Looking at the junior kneeling in front of her, Soyo felt as if she were staring at a personified version of her own dark past, her face flushing bright red.
But in the end, she held back the urge to snap back with, "You really only think about yourself, don't you!", and forced a smile instead.
"What are you doing?"
"If you stay kneeling on the ground, you might catch a cold. Hurry and get up!"
"No!"
However, this junior didn't seem to be joking around—she was completely sincere.
"Wasn't everyone in MyGO!!!!! happy together?"
"Suddenly going their separate ways… isn't that too strange?"
"In the anime, didn't Soyo say that a band is a community bound by fate?"
"So why doesn't that apply to MyGO!!!!!?"
"Onegai, I want MyGO!!!!! to stay together as a band for a lifetime."
"Everyone feels the same way!"
The girl's voice carried a faint sob.
"Soyo-senpai, please don't quit MyGO!!!!!, okay?"
Seeing this scene, the other young ladies in the class couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
This girl really had nothing on her mind except MyGO!!!!! and everyone in it!
Meanwhile, the expression on Soyo's face grew a bit strained.
Those were all her lines!
Wait, does she have to work overtime even at school?
"Don't worry,"
Although she felt somewhat numb, Soyo still patiently smiled and said,
"MyGO!!!!! won't end!"
"Do I look like the kind of person who would want to destroy the harmony of the band?"
"But… CRYCHIC…"
This junior was clearly Soyo's dedicated fan—a true loyalist. Upon hearing that, she finally stood up. However, she still felt a bit uncertain.
After all, Soyo's obsession with CRYCHIC had already been made very clear, both in the anime and in real life.
"Soyo,"
As the junior finished her "performance," the other young ladies in the class gathered around.
"Do you really want to revive CRYCHIC?"
"You clearly said before that you wouldn't disrupt the harmony of MyGO!!!!!."
"You also said that you and Sakiko Togawa are equal friends, and that you would talk to her rationally…"
Aside from worrying about MyGO!!!!!, some of them were still hung up on that shocking kneeling scene from the anime.
After all, Soyo had already been quite popular at Tsukinomori Girls' Academy.
And after MyGO!!!!! aired, Soyo—gentle like a mother—had become an idol and goddess in the hearts of many of the young ladies at Tsukinomori Girls' Academy.
In the end, the goddess they didn't even dare to touch had knelt before another woman.
The pain in that—how could it possibly be put into words?
The plot of Episode 8 of MyGO!!!!! had, without a doubt, completely shattered the image of the goddess in their hearts.
"Yes, I do want to revive CRYCHIC."
Hearing her classmates' questions, Soyo knew that the real test had arrived.
If it were her in the past, she probably would have stammered, not knowing how to respond.
But she was no longer who she used to be!
Looking at the group of young ladies in front of her, who had fallen into slight confusion because of her words, Soyo added at the right moment: "But that doesn't mean MyGO!!!!! will disband."
"Soyo, what you're saying contradicts itself!"
However, the classmates in front of her didn't understand her thinking.
"What if Taki, Tomori, and I just join two bands at the same time?"
Soyo voiced what she considered the perfect solution.
Why did she have to choose? Why couldn't she have both?
Only kids make choices!
This was truly a moment of astonishing wisdom!
Soyo's declaration of "I want it all" also gave these young ladies a small shock of adult thinking.
So it could be solved this way?
For fans like them, having both MyGO!!!!! and CRYCHIC exist at the same time would undoubtedly mean double the happiness.
However, the only problem now was…
"But Anon and the others…"
Would the rest of the MyGO!!!!! members be able to accept Soyo's idea?
Especially Chihaya Anon and Raana—after all, in the anime, Soyo had basically treated the two of them purely as tools.
In reality, Soyo's thoughts might be somewhat different, but there was no way the others would feel good about it.
"No problem!"
Soyo's gaze was resolute, her whole presence filled with a convincing aura.
"I'll be the one to carry on this band!"
"I'll go explain things to Anon and the others."
"Please trust me—so long as I'm here, MyGO!!!!! will absolutely not disband!"
"As for Sakiko's situation, that's just artistic exaggeration from the anime!"
Soyo was prepared to be honest about reviving CRYCHIC, but as for that earth-shattering kneeling scene… better to leave it out.
"Please don't take things out of context or overly connect the anime to reality—that's not good!"
"Do I look like someone who would kneel?"
"Saki just has a bit of a misunderstanding about me. Our relationship is great!"
"We're normal, equal friends. Our interactions have always been very harmonious—nothing like in the anime at all…"
"Pfft—"
Soyo: ?
Wait, who was being so disrespectful?
Everyone couldn't help but turn to look at the girl who suddenly burst out laughing. Feeling the attention, she tried her best to control her expression.
"It was Mutsumi," the girl said, slightly excited.
"I saw her smile, so I couldn't help laughing too."
Hearing this, all the young ladies present turned their gaze in unison toward Wakaba Mutsumi.
After all, Mutsumi's smile was a breathtaking sight that had only appeared once in the anime!
If they could see it in real life, then today would truly be worth it!
And as they turned their heads, they caught sight of the faint curve at the corner of Mutsumi's lips—but in the blink of an eye, it was gone, as if that smile had only been an illusion.
Without a doubt, seeing Soyo kneel humbly before Sakiko back then had been painful for Mutsumi.
But now, watching Soyo spout nonsense with a straight face in class, the contrast with what had really happened gave rise to an inexplicable sense of humor—even Mutsumi couldn't quite hold it in.
To be able to make even someone like her almost break—it truly showed how terrifying Soyo's "talent" was!
"By the way, Mutsumi should know about Soyo's situation, right?"
However, looking at Mutsumi, who had already returned to her usual doll-like state, one of the young ladies suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
Come to think of it, during that shocking kneeling scene in the anime, Mutsumi had been standing right there, hadn't she?
The anime might not fully reflect reality, but there had to be some connection.
So, the truth of that kneeling scene could be confirmed through Mutsumi!
"Mutsumi, did Soyo really…"
Meeting Mutsumi's eyes, Soyo couldn't help but start sweating.
When she knelt to Sakiko, Mutsumi had not only been there—she had even knelt to Mutsumi too!
If Mutsumi were to tell the truth, then Soyo's perfect image at Tsukinomori Girls' Academy would completely collapse.
"..."
Facing Soyo's pleading gaze, although Mutsumi was usually quite articulate, she also understood that telling the truth right now wasn't a good choice.
However, since she had no experience lying, her brain simply froze, and she once again reverted to her doll-like state.
"By the way, Soyo, could you perform that again for us?"
Seeing Mutsumi's reaction, one of the young ladies with the same hair color as her suddenly asked Soyo this.
"…What?"
Soyo was still worrying about her image and didn't quite react in time.
"That one… 'Why did you play Haruhikage?!'"
The surrounding young ladies immediately burst into laughter, and the classroom filled with a cheerful atmosphere.
At the time, they hadn't thought much of it, but after watching Episode 8 and then going back to rewatch that scene, it just became funnier the more they looked at it.
"And also that—'I'll do anything!'"
The young ladies once again dissolved into laughter.
Seriously, are you not going to stop?
Soyo's face flushed bright red.
But at this point, no one cared anymore about whether that shocking kneeling scene was real or not.
........................