Chapter 361

"Otae (Oh tae)?"

Toyama Kasumi tilted her head and exchanged a glance with Yamabuki Saya: "I wonder, is Otae working at the Musical Instrument Store today, or is she doing a part-time job somewhere else?"

"But Arisa seems to be on duty there today... Should I call her on my phone for you?"

[Note: Although they don't appear in the MyGO anime, Ichigaya Arisa and Hana-dono Tae actually work part-time at a Musical Instrument Store.]

"How did Ogura-kun know that Otae was at the Musical Instrument Store?"

"I saw her by chance when I went to that store with an acquaintance last time, and she even took care of me."

Ogura Asahi explained, taking out another dessert bag from her side:

"I promised her I'd treat her to some desserts she'd never tried before, and if she's there today, I was thinking of sending them to her."

"Oh!!!"

"Don't stare at it with shining eyes, that's for Otae,"

Yamabuki Saya down on Toyama Kasumi's raised head, turned to him helplessly, and said, "If you don't mind, we'll pass it on to you."

"After work tonight, we'll meet at Arisa's house for practice, and I'll hand it to her then."

"Alright, then I'll leave it to Saya-senpai."

"Fine."

After handing her the items, he casually asked, "Do the PPP members practice at Arisa- senpai's house every day?"

"Hmm! The basement of the Arisa family's warehouse! A quiet, deserted secret base!"

Toyama Kasumi raised her hand to answer, looking delighted.

"We're lucky to have saved money on going to the recording studio."

Yamabuki Saya and echoed her.

"And you don't have to worry about the time; you can practice as late as you want, and you can even stay overnight!"

Toyama Kasumi added.

"Having a fixed practice space is really great and convenient."

Ogura Asahi praised.

Well, that's about it.

After eating and chatting for a while, the two quickly got up to say goodbye.

As shop assistants, they don't have much time to chat idly, especially in the evenings.

"They're really great, Toyama and the others."

"Um?"

His gaze fell on Hachiman Kairin had spoken.

Hachiman Kairin watched their retreating figures, a subtle thought flickered beneath her placid expression, "I heard that the members of PPP have been in a band since their first year of high school, and they're still so close. That's truly remarkable."

"Ah, that's true."

He lowered his head and stirred his teacup. "But it's not that rare, is it? A lot of the bands I know seem to be like that, like Roselia, HHW, PP, Ag... and so on?"

"Well, they must have had some arguments in places unknown to outsiders. The important thing is whether they can mend their differences and make their bond even stronger afterward."

"Disagreements?"

Hachiman Kairin tilted her head back and murmured.

Is her situation—being collectively stood up before her performance because she was too nosy—considered a disagreement?

"Of course, even more important is finding teammates who are a good fit."

He continued elaborating, seemingly oblivious to what was happening:

"I've seen several bands break up because of differing ideas. The accumulated conflicts will inevitably erupt sooner or later. Rather than forcing the other person to adapt and keep up with you, it's better to leave as soon as possible and find teammates who can match you."

"This is the biggest secret to the band's longevity."

Hachiman Kairin rested her chin on her hand, stirred her teacup in silence as he did, and then sighed, "Maybe you're right, but isn't there another way? Like not forming a long-term band, but joining as a temporary replacement or something."

"That depends on the individual. If you really don't want to deal with complicated interpersonal relationships, then it's a good method. But if you actually hope to be with someone else, then that's another story."

"..."

Without saying much, he finished his tea, stretched, and said, "Alright, we've rested enough, let's go! Let's go out for another stroll!"

"Huh? Ah, huh?"

Hachiman Kairin paused for a moment, then nodded slightly.

"Say hello to Rikki... Rikki ~! We're leaving!"

"..."

As expected, there was no response... but not entirely, at least Hachiman Kairin's shouts were answered.

He secretly took a picture of her working, and after she discovered it, he left together, looking both embarrassed and angry.

The faint sound of their voices could still be heard in the air.

"By the way, Asahi, do you have any plans to form a band?"

"Hmm... yes or no? I haven't decided yet..."

"Yeah..."

"..."

The next morning.

"Good morning Sakurakoji-kun!"

"Good morning... You're here so early!"

In the lobby on the first floor of the Ten no Yashiro, Sakurakoji Talent yawned, looking at Kitagawa Marin in front of him, and admired her efficiency.

It's only around seven o'clock, and there are hardly any people in the lobby, except for the staff on duty and the two of them.

"Yes! I took the first bus here!"

Kitagawa Marin clenched his fists, stretched out his whole body, and jumped on the spot, causing his soft chest to tremble violently, which helped him regain some of his energy.

"I'm so excited about finally being able to transform into Shizuku for the event today that I can't sleep at all!"

"Oh, I see. Then I'll need to apply some concealer or liquid concealer around my eyes later."

"Haha! Then I'll trouble you!"

"What's the point of saying anything now... Come with me, let's start the makeup!"

"Yes! Please, teacher!"

The two walked one after the other towards the elevator.

Two weeks have passed since Kitagawa Marin asked him to make Cosplay Costume, and today is the day to officially head to the cosplay event.

Because she needed to do a lot of preparation before the performance, she didn't come to Tokyo yesterday, so she rushed over from Saitama early this morning.

Although there was a dedicated dressing room at the venue, it was the first time for both of them to attend, and they didn't know how many people would be there or if there would be any empty seats.

It's better to dress in advance than to feel awkward once you're there.

However, I already did a rehearsal for her a couple of days ago, so it shouldn't take too much time.

Although Kuroe Shizuku's lady outfit is quite thick and layered, it's only early May, so it shouldn't be too hot. He also specifically chose a more breathable fabric.

In the cosplay room.

Sakurakoji Talent stood behind Kitagawa Marin, curling her long, straight, light blonde hair into tight curls, then securing it with small hairpins.

This is a necessary step before putting on a hairnet in order to wear a wig.

"Are you done removing your makeup?"

He asked.

"Yeah! But because I was in a rush this morning, I didn't even have time to put on makeup~"

Kitagawa Marin, who was removing her makeup in front of a small mirror, grinned and showed an exaggerated smile.

"Then, I'll begin."

"Please~ I'm counting on you!"

She swallowed hard, feeling incredibly nervous.

"Don't worry, we already rehearsed last time, didn't we?"

He offered a word of comfort and picked up a prop from the workbench beside him.

On the workbench, which is more than two meters long, dozens of different kinds of supplies of various sizes are placed, almost filling the entire table.

For ordinary people, even just getting them to recognize all of them would be impossible.

But there's no way around it; any job, if you want to achieve a very high level, must have corresponding complexity, and tools are just the foundation.

Just like a cartoonist's studio where drawing pens alone can fill one or two bags, and paper can take up a small bookshelf; a clothing maker's studio where fabrics can fill an entire wall of cabinets; an architect's studio where various stone and wood templates and case studies can fill a warehouse...

"First comes the preliminary work."

He came to face her, picked up the lotion from the table, and evenly applied it to her smooth, fair skin, which she had just cleansed and toned.

After waiting for it to dry, I applied sunscreen to any exposed skin, followed by a makeup primer to prepare my skin before applying makeup...

"Sakurakoji-kun is so skilled at doing makeup, he seems even more adept than me!"

Kitagawa Marin blinked, feeling a little itchy, and her expression brightened.

But this sunny joy didn't last long before it crumbled.

Being struck by his focused expression and handsome looks at close range, her heart suddenly pounded and blood rushed to her cheeks.

'This is bad! This is really bad! Sakurakoji-kun is so handsome!'

'I've heard that focused guys are the most handsome, but I never knew they could be this handsome!'

'It's like they jumped right out of an anime! To achieve this level without even cosplaying is unfair!!!'

She clenched her fists, pulled her legs closer together, and shrank her body slightly inward.

Especially when she recalled the ambiguous scenes between the two of them, her skin felt even hotter...

"After all, I've been wearing makeup for several years now, and I've been using skincare products since I was a child. I also know a lot of people around me who are knowledgeable about makeup, so I'm fairly knowledgeable about it too."

Sakurakoji Talent continued to move forward, laying a solid foundation for her before moving on to the next step.

She picked out one concealer from the many available and applied it evenly to her lower eyelids, where she had slight dark circles, using a makeup brush.

"As for concealer, Kitagawa-classmate's skin is very good, so he doesn't need to put in much effort. The main concerns are his dark circles and eyebrows."

"Ah, um!"

Kitagawa Marin's wildly beating heart was brought back to its senses by his words, and she quickly responded.

"Speaking of which, last time when we were talking about eyebrows, you said you'd just shave them all off... that really startled me."

"Haha~ Sorry, I'm not really sure either!"

Thinking about it, she gave an awkward smile.

"But I really admire your drive to pursue what you love!"

"Really? Thank you!"

"Okay, I'll cover it up with eyebrow mascara first, then apply a layer of clear eyebrow gel, and then do some simple shaping and drawing. That should be fine."

"Alright~ I'll leave it all to Sakurakoji-kun!"

He applied another layer of foundation to her face to even out her skin tone, and then used loose powder to set her makeup.

Then I contoured and highlighted her eyes, used eyelid tape to reshape them, applied lower and upper eyeshadow, put on false eyelashes, and used the eyebrows from the drawing to refine them. I also applied blush and lipstick...

"Based on the character's design, the eyebrows and eyes need to be shaped downwards to create droopy eyes. Apply blush under the eyes first, and the eyeshadow needs to be red, so let's choose this shade..."