"Don't make that kind of face~"
Kamijou Mutsuki crossed his arms and said with a light smile as he looked at the girl in front of him.
"I just have a bit more money than you, so I'm a little better off, and Tomori happens to like me a bit more."
"You've got plenty of things that are better than me."
"For example…"
"…a healthy body, and both parents alive?"
"..."
The anger in Taki's heart suddenly dissipated, replaced by a strange sense of helplessness.
This guy… she really didn't know what to say about him.
"You've got an extra sister, an extra mom, and an extra dad—"
As Kamijou Mutsuki spoke, he suddenly seemed to remember something.
"Oh, wait, actually… two dads~"
"You—!"
Realizing what he meant, Taki clenched her fist again.
"I'm just concerned about Tomori…"
What she had with Tomori was pure friendship and care—not anything weird like filial affection!
But soon, the way she looked at Kamijou Mutsuki became a bit more complicated.
Could it be… this guy was deliberately acting unserious to hide something?
Even though they could barely be considered friends, this was the first time Taki had learned about Kamijou Mutsuki's past…
"?"
Noticing her gaze, someone blinked in confusion.
What kind of weird conclusion had she just come to?
"So,"
Kamijou Mutsuki looked at Taki and asked,
"Did you call me here just to look at your arrangement, Taki-chan?"
"Of course not."
After everything that had just happened, Taki no longer felt that awkward.
"This is… Tomori's new song."
"She… probably really wants to perform it at the upcoming live. I don't want to let her down."
"But I don't have the talent for it…"
"…so I want you to help me."
Even though she had been reassured by Anon and the others, Taki wasn't completely unaffected by the fact that she couldn't measure up to Sakiko—or even Kamijou Mutsuki.
So when she felt her own limitations while working on this new song…
She chose, for Tomori and for the band, to give up solving it herself and instead ask Kamijou Mutsuki—someone she believed had greater talent—for help.
"I see…"
Kamijou Mutsuki understood her intentions.
"…But sorry, I can't do it."
"Why?"
Taki instinctively became agitated.
However, this time she managed to restrain herself.
"With your talent, arranging a song for Tomori should be easy, right?"
"Last time, didn't you easily make that new song for her—"
"You mean Hekitenbansou?"
Kamijou Mutsuki cut her off.
"Take a guess—where do you think that arrangement came from?"
"Wasn't it written by you…?"
Taki looked confused.
Wasn't Hekitenbansou composed by Kamijou Mutsuki?
What else could it be?
"I copied it!"
Kamijou Mutsuki said with a smile.
"Huh?"
Taki's brain froze.
"Taki, you know that I can see your future."
In fact, regarding the MyGO!!!!! anime, the girls had already noticed inconsistencies.
So they all had their own guesses about Kamijou Mutsuki—but no one had pointed it out.
Still, hearing him state it outright gave Taki a completely different feeling.
"The arrangement for Hekitenbansou… was originally written by you, Taki."
"All I did was bring it into this world ahead of time."
Of course, Kamijou Mutsuki could have composed something equally good or even better himself—but that would've been a different song. So he chose to use Taki's version.
"And don't worry—the rights and profits have always been yours. You're not mad, right, Taki-chan?"
"Who cares about that?!"
His explanation left Taki feeling incredibly conflicted, not even knowing what to say.
"Even if it's a supernatural ability, it's still your talent… I just didn't expect…"
After a long pause, she crossed her arms and said awkwardly: "…that a great artist like you would actually value my composition."
"It has to be Taki-chan's composition."
Kamijou Mutsuki replied seriously.
After all, if the composition changed, it wouldn't be the Hekitenbansou he remembered.
"Eh?"
But the girl in front of him clearly interpreted it in another way, her cheeks instantly turning red.
What did this guy mean?
This scumbag was already entangled with so many girls in the band—even making moves on Tomori—and now he wasn't going to let her off either?
Did he think she was the kind of girl who could be dealt with so casually?
"Smooth talker!"
The girl said in embarrassment and irritation.
"?"
"So,"
Taki didn't dare continue on that topic.
"This time… are you also planning to use a song from the 'future' you've seen?"
"I originally thought so."
"Originally?"
"But now, I think—since it's a MyGO!!!!! song, it's best for MyGO!!!!! to complete it themselves."
Let MyGO!!!!! complete it?
Just as Taki was trying to understand what he meant, she saw him take out his phone.
"Tomori? There's something going on at Taki's place—do you have time? I'll send a car to pick you up."
"Hey, you—"
Hearing that he was calling Tomori over, Taki immediately panicked.
But she didn't stop him—her expression was just conflicted.
"Anon-chan? Over at Taki's—"
"Soyo…"
"Raana, Umiri, get here now…"
And just like that, Taki watched as Kamijou Mutsuki called over the rest of MyGO!!!!!'s members.
At this point, she had no choice but to accept it.
With a car picking them up, the girls quickly arrived at Taki's house.
"…Is this Tomori?"
Shiina Maki, who had come out to the living room, noticed their arrival and immediately came over.
"She's so cute no wonder Taki likes you so much"
At a glance, she took a liking to the soft, penguin-like Tomori and immediately pulled her into a hug—straight into a suffocating chest press.
"Sis, let go of Tomori!"
Seeing Tomori trapped in her arms, struggling to breathe—even though the "culprit" was her own sister, Taki couldn't stand it anymore.
She directly pulled Tomori out of her sister's arms and shielded her behind herself.
"Tomori, are you okay?"
Looking at the slightly dazed girl beside her, Taki asked with concern.
"..."
Although she knew her little sister was a very "filial" person, watching Taki show that kind of devotion to a girl her own age right in front of her still left Shiina Maki with rather complicated feelings.
.......................