As a former member of C-group, I want to destroy mygo!

At the same time, at Tsukimori Academy, Nagasaki Motoyo, whose excitement was no less than that of Kurokawa Akane, couldn't help but feel joy even in her long, flowing brown hair. She walked briskly to a campus area where cucumbers were grown.

From afar, she called out to the delicate, light green-haired girl who looked like a rag doll, who was watering the cucumbers:

"Hey, Mutsu-chan, everyone's back!"

Mu paused, startled: "Everyone?"

"Hmm!" Nagasaki Sosuna was overjoyed, but also a little proud that she could connect the old members of C Group. She counted them one by one on her fingers.

"Me, Riki-chan, Akari-chan... everyone's back. We've reunited the band, and soon, very soon, you and Saki-chan will be back! When that happens, Crychic will definitely be revived."

However, upon hearing Motoyo's plans, Mutsumi's eyes showed no joy. Instead, she mentioned a name that Motoyo had deliberately omitted:

"Then... what about Yu?"

"Eh……"

In an instant, Nagasaki Motoyo's face froze. Her slender fingers unconsciously twirled the strands of hair that fell from her ears. After a moment, the sound of silver bells filled with clips rang out:

"You can't do that, Mutsu-chan. If you and Saki-chan haven't come back yet, what's the point of bringing back the last person who joined the team alone?"

However, Mu didn't quite understand Su Shi's self-deceiving behavior. She stared blankly with her golden eyes, trying very hard to tell Su Shi something:

"...Xiang really likes You."

“If You were here, Xiang would go to see the performance.”

But Mu couldn't understand why, after she told Su Shi about it, Su Shi's expression suddenly turned angry and frightening, and she loudly asked her:

"Does that mean Saki-chan won't come back to see us if it's not for that guy? Are you implying that I'm less important to Saki-chan than that fugitive?!"

Upon hearing this, Mu became even more confused, tilting her head in bewilderment. Although she tried her best to think, she still couldn't understand... why Su Shi added a "ma" to the statement of fact?

Volume 1: Chapter 12. 12. Xiangzi's Favoritism, Su Shi's Anger

She was extremely annoyed, so annoyed that a long-suppressed cry was about to burst forth and be released. In a daze, Nagasaki Motoyo gritted her teeth and her face contorted with rage: "Why... do you have to say such things in front of me?"

She knew, she always knew, that in Crychic, no one else hated Kamiya Yu as much as she did.

But at the same time, there was absolutely no one else who liked that damned fugitive as much as Xiangzi did... It was precisely because of his existence that the family of five, which should have been together for five, had their time of harmonious coexistence eroded time and time again.

Before that person appeared, the five members of Crychic spent so much time together every day.

Whether it's practicing or chatting, the five of them will always get together. Even Lixi, who initially had no feelings for Crychic, and Mu, who seemed to have no connection with it, would occasionally add energy and vitality to the band during their time together.

In the gray world, a strange color seemed to quietly appear. During that period, even after practice ended and everyone dispersed, when she returned to the house where her mother was working overtime and she hadn't been home, Nagasaki Motoyo never felt uneasy or lonely.

Because she knew that as long as she waited until the next day, she would no longer be alone. Even if she was lying in bed alone, she could hear the noisy laughter of the band members during the day, filling the void with those memories that would never fade, and coaxing herself to look forward to the future with a sweet smile.

But since when have these cherished memories become increasingly rare...?

"Everyone! I apologize, but although it may seem presumptuous of me to ask, I would like to invite another member to join Crychic?"

Although it sounded like a question, Nagasaki Motoyo felt that not only she and Riki-chan, but even Touko-chan and Mutsu-chan could see that Shoko-chan had a completely determined expression on her face at that time. It would be more appropriate to say that she was giving them a prior notice rather than asking for their opinions.

Even at that moment, her heart skipped a beat, and a bad premonition flickered within her.

If someone is prepared to stand firm against all of their objections for the sake of one person, doesn't that mean that in Xiangzi's heart, that person is perhaps more important than the entire Crychic group combined?

However, fearing that opposition would create disharmony and conflict within the band, making its existence precarious, Nagasaki Motoyo, despite feeling a pang of bitterness, envy, and even a growing sense of jealousy deep inside, was doing her best to calm herself down:

"It's okay... Even if that's the case, everything will be alright as long as she joins Crychic. In Xiangzi's heart, Crychic will become even more important, right?"

She immediately smiled warmly and, before Lixi could even express her agreement—who clearly disagreed and felt that a five-person band didn't need any more members—she readily agreed. With her leading the way, Dengjiang and Mumujiang, who were not particularly opinionated to begin with, naturally had no objections either.

Under those circumstances, Lixi could only nod reluctantly and sullenly.

But... if I had known it would turn out like that, I would never have agreed to it, even if it meant my death.

"That's great! Did you hear that, Yu? You can come in now, okay?"

When she saw that everyone, especially Nagasaki Motoyo, seemed to agree from the bottom of their hearts, Shoko, who had initially been prepared for some people to object, breathed a sigh of relief. Then she smiled and immediately called out to the people she had been waiting outside the practice room.

When that person's figure appeared in Nagasaki Motoyo's pupils, but the reflection was not the girl she had expected, Nagasaki Motoyo was completely stunned:

"……Eh?!"

Unexpected developments began from that moment on.

First, Xiangzi, who was the only core member of the band, started to leave early and arrive late for practice after that person appeared. And every time he left early or arrived late, it was accompanied by that person's arrival or departure.

Although that situation didn't last long, it stopped before she could get carried away with asking questions and getting to the bottom of things, and things returned to normal. Moreover, with one more person, aside from the slightly awkward atmosphere of the first few days when the person didn't fit in, the band quickly became much livelier.

If she stopped here, she would almost completely accept that guy as a member of Crychic, but... not only Xiangzi-chan, then Mutsu-chan, and then Riki-chan.

For some reason, the entire band seemed to have been invaded by that person without them even realizing it. When Su Shi suddenly came to her senses, she realized that ever since that person came to Crychic, the time when the five of them were together always seemed to be incomplete. Her second family, which should have been perfect, was always disrupted by the presence of that person.

However, she was the one who received so much favoritism and attention from Xiangzi-chan, and even stole a portion of everyone's love for Crychic...

Why was it that on the very day Crychic disbanded, he did nothing at all, and even abandoned that broken family without Xiangzi earlier than the most vulnerable Deng Jiang, leading to Crychic's disintegration and eventual collapse?

Clearly, no one else was more favored by Xiangzi than him, so why, why didn't he notice that Xiangzi's thoughts had already changed before she was about to leave the troupe, and why didn't he try to persuade her in advance?

Even on the day that Xiangzi-chan has made up her mind, if he stays, having already become friends with Mutsu-chan and Riki-chan, Crychic might be able to hold on until the day Xiangzi-chan changes her mind!

"It's all...it's all his fault, Mutsu-chan."

"But why, Mutsu-chan?"

At this moment, Nagasaki Motoyo, her eyes devoid of light, looked at Mutsuki with a somber expression: "Why did you have to say those things to me? Do you also think he's more important than Crychic? Why do you have to speak up for someone like that?"

However, faced with Su Shi's accusations and coercive remarks, Mu remained silent for a long time, pressing her relentlessly. She simply gripped the watering can tightly, lowered her head, and said nothing.

As for Mutsumi's dull and unresponsive response, Nagasaki Motoyo merely glared at her with sharp eyes but did not continue to vent her anger on Mutsumi. The anger and resentment deep within her were something Motoyo preferred to vent on that person one day, rather than directing her anger at Mutsumi.

"One day... you will definitely pay the price!"

Volume 1: Chapter 13. 13. Xiangzi, say goodbye to your keyboard.

That evening, the naturally wicked pink-haired Chihaya Aine was still happily laughing, "Yay! We've formed a band, and we even have two SSR members, awesome!" Little did she know that Nagasaki Motoyo, who was planning to ignore her greeting the next day by saying she was too late to sleep, was actually chatting with Takamatsu Akari and Shiina Tatsuki in private.

The band consists of four members, but only one member is absent.

Su Shi: "Li Xi-chan and Deng-chan, who do you think Saki-chan cares about the most?"

Lixi: "Huh? This kind of question, of course it's about the lamp, right?...No, it should just be about the lamp before he arrived."

Deng: "Yu."

Su Shi: "...Hehe."

Curled up in the spacious bedroom of the villa, Nagasaki Motoyo lay on the bed with a gloomy expression: "Really? So, Tachibana-chan and Akari-chan think so too?"

If it weren't for that damned fugitive, would Saki really have disregarded her past feelings for Crychic and come back to watch their performance, only to be caught by her?

In Nagasaki Motoyo's deep, lifeless eyes, echoed the hateful words Mutsumi had utterly pierced the depths of her heart.

She probably won't be able to sleep tonight.

……

Same Tokyo, same late night, same luxurious villa, same beautiful girl unable to sleep.

"Ta-da!"

At this time of year, Natsukawa Masuzu would usually be bored and read all seven parts of the JoJo manga over and over again, since it was her only hobby for so many years.

But today was a bit strange. Even she didn't know why, but she neither flipped through the JOJO manga that she knew by heart, nor turned on the TV and inserted the videotape to enjoy the several JOJO episodes that had been adapted into anime. Instead, she took out two earphones and immediately listened to the pieces that she, Kamiya Yu, and Kurokawa Akane had each played during the daytime performance.

Let me state upfront that she has absolutely no interest in those two people. Things like friendship are just childish nonsense; only immature kids would believe in or care about such things.

As for the idea that playing in a band would break the monotony of high school life? Haha, of course, that's not true. What kind of fun would she, Natsukawa Masaki, need to rely on others for? Hmph, what a joke.

Of course, it was only because those two people were so eager to recruit her, this music legend, into their band—their attitude of practically begging her to kneel down and kowtow in the street—that they were somewhat acceptable. That's why they gave Kamiya Yu and Kurokawa Akane the opportunity to get in touch with this stunningly beautiful girl.

"Speaking of which, joining a band would give me a permanent shield, right? If any horny jerk comes to bother me again, I'll just send him to duel Kamiya Yu? That guy's got such good stamina, he could just swing his guitar and knock him out on the spot, a sure win, right?"

"Oh, right! There's music too? Does that mean we can play the noble music of the Holy Emperor? Oh, what a wonderful thing!"

With her eyes shining, Xia Chuanzhen jumped out of bed and immediately picked up the bass she had brought back that day, starting to play her favorite melody. How come she had never realized before that she could learn an instrument in this way?

"Om..."

The deep bass vibrated, and the excitement on Natsukawa Masuzu's face vanished, leaving her expressionless.

His superb skills, honed since childhood, remained as beautiful as ever, but when his fingers touched the bass strings, Natsukawa Masaki suddenly found them utterly bland.

...Actually, she seems to have done something this simple when she was a child? But...it's so boring, really boring.

"A band...?"

Putting down her bass, the beautiful silver-haired girl looked up at the ceiling, and for a fleeting moment, a subtle glint appeared in her clear, azure eyes, as blue as the sea.

……

"That should be enough, right?"

Inside the simple two-story house, Kamiya Yu murmured to himself.

He looked at the area where he had placed his instruments. The bass and keyboard that had once stood there had been taken away by their new owners and were nowhere to be seen. Only a guitar and drums remained.

The bass and keyboard were certainly not taken by the two girls. Although Natsukawa Masuzu was probably shameless enough to ask for them, Kurokawa Akane was a good girl who was perhaps even better than Mutsu, and even more well-behaved than Mutsu.

Those two instruments were suggested by Natsukawa Masaki when he reluctantly joined the band, humming softly and showing a reluctant expression. They were given as a token of appreciation for the band's formation.

It's not that he's particularly wealthy.

Although both girls had agreed to join and seemed quite interested, the most common thing about new band members is that their interest comes and goes quickly. Sometimes they join the band today and may break up tomorrow.

To reduce the possibility of this happening, Kamiya Yu reluctantly made this gift despite feeling genuine heartache.

Putting aside Natsukawa Masamichi, someone like Kurokawa Akane, once forced to accept such a gift, would certainly feel embarrassed to back out, at least for the time being.

Even though this was a necessary sacrifice, Kamitani Yu's heart still ached...

The bass guitar wasn't much of a deal, but the keyboard was the one he bought from the store immediately after interrogating Mu to get the information. It was the keyboard that Xiangzi had reluctantly sold after going bankrupt. It had belonged to Xiangzi from the very beginning.

He always thought that he would return the keyboard to Xiangzi only after he had the ability and means to solve Xiangzi's predicament. At that time, he could embrace Xiangzi with tears of joy and laugh together as they played together in perfect harmony again. Everything would be alright.

Unfortunately... in order to achieve the conditions that would resolve Xiangzi's predicament, he now had no choice but to compromise and first defile Xiangzi's keyboard, so that he could no longer see the keyboard and think of Xiangzi.

"I'm sorry, Xiangzi... just wait a little longer, it won't be long, we'll see each other again soon."

Once Kurokawa Akane is hooked and can no longer leave the group, he can then make a claim like, "This keyboard is a bit old, I'll buy you a new one. I've grown attached to this old one, so let me keep it as a collector's item," and thus get the keyboard back.

Mu is not in Su Shi's new band. Apart from Mu, there is probably no one else in Crychic who can keep in touch with Xiangzi.

Xiangzi won't find out.