["Amoris, huh…"
In the anime, Nyamu lowered her head, her voice sounding somewhat subtle.
"Let me ask you something, Oblivionis."
Nyamu directly stood up, her tone slightly teasing.
"Why did you give me a name that means love?"]
Amoris, Oblivionis…
Even though Ave Mujica's performance hadn't started yet, the girls could already feel an overwhelming chuuni aura rushing straight at them.
They had a feeling that Sakiko-sensei's performance this time would definitely bring them some extra surprises~
And as a member of Ave Mujica, Uika was currently feeling an especially bad premonition.
In her imagination, Sakiko's new band style should have been similar to MyGO!!!!! and Crychic.
But now, things seemed a little off somehow.
However, Uika soon no longer had the energy to care about that.
["I thought I'd get to meet Mutsumi's father and mother."
In the anime, Nyamu—whose head was still full of fame and popularity—was enthusiastically trying to chat with Mutsumi and build connections.
"I'd really like to greet them. Could I visit your house next time?"
Mutsumi fiddled with the guitar in her hands without replying.
"Huh? Mutsumi, are you listening?"
"Nyamu,"
Seeing this, Uika beside them couldn't help but speak up to help Mutsumi out.
"I think Mutsumi probably wants to focus on practicing guitar?"]
It had to be said, this scene really made Nyamu's utilitarian side pretty obvious.
Even Big Nyamu-sensei herself, watching anime-her perform from a third-person perspective, couldn't help but start sweating a little.
But compared to Nyamu, what people cared about more was actually…
"Uika…"
Donut-san looked toward her partner, her gaze somewhat resentful.
Although she had already known that Uika joined Sakiko's band, actually seeing this scene in the anime still left her emotions rather complicated.
"Mana,"
Even though she had long mentally prepared herself for this situation, looking at Donut-san in front of her still made Uika nervous.
"I really am just like in the anime…"
"It was me who asked Uika to join Ave Mujica,"
Although Kamijou Mutsuki had already said he solved the problem on Donut-san's side, given the current situation, Sakiko naturally couldn't just let Uika face this alone.
"But she also won't leave sumimi. That's something we already agreed on."
"…I'm the one who failed to keep my earlier promise. If you want to blame someone, blame me."
Sakiko's attitude wasn't bad at all, which even moved Uika somewhat, but it only made Donut-san feel even more irritated inside.
Seriously, so somehow she became the bad guy again?
Still, she had promised Kamijou Mutsuki, and she also didn't want to make things difficult for Uika, so she wasn't planning to throw a tantrum right now.
But this blue-haired girl had stolen away her partner—was she really just supposed to swallow that?
Could Donut-san really endure this grievance?
Especially after she had only just gone on a date with Kamijou Mutsuki before this!
After thinking for only a moment, the girl quickly came up with a way to counterattack.
But…
She hesitated as she glanced at Uika. In the end, she still gritted her teeth and walked up to Kamijou Mutsuki.
Then, before he could react, the girl directly lifted his chin with a blushing face, and then…
"Mmh~"
Mutsumi: ?
Mutsuki: ?
No, she had just been sitting on the sofa watching anime, and suddenly another girl kissed her fiancé?
The girls around them instantly blushed as well. Seriously, for such a stimulating scene, they weren't even trying to avoid the others at all?
Sakiko-sensei's pupils shook even more violently.
She suddenly recalled the somewhat strange expression Kamijou Mutsuki had worn earlier when facing her comfort.
Now that she thought about it, wasn't that exactly the expression of someone forcing a smile?
Could it be that the way Kamijou Mutsuki persuaded her… was by becoming this evil donut's Stardust Crusader?
The girl couldn't help but imagine it…
Somewhere in Tokyo, inside a room undetectable by any scanner, that was where Kamijou Mutsuki existed…
He really had sacrificed far too much for this band!
Meanwhile, on Donut-san's side, after only kissing him briefly, she hurriedly separated from Kamijou Mutsuki in flustered embarrassment, not even having time to properly savor the feeling of the kiss.
After all, although it wasn't her first time, this time it was in front of so many people—and they were all acquaintances too—so naturally she couldn't help but feel nervous.
However, once the girl's gaze shifted toward Sakiko, the expression on her face transformed into the smug look of a bratty little devil.
"Joining a band is Uika's freedom. Naturally, Mana-chan won't interfere."
"So then, Saki-chan."
"My relationship with De— I mean, Mutsuki-kun…"
"You won't get angry over it, right~?"
Donut-san's deliberately cutesy voice, along with the overwhelming scent of green tea energy coming off her, made even Soyo beside her unable to resist crying out internally.
Those are all my lines!
Although she knew Sakiko and Kamijou Mutsuki had an ambiguous relationship and probably had already done similar intimate things before—
At least right now, the one kissing Kamijou Mutsuki wasn't Sakiko. It was me, Mana-da~
Togawa Sakiko, how does it feel now? How does it feel!?
"Mana, you…"
However, leaving Sakiko's reaction aside, Mutsumi herself looked at Donut-san without knowing what expression to make.
Although Kamijou Mutsuki had never hidden Donut-san's situation from her, that sudden move still startled Mutsumi badly.
No, Sakiko stole your partner away, so why are you kissing my fiancé?
Are you seriously sick in the head?
One could only say: whose general was this, to be so ferocious?
After all, even Soyo didn't dare act this boldly in front of her.
"Mutsumi-chan…"
Meeting Mutsumi's eyes, Donut-san finally realized something.
Although Sakiko did indeed like Kamijou Mutsuki, his official fiancée…seemed to actually be Mutsumi?
Crap, friendly fire!
And it wasn't even just friendly fire anymore—it was straight-up AoE damage.
"Um…"
Donut-san took out a tissue.
Under the puzzled gazes of the surrounding girls, she first wiped Kamijou Mutsuki's mouth, then took out another tissue to wipe her own lips, finally revealing a guilty smile.
"…Let's just pretend that kiss never happened?"
Donut-san has withdrawn one kiss.
At this point, and with Donut-san obediently admitting fault afterward, Mutsumi didn't continue dwelling on it either.
Instead, it was Uika who looked at her partner with a complicated expression.
Sakiko was one thing, but how did you get infected by Kamijou Mutsuki too?
The girl couldn't help but shoot the boy beside her a resentful glance.
Are you only going to stop after taking everything from me too?
At this rate, maybe she should just surrender as well!
The girl even briefly produced such a bold thought, though she quickly erased it from her mind.
"Um, Uika…"
Facing the complicated look from her partner, Donut-san also became somewhat flustered. After hesitating for a long time, she finally spoke.
"In any case, the waters around the Great Demon King run deep. You can't handle them, so don't keep digging further…"
After all, the situation between her and Kamijou Mutsuki was far too complicated. This was the only explanation she could really give.
So you can handle it?
However, Donut-san's words made Uika instinctively think this.
She didn't say it aloud, but her mood became even more complicated.
["Mm, then I'll leave the official performance to you all."
"Okay."
In the anime, the girls of Ave Mujica had already finished their preparations and arrived backstage together.
"Sakiko, thanks for your hard work."
First Sakiko arrived, and then Uika and the others followed behind.
"Couldn't you just leave it to the adults?"
"If Togawa is acting as the general director, then naturally she can't leave it to others, right?"
"Everyone, please don't forget these."
Seeing them arrive, Sakiko displayed the five masks placed nearby.
Mm, black lace ones!]
No way… were they really about to put lace over their heads?
Watching this scene, the girls of Ave Mujica—including Sakiko-sensei herself—couldn't help but have their expressions subtly change.
[However, no matter how unwilling the girls in reality were, their anime selves had already begun covering their faces with black lace.
"Leave your impatience and regrets here before stepping onto the stage!"]
Right now, they themselves were feeling pretty impatient and regretful.
["Once you step onto the stage, the only one you can trust…"
"…is yourself!"
Sakiko put on her mask and opened her eyes.
"I won't say empty words like 'let's enjoy this together.'"
"After all, we're nothing more than accomplices in the same crime!"
"Accomplices?"
Uika looked slightly confused by Sakiko's words.
"That means co-conspirators, right?"
Umiri explained.
"That sounds terrible."
"Then let's go!"
As Sakiko spoke, she clenched her fist. The other girls immediately followed suit, and together they stretched out their hands.
"Ave Mujica!"]
After watching this part, the girls outside the screen all fell silent.
They didn't even have the energy to analyze the plot anymore—their attention was completely focused on the masks worn by Ave Mujica's members in the anime.
No, wait, you're actually wearing them?
This outfit… wasn't it a little too rock?
Still, even though the masks on Ave Mujica's members were painfully unbearable, the girls more or less managed to hold back their expressions.
Maybe Sakiko and the others just had slightly bizarre costumes, and the actual performance would still be normal?
After all, the most important thing in a Live was the performance itself. The costumes were secondary.
And not only them—most fans who found things a bit unbearable were thinking the same thing.
And then, they saw Ave Mujica's dark puppet theater performance.
["Alos, My Love, You Do Me Wrong…"
At the start, Uika sat on stage singing. And just as everyone thought they were finally about to hear Ave Mujica's music—
"Your singing is wonderful."
Sakiko suddenly appeared while pulling Mutsumi along, and then the group began speaking to each other.
"This is a song my friend likes."
"Is that so? You're also going to the masquerade ball, right?"
"Onee-sama."
Beside her, Mutsumi addressed masked Sakiko like this.
"This is bad, the moon has already…"
"Wait!"
Then Umiri and Nyamu, both wearing lace over their faces, also entered one after another.]
Those masks…
Earlier, the anime's lighting had been too dark to see clearly.
But now that the girls of Ave Mujica fully appeared on stage, everyone finally realized just how unbearably ridiculous Sakiko and the others' masks really were.
One could only say Kamijou Mutsuki's earlier description had been extremely accurate—they really had just slapped black lace over their foreheads. It was abstract to the extreme.
Some fans even let out cries of despair—
Gwaaah!
I don't want to see this, I don't want to see them looking like this!
After all, Sakiko and the others looked so drastically different from normal that it was perfectly understandable some people couldn't accept it immediately.
Of course, there were also plenty of chuuni-minded people who looked extremely excited.
[Uika: Where is this place?
In the anime, Ave Mujica's performance continued.
Nyamu: Oh my, another newcomer?
Umiri: Still carrying a trace of human scent.]
What even was this?
The girls couldn't help twitching their mouths.
What was Sakiko even doing? This was way too chuuni!
Taki especially looked at Umiri with a subtle expression.
How was her friend saying lines this chuuni with such a completely serious face?
As for Sakiko herself…
she was already so embarrassed her toes were curling into the floor.
[Nyamu: Just yesterday they were sleeping while holding you, and today they're already holding someone else.
Nyamu pressed down on Uika's shoulders and caressed her cheek.
Nyamu: Humans really are cold…
Nearby, Sakiko was combing Mutsumi's hair.
After that came a stage play performance so chuuni it reached the absolute extreme.
…
Nyamu: Everyone here are dolls who've been abandoned.
…
Uika: You say I'm a doll, but I'm clearly alive, and so are all of you!
Sakiko: That's because tonight's moon is special. Welcome to Loft Moon!
Then Sakiko began explaining the setting of the play, afterward asking what death meant for dolls.
Uika: Being abandoned?
Nyamu: Burning at the stake?
Umiri: That's for witches.
Mutsumi: Not receiving love?
Then Sakiko spoke of her own understanding.
Sakiko: But the saddest kind of death… is being forgotten!]
"..."
One could only say: as long as Sakiko-sensei is happy.
[Then came the most exciting part of the stage play.
Sakiko: Now is the time to reclaim our authority!
Mutsumi: And to offer blessings to our new friends.
Sakiko: Come, before the masquerade begins, let me grant you temporary names.
Sakiko: Mortis!
Mutsumi: I do not fear death!
Sakiko: Timoris!
Umiri: I do not fear fear!
Sakiko: Amoris!
Nyamu: I do not fear love!
Sakiko: Oblivionis!
Sakiko: I do not fear oblivion!
Sakiko elegantly lifted the hem of her skirt.
And finally—
Sakiko: Doloris!
Uika: I do not fear sorrow!]
As Sakiko and the others finished their performance, the music's intro slowly began playing amidst the cheers of the fans below the stage.
However, the girls no longer noticed any of that. Their minds had already gone blank.
No, where exactly had this brought them?
Was this still a Live?
The girls around them had already begun showing expressions like an old man staring at a phone on the subway.
What are you even doing, Sakiko? This was way too chuuni!
At this moment, the girls suddenly recalled what Kamijou Mutsuki had said before.
Lace over their heads, then performing a stage play during the Live…
Back then they all thought Kamijou Mutsuki was joking, but Sakiko, you actually went and did it for real?
This was way too rock. Way too dark fantasy.
"Sakiko, you…"
Even Anon's gaze toward Sakiko had become complicated.
As a normie, she considered herself someone walking at the forefront of fashion.
But she had to admit that Sakiko's art was simply too avant-garde.
The masks on their faces had already been unbearable enough, but when they started dramatically announcing those names one by one, she really couldn't hold it in anymore.
This was just way too chuuni!
"Uika…"
The resentment in Donut-san's heart had completely vanished, leaving behind only complicated emotions.
No, you joined Sakiko's band just to wear lace over your head and perform dark fantasy stage plays?
Then take on the alias Doloris and tell people…
"I do not fear sorrow"?
"Or should I say, Miss Doloris…"
"Please don't call me that!"
The moment she heard Donut-san address her that way, Uika immediately let out a cry of despair.
She also never expected Sakiko's band to be this chuuni.
Especially that final gesture from Sakiko in the anime—it practically felt like she was saying…
All eyes on her, she is Doloris!
Recalling what she herself had once said to Kamijou Mutsuki, the girl felt numb all over.
She never imagined there would really come a day where she'd wear lace over her head, and in this way no less.
One could only say: getting smacked in the face by a boomerang felt absolutely terrible!
Even Umiri and Nyamu couldn't quite withstand the scenes on the screen.
In the end, everyone couldn't help but focus their gazes onto Sakiko.
But the one who dealt the final blow was the innocent Tomori.
"Um… is this the stage play Mutsumi talked about?"
"Sakiko is Oblivionis?"
Please don't call me that!
Sakiko also let out a cry of despair in her heart.
She practically buried her head into her legs, her cheeks so red they almost burned, wishing she could flee on the spot.
The performance in the anime wasn't something made up out of thin air—it was a scenario she had once fantasized about.
And the Sakiko in the anime had already been pushed into a corner, which was why she decided to make one final desperate gamble and completely let herself go.
But the Sakiko in reality was in a completely different state of mind, so naturally she would never have such thoughts. All she could feel now was embarrassment.
This had already gone beyond something that could merely be called black history—she was genuinely embarrassed enough to want to die!
"Children,"
Seeing this, Kamijou Mutsuki couldn't help but speak up to help Sakiko out.
"Please don't destroy Ave Mujica's worldview!"
"This is something Saki-chan spent 10 minutes thinking up every night before bed!"
"Pfft~"
It would've been better if Kamijou Mutsuki had said nothing. The moment he spoke, the girls around them completely lost it and burst out laughing.
Once they imagined the scene Kamijou Mutsuki described…why did Sakiko suddenly seem kind of cute?
"Mutsuki!"
Seeing him act like this, Sakiko immediately revealed an embarrassed and furious expression.
At the same time, the ordinary audience members had finally snapped back to reality, their expressions turning complicated.
Especially Sakiko's classmates—their feelings were indescribably subtle.
One could only say that Sakiko's performance really had given them a surprise!
So classmate Sakiko was actually this kind of chuuni person?
It wasn't bad exactly, just… way too chuuni!
After all, in a world with so many bands, abstract ones weren't unheard of.
But Ave Mujica's chuuni performance still delivered a level of impact they had never experienced before.
[And after the stage play ended, the singing naturally began.
"For the irreversible history of life."
"Drive down the stake leading toward the end."
"Lowering our heads, nodding and smiling to please."
…]
It had to be said, although the earlier stage play had been unbelievably abstract, the level of this galactic battleship truly lived up to the name.
The moment Uika opened her mouth, that ethereal singing voice hooked the hearts of every audience member.
And it wasn't just Uika. Whether it was the keyboard, guitar, or even Nyamu's drumming, everything was practically flawless.
Oh right, and Umiri's bass too.
[…
"Ave Musica, turn miracles into the ordinary (Fortuna)."
"Ave Musica, grant you mercy and compassion (Lacrima)."
"If you tightly grasp this right hand (never-ending)."
"Become stained by black temptation and captured by pleasure."
…]
As the song reached its climax, the viewers before the screen also couldn't help but become immersed in it.
Even Anon slightly opened her mouth in amazement. One could only say that although Ave Mujica was extremely chuuni, their singing really was incredible.
After all, how could the galactic battleship painstakingly assembled by Sakiko possibly be undeserving of its reputation?
[…
"Become stained by black temptation and captured by pleasure."
"O… destiny is born crying into this world."]
As Uika's singing came to an end, silence also fell outside the screen, as though everyone was still savoring the song they had just heard.
"…That was seriously incredible,"
Anon couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
"It was basically heavenly music!"
"You've already said that way too many times!"
Soyo couldn't help but complain.
"It's just that the earlier performance was way too chuuni, especially those masks…"
Someone muttered this, and instantly the girls of Ave Mujica all blushed bright red.
[However, within the anime, Ave Mujica's performance was a huge success.
After all, although the puppet stage play was extremely chuuni, there really were quite a lot of people who loved that sort of thing.
Most importantly, Ave Mujica's actual ability was rock solid.
And after the performance ended, Sakiko prepared to head home, without even mentioning a celebration party. She even refused when Uika wanted to accompany her.
Then in the anime, Sakiko rode the train back to that cramped, damp home littered with beer cans across the floor.
"I'm home."
"You damn old man!"
MyGO ended here.]
The audience in front of the screen had only just calmed down emotionally, yet they never expected the anime to hit them with this at the very end.
Although the anime had already hinted earlier that Sakiko-sensei had fallen on hard times, nobody expected things to be this bad!
"Saki-chan…"
Leaving aside the feelings of ordinary fans, the band girls gathered in Kamijou Mutsuki's living room all looked toward Sakiko with unconcealed sympathy.
Especially Uika, who felt so heartbroken she could barely stand it.
They only knew Sakiko had fallen from grace, but never expected there to also be a drunken deadbeat father dragging her down.
Just thinking about it carefully was enough to understand how hopeless such a situation would feel.
One could only say that Sakiko-sensei's mental resilience was genuinely terrifying. Even her earlier decision to leave the band suddenly became somewhat understandable.
Still, they also understood that the anime and reality were different.
The background described in the anime was probably accurate, but Sakiko was currently working as a maid at Kamijou Mutsuki's house.
So what exactly was her situation now?
PS: After finishing two chapters, the author realized there was still quite a bit left, so today counts as an extra chapter update, just combined together.
............