Among CRYCHIC, Tomori's family circumstances were relatively ordinary. Mrs. Takamatsu naturally had no thoughts of currying favor with the rich or powerful—she was simply a bit worried about whether her daughter might run into problems hanging out with such a young lady.
After all, as an adult, she understood clearly that circles of different social classes were distinctly separated. Forcing oneself into a world that didn't belong to them would only lead to getting hurt in the end.
But when she recalled the reliance and trust her daughter showed whenever she mentioned that Mutsuki, Mrs. Takamatsu still suppressed her worries.
She trusted her daughter—Miss Mutsuki must be a very good person, right?
Turning her gaze back to the television in front of her, the scene had already shifted to sumimi, with Miss Anon choosing a song.
Videos like these, which could be casually found in a karaoke room, naturally didn't require the person involved to record voice lines again.
In any case, Kamijou Mutsuki had already contacted the companies of those two girls and paid the fees. So there wouldn't be any problems.
And when faced with Anon's request for a "band battle," Tomori naturally refused.
Miss Anon seemed to sense Tomori's low spirits and, without making it obvious, started chatting about Tomori's former band.
Then the two of them talked about the reason the band had disbanded.
"…Could it be because your pursuit of music was different?"
Miss Anon offered her own guess.
"I don't think so."
Tomori's voice, upon hearing this, sank even lower.
"Maybe it was my fault…"
Hearing Tomori's self-blaming words, a certain girl clenched her fists.
No, it wasn't little Tomori's fault.
Everything… was her fault!
Tomori didn't need to blame herself—she should be blaming someone irresponsible like her instead.
Back then, the girl had only wanted to cut ties with her past. She never intended to hurt anyone.
Especially that girl she had picked up, who was like a small animal—dazed and endearing, making people want to protect her.
"Is that so? That's really sad."
Anon replied in a seemingly casual tone while fiddling with the song-selection tablet in her hands.
"..."
Tomori's eyes dimmed a little more.
"But wouldn't it be fine if you just worked hard so you won't fail next time?"
At some point, the girl had put down the tablet, and even her tone had grown gentler.
"Huh?"
Tomori lifted her head, eyes wide, those pupils as beautiful as amber.
"Ah~ otherwise, life is so long—how would you even get through it?"
What followed was, naturally, Saint Anon's talk-therapy segment.
"Next time, you might run into a miracle and find even better bandmates."
"I'm not talking about myself."
"But I hope you can keep playing in a band."
I love greatness—no words needed.
With the high emotional intelligence of a normie plus her standard-issue gentleness, even Tomori—who had grown more withdrawn after CRYCHIC disbanded—found her heart stirred.
Even Taki had to admit that this pink-haired girl really had something going for her.
For the sake of how she comforted Tomori, she'd temporarily forgive her earlier frivolous words and actions.
Of course—only temporarily!
Watching this pink-haired girl comfort her daughter, Tomori's mom also felt her goodwill rise sharply.
She really hadn't misjudged her—she was a likeable girl.
And Tomori seemed to have mentioned before that this girl named Anon was also her friend in real life.
If little Tomori had friends like this, then she could finally relax a bit.
"Then…"
Facing the pink-haired girl smiling gently at her, Tomori's guard finally dropped.
And under the surge of those emotions, she made an invitation that instantly froze the expression on Miss Anon's face.
"Will you stay in a band with me for a lifetime?"
Gravity unfolded—an attraction like a black hole slammed the pause button on the anime scene.
Under the spinning LED lights was the awkward expression of a certain pink-haired girl.
In truth, it wasn't just Anon who couldn't quite handle it—Tomori's mom was also struggling.
No—was her daughter really this heavy?
Casually bringing up "a lifetime," and saying it to another girl, no less.
This was bad!
Mrs. Takamatsu suddenly seemed to remember something. Her daughter's orientation wouldn't happen to be… off, would it?
Thinking this, she couldn't help but look at Tomori with concern.
"Uh…"
After a stretch of non-static frames, Anon forced out a somewhat stiff smile and spoke uncertainly.
"A lifetime?"
Seriously—girl, I just wanted to casually form a band and have some fun. Talking about a lifetime is way too heavy, isn't it?
It was like thinking a girl seemed pleasant enough and wanting to hang out together—only for her to pull out a marriage certificate the very next second.
"..."
Looking at the girl in front of her who was clearly forcing a smile, Tomori seemed to realize something. Her eyes visibly dimmed.
Then she picked up the bag beside her and ran straight out.
"See?! A frivolous woman like this can only hurt little Tomori!?"
Watching Tomori flee in panic in the anime, the tiny bit of goodwill Taki had just developed toward Anon instantly vanished.
Forming a band with Tomori means being prepared for a lifetime!
What kind of expression is that supposed to be?
Could it be that you were just planning to mess around?
Taki realized that her earlier evaluation of this woman hadn't been wrong at all.
"…What a lousy woman!"
"Tomori!"
In the anime, Anon straightened up in shock when she saw Tomori run away, as if stunned by her reaction.
But the real Anon, watching this scene, felt more regret than anything else.
After all, even though "a lifetime" really was a bit too heavy for her, hadn't she already boarded the pirate ship anyway?
If she'd known it would turn out like this, she might as well have agreed to Tomori back then!
If only she'd tried a bit harder back then—just clenched her teeth and pushed herself a little more…
Wouldn't Tomori have been secured?
How would it have come to Kamijou Mutsuki cutting in halfway and taking advantage of the opening?
Just thinking about the visibly different way Tomori treated the two of them now made Anon's heart ache beyond words.
Wuwuwu… I was the one who came first—my Tomori…
"Tomori, wait!"
And in the anime, facing Tomori running away, Anon chased after her.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have laughed."
The slightly out-of-breath girl said this.
"It's fine. I was the one who said something weird first."
Unfortunately, the route choice had been wrong—no matter how much Anon wanted to make up for it now, it was already too late.
"Thank you for inviting me to form a band."
"But… I'm sorry!"
As she said this, Tomori bowed deeply toward Anon.
"Tomori—"
Seeing this, Anon seemed like she still wanted to say something.
But Miss Taki, seeing the scene from the side, thought Tomori was being bullied and immediately rushed over to do her filial duty.
"Who are you? What do you want?"
"Hey, I'm asking you—are you even someone she knows?"
Facing Taki, who had stepped between her and Tomori, Anon's attitude was still relatively gentle.
"I'm the one asking you!"
Compared to Anon, Miss Taki's attitude was much more hostile.
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