Although the weekend had been somewhat busy, it had not been especially exhausting.
More importantly, she could replenish her Mutsuki energy at any time.
So when Soyo went to Tsukinomori Girls' Academy the next day, she instead looked completely full of energy.
"Soyo."
However, the moment she arrived at school, Mutsumi directly came looking for her.
"You didn't go too overboard these past two days, right?"
Although in a certain sense, she herself had been deliberately allowing things to happen.
Mutsumi still did not want Soyo going too far.
"Mutsumi-chan, what do you mean by that?"
Hearing this, Soyo could not help puffing up her cheeks slightly.
"How could I possibly do anything excessive to Mutsuki-kun?"
"..."
If she had not personally witnessed it before, she really might have believed her.
"So you and Mutsuki..."
The little cucumber lightly bit her lip. Even though she had mentally prepared herself long ago, the girl still felt a subtle sense of displeasure.
However, after hearing the Mutsumi's question, the expression on Soyo's face stiffened slightly.
There was no way she could admit that despite having overwhelming home-field advantage and victory practically in her hands, Tomori had still stolen the win from her, leaving her able to do nothing but softly hum from the side, right?
What "innate humming physique" nonsense!
That was way too embarrassing!
"Soyo."
Noticing Soyo's reaction, the Mutsumi also sensed something was wrong.
"Don't tell me you didn't do anything at all?"
Could it be that Soyo had actually changed her ways?
But based on her understanding of Soyo, that should not be possible!
"Who said that? It's just that I didn't need to do anything."
Seeing this, Soyo immediately became somewhat anxious.
"Mutsuki-kun... was actually very proactive toward me!"
"Proactive?"
A doubtful expression appeared on the Mutsumi's face.
Could Soyo's "big treasure chest" really be that alluring?
"That's right."
The girl seemed to recall something, and an unnatural blush surfaced on her face.
The Mutsumi had not expected to see such a normal and pure-hearted smile on the face of this emotionally heavy girl.
"Mutsumi-chan definitely can't guess it. Mutsuki-kun, he..."
"What did he do?"
"He took the initiative to kiss me..."
Mutsumi: ?
No, seriously sis...
Mutsumi finally began seriously observing the good friend beside her, only to realize that she truly did not seem to have experienced that kind of thing.
She had rarely refrained from interfering, deliberately giving Soyo a chance...
And this was the result?
It was so ridiculous she almost laughed!
Afterward, the Mutsumi also learned what had happened that night through Kamijou Mutsuki.
And then, the girl began doubting herself.
Had all her previous efforts to guard against Soyo been somewhat unnecessary...?
-----------------------------------
Over the next few days, the girls of MyGO!!!!! continued preparing for their upcoming performance at Nippon Budokan.
After all, the importance of this performance was on a completely different level compared to anything before.
Still, they did not keep themselves overly tense. With MyGO!!!!!'s current popularity, Budokan was more like the icing on the cake.
And so, time slowly passed, and before long, the day of the performance arrived.
Budokan was located in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward, so the distance was not especially far.
Moreover, although Budokan held immense significance in the hearts of musicians, compared to the music festivals they had attended previously, the scale did not actually look that much larger.
Therefore, after getting used to things initially, Tomori and the others gradually stopped feeling so nervous.
To avoid harassment from fans, the girls of MyGO!!!!! once again used the staff-only passage this time.
The overall quality of the fans at Budokan was clearly much better than at the previous two music festivals, though there were still quite a few "wild specimens" outside the venue.
And because this was MyGO!!!!!'s own dedicated concert, Tomori and the others would soon be going onstage themselves.
So this time, Kamijou Mutsuki did not remain backstage for very long.
After individually encouraging each of the girls, he headed out to the audience area.
Since this was Tomori and the others' first time performing at Budokan, Kamijou Mutsuki had specially arranged for them to have a female host.
After a brief warm-up session, MyGO!!!!!'s first song of the day began.
[悴んだ心ふるえる眼差し.]
[世界で僕はひとりぼっちだった.]
As the familiar singing voice rang out, the identity of MyGO!!!!!'s opening song became immediately obvious.
Haruhikage—the place where the dream began.
Listening to Tomori's familiar singing voice, Sakiko Togawa—who had come to support both her friend and colleague—felt her gaze grow somewhat absent-minded.
However, by now, she could already control her emotions quite well and would no longer instantly break down just from hearing Haruhikage.
Still, Budokan...
Back then, she probably never would have imagined that Tomori's new band would reach such heights.
But if MyGO!!!!! could do it, then she could not disappoint Mutsuki either!
One day, Ave Mujica would also rely on their own abilities to stand upon the Budokan stage and fill every seat there!
However, once she thought of Ave Mujica, Sakiko naturally recalled that dark and profound puppet-theater aesthetic, along with those masks that still felt as awkward as lace itself, causing her cheeks to instantly heat up again.
It was one thing for it to exist only in animation, but was she really going to perform like that in real life from now on?
That was just way too embarrassing, wasn't it?
Still, Ave Mujica had already built up considerable popularity.
If they suddenly changed styles now, the consequences would be impossible to predict.
So things could only continue this way.
For the future of the band, this was a necessary sacrifice!
The blush on the girl's face gradually faded.
Besides, after getting used to it, she even felt that Ave Mujica's style did not seem quite so embarrassing anymore.
Instead... it strangely felt kind of cool?
After all, it was the product of Teacher Sakiko sacrificing ten precious minutes of sleep time, so naturally she felt attached to it.
She believed that Uika and the others would definitely understand, right?
And besides Sakiko, there were quite a few other people feeling complicated emotions while watching the girls onstage.
Those people were the girls' parents, who had been specially invited.
After all, Budokan was not some small-time venue.
Being able to perform here was already enough to be called a star.
Naturally, when their daughters had achieved something like this, they had to come and see it for themselves.
Regarding this point, a certain Miss Anon—who did not wish to reveal her name—expressed complete agreement.
As the saying went, returning home in glory was important; otherwise, it was like walking at night in embroidered clothes.
Though the saying might not be entirely accurate, the meaning was roughly the same.
She simply wanted her parents to see that Chihaya Anon had truly become successful now!
What did it mean to be a national idol, huh? (tactical lean-back)
And although they had already possessed some understanding of their daughter's popularity before, only after arriving at the venue did they truly grasp it.
Especially a certain Shiina older sister, whose face was full of emotion.
Her silly little sister had finally grown up!
She wondered how things were progressing between Taki and Kamijou Mutsuki.
Although her personality was somewhat delicate, Shiina's older sister still had complete confidence in her younger sister's figure.
With that body, anyone capable of resisting after spending every day together was basically superhuman!
Surely after so much time, there had to be at least some progress, right?
Don't tell her that in the end, she would actually have to step in personally as the older sister?
Sisters and things like that...
Blushing furiously, the girl quickly shook her head and focused seriously on the performance again.
..........................