Mortis was wide awake now that there was a party to look forward to, and Mutsumi had perked up too.
Mortis immediately had Mutsumi send messages to Tomori and Taki.
Mutsumi: [Were you and Tomori eaten by him?]
Mutsumi: [Were you and Taki eaten by him?]
The two messages were sent almost simultaneously.
On the other side of the screen, the five members of MyGO!!!!! were in the Ring rehearsal room, practicing a new song.
They had just finished a break and were about to start when both Tomori and Taki felt their phones vibrate.
"Sorry, wait a second."
Taki called for a pause and pulled out her phone; Tomori did the same.
Both Taki and Tomori were the socially isolated types.
While Tomori was the class "mascot" because of her cuteness, her personality meant she had no close, "heart-to-heart" friends in class.
They rarely received messages during the day.
Curious, they both took a look at their screens, and then... Clack!
Taki instinctively slammed her phone face-down against her thigh and stood up in a panic.
"I... I need the restroom. Tomori, come with me."
"Ah... oh, okay. Mmh."
A similarly panicked Tomori followed Taki out of the room.
Watching their retreating backs, a smirk of pure satisfaction touched Soyo's lips... Mutsumi moves fast.
"They definitely have a secret..." Anon's shoulders slumped in disappointment.
"Everyone has secrets they don't want others to know. Don't be sad, Anon-chan. Even with secrets, they're still part of the band," Soyo comforted her gently.
"Even I have secrets I'd rather keep private."
"But... their secret is obviously the same one."
Anon understood that everyone had privacy, but what kind of secret could those two share that they couldn't tell Soyo, Anon, or Rana?
They promised to be a band for a lifetime, yet those two were hiding things... It felt like being treated as an outsider.
Watching Anon's dejection, Soyo's mood improved further...
Anon was a transfer student; she was hyper-aware of the invisible walls between her and her classmates. She had sought out the band specifically to find a place to belong.
A lifetime band. Performing "Haruhikage."
All of it made Anon happy, but the happier she was, the more it hurt to realize she was being kept in the dark. Soyo was counting on that specific insecurity.
Soon, the barriers would vanish, and they would all become "Eskimo sisters" sharing the same rod.
Rana cast a suspicious glance at Soyo... She instinctively felt something was "off," but she couldn't put her finger on it.
"Mmm... it's not good to keep it bottled up; it'll hurt the band's chemistry. But maybe it's just a misunderstanding."
Soyo frowned as if deeply concerned.
"Anon-chan... if it bothers you that much, why don't you just ask them directly later? If it's a misunderstanding, we clear the air. If it's an embarrassing secret, we'll show them we understand. How about that?"
"Eh, is that okay? Isn't it too intrusive?"
"It's fine. After all, we're comrades who are going to be in a band for a lifetime~"
In the rehearsal room, everything was going according to Soyo's plan.
In the bathroom stall, Taki and Tomori felt their brains trembling...
It was one thing for that stray cat Rana to smell it, but how did Mutsumi know!?
"What do we do? How do we reply to Mutsumi-chan?"
"I... Tomori, stay calm."
Taki was actually just as frantic—they were the same age, after all—but she felt she had to be the rock for Tomori.
If I lose it, Tomori will fall apart.
"I've got it!" Taki took two deep breaths to force her heart rate down.
"We didn't tell anyone, so he must have accidentally told Mutsumi... they're so close, it's only natural he'd let it slip. Mutsumi isn't a gossip. As long as we tell her to keep it a secret, we're fine."
After saying it, Taki spoke again as if to convince herself.
"Yes. That's it. We just reply like that."
Her hands shook as she typed. She made typos and deleted them several times before finally hitting send.
Taki: [Yes. Please don't tell anyone else, Mutsumi-chan.]
Both girls stared at the screen. A moment later, Mutsumi's reply arrived.
Mutsumi: [You wouldn't want your secret to get out, would you?]
Taki: [????]
Wait...
Is this still Mutsumi on the other end? Since when did she speak so... aggressively?
Mutsumi: [I just want to be with you all.]
" " Phew... " "
Tomori and Taki let out massive sighs of relief...
Oh, she just wants to join the party. I thought it was something serious.
The two shared a look and nodded in unison. Other girls might be a risk, but Mutsumi? No problem.
Taki actually didn't want to deepen her physical relationship with Rin Ito any further... at least, not the carnal side.
But she had already been "eaten" once. Being eaten again didn't change much, and doing it with Tomori would solidify their friendship. Besides... it really did feel incredible.
Taki agreed. The specific time could be settled later.
After making their "party pact," the two returned to the rehearsal room.
Tomori gripped her mic and Taki sat behind her kit, sticks in hand.
"Sorry, the bathroom break took a bit longer than expected. Let's start."
"Wait... I have something I want to say." Anon took a deep breath, summoning her courage.
"Um... you two are hiding something from us, right?"
" " !!!! " "
Taki and Tomori froze... Did Mutsumi tell them already?
"Um... could you... tell..."
Anon was cut off by Soyo. In Soyo's plan, Anon just needed to open the door; she would do the rest.
"Tomori-chan, Taki-chan... I know everyone has secrets. I know. I understand."
Soyo spoke the first half quickly, then slowed down, emphasizing her words to imply she already knew everything.
In reality, she did know everything, but she was leading them to believe that she, Anon, and Rana were all in on the truth.
Soyo clenched her fists, her blue eyes shimmering with fake tears.
"We are a band. We are comrades who will be together for a lifetime. We've even lost face together on stage. No matter how embarrassing it is, no matter how awkward... I want us to do everything together!"
Soyo's words were ambiguous. To Anon and Rana, it sounded like she wanted to share secrets.
To Tomori and Taki, it sounded like she was begging to join the "filling" party.
"No problem!" Tomori agreed instantly with a bright smile.
She had actually wondered if she could invite Soyo and the others to a party. That way, she wouldn't just be a "three-lifetime" band with Taki, but with Soyo, Anon, and Rana as well.
Since she thought they already knew, there was no reason to hesitate!
A party for everyone! Together!
Tomori had read the gossip about bands having group sessions or joint parties with other bands.
She had seen it with her own eyes in her online "research."
Since they all knew, having an orgy wasn't a big deal. Ideally, Mutsumi could bring Sakiko's new band too.
"Eh!? Tomori!? Wait, this..." Taki's words died in her throat... Wait, is this something that 'has' to be done together now!?
"Really!? We can!?" Anon grabbed Tomori's hand, her excited voice drowning out Taki's feeble protest.
To Anon, this was Tomori treating her as a best friend worthy of sharing her deepest secrets.
"Mmm!" Tomori nodded hard. "If you want to, we can all do it together!"
"I see, ehehehe..." Anon scratched her cheek, letting out her goofy "dragon" laugh.
"I'll check my schedule. Soyo-san, Rana-chan, check when you're free."
"I'm free whenever~" Soyo smiled, her face like a spring breeze.
But anyone who truly knew Soyo would know this was just her masterpiece of acting. She had so many schemes running at once.
Rana looked left and right.
She didn't quite grasp the "misunderstanding," but it looked very, very interesting!