Work Text:
Afterglow had finally finished rehearsal for the next live show at Circle Live House. Tomoe finally relaxed for a while by drinking some water and wiping the sweat with her small towel. Ran was looking at the sky and noticed that it's getting dark. Himari stared at the weather forecast on her phone app, and noticed that there would be heavy rain soon.
Hearing about this, the members decided to go home right away, but Moca and Tsugumi wanted to go somewhere else to relax. Apparently, there was a newly-opened bookstore not far from Hazawa coffee.
"Hey, Tsugu~ Do you mind both of us going to the new bookstore? I want to check out some manga there~"
"I mean, it's heavy rain, but… at least it's not stormy, Moca-chan."
"So, do you want to go?"
"Yeah! Maybe there are some discounts as well!"
Tsugumi then offered Moca to get beneath her umbrella to go to the bookstore.
After a while, both of them went inside and noticed there were a lot of people there. However, Moca's eyes noticed that the manga section wasn't as crowded as the others.
"Hey, Tsugu, let's go over there~"
"Okay, Moca-chan."
Moca searched for the manga she wanted to read. It was a newly-published detective manga, and it's on sale. She checked on her wallet and thought about her upcoming expenses. Turns out that her money can buy 3 books. She thought that after her upcoming shift with Lisa tomorrow, she'd be able to buy more.
While Moca was struggling to take the manga, she noticed Tsugumi accidentally fell down, being knocked over by a running kid. The kid's caretaker then saw her and apologized, but something happened.
"I'm very sorry! My kid tend to be hyperactive at times. She likes to run a lot."
"It's alright, Miss. I can help her get up."
"Mo… Moca-chan?"
Moca picked her up, bridal style, and let her stand up near the shelves. Some people were looking at the commotion, and it made them blush.
Tsugumi's heart beat faster, but after a while, her heartrate became normal.
"This is embarassing… But this really feels like it's in a shoujo manga," she thought.
Moca held her hand and ensured that she's fine. Fortunately, there weren't a lot of people looking at them before.
After a while, Tsugumi took 2 books. They were a comic about a red-haired catgirl fighting various forces of evil. The art looked pretty and the premise was interesting. She looked at the unwrapped book of the first volume (presumably being opened by people who wanted to read the book without the staff knowing) and read it for a while. She got hooked by the synopsis, art and the main protagonist. She then decided to buy it.
"I think I want to buy this book, Moca-chan. But I need to save some of my money, so I'll buy two volumes of this manga."
"Oh, it's the catgirl manga, isn't it?"
"Yeah. You know about it, Moca-chan?"
"That particular manga is particularly hard to find, even there were hardly ever any leaks of its chapters online. Finding it in bookstores is the only way. In other words, you're so lucky, Tsugu~"
"Thanks! I hope that I'll complete this series in the future, though! I really love every aspect of the story so far!"
"Don't mention it~ Besides, I want to complete this detective manga later on as well~"
A couple of minutes later, Moca then looked at her watch and noticed that it was 9:00 P.M. There weren't a lot of people around at this point. She looked at the detective manga that was still located on the aisle, and took the first three volumes. She held her hand and they decided to go home.
"Well~ Turns out it was getting late. Let's pay for these and go home, Tsugu~
"Yeah, you're right, Moca-chan!"
After buying the manga, both Moca and Tsugu went home together, having a joyful look in their faces. Turns out the weather was clear that night. They then had a small talk.
"Hey, Tsugu~"
"What is it, Moca-chan?"
"That trip, it was so much fun, wasn't it?"
"Yeah! I think we could invite the other Afterglow members if all of us have free time!"
"Yeah, your idea was Tsugurific~"
It was an unforgettable experience for both of them.