Haneoka Girls' Academy
"Yesterday's LIVE was amazing!"
Excited voices overlapped all around her as classmates surrounded her with enthusiastic praise.
Normally, this would have been the moment Anon Chihaya loved the most.
Being surrounded.
Being praised.
Being lifted up by everyone.
That feeling of admiration and attention was something she valued deeply.
But today…
She was strangely distracted.
The reason lay in what everyone kept excitedly talking about—
"Yesterday."
Yesterday's LIVE.
And yesterday's diary entry.
To be honest, the LIVE itself hadn't been completely successful.
They had made several mistakes when they first went on stage.
Fortunately, the performance afterward had gone smoothly, so overall the result wasn't bad.
But ironically, that very success had made Soyo Nagasaki angry.
Because of Soyo's emotions, even Tomori Takamatsu seemed extremely uneasy now.
That was the thing Anon cared about most.
The second thing she cared about was what the diary had written about Sakiko Togawa.
Something must have happened to Sakiko.
Something that made her cry and run away when she heard "Haruhikage."
Something that made her suddenly quit the band that once played that very song together.
If she wanted to know the answer…
Other than asking Sakiko directly, perhaps the only thing she could do
was go check the address written in the diary.
Class started.
Then ended.
After the initial commotion, the classmates who had been crowding around them soon lost interest and returned to their usual routines.
For once, Anon didn't feel disappointed about the attention fading.
Instead, she pulled Tomori—who had been staring at the floor the whole time—out into the hallway.
Was she still worried about Soyo?
Or maybe…
"Sakiko," Anon said.
"If you're really concerned… we should go see her."
"She should still be here at Haneoka, right?"
"…Next door." Tomori answered quietly.
"That's her class."
So they went.
Immediately.
Without hesitation, the two girls walked to the neighboring classroom.
They greeted a few students, asked around, and then—
"—Sakiko!"
Since Tomori hesitated and couldn't raise her voice, Anon called out instead.
But her voice was completely ignored.
Sakiko didn't slow down.
She didn't hesitate.
As if she hadn't seen them, hadn't heard them, and didn't even know who they were, she simply walked past them and returned to her seat.
Her attitude was perfectly clear.
Refusal to communicate.
"…."
Clearly, getting answers directly from Sakiko was impossible.
Soyo couldn't be contacted.
Sakiko refused to talk.
But if things continued like this…
Other problems aside, their band practice would definitely become impossible.
Anon didn't like this.
She didn't like Soyo disappearing.
She didn't like Sakiko pretending she didn't know them.
And she didn't like the gloomy atmosphere around Tomori.
So annoying.
So annoying.
So annoying.
She couldn't hear a single word of the teacher's lecture.
All she could see were the faces of people stubbornly sulking at one another.
As if responding to her thoughts, the diary quietly appeared on her desk.
Flipping through the pages, it stopped on the final page of yesterday's entry.
"Current address: Cheap rental apartment near Akabane West Exit, Kita Ward, Tokyo."
Anon's eyes lingered on that line.
Suddenly, she remembered something she had ignored yesterday.
The diary had said something like this—
"Your current storyline has begun."
My storyline?
Begun?
What started?
Not when she was studying abroad in England.
Not when she returned to Japan.
Not when she met Tomori and formed the band.
But yesterday, when the LIVE ended like that.
Her storyline had begun.
And the diary writer had started writing about them.
…Her thoughts were a mess.
Anon focused again, rereading the address.
If—
If she went there…
Would she understand something?
"Anon! Anon! Anon—!"
Tomori's voice suddenly reached her ears.
"Class… is over."
"Oh—right, class ended? I didn't notice. Sorry, sorry."
Anon snapped back to reality.
"Want to… go to RING?"
Their usual practice location.
The place where yesterday's LIVE had happened.
Where Taki Shiina worked part-time.
And where the wandering stray cat Rāna Kaname often showed up.
That place was RING.
Tomori lowered her head and spoke softly.
"…Soyo might come."
Even though yesterday had ended badly.
Even though they still couldn't contact Soyo.
Maybe—
Just maybe—
She would still show up for their regular practice.
Holding onto that hope, Tomori wanted to go to RING.
"RING, huh…"
Anon's tone became complicated.
Personally, she doubted Soyo would come today.
If she wasn't even replying to messages, why would she show up for practice?
Compared to going to RING, what Anon really wanted right now
was to check the address written in the diary.
But…
The words "cheap rental apartment" resurfaced in her mind.
And Sakiko's cold refusal earlier flashed before her eyes.
Even though they hadn't interacted much, Anon could tell—
Sakiko had very strong pride.
If she brought Tomori along…
If Tomori saw something about Sakiko's living situation…
Just imagining it made Anon hesitate.
"Let's go, let's go! If we take too long, Taki will start worrying!"
Suddenly standing up, Anon pushed Tomori forward.
First go to RING.
Then if Soyo doesn't show up—
They'll go check the cheap rental apartment.
Anon made her decision.
No more hesitation.
It was still early anyway.
They'd go to RING first!
"LIVE will happen again."
"Rāna came yesterday, you know?"
"I want to apologize… to Soyo."
"Soyo… took the day off."
Soyo didn't come to RING.
And she didn't go to school either.
Even though Tomori had already softened her stance and wanted to apologize,
there was no opportunity—because she couldn't even find her.
The road to apology was blocked.
Communication was completely cut off.
So after escorting Tomori back home—
and painfully refusing the rare chance to visit Tomori's room—
Anon opened her phone's navigation.
Destination: Cheap rental apartment near Akabane West Exit, Kita Ward, Tokyo.
"Ugh, seriously… they didn't even write the building number."
"How am I supposed to find it?"
…Or maybe—
Once she arrived,
she would just know?
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