"How can you guys do something like that?!"
Soyo's eyes were somewhat unfocused as she grabbed Mutsumi by the shoulders.
You actually hid it from me and went around kissing…
No, wait—how can girls do that with each other? That's way too impure!
"Why not?"
Hearing Soyo's words, Mutsumi couldn't help frowning.
What was wrong with kissing her own fiancé?
"It's just… it's not good,"
Faced with her former best friend who had "strayed onto the wrong path," Soyo didn't even know what to say.
"If you act like this, what if you lead Tomori astray?"
"Tomori… kissed too."
And Tomori had been even happier than she was!
What?!
Tomori did it too?!
Mutsumi's words were like dozens of bands clashing in her head at once, leaving Soyo completely stunned.
Tomori kissed who? You? Sakiko? Or were the three of you together?!
Countless permutations and combinations flashed through Soyo's mind in an instant. The chaotic relationships made her scalp tingle.
She'd heard that girls in bands tended to get into messy girl–girl relationships.
She hadn't expected it to be true.
And if you're playing like this, would Rikki even agree to it?
"Soyo."
At this point, Mutsumi also sensed something strange about Soyo's attitude. But her thoughts drifted to Sakiko and Tomori from last night instead, and she lifted her chin slightly as she asked,
"Do you… want to join too?"
Why is everyone targeting her fiancé?
Mutsumi felt a little unhappy.
"J-Join too?!"
But to Soyo's ears, this was undoubtedly an invitation to an "Impart."
Her cheeks flushed bright red, and she hurriedly shook her head.
When she said she wanted Sakiko back, she meant returning to when Crychic had just formed—singing together, drinking tea, chatting.
Not… holding "Imparts" every day.
Even if she looked like some divorced rich madam, Soyo was, at her core, still just a fifteen-year-old pure high school girl. She couldn't handle something that stimulating.
"Mutsumi, you can't… this kind of thing… it's not okay…"
Soyo grabbed Mutsumi's shoulders again, her mind in complete chaos, her words incoherent.
And seeing this, the girls watching nearby couldn't help but step in.
"Soyo-san, you can't bully Mutsumi like that~"
A black-haired, long-straight-haired young lady walked over to mediate.
"I just got to school and I see Soyo bullying Mutsumi!"
"Yeah, yeah! We know you really want to get back in touch with Sakiko, but ignoring Mutsumi all the time is going a bit too far, don't you think?"
"Waaah, my precious Mutsumi, come let big sis hug you…"
Don't touch me.
Mutsumi expressionlessly dodged a chestnut-haired young lady, while Soyo stared at the crowd gathering around them, her head full of question marks.
What is wrong with these people? What does this have to do with them?
Wait.
The anime!
That damn Kamijou Mutsuki!
And just like that, the conversation between the two of them was abruptly cut short.
Mutsumi was surrounded by a group of upperclassmen offering comfort, while Soyo was subjected to a round of "ideological education."
"You're friends with both of them, you have to treat everyone fairly…"
"Don't favor one side over the other…"
Unable to bluntly refuse, Soyo's eyes completely lost their sparkle.
So what exactly was going on over there with Mutsumi and Sakiko?
She had come to clear up her doubts with Mutsumi—
But now she only had more questions than before.
And it wasn't just Soyo and Mutsumi. The other band girls were in similar situations.
After all, following three episodes of buildup, this anime—standing out among band series ever since K-On!—had exploded in popularity.
Especially at these three schools, where band culture was particularly strong, almost no one hadn't seen it.
However, Rikki was in a bad mood and didn't notice the somewhat strange looks around her at all.
She had originally walked to school with Tomori that morning.
But in the end, Tomori had been "led away" by Anon.
After all, Rikki attended Hanasakigawa Girls' School, while Anon and Tomori both went to Haneoka Girls' High School.
Kamijou Mutsuki was bad enough—
Now you, pink-haired one, are bullying me too?
Rikki: Hanasakigawa, you've left me without love!
The classmates around her were all very curious about her, an actual character from the anime. But since her screen time in the first three episodes hadn't been that extensive—and because her emotional intelligence was usually pretty high—people only whispered among themselves. No one stepped forward to talk to her.
"Everyone's curious."
But Umiri, who was close to Rikki, was an exception.
She placed a carton of milk coffee on Rikki's desk and spoke in her usual calm tone.
"Curious about what?"
Rikki took the milk naturally and asked back.
"The anime from the past two days,"
Umiri never bothered with beating around the bush.
"You're even voicing it, right? Voicing yourself."
Umiri could only say: you guys really know how to have fun.
"That annoying guy filmed it and insisted we go dub it!"
The moment Kamijou Mutsuki was mentioned, Rikki felt her teeth itch with irritation.
"So everything in the anime is true?"
"More or less…"
"Well, that's really…"
Umiri knew her friend had been in a band before.
But she hadn't expected her experiences to be quite that… dramatic.
All Umiri could say was… it was hard to comment.
"Umiri, you seem pretty surprised?"
Rikki noticed the subtle expression on her friend's face.
"Yeah. I just didn't expect…"
I didn't expect you to have other besties out there!
Not far away, a certain blonde girl—who rarely came to school but happened to show up today—watched their conversation with an extremely conflicted look in her eyes.
She really wanted to ask Rikki about Saki-chan.
Just what exactly was Sakiko…?
Meanwhile, unlike Rikki, as the main characters of the first three episodes, Anon and Tomori were receiving far more attention.
If they hadn't stayed at Kamijou Mutsuki's house the night before and gotten driven to school in a private car, they probably would've been surrounded the whole way.
But even so, when they arrived at Haneoka Girls' High School, it still caused quite a stir.
"Are those… the real Tomori and Anon? Am I hallucinating?"
"Did I just get transported into MyGO?"
"Tomori and Anon were always students at Haneoka. You didn't know that?"
"I thought that was just an anime setting. They actually exist here?"
"Tomori is basically Haneoka's mascot! You didn't know that either?"
"Really? Well, Tomori really is super cute… ehehe~"
"What if our world is actually just an anime?"
"Why not say it's a game instead?"
Even with only three episodes out, Anon and Tomori had already shown off their charm.
Especially Tomori.
She had always been seen as an adorable, small-animal-like girl—but after watching the anime, everyone's affection for her had risen several levels.
Waaah, our Tomori!
Togawa Sakiko, your crimes are unforgivable!
Crychic was doing just fine—why did you quit the band?!
The moment the two of them arrived at school, a group of girls rushed over asking for autographs, greatly satisfying Ano-chan's vanity.
'Ehehe, am I already this famous? Ｏ(≧▽≦)Ｏ'
.......................