2:14 AM — The Hour When Fetishes Are Bought Like Rice
The Konbini lights buzzed with their usual tone, like a swarm of electronic flies. I, Hiroto, was rearranging a pile of JAV DVDs that some idiot had messed up (probably the same one who left greasy fingerprints on the cover of Innocent Schoolgirl). At the counter, Aoi swayed, humming the Doraemon opening with modified lyrics:
~I'm a neko-chan with no future~
~Selling condoms and cold coffee~
~If you touch me, I'll rip out an eye~
~With these little shark teeth of mine~
"Seriously?" I asked without looking at her, placing a copy of Step-Sister Paradise next to the potato chips. "Can't you sing something normal?"
"Nyaaa~! Normal?" She jumped off the counter, landing next to me with a movement that made her skirt fly up a few strategic millimeters. "That's boring! Besides, this is the official Konbini soundtrack."
"The official soundtrack is the moan of the coffee machine dying."
She laughed, a clear sound that no longer sounded like broken glass.
The ding of the entrance sounded.
"Irrashaimaseeeen~!" Aoi sang with artistic exaggeration, bowing until her skirt defied all laws of gravity. Her expression froze for a second.
It was Miyu.
She shuffled in, her black cloak even more faded than the manager's heart. Upon seeing Aoi, she also froze like a stray dog in front of headlights.
Aoi was the first to react. She smiled. It wasn't the shark smile, but a playful smirk that matched her teasing voice:
"Hi, little ghost! Did you come to buy Pocky or to get bitten?"
Miyu swallowed, adjusting her glasses.
"I-I just..." she murmured, pointing to the drink aisle. "...a chocolate drink..."
"Of course you did!" Aoi jumped in front of her, blocking the way. "But first, a test of courage! Can you pass..." she pointed to the +18 aisle. "...through the Forbidden Zone without blushing?"
Miyu paled. The customer who last week bought three packs of condoms and an inflatable doll didn't even look up.
"I... don't think I..."
"Come on!" Aoi grabbed her arm, dragging her toward the JAV DVD shelf. "Look, this one's a classic: Love me, Sensei! It's about a playful student who seduces a depressed teacher. Rating: 2 stars for lack of creativity."
"I... I don't..."
I snorted, leaning on the counter.
"Aoi, stop playing with her."
"Playing?" Aoi turned, falsely offended. "I'm giving her lessons! The JAV industry is a mirror of society, Hiroto-kun." She waved a DVD like a trophy. "Here you have everything: Lolis, JK, Chikan, NTR... You know why they sell so well?"
"Because customers have less imagination than a brick," I said, wiping a coffee stain that had been there since World War II.
"Exactly!" Aoi tossed the DVD to Miyu, who caught it like it was a grenade. "But also because it's easier to fetishize a uniform than to deal with real people. See, Miyu-chan? These DVDs aren't about sex, they're about..."
"Loneliness?" Miyu interrupted.
Aoi smiled, showing her fangs.
"Excellent!" She tossed her a Pocky that Miyu dropped to the floor. "Loneliness, fantasy, the fear of someone rejecting you for being..." She looked at Miyu's cloak. "...a weird thing. So people buy this"—she waved another DVD—"to pretend someone chooses them, even if it's acted."
Miyu looked at the DVD in her hands (Innocent Schoolgirl), then at Aoi, and for the first time, she didn't seem scared.
"And... do you think it's wrong?"
Aoi shrugged.
"Depends. If you buy this to masturbate, you're a loser." She pointed at me as I pretended not to listen. "But if you buy it to understand why society prefers fantasies over real connections... Congratulations! You're a philosopher of the dirty."
Miyu let out a nervous laugh. Aoi, satisfied, snatched the DVD back and placed it on the shelf.
"Class dismissed! But next time you come, bring me an ofuda that's actually useful, little ghost~."
Miyu nodded and fled toward the drinks. Aoi returned to the counter, jumping up to sit as usual.
"I thought you'd hide like always."
"I don't have to hide." She looked at me with that shark smile that should be illegal. "After all, I'm your cute coworker Aoi-chan~, right?"
I didn't know how to respond to that, so I ignored it.
"Anyway, you held back..." I said, tossing her a Pocky that she caught in mid-air with her teeth. "That industry doesn't just sell loneliness. It sells the idea that girls like her are products. Like these onigiri."
Aoi smiled, chewing her Pocky thoughtfully.
"Right. That's why the 'actresses' are labeled as 'lolis,' 'perverts,' or 'submissives.'" She made air quotes with her fingers. "But, tsundere-kun, you know what's sadder?"
"What?"
"That some girls enter that industry thinking it's their chance to get something." Her eyes clouded for a second. "'I just have sex with strangers for a few minutes and make quick money.' Yeah, until the contract forces you to do scenes you didn't want, or the director calls you a 'bitch' for not smiling enough."
Miyu returned with her chocolate drink, listening in silence.
"But..." Aoi recovered her teasing tone. "...at least I have an honest job. Selling junk to sad people! Isn't that beautiful?"
"A dream," I said, wiping the same spot on the counter for the tenth time.
Miyu paid for her chocolate drink and headed for the exit. At the door, she stopped.
"Aoi-san..." she said, without turning around. "Are you happy here?"
...
...
Aoi laughed, a sound that echoed through the empty aisles.
"Of course! I have cold coffee, pathetic customers, and a coworker who looks like a depressed tsundere NPC. What more could I need?"
Miyu nodded, and left without tripping over her cloak this time.
At 4 AM, Aoi leaned against the drink fridge, staring at the ceiling.
"Hey, Hiroto-kun," she said, playing with her collar. "If I ever become a JAV actress, would you be my co-star?"
"I'd shoot you first."
"How romantic!" She laughed, and for a moment, her eyes shone like a fire in a private clinic.
The Konbini kept breathing. The lights buzzing. Aoi whispering nyaa~ to ghost customers. And me, wondering if I'd ever stop pretending her laugh didn't make me feel less dead.
But for now, everything stayed the same.
As always.