“Eripon, you look like you’re holding up well! Shall we go for one more set?”
“I can’t!”
“Ah-ha-ha, only joking! ♪ But it’s almost time for the next group’s appointment, so hurry up and disperse, would ya?”
“Ugh… So exhausted.”
“Shi, wake up! Come on, come on!”
“Myam…” Shiika slowly got to her feet, moaning listlessly.
Her legs were wobbling. I couldn’t stand to see her so unsteady, so I hurried over to support her.
“Good job. You really did your best, didn’t you?”
“Nyeah. Praise me more.”
“You were great. Great!”
“…Heh.”
Shiika narrowed her eyes in satisfaction as I stroked her ego. She seemed more relaxed now, but her legs were still wobbling, and I wasn’t sure she’d be able to walk.
I was wondering what to do when I heard a noise by the door—the sound of voices.
Apparently, the next group who’d booked the studio had arrived.
“Hey, Haruka. Maybe we should ask someone from the Music Department to compose a song for us for the final exam?”
“Denied. They don’t understand our soul. Creating a soul-trembling beat and really making an audience excited. We need someone who can do that, and nothing else will do.”
“Hmm, that’s true, but…”
Three female students walked into the studio, talking away.
At the head of the group was a flashy-looking girl with dyed red hair who was about the same height as Ootsuka. Next was a girl with a ponytail, and another one with a short bob. They all had toned bodies and beautiful features. By which I mean, even in this school, with its high number of good-looking faces, they were above the school average.
In particular, the red-haired girl in the middle, called Haruka, had a particularly good body and a presence that made her stand out.
The three of them stopped, noticing us for the first time.
“Oh…” Ootsuka suddenly yelped.
She dashed over to the girl in a friendly manner.
“It’s Harucchi! So you’re the one who booked this studio after us, huh, Harucchi?”
“Tatsuki…”
“The three of you are going to make a video together for the final exam, huh? The top three students in the Dance Department teaming up… You’ll be unstoppable. Well, I have no intention of losing, either, you know!”
Apparently, the trio were Dance Department students. Still, I had no real idea of the hierarchies in this school, so I had no concept of how amazing they really might be.
“Hey, Akiba. Are they famous?”
I sat down beside Akiba, who’d surreptitiously slid back onto the floor, and muttered to her in a low voice.
Akiba seemed to have caught her breath again. She sat up straighter and glanced over at the Dance Department students, who were deep in conversation.
“The one in the middle with the superstar aura is Haruka Gokokuji. Number two in the Dance Department. She’s Tatsuki Ootsuka’s best friend and rival. The other two are also in the top ten. Seeing these girls interact is the kinda situation that has those in the know snapping pics for posterity.”
“Gokokuji, huh?”
I looked them over as Akiba explained, and I immediately noticed a discrepancy there.
Ootsuka was demonstrative, gesturing wildly as she spoke, but Haruka Gokokuji’s expression didn’t change at all.
Chalk and cheese, you might say. From where I was standing, it looked like Gokokuji was sort of standoffish.
Gokokuji’s friends looked slightly awkward, too, staring at her and Ootsuka.
Ootsuka’s energetic voice echoing in the studio felt somewhat hollow.
“Tatsuki, read the room. We’re clearly here to practice.”
“Oh… Oh, right. My bad! I was just so excited. We haven’t spoken in ages, Harucchi! Ah-ha-ha…”
“You’re wasting our time. Please leave at once.”
“Uh, right. Of course… Guys! Come on! We’re over our allotted time. Let’s make way for the next group, okay?”
Ootsuka looked despondent for a moment. Then she was right back to her usual perky, cheerful self.
But her smile wasn’t the natural one she’d worn before. It seemed sort of empty, sort of…pained.
“Hmm… Gak?”
“Don’t watch, Shiika.”
I covered Shiika’s eyes with one hand.
The tense atmosphere you experience now and then in school. One of the many toxins that continue to plague Shiika’s delicate mind.
“Come on, then, guys. Time to leave.”
“Oh, right.”
“Y-yeah. Okay.”
“…I guess that would be for the best.”
Akiba, Shibuya, and Komae sensed the awkwardness in the air and got ready to leave.
Everyone was very solemn now. What happened to all that joking from just before?
After we packed our things and were about to leave the studio…
“Tatsuki.”
…Gokokuji called out to Ootsuka’s back.
“Are they students from the Music Department?”
“Yep! The very best!” Ootsuka answered cheerfully, even though Gokokuji’s tone was harsh.
Gokokuji clicked her tongue.
“Such impudence. Making a mockery of hip-hop.”
“…Okay. Well, we’re off now! Bye-bye!”
Ootsuka must have heard Gokokuji’s spiteful words. But she made no response, almost as if Gokokuji hadn’t spoken at all. She just waved jauntily, then shoved me out of the studio ahead of her.
We walked a ways down the hallway, and once we were out of range of the sour trio—
“Sorry for the awkwardness! Just Dance Department politics. Ah-ha-ha,” Ootsuka said with a strained smile.
“Well, I guess even you have various things to deal with, huh?”
“Oh yeah. It’s tough. Wah-ha-ha.”
I tried to show some sympathy, to which Ootsuka smiled and laughed it off.
Akiba sighed, then said, “You’re one to talk, Gakuto…”
“Ah, but it’s not like it matters to us. Our only interactions with Dance Department students will be limited to Ootsuka, after all.”
“Hmm. But it’s not totally irrelevant,” Akiba responded with a loaded grin.
“Don’t be cryptic. Say what you mean.”
“Haruka Gokokuji is Ryan Sengoku’s girlfriend.”
“…” Ootsuka gulped and looked away.
She was wearing her usual beaming smile, but she seemed to be hiding something.
It was impossible to read her inner thoughts, though.
She was the opposite of poker-faced. She wore a permanent smile that was impossible to see through.
I decided to leave Ootsuka alone for the time being and ask Akiba about my concerns instead.
“That information is irrelevant, isn’t it?”
“Ryan Sengoku is an enemy we must defeat. Sengoku matters to us a great deal.”
“Yeah, but… His relationships don’t matter to us. That Gokokuji girl is completely unrelated.”
“Idiot! What are you, a total amateur? You have zero social media savvy. You’re a failure of a self-proclaimed manager!”
“That’s harsh! Mind your tongue, you vulture!”
“Find a new insult, you dumbass!”
But Akiba continued anyway, and now she was getting really snarky.
“Everyone knows that Sengoku and Gokokuji are dating. That means as long as each of their videos is pretty good, they can pool their fan base! They’ll be rolling in likes!”
“That… That makes sense.”
“Right? Irrelevant? Don’t make me laugh!”
“But even with that knowledge, we can’t do anything to get ahead where Gokokuji’s any kind of factor.”
If we find a way to beat Ryan Sengoku, then we can beat Gokokuji, too. That would be best, rather than getting involved in personal relationships.
“Um, listen…!”
Ootsuka interrupted our conversation.
“I just remembered I have something I need to do! I’ll go home first!”
“Okay, see you tomorrow,” I said.
Ootsuka dashed off. I watched her as she retreated into the distance.
The pitch of her voice, her big smile… The same as ever. I’m guessing she split because she didn’t want to hear any more about Gokokuji and Sengoku, though…
“Tatsu…”Shiika muttered, staring at Ootsuka’s retreating figure.
What kind of color did Shiika’s eyes see, and what was she thinking about right now?
As an ordinary person, I couldn’t even speculate.
But it was clear that Shiika was picking up on something about how Ootsuka was currently feeling.
I’d picked up on something, too, but I’m terrible at communicating with others, so it wasn’t like I could help in any way. I was left feeling…useless.
But still, that was fine.
I had enough to worry about. What I needed to do was focus on the things that were within my ability to control.