❝ curses can be blessings. it's what you make of it. ❞
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tsushima yoshiko lives alone with her mother in a small apartment in uchiura, and is more or less the ordinary girl anyone will pictu re. however, one day, she discovers an odd side to he...
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chapter sixteen — halation.
in which Yoshiko meets Nozomi for the first time, and Riko tries to re-connect with Hikari, but in doing so, she meets someone she's not expecting.
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YOSHIKO SLIDES THE doors of the tiny inn open, trembling slightly in the relentless cold. She had recommended the Yasudaya Ryokan to Yuuki for a place to stay, and the silver-eyed girl had agreed, so Yoshiko had hoped that she'd be in her room. She needed to talk, urgently.
Stepping into the inn and shutting the door behind her, Yoshiko could feel the welcoming warmth that the inn never failed to provide. She was glad that she could be out of the house, out of its suffocating atmosphere for once, when she came to think about it.
"Yoshiko-chan?"
Yoshiko turns at the sound of the energetic voice, meeting the gaze of the owner of the inn, Takami Chika, a bright and benevolent hostess.
Yoshiko feels an inevitable smile tug at her lips. "Chika."
"Ooooooo I missed you!" Chika gushes, locking her arms around Yoshiko's neck, and Yoshiko chuckles lowly, patting Chika's back in response.
The taller girl then lets go, putting her hands behind her back and pouting cutely in Yoshiko's direction, her crimson eyes sparkling. "It sucks being in charge. I wanna go to college, Yoshiko-chan."
Yoshiko crosses her arms. "You aren't telling the truth. Anyway, college sorta sucks."
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'd regret it."
Yoshiko chuckles, letting her hands fall and observing the inn. Truly, nothing had changed; only the fact that the last time she had seen Chika was at Hanamaru's funeral in another time, eye bags under her usually-energetic orbs, that were dull and illuminated by the glooming light.
"Oh, have you seen my friend? Silver eyes."
Chika pulls a face and tugs her ahoge in deep thought. Then, her face brightens as she lifts her index finger in the direction of the inn's entrance. "Ah! She was heading out. I talked to her for a while, and she mentioned that she was going to Eli-chan's."
Yoshiko nods, then turns to go. "Thanks."
"Let's go to Sarah-chan's café sometime, okay? With the rest of Aqours." Chika calls out, and Yoshiko answers with a thumbs-up before closing the doors behind her.
