"Next—"
After finishing with herself and Taki, Anon finally turned her gaze toward Soyo.
"Soyo was over there planning 'destroy MyGO, revive CRYCHIC.' Even though you're a member of MyGO, your mind was full of bringing CRYCHIC back."
"..."
Soyo revealed a somewhat awkward smile.
"I'm starting to understand more and more now."
As Anon spoke, she couldn't help but let out a light sigh.
"The biggest problem in a band isn't outside—it's within MyGO itself!"
"…It's within each and every one of us!"
"And you—"
Anon suddenly turned her head to look at Kamijou Mutsuki, who was sitting nearby, smiling as he watched the girls.
"Setting aside the facts, don't you, as the manager, bear any responsibility at all?"
"I'm at fault!"
Seeing this, Kamijou Mutsuki quickly raised both hands in surrender, even making a mock French salute.
"My crimes are unforgivable!"
"..."
Satisfied, the girl withdrew her gaze.
"Back then, I promised Tomori that we'd form a band for a lifetime."
"But in the end, I turned MyGO into this. I'm deeply ashamed."
"I've let Tomori down. I've let the band down."
"So, everyone—cough cough—"
After spending too much time with a certain scumbag, even her way of speaking had been influenced.
"I mean, shouldn't all of us reflect on ourselves properly?"
Anon, new form: Reflective Anon.
Then she saw Tomori's lips move slightly, as if she wanted to say something, and quickly added—
"Of course, Tomori, I'm not talking about you."
How could Tomori possibly be at fault?
Cat: ?
"Um, I…"
After Tomori, Soyo also seemed like she wanted to say something.
"No need to say it, I understand."
What do you understand?!
"All of us have our own flaws."
Anon's tone became calm.
"But even so, we still came together and made it this far."
Hearing this, the girls exchanged glances, their expressions all somewhat complicated.
"That guy Kamijou said this was a predetermined fate."
"But I don't think so."
"Even if it is fate, it's a fate we chose ourselves."
"We came together and made it this far by our own will."
"I don't know what we'll go through from here on. We might continue to face all kinds of accidents and setbacks."
"But just like Tomori once said—"
"Even so, I still…"
As Anon spoke, she extended her hand.
"…want to form a band with everyone for a lifetime!"
After saying that, the girl's cheeks suddenly flushed bright red.
Wait—what kind of embarrassing, cheesy line did she just say?!
Off to the side, the "cat" quietly eating matcha cake blinked at the scene.
What a naggy girl—and she's actually my bandmate? That's kind of embarrassing… though she is quite interesting~
"Childish!"
Taki said this, but in the end, true to the "tsundere" spirit of saying one thing and doing another, she still reached out and placed her hand on top, her cheeks slightly flushed.
Something like this might be too childish for elementary schoolers—but for them, it was just right.
Finally, after all the girls had placed their hands together, Anon turned to look at Kamijou Mutsuki.
"Why are you just sitting there? Are you quitting the band?"
Wait—he has to join in too?
And so, Kamijou Mutsuki could only place his hand on top as well.
It just so happened to press against Tomori's hand. The slight friction between their palms made the girl's cheeks redden slightly—and in return, he received Taki's death glare.
"It's MyGO!!!"
Someone suddenly shouted this, and everyone raised their stacked hands high before letting go.
After that interaction, aside from the airheaded Tomori and the carefree "cat," every girl's face was flushed red.
What kind of embarrassing play was that?!
Taki shot a fierce glare at a certain pink-haired girl, while Anon herself still hadn't quite recovered.
However, after the awkwardness passed, the slightly distant atmosphere between the girls truly became much more harmonious.
"Um…"
After everything ended, Tomori looked around, then brought out a familiar green notebook.
"This… could it be—"
Seeing this, Anon immediately became excited.
"…A new song?"
"…Lyrics."
Tomori nodded.
Hearing this, the girls all leaned in curiously—even Kamijou Mutsuki cast his gaze over.
These lyrics… Utakotoba?
Tomori, did you really come up with this song in just one night?
Tomori—you're my hero!
However, as he kept reading, Kamijou Mutsuki noticed a problem.
Although this song carried many traces of Utakotoba, it wasn't the same as the one he had heard before.
Thinking about it carefully, that was only natural. After all, Tomori's real-life experiences couldn't be compared to those in the anime.
"But for a new song… at this point, we only have lyrics…"
While Kamijou Mutsuki was thinking, Anon voiced her concern.
"…The Live isn't far off. Will we have enough time?"
"I'll handle the composition as much as possible."
Taki said this, then, as if recalling something, added:
"…In one go!"
Kamijou Mutsuki felt like, as she spoke, Taki shot him a somewhat complicated glance.
"But in terms of time…"
In the end, after discussion among the girls, they decided to play it by ear.
If they could make it in time, they would perform Tomori's new song at the upcoming Live. If not, they would wait until the next one.
"Um…"
Seeing that everyone had finished discussing, it was finally Soyo's turn.
"Tomorrow, our school is holding a festival. Does anyone want to come?"
"A school festival? At Tsukinomori?"
Hearing Soyo's words, Anon was clearly interested—but her expression soon turned disappointed.
"Can't go. I've got school tomorrow."
The others were in the same situation.
Seeing this, Soyo showed a disappointed expression on the surface, but inwardly, she was secretly delighted.
Everything was going according to her plan!
After all, in her view, since Anon and the others had school tomorrow, they definitely wouldn't be able to come.
Even if she invited everyone openly, the only one who could accept would be Kamijou Mutsuki.
This way, without exposing her intentions, she could perfectly achieve her goal—creating an undisturbed environment for her "strategy"!
As expected of her!
"Um, tomorrow I have something at the company—"
However, what Soyo didn't expect was that after Anon and the others declined, Kamijou Mutsuki also seemed about to refuse.
"Eh? Mutsuki-kun, what were you about to say?"
Soyo quickly looked at him, smiling as she asked.
"I was saying, tomorrow at the company…"
Faced with the girl's increasingly gentle smile, Kamijou Mutsuki could only change his tone midway.
"…do I have something scheduled, or not?"
"Eh?"
Soyo covered her mouth, as if surprised.
"Shouldn't Mutsuki-kun know that best himself?"
....................