I Just Want A Single Ending!

"Sorry, I forgot to put it on silent."

Kamigawa Saku apologized to everyone, quickly slipping out of the rehearsal room as he pretended to take the call.

Once outside, he stopped and turned off the alarm he'd set. Ultimately, he'd chosen to interrupt the performance because that simply wasn't Tomori's usual level.

[Strength +50]

What's going on with her?

As he walked toward the counter, Saku pondered why she was off her game like this.

Was it the lyrics? Maybe the frustration of not being able to write them?

He remembered how fixated she'd been on the lyrics lately and guessed this might be the cause.

If that was it, it could be hard to handle.

No matter how skilled he was, he couldn't conjure lyrics out of thin air for someone else.

Thankfully, this was their only rehearsal this week. Hopefully, Tomori would use this time to reset, find her footing again, and either work out the lyrics or let it go for now.

If she kept pushing herself like this, things were only going to get worse.

---

"Seriously, he forgot to silence his phone at such a crucial moment. And he's supposed to be our manager?" Shiina Taki muttered, a hint of irritation in her voice. But inwardly, she was grateful to him.

She wasn't oblivious; she'd realized right away that he'd done it on purpose to break up the performance.

After all, Saku had never once disrupted a rehearsal before—not when others made mistakes, not even once. Today, with the STARRY band watching and Tomori having a major slip-up, his phone had conveniently gone off.

A bit too coincidental, wasn't it?

No way that was random.

"Not a big deal, no need to get mad. People make mistakes, and it's his first time," Chihaya Anon said quickly, defending Saku and hoping to deflect attention from Tomori's performance.

She'd noticed too—Saku had done it on purpose.

"Probably just unfamiliar surroundings. We usually practice at RiNG, so maybe Saku didn't adjust to the new place," Soyo added, backing Anon up and giving Saku a solid excuse.

"Saku?"

Anon picked up on the shift in how Soyo addressed him.

"Hm?"

Soyo tilted her head, looking slightly confused.

"Uh, it's nothing."

Anon shook her head.

If she remembered right, Soyo had called him Kamigawa-kun until now. When had they gotten close enough to switch to just "Saku"?

Still, it was probably nothing to worry about.

It was just a name, after all. Lots of people called him that.

Like Tomori, Nijika, Ryo, and the others.

Nothing special.

At that moment, Raana was too busy watching Ryo, who was still munching on snacks, to notice.

"…"

Meanwhile, Tomori was gasping for breath, struggling to collect herself.

She didn't know how her singing had sounded. All she knew was that by putting everything into it, she could momentarily escape thinking about the lyrics.

"Should I critique that last performance?" Ryo asked, ignoring Raana's stare as she turned to Nijika.

"Absolutely not!"

Giving feedback was easy—it would only take one sentence:

The lead singer's voice was off!

But that would be too blunt. If they said that out loud, Saku's interruption would be meaningless.

"I figured as much."

With that, Ryo happily continued eating her snacks.

Just then, the rehearsal room door opened.

Saku walked back in, carrying a tray filled with drinks.

"Sorry again about that! I bought some drinks to make up for it."

He handed out the drinks one by one, repeatedly apologizing.

"It's fine. We've already forgiven you," Anon said casually. "You don't need to buy us drinks or anything."

"But I already bought them, and the owner won't let me return them."

This tactic was foolproof.

Nijika raised an eyebrow. "Each drink costs 500 yen…"

"Well then, we can't let them go to waste."

They had no choice but to accept.

"There's no need to be so tense. Just play like you always do."

After giving the STARRY members their drinks, Saku handed out drinks to his own band members, taking the chance to encourage them as he did.

"Don't worry."

Soyo smiled, her voice light and reassuring.

After handing out drinks to everyone, Saku was left with one last drink and one last person—Tomori.

"Here, you've been working hard. Have some water."

"Thanks."

Tomori accepted the drink quietly.

"Don't overthink it. Remember, we said you can take your time with the lyrics."

Saku encouraged her again, though all his earlier words had been setting up this moment, just so he'd have a reason to say a bit more to her.

Tomori looked up, hit by his words, as if she wanted to say something to explain herself. But she found herself gazing into his shining eyes.

"All you need to do now is sing. Leave everything else aside for the moment—don't pressure yourself like this," Saku said gently. "We're building this band for life. We've barely even started. We have all the time we need to figure out the lyrics. No one's going to rush you."

"For life…"

Hearing those familiar words, Tomori couldn't help but echo them softly.

"A lifetime's pretty long. It's not ending anytime soon."

Feeling he'd said enough, Saku cut himself off, not wanting to draw the others' attention.

"Anyway, keep it up!"

"Mm."

Tomori nodded firmly.

Yeah, there was no need to stress so much over the lyrics.

After all, they were forming this band for life.

She'd be in this band with Saku and everyone else for the long haul.

Turning, she glanced at her bandmates, who were sipping their drinks and chatting casually.

They looked so at ease.

"You're not mad at Saku, right? He didn't mean it," Anon explained, hoping to clear things up.

"I'm not mad."

By now, Tomori had realized it too.

Her state earlier had been off; her singing had been rough.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken the time to say those things.

"That's good."

Then, Tomori asked, "When are we starting again?"

"Huh? Don't you want to rest a bit longer?" Taki seemed concerned about her state.

"No need—I'll definitely sing it right this time!"

Tomori replied, brimming with confidence.

---

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