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Morning had barely just started.
The classroom was still mostly empty—chairs half-pulled out, bags slung over desks, the surrounding air filled with chatter and people greeting their friends in the morning.
Kohane sat near the window, hands fidgeting anxiously in her lap. Shiho sat beside her, arms crossed, gaze sharp and focused—not on the classroom, but on Kohane.
“...And?” Shiho prompted.
Kohane flinched slightly under the intensity of her friend's absolutely pissed gaze. “A-And that’s… um… that’s what happened…”
Before Shiho could respond, the classroom door slid open with a bright—
“Good morning, everyone!!”
Minori beamed as she stepped in, energy radiating off her like sunlight itself. She had barely taken two steps inside before Shiho’s voice cut through the room.
“Minori. Over here.” Shiho said.
Minori blinked, surprised by the tone, and hurried over. “Huh? Oh—coming!” she replied, quickly plopping her bag down on her desk and walking over to them.
”What’s up?” she asked.
Kohane flinched a little at the attention, shrinking back instinctively. Shiho didn’t look away from her.
“Kohane just told me something,” Shiho said flatly. “Sit.”
That was enough to make Minori’s heart drop. She quickly (and clumsily) pulled a nearby chair closer (nearly tripping over a table leg in the process somehow), sitting across from Kohane and next to Shiho. “Kohane-chan, what happened!?”
Kohane swallowed. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make it sound like a big deal…”
Shiho’s jaw tightened. “It is a big deal.”
Minori nodded. “It is! Please tell me what’s wrong, Kohane-chan!”
Kohane hesitated, eyes flicking between them, then took a small breath. “It’s about the event An-chan and I performed at. I think I mentioned it yesterday…?” she started
“Uhhh,” Minori thought back to the previous day. “In Vivid Street right?”
“Yes,” Kohane said. “Um… so, we practiced a lot. I really tried to keep up with her. S-she’s… she’s amazing! A-and I didn’t want to slow her down.”
Shiho watched her closely, saying nothing.
“There was… someone there,” Kohane continued. “He said he did street music too. He was nice at first. He's the one who challenged us to perform at the event.”
Minori’s mouth opened, and stayed agape. “Challenged?!”
“Yeah. Like he wanted to see if we were serious.” Kohane’s fingers tightened around her sleeve again. “I was really nervous, but I wanted to do my best.”
Her voice wavered. “And then, during the performance… the power suddenly went out.”
Shiho’s eyes narrowed. “The power went out? Just like that?”
“Yes… everything stopped. The lights, the speakers.” Kohane stared down at her hands. “An-chan kept singing anyway. She didn’t hesitate at all—she just… pushed through it.”
“I wanted to do the same, I really did! But—my mind went blank. I couldn’t hear anything. I just froze.”
Shiho leaned forward. “That’s not your fault.”
“B-but then,” Kohane continued, voice trembling, “we found out he was the one who cut the powers.”
Minori gasped. “What!?”
“He said he did it on purpose,” Kohane kept going. “And then he started yelling at us.”
Shiho’s nails dug into her arms—looking ready to hunt down this asshole and personally beat him into his grave.
“He said… that wanting to surpass RAD WEEKEND without resolve was stupid,” Kohane said. “That if something small like that stopped me from singing, then it meant I wasn’t serious from the start.”
Minori’s face slowly drained of color.
Shiho slammed her palm lightly against the desk. “Who the hell does he think he is?”
Kohane flinched at the sound. “I-I know that uhm… he’s really passionate about music. And I understand that it’s important to him! But when he said that… I couldn’t say anything.”
Minori reached out, gently covering Kohane’s hands. “Kohane-chan… you practiced really hard. You told us how much you put into this, a-and we even heard you sing that one time! You are amazing!”
Shiho nodded sharply. “Freezing up doesn’t mean you don’t care. It means you were scared.”
“He told me to leave,” Kohane said quietly. “That if that was all it took to break me, then I didn’t belong there.”
Minori’s head snapped up. “That’s—!”
“What an asshole.” Shiho hissed.
Kohane flinched slightly. “S-Shiho-chan…”
“No,” Shiho said. “He doesn’t get to decide that for you. Not after one performance. Not after sabotaging it in the first place.”
Shiho’s eyes were blazing now. If Minori or Kohane wasn’t sure she was willing to kill, now they were definitely more certain. “You don’t have to listen to him—ever. He doesn’t get to decide whether you belong anywhere.”
Minori nodded along and squeezed Kohane’s hands. “Shiho-chan’s right! It wasn’t fair at all, Kohane-chan. You got on stage, that's already incredible!”
Kohane blinked. “R-Really…?”
“Of course!” Minori piped up. “Everyone messes up and makes mistakes! I do it all the time. What matters is no matter what, you keep going!!”
Kohane let out a shaky laugh. “Thank you Shiho-chan, Minori-chan…!”
She drew in a breath, shoulders loosening just a little. “I guess you’re both right. I just… I’m still not sure how to face Shinonome-kun again.”
Minori froze.
Shinonome-kun?
Street music… intimidating… short tempered… going around challenging people…
Akito.
Her grip tightened imperceptibly on Kohane’s hands.
Oh.
She was going to kill him—
“Minori?”
Minori snapped back to reality. Shiho and Kohane were staring at her, wide-eyed.
“Eep—!” Kohane squeaked. “Minori-chan, your face got really scary for a moment!”
Shiho nodded along slowly. “Yeah. You looked like you were going to kill someone.”
Minori jolted, waving her hands frantically. “H-Huh?! No! No, no, it’s nothing! Just—uh—bad sleep! Yeah! That’s all!”
That wasn’t a total lie. Ena was busy angrily throwing stuff in her room last night. Probably something about her music circle—though the real question should be why they meet at 1 A.M. of all times.
Shiho squinted at her. “You’re a terrible liar.”
“Ehehehe…” Minori laughed nervously. “Anyway! The point is—Kohane-chan, you’re amazing, and that guy is completely wrong!”
Kohane smiled, tentative but sincere. “Thank you. I feel a little better now.”
The bell rang, breaking the moment. Chairs scraped, voices rose, and the classroom began to fill with noise.
Minori leaned back in her chair, still smiling.
Internally, she was already planning Akito’s funeral.
The front door slammed open.
“AKITO!”
Akito, who had just stepped into the living room with a drink in hand, barely had time to react.
“Huh—?”
Minori launched herself at him.
“YOU—!”
“WH—HEY—?!”
He barely had time to turn before she lunged, grabbing him by the collar and shaking him violently.
“What did you do to Kohane-chan?!” she yelled.
“W-what the—?!” Akito choked. “Minori— let go of me!”
“DON’T ‘WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT’ ME!” Minori snapped, tightening her grip. “YOU BULLIED HER AT HER FIRST PERFORMANCE?!”
Akito froze.
“Hah?! That shrimp—!?” he repeated.
Minori shook him harder. “THAT ‘SHRIMP’ HAS A NAME AND HER NAME IS AZUSAWA KOHANE!”
Akito wheezed. “Minori— I can't— BREATHE—!”
“GOOD!”
Her hands tightened around his neck and shook him harder. “How dare you say all that about Kohane-chan!?”
Footsteps can be heard running down the stairs, presumably Ena and Nene going down to check on the noise.
From stairwell, Ena’s voice rang out. “What the hell is going on?!”
Nene peeked out, blinking at the scene. “…Oh,” she muttered.
Akito wheezed, trying to pry Minori’s hands off his neck. “IT’S NOT LIKE THAT—!”
“YOU MADE HER CRY!”
“I DIDN’T— I MEAN—!”
“YOU’RE THE WORST!”
“LET GO OF ME—!”
Minori finally let go with a huff, crossing her arms. “You better apologize to her!” she said, before storming up to her room, walking past the confused Ena and Nene.
Akito collapsed to the floor, coughing, utterly bewildered.
“What the fuck?”