The two of them pretended to look at the list of bands performing that day. They had been staring at it for five minutes.
"Roselia, Magnolie, Guinevern, WOLF... Wow, they all sound so artistic..." Shiko drawled, mechanically reading the names aloud.
They had deliberately arrived early so there wouldn't be too many people. But with so few people around, CiRCLE somehow gave off an upscale, members-only air. Even though an "OPEN" sign hung by the entrance, they didn't dare simply stroll inside.
"Are you two here for the live show?"
They had been spoken to out of nowhere!
According to the Introvert Association's statistics, "being spoken to out of nowhere" ranked in the top five of the "Things I Least Want to Encounter" list!
Ichiri instantly bowed. "Sorry, we came to the wrong place. We're leaving now."
Apologize, back away, run. For an introvert, that was the epitome of heroism.
Shiko grabbed her and stopped her.
When Shiko saw who had spoken to them, she actually relaxed. She dragged Ichiri through the door.
Inside was a spacious hall. Several simple tables and chairs stood in the center, while a red sofa rested against a black wall. Above it hung a huge CiRCLE poster, the wall's only decoration. Compared to that, the front desk was much more elaborate. Besides what they had seen earlier, there was also a display and a speaker hanging above the counter, with flyers and other materials neatly arranged. The person who had greeted them stood behind the counter.
She was a young woman wearing a blue jacket and jeans, with shoulder-length brown hair and reddish-brown eyes. Her entire presence gave off a gentle, approachable feeling.
Marina—the representative of CiRCLE—stood at the front desk and greeted them. "Which band are you here to see?"
"Roselia. Thank you." Shiko picked up two tickets with one hand while carrying the pink ball with the other.
Wow, this ticket looks exactly like the ones in the game. I should keep it as a collectible later.
Shiko's right hand trembled, and the pink ball transformed back into human form. It clung to Shiko's side, trembling like a small animal. Shiko was still a little unused to this happening in public, but she could only stiffly walk toward the entrance.
Then they heard someone else enter.
Shiko turned around and found another familiar face.
Seeing Shiko freeze, Ichiri asked doubtfully, "You know them?"
"Yeah. They're Roselia."
Roselia was a band from Bang Dream, whose songs mainly followed a gothic rock style. Their vocalist was Yukina Minato, their guitarist Sayo Hikawa, their bassist Risa Imai, their drummer Ako Udagawa, and their keyboardist Rinko Shirokane. They worked hard toward their goal of appearing at Future World Fes.
Noticing the gaze from this side, Yukina Minato glanced over. Her expression remained the icy face that came with its own aura of pressure, and she gave them a slight nod.
Shiko looked intoxicated. "Worth every penny..."
Ichiri's face was ashen. "Today's performance was wonderful. I'm leaving now..."
"The performance hasn't even started yet."
Hearing that, Miss Marina chuckled and went over to welcome the members of Roselia.
Because they had arrived early, the two of them secured a good spot in the crowd. All the bands performing before Roselia were excellent, but whether in terms of technique or emotion, they were still merely ordinary high school bands. After standing in the crowd for so long, Ichiri was already feeling tired.
(Roselia is next.)
Ichiri looked at Shiko beside her, only to find her staring at the stage like a fanatic believer. It was an expression Ichiri had never seen on her before.
The stage went dark. Ichiri felt the people behind them pressing forward. How many more had arrived?
A singing voice interrupted her thoughts.
"No matter how high the sky is..." (Even if the sky is so high above...)
In the darkness, that proud and powerful voice rang out—
So powerful. Ichiri was instantly captivated by Roselia's charm.
Was it because of their overwhelming skill?
"We sang again and again and grew stronger" (We won't stop singing until we grow strong.)
Was it because of their infectious songs?
"Let's take flight... toward the dream of reaching the summit" (Spread your wings... toward the dream of reaching the summit.)
Or was it—
"Give everything for Roselia..." She heard Shiko whisper excitedly, her voice thick with tears.
Those urgent, passionate drumbeats; that noble, elegant keyboard; the precise guitar; the bass warmly supporting everyone; and the vocalist, as proud as a blue rose—together, they became stars—
Sure enough, bands... were the best.
The next day, Shiko saw Ichiri fully equipped for battle.
A canvas bag covered in band merchandise. A long-sleeved shirt in a heavy-metal style.
And all those wristbands... So she was a successor of the Hong Family Iron Wire Fist after all.
When Ichiri saw Shiko's expression turn serious, she rolled up a book and assumed a strange stance.
"Huh? Kung fu?"
"Goro Bagua Staff, Shiko." Shiko remained serious, though the corner of her mouth had begun twitching.
"Ah... Huh? What?" Ichiri still had no idea what Shiko was trying to do.
Shiko finally broke. She put down the book and dragged Ichiri outside.
When they returned, Ichiri looked no different from usual.
"Please, I understand that you really want to find bandmates, but seriously, don't do this anymore. It really won't attract anyone..."
(It also makes me think of how I used to spend all day saying 'nya, nya, nya' in middle school, adding desu to everything, and constantly pulling out anime merchandise...)
For the first time, Shiko didn't particularly want to get close to Ichiri.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye, and Ichiri still hadn't found any bandmates.
Two sorrowful people had appeared in the park at dusk. The afterglow of the setting sun illuminated two lonely figures leaning against each other.
"I still can't find anyone..." It was clearly early spring, yet Ichiri seemed to see withered leaves. She drew herself tighter, because of that chilly autumn wind...
"Ah, my latest guitar cover already has two thousand views! It's nearly twice as fast as before!" She was browsing a video website. Guitar Hero's results were steadily improving, one of the few sources of happiness Ichiri had these days.
Wu Shiko, who had refreshed the page a thousand times: "..."
"I'm sorry."
"Huh? Why are you apologizing?"
"I'm sorry."
"So why are you apologizing?"
"Ah! Guitar—" A clear cry interrupted Ichiri.
A blonde girl ran over from the distance.
"That's a guitar, right? Can you play it?" The girl suddenly came close and asked Ichiri, staring at her with wide eyes.
"Ah—" Ichiri let out a scream and hid behind Shiko.
Shiko forced a smile as she looked at the newcomer. After Ichiri's training, she could now deal with familiar strangers like this relatively normally.
"Sorry for suddenly talking to you two. I'm Nijika Ijichi, a second-year at Shimokitazawa High School!" She was Nijika, the drummer of Kessoku Band.
"Shiko, first-year at Shuka High School." As she spoke, Shiko dragged Ichiri out.
"Hitori Goto, first-year at Shuka High School." Ichiri spoke at nearly a self-muttering volume.
Nijika didn't mind her slight rudeness and still enthusiastically leaned closer.
"By the way, Little Ichiri, how well can you play guitar?"
Ichiri looked away. "Ah... I'm okay, I guess..."
"Really?" Nijika sighed in relief. "Well, I'm in a bit of a bind right now... It's okay if you can't... Though saying it's okay when it's actually kind of a problem..." Her voice grew quieter and quieter.
"I'll just say it straight!" She gathered her courage. "Please! Just for today, could you come to my band and help out as our guitarist?"
A band?
"We're about to go onstage, but our guitarist suddenly couldn't come..."
Ichiri felt dizzy. Was this her chance to join a band? Was it really happening now?
"The place is called starry. It's just a short walk from here..."
She would be performing onstage right away?
So frightening... An invisible pressure weighed heavily on Ichiri. She yearned for it, yet couldn't bring herself to speak. "No..."
Nijika grew anxious and took that as agreement. She grabbed Ichiri's hand. "Thanks! Then let's head to the live house now!"
"Little Shiko, you should come too!" Nijika didn't forget about Shiko standing nearby.
"Sure." Shiko smiled brilliantly.
That day, an angelic girl pulled Shimokitazawa's yato-no-kami toward her dream. Shiko witnessed it all from the closest possible distance.
My dream has finally taken its first step, Nijika believed.
For some reason, Nijika believed that this child she was holding could definitely—
"That was awful." After rehearsal, Nijika and Ryo, the bassist, gave an incredibly sharp assessment.
Ichiri couldn't coordinate with the others at all. Combined with her social-anxiety debuff, no matter how powerful she was during a solo, her ensemble performance was... zero.
Of course, Ichiri herself didn't know that was the reason.
(Ah, this is where I belong.) The trash can was so warm and reassuring...
"Wait, wait, wait! We're about to go onstage!" Nijika shook the trash can in despair, trying to pour the guitarist inside out.
"Actually, my playing is pretty terrible too~ And everyone who comes to listen is my friend, so ordinary high school girls can't even tell whether it's good or bad~"
"I can." Ryo, whose short hair was blue, calmly refuted her.
(Shiko can too...) Ichiri thought.
Ah, Shiko.
Outside, Shiko was still waiting for her with eager anticipation. She was Ichiri's first friend.
And even someone like Ichiri was able to play together with the two people here. This was the first band to accept her.
She seemed to hear FIRE BIRD again in her ears, the song she had heard at CiRCLE that day.
Under the expectant gazes of the other two, Ichiri slowly stood up.
Below the stage, Shiko stood in a corner. Ichiri saw her smile—a smile of genuine happiness for her. Though for some reason, her gaze seemed a little strange...
She couldn't give it her all, but at least she had taken one solid step forward.
"Guitarist—Little Bocchi!" Nijika announced during her MC.
She even had her first nickname...
"We are Kessoku Band!"
(Today, I...) Ichiri stared intently at the strings. (I'm standing at the peak of my life...)
"You played terribly..." In the dressing room, Ichiri curled back into the trash can. Ah, now that she looked closely, this dressing room was actually rather flashy. The cramped trash can suited her better...
(This is probably as far as my life goes...) Ichiri returned to the darkness.
"You've made great progress, Ichiri."
"Yeah! I'll work harder next time, Shiko!"
She recovered instantly!
Only then did Ichiri realize that something was wrong.
"Huh? When did you get here?" Why was Shiko in the dressing room?
Shiko smiled faintly. "Of course I asked the owner, then came over~"
PA-san poked her head in through the door. "This girl wandered around outside for a long time. The owner finally couldn't bear to watch anymore, so..."
Shiko had already vanished.
(Teleportation?) Nijika resisted the urge to comment. "Little Bocchi, if you're not in a hurry, we can hold Little Bocchi's welcome party and live-show review!"
"I-I'm sorry, but all my social energy has burned out today..." Ichiri vanished too.
"I'm sleepy." Ryo yawned.
Before you continue