"Taki."
"Hm?"
"What are you doing?"
"Memorising lyrics."
"Taki, it's been ages since you came shopping with us!"
The girl now speaking to Shiina Taki — black hair, black eyes — was her classmate. She walked over to Taki's desk and addressed her while Taki sat listening to music.
To be honest, Taki wasn't close to her at all. They'd simply come up from the same primary school and both ended up in the wind ensemble. They had done a few group outings together, but —
"Sorry. I'm busy."
Taki didn't look up. She was running the lyrics through her head over and over, silently committing them to memory, turning them over until they sank in.
A golden light flickered briefly in the classmate's eyes before fading back to black.
Like a simulacrum painstakingly mimicking the way humans spoke and moved.
"I'm just saying — we're already in second year of middle school…"
"Yeah."
"Next year we'll be in high school, you know. Are you still planning to keep writing songs after that, Taki?"
"Huh? Yeah."
Taki sat up a little straighter, but her eyes never left the notebook.
"Just hear me out… Taki, Yoshi and Miho can't bring themselves to say this, but I still want to tell you…"
The girl gathered her thoughts:
"Don't you think it's about time to give up on songwriting?"
Her tone made it clear she wasn't joking. Taki stared at her, but the girl didn't flinch at all under Taki's gaze.
"Taki, you stopped coming to wind ensemble, you barely even say hi when you see us anymore, and whenever we do group activities together you just sit there memorising things or scribbling away without saying a word. And on top of that…"
What on earth is this person even trying to say?!
Taki glanced around and noticed the classroom was still fairly full, so she decided against raising her voice to argue back.
But seriously — were they even that close? Why was she standing here droning on like this?
"And on top of that, what?"
"And on top of that, girl bands are just something people mess around with for fun. If you're not studying properly and living like a normal student, you'll end up as one of those weird outcasts nobody can relate to."
"You might even struggle to find a decent job later, and end up like those middle-aged people on TV who drink their sorrows away every night."
"You don't need to say any more. I know my own mind."
"Alright, but — look, those of us without any real talent can never reach the level your sister is at. Don't you think you should give up on the idea of competing with her? You're only a middle schooler, after all."
Taki fell silent.
"Get lost."
The black-haired girl shrugged and walked out of the room without another glance at Taki.
At the doorway, she brushed past Chiose. Yoshiiro Chiose gave The System — disguised as Taki's classmate — a small, measured nod.
"What's wrong, little Taki? You don't look very happy."
Ha — The System really was something else. It had managed to sour Taki's mood in just a few sentences.
"I'm fine."
The ones who say they're fine are usually the ones who aren't. Shiina Taki really was the kind of hopeless dummy who couldn't hide a thing.
Without waiting for an invitation, Chiose sat herself right down on top of Taki's desk. She faced Taki head-on, completely unself-conscious, and hooked her legs around Taki's waist.
"Really fine? No lying — tell me what she said to you."
"Well… basically she doesn't believe in me, I guess."
Taki had figured as much. It must have been that awful set of lyrics and that awful performance that had put everyone off — especially with Maki's brilliant show coming right after. Next to her sister, Taki had looked as rough and unfinished as a throwaway punchline.
"Well, that's just the kind of thing you run into on the way forward."
"Yeah, you're right, honestly — it'd be pretty pathetic if I let one comment knock me down like that! I'm going to keep working hard."
There was something pent up inside her. Ever since that last performance, Shiina Taki had felt like she couldn't quite catch her breath.
Most people hadn't noticed her set at all — which was no surprise. A small handful had some vague impression of her, though that was mostly down to the Shiina name. Only a precious few still believed in her; still had expectations of her.
Taki knew her own abilities were steadily growing, but almost no one had noticed. And so, while she quietly pushed herself forward in the dark, what she had to endure wasn't just sideways glances.
What she had to endure was a gnawing ache — the peculiar torment of knowing, deep down, that she was getting stronger, while everyone around her still saw the same old her. And she couldn't prove a thing.
They'd laugh at her. They'd offer their unsolicited advice from on high. And she couldn't find a single word to fight back against their breezy, superior smirks — because even if she tried, all she'd get in return was a dismissive: Oh really? or Well, as long as you're happy.
The only way to prove anything was —
[Taki — take everything you've worked for and shine at the music festival!]
Yes. Just like Chiose said.
If she could just bear less than another year of grinding away with nothing to show for it, she'd get to blaze in front of everyone next year.
"I've decided — I'm going to start vocal lessons after school today! You'll support me, right, Chiose?"
Of course! Nothing could be better!
Yoshiiro Chiose pretended it took a moment to register, paused just long enough for it to seem real, and then broke into the most genuinely relieved smile Taki had ever seen from her.
"Really? That's wonderful — let me contact a teacher for you! I'll cover the cost!"
"Th-that's too much! Chiose, you can't just —"
"It's fine, I have plenty of money. If it bothers you, pay me back once you're rich and famous from music… you know these lessons aren't cheap, right? If you have to go asking your mum and dad again…"
"Okay, okay, I get it. Ugh."
Money. Ugh. If only she didn't leap into things on impulse like this.
If she'd known she was going to want vocal lessons, she should have started saving up earlier.
Taki reached out carefully and tried to take hold of Yoshiiro Chiose's small hand. When Chiose didn't pull away, a warmth settled over her.
[The debt she owed Chiose really was piling up.
If Chiose hadn't been there all along, standing by her side, the burning desire she felt to fight her way up and surpass her sister might have stayed buried inside her for a long time yet.
Taki tilted her head back. The girl perched on her desk was nothing like the person she'd first met — the one whose very gaze had carried soft, hidden thorns.
She was like an angel, radiating a quiet warmth from somewhere just above.
"Chiose, why are your hands so warm?"
"Because I'm wearing a lot of layers?"
"Pfft — that's not romantic at all."
"Excuse me? Romantic? Are you asking to get roasted?"
There it was. Still the same soft little thorns as always.
Taki thought that when Chiose talked like this, it felt somehow like flirting — not the least bit scary, and yet somehow just as disarming.
A classmate came through the doorway — the same one who had spoken to Taki earlier. Only, why did her hairstyle look different now? Had she gone to fix it in the bathroom?
The real, ordinary classmate walked past Taki — and got a glare from Shiina Taki for no apparent reason.
Ordinary Classmate: ???
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