Ring — a place Chiose could never forget.
Six or seven years from now, in another simulation, it was right here that she and Tomori had put on that electrifying performance.
The opening notes of Welcome to the Black Parade still echoed in Chiose's ears to this day.
"Excuse me — do you know a band called Crychic? I'm one of their members, but I can't reach any of them right now. Do you happen to know which room Sakiko Togawa booked for today?"
"Ah, of course — they're on the third floor, all the way at the back."
"Thank you so much. Have a wonderful evening."
Yoshiiro Chiose found, to her complete dismay, that she was utterly incapable of sustaining the persona she'd put on when she first met Taki.
Her act really couldn't hold up for long — which wasn't surprising, when she thought about it. Did she really expect to master the arts of a femme fatale in just a week or two?
She clutched the Crychic flyer in her hand. If she hadn't spotted Sakiko Togawa's name and phone number printed in the bottom-left corner of that recruitment poster, she probably never would have tracked them down at all.
She climbed to the second floor, then up to the third. Her pace kept quickening — and yet the moment she reached the top of the staircase, her steps slowed to almost nothing.
Less than a hundred metres between her and the room at the end of the hall.
Inside was Takamatsu Tomori — the useless big sister and useless colleague who had walked with Chiose through childhood and into adulthood.
Tomori had always, always been her sister — in the first simulation and the second simulation alike.
Hmm… except in reality.
In reality, they were nothing to each other. Only the closest of companions within the simulations.
This was already Chiose's third simulation. She was supposed to be a capable, experienced simulator by now — someone who knew how to throw herself fully into the world she'd been given…
And yet. Knowing that this world also had a Tomori in it — that lonely, isolated teenage Tomori who had grown up without Chiose by her side…
Chiose found she couldn't quite stop herself from wanting to see her.
"Tomori, you…" she murmured under her breath.
She kept one hand trailing along the wall as she walked, each step slow and deliberate. The corridor seemed to stretch on forever — she had the feeling she could spend a lifetime walking it and never reach the end.
That Sakiko Togawa! Was she the one who had disbanded the Crychic that Tomori had wept over so bitterly!
What on earth had possessed that fallen little rich girl — what possible attitude could she have carried while hurting Tomori like that? No, wait, that wasn't quite right — ah, forget it…
Sakiko. Sakiko, just what kind of person are you, really?
Why is it that you make me feel sorry for you, make me want to pity you — and yet at the same time stir up in me something that feels strangely like resentment and regret?
In just a moment, Yoshiiro Chiose arrived at the rehearsal room door.
Her beloved big sister — the one she'd spent over six years of her life with — was right on the other side of that door.
Right there! Her beloved big sister of six whole years was right there on the other side… and yet Chiose knew there was no possible way Tomori could know her.
In this story that belonged entirely to Shiina Taki, Takamatsu Tomori was nothing more than a minor background character — one The System didn't even deign to acknowledge.
Knock knock knock.
Three light raps on the door. The keyboard music inside cut off abruptly. A moment later, a Blue-haired Twin-tailed Girl poked her head through the gap.
"Hello? Who are you looking for? Wait — you're the one who was standing behind Shiina the other day!"
"That's right, that's me. My name is… Takamatsu Chiose. I heard you were looking for a drummer — I thought I'd come up and see for myself."
"Takamatsu? So you're also a Takamatsu?"
Chiose paid no attention to Sakiko's surprise. She pushed the door open and stepped inside, keeping her expression carefully neutral as she scanned the room for that one particular silver-haired little penguin.
There she was — the little creature was sitting on the floor.
She didn't dare look toward the door. She sat all by herself, quietly going through a green-covered notebook, memorising lyrics on her own.
So this was Takamatsu Tomori in her teenage years. How lovely. How utterly adorable.
[But… ah, Tomori.]
[You're not as lively as you used to be when you were little.]
"Miss Togawa, is it?" Chiose said aloud.
"Yes."
Yoshiiro Chiose made every effort to keep her face unreadable. She still remembered the second reason she had come here.
"I'd like to join your band. Could you introduce me to your current lineup first?"
"Of course — that's only right that I should."
Chiose listened as Sakiko introduced everyone.
A brown-haired bassist — Nagasaki Soyo. A green-haired, withdrawn girl — Wakaba Mutsumi. Chiose made a genuine, earnest effort to commit each name to memory.
But no matter what she did, her attention kept drifting back to Takamatsu Tomori.
"And this is our vocalist, Takamatsu Tomori! Tomori is incredibly talented!"
"Is she? Then I wonder — will you give her a kind and gentle adolescence?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Never mind… I'm feeling a little unwell. I'm very sorry, Miss Togawa — I'll be in touch another time."
There was no reason left to stay. Chiose had gathered the intelligence she'd come for, had seen the sister she'd needed to see — and without a moment's hesitation, she turned and ran.
She could hear Sakiko calling after her from behind.
But so what?
Simulations were only simulations. Supporting characters in a simulation didn't deserve any real emotional investment from her. But wait — was she really already thinking like that? Ah, Chiose, what has become of you?
Yoshiiro Chiose ran the whole way back home — only to find, when she arrived, that she'd ended up at the small apartment Tomori would live in several years from now.
She wandered in circles, drifted toward her own home from the first simulation, hesitated and hovered there, and then dragged her tired, delicate body back one reluctant step at a time to the apartment belonging to this simulation.
Her little home. Lavishly furnished — but only ever for one.
On the floor lay a shirt Taki had forgotten to take. Draped over the sofa were the two of them's abandoned trousers. Yoshiiro Chiose stood in front of the bathroom mirror.
She splashed cold water on her face again and again. She stared at her own reflection for a long, long time.
It looked like a silent argument — as if she were glaring down the person in the mirror with her eyes alone.
"Enough… only tonight. You get one night of feeling sorry for yourself — that's it! Yoshiiro Chiose! Now pull yourself together and go take proper care of Shiina Taki!"
No wait, that wasn't the right word at all!
"Please! Yoshiiro Chiose — go and truly, genuinely cherish Shiina Taki through what might be the only happy stretch of time she has left! In the first simulation Taki couldn't fully understand what the other person was feeling, so you need to spend more time on it this time… Chiose, you have to be extra careful, extra attentive!"
"If you still feel guilty after all that, it means your resolve isn't strong enough yet! Chiose! Stand up straight!"
Yoshiiro Chiose stared at herself in the mirror. Were those eyes of hers still as clear as they'd been when she was small?
"No. They're not." She exhaled softly. "Ah."
If only she could know Takamatsu Tomori in the reality outside the simulations.
If only Tomori could still become her best friend for the rest of her life.
Then she — Yoshiiro Chiose — swore with every fibre of her being that she would make absolutely certain the two of them lived long, full, real lives — not short ones cut cruelly short, but lives that stretched all the way to a hundred.
"So. Keep going. Keep on simulating. Keep working hard!"
"System! Get out here!"
"What is it."
Like a breath of wind, a white-haired, golden-eyed girl materialized in the mirror. Chiose met her gaze, voice steady and clear:
"I've made my decision. Starting tomorrow, we proceed exactly as originally planned. That's the only way to give Taki the motivation she really needs."
"Understood. Host is advised to rest early. Dying of overwork will terminate the simulation, and the Regret values you have accrued will be severely diminished."
"Thank you for your concern. Ah."
Chiose drifted over to the sofa and fumbled with the television remote.
She found herself missing Kyoumoto again. Sleep was not coming anytime soon.
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