Tomori: "Um... I... uh..."
Bocchi: "Mmm... uh...?"
Taki: "..."
Tomori and Bocchi stood face-to-face, both of them gesturing nervously but unable to form a single coherent sentence.
Watching them, Taki let out a long, helpless sigh. Tomori really is lost without me.
"It's like this: Tomori wants to ask for your advice on how to stop being nervous on stage," Taki explained. Once the words were out, both Tomori and Bocchi looked relieved. "Rin Ito said yesterday that you started out only being able to play inside a box, and now you've performed at a music festival audition. He said it was impressive."
"Ehehe..." Bocchi gave a bashful, awkward laugh. "Is that so... I guess I am pretty amazing, ehehe~~~"
Hearing the praise and realizing they were here to learn from her, Bocchi instantly switched from "Nervous Mode" to "Smug Mode." Her confidence skyrocketed. If she were at home, she'd definitely be wearing her star-shaped glasses by now.
"No problem! Leave it to me!" Bocchi puffed out her chest and put her hands on her hips. "Wait here, I need to prepare some things."
Under their confused gazes, Bocchi ran to the bar area and began expertly mixing drinks.
A few moments later...
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Three cups of iced Americano were slammed onto the table.
"Drink up!"
Bocchi confidently pushed the coffee toward Tomori. Tomori picked one up, sniffed it, and handed it to Taki. Taki also took a sniff...
"Isn't this just regular iced coffee? And it smells like cheap instant coffee. Drinking this makes you confident?" Taki, who worked at the Ring cafe, knew her coffee. If caffeine fixed insecurity, I'd be the most confident person on earth.
Taki looked tough, but she was deeply insecure compared to her successful sister and the brilliant Sakiko.
She didn't believe for a second that coffee could make someone brave enough to sing on stage, but Tomori was determined to try.
Tomori held the cup with both hands like a hamster eating a sunflower seed, tilted her head back, and started chugging.
One cup, two cups, then the third.
After she finished the coffee, Bocchi brought out more fountain soda and orange juice. Tomori didn't hesitate, chugging those down too.
"Ugh... Burp..."
Tomori finally stopped after a loud, involuntary burp.
It was still early; the manager Seika and the sound engineer PA-san usually didn't arrive until later in the afternoon.
After "hydrating" Tomori, Bocchi ran to the reception computer, disabled the security cameras, and then expertly locked the front door of the auditorium.
"???"
Taki was utterly baffled. What does this have to do with being confident?
Tomori was just as confused. All she felt was that her stomach was bloated and heavy. She didn't feel any surge of bravery from the drinks.
As the two sat in confusion, Bocchi returned and stared intensely into Tomori's eyes.
Taki: "...?"
Tomori: "???"
They were lost... What the hell is she doing?
Despite their doubts, Bocchi's unwavering gaze made them choose to "believe first, question later." Rana, who had been playing on stage, hopped down curiously to observe the three staring at each other.
"Mmm..."
Caffeine is a diuretic. After three coffees and a liter of soda, it didn't take long for the urge to hit Tomori.
"I need to... go to the bathroom..."
Tomori started to move, but Bocchi grabbed her wrist.
"No bathroom. Go to the stage."
"WAIT!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Taki grabbed Bocchi's arm. "Why won't you let her use the bathroom?"
Bocchi wasn't just stopping her; she was literally dragging Tomori toward the stage!
"The method to become confident is to piss on the stage," Bocchi said with total conviction. "Once you've done something that humiliating on stage, you'll never be afraid of playing guitar or singing again!"
OvO??
Taki was stunned into a stupor. Is this a solution a human being actually came up with!?
"When I first performed, I could only play inside a mango box. Now, I can play on an audition stage. This is the most effective and fastest method!"
"NO! That's way too weird!" As a sane person, Taki couldn't fathom Bocchi's logic. It might make sense mathematically, but it's insane!
"We... we're going to the bathroom. We'll talk about this later."
Taki tried to pull Tomori away, but Tomori broke her grip.
"No... I have to... I have to be able to sing on stage!" Tomori clenched her fists, enduring the mounting pressure in her body. "During our first live, I could only sing because Sakiko-chan encouraged me. Now that she's gone... I have to be able to do it alone."
"Tomori..." Taki's words died in her throat. But you don't need such a freakish method!
"I... formed this band... just to perform 'Haruhikage' in front of her. To show her she doesn't have to worry... that even without her, I can still perform it. I... I want her to see how much I've grown."
Tomori bit her lip, enduring the tidal wave of pressure in her bladder as she walked toward the stage.
"Why... why are you doing this for the person who abandoned us!?" Taki's heart felt a sharp sting of jealousy.
Tomori, Soyo, Mutsumi... Why is everyone so obsessed? Is Sakiko a literal succubus!?
"Sakiko-chan is our teammate... it was her who... who made me feel like I became a human!"
Seeing Tomori's iron resolve, Taki didn't know how to stop her. She took several deep breaths, and then Ryo's earlier words echoed in her mind: [If you don't even have the guts to drink each other's urine, how can you dream of a lifetime band?]
Drinking it was a bit much, but leaking together...? If she tried hard enough, she could do it!
"If... if you want a lifetime band, then I'm coming too! Stray cat, you too!"
Meow?
Rana looked confused.
Why am I being dragged into this?
Taki didn't stop there; she ran back to the rehearsal room and dragged Anon and Soyo away from their instruments.
"If we're going to be a lifetime band, if we're going to lose face, we do it together! Tomori, we're with you."
"EH-EH-EH-EH!? What's going on!? Are we performing? I haven't even learned the chords yet!" Anon was dragged onto the stage, completely lost.
"To train Tomori's courage, she's going to leak on stage. We're doing it with her... A lifetime band shares every shame!"
"Ah...?" Soyo was dazed, but as a person who lived to satisfy others' expectations and maintain her "Mother" role, she found herself following along.
Besides... Tomori was doing this to perform 'Haruhikage' better. That was the only way to help Sakiko stand back up.
"This... this is way too weird!?" As the only relatively normal person, Anon stared at the other three in horror. "Is there no other training method!?"
"This... this..." Anon hesitated, then slowly stepped forward. Even though she was in the band, she felt like an outsider compared to the bond between Taki, Tomori, and Soyo.
Rana didn't care about anything, but Anon did. She felt excluded.
If I don't join them now, I'll never truly be one of them.
I'll just lose face with them. It's fine, we're all girls... I can do this!
Rana looked left and right... It's embarrassing, but it looks interesting.
All five members of MyGO stood on the stage, while Kessoku Band stood below as the audience. Last time it was us losing face on stage; watching someone else do it is actually pretty fun.
They already had mops, rags, and buckets ready. They were experts at cleaning this stage.
Anon and the others hadn't drunk extra water, but they hadn't used the restroom since leaving home. They could squeeze something out if they tried.
As the five girls began to focus, Ryo raised her hand.
"I have a suggestion... to show unity, you should put your arms around each other's shoulders and form a circle."
"Deal!" Anon was the first to agree.
A circle was much easier to accept than standing in a line. The ones in front would have their backs to Nijika's group, and the ones in back would be shielded by those in front. It was much better than just standing there.
The five quickly linked shoulders, forming a tight ring. They lowered their faces until their foreheads were touching. This way, they couldn't see the others' expressions, and no one could see theirs.
Anon couldn't help but admire Ryo's foresight... As expected of Ryo-senpai!
With their bladders full and their resolve set, they waited for Tomori to lead.
Tomori squeezed her eyes shut, her hands gripping Taki and Soyo's shoulders.
Don't run away, don't run away, don't run away, don't run away!!!!
She repeated the mantra in her mind a hundred times.
"Uu...!!!!"
With a soft whimper from Tomori, a stream of fluid began to trickle down the leg of her shorts. After a few more seconds of focus, Taki followed suit.
Then came Soyo and Anon, and finally Rana. Looking at her teammates who were sharing this ultimate disgrace with her, Tomori sniffled.
Tomori: "Thank you... thank you all. Thank you for staying with me."
Taki: "Of course. We're a band for a lifetime."
Soyo: "No one is allowed to run away."
Anon: "So heavy... this bond is so heavy."
Rana: "If it stays this interesting, we really can be a band for a lifetime."
Clap-clap-clap-clap-clap.
Applause erupted from below the stage. Even Bocchi was clapping enthusiastically, as if they had just accomplished a heroic feat.
Nijika: "Congratulations."
Kita: "Congratulations."
Ryo: "Congratulations."
Bocchi: "Congratulations."
Nijika went upstairs to her apartment to get some fresh panties and disposable slippers for them. They wouldn't fit perfectly, but it was better than going home in soaked underwear.
Kita and Ryo grabbed the mops and began cleaning the stage they had just defiled.
As for Bocchi... she pulled the still-shaking Tomori aside, looking at her with a deadly serious expression.
"Now for the most important step."
"The... most important... thing...?"
Bocchi leaned in and whispered into Tomori's ear.
"On the day of your official debut performance, you have to let him fill you with cum!"