"Huh?"
Chihaya Anon froze for a moment, feeling like her brain had suddenly stopped working.
"Why would I have to sneak glances at Soyo? What does this have to do with her… Wait, I get it!"
"Oh? And what exactly do you think you get?"
Tsuzuki Chihiro couldn't see Anon's face from where she sat behind her, but just from the tone of her voice, she knew that girl was wearing a smug expression again.
Crap. She might look dumb, but Anon was turning out to be way sharper than Soyo.
"I knew it! There's no way Soyo could have written a whole song in one afternoon. That song was yours, wasn't it?!"
"…What?"
"She must have made you sign some kind of NDA, right? She saw your talent and wanted to claim all your songs as her own."
"That's why she messed up when she played it—because it wasn't actually her song in the first place!"
"And now you want me to claim I wrote a song and keep looking nervously at Soyo so that we can use her 'composer genius' reputation against her—basically framing her!"
"Wow… Soyo's evil."
"Not as evil as you, pinky." Tsuzuki Chihiro was at a complete loss. "How the hell did you even come up with that? I'm actually impressed."
"As long as it's not true…"
"Hm?"
Hearing the relieved tone in Anon's voice, Chihiro instinctively tightened the arm she had draped around her waist.
"You won't tell me what's really going on between you and Soyo, and you're deliberately avoiding the subject. That means there are things you can't say, right?"
"But if that's the case, at least I can be sure you're not the one getting taken advantage of."
"..."
Not getting taken advantage of? That's an understatement.
But seriously, Anon really was a sweetheart.
"Enough pointless chatter. Do you really think your dear Chihiro would let anyone push her around?" Chihiro chuckled, smoothly steering the conversation away. "Just follow my instructions tomorrow, and I promise it'll work out. Your big sis would never steer you wrong."
"Mm, I know."
"Alright then, time for hellish training. Sisterly bonding time is over—now it's time for my brutal private tutoring."
"Ugh… Can't we just chat for, like, a thousand more years—"
"Nope. Your left hand is way too stiff. I need to set up a custom finger training routine for you. If you follow it, you'll improve a lot before Sunday's performance."
As Chihiro adjusted Anon's fingers on the guitar strings, guiding her through repetitive lifts and placements to stretch her tendons, she was also carefully considering her plan with Soyo.
She hadn't given Anon a song just so she could show off.
If that were the case, she wouldn't have specifically told her to make those subtle glances toward Soyo.
Chihiro had been thinking about something all day: Soyo seemed to have developed some doubts about her. Lately, whenever they talked, she couldn't help throwing little sarcastic remarks Chihiro's way.
That probably meant she was starting to question Chihiro's loyalty.
And while her role in this game was technically "traitor," she wasn't about to out herself before the "rebels" were dealt with.
Which meant it was time to prove her allegiance.
This plan wouldn't just help Anon break the tense deadlock where all the pressure was falling on Taki alone—it would also reinforce Soyo's image as the band's creative center, ensuring that their "obedient little puppy" Taki stayed firmly under her influence.
If Soyo saw how hard she was working to carry out her "orders," she'd probably be so pleased she'd smile in her sleep.
After all, with Chihiro around, even hot-headed Taki had to be on her best behavior when addressing her highness Nagasaki Soyo.
…There was just one problem.
If Taki needed to take her frustrations out on someone, would she end up targeting Anon?
"Chihiro, why are you patting my head again?"
"Nothing… You just looked really pitiful for a second. Let your big sis comfort you a little."
"???"
---
"It's already Friday, huh…?"
The next day—May 8th, around noon.
Nagasaki Soyo had no idea what to do.
To put it simply, she hadn't been able to sleep at all last night.
And it wasn't just because there was suddenly one less person in the house—several unresolved issues were gnawing at her.
First and foremost, there was Chihiro. She just couldn't figure her out.
It was just like she had told Taki last week—if CRYCHIC's members had actually said what they were really thinking, they wouldn't have broken up.
Maybe she and Chihiro were trapped in the same kind of unspoken tension.
But the thought of openly addressing it terrified her. She was scared that if she seriously told Chihiro she wanted to be friends, she'd get hit with one of those signature, punchable smirks and a snarky, "Oh? You actually took all this seriously?"
She couldn't bear that.
Even though she'd been through something similar before and should have been prepared, she still wasn't ready to have another conversation like the ones she'd had with Sakiko.
And that was only one of her many problems.
The band was a complete mess.
She had told herself she didn't want these people forming a band, yet now she wasn't even sure what she wanted anymore.
The only thing she did know was that this wasn't the right time to break things up. She had to wait for the right moment—when Taki and Tomori both reached a point where they'd willingly return to Sakiko.
Until then, she had to keep things going.
And on top of all that, Soyo had another, even bigger problem staring her right in the face.
The reason she hadn't spoken to Mutsumi all day was painfully obvious.
—Anyone could tell at a glance.
Mutsumi was devastated.
Damn it, Tsuzuki Chihiro! You can't just break people and leave them lying around!
Then again, this was also her fault for not following Chihiro's advice yesterday.
The point was—Mutsumi had skipped school yesterday. Which meant her parents had definitely yelled at her.
No matter how you looked at it, Soyo couldn't pretend she was uninvolved.
So, as the bell rang for the last class of the day, she stood up and walked over to Wakaba Mutsumi's desk.
"Mutsumi… Did your parents say anything to you when you got home yesterday?"
"They yelled at me."
"I figured… I'm sorry. This is my fault."
Mutsumi shook her head. She didn't complain or blame anyone.
She had grown used to her parents' strict discipline.
Yes, their words hurt—but over time, she had learned to push those feelings aside.
"Do you have lessons today?"
"Yeah. Mom's taking me to meet a senior in the industry. She wants me to learn from Awa-sensei and her granddaughter."
"Awa…?"
Soyo blinked.
That must be referring to Tendo Awa, the legendary actress.
When she was bored, Soyo would sometimes watch The Unfinished Love Letter, a classic drama Awa had starred in.
Which meant Mutsumi's mother wanted her to learn from… the actress's granddaughter?
She was probably the perfect "Yamato Nadeshiko" type.
Soyo sighed.
It felt like the whole world was moving further and further away from her—including Chihiro, who she thought had understood her best.
---
Meanwhile, the Chihiro in question had already snuck back into Soyo's house and spent the entire day asleep.
She had been so exhausted from training that pink-haired idiot that she completely passed out, even forgetting to check in on Sakiko at the company.
By the time she was startled awake by her phone ringing, she was still groggy.
"Huh? Nina? …Mm? You want me to help catch an escaped drummer? You mean Awa Subaru?"
"Eh? My voice? Ah, no problem! Cough, cough—y-you must've misheard, Nina! It's me, Soyo~"
"..."
"...Fine, it's me. It's Chihiro."
---
...
If you're reading this, then you've wandered all the way to the end. I'm impressed. Stories are like wine—meant to be savored, not rushed. So if you took your time? Thank you.
Of course, the real thanks goes to WiseTL—the one who turned tangled words into something beautiful. I just got asked to wrap things up with a ribbon. Hopefully this counts!
If you enjoyed the journey and want to support the person who made it possible, you can find them here:
👉 [patreon.com/WiseTL]
Go on. Be generous. They've earned it.
Until next time—read well, rest often, and maybe come visit me at the Hostess of Fertility sometime.
– Syr ✨