All right, here we go. A special thank you goes a long way, so here is a special thank you to all the readers of the previous chapters and especially to those who have been leaving reviews as they read through the story. Shining Sunlight has been ongoing for almost two solid years now, and to show my gratitude to all of you who stuck with me since the start, picked this story up recently, and everyone in between: I bring you this chapter.
Fair warning regarding this chapter if you prefer reading the plot of Shining Sunlight: we're going to be taking a little bit of a break from the plot, the main plot of it at least. Various reasons for this, but let's just say that it is the Shining Sunlight Christmas gift. I considered publishing this chapter as a stand-alone oneshot to celebrate the time of the year at the time of uploading this chapter, but since it is still at least somewhat relevant to the plot… here we are. And to those of you who choose to skip this chapter: I'll see you at the start of Chapter 33 next year~!
Disclaimer: I do not own BanG Dream! Girls Band Party nor do I, in any way, shape, or form, intend to pretend that I do.
The end of the year was coming to a close and with it came the steady decline in daily temperature. With the average temperature consistently staying under the freezing point, the desire to stay home, wrap yourself in a warm blanket, and play games all day became a very tempting prospect for most.
And for nobody did this ring as true as it did for Aoba Moca who had been sitting in front of her laptop the entire morning already.
"Okay okay, everyone, I get it. I'm logging off now," Moca announced to her friends, suppressing a yawn in the process. Moca waited long enough to hear the responses she was getting before doing the thing she said she was doing. With Lilac Blaze shutting off, Moca decided she should give her laptop some much-deserved rest as well. So Moca shut down her laptop as well and gently cleaned off some dirt from her device using a damp towel, "Now what shall I do?"
As if she had heard the question, Moca could hear her mother call her name from the living room. Moca winced at the volume but hurried to meet her mother quickly; the only thing worse than an angry mother was an angry and impatient mother.
What greeted Moca in the living room was a surprising sight for the guitarist of Afterglow. Her mother did not seem to be angry or impatient, but Moca knew that she could still be walking on thin ice here. It was because of this that Moca was carefully shuffling through the doorway and asked why she had been called.
"We ran out of coffee and rice," Moca's mother responded matter-of-factly. The two of them would stare at each other silently before Moca's mother finally said the very words Moca knew were incoming, "I need you to go to the store and get some. Here's the money that you will need."
Moca blinked a few times upon hearing what her mission was going to be, clearly at a loss for words here. This wouldn't last long, however, as Moca managed to find her voice again only moments after her mother told her what to do.
"What? Why Moca-chan?" Moca whined, slumping down while also gathering tears at the corners of her eyes. Moca hoped that this exaggerated act would be just what she needed to run from her responsibilities. When it became apparent that this was not enough to persuade her mother, Moca knew she needed to try a different approach, "It's cold and windy outside and Moca-chan just wants to curl up in bed."
"That's exactly why you need to be the one to do this. You've been doing nothing but holing yourself in your room since the start of the winter holiday so it's time to get some exercise and fresh air," Moca's mother chastised her, and Moca, for the first time in a long while, was at a loss for words. Her mother was right and Moca knew that so there was no point trying to argue the facts. Fortunately for Moca, a silver lining was in sight when her mother offered her a small smile, "There's enough money there for you to take a detour to the bakery and buy yourself a treat."
"And that is when I ran into all of you. To think that mama would bribe Moca-chan with a sponsored trip to the Yamabuki Bakery," Moca finished explaining with an annoyed groan, pausing only to take a bite of the chocolate-covered pastry in her hands. Knowing the consequences of talking with her mouth full of food around Himari, Moca took a moment to swallow before she spoke again, "That said, it sure was lucky that the five of us met up again like this."
After having begrudgingly accepted the money and her task from her mother, Moca put on her coat and headed out. It wasn't long after this when she ran into her friends. One of them, Moca remembered with a twinge of guilt, in ways more than one.
"How is your elbow, Tsugu?" Moca asked the brunette cautiously as she eyed the small bruise on Tsugumi's arm. The owner of this arm seemed to have been caught by surprise and needed a moment to fumble around for the right way to respond.
"It… stings a little bit, but it's nothing too bad," Tsugumi finally decided on being honest with her response, knowing she wasn't the best at lying in front of her friends. If there was one person Tsugumi knew she could not escape with a lie it would be Moca, and both girls knew this very well. After having reassured Moca, Tsugumi turned her attention to another of her friends, "Himari-chan, where are we going, anyway?"
Himari, who had been leading the group through various alleys for the past fifteen minutes without saying a word, only offered a cheeky grin before skipping ahead. Moca, Ran, and Tsugumi had to quicken their pace to try and keep up with Himari. Even Tomoe needed to speed up if she didn't want to be left behind.
Moca was visibly annoyed at Himari's secretive nature. It was usually Moca who acted all sneaky and surprising her friends, so being on the receiving end for once did not amuse her one bit. Moca didn't appreciate the suspense of waiting to see what was happening, either, and her grumpy demeanor was evident of this.
But what upset Moca the most was that she was being dragged around by Himari, figuratively at least, while also carrying a heavy bag of rice for her mother. And the strain of needing to carry this was starting to affect the poor girl.
Just as Moca was about to lose all self-control and voice her dissatisfaction, Himari announced that they had arrived. It took Moca all of two seconds to realize where her pink-haired friend had dragged them to.
The five childhood friends found themselves at a small playground. But to call it a playground would be somewhat misleading when Moca saw the state that it was in. The chains of the swings were rusty and threatened to snap off upon being touched. The slide that had fallen over was covered in dust and cobwebs. And the pivot point that would let the children have fun with the seesaw had collapsed, rendering it completely unusable.
Moca immediately knew that the playground wouldn't be able to provide any forms of entertainment to them. And yet, much to Moca's surprise, she didn't move away from the place. Or to be more precise, Moca couldn't move away. There was something about this playground that drew in her focus and attention.
And it wasn't until Moca heard someone start to talk that she understood why that was the case.
"This sure brings back memories, doesn't it?" Tsugumi thought out loud as she walked to the nearest slide and placed her hand on the object. Only then did Moca fully comprehend where Himari had taken them.
This was the very playground that the five of them would often go to when they were little. Or, well… little-er in the case of Himari and Tsugumi. Not that Moca would say that out loud when either of them could hear her, of course.
"Is this really all the reason you dragged us here, Hii-chan?" Moca asked, surprising even herself with how dismissive she sounded. Fortunately for Moca, Himari didn't seem hurt or offended by it, so Moca could ask another question immediately after, "There's nothing wrong about fondly looking back at how things were."
"Moca-chan is right, Himari-chan!" Tsugumi chimed in from Himari's other side. Moca turned to look at the brunette and that single glance was all that she needed to recognize the look in Tsugumi's eyes. Tsugumi wasn't about to let up now that she had gotten fired up, "If you just wanted a nostalgia trip you could have told us. I don't think any of us would be against the idea of it."
Tomoe voiced her agreement as well, reassuring her friends that she mirrored Tsugumi's feelings. Himari, who was now busy holding back the flood of tears, turned to Ran expectantly. Moca, Tomoe, and Tsugumi all followed Himari's example.
This was the situation that Ran was finding herself in. Standing in the middle of an abandoned playground where no child had played at for what could have been years. All the while being surrounded by her four closest friends who were staring at her with silent anticipation.
Moca had to physically restrain herself from bursting out laughing when she saw the look on Ran's face. The look of absolute helplessness and horror on Ran's face was priceless for Moca who wished she could imprint this moment in her memory forever.
"I guess… I'm outnumbered in the vote regardless of what I say," Ran finally relented, although it was clear that Ran didn't seem to mind following her friends' lead. Quite the contrary, even, as Ran was having trouble keeping the smile hidden from view. But one thing that Ran couldn't hide was the muffled shiver.
"We should head back inside," Tomoe noted as she eyed Ran with a worried look on her face. But Moca, who was standing a bit away from the group, could see that the redhead wasn't being entirely selfless here. Tomoe, too, was suffering from the colder temperatures, and Moca was about to call her friend out on it.
If it weren't for Tsugumi jumping in before Moca could open her mouth.
"Himari-chan, your house is the closest, do you think the five of us can stay over for a while to warm up at your place?" Tsugumi asked Himari, who nodded before pulling out her phone. Moca could only assume that she was contacting her parents that friends would be coming over. But once again, was denied the opportunity to ask Himari about it.
"Oi, Moca!" Tomoe's voice called out to Moca and Moca, who had been lost in thoughts, was shaken back to the present. Tomoe, blissfully unaware of what was going on in Moca's head, called out to her friend again, "What are you waiting for? Let's go already!"
Moca knew that she must have looked really silly just now, so she hurriedly thought of a way to distract her friends from that fact. And it was the moment when her friends started walking in the direction of the Uehara household when it hit her. The perfect thing for Moca to talk about to cover up her earlier mistake.
"Oh yeah, Tsugu, I almost forgot to tell you," Moca began before she hurried to walk beside the brunette. This caught Tsugumi's interest, much to Moca's relief, who took the chance to keep the conversation going, "I heard that your favorite manga will get another volume published in spring!"
"Pardon the intrusion!"
A chorus of these three words rang through the hallways, reverberating off the walls. Moca had to hold back a chuckle when she noticed how perfectly synchronized she was with her friends. A glance at her friends' faces told her everything she needed to know: Moca wasn't the only one who felt this way.
After the five girls finished taking off their shoes, Himari stored them all on the shoe rack, and Tomoe closed the door behind them, the five of them waddled inside. Himari wanted to lead the way, the most sensible decision considering it was her house they were at, but nearly got bowled over by someone about to leave the Uehara household.
"Ah, Onee-chan, are you going somewhere?" Himari asked as soon as she managed to regain her balance. When her sister confirmed to her that, yes, she was going somewhere else, Himari offered the older sibling a weak smile, "Have a safe trip, Onee-chan."
Himari and her friends waited long enough for Himari's sister to put on her shoes, exit the house, and close the door behind her. The sound of the front door being closed seemed to have reminded Himari where she was and what she was doing.
"Right, Onee-chan aside, let's get comfortable," Himari declared in an attempt to lighten the mood. None of her friends went to comment about what just happened, so Himari managed to lead her friends to the living room. This was where everybody split up and looked for a comfortable place to sit at. But not before Himari said the now-redundant line, "Here we are, make yourself at home."
"With Onee-chan not here anymore, we're the only ones here," Himari noted before explaining to a confused Tsugumi that Himari's mother and father were on a business trip in another city. Just as Moca had plopped down under the kotatsu, followed by Ran, Tomoe, and Tsugumi huddling under it as well, Himari spoke again, "We don't have much when it comes to snacks or drinks it seems. Is everyone good with orange juice? I can get some apple juice if anyone rather wants that."
After everybody voiced their agreements, Himari headed to the fridge to prepare the drinks for her friends. As she did this, the remaining four girls were making themselves comfortable under the kotatsu. The warmth provided was a safe haven provided to them, and it wouldn't be long before they fell in a peaceful silence.
A peaceful silence that would last as long as nobody would break it.
"This sure brings back memories, doesn't it?" Tomoe thought out loud with a soft chuckle. Moca watched how Ran responded with a silent look in the redhead's direction, prompting Tomoe to elaborate, "I mean… the five of us would always spend the holidays and such together like this. I just thought it was nice that we were together, again."
"You're right, Tomoe-chan. Spending our holidays together was always the best way for us to enjoy them," Tsugumi added the second part softly before falling silent again. After a momentary pause, something clicked in Tsugumi's mind and she turned to face her friends, "I know! We should have another special gathering soon to celebrate how we used to spend them!"
"The problem with that is that we already meet up regularly anyway," Moca pointed out before she realized her mistake. Hurriedly rectifying the damage she had inflicted on Tsugumi's mood, Moca tried again, "I mean, yeah, that sounds like a great idea. Where will be celebrating at and when should we decide to do it?"
The five friends would then fall into a momentary period of silence as they thought of what Moca had asked the group. Even Himari, who had rejoined the others after handing out drinks and placing a plate of sweets in the middle of the table, wasn't saying a word.
The silence would have become a source of discomfort had it not been for one of them eventually breaking it… but not to try and respond to Moca's question.
"Himari, what's that over there?" Tomoe asked while pointing to a photo frame in the bookshelf. The other girls looked up at the drummer's words before turning to see what Tomoe was pointing at.
Sure enough, a photo frame was peeking out from behind one of the many books that the Uehara family had stored there. From their position under the kotatsu, none of them could properly see what was depicted in the photo, so Tomoe took it upon herself to find out.
The redhead stood up, walked the few steps it took her to reach the bookshelf and picked up the object that had piqued the interest and curiosity of her and her friends.
"Oh wow, that sure brings back memories," Tomoe trailed off the moment she saw what was on the photo. It didn't take long for the four remaining girls to hurriedly gather around Tomoe to see what Tomoe was holding.
The picture itself showed a group of five girls who couldn't be much older than six or seven. They were sitting underneath a decorated and well-lit Christmas tree and surrounded by a multitude of presents. But what caught their eye were the smiles on their younger selves' faces; all of them had massive grins and looked like they were having a lot of fun.
"You still have this?" Tsugumi asked Himari in both surprise and disbelief. When Himari, who didn't know how to respond to this question other than by bopping her head, bopped her head, Tsugumi turned somber, "We lost it when we were renovating our house a few months ago."
"I'm sure we can make a copy of this one if you want another," Himari said as she pried Tomoe's fingers from the frame less gently than she normally would. After having made sure that it was back in its rightful place, Himari turned to her other friends, "What about you three? Still got it or need me to make extra copies when I do so for Tsugu?"
"I still have mine. Or, I guess it would be better to say that my mother still has it," Tomoe added the last part sheepishly. Ran waited long enough for Tomoe to finish talking before confirming that she, too, still owned it. This was when four pairs of eyes focused their gaze on the poor Moca.
"I honestly don't remember if I still have it or not," Moca admitted reluctantly before turning around and shuffling back under the warmth and comfort of the kotatsu. When she saw the look that Himari was giving her, Moca knew that she had to say more to defend herself, "We make so many memories together it's hard to keep track of which mementos I do and do not have."
"That is fair, yes," Himari chuckled softly, her laughter quickly accompanied by that of Moca's other friends. The sound of laughter would quickly subside and be replaced by Himari clapping her hands together, "Anyway, getting back on track! We were trying to plan for another gathering, right? Does anybody have any ideas or suggestions at all?"
A few hours had passed since the members of Afterglow sat down and chatted the daylight away, and Moca had made her way back home. The guitarist of the band had pointedly ignored her mother's teasing remarks about Moca finally doing the errands for the family and noted how it was thanks to that that Moca had fun with her friends that day. She didn't even seem upset or annoyed by the fact that Moca had been away all day to run a single errand.
Moca made a beeline to her room and shut the door behind her the moment she was free from her mother's watchful eye. She was tired, she was cold, and she was out of breath, but Moca knew that she couldn't afford to call it a day yet.
Once Moca's breathing was calm and steady again, she made her way to a drawer, hesitated, and slowly opened it. Inside lay a small album that Moca gingerly picked up and carried with her to her bed.
'It's been a while since I last took you out,' Moca thought to herself as she sat on the edge of the mattress before she opened the album. What greeted her on the first page were photos. Photos that Moca had plastered on the pages long ago to make sure that she could always find them again in a hurry.
And what was depicted in the photos was what made the album so important to her. Each of them showed a younger Moca having fun with one or more of her closest friends.
The album was a decently sized album with close to a hundred pages, each filled with many photos. Moca would make sure to stare at and reminisce over each and every one of them before she moved on to the next photo.
It would be long past midnight before Moca finally got up from her bed, turned off her lights, got back under the covers, and closed her eyes while holding the album close to her heart.
Moca would sleep soundly that night, her dreams filled with warm and happy memories of her friends that Moca would remember and cherish forever.
And that is all for today's chapter! Yes, we went a bit off-plot, I know, but with the coincidence that was the update schedule matching perfectly with Christmas it felt right. Anyways, next chapter we will be right back to the main plot of this story, so thank you for your patience.
I hope you all enjoyed today's chapter, please leave a review telling me what you thought, and until next time! Merry Christmas 2021 and a Happy New Year 2022 in advance! Take care, everyone!