"Ehhhhh—!" Anon immediately let out a loud cry, her cute little fang showing as she dashed straight over to Kikukawa Kyo's side. Mimicking the way Kyo had blocked Tomori's path earlier, she now did the same, stopping Kyo in her tracks.
"You just gave us a whole speech to convince us to form a band, so why won't you join, Kyo?!"
"Kyo…? Why?"
After everything Kyo had said earlier, Tomori had been prepared to join the band. But now that Kyo herself was refusing, Tomori didn't look as dejected as before—rather, she seemed anxious.
With Anon setting an example, Tomori quickly stood up and took her place on Kyo's left side, not even caring that parts of Kyo's shirt were still damp. Without hesitation, she clung tightly to Kyo's left arm.
Just like that, the two of them sat on either side of Kyo, trapping her in place. She couldn't move, let alone stand up.
Sandwiched between a pink-haired retriever and a determined penguin, Kikukawa Kyo's gaze darted around uncertainly, unable to meet either of their eyes. In the end, she could only tilt her head back and stare at the ceiling.
"…Didn't I say all along that this was about you two forming a band? Is… is there a problem with that?"
"Wait a second, Kyo really never actually said she'd join the band… No, no, no! This is all Kyo's fault! She kept making it sound like she was going to join!" Anon thought back and realized that, indeed, Kyo had never explicitly said she wanted to be part of the band. But she had been the one to bring up the topic in the first place, making it seem like she was naturally going to be involved.
"Mm-hmm!" Tomori nodded her head furiously in agreement. She wasn't great with words, but at least Anon was on the same page. All Tomori could do was tighten her grip on Kyo's arm even more.
"I've been framed—!" Kyo wailed in protest. What do they mean, I was "creating an atmosphere"?! I don't even know how to do that! If anything, Tomori was far better at setting a mood than she was.
Though… she had deliberately guided them toward forming a band together.
But how was she supposed to explain her reasons for doing all this?
That she wanted to help Tomori overcome her struggles, believing that being in a band would not only give her a meaningful connection but also provide a way for her to express her feelings through music? That it just so happened Anon wanted to start a band and had the right kind of personality to support Tomori, making it a perfect solution that killed two birds with one stone?
Even if that was the truth, outright saying it would sound condescending, wouldn't it? No matter how well-intentioned she was, the fact remained that she had been carefully orchestrating things behind the scenes. Most people hated the idea of being manipulated. If she said it out loud, they'd probably resent her for it.
Kyo didn't dare to admit it directly. If Tomori—so sensitive and perceptive—realized that Kyo had been maneuvering her all along… even Anon, with her easygoing nature, would probably cut ties with her.
"…Even if I don't join the band, I'll still be with you two the whole way…"
"If that's the case, then there's no reason for you not to join! You and Tomori were in a band together before, weren't you? I bet Tomori really wants to be in a band with you again!"
"Mm-hmm!"
Ugh. If it were just Tomori, Kyo might have been able to find a way to dodge the issue and confuse her into giving up. But with Anon—the pink-haired retriever—around, it wasn't going to be that easy.
It was exactly because Tomori relied on her too much, and because Kyo was her former bandmate, that she didn't want to join. If she did, Tomori might end up depending on her again. It was better for Kyo to stay outside the band and offer occasional support, pushing Tomori to move forward on her own.
At that moment, something else crossed Tomori's mind.
Kyo… was different from how she was when we met at the aquarium.
At that time, Kikukawa Kyo had been much more enthusiastic—more proactive in how she interacted with Tomori, more willing to go along with her actions. And on that day, she had left behind the very first precious memory of her life.
Though today's Kyo was still kind, listening intently alongside Anon as Tomori spoke and looking out for her, something just felt… different.
Tomori worked her little brain as hard as she could, and soon, an idea popped into her head. She let out a soft "Ah."
"Tomori, what's wrong?" Both Kyo and Anon heard her. Thinking Tomori had come up with a plan, Anon immediately asked.
"Anon, let's take Kyo to the aquarium."
Tomori stood up, shifting her grip from hugging Kyo's arm to holding onto her wrist instead, tugging as if trying to pull a stubborn radish from the ground.
"Huh? The aquarium?" Anon was momentarily confused. How had the aquarium gotten involved all of a sudden?
Kyo, on the other hand, instinctively planted herself firmly into the seat, pressing all her weight downward to keep Tomori from pulling her up. Tomori wasn't the strongest to begin with, and despite using all her strength—eyes squeezed shut in sheer effort—she couldn't get Kyo to budge.
Anon might not have understood what was going on, but Kyo certainly did.
This kid is trying to get me "drunk"!
…Alright, that was an exaggeration. But there was no doubt about it—Tomori wanted to drag her back to the aquarium, hoping to recreate the state Kyo had been in when they first met. And if that happened again, there was no telling what she might do this time.
With that realization, Kyo flopped down onto the small sofa in the karaoke room, going completely limp and pressing all her weight into the seat, making it clear she wasn't going anywhere.
"I refuse—! Tomori, you're a bad kid! Trying to kidnap me like this!"
She had thought calling Tomori a "bad kid" might make her hesitate, but to Kyo's horror, Tomori remained just as determined to drag her along, pulling so hard that tears were welling up in her eyes.
"Why are you so insistent on this?!"
"Kyo said… we have to seize every moment…!"
"You're already using my words against me?! And so quickly too—just like last time!"
Tomori never seemed to listen to what other people said, always blaming Kyo for everything. But when it was Kyo's words, she absorbed them in an instant and acted on them right away!
"I don't really get it, but I'm joining in too!" The naturally chaotic pink-haired menace leapt into battle!
Kyo hadn't been able to handle just Tomori—now with Anon jumping in, there was no way she could win. Slowly but surely, her back started lifting off the sofa.
"Wait, wait, wait! Let's talk this out! We can discuss everything right here! No aquarium! My family won't allow it!"
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T/N: 4 chapters since i was gonna update yesterday but didnt, bonus chaps are tomorrow and uhhh no character note for thisweek
heres my patreon (patreon.com/wisetl) theres also a 25% off discount for firsttime members until christmas ends and heres the powerstone rewardsss Every 100 Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter. 100ps = 1 chp 200ps = 2 chp 300ps = 3 chp etc. uhhh for legal matters, my patreon is only there if you wanna support me yep yep with the added bonus of reading ahead OH OH also heres the discord link discord.gg/wisetl