"..."
After he'd already set aside the facts, what was she even supposed to say?
Watching Tomori get lectured into an emo spiral by Kamijou Mutsuki, Anon completely gave up.
She was done. She'd just sit back and watch how Kamijou Mutsuki planned to play this.
"So… you've already messed up once. Are you really going to keep making the same mistake and hurt Anon too?"
"Huh?"
Wait, what?
So your way of persuading Tomori is dragging me in and morally kidnapping her with my future?
Anon suddenly realized she had still underestimated Kamijou Mutsuki's moral bottom line.
But—painfully enough—it actually worked on someone like Tomori.
After hearing his words, hesitation visibly appeared on Tomori's face.
"Yesterday, Ano-chan already told me—if Tomori-chan doesn't join her band, she won't be able to go on living."
Seeing that his words were having an effect, Kamijou Mutsuki naturally pressed the advantage.
"She'll probably hide at home alone, crying little pearls… crying and making a fuss, rolling all over the floor, wah wah wah… so pitiful~"
When did I ever cry and make a scene and roll around on the floor?!
I'm right here, you know!
You're making stuff up right in front of me?!
However, the pure and simple Tomori believed him, and with a worried expression, she held Anon's hand.
"Ano-chan, don't cry, okay…"
I'm not crying and making a scene!
Don't listen to that bastard's nonsense!
Even though she was screaming internally, Anon didn't refute it. Instead, she awkwardly looked away, a sunset-like blush creeping up her cheeks.
After all—a girl as small-animal-cute as Tomori, looking at you with those watery, sparkling eyes full of concern…
Who wouldn't get flustered by that?
"…And don't roll around on the floor either. The floor is really dirty."
Anon instantly felt herself crack again.
She really wasn't crying and rolling around on the floor! Believe her, Tomori!
"And there's Soyo too,"
Seeing that Anon was about to start enjoying this a bit too much, Kamijou Mutsuki hurriedly continued.
"She couldn't get in touch with you and basically got depression. All day long she's saying stuff like 'Spring shadows are hard to hide, wherever I look I see Tomori.' Her mental state's a bit abnormal…"
Tomori: "..."
That honestly did sound like something Soyo would do.
"…She's been working hard to atone for her past mistakes. Tomori, what about you?"
She's trying—what about you?
"But…"
Tomori was already showing signs of being persuaded, yet she still hesitated.
"I… can't… If I join, it'll definitely fail again…"
Tomori still believed Sakiko quit because she didn't sing well.
All one could say was that Sakiko-sensei's sins ran deep.
"Tomori-chan… what do you think a band is?"
With success just one step away, Kamijou Mutsuki naturally wasn't about to drop the ball now.
"What… is a band?"
"A band isn't about playing with talented people—it's about playing with people you like."
"Soyo and Anon need you, not because you're exceptionally talented, but because to them… you're irreplaceable. Indispensable."
Finally, Kamijou Mutsuki took Tomori's hand.
"…Just do it for me, okay? Use Flame—cough cough—let's form a band together!"
"..."
Under Kamijou Mutsuki's gaze, Tomori stayed silent for a long time before finally speaking.
"Then… for a lifetime…"
Tomori admitted that Kamijou Mutsuki was absurdly strong—but she wasn't called BanG Dream!'s number one heavy-hitting heroine for nothing.
"…Will you… form a band with me… for a lifetime?"
Wait.
The one forming a band with you is Anon.
Why are you looking at me?
Oh no—this feels like it's coming at me!
Only then did Kamijou Mutsuki realize that he'd gotten too close to the black hole and been captured by its gravity.
Off to the side, Anon watched with barely concealed schadenfreude.
In fact, just yesterday, she'd almost gotten Tomori to agree herself—only to be completely stunned by that one word: "A lifetime."
She was just an ordinary normie JK—when had she ever seen a scene like this?
"A lifetime…"
Kamijou Mutsuki hadn't expected that he'd get the chance to trigger Tomori's keyword himself.
"So… it really won't work?"
Seeing that Kamijou Mutsuki didn't agree right away, Tomori's eyes instantly dimmed.
"It's not that it won't work. It's just that this is about a lifetime—if it's only a verbal promise, it doesn't really feel convincing."
Kamijou Mutsuki naturally wasn't about to step into the same pit Anon had fallen into.
"So…"
He somehow pulled out yet another white document and handed it to Tomori.
"This is…?"
Tomori opened it. As expected, it was another marriage registration form—truly a case of the dagger finally revealed.
"If we get married, then we can be together for a lifetime, right?"
Kamijou Mutsuki said this as if it were common sense.
"A lifetime… together…"
Different from last time's confusion, this time Tomori really did feel herself being persuaded.
As long as they got married…
It really would mean being together for a lifetime!
"Tomori, don't be fooled by this guy!"
Seeing that Tomori genuinely looked like she was about to sign the marriage registration form, Anon couldn't sit still anymore. She directly snatched it from Tomori's hands and glared angrily at Kamijou Mutsuki.
"Are you seriously not done yet?"
"Tch~"
Mr. Kamijou, who had nearly added another member to his harem, expressed his dissatisfaction.
"What kind of attitude is that?"
"…Aren't I helping you, Ano-chan?"
"This is how you help me?!"
She was so angry she almost laughed.
"I asked you to help me persuade Tomori to join the band, not to marry her!"
"…Actually, marrying Ano-chan would work too."
"That's not the problem, hey!"
Anon was so mad her stomach started to hurt.
"Ano-chan…"
"Tomori, don't talk for now!"
This was the first time Anon had interrupted Tomori with such a blunt tone.
"Marriage is really important for girls. You can't just agree to it casually!"
"Marriage and a band aren't the same thing!"
"And that whole 'band for a lifetime' thing…"
After already hurting Tomori once yesterday, Anon didn't want her to get hurt again.
But she felt that if she didn't do something now, she might end up helping Tomori raise her daughter without even noticing.
"In the future, you'll go on to higher education, get a job, have your own life… even then, do you still want to be in a band for a lifetime?"
"I…"
Tomori wasn't someone who was good with words, so naturally she couldn't refute Anon.
She just… didn't want to experience that kind of sadness again.
Was that really… so strange?
"…Then how about a compromise?"
Seeing Tomori shutting down, and feeling a bit guilty that she might have gone too far, Kamijou Mutsuki spoke up from the side.
"Huh?"
What was you, the culprit, about to say now?
"A lifetime is too far away… how about we try it for one week first?"
"…That's a bit too much of a compromise."
"Mutsuki…"
Tomori felt a sense of betrayal—because in her view, Kamijou Mutsuki should have been on her side.
"Try for one week, then another week… stack countless one-week periods together, and doesn't that just become a lifetime?"
Kamijou Mutsuki naturally wasn't going to let Tomori down.
"Th-that sounds really heavy too…"
Anon now felt like she was stuck between two black holes, completely at a loss.
"Countless one-week periods…"
Tomori, however, happened to resonate with it perfectly. The light that had faded from her eyes seemed to flicker back to life.
"If that still makes Tomori feel uneasy…"
Kamijou Mutsuki directly hooked Tomori's little finger with his own. It might have seemed childish to Anon, but for him and Tomori, it was just right.
"Then trust me. I absolutely won't let Tomori's band fall apart."
Kamijou Mutsuki looked at Tomori seriously as he said this.
"…Even if I have to bet Anon's future!"
Anon: "???"
PS: This chapter didn't flow as smoothly while writing—after all, the style here is more serious, and since I'm building Tomori's favorability, I couldn't just keep joking around. But overall, it should be fine, right?
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