As good as Neo-Aspect is, but there are still certain things I want to play with. This is, therefore, not a fix-it story.

Spoilers for events up to Fresh Green Largo. In some ways maybe the real AU is that this fic's Roselia doesn't sound like 3D Roselia?

Chapter title is taken from Neo-Aspect's lyrics.

"Surprise!" Ako said once Lisa's mother had disappeared upstairs. All of Roselia was present, still in their school uniforms and toting their school bags.

"I'm definitely surprised! Come in, come in! Did you come straight from practice? What about dinner?"

"Please excuse us," Sayo said, and Rinko mumbled, the former holding onto her guitar case as she took off her shoes. "And yes, we went to the family restaurant after practice, and then here. It was Minato-san's idea." Yukina had gone ahead, saying something about making tea. "She seems to have come here often."

"Haha, a bit like her own house, yeah. To be fair, it's also the other way around for me. But tell me, tell me, how was practice?"

Lisa's room was too small for five people, so they were piled in the living room instead, Ako and Rinko and Sayo somewhat uncomfortably on the sofa, and through Sayo's sheer stubbornness, Lisa on an armchair by herself. The last remaining armchair was apparently meant for Yukina.

Legs bouncing, Ako said, "Actually, Sayo-san was super nice during practice! … Nicer than usual, anyway. She even sounded like Lisa-nee sometimes."

"Udagawa-san!" Ah, she was flustered, that stoic Sayo. Lisa let out a small laugh.

Rinko said, "Practice went well… please don't worry about us."

What else can I do? Lisa unclenched her right hand. "Ahaha, habit is all, since I couldn't come to practice. But I'm glad to hear that."

She sensed rather than saw Sayo opening her mouth, but the conversation was suspended as Yukina entered with a tray containing tea for five. Yukina was watching her as Lisa took one glass. All of them were. It made her feel even more self-conscious.

"Hey, my right hand's still fine, see? I can still go to school. Or drink on my own, when it comes down to it." She blew on the surface, took a prolonged sip. Hot tea burned her tongue, bitter and numbing.

"Sorry." Yukina cleared her throat. "As I said through LINE, everyone wanted to see how you were doing."

Ah, straight to the point, with some attempts at skirting around it. Lisa had to smile at her for that, at all of them.

The verdict was: at least three months. Definitely longer than two weeks. In that time, she was expressly forbidden to exert her left arm. Well, Lisa said lightly, it's not like it could do a lot in cast. Playing the bass was of course out of the questions.

Through her explanation Yukina's face remained frozen; it was easier to look at. Easier for Lisa to come to her grand proposal. "… But you're still going to perform at the SMS, aren't you?"

"Not without you!" Ako said, scandalised.

"Thank you, Ako, but that's just not practical, you know? It's a once in a lifetime opportunity, and with this we'll be one step closer to getting into the Future World Fest. Besides all we need to do is find another bassist – "

Sayo bit out, "Don't be foolish. You alone are our bassist. There is no other."

It wasn't the first time Sayo had said it, but with each iteration the lump that stuck in her throat grew larger, until Lisa couldn't swallow it.

"That's right. In addition, it's impossible to find a bassist that could harmonize well with Roselia within two weeks." In contrast to Sayo, Yukina spoke with a deliberately even tone. She had made a decision; it was final.

But so had Lisa. She tore her gaze away from Yukina and met Sayo's, her greatest hurdle. "I've had time to think about it while resting. There is one person we both know who can fill in in such a short time."

Bewilderment, then understanding, and then a quick succession of emotions that reminded Lisa strongly of the very person she was alluding to. "You're joking," Sayo said flatly.

"Eh? Who?" Ako whispered audibly to Rinko.

"Maybe… Shirasagi-san?"

Sayo twitched. The nosey part of Lisa wanted to dig in… but not now. "I don't know her. In any case, Imai-san could only be speaking of Hina."

"Eh?! … Uh, who?"

Sayo let out an exasperated sigh.

—

Lisa had seen Pastel*Palletes perform live exactly once, under the pretense of accompanying Sayo, whose pretense in turn was oppositional research. (Sayo herself would have said it was the other way around.)

The venue was fairly packed, likely because it was small to begin with. That said, it was still larger than Roselia's usual audience. Lisa had a good time waving her brand-new penlight with the crowd (Sayo absolutely refused to even buy one), and later fishing for post-mortem to report to Yukina. It was fairly brutal: only Yamato-san was truly skilled, and even then she was hampered by the simplicity of the songs; Shirasagi-san did the bare minimum on her instrument, but admittedly she could command the stage; Wakamiya-san… tried, but the best part was still the pre-recorded synth tracks; a long-suffering sigh for Maruyama-san.

Their respective biases aside, neither could deny that Hina had stolen the stage. Electrifying, Lisa had said of a performance that sounded suspiciously improvised at times, occasionally not quite perfect. Nonetheless, she didn't think it was exaggerated to say Hina's guitar was the life of the stage.

Yes, Sayo had replied, frowning. She had that tone again, the one that always cropped up when 'Hina' and 'guitar' were lined up in a sentence. Envy. Pride. Admiration. Desolation. "It's a sound only Hina can make."

—

"I cannot afford someone who would improvise on a whim during lives."

Lisa had imagined Yukina would've objected, but not that it'd be the sticking point. "Haaaa… but you're fine with the guitarist of an idol band part?"

"That makes her a professional. Moreover, even I've heard of 2-A's genius Hikawa-san, incidentally our Sayo's twin sister. I have no reason to doubt her skills."

…In other words, for better or worse Yukina was completely indifferent to idols. But she was watching Sayo with an inscrutable expression. The look Sayo returned was equally opaque. Oblivious to this telepathic exchange, Ako spoke up.

"So so so, she must be very skilled, second only to Sayo-san."

Sayo stared at Ako, nonplussed. Ever kind, Rinko said, "Ako-chan, bass and guitar are… different… It's not like you and Tomoe-san…"

But doesn't having fewer strings make it easier, Ako began to say. Lisa decided to take back the reins. "Ahaha, I had her try a song when she came by earlier to deliver class handouts, so I can personally vouch that it's not going to be a problem. If you asked her to not improvise, I'm sure she would understand. But more importantly, Yukina, you can't pass up this chance. Roselia must perform at the SMS."

Four pairs of eyes waited for Yukina's reaction. But Yukina simply passed the ball to Sayo. Or rather, shot at the goal Sayo was guarding. As though chewing through a cud, she said, "I suppose we must at least give Imai-san's design a chance."

Goal?

Yukina nodded. "I think so, too. I'll leave the invitation and other details to you."

Goal!

Her guests didn't stay long after that, worn out from practice and school. The general mood seemed to be one of excitement; Lisa wished one by one good night, until only Yukina tarried behind, cleaning up in her place.

("I still have one functional hand." "Your mother warned me you'd try that." So Lisa ended up standing awkwardly by the window, gazing out at clear starless sky while Yukina washed the dishes.)

"You put Sayo on the spot, you know," her best friend said casually.

"I did, didn't I~ Well, I knew Sayo could take it. Her relationship with Hina's gotten a lot better. But so did you, Yukina."

"Only Sayo understands Roselia's sound better than I do, it's inevitable that I'd rely on her judgement."

"Definitely soulmates," said Lisa, nodding to herself.

Yukina continued as though she hadn't said anything. "Well, that goes for the others as well. We have come some ways from our chaotic, beginning days. Please don't worry about us and focus on your recovery."

"The more everyone says that the more worried I am." Yukina frowned at her. Laughing, Lisa said, "But you're right, of course! There's nothing else I can do, so there's no need to worry, either. More importantly, I trust you. Look, you didn't burn the tea this time."

"T-that was once in middle school!"

—

Saturday afternoon was for Roselia's band practice.

Lisa caught Hina just as they were both arriving at CiRCLe, and Yukina dumped Lisa's bass on her almost too gladly. Heads joined together, Yukina and Sayo entered the live house first. Hina was buzzing, quite literally bouncing on the balls of her feet. "You made Yukina-chan carry your bass like a pack mule, how cruel!"

"What – no! Yukina insisted. But listen, thank you so much for agreeing – "

"Nonono, I'm getting to play on the same stage as my sister, I should be thanking you, exceptional magpie Lisa-chi!"

"And you're exceptionally incomprehensible just now… but Hina, listen to me."

It had been 'give Imai-san's design a chance' instead of 'give Hina a chance'. While by all accounts the twins' relationship had improved, and Lisa was most likely overthinking it, she still couldn't let it slip by.

"Listen, Hina, it's true that you'll play with Sayo – and you'll both play with other people. And this next gig is super important for Roselia. So I'm just saying this as your friend, please don't embarrass Sayo in front of all these people?"

Hina stared at her, then suddenly grinned. "Ahaha, Chisato-chan said almost the same thing, except she said I shouldn't put you to shame. Is there some sort of a bassist's quintessence?"

"…No, but I'm starting to feel ashamed anyway…" These twins! First it was the elder with her overvaluation of Lisa's, er, design, then the younger with … whatever idea of Roselia, especially Lisa, she'd put into Shirasagi Chisato's head.

Still laughing, Hina assured her she would be serious, deadly serious, 100% gothic rock, no embarrassing anyone in front of Yukina-chan.

—

Gothic rock, huh. Would Yukina have called Roselia that? She'd always disliked labeling, saying only that Roselia had (to have) a unique sound. Being musically-challenged beyond the basic ability to follow a melody and rhythm, Lisa never really thought about it. Would Roselia's sound encompass something like, say, Sayo and Hina playing back to back? Right now, Lisa watched from her seat in the corner, safely out of the way. The twins made for a wonderful asymmetrical symmetry. Red and blue, night and day, set against the backdrop of nigh-identical faces bound to be even more identical with matching costumes. Certainly it looked aesthetically pleasing…

But Roselia was from the beginning concerned almost exclusively with the music. Lisa sat back and tuned her ears. With preparations finally completed, the band began practicing. Chewing slowly and seeing if Hina was worth swallowing, rather.

The previous day, Hina's attempt at the bass had been a baby's first crawl. She had been learning the fretting then, and the novel concept of being in charge of the rhythm. For today's first session she was a toddler waddling, a mischievous one who intentionally bumped into things to feel them. As the first song ended Lisa braced herself for an intervention, but Yukina's critique was more or less clinical, and Hina took it with unprecedented meekness.

So then, by the third song Hina was running. The handicap was taken off, the band now ran at full speed. Though she stumbled here and there, Hina could clearly keep up, sounding markedly better with each correction, with each attempt.

More than the usual sympathy, Lisa learned to empathise with Sayo, just a bit.

It wasn't just Hina who received corrections, however. Ako, Rinko, even Yukina and Sayo herself, each was starting to make mistakes. Lisa checked her watch. No wonder, almost an hour had passed. She opened her mouth –

"Let's take a break, Minato-san," Sayo said. She had her back to Lisa, but Yukina noticed.

"Yes?"

"N-nothing! Good job, everyone?"

Yukina shook her head. "Not quite. But a break right now will do everyone good. Ako –"

"I know, I know, I was uneven. I've been trying." Ako pouted, sucking on her cheeks. Bravely holding back words. Time to intervene? In the end, Ako said, "I'll try better next time?"

See to it, Yukina said, already turning toward Rinko. But Sayo was still looking at Ako. "What do you have in mind?"

"Well… I was thinking the sequence was kinda awkward, and if I did this instead, and then Rinrin comes in with the pitchy wave…"

Meanwhile, Hina had approached Lisa and flopped onto the floor, resting her head on Lisa's chair and earning herself a light head stroke. "What're you up to?"

"I'm stealing your bassist's quintessence."

"Ahaha, that again?"

"Because I have to be Lisa-chi for the next two weeks!"

"Haaaa, Chisato said that?"

"Chisato-chan was all bebeebebeep, but that's the gist of it. You should go to the live with her." Hina straightened up, already losing interest. "Onee-chan's a lot kinder than you usually told me."

"Hey now, it's not like I only gave you the worst hits. Besides, give her some credit, she's changed lately." Everyone's comments the previous night came to mind. "Or rather, Sayo's just that kind of a dependable person." Hina looked up at her questioningly. "Rising up to the occasion, especially during crisis?"

"What are you two doing, gossiping about someone within earshot?"

Sayo's scowl was more or less undone by the furious flush on her neck. Lisa grinned apologetically. "Sorry, sorry~ But I didn't say anything I haven't said to your face, yeah?"

"You're incorrigible," Sayo muttered. Then, "Hina, practice will start in five minutes."

OK! Hina bounced, already hailing Ako from a distance. Sayo herself lingered, glancing at Lisa furtively. It made her spine tingle a bit. "Hey, if it's about earlier – "

Sayo shook her head, crossed her arms, looked at Lisa's ear rather than her face. "It's not that. I…'ll go back to practice."

Lisa sent her off with a wave. Not that, but definitely Hina-related. But to the extent it wouldn't interfere with practice, she'd hold it in. Or rather, because it would interfere with practice, it had to remain unsaid. Sayo was that kind of a person, too.

Lisa turned to the open notebook on her lap. It had been Yukina's suggestion, after Lisa had insisted on coming along to practice, but so far she hadn't written anything. Lisa's observation tended to have nothing to do with music, after all, and the few that did Sayo and Yukina, and on one occasion Rinko, had pointed out. Today's practice, despite the disruption, unfolded without any problem. By no means they were flawless, but each member had improved, had changed, had progressed when she wasn't looking.

Even Lisa, who had somehow found a way to become worse at her instrument.

—

Hina's imitation of Lisa lasted until the next day. On Sunday afternoon, still ten days from the SMS, having run through the setlist at least once, Hina then proceeded to cartwheel around the band. It was only figurative only because Hina hadn't found a way to do it without breaking Lisa's loaned bass, or so Lisa thought.

For the third time since practice was resumed after a lengthy break – the tenth time for the day total – Yukina halted with an impatient wave of her hand. Come to think of it, it was always Yukina and never Sayo. It was starting to wear on Yukina, judging by the strain around her eyes. Lisa recognised the look in Hina's eyes too, the one she usually had before goading Kaoru into the distracting manzai skit of the day.

Yet again, someone interfered before she did. Rinko, this time. "Um, it's counterpoint…" Yukina broke off, tilting her head in Rinko's direction. "Um… a separate melody that's… supposed to still be harmonious…"

"Oh, so that's what it's called! I just thought I'd try doing what you're doing, Rinko-chan. Except way down, you know?"

Yukina said, "Regardless, as I have told you, please do not improvise at this time."

"I could do it exactly the way you wrote it, but it's just not boppin'. The baseline is so boring to play, and it's gotta be boring to listen to, too. The same basic bambambam in all the songs. Don't you think so, Lisa-chi? Didn't it sound more exciting just now? How do you not fall asleep playing the bass?"

Shot point blank like that, Lisa opened and closed like a goldfish. "That's enough, Hina," said Sayo firmly. She set her guitar on its stand. "Minato-san, a word, please."

Yukina seemed mullish, and more or less had to be dragged bodily outside. Silence reigned for a short while, then Hina said, "Ah, no-go? What did I say wrong? Lisa-chi?"

"You see," Lisa said, finally finding her voice, "the bass part was written for me. I have to be able to play it. If anything, blame my poor skills."

Both Ako and Rinko tried to defend her, but Hina just crossed her arms over her guitar's neck and tilted her head. "That makes sense… if it's Chisato-chan. Somehow I thought Roselia would be different, though."

"What're you trying to say?" said Yukina as Sayo closed the door behind them. Whatever peace their discussion had grown seemed to have evaporated under Hina's grin.

"Hina," Sayo warned, her gaze darting meaningfully to Lisa. Gently, Hina, there's an invalid present.

Et tu, Sayo? Apparently that was the last straw. "Yeah, Hina, please explain. Don't hold back on us." Lisa glared at Sayo straight on. Sayo… blinked first, owlish.

The other Hikawa snickered. "I didn't have anything to say, but now I do! Yukina-chan, you gotta stop underestimating Lisa-chi. Otherwise you might as well employ a bass synthesizer for the part."

Yukina bristled, drawing into herself like a cat readying for a fight. Lisa swore inwardly. "H-hey, Hina, you went too far – "

"Not far enough," Yukina grumbled, crossing her arms. "Practice is over. Everyone except Hina can go home."

"Oi, Yukina – "

"Sorry, Lisa, could you go with Sayo?"

As they talked, Hina had already leapt to Rinko's side, ostensibly helping her with cleaning up the keyboard and the other equipments while firing questions like a machine gun. Lisa started in their direction, but a tap on her shoulder stopped her.

"Come, Imai-san," Sayo murmured, breath tickling her ear, "it'll be better without us around."

As soon as the door was closed behind them, Lisa whispered, "Will it really be okay? It sounded like a couple of territorial cats in there."

Sayo coughed, covering her smile with one hand. The other lightly touched Lisa's elbow, beckoning her. "At any rate, I told Minato-san Hina had many ideas she would find stimulating. Likewise, Hina is too invested in this upcoming live to jeopardise it. With that common ground, and their respective focal points now removed, it should be possible to reach an understanding. There's no need to worry, it's all proceeding according to your design."

There's that tingling sensation again, now spreading to her head. "H-hey, cut it out. You're making me sound like a mastermind. And anyway, most of that was your doing, so that makes you my right-hand woman."

Sayo made a noise somewhere between choking and growling. Rather than a lackey… Lisa's fingers itched to yank on an invisible leash. Down, girl. It seemed like belligerence was contagious, eh…

As a concession, Sayo agreed to wait with Lisa at the cafe outside the live house. Lisa sat under one of the umbrella-ed tables. At the tail end of spring, a clear blue sky awaited. The wind that tickled the nape of her neck was still chilly. Had it really been nearly a year since the band was formed? Memories of their 'chaotic beginnings' (Yukina had always had a way with words) resurfaced. It had been night rather than day, tinged with a different sort of worry and weariness. Lisa remembered less the chaos than the atmosphere of despair she'd come back to.

Well, there was none of that in these last couple of days, and Lisa hadn't needed to lift a single finger… hadn't been needed, period.

Ahaha, there I go like an old granny…

"Plain tea for you."

Lisa jolted back to reality. Sayo set down two cups, tea for Lisa, and black coffee for herself, and refused to accept her coins for it, saying rather that it'd be Lisa's turn to pay next time. What's this, Lisa thought, something that'd have been impossible as late as a few months ago.

She also noticed the odd look Sayo gave her. "What's up, wanna try? It's just tea, though."

"N-no, thank you. I was just thinking that unsweetened sencha suits you as much as it doesn't."

Lately, this sort of semblance to Hina started to come out more often, too. "What does that mean… because I'm unexpectedly a Japanese person underneath, but I also like making sweets? Well, I just feel like it this time. But also the sweets I make are for other people's consumption, therefore they're tailored to their preferences. That sounds a little pompous, doesn't it."

"Not at all. It's perfectly true to your character, and speaks well of it."

Lisa took a long sip of her tea, to chase the tingling sensation down her spine. Except that was apparently just the opening salvo. "Truthfully, I didn't think I was quite ready to play next to Hina. But since both you and Minato-san thought it might have been good for the band, I'm willing to put all my effort into it."

"Not that I don't appreciate it, but you usually put up more resistance to my opinions on band matters."

Sayo coughed into her hand. "That's not strictly true. And in this case, I cannot trample on such a sacrifice." She broke off suddenly, looking as though she'd bitten her tongue.

"Whoa, hyperbole much? Hina is only going to replace me for one live show. Although we still need to put up a show at CiRCLE for this month's rent. And then there's the World FES…"

Ah, it seemed it was Lisa's turn to say too much. But Sayo must have thought of it as well, and by her nature, since the beginning. Regardless of what would happen at SMS, Roselia couldn't afford to wait for Lisa to heal, and then to regain her paltry skills. Outside of music, the other members had managed well enough, had bonded to the point they no longer needed a mood maker. All that they needed was the bassist. Suppose there was someone else skilled enough to propel Roselia to greater heights, as Hina had in a short time… Lisa felt her chest constrict, and almost missed Sayo's next words.

"… anything for Minato-san."

"Huh?"

"No, forget about it." Sayo sighed, drank her coffee as a means for stalling for time. Then, seemingly coming to a decision, she rummaged in her bag.

"This is for you."

It was a small pouch tied with a somewhat gaudy ribbon. Sayo started to extend it to her, then thought better of it, and pulled the ribbon for her. Inside were cookies. Lisa blinked as Sayo explained, not quite meeting her eyes, "I meant to give it to you sooner, but I kept having difficulties in baking. In the end I had to ask Hazawa-san for assistance."

A handmade get-well-soon gift, from Sayo? Lisa couldn't help the slight awe in her voice. "O-oh. May I…?" Lisa took a bite. It didn't taste the same as the cookies they'd made together in the past. A bit too sweet, not quite crispy enough – Sayo's image of Lisa, in lieu of directly asking her what she liked. It was… definitely too sweet. Her eyes prickled just a bit.

Ah, there you go again, old granny. Sayo's going to misunderstand. To an outsider, it'd look like Sayo was finding faults with the cafe table, but Lisa knew better. "Don't look so down, it's not terrible."

"But not good either," Sayo said, lips twisted wryly.

"Ahaha, I didn't mean that. No, I liked it! Thank you, Sayo. I'm going to cherish this for the rest of my life." Lisa laughed; she was the only one.

"There's one more thing," Sayo said quickly. "If it's not too much trouble for you, I'd like to bake another batch before the next practice."

Together? Lisa hesitated. True, they had been making sweets together for some time now, but Sayo had always asked her to keep it a secret. And with her recent success, she didn't need Lisa hovering behind her shoulder anymore. "How unusual! With the SMS coming up, I'd have thought you'd rather use all your free time for practice."

"That's exactly why we need to do this, don't you think? The band could use a boost to our morale. Of course you needn't exert yourself in your condition, but as always I still require your guidance."

Liar, Lisa thought fondly. A truly bold lie at that, with the proof in Lisa's hands. "Really? You did so well the last time. Even with this one, I'm sure you must have written down Tsugumi's advice and studied what you did wrong. Have more confidence in yourself, Sayo!"

"It won't be the same," Sayo said doggedly, hands grasping, clawing at the table rather than Lisa's hand. This was… probably no longer about making cookies. There was something feverish in her stare, almost desperate, and Lisa felt her eyes grew hot again. Slowly, she unclenched the fist she didn't remember making. Letting go.

"But that's not a bad thing, is it – change. You could make something better, something uniquely yours. Be it Roselia, or Roselia's Hikawa Sayo, or just Sayo… I look forward to it."