Chapter 33

"Everyone knows, so don't worry about it."

Ryo calmly offered her a word of comfort.

Realizing that everyone else had expectations of her, Kita lowered her head sheepishly.

"Sorry, everyone... No matter how much I practice, I can't play the guitar..."

"All I get are these low, boom boom sounds."

Ryo froze, feeling as though she had been wounded again as a bassist, then sighed.

"Isn't that a bass?"

Though she phrased it as a question, her tone was full of certainty.

"Pfft."

Ishikawa Hayato turned away and laughed.

Though he had known this scene was coming, seeing it in person was still impossible to hold back.

But so he could laugh even harder later, he forced his handsome face into a strained, twitching expression as he told them, "Kita... you... bring it tomorrow, and we'll know."

Seeing Ishikawa Hayato like that, along with what Ryo-senpai had just said, Kita Ikuyo immediately had a bad feeling.

But then Ishikawa Hayato turned his back to her, bit down hard on his lip, and raised his face to the sky as he consoled her.

"Well, maybe it's just out of tune."

The moment he finished speaking, he hurried into the practice room.

Nijika blankly watched Ishikawa Hayato slip into the practice room in a rush. Through the half-closed door, she could even hear his crazed laughter.

She turned around and earnestly told the others, "Everyone, if Ishikawa-kun bullies you in the future, tell me."

Yet as she said that, she did not dare look at Kita, whose eyes were already brimming with tears.

"Bocchi-chan is really good at guitar, so why is she so terrible during practice?"

The four of them prepared their instruments, plugged in the amps and power, and chatted as they worked.

As for the one remaining person...

Kita Ikuyo squatted in the corner, muttering to herself as though possessed by Bocchi.

Among her mutterings, she repeated the words "Ishikawa," "guitar," and "definitely didn't buy the wrong one" countless times.

"Ah."

Faced with Nijika's question, Bocchi opened her mouth, but did not know how to explain.

At that moment, Ishikawa Hayato explained for her.

"Bocchi usually practices alone and has never been in a band, so she can't coordinate with others. Plus, she's pretty shy around strangers. She gets nervous around people she doesn't know."

"Is that so?"

Nijika was a little doubtful of Ishikawa Hayato, so she asked Bocchi to confirm it.

Bocchi stared blankly at Ishikawa Hayato. After a few beats, she finally came back to herself and nodded at Nijika.

Nijika's resentment toward Ishikawa Hayato deepened a little more. He had actually fooled Bocchi this badly.

She really could not tell whether he was doing it on purpose or not.

"Nijika~~"

Noticing Nijika's reaction, Ishikawa Hayato acted as if she had hurt him. One hand clutched his chest while the other reached out toward Nijika from afar, his eyes glistening with tears as he called her name.

Nijika deliberately turned her gaze away coldly.

"Then let's start practicing."

By evening, the girls staggered out of the practice room utterly exhausted, watching Ishikawa Hayato with admiration as he walked ahead of them, humming a song and skipping lightly.

They had practiced for most of the afternoon, yet he was still so relaxed.

What a pervert!

After this pervert walked out of the practice room, he saw Seika-manager sitting by the bar and PA-san lazily sprawled over a table, tapping at her phone.

He generously raised a hand to greet them both.

"You two, good morning~"

"Yeah."

Seika merely glanced at them before looking away again.

Seeing how exhausted the group looked, PA-san wore an expression of satisfaction.

"You practice really hard."

Hearing her admiring words, Ishikawa Hayato stepped onto a nearby chair and declared proudly, "Of course. As a pervert, every minute and every second, I have to become stronger and more perverted than I was the moment before."

"Wipe that clean." Seika shot him a sharp glare.

"Roger!"

Ishikawa Hayato paid no attention to her vicious tone. He gave a salute and ran off to get some paper.

"Hayato-kun really is full of energy..."

Nijika looked at Ishikawa Hayato admiringly, and even Kita said with admiration, "Yeah..."

Forming a Band

As dinnertime approached, the five of them emerged from the ever-lit underground space and left STARRY, preparing to head home separately.

The dusky sky was dotted with stars, and amid the roads divided by towering buildings, the five went their separate ways.

Nijika and Ryo were together. She waved goodbye to the other three while setting a time to meet the next day.

"Then let's meet at one tomorrow afternoon again~"

"Okay, senpai. See you then~"

Kita raised a hand and waved as well.

She was with Ishikawa Hayato and Bocchi.

At the moment of parting, Ishikawa Hayato was as uninhibited as ever. In a creep-like tone, he said, "I really want to go eat dinner at Nijika's house."

He wore a broad smile as he said it, making it impossible to tell whether he was serious.

His words made Nijika stiffly lower her hand, her gaze discreetly shifting toward Bocchi.

Bocchi was very uncomfortable with this sort of farewell on the street. In a tiny voice, she said, "See you tomorrow..."

Her little head bobbed as she spoke.

It was unclear whether she had really heard, but from more than ten steps away, Nijika answered with a radiant smile and a small wave.

Then she quickly grabbed Ryo and hurried off in the direction of her home.

Seeing Nijika's reaction, Ishikawa Hayato complained, "Tch, Nijika's so stingy."

His words received no agreement from the two girls beside him.

Bocchi and Kita even silently moved a little farther away from him.

But he merely laughed, unconcerned.

The three who were headed the same way then walked side by side through the streets of Shimokitazawa.

By then, shops along the road had already set up their nighttime stalls, busily preparing all kinds of ingredients.

People who had started their nightlife early were already wandering the streets.

Among the passing crowd, Ishikawa Hayato and the other two were rather eye-catching.

Beside a sunny, outgoing high school boy and girl drifted a gloomy-looking girl with pink hair, hunched over with her head lowered and a guitar on her back.

Bocchi seemed to sense the strange looks around her as well. She gradually drifted away from the other two, then slowed down out of fear.

Yet their conversation still reached her ears clearly.

"Did Ishikawa-kun really only start learning an instrument on the day he joined the band...?"

"Isn't Kita just too dumb?"

Seeing the admiration—and slight disappointment—on the girl beside him, Ishikawa Hayato bluntly teased her without much mercy.

"I'm saying, could Ishikawa-kun be a little gentler...?"

Kita Ikuyo's expressions changed quickly; her cute face reflected every subtle emotion.

She had a lively, animated sort of charm.

Even so, Ishikawa Hayato showed no mercy and cut her off.

"Nope!"

"Your personality is awful!" Kita complained in a cutesy voice.

"Because it's pretty fun teasing Kita."

Watching all the different emotions appear on her face because of his words, Ishikawa Hayato couldn't help continuing to tease her.

Kita froze. Her cheeks, slightly flushed by the setting sun, took on a hint of helplessness as she complained.

"That's awful."

Just then, Ishikawa Hayato noticed that Bocchi had nearly vanished from beside them, so he turned to look back.

Bocchi was trembling as she lagged several steps behind them, her small figure nearly swallowed by the crowd.

That tiny figure, head lowered as she dawdled along, looked utterly pitiful.

He stopped.

Kita looked at him in confusion, then followed his gaze and spotted Bocchi. She immediately understood what was happening.

At a time like this again...

She felt dissatisfied, though not because he was helping Bocchi. It was because of his inconsistent attitude—sometimes kind, sometimes cold.

But precisely because of that...

Kita said nothing. She merely watched Bocchi approach nervously, unable to make sense of the situation.

She wanted to learn more about this boy. She wanted to know how he would act in all kinds of situations, so she did not call out to Bocchi.

Seeing Bocchi's steps grow slower and slower from confusion and unease, Ishikawa Hayato couldn't help taking a step toward her.

He directly grabbed her wrist.

"Let's go."

Ignoring her expression, Ishikawa Hayato pulled her forward.

Bocchi's quiet response came from behind him.

"Ah... okay."

Kita watched Ishikawa Hayato, slightly surprised by how domineering he had suddenly become.