Act 1, Extra Chapter 2: Crimson Shiguri

Saturday, 4:30 PM. Hiroki Yamada slumped onto his bed, exhausted from the emotional morning at Aoi Mizuno’s apartment with Toriteba’s girls—Takane Yuzuriha, Mei Hashimoto, Yuna Aoki, Sara Fujimoto—and Hasumi Sakakibara.

The weight of Kaito Yamada’s memory, the Izakaya No Mani videos, and the lingering echo of Shigure as Suede’s new name churned in his mind. Seeking a moment of connection, he opened the Sakuragawa Light Music Club group chat, a chaotic blend of trash talk, shitposts, and banter among the first-years. He typed, ready to make a bold announcement.

saturdaynightwrist2006 (Hiroki): We’re officially renaming our band from Suede to Shiguri.

The chat, usually a whirlwind of shitposts, fell silent, the first-years caught off-guard by the shift.

mioakiyamachan (Mei): Shiguri? Where’d you get that name?

saturdaynightwrist2006 (Hiroki): From Shigure—cold autumn rain. Altered the last character from ‘e’ to 'i' to fit with our music’s vibe.

nepunepudesunee (Yuna): But why Shiguri? Suede was good, though!

saturdaynightwrist2006 (Hiroki): Suede’s taken by a Britpop band, and it’s kinda shit for us. We need something hard-hitting like Muse or Deftones but with beauty. Shiguri nails it.

nepunepudesunee (Yuna): What do you mean ‘shit’? Isn’t LMC about fun?

saturdaynightwrist2006 (Hiroki): Do you find copyright infringement fun?

nepunepudesunee (Yuna): Copyright your ass! Just rename it to Black Suede or something.

Hiroki chuckled, masking a tinge of frustration. Yuna’s pushback was classic Toriteba, but he stood firm. Riku Tanaka jumped in, tossing a devil horn emoji. touhoumaycry345 (Riku): Shiguri, eh? Sounds dope! Can’t wait for you to rip the stage again, Shiguri boy!

flyhighdaijirokato2003 (Daichi): Keep cooking, Shiguri kid! Or we’re gonna burn you down! Muahahaha!

saturdaynightwrist2006 (Hiroki): Not funny, didn’t laugh!

Aoi’s chuunibyou flair lit up the chat. darkpriestess145 (Aoi): Shiguri paints beauty amidst chaos. Heed the echoes of Ling Tosite Sigure, and thou shalt grasp its essence.

Hiroki nodded to himself. Ling Tosite Sigure’s Toru Kitajima, with his modulated clean shredding and haunting vocals, had inspired Shiguri—a name blending rage and shoegaze serenity.

Junichi chimed in, casual as ever. coltranegiantsteps1960 (Junichi): Dunno what he’s thinking. But it sounded dope, so I’m in.

saturdaynightwrist2006 (Hiroki): You’re the one who pushed for Suede, dude!

coltranegiantsteps1960 (Junichi): Then why’d you accept it in the first place?!

Hiroki laughed, but Junichi’s next message shifted the mood. coltranegiantsteps1960 (Junichi): On a side note, Ren-senpai’s been going off alone outside club stuff. I waved at her, but she dodged me. I've heard from her classmates they noticed Ren's behavior and often avoiding them.

flyhighdaijirokato2003 (Daichi): She probably knows you’re crushing on her, so she’s dodging you lol.

coltranegiantsteps1960 (Junichi): Hell nah! I heard from her classmate she’s got throat cancer. Maybe that’s why she barely talks.

The chat froze. The rumor of Ren Takahashi’s throat cancer stunned the group, Hiroki included. The vibrant second-year from Procorat, always commanding with her keyboard and text-to-speech app, was battling something so heavy.

Before anyone could respond, Mika Sato intervened. candyapplemist65 (Mika): Alright, kids, enough yapping! Back to your homework!

mioakiyamachan (Mei): Come on! No fun!

candyapplemist65 (Mika): Have fun after your homework, kids!

Hiroki exited the chat, his mind split. Renaming Suede to Shiguri felt like a step toward greatness, a nod to Kaito’s Crimson Shiguri and a fresh identity for their raw, beautiful sound.

The Sakuragawa Halloween Festival would be a stage to ignite Shiguri’s passion. However, Ren’s condition gnawed at him. Her throat cancer's rumor, her isolation—could it halt her passion, her music?

He set Setting his phone down with homework waiting, his thoughts lingered on Ren, hoping Shiguri’s spark could reach her struggle with his music.