AMBiTiON/Story/Ch. 8

## Perfect Fifth

 *The Hanasakigawa girls learn of Mai Moriuchi's request to join, but Chihiro gets the feeling she isn't easy to work with...*

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"Can you believe it's already June 1st?" Aki commented idly. "I can totally feel the summer vibes coming on. Ah, especially since we switched uniforms!"

"Hehe... C-Closer to summer break." Sorae smiled, adding quietly. As the three traveled down the stairs, heading to the courtyard for lunch, Chihiro felt hesitant to ask Sorae the questions on her mind. She kept a stiff silence, waiting for the chance to talk.

They reached their usual spot beneath the tree. But this time, instead of Aki being between them, Chihiro purposefully situated herself next to Sorae. The fidgety girl tensed up as she glanced at Chihiro, eyes wide in surprise.

"Hey... Sorae-san?"

"Y-Yeah?"

Seeing Sorae's frantic eyes, Chihiro forced herself to calm down and act a little more friendly. Geez, how did Aki do it? And speak of the devil, the genius girl leaned over to watch with a curious look.

"So... you know that anime you were going on about last Friday? Like, the one Izumin mentioned?"

"D-Do you mean... *Majika?! MagiGal!*?"

Chihiro nodded. "I, um, found and watched the first episode, and I was," her voice dropped in volume, "wondering where to find more--"

"Wah, you did?! Oh my god, Hirocchi, did you like it?!"

Immediately, Sorae's amber eyes lit up like a light as all of her fear evaporated into the wind. Caught off guard by the bizarre nickname, Chihiro choked on her words. "W-Wha--"

"Hmm~, considering the nature of MagiGal's target audience, most fans would just watch on TV, but since it's done broadcasting as of right now, you might have to go for either unlisted reuploads by fans online, which are kinda hard to find, especially with good quality video and audio, or you can go to streaming sites like AntennAnime or BerryTV, and I promise it's not as shady as it sounds, since the only big downside to using those sites is not being able to support the creators of the show, and for a beginner, it isn't really that big of a deal since, if you want to, you can always support them through buying merch when you really get into the series!" With a gulp of breath, Sorae finished the minute-long paragraph with an ardent smile. "Did you get that, Hirocchi?"

Chihiro stiffly shook her head. "...No?"

"A-Ah--!" In response, Sorae merely returned her panicked look, and she proceeded to curl into a ball. "N-Nevermind, C-C-Chihiro-san..." She mumbled, her figure almost wilting like a flower as she returned to Regular Mode.

Witnessing Sorae's dejection, Aki chimed in. "She said something about using streaming sites, but apparently they're not as suspicious they seem."

'Because of course you can catch all that,' Chihiro thought, but forced herself to ignore her envy and, instead, turn to Sorae. "So hey, Sorae-san... Or, can I call you Sorae-chan?"

Sorae looked up, her face flushed.

"Um... Can you show me one of those sites? So I can look them up later?"

And finally, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly, Sorae relaxed and grabbed her phone with a wavering hand. "S-Sure...!"

The next few minutes were spent with Sorae teaching Chihiro about how to use an anime website, and Aki peering at the screen, watching along. Chihiro thought Aki seemed glad about something, but whatever that airhead motivational speaker was happy about was the least of Chihiro's concerns - Moreso, she was confused by her own heart, lifting. They followed Sorae's incoherent rambling when a sudden notification dropped from the top of the screen.

"What the--?" Chihiro took hold of her own phone and glanced at the text, which was also sent to her.

"... Izumi-chan sent something to the group chat," Sorae noted softly, staring at the message:

"omg guys some1 asked me if she could join the band"

Chihiro's eyes brightened. Hadn't it only been a week or so ago when Izumi and Sorae were recruited? And now, a fifth member as well? What a hasty development... S-She didn't know whether to be excited or confused!

Aki was also on her own phone when she typed back, "Who is it?" whilst saying it aloud.

Evidently Izumi was still online as well, as she replied in a flash. "this girl called Mai Moriuchi" Then, "she said she saw me on the train w/ u last friday? and apparnelty her sister is in eclipse with MY sister??"

"Huh. Talk about connections," Chihiro commented out loud. And as if Izumi heard her speak, another text was quickly sent.

"hirotan if u see a girl w/ me at the train station thats her !!"

Wait... D-Did Izumi mean to tell her that she'd be meeting this person *today*?!

Turning to Chihiro, Aki beamed. "Hehe! So you'll get ta see 'er, Hiro-tan!"

Gee, thank you, Sherlock! In an instant, Chihiro found herself overwhelmed by a crashing wave of anxiety over meeting this new girl. It wasn't like when she first met Sorae - Aki's description of Sorae didn't make her sound like anything to be afraid of. But this 'Mai Moriuchi' was a complete stranger! What could she expect? She knew she'd meet the new girl sometime, but right after school that same day? Did Izumi have any clue what 'making plans' meant?!

"Um, since we're gonna meet up every Friday now... What if we let that new person come with us this week?" Sorae suggested.

"Ah, nice!" Aki smiled. "You should tell Izumin that!"

As Sorae messaged Izumi about the plan, Chihiro made no comment as she became swamped by the pressure of meeting, without mental preperation, a new person she might have to work with for a long, long time... She gulped, and steadied her wild nerves in two clenched fists.

"Izumin?"

Like always, Chihiro stepped onto the train platform and spotted Izumi. However, this time, the short girl was accompanied by a stranger.

"Hiro-tan!" Izumi jumped up to meet Chihiro, but the oddly quiet stranger stayed put. "Come on! Roll on over and meet Moriuchi!" She beckoned.

Immediately, the energy - or rather, lack of energy - radiating from the stranger... struck Chihiro, to say the least. Contrasting from Izumi, the stoic Moriuchi-san seemed much less tolerant of any nonsense, evident to Chihiro by the way she carried herself. Calm, dignified, silent.

"Okay, Moriuchi, introduce yourself." Izumi placed her hands on her hips and smiled at the serious new girl. She stepped up calmly.

"My name... is Mai Moriuchi. I am a first year student at Haneoka Girls' High School. Pleased to meet you." Or so she said, but she didn't look pleased in the slightest.

Staring at Moriuchi-san, Chihiro felt even more pressure weighing down on her. Although her stature wasn't out of the ordinary, there was something about the way she carried herself, those controlled movements, or the long, dark hair that made her seem like the type of person that wouldn't tolerate anything but perfection. She was as cold as a block of ice... if not colder. Chihiro swallowed her unease and put on her cutest smile.

"I'm Chihiro Satou! And... I'm the de facto leader, I guess? A-Ah, and a first-year like you."

Likely sensing the tenseness, Izumi cut in and spoke. "So you know how I accidentally rented that guitar last Friday? Yeah, that got me thinking if we needed someone to play the guitar or something." She grinned. "Anyways, Moriuchi here says she'll be our very own guitarist!"

"So she knows how to play guitar?"

"Nope, but she says she'll learn it." Izumi glanced over. "Right, Moriuchi?"

Chihiro felt a wave of disappointment crash over her - *Great*. Not only did the girl seem about as easy to get along with as a rock, she also couldn't play the instrument that she was meant to be playing for who knows how long! Could Izumi have found anyone less useful? Letting out an inaudible sigh, Chihiro backed a small step away from the new girl - This venture was going to be much more difficult than expected...

Entering her bedroom, Chihiro placed her bag on the floor. Light streamed through the balcony window and highlighted specks of dust, drifting. 'I guess it's been a while,' thought Chihiro.

It had to have been about two or three weeks ago when Chihiro first stepped out onto the balcony and made that first vow as 'a new Chihiro Satou'. She cringed thinking back - What was so new about her now? Maybe the change hadn't happened yet... but the other few vows she made certainly did. Finding friends, forming a band... Realizing that was only about three weeks ago, Chihiro smiled with a growing thrill and considered it a success so far. But if she wanted to truly succeed, she had to go much further than this.

Of course, initially she only brought any of these girls on board for the sake of the band. Making friends was nice and all, but these people were so mind-numbingly annoying! In the end, they only served one good purpose for Chihiro, and that was the practicality of their talents... but even then, they didn't serve that purpose well, either. Thinking about it, Chihiro shouldn't have had any qualms with cutting them off from her project, so why was it that she hadn't done it yet?

'... I've sunken too much effort and time by now, of course. I can't quit this far into the game,' she eventually decided, but that didn't seem like the real answer.

She closed her eyes. She wanted them to learn their respective instruments well. She wanted them to actually come to be useful. And what she definitely didn't want was for them to go just yet. But... why? There was no answer Chihiro could find to that question. She didn't know why she cared enough to try when she had never cared enough before - when no one else had ever cared enough before. All she knew was that her useless bandmates had better thank her for it.

She slid open the balcony door and stepped outside, the sky mottled with clouds like it always was. With the addition of Moriuchi-san - though she didn't seem easy to work with - Chihiro actually felt confident about her plan for the first time. Five people: Herself as the vocalist, Aki as the keyboardist, Izumi on drums, Sorae on bass, and Moriuchi-san, now as the guitarist. They couldn't do much yet, but to have gathered so many members already must have been a good sign. After so long of nothing but failure, surely Chihiro deserved her own success? And now, it was finally here... a success that people could consider one. Maybe it was because she talked to the sky that day, and as dumb as it sounded... maybe they could talk again?

Looking up at the pale blue canvas, Chihiro tried her hardest to feel sincere. "I hope that people will like me even more. And... I hope I can deal with whatever comes with my stupid bandmates." She whispered, then blinked in satisfaction. That should've covered it.

With how everything she 'asked the sky for' became true, she hoped that her hopes would too.

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