The sudden exodus of the mothers left the rooftop remarkably empty, the wind whistling loudly through the metal railings.
Setsuna was still staring blankly at the door, her hands trembling. Karin had her back against the wall, staring up at the darkening sky, utterly spent. But in the quiet, Shioriko's analytical mind was working at warp speed. She looked at Mia, whose sharp eyes were darting between the discarded knife and the exit.
They both felt it at the exact same time—a glaring, dangerous missing piece in Agung's grand itinerary.
"Numazu... then Hong Kong," Shioriko murmured, her voice tight.
"Lanzhu," Mia said bluntly, her eyes widening as the realization hit her. "He said he was going to Hong Kong because Lanzhu *isn't* here. But if he goes to Numazu first, and she finds out he bypassed her or that things are exploding like this..."
"It will be an absolute disaster," Shioriko finished.
The two shared a single, decisive nod. Without a word to the remaining, shell-shocked members of the club, Shioriko and Mia turned on their heels and sprinted down the concrete stairs, their footsteps echoing heavily in the stairwell.
As they ran down the school corridors toward the main gates, Shioriko yanked her phone from her blazer pocket. Her fingers flew across the screen, pulling up Lanzhu Zhong's contact. She hit dial and put the phone to her ear, her breath ragged from the sprint.
It rang twice before Lanzhu's bright, commanding voice echoed through the speaker, blissfully unaware of the chaos.
*"Shioriko! What's up? Lanzhu was just thinking about what to have for dinner—"*
"Lanzhu, listen to me very carefully, and do not interrupt," Shioriko cut in, her tone so severe it instantly silenced the girl on the other end.
As she and Mia burst through the school gates into the Odaiba twilight, heading toward the nearest station, Shioriko laid out everything. She didn't sugarcoat it. She told her about Agung's sudden appearance on the rooftop. She told her about the jagged, brutal confrontation, about Ayumu losing her mind and drawing a knife, and about Agung's icy, terrifying ultimatum to completely abandon the Nijigasaki collective and only acknowledge Kanata.
She told her about Umi Sonoda bursting through the doors—and then, the ultimate revelation that dropped like a bomb. She explained that \mu's wasn't just involved; that six of them, including Umi, Maki, and Kotori, had been with him for seven years and had his children. She told her that Ai and Kanata had his children too, and that right now, a fleet of five legendary idols and young mothers were frantically packing diaper bags to chase Agung to Numazu on the Tokaido Shinkansen.
By the time Shioriko paused to catch her breath, the line was completely, deathly silent. The usual larger-than-life, untouchable Lanzhu Zhong seemed to have vanished.
"Lanzhu?" Shioriko pressed, her heart hammering against her ribs as she and Mia ran down the street. "Are you there? He thinks you're not in Japan. He plans to go to Hong Kong after Numazu, but if he leaves Shizuoka without knowing the whole truth—"
*"He... he's in Tokyo?"* Lanzhu's voice finally came through. It wasn't the voice of the proud, flawless queen of the stage. It was small, trembling, and utterly stripped of its armor. *"And... u's-senpai... Ai-san... Kanata-san... they all..."*
"Yes," Shioriko said firmly. "They are meeting at Tokyo Station in less than ninety minutes to board the bullet train to Aqours' territory. If you want answers, Lanzhu, if you want to be a part of whatever this family is trying to fix... you need to get to Tokyo Station right now."