So, yeah… sorry for the delay, but as I mentioned on my Tumblr, I knew I would not be able to finish this chapter in time. I do not want to go into that in a lot of detail, but let's just say that I had to take care of some things that prevented me from working on this chapter. And I would rather push the schedule back than force myself to publish a chapter at a quality that I am not proud of. Especially since my primary reason to write in the first place is that it is an enjoyable hobby for me.
Additionally, this chapter may also not have been the best chapter to come back to writing after my little and sudden break from writing this story… the reason for this should be obvious soon enough.
Anyway, with that taken care of… I do not own BanG Dream! Girls Band Party, nor do I, in any way, shape, or form, intend to pretend that I do.
'Where is… everyone?'
That same thought kept coming back to the teen's mind as she looked at her phone's screen. She knew that she had not erroneously recorded the time she should meet with her bandmates, but Rinko was starting to lose faith in herself. Rinko had registered the wrong meeting time before, so what was stopping her from doing so again?
The source of Rinko's distress was simple: Yukina had been shown a recording of Afterglow's most recent performance from a zealous Ako. The vocalist of the band demanded the members of Roselia to intensify their training not long after watching the video. With the sudden declaration, the remaining four members of Roselia scrambled to book the studio to have their practice session.
And it was at the studio that Rinko was currently finding herself at. Ten minutes before the agreed meeting time. All alone.
'It's not like any of them to be this late,' Rinko thought to herself, unlocking her phone to check the group chat for the thirtieth time in the last five minutes. If Rinko was hoping to find some form of reassurance she would be sorely disappointed: there had been no new messages since the last time Rinko had checked.
Rinko did not mind having extra practice sessions with her band. As a matter of fact, she used to enjoy them; Rinko knew that being part of the group meant she needed to perform to a certain degree to live up to everybody's expectations. Being part of Roselia meant that Rinko held a level of responsibility to the band.
Another reason for Rinko's ire came because Yukina's announcement had forced Rinko to cancel her agreed training session with Amber Moon in Lilac Blaze. The two players had agreed to practice on Rinko's dodging skills and Rinko had been looking forward to that. Her mood was severely dampened knowing that Rinko had to be the one to cancel the appointment.
Not that Rinko would ever say that she would rather play a game than help improve her band in Yukina's face.
Rinko had expected that Lisa, Sayo, and especially Yukina would not be keeping her waiting this long. Or, at the very least, not keep her waiting this long without informing her of the delays. Their practice session was about to start and Rinko was still the only one waiting in the lobby.
The keyboardist was a bit more lenient with Ako because Rinko had heard that the drummer had gotten in trouble at home. Ako was still able to chat with Rinko almost the same amount as before the drummer got in trouble, leading Rinko to believe that Ako's parents were not punishing their youngest daughter too severely. But a sudden request to leave the house to spend time with her friends might be difficult for Ako to get permission for.
"I am sorry I am… late…?" a familiar voice began before trailing off, the greeting of the newcomer accompanied by the front door of the studio falling close. Rinko looked up in the direction of the voice to see Sayo approaching her, hair disheveled, breathing irregular, and a drop of sweat rolling down the side of the guitarist's face. Sayo was already two words in before Rinko had the opportunity to comment on the state of the guitarist, "Are you the only one here, Shirokane-san?"
"Ah, Hikawa-san. Um… I think so?" Rinko responded with a shaky smile. The years that Rinko and Sayo had spent as fellow members of Roselia had not completely removed any awkwardness between the two, but Rinko tried her best to bite through it, "I have not seen… anyone else yet."
"It's not like Minato-san and Imai-san to be this late," Sayo muttered, more to herself than to Rinko. Sayo then let out an exasperated breath before plopping down on a chair near the table Rinko was sitting at. Before Rinko could comment at the gracefulness of Sayo or lack thereof at the moment, Sayo began digging through her bag, "I need to get some work done before tomorrow's class. I hope you don't mind if I do that now."
"Not at all!" Rinko exclaimed immediately. Sayo offered the keyboardist a grateful smile, leaving Rinko with a bittersweet feeling. Rinko had been dying to break the awkward silence in the studio she was stuck in since arriving here. But Rinko also knew better than to make Sayo act social when the guitarist did not feel like it.
A rumbling sound in the pit of her stomach drove Rinko to gather her courage and buy some refreshments. Rinko remembered to ask Sayo if she wanted anything as well before making the round trip to the vending machines. A few minutes later, a satisfied Rinko walked back to the table Sayo was sitting at with her arms full of bags of potato chips, cans of a variety of tea, and a bottle of milk.
But despite having something to eat now, Rinko was still at a loss as to what to do. It did not take long before Rinko pulled out her phone now and began fiddling with it while waiting for the missing members to arrive. Fortunately for Rinko, the silence would soon be broken.
"Rinrin! Sayo-san!" Ako called out as she joined Rinko and Sayo. Ako made sure to quickly apologize to Sayo for disturbing her focus before turning to the safer option for her next question, "Are Lisa-nee and Yukina-san not here yet?"
"No… it's just been Hikawa-san… and me. And now Ako-chan, too," Rinko added the second sentence quickly, offering Ako some of the potato chips she had bought earlier for Sayo. There was still a mountain left despite the guitarist having wolfed down a significant portion of it already, "Is everything, um… okay at home, Ako-chan?"
"They have not gotten worse, at least. Mom did not like Ako playing NFO past midnight on a school day, but Ako has started to get more freedom to play again," Ako explained between two handfuls of potato chips, making sure that she had swallowed the first batch before talking; Sayo was sitting right next to Ako, after all. After using the back of her right hand to wipe the crumbs from the corner of her mouth, Ako turned to Rinko, "And what about Rinrin? How is it going in that new game?"
"It's going really well, actually," Rinko admitted, a smile tugging her lips into an upwards curve. Rinko forced herself to not zone out and get lost in her thoughts, knowing that Ako was dying to hear more about the game the drummer could not play for herself. Now came the issue of finding somewhere to start talking, which Rinko solved by starting from the beginning, "I think I have started… getting used to the game. The controls… are not that different… from NFO, so it is quite easy for me… to get used to the game."
"That, and I have someone… helping me become better at the game," Rinko finished her explanation, a fond memory of her teacher in the game resurfacing in her mind. Unfortunately, this memory was accompanied by a string of guilt and regret. Rinko grimaced as she remembered having to cancel her gaming session with the veteran player in favor of this practice session. This practice session that had yet to start.
"Someone is helping Rinrin?" Ako shouted before she could stop herself, her curiosity stronger than the young drummer's willpower and restraint. To Ako's credit, however, she was quick to realize her mistake and took a moment to apologize to Sayo and the staff of the studio for the noise she made. Once everybody had sufficiently calmed down, Ako turned to Rinko and, in a more subdued voice this time, added "But Rinrin is already the best that Ako knows! Remember how we met in NFO and Rinrin battled circles around Ako?"
"Maybe in NFO, but… in Lilac Blaze I… still have a long way to go," Rinko admitted with the faintest of smiles on her face. Rinko had never been one to exaggerate or even bring up her past achievements and accomplishments, but now she knew. She knew how big Amber Moon's role had been in helping Rinko develop over the week since she started playing, "This other player… Amber Moon-san… has helped me a lot. And I would not be… where I am now… in the game… without Moon-san."
If either Rinko or Ako had been paying attention, they might have noticed the slight pause in Sayo's hand as the guitarist was doing her homework. As it stood, however, Ako was too focused trying to reassure Rinko that Rinko would be fine even on her own. And Rinko was too busy trying to not feel overwhelmed by Ako's support.
By the time either Ako or Rinko would have noticed Sayo's reaction, the guitarist was already back to writing down her notes as if nothing ever happened.
"If Ako-chan could see… how difficult and intense… the combat is in Lilac Blaze… Ako-chan will understand," Rinko continued in a whisper, lowering her head as the words left her mouth. But before Ako could try and comment on the dampening mood, Rinko spoke again, "But the game… is a lot of fun. I wish… Ako-chan could see… just how fun it is."
"Ako wishes that Ako could see, too, but mom would probably not be very happy if Ako were to play another game," Ako added with a grimace, a shiver running down her back. Ako was already feeling the ice-cold glare her mother would give her if she were to catch Ako playing games past her bedtime again, "But Ako does not have to play the game to see what the game is about, right?"
"Of course. I will be happy… to show Ako-chan… whenever Ako-chan wants," Rinko nodded with a smile. A smile that bordered on a shy grin upon seeing the look on Ako's face. But for now, another thought was preventing Rinko from relaxing and allowing Ako's infectious happiness to pull her in, "Shouldn't Imai-san and Yukina-san… be here by now?"
"Ako will go and call Lisa-nee!" Ako announced immediately. The energetic drummer had already jumped to her feet and ran out of the studio before Rinko could even think about stopping her.
Ako's departure meant that Rinko was alone once again with Sayo, the two girls engrossed in their respective worlds. But the peaceful, serene silence between them would soon be shattered when Sayo closed her notebook with a small thud.
"This 'Lilac Blaze' that Shirokane-san was talking about with Udagawa-san earlier…" Sayo began slowly, waiting to see if Rinko had noticed Sayo's words. A quick sidewards glance in Rinko's direction answered Sayo's suspicion, prompting the lead guitarist of the band to continue her earlier train of thought, "Is that a new game that Shirokane-san started playing?"
"Yes, it is," Rinko responded with a small nod, slightly caught off-guard by Sayo's apparent interest. This feeling would soon fade when Rinko recalled that Sayo had admitted to playing NFO in her free time after Ako had made everyone in Roselia have a taste of the game last year.
This knowledge ignited Rinko's curiosity, giving the keyboardist a sudden surge of confidence that felt foreign to even herself. Despite how distant Sayo usually seemed to be, the years the two girls spent together as members of Roselia has helped to teach Rinko one extremely specific lesson.
Hikawa Sayo would not talk about something unless it was necessary to do so or something that interested the guitarist on a personal level.
'Could it be?' Rinko asked herself as she watched the taller girl for any noticeable reactions. Rinko knew that there was only one way to find out, so she took a deep breath and gathered her courage and willpower.
"Does Hikawa-san… know about this game?"
"Not necessarily," Sayo muttered right away without looking Rinko in the eyes. A bit too quick, Rinko noticed, and something that piqued her interest even more. Even Sayo realized how bad of a response that was, as she quickly scrambled to find something else to say, "I am more interested in learning how you can manage your time, balancing your studies, student council president responsibilities, band practice with Roselia, and your various games."
"Oh, um… that is not too difficult, actually," Rinko began, happy that Sayo was allowing her to talk about something that Rinko was confident in, "Ever since I… became the student council president… I have been setting… alarms for everything. That way I know… when I should stop playing… and resume my studying."
"Speaking of time management…" Sayo trailed off, turning away from Rinko to look at something behind Rinko. When Rinko realized that Sayo's attention was divided, Rinko turned around to look at whatever caught Sayo's eye and saw a subdued Ako shuffle back to them, "Udagawa-san, how did it go trying to contact Imai-san?"
"Lisa-nee said that Lisa-nee and Yukina-san should be here soon," Ako noted as soon as she was within hearing distance of Rinko and Sayo. Ako then plopped down on her seat before adding, "Ako could not ask how much longer we needed to wait before Lisa-nee hung up."
Ako remained unmoving in her seat, and Rinko took that as a cue to order something to drink for the drummer. Rinko's determination and confidence left Sayo with an amused smile on her face as she recalled how Rinko would not be able to do so had it been a few months ago.
But this amusement would soon falter as another thought came to Sayo's mind.
'I had a feeling,' Sayo thought to herself, staring in the direction that Rinko had run off to. Sayo knew that she should not be surprised, having known Rinko for so long already. And in truth, Sayo was not surprised. But that was also because a different kind of emotion began to rear its ugly head, 'I wonder if I should have said something, after all.'
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Ako-chan!" Rinko called out as she ran to Ako with a bottle of water in her hand. Rinko offered Ako the bottle and the vertically-challenged drummer gratefully downed half the bottle's contents in one go. Then, with a shaky smile on her face, Rinko turned to Sayo, "I hate doing this… but if Imai-san and Yukina-san… are not going to come… I will be going home. I still need to… run a few errands… on my way, and it is… starting to get late."
"Nobody is going home. We are starting practice. Now."
The new, yet familiar voice announced, grabbing the attention of Ako, Rinko, and Sayo in the process. All three girls turned in the direction of the voice: the front door of the studio. Standing there were the two people that they had been waiting all this time for.
"Minato-san, do you know how long we have been waiting for you and Imai-san to arrive?" Sayo wasted no time to express her annoyance at the late arrivals. Without even giving either Lisa or Yukina a chance to properly respond to her outburst, Sayo turned to Rinko, "Shirokane-san, how long have you been here and waiting for Imai-san and Minato-san to arrive?"
"Ah, um… I… well… um…" Rinko spluttered, both surprised and afraid after being thrown in the spotlight the way she was. It was only after she took a few deep breaths that Rinko felt confident she had a chance to articulate a coherent sentence, "About… about half an hour or so?"
"That is a lie, and you know it, Shirokane-san," Sayo noted with a scowl, one that made Rinko crawl away from the guitarist. Sayo did not seem like she would be letting up, but the guitarist at least had enough self-restraint left to not direct her anger at Rinko. Instead, Sayo focused it on the people she felt deserved it the most, "I have been waiting here for almost an hour, and Shirokane-san was already waiting here by the time I arrived. What do you have to say for yourself, Minato-san? Imai-san?"
"I say that we stop wasting our time and start with the practice," came the calm reply from Yukina, no sign that she had felt any remorse for igniting Sayo's ire. After a moment of silence came and went, the vocalist took that as a sign that nobody had anything left to say, "If that is all, I will be entering the studio now. Do not keep me waiting."
Yukina turned around and left before Sayo was allowed to respond to the vocalist's words. But another girl near Sayo had no such difficulties.
"Sayo, I understand you're angry, but can we, um… not talk about this right now?" Lisa asked, carefully approaching the silent guitarist. When Sayo did not respond to Lisa's approach, the bassist took it as a sign to speak again, "I know! How about after we finished practice the four of us get something to eat together? It will be my treat."
"Imai-san," Sayo sighed at the same time when Ako could be heard cheering in the background. Sayo saw the bassist flinch at the cool and calm way she was addressed, but the fact that Lisa did not shy away from her almost put a smile on Sayo's face. Almost.
"Why were Imai-san and Minato-san so late?" Sayo asked, her earlier anger still clearly yet to have subsided. After another deep breath, Sayo added in a steadier voice, "It's not like either of you to be so tardy and not send a message to us informing your late arrival."
"My shift lasted longer than expected, and by the time it finished Moca and I continued to chat for a bit. In Moca's defense, I asked her a few questions and held her up. I totally lost track of time," Lisa answered with a sheepish chuckle, trying her hardest to not look away in embarrassment, "You are right, I should have contacted you to tell you I would be running late. I apologize."
"Apology accepted. Not like we can really change the past. But what about—," Sayo began, but she was interrupted before she could formulate the full question.
"Yukina woke up ten minutes ago, give or take," Lisa said, making a sound that Rinko could only describe as the lovechild of a chuckle and a groan. Had it been a different situation, Lisa would have laughed seeing the expression on Sayo's face, but Lisa resisted, if only barely, "Let's… Let's just get this practice over with so we can go back to what we were doing."
And with that, Lisa motioned for the other three girls to follow her and get the practice session underway. Ako was quick to follow the bassist's lead, bouncing after Lisa and leaving Rinko and Sayo behind her.
Rinko, however, was a bit slower in gathering her belongings and was, therefore, the only one left behind with Sayo.
"Hikawa-san?"
"Just… go, Shirokane-san," Sayo hissed through gritted teeth, coming off much more aggressive than she had hoped to be. Sayo seemed to have realized this, as well, because the guitarist let out a deep sigh before trying again. This time, Sayo's voice was significantly stabler, "I will be right behind you, I just need a moment."
Rinko hesitated for a moment, unsure whether she should respect Sayo's wishes or be there for Sayo. Rinko finally settled on giving Sayo the space she was requesting; a decision that was in part decided due to not knowing how she could help make Sayo feel better if Rinko were to stay.
With a heavy heart and a soft goodbye, Rinko slung her bag strap over her shoulder and shuffled off in the direction Ako and Lisa went moments ago.
So… have you figured out why this chapter may or may not have been the best idea for me to return to when it comes to writing this story? Leave your theories in the reviews~. In my defense, however, this story's contents were already planned out well before the break began.
Anyway, that is all for today. Will I be able to maintain this once-every-three-weeks upload schedule? The honest answer is maybe. We will just have to wait and see; leave your theories—Nah, just kidding (though I would be lying if I were to say I did not appreciate it a lot if you do add a review to this story). All right, usual outro, here we go. Thank you for your patience regarding this short break, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and while I joked about it before please do leave a review telling me what you thought. And until next time! Take care, everybody!