Chapter 75: Harukage and Sora no Hako
Temporarily moving away from the person who caused her bad feelings, while it sounded like avoidance, was actually a very effective shock treatment for Nagasaki Soyo herself.
At least the current Nagasaki Soyo was far better than when Mutsumi said, "Soyo is broken." This was definitely an improvement, wasn't it?
'Change the band, change the mood.'
Hikigaya Hachiman even wondered if this counted as solving Mutsumi's problem in advance.
"However, Nagasaki-san, you should drink a little less alcohol." Hikigaya Hachiman saw Nagasaki Soyo being led astray. Subaru Awa seemed eager to get closer to Soyo-san, diligently pouring the drinks.
'Why are these girl band members like old alcoholics?'
Momoka was drinking beer cup after cup, drinking very heartily. The only one drinking Oolong tea, like Hikigaya Hachiman, was the previously aggressive "kid-sister," Nina Iseri.
Now, this volatile kid-sister was beaming with smiles. Earlier, she had been wondering where she could find a bassist. Now that someone had voluntarily come forward, she was naturally very happy.
Hearing Hikigaya Hachiman's words, Subaru Awa held her cup with both hands, smiling and saying, "It's fine, it's fine.
I won't get your girlfriend drunk." Subaru Awa waved her hands dismissively.
"The drinks for Soyo-chan are the same as mine, very low-alcohol shimmering drinks." This type of low-alcohol beverage was like a sweet soda among girls, with almost no alcohol content.
"Right, Soyo-chan?" Nagasaki Soyo had drunk strong liquor earlier, so drinking this low-alcohol shimmering drink felt almost like plain carbonated water to her.
"Mhm." Moreover, this was a very special experience for Nagasaki Soyo, almost like a dream. After all, Nagasaki Soyo had never even considered drinking with others, let alone experienced it. Soyo-san felt like a young lady who had fallen into a "demon's den," and her demeanor was rapidly changing.
"Good! More drinks!" Awa Subaru raised her hand high like she was answering a question. The girl's clear voice echoed in the shop. You could tell from her voice that Awa Subaru was very happy.
After all, their understaffed band had gained another member, and it was the very bassist they needed.
After the new low-alcohol drinks were served, Subaru Awa asked, "But is Soyo-chan's original band okay?"
After all, Soyo-chan had mentioned she had a band, so wouldn't joining MMK's band cause trouble for her?
Nagasaki Soyo was looking through her phone for a video of their former band, Crychic, performing, because the new band members wanted to see it. Hearing Awa Subaru's question, Nagasaki Soyo shook her head.
"It's fine. They weren't serious about forming a band either."
Otherwise, they wouldn't still be constantly divided over whether to participate in a live show. As for having two bands, it wasn't a strange thing. Nagasaki Soyo had heard of one person who was a part-time member in over thirty bands.
"Haha, actually, we're amateurs too, except for Momoka, who is a professional." The reason why Awa Subaru could successfully sustain the entire band with only three people was that Momoka Kawaragi handled almost all the most difficult aspects of the band, such as composition and lyric writing, acting as a complete "nanny service." Subaru Awa only had to play the drums, and the kid-sister only had to sing.
"Found it. This was a rehearsal for a live show when I was in junior high." Nagasaki Soyo placed her phone on the table so they and Hachiman-kun could see. "It might be a bit blurry."
The first person who appeared on the screen made Hikigaya Hachiman's pupils contract.
Isn't that his battle-comrade, Customer Service Sakiko?
Togawa Sakiko was actually in Nagasaki Soyo's former band, and Mutsumi Wakaba was also a member. Mutsumi stood motionless, holding a guitar like a block of wood, looking exactly the same as she did now.
However, in contrast to Mutsumi's unchanging appearance, Togawa Sakiko was drastically different. The Togawa Sakiko back then was completely unlike her current self. She didn't have the cold, icy exterior or the hedgehog-like demeanor used to protect herself completely.
The Togawa Sakiko in the video was like a pure white daisy, giving off a gentle, refreshing aura. Hikigaya Hachiman also noticed that Togawa Sakiko was wearing the uniform of "Tsukinomiya" Girls' Academy. "Tsukinomiya," like Shuchiin, allows direct advancement from junior high to high school.
However, Togawa Sakiko chose a different, more affordable, ordinary girls' high school for her senior years instead of the aristocratic "Tsukinomiya." If she could attend "Tsukinomiya," her family must have been wealthy. How was it that after junior high, Togawa Sakiko and her father moved into a cheap rental apartment? It couldn't be due to being poor from studying.
There must have been some kind of family change.
"Is everyone ready?" Nagasaki Soyo was clearly the happiest one. From the large eye visible close to the screen, you could see that the girl's eyes were completely different from her current sorrowful and painful gaze; they were full of light. To confirm the clarity, Nagasaki Soyo leaned her face very close to the screen, looking quite goofy. Nagasaki Soyo's voice in the video was much softer than it was now. It was obvious that Nagasaki Soyo really loved this band.
"Tomori-chan, are you ready?" Nagasaki Soyo asked. The person they referred to as Tomori seemed a bit overwhelmed while being filmed. She should have been facing Nagasaki Soyo's phone directly, but she was turned sideways. The smiling Nagasaki Soyo walked over and positioned Tomori Takanawa, the vocalist, in the center of the band's formation.
"They're all such cute kids," Awa Subaru said, looking at Nagasaki Soyo and the former band members on the screen. These band members clearly looked like young ladies. They were all wearing adorable school uniforms, giving off a meltingly cute vibe.
"Look how cute that kid is, so timid. She's just like Nina-chan when she first started performing." Awa Subaru poked Nina Iseri beside her and chuckled.
"Hey, MMK." Momoka Kawaragi nodded. The girl named "Tomori" looked exactly like Ninako when she first started out.
"You're so annoying!" The "little potato's" face turned red. She also remembered the time during her first band performance when she was so scared of stage fright that she didn't even dare to go on stage. Togawa Sakiko spoke timidly into the microphone. "We are Crychic."
"We present Harukage to everyone." Immediately after, the familiar melody played from the phone. This made Hikigaya Hachiman even more amazed at how small the world was. He was playing the original singer's song right in front of the original singer. Hikigaya Hachiman realized that the music Komachi recorded was clearly sung by Nagasaki Soyo's band. And he had played this song, Harukage, in front of Togawa Sakiko last time.
"My heart is full of exhaustion, my eyes constantly tremble, I am alone in this world..." Playing a random song unexpectedly linked three people Hikigaya Hachiman knew. Harukage was the only song the band created during its existence.
In fact, Nagasaki Soyo usually cut off this video clip just as Tomori was about to announce the band's name and the song they were about to perform.
Nagasaki Soyo absolutely would not continue listening to Harukage, as listening only made her sadder. It would make Nagasaki Soyo recall those carefree days when everyone was in the band together.
Compared to the cruel reality of everyone falling apart, who could endure that?
Nagasaki Soyo, who hadn't heard Harukage for a long time, felt a surge of emotion upon hearing the song, and she remembered her Sakiko again. Nagasaki Soyo's tears streamed out
again, but this time, Nagasaki Soyo was not the only one crying. Even the kid-sister started to cry. Nina Iseri's eyes reddened. The emotion contained in the song clearly moved her greatly.
"The emotion contained in this song is so moving."
"It holds a spring-like hope and emotion that makes people feel warm."
"Nina-chan, you're exaggerating too much." Awa Subaru handed tissues to the crying Nagasaki Soyo and Nina Iseri.
"I can understand that feeling." Nina Iseri just shook her head and looked at Momoka Kawaragi beside her. "It's literally a cry from the heart, and this cry is a confession." Nina Iseri was truly fascinated, tears and snot streaming down her face as she listened.
"MMK-san, you think so too, right?" The emotion contained in this song was incredibly deep, that gratitude of "finally becoming human." "To be able to play a song like this." "Ah, ah, ah, why would a band that can play a song like this break up?"
Nina Iseri cried through almost the entire song Harukage, just like Nagasaki Soyo, and the more she listened, the more she felt regret.
'Why did such an excellent band break up completely after performing just one song?'
"It would have been wonderful if I could have seen them live." Even after Harukage finished, Nina Iseri still felt unsatisfied.
"Soyo-chan, who broke up the band?" Nina Iseri involuntarily clenched her fists. She genuinely felt it was such a pity that the band broke up.
Nagasaki Soyo opened her eyes through her tears and saw Nina Iseri, who was even more indignant and heartbroken than herself.
"?" Why was Nina Iseri also crying over Harukage?
"Saki." Nagasaki Soyo was surprised for a moment and subconsciously revealed Sakiko's name.
"Who?" Nina Iseri didn't know Sakiko.
"The one with the blue twin tails."
"The keyboardist?" Nagasaki Soyo confirmed.
"Damn it!" Nina Iseri zoomed in on Togawa Sakiko's image on the phone screen and, surprisingly, raised her hands, pointing her little finger at Sakiko on the screen.
"What does that mean?" Nagasaki Soyo, whose tears turned into laughter seeing the kid-sister, found it a bit funny. Nina Iseri was grinding her teeth, looking ready to explode. She gave the impression that if the person who broke up the band appeared in front of Nina Iseri, the kid-sister would launch a "righteous" attack.
"Nina-chan, calm down." Awa Subaru patted the emotionally agitated "little potato," her tone quite helpless. There was nothing she could do; this one was a "monster of correctness." She wouldn't be influenced by others and insisted on all her principles. Always holding her head high.
"It's such a waste, ahhh, it's such a pity." Nina Iseri felt indignant for Nagasaki Soyo. In her view, breaking up a band that performed Harukage was clearly trampling on the feelings of the person who wrote the lyrics and the music.
It was just a rehearsal, but the vocalist sang with such desperation, which was why Nina Iseri felt the emotion being conveyed.
'Was the main conflict Sakiko?'
Hikigaya Hachiman heard Nagasaki Soyo say that Togawa Sakiko was the one who broke up the band. In that case, everything connected.
Togawa Sakiko probably had to quit because of a family crisis, making it impossible for her to maintain a normal band life. This also explained why Togawa Sakiko didn't want to see anyone that day, even urging Hikigaya Hachiman to run a yellow light—that person was probably Nagasaki Soyo.
Nagasaki Soyo was undoubtedly very persistent about Togawa Sakiko, otherwise, she wouldn't have had this total emotional breakdown over the words she wanted to say but couldn't.
'To personally dissolve her own band, my Sakiko really bears a heavy sin.'
Given Sakiko's personality, she definitely couldn't bring herself to talk about such a serious family crisis. Even though she once had the life of a rich second generation, Togawa Sakiko's affluent life was stolen from her, forcing her and her father to crowd into a small rental apartment.
Given Togawa Sakiko's extremely strong sense of pride, these were things she couldn't talk about.
However, Hikigaya Hachiman wouldn't try to defend her at this moment, as Sakiko definitely wouldn't want him to reveal everything he knew.
After her anger subsided, Nina Iseri felt heartbroken for Nagasaki Soyo. She reached out and hugged Nagasaki Soyo, saying cautiously, "It must hurt, right? It's okay."
"We are a new band now. We absolutely won't let you suffer the same grievance." Nina Iseri gritted her teeth, clenching her fists even tighter. "If this person named Saki stood in front of me, I would definitely get some sweet revenge for you."
Nina Iseri's expression was as if she was telling Nagasaki Soyo, I've got your back from now on. However, her small figure didn't exactly inspire confidence.
But the other party truly valued her as a bandmate. Nagasaki Soyo could tell that the other party wasn't joking and genuinely considered her, a band member they had only met today, as an important friend.
"Oh, right, I'm very grateful to Soyo-chan for sharing such a wonderful song as Harukage with me." Nina Iseri took out her phone, scrolling through it, and retrieved a video she treasured. "This is a live performance by MMK when she was in Diamond*Dust. I searched for it for a very long time online."
"Sora no Hako is a song I particularly like. I want to share it with Soyo-chan, too."
"They've completely hit it off." Hikigaya Hachiman saw Nagasaki Soyo happily forming a new band with the new members, and he really wanted to take a picture to show Mutsumi Wakaba.
After all, Mutsumi Wakaba's phone call earlier sounded completely panicked and worried. Seeing the now tearfully smiling Nagasaki Soyo would surely put her mind at ease.
"Hikigaya-kun, you should join our group chat too." Just as Hikigaya Hachiman was thinking this, he heard Awa Subaru's voice from beside him.
"Oh?" Hikigaya Hachiman looked at the QR code for the group chat with only three people. "But I'm not a band member."
"No need, no need. Just join for fun." Awa Subaru was mainly afraid that their hard-won bassist might run off. Although it was cunning, Soyo-chan was a very kind-hearted girl. If her friends from the previous band came crying, she probably wouldn't have the heart to abandon them. By connecting him to the group, even if the monk ran away, the temple was still there.
"As long as you don't mind our relatively busy messages." Hikigaya Hachiman finally joined the group chat. After all, he didn't dislike the band's atmosphere, which felt very easygoing and pleasant. Only the relatively mature Momoka Kawaragi seemed to be bottling up something—she kept drinking cup after cup.
Although Awa Subaru was the one who initially wanted to bond with Nagasaki Soyo, Nina Iseri was the one who drew Nagasaki Soyo in, and their relationship grew closer and closer. That is, until a loud "Dong!" revealed that Momoka Kawaragi was completely drunk and had face-planted on the table.
"Are you okay, Momoka?" Although Nagasaki Soyo also felt a bit dizzy, she wasn't to the point of collapsing onto the table.
'How much did she drink?'
"Don't worry about her, Soyo-chan."
"Seriously, Momoka drank so much again." Nina Iseri shook her head, complaining with a frown.
"Soyo-chan, we're already used to it." Awa Subaru looked very calm.
"Hello, I'd like to pay the bill here."
"Since it's my first day joining the band, this meal is on me." Nagasaki Soyo stood up, but having never drunk so much alcohol, even the accumulation of low-proof alcohol was quite considerable. Nagasaki Soyo felt her body was weak, and her head was heavy.
Hikigaya Hachiman immediately supported Nagasaki Soyo with one arm and quickly grabbed Nagasaki Soyo's phone with the other hand before it could fall from the girl's grasp to the floor.
"That's why I told you not to drink so much all at once."
"Haha, looks like Soyo-chan is drunk too."
"It's fine. It's not a big deal." Awa Subaru raised her hand, signaling the proprietress to come over to pay. "I'll treat everyone." As the most financially stable person in the band, Awa Subaru immediately offered to pay. Momoka had used all her money to pay for the live house tickets, and the "little potato" was responsible for paying the rent.
After paying, they helped each other out the door. So, four bright and cheerful girls appeared on the street late at night, two of whom were completely drunk. Hikigaya Hachiman helplessly looked at Nagasaki Soyo, who had put almost her entire body weight on him. Although she looked more reassuring now with her soft smile, even in her drunkenness, compared to her worrisome appearance before.
"Soyo, I'll take you home." He looked at Awa Subaru and Nina Iseri, who was carrying Momoka Kawaragi on her back. "Awa-san, and Serei-san, what are you going to do?" The "little potato" looked like she was struggling to carry Momoka on her back, and her face showed disgust at Momoka's strong smell of alcohol.
"It's fine, you don't need to call me Awa, just call me 486."
"We need to take Momoka back first, and then we'll all go home." Awa Subaru smiled slightly. She noticed Momoka's toes dragging on the ground and quickly pointed out, "She's dragging on the floor, dragging on the floor." After all, forcing the "little potato" to carry someone taller than herself was definitely tough.
"It's fine, it's fine. I'll help."
"Like this, it will be much better." Who would have thought that Awa Subaru would simply lift both of Momoka's dragging feet off the ground?
"Hmph~ Ha!"
"I'll form the torso!"
Awa Subaru leaned forward on one foot, her upper body straight, arms outstretched, supporting both of Momoka's feet. Momoka's upper body was pressed onto Nina Iseri. This made Momoka look like a piece of lumber being carried by the two of them.
"Run, Nina-chan, run!" After doing all this, Awa Subaru looked like she was asking for praise. Her smiling face seemed to say, Isn't this great? The giggling girl didn't forget to urge Nina Iseri to hurry up and run. This made Hikigaya Hachiman recall a game—the barbarian battering ram.
'Sure enough, Awa-san is also drunk... Their band really is for comedy.'
Hikigaya Hachiman was truly looking forward to seeing what Nagasaki Soyo would become if influenced by this band.
"Forget it, forget it. I'll take all of you."
"I have four wheels. I should be a little faster than your four legs." Hikigaya Hachiman shook his head. These silly and chaotic girls certainly provided a lot of entertainment.
'Looking at them, I hope they don't throw up in the car!'
"Huh! Hikigaya-kun, you drove here?" Nina Iseri was now even more surprised. Her mouth hung open as she looked at the car, which was clearly more than twice her height. She felt she was only as tall as the door handle.
"Don't shout, Nina. Quickly lift Momoka up." Awa Subaru wasn't surprised, as she had recognized Hikigaya Hachiman's school uniform earlier. It was from the private elite Shuchiin. She had heard that the students there were all wealthy and influential. Nagasaki Soyo was a student at the other aristocratic school, Tsukinomiya Girls' Academy.
'No wonder he insisted on not drinking. It turns out he drove.'
Nina Iseri, who was simply from the countryside, could only recognize it as a school uniform but couldn't recognize the school.
"I can do it, Hikigaya-kun." Nagasaki Soyo, supported, tried to step onto the running board to get in, but she swayed precariously. She eventually fell back into the arms of Hikigaya Hachiman, who was standing behind her. Nagasaki Soyo struggled, but her wobbly legs clearly couldn't support her to stand or walk.
"Forget it, I'll do it." Hikigaya Hachiman bent down and princess-carried the groggy Nagasaki Soyo.
"Sorry for causing you trouble, Hikigaya-kun."
The drunk Soyo was surprisingly clingy. The girl wrapped one arm around Hikigaya Hachiman's neck, unwilling to let go. The quiet Soyo-san felt that his arm was solid, warm, and comfortable, and she even tried to rub her cheek against his like a little cat.
Hikigaya Hachiman carried Nagasaki Soyo to the passenger seat and pulled the seatbelt across, making sure it secured her. But although she was secured, Nagasaki Soyo's figure was quite curvy, and the seatbelt restriction made her look even more voluptuous, with a strange
sense of sexiness. It was true that only Dango-san and Fujiwara Chika could compare with Nagasaki Soyo's figure.
"This is the only way." Hikigaya Hachiman sighed. He certainly couldn't reach out to adjust her, could he? Hikigaya Hachiman even wondered if the drunk Nagasaki Soyo would be able to enter her house's door code later. He turned to look at Awa Subaru in the back seat, who was struggling to pull Momoka onto the seat. Need help?
"No need, Hikigaya-kun has already helped a lot."
"Yes," Nina Iseri confirmed.
After they were all set, Hikigaya Hachiman drove to Momoka Kawaragi's rental place, and Nina Iseri and Awa Subaru got out to take care of Momoka. Afterward, Hikigaya Hachiman also drove Nina Iseri back to her rental apartment. Hikigaya Hachiman was quite surprised to find that Awa Subaru lived in the same complex, although in a different building.
"Thank you, Hikigaya-kun." Awa Subaru got out of the car, standing not far away.
"Bye-bye, Hikigaya-kun, and Soyo-chan." Awa Subaru didn't lack grace by asking if Nagasaki Soyo needed her help.
'Hehe, Soyo-chan seems quite dependent on Hikigaya-kun.'
"Soyo, wake up." Hikigaya Hachiman wanted Nagasaki Soyo to wake up, but the groggy girl showed no signs of waking up at all. He had already carried Nagasaki Soyo to her doorstep.
"Just as I thought." Hikigaya Hachiman sighed. He placed his fingertip on the door lock, and the door opened shortly after. He could use Red Blood Manipulation for this too.
Hikigaya Hachiman carried Nagasaki Soyo into her house.
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