Nagasaki Soyo watched coldly from the side. She had no idea why Riki's band was making such a commotion. They had done absolutely no preparation before the performance. Were they really university students?
Could it be that the legendary inequality—one high school student equals three university students—was actually true?
Nagasaki Soyo sighed. If Riki failed the assessment this time, he couldn't blame her, right? After all, his classmates didn't seem very reliable.
Listening to the drummer tap out the beat with her sticks, Nagasaki Soyo instinctively began to play.
But she froze the moment she started. Several instruments instantly merged together, with clear rhythm and layering, none of them competing for attention. The classroom that had just been filled with noise transformed into a professional concert hall in the next instant.
She was the one dragging them down instead. Nagasaki Soyo hurried to follow, but she was still a little short of the mark.
What she hadn't expected was that the other instruments had even improvised to support her, with Riki's piano being especially obvious.
I can manage without your help...
Nagasaki Soyo couldn't help complaining inwardly, but her lowered head still revealed a faint smile.
The performance ended quickly. Nagasaki Soyo looked up at Riki and his classmates. Without a doubt, all of them were at a professional level—in ordinary terms, they were geniuses. And Riki, who controlled the rhythm, was even more outstanding than normal people could imagine.
That noisy band from earlier was actually this amazing?
Nagasaki Soyo thought.
The atmosphere was completely different from that of her former band, Crychic. There are really bands like this?
She couldn't help becoming curious about what Riki was usually like when he stayed here.
"You're Soyo, right? Your performance was very good. They're university students, after all, so it's normal for them to be a little better than you. I'm really looking forward to seeing how you grow in the future." An old woman among the teachers below spoke to Nagasaki Soyo in Japanese.
Nagasaki Soyo had seen her on the forums. She was a first-class Japanese performer. Being able to understand her made Nagasaki Soyo a little nervous, especially since the other woman held such a prestigious title.
"Thank you for the compliment. I'll work hard!"
"Riki-kun is also a very good boy. Remember, don't let someone else snatch him away."
"...Huh?"
"Why are you looking so murderous? What did I do?"
Riki frowned. Could Nagasaki Soyo have discovered his Supreme Bone during the performance and decided that her Twin Pupils weren't invincible enough? Did she want to dig out his abstract bone—no, his Supreme Bone?
Little Soyo, Twin Pupils are already the path to invincibility. Forget what comes after that.
"Nothing." Nagasaki Soyo snorted and walked toward the school gate with Riki.
She had actually been mistaken for his girlfriend. What a ridiculous misunderstanding. How could she possibly like someone like Riki?
Still, when Nagasaki Soyo recalled what had just happened, the feeling of being acknowledged warmed her heart.
To some extent, she had to thank Riki. But Nagasaki Soyo couldn't bring herself to say it.
If she said it aloud, wouldn't that amount to admitting that Riki was an impressive person?
Nagasaki Soyo felt somewhat conflicted. Suddenly, raindrops struck her head. When she looked up, heavy rain began falling before long.
Riki hurriedly grabbed Nagasaki Soyo and ran toward the convenience store ahead to take shelter, but even in that short time, both of them were drenched like drowned rats.
Although spring had arrived, March still carried a hint of winter's chill. After being soaked by the rain, cold air spread through her, and Nagasaki Soyo couldn't help rubbing her arms.
It's so cold.
Nagasaki Soyo's slender arms trembled slightly. She regretted going out in such thin clothes today. Although she had worn a coat, it was more decorative than practical and offered no protection from the cold at all.
"Soyo, lend me your coat for a bit. I'm freezing over here."
"Don't call me by my name. And don't you have a coat too? Shouldn't you be lending yours to me?" Nagasaki Soyo said irritably. He really had no manliness at all, asking her for her clothes. Normally, shouldn't he be giving his to her?
Although she definitely would have refused...
"Is that so? You're right. Here, take mine!"
Before Nagasaki Soyo's inner monologue was even halfway complete, she saw Riki toss his coat over her. It still carried his body heat, making her freeze for a moment.
This guy definitely guessed that I would refuse, so that's why he said it like that, right?
Nagasaki Soyo glared fiercely at Riki.
She hesitated, then draped half the coat over Riki as well. Their shoulders pressed together. Riki could feel her soft skin and warm breath, and he looked at her in surprise.
Riki genuinely wanted to keep her warm. He had no ulterior motives.
Nagasaki Soyo was almost leaning into Riki's arms. Unlike the accidental embrace in the elevator last time, she had taken the initiative this time. Even so, her face flushed red as she whispered, "I just don't want to owe you anything. I only need to borrow it for a little while."
This Tsundere suits Soyo's constitution better, since she hasn't been through a nuclear blast.
Riki felt that if he said one more thing, she would go full Eva Unit-01 berserk, so he obediently nodded. There was only one thought in his mind.
The mom role is so gentle.
Nagasaki Soyo listened to the sound of the rain, her eyelids drooping slightly as she felt the warmth coming from Riki's body. She gently clutched the coat.
...So warm.
She whispered it softly in her heart.
Chapter 34: Riki, the Fermented Tofu, Step Forward!
The rain fell so heavily that it seemed as if the entire world were raining, leaving everything shrouded in mist.
Riki looked at the curtain of rain before him. He and Nagasaki Soyo stood beneath the eaves.
"You seem to have a very good relationship with your bandmates," Nagasaki Soyo suddenly said.
"You mean that bunch of wretches—my beloved friends? They're talented students too. It's just that, as you know, there's only a fine line between a genius and an absolute madman. Everyone in the band except me is a little mentally unstable. I suspect they're secretly playing anime mobile games too, but we can't discriminate against minorities, so we get along fairly well," Riki said.
The group chat was extremely cold. Most of their usual interactions consisted of sending large numbers of lewd pictures and red envelopes.
Red envelopes containing a single cent each.
But every time, they had to grab them. If they got one, they cursed the sender for being stingy; if they didn't, they cursed whoever had grabbed it. Then everyone begged the big boss to send more lewd pictures.
It was filled with the normal harmony and friendship found between university students.
But there was no need to share this kind of male bonding with Nagasaki Soyo.
"What a strange band dynamic." Nagasaki Soyo turned her face away as she judged them. "It's nothing like Crychic."
Yes, yes, personal attacks, is it?
Feels inferior to Mygo... Crychic.
Riki looked at Nagasaki Soyo's profile. It was filled with the beauty of a girl in her youth. The brown strands of hair wet against her cheeks added a touch of vulnerability to her already excellent features. Even the Bilibili thirst-trap section—no, the dance section would have been green with envy.
Although Nagasaki Soyo was deeply sentimental, Riki knew that she was a great holder of the Friendship Badge, one who upheld the essence of the quit-the-band route just like Yamato.
The only thing she loved was Crychic. Her attitude toward Mygo was: We don't need this anymore.
A purely wicked woman.
But she wasn't wicked enough, which made her seem a little clever.
"I think Crychic is great too, but life always has to move forward..." Riki said. "Sakiko isn't coming back."
"That isn't for you to decide. I'll definitely bring Sakiko back!" Nagasaki Soyo said stubbornly.
It seemed she still had no intention of giving up on her dream of restoring Great Crychic.
And lately, she had even been practicing the Dragon Field Enlightenment at Riki's house. She might just attain some world-shaking wisdom!
Riki reached a hand outside and saw that the rain had lightened a little. He said to Nagasaki Soyo, "The rain's lighter now. Let's hurry to the subway station."
"Now? It's still raining!" Nagasaki Soyo froze.
"It'll rain heavily all day today. If we don't run over during this break, we might as well wait here with Totoro for the bus!"
Totoro?
This guy's metaphor was actually kind of cute.
Does he often watch Studio Ghibli movies?
Nagasaki Soyo thought.
"If you run fast enough, you won't get wet. Can you run a hundred meters in under ten seconds?" Riki asked Nagasaki Soyo.
I believe in the strength of the Nagasaki people.
Everyone I knew there was an acquaintance.
They were all pretty fierce, able to tank nuclear bombs.
I haven't seen anyone since then, though.
Nagasaki Soyo said irritably, "Idiot, that's the world-record standard. Who can do that?"
Are you looking down on athletes?
Riki frowned.
"Don't assume Tsukinomori being a school for young ladies means we're bad at sports. I'm my class's representative in the school athletic meet. I even came in third," Nagasaki Soyo said calmly.
Impressive, impressive, impressive!
So you're going to act all cocky, huh?
If you lose to me later, buy me a Little Pudding ice cream.
Watermelon flavor, by the way.
"Go! Go! Go!" Seeing that the rain had lightened again, Riki grabbed Nagasaki Soyo by the wrist and hurried into the rain, running toward the subway station.
Nagasaki Soyo lived up to her reputation as a good runner. She was indeed quite fast, but she was still a high school girl, and compared with Riki, a university student, she was slightly slower. Riki pulled her along by the hand and sped her up—Soyo, I'm accelerating!
As Riki ran, he realized that he had gone the wrong way. Without changing expression, he changed direction.
"You went the wrong way!?" Nagasaki Soyo asked in disbelief. He had actually made her get even wetter.
"Without weathering the storm, how can you see the rainbow!"
Riki shouted loudly. He was too embarrassed to face anyone, so he could only pull out a lyric to cover up his blunder.
Damn, the rain's too heavy. I didn't check the map. The mouse is acting up, the connection lagged...
Nagasaki Soyo sighed deeply and glanced sideways at Riki as he ran forward, rainwater covering his face. He always positioned himself on the side from which the rain was coming, so she was essentially using him as a shield.
After running for several minutes, they finally reached the subway station. The people nearby looked curiously at the two young people. The boy was soaked through, but his handsome features were still clear. The girl had gotten slightly less wet, and she was beautiful enough to look like a celebrity.
"Are you an idiot? I don't need you to shield me!" Nagasaki Soyo said irritably.
The passersby sighed as they looked at Riki. How had someone so young already become a clown? That beautiful girl clearly had no idea how much he had done for her. Just let go, kid.
Taking tissues from her bag, Nagasaki Soyo reached out and wiped the rain from Riki's face, completely ignoring the fact that her own body was still wet from the rain.
The passerby's mouth twitched. He knowingly put on a red nose and let his companion, Batman, carry him away.
Riki hadn't expected Nagasaki Soyo to wipe the rain off him. "Thanks."
In Japanese, are you supposed to say arigatou nasu?
"Don't misunderstand. I just couldn't stand watching you act so stupidly. If you catch a cold, I'll feel guilty, that's all. Only someone like you would do something this foolish," Nagasaki Soyo said calmly. "Sit down over there. I'll wipe the back of your neck. Water has gotten inside your collar, so it'll be uncomfortable."
"Okay."
Because Nagasaki Soyo's motherly power was too strong, Riki unconsciously obeyed and sat down.
After Nagasaki Soyo finished wiping him off, she threw the tissues into the trash and said, "All done. Let's go."
"Yes, Maden!" Riki said.
Huh? Wait, why am I the one stepping forward here?
I'm not fermented tofu.
"I'm soaked! I'm soaked!"
Don't get the wrong idea.
Before you continue