Band Girls’ Mixology Mission [173]

Kyo quietly glanced at the distance between herself and Uika right now. If she hadn’t interrupted Uika with that sentence just now, with just two more steps, she’d have been cornered between Uika and the wall.

Even though she’d only said she wanted to be in a band with Sakiko, seeing her so agitated like this, it was clear her intentions weren’t so innocent.

Though their expressions were different, it reminded Kyo of that younger girl who once confessed to her.

Once emotions were stirred, reason scattered, and impulsive feelings would lead one recklessly toward places rationality would never touch—giving birth to something seemingly like courage.

Whether it was Ayakane confessing to her on the rooftop that day, or Uika’s impulsive “interrogation” due to Sakiko’s whereabouts now.

Hmm... Kyo clearly remembered what Uika had asked while pressuring her earlier:
“What exactly is your relationship with Sakiko?”

So I’m being treated as a love rival, huh?

The troubling part was that Uika wasn't single-threaded like Tomori, who’d completely forget previous questions once her attention shifted.

“Kyo-chan… you still haven’t answered my earlier question.”

The pressure surged back instantly. Clearly, there was no chance of glossing it over this time.

It seemed this was a question she absolutely had to answer. Not that there was anything difficult—it was just a regular friendship of mutual support. But no matter how you looked at it, Uika wouldn’t be so easily convinced.

“We’re just ordinary friends—”

Before Kyo finished, Uika suddenly raised her hand to stop her.

“Sorry, Kyo-chan. I’ve just realized something.” Uika spoke slowly. “Why don’t you just tell me directly everything you've done with Sakiko?”

From Uika’s perspective, Kyo really seemed like someone incapable of understanding “ordinary people’s” emotions. Perhaps, to her, labels like friends or lovers were just meaningless words.

Hah. Actually, Uika wasn’t far off.

Kyo quickly understood Uika’s concern. Not that she minded—rather, she was quite curious herself about how outsiders distinguished between friends, best friends, and lovers.

This was a perfect chance to see Uika’s reactions.

She carefully recalled all the things she’d done with Sakiko, neatly organizing them in her mind to relay them clearly to Uika in chronological order.

Of course, Kyo deliberately omitted Sakiko’s current circumstances.

First was that beautifully rare heavy rain—though maybe not so pleasant for Sakiko. The two met beneath a curtain of rain, and Kyo brought Sakiko home, providing her with warm water and fragrant pu'er tea. In return, Sakiko personally brewed a cup of black tea for her.

Uika’s mouth opened slightly, fingers subconsciously clenching tight.

Next, at a café, at the bar counter, a non-alcoholic mojito perfectly suited for their age was served with two straws—oh, please don't misunderstand, the dual straws were simply to avoid blockage.

Uika’s entire body trembled, clearly struck by an unexpected blow.

Finally, at school, a simple bottle of water Sakiko handed over...

For the second time, Uika lifted her hand to stop Kyo’s narration. Unlike the first interruption, this time, Uika’s hand nearly covered Kyo’s lips directly.

The distance between them had reached dangerous proximity, entirely due to Uika's one-sided approach.

“Enough. You don't need to continue. I’ve already heard enough...”

T-This… this-this-this…

Uika stared shakily into Kyo’s utterly oblivious eyes. After everything said, how could Kyo still think it was merely a simple friendship?!

Wait, perhaps Kyo herself really did believe that—but what about Sakiko? Judging from Kyo’s descriptions alone, Sakiko’s intentions clearly weren’t so pure.

Part of Uika hoped Kyo was embellishing the details, but deep down, she knew clearly that Kyo wasn’t the type to do something like that. If she said it, then it definitely happened.

“So, Uika-san, what kind of relationship do you think Sakiko and I have?”

A merciless finishing blow. Kyo was eagerly awaiting Uika’s answer.

Suddenly, Uika grabbed both of Kyo’s wrists, leaving no room for Kyo to evade, robbing her entirely of her freedom.

I was clearly the one who knew Sakiko and Kyo-chan first… yet now, while I was unaware, these two had already gotten this close behind my back?!

What kind of situation is this—?!

“…You’re very good friends, aren’t you, Kyo-chan and Sakiko?” Uika forced a strained smile. “You can even be called best friends by now, huh.”

“Really?” Kyo eyed Uika suspiciously, sensing some hidden feelings mixed into her answer.

Uika took a deep breath, gradually loosening her grip on Kyo’s wrists—though she still didn't fully release her.

“After all, though you and Sakiko seem close, you haven’t done anything beyond that, have you? In my eyes, you're above friends but still beneath lovers.”

“What do you mean by ‘beyond that’?”

“Something like… kissing…” Even as she said it, Uika’s cheeks flushed slightly, eyes nervously drifting to Kyo’s faintly pink lips. Could it be that, in the unfinished words she’d interrupted earlier, Kyo actually intended to say she’d already kissed Sakiko?

No, no, no—even if Kyo was emotionally dense, surely she couldn’t kiss someone and still claim it was just friendship, right?

But... what if?

Uika stared at those lips, potentially already stained with another color…

Fortunately, before her thoughts could spiral completely out of control, Kyo promptly provided an answer:

“Of course we haven’t! Kissing isn’t something you can do so casually!”

Surprisingly, Kyo showed a conservative attitude towards the topic of kisses.

Though, in reality, it wasn’t due to romantic principles at all. Kissing involved exchanging bodily fluids… even swimming together was already an overly extreme act for Kyo, let alone kissing!

Unacceptable, impossible, unhealthy!

Hearing this, Uika let out a relieved sigh—though she also felt an inexplicable sense of disappointment.

“Uika-san, do you want to see Sakiko?” Kyo tossed out another question that instantly grabbed Uika’s full attention.

“Eh? Can I?”

“I can ask Sakiko first. If she agrees, then naturally, there won’t be any problem.” Kyo didn’t mind playing the role of intermediary. Uika had been yearning for Sakiko for so long—asking on her behalf was easy enough.

“That way, Uika-san, you can directly tell Sakiko everything you’ve been wanting to say. So… can we go eat now? I’m kinda hungry.”

---

This is a fan translation of 乐队少女调饮行动 by 林明卿. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!