When Kamijou Mutsuki went to "STARRY" again, he didn't run into Nijika or Ryo this time. After all, they were students—they had school. The previous encounter had probably been a special case.
Once Miyamori and the others finished producing this week's episode, it was naturally time for the girls' recording session again.
Since it wasn't the weekend, they had to wait until after school.
However, when Kamijou Mutsuki arrived at Houbun Animation, he found that someone had already been waiting there.
The girl wore a long black-and-white dress. She looked slightly older than the members of MyGO!!!!!, yet her temperament felt lively and innocent.
Especially the way she was secretly munching on a donut while sitting there—it only made her look even cuter.
This is…
"Miss Donut?"
Only then did Kamijou Mutsuki retrieve the relevant memory from his brain.
When he poached Uika before, he had apparently forgotten about this one.
It was only after a reminder from a certain agent—and Uika's own request—that he recruited her as well, two days later.
"What do you mean, Miss Donut?!"
The sudden voice nearly made the girl choke. She turned her head toward him with an annoyed expression.
"Don't just give people nicknames because you see them eating donuts!"
"I think 'Miss Donut' sounds pretty cute."
"What's cute about that? Please address me as Miss Mana!"
"Okay, Mana-chan."
"That's too familiar…"
Miss Donut—no, Miss Mana—blushed faintly.
"By the way, are you my colleague?"
Perhaps because she was bored sitting alone, Mana started chatting with him.
"More or less."
"Then you're really unlucky…"
She let out a soft sigh.
"Oh? How so?"
Mutsuki grew interested.
"Are you new?"
Seeing his curiosity, Mana perked up.
"The boss of this company is not a good person at all. He's a…"
She paused, clearly searching for appropriate wording. Her upbringing seemed too refined to allow her to use truly harsh insults.
"…the worst of the worst bad guys!"
Sweetheart, when you insult someone it sounds like you're acting spoiled.
"The worst of the worst bad guys?"
Mutsuki couldn't help but laugh.
"You have a big grudge against him or something?"
"Of course I do!"
Mana looked slightly agitated but quickly composed herself.
"You know Sumimi, right?"
"Of course."
"Uika and I formed Sumimi together. We sang together. We were so happy!"
"If that big bad guy hadn't poached Uika away, how would I have ended up separated from her?"
"But wasn't that Uika's personal choice?"
Mutsuki gently objected.
"And aren't you working here now too?"
"Then why didn't he just poach both of us at the same time? Do you know how miserable I was those two days?"
Mana grew even more animated.
"If it weren't for that big bad guy, none of this would've happened."
"My Uika was just… gone all of a sudden!"
Did anyone know how confused and miserable she had felt back then?
Did anyone understand how much damage Uika's sudden transfer had done to Miss Donut?
"I curse him! A bad person like that will definitely never have any girls like him!"
After declaring this, she seemed a little tired and took a bite of the donut in her hand.
Only after swallowing did she notice that Kamijou Mutsuki's hands were completely empty.
"…Eh? Do you want a donut too?"
Ever generous, Miss Donut made the offer.
"Recharge before work. I've got cat-shaped donuts and chocolate donuts. Which one do you want?"
"Mana, you're here early."
At that moment, a blonde girl with an almost radiant presence walked in.
"Uika!"
Miss Donut immediately set aside her little donut box and waved happily at her partner.
"That's Uika," Mana added, still not forgetting to complain to Mutsuki. "She was poached here by that big bad guy."
She kept talking—until her expression suddenly froze.
"Boss."
Uika walked up beside them and greeted Kamijou Mutsuki.
…Eh?
Boss?
Who's the boss?
Miss Donut looked around.
Besides herself and Uika… the only other person present was Kamijou Mutsuki.
Then, under Miss Donut's gradually dimming gaze, Kamijou Mutsuki smiled and nodded back at Uika.
It really is him.
The light left the girl's eyes entirely.
"Mana, you and Boss are…?"
After greeting him, Uika looked at the two of them sitting together with mild curiosity.
"I was having a great chat with Mana-chan."
Kamijou Mutsuki casually placed a hand on Miss Donut's shoulder and smiled.
"Right, Mana-chan?"
Miss Donut forced a stiff smile and nodded.
"…Then I won't disturb you."
Uika hesitated briefly but didn't seem suspicious.
"I'll go review the script first."
Uika, don't go!
Mana reached out instinctively, wanting to stop her—
But all she could do was watch her partner's back gradually disappear from sight.
In the end, only she was left alone facing Kamijou Mutsuki.
"Do I really look like such a bad person?"
He smiled as he asked her that.
"..."
Miss Mana trembled slightly, not daring to speak.
"You cursed me like that. What if I really end up with no girls liking me?"
Seeing that she wouldn't answer, Mutsuki didn't seem bothered.
"How about you compensate me with a girlfriend?"
"Why did you do that?"
She finally spoke.
"Hm?"
"I was doing just fine in Sumimi with Uika. Why did you poach her away?"
That was probably the biggest resentment in Miss Donut's heart.
"Because she's cute. I poached her so I could dote on her."
Mutsuki answered matter-of-factly.
"There are so many cute girls. Are you going to dote on all of them?"
Mana sounded dissatisfied with that reply.
"When I first joined the band, Tomori told me something."
Instead of answering directly, Mutsuki smiled.
"She said I can dote on whoever I want, because we're going to form a band that lasts a lifetime."
…What does that have to do with forming a band?
If you dote on everyone, does that mean the band will last forever?
Miss Donut couldn't help but complain internally.
"How about we play a game?" Mutsuki suggested.
"Guess whether I prefer cat-shaped donuts or chocolate donuts."
.........................