"Grandma, give me money."
"..."
Saturday, May 9th. Since Raana had already left for school, the Tsuzuki household was unusually quiet, with only Chihiro and her grandmother, Shifune, at home.
Shifune sighed.
She had been pleasantly surprised last night when her granddaughter had obediently gone to bed early, hugging her little sister, instead of staying up late playing guitar like they used to.
But there was something else on her mind—the concern Anon's grandmother had voiced over the phone. Apparently, Chihiro didn't want to play guitar anymore.
That worried her.
But right now, something else had caught her off guard—her so-called "sleeping beauty" of a granddaughter had only just emerged from her room at nearly 10 AM, and the first thing out of her mouth was a demand for money.
"What do you need money for?"
"…Buying a bass."
"A bass?!"
Shifune had considered many possibilities, but she never expected her granddaughter to say she wanted to play bass.
"What about your guitar?"
"..." Chihiro furrowed her brows, her face twisting into an expression of deep distress. "Grandma, there's actually something I've been hiding from you for a long time."
Seeing her granddaughter so serious and solemn, Shifune's heart tightened a little.
She pulled Chihiro's hand, guiding her to sit at the dining table. Sitting beside her, she gently asked,
"If there's something you need to say, go ahead, Chihiro."
"The truth is… I've lost my memory. I don't remember how to play guitar anymore—ow!"
A light smack landed on her head.
Chihiro clutched the spot, pouting pitifully as she looked up at her grandmother, hoping her adorable expression would help her get away with it.
"And yet you conveniently remember me and your sister?"
"Because you two are people I could never forget."
"Ah, this child… Such a smooth talker."
Shifune was momentarily touched, but then, remembering what kind of granddaughter she had, she couldn't help but chuckle.
"If you don't want to play, then don't play for now…"
It was a bit of a shame.
She wanted to hold Chihiro's shoulders and give her all sorts of advice.
But she stopped herself.
Because she knew one thing for sure—she had never been able to change her granddaughter's mind.
To Shifune, Tsuzuki Chihiro hadn't changed at all. Even if she'd gone out into the world and started scamming people or whatever… That wasn't particularly surprising.
This girl had been playing tricks on people for fun since childhood.
And if there was one thing she was stubborn about, it was that she refused to listen to anyone unless she hit a wall herself or figured things out on her own. No amount of talking could sway her otherwise.
But at least Shifune wasn't too worried.
Chihiro was easygoing about most things. She was never the type to get mentally stuck in a downward spiral.
"I'll transfer you some money later. Buy whatever you want."
"Oh, right—Raana's parents will be returning to Japan soon. Though honestly… I doubt she'll move back in with them."
"Auntie's coming back, huh…"
Chihiro nodded.
She did have a few questions about her own parents that she wanted to ask her aunt, but there was no rush.
After confirming that her bank account was now comfortably replenished, Chihiro's lips curled into the signature smile of a rich woman.
Ah, she almost felt like she should just go ahead and sponsor Soyo.
…Oh, and might as well sponsor Sakiko as well.
After finishing her "breakfast," Chihiro helped Grandma clean up the dishes before heading upstairs to her room.
She had plans today.
Yes, she was a delinquent school dropout, a girl who—despite being the age of a JK—was far removed from school life.
But…
She was busier than most JKs.
At least today, she was.
It was said that in a certain game called Persona 5, the protagonist's phone would sometimes get hit with invitations from ten different people at once.
Tsuzuki Chihiro wasn't quite on that level yet.
Her current count?
Six.
First, there were the two band members—Anon was asking if she was free tonight, while Taki wanted to know if she could come to practice in the afternoon.
Then, there was Nina. Besides Nina casually probing about her relationship with Soyo, Momoka and Subaru had also messaged her, inviting her to join their band.
And as for the sixth person—
Of course, it was Sakiko.
"I haven't checked in on Sakiko these past few days, huh… Oh no, she's probably worried sick about me…"
Chihiro wasn't particularly fond of LINE's read receipts feature, but after picking up a few "advanced social maneuvers" from Soyo, she had, unfortunately, learned a few bad habits.
For example—
Sakiko had messaged her last night.
And now, Chihiro had a pretty good idea of how to respond.
[Sakiko: Chi-chan, you haven't shown up for work these past few days. Is something wrong?]
She would reply.
But it was clear that her schedule was already packed today.
Her plan for the morning was to use her bass-buying errand as an excuse to meet up with Rinana and the others all at once.
In the afternoon, she would—behind Soyo's back, of course—meet up with Taki under the alias of Sakuyo.
And as for the evening…
Excuse me, but after a full day of running around, can I not just go home and cuddle Raana to sleep?!
Which meant—
Her meeting with Sakiko would have to wait until Sunday morning.
As for Sunday afternoon's LIVE…
She'd think about it later.
Sighing, Chihiro rubbed her temples with one hand and tilted her head as she typed out her reply:
[Chihiro: I've been tied up with some family matters these past few days. I'll be at the company tomorrow morning—I miss you too, Sakiko.]
After sending that message, she confirmed the meeting spot with Nina and the others.
Then, she turned to her mirror and began getting ready.
Well—
Sort of.
Makeup was skipped entirely. One, because she disliked the smell of cosmetics. And two, because she still had to use Soyo's face to meet Taki later.
So today, she simply wore a casual outfit she had swiped from Soyo's house.
After slipping into a pair of very comfortable stockings—she was getting addicted to them, honestly—she flicked her wine-red hair back and headed downstairs with a smile.
"Chihiro, you're heading out?"
"Ah…"
She had already mentioned in the morning that she'd be buying instruments, so she wasn't too worried.
"Yeah, I'm going to get a bass and some other gear for performing."
"I see. I have a friend's shop in Shibuya that specializes in instruments. Go there—it'll be much cheaper."
"Really?!"
"Look at you, acting like you've never had money before."
"Hehe…"
A little embarrassing, really.
She had grown used to being mindful of price tags over the years.
Adjusting to her rich girl status was taking some time.
After bidding her grandmother farewell and stepping out, Shifune picked up her phone and made a call.
"Teiji, my granddaughter's heading over now. You sure your girl will take the job at my store?"
"Don't worry," came the confident reply. "That kid thinks she can juggle school, life, and her dreams all at once."
"Let's see how she handles reality."
---
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