Why Not Play in a Band Forever

"But this is the kind of high tide I'm familiar with." In her past life, the high tide that reached Shiko's hometown was also greatly weakened, and it was impossible to see its peak grandeur, described as "the vast sea turning to emptiness." In fact, she had never had the chance—nor the interest—to witness such a spectacular sight. It wasn't until she saw a similar scene in a completely different land that she suddenly felt a pang of nostalgia.

"So, does that mean we're almost at the beach?" Kita's focus was entirely different from Shiko's at that moment.

Indeed. Since there was a high tide, the sea couldn't be far away.

However, during a pursuit of a large monster, they gradually deviated from the river course and no longer saw the high tide twice a day.

"Sorry, I really can't find the way back..." Kita felt a bit guilty towards Shiko. Everyone had been focused on the fleeing monster and forgot to keep track of their path. Ryo scratched her head, looking a bit embarrassed. This was extremely rare for her.

"It's okay, it's okay," Shiko said, appearing unconcerned.

She never got to see the high tide in its full glory.

They continued their journey between plains and hills, trying to find areas with water sources. The sky turned orange-red, signaling another sunset. They had been flying at low altitude all day, but Kita could clearly feel the moisture in the wind.

"Maybe we'll reach the sea in a few days," she estimated optimistically. "Gotou-san, I'll design swimsuits for you then~"

"Huh, swimsuits?" Shiko sounded a little surprised. "Why?"

"To play, of course!" Kita looked at her as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "We're finally at the beach, aren't we going to have some fun?"

"Right! Since we're at the beach, we should at least relax a bit, shouldn't we?" Lisa agreed wholeheartedly. "What about Yukina?"

Everyone looked at Yukina, waiting for her decision.

Feeling all eyes on her, Yukina seemed to want to say something but then gave up. "Alright, we'll stop for a day when we get to the beach. Just one day."

"Yay!" Ako bounced up in the basket, causing it to sway precariously as if it might fall at any moment. Lisa quickly grabbed Ako's shoulders in fright and shot her a glare.

As they bickered, the hot air balloon drifted through the sky, searching for a place to land.

Suddenly, Kita spotted a glimmer of golden water between the mountains. The golden light stung her eyes, but she quickly leaned out to get a closer look.

She turned back excitedly, about to shout something, but then realized that the others hadn't noticed what she saw. On impulse, she quickly covered her mouth and slightly lowered the hot air balloon's altitude, allowing the golden glint to be hidden in the shadows of the mountains.

Before dinner, she excitedly grabbed Nijika and Lisa. "I saw the sea!" Even though they were far from the others, she kept her voice low.

"Really?" The two also lowered their voices, but their excitement was palpable.

"I saw it! If we're in the hot air balloon, we'll be there in no time!"

"What, what? Is something happy happening here?" Shiko's voice, mimicking Kokoro Tsurumaki's, chirped as she ran over.

Kita waved her over. "You're just in time! Shiko, come here, let's discuss..."

Middle of the night.

Shiko's face was dark. "Why do I have to do the work for the plan she discussed with you guys? Knock me out quickly and let her carry people."

Across from her, Nijika looked apologetic. "We had no idea when your personality would change~"

"Keep it down, she's waking up!" Lisa whispered to them from the other side, pouting slightly as she gestured towards the stretcher between them and Yukina, who was sleeping soundly on it. Yukina turned over on the stretcher, muttering something about cats. Shiko barely managed to suppress a laugh.

"She really mentions cats in her sleep..."

Kita's plan was to take everyone to the seaside in the hot air balloon while they were asleep, giving them a surprise when they woke up.

With the careful efforts of the four, everyone was placed in the basket. The basket was large, so it didn't feel crowded. Kita took off her shoes to avoid making noise and walked to the center of the basket, silently igniting a flame. The hot air balloon slowly rose, and the sleeping people were completely unaware.

"What about the propulsion?" Lisa asked in a low voice. Ryo usually propelled the hot air balloon, but she was the soundest sleeper right now.

Shiko shook a transparent jade slip in her hand. It was a copy of Ryo's strongest attack. She attached it to the basket and slowly released the sound waves. "This will be enough to keep us going for a while," she said.

Everything was arranged now. In the dead of night, a cluster of lights slowly flew towards the sea. Occasionally, dark shadows approached the lights under the cover of darkness, but they dissolved silently into the flames.

As they crossed mountain after mountain, they heard the sound of waves.

After crossing the last peak, the ocean under the starlight appeared before them.

The sky was filled with dazzling stars surrounding the tranquil sea. There was nothing between them, only leisurely clouds drifting from the horizon, freely changing and forming. For a moment, no one spoke. The waves crashed onto the beach, becoming the only sound between heaven and earth.

"It feels... liberating," Nijika said dazedly.

The others felt the same. Shiko took a deep breath.

Then exhaled heavily.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Beach House

Everyone woke up to the sound of waves.

"Mmm... what's that sound?" Sayo was the first to wake up. She groggily pushed herself up from the mattress, rubbing her eyes, and looked around.

"Where... where are we?" she asked, staring blankly at the blue sea.

A figure popped out. "Surprise!" It was Shiko. Although her voice sounded energetic, she looked a bit strained.

"Ah, that didn't work. Let's try again." She stepped back, put on a blue wig, and popped out again. "Surprise! Sister!"

She looked much more natural this time. Even Sayo had trouble controlling her expression.

Another fiery figure jumped out. "That's right! The sea!" This one's energy was genuine.

"So, what's going on?" Sayo still hadn't figured things out. Hearing the commotion, the others also emerged from their bedding one by one, looking around with the surprise Kita had hoped for.

So, Kita explained with satisfaction what they had done the night before.

However, most of them seemed uninterested. Ryo lay back down. "So that's why I didn't sleep well. Goodnight."

"Since we're at the beach, it means they shouldn't be in this area..." Yukina's focus was completely different from Kita's. While they hadn't searched the river mouth area, given Poppin'Party's personalities, if they had reached the vicinity of the river mouth, they would definitely have come to the beach no matter what. They needed to focus their search along the coastline for the next two days. If they couldn't find them, then they weren't here. The subsequent search plan needed to be re-evaluated.

"The beach... I... I'm a little nervous..." Rinko shrunk back. Ichiri chimed in, "I get it. Even though no one else is here, the beach itself has a youthful vibe. Introverts will get penalized by the venue in a place like this."

Ako wedged herself between the two of them, the only one who could be considered a "surprise." "Then let Archdemon Ako give you super-duper powerful buffs! It's a holiday today!"

Kita looked displeased at Ako, who had one arm around each of them. She forcefully pulled Ichiri away. "Come on, Gotou-san, didn't I tell you I was going to design a swimsuit for you... Come..." While Ichiri was still unable to resist, she pulled her behind a large rock.

"What are you doing?" A pair of hands landed on Kita's shoulders. She jumped instinctively, then turned around to see Shiko. Shiko stared teasingly into Kita's eyes, making her a little flustered.

"It's, it's just... taking measurements... See, if I'm going to design a swimsuit..." She gestured in the air with her fingers, her voice uncharacteristically stuttering.

Shiko looked at Ichiri. She was already incapacitated, her pitiful eyes looking at Shiko as if begging for help. Shiko then looked at Kita, who clearly had no measuring tape or anything similar in her hands. And why would they need to go behind a rock to take measurements?

She nodded at Kita with a satisfied smile. "Find me when you're done." Then, with high emotional intelligence, she left to find someone else.

Let's review again: Shiko is a loyal member of the HachiKita ship.

On the beach, behind a rock where no signal could be detected, was Ichiri's location.

A mournful cry came from behind Ichiri.

"Quack, Shiko, save me!"

Shiko clasped her hands together.

May you be happy.

The small world of the two of them didn't attract anyone else's attention. Some people had gone to wash up, others had walked closer to the sea to enjoy the view, while Nijika had set up her cooking gear outside the tent and was taking out a few vegetables from a box, preparing something. Shiko walked over to Nijika's side. A cast-iron pot was placed next to her. She stretched out her neck, looking at the ingredients under Nijika's hands.

"Curry?"

"That's right," Nijika said. "You're here just in time. I still need some ingredients from you."

On the cutting board in front of Nijika were potatoes, curry blocks, and other ingredients.

"Someone doesn't like carrots, so I didn't put any in," she said without looking up, focusing on cutting the potatoes. "Little Shiko, could you get me some fish? Since we're at the beach, let's have some fish curry."

"Me? What do you mean? I didn't go fishing?" Shiko looked utterly confused.

Nijika glanced at her, then realized something. She blinked and came up with an excuse. "I, I meant, since you're free, do you want to go find out where we can get some fish... Ahaha..."

Shiko looked around and pointed into the distance. "In that case, how about I check out that Beach House over there?"

Nijika suddenly turned her head, only to see that a wooden house had appeared in the direction Shiko was pointing at some point. A blue flag with the words "Beach House" written on it was planted in front of the building. Several people had already gathered at the entrance, looking inside curiously.

When did that appear? Did Shiko do it? She turned to look at Shiko, whose face showed an innocent expression. Shiko took a few steps in that direction, then quickly retreated. "I'm a little afraid to go..."

"Then, let's go together." Nijika was also very curious about it. Nijika put down her knife, covered the ingredients with a dust cover, and the two of them walked towards it together. Shiko unconsciously hunched her back as she followed behind Nijika, who could hear her muttering to herself, "Just pretend it's Shizuku inside... Just pretend it's Shizuku inside..."

Who is Shizuku...?

The Beach House wasn't far from them. Seeing the two of them approach, Ako quickly ran over in some slippers that appeared out of nowhere and whispered something in Nijika's ear. Nijika's brow gradually furrowed. She said to Shiko, "Wait for me here for a moment." After confirming Shiko had stopped, she followed Ako to the entrance of the Beach House. The wooden floor at the entrance felt no different from a regular floor. The door was tightly shut, and there was no sound from inside. Nijika grasped the doorknob.

She gently opened the door.

Inside, there were no tables or chairs, only a chaotic darkness. It wasn't due to a lack of light, but rather because the light was being swallowed. The inside and outside of the door were clearly distinct. Although she didn't feel any suction, Nijika thought of a word: event horizon.

She closed the door, breaking out in a cold sweat that had appeared out of nowhere. In the sea breeze, the feeling of her sweat-soaked shirt sticking to her back was particularly noticeable.

"When did this house appear?" she asked Ako.

"Just... now." Ako wasn't sure. But when she had just woken up, there definitely wasn't this house.

Although the early summer sea breeze was blowing, the atmosphere was as oppressive as being trapped at the bottom of the sea.

"Uh, everyone, what's wrong?" a timid voice interjected, not at all fitting the mood.

It was Shiko. She had somehow appeared behind them.

"Didn't I tell you to wait?" With the situation unknown, Nijika couldn't afford to be gentle, her tone carrying a hint of blame.

"Staying there... with so many people, I got a little scared..."

Nijika looked at the deserted beach, then at Shiko, who relaxed only when she was near familiar people, and felt a pang of guilt. She hadn't considered Shiko's special circumstances.

"Sorry..."

"What's wrong inside?" As soon as Shiko relaxed, she became proactive, directly grabbing the doorknob and pulling it open.

"Wait—" Before they could stop her, Shiko had already pulled the door open.

Inside, it was bright and clean, with several low tables neatly arranged, spotless.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Chicken White Sauce Curry

After Shiko opened the door, the inside was a completely normal Beach House scene.

"Huh?"

They all thought they had hallucinated.

"What's wrong?" Shiko asked. They looked at each other.

Could it be that what they had seen before was an illusion?

There was no one in the Beach House. Shiko crouched by the door, afraid to go in. Nijika swallowed and walked over to her. "Are there many people inside?"

"Yes," Shiko nodded.

"That—" Nijika reached out, trying to pull her back. Shiko suddenly trembled, her half-foot stepping inside as she spoke to the air, "Shizu... Shizumiori-senpai!"

What is this? Nijika froze. But in the next second, Shiko's demeanor changed completely, and she turned back with a face full of confusion, "Where am I?"

"...Come out first, and then we'll talk slowly."

Shiko stepped out, and the others explained what had just happened, talking over each other.

Shiko listened, but didn't seem particularly surprised.

"So it's come to this..." She turned to look inside the Gate of Opening and walked back in. Turning to everyone, she said, "It's simple, my two personalities are just influencing each other."

At first, Shiko could only feel the timeless darkness during her sleep. But recently, she started to dream. Everything in the dream would gradually fade upon waking, but the feeling of happiness she experienced in the dream lingered, causing the dead branches in her heart to gradually sprout new life and send out new shoots.

She knew who she was in the dream. She also knew what such dreams foretold. But she hadn't expected it to happen so soon. Her other self could already unconsciously use her abilities.

"This Beach House, it's Shizuku's," she found a vantage point and stood there. The image before her immediately overlapped with her memories, and she seemed to have returned to the quiet moments in the dormitory when her roommates were away, playing gal games.

She saw something on the table and walked over. There were three dolls lined up side-by-side: a duck, a bear, and a calf, from left to right. Her gaze swept over the dolls, lingering a moment longer on the bear. She picked up all three dolls and returned to the entrance.

"Could I ask you all to just pretend this house is mine, do whatever you were going to do, and let me handle my own issues first?" she asked sincerely.

In the past, the personality switches that occurred from time to time only caused minor trouble, but when another personality could unconsciously use abilities, the problem became much bigger. Similar to the "Heart Element" on the adjacent guide rail, she was only building a wooden house now, but what about in the future? Would she suddenly create a car on a hot air balloon? She had to resolve this issue quickly.

But this matter was different from others; only Shiko could solve it herself. Only Nijika, Ako, and Rinko were present. It would be meaningless to trouble others with this.

After some hesitation, the three nodded.

"If you have any problems, just tell us directly," Nijika said.

At this moment, the others also gathered around.

Shiko smiled slightly, took the calf she was holding in her arms, and switched to a gentle voice, "Well then, the Beach House is now open, just for today."

Shiko didn't leave the Beach House all day. She prepared curry in the kitchen with Nijika and insisted on naming the dish made with fish as "Chicken White Sauce Curry." Others curiously walked into the Beach House and ended up eating their fill with nostalgic comfort in the civilized atmosphere.