"Two people isn't enough for a band, is it."
"That's true… but I've looked around and I really can't find many people at Tsuki no Mori Girls' High School who'd want to join us."
Ring Café.
Sakiko Togawa lounged back against the sofa, idly scrolling through her contacts. She wasn't in any particular rush about the band itself — but what Soyo had said about making her mother proud had piqued her interest considerably.
Making her mother proud, hm? If she could have her parents sitting in the audience watching her perform, that would be pretty amazing, wouldn't it?
Besides, her mother hadn't seemed to be doing very well lately — maybe she'd been overworking herself recently.
For some reason, when Sakiko thought of the word "mother," the very first image that surfaced in her mind was Nagasaki Soyo's adoptive mother, Yoshiiro Chiose.
Chiose-nee-san's smile is so warm. I really envy Soyo for getting to be treated so gently every single day.
"Sakiko? Are you listening?"
Soyo's voice snapped her out of her daydream. Sakiko straightened up and took a measured sip of her tea, affecting composure.
"Ahem. Yes, I'm listening."
"You look like you were miles away, though."
I was, but I can hardly tell you I was thinking about your adoptive mother — that would be far too strange.
Sakiko just smiled awkwardly. "Where were we again?"
"So you really weren't listening." Soyo sighed, and in that small gesture Sakiko could already see a faint trace of Chiose's influence — the same composed, slightly world-weary air: "I was just saying that Mama will be coming later to help us think things through. She's a very experienced band senpai, after all!"
Heh heh. Today is another day I get to stick by Chiose's side.
Soyo wasn't entirely sure why Yoshiiro Chiose had so much free time lately, but just knowing that she was willing to carve out time to come spend it with her — that alone made Soyo feel absolutely over the moon.
Still, it was a little odd. Why did Yoshiiro Chiose seem to have nothing demanding her attention these days? Was it just a slow period at work?
Annual leave, maybe?
Soyo's mother had been spinning like a top for weeks, never making it home — so there was no one to ask for a clear answer.
"Girls, what are you two chattering about?"
Yoshiiro Chiose's voice reached them from a distance — as warm as ever. She drew near without making a sound, and the way she was dressed didn't suggest she'd just come from the office; she looked far more like someone on holiday.
"Hm? Mama, you got here fast."
"Hello, Chiose-nee-san!"
"Hello there, Sakiko," said Chiose, settling in between the two of them. She turned to look at Soyo. "Actually, my leg's been hurting a little today — not feeling great — so I took the day off and went to the hospital to get it checked out."
"Eh?! Are you alright?!"
Soyo couldn't help tilting her head and peering under the table.
Hmm… Chiose-mama's legs really are lovely.
"Nothing to worry about — the check-up didn't turn up anything out of the ordinary."
The smile that settled on Chiose's face was the familiar, reassuring one Soyo knew so well. She let herself stop worrying and didn't think too much more about it.
Though — why did that smile look just a little worn?
"So you two are trying to figure out how to find more band members?"
"Yeah, Chiose-nee-san, but we're drawing a blank on candidates."
"Ah, well — Sakiko agreed to start a band with Soyo partly because Soyo is her friend, yes? You got an invitation from a friend, so you said yes — that's how it went, isn't it?"
Chiose lifted Soyo's teacup and took a practiced, delicate sip. Her expression didn't flicker, though Soyo's ears turned a faint, bashful pink.
"Yes, that's… pretty much it," Sakiko said with a small nod.
"Then you can try inviting some more of your friends! Sakiko, I'm sure you know people who play instruments."
"People who play instruments… let me think…"
Sakiko blinked, running a quick mental roll-call of the talented people she knew.
"…I've got someone! Leave this to me!"
She actually did know a few people with exactly the right kind of skills.
"Then do your best, you two — I'm a little tired today, so I'll leave you to it. I'll be heading off."
Chiose's visit had been brief. On her way out, she leaned close to Sakiko's ear and murmured quietly:
"Little Soyo is in your hands, okay? Look after her for me — she doesn't really have many friends… and one of these days, big sis will take you all out somewhere fun."
Sakiko gave a small, silent nod.
[Hm? She's leaving already?]
Watching the two of them being so easy and familiar with each other, Soyo felt something uncomfortable stir in her chest.
She pushed it down quickly.
[It's fine… I should just focus on the band… Ugh, why is Mama being so attentive to Sakiko?! I'm the one who's her daughter… It's fine! Once the band is up and running and I get to perform on stage just like Mama did when she was young — then she'll definitely be proud of me!]
...
§11 These are the talented people I know — ahem, I mean, friends who play instruments.
"Is that so."
Nagasaki Soyo looked around at the group of girls assembled before her — each in a different school uniform — and sank into quiet contemplation.
One with long black hair who looked perpetually unhappy. One with short grey hair who seemed chronically withdrawn. And one with green hair and yellow eyes who managed to be both unhappy and withdrawn at the same time…
Sakiko Togawa, where on earth did you dig these people up?!
Wasn't a girls' band supposed to be all sunshine and energy and sparkling youth?!
Soyo strained to hold her smile in place, coaching herself silently:
[Usable is usable… as long as they can make Chiose-mama happy and make her proud of me, it doesn't matter what kind of personalities they have.]
Besides, she could always kick them out at the end if it came to that.
Because what mattered most was her mother, after all.
That was what Nagasaki Soyo told herself — not yet realising just how far from easy it would be to keep a band together.
And besides, even though it was Sakiko who had pulled these members in, it was she — Nagasaki Soyo — who was the true core of this band.
"It won't be that hard, right?"
We're going to win!
...
We're going to die.
"Why is being in a band like this… It's nothing like what I imagined."
Composing. Writing lyrics. Rehearsing.
Every step looked simple from the outside — and every step was absolutely brutal once you were in the thick of it.
"Sakiko, I think this section could use some changes."
"This… Taki, give it a rest — Sakiko's already working herself to the bone."
"No, it genuinely needs to change."
"Hm? Mutsumi thinks so too? Let me see… ah, this part — I'll rework it."
It was the weekend — a rare day off — and the band had gathered to hash things out. These past few weeks had been relentless for Soyo; they'd been going at it since morning and only now, finally, had they settled on a song.
They were calling it Harujion — named by the band's vocalist.
Nagasaki Soyo headed downstairs to collect the takeout order for everyone. With each step she descended, a quiet ache pressed down on her heart.
All that precious time I could've been spending with Chiose… sigh.
She wanted to go home and be with Mama. But she also wanted to shine in front of Mama.
Why couldn't she have both?
... ... ...
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