"Even if that's the truth, it's still really hard to believe."
Even though she knew it wasn't very appropriate, Anon still couldn't help muttering.
"That this is actually the same person…"
Do you ever stop?!
Sakiko-sensei was really about to lose it.
I know you all like the old me better, but do you really have to keep emphasizing it?!
After comforting Tomori on the adult bridge, the anime's camera shifted back to the recording studio once again.
"I want to become truly—"
"Hey, do you even want to sing or not?"
The moment I come in, I see Taki pressuring Tomori again.
Clearly, at this stage, Taki-chan didn't seem very filial at all.
"Taki, the fact that she can make a sound at all now is already progress!"
Although it was only surface-level gentleness, Soyo at this point was genuinely in the mom role, and hadn't yet started competing with Mutsumi's dad for the job.
"Eh~"
Life is hard—Taki sighs.
"She could sing on the bridge, though."
This was White Sakiko.
"On the bridge?"
"Do you get nervous in the recording studio?"
"I see."
Soyo: ??? Ah~?
The Tsukinomori idea king activated her astonishing wisdom.
And so, everyone's location shifted—to a karaoke room.
"This place is…"
"Karaoke~ Haven't you been here before?"
"I've only heard classmates talk about it."
This was White Sakiko.
"I have one at home."
This was Mutsumi—one sentence in, and the rich-girl aura was already overflowing.
"Mutsumi's family is that rich too?"
Anon suddenly felt poor.
But then again, thinking about how Mutsumi's dad was Soyo's senior, it all felt reasonable.
"So all these drinks are in here?"
In the anime, White Sakiko walked up to the drink machine, her eyes filled with that college-student-like clear stupidity.
"Just pour whatever you want yourself."
"Taki-san, you're really skilled at this."
"Not really."
At that moment, Tomori gently pressed a button on the drink machine, and two differently colored beverages flowed out.
"The drinks came out—did you see that just now?"
"Pfft—"
Watching this scene, Anon finally failed to hold it in and laughed out loud, drawing the attention of the other girls watching the anime.
"Um, I'm not laughing at Sakiko or anything."
Seeing this, Miss Ano hurriedly explained in embarrassment.
"I just think Sakiko-chan in the anime is way too cute. Did all of this really happen to you guys back then?"
"More or less."
Taki replied.
"I see… so what exactly happened to Sakiko-chan, to make her turn into how she is now?"
Just what did she go through, to turn that pure and gentle young lady into her current self?
In truth, Soyo was very curious too.
Where did that gentle little Saki from back then go, after all?
"Am I really that unpleasant to you all now?"
Sakiko finally couldn't hold it in anymore and said this—instantly killing the conversation.
"Ah, sorry, that's not what I meant."
Seeing that Anon finally stopped pressing the topic, Sakiko withdrew her gaze as well.
Only, when she looked back at the anime, her eyes had grown a little dim.
Anon and the others' acknowledgment of the past was a denial of her present, leaving her no way to keep running.
So then—where exactly did that gentle version of her go?
With barely any thought, Sakiko gave herself the answer.
She sold it off, in exchange for daily necessities and beer.
That's right—the White Sakiko they all longed for was actually just that cheap.
The corner of the girl's mouth curled into a mocking smile—whether aimed at them, or at herself, even she didn't know.
In sharp contrast to reality, White Sakiko in the anime looked so happy and fulfilled.
Even the doll wore a smile.
So much so that Anon couldn't help but marvel—
"So that's what CRYCHIC used to be like? Everyone looks so happy!"
"That's right. Back then, everyone really was so happy."
Anon's unconscious murmur made Soyo smile—but when she thought about what came afterward, her expression turned sorrowful again.
"And then…"
Soyo unconsciously fiddled with her index finger, unable to stop herself from casting a resentful glance toward Sakiko-sensei—like a divorced woman accusing her unfaithful former lover.
Back then, CRYCHIC had been as united as could be.
"CRYCHIC is already over."
Sakiko-sensei didn't seem particularly shaken by Soyo's gaze.
Sakiko: My heart is already hard as stone. Nothing can hurt me anymore!
Anime: ??? Haruhikage.
Sakiko: ??
[Kogon'da kokoro furueru manazashi]
Not again. You've got to be kidding me.
As the prelude of Haruhikage slowly began playing from the TV, Sakiko genuinely couldn't hold it together anymore.
Why play Haruhikage again?
But very quickly, she adjusted her emotions.
It's just Haruhikage, isn't it?
She wasn't the same person she had been back then.
[Sekai de boku wa hitoribocchi datta]
[Chiru koto shika shiranai haru wa]
In fact, Sakiko's expression didn't change much afterward.
After all, a person doesn't fall into the same pit twice.
Could a trick that had already been used once really be expected to work on her again?
Yes—actually, it could.
[Tada tada kotoba o kaki-nagutte.]
[Kitai suru dake munashii to wakatte itemo.]
In the anime, Tomori sang as she slowly reached her hand out toward White Sakiko.
Doesn't this scene feel familiar?
That's right—she had seen something like this before, back in that Houbunsha anime.
Only back then, the one Tomori reached out to wasn't her.
It was Kamijou Mutsuki.
Yes… she had known this for a long time already.
But still—why?
Why did it have to emphasize again and again the fact that Tomori had been taken away by some man?
It was as if the anime were saying: Look—this is how much she once cared about you, how much she liked you!
And yet, such a girl—whose heart had been filled entirely with her—had been pushed into someone else's arms by her own hands.
That's right. It was she herself who had cut off the bond between them back then.
After leaving you, what right do I have now to care about any of this?
Sakiko tried to convince herself that way, but she couldn't stop the sadness welling up inside her.
Only this time, she didn't burst into tears—her eyes merely reddened.
Wasn't Tomori being able to find happiness exactly what she had wished for?
Even if that happiness no longer included her.
"…Crying?"
Just as the girl was about to force the tears back, a certain boy somehow appeared beside her, asking out of apparent curiosity.
Sakiko: ( ?_? )
Tears immediately began to pool in the girl's eyes.
She clenched her teeth and turned her head away, unwilling to acknowledge Kamijou Mutsuki. However, he shifted his position—and leaned in again.
"Yo, you really are crying!"
Sakiko: ε(┬┬﹏┬┬)3
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