Akane Rin

A rumor has been making the rounds among the bands who've performed at StarSign: "If something goes horribly wrong before a show and you can't fix the problem yourself, try asking the person at the bar. You know—the one with the totally blank expression." Akane Rin, a live house staff member, is nothing short of a professional. She can handle all kinds of instruments and is even happy to pass on some seriously advanced techniques. But recently, maybe too many people have been coming to her for help, because the blonde girl is finally starting to lose patience. Now, anyone who wants to ask her anything has to order a drink first—only then is her advice free. Even so, the musicians aren't backing down. Just like in an anime, the idea that "that totally unremarkable staff member is secretly a former member of a super band?!" is way too tempting to ignore— "What is Akane like onstage?" "Did she really give up on being in a band?" Plenty of people have wondered. In a quiet room, Akane stares at the guitar in front of her, its string snapped, and asks herself the same thing: "Did I really give up, just like that?" But if she doesn't give up, what else can she do? Can a one-person band really count as a band? Akane sits in a corner of the bar, watching bands come and go onstage. Most only perform a few times before moving on. Akane barely even remembers their faces—only the songs they played. As time passed, even those melodies began to slowly fade from her memory, until they were gone for good. Every band is like "LINES." To Akane, "LINES" represents her past—a time with its share of regrets, but one that was beautiful all the same. "THE WHOOTS!!!!" is a culmination of her noisy, lively present. As for the future… Who knows? Akane only knows she'll keep playing. Forever and ever, the score that belongs to her will never end.

While the other children were still busy slobbering all over their recorders, Akane could cover the holes with her little fingers and play a complete melody. Besides the recorder, she was interested in anything that could produce beautiful sounds: the harmonica, piano, violin, and even the simple triangle. Akane could play the theme song from Kokoro Rider, but she didn't understand what her classmates meant when they talked about "heroes." It didn't matter. She could still make beautiful music, even if she was the only one listening. One day, Akane went into town with her parents and saw a young band performing beside a busy street. Even though only a few people stopped to listen, they kept singing and playing. The passion in their music drew Akane in. Was being in a band different? Akane found the acoustic guitar her father had once used and gently plucked the strings, imitating the guitarist she saw earlier. But the guitar was far too old and terribly out of tune. Her parents saw it all, however. At her elementary school graduation ceremony, Akane received her first guitar. Akane joined many bands over the years, but often left them soon afterward. Bands broke up for all kinds of reasons: moving away, pursuing further education, creative differences, among other reasons. Yet Akane was desperately searching for that electrifying feeling she had felt when she first heard that band perform. Akane looked at the band posters on the wall—HTRE. The young musicians who had once performed on street corners were now taking the stage at Imaginist, while Akane could only watch from the audience. So when Aurelia asked if she wanted to start a band, Akane accepted almost without hesitation. —A band that belonged to them, and to Akane herself. Now Akane was standing onstage too. The blinding lights made it impossible to see the audience, but she could hear their cheers pulsing in her ears. At that moment, Akane's heart beat only for one song—her own.

"I've got something to take care of today, so I won't make it to rehearsal." Akane frowned slightly as she read the message Suzuha had sent to her phone. This was the third time this week Suzuha had sent her a message saying she couldn't make it to band practice. Akane turned around and met Aurelia's worried gaze. They both looked toward Suzuha, but Suzuha merely lowered her head, packed up her schoolbag, and hurried out of the classroom. In the rehearsal room, Aurelia's drumsticks tapped the drumhead at irregular intervals. Thump, thump, thump—like the jumble of thoughts in her mind. Akane missed another beat. She turned off the metronome, took several deep breaths, and set down her guitar. "Rin…" "Let's call it a day." Aurelia came over and sat beside Akane. After a moment's hesitation, she asked, "Do you think something's been going on with Suzuha lately?" "Why won't she say anything?" Akane couldn't understand. Weren't they best friends? Was there really anything they couldn't talk about and face together? "That's just how Suzuha is. Don't worry. I'll ask her about it tomorrow." Aurelia offered a few words of reassurance, and rehearsal was quickly put on hold. The next day, Akane caught Aurelia talking with Suzuha out of the corner of her eye. Their gazes kept drifting toward her, only to dart away again. Akane pretended not to notice. Yet things didn't improve. Suzuha continued to miss rehearsals, and sometimes Aurelia disappeared along with her too. Akane wanted to ask, but didn't know where to begin. A secret she couldn't be part of had split "Lines" into two unequal halves. Akane stood alone in the rehearsal room. It was so quiet that the only thing that could be heard was her own breathing. As usual, she switched on the power and plugged in her guitar. But without the drums and bass, her fingers seemed unable even to press down on the strings. Akane lowered her head and looked at her hands. Suddenly, a white star flew from her fingertip, followed by a second, then a third… They landed on the black-and-white keys, the drums, and the cymbals. These shimmering stars lit up Akane's eyes. She gently plucked one string after another, completing a song entirely by herself. The strings eventually fell silent, but her heart was still pounding. Akane ran out of the rehearsal room. The wind swept past her, but she still sought an answer. "Are you okay?" "It's just a minor injury. Don't tell Akane." Suzuha sat casually on a bench, her arm wrapped in bandages. Aurelia sighed softly as she watched the sun dip towards the horizon. "Are we really going to keep this from Rin?" "Keep what from me?" Akane appeared beside them. Suzuha immediately pulled down her sleeve to hide the bandages. "Don't worry about it." The tension hung in the air. Finally, Aurelia stood up and explained that she and Suzuha had been disappearing lately because they were working as Anomaly Hunters, taking on commissions to earn money. "That's dangerous…" Akane said with a frown. "I knew you'd say that." Suzuha pouted. Being in a band was expensive, and Suzuha's family wasn't very supportive of her passion for music, which meant she'd have to work a myriad of odd jobs for several more months to afford a better bass. Becoming an Anomaly Hunter, however, made things much easier. "Why didn't you tell me?" Akane pressed on. "Aren't we friends?" "What would it change if we told you? You're not an Esper." The moment Suzuha said it, she realized she'd misspoken and hurried to explain further, "That's not what I meant." "Without an Esper Ability to help us, Anomalies are far too dangerous for high school students like us to confront." Aurelia shook her head quickly. Akane pressed her lips together and raised a hand. A white star fell onto Suzuha's head. Suzuha reached out and caught it, staring blankly. The star dissolved into specks of light in her palm and disappeared. "Is that… your Esper Ability? Since when?!" Suzuha suddenly leaned in, examining their band captain from head to toe, as if observing a microorganism. She was close enough to touch, so— Akane raised her hand and flicked Suzuha hard on the forehead. "If you'd told me, I could've helped you, idiot." "Ow! That hurt, Akane!" "Hmph. Let that be a lesson. Next time something happens, tell your Captain first." "Yes ma'am, Captain." They laughed and huddled together as stars rose in the sky behind them. When Akane thought back on that day later, she wondered if Suzuha had been right. What difference would it have made if she'd told her? She wouldn't have been able to change anything regardless.

One of the accounts Akane follows on Bagel is the official "Tamamochi Street Life" account. Its profile is frequently updated with news about events on Tamamochi Street, and from time to time, a figure riding a jellyfish appears in their posts. Hethereau is a city both big and small. It's big enough that people living in the same city can go years without crossing paths, yet small enough that you might spot an old acquaintance just by scrolling through Bagel's local feed—or learn how someone's doing without ever actually seeing them in person. Akane knew that, even after everything Aurelia had been through, she was still as cheerful and optimistic as ever. But the more Aurelia seemed like her old self, the less Akane knew how to face her. That day, pain spread silently through the corridor outside the ward, oppressively subduing her until it was too hard to breathe. Faced with Aurelia's parents' accusations and tears, Suzuha fled in a panic, while Akane could say nothing but, "I'm sorry." In the end, she chose to run away too. The only reply beneath that Bagel post sat there alone for two years. She had hesitated, and ultimately missed her chance. After that, she could never bring herself to speak. It was Night of Moondog again, tonight. This time, though, one of them was still onstage, one was in the audience, and the other was in a distant city. Only after the stage lights went out and her phone screen lit up did a new message finally appear in their long-abandoned Bagel chat. If Aurelia, who could barely walk, could finally take that first step, then Akane should be able to as well. Akane replied to Aurelia's message, then finally worked up the courage to open her other friend's profile. A guitarist who could handle the most complicated songs kept hitting the wrong keys while typing out her message. After several attempts, however, she finally managed to send a proper message: "How have you been?" Akane turned off her screen as soon as she sent it. A reply didn't come until the next day. "So-so." Akane smiled faintly when she saw it. This was much simpler than she'd imagined. The quiet group chat for the three of them finally resurrected. They sometimes shared bits of everyday life, but the days when they could talk about anything were over. Now they chatted carefully, steering clear of painful subjects—including the music they had once loved most. Then one day, Akane saw a post on Bagel about Clement's Centennial School Alumni Reunion and finally took the step she should have taken long ago— "@Suzuha @Aurelia, are you coming to the reunion?"

"Haniel… I think something's wrong with my ears…" "What's wrong?!" "No matter how hard I play, I can't hear the bass at all!" "Play again so I can listen… O-Oh no! I can't hear it either!" "The cable jack is loose." "As expected of the Appraiser! You spotted the Nexus at a glance!" "Whew, my fingers hurt…" "I've got a bandage. Here." "It's the Case in Point collab edition! Food First has a collab menu right now, too!" "Then let's go to Food First after rehearsal!" "Mhm! Bagel says all the music in the restaurant has been replaced with songs from the movie!" "Should we try playing the theme song, too?" "Yeah, yeah! Akane? Akane! It's time to rehearse." "…Huh? Oh. Now that it's fixed, let's keep practicing." Sometimes, Akane simply can't keep up with the way her little cat and bird's thoughts jump around. Their conversations wander from off-topic ramblings to tangents, and then stray so far that they somehow circle back to the original point. Most of the time, Akane only catches the beginning of the conversation and the end. In between, she wears a serious expression, acting as if she's attentively listening, all the while letting her mind drift. So far, only the Appraiser has ever noticed. Haniel and Nanally are still none the wiser.

If someone asked Akane, "Besides music, is there really nothing else in your life?" "Of course," Akane would reply. But does "of course" mean "of course there is"—or "of course there isn't"? Like chatting with Aurelia while passing through Tamamochi Street and taking the chance to promote the livehouse's upcoming shows; or keeping an eye on her friends' wild ideas at a get-together, lest the new song wander down some strange path and never return; or dropping by the record shop while out on a day off, only to— Wait, wait. Suppose the livehouse temporarily closed, the other members of "THE WHOOTS!!!!" were busy handling Anomaly commissions, and the record shop had no new releases, and no famous bands were on tour… In short, what would Akane do on a day like that? She'd bask in the sun and scroll through Bagel. Isn't that what ordinary people do? It's these little things that make Akane who she is today.