Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [175]

"Uika, long time no see."

At the exit of the planetarium, Togawa Sakiko had been waiting for quite a while.

Ever since she had left Tsukinomori, the more she thought about things, the worse she felt. It was as if there was no one left in the world she could rely on.

She had once believed that Chihiro understood her—that their meeting had been something like fate. But now, she realized that all Chihiro had really been doing was helping others get close to her.

Whether it was for her grandfather’s sake, or to aid that liar Soyo… none of it mattered anymore.

In the end, everything had been a lie. There was no point in trying to pick apart which parts had been true.

It was pointless. It would only make her look even more pathetic.

The weak Sakiko of the past was dead.

The only person she could trust now was herself.

And that left her with only one option—one last attempt.

"Shoko, it really has been a while~"

Misumi Uika wore a black baseball cap, a white short-sleeved top, and a beige pencil skirt. She had a brown mini backpack slung over her shoulder and was holding the sunglasses she had just taken off—after all, it would’ve been rude to wear them in front of an old friend.

Though… could they still be called friends?

At first, when Uika had gotten Sakiko’s call, she had felt a little nervous.

Would they have nothing to talk about after all this time?

Or would there be too much to say, so much that they wouldn’t be able to get through it all?

Memories had a way of romanticizing the past.

But standing before her now, Shoko still felt like the same person Uika had always remembered—her dear friend, Togawa Sakiko.

"You still love stargazing, huh?"

"And you… still look just like you used to."

"…Do I?"

Sakiko’s smile was stiff, but she didn’t bother explaining further.

She gestured toward the upper floor, and Uika, understanding the invitation, nodded in agreement.

"The last time we saw each other was a year ago, right? Thanks for calling me."

"When I got your call out of nowhere, I was surprised—but I was really happy too."

"There’s no need to thank me for that."

"Every time I get a message from you, it gives me courage—like the one you sent me when I first debuted."

"You still remember that?"

Uika smiled. "Of course. I look at it often."

"How’s work been?"

That was the real reason Sakiko had reached out today.

She hadn’t called just to vent to an old friend.

She had left Sunkei—even though Kujou-san had tried to convince her to stay, she couldn’t bring herself to keep working there after realizing the job had only been possible because of her family’s connections and Chihiro’s help.

Even if she was well-suited for it, the constant mistakes she had been making recently were reason enough to resign.

But life had to go on.

She needed a new job.

And this time, she had made up her mind about something she had been hesitant about for far too long.

"I’m making slow progress, little by little."

Uika strolled across the bridge. Up here, closer to the sky, it almost felt like they were walking through the countryside.

"What about you, Shoko?" she asked as they walked. "You were in a band before, weren’t you? What was it called again, CRY…"

"There’s no need to bring that up."

Sakiko cut her off.

"CRYCHIC is the past now. The reason I came to you today is for something important."

"Oh?"

"I’m planning to start a new band. I know your abilities well, and I’d like you to be part of it."

"A new band, huh…"

"I know you’re already in Sumimi, but I can guarantee that this won’t interfere with your activities there. This project is actually in collaboration with your agency, so—"

This was an opportunity she had fought to get from her grandfather.

In the end, she had still relied on her family’s connections.

In a way, she had already lost.

But even so, in these final moments, she had to prove something.

She had to show her grandfather that her parents’ unwavering support for her music had never been a foolish mistake.

Her father. Her mother, who had always been there as she grew up.

Their love hadn’t been a lie.

Their memories together weren’t just something she had made up.

For herself.

For her family.

She had to bring back the home she had lost—the one that had embraced her with genuine love and belief, rather than cold calculation.

If her father saw his daughter pursuing the path they had once walked together…

Maybe, just maybe, he would wake up.

That was what Togawa Sakiko believed.

So even if she had accepted some of her grandfather’s help—she had to push forward with her own strength in the end.

"I’ll do it."

"Eh? You’re not even going to think about it?"

Sakiko blinked in surprise.

She had expected this to be her hardest negotiation—after all, they hadn’t seen each other in a year, and Uika already had her own band.

For the first time in a while, she felt the sting of tears threatening to surface.

"You’ve helped me so much in the past, Shoko. This time… I want to be the one to help you."

"…Thank you, Uika."

"Since we’re here, why don’t we walk a little more?"

---

"Chihiro… why won’t you pay attention to me?"

In her bedroom, Chihaya Anon sat on her bed with her legs splayed out in a W-sit.

She pouted, watching as Chihiro ignored her completely, too focused on working on her laptop.

Her big-sis obsession was acting up again.

Anon thought she could control it.

But now that she had finally gotten Chihiro to come home with her—only to see her glued to her laptop making music—she couldn’t stand it.

She even tried rolling around on the bed.

Or lying on her stomach, kicking the mattress repeatedly.

But the only thing that got Chihiro’s attention was when she grabbed her guitar and started deliberately making horrible, discordant noises.

And the consequence of that was…

Chihiro flipped her over with brute force and smacked her across the butt a few times.

"Are you done?"

"Are you done?"

"Mhm." Tsuzuki Chihiro nodded. "The first song for Benishouga is finally finished."

Too bad the lyricist had already run away.

Seriously, that blue-haired freak had been a menace this entire year.

First, she took lyrics that already existed and wrote music for them—then ran.

Now, she had done the opposite—writing lyrics for a song that didn’t have a melody yet…

And then running even faster.

The more Chihiro thought about it, the more pissed off she got.

She had never met someone as frustratingly unreasonable as that girl.

And she needed to take her frustration out somewhere.

Glancing at the little pink-haired menace who had been making a scene since earlier, Chihiro’s lips curled into a smirk.

Well, well… nothing wrong with passing the time by messing with Anon a little, right?

---

T/N: sigh

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!