Shio smiled to herself when she returned home. Work was always tiring, but it was worth it. For when she opened the door, she was greeted by a bubbly, pink-haired girl who jumped into her arms.
"Shio-chan, welcome back!" she shouted.
Shio's cheeks blushed a deep shade of red at the sight of the young girl. "Hello, Mio-san!" She embraced her and broke it off to prepare dinner.
It had been 7 years since the events of the freak fire that destroyed the upper level of the apartment complex. Aside from two deaths, no one was badly injured. The incident still weighed heavily on Shio. She lost the love of her life, the very light of her world. She was more than willing to die with her that day and yet Satou shielded her with her body.
Satou always promised that they'd be together no matter the circumstance, yet she foolishly threw her life away. Or that's what she thought. If her sacrifice was a declaration of her undying love for her, she'd have to live with it. She never loved anyone else in keeping with her vow of preserving her happy sugar life with Satou in her heart.
Shio still had Asahi in her life. Somewhat, but she still saw him as a total stranger. She remained with him to help with the finances while their mother was incarcerated. She took a part-time job at a maid cafe. She was coming to an age where she was becoming a young woman and naturally, she was the restaurant's eye candy. Older men leered at her with perverted intention and oftentimes grabbing the hem of her skirt to flip upward to expose her panties. One day, a customer was bold enough to jam his hand into her top.
"Mmm…a B-cup. Not much, but let's see what you got packing down-!"
Shio slapped the customer across the face. Without much prompt, she stormed into the kitchen to compose herself. She bent herself over the sink.
"Bitter…bitter…."
She was feeling her blue eyes glaze over when the door opened. It was another girl. She wore the same attire Shio was. She had long, brown hair, green eyes, and a mole.
"Are you okay Shio?"
Shio breathed out. "Thanks for coming to check on me, Sakura."
Sakura walked over and touched her shoulder. Her cheeks began to redden from the softness of Shio's shoulder. She stopped when she noticed that Shio was beginning to feel uncomfortable.
"Anyway, I did speak to the manager and she made sure to throw that man out. But she did also say you were free to leave early if you were still shaken."
Shio nodded. She walked out of the kitchen to clock herself out. The customers gave her a mixed glare of disgust and fear clearly not wanting to get on her bad side. Sakura waved goodbye to her, but Shio didn't reciprocate it.
Shio trudged down the street with a dreadful look of despair. "Bitter…bitter…."
Her experience with the hellion left a bitter taste in her mouth. It was funny how fate worked: Satou always got sugar from her through their kisses and now, no one was there to give Shio the same. She raised her eyes to the sky.
"Dammit, Satou, why did you have to go and leave me all alone!?"
Ugly tears drizzled down her cheeks nearly blinding her. It hurt her grievously, but it was the only consolation she could depend on. She was on the verge of collapse when something caught her attention in the corner of her eye.
A good distance away, there was a young girl wearing the mandatory outfit all elementary school students had to wear. Her pink hair was lightly tucked away under her hat. She turned around with tears rolling down her face. This made her red eyes twinkle.
"It…it can't be. Can it?"
Satou's cheeks blushed a deep red as her eyes widened. Now she was convinced she knew just why Satou did that all those years ago. A warm smile spread across her face.
"Hello, happy sugar life."