That day, when Shiina Taki saw Takamatsu Tomori and Chihaya Anon walk into the studio, the first thing she noticed was a quiet, glimring flash of gold—
"Eh!? Tomori, what's that you're wearing on your ear..."
"See? I knew this one would spot it right away."
Anon shrugged, completely unsurprised by Taki's reaction. Then, before Tomori could respond, she asked Taki with a grin:
"What do you think? Doesn't it suit Tomori?"
"Do you even need to ask? Anything would suit Tomori!"
Taki first retorted to Anon out of habit. But when she saw that the smile on Anon's face didn't fade in the slightest, she asked in a suspicious tone:
"...You gave them to her?"
"Nope, my brother did!"
"Then what are you so smug about... Wait, your brother?"
Taki couldn't help but be taken aback.
"When did your brother give them to her?"
"When Tomori ca over to our house last Saturday! Right, Tomori?"
"Mhm."
Tomori nodded, confirming Anon's statent.
"On the way to the station, Chihaya-san gave these earrings."
"You're saying Tomori went to your house last Saturday?!"
Taki let out a cry of disbelief.
"I haven't even managed to invite Tomori to my house yet... Tomori, did this girl force you to go?"
"Eh? That's not it at all!"
Tomori quickly shook her head.
"It's because I ntioned to Anon that I felt embarrassed practicing singing at ho, so Anon invited to her place to practice together using her recording equipnt..."
Hearing this, Taki's brow furrowed.
"So you lured her with recording equipnt! Chihaya Anon—!"
"I-I went to Anon's house willingly!"
Before Taki could get the rest of her words out, Tomori quickly explained in a loud voice:
"Even without the recording equipnt, I still would have accepted Anon's invitation! Besides... I had a really fun ti that day. Not only did I practice singing with Anon all afternoon, but I also received a gift from Chihaya-san! So, please don't bla Anon!"
"Hmph~ Did you hear that? Tomori had a great ti at my house."
At this, Anon lifted her chin smugly at Taki.
"If you're not happy about it, why don't you try inviting Tomori to your house?"
"Hah? Of course I can do sothing like that!"
With that, Taki imdiately looked at Tomori. She took a deep breath, then asked in a sowhat stuttering voice:
"...Uh, um, Tomori, this weekend, would you like to co to my house... as a guest?"
However, in the face of Taki's hard-won invitation, a clear hesitation appeared on Tomori's face.
"W-Well..."
"Eh? Why are you hesitating when it's ?!"
"Because this weekend... Anon said she wanted to invite to go shopping in Shimokitazawa..."
"CHI! HA! YA! A! NON!"
Taki glared daggers at Anon once again.
"Why is it you again!"
"What's it to you? You want to co along? I don't mind, you know."
"Who would want to go with you!"
"Really? Then I'll just go alone with Tomori~ That's okay, right, Tomori?"
"Mhm."
"Ghh—! Wait, I-I didn't say I wasn't going! Send the eting ti and place later."
"So you're coming after all? What a difficult person."
Anon first shook her head with a speechless expression, then turned her gaze to Nagasaki Soyo, who had been sitting on the other side of the studio, silently staring at her phone.
"Do you want to co too, Soyo?"
"...I think I'll pass. I have other things to do this weekend."
Nagasaki Soyo finally looked up, put her phone away, and declined Anon's invitation with a smile.
"By the way, Tomori, those earrings... they really suit you."
"Thank you."
After receiving Soyo's approval, a smile once again appeared on Tomori's face.
At the sa ti, Taki couldn't help but take another close look at the earrings—
"Compared to regular ones, magnetic earrings that don't require piercings are definitely more suitable for Tomori. And this color matches her well too... Should I say, as expected of a designer's eye?"
"Heehee~ My brother's amazing, isn't he?"
"Why are you the one acting so smug? I was complinting your brother."
"Praising my brother is the sa as praising !"
"What a shaless girl. As a fellow younger sister, I could never be as thick-skinned as you."
"What did you say?!"
And so, Taki and Anon began their daily bickering once more.
Caught in the middle, Tomori watched them with a smile, unconsciously touching her earlobe with her fingers.
"..."
On the other side, seeing the three of them getting along so well, Nagasaki Soyo's brow furrowed slightly without her realizing.
"Tomori and Taki... they've accepted her so quickly..."
Based on her understanding of those two, Anon should have needed much more ti to even begin to close the distance with the two socially awkward girls. Yet, in less than two weeks, Anon and Tomori had already developed a relationship where they could visit each other's hos...
No, until last week, their relationship wasn't this good.
So... it was because of that visit over the weekend, wasn't it?
Thinking of this, Soyo subconsciously looked at Tomori.
And when she saw Tomori unconsciously touching her earrings, a judgnt ford in her mind.
"Could it be because of that Chihaya-san?"
Co to think of it, although Taki and Anon clashed on many things, she also seed to hold that Chihaya-san in high regard.
Not only that, but ever since they had actually t Tetsuya, Taki's attitude towards Anon had softened considerably...
"Mhm, it's most likely because of him."
Combining a series of observations and thoughts, Soyo very quickly ca to this conclusion.
Although her own evaluation of Tetsuya was also quite good, that didn't an she would allow this person to destroy her carefully laid plans.
She had to get Tetsuya away from them as soon as possible, preferably to a point where they would have no further contact.
...
"Oh, everyone!"
At this thought, Soyo suddenly stood up and said to the other three:
"Although Chihaya-san said before that we don't need to rush our decision, dragging it on like this is probably a burden for him, right? To avoid troubling him, I think we should decide on the band's and costus' style soon... Don't you think so, Anon?"
"Mhm! I agree!"
Anon raised her hand high.
"I've been saying we should decide on a costu style as soon as possible! Tomori must be looking forward to seeing what kind of outfits my brother will design, right?"
"...Mhm."
Tomori also nodded at that.
"If they're clothes designed by Chihaya-san... I'm sure they'll suit everyone."
"Well, if Tomori has no objections, then neither do I."
As always, Shiina Taki stood on the sa side as Takamatsu Tomori.
"Alright, then it's decided!"
Although their reasons differed, everyone's opinion was finally unified.
However, just as they were about to start discussing the band's style, the door to the studio was suddenly pushed open.
Following that, a girl with short, silver hair, carrying a guitar case, walked in.
User Comments
0 comments from readers