"Soyo, you're going abroad? Why?"
Even Iseri Nina was surprised. She hadn't expected that the reason "Soyo" had called her over was to talk about this.
"It's what my family wants. I don't really have much of a choice."
"Your family, huh…"
Hearing those words, Nina couldn't help but think of the arguments she had with her parents and older sister before leaving home—about dropping out of school and coming to Tokyo on her own.
It all started with the bullying. As a victim, she refused to accept the school's and her parents' attempts to brush it under the rug. And she especially couldn't forgive the other victim—someone who should have been on the same side—who never acknowledged her feelings.
As if she were supposed to just go along with everyone else's expectations. As if no matter how she was treated, she had to act like it didn't bother her.
Of course, the biggest reason she ultimately left home for Tokyo was her family's attitude.
There were three strict family rules: meals must be eaten together, no phones at the table, and mandatory family meetings every Sunday.
That kind of atmosphere was one of the reasons she decided to leave.
So hearing Soyo say this now, Nina couldn't help but think of herself.
"Nina, you came to Tokyo to study for university entrance exams, right?"
"Uh… yeah…"
Nina felt a bit embarrassed hearing that. After all, even though she had told herself she was coming here to work hard and study, within just a few days, she was already hanging out at an idol's house, getting pulled into music.
She had to admit, it was addicting. For the past few days, she'd been stuck in a cycle of regret and guilt—yet she still couldn't stop herself from picking up her phone to play rhythm games.
"Momoka is forming a band, isn't she? Actually, I thought about this during dinner the other night."
"Huh?"
"I'm torn between trying to form a band with everyone or making sacrifices for my future. I'm confused… and scared."
"So, I really wanted to hear your thoughts, Nina."
"…This isn't right."
"It's not?"
Tsuzuki Chihiro looked at the girl, who seemed a little worked up, and felt a slight sense of surprise.
"Soyo, you still want to form a band with everyone, don't you? Do you really want to study abroad?"
"This isn't about what I want or don't want…"
"Soyo."
While Chihiro had been pretending to casually chat with Nina—when in reality, she was fishing for information—the big fish she had been waiting for finally jumped right in front of her.
Feigning surprise, Chihiro turned to look at Taki, who stood nearby with a complicated expression. She asked, seemingly confused, "Taki?"
"Your family is planning to send you abroad. Why didn't you tell us about this earlier?"
"…" Tsuzuki Chihiro put on a pained yet strong front, forcing a bitter smile. "Is there even any point in talking about it now? The band already broke up."
"And you are…?"
"I'm Soyo's friend, Shiina Taki." Taki glanced at the unfamiliar girl in front of her but still responded politely.
"Ah… I'm Iseri Nina. Nice to meet you."
"Yeah."
Taki had already been harboring some suspicions from the start.
Soyo didn't have any real reason to invite this girl here just to talk about these things. She had clearly done it on purpose—so that Taki would overhear.
But that wasn't surprising. If she were in Soyo's shoes, she wouldn't want to give up so easily either.
As awkward as this approach was, Taki suddenly understood Soyo. She understood why she had said what she did yesterday.
"So, no matter what, you think that once high school is over, the band will break up anyway. You didn't want Tomori to know, so you deliberately said those things?"
"…"
"I'm sorry."
Taki let out a sigh. She felt an indescribable weight in her heart. Maybe she really shouldn't have said those things yesterday.
Even if she hadn't known about Soyo's situation—hadn't realized that Soyo was afraid of repeating the past and making the same mistakes as Sakiko—she still shouldn't have compared them.
Soyo was Soyo. Sakiko was Sakiko.
Now, it was clear that Soyo's reason for rebuilding the band had nothing to do with CRYCHIC or Sakiko anymore. She just wanted Tomori's voice to be heard on stage again. But Tomori's hesitation had made Soyo uncertain too.
And in that moment, Taki had carelessly pushed Soyo into Sakiko's former role—forcing a huge responsibility and pressure onto her alone.
"I'm sorry… Soyo, I…"
"Taki, have you started yet?"
Just as Taki was about to apologize further, the automatic door slid open again. A girl with a punkish look walked in. "They've finished up over there. If possible, I'd like to take a look at the sheet music first."
"Who's she?"
Seeing Soyo's questioning gaze, Taki froze.
And before she could even explain, Yahata Umiri had already spoken. "I'm Yahata Umiri. I'm a bassist working with 30 different bands at the moment—though only some of them are still active."
"Nice to meet you. I'm today's temporary bassist."
Crap.
Taki wanted to slap herself. How had she managed to mess up so much in just two days? She didn't even dare to look at the disappointed expression on Soyo's face.
"That's too much!"
To Taki's surprise, though, Soyo didn't say anything right away. Instead, the one who called her out was the usually quiet Iseri Nina.
"Soyo probably just hasn't made up her mind yet! Why did you go and find someone to replace her already? Seriously!"
With that last exasperated "seriously," Nina suddenly held out her pinky finger toward Taki.
"…What are you doing?"
"I'm looking down on you!"
"Hah?!"
"It looks like I'm not needed here."
Umiri, watching the scene unfold, smiled. Though there was a slight hint of disappointment, more than anything, she was happy for her friend.
"Uh, Umiri…"
"It's fine. It looks like you've got things figured out. If that's the case, I'll head out."
She had come quickly and left just as fast, not giving Taki any time to process. And now, Taki was left feeling incredibly awkward.
Wait—how did she suddenly become the villain here?
After taking a moment to compose herself, Taki couldn't help but ask the most important question.
"Soyo, what do you want? I mean… about the band."
---
T/N: poor Umiri :((