Social Anxiety and the Rock of Loneliness

Simple, clean clothes paired with his handsome, soft features fully brought out that youthful vibe.

Two high school girls not far from his seat kept glancing his way.

You could say his appearance was quite deceptive.

Of course, for those who knew him, that deception was nothing compared to his odd personality.

When the station arrived, Ishikawa Hayato stuffed his book into his crossbody bag, slung his backpack on, and headed straight for STARRY.

He reached the door, pushed it—unlocked.

He'd already arrived much earlier than the agreed time, yet Nijika was already there.

Walking into the underground space lit by lights, Ishikawa Hayato saw Nijika sitting on a seat, looking his way with an expectant smile.

"Morning~"

As soon as Ishikawa Hayato came in, Nijika greeted him excitedly, her hand with the red ribbon raised high and waving.

"Morning, Nijika."

Ishikawa Hayato looked around—seemed like no one else was there.

"The others not here yet?"

"Ryo won't be arriving on time," Nijika said with a laugh.

After that, as if bracing for a long wait, she propped her chin on her hand, her beautiful red eyes fixed straight on Ishikawa Hayato.

Wait, just him and Nijika alone now?

God, I'm thinking greedy thoughts right now.

Ishikawa Hayato walked down the stairs and sat across from Nijika.

"Hayato-kun, you're here early. Ah, right." Nijika stood up and headed for the counter. "What drink does Hayato-kun like?"

"Orange juice is fine."

Ishikawa Hayato didn't stand on ceremony—he couldn't afford to.

Speaking of which, if Ryo was usually late, then Nijika had come just to open up for him and Kita, and even came early.

He wondered how long she'd been waiting.

His gaze lingered on Nijika as she prepared drinks behind the counter. In no time, she finished two glasses of orange juice, wrote something on the counter, then walked over and set the drink in front of Ishikawa Hayato.

"Come to think of it, Hayato-kun's really amazing, learning the keyboard so fast."

She sat back down, her voice full of admiration.

Then, with a playful tone and a teasing expression, she said, "Actually, you already knew piano before, didn't you?"

Hearing her cute tone, Ishikawa Hayato couldn't help but smile.

"I wouldn't lie—this is the power of a pervert."

Her unexpected words made Nijika pause briefly, then she asked with interest, "Why does Hayato-kun call himself a pervert?"

Nijika didn't think Ishikawa Hayato was the kind of person to do anything awful, lewd, or low.

She'd thought that since the street performance that day.

Ishikawa Hayato, who couldn't lie, answered honestly.

"Though it has several meanings, the most fundamental one is to give myself courage. Because if you're a pervert, you can..."

Before he could finish, the door swung open.

Kita Ikuyo came down from the entrance, saw two people already inside, and greeted them apologetically, "Sorry, I'm late."

"No, the agreed time hasn't come yet. Kita-chan, really, you don't have to treat it like a date," Nijika said, waving Kita Ikuyo over as she stood up.

"What drink does Kita-chan like?"

"Is there yogurt here?"

Kita Ikuyo walked down the stairs and curiously headed for the counter.

"There is," Nijika said proudly.

Kita Ikuyo watched Nijika take yogurt from the cabinet, glanced at the price list on the counter, and started pulling out money.

When Nijika brought out the drink and saw the money on the table, she immediately began arguing with Kita over it.

But Ishikawa Hayato's gaze lingered on Kita Ikuyo's left hand, which she kept curled.

After watching for a while, he could tell that three of her five slender fingers were wrapped in band-aids.

Too bad—she hadn't given up.

Is this guy an idiot too?

16. Kessoku Band

Ryo was late, just as Nijika had expected, and got scolded the moment she arrived. But Kita Ikuyo didn't mind Ryo's tardiness at all; instead, she said excitedly, "Completely ignoring the time, doing whatever she wants—that's so cool. Truly Ryo-senpai, a real band girl!"

Her outburst startled Nijika, who had been in the middle of lecturing Ryo.

With an expression of disbelief, Nijika turned back to look at Kita Ikuyo.

Even her gentle, bright red eyes revealed a despair that questioned life itself.

After that, the four of them sat around the table and started their band meeting.

Nijika still remembered Kita's hesitant look from yesterday and couldn't wait to ask, "Kita-chan, is something bothering you?"

"Well, that is..."

How could Kita Ikuyo bring herself to say she couldn't play guitar at all? Especially when Ijichi-senpai had been so happy the other day to hear she could play guitar, and was even an experienced guitarist.

Even Ryo-senpai was the same...

"Kita's hand is injured, right?"

Ishikawa Hayato very 'kindly' made an excuse for her.

Though Kita quickly hid her hand as soon as Ishikawa Hayato spoke, Nijika still caught a glimpse of it.

"Ah, really."

Nijika was startled.

Though she was a bit puzzled that she hadn't seemed to see Kita's hand injured yesterday, Nijika still hurriedly apologized for her carelessness.

She lowered her head, burying it beneath her clasped hands. "I'm sorry, I didn't notice at all."

Kita Ikuyo breathed a sigh of relief at that, silently thanking Ishikawa Hayato in her heart. But before her gratitude could even show on her face—

"But the wound shouldn't be too serious, right? It'll heal in about a week, and it won't affect your playing much."

Ishikawa Hayato's heavy backstab nearly made Kita Ikuyo spit blood.

He even added another blow, asking Nijika, "When can you perform? I'm already looking forward to it."

"Eh..."

Nijika looked up with a troubled expression, but her eyes revealed a flicker of eagerness—clearly, she'd been thinking about performing on stage for a long time.

With a mix of anticipation and hesitation, she looked at Kita. "Let's take it slow. We still need to practice together and coordinate."

Ryo, seeing these two so impatient, finally couldn't help but speak up to stop them.

She then gave Kita Ikuyo a piece of advice. "A performer's hands are very important. You need to take good care of them."

Ryo-senpai told me to take care of my hands!!

From now on, these hands are more precious to me than my life!

"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm!"

The hesitation on Kita Ikuyo's face vanished completely as she nodded excitedly again and again.

Seeing Kita Ikuyo like this, Nijika thought the problem was solved and let out a sigh of relief. She said to the others, "Then I'll go ask my sister."

With that, she cheerfully ran over to Seika, who was sitting at the counter.

Speaking of which, when Seika had come earlier, she'd rushed straight down from upstairs with a dazed, half-asleep look and a frightening panic, scaring the three of them quite a bit.

But after seeing the three sitting obediently in their seats, she ignored her drenched-in-sweat appearance, put on a stern face, and walked over to the counter.

As for why she was like that, Ishikawa Hayato naturally knew all too well.

That was his charm.

"Onee-chan~"

Nijika acted spoiled with her sister behind the counter, but didn't say anything specific.

Seika, who was browsing through her notebook, had already heard everything clearly from over here. She casually opened her schedule to check, then said with an indifferent tone, "It just so happens that two weeks from now, a fill-in band can't make it due to special circumstances. You guys can make do with that slot."

Hearing that dismissive tone, Nijika stomped her foot in annoyance. "Onee-chan, you're so mean!"

But she also knew that her sister was just that kind of personality—tsun, tsun, tsun, tsun, tsun, tsundere.

She immediately stopped paying her any attention.

Yet the moment she turned around, her indignant expression vanished. Smiling, she flashed a V for victory at the people sitting by the table.

Hayato and Ryo smiled faintly, feeling that this newborn band had finally taken a small step forward, their hearts full of joy.

But Kita Ikuyo's vision went black, and she nearly fainted on the spot.

Two weeks...

She clutched her aching chest.

From today onward, she was Nightless Ikuyo.

That damn Ishikawa Hayato—he must have deliberately used this method to kick her out after finding out she couldn't play guitar, but she would never give in!

She couldn't help but complain about Ishikawa Hayato, who had just stabbed her in the back repeatedly.

"By the way, what's your band's name?"

Before Nijika could reach the table, her sister Seika's puzzled voice came from behind.

At that moment.

The four band members stared blankly at Seika, clearly trapped in a dead loop by her question.

Then the three at the table turned to look at Nijika, who withdrew her gaze and looked back at them.

The four of them blinked at each other in mutual confusion.

Nijika's expression was utterly innocent and bewildered.