Chapter Text
One thing Sayo learnt when she began getting further involved with Roselia and its members was that they were seriously unpredictable sometimes. So much so that it was one of the many important factors behind her following the only proof she had any social life at all. Making new friends wouldn't be much of a problem, especially since college was a big step for any person, but splitting from the group to her felt so... wrong.
The hesitation about her decision to follow them was thanks to the realization of just how far away the college itself was from home, and that she'd definitely have to get a dorm room but her doubts melted like butter instead reasoning that she could indeed use the distance from her family a little. Past that it was a point of no return as Sayo walked to the dorms for the college all of Roselia would attend for the foreseeable future. She looked down at the messages flooding her phone screen sent by Ako telling her to make a bee-line for their dorm as quick as she could.
Sayo's rationale kept screaming about how this was a very bad idea. And even though in no way, shape or form did she want to risk anyone getting expelled for what would become a colossal disaster if anyone found out, the drummer stated time and time again she didn't want to leave any man behind — or in this case, woman — before managing to get everyone onboard with the idea. Even now Sayo still thought Ako's idea was insane but somewhat feasible if done right. And this point in time, it didn't really matter if anyone changed their mind. They'd gone too far to turn back now.
The elevator rattled one last time before a quiet ring severed the ex-guitarist's line of thought, allowing her to walk toward the dorm room Ako informed she'd be staying in, ready to begin an unpredictable year in more ways than one.
***
Opening the door that led to her "assigned dorm", Sayo stepped inside and had no time to get a look at her surroundings before Ako screamed her name and nearly gave her a heart attack. "Hello to you too, Udagawa-san." She tried her best to look reprimanding but couldn't hold back the smile that wasn't any bit reprimanding. "Sorry if I kept you waiting."
"You can still make it up to me!" Ako replied and grinned widely, pointing at Rinko who was in a deeper part of the room, setting up what seemed to be two gaming PCs and their respective equipment. It was obvious to differentiate the two set-ups from aesthetic alone. Rinko waved at the two for a quick second before going back to fumbling with countless cables and USB ports.
"Did you bring yours?" Ako let down her finger and looked at Sayo with excitement.
"Mine? Do you mean my laptop? Yes, I made sure to bring it." She had brought two small bags of luggage that contained all the personal belongings she was able to stuff inside, but also made sure to bring only the essentials. Placing them somewhere that wouldn't take up precious space, she began reconsidering not getting a separate dorm again.
Although plans had been made for all of Roselia to dorm together, the dorms could only handle two people each so someone either had to be alone, with a stranger or hole up in someone else's dorm. A quick debate in a fast food place had them all agree on Sayo staying with Ako and Rinko for multiple reasons Sayo both understood and didn't. But if Yukina of all people was willing to give it a shot, who was she to back down?
At some point Rinko had asked for Ako's help with setting up, leaving Sayo at her own mercy. Now that she wasn't getting suffocated by Ako's presence she had enough quiet to examine the dorm she'd be spending her next few years in.
It looked about as plain as a college dorm could get without any sort of decoration to allow students to embellish them however they liked. On each side of the room a bed each with a table up front. One of them had a TV on top of it but had been discarded elsewhere for a monitor to take its place for one of the set-ups. Sayo found nothing else noteworthy to examine, at least not until the three started refurbishing it to suit their visions.
Sayo took out her phone, curious about how the two remaining Roselia members were holding up.
[coolest goddamn raid group, 5:10 PM]
[5:10 PM] [Ako's Second Caretaker.]: Are you guys done unpacking?
[5:10 PM] [one whole unit of sister]: if by unpacking you mean throwing my stuff against the bed before realizing its a bad idea yes
[5:10 PM] [one whole unit of sister]: i'm not sure if i'm gonna survive one day here
[5:10 PM] [Ako's Second Caretaker.]: It's only your first day here, try not to break anything.
[5:11 PM] [one whole unit of sister]: i'm not even trying it's a skill i learnt from moca. i just wanna sleep
[5:11 PM] [Yukina Minato]: Before you do, check if anything's broken. I'm not buying you new parts
[5:11 PM] [one whole unit of sister]: that was ONE time
[5:12 PM] [Yukina Minato]: One time too many
[5:12 PM] [one whole unit of sister]: bold of you to assume i won't do it again
[5:12 PM] [Yukina Minato]: Bold of you to assume I'll buy you new ones
[5:12 PM] [Ako's Second Caretaker.]: Have you already set up, Minato-san?
[5:12 PM] [Yukina Minato]: Yes
[5:12 PM] [one whole unit of sister]: sayoooooooo can you come set mine up i don't wanna get off my bed
[5:13 PM] [Ako's Second Caretaker.]: Can't you do it? Or get Minato-san to do it for you?
[5:13 PM] [one whole unit of sister]: bed
[5:13 PM] [Ako's Second Caretaker.]: So you've yet to unpack. I'll come back later.
[5:13 PM] [one whole unit of sister]: i am begging respectfully i am on my knees here!!!!!
[5:13 PM] [Yukina Minato]: You're laying down
[5:13 PM] [Ako's Second Caretaker.] has gone Offline.
Sayo refused to participate in that any longer since, judging from how her phone wouldn't stop vibrating, they'd be going back and forth until they made up their minds despite the two being in the same room. Opening one of the bags of luggage and rummaging through it she took out her laptop and joined Ako and Rinko who were both sat down on flimsy foldable chairs. Unable to haul the ones they had back home thanks to everyone drawing a line at Ako willing to carry more weight than necessary. Besides, it was certain the dorms had enough chairs for their occupants.
"Do you want to... farm while we wait for them?" Rinko spoke to the two, who seemed to be actively spectating the argument happening in the group chat. "It'll be a while before... they'll get on."
They all agreed and logged on, banding together instantly and going off on side-quests they hadn't finished to try and get ahead of the bantering childhood friends. Roselia had been competing on friendly terms for who could be the highest level for years now, but Ako had yet to be dethroned from her spot ever since she reclaimed it months ago: unofficialy, the only person to ever come close was Rinko but the entire group agreed on it officialy being Sayo instead as she was more into the competition than the pianist was.
The hours piling up and the silence getting thicker, they kept calling out what spells or skills they casted when Ako started doing it enthusiastically before it devolved into occasional small talk lasting 2 hours, when Lisa and Yukina asked to join them and as much as they promised to be responsible, they got caught up playing and it took the clock ticking to 9 PM before they stopped.
***
"Aww, couldn't we have gone out for dinner together?" Ako was the first one to complain, almost done with her sandwich. The three weren't feeling particularly hungry and Rinko, ever the saint, brought some made at home for them to eat, knowing Ako and Sayo wouldn't think of going shopping to stock up and make food themselves.
"Imai-san seems to be asleep already and Minato-san doesn't seem to want to go out today." Sayo replied, holding what looked like a diary and a pen, pointing its head toward Ako. "And before you ask, neither do I."
"Daaaaamn..." was all that was heard for a while accompanied by a whine.
But Ako's silence didn't last long. "Can we go get lunch together tomorrow, then?!" The booming declaration startled both Rinko and Sayo, who both looked up from the ground and from her diary, respectively, causing Ako to flinch. "Sorry, I know. Neighbors and all that."
*Not the reason she should be apologizing for, but doesn't matter so long as she knows what she did wrong,* Sayo thought.
"I don't mind lunch..." Her input felt more like an automated response than anything, not bothering to reformulate her words thanks to more pressing matters.
Silence set in once more with everyone doing their own thing, and for a while the quiet was comforting. It felt like one of the only breaks anyone had gotten that day considering they spent one half of the afternoon playing and the other half taking care of moving in and the like.
But to Sayo, it wasn't feeling like a break.
She meant to throw this stupid diary away before coming here, but every time she got close to doing so an invisible force took her over. Besides staying with Roselia, the whole point of applying this far away from home was to get away from her family and to bury the past and forget it entirely, but none of that mattered when her hesitant stubbornness always kept her from doing so: the ripped pages were enough proof, and each torn page served only to make her nauseous. She wanted to burn the expensive leather holding the pages together, dig a hole in the middle of a forest, throw the ashes inside and then burn the entire forest down just so nobody knew it belonged to her. Yet every time she tried to fulfill that fantasy her chest tightened and her hands cramped up, unable to take the next step. Like she wished to let go but her instincts didn't, only wanting to hold it close and protect it in case anyone wanted to read a novelette on Sayo's life experiences. The old her would had committed arson already and dare think of it as no more than a mild inconvenience toward her path to stardom, but the her in the present wished to figure out what the diary meant to her before doing anything. Because only then would she be able to pinpoint what about it prevented her from getting rid of the cursed book.
"Sayo-san, you alright?" She heard a voice come from behind her and she deduced the slamming noise that came afterward was her diary getting slammed closed from how her hands lightly stung. She wasn't sure what kind of expression Ako wore but it was obvious worry was the main element.
"Yes... I simply spaced out, nothing to worry about." was about the greatest excuse she could play off in a hurry before leading the room into a familiar silence, this time awkward. Rinko seemed worried but made no comment on how Sayo's hands shook and instead cracked a small smile at Sayo, then turning back to her monitor.
Great, she just had to ruin the comfortable silence, didn't she? "I think I'll be heading to sleep now, Udagawa-san. Shirokane-san. Don't make too much noise."
"Alright. See you tomorrow, then!" Ako's usual demeanor was back and that was all that mattered to Sayo. It was supposed to be their first day here and this time window was meant for them to relax before reconciling tomorrow, and somehow Sayo had already found a way to spoil her entire mood in what could be considered record time.
Wishing to get some rest in before losing herself to her thoughts Sayo took out the tent bed she brought with her and set it up in the middle of the room, providing enough leeway for the other two to pass to the other side of the room if they climbed their beds. Positioning it anywhere else would mean bothering the dorm's true occupants even more than she already was. She turned off the lights and laid down, careful to remind herself that this wasn't a normal bed and thus wouldn't be able to throw herself on it. It took a while for sleep to overcome her senses, letting Ako and Rinko's soft unintelligible murmurs lull her to sleep.
***
Lunch was still a few hours away, so there was still plenty of time for Roselia to gather and do an activity together. Eventually they decided on exploring college campus and the town with help from Ako's directions, who was somewhat familiar with the region. Her family lived nearby, meaning she mostly knew the town inside out. One thing that wasn't lacking were the places to go for lunch or breakfast and Sayo couldn't help but wonder whether they competed for business or got along well. She thought the latter fit better judging by how each owner of each establishment was always regarded in a good light.
Besides the occasional comment here and there, their walk was oddly silent. There wasn't anything they really wished to talk about, instead appreciating how beautiful everything looked. Sayo saw it more as a chance to get to know the town better since they'd be spending quite the time there. It wouldn't hurt to get to know where's what. Maybe at some point she could start talking to the locals too...
The town wasn't neither loud or quiet, providing a welcoming atmosphere for its inhabitants or people passing by. Besides the multiple places Ako kept pointing out and detailing to them, there was a giant crowded park, with people sat on benches trying to relax, others walking their pets, some jogging in or out, that occupied a great part of the middle section filled with roads and sidewalks that allowed one to visit many shops and other establishments. Essentially, they were in the heart of town. One of the branching paths clearly led to the dorms and the college they would be attending, the same one they had come from to reach the center. Checking where all of them could lead did sound like fun but all that mattered right now was knowing how to situate themselves based on where they were.
By the end of their tour they already knew some establishments: the nearest place to get food was definitely the Hazawa Café but no lunches were served (two things Roselia already knew). Just close by was a bakery that Ako claimed "to sell the best damn bread around here," something Sayo hoped to check for herself despite bread not counting as lunch. For the places that mattered, there was a fairly popular fast-food chain just nearby a meat shop — the furthest building from the college yet— but looked like it got clients nonetheless. All of them seemed to be run by locals except for the fast-food one that simply wished to take advantage of hungry and broke students by making them fork over enough money to buy a menu that would get them something much cheaper anywhere else. But then again, she'd always had an attachment for their fries, and it'd be hypocritical to judge others based on their pick.
She was thinking about lunch when right about now would be a great time for some brunch, especially since nobody had bought any actual supplies yet and they wanted to save up as much money as possible. At least until they got feasible part-time jobs of course. Yukina's somewhat fat pockets couldn't hold them afloat all the time... right now only Lisa had the potential to fend for herself with her working part-time as a store clerk.
Turned out moving away from home with nothing more than two bags of luggage worth of clothes, other things, a laptop, a guitar and naive hopes and dreams to the point of forming bulges still made Sayo think she packed too little.
The bell that rang out across the Hazawa Café indicated their arrival to anyone else inside. Some chose to ignore it while others looked on for a brief second before turning away. It wasn't too packed during the early morning but some simply came for the cozy atmosphere it provided, consisting out of the smell of blended coffee to accompany the bright brown across the walls coupled with some cups filled with coffee.
"Ah, welcome!" The daughter of the owners, Tsugumi Hazawa, greeted Roselia with a smile no less genuine than the one she'd give other customers. "Coming for breakfast, right? Will you all have the usual?" The only place Sayo bothered to remember from this town back then was the café. No wonder she felt more unfamiliar with any other part in town than the rest did. They all nodded and each one individually greeted the barista.
"Well, lookie lookie at who it is." It'd take a prayer to some unknown deity above to prevent the one person Sayo hoped wouldn't see today see through to that wish. The drawn out and tired voice of a certain guitarist proved that Sayo would have to be religiously devout for that to happen. "Here to see your most special, precious friends in the world?"
Sayo groaned and turned to Moca, who had a grin so wide it could almost split her face in half, the half-lidded eyes only adding to her smug and laid-back aura. "If I were here to see you, I'd have to be very desperate for company."
"And yet here you are." Alas Sayo's reply only egged Moca on. Moca eventually took her attention off of the ex-guitarist and waved at Lisa, who sent a finger gun her way and sat beside her afterward, forcing Rinko, Sayo and Yukina to get separate chairs to join the booth.
"They're here to eat lunch, just like us." Ran spoke up from her corner of the booth, looking up from her phone and at Moca with a disapproving expression, prompting Moca to tell her about it being a joke and having the vocalist go back to focusing on her phone.
"We just got... done checking the area," Rinko spoke up. "So we thought we could pass by and... take a breather." She seemed more comfortable than when they first walked inside now surrounded by the company of people she knew
"Oooh, you went to check all the places without us?" Himari piped up from beside Tomoe who was currently being tested in a game of wits and sacrifice: rock paper scissors. "Shame. Coulda invited us to go out and eat with you guys. Not that the food from this place is bad, of course!"
"We're all gathered here nonetheless, so it doesn't really matter, does it? We plan on getting lunch later," Yukina said. "though it'll be just the five of us."
Roselia and Afterglow went together like bread and butter. Most of their history came from the Udagawa siblings and Moca and Lisa, so it was only obvious at some point their paths intertwined and they began to get to know each other more and more, forming a sort of close bond as opposed to a rivalry. They only kicked it off after high-school ended but clicked together fairly quick, and Sayo wondered daily what would have gone different if they had ever met sooner; they had attended the same high-school.
In a way, Sayo admired them reluctantly: a vocalist with high standards for herself and those around her, a guitarist whose guitar skills only served to add to her irritating attitude, a bassist serving as a pillar of support for others, and a drummer loyal to her friends with a fervor only matched by the vocalist, and a keyboardist that let the group take risks by working behind the scenes.
All she saw in Roselia were 4 members who had their eyes set on the big leagues, who worked together for a unified goal and dragged along a retired guitarist whose sound fizzled out years ago out of fear of taking the next big step. So they patiently waited for her and hid behind the saying that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Sayo thought about Afterglow's keyboardist from time to time because Sayo wished to hold the same drive that allowed Tsugumi to push her band forward. Was her admiration only focusing on how she wished to see herself in someone or how the group worked in perfect unity, with their strengths balancing out each other's weaknesses?
A mention of her name let Sayo fall back to reality and out of a crisis begging to happen, cracking a small nod in reply to something she hadn't even heard. A vague guess she heard in her daze seemed to be related to them meeting up every now and then after classes so they could spend time together.
"Did you even hear what she said, Sayo?" Lisa's words accompanied by laughter weren't sounding so welcoming, and more like she'd walked right into a trap. "You just agreed to sell your soul to the bread lords."
What.
"Roselia versus Afterglow, bread eating competition," Himari added, enlightening Sayo on what was about to go down thanks to her carelessness. "Loser pays for the tab and winners get a weeks worth of Yamabuki goods."
"No, no. Absolutely not. I didn't agree to this!" Although the bread could help with stocking up, the line that separated free food and an expensive fallout was faded. You had to think methodically and bet on the safe option to not participate at all.
"Only if Aoba-san doesn't participate." A small 'boo' could be heard from said person following a low chant along the lines of 'bring back Moca, bring back Moca,' met only with a light laugh from Rinko.
"Even Yukina-san's willing to! Come on, please?" The synchronized pleading from both Ako and Lisa was enough to tell Sayo there would be no easy out of this lest she surrender and join in on the madness.
To double down on her thoughts from yesterday, one thing Sayo had learned when she got herself involved with Roselia and Afterglow was that their members could be seriously unpredictable sometimes.