"…Anon Chihaya."
Looking at the man sitting cross-legged on the floor, Anon Chihaya hesitated for a moment before giving her name.
"I guess… you could say Sakiko and I are… friends."
Of course, that "friend" title was self-proclaimed.
Up to now she had only exchanged a few words with Sakiko Togawa, nodded to her a few times in passing, and most of what she knew about her actually came from descriptions by the other band members.
If she had to be honest, she was only a little closer than a stranger.
"…Where did you hear about this place?"
Taking another gulp of beer, Kiyokazu Togawa rubbed his forehead.
Before Anon could answer, he added:
"No… more importantly, where did the information leak from?"
"You're not the first high school girl to come looking for Sakiko here. And I doubt you'll be the last."
"Blocking all of you from coming inside isn't a real solution. So tell me—who spread it, and how widely has it spread?"
Despite the alcohol and his sloppy appearance, Anon could strangely feel a faint pressure coming from him.
But rather than answering his question, what caught her attention more was—
"…I'm not the first?"
Someone had come here before her.
"Yeah. This morning, a blonde gyaru knocked on my door," Kiyokazu said casually.
"Looks like we can't stay here much longer."
Sakiko was a stubborn girl.
She had abandoned the luxurious life of the Togawa family, chased after him to this shabby little apartment, and transferred from the elite school Tsukinomori to the much more ordinary Haneoka Girls' Academy.
Perhaps it was partly the naïveté of a sheltered girl who didn't yet understand real hardship.
Maybe that's why she made such a misguided decision.
But even so—
She had stuck with it until now.
If Sakiko wanted to experience hardship, to deliberately choose a harder life, Kiyokazu believed that was her freedom.
He had long since lost the right to interfere in his daughter's decisions.
But…
If living here started to create bad rumors about her—
that would be another matter entirely.
"Eh…"
Anon was surprised.
A blonde gyaru…
Another diary holder?
After all, the diary had updated yesterday, and someone had already come here today.
It was hard not to suspect they had also read the diary.
"Ah, but no rumors are spreading," Anon said quickly.
"I came here on my own."
"As for that… gyaru girl, I'm not sure, but I doubt she came because of gossip either."
"If I had to say why…"
"…Probably curiosity?"
She paused.
The diary's existence would be automatically filtered out if she tried to explain it anyway.
Instead of inventing a complicated lie, she figured "curiosity" was the simplest explanation.
"…If it's just curiosity, then leave."
Kiyokazu tilted the empty beer can toward his mouth, only to realize it was already empty.
He shook it once and tossed it aside.
"The darkness of the Togawa family isn't something you can peek at just out of curiosity."
…What "darkness of the Togawa family"?
Did he mean this pitch-black apartment where they could barely afford to turn on the lights?
Or the dim hallway outside?
If a certain someone were here, they might call it Sakiko's dark forest.
Unfortunately, that certain someone was still back at school.
So Anon's internal retort lacked punch.
"…."
But after hearing him say that, she suddenly remembered something.
Wait.
Togawa… Togawa…
"…TGW Group?"
A memory suddenly popped into her mind.
Those promotional commercials she often saw on TV—
the ones starring the famous actress Minami Mori, doing that oddly catchy little gesture.
"…So you do know," Kiyokazu said, lifting his eyes.
He waved a hand dismissively.
"Then there's nothing more to say. Go home."
"Sakiko should be back soon."
"If you don't want to run into her, you should leave."
He was clearly showing her the door.
In the end, Anon didn't ask anything more.
Nor did she stay to wait for Sakiko to return.
Standing on the platform for the train home, the roar of passing trains echoed in her ears while her thoughts churned chaotically.
The Togawa family.
The TGW Group.
Sakiko Togawa.
Kiyokazu Togawa.
And—
the news article she had just found online.
Last year.
A massive fraud case involving 16.8 billion yen.
The victim of that scam was none other than TGW Group.
Was that why Sakiko quit CRYCHIC?
Was that why she lived in that cheap apartment?
Was that why she worked as some kind of customer service operator?
Everything felt messy.
Even though Sakiko didn't actually have much to do with her personally, almost everyone in Anon's band—except the free-spirited stray cat Rāna Kaname—was connected to her somehow.
They were affected by her emotions.
They watched her.
They worried about her.
And because of her—
their band's normal practice and performances were being disrupted.
Anon didn't like that.
Yes, it was true.
At first, she had formed the band simply to gain attention.
She loved standing on stage, basking in the spotlight.
But—
This band had started because of her.
So she wouldn't let it end because of Sakiko Togawa.
Still…
What should she do?
Now that she finally understood the reason behind Sakiko's strange behavior, Anon realized something else—
She barely knew Sakiko at all.
And without understanding her, she had no idea how to move forward.
Lost in thought, the train rattled along the tracks.
Eventually—
She arrived home.
Today she had gone everywhere.
To RING.
To Tsukinomori.
To Tomori's house.
To Sakiko's apartment.
And finally—
Home.
Strangely, although her body should have been exhausted, her mind felt incredibly clear.
So clear that when the diary suddenly flipped open with a rustling sound, she reacted instantly and turned her gaze toward it.
…The diary had updated.
"…."
It was the diary that told her about Sakiko.
So—
Was it possible that the diary could also tell her what to do next?
The girl read the newly appeared text.
And she received her answer.
[Hesitation.
Indecision.
Second-guessing.
Looking forward and back.
Weighing pros and cons.]
These are my bad habits.
The shadow of the past still influences me.
The habits of yesterday remain in every corner of my being.
Every word.
Every action.
All carry traces of the past.
Even though I should already be living freely…
I still feel strangely restrained.
That's not right.
That's no good.
So—
Tell me your name.
I'll fight for you.
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