Mygo, are you all yanderes?

"Ah."

Then, Wakaba Mutsu recounted what happened when Crychic disbanded.

Of course, she didn't tell everything. When it came to the specifics about Toyokawa Rokushoko, she only briefly mentioned it with the four words "family reasons".

When he heard the sentence, "I have never felt happy about being in a band," Kusano Akira looked at Wakaba Mutsumi's harmless face with a strange expression.

"Ruoye... I'm certain that you and Su Shi are very close friends. Su Shi isn't angry with you for this."

"..."

Strangely enough, although Wakaba Mutsumi's expression remained calm, Kusano Akira could sense a resentful emotion directed at him.

"Speaking of which, may I ask you a question, Wakaba-kun? Why did you specifically tell me that Suze wanted to find Toyokawa-kun?"

"...My intuition tells me I need to find you."

Hearing Kusano Akira's words, Wakaba Mutsu said softly.

She would never have thought of seeking out Kusano Akira, after all, she knew that she and Kusano Akira were not very close, and that Kusano Akira had something she did not know.

Normally, you should never tell him such a comprehensive story, since he is not trustworthy.

But ever since she met Kusano Akira that day, a voice in her head has been urging her to go find him.

This thought kept echoing in her mind, making it impossible for her to concentrate on anything she was doing.

As if by some strange twist of fate, she contacted Kusano Akira and told him everything.

Unexpectedly, Ruoye Mu was even more trusting of others than he had imagined.

Thinking this way, Kusano Akira felt his mood improve.

In that case, perhaps trying to chat up Wakaba Mutsu wasn't a complete failure, and maybe I could actually get the help I wanted from her in the future.

"So now we're what you call 'accomplices,' right?"

Kusano Akira extended his fist and grinned at Wakaba Mutsu.

"?"

If Ye Mu tilted his head in confusion, not understanding Kusano Akira's sudden behavior.

"Don't you think it's cool for two people to punch each other and call each other accomplices at dusk? Like in a manga—oh right, you're a rich girl, so you're probably less likely to read action manga."

Kusano Akira reluctantly withdrew his fist. He had been so caught up in his emotions that he had forgotten that Wakaba Mutsu might not understand his actions.

But before he could fully retract his fist, he felt a small, cold fist meet his fist.

"Accomplice."

Ruoye Mu placed her fist on his hand and whispered something to him.

"……snort."

Kusano Akira was surprised that Wakaba Mutsu actually responded to his foolish act. He smiled slightly and chuckled.

"Okay, accomplice—I'll be going now, I still have rehearsal today."

Kusano Akira took two steps forward, and the fifth pair of Wakaba Mutsumi waved goodbye, while the sixth pair of Wakaba Mutsumi also gently waved her little hand. 〔∽四》≮〕§

"Bye-Bye."

Watching Kusano Akira's departing figure, Wakaba Mutsu's lips curled up slightly.

Just then, she saw a furtive green idol come to life and run towards Kusano Akira.

"...?"

Rubbing his eyes, Wakaba Mutsu looked over again, but the green doll had disappeared, and even Kusano Akira's figure had become blurry.

"……illusion?"

........................

Shiina Riki felt a bit down, and even the good mood she had a few days ago when she reunited with Akari in the band was almost completely gone.

The newly formed band is putting increasing pressure on her.

First, Chihaya Aine, who wanted the lead guitarist position, was actually a complete novice at guitar and couldn't even read sheet music. So they had to give her a separate sheet music to practice on, which slowed down the training speed of the whole team.

However, she has a pretty good personality, and Shiina Tatsuki doesn't say anything.

Then there's another guitarist, Yao Le Nai. Although I've known her since I met her that she's always been elusive, we're now in a band together, and she never attends rehearsals, only showing up a few times.

Although his old teammate Nagasaki Motoyo appears to be fine except for a slight decline in skill.

But Shiina Tatsuki knows her very well. Don't be fooled by her current gentle and tolerant demeanor; no one can say for sure what she's thinking. Maybe she's still thinking about her Crychic.

Aside from the lamp, only Kusano Akira was someone she could be somewhat pleased with. Although she wasn't as good as Toyokawa Shoko, her technique was actually quite good. It's just that she tended to make mistakes when she was nervous.

Although he was a boy, he didn't seem like the kind of guy who came specifically for girls, and the smile on his face while playing music didn't seem fake.

But—even the person she trusted most was late today.

Even she herself was in the same predicament; the performance was just around the corner, but the music for it wasn't even finished yet.

"It's so bitter, it gets stuck in my teeth..." Shiina Riki became more and more agitated, her feet tapping haphazardly on the rhythm.

Her frustration made her start to overthink, and her thoughts drifted to Toyokawa Shoko, Shiina Maki, and those geniuses she could never catch up to no matter how hard she tried.

An unimaginable low pressure formed around Shiina Tatsuki, covering the entire rehearsal room. Aine and Akari huddled in a corner, trembling, watching Shiina Tatsuki, who exuded a terrifying aura, with fear.

"Lixi-chan, there's no need to be so angry. It's just being late once..."

Nagasaki Motoyo chuckled and stepped forward, trying to ease the oppressive atmosphere around Shiina Ritsuki. However, after receiving an unconsciously terrifying glare from Shiina Ritsuki, she retreated dejectedly.

"...I'm not angry."

"Okay, okay..."

Seeing that Nagasaki Motoyo also looked somewhat frightened, Shiina Tatsuki sighed and took out a mirror to look at himself.

No problem, it doesn't look that scary.

"Lixi, guess what I brought!"

Kusano Akira excitedly opened the door to the rehearsal room, holding a white-haired girl eating a matcha parfait in his hand.

"I've figured out how to get Lena here. Just use a little bit of matcha parfait and she'll automatically reappear... Hmm?"

Noticing Shiina Tatsuki's terrifying aura, Kusano Akira abruptly stopped mid-sentence, while Kaname Rakuna, who was happily eating her parfait, suddenly felt Shiina Tatsuki's gaze and began to struggle restlessly.

Before Kaname could escape, Shiina Tatsuki Alter appeared. She walked up to Kusano Akira and grabbed Kaname, whose face was now contorted with terror. Zero

"Stray cat, why aren't you coming to rehearsal?"

"Because..."

"Stray cat, why aren't you coming to rehearsal?"

"Yes...I'm sorry..."

Wow, you actually managed to scare Lena like this. You know, Lena is the kind of person who would calmly eat a parfait even if the sky were to fall, but now she has a teary-eyed expression.

Kusano Akira watched the scene unfold in awe.

But immediately, Shiina Tatsuki fixed his gaze on him, and his body stiffened.

Could he be the next one to be purged?!

"W-what happened, Lixi?"

Kusano Akira wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and forced a smile as he spoke to her.

"...It's alright, let's start rehearsing as soon as we get here."

Fortunately, Shiina Tatsuki only looked at him for a while before sitting back down.

As Kusano Akira felt Shiina Tatsuki's gaze leave him, he relaxed with a sigh of relief. Luckily, he hadn't provoked Tatsuki before; she was truly frightening.

Volume 1: Chapter 9. The Lie Exposed

In short, once everyone had arrived, they could be said to have begun their training.

"stop."

Shiina Riki called for a stop again, the sixth time that evening, and everyone turned to look at her with concern.

"Excuse me."

Shiina Tatsuki rubbed his temple and apologized to the others with a grim expression.

She didn't know what was wrong with her. The drumbeats that were usually easy for her kept going wrong today, and the previous times she had to stop the game were all because of her mistakes.

"Lixi, are you alright?"

With concern, Yi Qianzao Aiyin stepped forward and touched Shiina Tatsuki's forehead.

"If you feel unwell, be sure to tell me."

"...I'm really okay."

The neighbor shook her head, and Shiina Tatsuki declined Chihaya Aine's offer.

The performance is coming up soon, so now is not the time for her to rest.

"That's enough for today."

Akira Neko suddenly stepped forward and grabbed Tatsuki Shiina's shoulder.

Contrary to her reliable appearance, her shoulders were surprisingly thin and her body was very light, as if she could be pushed over with the slightest effort.

"That won't do, time is of the essence..."

"Time is almost up. Look, there's only half an hour left before we're dismissed."

Kusano Akira took Shiina Tatsuki's drumsticks and deliberately held them high so that she couldn't reach them.

Noticing Shiina Tatsuki's dark circles, Kusano Akira continued speaking without changing his expression.

"Besides, you see, everyone is worried about you. You should rest more."

"...Okay, let's disband today."

Shiina Tatsuki, who had been trying to put on a brave face, noticed that Kusano Akira's gaze kept drifting towards Takamatsu Akari. She followed his gaze and saw the worried looks on the other people's faces, and she finally relented.

Seeing that Shiina Tatsuki agreed to disband, Kusano Akira breathed a sigh of relief, put on a smile again, released her shoulder, and handed the drumsticks back to her.

After deciding to disband, Kusano Akira took advantage of Shiina Tatsuki's absence while she went out to change her work clothes and quietly went outside to wait for her on her usual route.

After Shiina Tatsuki came out of the staff changing room, Kusano Akira stepped out and blocked her way.

"Kusano? What's this...?"

Seeing the figure that suddenly jumped out, Shiina Tatsuki asked in confusion.

"Let's talk privately."

Kusano Akira walked seriously to her and gently touched the corner of Shiina Tatsuki's eye with his finger.

"Lixi, have you been working too hard lately? You've got dark circles under your eyes."

"...The sheet music for the new song isn't finished yet."

"Then I'll help you. As the saying goes, the most versatile player in a band is the keyboardist. Even if you're not an expert, you still..."

Noticing that Shiina Tatsuki's expression suddenly turned unwilling, Kusano Akira spoke softer and softer, calmly observing the changes in Shiina Tatsuki's expression.

"……"Four

"But let me make this clear first, I'm the kind of person who specifically sought out a teacher to learn music arrangement for several years, but ended up driving the teacher away. I can only help you share a little bit of the pressure."

"Sigh... Thank you for your kindness, but Kusano, you really don't need to go out of your way to comfort me."

Shiina Tatsuki understood Kusano Akira's meaning. She bit her lip, then relaxed it, offering only a somewhat forced smile.

"...Lixi, what is the purpose of your hard work? If you were just naturally competitive, you wouldn't go to such lengths that you disregard your health."

"...It's really nothing."

Seeing that Shiina Tatsuki was still trying to evade the question, Kusano Akira interrupted her again, pointed to himself, and said to her with a smile.

"There are some things you can't say to close friends who care about you, but you can confide in strangers—like someone standing right in front of you?"

"...I think we're pretty familiar with each other."

"I should definitely tell my very close friends, otherwise I'll be extremely worried."