After finishing up the dishes in the kitchen with practiced ease, Haru exhaled and let his thoughts drift as layers of sound began to roll in from the practice room. He smiled and shook his head, his mind gradually settling as his mood calmed.
He hadn't forgotten the heartfelt words the little penguin had shared last night on the sofa.
Since CRYCHIC's disbandment, everyone except Togawa Sakiko seemed to have moved on. Though there was still a lingering awkwardness between Soyo-san and the "little log" over their "man-stealing," deep down, they had already begun to accept one another again.
Only Sakiko still seemed trapped in that band's whirlpool, struggling to escape but unable to let go.
"No matter what, Sakiko can't avoid facing the others and talking things through."
"At the very least, I need to find a way to ease the tension between them…"
Both sides had suffered over what happened with CRYCHIC. A thorn remained lodged deep in their hearts.
With that in mind, Haru took a deep breath and pulled out his phone, opening a chat with the one and only "Sensei Sakiko."
Tomorrow, MyGO was scheduled to perform their "revenge" live at STARRY, a rare and precious opportunity. Haru decided this was the right moment to invite Sakiko to come see them.
Sometimes, words laced with thorns and the fears in one's heart only make things worse when spoken out loud. But music, through melody, could bridge souls instead.
With her stubborn nature, Togawa Sakiko would probably never be able to swallow her pride and speak openly with the others. But if she could just hear Tomori's voice again, maybe something inside her would shift.
[WannaBeFertilizer]: Sakiko, are you free tomorrow afternoon?
[Togawa Sakiko]: I'm free, nothing planned.
That was quick. Were you just sitting there waiting for a message?
[WannaBeFertilizer]: Tomori and the others are performing at STARRY tomorrow. Would you have time to come watch?
The message had barely been sent before it showed "read," but then there was silence. The immediate replies from before were gone, and on the other end, Sakiko seemed to have fallen into an eerie pause.
Haru sighed. A flicker of unsurprised realization crossed his eyes.
It seemed Sakiko still hadn't changed her stance of "avoid them if possible."
Especially after the time MyGO performed Haruhikage, that blow had visibly shaken her, and her reaction had sparked Soyo's emotional breakdown. In the end, Sakiko had delivered the coldest possible response and walked away.
If no one stepped in to act as the bridge between them, with Sakiko's pride, she might never reach out to the others again for the rest of her life.
"Maybe I really was rushing this too much…"
Haru murmured under his breath, brows drawn together as he prepared to type another message. Just then, his screen lit up.
[Togawa Sakiko]: Alright. I'll come see it tomorrow.
Surprised she actually agreed, Haru paused, then quickly sent a reply to confirm the meeting time for tomorrow.
Once all the arrangements were in place for the live show, he put his phone away. The weight on his expression began to lift.
Since Sakiko was coming, he'd have even more to consider tomorrow.
[Togawa Sakiko]: Then, see you tomorrow.
With a soft tap of the screen, the girl standing just outside the practice room sent her message and put her phone away.
Tucking a strand of tousled pale-blue hair behind her ear, her amber eyes, calm but tinged with melancholy, drifted upward toward the marks on the ceiling, her heart far from still.
"I thought you were asking me out on a date…"
"Idiot!"
Sakiko muttered with a faintly bitter tone, but still sent a cute sticker to Haru's chat. In truth, a little sting had already crept into her chest.
Tomorrow, she'd go to STARRY in Shimokitazawa to watch Tomori and the others perform again. She understood Haru's intent perfectly.
To him, even if CRYCHIC had disbanded, they had once been united by fate. No matter what, Sakiko didn't need to treat her former bandmates so coldly, especially now that they were moving forward and letting go of the past.
Even Nagasaki Soyo had done so.
"Sakiko."
A soft and gentle voice called out from behind her. At the sound, Sakiko's brows furrowed as she turned to see her most trusted "other half", Wakaba Mutsumi, standing shyly nearby.
The moment she saw her, Togawa Sakiko immediately smoothed the emotions from her face.
"Sorry, Mutsu. Let's go back and continue practicing."
"That's not what I meant."
With a face as expressionless as a doll, Wakaba Mutsumi gently shook her head. Under Togawa Sakiko's slightly puzzled gaze, she hesitated for a moment, then looked ahead with quiet determination.
"Are you free tomorrow afternoon, Sakiko?"
The familiar question made Sakiko's brows shoot up.
She had just agreed to Haru's invitation, and was about to decline instinctively. But then she remembered how rare it was for Wakaba Mutsumi to approach her like this. Suppressing her suspicion for the moment, she asked instead, perplexed:
"Mutsu, is there something you want from me tomorrow?"
"Soyo and the others are having a live at STARRY. I wanted to invite you to come see it with me."
There was a trace of hesitation and concern in Mutsumi's usually even voice. Caught off guard by being invited to the same event, Sakiko froze. Her brows drew together deeply as she struggled to find the right response.
But to the wooden girl beside her, that frown seemed like displeasure.
"..."
A flicker of disappointment passed over Mutsumi's face, though she remained standing quietly, waiting for Sakiko's reply.
Noticing her friend's misunderstood expression, Sakiko let out a faint sigh and tried to explain, her tone soft and conflicted:
"Actually, Haru just invited me too. He asked me to come see the show at STARRY tomorrow."
"Haru?"
Mutsumi blinked, visibly stunned for a moment. A flash of something unreadable flickered in her pale golden eyes.
"So... what did you say?"
"Of course I said yes."
Sakiko responded calmly, one hand on her hip, though her eyes darted away slightly.
Wakaba Mutsumi could always see through her "other half."
Hearing the answer she had hoped for, Mutsumi turned her gaze quietly toward the practice room. Her expression remained unreadable, like the surface of a still lake, betraying none of her thoughts.
"Sakiko, Mutsumi~ How long are you two going to loiter out there? Don't we have practice today~?"
Yuutenji Nyamu's syrupy voice called from inside the room, snapping both girls out of their thoughts. Sakiko immediately straightened her posture, restoring her typical composure as leader.
"Mutsu, let's go."
With that, she turned and reentered the practice room, leaving Mutsumi standing there alone for a moment longer.
After a pause, the quiet girl finally followed.
...
The next day, around noon.
A full day of training had flown by, and the spinning wheel of time had finally brought them to the day of the live.
"You guys, hurry up already! Do you know what time it is?! Stray Cat, your outfit's on backwards! Are you planning to walk on stage like that?!"
"Haru! My panties, I can't find my panties!"
"...And how exactly is that my problem?"
The chaotic scene in front of him made Haru twitch at the corners of his mouth. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.
Because they'd trained so hard yesterday, everyone had fallen into a deep sleep. By the time they woke up, only two hours remained before the show. The tight schedule was like standing on the edge of a collapsing cliff, and Soyo's household had descended into utter madness.
Metal clattered and girls screamed in disarray, turning the entire living room into a battlefield.
Anon, in the middle of changing, didn't seem to care in the slightest about exposing herself. She lifted one long leg to pull on her thigh-highs. Beside her, Takamatsu Tomori was frantically hugging a laptop, scanning the room like a lost chick.
As the group's unofficial "manager," Haru couldn't just stand by and let the chaos waste precious time.
He grabbed a comb and expertly tidied the little penguin's sleep-tousled silver-gray hair. Then he turned and gently pulled the still-drowsy Raana out of bed, shielding his eyes from anything he shouldn't see while helping her change.
At this rate, he was starting to feel more like their dad and mom combined.
Just when he found a brief moment to check his messages, someone tapped his shoulder. As he turned, he was met with the sight of a now-undressed Nagasaki Soyo.
Haru: ?
Those legs are way too... No, wait, I mean... that outfit's really white.
Seeing the shock flash through his eyes, Soyo, with her back to him, gave a small, knowing smirk. Her bare skin and proud figure were fully on display as she turned her head slightly and asked sweetly:
"Haru, could I trouble you to help me unhook my bra?"
If I do that, it's not going to stop at unhooking.
Naturally, Taki heard Soyo's bold request loud and clear. Her face instantly flushed scarlet, and she stormed over to grab Haru by the wrist, yanking him away while hissing like an angry cat.
"You can do that yourself!"
"And you, Kazami... Haru, turn around and close your eyes! If you dare peek, I swear I'll kill you...!"
You really think telling me not to look is going to stop me?
Haru was about to keep watching just to be difficult, but then reconsidered. With Taki's temper, she might actually break his face. Reluctantly, he obediently turned around.
The girls' flustered voices filled the room with a lively energy. Fortunately, Haru had taken care of the instruments yesterday and sent them ahead to STARRY with Nijika, or the chaos this morning would've been even worse.
Hearing his own thoughts, Haru simply shook his head and responded crisply, "The car I called should be arriving soon. Once you're done changing, just come straight out."
Standing alone in the hallway on the 43rd floor, he looked out through the glass window at the bright, blue sky. The gentle sunlight streaming down helped ease the tension in his heart.
If today had brought heavy rain or a gloomy sky like before, it might've affected the girls' moods and condition.
This "revenge" live wasn't just a performance. It was their counterattack.
Thankfully, the girls didn't keep him waiting long. Once they'd changed, they boarded the car and headed toward Shimokitazawa.
...
Thirty minutes later.
Having finally arrived at the live house, the girls didn't waste a moment before rushing backstage.
This wasn't just the first step in their "revenge" against a disbanded band, it was also MyGO!!!!!!'s first performance since restarting. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, this was their rebirth.
Maybe their original reasons for forming the band hadn't been so pure.
Some might've used it to pursue their own "goals." Others may have been chasing vain pride. Some carried the pain of the past and couldn't truly open up to the idea of a new band.
But this MyGO was completely different now.
They no longer tiptoed around each other, no longer avoided the hidden thorns in each other's hearts. Through conflict and reconciliation, they had reached real understanding.
Even if everyone had their own reasons for starting again, they were all now walking the same path forward.
"We're heading to the dressing room to change. Don't you dare try to peek..."
"It's not like I didn't see it this morning."
Seeing Taki's eyes widen in outrage and her cheeks flush red, Haru smirked and zipped his lips with a silent gesture.
Knowing she couldn't afford to make a scene here, Taki simply shot him a fierce glare before turning on her heel and heading for the dressing room.
"That leaves just the 'manager' who doesn't need to go on stage."
Maybe it was the relief from having finished all his "duties," or maybe it was the exhaustion from chasing the ticking clock all morning...
In any case, Haru suddenly felt drained.
After pulling an all-nighter and barely sleeping yesterday, even a body with Lv.5 endurance would start to feel the weight. Just as he turned to grab an iced coffee from the front desk to perk up, a warm sensation touched the back of his neck.
He turned his head to find a girl with a golden side ponytail smiling sweetly behind him.
"Looks like you've been having a hard time."
The warm orange light of STARRY bathed her slender shoulders as she bent slightly, offering him a Kiss-brand coffee. Her golden hair traced a graceful arc in the air.
Even in such a casual gesture, her movements radiated elegance and charm.
"Thanks."
As he accepted the coffee, a gentle warmth seeped into his skin.
It was hot coffee.
"I'm not the one who's had it hardest. Tomori and the others pushed themselves through 'hell training' just to face that disbanded band head-on. If you and your team slack off…"
"They might just get beaten by the 'losers' they once beat."
"No way! We've been practicing seriously too!"
The light-footed, golden-haired girl stepped closer, her face tilted in an exaggerated pout.
But with her petite figure and motherly warmth, there wasn't a hint of menace in her act. If anything, Haru felt like he was about to die from how cute she was.
Before he realized it, both of his hands had quietly come together.
Ijichi Nijika is the kind of woman who could be my mom.jpg.
"I've actually been thinking about increasing our live shows recently... I mean, Haru, look at us. We always spend forever preparing, and then only perform once. It's hard to grow that way."
"Tomori, Anon, and the others are all working so hard. At this rate, we might really lose next time."
She absolutely did not want to lose.
"So I want us to start trying out some street performances. That way, our disbanded band can get more exposure too. Sure, we've already got tens of thousands of followers on Twitter, but it's still not nearly enough!"
Maybe it was the dream she had inherited, the dream Ijichi Seika had abandoned for her sake, that now surged in her chest. The golden-haired girl looked up toward the ceiling covered in stage lights, her lips curled into a hopeful smile.
Coming back to her senses, Nijika looked at the black-haired boy beside her and lifted her chin with a proud little gesture.
"Playing at the Budokan is just our first step. After that, it's Tokyo Dome... then a nationwide tour, maybe even performing around the world! We're going to carve our name into the world, one stage at a time!"
Realizing how grand she sounded, she shyly added, "That might've been a bit much, huh?"
Haru found her expression so endearing, he chuckled and said, "A little pride never hurt anyone. Though technically, we haven't even made our official debut yet."
"Hehe~ True enough!"
With her hands clasped behind her back, the golden-haired girl flashed a bright, lively smile. She stood beside him, occasionally rising onto her toes, her ponytail swaying like sunshine on a breeze.
Even if she got carried away sometimes, it was fine. As long as he was there, she felt like she could always get back on her feet. No matter when, she could draw strength from him. Without realizing it, she had grown used to having him at her side.
If things could just stay like this, she'd be happy.
Even if it was just as friends...
[Haru, he doesn't only like one person.]
That sudden memory struck Nijika like a splash of cold water. Her scarlet eyes stared dazedly at the boy beside her, and for some reason, a strange emotion began to stir inside her.
"Haru, have you ever thought about the future?"