Mygo, are you all yanderes?

Then she realized something was wrong. Why was Kusano Akira chatting with that girl? He seemed quite happy. Could they actually know each other? How could strangers be chatting so happily on their first meeting?

Does this mean there's going to be another pink-haired girl ahead of her in line?

"That pink-haired one?...You mean the one who was just standing next to me?"

Kusano Akira pinched the two movie tickets that Hiroi Kikuri had just shoved into his hand due to a misunderstanding between his fingertips, shook his hand which was a little itchy from being tickled by Wakaba Mutsumi, and looked down at her in confusion.

“Hmm…”

Ruo Yemu nodded almost imperceptibly.

"You know that person?"

No, I don't know him.

Kusano Akira shook his head, rejecting Wakaba Mutsu's conjecture.

"...You two were having such a good time chatting..."

"Happy? Right?"

After patting his rapidly beating heart once more, Kusano Akira spoke to Wakaba Mutsumi with a relieved tone.

"What's there to be happy about? I asked for their contact information and they refused. If I hadn't been in front of them and it would have been too obvious if I did something, I would have wanted to bury my face in a hole."

"...Just now, it was also very conspicuous."

"Don't mention that. It was an unexpected event. Who could have predicted it? It just didn't give me a chance to react. Otherwise, I would have run away immediately. I've completely lost face for the past 16 years."

"But it's not all bad news, look."

Clutching the two tickets in her hand, Kusano Akira waved them at Wakaba Mutsu with a grin, letting the faint smell of paper from the movie tickets waft onto her face.

"It's good that the movie tickets are sorted out, so you could say it's a blessing in disguise, right? Although only I'm the one who's in trouble, you're completely unaffected."

"..."

"Do you still want to see the next live performance? I just overheard... I accidentally heard the audience next to me chatting, and they said that the next few bands are also the kind that are somewhat well-known in this area."

"Do not want to."

Ruo Yemu softly refused.

She didn't want to stay in STARRY for even a second longer. Who could understand how she felt when she just watched Kusano Akira being tackled to the ground by that lewd woman with purple hair who looked completely immoral except for the lack of any malevolent organs?

Kusano Akira might not have noticed from her angle, but with her attention constantly focused, she did. The wicked woman had clearly targeted Kusano Akira's position and deliberately 'stumbled' down.

She was standing so steadily on stage just a moment ago, how could she suddenly fall down? And how could she possibly fall right on someone?

Although she didn't like Kusano Akira, she still felt uncomfortable seeing others so close to him.

Why can't it just be hers? — Thinking this, a red light flashed in Wakaba Mutsu's eyes, and a dangerous malice began to emerge in her gaze as she looked at Kusano Akira.

Why couldn't she keep this man's gaze fixed on her forever? He trusted her so much; she could easily put on an act, making him forever fixated on one direction. Then, no one could compare to her…

Thinking this, a slight smile unconsciously appeared on the corners of her mouth.

In a corner of STARRY, a flash of dark green appeared.

"If you don't want to, let's leave. We've already gained a lot here."

Kusano Akira pointed with his thumb toward the entrance of STARRY and grinned at Wakaba Mutsumi.

"..."

Interrupted by the other person's voice and smile, her strange emotions began to stir again. After a moment of silence, Ruoye Mu suddenly punched her chest hard, letting the pain bring her back to her senses.

It's strange. Ever since she left Kusano Akira's house for those four days, she hasn't experienced that kind of twisted thinking. How come she's like this again now? It must be because Kusano Akira is here.

"What's wrong with you? Why did you suddenly hit yourself?"

Having witnessed Wakaba Mutsumi go from being silent to smiling and then suddenly slapping him with a cold face, Kusano Akira remarked.

Shoko Toyokawa's words may not have completely deceived her; Mutsumi Wakaba could indeed be considered one of the most abnormal people he had ever met.

"……fine."

He reached into his pocket and touched the childhood photo of Kusano Akira that he always carried with him. After stroking it twice with his thumb, Wakaba Mutsumi, feeling reassured, calmly walked towards the door.

"That's scary, I'm running away first, you're absolutely amazing."

After saying that, Kusano Akira walked to the door first, gave Wakaba Mutsu a quick tug at his eyelids, and then ran straight out.

"...Don't run away."

"Run, Chao Xiong Xiao Mu."

"...Stand there."

"Just run, just run."

"...Stand there!"

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

"Phew, it's so comfortable here! Everyone was staring at me just now, I was so nervous!"

Leaning her full weight onto the seat of her band's bicycle, Hiroi Kikuri, whose body was almost weightless, curled up slightly. The silvery-white can of liquor spun between her fingers as she tilted her head back and took a big gulp. The crystal-clear liquid flowed down her chin, past her slender neck and delicate collarbone. After finishing, she let out a "ha" like a drunk office worker in an izakaya and squinted her eyes happily.

"We're the ones who should be nervous. No matter what, what you did today was way too much."

CK Hack's drummer, Shima, checked the contents of the trunk to make sure nothing was missing before walking to the driver's seat, opening the door, sitting down, and making a disgruntled remark.

Volume 1: Chapter 174. An Absolutely Impossible Event (2k)

"She even fell on top of an audience member, and then acted like she wanted to meet up with him. I really don't know what she was thinking. Luckily, the other person repeatedly said she didn't mind..."

While complaining, Shima fastened her seatbelt.

"Again and again...? Shima, you went to apologize to him?"

After taking another sip of her drink, Hiroi Kikuri, who was braiding the braids she had just untied on stage, stopped what she was doing when she heard Shima say that and looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"Yeah, otherwise, would they really just give us two movie tickets and call it a day? Any normal person would be furious in this situation. We're lucky we met someone with a good temper..."

"I see... Shima, I love you, kisses~"

Hiroi Kikuri stopped braiding her hair and pretended to pounce on Shima.

"Get out of my way, you drunkard!"

Shima disdainfully pressed down on Hiroi Kikuri's face, pushing away the crawling Hiroi Kikuri.

"Oh! What a great opportunity!"

Guitarist Eliza Shimizu, who was browsing anime forums in the back seat, noticed the opportunity. Her eyes lit up, and she grabbed a beer can from Kikuri Hiroi and took a big gulp. But she started coughing violently as soon as she drank it.

"Cough cough...! Pui pui pui, why is it hot tea?"

As she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, Shimizu Eliza's gaze shifted between Hiroi Kiku and the beer can with a look of surprise and disbelief.

"Oh, that? Actually, I recently quit drinking."

With a casual scratching of her hands behind her head, Hiroi Kikuri chuckled sheepishly at the shocked looks on Shimizu Eliza and Shima's faces.

"Huh?! Quitting alcohol?!"

Hiroi Kikuri's casual remark was like a bomb packed with gunpowder in their hearts. With a 'bang,' the two stared at each other in a daze, pinched each other's arms, and then, not believing it, pinched each other's cheeks. After using the pain to confirm that they were not dreaming, they exclaimed in unison in shock.

"Yes, I'll quit drinking."

The two men's behavior was exactly what Hiroi Kikuri had expected. However, instead of using her usual feigned ignorance to ignite the atmosphere, she slowly sat back in her seat, propped her delicate chin up with her hand, and stared intently at the scenery outside the car window.

"No, you have a fever?"

Shima anxiously pulled out a thermometer.

"No, no, no, I think it must have been love at first sight. You were very obvious about that younger brother when you fell down, Kiku. Did you quit drinking because you didn't want to leave a bad impression on him?"

Eliza Shimizu pointed at Kikusato Hiroi, her eyes looking as if she had seen some terrifying monster.

"Hiroi, that's a crime! That thug doesn't look like an adult...!"

Shima firmly supported Hiroi Kikuri's shoulder, her tone earnest and resolute.

"Is this what love is? It's not bad... but it's still not as good as when I push."

Eliza Shimizu started fiddling with her phone again.

"You guys are really going too far!"

Unable to contain her reaction to the two's seemingly unbelievable behavior, Hiroi Kikuri turned around, a slight smile playing on her lips, and chuckled as she scolded them.

"Can't I genuinely want to quit drinking?"

"No, no, no, that's impossible."

Shima and Eliza Shimizu waved their hands at the same time.

"The probability of you quitting drinking is not as high as the probability of Ijichi Hoshika suddenly showing up with a man and saying that he is her boyfriend whom she has been secretly dating for several years."

Shima gave a very serious example.

"I never imagined Kikuri would quit drinking..."

Shimizu I2$玖∫;∈零×∮舞]〃粶●］泀中★转Ｑ:莱莎 echoed.

"So you guys are really going too far. Can't I just suddenly be afraid of dying and want to take care of my health? Do you think I'm a shameless woman who would like boys younger than herself?"

"...It's not something we can say."

"It's really hard to say..."

Seeing that her two teammates, who should have been the most familiar and closest to her, were now expressing distrust of her character, Kikuto Hiroi sadly lowered her head and wiped her dry eyes.

"Waaah... Even I would deliberately wait until I'm an adult before making a move, okay? Is that really the kind of person you all think of me...?"

"Hiroi, please don't commit a crime! Our band shouldn't end here...!"

"Kikuri, it's not too late to like anime boys with me now, it's not a crime~"

"You guys are really going too far! I'm ignoring you!"

Hiroi Kikuri sulked and buried her face in her knees.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Noticing that the surrounding sounds suddenly disappeared with her movements, Hiroi Kikuri curiously lifted her bag slightly to secretly observe what the two were doing.

The two men seemed completely unconcerned about her sulking. Instead, they huddled together, whispering something, and occasionally gave her a look as if she were a scumbag.

"...Don't look at me like that! I'm really not the kind of grunge rocker who would prey on minors!...Ouch!"

Hiroi Kikusato suddenly jumped up, forgetting that she was in the car, and bumped into the roof. She immediately covered her head with tears in her eyes.

"Sigh... whatever, you can think whatever you want... I hate this society where there's absolutely no trust between people..."

After a long while, Hiroi Kikuri deflated, sat back down in her seat, and looked out the window again, her tone melancholy.

"Are you really going to quit drinking?"

After the playful fight ended, Shima started the engine and, just as he was about to leave, suddenly asked a question.

"Really? I'm not lying."

"Then what about your future performances? You said you wouldn't do that if you didn't drink..."

Shima voiced her biggest concern.

Others might not know, but as her teammate, Shima knew very well that Hiroi Kiku, beneath her carefree facade, was actually a socially anxious person who couldn't stand drinking.

If she doesn't drink, she might not even be able to perform normally. If the absolute core of a band can't perform, then the band is no different from not having one at all.

"Don't worry, I didn't drink any alcohol during the performance just now, and it turned out fine. I'm growing too!"

Humming a casual tune, Hiroi Kikuri spoke nonchalantly, her slender fingers tapping the chair repeatedly with a simple rhythm.

“I testify that the wine jars in Kikuri’s collection were full of hot tea.”

Eliza Shimizu raised her hand and spoke on behalf of Kikuri Hiroi.

"Really? That's good."

Since Hiroi Kikuri's performance wouldn't be affected, Shima had nothing more to say. After uttering those last words, she focused on driving.