It had to be said—the White Sakiko in the anime was truly dazzling.
But the more dazzling White Sakiko was, the worse Sakiko felt.
"Fate…"
Soyo in the anime rested her chin on her hands, looking as though she really liked the words White Sakiko had chosen.
Yes—a community of fate. What a beautiful phrase.
When she said those words back then, her heart must have been filled with hope for the future, right?
But to the Sakiko of today, White Sakiko's words were like a boomerang, whipping back and slapping her pale face until it burned red.
"A community of fate…"
The real Soyo also had a distant look in her eyes, showing just how deeply those words struck her heart.
"Saki-chan, you were the one who said it back then—that everyone was a community of fate."
The surge of emotion in her heart even overwhelmed her reason, making her forget to put on her usual mask, directly "questioning" Sakiko like this.
"So why did you—"
"So I ended it with my own hands."
Facing Soyo's expectant expression, Sakiko's face was cold and indifferent.
Even though the boomerang had practically beaten her face swollen, she was still forcing herself to stay tough.
"But… a community of fate…"
"They were all lies!"
Sakiko finally lost her composure, her voice rising despite herself.
"What community of fate…"
She clenched her teeth, yet couldn't stop the redness creeping into her eyes.
"Only idiots would believe something like that!"
That's right—the naïve her from back then really was an idiot.
"Hey, what do you mean by that?!"
This time even Taki couldn't stay seated, since Sakiko-sensei's attack range included her and Tomori as well.
"So back then… were you just watching me and Tomori make fools of ourselves?"
"Saki-chan, is that really… how it was?"
Even Tomori looked at her with sadness.
After all, even if she wasn't as obsessed as Soyo,
back then, everyone really had gathered together because of Sakiko—moved by the "community of fate" she spoke of.
What Sakiko had just said was truly hurtful.
"..."
If Taki's words only made Sakiko feel a little uncomfortable, then Tomori's gaze genuinely made her feel suffocated.
So what?
Those four words stuck in her throat, unable to come out no matter what.
Because she had a premonition—if she said them, everything would truly be over.
No… why was she having such a weak thought?
Wasn't this exactly what she needed?
From the moment she put on that customer-service headset, she should have known—she was no longer the young lady she used to be. The emotions between bandmates were no longer something she was allowed to touch.
So then—she would be the one to end everything!
"You all… stop talking."
Just before things seemed about to become completely irreversible, Mutsumi finally spoke up.
"Huh? Why should we?"
From Taki's perspective, it had always been this incomprehensible woman hurting Tomori.
"Because Sakiko… is crying."
Even though there were no tears on her face, Mutsumi could feel that Sakiko's heart was crying.
"I'm not!"
But the lit powder keg showed no mercy at all.
"Mutsumi, are you pitying me?"
What Sakiko perceived as Mutsumi's sadness and pity was utterly unbearable to someone with such strong pride.
"That's just too pathetic, Sakiko."
Seeing that things were truly about to blow the band apart, Kamijou Mutsuki finally spoke.
"You really are… so high and mighty."
Clinging only to her own judgments, with no intention of understanding anyone else's feelings.
In the original future, Sakiko had once used these words to evaluate Mutsumi.
But Kamijou Mutsuki felt that these four words suited Sakiko herself far better.
"Alright, alright, everyone, stop arguing."
With Soyo having gone into a mental shutdown, it was Anon—who actually had nothing to do with this—that ended up stepping in as the mediator.
"I believe that what Sakiko-chan said back then definitely came from the heart. The reason she withdrew… must be because she had her own reasons."
"And Sakiko-chan, Mutsumi was clearly worried about you just now. Don't you think your attitude toward her was a bit too harsh?"
Even Anon, an outsider to all this, couldn't help but stand up for Mutsumi.
"Anyway, can we just watch the anime properly?"
And so, this war was temporarily brought to an end thanks to Holy Anon's intervention.
Soyo, afraid of angering Sakiko again like before, didn't continue pressing the issue.
And sure enough, the mental resilience of a working adult was on a completely different level from that of a sheltered high-school girl like Soyo.
Even after having her defenses shattered just moments ago, she was still able to calmly sit back down.
Meanwhile, the anime had progressed to the scene of Crychic's first group practice in the recording studio.
"Do you want me to sing?"
Tomori in the anime looked awkward and nervous.
"Tomori, can you really not sing no matter what?"
The girls sat together, troubled by Tomori's inability to open her mouth and sing.
"Is there something wrong?"
"I've never sung in front of people before."
Then came a development that caught Anon somewhat off guard.
"Isn't the vocalist the face of the band?"
Taki frowned at Tomori, her tone cold.
"Why let her do it?"
In truth, it wasn't strange for Taki—whose race was pressure monster—to say something like this. What was strange was her chosen target.
Because in Anon's impression, Tomori was basically Taki's biological father.
So in the end, she even pressured Tomori?
Good grief—how unfilial can you get?!
"I didn't understand Tomori back then,"
Facing Anon's somewhat strange gaze, Taki looked embarrassed and indignant.
"That's why I…"
Taki-chan struggled for a long time, unable to come up with the right words, and finally chose to apologize.
"I'm sorry, Tomori."
Thinking back on it now, she also regretted having pressured Tomori in the past.
Tomori was clearly so fragile and adorable, and yet she'd still pressured her—how awful!
"It's okay."
Tomori naturally wouldn't hold it against Taki, just gently shaking her head.
And in the anime, aside from Taki, no one else had any complaints about Tomori as the vocalist just because she couldn't sing.
"Why me?"
The scene shifted to nighttime on the adult bridge.
Tomori looked at the stream of cars passing below and asked the question.
"Because you wrote the lyrics!"
White Sakiko stood beside her, her expression gentle.
"It's better for the author herself to sing them."
"Your lyrics are the cry of your heart!"
As she said this, White Sakiko walked to the edge of the bridge and let out a shout that became a famous scene.
"I want to become human!"
"Saki…"
Tomori's voice trembled slightly.
Perhaps it was from this very moment that the girl like white moonlight took up residence in her heart.
It had to be said—someone like White Sakiko, who wouldn't be captivated by her?
Even Taki, recalling White Sakiko's former gentleness, couldn't help but soften her gaze.
Unfortunately, that former moonlight was now shrouded by the shadow called reality.
And the figure in Tomori's heart had, at some unknown point, changed from that moonlight into a certain boy.
....................