Aspiring to be a girl in a band

"A lifetime... pfft... a band for a lifetime."

Arakawa Kirika admitted that she hadn't laughed so freely in a long time.

These two are indeed quite high-class toys.

They've only known each other for such a short time, yet they've already provided me with such high-quality laughs.

Aine and Akari were quite surprised by Arakawa Kirika's reaction.

It's worth noting that, aside from her somewhat intimidating and dignified demeanor, Arakawa Kirika's usual image always possesses an elegant and pure quality.

This is what is known as the "feeling of a young lady from a wealthy family".

In just a few days, Aine and Akari both tacitly wanted to get closer to Arakawa Kirika, but to say that they didn't feel inferior when facing Arakawa Kirika would be a lie.

Just a second ago, in Aine and Akari's hearts, Arakawa Kirika was an unattainable figure.

But then the other party's unrestrained laughter rang out.

For some reason, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief.

Because they vaguely felt that, at that very moment, the distance between them and Arakawa Kirika had somewhat narrowed.

Moreover, they could also sense that although Arakawa Kirika was laughing unrestrainedly, she wasn't maliciously mocking them.

Arakawa Kirika probably genuinely felt that saying "I'll be in a band for life" was incredibly funny.

Ai-yin and Tama exchanged a knowing glance, both noticing the awkwardness in each other's eyes.

After all, revealing such a private conversation between the two of them to a third party is problematic.

In every sense, it seems quite shameful.

……

After a while, Arakawa Kirika finally finished laughing and returned to calm.

Having composed herself, she began to speak.

"While maintaining a fantasy can be beneficial to mental health, I still have a piece of advice for you, Lamp."

Arakawa Kirika hooked Touka's chin with her index finger, forcing Touka not to escape her sight.

Her aggressive, blood-red pupils stared directly into the lamp's eyes, as if trying to pierce through its body and reach its very core.

Lamp clenched her fists, knowing that Arakawa Kirika was about to say something hurtful to her.

But... if it were now, I think I... could handle it.

She wants to prove herself and that she has made some progress.

"If you form a band with the goal of 'a lifetime,' you're destined to fail."

Arakawa Kirika said with certainty.

Ai-yin, who was standing to the side, wanted to speak up for her, but suddenly realized that... Akari seemed much stronger than usual. Even though Arakawa Kirika had directly crushed her dream, Akari's expression did not waver.

I know, of course I know...

From a very young age, Deng knew that he was out of place in the world, which is why he always drew puzzled looks from those around him.

Just like yesterday, Aine must be confused by the request she made out of nowhere.

But... she didn't want to back down.

"To be in a band for life" remains her unwavering pursuit.

The lamp looked directly into Arakawa Kirika's eyes without any fear.

"What's the reason?"

Even if the other person is Kirika, whom she cares about and wants to get close to, Tohru will never allow anyone to destroy her most steadfast belief.

gorgeous.

Arakawa Kirika softened her sharpness, a hint of tenderness appearing in her eyes.

Isn't that possible, lamp?

She began to find Deng's gray eyes quite pleasing to the eye.

Now the lamp has finally become delicious and has become something she can play with.

"Speaking of which, I read a report about lights before."

The lamp remained fixed on Arakawa Kirika's eyes, unaffected by her words.

Arakawa Kirika didn't seem to care, but spoke again.

"Some very boring media outlets did a statistic: last year, how many couples across the country celebrated their golden wedding anniversary? Guess how many couples did it?"

The lamp's pink brows furrowed slightly; she wondered what Arakawa Kirika's question had to do with her ambition to "form a band for life."

Seeing that the lantern had no intention of answering, Arakawa Kirika continued.

"Less than 20 couples, less than 20 couples nationwide."

"And the couples interviewed basically all admitted that they had the urge to strangle each other at least 100 times in the past 50 years. You know what that means, Light."

The lantern's expression finally changed, and her initial firm demeanor began to waver. Clearly, she was beginning to understand what Arakawa Kirika was trying to express.

"Even the closest lovers, in a 50-year marriage, will have at least 100 impulses to strangle each other, let alone... a band member's whole life."

"In your imagined 'lifetime,' your band is destined to encounter all sorts of difficulties. Are you really confident that you can resolve them peacefully? Even today, you still don't dare to take the initiative to talk to Xiangzi."

"Perhaps you'll be lucky enough to meet a group of teammates who are willing to accept you, but in this world, nothing is more cruel than time."

"The three years of high school are easy to manage, since they pass by in the blink of an eye. But what about after that?"

“You might go to different universities, and then you might even work in different cities. So how are you going to form a band that lasts a lifetime?”

“Okay, let’s take it a step further. Even if your band becomes professional and all the members don’t have to separate, and everyone can stay together to do this business, all sorts of conflicts will arise within the band. How do you plan to resolve that, Light?”

"Are you just going to keep waiting for a kind person to solve everything for you, and then all you have to do is shout the slogan 'Forever'?"

"If that's really the case... it means your level of awareness is only this level."

"Any relationship that you want to maintain in the long term must be a two-way street. If you are still like this, only accepting other people's kindness but never willing to take responsibility for other people's lives, then 'a lifetime' is just an empty phrase."

……

The lamp's head had been drooping silently for some time now.

Her slogans, uttered with fervent passion, were utterly dismissed by Arakawa Kirika.

Even more fatal is... the lamp cannot refute it.

It wasn't until Arakawa Kirika laid out various real-world problems before her that she realized how unrealistic her fantasy of "a lifetime" was.

But just when Deng himself was feeling somewhat disheartened.

Ai Yin couldn't stand it anymore; she wasn't willing to just be a bystander.

So she intervened in the conversation.

"But... didn't Arakawa-san also say that there are a total of 20 couples who have reached the milestone of their golden wedding anniversary?"

"Although this is a very small number when viewed from a national perspective."

"But if someone can do it, it means the probability isn't zero, right?"

Even unrealistic wishes have a chance of success. That chance may be small, but it's not entirely impossible, is it?

"I think... this is what they call 'hope'."

"Moreover... if you have to set goals and make thorough preparations before you take any action, life would be too difficult."

"I think sometimes, even if the future is uncertain, charging ahead with the momentum of a pig might actually yield good results."

"So... even if there's a 99% chance of failure, it doesn't mean it's doomed."

……

"Anon-chan... thank you."

These words clearly touched Deng, rekindling a flame in her heart.

At that moment, the way the lamp addressed Aine took on a more intimate form.

Arakawa Kirika's joyful expression suddenly vanished.

She started to feel a little irritated.

Why... is this pink-haired girl always so optimistic and positive?

It always exudes this nauseating warmth.

Arakawa Kirika wanted more and more to make the pink-haired girl cry immediately, to see her in despair.

But... now is not the time.

Arakawa Kirika reminded herself that high-end ingredients often require patient and careful cooking, so she simply snorted and sat back down in her seat without saying a word.

She wouldn't admit that she was persuaded by Aine.

She was just beginning to look forward to the day when their band would truly fall apart.

Will this pink-haired guy, who's making such a grand pronouncement, still be able to keep smiling?

Volume 1: Author's Note on Launching the Book

Before I knew it, I had reached 12 words and was preparing to publish it. Although I didn't have much to say, I still had to fill in the word count.

This story is just a crazy thing I did after watching Mygo, so I didn't expect to make any money from it.

In the process of writing, I don't like my protagonists to be completely encompassed by a simple "bad woman" label, so I try to give the protagonist more complexity, making her hateful, but also lovable.

As for the main character's design, I actually thought about using AI to generate a few character illustrations, but I wasn't very satisfied with the ones that came out.

If you need a visual representation to imagine it, it would be roughly like Kaguya Shinomiya during her icy period, a bit more corrupted.

As for that self-centered personality, it does have a bit of a golden, glittery feel to it, it's just a pity it's not blonde (laughs).

The protagonist's love of reading was actually inspired by an old anime called "The Bookshelf of Dantalian," which I wonder how many people still watch it today.

The female protagonist's personality also draws on some elements from Dantalian.

……