"Miss Hatsune... you wouldn't want Sakiko Toyokawa to find out about your true identity, would you?"
"What... what do you want?"
Despite her best efforts to hide it, Uika Hatsune couldn't mask the tremor in her voice or the panic in her heart. Her pale lips pressed together as she tried to swallow, but her throat was bone-dry.
"No need to be so tense, Miss Hatsune." Rin spoke in a soothing voice. He reached out and gently stroked her hair, as if calming a frightened puppy. Stunned, Uika didn't resist, allowing his fingertips to slide through her blonde locks.
"I'm not here to threaten you. I'm here to help you. And to help Sakiko Toyokawa."
Uika snapped out of her trance, though the terror in her eyes remained. Before she could respond, Rin pulled out his phone. On the screen was the Crychic social media account formerly managed by Soyo Nagasaki.
Rin zoomed in on a photo, centering it on Sakiko's face before handing the phone to Uika. Uika stared at it.
She had seen this photo a thousand times. Even focused only on Sakiko's face, she knew exactly which day it was taken.
"What do you think Sakiko was feeling in this photo?"
Uika's lips trembled. "Ha... Happiness."
"Louder." Rin's lips curled into a smirk. "I can't hear you."
"Sakiko... was very happy in this photo."
Uika's voice was shaking. It would have been perfectly normal for her to burst into tears right then, but as the "Endurance Queen" of Ave Mujica, she had been absorbing pressure her entire life. She wasn't that easily broken.
"And now? It's Saturday, 2:23 PM. You know how Sakiko spent her day today, don't you? Tell me. Say it out loud."
"She... she woke up and delivered newspapers. Then... she went to her part-time job as a... customer service rep."
"Exactly. Good girl." Rin rubbed her hair as if rewarding a pet. "Woken up by an alarm before dawn to throw papers, then sitting in a call center getting yelled at for a pittance... do you think she can still make that face she had in Crychic?"
"..."
"Answer me."
"N-no. She can't."
Uika lowered her head deeply. She looked nothing like the radiant idol who was just on stage.
"And why is that?" Rin's voice was a gentle, guided whisper.
"Because Sakiko's father was—"
"You're lying!" Rin cut her off, his voice switching from gentle to a sharp, booming command. Uika flinched, her body physically jolting.
The next second, his voice returned to its soft, soothing tone.
"There's no need to lie to me. Only by being honest can I help you, and help Sakiko Toyokawa."
"..."
Uika kept her head down, biting her lip so hard she drew blood. Her clenched fists left deep crescent marks in her palms. Rin didn't rush her; he just kept rhythmically stroking her hair.
"...It's... it's because of me..."
Rin remained silent, giving her head a gentle pat to encourage her.
"I wanted to see Sakiko, so I came to Tokyo."
"I went to her father because I wanted to see her."
"Because of me... her father tried to get me into the family. He... he..."
"Because of me... Sakiko was forced to transfer schools."
"Because of me, she has to work and has no time for Crychic..."
"Because of me... it's all my fault. I wanted to be near her... and because of that... the happiness on her face vanished."
Uika's spirit felt like it was turning to ash. Tears began to drip from her chin onto the carpet.
If she hadn't come to Tokyo. If she hadn't sought out Sakiko.
Sakiko would still be smiling. But now... everything was ruined.
"You're right. It is your fault." Rin pulled the helpless Uika into a comforting embrace. After a brief hug, he released her and shifted his tone. "But you just wanted to see her. You just wanted to be together. Is that a crime?"
"Is it... not a crime?"
"It caused a problem, but you aren't 'wrong' for it."
Uika lifted her tear-stained face, her eyes locked onto Rin's. She grabbed his shirt like a drowning woman clutching a lifeline.
"You have a plan, don't you? You can make her happy again, right?"
"There is a way. But... do you truly want her to be happy? Just like there was no room for you in Crychic, maybe her 'happy world' has no place for Uika Hatsune."
Rin watched her with a smile. She was a masochist—not in the physical sense, but a spiritual one. She loved the role of the self-sacrificing, tragic heroine.
Uika's mother had left the Toyokawas to marry a fisherman shortly after Uika was born. Her foster father was kind to her, never raising his voice even when she made mistakes. But that very kindness made Uika feel like an outsider, a guest rather than a daughter.
Sometimes she would intentionally mess up, hoping they would hit her or scream at her.
They never did.
Slowly, she began to find comfort in being the tragic figure in her own mental movie.
Just like right now.
"It doesn't matter... as long as Sakiko can be happy and smile again, it doesn't matter if I'm there. No... I can't be there. If I'm there, she can never be happy. If it makes her smile... if I can do it, I'll do anything."
She desperately wanted to be with Sakiko, yet she was already planning her own exclusion from that happiness. She didn't even try to imagine a world where she was happy too.
Given Uika's level of repressed self-loathing in Rin's memory, she was the type who would go as far as kidnapping Sakiko just to "save" her from herself.
But that didn't matter to Rin.
"The first step is leaving your current agency. You need to get out of the Toyokawa sphere of influence. I'll handle the contract cancellation fees... though Teiji Toyokawa might be so glad to see you go he won't even charge them. You can keep doing sumimi activities; I'll have people negotiate that."
Rin pressed his business card and Karen's card into Uika's hand.
"If you've thought it through and you're truly willing to do anything for Sakiko, call this number."
"I... I understand."
Rin nodded, took the signed CD he'd initially requested, and left the dressing room. Uika stood alone, staring blankly at the cards. They only had names and numbers.
She didn't know who they really were.
But... if it could make Sakiko happy again.
Even if her world didn't have room for her anymore. Even if she had to go back to watching from the shadows.
Uika's gaze sharpened with resolve.
As long as Sakiko is happy... anything. I'll do anything!