Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [110]

"Hey… doesn’t this outfit scream dropout?"

Backstage at RiNG, Tsuzuki Chihiro stepped out of the dressing room, fidgeting uncomfortably in the clothes Momoka had picked out for her.

The sound check was over, and the four members of this hastily assembled, still-unnamed band were now waiting for their live performance to begin.

Chihiro already had enough to worry about with this barely functional group.

But on top of that, she had to deal with this ridiculous outfit that completely clashed with her usual style.

"What do you mean, dropout? I think it looks great!"

Nina chimed in, nodding approvingly.

Not that it meant much—she was wearing a princess-style dress that made Chihiro physically cringe.

By comparison, Chihiro’s outfit was definitely more rebellious, but at least it wasn’t the most embarrassing one in the group.

…Well, aside from the deliberately torn fishnet stockings and the punk-style shirt that bounced with every movement.

Wait.

If she took those off, wouldn’t she basically be—?!

"Hah… so this is the ‘spirit of rock,’ huh? Keep pushing, and I will lose it on stage. Someone even accused me of having split personalities the other day."

Chihiro shot a glare at the mastermind behind her suffering—Momoka.

She was seriously regretting getting dragged into this mess.

But at least this would be the last time.

And since she was only playing bass, she probably wouldn’t mess things up too badly.

"Split personalities?"

Kawaragi Momoka raised an eyebrow, smirking.

"Even better. No real rocker’s completely sane, anyway. The crazier you are, the better your lyrics turn out."

"…So who wrote the lyrics for this song?"

"Cough cough …That would be me."

Caught off guard by Chihiro’s teasing stare, Momoka rolled her eyes and immediately buried herself in her phone.

But despite her attitude, today’s LIVE was important to her.

Or rather—ever since she decided to believe in her dream one more time, thanks to Nina’s encouragement, every single LIVE was important to her now.

Even if her earlier comment was half-joking, in rock, lyrics weren’t just a background element.

Even if the audience barely paid attention to them in the chaos of a show, for the performers on stage, lyrics were their voices, their screams, their truths.

Funny how someone like Nina—so shy and hesitant off-stage—transformed into a completely different person when she sang.

Then again, that kind of shift wasn’t uncommon.

Just yesterday, when the three of them went with Chihiro to buy a bass, they met a blue-haired, twin-tailed store clerk who played the piano like a refined noblewoman.

"By the way, Chihiro, do you think your friend would be interested in—"

"Dragging me into this mess wasn’t enough? Now you want to ruin another innocent girl’s life?" Chihiro interrupted, rolling her eyes.

"She’s not coming, and honestly, I’d rather she didn’t."

"…Alright."

There was clearly more to the story, but if Chihiro didn’t want to explain, Momoka wouldn’t pry.

Instead, she glanced over at Subaru, as if trying to gauge what was on the girl’s mind—caught between the band and her family.

And then—

It was time.

Since RiNG’s backstage area was a bit makeshift and lacked professional live feed equipment, it was up to one of the venue staff, Kasumi, to call them up.

"Ready, Chihiro?"

As they approached the entrance to the stage, Nina suddenly grabbed Chihiro’s hand, looking nervous.

"Relax."

Chihiro smiled.

She hadn’t played bass for long, but to her surprise, it wasn’t as hard as she’d expected.

Maybe because Soyo had been such a careful teacher.

Or maybe because the bass she was using felt eerily similar to Soyo’s.

Or maybe—

Because for the first time, Chihiro had adjusted her mindset.

She wasn’t here to be the center of attention.

She never would be.

And that was fine.

The venue wasn’t packed—likely because this performance was a last-minute addition, and most PPP and Afterglow fans had already left.

Which meant—

The moment Chihiro stepped on stage, she immediately spotted the blue-haired little octopus sitting in the audience.

Alongside her was Wakaba Mutsumi.

Their eyes met.

A flicker of surprise crossed Sakiko’s face—

Then, a warm smile.

…Sigh. I still don’t get it. How the hell did CRYCHIC fall apart because of her?

"Tsuzuki?"

Standing in the audience, Togawa Sakiko watched her recently acquainted friend step onto the stage—

Still struggling to recover from the absolute train wreck that was Chihiro’s outfit.

Just as she was processing that, Mutsumi spoke up beside her.

"Mutsumi, you know Chihiro?"

"…Not really."

Mutsumi shook her head.

Her voice was soft, barely audible over the start of the performance.

Sakiko didn’t press further.

From her perspective, maybe it was because all these people were Chihiro’s friends, but—

Her first impression of this band wasn’t bad.

Even though the lead singer looked like an entirely different person.

Even though the whole song felt almost suffocating in its intensity.

But despite all of that—

Her eyes kept getting drawn to Tsuzuki Chihiro.

And she wasn’t the only one.

Mutsumi, standing right beside her, had been watching Chihiro’s face the entire time.

"Is it over…?"

A single song wasn’t long.

But by the time the performance ended, Sakiko felt like she had been yanked out of some old, lingering illusion.

And the piano track she had recorded for this band…

Would likely never be played again.

From now on, her life would be filled with work, with studies.

Helping others chase their dreams—

While she quietly let go of her own.

Meanwhile, Chihiro…

Would start a new chapter.

As someone who had once "destroyed" a band, Sakiko suddenly felt like she had no right to face the girl who had just lost herself in the music on stage.

"Let’s go, Mutsumi."

But just as she turned to leave—

Mutsumi suddenly spoke.

"It’s Taki."

"…Taki?"

Sakiko frowned and turned back to the stage.

And sure enough—

Standing up there, scanning the crowd for any sign of Soyo—

Taki’s eyes landed right on her.

And in that moment—

Sakiko swore she could feel it.

The sheer resentment.

Like she was some unforgivable villain of history.

---

T/N: AHHH THE DRAMA THIS STORY IS LIKE A DRUG

This is a fan translation of 素世同学，恭喜你被我优化了 by 杰克喵. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!