Rock Girl Descends Beside Me!

"I certainly do," Chihaya Anon retorted, displeased. "Don't you know how hard it is to be a guitarist when you're a drummer?"

"Huh?" Shiina Rikki's eyes widened. "It's clearly you who hasn't been practicing seriously. Practice harder!"

Seeing that Shiina Rikki, a god who had mastered pressure, was starting to apply it, Riki stepped forward to mediate. "Anon isn't playing very well, it's true, but practice also takes time."

"Exactly!" Chihaya Anon said quickly, seeing she had someone backing her up.

However, Shiina Rikki, whose soul was bound by gravity, wouldn't be so easily dissuaded. "Are you always making excuses like this?"

These words seemed to pierce through Chihaya Anon's defenses.

Warning, warning!

"Alright, that's enough for today!" Riki clapped his hands together.

He knew further training would be ineffective. As a music student, he sometimes had conflicts with classmates and knew that the most important thing at times like these was to calm down.

The first day of practice for the five of them ended on a sour note, leaving Riki very worried. The Taku Team's future seemed even more difficult than what he'd seen in anime.

What a bunch of unbelievable pressure monsters.

If this keeps up, I'm going to start falling in love with Teacher Da Xiang.

The moonlight rose, and the streetlights shone brightly.

Chihaya Anon, carrying her guitar on her back, kicked at a stone on the road, muttering, "It was just a little bit off, why get so angry? I'll just practice more."

She was unhappy, but she vaguely knew her own problem and subconsciously started to avoid it.

No, it's not my fault!

It's Rikki's fault!

Chihaya Anon walked faster and faster, and suddenly bumped into someone.

"Sorry!" Chihaya Anon looked up and saw it was Riki. "Riki, what are you doing here?"

"My friend is getting off work, and I'm going to pick her up. You look like you're sulking." Riki said.

"Of course!" Chihaya Anon finally found someone to talk to and quickly said, wanting to vent her grievances.

******

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Chapter Sixteen: A Lifetime, A Lifetime!

On the overpass, Chihaya Anon complained to Riki, "Listen to me, Rikki doesn't understand how hard I'm trying at all. The guitar is the hardest instrument to learn. How could a drummer understand?"

Indeed, the big drum player didn't understand people.

But forgive her, in another Nijisaki setting, she was also pressured by a Heavy Woman, and recently she'd been pressuring herself into making Cherry Bombs.

"Riki, you think so too, right?" Chihaya Anon looked at Riki, seeking agreement. "You play so well, you must have spent a lot of time practicing, right?"

Chihaya Anon's eyes sparkled. Thinking of how cool Riki looked playing the guitar earlier, she started to imagine herself being popular at the school festival.

"Indeed, it took me several months to practice. It was quite difficult," Riki sighed.

Chihaya Anon: "?"

The difficulty you're talking about seems different from what I'm talking about?

"Ah…" Chihaya Anon sighed. It's impossible to communicate with a genius. "Riki is a genius, so he doesn't know how hard I'm studying."

"That being said, do you think about practicing while eating, walking, or showering?" Riki asked.

"No, no, no, that's too much, isn't it?" Chihaya Anon chuckled nervously.

"That's how I practiced," Riki shrugged.

"Eh?"

"If you think you can win on talent alone, this world would be too boring. If you don't rely on hard work, it becomes a story of the Tortoise and the Hare."

"You can only say that because you have talent, right?" Chihaya Anon pouted.

Riki frowned.

Okay, okay, so that still won't convince you?

Was I too gentle before, or are you going through a rebellious phase?

I'll send you to Mother Hen Card to adjust, and I'll be waiting for you to come back.

"Tap, tap-tap-tap–"

Raindrops fell on Riki's head, and then the downpour suddenly began. Large raindrops fell straight from the dark clouds in the sky, and a massive curtain of rain enveloped Tokyo.

"Whoa, Riki, this way! Let's go take shelter under that shop entrance…"

Riki and Chihaya Anon ran to the shop entrance, breathing a sigh of relief.

Looking at the rain before him, Riki began to worry if Toyokawa Sakiko had brought an umbrella.

If you don't use the word "rain" to describe how heavy it is, "Stop it, you two, don't fight anymore!"

Why am I in Tokyo and it's so surreal? Bilibili has ruined me.

"What bad luck..." Chihaya Anon sighed, looking at the heavy rain in front of her. It was just like her life, always encountering difficulties right when things were starting to look up.

She couldn't help but mutter to herself.

He didn't always want to run away, but what could she do when faced with something like this? It was like after the rain falls, you can only find shelter and stand there blankly.

Suddenly, Chihaya Anon felt a lightness on her shoulder. She turned her head and saw Riki taking out her guitar.

"Since there's nothing else to do right now, we might as well play the guitar, right?" Riki said with a smile.

"Huh? Now?" Chihaya Anon was taken aback and quickly waved her hands. "No, no, it's not good here, and it will disturb others..."

"Listen up, Anon. Here's some advice from a mature university student: worry about the consequences after you've done it." Riki flashed a triumphant smile that stunned Chihaya Anon. His smile was a little mischievous, but not unpleasant.

"I think the song goes something like this..." Riki tried playing two notes. Chihaya Anon noticed calluses on his fingers.

"This song is called Fireworks. It's a song I practice often..."

"The coast we gazed at that day."

Sanae Shiko was drinking at an izakaya when she heard guitar music from outside, but she didn't pay much attention. It was probably some high school student nearby trying to impress a girl. Not all high school students were as talented as Mikumura Shioka, whom she managed. As a seasoned manager, she could accurately distinguish good from bad.

"What a great rain. I'm exhausted from arranging activities for Hatsuka these past few days..." Sanae Shiko stretched and noticed the guitar music outside was still going on. Because the guitar playing was good, she couldn't help but start analyzing it.

The guitar was a bit out of tune, probably because the owner hadn't maintained it well. An amateur, but the playing was incredibly accurate. An old hand, no, a master.

Sanae Shiko unconsciously put down her wine glass and listened intently.

Known in the entertainment industry as the 'Ghost of Music,' she wouldn't let any mistake slip by.

To Sanae Shiko's surprise, someone even started singing outside. It was a song she hadn't heard before, and the quality was top-notch, with excellent vocals too.

This wasn't an amateur at all; it was like a seasoned veteran who had been through the wringer for decades!

If it weren't for the slightly youthful voice, she would have suspected some old geezer was playing a trick on her.

Sanae Shiko listened carefully, realizing the rain was too loud, making it hard to hear clearly.

What a damn rain, stop already!

Sanae Shiko was anxious. If nothing went wrong, this was a genius-level singer-songwriter. If she could sign them, they would definitely become as popular as Mikumura Shioka, no, even more so!

She had to call them to a halt immediately.

Sanae Shiko walked to the entrance of the izakaya and could only vaguely see two figures through the curtain of rain: a pretty young girl and a handsome young boy. The one playing the guitar and singing was the boy.

Why isn't the rain stopping!

Sanae Shiko was frantic. Just as she finally waited for the rain to stop and was about to run over to find them, someone stopped her. She turned to see the owner pointing at her table with a gentle expression.

She hadn't paid yet.

Sanae Shiko quickly looked across the street. The people were gone.

No!!!

"Riki, you're amazing! You can even write songs?" Chihaya Anon exclaimed in surprise.

"Of course, but I didn't write this one," Riki said, handing the guitar back to Chihaya Anon.

"Now you understand, right? If you want to get good at guitar, you have to practice hard. As long as you persevere, you'll experience the 'Happy Valley effect' ... I mean, that kind of effect," Riki said.

But strangely, Chihaya Anon didn't reply. She just stared at him intently.

Was she mesmerized by her buddy?

Indeed, her buddy was mesmerized by himself.

Riki waved his hand in front of her, and Chihaya Anon finally reacted, her face flushing slightly. She chuckled and said, "Let's just leave it at that."

What do you mean, 'leave it at that'? What do you think of my careful guidance? Are you worthy of the Happy Valley effect... Riki fumed.

Chihaya Anon, her cheeks red, as if hiding something, trotted forward. She waved back at Riki and said, "I'm very forgetful, so Riki, please teach me again next time..."

"How many times do I have to teach you?" Riki muttered.

"Didn't Akari-chan say it?" Chihaya Anon smiled. "Forever!"

Are you playing vampires or something?

Watch me play top lane Malphite and crush you.

Riki's face darkened.

Seeing Riki's expression, Chihaya Anon couldn't help but cover her mouth and giggle. "See you tomorrow!"

It seems not everything in the world is bad.

"See you tomorrow," Riki said coolly, waving his hand.

A handsome guy should speak less.

"Who are you saying goodbye to?"

Riki suddenly heard a familiar voice from behind him. He turned around and saw Toyokawa Sakiko standing there.

Chapter 17: The Three National Treasures

Toyokawa Sakiko looked curiously in the direction Riki had waved goodbye and asked him.

Riki pondered for a moment, his mind racing. In that instant, the minds of all Malphite players worldwide crashed as computational power surged towards Tokyo, allowing Riki to calculate his only chance.

"This is my escape route!"

"I was chatting with a UFO," Riki said. Toyokawa Sakiko looked confused.

Damn, I knew Malphite players had no brains. Bronze-tier players, get out of our noble Zaun.

Toyokawa Sakiko seemed to realize something as she looked in the direction Chihaya Anon had left. She didn't say anything, just smiled at Riki and said, "Never mind, let's go get dinner."

"It rained, so I bet all the half-price bentos are sold out. We'll have to find somewhere to eat," Riki said. The only places he could see were izakayas, but that's for old men; bars, though he really wanted to see Bunny Girls, he'd pass for now; and KFC... Whoa, ice!

"It looks like KFC is our only option," Riki said.

"KFC? I've never been before, but will it be too expensive?" Toyokawa Sakiko asked with curiosity in her eyes.

Before, I was too rich to eat this kind of common fast food, and now I'm too poor to afford this kind of fancy fast food. It's two extremes.

"Didn't we make a little money from our videos? Let's use a bit of it to try it out," Riki said with a smile.

Toyokawa Sakiko hesitated for a moment. "Then we'll split the bill, you can't treat me."