Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [134]

"Soyo?"

So, this was about Soyo after all.

Togawa Sakiko wasn’t particularly surprised—she had more or less expected it.

But that phrase "she’s going to break"…

That, she didn’t quite understand.

"What happened to her?"

"……"

Wakaba Mutsumi took a sip of her mango juice. Then another.

But even after furrowing her brows and opening her mouth slightly, she couldn’t bring herself to speak.

Because…

She was afraid that saying it out loud would hurt Soyo.

"Mutsumi, what exactly did Soyo tell you?" Sakiko’s tone carried a hint of impatience.

She had always been exasperated by Mutsumi’s habit of holding everything in.

"I still have to… work today. If this isn’t urgent, then—"

"She asked me to start a band with her."

"A band?"

Sakiko blinked in surprise.

Not that long ago, this wouldn’t have shocked her.

But today, it felt… off.

After quitting CRYCHIC, she had disappeared from LINE for a while.

At the time, she had wanted to apologize to Soyo.

But in the end, she couldn’t even bring herself to send a simple "sorry"—so she did nothing instead.

Back then, Soyo had kept reaching out to her, asking question after question.

But Sakiko had been drowning in work, completely unable to deal with Soyo’s relentless pursuit.

So, she ran away.

Blocked her.

She had expected Soyo to go through Mutsumi to find her.

But then—

For some reason—

Soyo suddenly stopped.

She didn’t try to contact her anymore.

She didn’t bring up rebuilding the band.

It was as if she had erased the past from her mind.

It left Sakiko with a complicated feeling.

On one hand, she felt relieved—Soyo moving on meant she wouldn’t be held back by someone like her anymore.

On the other hand…

There was a strange, quiet sense of loss.

That tiny, lingering hope of returning to the past—

It had finally been extinguished.

But now, Mutsumi was telling her that Soyo wanted to form a band again?

Sigh…

Why did every visit to Hazawa Coffee end up with her and Mutsumi discussing CRYCHIC?

Yesterday, she had planned to invite Chihiro to this café.

She had wanted to chat, drink tea, and casually bring up Benishouga Music Group.

She also wanted to use the opportunity to ask Chihiro about the situation at Soyo’s house.

But then, Chihiro had claimed she had something important to do today, forcing them to cancel their plans.

Still, even though their meeting never happened, she had ended up here anyway.

It almost felt like…

Fate had already arranged everything.

"Wait…"

Just as she was about to ask more, something clicked.

"Soyo said she was planning to study abroad, didn’t she?"

"Yeah."

"…So, does this mean she isn’t going abroad?"

Mutsumi hesitated for a moment.

Then, instead of answering, she simply shook her head.

Sakiko let out a small sigh.

She had already grown used to Mutsumi’s silent tendencies.

But this kind of frustrating conversation style still made her unsure of how to proceed.

"So… what is she doing, then?"

"I don’t know."

"Fair enough."

That was a reasonable response.

After all, this was a personal matter.

And Mutsumi wasn’t the type to dig into other people’s business.

She wouldn’t know the details.

But then, just as Sakiko was about to move on, Mutsumi hesitated—just slightly—before saying:

"Yesterday, ANON-sensei came to school."

"ANON…?"

Sakiko frowned.

"You mean Chihaya Anon?"

"What?"

Mutsumi looked confused.

She had never heard that name before.

"…Never mind."

Did she mishear?

Sakiko furrowed her brows.

She wasn’t particularly close with Chihaya Anon.

They had only spoken a handful of times.

The first was when she ran into her in the school’s music room.

The second was in the hallway, when she had asked about the progress of her band—

Only for Anon to react like she had just been electrocuted.

She had gone pale, shaken her head, and bolted.

At the time, Sakiko assumed that meant Anon had given up on forming a band.

But then, at the live show—

Seeing her on stage had been surprising.

Especially since two of her bandmates were people Sakiko knew—people she wasn’t sure how to face.

The one thing she could confirm was that Taki’s band had no bassist that night.

And after asking around, she learned from Chihiro that the bass track for Tomori’s song had been pre-recorded—

By Chihiro herself.

"So, who is this ANON-sensei?"

"She’s an English teacher who used to substitute a few times."

"And?"

"Yesterday… ANON-sensei came to discuss Soyo’s study abroad plans."

"…I see."

Now, it made sense.

Soyo had been set to study abroad.

But she clearly didn’t want to go.

Yet, she had no way of resisting her family’s decision.

Just like herself.

Just like Mutsumi.

Maybe…

Soyo hadn’t completely let go of the past.

Maybe she still wanted CRYCHIC to come back.

Sigh… what a stupid idea.

If this had been the old Sakiko,

She would have coldly told Soyo to wake up—

To let go of her ridiculous delusions.

But now…

Something about Soyo’s situation felt off.

"Soyo never mentioned starting a band before this?"

"No…"

"And her club activities?" Sakiko suddenly remembered something.

"Does she usually stay after school for club meetings, or…?"

"Most of the time, she stays at school."

That was exactly why Mutsumi was so sure of her suspicions.

She rarely pried into Soyo’s business.

But every now and then, she overheard classmates chatting about the wind ensemble’s practice sessions—

Which meant Soyo had been attending.

"So she… doesn’t even know about Taki’s band."

That just made it even sadder.

But the real issue was this—

A band that couldn’t be fully reunited.

A band that was already beyond repair.

Even if Sakiko forced those people back together…

In three years—on some rainy night—

Wouldn’t history just repeat itself?

Leaving nothing behind but fresh scars?

It was pointless.

They were nothing more than marionettes.

The strings of the adults had already wrapped around them—

Tightly.

Unbreakably.

---

"Soyo, let’s find a place to sit down."

"It’s still early for dinner."

"Why don’t you have a chat with Mom?"

"?!?!"

The sudden voice made both Sakiko and Mutsumi freeze.

Neither dared to turn their heads fully.

They only glanced toward the source of the voice with the corners of their eyes.

Especially Mutsumi—

She had spotted Soyo instantly.

And in that fleeting moment when their eyes met,

She saw it—

The panic.

The fear.

And the mature woman beside her…

That must have been Soyo’s real mother.

Which meant—

The last person she had met at Soyo’s house—

The "mother" from before—

Had actually been Tsuzuki Chihiro.

Mutsumi’s heart sank.

Why now?

Why did she have to run into Soyo and her mother right now—

While she was sitting here with Sakiko?

Soyo would definitely think she had told her everything.

I’m sorry, Soyo.

I keep messing things up.

I’m sorry.

---

T/N: ayo somebody get aizens granddaughter or something because JESUS

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!