Mygo, Takamatsu Touma wants to reverse the future

"Ah, well, I guess so. After all, we're old friends, so it's only right that I show some concern."

Shiina Tatsuki's lips curled into a slight smile as she replied.

Is this concern from an old friend?

Takamatsu walked towards the convenience store door, silently repeating Riki's words in her mind.

The automatic sensor door, sensing the temperature of the guests, slowly opened, and a stream of cold air poured into the store, the force of the wind feeling as if it were pounding the cheeks of those about to leave.

Gao Songdeng had a premonition that if she stepped out of this automatic door now, she might never see Li Xi again.

"Lixi, when do you get off work?"

"When do you get off work? I'll be off at 5 a.m., Tomori. What are you going to do?"

Shiina Tatsuki gave a simple answer, but immediately regretted it as soon as it came out, because Tomori must be planning to do something to her by asking her that question!

"What can I do to Lixi? Especially since Lixi just... doesn't want to acknowledge me."

Takamatsu Akari lowered her head and gave a bitter smile, but immediately, she turned back in Shiina Tatsuki's eyes and approached Shiina Tatsuki step by step.

Instead of staring at each other across the retail counter, Takamatsu Akari turned and walked to Shiina Tatsuki's side, blocking her behind the retail counter.

"Tomori, you... there are security cameras here!"

The black-haired young woman was surrounded, and an indescribable blush crept onto her face.

"Does Lixi think I would do something bad to you?"

"No, that's not what I meant, it's just..."

“Lixi, I just want to say... I’ll wait for you to get off work, and you can take me home... just like ten years ago.”

"Eh?!!"

Sending Tomori home, even after ten years of no contact?

"Lixi, don't you want to?"

"No, no, it's just, it's just me..."

"Anyway, I've already surrounded Lixi here. I won't leave until 5 a.m., but whether Lixi sees me off or not, I won't interfere with Lixi's wishes."

He was as honest with Li Xi ten years from now as he was with Li Xi in real life.

Whether it's the dream world or reality, as long as Li Xi still loves her, she believes... Li Xi would make the same choice no matter which world she's in!

"Is Tomori threatening me?"

"No... This was a discussion and negotiation between Lixi and me, because I believed that Lixi would definitely take me home."

Takamatsu Akari's brows were free of the gloom and unease of the past, and she gazed at the girl with bright, tender eyes. This long-awaited reunion... made Shiina Tatsuki feel her heart pounding for the first time in ten years.

"Phew—tomori, you're completely different today than before."

Ten years is a long time, long enough to really change a person. Although Tomori is still quiet, cute, and a little timid, Shiina Ritsuki can sense that Tomori's heart has undergone earth-shattering changes.

“I understand, Tomori. I will take you home, just like... ten years ago.”

A gentle breeze rippled across the water, but she wasn't sure how long the ripples would last. If Tomori knew everything about her now, he would probably be disappointed in her.

With mixed feelings, Shiina Tatsuki gazed at the street scene outside the glass window, not turning back for a long time.

Volume 3, Ten Years of Mygo: Chapter 3, Shiina Tatsuki

At five o'clock in the morning, Shiina Tatsuki, who worked the night shift, finished her shift on time. But today was different from usual. A gray-haired girl wearing a scarf was by her side.

This girl was the one she had been longing for.

"Tomori, is your house still in that place?"

Shiina Tatsuki said this, then walked past her rented room, but she didn't say anything to Takamatsu Akira.

For some reason, she rented an apartment on her own, then moved to the vicinity of Haneoka and found a job at a nearby convenience store, and perhaps she knows the reason for that now.

"That's my parents' house... I've moved out on my own now. But it's not far from here."

"Is that so? Then Tomori, lead the way for me."

She said she would take him home, but Shiina Tatsuki herself didn't even know where Takamatsu Akari's home was now. A sense of contradiction grew in her heart.

It was the same thing I did before—taking Tomori home—but why did I feel so conflicted?

Perhaps the things haven't changed, but the people and time have?

Time flies. A place may remain a place, but the flow of people passing through it will increase or decrease, just as old buildings on the street will be demolished and new storefronts will be handed over, and so on in a cycle.

Nothing lasts forever or remains unchanged over time.

Shiina Riki kept her head down and remained silent until Takamatsu Akari's voice called from ahead, at which point she stopped and raised her head.

We've arrived at Tomori's house.

The gray-haired girl opened the apartment door a crack, and the ceiling light in the entryway was turned on.

The door opened, letting in light. The girl beside her turned around, pulled out the key, and looked directly at her. Her serene expression said nothing, yet it seemed to say everything.

"Lixi."

Takamatsu Akari just kept calling her name.

"Tomori, it's getting late, you should get some rest."

Shiina Tatsuki ultimately chose the only option he believed to be correct.

She shouldn't dwell on unfounded possibilities anymore; she doesn't even have the right to reach out and touch that light now.

In Gao Songdeng's eyes, Li Xi took two steps back, and those once bright purple gem-like pupils no longer looked at her.

"Lixi, I'd like to invite you in."

Takamatsu took the black-haired girl's right hand, causing her to pause.

“It’s getting late… Tomori, I can’t disturb Tomori’s rest.”

"This is... Li Xi's lie."

Having been deceived many times in real life, she had long since figured out what Li Xi would say when he lied after they shared the same feelings.

"Li Xi is always like this, saying things against his conscience under the guise of doing what's best for others, but in the end, only he gets hurt."

Even ten years later in the dream timeline, Lixi's personality is exactly the same as in reality.

Ten years can indeed change a lot, but some things will remain the same.

Takamatsu Akari didn't say anything more, but simply moved her feet, turned around, and stood behind Shiina Tatsuki, gently pushing her through the door while holding her shoulders.

Shiina Riki was pushed by the force behind her. At first, she was a little flustered and tried to resist, but in just a moment, she stepped through the crack between darkness and light, and the lights above her head shone on her face.

In the bleak cold of winter, the warmth of the lamp actually brought her a touch of comfort.

“Now that Lixi is in… we can’t run away anymore.”

With a smile on his face, Takamatsu Tō walked into the living room first and turned on all the heaters.

"..."

Turning back now, opening the door, taking a step, and leaving could all be done in one smooth motion, because Takamatsu Teng hadn't locked the door.

In other words, if Shiina Tatsuki wants to leave now, no one can stop her.

"What on earth is going on today?"

Standing motionless in the entryway, Shiina Tatsuki pondered, never imagining that she would suddenly appear in Takamatsu Akari's house like this.

Although it was a rented apartment, this was her first time entering Tomori's private space.

"Phew, we're already here, right? We just need to talk to Tomori properly. Tomori doesn't need to have anything to do with someone like me right now."

She can't hold Tomori back; she has no right to stand beside the dazzling Tomori right now.

"Is this a book?"

The black-haired girl took off her sneakers and stepped barefoot onto the hard wooden floor. Her eyes fell on a bookshelf leaning against the corner of the wall, which was filled with rows of colorful picture books. She pulled one out, and there were five big characters written on it.

Summer of Pill Bugs

The adorable green pill bug blinked its cute big eyes at the sun in the upper right corner, and the lush surrounding environment burst with life—it was the pill bug that had just broken through the dark soil and seen the world.

To the left of the pill bug is the author's name, Takamatsu Tō.

"Ah, that's my work, Lixi."

This picture book is indeed a work by 'Takamatsu Akari,' but it's not actually a work by Takamatsu Akari, Takamatsu Akari thought to herself. But it doesn't really matter, because she had indeed told Nina a story about pill bugs before.

"Wow, Tomori is amazing! Publishing books, children's books, Tomori is a really great author now."

Praise is beyond words; no amount of praise is too much for Tomori now.

"What about Lixi? Lixi keeps talking about me... but what about Lixi herself?"

"I want to know more about Lixi now."

Now, she wants to know everything about Lixi over the past ten years, the good and the bad, no matter what, it's all Lixi!

"What about the drum set? Is Lixi still playing it?"

Takamatsu Akari stood in the center of the living room, and her intense gaze deeply stung Shiina Tatsuki.

"I'm sorry, Tomori, I haven't played the drums in a long time. That thing is useless. Just going to and from get off work every day drains all my energy, so..."

She looked away and gave a simple answer.

"Why? Doesn't Lixi love playing the drums the most?" Gao Songdeng asked.

"Isn't it normal to stop liking something you used to like, Tomori?"

It's human nature to be fickle. In a long ten-year life, some people will stop exercising and give up basketball, while others will stop playing games and let their computers gather dust. She just did the same thing as millions of others, and there's nothing surprising about it.

"Tomori, we're all different now."

Shiina Tatsuki gave a wry smile, trying to suppress Takamatsu Akari's urge to ask further questions.

"Tomori, I won't lie to you. I can't stay by your side anymore. I'm sorry."

"I'm honestly really happy to have met Tomori again, but that's about it."

At twenty-five or twenty-six, not fifteen or sixteen, there are some things that can no longer be said. Shiina Tatsuki's memory of when he last picked up drumsticks is already blurred.

As Shiina Riki's gaze wandered, a group photo of five people quietly entered her field of vision. With just a glance, she suddenly widened her eyes, her pupils suddenly contracting to needle-like sizes, and an incredulous cold light reflected in her crystal-like eyes.

That's a group photo from mygo ten years ago!

Volume 3, Ten Years of Mygo: Chapter 4, Li Xi, are you going to become the most hated person too?

Photos framed in a picture frame can be preserved for a long time, but Shiina Tatsuki never imagined that the photo that Takamatsu Akari would treasure so much would be a photo of mygo, which was their first group photo of the five of them in RiNG.

The former band's drummer swallowed his heavy, truthful words, walked up to the group photo, and looked on with a look of reminiscence.

“Mygo is very important to me, Lixi.”

Gao Songdeng was unsure what complex thoughts and feelings Lixi would have upon witnessing the group photo, but she was determined to tell Lixi her true wishes.

Does it matter? Perhaps.

The black-haired girl's eyes dimmed, and a self-deprecating smile appeared on her lips, but it quickly vanished.

There's no point in talking about this now. After all, after Kasuga Kage's performance, Sose left the group, Aine left the group, and Akari stopped coming to the practice room to train. Everything was no different from when Crychic disbanded.

During the months following the band's disbandment, she did feel anger, confusion, and disappointment at Su Shi, but as time passed, these feelings of resentment became less important.

The Tomori before us has largely changed, but there is no time machine like a drawer in this world. Regret and changes afterward are insignificant; once a rift is formed, it is destined to be irreparable.

Moreover, Shiina Riki knew that she had lost even the tools and ability to sew.

"Tomori, I have something to tell you."

Like cannon fodder soldiers heading to the battlefield without hesitation, the black-haired girl took the initiative to approach Gao.

Song Deng's eyes held a resolute look.