His simple, clean outfit, paired with his handsome yet gentle features, perfectly brought out his youthful charm.
The two high school girls not far from his seat kept glancing his way.
His appearance was extremely deceptive, one could say.
Of course, to those who knew him, that little deception was nothing compared to his strange personality.
When he reached the station, Ishikawa Hayato stuffed his book into his crossbody bag, slung it over himself, and headed straight for STARRY.
When he reached the entrance and gave the door a push, he found it unlocked.
He had arrived quite a bit earlier than they had agreed, yet Nijika was already there.
Entering the underground space lit by warm lights, Ishikawa Hayato saw Nijika sitting in her seat, wearing an expectant smile as she kept looking his way.
"Morning~"
The moment Ishikawa Hayato entered, Nijika excitedly greeted him, her hand with its red ribbon raised high as she waved.
"Morning, Nijika."
Ishikawa Hayato looked around. It seemed no one else was there.
"The others haven't arrived yet?"
"Ryo is never that punctual," Nijika said with a smile.
After saying that, she seemed prepared for a long wait. Resting her chin on her hand, her beautiful red eyes stared straight at Ishikawa Hayato.
Wait, it was just Nijika and him right now?
God, I was having greedy thoughts.
Ishikawa Hayato walked down the stairs and sat across from Nijika.
"Hayato-kun came really early. Oh, right." Nijika stood and walked toward the counter. "What would Hayato-kun like to drink?"
"Orange juice is fine."
Ishikawa Hayato did not stand on ceremony. He did not have the means to be picky anyway.
Come to think of it, if Ryo was usually late, then Nijika had simply come to open up for him and Kita—and she had arrived quite early too.
Who knew how long she had been waiting?
His gaze lingered on Nijika as she prepared the drinks behind the counter. In no time, she had made two glasses of orange juice, written something at the counter, then came over and set one in front of Ishikawa Hayato.
"Come to think of it, Hayato-kun is really amazing. You learned the keyboard so quickly."
She returned to her seat, her voice full of admiration.
Then, with a slightly teasing tone and a playful expression, she said,
"You actually already knew how to play piano, didn't you?"
Hearing her adorable tone, Ishikawa Hayato could not help smiling too.
"I don't lie. This is the power of a pervert."
His unexpected answer made Nijika freeze slightly. Then she asked with interest,
"Why does Hayato-kun call himself a pervert?"
Nijika did not think Ishikawa Hayato was the sort of person who would do those awful, obscene, lowly things.
She had thought so ever since that street performance.
Ishikawa Hayato, unable to lie, naturally answered honestly.
"Though it has several meanings, at its root, it's to give myself courage. Because if you're a pervert, then you can..."
Before he could finish, the front door opened.
Kita Ikuyo came down from the entrance. Seeing that two people were already inside, she greeted them apologetically.
"Sorry, I'm late."
"No, it's not even time yet. Honestly, Kita-chan, you don't have to make it sound like a date."
Nijika greeted Kita Ikuyo and stood up at the same time.
"What would Kita-chan like to drink?"
"Do you have yogurt drinks here?"
After coming down the stairs, Kita Ikuyo curiously walked toward the counter.
"We do," Nijika said proudly.
As Kita Ikuyo watched Nijika take a yogurt drink from the cabinet, she glanced at the price list on the counter and began taking out money.
When Nijika brought out the drink and saw the money on the table, she immediately started arguing with Kita over who should pay.
However, Ishikawa Hayato's gaze remained fixed on Kita Ikuyo's constantly curled left hand.
After observing for a long time, he could tell that three of her five slender fingers were wrapped in bandages.
What a pity. She hadn't given up.
Was this girl an idiot too?
Kessoku Band
Just as Nijika had expected, Ryo arrived late. The moment she showed up, Nijika complained at her for a while, but Kita Ikuyo did not mind Ryo's lateness at all. Instead, she said excitedly,
"Completely ignoring schedules and doing whatever she wants—so cool! Just as expected of Ryo-senpai, a true band girl!"
Her comment immediately startled Nijika, who had been lecturing Ryo.
With an expression of disbelief, she turned to look at Kita Ikuyo.
Even her gentle, bright red eyes showed the despair of someone questioning life itself.
Afterward, the four of them sat around the table and began their band meeting.
Nijika remembered Kita's hesitant expression from yesterday and impatiently asked,
"Kita-chan, is something bothering you?"
"Well, it's..."
How could Kita Ikuyo possibly admit that she could not play guitar at all? Ijichi-senpai had been so happy that day when she heard Kita could play guitar and was even an experienced guitarist.
Even Ryo-senpai had been...
"Kita's hand is injured, right?"
Ishikawa Hayato very "kindly" found an excuse for her.
Although Kita pulled her hand away as soon as Ishikawa Hayato spoke, Nijika had still seen it.
"Ah, it really is."
Nijika jumped in surprise.
Though she was somewhat puzzled because she did not seem to recall seeing Kita's injured hand yesterday, Nijika hurriedly apologized for her carelessness.
She lowered her head and buried it behind her clasped hands.
"I'm sorry. I didn't notice at all."
Hearing that, Kita Ikuyo immediately breathed a sigh of relief. She silently thanked Ishikawa Hayato, but before she could show her gratitude—
"But the injury shouldn't be that serious, right? It'll heal in about a week, and it won't affect performing too much."
Ishikawa Hayato's heavy backstab nearly made Kita Ikuyo cough up blood.
He even followed it up with another stab, asking Nijika,
"When can we perform? I'm already looking forward to it."
"Um..."
Nijika raised her head with a troubled expression, but there was clear eagerness in her eyes. She had obviously been thinking about performing onstage for a long time.
She looked at Kita with both anticipation and hesitation.
"Let's leave ourselves more time. We still need to practice playing together."
Seeing the two of them so impatient, Ryo finally could not help speaking up to stop them.
Then she reminded Kita Ikuyo,
"A performer's hands are important. Take better care of them."
Ryo-senpai told me to take care of my hands!!
From now on, these hands are more precious than my life!
"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm!"
The hesitation on Kita Ikuyo's face vanished completely, and she nodded excitedly again and again.
Seeing Kita Ikuyo like this, Nijika thought the problem had been resolved. She breathed a sigh of relief and told the others,
"Then I'll go ask my sister."
With that, she happily ran toward Seika, who was sitting in front of the counter.
Come to think of it, when Seika had arrived earlier, she had rushed down from outside with a groggy, half-awake look and a frighteningly panicked expression, scaring the three of them badly.
But when she saw the three sitting obediently in their seats, she ignored the fact that she was drenched in sweat and walked toward the counter with a stern face.
As for why she was acting that way, Ishikawa Hayato naturally knew perfectly well.
This was his charm.
"Big sis~"
Nijika coquettishly called to her sister behind the counter, but did not say anything else.
Seika, who had been browsing on her laptop, had already heard the entire situation clearly. She casually opened the schedule to confirm it, then said indifferently,
"Two weeks from now, a warm-up band can't make it because of special circumstances. You guys can fill in for them."
Hearing that dismissive tone, Nijika stomped her foot irritably.
"Big sis, you're so mean!"
But she also knew her sister was just like that—tsundere, tsundere, tsundere, tsundere, tsundere, tsundere, tsundere.
So she stopped paying attention to her.
Yet the angry expression vanished the moment she turned around. Smiling, she flashed the people at the table a V-sign of victory.
Hayato and Ryo smiled faintly, delighted that this newborn band had finally taken its first small step.
But Kita Ikuyo's vision went dark, and she nearly fainted on the spot.
Two weeks...
She clutched her painfully twisting chest.
From today onward, she was Ikuyo the Nightless.
Damn Ishikawa Hayato. He must have known she could not play guitar and deliberately tried to drive her out this way, but she absolutely would not give in!
She could not help complaining about Ishikawa Hayato, who had stabbed her repeatedly just now.
"Come to think of it, what's your band's name?"
Before Nijika could return to the table, Seika's puzzled voice came from behind her.
At that moment.
The four band members blankly looked at Seika, clearly caught in an endless loop by her question.
Then the three at the table looked toward Nijika, and Nijika withdrew her gaze and looked back at them.
The four exchanged glances and blinked.
Nijika's expression was exceptionally innocent and bewildered.
Before you continue