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The Next Day

In Front of the Station

Houka...Hotaru-san.

Houka(I thought if I came to the nearest station, there might be a chance...)

Houka(But it seems she's not going to come out to see me after all.)

Houka(She didn't reply to the message I sent last night, either.)

Houka(This means... I guess she's grown to hate me.)

Houka*Sigh*... I guess this is where it ends, then.

Houka(Once again, I could not escape from this version of me.)

Classmate AHouka-chan, you're amazing!

Classmate BThat's our Houka-chan!

TeacherThanks to Izumi-san, there's nothing to worry about!

HoukaEhehe, not at all. It's all thanks to everyone.

—Back then, I was full of myself.

I was simply reasonably capable and good at getting along with others.

Just through that, and by pure luck, I happened to end up at the center of my social circle, and I gradually began to wonder...

"What exactly is it about me that people value?"

I don't possess any exceptional talent, nor have I put in any blood, sweat, and tears.

So why was someone like me "at the center of the circle?"

...After that, a classmate invited me to join a band, but that question only grew louder with each passing day.

Audience AThat vocalist is amazing!

Audience BIzumi-san! I've become your fan!

It was as if the whole world was lying to me.

As if, even though I was right there, no one was actually looking at me.

That was when I met her.

KanataNice to meet you! Uh, what was it again? Oh, right, the band name!

KanataAh, we are... Aqua Rapids!

Kanata—♪

Houka...♡

She was the real deal. I was certain of it.

If I stayed by her side, I could just be a background character.

The light she radiates could burn to ash this fabricated version of me that everyone has built...!

That's how it was supposed to be. And yet—

Houka(Just as I thought, my whole life... will end without anything ever coming true.)

???...Found you.

Houka! ...Oh my.

HoukaWhy, if it isn't Natsume-san♪

Natsume...Even after everything that happened yesterday. I can't believe you're acting so perfectly normal.

HoukaI'm hurt you'd think that. I'm waiting around here because I want to apologize to Hotaru-san, isn't that obvious?

NatsumeI honestly can never tell what you're thinking... Whatever.

NatsumeJust answer one question for me.

Houka?

NatsumeDo you have the will to keep going with millsage?

Houka...Yes, of course.

NatsumeRight. Then let's go, right away.

Houka? Go where?

NatsumeTo go get her. Hotaru.

Houka...Uh, well—

NatsumeHah, so even you make a face like that! Now that's a rare sight.

NatsumeIt's true you've pulled some absolutely insane stunts. The kind where you couldn't even complain if the other members ended up hating you for it.

NatsumeBut, well, I couldn't care less about any of that. The only thing I have to protect is the music we made with Kanata.

NatsumeAs long as that doesn't fade away and disappear, I say go ahead and fight or deceive each other all you want.

Houka(I had thought she was someone who lived purely for the approval of others...)

Houka(It seems she's surprisingly iron-nerved.)

Houka...? You just said "Hotaru," but...

HoukaDon't we need to go get Mahoro-san and Nagi-san, too?

NatsumeHuh? Ah.

NatsumeAs for them, I already sent someone to go get them ages ago.

Nagi...

MahoroNagi-chan...

Nagi! Mahoro...!

Mahoro...Could it be you've been waiting here this whole time?

NagiYeah... I figured just barging into your place was a bit too much.

MahoroEven though I'd been ignoring all your messages?

Nagi...But I figured you'd read them eventually, right?

Mahoro...What's that supposed to mean?

Nagi...Mahoro, I'm sorry.

NagiI... I hurt you.

Nagi...I'm the worst, aren't I?

Mahoro...You really are.

Nagi...

MahoroBut... I'm the worst, too.

NagiHuh...

MahoroAbout Houka-chan... surprisingly, I'm not all that angry at her.

MahoroI mean, sure, it was a shock... but it felt like, well, it makes sense that she'd think I was unreliable.

Nagi...That's not...!

Nagi...

MahoroThe vocals, the bass, the lyrics... I thought I could do them, too. That I should be able to.

MahoroI just got it into my head that I had to do them all, ignored what you were saying, pushed myself too hard, and just spun my wheels...

MahoroAnd the result was that I self-destructed on stage at the live...

MahoroIt's just... so uncool, isn't it?

Nagi...No, you were working really hard, Mahoro.

Mahoro...That's not what I mean.

NagiYou were trying to hold everyone together, and you never gave up on the vocals or the lyrics—

MahoroI said, that's not what I mean!!

Nagi...!?

MahoroI already get it... that I don't have talent or charisma or any of that! But...!

Nagi...Mahoro—

MahoroAaaaaaaah!!! It's so frustrating!!!!

Nagi!?

MahoroI lost so completely to Hotaru-chan! She's in middle school, and I'm in high school!!

MahoroEveryone picked Hotaru-chan over me!!

MahoroI'm frustrated that I lost, and I'm frustrated that I was never recognized, but...!

MahoroYesterday... when I heard Hotaru-chan sing, a part of me thought "It's okay now" and just... gave up and felt so much lighter...!

MahoroAnd the fact that I let myself accept defeat is what frustrates me more than anything!!

Nagi...Mahoro...

MahoroGeez, why don't I have any talent!

MahoroIsn't it okay to admire someone!? Isn't it okay to dream!? I want to believe I'm the protagonist, too!!

MahoroSomeone who sparkles, who draws everyone in and never lets them go... Something like that...! I, too...!

MahoroI, too... wanted to be just like Kanata...

Nagi...Kanata was special. She was an invincible hero.

Mahoro...

MahoroThen, why...?

MahoroIf she was invincible, if she was more of a protagonist than anyone else... Why did she have to die...?

MahoroWhy, tell me why!? Why did Kanata have to die!?

Nagi...I don't know...

NagiI don't know, okay...! Things like that...

MahoroWhy did she leave us behind...!! Why!? Tell me!!

NagiI said I don't know!!

Mahoro...

NagiI've thought it too, so many times... wishing it was all just a dream...!

NagiThat Kanata would just pop out from around the corner, saying "It was all a lie..."

NagiSo many times, so many times...!

MahoroWhy... why? There should have been so much more to come.

MahoroWe still had the cultural festivals for our second and third years of high school, and the school trip!

MahoroDeciding our paths, taking entrance exams! All of us going to the same university and continuing the band!

MahoroWe were supposed to have that kind of future...!

Nagi...Yeah.

NagiWe really were.

MahoroWhat the hell...! Everything, every single thing, is so frustrating and makes me so mad...!

MahoroI miss you, Kanata...!

MahoroLaugh at me and call me an idiot...!

MahoroUuuh... *sob*

MahoroUwaaaaaaaah...!

Mahoro*Sniffle*... *Hic*...

MahoroNagi-chan, got any tissues...

Nagi...I'm all out.

Mahoro...Geez, come on.

Mahoro*Sniffle*... Ahh~ It's been so long since I cried this much.

Nagi...Now that you mention it. It's been a while since I've seen you make such a fuss, Mahoro.

MahoroHey, saying I'm "making a fuss" is kind of mean, isn't it...?

NagiWell, I mean. When we were kids, you and Kanata used to argue a lot and both end up crying, didn't you?

NagiBut after we started the band, even when we fought, it was like we'd become somewhat more like adults.

MahoroWell... we can't be kids forever, you know.

NagiYeah... and that's why...

NagiIt gets harder to say what you really feel, I guess.

NagiEven Natsume-senpai and Houka. We've been together a long time, but we might have never really talked honestly with each other.

Mahoro...Maybe.

Nagi...Mahoro. You haven't cried at all since Kanata passed away.

NagiNot even at the funeral.

Mahoro...!

NagiIf you're carrying something, I want you to tell me.

NagiI don't want you to have to shoulder it alone anymore.

Mahoro...

MahoroYou know... I got in the way of Kanata's dream.

MahoroComet Rising. The Koshien of bands, only for teenagers.

MahoroAt the afterparty, she told me she wanted to enter it.

MahoroBut I... I'd never thought about that kind of future, you know.

MahoroI was having too much fun... and I was scared of things changing. So I ended up saying... let's do it later, not right now.

MahoroTo Kanata, who knew better than anyone that she didn't have time.

Nagi...

MahoroI keep thinking... if I hadn't said that, maybe we could have entered before Kanata died.

MahoroOr even if not... if I'd just given her a proper answer back then, and said "Let's do it..."

MahoroThen maybe Kanata's feelings could have been saved, even just a little...

MahoroWhen I thought that... I felt I had to make it come true for her.

Nagi...So that's why you were pushing yourself so recklessly?

MahoroYeah... But in the end, I guess I could never be Kanata after all.

MahoroYesterday's live made me realize that, as much as I hated it.

Nagi...

MahoroI'm a terrible person, aren't I? Dragging everyone down with my own guilt.

Nagi...I wonder.

NagiWhat Kanata really thought... only Kanata knows that.

Mahoro...That's true.

MahoroAh, geez... What am I supposed to do now?

MahoroHaving it shoved in my face that I have no talent... and not even being able to atone properly...

Mahoro...What can I even do?

Nagi...

Nagi...You know. Wouldn't it be okay... if you just quit the band?

Mahoro...Huh?

NagiI've said it before. I don't want to see you in pain, Mahoro. ...I think choosing that path is okay, too.

Mahoro...I see.

Mahoro...Yeah... I guess so...

NagiYeah... we did once end up talking about doing that. ...And, you know, your feelings about Kanata...

Nagi...The adults told us, didn't they? At the funeral— "Time will heal it."

Nagi"Time will heal even your sadness..."

Mahoro、Nagi...

Mahoro...I don't want that.

MahoroAh, geez, this feeling just keeps coming back again and again... But I hate it.

Mahoro...I still don't want it to end. Not my feelings for Kanata... and not my story, either.

MahoroI can't take Kanata's place. I don't have talent like Hotaru-chan. I'll never be chosen as the protagonist.

MahoroI have nothing. I'm just an empty shell.

MahoroI get it now. It's so painfully clear. But if I step down now, it's over.

MahoroEven if it hurts, I can't step down.

MahoroI don't want to use having nothing as an excuse to end it...!

Nagi...Aha. You really are stubborn.

NagiFine, then. That's good enough.

Mahoro...Huh?

NagiI said, that's good enough. We just have to face it... and keep on living.

MahoroNagi-chan...

NagiWell, I don't really know, though.

NagiI mean, with the band in this state... who knows if we can even do it again.

MahoroTrue...

NagiCold.

MahoroThe sea breeze is way too cold.

NagiRight. It stings.

MahoroLet's go.