Watching the anime, where Soyo was doing a comedic back-and-forth with the cat, Wakaba Mutsumi suddenly felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
Even though Soyo played the "mom" role, to her it somehow felt more like a father.
Old man Wakaba was ultimately just an ordinary man born in an era before Soyo!
"Um… about the Live, maybe we should just forget about it?"
After watching the events in the anime, Chihaya Anon had clearly backed out.
It seemed that although the weak Sakiko Togawa had been nailed back into her coffin, "Runaway Anon" had successfully won the revival match.
"It's all my fault."
Takamatsu Tomori lowered her head, looking completely emo.
"It's not Tomori's fault at all. Didn't everyone perform poorly?"
Seeing Tomori like this, Shiina Taki immediately panicked.
"Besides, this is just an anime. In reality there's no way we'd play that badly."
"..."
Tomori didn't reply, but her mood looked even more depressed.
"Kamijou, say something too!"
Not knowing how to comfort her, Anon could only request outside assistance.
"Putting the facts aside, don't you bear even a little responsibility?"
Good grief, are we really turning things upside down like this?
"Putting the facts aside, didn't you all actually play pretty well?"
Kamijou Mutsuki replied with a smile.
"Hey!"
Anon grew a little irritated. Was this really the time for sarcastic remarks?
"Don't be so impatient—the performance has only just begun, hasn't it?"
Could it be… that things would turn around later?
Kamijou Mutsuki's words calmed the restlessness in Anon's heart, and she couldn't help but think so with some uncertainty.
["Can we start now?"
"Sorry to keep everyone waiting."
In the anime, the girls of MyGO!!!!! had pulled themselves back together.
"Go for it!"
Seeing the traffic-light trio in the audience cheering for her from below the stage, Chihaya Anon's gaze finally became completely resolute.
Soon after, the performance began again. This time, no one made any mistakes.
Except for Takamatsu Tomori.
Perhaps it was stage fright, or perhaps she still hadn't crossed that barrier in her heart—her singing voice was barely audible, almost like Nagasaki Soyo's bass.]
Sing! Sing, Tomori!
Watching this scene, the girls present couldn't help but have their hearts tighten. They looked even more nervous than Tomori herself.
Just when they thought this Live was truly about to fall apart, the turning point finally appeared.
[The increasingly withdrawn Takamatsu Tomori, who had been singing more and more timidly, suddenly met eyes with Sakiko Togawa in the audience.
[Nanoni kyou datte.]
With just a single expression, a single glance, Sakiko demonstrated the irreplaceable position she held in Tomori's heart.
[Ganbatteru juubun kimi wa mou.]
[Tsumazuite koronda tte.]
As if she had gained some kind of strength, Tomori's singing suddenly became impassioned.
Seeing that Tomori had finally begun to sing properly, Shiina Taki beside her couldn't help but smile.]
However, the real-life Taki's mood wasn't very good.
Why Sakiko?
The goddess she couldn't comfort no matter how hard she tried—yet someone else could cause such a huge change with just a single expression. Taki's heart was filled with mixed feelings.
Compared to her, was Sakiko really more important?
First she lost to Kamijou Mutsuki, then to Chihaya Anon. After losing to Anon, she lost to Nagasaki Soyo, and now she was losing to Sakiko too. At this rate, there'd be no one left to lose to!
[In the anime, thanks to the intervention of Sakiko-sensei, this imperfect performance barely managed to land safely.
However, just as Anon happily waved to the audience, enjoying everyone's applause—
"I'm happy you came."
Tomori suddenly spoke, and the expressions on the girls' faces couldn't help but change slightly.
"At that time, I couldn't sing well."
"Everyone went their separate ways. It was very sad."
"It was so sad… I don't want to experience that feeling again."]
Wait, why are you still chasing after her to scold her?
["I thought I already hated bands."
At that moment, the cat suddenly plucked the guitar with a pick.
A familiar rhythm gradually began to echo across the stage.
"But…"
"Even though our band doesn't have a name yet,"
"Even if we're lost, we still want to move forward."
"Today, I've been scared the whole time."
"But I think you were cheering for me."
Tomori's voice suddenly rose, sounding almost like a shout directed at Sakiko-sensei.
"The only thing I can do is sing with all my might!"
"Because my song is the cry of my heart!"
On stage, the melody from the cat's guitar also became completely clear.
Without a doubt—it was Haruhikage!
Hearing this familiar melody, the expression on Sakiko's face changed completely.
[Kajikanda kokoro furueru manazashi.]
[Sekai de boku wa hitoribocchi datta.]
As Hekitenbansou ended, the singing of Haruhikage began to resonate across the stage.]
Sakiko: "Go for it!"
Tomori: "Haruhikage, activate!"
Sakiko: ?
Wait, I came all this way to watch your performance and even cheered you on—and this is how you repay me?
Whether it was the Sakiko in the anime or the Sakiko in reality, hearing the singing of Haruhikage made their emotions somewhat unstable.
However, compared to the anime version of herself, the real-life Sakiko handled it much better.
After all, how many storms had she already gone through?
She had been stimulated so many times that she was practically used to it!
She had already endured Wakaba Mutsumi's earlier song—what was a mere Haruhikage in comparison?
The weak version of her was already dead. The current her was invincible.
Sakiko: ?
[Wakaba Mutsumi: "Haruhikage that doesn't belong to CRYCHIC."]
Sakiko: ?
After "Runaway Anon," it seemed the weak Saki-chan had also won the revival match.
Although there had been similar lyrics in Mutsumi's previous song, saying it at this moment had completely different killing power.
The maid-version Sakiko, who had barely been holding it together, instantly burst into tears after hearing Mutsumi's words.
Wait, how are you landing critical hits through the screen?
"Sakiko…"
Seeing this, Wakaba Mutsumi reached out, wanting to comfort the maid Sakiko.
After all, in a sense, Sakiko turning out like this was also partly because of her—well, because of the anime version of her.
"I'm fine!"
However, Sakiko instinctively avoided Mutsumi. Instead, she grabbed Kamijou Mutsuki's hand, as if trying to draw a sense of reassurance from him.
Mutsumi: ?
As for Misumi Uika, the light had completely faded from her eyes.
Wuwuwu… as long as Sakiko is happy!
[In the anime, as Sakiko Togawa listened to Haruhikage, her vision gradually blurred. In the end, she couldn't hold it back any longer—she fled while crying.
Nagasaki Soyo noticed Sakiko running away and showed a surprised and confused expression.
She looked around, her eyes gradually losing their light, the upper half of her face covered in shadow.
Even so, at a time like this, Soyo was still dutifully playing the bass—though not very enthusiastically.
In fact, even if she completely slacked off, it probably wouldn't matter. Most likely no one would notice.
At this moment, the camera cut back to Sakiko again. She stumbled as she ran out of RiNG.
Meanwhile, Wakaba Mutsumi stood where she was, expressionless as she watched the direction Sakiko had fled toward, showing no intention of chasing after her at all.]
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