He does some laundry and texts on the phone.

The next morning, Shuichi was sitting in his bedroom still staring in shock at the note and group photo that Sayaka had left him the night before. It was hard enough for him to believe that he spent the previous night with her and Snow White, but it was another thing entirely to come to terms with the fact that the most sought-after bachelorettes and idol in the country left him her phone number and real name to boot. He wasn’t quite sure how long he stared at that picture, but he was only snapped out of his trance by the sound of his cell phone buzzing on his nightstand.

“Hey there, Shuichi!” a text from Kae flashed into the screen. “How’s it going?”

“Ah!” Shuichi scrambled over his bed for his phone and answered as quickly as he could. “I’m doing just fine, thanks!” he wrote.

“That’s good to hear!” Kae texted back with an emote of a smiling puppy. “I’m just texting to make sure that we’re still on for our meetup today at the Bunny Hop at noon.”

“Yeah, totally,” Shuichi texted back. “I’ve got my schedule cleared and everything!”

“Sweet!” Kae texted with several firework emojis. “I’ll see you then.”

“Ah, I can’t believe I almost forgot about my date with Kae! I better start getting ready for that,” Shuichi said to himself, hand on his forehead. “And… I guess I should probably clean Murkuro’s muscle shirt too, huh?” Shuichi picked up the lipstick-stained shirt and held it out in front of him. “There’s, uh… still a chance it’ll come out, right?”

A few minutes later, Shuichi was in the communal laundry room for his apartment complex, where he put Mukuro’s muscle shirt into one of the washing machines with a load of detergent and then praying as he pressed the on-button.

“And now… I wait.” Shuichi thought to himself as he sat down on a bench next to the rest of his laundry, which he planned on cleaning next. “...” He watched the shirt tumble around inside the washing machine for a minute, trying his best not to focus on the anxieties creeping into his mind but ultimately failing.

“Ah… what am I doing?” Shuichi asked himself as he looked down into his lap. “Why did I ask Kae out on a date like that? I already know she doesn’t like me that way, don’t I? What am I expecting out of this?” Shuichi sighed. “Maybe I should text Kae back and call it off now.”

Shuichi took his phone out of his pocket for a moment but put it back.

“No… no, I can’t do that. I can’t deny it to myself anymore. I-I… really like Kae, and it’s probably not a good idea to keep pretending like I’m not,” Shuichi said. “I want to… be her boyfriend.”

Although he was just talking to himself, Shuichi couldn’t help but blush like a beet when he said that.

“So I probably shouldn’t worry about Kae possibly turning me down… I mean, that’s what confidence is all about, right?” he asked himself. “Wait… but what about Maki and Mukuro? They have… feelings for me, don’t they? It wouldn’t be inconsiderate if I asked Kae out without talking to them first, would it?” Shuichi paused a moment to give that some thought. “No, it should be fine… It’s not like I’m actually dating either of them, after all. We’re just friends who kiss a lot and occasionally have sex, and… dammit, now I’m feeling even worse about it somehow.”

Just as Shuichi began to kick himself over this, however, the washing machine finally finished its cycle. Sighing, Shuichi opened the washing machine and removed Mukuro’s muscle shirt, but it didn’t appear to be any cleaner than before it went in.

“Great… I’m pretty sure I just smudged the lipstick even deeper into the fabric,” Shuichi observed. “Well, it was worth a shot.”

Shuichi was about to put the shirt away and start on the rest of his laundry when he heard the door to the laundry room open behind him. Shuichi turned around to give a casual greeting to whoever it was, but he found his words stopped halfway out of his mouth when he realized who it was; the same woman with silver-white hair who worked as a receptionist at the Paramour Maid Café. However, instead of wearing her signature sexy maid uniform, she was dressed rather casually in a vibrant red strappy crop-top, bunny slippers, and black dolphin shorts which proudly showed off her slender milky legs.

“Oh! Well, hello again, handsome stranger,” she greeted with a hamper full of dirty laundry underneath her arm, which included several of her maid aprons. Shuichi could see that one of those aprons still had the same name tag that she wore the night was at the café, displaying her pseudonym; Edith. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m, uh, just doing my laundry, actually,” Shuichi answered. “I live here.”

“Wow, what a surprise! So do I, actually,” Edith replied, setting down her clothes. “Huh, I wonder if we’ve run into each other before and just never realized it.”

“Maybe… but it is a pretty big apartment complex,” Shuichi replied bashfully. “Plus, I… don’t really spend much time getting to know my neighbors.”

“Hmm, is that so? Well, I think you should change that; you never know what kind of lovely people might be waiting for you just around the corner!~” Edith remarked as she loaded a washing machine with the elegant skill of a real maid and turned it on before sitting down next to Shuichi. “So, I noticed that you haven’t visited the café in quite a while; or at least not when I’m running things. What gives? Has another group of servants seduced you away from our service?~” Edith pouted.

“N-no, it’s nothing like that.” Shuichi put up his hands defensively. “I only came in that one time because I needed some coffee, honest.”

“Oh really? If that’s the case, may I ask how that shirt of yours got in such a sorry state,” Edith teased.

“Eh?” Shuichi realized he was still holding Mukuro’s kiss mark-covered in his hands. “U-uh… actually, this isn’t even my shirt.” Shuichi mentally kicked himself the instant the sentence ended. “Er, what I mean is that this, is, uh… it’s a long story.”

“It’s alright, dear; as a maid, I know all about how passion and discretion often need to be hand and hand. I will ask no more.” Edith understandably answered. “Oh, and speaking of maids, I noticed that you left quite the impression on my dear Miss Oolong during your one-time visit. It seems that ever since you hired her, she’s had a little rejuvenated enthusiasm in her work. And I was wondering if it was something you did that was responsible for it.” Edith's hands intertwined behind her back and playfully leaned towards Shuichi.

“I’m, uh, sure that was just a coincidence.” Shuichi began to sweat nervously as Edith stared at him with friendly but knowing golden yellow eyes. She was so close that he could smell the lavender scent of the shampoo she used that morning, but he did his best not to be distracted by that. “All she did was serve me tea and cakes, after all.”

“Right, of course, ~” Edith’s cheerful smile widened infectiously. “By the way, you’re never going to get lipstick stains that deep out with this kind of washing machine; trust me, I’ve tried. You’re better off using a hand crank machine with a little bit of beer, degreaser, and baking soda mixed in with the soap.”

“Really?” Shuichi looked back down at the wet shirt in his hands. “Uh, thanks for the advice, but I’m not completely sure I’ll have time to try that before I have to return it.”

“If that’s a problem, then I’d be more than willing to lend a hand myself,” Edith offered without hesitation. “If you give it to me, I can have that shirt clean faster than you can blink.”

“Really!? You would do that for me?” Shuichi ecstatically replied as he stood by from the bench.

“Of course! As a maid, I am very good at getting stains out of clothes, no matter how embarrassing they might be.” Edith stood up as well to take a step closer to Shuichi and smiled as she looked up and down. “You didn’t happen to have any other stained clothes, do you?”

“Well, uh… no, I don’t,” Shuichi replied, deciding it was best not to mention what happened to his underwear.

“If you say so~” Edith replied with a knowing melodic tone to her voice. “However, I’m afraid this service won’t be free. The services of a maid like me normally cost several thousand yen per hour, but I think I’d be willing to let the price slide this one time if you promise to come by and try some of my famous homemade pizza later at my place. How does that sound?” Edith gave Shuichi a playful wink. “I’ll even do the rest of your laundry for free if you say ‘yes’~”

“O-oh!” Shuichi’s face lit up bright red. “Well, I’m flattered by the offer, but… I’m afraid I’m going to have to turn you down. It… just wouldn’t work out.”

“Ah, such a shame! Perhaps we could do something together another time then!” Edith said as her laundry finished spinning and she went to take her clothes back out. “I’ll have to keep an eye out for you around here from now on, though, Mr. Saihara.”

“Thanks… I’ll, uh, keep an eye out for you too, Edith,” Shuichi replied.

“Oh, please; I’m not on duty, so you don’t have to call me that.” The maid booped Shuichi’s nose. “Call me Tendou Saki. You can find me in room 2242 if you ever need anything~”

“Alright, Tendou; I’ll see you around.” Shuichi and Tendou both nodded respectfully to each other before Tendou left to go dry her clothes in the next room over. “I guess I better finish the rest of my laundry while I’m here, though.”

Shuichi loaded up the rest of his clothes and started the machine, leaving him alone with the soft hum of the washing machine turning and his thoughts. After a minute, he took his phone out again and briefly considered texting Kae to call off the date again, but he did his best to push any thoughts of doubt or fear out of his mind. Then, while staring at his contacts screen, he realized he hadn’t put Sayaka’s information in yet and decided that now would be as good a time as any to do so.

“Sayaka Maizono… so that’s the name of the woman I had sex with last night.” Shuichi blushed to himself as he remembered everything he had done with her. “I hope Pitch and her are getting along well now. I wonder if she’s up yet, or if she slept in even later than I did?”

Curiosity and loneliness getting the better of him, Shuichi pulled up his messenger app and began texting Sayaka.

“Hey there, Sayaka,” Shuichi wrote into his phone. “It’s me, Shuichi. I just wanted to thank you again for last night. That was…” Shuichi paused to find the right words. “... a lot of fun. How are you doing?”

To Shuichi’s surprise, it took Sayaka less than a minute to reply.

“I’m doing great! Thanks for asking!” Sayaka texted. “I mean, I am a little tired from everything that happened last night, but it’s so good to finally be with Pitch again! We’ve had so much to talk about; concerts we’ve done, song ideas we’ve had, instruments we’ve broken, doctors appointments we desperately need… that last one mostly applies to Pitch, though. The dentist isn’t going to like the look of her molars.”

“Oh, and before you ask, I responded so quickly because I knew you were going to text me,” Sayaka added. “I’m psychic, remember?”

“Right, of course, you are,” Shuichi replied, a little unnerved by Sayaka’s intuition but smiling at her cheerful personality nonetheless. “How are the rest of your bandmates doing?”

“They’re all doing great too, thanks for asking!” Sayaka replied. “Ivory’s hips are still a little bit sore from when you had sex with Swan on her back during the whole ‘pyramid’ part of the show. You can get really rough when you’re about to finish inside a girl, did you know that?”

“Y-yeah… tell her I’m sorry about that if you get the chance,” Shuichi texted back, embarrassed.

“Hey, don’t worry about it! We all still had a load of fun doing that too, you know!” Sayaka countered. “I have to say, it’s almost a shame that you’re not a real part of our idol group; your star qualities really shined when you were onstage with us! Plus, I don’t think I know of any other guys who can give five women five creampies in a single night~”

“Sorry, but I don’t think I could handle so many people paying attention to me at once. I couldn’t stop myself from feeling anxiety even in front of that fake audience,” Shuichi humbly replied. “I think being a nobody suits me a lot better.”

“Really? Well, you could have fooled me!” Sayaka texted back with a laughing emoji. “I understand, though; this life is extremely stressful, but I like to think that it’s worth it. I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have my fans.”

“Your fans?” Shuichi asked.

“Yeah! I know some of my hardcore fanbase can be a bit obsessive, but knowing that I hold a special place in the hearts of millions… well, it brings a smile to my face every time!” Sayaka replied. “To be honest, I’m not sure what I’d do if I wasn’t famous anymore. Being a celebrity has become such a big part of my life, it feels like I might disappear if people started forgetting about me.”

“Well, I can guarantee you that you’ll have at least one fan out there cheering you on,” Shuichi texted back.

“Heh, thanks! That means a lot to me,” Sayaka texted with a picture of a heart, causing Shuichi to smile.

“By the way, Sayaka; is it okay if I ask you for some advice?” Shuichi asked a few moments later. “You seem to be really good at projecting confidence and poise when you speak to people, even if they’re complete strangers. Do you have any idea how I could be like that?”

“Oh! You’re going to ask a girl out today, aren’t you?” Sayaka asked bluntly in reply.

“Uh, well, that’s, er…” Shuichi verbally stuttered as he wondered what he should write back.

“It’s okay! It isn’t anything to be embarrassed about!” Sayaka assured him. “I’m sure you’ve heard plenty of advice that you should be yourself when going on a date. But, in my personal experience, I actually find the opposite to be true. If you just ‘be yourself’, you run the risk of constantly comparing yourself to others and fearing that you’re not enough. Instead, you should try to be someone that you want to be, someone who’s better than they were yesterday and who your date would love to be with! Believe that you can be that person, and you’ll be one step closer to becoming them!”

“A better version of myself?” Shuichi swallowed audibly, unable to imagine what exactly that would look like. “I’ll try my best, but… are you sure there isn’t any other advice you could give me?”

“Well, there is one trick that helped me in the past. Whenever I’m nervous talking to someone, I just imagine that they’re naked,” Sayaka answered.

“Ah!” Shuichi gasped as he imagined sitting across from a completely naked Kae in the middle of a crowded restaurant. “That would only make things worse!”

“Well, you did ask~” Sayaka texted with a teasing wink. “In all seriousness, though, just don’t overthink things! I’m sure you’re more than good enough for her, no matter what girl you’re asking out. And remember to have fun as well!”

“Thanks, Sayaka; that makes me feel a little better,” Shuichi typed with a sigh. “Have a good day today, okay? And tell Pitch that I said ‘hi’ too, please.”

“You got it!” Sayaka cheerily texted back. “Feel free to text me whenever you want, and I’ll message you back whenever I get the chance! And if your date doesn’t go well, I’m sure Snow White and I can help find a way to cheer you up~”

“Th-thanks, I’ll remember that,” Shuichi replied, blushing again. “Talk to you again later.”

His face still red, Shuichi moved to put his phone away but was interrupted by the buzz of another text message.

“Hey, Shuichi! How’s it going?” The message from Rantaro’s number read. “Did you make it home in one piece after the concert?”

“Yeah, I made it back just fine,” Shuichi replied. “Though I slept in really late.”

“Really? It sounds like you and Yuki had a lot of fun last night then.” Rantaro replied. “So, what exactly did you do, if you don’t mind me asking? Did she take you back to her new place for a ‘private party’?”

“No, actually; Sayaka took me back to her studio and I got to meet the rest of her idol group,” Shuichi replied. “We, uh, had a lot of fun together. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget all the things that we did. ”

“Sayaka? You mean she told you her real name?” Rantaro asked, surprised. “Wow, she must have liked you even more than I first thought. Well, good on you for bonding with her so quickly! It’s not often that good karma pays off so quickly. How about the other girls? Did they tell you their names?”

“No, it was just Sayaka,” Shuichi wrote back. “Everyone in Snow White seems to be doing well, though, and they were really happy to hear that Pitch was taking a break.”

“Yeah… I guess it was about time that she took a vacation, but I can’t help but feel a little bad about it. Black Cherry had been on the road for so long, making such amazing music… it’s a real shame to see such a long and incredible tour come to an end, and it’s been a big part of my life too” Rantaro somberly texted.

“Oh, speaking of that, how was the rest of Pitch’s concert?” Shuichi asked.

“Are you kidding? It was just as great as they always are,” Rantaro replied. “Actually, I think it might have been even better than normal. I could tell Pitch was putting her all into her guitar playing, and she used every stage trick she could before the end. The crowd turned sour when she announced that this would be her last show for a while, though; I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many lesbians tear up at once before.”

“Ah, that’s too bad,” Shuichi wrote back. “But I guess there was no getting around that, huh?”

“Yeah, but I saw Pitch take a few of them back to her tour bus afterward, so at least she tried to leave them with some good memories,” Rantaro’s text read. “Though my sister, Abigail, didn’t take the news well at all when I texted her about it. She wouldn’t stop messaging me about it all night. I have a feeling she might be locked in her room for a little while listening to old BC albums.”

“She liked Black Cherry that much, huh? That’s a shame,” Shuichi replied. “What about your other sisters? How are they all doing?”

“They were sad to hear the news too, of course, but they accepted that it was out of their hands,” Rantaro replied. “Afterward, Marisa dropped the triplets and me off at our homes, but I think Marisa might have swiped my phone while I wasn’t looking. So, if you get a text from her out of the blue, you’ll have me to blame for that.”

“Don’t worry, that’s fine,” Shuichi texted back. “That reminds me, actually; you mentioned something about dad being wealthy. Is that true, or-”

“Hey there, Shuichi!!!!!” A text from what Shuichi assumed was Marisa’s number flashed onto the screen, interrupting the text that he was writing. “How’s it going?”

“Speak of the devil,” Shuichi texted Rantaro.

“Ha! I had no idea I had such good timing!” Rantaro wrote, chuckling back in his apartment. “I’ll let you two chat for a little bit then. Hit me up if you ever want to chat, or if you want to get into another concert. There’s always someone willing to send free tickets to my store, after all.”

“Thanks, Rantaro. I’ll keep that in mind,” Shuichi wrote before turning his attention to Rantaro’s sister. “Hello, Marisa. I’m doing just fine; how are you?”

“I’m doing great! All the photos I took last night are getting so many likes online that I can barely keep track of them all, and my video clips were even more popular! I think I might have accidentally started some Black Cherry nostalgia trip through my posts, so I got some more views than usual,” Marisa wrote back. “Though the ones that were just you and me on Instagram were super popular too! For some reason, the instant I tagged you in those posts, users just started flocking to my blogs to look at them. You’re not secretly a celebrity, are you? Because if you are, then I definitely should’ve taken more pictures with you!?”

“What? Me?” Shuichi asked, taken aback. “No, of course not; and honestly, I don’t think I could handle any kind of real fame.”

“Aw, really? Are you sure?” Marisa asked. “That doesn’t mean you want me to take those pictures down, do you?”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Shuichi assured her. “Though, the next time you want my phone number, you should probably just ask for it instead of stealing it from your brother.”

“Ah, did Ran-Ran snitch on me? I was hoping you wouldn’t figure that out,” Marisa replied, pouting adorably in real life and with an emoji. “Fine, I promise I’ll be a good girl from now on, but those pictures you took are definitely going to need a sequel! Oh, I know! I’m baking a cake on a Livestream later today that will look like an eagle! And after that, I’ll be recording an a cappella music video for my YouTube channel. Do you want to co-star on it with me?”

“I just said that I don’t like attention,” Shuichi said to himself as he wrote a response to Marisa. “Actually, I’m busy this afternoon. I… I have a date.”

“Really? Oh, that’s wonderful! I hope it goes well!” Marisa replied, her enthusiasm matching her text. “Send me pics of it if you can, okay?” I want to see how cute you and your girlfriend are together!”

“She’s not my girlfriend yet,” Shuichi began to type before deleting what he wrote. “I’ll see what I can do,” Shuichi wound up texting instead.

“Great! TTYL then!” Marisa replied, punctuating her message with an emoji designed to look like her face.

“Yeah… TTYL.” Shuichi finally looked up from his phone and realized that his laundry had been finished for quite a while. “Alright, there’s no putting it off anymore then; it’s time to start getting ready.”