Aspiring to be a girl in a band

A long time passed.

The wailing gradually turned into soft sobs.

Only then did Arakawa Kirika, completely satisfied, speak.

Have you thought it through?

Arakawa Kirika stood up and stood in front of Shoko.

Xiangzi was now just kneeling on the ground, completely exhausted from her outburst.

"I...can't do it."

Xiangzi muttered to himself.

She could almost see herself returning to that life of constant anxiety.

My plans and my dreams have all vanished.

But... no matter how terrible the outcome, she still...

I don't want to be a slave.

"Is that so?"

Arakawa Kirika's agitation had reached its peak.

She didn't expect that... her extreme pressure would instead provoke Xiangzi's desperate resistance.

Her plan to force Xiangzi to kneel down... seems to have failed.

No, of course I don't have to fail.

Arakawa Kirika knew very well that if she really wanted to do it...

If she simply lifts her foot and stomps on Xiangzi's face with the sole of her shoe, making her head come into intimate contact with the ground, she can break Xiangzi's last remaining backbone.

But what happens after that?

At that moment, a strange emptiness began to invade her heart.

She began pacing anxiously around the room.

The beast named Arakawa Kirika hesitated, a rare occurrence for it.

She... didn't know what to do.

My head hurts so much.

Arakawa Kirika covered her forehead; the irritation in her heart had gone berserk, tearing at her internal organs like a parasitic beast.

Two voices hovered in her mind.

A voice told her that she was Arakawa Kirika, an absolute powerhouse who had to ruthlessly and forcefully control everything. Since that girl dared to defy her will, she should crush her underfoot.

Another voice reminded her, making her recall why she wanted that girl.

Arakawa Kirika remembered; it was back in elementary school.

Back then, she was just like she is now, wandering around the campus with a restless heart. In this state, she felt she had to destroy something, had to hurt something, in order to calm herself down.

Of course, Arakawa Kirika was very certain that she was not mentally ill.

At least... all the private doctors her family has taken her to since she was a child have said she is perfectly normal.

How did I "wake up" back then?

As she reminisced, Arakawa Kirika was surprised to find herself walking over to the piano.

Piano... the sound of piano.

This is undoubtedly a very crucial hint.

"Can you play the piano now?"

Arakawa Kirika suddenly turned around, looked at Shoko on the ground, and asked in a low voice.

Playing the piano?

Xiangzi's eyes widened slightly. For her, nothing could be easier. Even if she was in a bad state, she was confident that it would not affect her performance level.

"of course can."

Xiangzi's tone finally regained some vitality, after all, this was her proudest ability.

"Then play it for me."

Kirika Arakawa ordered.

……

Toyokawa Shoko was a little confused.

Although it was still in a commanding tone, she felt that Arakawa Kirika's attitude wasn't as forceful anymore.

Even... as she struggled to get up, a sliver of unrealistic fantasy occurred to her.

She wondered if Arakawa Kirika could possibly lend her a hand.

The result, of course, is impossible.

As Xiangzi approached the piano, Arakawa Kirika returned to the sofa, half-lying down with her body slightly curled up and her eyes closed.

Looking at the piano in front of him, Xiangzi felt as if he were seeing an old friend he had not seen for a long time.

Her hand gently caressed the body of the piano, then slowly rested on the keys.

She glanced back at Arakawa Kirika... Originally, she was going to ask her what she wanted to hear, but... seeing that there was no possibility of communication, she decided on the song herself.

"moonlight"

This is a piece she often plays and loves very much.

A romanticized tenderness.

A sorrowful lament.

And... a dark omen.

It perfectly reflects my current state of mind.

The melodious sound of the piano filled the entire room.

Under the influence of the music, Arakawa Kirika gradually calmed down.

She turned to the side and looked in the direction from which the music was coming from.

She saw it.

Under the pale moonlight, Xiangzi's figure was visible.

Although her face looked very weak, it also had a touch of holiness.

Those long, silvery strands shone so brightly in the night, much like the moonlight itself.

And so, in that instant, the lingering image from my memory overlapped before my eyes.

...The music ended.

Xiangzi closed the piano lid and slowly retreated to Arakawa Kirika's side, waiting for her next instruction.

Arakawa Kirika came to her senses.

She handed the two keys to Xiangzi.

"Go back and get a good night's sleep. Don't ever see me with that look on your face again."

Xiangzi was slightly taken aback.

She naturally recognized what the object in front of her was.

One key is for the front door, and the other is for the house.

Does this mean... the other party no longer intends to make things difficult for her?

But before she could speak, she heard Arakawa Kirika add more.

"Tomorrow is a day off, so I want to see you when I wake up."

After saying that, Arakawa Kirika ignored Toyokawa Shoko and went upstairs on her own.

You have to see me when you wake up...

Shoko Toyokawa tried to decipher the meaning of the sentence, but a very serious matter before her prevented her from thinking deeply about it.

She thought of the cheap rental apartment she was living in... She had deliberately rented a place far away so that her friends wouldn't find out her current address.

Toyokawa Shoko quickly took out her phone to check the time.

If I have to get here from the low-rent apartment before Arakawa Kirika wakes up...

How many more hours of sleep can I get?

Volume One: Chapter Eleven: Old Friends

"...What a terrible face."

Shoko Toyokawa stood in front of the bathroom mirror, gently stroking her cheek, and let out a sigh.

Dark circles under her eyes from prolonged lack of sleep, puffiness around her eyes after a good cry, visible tear stains on her cheeks, and bloodshot eyes... all of these made her look incredibly haggard.

"But... I can finally get some rest. I'm so tired."

Toyokawa Shoko's body was exhausted to the extreme. She even had a hallucination that she could fall asleep on the spot if there was a wooden stake to lean against.

But... she can't sleep yet, because that person said...

"You are not allowed to see me with that face again."

Therefore... Xiangzi needs to take good care of himself.

How ironic.

Even though it's someone you absolutely hate... you have to change to cater to their preferences.

But... given Xiangzi's current circumstances, even if he wanted to change things, there's nothing he could do...

Should she get a beauty treatment...? The thought was immediately dismissed; she simply didn't have the money.