Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

Sushi questioned.

It was clearly a question, but the tone sounded a little like crying.

Because Xiangzi doesn't want you to know about our connection...

Such words were about to come out of her mouth, but after a moment of thought, Qiu Hui still didn't say it.

The repetitive words spoken in a panic just now have obviously irritated Su Shi's emotions.

This mistake made Akie realize that, although the reason was unknown, after the "Kasuga Shadow Performance Incident", she was now like a bomb that could explode at any touch.

In this situation, if I bring up what happened with Xiangzi again, it would probably irritate her further.

But not telling the truth means telling a lie.

And Qiu Hui also doesn't want to deceive Su Shi.

After all, she was the bassist of that band anyway. After this incident was resolved, she would continue to form a band with Deng and everyone for the rest of their lives.

Therefore, Qiu Hui realized that the only thing she could do now seemed to be silence.

She pursed her lips and silently accepted Su Shi's questioning.

If this could help her vent her emotions a little and calm down a little...

Although Qiu Hui thought so, Su Shi's questioning ended in an unexpected way.

"Su Shi, if you have any opinions, you can tell me."

Xiangzi, who was walking in front, stopped, turned around, and looked at Su Shi with a frown.

“…Don’t take it out on Akie.”

Xiangzi's tone was kept very polite and restrained.

But Qiu Hui was still shocked.

"Shoko-san, wait a minute..."

As soon as she said this, she realized it was too late.

Coming from Xiangzi himself, he said that he was "biased" towards me. This would only be a greater shock to Su Shi, right?

And the facts were just as Qiu Hui expected.

Although Su Shi's voice of accusing Qiu Hui stopped, she also became pale as a death.

"..."

Qiu Hui realized that whatever she said next would be meaningless and would only cause more trouble.

What happened between Su Shi and Xiangzi seemed to be completely different from what I thought at first.

Without time to react emotionally, Qiu Hui decided to seize the opportunity brought about by this awkward situation and sort out her understanding of the current situation.

I originally thought that Su Shi planned to invite Xiangzi back to the band for the long-term consideration of the band, and it was just a icing on the cake.

As for Xiangzi, due to financial reasons, he could not accept the invitation anyway. Of course, it would not be a big deal even if he refused.

If that is the case, then as long as both parties can make everything clear in this conversation, the final decision should be acceptable to both parties no matter what it is.

Because this isn't an issue that requires a life-and-death fight, right?

However, the current situation is completely different.

What on earth was Su Shi thinking?

……

The four of them walked for an unknown amount of time before they came to an open space that looked like a park.

There were no passers-by around at the moment, which was a perfect opportunity to chat about things that were not to be told to outsiders.

"Let's choose here."

Xiangzi stopped and turned around.

There were still traces of tears on his face, and a stern and resolute expression.

"Xiao Xiang..."

Su Shi finally forced himself to calm down a little, and tried his best to force himself to smile.

Mu stood between the two of them, looking left and right, but when he realized that he seemed unable to do anything, he lowered his head without saying a word.

Qiu Hui stood beside her, and then witnessed the duel with her as a bystander, in which both sides were already covered in wounds before the fight even started.

"As expected, I think I still need to apologize to you first. We didn't originally plan to play Kasuga Kage. Because, this song means a lot to Xiaoxiang..."

Su Shi calmed down and said with a forced smile.

However, before she could finish her words, Xiangzi interrupted her impatiently.

"There's no need to apologize to me for this," she said coldly. "It's your freedom to play whatever song you want."

"But, Kasuga Kage is CRYCHIC's most important..."

"At this point, what's the point of dwelling on the past of that band?" Xiangzi almost glared at Su Shi, "You should have forgotten it, right?"

"……forget?"

Su Shi seemed to be unable to even stand steadily, and his originally dignified standing posture now looked a little out of shape.

"Why would Xiao Xiang ask me to forget? We were so close back then, and we spent every day happily together..."

Rather than answering, Su Shi at this moment seemed to be talking to himself.

"...At this point, everyone has gone their separate ways. Isn't this definitely strange?"

"The band is a community of shared destiny... Weren't you the one who first said that, Xiang?"

This question, on the contrary, completely ignited Xiangzi's anger.

"…So what is this band of yours now?"

Xiangzi clenched his fists.

"Don't you think that what you say is completely contradictory to your actions?"

"You mean 'go your separate ways'? Aren't Deng, Li Xi and you all forming a band now?"

"The band is a community of shared destiny... I never thought you could use this sentence to teach me a lesson."

"Doesn't this new band have any feelings for you, no memories together, and no right for you to do anything to redeem it?"

"You're not even as conscious of this as the backup musician you hired!"

Xiangzi was really angry.

From the moment she met Su Shi, she had been trying to maintain an indifferent but still basically polite attitude.

But she was really angry now.

And there was no way that Nagasaki Suyo was unaware of this.

New band...

The scene from the previous training camp flashed through Su Shi's mind at an inappropriate time.

There are also scenes from practice.

The scene where everyone discusses, argues, and reaches a consensus with great difficulty.

Scene in the aquarium.

There was also a scene earlier, when Togawa Akeie explained everything to Deng in RiNG and helped her get over her emotional problems.

And the origin of everything.

The scene when Suyo meets Aine and Akie in front of the notice board...

Yes.

Be it Aine, Akiie-senpai, or this new band without a name.

Everything is just a tool I use to bring CRYCHIC back to life.

I have done so much and paid so much till now...

...Apart from success, I have no other way to go!

“Please! I…I want CRYCHIC to start over again! I want to get back the happy times we had together… Xiao Deng and Li Xi want the same thing!”

Su Shi took a step forward, tightly pulling the shoulder straps of the shoulder bag with both hands, and the expression on his face was almost pleading.

"Xiao Mu has also agreed to return to the band! Everyone thinks so, so as long as Xiao Xiang..."

“Wait! Wait a minute!”

Suddenly someone interrupted Su Shi.

It’s Akie.

She subconsciously adjusted her glasses out of shock and uneasiness.

"Sushi, you said... you want CRYCHIC to start over?"

Akie opened her eyes wide and stared at her as if she wanted to peel Suze apart.

"Asking Xiangzi back is the best option for this 'nameless band'. You... told me so at the beginning, right?"

Although she was also in a state of extreme shock, Qiu Hui's tone of questioning at this moment was still much gentler than Su Shi's accusations.

However, in the face of such a gentle inquiry, Nagasaki Suyo still couldn't answer a single word.

"So... that's why you consider me an 'enemy'?"

Qiu Hui felt a little dizzy.

"Suyo just wants to rebuild CRYCHIC."

“So, whether it’s me, Aine, or Rakuna, we’re all unwanted ‘outsiders’, we’re all ‘enemies’ that need to be eliminated…”

"…Is that what you thought?"

"Always?"

There was silence.

“If that’s the case, then why did they let outsiders like Aine and I…” Akie continued her analysis, sweat dripping from her forehead and her face tense and uneasy, “Thinking about it, it seems that… it’s because of the light, right?”

A scene from long ago appeared in Qiu Hui's mind.

"Sushi, it seems that... you really did realize the relationship between us and Deng, then..."

"Please stop talking!"

Su Shi shouted in despair. But at this point, this resistance was futile.

Qiu Hui closed her mouth as she wished, but her pale face clearly showed her current mood.

As for Xiangzi, he smiled a mixture of sympathy, contempt and regret and shook his head gently.

"Akie, Suyo really did... deceive you, and deceived everyone."

She looked at Qiu Hui, her eyes full of regret.

"I was hoping you could be here. At first I just wanted you to be with me. But I didn't expect you to hear all this..."

"……well."

Xiangzi shook his head again.

"Let's get back to the point."

She suppressed her anger and put on a cold expression again.

"Sushi, I made an appointment with you to discuss the matter of "CRYCHIC reconstruction" after the performance."

"In that case, now is the time to talk this matter through."

"There's actually no need to explain the conclusion. You should have known it in your heart long ago."

"CRYCHIC is over. It was ended by me, the founder."