"Even though you still…"
"Even though we still remember…"
"The very first…"
"The promise…"
"The promise of fate we once made."
"But we were forced into silence because of the keyboardist."
So… guess who that keyboardist is?
"I talked with you many times,"
"But why did your gaze never once land on me?"
"Every time you spoke, it was always—"
"Saki-chan,"
"Saki-chan,"
"Saki-chan…"
"But never me!"
Isn't that just too miserable?
Your best friend is right beside you, yet every conversation is about someone else.
What kind of feelings must Wakaba Mutsumi have had back then?
Nagasaki Soyo, your sins are truly great!
"It feels like I was being PUA'd!"
"You said I was your best friend,"
"But whenever something went wrong, it all became my fault."
"Your words pierced straight through my chest, through my eyes—"
"So it turns out I'm just a clown!"
"I really don't know how to play Fiora."
(I really didn't want to hurt you.)
Soyo: "..."
Was she really that excessive?
"You asked me to rebuild your band,"
"You wanted to use my reputation to bring her back,"
"And when everything ended in total failure, who could you blame?"
"So let me end everything right here!"
After a brief pause, Mutsumi began her full counterattack.
"I said I never once felt happy playing in a band!"
"I said MyGO'sHaruhikage doesn't belong to Crychic!"
One slash—four critical hits, extremely aggressive.
At least with just these two lines, both Soyo and Sakiko Togawa were clearly shaken.
Even some innocent bystanders were hit by the AOE damage.
"I said the guitarist beside you already has plenty—"
"Having one more me doesn't make any difference."
"I'm standing right here in front of you,"
"And yet it's like you never even see me."
"Please… just look at me alone!"
Mutsumi's final line suddenly softened.
The girls present couldn't help but turn their eyes toward Soyo.
Through the anime, they roughly understood Soyo's obsession with Sakiko.
But was it really that difficult to show even a little concern for Mutsumi?
"Uika… Mutsumi is so pitiful."
The donut-loving girl wiped her tears and said this to her partner beside her.
As for Uika, her expression was far more complicated.
Uika couldn't help thinking to herself—
Her childhood friend really was a woman burdened with heavy sins.
"..."
Meanwhile, under everyone's gaze, Nagasaki Soyo's mind was in complete chaos.
The few lines sung by Wakaba Mutsumi had completely shattered her psychological defenses.
Guilt, shame, pain, embarrassment, anger…
Countless emotions swirled inside her heart.
She had thought that after everything that happened yesterday, nothing else could cause her such a strong emotional reaction.
But now Soyo realized—
She had been wrong.
And so, caught in that storm of emotions, Soyo ran away again, fleeing in embarrassment.
She ran so fast that someone who didn't know better might think she was competing with Chihaya Anon for the title of escape champion.
"Today I am a carrier pigeon,"
Even though Soyo had fled, Mutsumi's singing continued.
"A carrier pigeon that belongs only to you."
"I'd walk through fire for you, trying to save you from the burning of death."
"But instead, I placed upon myself a shackle called Mortis."
This part sounded almost like something from a futuristic warrior story, yet for some reason Sakiko Togawa's body trembled slightly.
"Forgive me,"
"Don't resent me,"
"Release me,"
"Stay away from me,"
"Don't look at me anymore,"
"Please forget all my sins."
Mutsumi's tone gradually lowered.
But this wasn't the end.
It was the calm before the storm.
At that moment, everyone held their breath.
Because they knew—
The big moment was coming.
"You told me everything was forced by life,"
"You promised we'd exchange the ups and downs of the rest of our lives."
"But did you ever think about why I followed you into the abyss?"
"Living more miserably doesn't give you the right—"
"The pride, the authority—to accuse others!"
"I only walked this path with you because of friendship!"
Just two short lines, yet they surpassed everything previously directed at Soyo.
Especially for Sakiko—
The damage was devastating.
But…
Wasn't it a little too cruel?
Before Mutsumi could finish the rest of the lyrics, Sakiko suddenly ran out.
It seemed that if Soyo wanted to compete with Anon for the "escape champion" title, she would first have to beat Sakiko.
Seeing this, Kamijou Mutsuki immediately chased after her.
After all, Sakiko's situation was completely different from Soyo's.
Although there were female bodyguards following behind, when it came to Sakiko, Kamijou Mutsuki still felt he needed to be there personally to feel at ease.
"..."
Meanwhile, in the center of the recording studio, Wakaba Mutsumi looked somewhat dazed after finishing the song.
Although the lyrics of this song were very aggressive—and in her opinion some parts were even somewhat biased—they did indeed express her true feelings in certain ways.
And after singing it, aside from a slight sense of relief, what remained was confusion.
But she believed in Kamijou Mutsuki.
She had always felt that Sakiko Togawa was about to break.
Yet wasn't she herself the same?
If it weren't for Kamijou Mutsuki, she would probably have remained a silent doll, unable to speak, until the day she finally broke down and exploded.
That was why she had taken this step.
No matter what consequences followed, she was willing to bear them together with him.
Just like in the lyrics she had sung—
Even if it meant falling into the abyss together.
So… what exactly just happened?
The most confused person present was probably Miki Sayaka.
Everything had seemed almost settled already—so why did someone suddenly start singing?
She had been singing perfectly fine.
Why did that person suddenly run away?
And then that other person also ran away?
And why did her childhood friend run after them as well?
Although Sayaka could tell that the lyrics of the song were quite delicate and pointed, she lacked the full context.
So she could only stand there with a puzzled look, watching her childhood friend chase after that blue-haired girl who looked just like her, both of them running off.
-----------------------------------
Meanwhile, Kamijou Mutsuki had already caught up with Sakiko.
As if the heavens themselves wanted to set the mood, a heavy rain suddenly began pouring outside.
Both of them now looked extremely disheveled.
"Let go of me!"
Although he had temporarily learned Anon's 100% grab technique, Kamijou Mutsuki clearly didn't possess her level of strength.
He was immediately shaken off.
"The song Mutsumi just sang—"
"I wrote it for her."
Yet with just that single sentence, Sakiko stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him.
"What's wrong, Saki-chan?"
Facing Sakiko's death stare, Kamijou Mutsuki's expression didn't change at all.
"Why are you making such a scary face?"
"Relax a little. How about we have a candy?"
But Sakiko immediately slapped away the candy he had somehow taken from who-knows-where.
"So that's how you see me?"
"You think I'm pitiful… and also ridiculously self-important?"
Even though Kamijou Mutsuki had already softened that line in the lyrics as much as possible, it meant nothing to Sakiko.
"Living such a miserable life…"
"And yet acting as if I have absolutely no self-awareness…"
........................