Crychic was a gift sent by the wicked god Sakiko Toyokawa. Now, Mortis was acting as a wicked savior. Whether her "gift" was a blessing or a curse... even Mortis didn't know.
After school, Mortis led Soyo to a cafe near Tsukinomori. Rin Ito, who had arrived ten minutes early, stood up with a smile to greet them.
"Hello, Miss Nagasaki. I am Mutsumi's temporary manager, Rin Ito. I've only seen you on a screen during the live show before; you're even cuter in person."
"You flatter me..."
With a faint blush, Soyo sat opposite Rin with Mortis. After ordering, Rin skipped the small talk and got straight to business.
"Miss Nagasaki had Mutsumi bring me here because...?"
Rin was actually a bit surprised by Soyo's proactive approach.
He had planned to use Tomori as his entry point to Soyo and the others, leaving the main target, Sakiko, for last.
"I heard Mutsumi joined the band you are currently forming."
Hearing Soyo's voice, Rin thought of the "Tsukinomori Accent" and almost laughed.
While she wasn't as exaggerated as the memes in his memory, he could hear the artificial "softness" she added to her voice to appear gentle.
"Correct. I couldn't make it to the show, but I saw your live performance and heard 'Haruhikage.' That's why I invited Mutsumi."
"She thought you were a bad person yesterday." Mortis acted as Mutsumi, her face blank while her heart was full of malice... Since I can't handle him alone, I'll just drag Soyo into the water with me. Two of us should be enough to share the load~
Mutsumi might not notice, but Mortis could see clearly: Soyo's hollow heart was screaming to be filled.
"Eh? I... I didn't mean that. I was just worried seeing Mutsumi with a stranger."
"By the way... has Miss Nagasaki continued with band activities since Crychic disbanded?" Rin asked casually.
In truth, Rin knew exactly what had happened at Ring the day before. He had silenced his phone last night to avoid interruptions, only to wake up to a mountain of messages from Tomori.
She was a true "Gravity Penguin," weighted down by her own emotions.
The gist was a plea for help. She didn't understand why starting a new band made Soyo so angry and feared she had hurt her friend again. She also asked if Rin could meet her at Ring this afternoon.
If Mortis hadn't called him during lunch, Rin would probably be at Ring already.
"I..." Soyo hesitated, a complex shadow passing over her gentle face. "My friend has a plan for a band... Mr. Rin, as a professional manager, could you give us some advice?"
Soyo bit her lip, a spark of expectation in her eyes... He's building a band for Karen Okiura, but currently only has Mutsumi and Uika.
If he approves of me, Tomori, and Taki... we just have to find a way to kick out Uika and have Sakiko join... Even if the name isn't Crychic, as long as we're together, it's fine!
"Of course! No problem!"
Once Mortis finished her (and Mutsumi's) favorite mango juice, the three headed toward Ring.
The place was much livelier than Nijika's basement club. Many girls' bands from Tsukinomori booked rehearsal rooms here; the cafe was a literal sea of beauties.
Inside, Taki Shiina was busy taking orders from customers. Tomori and Anon were drinking tea, while an eccentric-looking girl with short silver hair and heterochromia was eating a matcha parfait at their table.
Tomori was staring distractedly at her phone while sipping tea, her eyes darting between the door and the screen. She was terrified of missing Rin's arrival or a message from him.
She had been drowning in self-blame since returning home last night.
She already felt responsible for the band's collapse; Soyo's dramatic exit had only worsened her guilt. Combined with Rin's silence... she had been a mess all morning, she hadn't even looked for pretty stones on the way to school!
She only breathed easy once Rin replied.
The reason she asked Rin to come was partly because Taki wanted to "vet" her fan... Taki was worried Tomori was being scammed and wanted to check him out.
Beyond Taki's request, Tomori also wanted more advice on how to unite a band for a lifetime.
After a long, anxious wait, the figure she was looking for appeared at the door. Tomori stood up excitedly to wave him over, but her hand froze when she saw Soyo and Mutsumi behind him.
She wasn't ready to face them yet. At the bar, Taki also looked shocked... not because of Soyo, but because of Mutsumi and Rin.
After Mutsumi agreed to introduce Rin, Soyo had told Taki about it and asked her to help get Tomori to Ring.
But she hadn't told Taki that Rin was the person coming. Taki had no idea that Soyo's "manager" and Tomori's "fan" were the same man.
"Good afternoon." Rin greeted Tomori with a smile. Taki, in her Ring uniform, immediately handed her order pad to a supervisor and ran over to the table.
Tomori looked at the two girls behind Rin, her lips trembling. Soyo and Mortis both noticed immediately that Rin and Tomori already knew each other.
"Tomori-chan... I'm sorry for my behavior yesterday," Soyo apologized with a smile before shifting her focus. "However... do you already know Mr. Rin?"
The question snapped Tomori out of her daze. She lowered her head and gave a tiny, cautious nod.
"Mmm... I sat next to him at the planetarium. He... he recognized me from our live show. Soyo-san... Mutsumi-chan... did you... just happen to run into him on the way in?"
"No," Soyo shook her head with a gentle smile. "He is Mutsumi-chan's manager now. His agency is looking for talent to form a band... I wish I had spoken up sooner. Mutsumi-chan already agreed to join him two days ago."
"Eh?" Tomori looked at Rin in total shock.
Two days ago?
I met him four days ago... that means the day after I told him Crychic disbanded, he went and found Mutsumi?
Soyo-san was angry yesterday because she wanted to convince Mutsumi to come back... so...
Is it all my fault?
Her lips trembled for a long time, her pink eyes filling with tears.
The next second, before the tears could fall, Tomori grabbed her bag and bolted out of the cafe with her head down.
Watching her retreat, Rin's words died in his throat. He let out a long sigh.
Indeed, every member of a girls' band is a top-tier eccentric.