Why Form a Band If Not for a Lifetime

Nijika couldn't hold back any longer, "There's no unity at all—!"

Another update this afternoon~

Chapter 3: Kita, Kita

"Where are we going to find a vocalist..." Hitori sighed as they ate.

"About the band?"

"Yeah. I want to do something for Kessoku Band. We're still missing a vocalist and guitarist, but I'm terrible at socializing..." Hitori's voice trailed off.

"Have you seen anyone?" Shiko asked, popping a french fry into her mouth.

"...No. Honestly, besides you and the teacher, I don't know anyone at this school..."

Shiko's hand paused.

"Really, no one at all?"

"Ah, yes..." Hitori mistook this as an accusation, grabbed her guitar, and lowered her head further. "Please listen to my original song: Useless Me Like a Daphnia—"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Shiko quickly waved her hands, dispelling the gloomy atmosphere. "I mean I know where to find someone like that!"

In front of the Class 5 classroom, Ikuyo Kita said goodbye to a few friends, "…Alright then. See you after school~"

She walked into the classroom alone.

Behind her, Hitori and Shiko were peeking through the door.

Hitori communicated with Shiko through glances, "Why is she such a super extrovert!" Even though she hadn't met Ikuyo before, that was her first impression!

Shiko showed her phone, displaying Ikuyo's social media account. "And she posts beauty photos online every day, with tons of followers!" She communicated back with glances.

"Then why are you going after her! Can't you find someone easier to talk to!" Hitori felt like she was going to faint looking at the trendy photos on the screen.

In fact, Shiko was also panicking. "(Why am I putting on this act! Talking to a pure extrovert like Kita is way beyond my level! Okay, there's no turning back now!)"

In Bocchi the Rock!, Kita would become Kessoku Band's future guitarist and vocalist. She was alone in the classroom; if not, Hitori and Shiko wouldn't have dared to follow her here. She was currently slumped over her desk, doing something, but seemed a little nervous. Suddenly, she turned her head towards the door, looking at the two people behind the crack.

"Are you Class 2's Wu-san and Gotou-san?" she asked, trying to keep her voice gentle as she addressed the two pairs of eyes behind the door.

Hitori's pupils contracted.

"What do we do, what do we do, she's already noticed us!" She frantically blinked at Shiko. "And she knows us! How!"

"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask!" Shiko blinked rapidly at Hitori. "We have no choice but to go!"

The regional boss—the perfect extrovert, Kita—displayed her health bar to the two of them.

Round 1!

Player 1: Hitori launched the first attack!

"(This is my problem, I absolutely can't let Shiko do any more for me!)" A resolve born from bonds and honor!

"(All I have to do is say 'Our band is missing a vocalist and guitarist, are you interested?'!)"

"(I'll win!)" Hitori believed in herself!

"Ah... ah... ha..."

Passive effect activated: Absolute Introvert.

Player 1 took 99999 critical damage from herself!

Player 1 fell without a fight!

"Hito-ri—" After mourning Hitori for a mere second, the next combatant arrived on the battlefield—Player 2, Shiko Wu!

"(It looks like it's up to me again!)"

Round 2!

Player 2 activated skill: "Watch this, I'm a stage girl too!"

"(At this moment, I am an extrovert!)" Shiko proudly held her head high in her heart!

"Sorry to bother you, Kita, our band is missing a vocalist and guitarist. I heard you sing well and play guitar, would you be interested?" Okay, I said it! This is my extrovert power!

However...

"Sorry, you spoke too softly, can you say that again?" The BOSS took 0 damage.

"(I'm so sorry, I'm useless too!)"

Fortunately, Shiko spoke at a normal volume the second time.

"Sorry, I can't join your band..." Kita's expression became hesitant.

"Actually, the other members are very cheerful people!" Hitori had somehow woken up by then.

Kita had never encountered someone so self-deprecating. "Um, it's not that I dislike you guys..."

"Our slogan is popipapipopapopipapapipopa!" Shiko chimed in!

"Huh? A spell?"

"Our goal is to fill the world with smiles!"

"The Kessoku Band?"

"Anyway, anyway..."

"I'm sorry, I can't join your band." In the end, Ikuyo replied like this, "It's because I actually don't know how to play guitar. Before, I joined the band pretending to know guitar because there was a senior I admired, but I really couldn't learn... so I ran away before the performance."

Ikuyo looked regretful. Ichiri looked like she was about to cry. However, Shiko remained confident.

"That's right!" Shiko thought. According to the original story, Ikuyo would next ask Ichiri to teach her guitar, and the two would go to starry after school. Halfway there, Ikuyo would realize that Kessoku Band was the band she had run away from before and want to escape. Then she would be caught by Nijika and Ryo. As an apology, she would help out at starry for a day. During this process, Ichiri would discover Ikuyo's efforts to practice guitar, and with a burst of courage, would successfully persuade Ikuyo to join the band with a round of Talk no Jutsu.

Perfect!

"Ikuyo--" someone called from outside the door.

"Sorry, I have an urgent matter, I have to go." Ikuyo waved goodbye to the two and left the classroom.

In the end, she didn't make any requests.

Ichiri wanted to die, to disappear.

On the "Things I Most Don't Want to Encounter" rankings of the "Introvert Association," "being politely rejected" had long been in the top ten!

Being rejected is something no one wants to experience. For introverts with weak social skills, being rejected, especially being politely rejected, is a severe mental blow!

"I won't be able to live at school anymore... From now on, whenever I see someone, they'll say: 'Isn't that the person who fantasized about forming a band with Ikuyo-san~'? If I drop out now, the news probably hasn't spread yet..."

Ichiri had already figured out how to write her withdrawal application.

"Let's leave first, it's uncomfortable to stay in someone else's classroom." Ichiri wanted to leave but found that Shiko hadn't moved at all.

"Shiko?" Ichiri thought it was too much of a blow.

She poked her.

Shiko fell straight onto the floor.

"Eek-- Shiko, what's wrong, ambulance? Someone, quick--"

"Ichiri." Shiko propped herself up like a zombie from a horror movie!

"Y-yes--"

"I'll only say the following once." Shiko wore a look of unprecedented seriousness!

"Wipe your nosebleed first..."

"Ikuyo is the guitarist who ran away from Kessoku Band before."

"Huh?" Ichiri was a bit confused. "Although what they said matches up, there could be many possibilities, right? It can't be that coincidental, can it?"

"I can't tell you the specific reason, but trust me." Shiko tightly gripped Ichiri's hand with such force that Ichiri's face contorted.

She keenly felt that Shiko's state seemed a bit off.

"Okay, okay, but please loosen your grip, you're so strong..."

"Next, send a message to Ryo and Nijika saying you've found the vocalist and guitarist, and ask them to come to the school gate after school." Shiko made another strange request. She looked serious.

"No, no, no, no, no..." Making such a troublesome request out of the blue would surely lead to being ordered to commit seppuku!

Shiko suddenly hugged Ichiri's leg and started acting like a child, throwing a tantrum: "Please, this is the request of my life! If you agree, I'll do anything!"

"Ahhhhhh--" Ichiri had another episode!

BEING! HUGGED! BY! THE! LEG!

The world lost its color, the lines dissolved into pixels, everything faded away...

Goodbye, Mom and Dad, I'm going to a better place...

Victim's Name: Hitori Goto

Cause of Death: Being hugged by the leg caused the victim's social anxiety to trigger, resulting in immediate self-destruction.

Perpetrator: Shiko

"I regret it, I just regret it immensely." The perpetrator said this in prison.

And so, Shiko spent her life in prison filled with self-blame and remorse.

Just kidding.

Shiko had extensive experience rescuing Ichiri and managed to save her.

Outside the wall, someone gradually walked away.

In the classroom, Ichiri nervously sent the message and quickly received a "Received" reply. She glanced at Shiko on her left, who looked like she was listening attentively to class but was actually doing something else.

Although Shiko was adamant, Ichiri couldn't help but worry.

"(Shiko was like that, there was no way I could refuse, ahhh Ichiri, you're such an idiot--)" Her mind was churning as usual.

Somehow, they managed to endure until dismissal time.

Time, stop. Ichiri despaired as she looked at Nijika's message saying "We're almost there."

At times like this, Shiko had also disappeared somewhere.

Step by step, she crept closer to the school gate. She had written three apology letters in advance, hoping she wouldn't need them...

"Ah! Bocchi!" It was Nijika's voice! The death knell had sounded, and Hitori saw her future:

"For such baseless speculation, you made us run all this way. What crime should be punished?" Was that Nijika? The smoking, drinking, tattooed version!

"You think of me as your band's guitarist? How cute, Gotou-san~" Was that Kita? The fake, dark-hearted version!

"Sink into Tokyo Bay." It was Ryo? The yakuza boss version delivered the verdict.

As soon as Nijika and Ryo arrived, they saw Hitori tearfully handing them two sheets of paper. Ryo took them. "A letter of repentance..."

Before she could retort, Nijika spotted another familiar figure. "Ah! The runaway guitarist!"

Hitori froze and looked back. Kita was coming out of the school building, chatting and laughing with her friends.

Huh? The runaway guitarist? Who were they talking about? Was it one of Kita-san's friends?

Just like that, Hitori watched as Kita suddenly froze, then repeatedly apologized and admitted her mistakes to Ryo.

Could it really be such a coincidence?

Hitori silently tore up the apology letters she still held, though Ryo seemed to be reading hers with great interest.

From behind a tree, Shiko let out a huge sigh of relief, retracting the stick she held. It was good that Kita had appeared at the school gate on time, saving her from having to exhaust two lifetimes' worth of social energy to drag her here.

"I've been following you for a while, classmate~" A strangely familiar voice came from beside her.

Shiko's heart leaped.

Turning her head, she saw a gentle face looking at her.

Impossible. Why would she be here, at this time?

Banana-shaped yellow hair, the uniform of Seisho Music Academy, highly recognizable, no mistake—

Nana Ohba from Revue Starlight.