Wakaba Mutsumi was not good at conversation.
She was already sparing with words to begin with, and with people she did not know well, even more so.
Most of the time, it was Hanadasaki Ame doing all the talking, while she only gave the occasional one- or two-word response.
Hanadasaki Ame guessed that the way her personality had formed was inseparable from her family environment.
With only a little questioning, he learned that her father was a popular comedian and her mother a well-known actress. Sometimes they even took her along onto television programs. That kind of environment was not necessarily a good thing for a child's development.
He wondered what sort of future she would end up walking toward.
Hanadasaki Ame was not anyone's life mentor, and he had no intention of pointing fingers at Wakaba Mutsumi. He was simply bored and letting his thoughts wander to pass the time.
After they had spoken for a few minutes, a new train pulled in, and Nagasaki Soyo sent a message saying she had arrived.
Not even two minutes later, she came out of the station with the crowd of passengers stepping off the train.
After a quick glance around, she spotted Hanadasaki Ame and Wakaba Mutsumi standing together in a corner not far away, and walked briskly toward them with her handbag in hand.
With a perfectly measured gentle smile curving her lips, she said warmly to the two of them,
"Sorry to keep you waiting. I didn't expect I'd be the last one here. You and Mutsumi seem to have gotten along reasonably well, right, Ame?"
"Mm."
Wakaba Mutsumi nodded.
"That's good. I was worried that since you weren't familiar with each other, meeting alone might have been a bit awkward."
Nagasaki Soyo said this with a smile, then quickly let the topic drop and pointed in the direction of the live house.
"The live starts at six-thirty, so we still have some time. Let's go have some tea first."
"Mm, okay."
Wakaba Mutsumi replied again.
Hanadasaki Ame also nodded in agreement.
As the three of them chatted, they headed toward the live house.
The venue they were going to was called Ring. Besides offering a small performance space for live shows, it also sold instruments and CDs, operated a café, and rented out practice rooms for bands.
Some smaller live houses technically obtained their business licenses by operating as eateries or drink shops, and so required customers to buy at least one drink. But Ring was larger and more legitimate than that, and had no such requirement. Its café was simply a normal expansion of business scope.
Ticket sales from live performances alone were rarely enough to support an entire live house.
Moreover, Ring was actually a branch of another live house that was often packed to full capacity. The two shared an order system and staff accounts, allowing them to split customer traffic, so business was doing just fine.
The three of them soon arrived at the Ring building. Ring occupied the entire structure. The first floor had a spacious lobby, with a counter to one side selling instruments, equipment, CDs, and the like, while the café was on the second floor.
Hanadasaki Ame went over to glance at the list of performing bands. The group beginning at six-thirty was called Afterglow, and after Afterglow finished, other bands would continue performing afterward.
He did not know any of these small bands, but Nagasaki Soyo and Wakaba Mutsumi, who came here often, knew them well. As they introduced them to him, they led him upstairs to the café.
Hanadasaki Ame noticed that when they reached the second floor, Nagasaki Soyo deliberately glanced toward the café counter, as though looking for someone.
When she failed to find whoever it was, a trace of disappointment flashed through her eyes, though she quickly hid it.
He guessed it was another former band member. Sakiko certainly would not be the only one working part-time.
Perhaps the real reason Nagasaki Soyo came to this live house so often was to look for one of those former bandmates. She did not seem particularly interested in the live performances themselves.
The three of them chose a table and sat down. A youthful, cheerful-looking waitress soon came over with menus and asked what they wanted to order.
They casually ordered three coffees and some pastries, then resumed chatting.
Most of the talking came from Hanadasaki Ame and Nagasaki Soyo.
Wakaba Mutsumi said nothing at all.
From time to time, Nagasaki Soyo would ask her a question or two so that she would not be too completely left out.
Silently, Wakaba Mutsumi observed the two of them.
She kept feeling that… these two did not really seem like brother and sister.
Granted, they were not truly siblings to begin with, only brought together by their parents' remarriage, with no blood relation at all.
But still—wasn't Soyo being a little too close to Hanadasaki Ame!?
The smile on her face also looked more genuine now, warmer than before, as if the comfort she had once found in CRYCHIC could now be obtained somewhere else.
While Wakaba Mutsumi was happy for her, she could not help feeling a faint trace of disappointment as well.
She wanted Soyo to look at her more.
To care about her more.
But once other people began to appear around Soyo, the care Soyo gave would inevitably be divided. The time she poured into her family would surely only keep increasing…
Wakaba Mutsumi thought all this quietly, without letting even the slightest bit show on her face.
A little while later, Hanadasaki Ame suddenly said he needed to use the restroom, leaving Nagasaki Soyo and Wakaba Mutsumi there together.
Watching Hanadasaki Ame disappear from sight, Nagasaki Soyo said in a soft, gentle tone,
"Mutsumi, my little brother really is adorable, isn't he?"
"..."
Wakaba Mutsumi nodded.
She felt that Nagasaki Soyo really ought to keep a certain distance from Hanadasaki Ame. They were the same age, after all, and had already reached the age when first love began to stir.
"What were the two of you talking about at the station earlier? Could you tell me?"
Nagasaki Soyo continued.
Wakaba Mutsumi could not help turning her head to look at her.
Nagasaki Soyo's expression was still gentle, but she vaguely felt that something had changed. Some emotion she had never seen before seemed to leak through her words, through that calm exterior, and press faintly against her.
She felt a little suffocated. Her lips parted slightly, yet she hesitated.
Only after a long pause did she lower her head and say,
"Just… something personal…"
Anything involving Sakiko was something she was unwilling to mention at all—not even half a word, no matter how much pressure was put on her.
"Something personal… You were already talking about personal matters the very first time you met…"
Nagasaki Soyo repeated in a low voice, seemingly lost in thought.
Wakaba Mutsumi glanced at her and suddenly realized that Soyo's interpretation might be going completely in the wrong direction.
She herself had approached Hanadasaki Ame in order to conceal Sakiko's current situation.
But Soyo knew nothing about Sakiko's circumstances, so the only thing she would assume was…
that Wakaba Mutsumi had begun to feel a little stir of romantic interest in Hanadasaki Ame.
That… was actually good.
It was a very convenient explanation. She would not even have to deliberately lie—Soyo would fill in plenty of details by herself.
Thinking that, Wakaba Mutsumi clenched her fists slightly, lowered her head, and said in broken fragments,
"He's… very cute… and feels… special…"
She was not good at lying, and usually preferred silence to any answer at all. To force out a sentence that may or may not even have counted as a lie felt as though it had drained every bit of courage she possessed.
And yet, at the same time, a strange little flutter rose in her heart, and a faint blush gradually spread across her pale cheeks.
…
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 175)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 126)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter134)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 87
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 79
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 64
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 73
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 45
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 49
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 45
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 45
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