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

This is another big achievement.

ps: When I posted this chapter, I had just finished writing a large copy. Looking back, I have completed the copy much more completely than my first attempt~

Chapter 18: Marina's Old Teammate (Happy Birthday to Nijiya~)

In the short time that the five people had been gone, a wall of CiRCLE had been painted with new paint. In contrast, the five girls were covered in dust. When they appeared at the door of CiRCLE, the two people inside hurried to greet them.

"Everyone is finally back! Are you hurt? Are you hungry? Are you feeling unwell..." Marina was like a mother. As soon as they entered the house, she showed concern for them in various ways. "Do you want to take a shower first? Do you still have enough strength..."

"Stop, stop, stop!" Hong Xia interrupted Marina's motherly chatter, "Ms. Marina, is there anything wrong with CiRCLE during this period? And this one is..."

Next to Marina stood a woman of similar age, with long purple hair and two guns on her waist, looking a bit cool. She stood next to Marina, reducing her presence and not disturbing the reunion of the few people.

"I met you before. Go wash up first, and have a good rest after that. I'll introduce you to each other later." Marina turned to the woman, "Is that okay?"

The woman nodded: "Thank you for your hard work, everyone. I'll talk about my things later. Go and rest first." Her voice was quite cool, which reminded Shizi of several pool noodle players in Bang Dream.

After an unforgettable amount of days and nights of exploration, they finally relaxed after returning home. The five of them lay on the soft mattress that seemed to have been there for a long time. Almost all of them fell asleep as soon as they touched the pillow. The five faces quickly relaxed, their breathing was steady, and they were free of worries.

The dreamless sleep passed in a flash.

"Everyone, it's time for dinner~" Shizi seemed to hear a voice. The voice echoed in the confusion, and it took a long time to be processed as information, letting Shizi know that "it's time to get up." She wanted to get up, but her eyelids were still resisting and she couldn't open them at all. She reached out to her eyelids and forced a crack open. In front of her was a horizontal table leg. She raised her head and the table leg turned upright. She could smell the aroma of food. Miss Marina thoughtfully moved the dining table to the bedroom. As usual, various dishes were already placed on it, all of which were the five people's favorite. This meal was a celebration banquet and a welcome party for that woman.

Yili smelled the aroma of fried chicken and stood up immediately. Seeing this, Shizi also grabbed the table leg with one hand for support and climbed out reluctantly.

"Hongxia, feed me." Liang grabbed the hem of Hongxia's clothes. Everyone else had already sat up, but she was still lazily curled up in the quilt.

Liang thought she would receive a cold glance from Hongxia, but she saw that Hongxia only hesitated slightly and her face flushed.

"Just... just this time!" Hong Xia didn't look at anyone.

"Huh?" Everyone was frightened.

"Ryo really tried very hard this time... If you keep laughing like that, get up and eat by yourself!"

In the end, Ryo sat down at the table obediently. The woman also sat next to Marina, and according to Marina, she saw her while waiting for the five people to return.

"Welcome back safely!" At the beginning of the celebration banquet, Marina did not ask the five people what results they had achieved. As long as they were safe, that was the best.

Liang was the first to pick up her chopsticks. She didn't care about anything else, just shoveled food into her mouth.

"Do you two know each other well?" Kita noticed that Marina had an inexplicable sense of closeness to that woman.

The lady bowed slightly and said, "Let me introduce myself. My name is Yuki Araki. I used to be in a band with Marina and was the drummer. Now I work as an independent music producer." Her words contained so much information.

"So Miss Marina was in a band before?" Kita opened his mouth wide and looked at Marina.

"Yes, we also formed a five-member band when we were students, but it didn't succeed in the end, so we disbanded." Marina showed a hint of nostalgia, but quickly regained her composure.

Of course Shiko knew about this, but she didn't know the details of the team members other than Marina. However, the other few people didn't know. After they introduced themselves, Kita excitedly asked the two for details. At this time, Ichiri quietly pulled Shiko away and went to the backstage next door.

"What's the matter?" Shizi didn't think that Yili would be the kind of JK who would need a companion when going to the toilet.

Yili's eyes lit up: "Is this a welcome party?"

"Yeah, what's wrong?" Shizi suddenly had a bad feeling.

"So, it's a party?" Ichiri's eyes lit up, which was rare.

Five minutes later, Shizi came out from the backstage with his head covered, followed by a woman in strange costumes: a Santa hat, funny sunglasses, a fake beard, a shoulder strap with "One-day Patrol Minister" written on it, and a salute in her hand.

As soon as she appeared, the scene immediately became quiet.

"Bang!" Yili fired a salute towards the dining table. Several streamers flew out and fell quietly to the ground.

"See, I told you it would be a dull moment." Shizi couldn't bear to watch any longer.

Because of this little episode, Yili, who took off his weird decorations, and Shizi had to spend a heavy celebration banquet together.

In fact, the scene was still very cheerful. Marina and Ms. Araki shared their experiences of forming a band, and Niji and Kita also talked about their adventures. Ryo was eating the whole time. But Shiko and the other person still sealed themselves in the darkest corner. It was embarrassing on the one hand, but for the two of them, having an unfamiliar senior at the dinner table was also a huge pressure. Fortunately, Shiko quickly used her experience from the first encounter with the band and began to slowly join the conversation.

Shiko grabbed a piece of fried chicken and bumped into another person's chopsticks, so she instinctively moved away. The other person did the same. Turning her head, she bumped into Ichiri's eyes. To hide the embarrassment, they both picked up a glass of juice and sipped it. Hongxia fed Liang with a look of disgust, and Liang enjoyed it without blushing or beating his heart. Kita looked at the four people with dissatisfaction. Marina looked at the five people and smiled unconsciously.

"Is there anything happy?" Miss Araki noticed her expression.

“Nothing.” Marina looked away and picked up a piece of cabbage stalk. “I just think their relationship has become better.”

Even a happy feast has to end. Shiko lay in the corner, looking at Marina and Ms. Araki who were cleaning up the table. Normally, she would help clean up. But seeing the two people chatting happily, she hesitated whether she should disturb the reunion of her old teammates. Performance is performance, she still didn't know how to deal with this situation. Just when she was thinking about whether to go to Hongxia to ask what to do in this situation, Ms. Araki had already noticed her.

"Is there a problem?"

Since she had been discovered, Shizi had no choice but to come out of the corner, put on a natural expression, and urgently found an excuse: "I'm just a little curious about what Miss Araki's ability is."

Xin Mu didn't notice anything strange: "Well... to put it simply, it's regeneration. I will act with you from tomorrow on, and you will know then."

"Yuki is very strong." Marina said as she stacked the dishes, "But don't rely too much on her. She won't stay here long."

ps: There will be another update in the evening~ Please comment and recommend~

Chapter 19 HOPE

As soon as the words were spoken, everyone was shocked.

Four people fell out from the corner where Shizi had been hiding. Shizi looked back: Kita was at the bottom, and Nijika was on top. Ichiri and Ryo didn't fall because they didn't lean on others.

Shizi was a little stunned: "What are you doing here?"

"I'd like to ask if Ms. Marina's band has any CDs left behind." This is Kita.

"I'm a fan of Ms. Araki so I came here to ask for an autograph." This is Liang.

"I would like to ask Ms. Araki, a famous drummer, to give me some pointers on my technique." This is Hong Xia.

"Because...because no one else has left, so I don't dare to leave alone..." This is one mile.

Shizi suddenly felt that "each of you has special skills". Fortunately, they came to his rescue, and Shizi's pressure was relieved a lot.

"So why are you leaving? Wouldn't it be nice to live with us in CiRCLE?" Kita and Nijixia surrounded Miss Araki.

Marina also looked at her with a look of "just watch": "Stay here, okay?"

"I'm not used to staying in one place all the time. That's it. Really. Stop shaking..." Being shaken by the two girls, Xinmu was a little overwhelmed, "But we finally got here and I will stay for a while, don't worry."

After Shinki's repeated assurances, Kita and the other two cheered, and Shiko had already escaped in the chaos.

Shizi fled to the hall. Yili followed behind. As long as someone took the lead, she would dare to leave from there. Yili nodded to Shizi imperceptibly and turned into the recording studio with her guitar. Seeing this, Shizi stood by the door and listened for a while before leaving. At this time, with a burst of lively voices, other people also rushed over from the stage.

"What's wrong?" Shizi looked at Marina who was leading the group.

"They wanted to listen to the songs we composed back then. I happened to have a CD, and after listening to it, they wanted to play it..." Marina seemed to be smiling bitterly, but her eyes were full of joy. Obviously, she was very pleased that her music was liked by others.

CD? Shiko recalled that in the plot, Marina's band did have a CD that was passed down and was found by Pastel*Palettes' Maya Yamato. The plot didn't explain what happened to the CD, but it seemed that it eventually returned to Marina. She remembered that the song on the CD was the band's last song, which had never been played on stage. It was called -

"Please listen, 'HOPE'!" In the recording studio, Marina once again played the last song of their band to everyone currently in CiRCLE.

After a few minutes, the notes faded away.

"It's very outstanding, the melody is cheerful, but you can also feel the sadness in it," Shizi commented.

Ichiri is not good at expressing: "Yes! It is indeed...excellent."

"This is a very narrative piece. Not only the melody has this feeling, but also the cymbals in the middle and the subsequent changes in tone give people the feeling that a new world is unfolding before their eyes..." Liang began to talk nonstop.

"Senior Liang is so professional!" Kita knows the least and can only act as a supporting role.

"I want to play it!" Hong Xia was very excited. Others agreed.

however……

"We are short of a keyboard player." Ms. Araki pointed out the problem. Marina's original band was a five-member band with a keyboard player. Now the band has only four members and no keyboard.

Unexpectedly, it was Shizi who stepped forward: "As for the keyboard... I can do it."

Shizi had some basic piano skills in her previous life, so in this life, she bought an electronic keyboard and practiced while composing. On the panel, her keyboard skills were also at Level 6.

However, even Yili didn't know about this, which naturally shocked everyone except Miss Xinmu. Facing the gazes of others, Shizi was at a loss. To prove it, she brought out an electronic keyboard and tried to play a song in front of everyone. Although she hadn't played for a while, the basics were still there. Shizi was particularly talented in this area. When she played halfway, she had basically found the state.

Since the keyboard player was fine, everything was easy. Kita sang, Ichiri played guitar, Kouka played drums, Ryo played bass, and Shiko played keyboard. Marina found the music sheet and practice began immediately.

An hour later, in the recording studio.

"Huh——" Hong Xia wiped the sweat off her face, "Satisfied——"

"Ms. Marina, Ms. Araki, how is it?" What everyone cares most about, of course, is the original author's opinion.

Arata looked at Marina and said, "Marina, didn't several classmates play this piece in CiRCLE before?"

"Yes, they held a performance specifically for this song, and didn't you all come?" The "you" Marina was referring to were the former band members.

Shiko knew who the "classmates" they were talking about were. If she remembered correctly, they should be Maya Yamato, Yukina Minato, Tsugumi Hazawa, Satomi Ushigome, and Kasumi Toyama. Those people at that time are not here now. There are only a few poor people who were exiled here. Thinking of this, Shiko's heart suddenly felt heavy. Paspale, Afterglow, Roselia, Popipa, will she have the chance to meet them in person in the future?

Marina seemed a little sad, but she quickly controlled her emotions and looked at Shiko: "Shiko-san, your keyboard skills are pretty good."

Suddenly being praised! Before Shizi could react, Hongxia followed up: "Yes, Shizi's skills are definitely good enough to play in a band. Why didn't you say so before? Why don't you join the band too!"

Xiduo was of course happy: "Wouldn't it be great if Wu joined the closing band?"

"Of course I have no problem," Ryo said.

"If Shizi is willing..." Yili seemed to be the one who wanted Shizi to join the band the most.

Ok?

Shizi just wanted to run away. She didn't mention the keyboard before because she was worried about this kind of situation... How troublesome!

"Ah! The keyboard player ran away!"

Before anyone else noticed, Shizi slipped out of the recording studio, turned around, opened the door of CiRCLE, and escaped outside.

"At least here, we shouldn't be able to catch her, right?" Shizi hid behind a big rock and looked at CiRCLE secretly. The few people who finished the band were confused and went to the direction of the underground stage to look for her. Only Miss Marina stopped by the window worriedly, searching for her.

“(I hope they will forget about this right away… I feel really sorry for Ms. Marina, but since we’re out here, let’s take some ‘souvenirs’ back.)”

Shizi shook his head and continued to walk into the distance. The monsters that were scared away by the shadow are returning. CiRCLE has not had energy supply for a long time. In the dark night, CiRCLE looks so small, but so eye-catching. For this little light, it is time to work harder.

"Tear!" With a slight sound, a small monster fell to the ground and turned into a small gem. Shizi's night hunting has always been biased, and she only targets individuals that can be easily dealt with by one person. After all, she doesn't want to risk her life every night. The reason why she hunts at night is, first, because she wants to work harder and do more for the girls she loves, and second, because she personally enjoys this kind of night without anyone disturbing her. It's not that she hates getting along with others, but she is still a yin corner after all, and she still needs this kind of time that belongs only to herself.

Shizi hummed a RAS song and picked up the spoils on the ground with her head shaking. Suddenly, she felt someone behind her.

"Huh?" She raised her head with a bitter face. Miss Xinmu tilted her head, with two guns hanging in her hands, looking at her with interest.

A beautiful night for one person is over.

ps: Please comment and recommend~

Chapter 20: Flying

The next morning, Miss Xinmu got up earlier than anyone else.

At the breakfast table, everyone could see her impatience. Her two guns were placed on the table, one black and one white, and the shape was quite unique.

"Ms. Araki really wants to fight." Hongxia couldn't help but complain when Araki glanced at the double guns for the tenth time.

"Right," Xinmu admitted straightforwardly, "Fighting is awesome! Since you guys are going hunting again today, let me lead the way. I'll do most of the fighting, and you just need to make up the final blow and pick up the materials."

It was a good thing to have a senior leading the team, and everyone supported it. At the same time, everyone was curious about Miss Araki's abilities.

Regarding this, Shizi had witnessed it last night.

"Everyone, have a good trip." Marina said goodbye to the hunting team as usual, but this time there was an extra adult in the team.

"Yuki..." Marina looked at Araki, hoping that she could protect the girls on Marina's behalf.

Araki understood the look in Marina's eyes and nodded slightly. She led the way and the other five followed behind her, their guns hanging at their sides, reflecting the light under the sun.

As soon as she picked up the gun, Miss Xinmu gave people a more fierce feeling, like a seasoned soldier.

"Is Miss Araki's ability related to the dual guns?" Kita asked.

Xinmu raised his two guns and shook his head: "No, my real ability has no direct attack power. I picked up this gun in a lake in an oasis. It has many uses."

"oasis?"

"lake?"

"Pick it up?"

No one had expected such a thing to happen. The fact that there was an oasis in this place was magical enough.

Xinmu wiped the barrel of the gun and explained casually: "That place is very far away. It will probably take a week or two to get there. The key is that I can't remember how to get back. If you have the chance in the future, you can go and look for it."

There is a chance... Shizi bared her teeth. If there is such a chance, it means leaving CiRCLE. What are you talking about? I hope there will be no such opportunity. Only then did she realize that Miss Araki's social skills did not seem to be very high.