• 𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 "𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧" 💋 -

• The moon has set, the hosts have gone out for an after-party, and the other staff have gone home.

• It's midnight. Choji is sipping a drink in the VIP room of Club Twilight, a special, private room that only a select few guests and top hosts can enter, when Shirasu comes in.

"Good work, Choji. You seem to be doing better than usual lately."

"Yeah, maybe since that talk of the number one battle came up, sales have been going strong. There's nobody here today, so I have some leftovers, how about a drink?"

"Yeah, I'll take it."

• With his bar set up in a prime location in Mise, he carelessly pours drinks into an empty glass and drinks with his best friend - the perfect late night.
• He's now achieved part of the lifestyle he once dreamed of, but even with his head full of alcohol, Choji still can't get into the late-night excitement.
• Because there's something he wants to ask his best friend.

"Hey Shirasu, are you pushing yourself too hard?"

"No? The restaurant is fine. Choji is much more..."

"That's not it."

• It wasn't a worry about having entrusted him with the role of store's accountant, but a kind of tension that could only be described as a long-held intuition.

"I'm not pushing myself too hard, really."

"...In that case, it's fine. There's still some sake left, drink up,"

• Shirasu said with a smile, and Choji couldn't hear anything more.
• Telling himself that the unspoken tension was just anxiety about the long road to the top, Choji increased the pace of his drinking.