"So, this was your plan from the very beginning?"
Seeing the reactions of Tomori and Taki, Soyo had thought things were finally turning in a better direction—but Anon's single question made her fall silent again.
At the beginning, she really had only intended to use Anon and Kamijou Mutsuki—treating MyGO!!!!! as a stepping stone for revival. Her ultimate goal had always been to bring back CRYCHIC.
As for what would happen to the band Anon had formed… she had never even thought about it.
"So from the start, I was just a tool for you to revive CRYCHIC, wasn't I?"
Anon's consecutive questions tore open the darkest corner of Soyo's heart, making her bite down on her once soft, rosy lips until they turned pale.
"That was all in the past…"
Soyo tried to defend herself weakly.
"From now on, let's just focus on being in the band together, okay?"
"Let's play in a band together for a lifetime—whether it's MyGO!!!!! or CRYCHIC."
"So I'm just supposed to act like nothing ever happened? Ignore the fact that I was treated like a tool?"
With that, Soyo immediately fell silent again.
And seeing her silence, the disappointment in Anon's eyes deepened even further.
"Then I'm supposed to smile and watch you rebuild CRYCHIC—and even thank you for keeping MyGO!!!!! around?"
"How noble of you, Soyo."
"I really don't understand—why are you so obsessed with it?"
"Being together as MyGO!!!!! is already happy, isn't it?"
She was clearly her bandmate—someone from MyGO!!!!!.
But Soyo and the others were still fixated on that unattainable "white moonlight" from the past—still clinging to CRYCHIC.
"She clearly rejects it—so why are you all so desperate to go back?"
Sakiko had already cut ties with them, yet they still couldn't let go, even continuing to entangle themselves with her—while completely ignoring her, the one standing right beside them.
Did Anon really feel nothing about that?
"And Soyo,"
Anon looked at her, speaking in a slightly mocking tone.
"You didn't actually kneel to her, did you?"
"..."
Soyo didn't deny it.
Or rather, she felt that denying it at this point would be meaningless.
"You actually knelt?!"
Even though she was the one who brought it up, seeing Soyo's silent admission made Anon instantly lose her composure, a surge of anger rising in her chest.
"She was the one who quit the band and cut ties with you."
"And she treated you like that, too."
After all, whether in the anime or in reality, Anon's first impression of Soyo had been very good.
In a band with an airheaded "gravity queen," a pressure monster, and a cat—aside from herself, Soyo had seemed like the only normal person.
Of course, that wasn't to say Tomori and the others were bad.
But Soyo, with her gentle, motherly warmth, had truly felt healing to her.
It could be said that Anon had been completely deceived by Soyo's "mom-role" mask.
Even though both the anime and reality had already hinted at something being off, her goodwill toward Soyo made her selectively ignore it.
And now, she realized that Soyo had treated her—someone who considered her a friend—as a tool, while kneeling before Sakiko, who had always been cold toward her.
How could she not be angry?
How could she not be hurt?
It wasn't just frustration—it was the stark difference in how Soyo treated the two of them.
Anon felt like her sincerity had been completely wasted.
"And in the end, you even knelt to her?"
What kind of spell had Sakiko cast on Soyo?
"You've completely thrown away MyGO!!!!!'s dignity!"
"Can't you have a little self-respect?!"
Anon said emotionally.
"Anon,"
At this point, Kamijou Mutsuki couldn't help but speak up.
"Don't you think that's a bit too harsh?"
"Too harsh? Aren't you worried about how she hurt me?!"
This time, Anon was completely on the offensive.
"Tomori, Taki—what about you two?"
She turned to look at them.
"MyGO!!!!! and CRYCHIC coexisting? Bringing Sakiko back?"
"..."
Tomori had never faced a question like this before, nor handled such complicated emotions—her mind simply froze.
In fact, Tomori didn't really understand what Soyo was saying.
She was only thinking about one thing—would getting close to Sakiko hurt her?
Anon… also seemed very unhappy.
And Soyo…
As a result, the single-threaded Tomori's brain overloaded, and she instantly entered "Mutsumi mode."
"She was the one who left back then, and now you're asking her to come back?"
Taki, on the other hand, made her stance very clear.
"How could something that convenient exist?"
Although her relationship with Sakiko had improved somewhat recently, Taki still couldn't let go of the fact that Sakiko had suddenly quit back then, leading to CRYCHIC's disbandment.
"Sakiko… must have had her own reasons."
Soyo still tried to defend her.
"And what does that have to do with me?"
Taki's single sentence left Soyo speechless.
"…But recently, haven't you been getting along well with Saki?"
In the end, Soyo could only say softly.
"Then why…"
"Soyo, honestly, I don't really care about rebuilding CRYCHIC."
Taki stated her position—so long as it didn't disrupt MyGO!!!!!'s harmony, she didn't care what Soyo wanted to do.
"But Anon… Chihaya is, at the very least, a member of our band."
As she said this, a faint blush appeared on Taki's cheeks.
"If she doesn't agree, then I won't agree either."
In truth, Taki didn't fully understand the situation either.
She didn't have as strong a "white moonlight" filter for Sakiko. Compared to Sakiko—who had voluntarily left the band and cut ties, ultimately causing CRYCHIC's disbandment—she naturally stood more on Anon's side, as a current bandmate.
"Soyo…"
Tomori had finally recovered a little. Although she still hadn't fully sorted things out, she understood at least the most basic logic.
"…you can't make Anon sad."
"Tomori, Taki…"
Although Soyo's attitude had hurt Anon, Tomori and Taki's words made her feel the warmth of the band.
"Anon,"
Seeing that both Tomori and Taki had chosen to follow Anon's stance, Soyo immediately looked at her with pleading eyes.
"What I did before—trying to use you—was wrong."
"You can blame me however you want!"
"I completely ignored your feelings. The me back then was truly awful."
"But CRYCHIC—"
"Don't you understand yet, Soyo?"
Before she could finish, she was interrupted.
This time, the one who interrupted her was Kamijou Mutsuki, who had been sitting to the side.
"This has nothing to do with CRYCHIC anymore. You've been heading in the wrong direction from the start."
Anon wasn't like Sakiko—she wasn't someone completely impervious.
In fact, even if Soyo wanted MyGO!!!!! and CRYCHIC to coexist, as long as she approached it the right way, persuading Anon wouldn't have been that difficult.
But Soyo was still the same as before when facing Sakiko—completely off target.
Sakiko was one thing, but to fumble things this badly even with Anon… even Kamijou Mutsuki, sitting on the side, couldn't help but step in.
"You're still the same as before—your mind is full of nothing but yourself."
"…Eh?"
Hearing that evaluation again, Soyo's expression froze.
In truth, even now, she still didn't understand Mutsuki's words.
She admitted that wanting to revive CRYCHIC did contain a bit of selfishness.
But in her view, rebuilding CRYCHIC wouldn't destroy MyGO!!!!!.
She admitted that using Anon before had been wrong.
But she already knew she was at fault, and she was prepared to accept punishment.
Even if there was fault, it was hers alone—so why oppose CRYCHIC?
Two bands, double the happiness—wasn't that a good thing?
Soyo didn't harbor ill intent—at least, not now.
But her past experiences made it easy for her to sink into her own world, ignoring others' feelings and getting trapped in her own logic.
Just like now.
However, compared to her, there was someone else who needed help more.
"Sorry, the atmosphere's too heavy—I can't really take it."
Kamijou Mutsuki walked over to a certain girl.
"So, how about we elope togeth—cough cough…"
Anon, slightly dazed, lifted her head—only to see the boy smiling as he extended his hand toward her.
"Can you take me with you when you run away, Ano-chan?"
..................