Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [132]

Tuesday, May 12th.

At Tsukinomori, today wasn’t anything special.

No major exams. No school-wide celebrations. No shocking incidents that made headlines on campus.

But for Nagasaki Soyo—after briefly stepping into the light—this was the day she fell back into darkness.

Mutsumi had never been on her side.

She had never supported the idea of reviving CRYCHIC, of bringing back the old members.

From the very beginning, she had seen the ending that Soyo had refused to acknowledge.

The ending Soyo didn’t want to acknowledge.

But Nagasaki Soyo had no other choice.

Setting aside the fact that last night, Chihiro had completely taken control of her—forcing her to cook, do laundry, and clean up that devil’s new home—

The real issue was the leverage that cursed demon still had over her.

A single video.

A recording that could end her social life forever.

Soyo didn’t dare protest too much.

And besides…

Wasn’t this exactly what she had wanted?

From a distance, she watched as Mutsumi walked toward the garden, watering the cucumber plants.

Soyo let out a bitter, self-deprecating laugh.

She had gotten what she wanted.

Even before she approached Mutsumi with this ridiculous plan, she had already turned Taki’s band into a complete mess.

If this were the old her—if she had never been forced to relive everything—she probably wouldn’t have been able to hide the smug grin on her face.

But now, she couldn’t stop herself from repeating the same mistakes.

Not just because of Chihiro’s so-called “threat.”

But because…

She didn’t want Chihiro to feel disappointed in her.

With hesitant, reluctant steps, Soyo slowly approached Mutsumi from behind.

Mutsumi had already sensed her presence.

Turning around, she gave Soyo a calm but slightly concerned look.

Her face was pale, tired—probably from arguing with her family about studying abroad. She had even taken a sick day from school over it.

“Soyo…”

Are you okay?

It was such a simple question.

But Mutsumi found it difficult to ask.

Because she was afraid of hearing Soyo say no.

She didn’t want her words to push Soyo back into a place she couldn’t escape from.

“Mutsumi, I need to talk to you. Is that okay?”

“…Yeah.”

Mutsumi quietly set down the watering can.

Then, without hesitation, she followed Soyo to a nearby bench and sat beside her.

She knew she couldn’t fix anything for Soyo.

But at the very least, she could be a good listener.

“Mutsumi… I… I want to form a band.”

“…Huh?”

The sheer shock on Mutsumi’s face made Soyo feel like her life had just flashed before her eyes.

No, scratch that.

Not just her life—CRYCHIC, Taki’s nameless band—everything was about to descend into pure chaos because of her.

Should she blame Chihiro?

No…

This was her own fault.

Because she had always wanted to have everything.

“I want to start a band.”

Taking a deep breath, Soyo forced herself to say it.

Now that the words were out, there was no turning back.

If this was the way to finally put an end to her own delusions… then so be it.

“I want to bring everyone together. And when the time is right, I’ll bring you and Sakiko in, too.”

She finally said it.

Each word had felt like it was being torn from her throat.

For a moment, she could barely breathe.

But strangely enough, after speaking, she felt… lighter.

Though the guilt was already creeping back in.

Because the truth was—

No matter what Chihiro did—

No matter how she “destroyed” things, just like Soyo had once planned—

It had all been Soyo’s idea in the first place.

She was the one responsible.

“…But,” Mutsumi murmured, frowning.

Soyo’s heart clenched.

Mutsumi hesitated, then cautiously asked, “But, Soyo… aren’t you leaving to study abroad?”

That was the real issue, wasn’t it?

If it weren’t for that,

Soyo wouldn’t have been saying this with such a conflicted expression.

A month ago, she would have said these words with nothing but excitement.

But today,

She had to force herself to say them, like summoning every ounce of courage just to lie.

“…Study abroad?”

Soyo blinked in confusion.

“What study abroad? I never said I was leaving.”

“But before—”

“Which one are you talking about?”

Soyo let out a dry, humorless laugh.

Her lips curled into a bitter smile as she sighed.

“I lied to you."

“I was never going to study abroad."

“My mom would never force me to do that.”

“…I see.”

Mutsumi’s eyes darkened.

Soyo was lying.

If it weren’t true, then Sakiko wouldn’t have been so sure about it.

And Soyo wouldn’t look so bitter, so helpless, as she said those words.

Mutsumi finally understood.

That’s why Soyo hadn’t come to school on Saturday.

She had been fighting with her mother.

And yesterday—Monday—ANON-sensei had come to school.

To discuss Soyo’s study abroad plans.

It had already reached the final stages.

But Soyo didn’t want to admit it.

She didn’t want to accept the outcome.

Yet no matter how much she resisted, she could only pretend it wasn’t happening.

So…

Was this because of Sakiko leaving?

Did Soyo have an unfinished wish—something she had to complete before high school ended?

But what Soyo didn’t know was—

Taki and Tomori already had a new band.

A band where…

There was no place for Soyo.

If she found out…

No.

Mutsumi couldn’t let her find out.

Even though she often worried about saying the wrong thing,

She knew the safest option now.

Silence.

So, she wouldn’t tell Soyo the truth.

“Soyo… you know I probably won’t agree to this, right?”

Soyo had no idea how different this Mutsumi was from the one in the last timeline.

How much more she understood now.

“If not, then—”

“I’ll do it.”

“…Huh?”

“I’ll join your band.”

As for Sakiko…

Mutsumi could only hope she’d run into her at Haneoka after school.

That way, after learning the truth,

Maybe Sakiko would change her mind.

Though, Mutsumi had a feeling…

That probably wasn’t going to happen.

---

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!