Chapter Text
“Thank you all for coming!”
Sat in Hanasakigawa’s student council room were several of its students, as well as Haneoka’s, which came in order to put the finishing touches on the second edition of their joint culture festival. In the center of the tables, which were placed in a half-circle, was Rokka, who was presenting a poster she and her schoolmates had just finished.
“This is the final design for the musical event we have planned. I hope you all like it!”
“We put a lot of work into it,” added Tsugumi. “As Haneoka’s student council president, I wouldn’t have let it be done lazily!”
The poster was covered in pinks, reds and yellows, all colors that indicated which bands would be playing for the event; in a convenient stroke of luck, all members of Poppin’Party, Afterglow and Hello, Happy World! were available on the last day of the event, and were eager to participate. Their logos adorned the center of the poster in vivid ink, and the performance was set to be quite a thing to behold.
“Ooooh, impressive! I really like what you did with the stars, lightning bolts and balls. It just screams “Hello, Popiglow!”” Exclaimed Eve.
“”Popiglow?” Who are you, Tae-senpai…?” Asuka replied, sighing.
“Oh, speaking of Popipa… where are they? Maybe you know, since you’re her sister?”
“No, actually… Kasumi stayed over at Arisa-san’s last night. Late night practice, I think? Sorry for not knowing more, Misaki-senpai.”
“It’s all right. I guess they just practiced late enough that they decided to skip today… *sigh* I’ll have to talk to them about this.”
Suddenly, Rokka felt her phone vibrate, pulling it out to check it. “Oh–! K-Kasumi-senpai!? She’s calling now!?” Picking it up, she brought it close to her ear, before pulling it away due to her idol being too loud.
“Rooooooock…!”
“Kasumi-senpai…? What’s wrong…?”
“*cough* I’b sick…”
“Sick!? What happened!?”
“ She happened!” Arisa cut in angrily. “We tried to tell her that it wasn’t a good idea to– ACHOO! *sniff* …to go swim in the river in the middle of the night in November, but noooo…!”
“But it was sbarkling and hearb-bounding…”
“And of course, when O-Tae went in also, she took that as indication the rest of us should be pushed in! I can’t believe– *cough* *hack*”
“Arisa… take it easy, okay…?” Rokka heard Saaya say over the phone.
“Rimi and her aren’t even conscious right now! Jeez…”
“Are you all gonna be okay to perform!? You sound really sick…”
“Sorry, Rock… I’m the only one who managed not to get sick somehow, so I’m taking care of everyone… I can tell none of them are in any state to practice, even if they miraculously healed by Sunday. I think… we’re just going to have to cancel.”
“Oh… I see… that’s okay. Please take care of yourselves… bye.”
“Rokka… did we hear that right?”
“...yeah.”
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Umiri felt something cold placed on the back of her head as she was resting from the day before’s concert. Knowing what it was, as well as the person responsible, she did not bother to lift her head, simply grabbing the small drink and punching it open with its straw.
“Taki-san. Good morning.”
“Should you be sleeping in class? The teacher was glaring at you the entire lesson.”
“It will be fine. My classmate usually shares her notes with me.”
“Are you… are you talking about me? To my face?”
Suddenly, the door to the classroom burst open, an out-of-breath Misaki walking in. “*huff* Yahata-chan, Shiina-chan… can you please come with me?”
“Senpai? What’s wrong?”
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“...and that’s why I’ve brought you here.” The student council president finished, as the three girls sat down in the council room.
“I see. That does sound like quite the predicament.”
“But, why us, exactly? Surely you could ask others, right?”
“Well, yes, but… everyone’s busy. Pastel*Palettes probably won’t be able to get the okay from their producer, since they already refused last year, Roselia has a big concert coming up they can’t make time for, and any other bands we thought to ask happened to be occupied with either studying for the upcoming exams, or some other event or personal matter. So I thought of asking the first-years, and here we are.”
“Ah. I see. But we aren’t gonna go far with just a bassist and a drummer… and I don’t know if I really want to participate…” Taki replied.
“Sounds fun to me! Count me in!” Anon enthusiastically added, startling her friend with her sudden appearance.
“Wh– Anon!? Where did you come from!? You don’t even attend this school!”
“Tsugumi-senpai and LOCK-senpai asked me to come!”
“Sorry for startling you, Taki-chan. You were so focused on Misaki-senpai’s explanation, we didn’t want to interrupt you when we walked in…” Rokka nervously laughed as she explained.
“Getting back on topic, I would be happy to participate as well.”
“Well, if Umiri and Anon will be performing, now I know for sure I don’t want to… huh?” Noticing a poster at the other end of the table they were sitting at, Taki interrupted herself, thinking she noticed something on it. As her eyes flew over the words on it, her face suddenly turned beet red. “...A-A-Afterglow!?”
“Oh, right. Did I forget to mention? Afterglow and Hello, Happy World! will be performing as well. You’d be the opening act for the former.”
“H… Haaaaaaah!?”
“Sounds like Rikki’s suddenly feeling motivated~”
“Sh-Shut up, you! I–”
“Rikki-san, you should accept.”
“Umiri, you too!?” Taking a deep breath to gather herself, the drummer tried not to blush as she faced her senpais. “...I would like to participate as well, if that would be okay…”
“Aah~? So you want to play with us after all~?”
“Anon, if you say another word, I’m kicking you out of MyGO!!!!!.”
“Hehehe… you know the others wouldn’t let you. Or, well, Soyorin might, but…”
“Thank you so much, you three! You’re lifesavers.”
“Still, Taki-san is right. Just the three of us won’t make for much of a band. Would it be all right if I asked my bandmates if they want to be involved?”
“Oh, we can do the same! Right, Rikki?”
“Mmm… guess so, yeah.”
“That’d be a huge help. Just keep in mind this is a culture festival, so keep it to Haneoka and Hanasakigawa students only.” Misaki agreed.
“Oh, that rules out most of the rest of Ave Mujica then. I can think of one person to start with, however.”
“Aww, no Soyorin, huh… oh well! Rikki, you ask Raana-chan. I’ll ask Tomorin, okay?”
“That sounds good to me. Finding that stray cat is easier said than done though…”
“Either way, us Haneoka students should be heading back. Lunch break is halfway over, and we have to make sure to be back in time for afternoon classes.”
“Ah, right! Thank you, Rokka-chan.”
“How about we meet up after class today to update one another on which members agreed to join?”
“Okay! I’ll be there, Tomorin in tow!”
“Who are you to put words in Tomori’s mouth…? Either way, that works with me.”
“Anon-chan, let’s go.”
“Ah– coming!”
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Taki couldn’t believe she let herself be dragged into this. A band? With Umiri and Anon again ? Was she cursed? She had half a mind to turn right back around and tell Misaki that she wasn’t going to participate after all, but her pride wouldn’t let her go back on her word. and maybe she was looking forward to playing in the same concert as Afterglow. Standing on the same stage as her favorite band… it almost felt like a dream. She tried to ignore her quickening heartbeat as she entered the junior high school building. Right now, she had to focus on finding that stray cat. Climbing the stairs to the third floor and entering Raana’s classroom, she quickly scanned the room for her distinctive face, but could not see her.
“Oh, Senpai? Long time no see!” A classmate and clubmate of the guitarist greeted Taki, surprised to see her here. “Are you looking for Kaname-san again?”
“Oh, hello. That’s right. Have you seen her?”
“Well, she did come to class today, but she never really sticks around during recess. Did you check the courtyard yet? She usually likes to lie down there.”
“I haven’t, actually. I’ll go check now. Thank you for the help.”
“Of course! Have a good day, Senpai!”
Walking back down the stairs and sitting down on a bench in the courtyard, Taki wondered what her next course of action should be. She was no good at knowing how others were feeling or thinking in most cases, let alone when it comes to someone as eccentric as Raana. Hell, for all she knows, she could be halfway across the city by now. It wouldn’t be the first time she left in the middle of a school day, angering her grandmother in the process. Sighing, she laid her head on the bench’s back, looking up through the branches of the oak tree, which did not give much shade now that most of its leaves had vanished due to the colder weather.
That’s when she saw it.
A familiar streak of white hair.
“Wh– Stray Cat!?”
“Mmm…?” Seemingly being roused from a nap, Raana shifted around. “Rikki.”
“What are you, a bird? The hell are you doing sleeping in a tree like this!?”
“No. Like cats.”
“Haah– well, I guess that’s like you. Anyway–”
“Oh.” Suddenly, a cat jumped out from the branch and onto Taki’s face, its paws almost landing on her eyes, before starting to strut away. “There he goes.”
“Ow– the hell, Raana? Couldn’t you have told me you had a–”
“Wait for me, cat.”
“Bwaaah– what am I, a landing strip!? Hey, come back here! I’m not done talking to you…!” Taki’s demands fell on deaf ears as Raana followed the cat through the courtyard and up a fence, leaving the school grounds entirely.
“Ugh, now I have to follow her!?”
ding dong ding dong
“...Aaaah, forget it…! If she’s this unreliable, she may not show up at all on the day of or at practice anyway!”
Defeated, Taki pulled out her phone, texted the new group chat her and her friends just made, and dragged her feet back to the high school building.
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bzzzt
“Raana’s no good. Just had to hunt her down and she left before I could say a word. We’ll have to find another guitarist.”
Anon felt a mix of annoyance and amusement at Taki’s message. It made her want to tease her bandmate for failing to hold down their oddball friend, but she also wanted to argue with her about them needing another guitarist. Hadn’t they done enough concerts by now for her to acknowledge her skill? She could totally be the lead guitarist in a band by now! I mean, sure, she often got distracted and needed to be reeled back in by a glare from the drummer, or god forbid, Soyo, but still! If she had more to do, it wouldn’t happen as much, right?
“...Chihaya-san?”
“Ah– um– here!”
“...I know. Roll call was fifteen minutes ago. I was asking you a question.”
“Oh… uh, sorry, could you repeat it?”
“*sigh* No, never mind. I’ll just ask someone else.”
Right. She was in class now. She had to focus. Focus on the math problems in front of her… the boring, boring equations she had to solve… sure, she was a good student, and her tests usually came back with good results, but that doesn’t mean she enjoyed any of it! No, there was no way she could focus on this right now. All she could think about was that new band they were making! And with Timoris of Ave Mujica, no less! This could be her big break into the music industry! Maybe she could even start her solo career from this new acquaintance, hehe… ANON TOKYO would grow yet!
For now, this was just a simple culture festival gig, though, so all she could do was prove she was reliable. And for that, she needed to work fast and bring in new members! Plus, the faster she finds a good vocalist, the harder it will be for Umiri to feel disinterested and cancel. And she had a good idea as to who to ask…
“Tomorin. Hey, Tomorin!” Anon turned around and whispered, trying to get her friend’s attention.
“...Ano-chan?”
“So, you know how Tsugumi-senpai came in to get me after class earlier?”
“...mhm.” Tomori responded, trying to be as quiet as possible so as not to get in trouble.
“Turns out it was for a favor! Me, Rikki and Yahata-san from Ave Mujica are gonna be in a band together for the festival!”
“...ah.” Not sure what to say, and confused about why she was telling her this now of all times, the vocalist only gave a brief sound of acknowledgement.
“But we’re still missing some members, and we have roles to fill, right? So, Tomorin, that’s where you come in! Wanna join? I’d do the vocals, but I know Rikki wouldn’t let me, so…”
“Um– sure.” Tomori quickly agreed, which seemed uncharacteristic to the pink-haired girl, before abruptly lowering her gaze back onto her textbook.
“Yay! Thanks, Tomorin~ I’ll tell the others right a–”
“ Chihaya-san. Stop bothering Takamatsu-san or I’m sending you to the principal.”
“Waaah– I’m sorry, Sensei…!”
But still… a new band, huh? Tomori thought about what that would entail. Being part of an unfamiliar group sounded scary, but if it was with Taki and Anon, she thought she would be okay. And this could be a chance to shout out her words and be heard by all kinds of people, not just MyGO!!!!! fans and RiNG’s usual clientele. Maybe it would be a good thing to participate.
And… she had another idea, too. One that could make her smile once more. As something in her eyes burned with a quiet determination, Tomori turned the page of her notebook, deciding to practice an entirely different kind of exercise.
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Sakiko focused as her fingers followed a familiar sequence. G#, C#, E, G#, C#, E, G#, C#, E… she has known this song for longer than she’s known herself, if she even does at all nowadays. This place was the only one she felt truly, fully at home in. Mutsumi’s house was fine, unless her parents were home, in which case their blatant disregard or even outright contempt for their daughter could only put her in a bad mood. Uika’s was suffocating, either due to her roommate’s constant well-meaning interruptions or the heavy silence that followed a bad day for either of them. Anywhere else was full of people that she had no interest in spending time with or next to. But at this time, when all other students are either heading to their clubs or homeways? This was her personal haven. The setting sun’s rays caressing the keys of the music room’s piano, her body casting a shadow down on her hands as she played the familiar tune… truly, this was peace.
Or, it would have been, if someone didn’t come in. Someone she could tell the identity of solely from the quiet footsteps, and the way she closed the door behind her without a sound, almost as if she felt she was trespassing in her own school.
“...Tomori.”
“S-Saki-chan… hello.”
“...” Sakiko did not stop playing.
“...” Tomori swallowed. It didn’t matter how much she had practiced this. No exercise, no rehearsal, could prepare her when it came to talking to her ex-bandmate. The piano between them felt more like a cliff, or an unscalable wall. Even now that their relationship wasn’t as strained, she still struggled to find her words.
“...can I help you?”
“Um–” Realizing that staying quiet would only make things worse, the vocalist pushed herself to speak. “Th-There’s this band, and, um– Taki-chan and Ano-chan are– oh, and Yahata-san–” Glancing at Sakiko, who raised an eyebrow at the mention of Umiri, clearly confused, Tomori looked away again, took a deep breath, and started over. “...Poppin’Party are sick. And we… we’re going to replace them at the festival. We’ll be a band just this once, and…”
“...And you want me to join?” the keyboardist completed.
“...Mhm…!” Tomori’s eyes were full of hope and determination, speaking the words her voice was unable to, and yet, her gaze remained firmly fixed on the floor. The gray-haired girl wanted her to play with her once more, more than anything. She longed for the bond they once had, so happy in their last year of middle school.
But that Sakiko was long dead. “I’m sorry, but I must decline.”
“But…!”
“The past is in the past, Tomori.”
“It doesn’t have to be…! We can play again, can’t we…?”
“CRYCHIC is dead.”
“Ah–”
“It is dead and buried, and it will never come back. We are on different paths now.” Sakiko got up, walking past her friend and opening the exit door. “I wish you the best with your endeavors. Don’t worry about Umiri. You have my permission to use her. Good day.”
And with that, the blue-haired girl closed the door behind her, leaving Tomori standing alone in the middle of the room, her gaze at her feet where it had been the whole time. She remained there for a while, unsure what to do with herself now, and hoping Sakiko would return and change her mind. But sure enough, she never did, and it took her phone vibrating in her pocket to snap her out of her daze.
It was a message from Anon. “Tomorin! I’m waiting for you at the gates. Let’s meet up with Rikki and Yahata-san and check in with each other!”
And so, the small girl dragged her feet out of the music room, wondering if she would ever get to see the Saki-chan she used to know again.
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“Ah, there you two are.”
“Taki-chan…”
Taki was waiting for her friends at Hanasakigawa’s gates, her back to a wall. The sun was now very low in the sky, bathing the streets nearby in a soft orange light.
“Hey, Rikki! So, no luck with Raana-chan, huh? Good thing someone here’s working hard to find new members~”
“Umiri isn’t here yet. No need to show off.”
“Wha– you wound me, madam! I would never–”
“You would.”
“Huh!? Now hold on–”
“U-Um–”
“Tomori?” Taki ignored the guitarist, focusing on the smaller girl. “Is everything all right?”
“Where’s… Yahata-san?”
“She said she had to do something before coming. She shouldn’t be gone for much longer.”
“And indeed I am not.” Umiri replied as she approached, followed by a familiar face. “I simply had to retrieve someone.”
“I-Is that– Uika!?” Anon couldn’t believe her eyes. “She goes to this school!?”
“Um… hello, Anon-chan. It’s been a while.” Uika shyly replied, a small smile on her face.
“You didn’t know? She’s in our class.”
“You go to class with Timoris and Doloris, and you never thought to tell me!?”
“This is exactly why I never told you…”
“Um, if I may ask… why did you bring me here, Umiri-chan?”
“Ah, right. I thought I would tell you only now so you would have the full picture. Our schools’ student councils requested we form a band to replace our senpais who fell ill at the culture festival. I assume if Takamatsu-san is here, that means she will be joining as well.”
“Mhm.” Tomori confirmed.
“That is great to hear. And so, we would like to extend the invitation to you.”
“...What about Saki-chan?”
“Hm? Togawa-san? I haven’t asked her yet–”
“I… I talked to her.”
“Oh, that’s what you went off to do earlier? Productive, Tomorin~ see, it’s like I asked two people in the end!”
“She… said she wouldn’t join.”
“Good going, Miss Recruiter.”
“Rikki…! Why are you so mean to me…?”
Cutting through the banter, Uika walked forward, intending to leave. “Then my answer is no as well.”
“Wait, Misumi-san–”
“Why ask me, anyhow? You already have a vocalist and a guitarist, don’t you?”
“That’s… true, but–”
“Shiina-chan, you should just give Anon-chan the lead guitarist role. I’ve seen her play. I’m sure she would do fine.”
“See! See! Even Uika said so–”
“Anon, shut up!” Taki whispered, elbowing her in the ribs. “We’re familiar with playing with two guitarists, and you are as well. Keeping her on rhythm and you as the lead would work out perfectly.”
“Thank you for the invitation, but my answer is the same.” Turning around to face the four, Uika harbored an indescribable look in her eyes as she gave a smile. “My words exist solely to give voice to Saki-chan’s every wish. If she won’t play, then someone like me… then it’s simply no use for me to join.” With her piece said, Uika turned back around, leaving everyone else behind.
“Uika…-chan…”
As the slowly burgeoning band stood there, watching their potential recruit leave, Tomori could only think of those eyes. Those deep, purple eyes, the sadness they contain… and how they threatened to swallow her whole.