Social Anxiety and the Rock of Loneliness

He said this while observing the people present. Nijika was sitting at the table, wearing a sailor-style dress with a cardigan today, looking cute and even more childish.

But... sixteen is already a very young age, so why dress like this?

Could it be because of what he said last time about her "becoming a good mother in the future"?

Ryo was still wearing her usual neutral dark clothing. She stood beside the table with the stylishly dressed Kita, while Seika sat by the counter, seemingly oblivious to the commotion.

"Good afternoon, Hayato-kun," Nijika greeted him, leaning sideways from her chair.

"Mm."

Ryo simply responded.

But inexplicably, her gaze held a hint of dissatisfaction.

Ishikawa Hayato glanced at her, then at Kita, who was sighing, and immediately understood.

He quickly took a screenshot on his phone and sent the image to Ryo's LINE.

At this moment, Nijika stood up and said to everyone with a smile.

"Well, Hayato-kun is here too..."

Before she could finish speaking, Ryo, holding her phone, let out a light cough-like laugh beside her.

Then she said to Ishikawa Hayato, "It's excellent, but you're not allowed to jump the gun next time."

Nijika's gaze turned wary as she looked at the two conspirators.

Compared to the lamb-like Kita and Bocchi, these two, who occasionally revealed their malicious natures, were the most troublesome members of the band.

For the sake of the band, she had to take on the responsibility of supervising them.

At this moment, Bocchi, with her faint presence, also walked down and quietly greeted everyone.

Nijika and Kita responded to her energetically, while Ryo also gave a casual greeting.

In this scene, Bocchi's bright eyes showed a dazed expression, and then, as if happy, she quickened her steps towards the four of them.

Seeing Bocchi come down, Ishikawa Hayato smiled slightly and looked at Kita, who had come with her guitar. He said to the group, "Let's take a look at Kita's guitar first."

Ryo, who had already suppressed her smile, calmly glanced at Ishikawa Hayato. Her gaze, not showing much emotion, seemed to hold a hint of admiration.

Kita, sensing the teasing in Ishikawa Hayato's tone, acted as if to prove herself. Without a word, she put down her guitar case, unzipped it.

"Okay."

She was confident in the guitar she had checked several times.

Opening the guitar case to reveal the guitar inside, she said to everyone with a smile, turning sideways.

"See, this one has six strings, right?"

Bocchi listened to Kita's voice and looked forward. From her perspective, it was very clear what kind of instrument this was.

As a guitarist, seeing this scene, she felt a jolt in her heart and looked at Kita with a complex expression.

Thinking that she might have to teach Kita guitar later, she said weakly and tactfully, "There are also bass guitars with six strings."

"That's a multi-string bass," Ryo corrected with a more professional term.

Kita's face was still smiling. She glanced at the two who had spoken, then back at her own 'guitar.'

She inexplicably felt a chill run down her spine. The smile on her face vanished like lightning, and she looked at her bandmates again with uncertainty.

Amidst their expressions of lament, indifference, unease, and schadenfreude, she looked again at her 'guitar,' which only made a 'boing boing' sound.

Suddenly, she understood everything.

"Gulp..."

Kita, as if petrified, leaned heavily to the side.

The four of them stared at her blankly. She cried out in a pitiful, lamenting voice, her mouth forming a soul-like shape as if she were crying.

"I bought this with two years' worth of my allowance and New Year's money advanced from my dad."

"Kita-chan!--"

Nijika desperately shouted, trying to call back Kita, who was starting to fade away.

40. Conversion

"Ishikawa-kun is right, I really am an idiot..."

Kita Ikuyo squatted in a corner of STARRY, hugging her legs, her gaze unfocused as she stared at the dark gray wall, silently wiping away tears.

Beside her, Nijika and Bocchi were trying their best to comfort her.

"Th-this kind of mistake is something anyone could make..."

Nijika's forced words startled Bocchi, who didn't know how to comfort Kita. This wasn't really a mistake anyone could make.

Bocchi hesitated for a moment before carefully saying to Kita.

"W-well, we can just sell the bass and buy a guitar..."

Meanwhile, Ishikawa Hayato and Ryo stood beside the bass guitar.

He glanced at the bass, taking in its slightly exaggerated design and its understated yet flashy color scheme, and said in surprise.

"Kita's surprisingly rock 'n' roll, choosing a bass like this."

After speaking, he looked at Ryo, who was standing beside him gazing at Kita. Seeing her calm yet cool demeanor, he suddenly understood why Kita had chosen this bass.

This silly girl chose her instruments by just going along with others.

She probably saw the instrument and felt it best matched Ryo's vibe, so she bought it right away.

He stood up and nudged Ryo with his shoulder.

"Ryo, what should we do?"

Ryo glanced at him, completely unfazed by the younger boy's rudeness.

Ishikawa Hayato could feel a hint of unreadable emotion in her gaze, directed not at him, but at the little silly girl over there.

It seemed she had also realized what Ishikawa Hayato had just figured out.

Finally, she walked over.

Upon hearing another set of footsteps approaching, Kita slowly looked up, tears in her eyes.

But when she saw Ryo, the senior she admired, walking towards her, she felt not her usual happiness, but even more fear.

What would a cool band girl like Ryo-senpai say to her? Would she just kick her out?

She fell into a panic, letting out a soft whimper.

"Senpai..."

Ryo looked down at her, her voice calm and slightly deep as she said.

"I'll buy this bass. I'll lend you a guitar later."

Hearing these words, which were far beyond her expectations, Kita's tear-filled eyes blinked rapidly as Ryo's words quickly processed in her mind.

Ryo-senpai was going to buy her bass and lend her a guitar.

This was like... an exchange... a token of exchange!

She had gained her senpai's love!

She shot to her feet, her fingers interlaced and clasped together, radiating a brilliant light that blinded the innocent Bocchi beside her, who cried out in pain.

"Ryo-senpai, thank you so much!"

"Mm, I'll go pick it up now."

Ryo nodded calmly, then turned and walked unhurriedly towards the shop entrance.

Her home was nearby, so there was no need to come back for it in a few days.

However, as she passed Ishikawa Hayato, she heard the young man softly say.

"Ryo is really gentle, isn't she? Even though she doesn't like someone like Kita."

Ryo's steps faltered, and she stopped.

She looked at the young man who had joined their band and only then started learning an instrument. This man who had rapidly learned to play and could perform on stage.

Looking at his clear eyes beneath his playful demeanor.

She inexplicably smiled slightly, a smile that seemed both proud and triumphant, and said in a tone completely different from her usual one.

"You're quite bold, speaking to your senpai like that."

With that, she continued past Ishikawa Hayato without pausing.

Ishikawa Hayato looked back at her cool, fleeting smile, and the tear mole by her eye that made her look even more elegant, along with her delicate earring.

He couldn't help but feel that this girl was indeed incredibly cool.

But why had her attitude towards him suddenly changed so much? He had a feeling something bad was about to happen.

Upon returning, Ryo gave Kita the money for the bass. At the same time, she emptied the rest of the money from her pocket and said to Kita with a gloomy expression.

"This is all my remaining fortune. From now on, I'll have to live by eating grass."

While Kita was surprised that Ryo could so readily hand over such a sum of money, she was flustered by Ryo's words and didn't know how to respond.

She suddenly felt like she couldn't accept the money.

Nijika, who was already accustomed to Ryo's perpetual state of financial ruin, sighed.

For Nijika, this wasn't the first time she'd seen Ryo like this. She knew exactly what her subtext was.

She expressed her understanding with a helpless sigh.

"I know, I know, I'll make Ryo's lunch for her later."

"Yay."

After Ryo finished speaking with a smile, she glanced at Ishikawa Hayato and Bocchi again.

Her calm gaze sent a shiver down Bocchi's spine, while Ishikawa Hayato casually patted his empty wallet and gave her a happy smile.

"So, Kita-chan has a guitar now too..."

Nijika said, a hesitant expression on her face.

She had originally planned to have Kita demonstrate her current skill level, but remembering that Kita couldn't even tell the difference between a bass guitar and a guitar, she felt the band's progress had been set back quite a bit.

Seeing her hesitation, Ishikawa Hayato quickly walked over. As she looked at him in confusion, he stood behind her, placed his hands on her shoulders, and gently shook her.

"Have some confidence, leader."

Nijika was startled by his sudden action. She turned her head away, her red eyes looking at him with a hint of helplessness.

Ishikawa Hayato ignored her gaze and said to Kita with a smile.

"Now then, let us welcome this century's most outstanding guitar, pfft, guitarist, to demonstrate her current guitar skills."

"Hayato-kun, you're teasing her too much!"

Nijika, who was closest and the first to hear Ishikawa Hayato's remark, yelled in annoyance.

But Ishikawa Hayato's confident smile that seemed to say "Leave it to me" made her pause, and she turned to look at Kita instead.