Yui, How Could You Reject Tomori?

As everyone knew, coming up with a band name was hard.

Plenty of bands had all their members and had already performed onstage several times.

But they still hadn't settled on an official name.

They kept putting it off...

But soon, the audience stopped finding it funny.

What was that guitar sound coming from the Mango Box onstage?

The strings were being played so frantically that they didn't let up for a second.

And you, the blue-haired bassist—how were you making your bass go thump-thump so loudly?!

Down below the stage, Bai Qiu used his phone to snap pictures of these spectacular moments.

Ijichi Hoshino was also startled by the way the three girls had performed. She shook her head and covered her face, but still stayed to watch until the end.

Yui, how could you turn Akari down?

When the performance was over, the audience filed out.

The four members of Kessoku Band went their separate ways, too.

Of course, that didn't mean the band was breaking up.

Yamada Ryo's grandmother had suddenly fallen ill, so she had to hurry back to take care of her.

And after Goto Hitori had said so many words that day, she'd run out of energy and bolted as if she had wind-and-fire wheels strapped to her legs.

That left Bai Qiu and Nijika standing there, stunned.

Nijika forced a smile. "It's okay, Bai Qiu-kun. Even if it's just the two of us..."

Bai Qiu glanced at Ijichi Hoshino, who was glaring at him from nearby.

"Um, my neighbor's sick, so I have to go back and take care of her, too."

With that, Bai Qiu ran off as well.

Sorry, Nagasaki-san.

"Hey!! Wait... Bai Qiu-kun."

Ijichi Nijika stood rooted to the spot, on the verge of tears.

The celebration and review meeting she'd just suggested had turned into a cleaning session with her older sister.

Bai Qiu stepped outside Starry.

Goto Hitori and Yamada Ryo had already vanished without a trace.

He looked up at the sky. It was completely dark.

But the neon signs lining the streets glowed brilliantly, illuminating everything.

Light pollution really was bad in big cities. It made it hard to see the stars!

Bai Qiu thought, completely out of place.

Still, it didn't dampen his mood.

Bai Qiu was on top of the world, because he'd had a very productive day.

First, he'd successfully joined Kessoku Band with Goto Hitori. Then he'd gotten Yamada Ryo to join, played a piano piece in front of the three girls, supervised their practice, and watched their live performance...

As a result, Bai Qiu had earned a huge number of Notes. His balance had now climbed to over 15,000.

In a wonderful mood, Bai Qiu bought himself some food on the way home.

When he reached his front door, Bai Qiu glanced at the clean, tidy entrance to Nagasaki Sosei's house next door. He felt a little guilty, then went inside.

That evening, Ijichi Nijika created a Line group chat with all four of them in it.

The group name—and the band name—was still tentative.

The next day, it was back to school as usual.

As Bai Qiu walked across campus, he saw that quite a few clubs were already recruiting new members.

The Art Club, Literature Club, Choir Club, Wind Instrument Club, Far East Magic Nap Association...

But he didn't seem to see a Light Music Club.

As a result, plenty of enthusiastic upperclassmen kindly asked him if he wanted to join their clubs as he walked along.

Bai Qiu couldn't help thinking that club activities were really thriving here. Back in the Celestial Dynasty, you didn't get that kind of treatment until university.

The upperclassmen were lovely, but Bai Qiu still turned them all down without hesitation.

Even so, by the time he got back to the classroom, he was carrying quite a few club recruitment flyers.

With a slap, Bai Qiu set them on his desk.

Yui Hirasawa, sitting to his left, was instantly drawn to them.

"What's that?"

Yui Hirasawa looked curious.

"Club flyers. Don't you pay attention to these things?"

Bai Qiu sighed. From the look of it, Yui Hirasawa still hadn't joined the Light Music Club.

Looks like he'd have to take matters into his own hands and get her in there.

Yui Hirasawa seemed to suddenly understand, then picked up the flyers and studied the pictures with great interest.

Seeing her take an interest, Bai Qiu asked, "Yui, aren't you planning to join a club?"

Bai Qiu looked just like a shady uncle trying to lure a little girl with candy.

"But Little Qiu hasn't joined a club either, has he?" Yui Hirasawa countered.

"Ahem. We're different."

Yui Hirasawa puffed out her cheeks. "How are we different?"

"I told you I was going to start a band," Bai Qiu said righteously.

"But I've never seen you bring an instrument to school," Yui Hirasawa said, looking like she didn't believe him.

Bai Qiu was at a loss for words for a moment.

Was he really going to let one measly Yui Hirasawa stump him?

"Don't you keep complaining that you're bored after school?"

"That's because you never hang out with me after school, Little Qiu, and Hehe has to go to the Student Council," Yui Hirasawa grumbled, sounding a little resentful.

"If you join a club, you'll have people to hang out with. They might even have desserts and snacks every day."

"Really? Clubs give you free food?"

Yui Hirasawa perked up. If that was true, then she'd missed out on so many treats before!

"That's right. They have something called a club activity budget, and you can use it to buy whatever snacks you want," Bai Qiu continued, spinning his tale.

"Then I'll join a club!" Yui Hirasawa said happily.

Bai Qiu nodded in satisfaction.

"Honestly, Little Qiu, you should've told me this sooner... Hmm... This one will do."

Yui Hirasawa continued, pulling out a flyer.

Huh? Bai Qiu was taken aback. She'd decided already? He took the flyer from her.

"Far East Magic Nap Association?"

What kind of strange club was that? It sounded weird, but also somehow familiar.

Yui Hirasawa nodded. "Hehe, I think it's perfect for me. I can sleep and eat tasty things there."

Bai Qiu immediately objected.

"Why not?"

Yui Hirasawa puffed up her cheeks angrily and glared at Bai Qiu.

He was the one who'd told her to join a club, and now he was the one trying to stop her.

Even if it was Little Qiu, she was going to get mad!

Bai Qiu coughed awkwardly. "Everyone in that club is Chunibyo. It's not really for you."

"Chunibyo? What's that?" Yui Hirasawa asked, puzzled.

Takamatsu Tomo, sitting on his right, seemed drawn to the unfamiliar term too. She turned her head toward them.

Seeing that, Bai Qiu thought for a moment, then put on a mysterious air.

"It's a condition that starts around the second year of middle school... and so on... It refers to a disorder among teenagers who have certain pathological forms of self-awareness."

"Anyway, there's no tasty food in that club," Bai Qiu added, making sure to emphasize it.

Yui Hirasawa listened patiently at first. But when he finished, she slumped onto her desk, looking disappointed.

"Oh, I see!"

Bai Qiu smiled. All he had to do now was tell Yui Hirasawa that he knew which club had tasty food, then take her to the Light Music Club. Perfect.

Yui Hirasawa noticed Takamatsu Tomo looking their way and asked curiously, "Akari-chan, you haven't joined a club either, right?"

Bai Qiu looked at Takamatsu Tomo, thinking the same thing.

After all, she spent all day tinkering with her little objects and only occasionally talked when classmates spoke to her.

Takamatsu Tomo shook her head, a little embarrassed. "Actually, I joined the Astronomy Club."

"But the upperclassmen graduated, so now it's only an Interest Club."

Bai Qiu and Yui Hirasawa exchanged glances, both looking surprised.

They hadn't expected quiet little Akari to have left the Going-Home Club before them.

Yui Hirasawa sat up again. "The Astronomy Club? That sounds like fun."

And Akari-chan was in it, too. Joining didn't sound like a bad idea.

Bai Qiu felt his eyelid twitch. It seemed things were heading in an unpredictable direction.

Takamatsu Tomo's eyes lit up. "Are you and Bai Qiu-san going to join, Yui? I'm the only member now. I'd be really happy if you joined."

After saying that, Takamatsu Tomo looked at the two of them with sparkling, hopeful eyes.

That look made her seem like a little penguin who could get hurt at any moment.

Bai Qiu almost couldn't bring himself to turn her down. Just as he thought Yui Hirasawa might go along with it...

"Do you have any tasty food?"

Yui Hirasawa asked.

"N-no..."

Takamatsu Tomo shook her head. Since it had been downgraded to an Interest Club, the Astronomy Club no longer had a budget for tasty food.