Chapter Thirty-Two
The Common Thread

Monday, May 30th

Chiyo left Leblanc in her PE uniform. There was supposed to be a changing station there, but she'd been to enough public bathrooms to know lines were to be expected. It would have saved a lot of time and headache if she just got into her gym clothes now before she left. On the train, she spotted a few other Shujin students who had a similar idea.

She walked through Shibuya where she spotted a few more Shujin students, some already in the gym uniform, others in the everyday uniform.

"Sorry, but I'm in a bit of a hurry," Chiyo heard.

"You go to Shujin, right? I heard things have been rough there, lately, what with that violent incident. You wanna go talk about it somewhere?"

Yoshizawa's hair color made it easy to spot her in the crowd. She was in her everyday uniform, a hand gripping her bag so tight her knuckles had turned white. In front of her was a middle-aged man with a pink shirt poking out of his off-white jacket. "Thank you for your concern," Yoshizawa said with barely-hidden contempt. "However, I really am in a hurry, so if you'd excuse me…"

She bowed to the man and tried to walk off. Only for the man to violently grab Yoshizawa by the arm. "C'mon, there's no need to be shy."

"Just get in the damn car!"

"Stop it!"

Shit, shit, shit!

Chiyo's heart was in her ears.

"Like I said..." Yoshizawa said quietly.

Idiot. Don't be quiet! There were people around them. If she made a fuss the guy was bound to leave her alone to avoid making a scene in broad daylight!

"If you're busy, I'll put my number in your phone so you can call me later. Sound like a plan?"

"Stop it…"

Chiyo could feel her hands grow clammy and tremble as she carried herself towards Yoshizawa and the man. She tried to focus on her breathing, just to make sure she could breathe, that she wasn't gasping for breath like a fish out of water. This wasn't the same situation as that night. They were in the middle of Shibuya, it was broad daylight.

Maybe she should get out her phone and record everything.

"She said stop it," Chiyo said, her voice warbled slightly.

As the man turned his attention to Chiyo, she tried to keep her focus on her breathing. Calm breaths. So long as she wasn't dying again, things would be okay. "What was that?" the man asked.

"You heard me," Chiyo said as evenly as she could. Please don't let him notice her hands shaking. "I will not hesitate to make a scene if you don't back off."

The man's eyes shifted as he took in the number of people around them. Not all of them were going anywhere, some were just killing a few minutes by talking. "Don't get worked up," the man said, letting go of Yoshizawa. Immediately, she tried to hide behind Chiyo. It might have been a humorous sight with Chiyo barely taller than her. "I'm just being friendly here."

"You always grab your friends, then?" Chiyo asked, raising her voice enough that some men and women turned their attention towards them. "Or is it just the women who get that honor?"

The man started to sweat as the women around them started whispering to each other. Was something going on? What was that man doing with those schoolgirls?

He shot Chiyo a nasty glare before he slunked off.

She exhaled, relief washing over her. Glancing down, she found her hands were still shaking. She tried tapping them against each other in an attempt to get the tremors to stop. "Thank you so much!" Yoshizawa said, already dipping herself. "I'm sorry for the trouble!"

"I-It's fine," Chiyo said despite her heart still pounding.

Pursing her lips, Yoshizawa glanced downward briefly. "May I ask you something?"

"Hm?"

"So… what made you step in to help me?"

Chiyo was kind of asking that herself. Especially since it would have been easier on her nerves if she tried to pretend she hadn't seen anything. But just like that night, she couldn't ignore it. "I'm a girl too," Chiyo said at length, "and I know I'd want someone to help me."

"I… see…" murmured Yoshizawa. "Well, I apologize for asking something so strange. You're headed for the cleanup as well, right?"

Her lips pursed again as though she just recalled something. "Oh no! I forgot my gym clothes at school! I'll see you at the cleanup, soon."

Without another word, Yoshizawa turned on her heel and sprinted towards the train station. Would she be able to get there and back in time?

Chiyo found Ann and Ryuji under the shade of a tree. Ryuji had already changed into his gym uniform, while Ann looked a little irritated in her daily uniform. Not so much at Ryuji, just irritated. "Hey, Yoyo," Ryuji greeted as Chiyo walked up to them. "What took ya so long? You feelin' alright? You're lookin' kinda pale."

"Just got a little held up in Shibuya," Chiyo murmured.

"Did you really come here from home in your gym clothes?" Ann asked in disbelief.

"Yeah..." enunciated Chiyo. "I figured it'd be easier this way."

"Uh," Ryuji uttered, scrutinizing Ann. She was still in her school uniform. "Are you plannin' on doin' this cleanup in that?"

"Of course not!" Ann snapped and gestured to her bag. "I brought my gym clothes with me. I was gonna change in the bathroom, but now there's a huge line."

"Ohhh, that makes sense. Sounds like it sucks to be a girl."

"Is that really something you want to say while in the presence of two girls?" asked Chiyo. She moved her glasses up off the bridge of her nose to rub her eye.

"It's such a nice day out that even the weather seems to be mocking us," Mishima said, walking up to the trio.

"Dude, could you try pushin' your way into our conversation a little less awkwardly next time?" Ryuji asked dully.

"I bet some Kichijoji clean-freak hung paper dolls all over and prayed for clear skies today."

"Hey there!" Maruki greeted. "Good morning, everyone."

"We gotta sign hangin' over us today, or somethin'?" Ryuji asked Chiyo under his breath. "'Butt in here.'"

"Oh? Are you here for the cleanup too, Doc?" Mishima asked Maruki.

"You got it."

"Uh, in those clothes?" asked Ryuji.

"Oh, no. I'm in a different-"

"There you are, Dr. Maruki!" a second-year girl said. A flock of girls from varying grades walked up to them. "We're going to start prepping soon…"

"Prepping what?" Ann asked one of the girls.

"I'm part of the cooking crew," explained Maruki. "Hope you're looking forward to a solid meal. I'll see you all later."

He walked past Chiyo and Mishima, one girl on either side of him as they walked off. One of the girls was trying to start up a conversation with Maruki, talking animatedly. "More like Dr. Popular," muttered Ryuji.

"I'm sure the Phantom Thieves will be even bigger someday," Mishima said confidently.

Out of the corner of her eye, Chiyo spotted Niijima, the sleeves of her jacket rolled up her forearm, and wore the issued shorts as part of her uniform. She flipped on the megaphone in her hands and held it up to her mouth. "Good morning, Shujin Academy students and staff," she declared. "Please pick up all trash located in the areas assigned to your group. Once the cleanup is completed, a lunch of miso soup with pork and vegetables will be served."

"Ooh, pork miso soup!" Ann echoed blissfully. "So that's what Dr. Maruki's fan club is making."

"Just an FYI," Mishima started, "the school already assigned the groups at random. They're four people apiece, boys and girls mixed."

Exasperated, Ryuji's shoulders dropped. "Oh… really?"

"Now that those announcements have been made," Niijima continued, "please break into your groups and head to your assigned areas."

"Alright, let's just get this over with as fast as possible so we can chow down on that soup and get outta here!"

If there was a third-year student in the group, they were the leader of the group. Chiyo's group leader, Hirose, was a third-year boy who looked like he could have been part of the school's kendo club. (Wait, did Shujin have a kendo club? Was it bad that Chiyo had no idea one way or the other?)

The other two members of the group were Ezura from class, and a first-year girl called Sawa. Hirose, despite looked like an athletic tough guy, barely spoke more than three words to Chiyo. So she spent most of the day with her grabber and her trashbag, going around their designated area picking up trash and sorting through recyclables. "So, that girl," Hirose asked Ezura. "Is she… that transfer student?"

"The delinquent student?" asked Sawa.

"Yeah, that's her," said Ezura.

"Wasn't she the one Kamoshida gave an ultimatum to, too?" asked Hirose.

"Everyone's been assuming as much," replied Ezura. "I think the real question is whether or not she went with it."

"You guys know I can hear you, right?" Chiyo asked, glancing over her shoulder.

Sawa lept in place. "Eeep!"

"Okay, who just dumps broken umbrellas around like this?"

"Oh, before you trash it," Ann said, bending down to take one into her hand, "you have to make sure you separate the plastic parts from the metal frame."

"Separate it how?"

"Like this…" Grabbing onto the plastic lining, Ann gave it a firm tug, removing it completely in one go.

"Whoa!"

"I had no idea you knew about that kinda stuff, Takamaki-san," their third-year leader said. "I bet you'd make a wonderful wife."

How did knowing this equal a good wife?

"Sweet, a wallet!"

"Anything in it?"

"Whoa! Yeah, a shit-ton!"

"…We goin' splitsies on this?"

"Wait," Ryuji spoke up. "Should we take that to a police box?"

In perfect unison, the other three in his group turned their heads on him, glaring. "What?! How was that weird?!"

"Man," Mishima groaned, thinking out loud as he took an empty plastic bottle into his hand. "This park is totally trashed… No way this was all done by kids – it's gotta be the work of some no-good adults, too."

"Excuse me." He looked up to find a third-year girl with an air of maturity about her. Her orange-blonde hair was done in a curled bob. "If you don't mind, may I have the cap on that bottle?"

"Huh? Sure," Mishima muttered, unscrewing the cap. "Oh! Are you a collector?"

"Ah… Not exactly. Recycling companies collect these and convert them into vials for vaccines."

"Huh, I didn't know that… Well, that sounds like an awesome way to bring more justice to the world!"

The girl tilted her head to the side. "I'm… sorry, but I'm not sure I follow you."

"Now, before I add taro to the pot, I have to rub them with salt to reduce the sliminess," Maruki explained. He had a small crowd of female students around him and he went over the instructions. A group of five students, and not one of them knew how to make miso by hand.

"Ohhh, you're an amazing chef!"

"I cook pretty often at home. Otherwise, I'd likely starve to death."

"Oh, you live alone, Dr. Maruki? It has to be lonely."

"It's not so bad after a long day at work."

The cleanup is officially complete. Thank you for your hard work, everyone. Would the leader of each group please come and get the soup for their teams?"

Hirose glanced over his shoulder at Chiyo, who was standing by her bag on the bench, and away from the rest of her team. At least Hirose wasn't trying to cop a feel on her. "So, after the soup's doled out, everyone's free to do whatever they want," he said, facing Ezura and Sawa. "Which includes getting the hell outta here.

"Finally," muttered Ezura.

"Thank you for everything, senpai," said Sawa.

As the three walked off, Chiyo heaved a sigh and plopped herself onto the bench beside Morgana. He pawed the zipper open further and poked his head out. "I don't know the best way to put it," he said after taking a deep breath in, "but that sure was a crappy time out there."

"Yeah," Chiyo agreed, drawing the word out.

"Found you!" Chiyo jumped as an auburn-haired girl barreled up to her. Yoshizawa had her sleeves rolled up just past her elbows. "I was trying to find you so I could thank you properly this morning."

"That's not-"

"So… Where'd the other people in your group go?"

"We… disbanded…"

"Ah… I see. I'm pretty much in the same situation. If it's alright with you, why don't we eat our soup together?"

"Uh… Sure..."

"Great!"

The soup bowls the school used for the event looked cheap and easy to replace if anything happened to them. Chiyo wasn't sure how practical soup was for an outdoor event. Wouldn't sandwiches have been better for this event? And would have required fewer dishes?

"Thank you for the food!" Yoshizawa declared cheerfully before she brought her chopsticks to her mouth. "I wanted to thank you again for this morning. That man was even more frightening than he might have appeared to you..."

At that, Chiyo brought her bowl to her mouth and started horking her meat and vegetables down before she said something she might regret. Did she really not notice how much Chiyo was shaking?

"So I truly appreciate what you did for me!" Yoshizawa continued. "Thank you so much. There's one more issue I need to address… I'm also sorry for what happened the other day."

"Other day?"

"The run-in we had outside of the guidance office. …With Kamoshida..."

"That was weeks ago," Chiyo said. Days? What?

"Oh, yeah… Guess it was… Kamoshida-sensei had just told me about you a moment prior, so I sort of spoke without thinking there…"

'Kinda spoke without thinking just now, too,' Chiyo couldn't help but think.

"I heard some of my classmates gossiping about you, too…"

"Kay… Tell me something I don't know."

"Yeah, I don't particularly like rumors and gossip. And I know this'll sound strange since I barely know you, but you don't seem like the kind of person they describe. It'd be a different story if all those rumors were actually true, though."

Chiyo wasn't sure what to make of that one.

"What were all the crimes I'd heard about?" Yoshizawa muttered, looking away from Chiyo. "Compensated dating, murder, castration and… elephant tusk trafficking, was it?"

"Okay, that one I haven't heard. But they forget to add that I drive without a license."

"Even I can tell you're joking."

'Am I...?'

"You know what, it just hit me – I haven't properly introduced myself yet!" She gestured to herself. "I'm Kasumi Yoshizawa."

Chiyo was in the middle of bringing a helping of meat to her mouth as Yoshizawa spoke. Her hand froze mid-way.

She knew that name.

Chiyo knew that name!

Kasumi Yoshizawa, a junior level gymnast Chiyo had gone to several competitions against. Matsubara was always quick to warn her when Kasumi was competing, deeming her Chiyo's biggest obstacle. And for good reason. Kasumi's routines were just as bold and precise as Chiyo's. She never met Kasumi face to face, but they both usually came out of their competitions placing.

What were the fucking odds?!

"You..." Chiyo said, suddenly dizzy by the sheer chance of it all. "You're a gymnast, aren't you…?"

"Hm?" Yoshizawa blinked. "You've heard?"

"Something like that…" She pointed to herself. "I'm Chiyo Kusakabe."

Yoshizawa blinked again. Then again. And again. Slowly, she brought her hands up to her eye level and framed her fingers. "EEEH!?" Yoshizawa backed up in her spot on the bench so fast her soup went flying off her lap onto the ground. "You're that Kusakabe?! You were always placing over me in competitions…"

"Yeah, looks like it…" Chiyo said, raking a hand through her hair. "What were the odds…?"

"No kidding…" Kasumi exhaled. She gripped her chin in thought for a moment before she started beaming. "I suppose this makes you my senpai twice over!"

"Does it really count if I'm not competing anymore?" Chiyo asked.

"You're not competing anymore?" Kasumi asked with a slight whine in her voice.

"My coach dropped me after I was arrested. I doubt anyone in their right mind would take me as soon as they found out about it."

"Yeah," Kasumi muttered, scratching the side of her head. "I guess that sounds a little familiar. I may have heard something but it didn't stick. I'm sorry, I'm still trying to wrap my head around this."

"Me too," Chiyo confessed. She tilted her head back and tried to breathe. Why hadn't she recognized sooner? But no sooner had the thought crossed Chiyo's mind she realized why. It's one thing to see someone during meets dolled up with their hair in a prim bun. It was something else entirely to see a fellow gymnast off the mats. But… Chiyo could have sworn Kasumi Yoshizawa was more of a brunette.

Then again, it's not like Chiyo never colored her hair before.

"It's a little weird to see another gymnast, not part of your group outside of competition," Chiyo voiced out loud.

"I think that's why it took me a while to recognize you," said Kasumi. "You colored your hair since our last competition, and I never saw you wearing glasses during tourney's."

A few moments passed. Kasumi collected her split bowl and chopsticks and wondered if she should pick up the food too. She used her chopsticks to collect the meat and vegetables off the ground. Sitting back down, Kasumi bit her lower lip. "So… I have a favor to ask if you wouldn't mind," she said at length. "Lately, I haven't been getting the results I want from my performances, and I'm worried that I'm overthinking things… So it would be wonderful if you could give me some advice whenever you have the time. Now, before you say anything, I'm not asking you to do this for nothing. I was thinking I could help you keep in shape if you decide you still want to compete."

Compete? Chiyo hadn't toyed with the idea since Matsubara let her go. She wasn't sure what would happen if she even dared to think it was ever a possibility. At the time, Chiyo didn't think she could handle the disappointment on top of everything else piling up and weighing her down. Even now, she didn't really think it was as simple as Kasumi was making it out to be.

No, her days of competition were done as soon as the cuffs were on.

But could still benefit from keeping up with something resembling her old regimen. Her gymnastics instincts were an asset in the Metaverse. And maybe Kasumi could help Chiyo train somewhere better than Sojiro's attic.

"I guess it couldn't hurt," she said at length.

"Thank you!" Kasumi said, bouncing in spot with enough force her ponytail flounced. "Then we've cut a deal! Oh, why don't we exchange contact information?"

"Oh, sure."

Grinning, Kasumi reached into her jacket pocket for her phone. She tried three times to turn it on, by the third time her brow furrowed. "Shut down," she said more to herself than to Chiyo. "Sorry, my smartphone's been acting up lately." No sooner had she spoken, the screen flickered on. "And there it is! Okay, I'll contact you when I've got free time if that's fine!"

"Uh, yeah," Chiyo muttered while getting her phone out. Was this what it was like to be on the other side?

"Attention Shujin Academy students," Niijima announced, once again speaking into the megaphone, "the cleanup event will be ending momentarily. Please do not discard your trash in the bins here. Instead, bring your waste to the predetermined location for disposal. After that, we will be officially releasing everyone for the day. Thank you all for your hard work."

"Looks like the cleanup event's over," murmured Kasumi.

"Looks like the PR stunt is over," added Chiyo.

"You know," Kasumi said in a slight sing-song tone as she put her phone back in her pocket. "Since we're already in our gym clothes, this wouldn't be a bad time to review the basics before heading home."

Between the dust from the park, the grime from the trash, and sweating in her clothes, Kasumi took a shower as soon as she got home. She was the first one home, her parents at work still, though Tsutsuji should be home soon, and Granny was visiting friends.

She opted to take her contacts out and keep them off for the rest of the day. It wasn't as though Kasumi was going anywhere this evening.

Kasumi used one hand to keep her towel up as she went from the bathroom to her bedroom. Her room was sandwiched right between Granny's room, and her sisters. It hadn't been touched since it happened, Tsutsuji wasn't ready to clear it out. Kasumi couldn't say she wasn't glad for it to a degree. What would they even do with a spare room? They barely had any guests stay the night.

She put on her lazy day clothes, a comfortable pair of pants, an old tank top and a sweatshirt with the logo for a past gymnastics meet on the back. She relocated herself into the living room and got out her smartphone. With a little trouble – the screen freezing, the video glitching off and on – Kasumi looked up Kusakabe-senpai's past gymnastics routines.

The change between Kusakabe-senpai then and now was jarring. Her hair was dark brown in these videos, a stark contrast to the light gray she was wearing now. The video also highlighted just how much of her face her glasses took up.

As Kasumi went through the clips, she was able to see the difference between her style of performances, and Kusakabe-senpai's. Her senpai did what she could to grab your attention as soon as the music started and held it until the routine ended. Kasumi, a year ago anyway, tried to build up her routines to a memorable finale. It was little wonder Kusakabe-senpai tended to place over Kasumi whenever they were in the same tourney.

Now that begged the questions; why hadn't they ever met properly until today?

The door opening caught her by surprise. Tsutsuji walked in, wearing a peacoat and carrying an old briefcase under her arm. Kasumi's mom bore a few age lines around her eyes and had a few dark circles under them from long work hours on top of going through a trying period in her life. Her hair looked luscious and red, but that was largely because Tsutsuji was good at keeping up with her dye jobs. Tsutsuji worked as a literary agent, responsible for several best-selling authors who got their own movie or anime adaptations.

"Hi, Mom!" Kasumi greeted happily.

Tsutsuji took half a step back when she spotted Kasumi. Her face paled briefly, and pupils widened. It was only then that Kasumi realized she let her damp hair hang freely and she was wearing her glasses.

Shoot!

Kasumi hadn't considered how much her lazy day look made her resemble her sister.

"Hello… dear," Tsutsuji said stiltedly. The color returned to her face as she put her bag on the island and unbuttoned her peacoat.

'Dear.'

Tsutsuji never called Kasumi, nor her sister, 'dear.' Not until after it happened. She wasn't sure when was the last time her mom called her by her name after the accident. Maybe when she started seeing Dr. Maruki? Kasumi wasn't sure what Tsutsuji thought about her seeing a counselor, she knew Granny didn't approve, even if she didn't out right say as much. Was this Tsutsuji's way of saying she didn't approve either?

Or perhaps it was simply Tsutsuji's way of coping. Kasumi and her sister had similar components in their names, after all.

"You look like you're in a good mood," Tsutsuji said, heading to the master bedroom she shared with her husband.

"You'll never guess what happened today!" Kasumi said, following after her.

"Wasn't today the cleanup event?"

"Yup, but something else happened during the event."

"Someone found a briefcase full of money?"

It was banter like this that made Kasumi question whether or not Tsutsuji approved of Kasumi getting professional help after the accident. Or maybe this was simply one of those cases where they didn't necessarily approve but were respecting the fact that it was teething that needed to be done.

In the master bedroom, Tsutsuji sat in front of a vanity, carefully removing her makeup. "I met another gymnast from school!" Kasumi said, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

Her mom's brow rose. "Really?"

"And here's what's insane." Kasumi crouched down beside Tsutsuji as she began to replace her contacts with a pair of wire-frame glasses. "Remember that Kusakabe girl who was always outdoing me? It's her."

With only one lens out, Tsutsuji half-turned to stare at Kasumi. She had to wonder what Tsutsuji was seeing with one lens in. "The same Kusakabe girl who was arrested for prostitution and violence earlier this year?" she asked pointedly. She brought a hand to the side of her head when she realized what Kasumi was saying. "Wait. She's going to Shujin Academy? Since when?!"

Immediately, Kasumi held her hands up. "I know what the rumors are saying. But Kusakabe-senpai doesn't seem nearly as bad as they make her out to be. I don't think she would have helped me with that lecher today if she was."

"Wait, what?"

"Not important right now. I offered to help Kusakabe-senpai keep in shape if she gave me a few pointers to help me out of my rut." By now, Tsutsuji had removed her second lens, she dropped her forehead into an open palm before she put her wire-frame glasses on. "I'll be fine, Mom. I know what I'm doing."

Tsutsuji put on her wire-frame glasses and eyed Kasumi wearily. Her shoulders rose and fell in a sigh. "I suppose it's not too terrible that you've met another gymnast," she said at length. "Especially since you'd been struggling to make friends at school..."

Kasumi immediately jumped to her feet, her hair flouncing around her. "Ooh, another bonus!" she said, pumping her firsts. "I just need to find a good day to meet with her and we can start working."

The bell rang gently above her as Chiyo walked into Leblanc. "Back already?" Sojiro asked from behind the counter.

"Yeah, we were pretty much done by lunch."

"Well, if you're not doing anything else today, why don't you get changed and help out behind the counter."

"Sure."

"Changing's not a bad idea," Morgana said as Chiyo headed upstairs. "You're all dusty."

"Easy for you to say."

After she came back downstairs, Sojiro walked Chiyo through a few cups of coffee as the customers came. After a small handful, he let her work it out on her own, which bean for which cup, boiling, and anything else the customer might have asked for, a little sugar, an ice cube. As the day began to wind down, Sojiro showed Chiyo how he did a little food prep for tomorrow's curry.

"So, how's it going?" Sojiro asked, breaking the comfortable silence between them. "You getting any better at remembering how to handle different bean types?"

"I think so," Chiyo said. "I haven't had any complaints so far."

He gestured for Chiyo to get a little closer to his brewing station. "Now then," continued Sojiro, "there are three factors that determine the flavor for a cup of coffee: grind, heat, and time. First up is the grind. For the siphons we have here, we're aiming for medium-fire. So, what grind are you supposed to use?"

"Medium-fire," said Chiyo.

"All right. Keep it up. It doesn't net much profit given the effort it takes, but in the end, money is money."

Didn't Sojiro own a house on top of a shop with an attic and a car? Customer flow wasn't terrible, but it wasn't anywhere near the numbers a mainstream chain would see. Was the store really bringing in enough money for two properties?

"So, I'm not gonna forgive you if you serve our customers crap coffee," he continued. "Just remember that."

"Right. Got it," murmured Chiyo.

A muffled jingle was heard. Sojiro reached into his pants pocket for his phone; his brow arched when he saw the number on the screen. Briefly glancing at Chiyo, Sojiro turned his back to her before he answered. "Yes, hello?" He paused for a moment, and suddenly the air grew colder. "How'd you get this number? … Now? … Where? … Fine."

Sighing through his nose, Sojiro hung up the phone and put it back in its place. "Sorry," he said, turning back around to face Chiyo. "Something just came up. We can keep going with the lessons some other time."

"Was that trouble?" Chiyo asked tentatively.

"Neither of us are going homeless if that's your concern. Just do the dishes while I'm gone. And remember to turn off the gas before you close up shop." Sojiro paused for a moment, crossing his arms over his chest in thought. "Huh… It's nice having someone around to help out at times like this."

"You say that now, but what if you were giving me money in exchange for my work?" Chiyo asked cheekily.

"I could still go without the mouth."

"You like it."

"I kind of have to. That smart mouth's part of the package, apparently."

Grinning, Chiyo gave him a lazy shrug of the shoulders.

"Before I forget," Sojiro said, removing his apron as he spoke. "I still owe you an answer about cooking after hours."

A twinge of anxiety bubbled in the pit of Chiyo's stomach. The worst he could say was no, but Chiyo wasn't immediately sure what she was going to do if he said no. "So long as you agree to be careful, I suppose I don't mind," said Sojiro. "But if anything does break, I'm expecting you to take care of it."

"Okay!" Chiyo said a little louder than she intended. "Thank you!"

After Sojiro left, Chiyo worked on closing the store. The dishes were washed, she swept the floor and moped, then put the dishes away when they dried. She flipped the sign outside, locked then double-checked the door before she headed back upstairs.

"He said yes to cooking!" Chiyo said, twirling around thrice at the head of the stairs. "That should be the end of instant ramen for a while!"

"Great," Morgana said, stretching out his back from Chiyo's bed. "So, what're you cooking?"

With four words, Chiyo's joy died down. Despite asking, despite the days of waiting, Chiyo hadn't put any thought into what she would cook for herself.

"Damn it, Mona…"

"What'd I do?!"

The Faith Rank 1
The Hierophant Rank 3

Authors Note: Incoming page worth of authors notes. I had some thoughts…

Hands down, my favorite part of this chapter was when Chiyo and Sumi finally realized they were, at least, aware of each other as competitive gymnasts.

While I couldn't stop laughing when Sumi was revealed to be a rhythmic gymnast in promotional material, when time came for her Confidant to start I… had a slight issue with this. Mostly her in-universe justification was easily the most forced. The fact is, Akiren was already doing some impressive gymnastic feat's without her in both the vanilla game and Royal. Next to Kaitou Jeanne, what influenced the decision to have Chiyo be into rhythmic gymnastics were a few fics that had Akiren dabble in artistic gymnastics before the events of the game. Strikers only highlights this by adding a quasi-parkour element that everyone can do. He really did not need to learn anything from Sumi.

Also the insisting event was a friggin' leap. It's like a massive step backwards from what everything Akiren was doing from this point. Not the ZOMG AMAZING thing Morgana makes it out, again, especially after everything Akiren's been doing before this.

But this was where my choices for Chiyo became a massive help. With Chiyo being a gymnast too, Sumi's offer became less "I'll teach you things you clearly already know," and more "I'll help you keep from getting rusty." And with Chiyo being a gymnast too, it makes more sense for Sumi to seek out her advice over some random guy who, as far as she knows, knows diddly squat about gymnastics, period. As well as suggest that something is up with Sumi right up front, while not being an obvious clue.

Granted I think it's kinda amazing Chiyo would remember that Kasumi Yoshizawa was more of a brunette. But Akiren and Morgana can comfortably share a bed during the dog days of summer so I'd say this is a moment where we can suspend our disbelief.

I also think Sumi, as she is right now, is kind of hoping Chiyo will get back into competing so she could still have the chance to out-perform her. Of course, the flaw in this is that Chiyo is on her own, and competitive gymnastics is expensive. It's the largest reason why Sumi's mom is successful in her career, the Yoshizawa's are gonna need a bit of money to give both daughters a chance to succeed in their field. It's also why I've never outright said what Chiyo's mom does for a living.

And to answer Sumi's question of why they never properly met until now (for both sisters), I'd say it's 110% because Ryou and Chiyo's coach didn't want Chiyo talking to the "enemy."

I don't care if it's spoiling, I can tell you right now, Chiyo and Sumi are strictly senpai/kouhai. Or maybe mentor/mentee is a better description… I cannot overstate how much I do not like her romance. I just can't read it as any other way but "you just need (a man's) love to cure/fix/save you of your mental health problems, not supported, but fixed." And I'm not saying this as an objective fact, this is my reading based on personal experiences, consuming other pieces of media where mental health is a major theme, and personal tastes.

Had she just been another playable character, maybe I wouldn't be so critical. 'Cause there is a degree of that in the other PT's Confidants. And not just the romances either. But when we get a fully animated scene of 'Sumi being the brokenest one of all that she inadvertently caused someone's death, on top how isolated 'Sumi is amongst… literally every other character… when there's not one, but three other playable characters who could easily empathize with her more than Akiren but they barely interact with her… And how her problems are just magically gone while, say, Futaba is still shown to have some struggles with anxiety...

Yeah, this pair really leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

I can't remember for certain if Chiyo asking if she can cook when the store's closed came before or after the Joker's Kitchen mechanic was revealed for Striker. If it was before, then it's another tick on the Pure Dumb Luck List. I am endlessly amused that this has become a thing that keeps happening.

And as a final note; This game (or at least the English audio) has a really weird definition of what counts as "the other day." That moment with Kamoshida was well over a month ago. This wouldn't be so bad if the two scenes weren't story-locked.