"Daddy..."
Rin Ito only stopped after he had brought Soyo to the point where she could do nothing but scream "Daddy" repeatedly.
Soyo's psychological issues weren't exactly severe; she was just a girl who had lacked love since childhood.
To her, Crychic was a sanctuary, a place where she finally felt she belonged.
After its collapse, she felt abandoned all over again, which made her become increasingly obsessive and paranoid.
As long as he supplemented the love she was missing and filled that inner void with affection, the problem wasn't hard to solve.
Once he had filled that void to the point of it literally overflowing, the two went back to the bathroom for a proper shower.
This time it was a normal shower, with no other games involved.
After the bath, Rin sat Soyo in front of the vanity and began blow-drying her hair.
"Mr. Rin, about Mutsumi..."
"It's fine to call me Mr. Rin in public, but since it's just the two of us... are you still using that name?"
Rin looked at her through the mirror with a teasing smile.
Soyo caught his gaze and saw the mischief in his eyes.
She bit her lip and hesitated for a long time before speaking softly.
"D-Daddy..."
It hadn't been as embarrassing when she was lost in a haze of pleasure, but now that she had calmed down, simply saying the word made a crimson blush spread across her cheeks.
What made her even more bashful was the fact that while the shower cleaned the outside, she had been filled so thoroughly that she could feel the fluid seeping out, staining her fresh panties.
Satisfied with the answer, Rin suppressed a laugh and turned the hairdryer back on.
The warm breeze felt wonderful against her scalp. Soyo narrowed her eyes in bliss.
It felt like she had traveled back to her childhood, before her parents divorced.
They used to help her dry her hair like this, back when her family wasn't wealthy, but they were happy.
"Daddy," Soyo said, her voice more natural now as she recalled her childhood. "How is Mutsumi's condition now?"
"She's stable. Before, she would suffer from blackouts, but now Mutsumi and Mortis can communicate and switch places."
"As for the future, it depends on her... they might merge, or they might continue as they are."
"That's good... I hurt her before by putting so much pressure on her. I'll apologize the next time I see her."
"The apology is secondary. Just don't say 'As expected of Minami Mori's daughter' around her anymore."
"Eh?" Hearing this, Soyo remembered Anon saying that very thing yesterday at Ring.
"I... I'll tell Anon to apologize to her."
"No need. Just tell Anon to watch her mouth."
Rin shifted the topic to Sakiko.
"There was another member in Crychic, Sakiko Toyokawa, right? Do you know why she quit?"
"Sakiko? I... I don't know." Soyo's expression grew dark at the mention of the name.
"Mutsumi... Mutsumi might know more."
Sakiko was Soyo's "white moonlight"—actually, she was the idol for everyone in Crychic.
Gentle, talented, slightly chuunibyou—she was like an angel to them.
But after that rainy night, everything changed.
Thinking of Sakiko, Soyo nervously picked at her nails.
"Sakiko's father was scammed out of 16.8 billion yen."
"Along with some other family issues, he was kicked out of the Toyokawa house."
"Eh?"
Soyo's hand froze.
As Rin continued to dry her hair, he explained the reality of Sakiko's situation.
"Mutsumi knew. The harsh things she said back then were just her way of trying to share Sakiko's burden."
Rin smiled.
"Though, Mutsumi truly wasn't very happy. She loves heavy metal, and Crychic gave her zero opportunity to play the music she liked."
"Eh?"
The "Ice Queen" Mutsumi liked heavy metal? Soyo was genuinely shocked.
Rin continued his explanation.
"Sakiko left the Toyokawa manor with her father. She had no money for Tsukinomori's tuition, so she had to transfer."
"She missed practices because her part-time jobs took up all her time. Eventually, she had no choice but to quit."
"So that's it... that's why..." Soyo looked dejected.
"Tomori has always blamed herself. If that's the reason... there was nothing we could have done."
"She's a Toyokawa. Her pride wouldn't let her tell you she was broke."
"Even when she went to cafes with Mutsumi, she'd insist on paying the bill."
The image of Sakiko forcing herself to pay for expensive coffee made Rin want to laugh.
"If she had just been honest with you all from the start, things wouldn't have been so messy."
Rin looked at the lonely Soyo in the mirror.
"Tomori and Mutsumi wouldn't have blamed themselves. Crychic might not have disbanded—maybe you just would have been less active. You'd still be friends."
"Maybe..." Soyo sighed helplessly. "I don't blame her."
The next second, Rin changed his tone.
"Sakiko is at rock bottom now. She goes to the same school as Tomori but won't even acknowledge her."
"She's falling apart... Do you want to help her stand back up?"
"Help Sakiko..." Soyo turned her face to look at the smiling Rin. "Stand back up?"
"Exactly. Help Sakiko Toyokawa stand back up."
Night.
While Soyo was being cradled by "Daddy" in the hotel, Sakiko Toyokawa was just finishing her evening shift at the call center.
The money she earned as customer support was "misery pay"—compensation for the mental damage she endured.
After a whole night of it, Sakiko felt like every ounce of her strength had been drained.
Her icy blue, long curly hair was tied into twin-tails. Two spiral locks framed her face.
She wore a white sailor collar shirt and a gray plaid skirt—no longer designer brands, but cheap imitations with rough stitching.
Her feet, in white ankle socks and round-toed Mary Janes, stepped over the grime of the pavement.
The narrow alleys she used to avoid were now her shortcut home.
As the car horns and the shouts of drunks faded, Sakiko returned to her dilapidated home.
As she entered, she instinctively covered her nose to block the smell of stale alcohol and sour, fermented vomit.
Someone hadn't flushed the sink properly.
Sakiko scowled in disgust, turning on the faucet to wash the vomit down the drain.
She felt a twisted sense of relief.
At least Dad didn't get blackout drunk and end up at the police station tonight. He just drank at home and puked in the sink. I don't have to mop the floor.
She did a quick cleanup of the sink, discarded the mountain of empty beer cans, and washed the pile of dirty dishes.
Exhausted, she finally pulled her textbooks out of her bag to study.
It was Friday night. Tomori and Taki were planning a fun weekend with Kessoku Band.
Sakiko's weekend was nothing but endless shifts... If only Crychic were still here.