Chapter 183

But actually hearing him say that was still hard to imagine for a moment.

"I even watched my parents argue indifferently. Not long after, my mother left with my younger sister, and I stayed with my father."

Hitori didn't speak, but listened to Ishikawa Hayato with some concern.

"Back then, I always felt like I didn't belong here, and life was incredibly boring."

As he recounted his story, Hitori also recalled more of his interactions with Hibiki back then.

She remembered the photo Hibiki had taken out—a picture of Hayabusa when he was a young boy, looking so cool. She couldn't help but want to see Hayabusa from that time with her own eyes.

Hitori knew that was impossible, but getting the photos wouldn't be bad either.

"But you also met my sister, Ishikawa Hibiki, Hitori then."

Hitori nodded slightly.

"One day she was bullied at school, and since my mother was busy picking her up, my father had to go and take her home. But then he started arguing with my mother on the phone."

"She had only been in elementary school for a short time then. She was bullied at school, and when she got home, all she could hear was her parents arguing."

"I saw her like a kitten caught in the rain, so I asked her if she needed help, but she ignored me."

Ishikawa Hayato chuckled lightly, seemingly not finding it particularly upsetting.

Hitori blinked in surprise. This was something Hibiki had told her. Was it this incident that started the change in Hayabusa?

Hitori being disturbed, Ishikawa Hayato continued speaking.

"I was just bored at the time, and I felt I should help her out."

"But I was only eight years old then, and we weren't in the same school. I didn't know who was bullying her, or when she would be bullied."

"I'm quite persistent once I've made a decision."

"I bought a GPS with my allowance, had someone modify it to look like a thick cardboard box, and gave it to her, telling her it was a wishing ticket that she could use when needed."

"He even took leave from school and often sneaked off to his sister's school, just waiting for his chance to shine."

After Ishikawa Hayato finished speaking, he couldn't help but laugh.

"That's pretty weird, isn't it? Following and stalking a primary school student, and even using GPS or something to find her."

Hitori shook his head and denied it with a nasal sound.

"No, Falcon is handsome."

"Really? Should I get my summoning ticket back?"

"No... Falcon will always protect me from now on, right?"

"Hitori need me, I'll be there anytime."

I will use it very carefully.

On a mountain path shrouded in night, illuminated by streetlights spaced far apart, a young man carried a young woman slowly down the mountain, their voices mingling with the sound of their footsteps.

"Then... Falcon, I want to hear more."

Don't treat my past as some kind of funny story!

Ishikawa Hayato complained somewhat shyly.

Hitori hugged him tightly, feeling apologetic.

He changed his mind again.

"It's okay to say it; there's a saying that one lie requires a hundred more to cover it up."

"Um."

"Later, she asked me to get her parents back together. Sigh, that really took a lot of effort. One of them is overly sensitive, and the other is very oblivious to each other's feelings. I really don't know how they got together."

"However, after we made up, we were sickeningly sweet together. But seeing how happy and harmonious the family looked, I thought about having my own family back then."

"However, I'm very greedy, and one person probably can't satisfy me, so I did some bad things."

"If Falcon likes it, that's fine."

Hearing the sound from Hitori, Ishikawa Hayato smiled helplessly. His girlfriend seemed to be spoiling him too much.

"Now that I've said so much, let's talk about the past of the Hitori."

In Hitori instant, the calm turned into panic.

"Hey, hey, hey! Well, I don't have any interesting past at all."

"No, I have to say something, otherwise..." Ishikawa Hayato thought for a moment, "I'll only go six months, no, Hitori."

"Huh!"

Hitori's heart skipped a beat, then she let out another wail, and then hurriedly said...

"I... I want to think about it!"

"You should speak before you come down the mountain," Ishikawa Hayato added with a smile.

Hitori was about to cry.

Unlike those two people who were chatting happily on the mountain and had completely forgotten about the band.

The other three, even Ryo and Kita, who each had their own agendas, were also keeping an eye on the official Seesaw Festival livestream.

The most popular bands at the music festival will be announced live here tonight.

After seeing how the performance went that day, and the scene that the record company followed up with, they wouldn't still think that their band was just a bottom-tier bunch of idiots.

Even with all this recognition, they still hope to receive more tangible affirmation and more opportunities.

Everything will depend on the live stream announcement from the organizers in a few minutes.

Nijika paced anxiously around the room, holding her tablet. After circling around briefly, she looked outside to make sure her sister was still there.

She waited for the organizers to announce it, and once she saw that their band was included, she immediately showed it to her sister.

However, what she didn't notice was...

Seika sat on the sofa in the living room, staring intently at the laptop on the coffee table. The laptop screen displayed...

<Five young bands that are absolutely going to be a hit!>

This article has received a considerable number of views.

The content is self-explanatory; it objectively evaluates the five bands that the author believes have the strongest potential and a great chance of making a name for themselves over the past year or two.

However, she used a few more words to comment on a certain band, and she offered unreserved praise for the lead guitarist.

Hitori is now able to fully unleash her potential, truly deserves such praise.

As for the keyboardist who was the center of another band, she only gave him the evaluation of being an incurable violent maniac.

That desperate complaint seemed to be prepared for his head to be screwed off.

Seeing how the manuscript made her sister's band sound so amazing, Seika felt complicated.

Two months ago, this band had a disastrous performance at her livehouse, and the drummer almost cried on the spot.

And now, it's being praised so lavishly.

This makes one wonder if they hired shills.

However, she believed they wouldn't do such a thing.

Seika suddenly woke up, and she secretly glanced towards Nijika's room, then checked the time.

Seeing that the highlight reels of popular bands were about to be released, she quickly put on one earphone, opened a sample performance from another band on her computer, and then switched back to the webpage.

After confirming that she could switch safely, she looked at the website's dark playback window with countless bullet comments supporting various bands.

Seeing that there were quite a few people supporting the Kessoku Band, Seika couldn't help but smile with pride.

She touched the plush toy next to the sofa, hesitated for a moment, looked around to make sure no one was watching, then quickly tapped on the keyboard and typed.

"Good luck to the Kessoku Band!"

As soon as she finished typing, Seika was startled. What was she doing?!

But after glancing back at Nijika's room and hesitating for a moment, she deleted "Good luck" and clicked send.

Her comments appeared in the playback window, but before they could completely scroll through the window, the live stream screen lit up.

As always, the opening remarks included a mention of the various event sponsors and expressions of gratitude to the bands and fans who participated in the event.

Seika listened to this passage while suppressing her urge to punch someone.

This period was extremely difficult for her. On one hand, she had to be wary of Nijika suddenly running out, and on the other hand, she had to keep an eye on this boring thing so as not to miss the highlight scene that might start at any time.

She didn't go to the event because she had a performance at her shop.

But since there was a reliable young man in the band, she wasn't too worried.

Whether it was his first reckless appearance on stage or the accident during the last typhoon, he always managed to find a way to salvage the situation from dire circumstances.

But the thought of that boy made her angry.

He not only had ambiguous relationships with other girls in the band, but also seemed to be planning to harm her sister. Just thinking about how Nijika and that guy got close made her feel murderous.

Fortunately, though.

She asked Nijika about it last time.

She asked it very casually at the time.

"Nijika, are you interested in that pervert?"

Nijika reacted with surprise, as if she hadn't expected it, and waved her hand while replying with a smile.

"Sister, you're overthinking it. I'm already too busy with my studies, the band, the shop, and things at home. Where would I find the time for romance?"

But upon reflection, she sensed something was amiss, yet the host's explanation on the screen caught her attention.

The host announced that the highlight reel was about to begin and reminded everyone that the highlight reel would be played sequentially, starting with the first place winner.

Seika subtly perked up.

She still remembered that after the performance yesterday, Nijika came back excitedly and told her how popular their performance was, and that several record companies had their eyes on them.

Although she didn't believe it, it was possible that they really did win first place.

The live stream began switching to a different feed as the host announced, "Please enjoy."

Compared to the deliberately blurred performance footage, what clearly reached Seika's ears was the incredibly powerful music.

The music had no build-up; the climax alone was enough to captivate the listener.

Upon hearing this voice, Seika remained perfectly calm.

This is not her sister's band.

It seems that being number one was just wishful thinking.

The image then gradually became clearer, and the organizers added the band's name to the corner.

SIDEROS.

I'd heard of this band, Seika. They're a fairly well-known young band in Shinjuku. It would be strange if they didn't get first place, given their home advantage and established reputation.

Even if her sister's band is incredibly strong, they can't possibly beat them.

Moreover, the performance was quite spectacular, and its quality certainly lived up to the praise in the article that predicted the band would become an instant hit.

A minute passed quickly, and the scene changed again.

But this time the camera position seems different; it's focused on one person, and unlike the previous highlight, this time it seems to be starting from the beginning.

After less than a second of silence, the guitar's wild sound erupted, as if desperately trying to keep the audience captivated.

The guitar sound seemed to pierce directly into the brain, sending a chill down one's spine.

Seika's heart skipped a beat when she heard the voice, and she looked at the still blurred playback window.

Even before the blur had completely faded, Seika couldn't help but exclaim when she saw the exaggerated proportion of pink in the image.

"Bocchi-chan!?"