"Taki-chan…"
After hearing Rikki's words, Tomori seemed like she wanted to say something, but she was stopped by Kamijou Mutsuki.
Oh, come on—playing the gender knight now?
Now that got him wide awake!
"What's wrong with men? Men can't join bands? Men aren't allowed to have dreams?"
"Huh? When did I ever say that?"
Mutsuki's style of attack was clearly beyond Taki's expectations, instantly knocking down her aggressive momentum by a few notches.
"After hearing what you said, I'm shaking with anger. It's scorching hot but I feel cold all over, my hands and feet are freezing, tears just keep flowing… I forgot the rest, but anyway—can this society still be saved? How are men supposed to live before you're satisfied? When will this world stop oppressing men?"
"You—"
Just like Anon, Taki was completely dizzy after getting hit by this foreign-style combo.
Bro, it's just about joining a band—how did it escalate to this level?
"Even setting that aside…"
Rikki didn't dare continue tangling with Mutsuki on that topic, afraid he'd throw a few more punches.
"…what could you even do if you joined the band?"
"…Keyboardist?"
Soyo: "???"
After hearing Rikki's words, Mutsuki hadn't reacted yet, but Soyo's expression immediately grew tense.
"…I can't."
Luckily, Mutsuki didn't take that position, and Soyo finally let out the breath she'd been holding.
"…Guitarist? Bassist?"
"Can't play."
"…Drummer?"
"I don't play drums."
"So you're saying you want to steal Tomori's spot as vocalist?"
The smile returned to Rikki's face. She knew it—there was no way this scumbag understood music.
"A guy like you who can't do anything—what right do you have to join our band?"
But Rikki's words didn't faze Mutsuki at all. Instead, Anon beside them started breaking out in cold sweat.
Hey, girl—your attack has AOE damage, you know?!
"That's not it!"
The sudden voice startled Rikki. She thought Tomori was about to stand up for Mutsuki again.
But when she saw that it was Mutsumi—the one who'd been acting like a doll the whole time—she instantly relaxed.
"Rikki… you don't have the right to say that about Mutsuki."
Because she'd learned about the car accident from Mutsuki yesterday, Mutsumi realized just how little she actually knew about her fiancé.
And as a nationally recognized art prodigy, Mutsuki's personal information was everywhere online with a simple search.
That was when she understood just how brilliant and high-spirited he once had been—how astonishingly talented.
Compared to him, the former CRYCHIC was like children playing house.
So seeing Rikki dance wildly on a minefield, she naturally couldn't help but speak up.
And as someone evenly matched with Rikki, her skill with words needed no further explanation.
"Huh? I don't have the right?!"
Since the person opposing her wasn't Tomori, Rikki immediately stiffened her spine and decided to fire back.
"Alright, alright,"
This was a peak-ranked match!
If he really let these two geniuses go at each other, the scene would be so beautiful he didn't even dare imagine it.
"Don't argue because of me anymore."
"Who's arguing because of you?"
As expected, Rikki was thoroughly grossed out by Mutsuki's faux-gentle, tea-scented attitude. Even though that was the case, the way he said it made it sound like she had some kind of feelings for him.
It was ridiculous. How could she possibly have feelings for that scumbag?
Even if she jumped straight off RiNG, she would never like Kamijou Mutsuki!
"…But what Taki-chan said does make sense. It really wouldn't be appropriate for me to join your band."
"…At least you know your place."
Rikki naturally took this as Mutsuki backing down, and her expression softened quite a bit.
"Mutsuki…"
But the moment she heard that, Tomori instantly wilted, her expression turning a little sad.
Weren't they supposed to be together for a lifetime?
"But I also made a promise with Tomori earlier…"
There was no way Kamijou Mutsuki was going to be persuaded by Rikki.
"…And I do have considerable financial resources, and some experience in this area."
"So—how about I serve as your manager? There shouldn't be any problem with that, right?"
"If it's Mutsuki, then of course it's fine!"
Tomori was instantly bathed in sunshine again, her eyes filling with relief.
"Tch—"
Seeing how close Tomori was to Mutsuki, Rikki felt unbearably sour, but she didn't object again.
Tomori's reaction just now had already made her understand that all her behavior was doing was putting Tomori in an awkward position.
Forget it. Tomori has her own life too. Maybe she'd just been overstepping, expecting too much on her own.
"And as for Wakaba Mutsumi, she's just tagging along today,"
Emotionally, Mutsuki didn't want Mutsumi to join MyGO!!!!! either—otherwise, what about Ave Mujica?
"Whether she joins or not depends on her own wishes…"
With just one glance, Kamijou Mutsuki already knew what Mutsumi was thinking.
"…But she probably doesn't want to. Of course, don't worry—I also know another guitarist who's just as outstanding as I am."
"…Mutsu wouldn't think that way, right?"
Hearing that Mutsumi didn't want to join, Soyo instantly panicked.
Still, she forcibly maintained her expression, speaking to Mutsumi in a "gentle" tone.
"Let's form a band together, do lives together… like before?"
"..."
Faced with Soyo's expectations, Mutsumi lowered her head, shuffled over to Mutsuki's side, and once again acted like a doll.
"..."
Again.
Soyo felt like she'd returned to that rainy afternoon—the moment when Mutsumi's words, 'I've never felt happy playing in a band,' delivered the final blow to an already wavering CRYCHIC.
And now it was happening again. Wakaba Mutsumi…
You've never done anything but disappoint me!
"I see… then there's nothing we can do…"
Her gaze darkened for just an instant before Soyo completed her expression management.
"The three… four of us working hard together will definitely be fine!"
But although the smile remained on her face, Soyo subconsciously started fiddling with her index finger.
It's fine. Don't get irritated. She'd known long ago what kind of person Wakaba Mutsumi was—she knew she shouldn't have expected anything from her.
Even if it's just herself, it's fine. As long as she uses her world-shaking wisdom, everything will get better.
"Four… didn't Mutsuki say there was another guitarist?"
Anon, as always, managed to catch the key point.
And as her words fell, a cat dragging a suitcase and a guitar walked in.
The final member of MyGO!!!!! had arrived!
"Want to join the band?"
Kamijou Mutsuki directly stepped in front of the cat.
"Join us and you get unlimited matcha parfaits!"
The cat lifted her head to look at Mutsuki, her gold-and-blue heterochromatic eyes gleaming like gemstones.
"Parfait~"
And just like that, there was now one more cat among them, happily eating a matcha parfait.
PS: Damn it, I forgot to write the cat earlier, so I had to make it up later. By the way… what breed of cat is Raana, anyway?
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