The dinner was delicious. Chiose's cooking was excellent.
But Soyo couldn't shake the feeling that something was slightly off.
She didn't dwell on it — she simply leaned, on instinct, a little closer to Yoshiiro Chiose.
"Soyo and Chiose-nee are so close," Sakiko remarked.
"We are," Chiose agreed. "This one here — I watched her grow up with my own eyes."
Yoshiiro Chiose, out of pure habit, scooped up a spoonful of food and held it to Soyo's lips.
"Had enough? Want me to dish you up a little more?"
Feeding Soyo while keeping one eye on Sakiko — Chiose managed the delicate balancing act without missing a beat.
"No, I'm fine, thank you."
Sakiko had the distinct impression that Soyo was fixing her with a rather terrifying stare — but she didn't let it bother her.
The girls chatted on, the conversation flowing mostly from topics Sakiko brought up.
"Our middle school wind ensemble is going to perform at the music festival! All the seniors who are about to graduate will be there. Soyo, do you want to come and watch together?"
"Sure, when is it?"
"This Friday! Chiose-nee, are you coming too? Students are allowed to bring family!"
"Oh, there's an invitation for me as well?"
Chiose's fingers idly wound a strand of hair around her fingertip. Faced with Soyo's eager, expectant look, she answered without a moment's hesitation.
"Friday during the day I have a meeting to attend…"
Chiose deliberately let the sentence trail off. She waited until she'd watched the disappointment flood, unstoppable, across Nagasaki Soyo's face — and only then continued.
"But I'll do my best to get there in time. What hours does the event run?"
"The afternoon! It goes all the way until the end of the school day."
"Then I'll make it. I'll be there."
Chiose gave a satisfied clap of her hands, as if to say: settled.
The tiny expressions Soyo couldn't quite suppress — they really were adorable. Absolutely delectable.
It was precisely this kind of sweet, slightly oblivious child who was so much fun to tease. Nothing like Shiina Taki — poke her once and she'd jump, poke her twice and she'd blow up entirely, and nothing short of a kiss would coax her back down.
"Really?! Amazing!" Nobody else at the table combined could match Soyo's excitement — her eyes were practically sparkling.
This would be the first time anyone had ever come with her to a school music event.
[Thank you for the suggestion, Sakiko Togawa! Looks like this one really is worth keeping around.]
The look Soyo turned on Sakiko had softened considerably. Sakiko caught it and returned it with a gentle smile of her own.
In the blink of an eye, a week had passed — and Nagasaki Soyo and Sakiko Togawa had become friends.
They did a lot of things together, like going out for strawberry daifuku after school.
Soyo was happy. The more new experiences she collected, the more fun things she'd have to show Chiose — things she could bring her to, share with her, do together.
Compared to everyone else she'd met since the school year started, Soyo had grown closer to Sakiko more quickly than anyone else.
Maybe it was because what had happened before had left a small, stubborn knot inside her.
The business with Niiharu and Haizuka — Soyo couldn't stop thinking about it. She was still young; truly not caring was beyond her.
"Soyo! Chiose-nee! Our seats are over this way!"
Sakiko Togawa was all brightness and energy, putting her most enthusiastic self on display for both Yoshiiro Chiose and Nagasaki Soyo.
Chiose's hand was already being tugged along by Soyo. Soyo glanced around at Sakiko, who had arrived entirely alone, and frowned.
"Little Sakiko — where are your parents?"
"They, um…" Sakiko's smile went a little stiff.
"My mother hasn't been feeling well lately. My father is still tied up with family business. So it's just me today."
"That's all right, Sakiko," Yoshiiro Chiose said warmly, wrapping her left arm around Sakiko's shoulder and her other around Soyo. "Chiose-nee will keep you company. And little Soyo will be right here with us too, won't you, Soyo-Soyo?"
"…"
"…Yes."
Today Sakiko was once again occupying half of Yoshiiro Chiose's embrace — but Soyo had caught the expression on the other girl's face: that flash of genuine surprise at being shown warmth at all, the silent wonder of someone is holding me? And somehow, Soyo found she couldn't resent it as much as she'd expected to.
She recognised that look.
[Is Little Sakiko one of those kids too… the kind who grew up without much love from her parents, just like I used to be?]
This world really was overflowing with misery.
What kind of person dreamed up a world like this — where everyone had to be a little starved of love, a little roughed up by life, just to keep the whole thing turning?
Once they were seated, Soyo spent a long stretch turning the question of Sakiko Togawa over in her mind. Her thoughts stretched on and on, all the way through the opening of the show and the end of the first performance, before she finally drifted slowly back to the present.
"Thank you to the wind ensemble for that wonderful performance! Up next is the light music club — please welcome…"
"A light music club, hm. We didn't have one at my school back then, so everyone who got up on stage was performing with their own band."
Chiose clapped along with the crowd and said this with a touch of genuine nostalgia.
"Hm? Chiose-nee, which school did you go to for middle school?" Sakiko tilted her head.
"Haizuka. I remember — back in middle school, I performed on stage with my partner. The show was an absolute triumph. I don't think I'll ever be able to forget that purple-eyed girl for the rest of my life."
Chiose told the story again. She genuinely missed those days — the days when she could call someone a small fry to their face whenever she pleased.
Finding someone like that again now — someone she could tease and cling to and call a small fry whenever the mood struck — that was well and truly impossible.
"Hm? Is this the person Mama told me about before?"
Soyo had just barely drifted back to the surface, and now Chiose's words pulled her attention in entirely.
So Mama really couldn't let go of those years, that little piece of her youth… Wait. Why was she sharing that story with Little Sakiko?
Did that mean another piece of something that had only belonged to her and Chiose had just been quietly given away…
"Chiose-nee used to perform on stage too?! That's incredible! I wish I could do something like that someday."
The small girl gazed up at Chiose with a look of pure admiration, already spinning out in her head some epic tale of a legendary senior who had sailed through the world of music and traded blows with prodigies at every turn.
"Music has its own particular power, something that belongs to it alone," Chiose said. "I hope that one day, you'll both find the path that makes you happy — the one that fills you up."
"Hm?"
Soyo went quiet.
[Mama looks… a little sad. Is it because of a regret she's carrying?]
They said that many adults carried regrets from their youth — regrets that could never truly be undone.
Not until they saw something unexpected and brilliant bloom in their own children.
Nagasaki Soyo's mind was turning at full speed now — she wasn't only thinking of what to say to cheer Chiose up, but also turning over a brand new question entirely.
[If I formed my own band… if I led it to success… Mama would be proud of me, wouldn't she?]
And wouldn't that also mean making up for what Mama had lost? After all, Mama had mentioned it before — that the members of her old group weren't doing well now, that the band had eventually broken apart.
"Mama!"
Soyo's eyes filled with absolute resolve.
All around her, the music from the band on stage swelled and rose, and the audience's gasps of delight washed over her in waves. Nagasaki Soyo made up her mind — again, and for good.
"I want to form my own band too! I…"
Her gaze slid from Chiose over to Sakiko Togawa.
Little Sakiko probably wanted to form a band too, right?
Conveniently, there was a ready-made friend right here in front of her. She might as well start with what she had.
"Little Sakiko! You…"
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