Ryo only glanced at her twice before shifting her gaze to Ishikawa Hayato, who was getting ready.
After plugging in the power supply and amplifier, he switched on the synthesizer.
"MUSIC ON."
"Then, sis, I'll go check on Ryo and the others."
After taking quite a while to finish up, Nijika saw that Ishikawa Hayato and the others still had not come out of the practice room and could not help worrying.
She waved to Seika and hurried toward the practice room.
"They'll start selling tickets soon."
Seika reminded her.
"I know."
Nijika answered without looking back, her feet never stopping.
Ryo might usually seem lazy and laid-back, but when she seriously taught someone, she showed no mercy. Hayato-kun was straightforward too, so he would probably listen to whatever she said. As for Kita Ikuyo, Nijika did not know what kind of person she was, but she seemed to admire Ryo greatly.
In other words, the practice room was currently Ryo's personal kingdom.
Nijika prepared herself before going in.
She opened the door.
She saw Ishikawa Hayato playing the keyboard, along with two people standing against the wall with their arms folded, trying to look cool.
Well, that was not too frightening.
She let out a breath.
But... hadn't Hayato-kun's keyboard skills gotten noticeably better again?
Ryo, leaning against the wall, heard a discordant sound in the room. She slowly opened her eyes and looked toward the door.
Seeing Nijika standing there in stunned surprise, she walked over.
She patted Nijika on the shoulder.
"This kid is a genius. No, a freak."
Having received Ryo's stamp of approval for his skill, Ishikawa Hayato flashed a brilliant smile and gave a thumbs-up. Meanwhile, his other hand suddenly moved with inhuman speed, turning into a blur across the keyboard.
"The liberation of human nature brings transcendence of both body and spirit. Every advance in human society is founded upon the liberation of the human heart."
"In other words, as beings whose minds are completely liberated, freaks are invincible."
"The ultimate form of humanity is freakiness! There is no question about it!"
Like a preacher delivering a sermon, Ishikawa Hayato spread his arms wide and solemnly preached his theory of freakiness to the three girls and two adult women.
But clearly, no one understood him.
They all wore awkward expressions that said, You sound impressive, but I'm not going down that evil path.
"Uh, ah, right! We get why Hayato-kun is so amazing now. Have a seat."
After struggling with it for a moment, Nijika finally reorganized her thoughts and called Ishikawa Hayato back to sit down.
Ishikawa Hayato returned to his seat and looked at the others. Ryo and Kita were both lowering their heads in thought, while Nijika seemed quite happy.
Nijika lightly clapped her hands to bring the two back to their senses, then said,
"So Hayato-kun already has the skills to perform onstage. Ryo and I are fine too, and Kita-chan is an experienced guitarist..."
Looking as though she had been waiting for this moment for a long time, she excitedly pressed both hands onto the table and leaned forward.
"I'll ask my sister to let us perform onstage!"
Still unable to process Ishikawa Hayato's overwhelming skill and his absurd reasoning, Kita Ikuyo reflexively agreed.
"Mm."
Mm?
What had she just agreed to?
Perform?
Since when?
Aaaaaaaaaah!!!
"I have no problem with it."
Ryo still wore her calm, placid expression, but there was a trace of excitement in her slightly quicker voice.
Ryo-senpai!!
Kita Ikuyo was about to cry. Even she knew learning guitar was not something one could master overnight. There was no way she could perform onstage in such a short time.
Someone save her! She would do anything! Please, some god, show up!
But the last member of the band paid absolutely no attention to Kita Ikuyo's inner turmoil and spoke with a smile.
"Let the freaks take the stage!"
Kita Ikuyo's heart had already died.
"Then I'll go ask my sister."
Nijika rose with a radiant smile. Her expression was so full of happiness, as though she were walking down the road toward her dreams, that just seeing it felt healing.
But it could not save the person who was about to break down.
"Um... um..."
Kita Ikuyo hurriedly tried to explain... explain...
Once she spoke, everyone's eyes turned toward her.
More than anyone else, Kita Ikuyo cared about the gaze of Ryo-senpai, who sat across from her. Ryo's calm, expressionless face made her nervous.
She imagined what Ryo-senpai's expression would be if she said she could not play guitar at all.
No, forget what expression she would make. Her image in Ryo-senpai's eyes would be ruined first. Ryo-senpai would never look at her properly again for the rest of her life.
Trash who lied about music—Ryo-senpai would look down on her from above with a piercing, contemptuous gaze.
"Kita-chan, what's wrong?"
Nijika asked in confusion.
Even a social butterfly had things she feared, words she did not dare say.
"Um... it's nothing."
Kita Ikuyo lowered her head, looking as though guilt was about to crush her.
Ishikawa Hayato looked at Kita Ikuyo, who had said nothing after all, and sighed.
Sincerity
Nijika and Ryo were not fools. Naturally, they could notice Kita Ikuyo's conflicted expression.
But since Kita Ikuyo had immediately responded earlier, they had not considered that she might not want to perform.
Noticing the furtive glances she cast at Ryo, they assumed she was worried about coordinating with Ryo, their playing styles, or some other minor matter.
"It's okay. We'll practice together before we go onstage, and we're just doing covers of popular songs, right, Ryo?"
After saying that, Nijika turned to Ryo for confirmation.
Though Ryo occasionally said and did awful things, she still cared deeply about her companions.
"Mm. It'll be an easy performance."
"Y-yes..."
Before Kita Ikuyo could finish, Seika-manager called out to Nijika from nearby.
"Customers are here."
"Okay~"
Nijika replied brightly, then said to the others,
"Let's talk about it tomorrow, then. Good work, everyone."
"Mm."
Ishikawa Hayato nodded and stood up.
"Then I'll head home too."
"Bye-bye." Ryo waved.
"Me too."
Looking as though she had made up her mind, Kita Ikuyo slung her guitar over her back and followed behind Ishikawa Hayato toward the live house exit.
"Kita-chan, be careful on your way home."
Nijika called out from the counter to Kita Ikuyo, who stood on the stairs some distance away.
But Ishikawa Hayato, walking a few steps ahead of Kita Ikuyo, froze when he heard that, his mind full of question marks.
He knew Nijika was reminding Kita Ikuyo not to overthink things and not to zone out on her way home, but why did it still sound so strange to him?
After leaving STARRY and climbing the sunken stairway to ground level, the city's clamor and the winds of loneliness stirred Ishikawa Hayato's school uniform. Yet he stood utterly motionless, like an iron tower.
He looked up at the sky, which was painted in roasted shades of orange and blue.
Another wonderful day.
But today had a point deducted.
He turned around, saw Kita Ikuyo walking with her head lowered, and stopped to wait for her.
During that time, one or two customers heading to the live house passed by him, chatting and laughing. They were full of anticipation as they happily talked among themselves.
Kita Ikuyo, head lowered, reached the top step. Sensing someone beside her, she looked up.
Ishikawa Hayato stood quietly where he was, as though he had deliberately waited for her.
Kita Ikuyo forced a smile and asked Ishikawa Hayato,
"Ishikawa, what is it?"
"When you run into trouble, make a clean break. Running away isn't necessarily a bad thing either."
Ishikawa Hayato gave her a meaningful reminder.
Kita Ikuyo thought about it, then was immediately startled. Had he seen through her?
Had he realized she could not play guitar?
"Um... Ishikawa..."
She hesitantly tried to explain, but then heard Ishikawa Hayato speak in a calm tone unlike his usual excited one.
"Since we're in the same band, you can just call me by my name. Also, I'm looking forward to your performance."
What did that mean?
Kita Ikuyo was bewildered.
First he told her to run away, then he said he was looking forward to the performance. She was completely confused.
But sensing the concern in Ishikawa Hayato's words, Kita Ikuyo still smiled and nodded.
"Mm, I'll do my best."
The next day, Ishikawa Hayato sat on the train with the synthesizer manual held between his fingers, lazily leaning against the seat as he read through the instructions.
He did not have school today, so he wore a three-quarter-sleeve jacket over a white T-shirt, paired with dark casual pants. The shoulder bag he had brought lay beside his seat.
Before you continue