Nagasaki Soyo hadn't heard what Bai Qiu had said.
To her, the sounds of the outside world no longer mattered.
The vibrant blue of her eyes was now veiled by a faint layer of gray, and the sudden downpour brought back memories she desperately wished to forget.
When her parents separated...
It had rained like this.
The last time Sakiko walked away from her...
It had also rained like this.
And now...
It was raining again.
Why...?
Why is it always like this?
What did I do wrong for the world to treat me this way?
And Mutsumi...
Even Mutsumi had left.
She had just said she'd stay with her.
"Liar..."
"They're all liars..."
Soyo murmured silently.
To someone already drowning in despair, this torrential rain only made everything worse.
The heavy rain pounded against the pavement...
Against their clothes...
Against her face.
"Soyo! It's raining! Hurry!"
Bai Qiu shouted before instinctively turning toward the station platform to take shelter.
But after taking only a few steps, he suddenly remembered that something about Soyo wasn't right.
He turned back.
Sure enough...
She was still standing exactly where she'd been.
Motionless.
The rain poured relentlessly over her face until it was impossible to tell which drops were rain and which were tears.
Bai Qiu hurried back with an exasperated sigh.
"Hey! Now's not the time to stand there spacing out!"
He grabbed her gently by the wrist and pulled her toward the platform.
Her wrist was slender and soft.
The rain had left it ice-cold.
But Bai Qiu wasn't paying attention to that now.
He had no intention of standing in the rain any longer than necessary.
"...Leave me alone."
Soyo wanted to say it.
But before she could,
the force of Bai Qiu's grip had already pulled her into a run.
Remembering what had happened with Sakiko earlier, Bai Qiu consciously avoided the raised stones on the ground as he led Soyo safely toward the station.
Besides the two of them,
a handful of pedestrians also ran over one after another to escape the rain.
"Phew..."
Bai Qiu let out a relieved sigh.
Water trickled from his hair and down the sharp contours of his face.
At that moment,
the station announcement suddenly rang out through the roar of the rain.
"Attention, passengers."
"Due to heavy rainfall, train services are expected to be delayed. We ask for your patience."
The announcement repeated over and over.
After hearing it,
everyone around them looked disappointed.
A few people grumbled under their breath before ultimately resigning themselves with helpless sighs.
Bai Qiu naturally heard it as well.
Turning toward Soyo, he said,
"Well... our luck really sucks today."
"Let's go find somewhere to sit."
Soyo lowered her head.
Her lips were tightly pressed together.
Water still clung to her face, and her expression remained gloomy.
Her right hand loosely held her left elbow as it hung at her side.
To an outsider,
the two of them probably looked like a young couple who'd just had an argument.
Seeing that she still wasn't responding,
Bai Qiu once again took hold of her cold, delicate wrist.
This time,
Soyo didn't resist.
She simply followed him mechanically.
I promised Mutsumi.
At the very least, I should make sure she gets home safely.
Another day of doing good deeds...
Bai Qiu thought to himself.
After finding an empty bench,
he left Soyo alone for the moment.
Instead,
he immediately unzipped his bass case to check whether his instrument had gotten wet during the sudden downpour.
This was the companion that had fought alongside him all day.
Fortunately,
Kita's bass case had excellent waterproofing.
Although the outside of the case was damp,
not a single drop of water had seeped inside.
The bass itself was still perfectly dry and pleasantly cool to the touch.
Bai Qiu casually plucked a couple of strings.
The deep, resonant bass notes echoed softly.
Everything was in perfect condition.
Satisfied,
he set the instrument aside.
Then he found a pack of tissues, held one out toward Soyo, and said,
"Here."
"You don't have to be this heartbroken."
Soyo gave no response.
She still looked completely absent.
Not taking it?
Bai Qiu rolled his eyes.
He pulled the tissue back and used it to dry himself first.
Fine then.
Stay miserable.
After a while, he asked again,
"Do you want a tissue?"
I'm just too soft-hearted.
He shook his head inwardly.
Still no response.
Bai Qiu sighed.
"At least answer me."
"Otherwise people are going to think I bullied you."
Looking at her now,
he honestly wasn't sure she'd even be able to make it home safely by herself.
After crying so much and getting soaked by the rain,
Soyo's face had gone pale.
Wet strands of hair clung messily to her cheeks.
Bai Qiu simply stuffed the tissues into her hand.
"You look like a mess right now."
Soyo's lips moved slightly.
After a long pause,
she finally spoke.
"I told you..."
"...to leave me alone."
"Oh!"
Bai Qiu's face brightened slightly.
"You finally talked."
"How could I just leave you?"
At least she was speaking.
The thing he feared most was her bottling everything up inside.
People who kept everything to themselves were the ones most likely to do something reckless.
Quietly,
Soyo whispered,
"They all left..."
"Well..."
Bai Qiu thought for a moment.
"Mutsumi had somewhere she needed to be."
"She entrusted you to me."
"I'm not just going to leave."
"...Really?"
A trace of clarity finally returned to Soyo's eyes.
"Mhm."
Bai Qiu nodded firmly.
Besides, we live in the same direction anyway.
"So..."
"Go ahead and dry yourself off."
Soyo's fingers twitched.
At last,
she slowly raised the tissue,
wiping the rainwater from her face before tidying her disheveled hair.
Seeing that,
Bai Qiu continued,
"Honestly..."
"I don't think Toyokawa was entirely wrong."
"We all have to keep moving forward."
"...Though she definitely could've said it more gently."
"Next time I see her, how about I talk to her for you?"
To Bai Qiu,
it had sounded as though Toyokawa Sakiko wanted to completely sever all ties with Soyo.
No wonder she'd been devastated.
Hearing his words,
Soyo suddenly stopped wiping her face.
"You're not allowed to speak badly about Saki-chan!"
"And you're not allowed to bully Sakiko either!"
"Huh?"
Bai Qiu stared at her in disbelief.
"I'm literally standing up for you!"
"Besides, it's not like I'd actually bully her."
"Then..."
Soyo hesitated.
Her voice softened.
"...You still can't badmouth Sakiko..."
Bai Qiu sighed helplessly.
"Sakiko, Sakiko..."
"Since you like her that much, why don't you just go live with her?"
"Hmph."
Soyo let out a small huff.
After a moment,
Bai Qiu asked,
"If you love being in a band so much..."
"Why not start another one?"
"Another band?"
"Yeah."
"A brand-new band."
"CRYCHIC can't be replaced!"
Soyo reacted immediately.
"Nothing is irreplaceable."
"CRYCHIC is!"
"It isn't."
"It is!"
"No."
"It is!"
...
"...Fine."
"If that's how you feel."
Bai Qiu shook his head helplessly.
Anon...
Looks like recruiting a bassist and drummer is going to be an uphill battle.
Then, unable to resist teasing her, he said,
"Your head is completely filled with nothing but CRYCHIC, isn't it?"
Soyo turned her head away unhappily.
That's right.
My head is full of CRYCHIC.
So what?
'Just start another band.'
Easy for you to say.
Someone who had never experienced how wonderful CRYCHIC was...
Could never understand what CRYCHIC meant.
Nagasaki Soyo wanted only CRYCHIC.
She wanted to play in a band only with the people of CRYCHIC.
That conviction...
Would never change.
-------------------
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