Why Not Play in a Band for a Lifetime

"Having a dual personality, it feels like a character from a story, with a mysterious background, cursed by the gods... In short, it's cool."

Shiko fell silent.

"But Ako knows how Shiko-san's dual personality came about," Ako said, nervously tugging at the hem of her clothes. "Something like that, no one would ever wish for it to happen... So, this kind of coolness is not good."

"Why is it cool, yet not good? Ako... has never encountered a situation like this."

Ako lowered her head, as if talking to herself.

"'Cool,' is that truly what Ako wants to pursue?"

Chapter 11: Wandering in the Depths of Darkness...

For the first time, Ako questioned the goal she had been pursuing.

Ever since she was little, Ako had always pursued coolness, even cooler. That's why she started playing jazz drums, admired Yukina-san, and desperately joined Roselia, all because she yearned for coolness. Even in her daily life, she wore clothes she considered cool and said things she thought were cool.

Until recently.

"Ako, your rhythm is off again." During practice, Ako was often criticized by Yukina-san.

"S-Sorry!"

The jazz drums, which she used to find cool, had unknowingly lost their appeal. When practice ended, she actually felt... relieved. The last time she felt this way was during an internal conflict within Roselia. But this time, Ako knew it was purely her own problem.

"Alright, alright, the practice time has probably been too long, it's time for a break, right?" Lisa-nee, as usual, stepped in to smooth things over.

During the break, Lisa-nee asked, "Ako, are you not feeling well?"

Seeing her worried eyes, Ako couldn't respond. "It's fine, it's just that the spellcasting took a bit too long. I just need to recover some MP--!" She gave the same response as always. Lisa-nee couldn't help me with this, Rinrin couldn't help me, Yukina-san couldn't help me, and Sayo-san couldn't help me either.

Only that person—although it was unintentional—was indeed the source of her problem.

Would she be angry? Ako waited anxiously for an answer.

"Thank you." Instead, she received an unexpected reply.

"Huh?" Ako looked up. Although there were some shadows in Shiko's eyes, she wore a helpless smile on her face, showing no signs of anger.

Seeing Ako's confusion, Shiko looked into the distance. "Although I don't want to recall that incident, I absolutely cannot be angry with you all. Don't worry."

"However, thank you for coming to find me."

Before Ako could fully understand, Shiko changed the subject. "So, you've started to feel lost about your pursuit, is that it?"

Ako nodded, looking at Shiko with wide eyes.

"I think, even if some 'coolness' is not good, it doesn't mean you have to deny 'coolness' itself?"

Ako found it a little difficult to understand.

Shiko stood up, her figure suddenly appearing tall and unfathomable. With one hand behind her back and the other pinching a golden jade slip between two fingers, she tapped it against Ako's forehead. "Xihe zhi wei yang, Ruohua he guang—what kind of feeling is that?" By the time she said "feeling," she had already returned to her usual demeanor.

"I don't understand it, but it's cool—so what does it mean?"

"It's just some ancient text I recited casually; the meaning has nothing to do with the action," Shiko retracted the jade slip. "So, do you like this style?"

"Yes!"

"Then that's all there is to it. This kind of coolness doesn't hurt anyone, so there's nothing wrong with it. You can completely continue to pursue it."

"But... but..." Ako tapped her fingertips. "This kind of bad coolness..."

Shiko thought for a moment with a blank expression.

Did Ako used to think that "coolness" represented all that was good?

"'Coolness' is never perfect," Shiko flicked a strand of hair, her voice changing. "Shakespeare once said, 'The only true heroism in the world is to recognize the truth of life and still love life.' Meaning, it's like this~" She gestured extravagantly.

"That line wasn't said by Shakespeare," Ako said, looking a bit dazed. "Also, I feel like this demeanor looks a little familiar..."

However, Ako seemed to understand her meaning. "You mean, even if 'coolness' isn't perfect, Ako can still pursue her own coolness, right?"

"Exactly," Shiko sat down, crossing her arms. "I will pursue my coolness as well. And, the coolness that belongs to you, Ako, will surely be perfect."

Ako's face lit up. "Really?!"

Shiko pointed one finger to the sky and the other to the ground. "Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, Bìluò Huángquán, I can go anywhere. Gods and Buddhas cannot stop me, demons and ghosts fear my presence. My words are the will of heaven."

After a while, Ako's lips curved upwards, and she raised her hand to cover her left eye.

"Heh heh... Heh heh heh..."

"Ancient curses wandering in the depths of darkness, a silver sword hanging upside down, a pitch-black crystal enshrined in a dilapidated temple..." A violent aura of darkness overflowed from Ako's body, her pupils flashing with crimson blood light, on the verge of losing control!

Shiko dared not delay and immediately assumed a stance. "Heaven and Earth Change, Yin and Yang Cease to Exist, The Lowest Depths of Naraka is the Destination of All Beings..."

When Rinko came out yawning, she saw Ako and Shiko playfully bickering like children.

"Ah, is it time already? Farewell, my eternal rival and dearest friend!" Ako said goodbye to Shiko exaggeratedly and hopped into the tent.

"You two... get along... very well..." Rinko said, looking at the entrance of the tent with relief.

"...Mm, yes."

Thank you for coming to find me, Ako.

Both for the other me who wants to create summer vacation memories, and for me...

"Archdemon Ako, revive!" As the band practiced, Ako sat back in front of the drums, full of energy.

"It looks like you've recovered, Ako," Yukina said, naturally pleased to see this.

"That's right! Shiko-san cast super-duper cool healing magic on me! Back then..." Ako spoke dramatically about the scene.

These past few days, Kita had noticed something strange. "Ako's been playing with Wu-san a lot lately."

"Stand Users are drawn to each other..." Shiko said, pretending to be profound as she pressed her forehead. "But I've wanted to ask for a while, why do you call everyone by their last name except for Ryo, and even Ryo you call 'senpai', but you call Ako by her first name?"

"Because Ako is really— really cute!" Kita's eyes sparkled. "Don't you want to hug her? Don't you want to pat her head?"

"Cute... While she is indeed cute, she'll be sad if she hears that," Shiko suddenly wore a triumphant expression. "By the way, I patted Ako's head, in exchange for passing her an Ancient Immortal Scroll."

Kita immediately started crying and wailing, "Ahhh, I want to play with Ako too! How did you do it, Wu-san?" She leaned close to Shiko's face. Shiko instinctively took a step back. "Well... maybe she thought my battle stance was cool?"

"Eh?" Kita glanced at Shiko. "You switched back... Don't just switch personalities without a word, you'll scare me..."

"But, my battle stance..." Kita recalled Shiko's chuunibyou battle stance and clutched her head. "There's no way I can do something like that!"

Shiko looked at the camera placed nearby. "Don't you always ask me to take pictures when you're posing?"

"That's different... But I understand! I'll definitely pat Ako's head..."

Ako walked over at that moment. Kita quickly covered her mouth, her face flushing, and quickly changed the subject. "Ako? Aren't you still practicing?" Normally, Roselia's practice time wouldn't be over yet.

"Yukina-san said she has a bit less free time today, so the rest of the time is for Kessoku Band."

Since there was only one drum kit brought from CiRCLE, the two bands had to practice at different times. Roselia practiced almost every day, and while Kessoku Band didn't have such a high frequency at first, they gradually increased their practice frequency under Roselia's influence.

Upon hearing this, before Kita could stop her, Ako skillfully knocked herself out. When she woke up with Ako's help, she had returned to being the Shiko who performed with the band.

Kita looked at her speechlessly. "Being lazy again..."

"Hm? What what?"

"Nothing."

Chapter 12: This is Roselia

"Kita-chan~ The tempo could be a little faster~"

"Yes, Ijichi-senpai!"

"Then let's do it again from the previous phrase, one, two, three, four!"

The music of the five-person ensemble began to play again. Today, Kessoku Band's practice continued. However, Yukina was observing. She stood with her arms crossed, her usual stern expression on her face as she watched Kessoku Band's practice.

"If you don't mind, may I observe your practice?" When she had made this request before, Nijika had initially wanted to refuse. After all, their lead guitarist would probably not accept it.

"Our practice time today is a bit short, so we believe we should strive in other areas. Roselia's goal is the absolute peak, and to achieve this goal, it's necessary to engage with various bands and musical styles. Therefore, please allow me to observe Kessoku Band's practice."

But looking at that serious face, Nijika couldn't bring herself to refuse...

Sorry, Bocchi.

Actually, Ichiri wasn't the only one who was nervous. With a great figure like Yukina observing, even though she said, "Don't mind me," who wouldn't mind!

Through Shiko's long-term proselytizing, Roselia had become an insurmountable pinnacle in the girls' eyes. And through their interactions during this time, they had sadly realized that it seemed to be true. From the music Roselia revealed during their practice, they could tell that their overall skill and coordination were far beyond what Kessoku Band could achieve now. Among them, Yukina was even called by Shiko "one of the most authoritative figures in the music field in the Bang Dream project, aside from Tsuzuki Shifune." Such a senior figure, just standing there silently, would make anyone sweat buckets, let alone someone who radiated pressure.

"(The drum beat is a bit messy. The bass, too, the keyboard, too, the guitar...)" Yukina watched Ichiri, who had completely shrunk into a cardboard box. "(She doesn't usually play guitar like this, does she?)"

"(As expected, my presence is putting too much pressure on them?)" Yukina frowned.

Actually, Yukina was just unable to contain her curiosity.

Since the two bands had met, Yukina, out of politeness, had never eavesdropped on Kessoku Band's practice. Therefore, besides some melodies she'd accidentally heard and information from conversations, Yukina knew nothing about Kessoku Band's music.

Yukina Minato, who had dedicated most of her life to music, was very curious about Kessoku Band's music.

This curiosity grew day by day, and finally, she couldn't resist making the request.

"(But, perhaps it's better not to disturb them?)" Thinking this, Yukina sighed.

Nijika saw this entire scene.

"(Eh? Senpai Yukina is sighing? Why? Is our playing that bad? Even though we're not in good shape today, are we really that bad? Eh?! Is she leaving? Does she think our level isn't worth paying attention to?)" Panicked, Nijika made another mistake.

This mistake was also heard by Ichiri in the cardboard box. "(Little Nijika made another mistake... Could she still be here? Where is she standing again? Is she standing next to me? Uwahhh— I didn't even need a cardboard box for my first live performance, but now I have to—)"

After finally finishing a few songs, Nijika quickly announced a break.

Nijika, sweating profusely, walked up to the observing Yukina. "How... How was it?"

"It's definitely fine," Ryo said confidently, as if she didn't know who had made multiple mistakes just now.

"When comparing strength across different works, according to the old rules, the author should fight first... Although that old geezer does seem like he could beat Gamakichi," Shiko said something the others couldn't understand at all.

"I said I was just here to observe," Yukina really didn't want to put more pressure on them.

"No, Senpai Minato, please give us your guidance!" Kita wiped her sweat and came closer. "Even though I might be the worst player here, I still want to receive Senpai Minato's guidance!"

"Me too—!" Shiko immediately raised her hand. She just wanted to be criticized by Yukina.

"..." Yukina's gaze softened. "Then I won't be polite."

"First, your ability to respond to the situation is far from sufficient. Even with just me here, you would perform poorly. This is likely because you haven't held any formal live performances in reality..."

Yukina's critique was fair and accurate, and everyone benefited greatly.

"...However, I understand what kind of band you are now."

"?" Shiko found those words strangely familiar. She remembered the manager saying the exact same thing when auditioning Kessoku Band. But why did her heart feel... a little sad?

While Shiko was lost in thought, Yukina continued, "Kessoku Band, your skills might not be top-notch, but your performance has something that Roselia lacks." She admitted this generously, just as she had acknowledged the other girl bands they'd encountered at band parties.

Yet, Yukina still felt something was missing. She closed her eyes.

"I can't quite grasp this feeling from practice alone... How about a joint live?"

"Just between our two bands, with only our own audience."

Yukina casually extended such an invitation to Kessoku Band.

Night deepened. While everyone else had already fallen asleep, only Nijika and Shiko, on watch duty, remained outside the tent.

Faint music drifted from another tent in the distance. Roselia was still practicing. At this distance, the music wasn't jarring at all; it was indistinguishable from the wind.

"They really are working hard," Nijika mused.

After Kessoku Band's practice session ended, the other four members of Roselia went into their tent on their own, without needing any prompting from Yukina.

"Huh? Are you guys still going to practice?" Kita glanced at the sky outside.

"We took a short break earlier," Sayo said, picking up her guitar.

Lisa handed Yukina a coffee with a sugar cube in it. "Since we've rested, it means we can stay up a little later tonight."

"Thank you," Yukina replied, taking the coffee without changing her expression and taking a sip. "Giving everything for the pinnacle of music, that's Roselia."