Why play in a band if you don't form one for life?

Arisaki turned around and found Kasumi standing there in a daze, looking up at the dome of the park.

"Kasumi?" she asked.

Kasumi came back to her senses, and looked at Arisaki with a strange expression: "Ah-ah. Um. I'm sorry, Arisaki--"

She left as if escaping.

"Hmm?" Yousaki looked in the direction she left, puzzled and with a hint of intuitive uneasiness.

……

"Ah, sorry."

“…It smells so good.”

"Eh?"

"You smell so good! You smell like bread!"

……

Sha Ling sat on the bench outside the door, took out a candy from her pocket, unwrapped it, put it in her mouth, and the sweet taste melted on her tongue.

There was the sound of a door opening beside me.

"I want to get some fresh air, too." Mahiru sat down next to Saya.

The two sat for a while.

Sa Ling waited for the sugar in her mouth to finish melting before she leaned against the wall and spoke slowly: "Hey, Mahiru-chan, can you listen to my story?"

"Yeah." Mahiru just nodded slightly.

……

"You consider me a friend so quickly?"

"Eh?"

"Please give me your guidance, Toyama-san."

"Just call me Kasumi!"

My first encounter with Kasumi was just a coincidence. We met in front of the class list at the beginning of the school year, and we walked into the classroom while chatting.

When she started forming the band, she was just an ordinary friend, providing a little help.

However, I was inexplicably included in the band list on the poster.

At first, I just thought she was a little willful.

My family was in financial difficulty. My mother was ill and could not do heavy work. My father was running the bakery alone. I also had younger brothers and sisters to take care of. I really did not have the energy to enjoy the band. It was for this reason that I had to leave the previous band.

"Come along. If the store is busy, I'll help out. I'll play with Chunchun and the others, and help with their homework. If it's not possible after school, use your lunch break!"

“That’s not possible.”

"That's not impossible!"

Unlike herself who had always avoided her gaze, Kasumi had been staring at her sincerely, as if she had never known what heavy reality was.

No, even if she knew, she would challenge it with those sparkling eyes.

……

"Let me think about this with you..."

That was the first time I saw her cry, and she cried with me.

and also.

On the stage of the cultural festival, a hand was extended to me.

That day, Yamabuki Saya once again became a band girl.

On that day, Toyama Kasumi truly became Yamabuki Saya's star.

From that day on, Sha Ling had been looking up to her and admiring her. She gave her the strength to move forward, but she was not the one closest to her.

Saaya knew that Kasumi's feelings had always been with Arisaki.

Kasumi likes everyone equally, but Yusaki is special.

Only her.

rather than myself.

In Kasumi's sea of stars, she was already late.

If you miss that position, you can never get it back.

Are you envious of Arisa?

Are you jealous of Saki?

It would be a lie to say that I have not experienced anything like this. After all, I am not a saint.

However, Yusaki was also one of her most important friends. The mere thought of jealousy made her hate herself deeply.

So I had decided long ago to suppress this thought deep in my heart and never reveal it.

But...the people around me found their own happiness one after another.

Hinata-san and Sayo-san.

Shizi, Yili and Xido.

Hong Xia and Liang.

Yukina-senpai and Lisa-san.

Karen and Hikari-san.

Why... am I the only one who can't do it?

Why am I the only one who can't catch that ray of starlight?

"Tick-tick-tick-tick-tick."

"Tick-tick-tick-tick-tick."

"Tick-tick-tick-tick-tick."

"Tick-tick-tick-tick-tick."

Chapter 33: Far Sound Music ~Hourートビート~

The giraffe drank from the clear water in the pond: "I thought I was relieved, but the remnants of jealousy still stubbornly lingered."

"I see."

In the stands, Shizi sat on the furry back of a giraffe and listened to it announce: "The fourth day of the Audition, the Revue of the Heart, begins! Dance, sing, and compete with each other!"

On the dim stage, the lights were focused on one side of the stage.

"Eh... even though I've said it three times, it's still so awkward..."

"The light you get in that place,"

"If it could last forever,"

"Poppin' Party Arisaki Ichitani,"

"I also have KirakiraDokidoki... every day."

Arisaki, holding a naginata, rose from the stage. Her clothing style was the same as that of the 99-group, except that her overalls were in the Poppin'Party support color, rose red.

She looked nervously across the stage.

A warm light like that of a bakery was lit up at the other end.

"Even though there are still many obstacles,"

"I also want to hold her hand again."

"Poppin'Party Yamabuki Saya,"

"If you feel embarrassed, you don't have to say it, Arisaki."

Sha Ling, also wearing a rose-red smock, rose from the stage. In her hand, a heavy iron mace hung on the ground.

"Is it Saaya..." Arisaki was a little surprised.

Before he could react to the other party's slightly strange roll call, Arisaki instinctively complained: "Is it possible not to say it?"

"At least Nana-san hardly ever said anything about it." Saaya walked over dragging her iron mace, "She said that most of the time she wasn't interested in talking about it."

“Then I won’t say it anymore…” Yusaki listened to the scraping sound of the iron mace against the ground and took two steps back unconsciously. “Um, Sa-ling, it feels a little scary when you come towards me like this…”

So Sa Ling stopped obediently and stood in the center of the stage.

"Arisaki, are you interested in becoming the protagonist?" she asked, supporting her body with the iron mace.

Arisaki relaxed a little, and used her naginata as a cane: "I'm... okay. If it's possible, I don't mind fighting, but I've already lost. I heard that Yuki and her seniors win every day. I have no hope against them, right?"

"So can we be more casual in this match?" Arisaki looked at the iron mace in Saaya's hand, "That thing looks scary... I don't want to be touched by it."

Sha Ling looked at her weapon and smiled helplessly: "Everyone who sees it says so." She swung it, and the heavy iron mace was wielded as easily as an arm.

Arisaki looked at it and felt a chill on his back again.

"But..." Saaya's eyelids drooped slightly, "Arisaki doesn't want to be the protagonist. I want it very much, but why can't I be one?"

"…Saaya?"

Saaya raised her head again and looked at Arisaki calmly: "Arisaki, you like Kasumi, right?"

“Eh?!” Arisaki was so panicked that he almost lost his balance. He unconsciously let go of the naginata and tried to cover his burning face, but the naginata fell towards him. He had to hold it up again, panicking, “How… How is it possible… I’m not that kind of person… Ahahaha…”

"This is the stage." Saaya said, "It's just me and three audience members on the stage. I believe they won't tell anyone, so Arisaki, just tell me your true feelings, okay?"

Yusaki covered his face and remained silent for a long time.

Sha Ling didn't rush and just waited quietly.

"...Huan." Yusaki's voice came out from between his fingers.

"Hmm?" Sha Ling didn't hear clearly.

Arisaki gritted his teeth and put down his hand: "I just like it! Ah - I don't want to say it anymore!"

She looked at Sha Ling with a little annoyance.

"I like it too." Sa Ling maintained her expression and just said this.

"Huh?" Yousaki was stunned. The blush on her face had not yet faded, but there was no shame or anger in her eyes. "What?"

"I like Kasumi, too." Saaya said, "That kind of liking. It started from the cultural festival."

"Saaya..." Arisaki didn't know what to say.

Sa Ling showed a little self-deprecation: "I didn't intend to say it. We all understand the relationship between you and Kasumi. I always thought that as long as I kept it in my heart, I would be able to let it go one day. But someone pushed me, and I realized that not saying it would only make it more uncomfortable."

"Saaya!" Arisaki interrupted her, "I... I don't want to cause any conflicts with Popipa. If... If Saaya is really in more pain than me... Then... I..."

"Arisaki." Saaya stopped Arisaki from finishing her words, "Kasumi is not a trophy that we can control. She has always liked you. Moreover, I also believe that Arisaki's love for Kasumi is not less than mine. If I say it now, it means I have already admitted it."

“But,” she swung her mace, and various scenery began to rise around the stage, “I am still a little jealous. In order to use up the last bit of jealousy, Arisaki, come and fight me.”

The music starts.

There was a sound of breaking air under Saya's feet, and the heavy iron mace was wrapped in a strong wind and appeared in front of Arisaki in an instant.

Sand: Why is it so dazzling like that time?

Sand: Because there is nothing to block it.

Arisaki instinctively blocked with her naginata, and her knuckles were almost blown open. She broke out in a cold sweat and turned to run away.

“Sha Ling——” She shouted as she ran away, “Please spare me——something bad is going to happen!”

Sha Ling smiled happily and chased after him: "Don't worry - I will control it -"

"How do I control this kind of weapon!!!"

The wooden board with the two characters "咲" and "祭" written on it was stabilized on the stage. It was the stage for their first cultural festival in high school.