Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

The relationship between Shiina Riki and Iruma Hibiki has long been no secret in Ring.

Even among the senior members of girl bands, there are more people who don’t know than those who do.

After all, when the alien composer first became popular, Ring was also the center and core point of discussion.

"do not know."

Shiina Riki replied gloomily.

"Sorry, Senior, did I ask an inappropriate question?"

"It's ok."

In fact, it’s a bit late to realize it until now.

Shiina Riki's mood became somewhat depressed.

"Lixi, someone's looking for you at the front desk."

"Eh?"

Suddenly, the backstage door was opened and a front desk receptionist stuck his head out.

"Who is looking for me?"

Shiina Riki showed an expression of surprise, even a little nervousness.

"It seems to be a boy, he looks quite handsome."

Boys——

"I see."

Shiina Riki, who probably had some guesses, put down the work in his hands.

"Senior, leave this to me first."

The juniors who worked with him also smiled at Shiina Tatsuki and took over all the backstage work.

"Well, thank you for your help. I'll be back in a moment."

"no problem, no problem."

When Tachibana Shiina walked to the front desk, he saw a somewhat surprising scene.

"Why don't you come?"

Kaname Rakuna had run to the counter at some point and was seriously questioning Iruma Hibiki who came to see Shiina Riki. Behind Iruma Hibiki, Shiina Riki also saw the figures of Nagasaki Suyo and Wakaba Mutsu.

Perhaps since that day, Crychic has never had as many people as it does now.

Of course, even now there are absences.

"I'm sorry, Lenai-chan, I've been in some trouble lately."

Iruma Hibiki explained to Kaname Rakuna, and Shiina Riki also heard this.

When Shiina Riki came in front of Iruma Hibiki, Iruma Hibiki shifted his gaze:

"Lixi, are you off work at 9 o'clock today?"

"Ah, well, about the same, but I might leave a little earlier—"

"Can I take up some of your time after get off work?"

For some reason, Shiina Riki felt a subtle dissatisfaction with this kind of conversation.

"I see."

Perhaps it was the politeness of it that displeased her.

"But what happened?"

Of course, such dissatisfaction is obviously not the most important thing at the moment. Shiina Riki is more concerned about the current weird atmosphere.

?????????

"Something special happened, so there are some things I wanted to discuss with you and Deng. I was thinking about asking you two out together, but we just happened to be here."

-

"Yeah, no problem."

"Then we won't bother you for now. We're in the rehearsal room. When you get off work, just contact us directly."

After confirming the time, Iruma Hibiki took out his Ring membership card and walked towards the counter.

After getting the recognition from Shiina Riki, he felt somewhat relieved.

"Can I come with you?"

Behind her, Nagasaki Suyo was stopped by Kaname Rakuna.

She had also heard of Kaname Rana, or rather, everyone involved in Ring activities had a deep impression of Kaname Rana, the junior high school student.

"practise--"

After asking, Yao Lenai followed without asking for permission, pulling his guitar and a cart that looked like luggage.

"Hiroshi, this is—"

Nagasaki Suyo, who was standing by, asked curiously.

"Le Nai-chan, you're my guitar teacher, so let's try playing together. We have to wait for Li Xi anyway. How long has it been since you last touched the bass, Su Shi?"

Hibiki Iruma asked.

"About a month."

"I haven't played the piano for almost a month. Let me try again today. By the way, is the access control at your house okay?"

"Well, it's okay."

Wakaba Mu shook his head.

"Things here are more important. I'll tell my family."

"It's better not to force it."

"Ah."

Wakaba Mu nodded.

Then the four of them walked towards the rehearsal room.

At the counter, watching this scene, Tatsuki Shiina felt a little puzzled.

But for some reason——

She had a vague premonition.

Maybe the problem that has troubled her for a long time will be solved tonight, because...

Something is wrong.

-

At the dinner table not long ago, probably when Iruma Hibiki threw the topic to Wakaba Mutsu.

Qi Yemu thought for a while before saying:

"It's better to be over."

Perhaps at this moment, Wakaba Mutsu, no matter what the reason, is someone who supports saying goodbye to the past completely and taking a new step.

"Hibiki and Mu, do you plan to form a band in the future?"

Nagasaki Suyo finished her tea, and then the food she ordered was served.

"..."

Wakaba Mu said after thinking for a while:

"No, Xiangzi will be unhappy..."

When saying this, Wakaba Mutsuya showed a sad expression. It was obvious that the breakdown of her relationship with Toyokawa Shoko was not a trivial matter to her.

"It's ringing..."

Nagasaki Suyo asked.

I want to confirm Hibiki Iruma's feelings.

"I will probably continue. In fact, before... I even wanted to continue Crychic by myself, and then go on stage and sing by myself."

"But now it seems that this decision is a bit too..."

"It's a one-person stage."

Nagasaki Suyo smiled like a mama-san and imagined such a scene.

"Though I think Hibiki will be very handsome then."

"But I won't allow that to happen."

"If everyone sees someone's ringing, they will definitely cry."

Then she added.

Iruma Hibiki also gave a wry smile.

“Is that so…”

"Yeah, yeah, the band really is a community of shared destiny. If one person isn't happy, then no one else can be happy... no matter what."

……

Perhaps at the beginning, Nagasaki Suyo said that the purpose of talking about "community of shared future" was just to find a harbor that would make her feel at ease.

However, at this moment, she probably understood the deeper meaning.

"Xiang is the same, Xiangzi is the same, always wanting to take on everything by themselves, but such a thing is impossible."

"Ah."

Rarely, Wakaba Mutsuya agreed with Nagasaki Suyo's words.

-

"Su Shi, Mu, I have something I want to do. Would you like to accompany me?"

When dinner was over, Hibiki Iruma suddenly said this, and they took the train to Ring, back to Ikebukuro, a place filled with various stories and where they thought it would be a brand new beginning.

Ikebukuro today is just like usual.

But the passers-by were completely different from yesterday.

43 An unexpected event before the start

At the very end of the winter vacation, Shiina Riki actually didn't want to work.

Perhaps hoping to do something more meaningful, her elder sister, Shiina Maki, reportedly participated in a competition abroad this month and won a gold medal. The prize included a free trip to the UK, so she spent the entire winter vacation traveling abroad.

It can be said that she gained a lot, and it once again confirmed her status as a genius.

On the contrary, Shiina Riki was like a little monster with its spine removed, lying limp in the room for the entire winter vacation.

She didn't know what she was doing or what she was waiting for, and she was delighted when Iruma Hibiki came back.

But later, this joy disappeared without a trace when we met for the first time.

For some reason, when Shiina Riki met him again, he didn't feel any joy.

Seeing Hibiki Iruma again was what she was looking forward to, and it might even be a turning point in her boring vacation, right?

This is what Shiina Riki thought.

But in fact, when they first met, she felt——

disappointment.

Even troubled.

She felt that Hibiki Iruma had changed a lot.

It was no longer what she expected.

Hibiki Iruma seemed to have calmed down a lot, becoming a real adult, the kind of person who would say, "Band?" This is a bit too naive, think about it, this kind of adult.