Chapter Text
Kikuri triumphantly slammed down whatever she had in her arms onto the counter. The cashier behind the counter, who was completely accustomed to the sheer amount of alcohol by now, just smiled at her and started ringing up the various bottles and containers.
It had been a good night for Kikuri. SICK HACK just had a real good performance tonight that got the entire venue pumped up and singing along with them. She could taste the raw energy in the air as she nearly screamed the lyrics, feeling more alive than she ever had in a long while. Best of all, she managed not to break anything! She actually had money she could spend tonight! And that was why the first thing she did after drunkenly stumbling into her usual convenience store was go to the liquor section and grab whatever she happened to grab, not caring about the price. She could afford whatever she picked up today.
"That'll be 20,000 yen," the cashier said as she handed over the now bagged up drinks to Kikuri.
Kikuri dug into her pocket and grabbed a fistful of money. She slapped it onto the counter and started to walk away. "Keep the change! Buy yourself something nice. See ya!"
"Thank you for your— Ah, excuse me! This isn't enoug—"
But the cashier's words fell on deaf ears as Kikuri exited the store.
Kikuri hummed to herself as she reached into the bag and pulled out a carton of Onikoro, her usual go-to drink when she needed something cheap and alcoholic. She actually hated it and grew tired of it long ago, but it didn't feel right not having at least one every time she drank. There was something comforting about how much she grew to hate the familiar flavor of it.
She probably shouldn't have been drinking, considering that she had just left the afterparty for their live less than an hour ago, but she had money to spend. Saving up was for chumps! She stabbed the straw into the carton and took a big sip. The familiar, bitter flavor filled her mouth and burned its way down her throat. Letting out a content sigh, she closed her eyes and let her inhibitions get washed away.
She felt herself start to stumble, and the next thing she knew, she was lying on the ground of the sidewalk, staring up into the dark, night sky. There was a dull throbbing somewhere in her side, but that was a problem for the her of tomorrow to deal with. She just laughed and pushed herself up so that she was sitting. Luckily, the sidewalk was practically empty with how late it was at night. It was almost unnaturally empty. She wished Seika was here to make it less empty.
Kikuri blinked in surprise. Seika? Why did her brain suddenly choose to bring up Seika? She felt herself start to quickly sober up as her brain started to think. That wasn't good. She reached over to her abandoned carton of Onikoro and took a sip out of it. She let out a sigh, her joyous, drunken haze ruined. Not even the Onikoro was helping her.
She had no idea why she suddenly thought of Seika. It was only a week since she stumbled into STARRY, loudly calling for Seika. Seika, in her usual grumpy way, welcomed Kikuri and listened to whatever she had drunkenly rambled about. Kikuri wasn't even sure what she said. She was just letting her mouth go on autopilot as she stared at Seika, soaking up her presence and just enjoying her company. Even if all she was doing was just typing away on her laptop and letting out the occasional "Mhm", she was sure that she was listening to her.
The familiar sound of a straw sucking up air hit her ears, and she realized that she finished up her drink. She threw the empty carton into her shopping bag along with the rest of her drinks. She knew what she had to do.
Calling Seika<3...
The dial tone played back as she waited for her to pick up. Though, it was kinda late, wasn't it? What if she was asleep? She didn't wanna wake her up, so she was about to hang up when—
"Kikuri? Do you know what time it is? I was just about to fall asleep." Sleep was heavy in Seika's voice, dragging it down and making her slur over her words. She let out a cute, high-pitched yawn that nearly made Kikuri blurt out how cute it was before she caught herself.
"I... Uh..." Kikuri felt guilty, but now that she called, she had to say something to make the call worth it. "...I just wanted to say hi, 's all."
"That all?" Luckily, Seika just sounded more confused than angry. "Well... hi, then, I guess."
Kikuri felt herself start to relax as she heard Seika's voice. Before she could stop herself, she said, "I wanted to hear your voice."
The call went silent, and the only thing Kikuri could hear was her heart beating against the drums of her ear, pounding a rhythm that even rivaled Shima on the drums.
After what seemed like an eternity, Seika spoke. "...Yeah? Let's talk a bit, then. How was your live today?"
And Kikuri let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding. She didn't even know that Seika was aware of her live, but she was grateful because she wouldn't have known what to talk about otherwise. As she began talking about how raw and rock her performance was tonight, she felt herself start to smile.
Life was alright sometimes.