"Sigh..."
Watching the retreating backs of Tomori and Taki, Rin Ito let out a helpless sigh. It felt like you weren't even allowed to play in a girls' band these days unless you had some form of psychological trauma. Mutsumi was just the one with the most severe case, not the only one.
Fortunately, most of their issues were just emotional hang-ups rather than clinical illnesses. As long as they talked things through, they wouldn't end up splitting into a second personality like Mortis.
Just as Rin was about to chase after them, Taki Shiina beat him to it. She shot Rin a murderous glare before running out, but she didn't get far before turning back, grabbing Rin's wrist, and dragging him along.
As she dragged him, she kept muttering about how he was "the absolute worst."
Rin looked at the furious Taki, a slight smirk playing on his lips... Maybe this is an opportunity.
Tomori didn't have much stamina. Before long, she stopped, breathless, using the back of her hand to wipe her cheeks. She wasn't wiping away sweat; she was wiping away tears.
Taki let go of Rin's hand and rushed to Tomori's side, but she had no idea what had happened or how to comfort her. Her hand hovered in the air, hesitant, before she turned and shot Rin another glare.
She didn't know the details, but she was sure he did! Tomori had only broken down after he arrived!
When Crychic disbanded, Sakiko's words were cold, but they weren't factually wrong.
Tomori really was the one who needed the most practice.
She was the only one in the band with zero musical background, and her personality was so introverted that she sometimes couldn't even make a sound on stage. If she were like Bocchi, it would be fine—she could just play guitar in a box.
But she was the vocalist.
If it were Bocchi being asked to lead as the vocalist, Rin figured she'd literally piss herself inside her mango box.
The psychological pressure Tomori carried was immense, and being a girl prone to self-loathing, she instinctively blamed herself for every problem.
Even though Rin had told her Sakiko's departure wasn't her fault, the internal spiral hadn't stopped, especially after Soyo walked out in anger yesterday.
Hearing that Mutsumi had signed with Rin the very day after meeting him made Tomori assume her "loose lips" about Crychic's disbandment were what led Rin to approach Mutsumi.
Tomori felt that she was the reason Soyo got angry yesterday, and that everything was her fault.
Rin sighed and stepped forward, making a gesture for Taki to give them space. Taki frowned, took several deep breaths to suppress her rage, and stepped away.
Once Taki was out of earshot, Rin gently patted Tomori's shoulder and pointed to the steps on the side of the road. After they sat down, Rin spoke softly.
"Just like Sakiko's departure, this isn't your fault. it was a coincidence. Karen decided to form a band the moment she saw the music festival auditions. Mutsumi is a great guitarist, she's a celebrity's daughter, and she was in a band. She was scouted long ago."
Rin could guess why she had broken down, but he didn't offer empty platitudes; he just gave her a summarized version of the truth.
Aside from Sakiko's father, the main reason Crychic disbanded was that none of them knew how to speak like normal human beings.
If just one of them had spoken plainly, the band never would have broken up.
Now that Rin was here, there was finally someone who could speak clearly.
Now that Rin was here, he could stop Tomori's self-destructive internal monologue.
"R... Really?"
"Of course." Rin gave Tomori's head a playful flick. "It wasn't your fault. Just a misunderstanding. Go back and explain it to them properly."
"If you want a band for a lifetime, you can't run away. You can't keep everything bottled up inside... you have to explain things to your friends."
"Mmm... Y-Yes. I'm sorry."
"Let's go. Back to the cafe."
Rin ruffled Tomori's hair and gave her a gentle nudge toward Taki. When Tomori reached her, Taki was still in a daze until Tomori spoke.
Tomori: "I'm sorry... let's go back."
Taki: "Ah... oh... okay... let's go."
A bewildered Taki glanced back at Rin. Even now, she couldn't believe it... How did he do that?
Taki had seen the "emo penguin" many times. During the dark days after Crychic collapsed, Taki was the only one by Tomori's side. It took months just to get Tomori back to a semi-functional state.
She knew better than anyone how hard it was to soothe this girl... and he did it with a few sentences?
How!?
Taki was dying of curiosity. It felt like ten thousand Rin Itos were crawling all over her heart!
While Rin and Taki were busy calming the little penguin, Rana Kaname—the silver-haired girl with heterochromatic eyes like a cat—was back at the Ring cafe, curiously observing Mutsumi.
Rana didn't know Taki or Tomori before today. She was a "stray cat" of Ring who thought they were "interesting women" and decided to join their table.
And now... she was seeing just how interesting they were.
The girl in front of her felt like she was playing a character!
Rana ate her parfait and enjoyed the show, while the person in the "play," Mortis...
"Mutsumi-chan, I'm Anon Chihaya, just call me Anon! You're the daughter of Minami Mori, right? I've seen you in ads and on variety shows. When Tomori showed me your live videos, I was so shocked! You play so well, as expected of Minami Mori's daughter... Hey, hey, I'm still a beginner. Can you teach me how to play?"
"..."
Faced with the over-familiar Anon, Mortis's lip twitched.
Good grief. This girl is a piece of work.
'As expected of Minami Mori's daughter'?
That was a point-blank ultimate to the face.
Mortis: [Are you mad?]
Mutsumi: [Yes.]
Mortis: [Don't be. I'll get revenge for us later!]
Mortis: [(ノ_;＼(｀ロ′)／]
The pressure-absorbing Mortis was used to hearing such things, but just like Mutsumi, she loathed that phrase. In the past, it didn't matter because she only existed to absorb pressure.
But now... her purpose was to be used as a fleshlight and used by Rin Ito. Hearing "as expected of Minami Mori's daughter" while she was thinking about being filled with cream puffs really rubbed her the wrong way.
"Okay."
"Eh?" The sound of surprise came from Soyo... Mutsumi actually agreed to that!?
"Yay! ヾ(??▽?)ノ"
Soyo felt a sharp sting of jealousy toward Anon. Not only was she invited by Tomori, but Mutsumi had agreed to teach her guitar without any hesitation. Why did she agree so easily?
Soyo's expression turned gloomy.
Am I... really the one who isn't needed here?
Rana's gaze bounced between Mortis, Soyo, and Anon... I definitely came to the right place. These really ARE interesting women!