Turning around, she saw a familiar figure—just as expected.
He was clearly an annoying guy, yet at this moment, all she felt was relief.
"Why did you follow me?"
She quickly remembered her current situation and deliberately put on a cold front as she said that.
Miss Soyo's mouth was tougher than her bass.
"…Then I'll leave?"
Kamijou Mutsuki didn't spoil her.
"Don't!"
Sensing the gloomy surroundings and those passersby who looked anything but trustworthy, Soyo's expression instantly collapsed. Panicking, she grabbed onto Kamijou Mutsuki's arm.
Then, meeting the boy's slightly teasing gaze, her face immediately flushed red.
But faced with a possible threat, the girl chose to follow her instincts. She didn't stubbornly tell Kamijou Mutsuki to leave her alone.
"Anyway,"
Feeling the girl clutching tightly to his arm, Kamijou Mutsuki twitched the corner of his mouth and spoke with some difficulty.
"Let's change places before we talk."
"After all, Miss Soyo, you wouldn't want to be hit on by shady people, right?"
"..."
Though it was still nighttime Tokyo, the colorful neon lights and bustling crowds finally dispelled the fear in the girl's heart. She let go of Kamijou Mutsuki's arm.
No wonder she played bass—her grip strength was terrifying.
Feeling his arm finally freed, a certain scumbag quietly let out a sigh of relief.
And so, a man and a woman walked side by side through the streets of Tokyo at night, the atmosphere between them somewhat awkward.
Soyo kept her head tilted, trying hard to maintain a relaxed expression, though the tips of her ears were dyed red.
After all, she'd just had a falling-out with Mutsumi and Kamijou Mutsuki, only to immediately show such an embarrassing side of herself.
This slap to the face was so loud that even Soyo felt secondhand embarrassment.
"Want me to call a car to take you home?"
In the end, Kamijou Mutsuki was the one to break the subtle tension between them.
The band girls he'd brought along were all safely home now—only Miss Soyo remained.
"Mm…"
After everything she'd been through today, all she wanted was to hurry home.
As the car slowly started moving, the girl finally managed to calm down a little.
"…What about Mutsu?"
Looking at the boy beside her, yawning, Soyo seemed to recall something and couldn't help asking.
"…You mean Mutsumi?"
Kamijou Mutsuki glanced at her, as if a bit surprised.
"My poor Mutsu-baby—after being yelled at by her dear friend, she's over there rolling on the ground, crying and throwing a tantrum. Waaaah, so pitiful~"
"Mutsumi would never do something like that!"
Soyo felt obligated to clear her friend's name.
But after saying it, she lowered her head, a faint trace of regret in her eyes.
Even without the crying, screaming, and rolling-on-the-floor tantrum, thinking back to Mutsumi's sad golden eyes as she left left her somewhat unsettled.
The words she blurted out to Mutsumi had undoubtedly been honest, but did Soyo really feel nothing but annoyance toward her?
The answer, naturally, was no.
Even if she had held a grudge over the dissolution of CRYCHIC, the friendship between Mutsumi and Soyo was undeniable.
And besides, her friend never did anything according to her wishes. Frustrations had piled up again and again in her heart, and finally erupted with Saki's rejection as the trigger.
But at the time, letting it all out had felt satisfying—now she had to bear the consequences herself.
"Regret it?"
"No!"
The girl, who had just calmed down, suddenly got a little worked up again.
"It's Mutsumi's fault anyway…"
Glaring at Kamijou Mutsuki with a "mean glare," Soyo slumped in place, muttering to herself in resignation.
"I don't even care about what she did before anymore. As long as she helps me get Saki back, then Tomori and Taki too, everyone can… go back to the happy us we were before."
Soyo probably didn't even realize it, but right now her complaints made her look like a bitter divorced woman nagging because her kids wouldn't help her reconcile with her ex.
"But she never really wants to help me. She doesn't even want to join my band…"
Soyo's mind was still stuck on the events from the afternoon.
"Saki…"
Her complaints suddenly sank into a deeper gloom.
"…Why can't she understand me? Why won't she come back?"
"..."
For that question, Kamijou Mutsuki simply smiled and didn't answer.
One played band girl, the other a corporate slave simulator—there was no way their worlds could meet.
"What… exactly do I have to do for Saki to come back?"
She stared blankly at Kamijou Mutsuki, muttering to herself.
"I think Soyo's method of persuasion has a problem."
"Method of persuasion?"
Soyo hadn't expected a reply, but when she heard Kamijou had a solution, she instantly grasped at it.
Seeing the expectant look in the girl's eyes, Kamijou Mutsuki's lips curved slightly, instantly transforming into a MyGO! idea master.
Kamijou Mutsuki???: "Hey! I've got an idea!"
"I have a plan that can make CRYCHIC come back to life."
"This time, Saki has a car to take her, you can't stop her. Next time when Saki doesn't have a car, just grab onto her leg, and when she stumbles, yank off her shoe. That way, she can neither walk nor leave—shoes aren't disposable, she won't give up. And walking home on one bare foot would be way too ridiculous; she absolutely won't leave!"
"If she tries to grab the shoe back, just run—don't let her take it. In the end, she has no choice but to stay!"
"If Saki doesn't want her dignity completely buried, and doesn't want her pride and the sweat on her feet to spill everywhere, she'll have no choice but to agree—and CRYCHIC will be revived!"
Quick, notify the academy: the inheritor of the unlimited-threshold method has been found!
Soyo looked at Kamijou Mutsuki with an abstract expression. Even she thought this idea was absolutely insane.
The true "world-shaking genius" was Kamijou Mutsuki!
Knowing him, Soyo felt like she had luck on her side for life.
"So… do you think my idea…"
"…Don't even say it!"
Soyo immediately held up her hand to stop him. Expecting him to say anything remotely sensible was foolish.
"Actually, I also understand Soyo's feelings for Sakiko Togawa…"
Even though his suggestion was rejected, Kamijou Mutsuki didn't get angry. Instead, he smiled at Soyo.
Who would have thought that the one playing the "mom" role, Soyo, was actually the most starved for affection in CRYCHIC?
.......................