The monthly exams had finally come to an end.
While the preparation beforehand had been quite tormenting, the two-day exam period had fortunately passed in the blink of an eye.
In Tokyo at the end of April, the air was already floating with the scent of early summer.
On the last day before Golden Week, a unique atmosphere drifted through Haneoka Academy—a subtle air where post-exam relaxation intertwined with the excitement of the upcoming holidays.
Golden Week was originally a long, continuous holiday made up of several smaller ones, usually lasting seven days.
However, this year’s holiday was particularly generous; due to the overlap of various public holidays, it stretched to a full ten days.
Amaya Yuu had already sent a message to his family earlier, saying that he would be handling some matters in Tokyo during this Golden Week and would return during the summer break.
At this moment, he was standing at the front desk of RiNG, looking down to verify the reservation information.
“May I ask if the soundproofing and equipment in the A-3 practice room are all in good condition?” he confirmed once again.
“The soundproofing is very good, and the equipment was just maintained last week, so please feel free to use it,” the front desk staff answered with a smile.
“That’s good.” He breathed a sigh of relief and muttered to himself, “After all, it’s the band’s first group activity, so it’s better to be thorough.”
After confirming everything was correct, he turned around, pushed open the door to leave RiNG, and walked towards a nearby convenience store.
Whether it was because Shiina Taki wasn’t scheduled to work today or she had taken leave, Amaya Yuu did not see her at RiNG.
A few minutes later, he walked out of the convenience store carrying a bulging shopping bag.
The bag was filled with various flavors of Pocari Sweat, individually wrapped candies and cookies, and he had even stuffed in a brand-new multi-function power strip.
“Perfect.” He weighed the bag in his hand.
“In case the practice room doesn’t have enough outlets, or if someone has low blood sugar, these will all come in handy.”
Thinking of the lead singer in the band who, like him, only had a stamina stat of “3”, he felt his preparations were absolutely necessary.
Pulling out his phone, he sent the final confirmation message in the chat group that was still labelled “Unnamed Group”:
[Amaya Yuu: Everyone, one last confirmation: let’s meet tomorrow at 2:00 PM in the A-3 practice room at RiNG.
Attached is the location guide.
The equipment has been confirmed to be in good condition.
Everyone, please be safe on your way.
See you tomorrow!]
As soon as the message was sent, replies began to pop up one after another.
[Chihaya Anon: Received!
(≧∇≦)ﾉ I can’t wait!
Tomorrow I’ll show you all my progress!]
[Takamatsu Tomori: Um…
received, thank you, Amaya-san.]
[Nagasaki Soyo: Amaya-kun is so thoughtful~ I will be there on time.
Looking forward to meeting everyone.]
[Shiina Taki: Yeah.]
Staring at Shiina Taki’s one-word reply, Amaya Yuu could almost see her naturally cold face, which seemed to say, “Don’t waste time.”
The band members had vastly different personalities; it even felt a bit “disorganised”.
“Why do I always get the feeling this is going to be a powder keg that could explode at any moment…” He smiled helplessly and stuffed his phone back into his pocket.
In a luxury apartment on the top floor, Nagasaki Soyo walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window and gazed at the Tokyo Tower, which was sparkling in the twilight, her eyes somewhat unfocused.
She had just replied to the message Amaya Yuu sent in the group chat.
“Tomorrow, I’ll be practising with Tomori and Taki again…” she whispered to herself.
As her thoughts brushed past CRYCHIC and Sakiko’s bright smile, Soyo’s heart tightened slightly.
“Why…
did it turn out like that?”
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and suppressed the surging emotions.
There was no point in thinking about these things now.
What was important was that the opportunity had come again; Tomori was willing to form a band again, and that was the biggest progress.
As long as everyone could be together again, everything could still be salvaged.
“Sakiko…
just wait a little longer.
CRYCHIC will be back very soon!”
On the train home, Shiina Taki was wearing headphones.
One hand held a drink, while the fingertips of the other hand silently tapped out virtual drumbeats in the air, and even her toes were gently tapping along to the rhythm.
Perhaps she was too focused, as the drink suddenly slipped from her hand—
Yahata Umiri, who was nearby, was quick-witted; she bent down, scooped it up, caught it steadily, and put it back into her hand.
“You’re quite absorbed, aren’t you?” Umiri had no expression on her face, but her eyes revealed a hint of faint curiosity.
Taki was startled and took off one headphone: “What do you mean, absorbed?”
“It’s not often you see someone playing air drums so obliviously on the train.”
Taki didn’t take the bait and, catching sight of the bass case by her side, changed the subject: “Which band are you going to today?”
“NOTORIA, JASMINE & HUSKY, and DISRUPTION.”
The venues Umiri was going to today happened to be on the same route as Taki’s, so it was rare for the two of them to take the same train.
“How would I know just by the names?” Taki turned her face away.
“You were the one who asked first.”
“Are you going to work, Taki-san?”
Taki lowered her head, her fingers unconsciously rubbing the drink carton: “I’m off these two days.” After a pause, she added in a low voice, “But I’ll be going to RiNG tomorrow.”
Umiri blinked gently: “Did you find new members?”
“It’s not like that.”
“Then it’s with your old teammates?”
Before Taki could answer, the train’s arrival announcement sounded.
Umiri walked towards the train doors, turned to look at her before leaving, and said softly:
“That’s really great.”
The doors closed, and the train started moving again.
Taki held the drink, standing quietly in the carriage by herself, lost in thought.
After a long while, she put the headphones she had taken off back on.
Meanwhile, Chihaya Anon was sitting cross-legged on the floor of her room, facing her beloved surf-green electric guitar, her expression solemn as never before.
“C…
G…
Am…
F…”
She muttered to herself, her fingers moving somewhat clumsily on the strings, occasionally still letting out a few harsh, jarring noises.
“Ahhh—why is this chord so hard to press!” She wailed, flopping forward in frustration and burying her face into the soft cushion on the sofa.
“Tomorrow, Taki-san’s gaze will definitely pierce through me like a knife…”
The little theatre in her mind was already uncontrollably starting to play out:
[Scene 1: She had just played a wrong note, and Taki stopped her drumsticks with a “clang”, glancing over coldly: “Do you actually know how to play the guitar?”]
[Scene 2: Tomori looked over with a slightly disappointed gaze and said softly: “Anon-san…
as I thought…
you’re still not quite there…”]
[Scene 3: Amaya Yuu held his forehead and sighed helplessly: “It seems the plan for the stage performance will have to be postponed indefinitely…”]
“No, no, no!” Anon sat up abruptly and shook her head vigorously, her pink hair whipping through the air.
But when she tried to press down on that thorny chord again, the clear pain from her fingertips made her break her concentration instantly, and she grimaced, blowing on her fingers.
“It hurts…!”
“Forget it.
It’s not like I can make immediate progress even if I start practising now anyway.” She finally gave up, carefully set the guitar down, curled up on the sofa, and picked up her tablet.
“Let me check if Nyamu-chin has updated…”
Tomori Takamatsu’s room was much quieter.
She sat at her desk, carefully tucking a box into the deepest part of her drawer.
Inside were her old diaries, which she had lost count of how many times she had read through since CRYCHIC disbanded.
Today, she stroked those familiar covers once more, then gently closed the drawer.
It was time to put them away.
Next, she took out a brand-new notebook with a light blue cover.
She opened the title page and wrote earnestly:
“New poems, new songs.”
Outside the window, the setting sun was dyeing the sky a warm orange.
Tomori’s thoughts drifted away unconsciously.
I’m going to play with Soyo-san and Taki-san again…
and Anon-san too…
My heart feels warm.
But will it be like before…
where because of me, everyone was disappointed…
A chill of fear quietly rose from the bottom of her heart.
Just at that moment, the encouragement Amaya Yuu had once given her suddenly echoed in her memory, like a ray of sunshine, gently dispelling that chill.
Like a drowning person grabbing a piece of driftwood, she suddenly picked up her phone and skilfully opened that familiar chat box, just as she had done many times in secret before.
Facing the still-blank chat box, her finger hovered over the screen, hesitating for a very, very long time.
Finally, this time she summoned the courage and gently typed a line:
[Takamatsu Tomori: Amaya-san, tomorrow…
please take care of me.]
The moment the message was sent successfully, she almost wanted to recall it immediately.
However, before she could react, her phone vibrated with a “buzz” as a reply notification came in.
[Amaya Yuu: Don’t worry, leave it to me!]
It was followed by a cute sticker of a Shiba Inu nodding vigorously.
Looking at the silly, adorable Shiba Inu on the screen, Tomori could almost see Amaya Yuu patting his chest and smiling brightly.
“Do not sigh for the time that has passed…”
She softly repeated the words Amaya Yuu had told her, opened the new light blue notebook, and picked up her pen.
Some fragmented words and phrases were slowly emerging from her heart, and Tomori hurriedly wrote them down in the notebook.
Regarding the uncertainty of tomorrow, Tomori’s sense of unease still existed.
But this time, a feeling called “anticipation” was growing stronger.