"Taki?"
Chihaya Anon saw the recording studio door swing open and instinctively assumed the problem had been solved.
Of course, she hadn't expected Taki and Soyo to argue today either.
While waiting with Tomori in the studio just now, Anon had been feeling incredibly guilty.
Maybe… I shouldn't have said that.
"…"
"…Where's Soyo?"
"She's not coming back."
Taki frowned. She wanted to vent all of her frustration onto Anon, but after some thought, she decided to keep her composure in front of Tomori.
"…What do you mean? Why—"
"You didn't want to do a LIVE, right? Well, now you got what you wanted."
"No, why are you—"
"Taki."
Before Anon could finish, Tomori, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.
"…Is this because of me? Because I didn't want to do the LIVE, so—"
"This isn't your fault."
Taki sighed.
She never expected this newly formed band to be so fragile—falling apart over something as simple as deciding whether or not to perform.
Maybe… forming a band wasn't as easy as it sounded.
In anime, it always seemed so passionate and inspiring.
But in reality, every band eventually had to face the weight of reality itself.
Everyone had their own thoughts, and differences in opinion would inevitably lead to conflicts.
Even if they could temporarily resolve those conflicts, what about the deeper, fundamental differences?
And that wasn't even considering the factors beyond their control.
"…Tomori."
After thinking for a long time, Taki finally made a decision.
"I don't want to give up. You do want to get on stage, don't you?"
"I… Mm."
Perhaps it was the determination in Taki's eyes—Tomori still hesitated, but in the end, she nodded.
How could she not want to?
A girl who had always lived in her own world—
Of course, she longed to become part of something real.
There were things she couldn't do, but that didn't stop Takamatsu Tomori from wanting to do them.
"…But Soyo—"
"Soyo's not coming back. She never had the resolve to stay with us in the first place."
"That can't be it! Did you drive her away on purpose and now you're just pretending—"
Anon's voice rose in protest, but surprisingly, Taki didn't get angry.
Instead, she simply crossed her arms and stared at the pink-haired girl.
"…Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I'll find someone else to perform with."
"And if I can't, it doesn't matter."
"We can use programmed bass and keyboard tracks."
"You're saying…?"
"…Fine. I'll join."
"I thought you wanted to run from practice."
"…."
Taki's doubtful look made Anon uncomfortable.
Honestly, quitting now wouldn't be the worst choice for her.
She could come up with a dozen excuses—
That she was just stubbornly saving face.
That she didn't want Chihiro to know how pathetic she really was.
That she didn't want to feel embarrassed at school after giving up so quickly.
But ultimately…
Anon knew she couldn't keep running away.
"…But Soyo—wasn't she reliable before? Why—"
"She's a liar. That's all there is to it."
After a brief silence, Taki simply shook her head, summing it up in one sentence before sitting back down behind her drum kit.
"Let's start practicing."
"If I catch you slacking off again, Tomori and I will stop playing and make you practice alone while we just sit here and stare at you."
"…You don't have to make it sound that scary…"
---
"Chi-chan, do you have time later?"
"…Huh?"
Tsuzuki Chihiro blinked, caught completely off guard.
So she really had become "Chi-chan" now, huh?
Well, if Sakiko insisted on calling her that, she wasn't going to waste energy arguing over a nickname.
She could call her whatever she wanted.
"I think I'm busy later," Chihiro said casually.
She was in a rush to get home and check how Soyo had handled today, so she was eager to leave.
"I was planning to stop by a prep school, so I can't hang out today."
"…Then how about I go with you?"
"…What?"
Chihiro froze.
Sakiko hadn't even considered that she was turning her down.
Wait…
From Sakiko's perspective, her excuse was way too real to sound like an excuse.
"You really want to study, don't you, Chi-chan?"
"…I guess."
Both Sakiko and that other Soyo had asked her this before.
And each time, Chihiro had dodged the question.
Did she really want to go to school?
Not particularly.
If she were the kind of person who loved studying, she wouldn't have dropped out in the first place.
But to say she had no interest in experiencing school life again…
That would be a lie.
What she wanted wasn't the studying itself, but the kind of life that came with it—
A life where she didn't have to worry about survival every day.
Sure, school could be exhausting, but it also had its own kind of freedom.
"I think so too."
"No matter what, working part-time forever isn't a long-term plan."
"You should go back to school, Chi-chan."
"At the very least, you should aim for college."
"…Mm. You're right."
"Then let's go. I'll help you find a good prep school."
"And actually… I'm pretty good at studying."
"If you need help, I can tutor you too."
"…This… um… okay, sure."
Chihiro could tell—
Sakiko wasn't going to take no for an answer.
It would be pointless to refuse her now.
Tokyo had plenty of prep schools for students who weren't currently enrolled in high school.
Most of them catered to seniors cramming for college entrance exams, but there were also places where dropouts could study and attend classes.
As long as you had the money, you could find the right place.
Chihiro purposely picked a school close to Soyo's house.
Her plan was to go through the motions, humor Sakiko… and then slip away and head home.
"Chi-chan, when did you stop going to school?"
"…First year of middle school, I think?"
"…I see."
Sakiko didn't know how to respond.
She suddenly felt incredibly lucky in comparison.
At the very least, she had been able to maintain a proper image.
She had the opportunity to learn, to absorb the knowledge that should be a given at this age.
For Sakiko, studying was her way of changing her circumstances.
That's why she had never really considered a casual youthful band to be the right path for her.
Just as Sakiko was about to ask about the school's services,
She suddenly felt arms wrap around her from behind.
She let out an involuntary, startled noise—
"Eep—!"
"…Sakiko, um—help me block them."
"…Huh?"
Sakiko was momentarily confused.
She didn't turn around to look at Chihiro, who was pressing her forehead against her back.
Instead, she looked ahead.
And just a short distance away stood a girl with reddish-brown hair, the ends tied into two short ponytails.
She was wearing a dark-colored jacket over a red plaid skirt—
Probably around the same age as Chi-chan.
An old classmate?
At that moment, Sakiko suddenly felt a strong sense of duty—
A feeling that protecting Chi-chan meant protecting her own future self.