Cobalt Plus: Takami Karibuchi (Patreon)

Aya was deep in thought after leaving Suguha’s house. Yoshika had brought up in conversation how Chihaya had befriended many of her clients and the cosmopolitan social network they all enjoyed. While Aya always knew that Chihaya was popular and had a decent social life back home, she was never fully aware of it until about the past year. The prime feeling animating Aya’s though was not at all one of jealousy or rejection – Aya always managed to spend adequate quality time with Chihaya like she wanted to and Chihaya certainly did her best to make her feel welcome and included in whatever was happening at the time. Still, there was the feeling of their lives taking on distinct, unique paths – something Aya had previously paid little attention to before and provoked some slight unease. As everyone left and headed off to their particualr places in the city for the night, Aya looked over at Chihaya with a faint but sincere smile back in the Buick before saying, “I’m happy to be spending time with you.”  

Initially surprised by the matter-of-factness of Aya’s words, Chihaya warmly smiled. “I am, too.” Both of them intuited each other’s feelings in the car before driving back to the apartment across town, Aya feeling reassured.  

The next day was Chihaya’s final exams for the fall – a test that would take about 45 minutes to complete and took place in the late morning, a trip to the beach with Aya being planned for later in the day. Waiting in the SCF student union dining area, Aya was approached by a brunette woman looking to be in her late teens to early twenties who declared, “You must be the girl Hikari mentioned. Aya, right?” Feeling slightly jarred by the forthrightness of the woman’s statement, Aya confirmed her identity and the brunette introduced herself as Takami, mentioning how she was a patient of Yoshika’s that Chihaya helped regularly with physical therapy and workouts. Until now, Aya had heard of somebody named Takami that Chihaya had been helping but was never quite able to attach a face, let alone one as striking as the woman standing before her. After Takami bought a fudge brownie and a diet cola near the counter, she sat down and began to break the ice, mentioning how she and Hikari had just moved to Sarasota from Bradenton, lightly smiling as she talked in an almost fawning tone about how happy she was living with her sister for the first time in years. The conversation went on for a while before Chihaya eventually finished her finale exam and went to find Aya…

Requester: https://www.patreon.com/MetalCar