it would be easier to stay cool in this weather…

Nah, she thought, waving off the thought. If I got a water bottle, then I wouldn’t be coming to the parlor as often. And then…

She shook her head, pushing herself to run a little bit faster as she passed by a small trio of teenagers standing around, figuring out what to do to spend their afternoon. The sight admittedly didn’t help to run from the thought trailing in her head, the weird hope that she would see that girl with short, raven hair sitting in the parlor, just someone she could waste her afternoon with.

It had been strange these past few weeks, it seemed—on days she went, and Kugie wasn’t there, she felt oddly disappointed. For a girl she didn’t even talk to outside of these meetings every now and then, Anzu somewhat cursed herself by curiously getting closer and closer to her. To even ask for her number felt far too embarrassing, like it’d just be a waste of both of their time—there was a huge difference between running into someone at a parlor on coincidence, and actually scheduling time to hang out. The latter of those two was far more daunting, far more terrifying.

Anzu could already picture it: texts exchanged about getting the specifics of where they were going. Meeting up at the arcade. Maybe a phone call on that specific day, jokes told between them that no one else would get. One of her siblings would get pretty loud in the background, and maybe Kugie would laugh it off and say she didn’t mind. They would confirm the details of their date, and she’d hang up.

A few hours would pass, and right when she was about to head out the door to meet with her, her mother would call for her, needing her assistance with something. Or she’d get a phone call about her job needing someone to cover a shift, and having no other options except her. Or someone would reply to her advertisement as a birthday clown, desperately searching for a last resort, and she’d have to go immediately . Or her sibling would need help with homework, or she’d suddenly remember she had a paper due that night, or something that would hinder how much fun hanging out with Kugie would be.

And then, the dreaded part, she’d have to cancel. She’d call Kugie, have to listen to her sound all excited, maybe even be told that she was already there and waiting for her, and Anzu would have to admit she couldn’t make it.

From there, it would go down hill. With Anzu’s luck, this same phenomenon would continue, and eventually, Kugie would stop replying to her texts because it was no use. What sense was there in talking to a girl who seemingly had something come up every time she wanted to spend time with her? Surely, even Anzu would get tired of herself.

Anzu liked their little ice cream meet ups. She didn’t want that to change—or at least, be the one to initiate the change. If it were Kugie who suddenly said she wouldn’t be buying ice cream anymore, that would be fine. It wouldn’t be Anzu who would stop coming, though. She’d rather be the one to get disappointed, than disappoint her.

Oh, snap out of it! She never liked being one to mope. It probably didn’t even mean that much to Kugie. Thinking about it so hard was going to drive her crazy!

After nearly running into someone on the street, Anzu shook her head again, focusing as hard as she could on navigating the streets to get to the parlor a little quicker. It wasn’t that far, but all this thinking had made it seem so.

As she swerved around the corner, her footsteps slowing just slightly so she wouldn’t lose her balance, she finally registered the sound of a second pair following behind, and the voice of a girl calling out her name.

“Anzu!!”

And so she stopped.

“Kugie?”

The teenager kept running until she was closer to the clown, slowly pulling to a stop and catching her breath. She couldn’t get any words out, raising a finger in the air as if to say give me a minute , to which she quietly waited.

Anzu had planned for their meetings to remain coincidental, and in the area of the ice cream parlor. They were supposed to run into each other by accident. What was Kugie doing looking like she had searched the entire world for her?

“I…” Kugie inhaled sharply, throwing her head back in an almost comedic way. She heaved, getting ahold of herself as if she feared keeping her waiting. “This is gonna sound stupid, but can you do something for me…?”

A favor?

“Umm…!!” Anzu messed with the strap of her bag. It… wasn’t like Kugie was gonna ask her to do something embarrassing, right? “I–I guess so?”

“Could we meet up in like, ten minutes? Not at the ice cream shop—the plaza. I… wanna talk to you.”

To… her?

At the lack of immediate reply, Kugie seemed to realize just how strange her request was. “It’s nothing important,” she insisted. “I just thought… I dunno. It’d be nice to get out of there for once.”

“You mean you wanna hang out somewhere else?”

Kugie looked nervous. “If you want. I don’t know. I was just… suggesting the idea.”

Crap. She made her feel bad…!

In Anzu’s mental plan, their meetups were to remain two things: coincidental, and in the ice cream parlor. Maybe it was some subconscious strategy, just in case she messed up really bad, there was always a reason to leave. There was no point in sticking around an ice cream parlor if you finished your treat and didn’t plan to buy another. It was a less awkward way of excusing herself—at least, in her brain.

But this… threw things off completely!! It wasn’t like Anzu was good at making plans to begin with, but even something as simple as attempting to avoid a ‘worst case scenario’ wasn’t something she could do.

“No, no…!! It’s fine with me!” She said, throwing on her usual smile. “The plaza, right? I’ll go there! You’re not planning to ambush me or anything, are ya?”

“What? No!” Kugie exclaimed, suddenly seeming all frazzled. “Why would I do that!?”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding! Don’t worry…!!”

“Oh.” After a moment, the girl broke into a small grin. “Ha, I knew that! But yeah, ten minutes, ‘kay? And don’t buy any ice cream.”

“Okay, stranger!” Playfully, Anzu saluted with a small wink and walked off, not daring to look back to see what the other teenager was up to.

It wasn’t until the ground shifted from the usual sidewalk to the harsher, smoother pavement that she turned around, scanning the plaza area just in case there was an ambush waiting for her—not that Kugie was the type of person to do that, of course.

She’s really been out of her mind today, huh?

Calm down, Anzu , she told herself, smacking the side of her head to knock some sense into her. This is nothing! You're gonna hang out with her, and things are gonna go like they usually do!! It'll be fine!

And yet despite it, she slumped onto a bench, dramatically burying her face into her hands. It’s so over.

It’s only a few moments of sitting there hopelessly before Anzu looks up again, attempting to look just as busy as anyone else passing by. Of course, sitting on a bench and doing nothing hardly counted for anything, but at least she wasn't looking all sad for no good reason. Her golden eyes casted upward, staring at a specific spot all the way on the other side of the plaza. It wasn’t empty, but there was something missing from it.

Some one.

That flash of atrocious shades of green and pink wasn’t there. It hadn’t been for a while, but Anzu still wasn’t used to it. It was thanks to Ryuu that she had found an even greater passion in something she already liked, so much so she was willing to pursue it as a part-time job until she could find something more stable. Before then, it was just waiting tables, which was a bit difficult when she kept nervously stumbling over her words and couldn’t quite remember what she had just been told. It was a miracle she even had the job, still.

But now, she was going to be performing for children at parties, too. A simple birthday clown, though she was anything but professional, but she wasn’t lying when she said she’d figure something out to Kugie that day. Even though Ryuu may have taken off and left, Anzu didn’t think it was all bad. She was sort of glad for the way things turned out.

There was a new routine for Anzu, even if it involved hopelessly waiting for a girl her age to show up and talk to her, and it was one she fell into unknowingly. It wasn’t as exhilarating currently, but it was exciting nonetheless. There was something about spending time with Kugie and looking forward to the next time they spoke that made Anzu happy—and scared, so, so scared—but mainly happy.

The day she met Kugie was a little funny to look back on. How Anzu had the courage to boldly call out for her, she wasn’t even sure—she’d never felt such a rush like that, and she had certainly gotten off on the wrong foot with her.

She laughed at herself. How could she have ever thought that Kugie had ill intentions? It was a weird coincidence that she kept finishing the peach-flavored ice cream, but it wasn't like she was doing it on purpose. That would be a pretty difficult thing to plan out and execute, all for the sake of frustrating the very few people who liked the flavor to begin with.

That, combined with—

“Is it stupid to say I care about you?”

Anzu groaned, covering her face with her arm, shielding herself from the hot sun. She felt somewhat silly—of course it wasn’t stupid, yet there was something about it that made her feel strange. Maybe she was feeling guilty that Kugie was doing all this for her, and yet there was no way for her to return the favor.

…Well, there was whatever this was supposed to be. Was it really enough, though?

Maybe Kugie wanted her repayment in making a fool out of her; have her sit out in the August sun in the clothes she wore for performing, sweating bullets and looking like an idiot to others by having her wait for her. It wouldn’t be the first time something like that happened.

Again, she forcibly shook her head. No, that wasn’t it. What happened to knowing Kugie’s intentions were good? What happened to remembering she cared? Obviously, she wouldn’t be just left hanging. Maybe something came up. Maybe ten minutes hadn’t even passed yet.

But where was—

“Hey!”

Anzu pushed herself upright on the bench, squinting to see past the glare of the sun. Kugie dashed across the plaza towards her, holding two cones of ice cream. Her bag looked like it was just about ready to fall off her shoulder, though harshly throwing her shoulder backwards seemed to do the trick of keeping it in place until she was close enough to place it on the bench.

“Grah!! Why do you keep running so much…!?” She exclaimed. “You’re gonna get all tired out at this rate!”

“Relax…!!” Kugie shrugged, though once again, she seemed out of breath. “Just didn’t wanna keep ya waitin’, y’know…? Maybe we should have gone somewhere else, though. It’s super hot out here.”

“Really? I couldn’t tell a thing.” Anzu giggled. “Are you sure you’re okay, though? Sit down…!!”

With her clear concern, Kugie’s overconfident grin dispersed. Without complaint, she sat down next to her.

“Oh, yeah!” The teenager reached her hand over, almost as if offering one of the ice cream cones. “Here. Take it.”

“Gweh?” The clown tilted her head, staring at the ice cream, seemingly on the verge of melting already. Undoubtedly, the light yellow color to it indicated it was surely peach-flavored. “Is this for me?”

Kugie’s shoulders dropped, her expression suddenly overcome with a sense of dumbfoundedness. Then, she snorted, retracting her hand and opting for standing up again and raising her arm high into the air. Anzu’s heart pounded out of its chest—oh, God, had she upset her?

But then, a rather hearty laugh escaped the girl, diminishing that thought completely.

“No, I bought two ice cream cones of the same flavor for myself,” she replied, sarcastically. The smirk drawn across her face seemed almost mocking, teasing Anzu for not having figured such right away.

And so, the clown hopped up to her feet, jumping up to try and grab the cone from Kugie’s hand without knocking her over. “Hey…!! No fair! Give it here!!”

“You’ll have to take it from me, then!”

Kugie stepped to the side, eliminating the option of her climbing onto the bench to achieve her goal. In her own desperation, she found herself latching onto the other girl’s shoulders and reaching one arm upwards, leaning forward to get even closer.

“Ooh, so close!” She teased, practically laughing in her face at this point.

Anzu leaned even further, throwing her other arm around Kugie to keep her from moving anymore. “Pleaseee!! I’ve never asked for anything before…!!”

“Gah…!!” Suddenly, the other teenager’s eyes widened, an alarmed noise leaving her.

And so, the clown’s movements paused entirely, holding her place in order to figure out what was wrong. She looked down from the raised ice cream cone, and towards Kugie… whose face she was less than an inch away from.

It was no wonder Kugie’s face had flushed, and the situation dawned on Anzu quick enough that she felt blood rush to her own cheeks. Still, she held the position for just a moment longer, almost at a loss for what to do except stare into those eyes that resembled the midnight sky on its darkest night, or even the chocolate chips of the ice cream she had the last time they saw each other.

“...Um,” Kugie blinked a few times.

Anzu shut her own eyes, attempting to conceal her own embarrassment. “R–Right…! Sorry.” She pushed herself off the other girl, stepping back to create some sort of distance between them.

Kugie shook her head. “It’s… fine. It’s my bad—here.”

She dropped her arm, extending it forward for the clown to take. Carefully, Anzu accepted it, wrapping her hand around Kugie’s momentarily. She didn’t seem eager on letting it go until she knew the cone would be snug in her hand. It would be a shame if there was a repeat of the last time she got her hands on peach-flavored ice cream, of course.

When the girl finally pulled her arm away, she moved to sit down on the bench, suddenly having gone quiet. Shoot, Anzu totally made things awkward, didn’t she?

She sat down next to her, wrapping both her hands around the cone and staring down at it. It was starting to melt already, but there was something else bugging her. She dared to steal a glance at Kugie, who nervously shook her leg as she dug into the ice cream. Truth be told, she still wasn’t used to sitting in silence with people—especially right after she had nearly—

“I’m… sorry again.” Anzu apologized, pulling up her hood with one hand, no matter how hot the sun was. “Are you upset?”

“What?” Kugie perked up. She took a moment to process, then shook her head. “No, ‘course not. Trust me, if I were mad at ya, you’d know.” She offered a slightly reassuring grin, nudging the clown with her elbow. “Quit looking like you’re about to melt into your own anxiety. I’m not upset.”

That relieved Anzu a little, as shown by the exhale that escaped her before she could stop herself. She returned the smile. “...Okay. I’m trustin’ ya to let me know, then!!”

Playfully, Kugie scoffed. “No duh, of course. What am I gonna do, make you figure out when I’m mad and when I’m not? I’m not a jerk.”

“I–I know that…!! Don’t think bad of me , now…!”

The girl chuckled, and then more silence followed—it was less heavy this time, much to Anzu’s gratitude. She raised the treat before she could forget again, licking up the small drop of it rolling down the side of the cone and savoring the sweetness of it.

It had been forever since she last had any of this—and it was partially because of the girl next to her, though mostly due pure rotten luck. That luck couldn’t have held Anzu captive for any longer, though! With Kugie by her side, no string of awful fate could hold her back…! Maybe she was like a good luck charm!

“...Hey, Anzu,” Kugie started after a few minutes, surely having given the clown enough time to indulge in her long awaited treat. With a simple hum in response, she continued: “You’re a second-year, right?”

“Mmmhm! Gonna be my last year next year!” She cheerfully replied, though to be quite frank, the thought seemed to make her stomach flip on itself. She had only… what? A year and a half before she graduated? Even though it felt like a lot of time, everything seemed to pass a lot quicker when she wasn’t focusing on it.

“Right.” Kugie rubbed her neck, eating some more of her ice cream in order to stall for a moment longer. “...What are ya gonna do after high school? If it’s not weird to ask.”

Anzu shook her head. “Don’t worry…!! It’s not!” She assured, waving her hand in front of her. “Are you asking for advice, though? I can’t say I’m the best at that, but I’ll do my best…!!”

“Huh? It’s not that.” Kugie glanced to the side. She didn’t seem to be lying. “I’ve already got a plan for what I’m doin’ after I graduate, don’t worry. I was just… curious, is all. I guess I wanna know more about you.”

The clown nearly squeaked. “Seriously?”

“Oh, come on! You can’t tell me that’s weird!” She groaned, though she paused for a moment. “...Is it?”

“No!! It’s not, I just—” Anzu fidgeted with her cone, chipping at the side of it with her nail. “I’m just… confused. Why me?”

Kugie’s gaze flicked up, her eyebrows furrowing as she glanced over at the clown. “What do you mean?”

“I mean… Like, yeah, I know you care about me, but I don’t get why. I haven’t even done anything for you. It feels…” She could hardly manage looking at her, opting to stare down at the pale ice cream in her hands. “...Selfish, I guess.”

“Really…?” She could feel Kugie’s eyes on her, but her tone didn’t make it seem like she was judging her. “It’s not like I’m expecting anything in return. I just think you’re cool. I want to know more about you, just because you’ve kept things interesting for the past… while.”

A half-hearted chuckle escaped her. “I’ve mentioned it before, but you’re really talented. Even though the acts were pretty simple, the show just kind of held this aura that keeps ya entranced. I haven’t seen that with other street acts before. And it’s sorta stupid, but I’m upset at myself for leaving so suddenly the first time we talked. It sorta feels like I chickened out, y’know?”

“You mean you got nervous talking to me ?”

“Yeah. Not to mention, you were eyeing the ice cream I had like I robbed you. I thought you were like, gonna kill me or something—but you’re really sweet.” Kugie looked over at her, her expression going soft as she recollected the memories. “But you still haven’t answered my question. If you don’t want to answer, you don’t have to, though.”

Anzu was beginning to feel all warm and fuzzy again. How Kugie managed to see someone so cool in her , even when she was just a pretty awkward teenager who liked performing, she couldn’t quite wrap her head around. Nonetheless, when the topic gets dragged back to what she imagines her future as, she finds herself… rather saddened.

“...I’ve mentioned my siblings before, right?”

Kugie nodded. “Yeah. Four younger, one older and away at college, right?”

She hummed, a fond smile dancing across her face. “Mhm. See, my older sister’s like, crazy smart. Got a full ride scholarship and everything! It was back when our mom had more stable work, and because she and I were the eldest, we took care of our younger siblings together. She even had a part time job too, and managed all of it really well.”

“She sounds pretty cool,” Kugie remarked—though, there was this hint of tentativeness to her voice, as if she figured this was going somewhere unfavorable.

“She was. And she still totally is, don’t get me wrong!” Anzu's shoulders momentarily rose, and then dropped, like she couldn’t even put her all into reassuring this girl she liked spending time around. “But she went to college when I was in seventh grade. Once she graduates, she'll be able to get this really good job and support us, y’know? But around then, Mom got fired from her job, so she was busy finding work and I had to take care of my siblings and do what I could to help her.”

She looked away from Kugie, the small smile on her face indicating some kind of… defeatedness, perhaps. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do after high school. Me, I’m not super smart, yeah? I know I’m not getting a scholarship, so any more education is off the table for me. I’m probably gonna pick up another job, just do what I can to help my siblings out until they can take care of themselves. I can’t leave my mom alone!”

Kugie was silent. Anzu had assumed she’d been staring at her, giving her that sickening look of pity she could never get used to from people—

—And yet, when she looked up, she was met with the sight of the teenager intently staring at her, like there was something on her face that she was trying to read. It was better than the gaze of pity, she knew, but not by a lot.

Her lips parted open, looking confident about what to say for only a split second. Then, she faltered, her shoulders slumping as she awkwardly glanced away. Anzu wished she could ask her what she was going to say, but she didn’t quite have it in her. She didn’t really want to know.

“...I get it, I think,” is what she finally decided on. “My parents aren’t super poor—my dad’s a librarian, and my mom is an elementary teacher. We aren’t crazy rich, and I do plan to get a job soon, but we have enough savings to put both Kanna and I through college. I can’t imagine having to actually find stable work to support your family.”

“It’s not a big deal,” Anzu quickly assured, if nothing but for her own sake. She knew she’d hear it soon—that painful I hope things get better soon , like one day she’d wake up and this all would have gone away with the wind, and she’d hate it. “It’s just what I deal with, y’know? It’s different for everyone!”

“I guess. It sounds like you’re just… swamped with busywork, though.”

Anzu waited for the next part to come, the dreaded part of Kugie’s response. Instead, she watched her lips crack into a small smile.

“Your siblings better love you,” she remarked. “They’re really lucky to have you. I’m serious.”

There was this clear genuineness in Kugie’s voice that she couldn’t deny. It wasn’t pity. It wasn’t anything of the sort. It almost seemed like she admired her for it, even though she had just acknowledged that it wasn’t the best situation. She wasn’t quite sure what to say.

Anzu bit into her ice cream, anxiously messing with the bottom of her hood. It was heavy on her shoulders, though she couldn’t deny that it did help her sit and stand upright for longer. It gave her something to lean her neck on, even if only momentarily.

“What would you major in?”

Kugie looked over at her again. She seemed almost anxious about letting the conversation get too awkward—not that it was the biggest issue; Anzu considered herself pretty awkward, all things considered, but she didn’t mind sitting in silence all that much. It provided less opportunity to say something weird.

Still, she made it a point to add on: “...If you had to choose right now, y’know?”

Anzu tapped her fingers on the bench, beaded bracelets tapping against the wood. “Hmm… Honestly? I don’t really know. Never thought about it, ehehe…”

“Want me to assign you something? It’s just a gut feeling.”

“Hit me!”

The teenager tapped her cheek, staring at the clown for a few moments. It didn’t take her too long to settle on an answer. Anzu could almost see the lightbulb going off in her head. “Probably art. You seem like the artistic type.”

Anzu paused, tilting her head to the side. “...That’s a compliment, right?”

“Of course it is,” Kugie nearly deadpanned. “In what universe is that an insult…?”

“R–Right!! I knew that…”

She heard the other giggle. Despite her own embarrassment, hearing her laugh makes her feel better. That bubbly feeling in her stomach returns once again, and it wasn’t just the cold sensation of her treat tickling her insides. It was that fleeting feeling, the one that she’d always get from perform in front of people with Ryuu before, and the one that had appeared time and time again while she spent time with Kugie, and the one that seemingly came from nowhere when she zoned out and started thinking about her, and—

“Um… What are you majoring in?” Anzu asked, distracting herself from her thoughts racing on and on again. “You said you already knew what you were gonna do, right?”

Kugie hummed. “Yeah! I’m probably not gonna go right away—maybe wait a year or two, just to take a break—but I wanna major in music theory.”

The clown nodded, much more enthusiastic hearing about the other girl’s plans. “Ooh! Weirdly enough, I think that’s super fitting for ya!! Do you play any instruments?”

“I used to play guitar in junior high,” she leaned back on the bench, biting into the cone of her treat. “I didn’t really sing back then. Wasn’t too happy with my voice at the time—puberty and… other things. Eventually, I ended up dropping it, because my classmates would try pressuring me into singing because it ‘sounded better’.”

“Oh…” Anzu frowned. Carefully, she scooted towards Kugie a little—slowly, so she could move back if she needed to. She didn’t want it to look like she was pitying her, either. “Do ya plan to pick it up again?”

“Maybe?” Kugie shrugged, looking uncertain. “I still wanna learn it, especially because I’m all rusty now, but I just don’t have the energy for it. That doesn’t mean I wanna abandon it entirely, though, y’know?”

“Then…” She hummed, rocking back and forth. “Is there any other instrument you’d wanna learn!? I dunno, like… Violin, or something? I don’t know how to play it, but one of my little siblings is interested in it.”

“Maybe,” Kugie replied again, though it sounded less like a question and more of an I’ll think about it . “Violins sound cool. Not what I usually listen to, but a change of pace would be fun.”

“Yeah!” Anzu grinned, happy to have found something that seemed to have excited her. “Classical instruments are super neat in general—I can’t listen to them for long because I end up getting all sleepy, but…!!”

“Fair enough,” the teenager snickered. “I think I can put together something that’ll keep ya awake, one day. I’ll make it my mission!”

“Waugh…!? Gonna dedicate your life to that?”

“Well, not entirely! It’d be something I can keep lookin’ forward to, though.” Her expression grew into one that Anzu recognized at this point—that confident, teasing smirk that gave away the fact she was about to say something that’d make her heart race. “And I dunno, the thought of me wearing those fancy suits while performing sounds fun. Not my usual style, but I can probably rock a tie. Can you imagine it?”

Kugie in a suit. Her hair was short enough that she wouldn’t even need to tie it up. She could imagine her needing to roll up her sleeves, depending on where she was performing. Maybe she’d put her own spin on it; she didn’t quite seem like the type to stick to the “regular” way of wearing suits. Maybe the tie around her collar would be a totally different color.

Anzu couldn’t reply, her lips slightly parted and her brain on a completely different plane. She didn’t even immediately register the sound of Kugie beginning to laugh.

“Hah…!! I didn’t think something like that would make you go red,” she teased, reaching a finger over and poking Anzu’s cheek. “Y’know, you joked before about me falling for you or whatever—are ya sure it wasn't the other way around?”

“Gwah…!” Anzu covered her face with her hand. “So mean!! Just when I was about to compliment you, too…”

“Ooh, are you gonna profess your love for me now?” Kugie snorted, surely not letting go of her reaction so easily. “Am I so pretty that I remind you of the stars?”

Despite her embarrassment, she found it in her to shake her head. “Nooo… If anything, you’d be the moon. The stars aren’t all that visible around here, y’know?”

For whatever reason, Kugie fell quiet at that, her confidence slipping away as soon as she turned the table. She watched her blink once, twice, three times.

“So I remind you of the moon?”

Anzu could physically feel her face flushing again. Yes, she wanted to say. Like the moon in space. Her eyes had this sort of void-like, endless feel to them, and the moon was the glare of the ice cream parlor’s light reflecting in it. If she had the guts to do so, she’d like to sit down directly in front of her and stare at her for an hour or two, just to see if she could explore that different part of space.

…She looked away.

“A–Anyhow!” The clown cleared her throat—maybe a bit too loudly, considering how some of the passerby had turned to look at her and Kugie instead of continuing to mind their own business. “Um… Whatever you choose to play, even if it’s not guitar or violin, I’d be happy to tune in sometime…!! Think of it as like– a practice performance, y’know!?”

“Right, yeah,” Kugie nodded. She didn’t know if she had looked away too, or if she was still staring, searching for her gaze again. “But, uh…”

There was a pause, almost as if the girl were searching for her words. Then, a small sigh. It sounded almost irritated, like she couldn’t find the right way to say anything.

“...Are you ever gonna have time for it?”

The question surely caught Anzu off guard. She turned towards her again, though she remained cautious about staring for too long. “What do you mean?”

“Like–” Kugie gestured to her. “Two jobs is a hell of a lot, isn’t it? Especially with the load of work school assigns around this time. If it’s gonna give ya trouble, I don’t wanna add another thing you’ll have to feel obligated to do.”

“I mean… I’m sure I could work something out.” Anzu’s poor attempt at reassuring the girl had caused a small chuckle to leave her too—something to make this easier. “It’s not a big deal, y’know? I wanna see you do something cool…! Something that’ll make ya happy! And maybe it’s silly, but spending time with you in general is really nice. You’re pretty fun to be around too, I’ll have you know!”

“Ah…” Kugie stared for a moment. Had Anzu said too much? Had she gone too far, said too much and made her think she was weird?

“...And, um, anyway—” She tugged on the yellow sleeves of her sweater. “I have tomorrow free? So it’s not like I never have free time. Besides, even if I didn’t, I still show up to the shop pretty often, don’t I?”

“I guess so. That’s… good then,” Kugie responded. There was more she wanted to say, so Anzu prompted her to keep going with her hand. “And, um… Thanks. I like spending time with you, too.”

The clown giggled. “You bet!”

There was another pause. Kugie suddenly looked a bit nervous, but Anzu couldn’t quite tell why.

“You really have tomorrow off?”

She hummed in reply.

“...I’m glad your schedule isn’t super swamped, then. I hope you can enjoy your free time—you deserve it.”

As kind as the words were… Anzu could tell that wasn’t what she had aimed to say. She wanted to press on it, but how could she go about it without making her uncomfortable? The last thing she wanted to do was make her feel bad. Not when this interaction was, overall, going at least somewhat okay.

She smiled. “Aww, thanks!! I’ll make sure to enjoy it—just for you, okay?”

Kugie couldn’t help her own laugh. Anzu made sure to savor every second of it. She liked hearing her laugh. Maybe that was too embarrassing to say out loud, though.

When her laugh dies down, she glanced down at her wrist, where a cheap wristwatch was hidden underneath the green blazer of her school. Her expression shifted into one of momentary surprise, and then she looked up.

“Ah… I gotta pick up Kanna,” she said, though she almost seemed to dread it for some reason. “Sorry to have to end this so soon.”

“Hweh? You’re fine!!” Anzu waved her hand and shook her head. “I don’t mind! Don’t wanna leave your sister hanging because you’re spending time with me, yeah?”

“Mhm.” Kugie stood up, still holding the remainder of the cone in her hand. “But hey, it was really nice getting to talk with you more, Anzu. I, um… I hope we can hang out more soon.”

So much for leaving their meetings to fate… but somehow, she didn’t really feel all that sick about the idea of spending more time with her anymore. Sure, she didn’t want to seem weird at all, but Kugie never acted like she minded it.

She was awkward, too. Maybe it wasn’t as obvious with her, but Anzu felt like she could rely on her to be able to relax her guard a little. And she’d made it a point to say she enjoyed her company, which was something she couldn’t get from a lot of people. It only ever felt like people put up with her, or sometimes, just hung out with her because they felt bad otherwise. Her friend was the first person to be different from that.

And Kugie was the second. And she made her heart beat fast, made her feel embarrassed more than other people did, but she cared about her too. Anzu thought they had gotten pretty close over their past few interactions, considering how much they had talked. It would be nice to learn more about her.

…She just hoped she wouldn’t mess it up.

“Oh! Could I hug you?” Anzu asked, perking up. “I like passing on luck to people before they leave, y’know? It’s kind of silly, but…”

The girl looked rather shocked by the offer. Still, nonetheless, she slowly nodded and opened her arms. “It’s… not silly. C’mon.”

And so, Anzu stood up, stepping closer to the other. Right before she wrapped her arms around her—

“Um, Kanna says I’m not the best hugger, though,” she noted with a small chuckle. “She says the intention is there, but I could be a little better at it.”

“Aww, I’m sure you hug people fine—what, do you hug her too tightly?”

Kugie shrugged. “Maybe? I never asked.”

“Either way, it’s not like you’re gonna kill me with a hug or anything. I didn’t think I’d meet someone so anxious about receiving hugs,” Anzu teased.

“Right, right. Then…” She nodded, leaning in for the clown’s embrace.

Anzu wrapped her arms around the other, carefully pointing her ice cream away from her so it wouldn’t get all in her hair. She assumed Kugie did the same, though for her, to avoid the yellow hoodie. She wrapped an arm around her rather awkwardly, much to her amusement—so Kanna hadn’t been just messing with her, after all. She really did suck at hugging.

But this was nice.

When she pulled away, Kugie wasn’t quite sure what to say. Not that Anzu knew either, but she took the leap anyway, just so they wouldn’t be parting on a weird note.

“You should get going now…!! Kanna’s waitin’ for ya!” She exclaimed, shifting her weight to one leg. “And hey, you can brag to her about going on a date with a girl before she did…!!”

“Huh?” The color drained from Kugie’s face, her eyes widening. “Going on a… what?”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding!!” She brushed it off, rather alarmed at the reaction. She didn’t mean to freak her out! “Don’t worry! We’re just… gal pals hangin’ out, y’know!?”

“...I think that’s worse. Don’t call us that.” Nonetheless, Kugie couldn’t stifle a small giggle. “I really better get going now, though. I’ll see ya around, sometime?”

“You got it!” Anzu playfully saluted.

She smiled at her for a moment longer, before finally turning away. The clown watched her until she turned the corner, and this time, she wasn’t running. That was good. She’d totally tire herself out if she kept up like that…!

Anzu sat back down on the bench, wanting to finish her ice cream before she headed home. She kept to her side of the seat, almost like she didn’t want to take up the spot where Kugie previously sat. Of course, she wasn’t coming back, but it’d be cruel if anyone else wanted to sit down…!

It was only then that she realized her wrist had begun to feel sore from holding the treat for so long. Ah, she’d gotten caught up in all that time with Kugie to realize, didn’t she…!? She’d have to be more careful!

She switched the cone to her other hand, allowing a small slip of paper to fall out of her grip. It danced in the gentle breeze, slowly pulled by gravity downward only for it to be shot upward by the wind. Before it could get too far, she grabbed it with her free hand, successfully crinkling it in her grasp. At least she’d be able to read it…?

To be honest, she was sort of bewildered she hadn’t noticed it earlier. It was a completely different texture…!! She should have realized it sooner—though, she supposed that whole show of Kugie making sure she was holding it properly made more sense now.

It suddenly hit her. This was from Kugie.

Biting into the cone, Anzu opened the crinkled piece of paper. It was yellow and ripped, like she’d hastily taken it from a Post-it note and wrote on it. Despite it, her handwriting was kind of pretty. Every lowercase ‘T’ curled upward, and the longer line of the lowercase ‘Y’ made a perfect slant.

do you wanna grab lunch this weekend? just to hangout. —k

She found herself giggling at the sign-off. Never would have guessed.

Underneath the note was a phone number. Kugie’s phone number. It took a moment for Anzu to properly register the whole thing, but she was certainly embarrassed, to say the least.

Suddenly, all of Kugie’s actions in the past hour made sense. The question about her free time, how nervous she was, all of it. Anzu couldn’t help but laugh again—how could she have not realized?

She pulled out her phone, using one hand to unlock it and open up her messages. After a few glances at the number, she folded up the note and stuffed it into her pocket, not wanting to just drop it on the ground. Then, she typed up a text.

Of course, she erased it a few times, wanting to reword things again and again—though eventually, she just took a deep breath and sent whatever she had written.

Cafe at 1 on Saturday?? My treat!! :o)

Published September 23, 2023. (Archived December 28, 2023.)