Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [26]

"…Raana really hit the jackpot, having you as her sister."

Soyo rolled her eyes, exasperated. Still, knowing Chihiro as well as she did by now, the fact that she could still joke like this meant the situation wasn't too bad.

"So? Are you agreeing or not?"

"The contract's already signed. Take it or leave it. No extra money."

"Then what if I want someone instead?"

"Someone… You're not seriously planning human trafficking, are you?"

"Tsk. No sense of humor at all. That kind of attitude wouldn't fly in the UK."

Chihiro clicked her tongue, but despite her nonchalant demeanor, she wasn't nearly as composed as she appeared.

Truthfully… she did want to reunite with her family.

But now that she knew her sister was someone Soyo was familiar with, she suddenly felt hesitant.

She was always like this—when her goal was still distant, she could look forward to it. Because in her mind, that reunion was something far off in the future.

She had assumed that by the time it happened, she would be ready—that she wouldn't have to face it with a heart full of regrets.

But now, knowing that Raana was already right here, just within reach…

Suddenly, she was afraid.

She… wasn't a good older sister.

Raana used to look up to her, following her around and imitating everything she did. But then Chihiro had abruptly dropped out of school and run off overseas. The parents who were supposed to be waiting for her over there met with an accident, and everything fell apart.

She didn't continue her studies. She didn't find any real success in music.

Tsuzuki Chihiro was no longer the sister Raana had once admired.

Now, she was nothing more than a liar—a fraud spinning pretty words for her own gain.

Her original plan had been to work for a while, ease herself into a better mindset, and then reunite with her family when she felt ready.

But now…

"Keep going," Chihiro said with a grin, brushing the thought aside. "So what do these two have to do with CRYCHIC?"

"For now? Nothing. But if this goes sideways, the consequences will be severe."

Soyo had no idea what was running through Chihiro's head—she was too preoccupied with her own thoughts.

"Let's start with Anon." Soyo tapped Anon's name on the whiteboard. "She just returned from studying abroad. That much, at least, wasn't a lie, right?"

"Mhm."

"As for why she suddenly came back, I have my theories, but no concrete proof. That's not important for now."

"What is important is that she transferred into Haneoka, where she's in the same class as Tomori. And on top of that… she's also in the neighboring class to Sakiko."

"Tch. What is this, some prime-time soap opera plotline?"

"Anon's been trying to get Tomori to form a band with her." Soyo ignored Chihiro's snark and continued, "And when I met up with you earlier today, I happened to witness Anon and Tomori arguing about something in front of RiNG. Then Taki walked in on them."

"My guess? It was about the band."

"You just happened to see that?"

"Employees should know their place and not interrupt the boss."

"Tch."

"This afternoon, I went to RiNG—oh, by the way, Taki's been working at the café there for a while now, so it's normal for her to be around."

Seeing that Chihiro wasn't interrupting this time, Soyo nodded in satisfaction and continued.

"I talked with Taki for a bit. What I learned is that Tomori doesn't want to join a band again because of how CRYCHIC fell apart. She's afraid that if she doesn't work hard enough, history will repeat itself."

"Of course, the breakup wasn't actually her fault, but she's still been blaming herself all this time."

"There was a comment on the band's old message board once. Someone criticized her for trying too hard, saying she was too desperate. Just that one comment stuck with her for ages."

Chihiro raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"Anon, on the other hand, doesn't understand why Tomori keeps turning her down. And her persistence is starting to piss off Taki, which led to today's argument."

"I see…" Chihiro nodded. "Yeah, that does sound like something Anon would do."

"So your first task is to help me eliminate any possibility of this new band forming."

Soyo absentmindedly circled five of the seven names on the whiteboard with her marker.

"These five people are likely to form a band. And if that happens, then reviving CRYCHIC will be impossible!"

"Can I ask something?"

Chihiro raised her hand like a model student, which only made Soyo look at her suspiciously before nodding.

"Who's this Nagasaki Soyo? Did she betray the band too?"

"…Oh, crap. I forgot about myself." Soyo smacked her forehead, then quickly crossed out her own name. "So it's just these four. If they come together, that's bad news."

"…Why are you raising your hand again?"

"Tomori's the vocalist, Taki's the drummer, right?"

"Yeah?"

"And Anon and Raana—I know them. They both play guitar."

"Uh-huh. One's rhythm, one's lead. What's your point?"

"See? I told you bassists weren't necessary. Even Nagasaki Soyo herself admitted that a four-member band works just fine without one."

"…I—I swear, I could kill you right now!!!"

Soyo had never felt this humiliated in her life.

Sure, she'd only been back in this timeline for three days, but still—she was the employer! Why did she feel like the one being walked all over? Why was it the employee acting like the boss?!

"Could you please stop with your childish, unfunny, and completely irrelevant bassist jokes?! And would you, for once, take this seriously?!"

"Alright, alright. I just thought you were getting a little too tense and needed a breather."

"I… am too tense?"

Soyo hesitated mid-sentence.

If she really thought about it… was that how other people saw her?

Too obsessive. Too stubborn. So much so that it bordered on unhealthy.

No one understood her, no one acknowledged her, and no matter how much effort she put in, someone out there probably saw her struggle as nothing more than a joke—a ridiculous comedy.

But this time, she had a second chance.

And thanks to the unexpected wildcard sitting across from her, she had glimpsed new possibilities.

She wasn't going to let this go to waste.

"This is all the intel I have for now. If I remember anything else, I'll update you later."

"For now, your first mission is to assist me in preventing this new band from forming."

"But I also can't interfere too much with the relationships between the four of them."

"I need to stay close to Mutsumi, to make her and Sakiko believe that I don't have any plans to bring CRYCHIC back."

"I know this might be a bit much, so let me ask you first—do you have any issues with this?"

"Nope. Leave it to me."

"Alright. I'll trust you this once. Don't let me down."

"Trusting me, Nagasaki Soyo, will be the greatest decision of your life.

"I stake my honor on it."

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T/N: different surnames though hmmm.... oh well