After Being Sacked From My Band, I Found Myself 10 Years in the Past To Redo My Life and Save My Idol

Chapter 1: Debut Condition

Link to Original Chapter: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n8526hq/1/

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“Well, simply put, your drummer, Tohru Shibakusa, will have to resign if you want to debut.”

It's afternoon in Tokyo, and we’re meeting with a major record label.
The producer gave a single condition to our rock band, Strange Chameleon, if we wanted to debut. 

It's simple: They'll only allow us to debut if I resign from the band. 

In other words, I've been essentially sacked from my band.

“Nowadays, we want drummers that are more technically sound.
By giving you a more skilled support drummer, the variety of songs you can play will increase drastically.”

The producer keeps on talking.

“W-well, you have a point, but…”

“You mean if you somehow rapidly improve? But that's basically a big ask.
Realistically, withdrawing is your only option here.”

I clam up as the producer digs the proverbial knife deeper into me.
I know my drumming skills better than anyone else.
No matter how you splice it, I'm average at best.
Of course I know there are plenty of better drummers out there. 

Relying on my friends is my only course of action now that I find myself backed into a corner in terms of my ability.
I turn to Yousuke Iwamoto, our vocalist and lead guitarist, for support. 

“Y-yousuke, what do you think? There's no way you'll let this slide, r-right…?”

If the central pillar of our band, Yousuke, disagrees with what the producer says, I'll likely be given another chance with our band.

We've been buddies since high school when we formed our band.
There's no way Yousuke would readily accept my sudden departure, so I put all my hope into this final gambit.

But my hopes are quickly dashed.

“Well…
I want to debut and rise up in the ranks.
Sacrifices are necessary, unfortunately.
Tohru, I hate to say this, but I think this is where it ends for you with our band.”

I'm utterly appalled.
We've been bandmates for so long and we were supposed to stick up for each other through thick and thin, and now when it's convenient, I'm treated like yesterday's garbage.
With his words, Yousuke plunges my heart into the darkness of the abyss. 

“To be honest, there were plenty of songs I wanted to try and play, but I couldn't because our drummer couldn't keep up.
So I think it's best we part ways if I want the band to have a successful major debut.”

Yousuke sugar coated his final farewell to me, but even so, I could feel tears coming out of my eyes.
All of that effort was for naught.

“Hey…
stop messing around…
You're lying right…? I mean, we've been bandmates for 10 years…
There's no way you would…
toss me aside after all this…?”

“We're not messing around.