"Taki-chan..."
Hearing Taki's words, Tomori seemed to want to say something, but she was stopped by Kamijo Mutsumi.
Aha, so you want to play the gender card, do you?
Now this is a topic I'm wide awake for!
"What's wrong with being a man? Can't men join bands? Don't men deserve to have dreams?"
"Huh? When did I ever say that?"
Kamijo Mutsumi's line of attack was clearly outside of Taki's expectations, causing her aggressive momentum to drop a few notches.
"Hearing your words, I'm trembling with anger. It's a hot day, but my body is cold and my hands and feet are freezing. Tears are streaming down my face uncontrollably. I forgot the rest, but all in all, can this society even be saved? How must men live to satisfy you people? When will this world stop oppressing men?"
"You..."
Just like Anon, Taki was left dizzy and disoriented by this rhetorical fist technique from a foreign land.
Dude, are you for real? You're escalating a simple matter of joining a band to this level?
"Even setting that aside..." Taki didn't dare to continue tangling with him on this topic, afraid he would hit her with a few more punches. "...What can you even do if you join the band?"
"...Be the keyboardist?"
Soyo: "???"
Hearing Taki's question, Kamijo Mutsumi hadn't even responded yet, but Miss Soyo's expression turned anxious.
"...Can't do it."
Fortunately, he did not accept the position, which allowed Soyo's suspended heart to settle back down.
"...Guitarist? Bassist?"
"Can't play 'em."
"...Drummer?"
"Don't drum."
"So don't tell me you want to compete with Tomori for the lead singer spot?" A smile returned to Taki's face. She knew it. This scumbag couldn't possibly know anything about music.
"What right does a guy like you who can't do anything have to join our band?"
However, Taki's words didn't discourage him in the slightest. Instead, it was Anon who was sweating bullets.
Hey, sis, does your attack have to have an area-of-effect?
"That's not true!"
A sudden voice startled Taki, who thought her beloved leader was about to stand up for Kamijo Mutsumi again.
But when she saw the speaker was not Tomori but Mutsumi Wakaba, who had been acting like a doll the whole time, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Rikki... you have no right to say that about Mutsumi."
Because she had learned about the car accident from him yesterday, Mutsumi Wakaba realized she knew far too little about her fiancé.
And as a national-level artistic talent, Kamijo Mutsumi's personal information was readily available online.
Only then did she understand just how brilliant and high-spirited her fiancé had once been.
Compared to him, the old CRYCHIC was like child's play.
Therefore, seeing Taki dancing in a minefield, she naturally couldn't help but speak up.
However, as Taki's equal in the art of bluntness, the result of her speech was predictable.
"Huh? I have no right?!"
The person opposite her wasn't Tomori, so Taki naturally got tough, ready to start a fight on the spot.
"Alright, alright."
This is a top-tier ranked match!
If he really let these two titans clash, he couldn't even imagine how beautiful the resulting chaos would be.
"Stop fighting over me."
"Who's fighting over you?!"
Unsurprisingly, Taki was disgusted by Kamijo Mutsumi's innocent, manipulative act. Although it was technically true, his words made it sound as if she had feelings for him.
Hilarious. How could she ever have feelings for this scumbag?
Even if she had to jump off the roof of RiNG, she would never, ever fall for Kamijo Mutsumi!
"...But what Taki-chan said does make sense. It's really not appropriate for me to join your band."
"...Good, you know your place."
Taki naturally took this as him backing down, and the expression on her face softened considerably.
"Mutsumi..."
Hearing this, however, Tomori instantly drooped, a sad look on her face.
Didn't you promise a lifetime?
"But I did make a promise to Tomori..."
Kamijo Mutsumi obviously wasn't going to be persuaded by Taki.
"...And I am also a man of some means, with some involvement in this area."
"Therefore, allow me to be your manager. No problem with that, right?"
"If it's you, Mutsumi, then of course it's no problem!"
Sunlight was instantly injected back into Tomori, and her eyes filled with relief.
"Tch~"
Seeing how close Tomori was with him, Taki's heart soured with jealousy, but she didn't object further.
Tomori's earlier reaction had already made her understand that her actions were only making her beloved leader uncomfortable.
Fine. Tomori has her own life. Perhaps my desire to interfere was too strong, and I was expecting things on my own terms.
"Also, Mutsumi Wakaba just came along with us," Kamijo Mutsumi said. Emotionally, he was reluctant to let her join MyGO!!!!!. Otherwise, what would happen to Ave Mujica? "Whether she joins or not is up to her..."
Just one look was all it took for him to know her thoughts.
"...But she probably doesn't want to. Of course, rest assured, I know another guitarist who is just as outstanding as me."
"...I don't think Mutsumi-chan feels that way, right?"
Hearing that Mutsumi Wakaba didn't want to join, Soyo instantly became anxious.
However, she managed to keep her expression in check and spoke to her in a "gentle" tone.
"We can form a band together, have a live show together... just like before?"
"..."
Faced with Soyo's hopeful gaze, Mutsumi Wakaba lowered her head, moved to Kamijo Mutsumi's side, and went back to being a doll.
"..."
It's happening again.
Soyo felt as if she had returned to that rainy afternoon, when Mutsumi Wakaba's words, "I've never had fun playing in a band," delivered the final blow to the already fragile CRYCHIC.
And now it was happening again. Mutsumi Wakaba...
You only ever disappoint me!
"I see. Then I guess it can't be helped..."
Her eyes only darkened for a moment before Soyo perfected her expression management.
"The three... no, four of us will work hard together! I'm sure it will be fine!"
However, though the smile remained on her face, Soyo instinctively began fiddling with her index finger.
It's fine. Don't get agitated. I've known what kind of person she is for a long time. I knew I shouldn't have had any expectations for her.
Even if I'm all alone, it's okay. As long as I use my world-shocking wisdom, everything will be alright.
"Four... didn't Kamijo say there was another guitarist?"
And Anon, as always, managed to grasp the key point.
As the girl's words fell, a cat walked in, pulling a suitcase and a guitar.
The final member of MyGO!!!!! had arrived!
"Want to join a band?"
Kamijo Mutsumi directly blocked the cat's path.
"Join, and you get unlimited matcha parfaits!"
The cat looked up at him, her gold and blue heterochromatic eyes sparkling like jewels.
"Parfait~"
And then, among the group, there was one more cat, eating a matcha parfait.