Chapter 102

"Hey, then..."

"Um!?"

"I see.."

Hiroi Kikuri was on the verge of tears.

Watching Ishikawa Hayato cruelly dominate his opponent with his aura, manipulating Hiroi Kikuri like a puppet, Nijika heard Ryo murmur admiringly.

"Impressive, they actually made Hiroi from Sickhack back down."

Indeed, it's amazing that Hayato-kun could make this alcoholic stop drinking.

This was also the first time Nijika had seen Ishikawa Hayato in such a commanding presence.

As for Bocchi and Kita, they had already seen Ishikawa Hayato's tyrannical side before, so they weren't surprised.

Upon arriving at the location, they found a spot and began preparing for the performance.

First, we helped Nijika set up the drum kit together, then each of us took out our instruments and connected them to the amplifiers. After that, we finished.

The five people took out their instruments and checked the pitch themselves, and soon the sound of various instruments being adjusted filled the venue.

Hiroi Kikuri sat to the side watching, looking a little dazed since she wasn't drinking.

However, her gaze inadvertently fell on a pink-haired girl in the band. After quickly tuning her guitar, the girl first stood there with her head down, looking lost, but then she looked around anxiously.

At this moment, people around gradually stopped and looked at them, curiously observing the five people preparing for their band performance.

I saw it in Hiroi Kikuri.

The girl was trembling.

She stared blankly at the timid appearance that was so similar to her past self.

Just as she came to her senses and was about to go over and offer some pointers, she saw the girl hide directly behind the keyboard player.

Ishikawa Hayato listened to Bocchi behind him, who kept muttering, "How scary, how scary, how scary."

He looked around. They were now in an open space not far from the station, with a tall building behind them, and no windows on the side facing them.

Today seems to have been a day specially chosen by Nijika, as there was a constant stream of pedestrians.

The drunkard sat by the nearby flowerbed, watching.

The other band members noticed Bocchi's condition, but seeing that Bocchi had already hidden behind him, they didn't pay any attention.

Feeling the slight trembling behind him, Bocchi leaned against him.

Ishikawa Hayato looked down, grabbed one of her hands, and asked.

Are you still afraid when I'm behind you?

Bocchi quickly stopped trembling. She wasn't that scared; rather, her fear at that moment was just a habit left over from the past.

She couldn't help but want to run away, to hide.

At that moment, Ishikawa Hayato turned around, stood beside Bocchi, and put his arm around her other shoulder, saying...

"Don't worry, no one else can hurt you. Everyone in the band is by your side."

"I'm right behind you."

Listening to Ishikawa Hayato's words of comfort, Bocchi realized that he had been a bit cunning just now.

Her mother had told her before that acting cute wasn't love, and she was indeed acting cute right now.

Ishikawa Hayato saw Bocchi slowly raise her head; her expression looked so delicate and pitiful.

Her bright, expectant blue eyes gazed at him as if they had opened their hearts.

"Um... Falcon." She felt embarrassed, lowered her head for a moment, then quickly looked up and said.

"I..."

She stopped abruptly as she spoke, taking a soft breath.

"I will become strong."

"Very good."

Ishikawa Hayato patted her on the shoulder with satisfaction.

Then Bocchi walked towards the center, still with his head down, but he had calmed down.

On the other side, Nijika was initially a little worried about Bocchi, but when she saw Boqi suddenly hide behind Ishikawa Hayato, she knew that everything was alright.

Relieved, she took out the signboard she had already written and placed it in front of her.

Ryo and Kita also came over, watching Nijika make preparations for the performance.

Liang, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, walked over carrying a cardboard box that read "Please insert coins if you like it" and placed it next to the signboard.

They completely ignored the fact that Nijika had already written on the sign that this was a performance for ticket sales.

After glancing at it, Kita calmly looked away as Kita seen anything and said to Nijika.

"Ijichi-senpai, this signboard is way too ordinary."

Nijika also turned her gaze away from Liang and met Kita's eyes. She saw in Kita's eyes a plea not to say those three words.

She then silently ignored Liang, who was carefully determining the angle and position of the coin box.

She examined the signboard and said.

"Yes, indeed, but what's missing?"

That's passion!

Kita's eyes lit up when she saw that Nijika had accepted her suggestion.

As she spoke, she glanced at Bocchi, and seeing that she wouldn't come over, she picked up a marker and began to make a major overhaul of the signboard.

"Wait..."

Nijika looked at the increasingly flashy billboards, before she could even complain, she heard approaching footsteps.

At this moment, Liang was still enthusiastically fiddling with her coin box.

She heard someone approaching and turned around. It was a woman who looked slightly older than her, and she looked somewhat familiar.

The person seemed very familiar with Liang, and with a serious and solemn demeanor, immediately identified himself.

"Miss Yamada, I was a fan of your band."

Liang glanced at her, then subtly withdrew her hand from the coin box.

She became somewhat embarrassed, after all, the band had disbanded not long after she left.

The band's breakup must have been related to her, so it's probably not a good thing that fans are coming to their door now.

"Hello."

Liang clapped his hands and stood up, separating himself from the self that had just been playing by the coin box.

Both Nijika and Kita knew that Ryo had left the band, and under their worried gazes, Ryo calmly said...

"Would you like to hear my band perform right now?"

The female fan glanced at the group, as if she wanted to say something, but then she held back.

She didn't answer Liang's question.

"Miss Yamada, I've been looking for you for so long, and I've finally found you today."

"I'd like to ask, why did you leave your previous band? Now that the band has disbanded, don't you think it's a pity?"

"I've never missed a single live performance since I first started listening to your music. You guys are truly amazing."

She finally couldn't resist.

"... I've been watching for a while now. Is your current band really playing seriously? Please go back to the That Band you used to be in!"

After a moment of silence, Liang lowered her gaze and spoke in a suppressed, steady voice.

"I already have a new band; you can audition them."

"I... don't want to hear it."

Kita couldn't take it anymore. She stood up abruptly and shouted angrily.

"How could you say that! I'm a fan of Ryo-senpai too..."

As she was speaking, Ishikawa Hayato grabbed her shoulder, and Ishikawa Hayato looked at him Kita suspicion and uncertainty.

She thought Ishikawa Hayato would step forward and chase away this annoying fan, but instead he grabbed her instead.

Ishikawa Hayato looked at the fan who was about to argue with Kita and said calmly.

"I understand if you can't hear your favorite band play, but no matter the reason, the band has disbanded, and that's it. It can't be brought back with just a few words."

Complaining without understanding the situation is pointless and will only cause suffering for everyone.

"Please show some respect for other people's choices. Interfering in other people's lives is a disgusting form of arrogance."

Ishikawa Hayato's voice was so calm that it conveyed no anger, so rational that it brought peace to the scene that was about to explode.

The female fan glanced at him, then at the silent Liang, and realized that her words had hurt Liang.

"I'm sorry, but I still can't accept change right now."

She said this, and prepared to leave with a hint of regret.

Ishikawa Hayato turned around with her, took Ryo and Kita's arms with both hands, and walked towards the direction where the musical instruments were.

He spoke quietly to Nijika, who was standing to the side, and to Kita and Ryo, whom he was pulling along.

"Let's start straight with new music! We can't let ourselves be outdone by bands that don't want to stay."

Ishikawa Hayato could feel that Ryo's arm was trembling slightly.

He didn't know whether she would accept or reject him.

Although it was clear she didn't want to argue with her former fans, he didn't know what kind of feelings Ryo harbored for her old band.

But soon, the trembling in his cool arms stopped.

She struggled for a moment, breaking free from Ishikawa Hayato's grasp, and then suddenly grabbed his hand.

Although her hands were a little sweaty, she wiped them on Ishikawa Hayato's hands without caring at all.

Ishikawa Hayato glanced at her, but she didn't look at him.

He only heard Liang say in a low voice, with a hint of excitement.

"Don't lose."

Soon, everyone took their positions. Nijika, who had been holding her breath for a while, glanced at all the members, nodded in greeting, and then...

The cymbals struck. The next moment, the explosive drumbeats, the roar of the guitar, and the powerful bass solo ignited the entire area.

The surrounding pedestrians all stopped in their tracks and looked at the band that had suddenly started playing upbeat music that sent shivers down their spines.

The constantly taut melody and the intensely imposing instrumental accompaniment attracted a large number of pedestrians within ten seconds.

At the most tense point of the intro, all sound suddenly stops, leaving only the guitar riff.

The voice was like a premonition. Kita, holding the microphone, looked up, ready to speak, but at the same time, she quickly glanced in the direction where the female fan had been.

Seeing her standing there with a complicated expression, Kita smiled smugly.

The band she joined might not be the best, but it was definitely second to none.

"The songs that That Band played."

"To me, it's like a loud laugh."

"The songs that That Band played."

"To me, it was as jarring as a bell ringing at a crossroads."