"But since it's a new live show, we need new outfits!" This was their first live show since boarding the airship, so naturally it had commemorative significance. Nijika began planning the outfits in her head. Should they use the old ones as a reference? Last time, she had rejected Shiko's designs, saying they had been created by her counterpart from another world line, because she was tired of that style. But now their clothes had returned to normal, and looking back, those simple outfits didn't seem so bad...
"I was thinking..." Ryo said. "How about we switch this time? I'll design Roselia's outfits, and Rinko will design ours."
"Ah, right." Nijika slapped her palm. "I forgot you two were both good at fashion design."
The first day of the "Summer End Plan." Beside the river, under the shade of the trees.
"You see, if you both know a little about fashion, you can use that connection to understand each other better, right?" Nijika sat beside Ryo and offered her advice.
Ryo had also noticed the difficulties in working with Rinko. Although she leaned more toward not wanting to communicate than fearing communication, it was also true that she had lacked social experience for a long time. When it came to getting closer to Rinko, she could only ask Nijika for help. Thus, the "Summer End Plan" was not only meant to leave Ichiri alone for a while, but also to bring Ryo and Rinko closer together.
"Appeal to her interests..." Ryo didn't really like this approach. In fact, deliberately trying to get close to someone simply wasn't her style. But for the sake of their collaboration, she could give it a try.
On the grass nearby, Rinko sat on a blanket, her needle and thread dancing through her hands as she knitted something. She sat there alone, with a large empty space beside her. Even Ako wasn't there.
Chapter Ten: Shiko's Absurd One-Woman Show
Rinko quietly worked on the clothes by herself. She could have simply asked Shiko to conjure up a finished product, but Rinko preferred the feeling of weaving it with her own hands. She also had more experience than Shiko when it came to handling various details. What she was making now wasn't an outfit for performances, but an ordinary everyday piece. As she sewed, she recalled the various clothing designs she had seen, drawing inspiration from them and decorating the work in her hands with needle and thread.
Ryo suddenly crouched down beside her without saying a word, staring intently at Rinko's hands.
"(Uh...)" Rinko's hands gradually stiffened. "(Help me... Imai-san...)"
The news that Yukina wanted to hold a live show commemorating the airship's launch spread throughout the vessel with the tinkling of the dinner bell. Naturally, it reached Lisa as well.
"Shiko won't object this time, right?" Lisa asked Shiko, who stood by the porthole. Their fight over Yukina last time had left her shaken.
"Why would I object? It won't interfere with our schedule." Shiko turned her head. "It's been a while since I played a live show, so my fingers are itching too. Though I'd still prefer to wait a few more days... I feel like playing keyboard in my current state would be a complete disaster."
The dark circles under Shiko's eyes were strikingly dark.
Meanwhile, not long after dinner, Rinko said goodbye to Yukina. There was still much she hadn't learned, but Yukina-san had her own affairs and couldn't be bothered forever. As she explored the way with a torch, Rinko recalled some of the details Yukina had explained.
The sound of drums came from the distance. Listening carefully, she could also hear a bass. Before she knew it, Rinko had been drawn toward the sound. Almost as if under a spell, she unconsciously crossed the scorched-earth-like paving stones, passed the ash-covered stone walls and arches made of white bones, and finally crossed the gates of the mythical underworld, entering the "Maw of the Abyss" bar, which seemed to be darkness itself.
Rinko stood at the edge of the maw, trembling all over. Above, below, and in every direction, there was nothing but darkness. The drumbeat had reached its climax. Each strike controlled her heartbeat, as if her body had already died and the drumbeat alone sustained this temporary life.
Where was the drumbeat coming from? She followed the sound—within the bottomless abyss, there was only one source of light—
Oh, it was IdochI-kun. Her entire body was glowing, in the literal sense. Yamada-san was beside her as well.
Rinko silently stepped back, intending to leave without disturbing them. But Nijika's eyes were sharp, and she had already spotted her.
"Ah! Rinko-senpai!" she greeted Rinko energetically. When they had first met, Nijika's lively voice had often reminded Rinko of Ako, but after spending more time together, she felt Lisa was more similar.
"Did Rinko-senpai come for a drink?" Nijika hopped down from the stage with a penguin-like gait and poured herself a glass of orange juice at the bar. Several drink machines sat on the counter, some created from Shiko's own memories and others made from wild fruits found here. Ice and other ingredients were placed beside them for anyone to use.
"Ah... I just heard a sound... and came over..."
Ryo came over too and poured herself a glass of cola. Seeing this, Rinko approached hesitantly as well. "Hot milk, please... Is there a way to heat it here?"
"There is." Nijika pulled a small burner from beneath the counter, opened a bottle of milk, and put it inside.
The three of them sat at the bar and drank, chatting sporadically. Although the chairs were spaced evenly, Rinko always felt that Ryo, sitting beside her, was somehow closer to Nijika. It seemed as if an indistinct barrier separated the two of them from Rinko. Rinko sat on tenterhooks and began regretting staying.
"Am I... disturbing you?" Rinko rubbed the rim of her cup. "(I need to find a chance to slip away...)"
She suddenly realized she had asked a foolish question. No matter how the other person answered, a question like this would only make the atmosphere more awkward... At least, she absolutely couldn't answer it herself... Socializing really was complicated... Sorry...
"Huh? No, not at all. We happened to have something to ask you." Nijika patted Ryo as if she had anticipated this from the beginning. "Ryo, didn't you have something to discuss with Rinko-senpai? You can say it now."
Rinko and Ryo leaned forward at the same time. "Huh? What is it...?"
The three of them immediately shifted their attention to the new topic.
After Nijika reminded her again, Ryo explained the proposal that the two bands design each other's performance outfits.
"Ah... I think... that should be fine..." Rinko nodded.
"It'll definitely be fine. Don't worry, Rinko." Beside the river, Lisa blinked at Rinko and reassured her. "If anything goes wrong, we'll watch from a distance."
"Okay... okay..."
Yukina still didn't quite understand. "We're only trying to get two people to become closer. Why does it have to be handled like a battle plan?"
"But it feels more ceremonial this way," Ako said. "No matter what, Ako will always be Rinrin's partner!"
So, according to the plan, Rinko sat alone on the blanket, focusing on sewing the clothes.
Ryo really did come. From the shadows, Lisa flashed a V-sign toward Nijika. Nijika's side returned the same gesture.
Just as planned! They've started interacting!
However, the two of them held back for so long that not a single word was exchanged. Rinko had nearly stabbed her finger with the needle.
Nijika looked like she was about to die of anxiety. She wished she could crawl inside Ryo's body and speak in her place.
"This is what shut-ins are like." Shiko's voice suddenly sounded beside her. Nijika turned her head and saw Shiko crouching beside her, watching Ryo with an expression that seemed to be enjoying the spectacle.
"Do you have any advice?" As another shut-in, Shiko should have been better able to understand their behavior, right?
Shiko's brain spun uselessly for a while before she gave up. "No. Let them handle it themselves."
Two more days passed aboard the airship.
Kita, Ichiri, and Nijika stacked their heads one after another beside the gap in the command room door, peeking at what was happening inside.
"Shiko has... gone three days without sleeping..." Ichiri didn't even dare breathe too heavily, as if the slightest breeze from outside might blow Shiko over.
"Wu-san has been acting strange since yesterday..." Even Kita had forgotten to maintain her usual attitude of I hate Wu-san the most, watching what was happening inside with concern no weaker than Ichiri's or Nijika's.
Inside the room, Shiko stood by the window, seemingly deep in thought. From the outside, she didn't look much different from before. The bathroom and shower were right next door, and she did at least pay attention to hygiene.
Come to think of it, why had they put a shower next to the command room, anyway? The bathroom was one thing, but a shower?
"Yesterday, she recited the entire Diamond Sutra from memory, then said something about 'all vexations falling away and leaving the mortal world behind'..." Nijika swallowed. What would Shiko be like today?
Inside the room, Shiko seemed to have realized something. She suddenly turned around and roared at empty space, "Kai Shi! Why are you so stubbornly refusing to awaken!"
Before the four of them could react, she immediately turned around again, putting on an expression mixed with confusion, determination, and a hint of stubborn individuality. "Why? Because someone is crying. Because I heard them."
After performing this brief scene, Shiko returned to her contemplative expression, rubbing her chin and muttering to herself. "Should I make it a little more like that...? It would probably work better..."
She rehearsed the scene several more times by herself. Apparently satisfied, she moved on to the next one.
"This is..." Nijika blinked.
Ichiri guessed, "A one-woman show?"
"There are always things greater than others."
"Your fantasies will be shattered by me!"
"O key that conceals the power of darkness..."
Shiko stood still with both eyes closed. "I am the bone of my sword..."
She suddenly opened her eyes.
She met the gazes of the people peering through the crack in the door.
She fainted gracefully.
Awake time: 3 days, an unknown number of hours, an unknown number of minutes, and an unknown number of seconds
"..." The four people outside looked at one another in silence, with only tears flowing freely.
What the hell was that?
"Um... should we carry her back to her room?" Nijika suggested.
"Agreed," Kita said.
"Okay," Ichiri said.
"No problem," Ryo said.
The other three focused their gazes on Ryo. "When did you get here?"
Chapter Eleven: Preparations Complete
When Shiko awoke in bed, the morning light happened to spill across her body.
An unfamiliar ceiling... No, she had made the ceiling herself.
Shiko looked outside through the narrow gap between the curtains. The airship was still cruising steadily through the sky. A black shadow the size of a basketball rolled down from above and fell beneath them trailing flames. For an instant, Shiko thought she could make out the shape of an eyeball within it.
In short, it was an ordinary morning.
Hiss...
"(Did I fall asleep earlier?)"
Only then did her mind break free of its grogginess. Shiko gradually became aware of her situation. She surveyed the room: the bed, desk, antique shelf, and wardrobe were exactly the same as the standardized room furnishings from before. Only the Hisajima Ou's signature suitcase beside the desk, containing Shiko's important belongings, revealed that this was the room she had casually chosen earlier.
Her limbs were a little sore, probably because she had slept too long. "(What was I doing before I fell asleep?)" Shiko climbed out from under the covers while trying hard to recall her earlier memories. However, memories from before falling asleep were just like dream memories—they were difficult to retain. Whatever. It probably hadn't been anything important.
When Shiko climbed out of bed, she discovered that she was no longer wearing what she had worn before falling asleep, but pajamas instead. Someone must have changed her clothes. Who had it been? Whoever it was, it was a little embarrassing.
A pair of slippers appeared out of thin air beside the bed. Shiko slipped her feet into them and staggered to the window. She pulled the curtains, which had been left open only a crack, all the way apart, and the morning sun completely illuminated the room.
"Haah..." Shiko yawned, stretched her arms, and turned toward the desk. She laid the suitcase flat, opened it, carefully took out each item, and placed them on the antique shelf. Every compartment contained a small mechanism to prevent shaking, which was why Shiko felt comfortable taking the items out.
The first was the small stone carving everyone had personally given her before she joined Kessoku Band. They had said it had been carved in Shiko's likeness, but in reality, it didn't look like her at all. The other stone carving that had been presented at the same time still stood alone in the frigid winds of the plateau.
The second was Ichiri's autograph, given to Shiko before Guitar and Loneliness and the Blue Planet had been released.
The second and third items had also come from that period: a group photo of her, Kessoku Band, and Miss Marina, as well as a group photo of seven people taken when Miss Niiki left CiRCLE. One was a reunion, and the other was a parting.
After that came a photo album, only half-filled, with the rest left blank. It contained memories Shiko had recorded during her travels, some of which had been photographed by another version of herself.
Several compartments on the antique shelf were still empty. Shiko did not fill the gaps with vases or anything similar. Instead, she placed a blank picture frame in one of them, as if reserving the spot in advance for something.
Shiko looked inside the suitcase. Only a bundle of envelopes remained. She did not take it out. Instead, she smiled softly, pulled out the chair, sat down, picked up her pen, and began writing a new letter to her who would awaken at some unknown time.
Only after finishing did she feel a wave of hunger.
"Looks like I haven't had breakfast yet..." she muttered. She put the completed letter into an envelope, tied it into the bundle, and waved her hand. Several empty plates appeared before her, followed by a youtiao and a steamed bun. There was also a cup of soy milk beside them. Normally, Nijika or Lisa would push a cart and deliver breakfast to everyone's doors, but Shiko hadn't heard a sound. Judging by the sun's position, she had probably woken up too early. In that case, she might as well take care of breakfast herself for once.
Shiko took a bite of the steamed bun. It wasn't as tasty as Nijika's. She took a sip of the soy milk. It was cold.
At that moment, the sound of a wooden fish—tok, tok, tok—came from outside. The wooden fish was their agreed-upon breakfast bell. Shiko had gotten the idea from a prose writer's work. The sound was just loud enough to alert those who were awake without disturbing those who were still sleeping. Shiko stood up. The unfinished food behind her returned to nothingness, and she walked toward the door.
It was better to eat breakfast made by professionals, anyway.
When she opened the door, Nijika, whose entire body was glowing, wasn't the only person outside. Kita was there too, still wearing her pajamas.
"Ah, Little Shiko, you're awake?" Seeing Shiko emerge, Nijika casually sent a ray of starlight at her. "Are you feeling all right?"
"Even if I wasn't, I am now." Shiko looked at Kita. "Kita, you live next door?"
She had never known where the others' rooms were located.
"No, diagonally across." Kita pointed to the door opposite Shiko's room. Her room had no window, only an exhaust fan, so it naturally received no sunlight. But with her abilities, that was nothing to worry about. At that moment, the door beside Shiko's room opened, and Ichiri emerged while rubbing her eyes. "Good morning..."
The rooms of Shiko, Kita, and Ichiri formed an equilateral triangle when measured by distance.
"Ah, Shiko's awake?" Ichi also noticed Shiko.
"That's right." Shiko spoke with complete seriousness. "The experiment on how long one can endure without sleeping is complete. After finishing this meal, I'll test how long I can endure without eating."
"Huh? Really? Did you develop some strange new hobby?" Kita came over and touched Shiko's forehead. "It feels normal..." Although she seemed concerned, there was always a hint of barbs in her tone.
"Okay, okay, Little Shiko, act normal." Nijika stepped in. "You still don't know where everyone lives, right? Finish eating quickly, and then come with me for a look around."
"Okay."
Several rooms away, Rinko and Ryo, whom Nijika had dragged out of bed, had already begun working. They not only had to compose a song together, but design clothes as well. There were no needles or thread on the bed, only paper and pens spread across the table. After all, Ryo wasn't actually good at sewing. This was Rinko's room. Rinko had originally wanted to go directly to Ryo's room, but only her own room had a keyboard connected to a mobile power supply. The concept of "one's own room" also made her feel more at ease, so she had decided against it.
The two of them worked quietly on the paper, stopping from time to time to discuss things.
Around noon, Ryo leaned back. "Phew~ Finished." She was referring to the song Shiko had commissioned. Her eyes shifted toward the lyric book Ichiri had given her yesterday, spread open nearby. She picked it up. The title of the song was written across the open page: The Passage of Time, Triangle Days and Nights.
No matter how many times she looked at it, these lyrics really were so interesting.
"I'm... done too..." Across from her, Rinko sent Ryo the part she had completed. She was responsible for one section of the duet they were composing. After all, she was still a beginner at composition, so being entrusted with this much was already a lot.
Before you continue