I Just Want A Single Ending!

"I want to ask you something. When we finished the first rehearsal with the band on Monday, was the reason for your mistake because you couldn't write the lyrics?"

From Tomori Takamatsu's comments before the second take, it was clear she knew exactly why she'd interrupted—it was her singing that had gone off-key.

That's why Kamigawa Saku was able to ask directly, hoping to confirm it clearly.

"Yes."

Recalling her performance at the time, Tomori nodded, a little ashamed.

"Thank you, back then."

The more she thought about it, the more grateful she felt toward Saku.

If she'd managed to complete that first take… what kind of feedback would she have received? The thought was simply terrifying.

Especially…

Tomori bit her lip, her hands unconsciously tightening.

…You clearly need a lot of practice, so what have you even been doing up till now!

The words Togawa Sakiko had said to her before leaving CRYCHIC still echoed in her ears.

"No need to thank me. Now, could you tell me why not being able to write the lyrics caused you to make that mistake? No one in the band's been pressuring you to hurry, right?"

There were two possible issues to address here: one was Tomori's tendency to feel pressured when she couldn't write, which led to mistakes when singing; the other was her inability to write lyrics for some reason.

Although solving the problem of writing lyrics would make both issues disappear, if even she didn't know why she couldn't write, then they'd have to start by tackling the other issue to uncover her true feelings.

"I…"

As soon as he asked, scenes of CRYCHIC's breakup started replaying in Tomori's mind.

Don't make excuses like that…

Those words had come as a response when they'd mentioned waiting on Togawa Sakiko, saying they couldn't practice without her.

Then, for this question, would it be okay to push all the blame away?

Couldn't write the lyrics… wasn't that entirely her fault?

No one had pressured her. She simply… couldn't write.

"It's my personal problem," she finally said after a long silence.

"Don't say it like that, as if everything's on your shoulders," Saku responded immediately, rejecting her answer. "Lyrics are something for the entire band. It's not right for you to carry this alone, so stop piling all this pressure onto yourself."

"…"

Tomori didn't reply.

Not her responsibility alone?

Could that be true?

The others had entrusted her with writing.

So if she couldn't write, wasn't that still her fault?

Seeing her reaction, Saku ventured, "Are you worried that not writing lyrics will negatively affect the band?"

He'd asked her a long time ago about why CRYCHIC disbanded.

Back then, her answer had been along the same lines—that it was her fault.

If his hunch was right, maybe these two situations were connected.

"…Yeah," Tomori whispered, barely audible.

"So that's how it is."

Finally seeing some progress, Saku responded in a lighthearted tone, "But not being able to write lyrics… how would that possibly affect the band?"

"The band… it'll break up."

Staring into the tea in front of her, Tomori murmured her answer.

"Huh?"

The answer was so out of the blue that Saku couldn't quite believe it.

Suppressing his surprise, he tried to reassure her, half-jokingly, "Aren't you overthinking it? How could not writing a few lyrics lead to us disbanding?"

But Tomori was lost in her memories.

If bands weren't so fragile, why had CRYCHIC broken up so easily?

Why had Togawa Sakiko left?

"Maybe this isn't the best place to chat? How about we move somewhere else?"

After waiting a while, Saku noticed she didn't seem inclined to speak further and took a glance around the café. He proposed changing the location.

In general, discussing serious matters at a café was perfectly fine.

But the problem was that Tomori seemed somewhat out of place here, a bit too restrained.

Given her personality, somewhere else would probably be better.

"That's fine."

Coming back to herself, Tomori agreed.

It didn't really matter where they went.

Saku asked, "Did you bring your aquarium pass?"

"Yeah."

Tomori patted her pocket, which held not only the pass but also some band-aids.

"How about we go to the aquarium?" Saku suggested.

"But…"

Tomori looked up at him, hesitating to say something.

"Don't worry, I got an aquarium pass, too."

As he spoke, Saku pulled out the pass he'd already prepared.

"Eh?"

Her gaze instantly fixed on the card in his hand.

"After going with you last time, I thought it was pretty fun, so I got one too," Saku explained simply, "Didn't expect I'd get the chance to go with you again so soon."

"Mm… let's go to the aquarium."

Tomori nodded firmly, taking her eyes off his pass.

"Let's go."

Once she finished her tea, Saku paid the bill, and together, they left the café.

---

On their way to the aquarium, Kamigawa Saku spoke softly, "Actually, I'm curious… Why do you think that if you can't finish the lyrics, the band will break up?"

"I'm asking not only because I manage the band, but because I'm your friend."

"I don't want to see a friend of mine feeling so much pressure over this."

"Friend…"

Takamatsu Tomori turned her head toward him, repeating the word instinctively.

"Of course. Isn't it natural for friends to help each other out?" Saku suddenly thought of something and shifted the topic, "By the way, do you have a band-aid? Can you lend me one?"

"Here. Did you get hurt?"

After fishing a band-aid from her pocket and handing it over, Tomori finally asked about his injury.

"Oh, it's just a small cut. Not sure when it happened. I noticed it this morning after I woke up—pretty strange." Saku showed her the back of his right hand, then applied the band-aid.

Then, in a gentle voice, he said, "Back to what we were talking about… Just like how I came to you when I needed a band-aid, if it's okay, as your friend, I'd like to help you carry some of this burden you're feeling."

"I…"

Feeling the sincerity in his words, Tomori was momentarily speechless.

Tell him! Just tell him!

Her heart was practically screaming.

Let him help…

After a long pause, she finally spoke again. "I… don't know how to explain."

"It's fine, just take your time. Weren't we about to explore the aquarium? We have the whole day. I'll listen as long as you want to share."

"Alright."

And so, Tomori began to open up.

I have to finish the lyrics soon!

Tomori kept urging herself.

But… why do I need to finish them quickly?

She couldn't quite understand herself.

Then, memories started providing her with answers.

Because—

"Can't we practice something different once in a while? Playing the same song over and over is so boring!"

Chihaya Anon didn't want to keep practicing Spring's Shadow and felt it was getting tedious.

So, hurry up and finish those lyrics.

Only then will Anon not get bored.

Because—

"Let's hold a live performance!"

Kaname Raana, who seemed to care about nothing but snacks, would get excited at the thought of performing live.

So, hurry up and finish the lyrics.

Only then will Raana's excitement for a live performance be satisfied.

Because—

"Sure, we can definitely hold a live performance, but I still think Spring's Shadow should just be a practice track."

"What do you mean, just a practice track? Is there something wrong with this song?"

"I just think a new band should have a new song."

Nagasaki Soyo and Shiina Taki would argue about whether or not to perform Spring's Shadow live.

So, hurry up and finish the lyrics.

Only then will the two of them stop bickering over it.

Because—

"I don't really understand lyrics or anything like that, but I know it must be really tough. So, please think of these bags as a thank-you gift for writing the lyrics. I feel bad for putting all this on you."

Kamigawa Saku gave her a bag she really liked, just for being willing to write the lyrics for the band.

So, hurry up and finish the lyrics.

Only then will I be able to thank him properly.

Because—

"I'll do my best!"

"…I'll do my best to write good lyrics!"

That's what I promised everyone—to work hard on these lyrics.

So, hurry up and finish the lyrics.

Only then can I keep the promise I made.

Because—

"Stop making excuses! You clearly need to practice a lot more, so what have you been doing until now?!"

Togawa Sakiko had said these words to her when she left CRYCHIC.

So, hurry up and finish the lyrics.

Only then will the band stop breaking up.

CRYCHIC disbanded because of me.

So… what if this band disbands, too?

It will.

It definitely will.

As long as I can't finish these lyrics, the band will break up.

Because if I can't meet everyone's expectations, someone will leave—

Chihaya Anon will leave out of boredom, Kaname Raana will leave because there's no live performance, Nagasaki Soyo and Shiina Taki will leave after quarreling, Kamigawa Saku will leave out of disappointment…

The past and the future slowly overlapped in front of her.

"If you don't want to fail, just work harder next time."

Anon had once said these words to her.

She was right. I have to work harder to avoid that outcome.

So, hurry up and finish the lyrics.

Only then can I avoid failure.

I can't let it happen again. Absolutely never again!

And so, Takamatsu Tomori wanted to finish the lyrics as soon as possible.

---

Tomori wasn't someone who was good at storytelling, much less at expressing her thoughts clearly.

So she could only speak in bits and pieces, her pace slow.

Sometimes, she'd fall into sudden silences, and it was hard to tell what she was really trying to convey.

But Saku never hurried her, simply accompanying her on their casual aquarium walk, listening to her incomplete, fragmented explanations.

It wasn't until they walked out of the aquarium that she finished sharing her thoughts.

So it's really just pressure she's putting on herself.

After listening to her story, Saku's conclusions remained unchanged.

Even though no one was pushing her, she kept pressuring herself relentlessly.

He could only assume that the dissolution of CRYCHIC had left her with a deep psychological scar.

So much so that after only a short period without any progress on the lyrics, she'd already feared that this band would break up for the same reason.

Saku could understand.

After all, Tomori was both deeply emotional and painfully sensitive.

At the same time, he began to understand why she was struggling with the lyrics.

Because she was trying too hard to write them, they just wouldn't come out.

Or maybe… she was too fixated on CRYCHIC.

"It's raining."

Just then, Tomori looked up at the sky, reaching out to catch a falling raindrop.

"The weather forecast was completely off… oh wait, I guess it wasn't."

Saku remembered what Ijichi Seika had once told him.

She'd mentioned that weekends were sunny but that Saturday had a chance of rain.

Seriously, did it have to be that accurate?

"Should we find a place to take shelter from the rain? Or, maybe we could go through the aquarium again—you didn't really look around properly, did you?"

Just as Saku was about to guide Tomori to a dry spot, he noticed she was standing still.

Then, he realized something.

Could it be…

From what he knew, CRYCHIC had also disbanded on a rainy day.

And after hearing what she'd just shared, maybe this had brought back all of Tomori's memories.

"Wait here a moment. I'll be right back."

After a brief hesitation, Saku went to a nearby shop and bought two transparent umbrellas.

"Here."

When he returned, he opened one umbrella and handed it to her.

"Thank you."

Listening to the soft pattering of rain on the umbrella, Tomori reached out and took it from him.

"If you don't feel like finding cover, how about we take a little walk in the rain instead?"

Saku opened his own umbrella, standing shoulder to shoulder with her.

"We always go for walks on sunny days. A rainy day walk is something a bit rare, don't you think?"

"Okay."

Tomori didn't refuse.

---

Ahem! Gather close, esteemed audience! Do you comprehend the privilege of basking in my radiance? Truly, you're witnessing history in the making—a performance unparalleled in the annals of Fontaine!

Ah, but don't get distracted! Let me be clear: this brilliance isn't conjured from thin air. No, no, no! It requires effort, dedication, and… well, a touch of your generosity. If you fancy being part of something truly extraordinary, do step forward here: [patreon.com/WiseTL].

Oh, but wait! You're probably wondering, "Furina, how can someone as magnificent as you need assistance?" To that, I say: why deny mortals the honor of contributing to such greatness? Supporting me is supporting art, and who doesn't want to say they were instrumental in a legend's rise?

Now, off you go. Make your offerings, and perhaps, perhaps, I'll acknowledge you in my next soliloquy!

— Furina ✨