"Of course I do." Chihaya Anon retorted indignantly. "You're a drummer. You have no idea how hard it is to play guitar."
"Huh?" Shiina Riki widened her eyes. "You're the one who hasn't been practicing seriously. Put more effort into it!"
Seeing Shiina Riki, the pressure-controlling deity of Ancient Egypt, start piling on the pressure, Riki stepped forward to intervene. "Anon really isn't very good at playing yet, but practice takes time."
"Exactly!" Chihaya Anon said quickly, glad to have someone backing her up.
But Shiina Riki, whose soul was bound by gravity, wasn't going to let up so easily. "Is that all you ever do, make excuses?"
Those words seemed to break straight through Chihaya Anon's defenses.
Warning! Warning!
"Okay, that's enough for today!" Riki clapped his hands.
He knew there was no point in continuing practice. As a music student, he sometimes had conflicts with his classmates too, and he knew that the best thing to do now was to cool off.
The first practice session with all five of them ended on a sour note, leaving Riki deeply worried. Their prospects seemed even bleaker than they had in the anime.
What an unbelievable bunch of pressure monsters.
If I keep watching this, I'm going to start falling for Miss Ooka.
The moon climbed higher, and the streetlights shone bright.
With her guitar on her back, Chihaya Anon kicked at a pebble on the road and grumbled, "I was only a little bad. Was there really any need to get so mad? I'll practice more, won't I?"
She was upset, but she vaguely knew she was at fault. Without thinking, she started avoiding the issue.
No, I didn't do anything wrong!
Rikki was the one in the wrong!
Chihaya Anon walked faster and faster, then suddenly collided with someone coming toward her.
"Sorry!" Chihaya Anon looked up and realized it was Riki. "Riki, what are you doing here?"
"My friend's getting off work, so I'm going to pick her up. You, on the other hand, look like you're sulking," Riki said.
"Of course I am!" Chihaya Anon had finally found someone she could talk to, and hurried to share all her grievances.
******
On the pedestrian bridge, Chihaya Anon complained to Riki. "Listen, Rikki has no idea how hard I'm working. Guitar is the hardest instrument to learn. How could a drummer understand?"
True. Drummers didn't understand people's hearts.
But cut her some slack. At another Nijisaki shooting location, she'd also been pressured by Heavy Woman. Lately, she'd even started putting pressure on herself and working on Cherry Bomb.
"Riki thinks so too, right?" Chihaya Anon looked at him, seeking agreement. "You play so well, so you must have spent ages practicing, right?"
Chihaya Anon's eyes sparkled. Remembering how cool Riki had looked playing guitar earlier, she was already imagining herself becoming popular at the school festival too.
"Yeah. It took me a few months of practice. It was pretty tough," Riki said with a sigh.
Chihaya Anon: "?"
The difficulty you're talking about doesn't sound like the same thing I mean.
"Ah..." Chihaya Anon sighed. There was no point trying to talk to a genius. "You're a genius, Riki, so you don't know how seriously I practice."
"That may be true, but do you think about practicing while you eat, walk, and shower?"
"N-no, that'd be way too much!" Chihaya Anon said with an awkward laugh.
"That's how I practice," Riki said with a shrug.
"Huh?"
"If you could win with talent alone, the world would be too boring. If you didn't put in any effort, it'd be like the tortoise and the hare."
"You can only say that because you're talented, right?" Chihaya Anon puffed out her cheeks.
Riki furrowed his brow.
All right, all right. That still isn't enough to convince you?
Was I too nice before, or have you hit your rebellious phase?
I'll send you off to MyGO!!!!! to straighten you out. I'll be waiting for you when you get back.
"Tap, tap-tap—"
Raindrops fell on Riki's head, then the rain suddenly came pouring down. Huge drops plunged from the dark clouds overhead, and a massive curtain of rain engulfed Tokyo.
"Whoa! Riki, this way! Let's take shelter by that shop!"
Riki and Chihaya Anon ran to the shop entrance and breathed a sigh of relief.
As Riki watched the rain, he began to worry whether Toyokawa Sakiko had brought an umbrella.
If I can't use the word "rain" to describe how heavy the rain is,
'Stop it! You two, please stop fighting!'
Why have I become so ridiculous since coming to Tokyo? Bilibili has ruined me.
"Just my luck..." Chihaya Anon sighed as she stared at the downpour. Her life was just like this rain: whenever things started looking up, something always went wrong.
She couldn't help grumbling to herself.
It wasn't that she always wanted to run away, but what else could she do in a situation like this? When it rained, all she could do was find somewhere to take shelter and stand there like an idiot.
Suddenly, Chihaya Anon felt the weight lift from her shoulder. She turned and saw Riki taking out her guitar.
"If there's nothing else to do, we might as well play guitar, right?" Riki said with a smile.
"Huh? Right now?" Chihaya Anon froze, then hurriedly waved her hands. "No, no way! The conditions here are bad, and we'd bother everyone..."
"Listen, Anon. Here's some advice from a mature college student: do it first, and worry about the consequences afterward." Riki wore a smug smile. Chihaya Anon stared at him. His smile looked a little mischievous, but somehow she couldn't bring herself to dislike it.
"I think the song goes like this..." Riki tried playing a few notes. Chihaya Anon noticed calluses on his fingertips.
"This song's called 'Fireworks.' It's one I practice a lot..."
"That day, we gazed out at the shore."
While Sanae Shiko was drinking at an izakaya, she heard the guitar playing outside. She didn't pay it much mind. Maybe some high schooler nearby was trying to impress a girl. Not all high schoolers were as talented as Mikumura Shioka, the singer she represented. As a seasoned agent, she could tell good performers from bad ones.
"What a lovely downpour. I'm exhausted from arranging all those events for Shioka these past few days..." Sanae Shiko stretched. The guitar was still playing outside, and since it sounded pretty good, she couldn't help analyzing it.
The guitar was a little out of tune, probably because its owner hadn't taken proper care of it. An amateur, then. But the notes were being played accurately. A veteran—no, an expert.
Without realizing it, Sanae Shiko set down her glass and listened closely.
Known in the entertainment industry as the "Demon of Music," she never let a single mistake slip past her.
To Sanae Shiko's surprise, someone outside started singing too. It was a song she'd never heard, and it was top-notch. The singing was excellent as well.
How was this an amateur? This was the work of a veteran who'd spent decades navigating the industry!
If the voice hadn't still sounded a little young, she would've thought some old pro was messing with her.
Sanae Shiko listened carefully, but the heavy rain made it hard to hear.
What the hell is wrong with this rain? Stop already!
Sanae Shiko was beside herself. If she wasn't mistaken, this was a songwriter of genuine genius. Sign him, and he'd be a huge hit, just like Mikumura Shioka. No—even more successful than her!
She had to stop him right away.
Sanae Shiko went to the izakaya entrance and could just make out two figures beyond the curtain of rain: a pretty girl and a handsome young man. The boy was the one playing the guitar and singing.
Why wouldn't the rain stop?!
Sanae Shiko was frantic. At last, the rain let up. She was about to rush over and find them when someone stopped her. She turned and saw the owner pointing to her table with a kindly smile.
She hadn't paid yet.
Sanae Shiko hurriedly looked across the street. They were gone.
No!!!
"Riki, you're amazing! You can even write songs?" Chihaya Anon asked in surprise.
"Of course. But I didn't write this one," Riki said, handing the guitar back to Chihaya Anon.
"Now you get it, right? If you want to get good at guitar, you have to practice hard. Stick with it, and you'll get the Joypolis effect... I mean, whatever that effect is called," Riki said.
But strangely, Chihaya Anon didn't reply. She just stared straight at him.
Did she fall for me?
Well, I'm falling for myself too.
Riki waved a hand in front of her. Chihaya Anon finally snapped out of it, her cheeks a little red. She gave a sheepish laugh. "Let's just say I get it."
What do you mean, "let's just say"? What did you take all my earnest advice for? Don't I deserve some credit for the Joypolis effect...? Riki was furious.
With her cheeks flushed, Chihaya Anon took off at a little run, as if hiding something. She looked back at Riki and waved with a smile. "I'm really forgetful, so you'll have to teach me again next time, Riki..."
"How many times are you going to make me teach you?" Riki muttered.
"Didn't Akari-chan say it?" Chihaya Anon smiled. "For a lifetime, a lifetime!"
What, are you playing a vampire?
I'll pick top-lane Malphite and crush you.
Riki's face darkened.
Seeing his expression, Chihaya Anon couldn't help covering her mouth and laughing. "See you tomorrow!"
So not everything in the world was bad after all.
"See you," Riki said with a cool wave.
Handsome guys didn't need to say much.
"Who are you saying goodbye to?"
Riki suddenly heard a familiar voice behind him. He turned and saw Toyokawa Sakiko.
Toyokawa Sakiko looked curiously toward the direction Chihaya Anon had gone and asked Riki.
Riki paused, his mind racing. In that instant, every Malphite player in the world's brain shut down, their processing power flowing to Tokyo and helping him calculate the one and only solution.
This is my escape route!
"I was talking to a UFO," Riki said. Toyokawa Sakiko looked puzzled.
Damn it, I knew rock players had no brains. Bronze players, get out of our glorious Zaun.
Toyokawa Sakiko glanced in the direction Chihaya Anon had left, seeming to guess something. But she said nothing and smiled at Riki. "Never mind. Let's go get dinner."
"It rained, so the half-price bentos are probably all gone by now. We'll have to eat somewhere," Riki said. As far as he could see, there was only an izakaya—not suitable, since those were for middle-aged men; a bar—he'd love to see the Bunny Girls, but maybe not now; and KFC... Holy crap, ice!
"Looks like KFC is our only option," Riki said.
"KFC? I've never been before. But isn't it too expensive?" Toyokawa Sakiko asked, her curiosity plain.
She'd never eaten at a cheap fast-food place when she had plenty of money, but now she couldn't afford this fancy fast food. Talk about extremes.
"We made a little money from our videos. We can set aside some of it and give it a try," Riki said with a smile.
Toyokawa Sakiko hesitated, then said, "Then we'll split the bill. You can't treat me."
Before you continue