Chapter 216

"I want my own guitar too, and a new outfit for this year! Wow! All that time I spent practicing wasn't wasted!"

"Uh-huh!"

Ishikawa Hayato watched their imagined expressions with amusement.

Nijika was the first to snap out of her daze. She suddenly shuddered, and quickly glanced at the other three people who were lost in their money illusion, urgently calling them to stop their fantasy.

"Everyone, stop right there! We'll need a lot of money for our future revenue, album production, and the van!"

In an instant, the girls' fantasies and all the things they had acquired seemed to sprout wings and fly away again after Nijika's words.

At this moment, what lingers in the rehearsal room is not the heavy underground air, but the shattered dreams of the girls.

Having lost their dreams, the three, experiencing extreme joy and sorrow, collapsed to the ground one after another, making heavy thuds.

Seeing this scene, Ishikawa Hayato looked helplessly at Nijika and then said to her, "I'm sorry."

"But our tickets should be sold out by now, so we don't need to spend money on performances anymore, right?"

"You can even make money from ticket sales."

Although he didn't know as much about the band as others, seeing the band's overall trend getting better and Kita filled Kita with confidence.

After hearing what he and Kita said, Nijika was stunned for a moment, then smiled with relief as if she had come to her senses.

She said in a cheerful tone.

"Maybe it can even bring in customers for the store."

"Furthermore, Falcon is also in charge of the commercial vehicle issue."

Ryo, quite unceremoniously, made Ishikawa Hayato bear the rather heavy burden of the sum Nijika had mentioned.

Nijika turned into displeasure as she glared at her.

Just then, Hitori interrupted their conversation, looking quite embarrassed.

"But... but Nijika-chan, our CDs haven't started production yet, have they?"

"Ah?!!"

Nijika was stunned for a moment, then screamed and ran away.

"There's no need to rush, they should all be off work by now."

Ishikawa Hayato called out to her from afar, but Nijika seemed not to hear him.

Seeing Nijika so anxious and flustered about the band for the first time in a long time, Ishikawa Hayato couldn't help but smile. Then, he naturally walked to the player, took out the CD, and put it back in the box.

Amidst the slightly suspicious expressions of Kita, Ryo, Hitori, he put the CD case back into his crossbody bag and slung his backpack over his shoulder.

Finally, he walked out of the rehearsal room, waving for them to follow.

In terms of cunning and shrewdness, the girls are far inferior to Ishikawa Hayato.

As the four walked out of the rehearsal room, they overheard PA-san and Nijika finishing their conversation.

"I understand. I'll get her started as soon as possible."

PA-san said to Nijika nodded, but then said anxiously.

"Ah, there's no need to rush... Please make sure it's done properly..."

PA-san smiled and said she would pass on the message.

After saying that, Nijika walked over and slowly exhaled.

Because she had almost overlooked such an important matter, she worried that she might have forgotten something else, so she asked the others.

"Is there anything else to do next?"

The other three looked at Ishikawa Hayato, Ishikawa Hayato smiled and shook his head. But Nijika thought for a moment and looked at the rehearsal room behind Ishikawa Hayato, asking a question.

"What about the CD?"

Ishikawa Hayato smiled, patted the bag, and said, "Here it is."

The four girls hesitated for a moment when they saw his unfathomable smile, then suddenly realized what he meant and shouted in Daigo.

"Huh?!!"

Seika, who was on the phone in the corner, glanced over here.

"Why did Hayato-kun put it away?!" Nijika grabbed Ishikawa Hayato's crossbody bag and asked anxiously.

Ishikawa Hayato, protectively holding his crossbody bag, wore a righteous expression.

"As the recent hero, the MV producer, and the band's assistant conductor and manager, I should rightfully keep this first CD!"

His words sparked the first internal conflict within the Kessoku Band.

The others were speechless at his impeccable words, but Liang was the first to offer a different opinion.

"Isn't it normal to give the first CD to the composer?"

She extended her hand as she spoke.

"Wait, shouldn't the band leader be the one to collect it at this point?"

Nijika also seemed to really want it, and said anxiously.

They all spoke their minds with great enthusiasm, but Kita, nestled between these mountains, also expressed his Kita weakly.

"Then... I want one too."

She had few people with such a legitimate reason, and lacking any official justification, her voice was pitifully weak.

Hitori didn't even have the courage to speak, but! She stood beside Ishikawa Hayato and resolutely supported him.

The noise continued.

Liang shook his hand and continued.

"Give me back my CD!"

Seeing that Liang was still arguing, Ishikawa Hayato met her gaze. He was about to convey his thoughts with his eyes when he saw the smile in his girlfriend's eyes.

This scoundrel is playing around!

After struggling for a while, Nijika realized she couldn't get the CD from Ishikawa Hayato anymore, so she slumped her shoulders in disappointment, looking dejectedly at the center of the commotion, ready to accept the reality that the CD was gone from her.

Kita, Kita quickly made a suggestion.

"How about we decide this fairly using some kind of game?"

"Not bad!" Nijika regained her energy, her ahoge (cowlick) standing straight up in the air and joining in again.

Next to him, in the corner, PA-san spoke to Seika, who had just hung up the phone.

"This sounds really interesting, shop manager. How did your band handle similar situations before?"

Seika sighed, crossed her arms, and looked at the five people over there.

"Of course it's arguing; in a band, fists are everything."

PA-san was taken aback, a sullen expression on his face, and looked worriedly at the group.

Seeing that the situation was not going well for Ishikawa Hayato, Hitori also spoke up at this time.

"We don't have much decoration in our house, so... Hayabusa and I want to take it home and put it there..."

Her words suddenly sparked a thought in Kita and Nijika's minds, but before they could figure out what was going on...

Ishikawa Hayato said, "Let's use a game!"

Liang glanced at Nijika, then turned back to ask him.

What game?

"Rock, Paper, Scissors" / "How do you score in a karaoke competition?"

Ishikawa Hayato spoke first, and Kita spoke later. Although they spoke at the same time, everyone heard Kita's words as well.

The four men stared blankly at their band's lead singer.

Kita blushed upon hearing about Ishikawa Hayato's game.

Finally, after Kita's obviously unfair game comparison, the group accepted Ishikawa Hayato's suggestion to decide who would get their first CD by playing rock-paper-scissors.

They escaped Kita's cheating, but not Ishikawa Hayato's.

Even when facing his own girl, Ishikawa Hayato didn't hesitate to use his abnormally sharp observation skills to successfully and legitimately take the CD into his possession.

He even made the losers sign their names on the CDs in a humiliating manner, turning them into highly collectible items.

After finishing, amidst their dejected expressions, he smugly put away the CDs and said to them...

"If you'd like to see, you're welcome to come to my house anytime."

"So that's exactly what they were aiming for!"

Kita couldn't help but exclaim.

Nijika sighed helplessly, rubbing her forehead.

Seeing the five of them arguing and playing around for no reason, Seika finally came over with her phone after they had had their fill of it.

Her expression was slightly conflicted as she asked.

"Hey, one of the smaller bands performing today is having some problems. Would you mind filling in?"

Ishikawa Hayato could tell at a glance that they were truly needed as substitutes this time.

Nijika was wondering why her sister had gotten involved, but when she heard what Seika said, she became excited.

"When..."

She was about to agree but then stopped. Just as she was about to ask someone else, she heard Ishikawa Hayato add her words.

"Of course! We haven't repaid the store manager for letting us play for free back then."

Ishikawa Hayato was referring to the initial performance.

Seika paused, smiled faintly, but then she sensed something was amiss.

As she was thinking, Kita spoke to Ishikawa Hayato from behind, complaining.

"Hayato-kun, aren't you going to ask us first?"

Ishikawa Hayato turned around and asked with a casual yet roguish expression.

"Those who disagree, please speak."

"Hmm..."

Kita froze.

Seeing the others' reactions, Nijika smiled and came over to smooth things over, saying, "Let's get ready for the performance, Hayato-kun, stop teasing Kita- chan."

"Alright! On this penultimate day of summer vacation, let's end our first summer vacation as first and second-year high school students with a performance!"

For some reason, Ishikawa Hayato felt a surge of excitement and said to the group.

"Kita, announce the performance details."

"Okay!"

Despite being bullied, Kita still obediently cooperated with Ishikawa Hayato.

"Hitori, get ready for the performance."

"Um!"

Hitori's expression looked very determined; clearly, he didn't need to prepare himself mentally before going on stage.

"Liang, go move the musical instruments."

"Bass joke?"

The four chuckled as they looked at Liang's frozen face.

Finally, Ishikawa Hayato said to Nijika.