Chapter 263

Nijika sat calmly on the other side of Ishikawa Hayato Nijika.

Ishikawa Hayato responded to them with a cheerful laugh.

"It's good to make the best use of things, and besides, the thought of everyone hugging and practicing the instruments I gave them every day..."

"Hayato-kun, you're on the train right now!"

At that moment, Nijika interrupted Ishikawa Hayato without hesitation.

Ikuyo looked at Ishikawa Hayato helplessly, then picked out a new guitar on her phone. This time, Ryo also came over to give her advice.

Hitori also joined in.

The three musicians gathered together.

Nijika looked over there with some envy. As a drummer, she had absolutely no chance to communicate with those who played instruments.

Unlike Ishikawa Hayato, who can play all kinds of keyboards, whether it's guitar, bass, or anything else, she can get a hand at it.

But Ishikawa Hayato didn't go over there; he only glanced at it before looking away and turning to Nijika, who had quieted down a bit, to ask.

"How about it, Nijika? Would you like to buy something too? Don't be shy."

Just as she thought she was about to be ignored, Nijika's heart skipped a beat, and she looked up at Ishikawa Hayato.

"Mmm... Ah..."

She hesitated before speaking. She still didn't plan to buy a musical instrument, but she couldn't help but want to receive a gift from Ishikawa Hayato, just like the other three.

"Then let's use drumsticks."

She felt that any gift from Ishikawa Hayato would be fine.

But Ishikawa Hayato was not satisfied.

"This is too cheap," he said thoughtfully, "And drumsticks are something you can replace frequently without feeling bad if they break."

"Looks like we'll have to order it custom-made."

"Ah?"

Nijika was taken aback.

"Music stores don't sell drumsticks."

Ishikawa Hayato's words sounded like a joke, but Nijika inexplicably felt that he wasn't joking. She nudged him with her shoulder and complained.

"Anything ordinary will do, don't waste money!"

"Hey, let's send a drum too, it can't be too much worse than others."

"... I'll think about it some more."

Nijika was persuaded and started thinking about what accessories she was missing for her drum set.

After getting off the tram, the five walked along the streets of Ochanomizu. It was only when they got there that Ikuyo understood why they had come here to buy musical instruments.

"There are music stores everywhere here."

They had just come out of the station and were looking across the intersection, where it looked like there were many shops related to musical instruments.

Seeing several musical instrument stores lined up side-by-side makes one wonder if such fierce competition can lead to profitability.

Ikuyo followed the group, her eyes filled with the joy of seeing something new. While pulling Ishikawa Hayato along and looking around, she asked in a sweet voice.

"Hayato-kun, why are there so many musical instrument shops here?"

Upon hearing someone ask about musical instruments, someone's urge to preach instantly surged. Completely forgetting how cruel they had been to the other person the night before, they eagerly squeezed in, their eyes shining as they began to explain.

"That's because... ever since the establishment of Tokyo, which was hailed as having the oldest symphony orchestra in Japan during the Meiji era, musical performances flourished, and the one located in Ochanomizu at that time is now..."

Ishikawa Hayato glanced at Ryo, who seemed like a completely different person, rambling on and on to Ikuyo and Hitori without taking a single breath.

He glanced at the two stunned people again, and sensing they weren't listening, he said...

"It's because of its long history, and because a musical instrument town is more likely to attract tourists and musicians. Recently, even Shibuya has established a musical instrument village."

"Even Shibuya has places like this?"

Ikuyo seemed very eager to go, and she held Ishikawa Hayato's hand expectantly as she asked.

Ryo, whose words had been interrupted, stared blankly at Ishikawa Hayato.

"Shibuya..."

Hitori began to feel afraid; it was a place she could never set foot in, no matter what level she was at.

The aura of a socially active person, the student group, and the incomprehensible high fashion all had a penetrating and powerful effect on her.

Nijika smiled helplessly as she watched the four people making a scene in the street. Seeing Ishikawa Hayato looking "pitiful" as he tried to calm them down, she looked around and cheerfully pointed to the shop in front of her.

"Let's check this place out first; it looks like they have a pretty complete selection."

"Oh, let's go!"

Ishikawa Hayato was grateful to Nijika for her help, and without hesitation, he took the opportunity to hug his noisy girlfriends and led them into the store.

They all laughed to varying degrees when they saw Ishikawa Hayato chicken out for the first time.

Upon entering the store, the first floor is filled with various guitar-related items.

Ikuyo couldn't resist the sight of all the cute little things and ran over happily.

"Hayato-kun, how's this strap? Wow, there are so many kinds of picks! And so many strings, the store I bought from before didn't have any of them."

She happily strolled around the store.

As soon as Hitori entered the store, she nervously shrank behind Ishikawa Hayato, tugging at his clothes and automatically following him.

Ishikawa Hayato didn't mind too much; most of the shops he visited on Hitori first visit were like this, and he would get used to it after a while.

He walked Hitori Ikuyo with the auto-follow function and looked at the suspenders Ikuyo had just chosen.

"These straps seem perfect, maybe we should buy them together, and the picks too..."

He had barely uttered a couple of words when Ikuyo, whose expression instantly turned helpless, looked at him.

"Hayato-kun, do you know what 'shopping' means?"

Her tone, indicating she was only looking and not buying, made the saleswoman next to her frown.

Ishikawa Hayato naturally didn't understand girls' shopping habits, but he had his own opinions.

"If you have a new guitar, you'll need a strap, right? And wouldn't it be both cool and cute if you punched holes in three corners of this pick to make a bracelet?"

Following beside the three, seeing their happy expressions and smiling as well, Nijika couldn't help but imagine what Ishikawa Hayato was thinking when she heard him say that. Then, a light of "business" shone in her eyes.

"Really! Wait, if we add the endband, wouldn't it be great to make band merchandise?"

"Not bad! Hayato-kun's eye is indeed exceptional."

Ikuyo was immediately convinced by Ishikawa Hayato and joined in the design of the surrounding area.

Liang stood on the second-floor staircase leading to the display of professional musical instruments, quietly watching the three people shouting and yelling over there, and sighed.

"Let's go look at the musical instruments first."

After a lively chatter, the group went up to the second floor. The three who planned to buy musical instruments had already roughly selected the instruments they wanted on their way there.

But since they've already come to the music store, they'll definitely browse around and compare other instruments before making a purchase.

The five of them didn't call for a shop assistant and chatted as they browsed the store.

"Although some people say that the shape of the guitar doesn't have much impact on the musical effect due to the influence of effects pedals and amplifiers, the basic details are the most important. The difference in tone produced by the ST and LP guitar shapes is so noticeable that even a layman can hear it."

They didn't need any shop assistants. Liang was very talkative when it came to musical instruments, and her knowledge of them was definitely no less than that of the shop assistants.

But her advice was only worth listening to by wealthy families.

I only choose the expensive and good ones, and I even change instruments depending on the piece of music.

Only someone with that much money could afford to do that.

Her words made Nijika frown, and she couldn't help but remind her.

"Kita- chan, just take that person's words as advice. If you buy things according to her ideas, no amount of money will be enough."

"Yeah, I only plan to buy one."

Ikuyo looked at Liang and seemed a little embarrassed to answer Nijika.

Ryo, whose introduction had been interrupted, quickly turned around and looked pitifully at Nijika and Ishikawa Hayato standing next to Nijika.

Ishikawa Hayato smiled but didn't dare to speak up for Ryo. He felt that if he sided with Ryo at this moment, he would also get scolded.

Mother scolds son, father kneels down to take the scolding too. (gif)

He offered help veiledly, then explained in Liang's words.

"We should be better suited to piano shapes like ST and TELE, but we'll prioritize what we like."

Ikuyo nodded in response.

Their explanations were all for her, and judging from their previous interactions, Hitori's knowledge of the guitar was no less than that of Ishikawa Hayato and Ryo.

As the conversation deepened, Nijika was gradually left out of the conversation.

Ryo: "Has Ikuyo not made up her mind yet?"

Ikuyo: "Hmm, these guitars are all really cute... Where's Gotou-san?"

Hitori: "I like this one..."

Ishikawa Hayato: "Not buying anything more expensive?"

Hitori: "Hmm... how about this one..."

Ishikawa Hayato: "How about... we see what kind of bass Ryo buys first before we decide?"

He planned to broaden Hitori and Ikuyo's horizons by using their extravagant shopping habits.

Neither of them wanted him to spend money.

Standing behind them, not far away, and watching them talk, Nijika inexplicably felt that they had suddenly distanced themselves from her.

Ultimately, in a band that is mostly made up of string instruments, the drummer is the most out of place.

Nijika was well aware of this.

She had originally prepared to just watch from the sidelines, but seeing that Ishikawa Hayato, who had been with her, had also put her aside and was chatting seriously with those people, she couldn't help herself anymore.

With an awkward expression, like she was clinging to her boyfriend who was ignoring her, she went over and tried to keep up the conversation.

"I... I'll buy a guitar and a bass too..."

As Ishikawa Hayato was talking to the others, he turned around and saw Nijika leaning towards him with a stiff expression. He offered some words of comfort.

"We're going to the drum kit store soon; Akihabara isn't far from here."

As he spoke, he saw Nijika relax instantly and immediately understood the deeper situation. He put down his instrument and the three of them moved closer to Nijika.

"Could it be that you're lonely? Then it's okay if you keep following me."

Seeing Ishikawa Hayato's malicious expression, Nijika retreated warily; she wasn't as brazen as the other three in publicly displaying their affection.

She called out guiltily.

"Hayato-kun, what are you saying?!"

Ishikawa Hayato ignored what she said, smiled, walked over to her, put his arm around her shoulder, and said...

"Ta-da! Ishikawa Hayato's newest accessory has been added!"

"What do you mean Ishikawa Hayato's accessories have increased?!"

"How about adding more of Nijika's keychains?"

That's not what I meant at all!

"Well... in short, it's just an increase in accessories."

"Listen to me! Honestly."

Even so, Nijika didn't leave Ishikawa Hayato's side.