Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [157]

May 14th, Thursday.

The rising sun gently seared the edges of the sky into golden layers, but Tsuzuki Chihiro’s awakening had nothing to do with the morning light. She woke up because the small figure in her arms had stirred several times.

“Sakiko…”

“You’re awake.”

Togawa Sakiko met the gaze of the girl who had held her all night with a calm expression, though her face showed a hint of awkwardness. She had a vague feeling that, for some reason, she had fallen asleep last night without even saying goodnight.

Maybe… she had just been too exhausted.

Sakiko sincerely hoped that there would be no more chaos in her life for a while. Right now, all she wanted was to focus on her job, her studies, and living her life properly.

“What time is it?”

“Six-thirty.” Sakiko had set an alarm, but since she had gone to bed rather early the night before, she woke up on her own before it even rang.

It seemed that Chihiro was the type who woke easily from even small disturbances. Sakiko wasn’t sure if that was just how Chihiro always was, or if it was because she had been trying to carefully slip out of her arms, making just enough movement to rouse her.

“Chihiro, your clothes…”

“I know. There’s no way they’d be dry after just one night. I’ll have to take them back home to wash them properly.”

“Mm, then just wear my clothes for now.” Sakiko nodded, though she couldn’t shake off the feeling that something about the situation was a little strange.

What worried her more, though, was how she was going to explain Chihiro’s presence to her father.

If he was still knocked out from his hangover, things would be fine. But if the two of them actually crossed paths… that would be troublesome.

Sakiko didn’t want her father to bring any more trouble to Chihiro.

Yet, as soon as they finished changing—Chihiro slipping out of Sakiko’s sleepwear and into her usual outfit—Sakiko’s worst fear came true the moment they stepped out of the bedroom.

Her father was awake. Not only that, but he was sitting blankly in the living room, his dazed eyes unfocused, still clouded by the remnants of his drunken stupor from last night.

That was just how it was with hangovers. This wasn’t the first time Sakiko had seen her father like this.

Whenever she had to drag his wasted self home from the streets, the next morning was always the same—her father, looking utterly defeated, as if he resented himself for drinking so much the night before.

Yet, no matter how much he regretted it, it was never enough.

Next time… he would do it all over again.

“Saki… who’s this?”

“…A friend. She helped me bring you home yesterday.”

“Ah… I see.”

Togawa Kiyotsugu nodded, as if he wanted to say more but couldn’t find the words. The next moment, he seemed to suddenly remember that he was a father to a young girl. He attempted to stand up, perhaps trying to act like a responsible adult, but the motion was too abrupt—he nearly lost his balance and stumbled.

Pathetic.

“Good morning, sir.” Chihiro’s eyes flashed with unmistakable disdain, but out of respect for Sakiko, she kept it to herself. “I’m Tsuzuki Chihiro, Sakiko’s good friend."

"It was late last night, and I didn’t want to disturb my family, so I had no choice but to stay over.”

It wasn’t because it was too late.

It wasn’t because she would disturb her family. And it certainly wasn’t because she had no choice.

But she could say whatever she wanted—it wasn’t like this washed-up old man could press her on every little detail.

As for staying behind to have a heart-to-heart with this useless father, to try and inspire him to turn his life around? Chihiro had zero interest in that.

Sakiko was the kind of girl who instinctively hid herself behind thorns. The most Chihiro could do was gently warm her over time, slowly giving her the motivation to change.

Expecting a few words to completely transform someone? That was just unrealistic.

Even when she had provoked Mutsumi’s mother at the dinner table, it wasn’t because she wanted to change that woman—it was because she wanted Mutsumi to hear those words, to plant a seed in her heart.

A pathetic man’s life was not something she or Sakiko should be responsible for. Chihiro wasn’t about to waste her precious time on this.

“Well then, sir, I’ll be taking my leave.”

Taking his leave to do what, exactly? The man had nothing to do with his life. But Chihiro’s words, of course, were just one last little jab before she walked out.

Once they stepped out of the shabby apartment complex, Chihiro felt an odd sense of emptiness.

What was she supposed to do today?

Dropping out of school at her age meant that she was stuck in this weird limbo—no real purpose, nowhere to go.

“Chihiro, I’m getting on the train.”

Since their destinations were in opposite directions, the station was where she and Sakiko had to part ways today.

But just before boarding, Sakiko turned back with a small smile and said,

“Chihiro, your song is beautiful. I’m really looking forward to hearing our music performed and shared online.”

“…Aren’t you supposed to be hoping that Benishouga gets noticed by a professional company and lands a business deal instead?”

“……”

“Haha, just kidding. I know what you mean.”

Seeing Sakiko falter for a second, Chihiro couldn’t help but laugh. She hadn’t expected teasing Sakiko to be so fun.

Though… this girl probably wasn’t someone she could mess with too much.

“Chihiro, see you later.”

“Mm. See you next time.”

---

That afternoon, as classes ended for most high school students across Hanasakigawa—and Tokyo as a whole—Shiina Taki left school with a stormy expression, heading toward RiNG.

She… had another dream.

Last night, she had been in the middle of writing a song when she decided to shut down her computer and go to bed early, intending to finish it after resolving the situation with Soyo.

But, of course, she couldn’t sleep.

Taki knew—if Soyo never came back, if she had really given up on them, then no matter how much she kept writing, it would all be meaningless.

But why?

Even if she put Soyo aside for a moment, even if she considered Sakuyo, that second personality of hers… would she really just walk away because of one disastrous live performance?

Taki had convinced herself that things couldn’t be that bad.

But when she finally fell asleep, the dream she had…

It made her break out in a cold sweat all over again.

She saw what happened next.

A continuation of the brief dream she had before, the one where she and Soyo had argued.

Once again, she could see the images, but no sound came through.

The only thing she could hear—after everything had ended—was Anon’s sorrowful voice saying an incomplete sentence before leaving:

“…go and continue with Soyo…”

Who was supposed to go with Soyo? Continue what?

Taki hadn’t heard the full sentence.

But… was there even a need to guess?

The answer was practically spelled out for her.

"We’re going to continue the band with Soyo."

That was the only answer.

---

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!