“Oh my gosh… Koharu…”
As a result, naturally, Koharu Miura’s words stirred the sympathy of the simple and kind Yui Hori.
“I’m so sorry, I…” Yui’s expression shifted from curiosity to guilt. “… I didn’t even notice you were pushing yourself so hard.”
‘No, don’t actually feel that guilty. I’m the one lying here.’ Koharu felt helpless.
“It was me who kept it from everyone… I’m sorry. It’s all because of my own reasons, even though everyone was looking out for me.”
Feeling guilty in her heart, Koharu expressed a similar sentiment aloud.
‘That isn’t entirely a lie, though,’ she thought to herself with a self-deprecating smile.
“Don’t say that. Everyone has their own things to consider.” Yuzuki Yasuda came over and patted both of their backs.
“Alright, since we ran into each other, it means that all those bad things that happened until now were just destiny guiding us to meet.”
“Ah, yeah! Exactly!” Hearing this, Yui immediately agreed.
Koharu was stunned. Turning her head, she saw Mio Sato looking over with an utterly speechless expression.
“Mio, what ‘bad things’ was Yuzuki talking about…?”
“… That,” Mio Sato sighed and started explaining. “The dessert shop we went to was too crowded. The clerk said the wait would be at least one hour before we could get a table.”
“Then I suddenly remembered — I ordered a rare CD from a record store near here a while back and planned to pick it up over the weekend,” Yuzuki cut into the conversation at the right moment.
“Since going home too early is boring anyway, and I thought the station wasn’t far from here, I brought Mio and Yui along.”
“And I also thought that after Yuzuki got her CD, I could pull them both along to check out the livehouse around here,” Yui added her own reason for coming. “In the end… just as we arrived, we saw you standing here in a daze — “
Koharu felt like laughing out of pure exasperation.
This series of events was just perfect.
The dessert shop was too crowded so they didn’t want to waste time in line, so they impulsively went to the record store, and then decided to see what the livehouse Yui mentioned looked like.
‘Why is it such a coincidence?! They had to appear right when I arrived here.’
Strictly speaking, she had come here immediately after school ended.
How on earth could Yui, Mio, and Yuzuki finish that whole list of tasks and still end up at Three-chome at the same time as her?! Was this even scientific?
“Koharu, were you standing here motionless because you were afraid we would recognize you?”
While Koharu was complaining in her head, Yuzuki suddenly leaned in and asked.
“Ah, she couldn’t hide at all,” Yui added with a smile. “Koharu’s aura is so unique. Even standing in a crowd, she’s super eye-catching.”
‘Huh?’
‘I’m supposed to be a background character. What do you mean eye-catching…?’
These girls were truly her kryptonite. Koharu couldn’t stop sighing internally. They managed to run into her through a sheer Butterfly Effect.
Just because a dessert shop line was too long, these three great deities were led right to her side?!
It wasn’t that Koharu was unwilling to spend time with them, but in this current situation, staying with the girls — especially Yui Hori — was not a good thing.
‘… Because, since we’ve already run into each other, there’s no way around it.’
“Since we’ve run into each other, there’s no way around it then,” Yui spoke up at the exact same moment Koharu thought it. “Koharu, you’re still scared, right?”
“But you’ve already summoned the courage to come here, so why don’t you come inside with us and take a look?”
“No, no, no! I’ll just take a look at the entrance…” Koharu immediately refused.
“What does it matter!” Naturally, Yui’s passion was instantly ignited. “It’s still early anyway, so they should still be doing their afternoon practice inside. We can wander in and watch from a distance from the stage.”
“Since Koharu is afraid, as your friends, it’s even more important for us to help you take this step!”
“Wait, Yui — “
“Let’s go, let’s go! Don’t be afraid!”
“If anything happens, we’ll step in.”
‘No… it would be best if you didn’t step in…’
Koharu was surrounded by the three of them and ushered through the front door of the livehouse.
‘The plan is completely ruined.’
Originally, she wanted to contact Arisa privately to investigate the truth of the rumors.
Now, she was bringing along three high school girls from Starlight Academy.
Their target was so large it was practically like having the words “I am here to visit” pasted on her forehead.
If Kiyono Arisa saw this, if that already extremely sensitive girl saw this scene…
Koharu closed her eyes, seemingly hearing the sound of the already fragile plot pillars making a *crack-crack* sound as they shattered.
—
*Ding-aling — *
As she pushed open the heavy iron door of the basement, a blast of cold air mixed with a damp basement smell and a metallic scent hit her face.
The interior of Starry Sound was much wider than it appeared from the outside.
Although it wasn’t business hours yet, under the dim lighting, the drum set on the stage and the complex audio equipment already emitted a sort of desolate, industrial aesthetic.
A few band members were sitting at the bar drinking sodas. Seeing four high school girls in neat school uniforms walk in, they all cast strange looks their way.
Koharu lowered her head, clutching her student bag straps tightly. Her gaze scanned the venue at high speed.
She wasn’t there.
No one was visible at the bar.
There were only a few young men in the booths debugging effect pedals.
The stage was empty, with only two stagehands moving speakers.
‘Is Arisa really not here?’
“Wow, the sound effects here are truly superb!” Yui had already led everyone to the bar with practiced ease. “Boss! Four iced lemon sodas, please!”
“Yo, it’s Yui. You brought new friends today?” A scruffy man with stubble behind the bar smiled, his gaze lingering on Koharu for a second. “Honors students from Starlight Academy? A place like this isn’t suitable for young ladies like you.”
“Don’t say that. My friend came specifically to support Sugar Starlight!” Yui proudly patted Koharu’s back.
Koharu wished she could find a hole to crawl into right now. ‘Yui, please, I beg you, stop loudly announcing that name!’
Just then, from the depths of the venue, a thick wooden door with a “STAFF ONLY” sign on it let out a loud *bang* due to some violent pushing.
All the chatter and laughter vanished in an instant.
Koharu’s body instinctively trembled as she stared fixedly at that door.
“— That’s why I said! I will absolutely not sing such a rotten arrangement!”
A cold voice, slightly trembling with anger, pierced through the door and echoed in the empty livehouse.
Koharu’s pupils constricted suddenly.
It was her. It was that voice.
“Kiyono! Don’t go too far! Do you think you’re still some big star?” another sharp female voice followed, filled with blatant malice.
“Without us, you wouldn’t even be able to stay in this basement! Don’t forget who played backup for you during the Anniversary!”
“Then feel free to go find a more suitable Center Position!”
*Bam!*
The wooden door was slammed open.
A figure wearing an oversized gray hoodie stumbled out. The hood was pulled down extremely low, hiding most of her face.
She kept her head down, her hands clenched tightly into fists, and her entire being radiated a hostility that bordered on despair.