Yukino was huddled in their shared bed when Kanade came home that evening, almost fetal. It took a few minutes of asking - which turned into an almost panicked pleading - before Yukino gestured towards the tablet, and Kanade was able to sit, perfectly still, watching the video.
"Who... who recorded this?" she whispered.
"Sh... Shinji. Sakuya-chan's brother. My boss's boss's boss. He says he'll release it if we don't... he's darkmailing, no, blackmailing us."
It was Kanade's turn to sit silently, slackjawed, while Yukino spat out the rest of the story in bits and pieces. When she was done, Kanade climbed into bed and wrapped herself around Yukino. "I'll fix this," she whispered, almost to herself, over and over. "It will be alright, Yuki-chan. I will fix this."
Which is how she found herself sitting in the coffee shop across the street from the Kamiyama Industries building, nervously fiddling with her phone, waiting for Sakuya.
She was surprised when, despite her constant, nervous glancing up at the clock and the door, Sakuya sat down in front of her without her noticing. Part of it was undoubtedly a lack of sleep the night before, but part of it was Sakuya's own demeanor - rather than unabashedly throwing herself at Kanade, or engaging in a poor attempt at stealth, Sakuya had simply walked up to the chair, sat down, ordered coffee, and sat, staring at her own phone, saying nothing.
She wasn't meeting Kanade's eyes, which had never happened before.
Kanade started. "Sa... Sakuya-chan, thank you for coming on short notice, I really appreciate it. I... we are... I wanted to talk about something your brother-"
"You have a problem, Sakurai-san. Actually, you have multiple problems, but the biggest one is my brother."
Kanade paused. "You know about...?"
Sakuya nodded, and pushed her phone across the table to Kanade; she saw immediately it was running the kissing video. "He found out we were talking, and sent it to me."
Kanade paused, and tried again. "Sakuya-chan, I... we didn't want to have to get into the details, but-"
Sakuya cut in again. "My brother... my brother and I are spoiled by our parents. For me... well, you know what I've done with my indulgences. I wanted to be close to you, but I prefer the carrot to the stick. You've largely rejected that, and I've been... satisfied... to stay at arm's length."
She looked up at Kanade for the first time. "Shinji-kun does not see things the same way. He is far more direct at getting what he wants, and, although he does not always get it, he is very ruthless in trying. Now he's taken an interest in your sister and you, and he has significant leverage."
She continued. "I believe I'm the only other person he's shown the video to, but I'm positive he has the ability to send it to a very wide audience whenever he wants, in a way that would be untraceable to him."
Kanade reached across the table to take Sakuya's hand; Sakuya held herself perfectly still in response. "Sakuya... Kamiyama-san, is there anything you... we... can do to stop him? All we want is for this to go away..."
Sakuya pulled back, looked up at the ceiling for a few moments, and then directly at Kanade. "There are many questions here. What can you do, what can I do, what should I do, what should you do."
Kanade risked a smile. "You... seem very focused about this, Sakuya-chan."
"This is not a game, Sakurai-san." Kanade's smile vanished. "I am very, very serious when it comes to my family and their world. I care... cared about you very much, Kana-chan, but you have to understand that our flirtation was... an escape for me. A hobby, where I could pretend to be the bubbly schoolgirl I never got to be anywhere else. But this is the world I live in, and I take it accordingly."
She sighed and looked up at the ceiling again. "The short answer is that I can't be certain of stopping him... not about this. I certainly can't physically restrain him from pushing the button, and, while normally I could complain to our parents about this kind of outrageous behavior, that's made more difficult by the subject matter and by the fact that I'm... somewhat involved in it."
"But, but you're not in the video, we're just friends..."
"Exactly, Kana-chan. I'm friends with... with someone who apparently lusts after her own twin sister. I know we've joked about it, but to actually see it on video... to my parents... to most people who actually see it... it's beyond the pale. My parents won't want the company associated with the two of you, even if the video doesn't become public knowledge. And I can't ask them to restrain Shinji-kun's behavior without describing what's on the video. In the past when he'd try to manipulate some poor girl, she truly was innocent. They'd send her to another company with a glowing recommendation, and have our people make sure that Shinji-kun didn't try anything in retaliation down the line. But that's out of the question here."
"But..."
"And there's our... relationship to consider. I was... so obsessed with you, Kana-chan. I see now that blinded me to what was going on with you and Yuki-chan. I knew the two of you cared for each other very deeply, but I didn't... I didn't realize that you-"
"Please, please understand, Sakuya-chan!" Kanade bowed as deeply as she could while sitting, tears starting to run down her face. "It... it was just a silly, drunken thing, we didn't do anything! It didn't mean anything!"
Sakuya stared at her for a moment, and quickly palmed tears from her own eyes. "Kana-chan... if it were anybody else you were saying that to, they might believe you. But I've seen too much of the two of you - it's not just that you weren't interested in me, you were never interested in anyone but her. You may not even admit it to yourself, but as long as she's around, there will never be anyone else for you. And... I'm starting to see, from experience, how toxic that kind of obsession can be."
Sakuya stood up, and looked across the table at Kanade, who stared back, red-eyed, tears streaming down her face.
"I..." She sighed. "I will try to make this go away, Kana-chan. There are some strings I can try to pull, but I can't promise anything. And regardless...I can't... really be your friend anymore, not after this. There's clearly no point in me pursuing you any further, and if word got out, it would be dangerous, politically, if I don't distance myself immediately."
"All I can do is give you some advice: no matter what, don't give in to Shinji-kun. He plays with his toys until they break, and I don't want that for you or Yuki-chan. If you stay away, he may lash out, but then he'll lose interest and move on, and you two will be able to try and put this behind you."
"And second, try, for your own sake, to get some distance from Yuki-chan. I... I know it's not an abusive relationship, I know it's not like you can have children together, but... but people will never understand. You'll lose so much of what you have now, and I worry how much more you'll sacrifice to be with her. There's so much you could have in life, that we could have had, I..."
She suddenly tossed a few thousand yen on the table, and turned away, pulling her coat around her shoulders. "Just let go, for both your sakes. Goodbye, Kana-chan."
And she walked out the coffee shop, leaving Kanade staring at the door.