Mygo, are you all yanderes?

[Shiina Tatsuki: Just kidding.]

As soon as Kusano Akira saw the message, his phone received a call from Shiina Tatsuki. He answered it, and the girl's cold and tired voice came through the speaker to Kusano Akira's ears.

"Hey, can you hear me?"

"can hear."

"It's good that you can hear me. Is there anything I can do for you so late?"

Shiina Tatsuki leaned back in her chair, turned her head to the side, and held her phone between her shoulder and ear. She hooked her fingers around a can of coffee and with a slight pull, the tab popped open with a 'hiss'. After taking a small sip, she looked away from the complex computer screen, gently closed her eyes, and spoke to Kusano Akira in a relaxed tone.

"You seem to be in a good mood?"

Hearing Shiina Tatsuki's tired yet relaxed tone, Kusano Akira asked with a smile.

"is very good."

Shiina Tatsuki was indeed in a good mood. She didn't know why, but ever since the headache she had during her conversation with Kusano Akira, she had inexplicably started to have a lot of inspiration in her mind. Countless melodies began to swirl in her head, and even her work efficiency had increased significantly.

It even gave her the feeling that perhaps Toyokawa Shoko couldn't compare to her current burst of inspiration.

Volume 1: Chapter 79. The Reasons for Crychic's Disbandment (2k)

Search "What happy thing happened?"

So replied, "I guess so."

Q Shiina Riki gently rubbed her temples and said in a relaxed tone.

U: "Stop beating around the bush, you're calling me out of the blue for a reason, right? Just tell me."

"Ok."

Upon hearing Shiina Tatsuki directly point out his thoughts, Kusano Akira stopped chatting with her and directly said what he wanted to say.

"Lixi, do you remember what you said to me before practice?"

Kusano Akira stood up, grabbed the green stone, leaned against the wall, and gently rubbed the smooth surface of the stone with his fingertips, staring intently at the pitch-black outside the window.

"Remember, what happened?"

"It seems you weren't the only one who thought I was a jerk."

"...I know, Su Shi thinks so too, right?"

Three, "You know?"

Kusano Akira was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected that Shiina Tatsuki also knew about this, and even said it earlier than him.

However, this was also a good thing for him, as it meant he wouldn't have to put in so much effort to talk to Shiina Tatsuki about Nagasaki Motoyo.

“I know, Su Shi has told me about you.”

"That's what I told you when we disbanded?"

"Hmm, so this is what's bothering you?"

"If that were all, I wouldn't have come to find you. There's something else going on—you know Toyokawa-san, Toyokawa Shoko, right?"

"You've even hooked up with Xiangzi. But since Xiangzi works in Yuqiu, it's not surprising that you two know each other..."

Upon hearing Shiina Tatsuki's words, Kusano Akira frowned. He seemed to have some clue as to how Nagasaki Motoyo knew that Toyokawa Shoko was in Haneoka.

"You also know that Toyokawa-san is in Haneoka?"

"I know, it was Deng who brought it up today—is it related to your troubles?"

"...That's right."

After figuring out the whole story, Kusano Akira felt somewhat annoyed with himself.

If he had known it would turn out this way, he would have told Takamatsu Akira beforehand not to tell Nagasaki Motoyo about Toyokawa Shoko's news, and he wouldn't be worrying about this now.

"Lixi, what did you two talk about tonight? Can you tell me?"

"I didn't say anything, you already know everything—and the fact that you know Mu, that's why Su Shi thinks you're that kind of person."

"I see……"

A familiar feeling welled up in Kusano Akira's heart. He suddenly felt as if he had been put into a washing machine. The world in front of him began to spin and turn upside down, and he heard a sound like a raging wind.

Although he managed to brace himself against the wall in time, his legs inexplicably lost their strength, leaving him only able to kneel on the ground.

He looked at the stone in his hand. The patterns on the stone's surface seemed to glow with a mysterious light. Dark green light spots rose from the stone's surface patterns and gradually spread to every corner of the room. As he watched this strange scene, the pain in his brain became clearer and the familiar feeling became stronger.

"Something similar has happened before...?"

Kusano Akira felt that what was happening now seemed to have happened before, the same scene, the same time, and the same person he was chatting with.

"..."

"..."

"Kusano, are you still there?"

After hearing Kusano Akira say those words and then disappearing without a trace, Shiina Tatsuki asked him a question out of curiosity.

"...I'm still here. Sorry, something just came up."

Although the feeling grew stronger, Kusano Akira couldn't remember anything no matter what he did. The pain and dizziness gradually disappeared, and he only came to his senses when he heard Shiina Tatsuki's words.

After giving a hasty reply, he looked at the stone in his hand with a strange expression. Now it lay quietly in Kusano Akira's hand, behaving just like an ordinary stone, without any of the eerie feeling it had just given him.

"illusion……?"

"So, can you tell me now? What you wanted to talk to me about?"

Shiina Riki wasn't impatient with Kusano Akira wasting her time. After finishing the rest of her coffee in one gulp, she asked another question.

"Ah, okay..."

Although he was somewhat concerned about the sudden incident, Kusano Akira did not forget why he had come to see Shiina Tatsuki. After thinking for a moment, he replied.

"Su Shi is going to find Toyokawa-kun at the entrance of Haneoka School tomorrow."

"Tch, she really hasn't given up after all..."

Shiina Tatsuki's initially good mood suddenly turned sour. Just as she had expected, Nagasaki Motoyo hadn't given up on her little scheme with that Crychic.

"For many reasons, I cannot let Su Shi meet with Toyokawa-kun now, so I must stop Su Shi."

"If it's just preventing them from meeting once or twice, then I can manage that."

“But now that Su Shi knows Toyokawa’s school address, she will definitely not give up after just one or two times.”

"I don't know how to handle this, so I thought I'd ask Lixi if you have any good ideas, since you're very reliable."

"What you're saying is very reliable..."

Shiina Riki's pretty face flushed slightly. She supported herself on the table with her hands, her beautiful violet eyes reflecting the complex musical score on the computer screen as she pondered Kusano Akira's question.

"Why can't we let Xiangzi and Su Shi meet and talk things out?"

As soon as he said that, Shiina Tatsuki laughed at his own stupid question.

If Shoko Toyokawa were truly someone who could speak her mind so easily, then the disbandment of Crychic wouldn't have been so awkward.

She wouldn't 'dislike' Toyokawa Shoko to this extent.

"Well... Lixi, if anyone asks you about zero, you absolutely mustn't tell them."

After hearing what Shiina Tatsuki said, Kusano Akira hesitated for a long time before deciding to tell her some information.

Do you know why Toyokawa left Crychic?

"Reason? What other reason could there be? That guy just got tired of the band..."

"Try searching these two keywords: 'Toyokawa Group' and '168 billion'."

Kusano Akira offered a reminder.

"Toyokawa Group? 168 billion?"

Shiina Tatsuki searched for the two keywords, her long, slender fingers flying across the keyboard. She read the news articles that appeared in the search results, word by word.

"'The Toyokawa family is facing a major economic crisis, and the Toyokawa family's end is imminent!!!' What is this...?"

"The Toyokawa family is actually still doing well, far from the extent you perceive."

Kusano Akira added that after talking to Wakaba Mutsu that day, he went back and looked into the matter a little.

"But this is indeed related to Toyokawa-kun."

Volume 1: Chapter 78 (80) - Reluctant to Part (2k)

"Lixi, have you seen that person named 'Toyokawa Kiyoko'?"

"I saw him, could he be...?"

"Toyokawa's father."

"..."

Shiina Tatsuki's throat bobbed twice, and his face turned somewhat pale. ☆! 〉〃](∨

She really couldn't believe that Toyokawa Shoko's reason for leaving Crychic was like this. No wonder she acted so strangely that day. If Shiina Tatsuki herself had experienced something like this, she wouldn't be able to guarantee that she could control her emotions.

"Is this what happened to Xiangzi?"

"Yes."

Although there was no one opposite him, Kusano Akira still nodded habitually. He paused for a moment, and seeing that Shiina Tatsuki did not intend to speak, he continued.

"What follows is just my subjective speculation. The reason why Toyokawa doesn't want to see you is because she is ashamed to see you because of this incident. Simply put, it's a matter of pride during adolescence."

"..."

"So Toyokawa can't meet with any of you—especially Suze. I've also heard Mutsu talk about what Toyokawa was like in the past. Toyokawa now seems a bit different from what you know. If she meets with Suze, it probably won't be anything good."

"So I hope you can help me, Lixi."

"..."

"I understand."

Shiina Tatsuki put her phone on speakerphone on the table, then pressed her free hands against her head and sighed in frustration.

"So your requirement is to prevent Su Shi from catching Xiangzi at school?"

“That’s right, Qi. Su Shi and Toyokawa attend different schools, so her available time is limited. Qi only has the eight hours after school when she has a chance to meet Toyokawa, so all we need to do is…”

What if Su Shi skips class?

Shiina Tatsuki interrupted Kusano Akira, expressing her concerns.

"...Su Shi wouldn't skip class, would she?"

"Hey, don't think that just because Su Shi is the young lady of Tsuki no Mori, you have any 'good girl' filter for her."

Shiina Tatsuki said helplessly to Kusano Akira, while quickly closing the news interface displayed on the computer screen.

The news about the Toyokawa family made her feel suffocated.

"Don't have any bias towards people like Crychic just because they're your idols."

"Lixi, you're not much better at handling lamps than I am..."

Kusano Akira said in a low voice.

"Huh?! What do you know? Deng and Su Shi are completely different!"

Upon hearing Kusano Akira's words, Shiina Tatsuki let out a dissatisfied "ha!"

"In short, don't take any chances. If it's just once or twice, she won't skip class. But if you can't find Xiangzi for too long, do you think she'll do that?"

"Besides, even if we can get away with it this time, what will we do in the future? We can't just keep doing this until we graduate from high school, can we?"

"Hmm...I know that too..."

Kusano Akira put his hand on the back of his head, fiddling with his hair as he spoke with a puzzled expression.

"But that's all we can do. I'm afraid if Su Shi and Feng Chuan meet, she might get so upset that she quits the band..."

"...There's more than one bassist in the world..."

Hearing Kusano Akira's words, Shiina Tatsuki, though also feeling the same worry, still stubbornly insisted on her words.

"But it would be best if Su Shi were still here."