Mygo, are you all yanderes?

Good morning, Ming.

Good morning, Ai-yin—did you stay up late too?

Kusano Akira staggered to the side of the seat and saw that Chihaya Aine, who was sitting upright, also had two huge dark circles under her eyes.

Although both have dark circles under their eyes, the difference between long-term sleep deprivation and just one instance of it is stark.

Kusano Akira looked weak and powerless, while Chihaya Aine stood with her arms crossed, chest out and head held high, exuding the aura of a strong person, full of energy unlike someone who had stayed up all night.

"I only tried a little harder last night. Now please call me the guitar goddess, Chihaya Aine."

Although she tried her best to appear nonchalant, a confident smile played on Chihaya Aine's lips, and a confident glint shone in her eyes.

"Aine, here's a band-aid." Takamatsu Akari noticed the thick dark circles under Chihaya Aine's eyes and quickly took a band-aid from her pencil case and handed it to her.

"Although a band-aid won't cure dark circles, thank you anyway, Dengdeng." Aiyin said softly, taking the band-aid and putting it in her pocket.

"Ming, this is yours..."

After seeing Chihaya Aine take the band-aid, Takamatsu Akira looked at Kusano Akira's position and handed him a band-aid with a penguin pattern on it.

"Thanks."

"Tell me, Mingming, what's wrong with you? You stayed up late a few days ago too, but you weren't this tired as you are today."

Aine looked at Kusano Akira, who was leaning back in his chair, almost completely exhausted, and asked curiously.

"I only tried a little bit, Yinyin."

"That's a disgusting name."

"That's exactly what I was thinking."

After exchanging a few words with Aine, Kusano Akira waved goodbye to the two of them and then drifted off to sleep.

I had a dream today that was somewhat similar to one I had before.

Qi didn't have those strange figures in his dream today. In this dream, Chihaya Aine didn't invite him to form a band with her in high school. Instead, he just drifted through the three years of high school without fulfilling his wish to make friends, although he seemed to have some connection with a band in another place.

Aine and her friends still formed a band and became quite famous. They can even have their headshots displayed on a big screen in Tokyo now.

As Kusano Akira sat in the izakaya, watching the group of people looking radiant on TV, he sighed at the impermanence of life while clinking glasses with his newly acquainted drinking buddies.

Her drinking buddy is also the lead singer of a famous band, and she is quite well-known in Shimokitazawa. However, it is said that because of her drunken antics, although she is very talented, only a few live houses are willing to accept her.

After Kusano Akira was dragged back home by her band's drummer while crying, making a scene, and acting crazy, he said goodbye with a smile and headed home.

His vision was blurry from consuming too much alcohol, and just as he was about to fall to the ground, a pair of strong hands grabbed him. As he was about to thank them, the owner of the hands covered his mouth with a towel, and no matter how much he struggled, he couldn't break free from that strange, immense force.

He quickly fell into a coma due to lack of oxygen. Before he lost consciousness, he heard a voice saying "This time, it's just me" and a strand of pink hair.

drought demon……………………

Kusano Akira woke up with a start, looking around in shock.

It seems to be lunch break now. Ai Yin and Deng have gone out to eat, and there are hardly any people left in the classroom.

He touched his forehead, which was covered in a layer of cold sweat from fear, his fingers trembling slightly.

His dreams have been getting stranger and stranger lately.

"Huh? You're awake? You woke up so early today. I thought you were going to sleep until school was over."

Ai-yin and Deng walked back to the classroom. Ai-yin had an ice cream in her mouth, and her dark circles had completely disappeared. She walked back to her seat with light steps, showing no signs of the fatigue she had shown in the morning.

"You look terrible, did you have a nightmare?"

Aine was eating ice cream as she spoke. She looked at Kusano Akira's expression, which seemed to have survived a disaster, and asked in confusion.

"...A nightmare? Maybe."

Kusano Akira shook his head, got up and went to the sink to wash his face and clear his head.

After washing his face, Kusano Akira returned to the classroom. There was still some time before the lunch break ended, so he opened his phone and glanced at the messages. Apart from Chihaya Aine's usual barrage of messages, almost all of them were advertisements for various software.

He was swiping the screen absentmindedly when suddenly a cucumber flower avatar caught his eye.

Ruo Yemu sent him a message at 9:50 a.m.

Su Shi wants to find Xiang.

Akira frowned. Sho should be referring to Toyokawa Shoko, right? Did Wakaba Mutsu send him this message because she wanted to say something, or was she asking for his help?

That said, why look for him?

Volume 1: Chapter 8. Accomplices

After school

"Let's go, Ming, it's time to go to rehearsal."

3-Chihaya Aine walked to Kusano Akira's table and placed her hands on the tabletop.

"Ah, speaking of which, you guys should all travel together today, I have something come up with."

With four hands clasped together, Kusano Akira gave Chihaya Aine and Takamatsu Akari an apologetic smile.

"Why did something suddenly come up? It's not just another excuse because you're shy and don't want to come with us, is it? We don't care, and you don't need to care either, right, Deng?"

Chihaya Aine looked at him with suspicion, trying to tell if he was lying.

"Ah."

Takamatsu Akira nodded, and she and Chihaya Aine stood guard on either side of Kusano Akira's table, as if to prevent him from leaving.

"It's really not because I'm shy, it's just that something suddenly came up."

Kusano Akira looked on in annoyance as his way out was completely blocked by the two women.

"Hmm—are you free tomorrow? You must come with us tomorrow."

"sure."

Chihaya Aine squinted at Kusano Akira for a long time until he felt uneasy under her gaze, then she let go of him, took Takamatsu Akira's hand, and walked outside together.

"Let's go, light."

"it is good."

Takamatsu Akari was led away by Chihaya Aine like a doll, but before leaving, she gave Kusano Akira a long, wistful look.

After the two girls had been out of the classroom for a while, and after making sure he wouldn't run into them at the main gate, Kusano Akira picked up his keyboard and schoolbag and went outside.

After seeing Ruoye Mu's message at noon, Ruoye Mu did not reply to anything he sent. Left with no other choice, he could only ask if they should meet in person.

This time they did reply, although the notification was sent out close to the end of the school term.

They agreed to meet at the entrance of Haneoka after school. (The rest of the text appears to be a garbled string of characters and doesn't translate directly.)

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

As I approached the school gate, a beautiful figure stood there. Whether it was because she was amazed by her outstanding appearance or for some other reason, the students passing by were all talking about her.

The girl seemed completely unconcerned, ignoring the opinions of those around her, and simply stood at the school gate, waiting for someone to appear.

Kusano Akira sighed as he noticed that all the passersby's eyes were focused on Wakaba Mutsu. He then took out his phone and sent her a message.

【Mu-san, could you please move a little to the left of the school? There are too many people here.】

【it is good. 】

Seeing that Wakaba Mutsu took out her phone, glanced at it, and then started walking towards the left side of the school, Kusano Akira quickly kept a distance from Wakaba Mutsu and followed in her direction.

When they reached a less crowded area, Kusano Akira quickened his pace to catch up with Wakaba Mutsu and patted her on the back.

"Hey."

When Wakaba Mutsu turned around, he saw Kusano Akira following him. His eyes remained calm and expressionless, and he simply turned around and nodded.

"So, can we tell you the situation now, Mu?"

"..."

Ruo Ye Mu remained silent.

"...Xiao Mu?"

"..."

Wakaba Mutsumi and Kusano Akira stood there, staring at each other.

Although she successfully met with Wakaba Mutsumi, she remained silent upon seeing her.

Kusano Akira looked helplessly at the girl in front of him. Her black hair was flowing and her features were exquisite. From any angle, she was undoubtedly a beautiful girl.

It's no exaggeration to say that even some popular actresses, no matter how heavily made up they wear, can't compare to her completely natural look.

Any guy would be so happy he couldn't sleep if he could be friends with a girl this beautiful—provided she would even talk to you.

Even though they had already met, she still didn't say anything, making it impossible to guess what she was thinking.

"Anyway, let's talk as we go. I still have to rehearse later, and time is very tight."

Kusano Akira scratched his head in annoyance. He had already wasted a lot of time, and if he didn't go soon, Shiina Tatsuki would probably smash his head with a drumstick.

Although Shiina Tatsuki is actually a very gentle person, he is unlikely to actually resort to violence; at most, he'll just pretend.

"So, what did you mean by saying that Suze was coming to see Toyokawa-kun?"

Kusano Akira asked casually, glancing at Wakaba Mutsu's face as he secretly looked at her.

The girl's light green hair swayed gently with the movement of her feet. Although she always had a blank expression, her petite body made her even more endearing.

Even Kusano Akira, who doesn't consider himself someone who judges by appearance, had to admit that among all the people he had met in his life, few could rival Wakaba Mutsumi's looks.

However, since starting high school, beautiful girls of this caliber have sprung up like mushrooms after rain, especially the girls in the band "Zhongling," who are basically comparable to Ruoye Mu.

"Su Shi... has always wanted to rebuild Crychic."

When Ruo Yemu finally spoke, she lowered her eyes slightly to conceal her emotions.

"So she kept looking for Xiang, but Xiang couldn't form a band."

"There must be a reason why we can't form a band."

Kusano Akira opened his phone and searched for something using "Toyokawa" as the keyword.

"Ah, is this it? 'The Toyokawa family is facing a major economic crisis, and the Toyokawa family's end is imminent!!!' This news?"

Kusano Akira read the news headline aloud, word by word.

"..."

Without replying to Kusano Akira, Wakaba Mutsu focused his gaze on the handbag, remaining silent like a doll.

"So that's the cruel reason. Then it's definitely not the time to play in a band anymore."

Having learned the reasons for Crychic's disbandment, Kusano Akira spoke with some sympathy for Toyokawa Shoko.

If his family had fallen on hard times, he probably wouldn't have been interested in playing in a band anymore.

"Why don't you just say the reason? I don't think anyone here is a bad person. If you say it, everyone will understand."

"Xiang, I don't want her to search:仈)∷伍（×期(＿We know."

Upon hearing Wakaba Mutsu's words, Kusano Akira frowned slightly, but then seemed to understand Toyokawa Shoko's thoughts.

"...So you're saying that Toyokawa-kun is going through puberty, that his family has fallen on hard times but he doesn't want his friends to know because he thinks it's shameful?"

"But you can tell Su Shi secretly. As long as you explain the cause and effect, she will definitely keep your secret."

"Su Shi is very dedicated to the band."

"About Crychic? I don't think Su Shi is the kind of person who is unreasonable, no matter how persistent she is."

Kusano Akira saw a vending machine, walked over and put some money in it, but the drink got stuck halfway down.

"A vending machine selling canned drinks is the most anti-human design ever," Kusano Akira muttered to himself as he tried his best to get the drink out.

"However, my understanding of Su Shi is not as deep as yours. I guess you have your own insights."

"Let's solve this together. Anyway, I'll get annoyed if Su Shi keeps thinking about Crychic."

Kusano Akira handed a can of beverage to Wakaba Mutsu, who took it in a daze.

"…it is good."

"So, Mu, could you tell me in detail what happened when Crychic disbanded?"