56

At 4:13 PM, Nagasaki Soyo sat alone on the train heading to RiNG, gripping her phone tightly as she stared at the message on the screen.

[Sakiko: Soyo, why is Chihiro injured? You didn't make her do anything dangerous, did you?]

This must be Chihiro giving me a chance to talk to Sakiko. That has to be it.

As much as Soyo found Tsuzuki Chihiro infuriating most of the time, there was no reason for her to deliberately stir trouble between her and Sakiko.

Besides… their relationship had already hit rock bottom. Any improvement, no matter how small, was a huge step forward.

More importantly, unlike last time, Sakiko had actually left room for her to respond.

This meant they could exchange more than just a single message—a proper conversation.

Soyo looked at the long string of one-sided messages on her phone and suddenly felt something akin to hope rising in her chest.

[Soyo: I didn't make her do anything dangerous, just simple housework. She tripped and fell on her way home.]

[Also, I was the one who treated her wound. Maybe you should ask her before jumping to conclusions.]

Is this too long? Does it make me seem desperate? And that last part… is it too harsh?

Soyo frowned slightly at the length of her message but quickly reassured herself—she'd said worse things before.

Besides, sometimes, she needed to put up a front.

If she was too accommodating, Sakiko might still think she was that Nagasaki Soyo.

Not long after, Sakiko replied.

[Sakiko: I asked her. Sorry, I misunderstood.]

[Sakiko: I heard you're planning to study abroad?]

Sakiko's second message was likely her way of smoothing things over after falsely accusing Soyo.

But to Soyo, it was something entirely different—

Sakiko, for the first time in ages, was asking about her.

So she's not completely heartless after all.

If she hadn't hurt Sakiko so deeply in the past, Sakiko wouldn't have treated her that way to begin with.

Maybe… I should act a little colder?

Soyo thought for a moment. As the train neared her stop, she quickly typed out a response.

[Soyo: Maybe. I'm not sure yet.]

This time, Sakiko took a long while to reply.

And when she did, it was just a simple, polite well-wishing.

Looks like… I still have a long way to go.

As the train arrived, Soyo tightened the strap of the bass case on her back and stepped off into the crowd.

She had already discussed things with Tsuzuki Chihiro last night and had a general grasp of the situation within the band.

Since Chihiro was supposedly sticking to her "character," Soyo wasn't too worried about being exposed.

Besides… who would actually believe that someone could perfectly impersonate her with just makeup and voice imitation?

As soon as Soyo walked through the doors of RiNG, Shiina Taki spotted her.

"Soyo—wait, huh?"

The way Taki hesitated made Soyo's heart skip a beat.

But thankfully, her next words put her at ease.

"You're dressed kinda differently today."

"Just felt like changing things up," Soyo responded casually, quickly shifting the topic. "Anon and the others aren't here yet?"

"Anon and Tomori are already here, but we still can't get ahold of Raana."

Taki looked a little frustrated but wasn't too concerned—after all, Soyo was probably the person Raana was most interested in.

Still, something about Soyo felt… different today.

Then again, since this was the first time she'd seen Soyo in tights, maybe it was just the change in outfit throwing her off.

After all, she had never heard anything about Nagasaki Soyo having a twin.

"Oh, right." Taki suddenly frowned. "There's a problem with Tomori."

"A problem?"

Soyo was secretly pleased.

Problems were exactly what she needed.

If everything went smoothly, she'd be in trouble.

She thought back to the original timeline—was this where the band's first issue had appeared?

"Tomori said she doesn't want to perform live. And Anon… I feel like she's starting to waver too. I knew it—there's no way she could hold out for long."

So it's this.

Following Taki into the rehearsal room, Soyo finally came face-to-face with two people she hadn't seen up close in a long time—Anon and Tomori.

Tomori was staring at the ground, clearly trying to escape.

Anon, on the other hand, was pretending nothing was wrong, but she had been avoiding practice all afternoon.

Honestly, none of you have changed at all. I don't even know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

"Ah, Taki and Soyo are here."

Anon glanced at Soyo and immediately felt a pang of guilt.

After all, just a few days ago, she had been so determined to do her best…

But the reality was, she just couldn't keep up with the others.

"What's going on?"

Hearing Soyo's question, Anon didn't have time to wonder why she felt different today.

She just sighed and explained, "Tomori said she doesn't want to do a live show."

"…I just…" Tomori hesitated, looking at the others. "It feels like last time. If we do a live, it'll just end all over again."

"…You mean because of Soyo?"

"…Huh?"

Soyo was caught off guard.

Somehow, she had become the center of the conversation.

"I get that Soyo reminds you of Sakiko… but she's not Sakiko."

Taki stared at Tomori, fully understanding why she felt this way.

After all, this band… wasn't all that different from before.

Last time, it was Sakiko who wrote songs centered around Tomori.

Everyone had stayed because of Tomori's voice.

And this time, the only difference was that Sakiko had been replaced with Soyo.

Soyo had become the band's core—the one keeping them together, making them forget their differences.

But Taki could tell.

Soyo had already experienced one breakup before.

She would treasure this opportunity far more than Sakiko ever did.

So she trusted that today, Soyo would find a way to reassure Tomori—

To convince her to take the stage with everyone.

"…If Tomori doesn't want to, then let's just practice in the studio. No need to do a live."

Taki's eyes widened in shock.

"Soyo, what did you just say?!"