Rock Girl Descends Beside Me!

You're saying that too?!

You really see me as a bro, huh?

Riki stared blankly at Toyokawa Sakiko.

Toyokawa Sakiko also froze for a moment, her face flushing like a ripe apple. She quickly waved her hands, so fast they became a blur, "No, no, no..."

After her triple denial, she didn't know what else to say and stood awkwardly. She just whispered, "Are the clothes dry? I need to take them back."

Dry?

Riki subconsciously rubbed the clothes in his hands and nodded, "They're dry."

Huh?

What did I just do?

Toyokawa Sakiko, her face still red, glared at Riki. She quickly took the bra and panties from his hands and put them back into the plastic box in her 'bedroom'. Her face was still burning hot, and her heart was pounding incredibly fast.

"These undergarments, they don't look bad, do they?" Toyokawa Sakiko whispered, looking at the light blue bra in her hand.

Will Riki like them?

But he looked so calm just now, maybe he didn't like them?

But when the girls in class talked about boys, they always said they liked these things. Is Riki different?

Toyokawa Sakiko's mood was anxious, and she muttered, "You should at least act a little more excited."

Riki took a hot shower. Springtime Tokyo was a mix of ice and fire. Although the scenery was nice, with cherry blossoms and many popular attractions, there was also a lot of pollen. Riki tried his best, but the pollen was just too strong.

"Riki, can I come into your room?" Toyokawa Sakiko's clear voice came from outside the bathroom.

Actually, the bathroom would have been fine too.

Riki agreed through the door. After his shower, he saw Toyokawa Sakiko carrying a small table into the room. She looked up and smiled at him, "I've been having some problems with my studies lately. Could you help guide me?"

Riki, please guide me!

Sakiko was probably thinking that.

Of course, Riki was always indifferent. Japan's relaxed education system wasn't too troublesome for Riki, who had come from the hellish difficulty of China. Moreover, this was just first-year high school knowledge.

"When I was at home before, I had a tutor, but my grades have been a bit up and down recently. Although I can still get scholarships, I need to study harder to be safe," Toyokawa Sakiko said.

Go to school in the morning, work part-time after school in the afternoon, and study a bit longer in the evening for scholarships to supplement the household income. She also had to spend thirty minutes before bed conceptualizing Mujica's worldview.

Sakiko, the diligent little bee.

"I can't teach you Japanese, but the rest should be fine," Riki said, sitting down next to Toyokawa Sakiko.

Sitting next to me?

Toyokawa Sakiko's heart skipped a beat. She pretended to look seriously at the test paper in her hands.

"For this math problem, you can use L'Hôpital's Rule, ah, no..."

Riki wanted to slap himself.

L'Hôpital's Rule for everything, huh?

No wonder your math score is 120.

Riki thought carefully and solved each problem with Toyokawa Sakiko. Although the academic systems of the two countries were different, mathematics was universal. Toyokawa Sakiko herself was smart and often understood things immediately.

Amazing, amazing.

"Oh, right, I told Mutsuki about Mujica today. She said she needs to think about it, which surprised me a little. She didn't agree immediately. It seems she's grown too," Toyokawa Sakiko suddenly said, smiling slightly.

"Speaking of which, how are Akari-chan and the others' practice sessions? Didn't you go over there?"

"Yes, they've improved a lot."

"And then?" Toyokawa Sakiko continued, "Where did you go to come back so late?"

"Sose's house had a power outage, and her mother was injured and couldn't come back for a while, so I went to help her," Riki said.

Sose?

Did he just use her name?

Toyokawa Sakiko's mind conjured up Nagasaki Sose's face.

"Since that's the case, there's nothing that can be done," Toyokawa Sakiko said with a smile.

Why does her expression look a little scary?

Riki continued to look at books with Toyokawa Sakiko. This time they were learning English. Sakiko's English was actually quite good, but the only problem was... her Japanese pronunciation was too fatal.

It was like Ultraman being pronounced as "Go-ro-to-man."

However, Sakiko didn't have any immediate plans to go abroad, so there was no need to be too demanding.

Riki, who had passed CET-4 in his first year of university, blurted out a perfectly pronounced "abandon."

Sorry, that's all I remembered after passing.

Toyokawa Sakiko found Riki's conflicted expression amusing and said, "It seems our pronunciation really is different."

Perhaps it's the issue of male and female vocal cords, Sakiko-bao, you don't need to worry about it.

"Riki, how do you pronounce this?" Toyokawa Sakiko asked, pointing to a word in the book.

"Love," Riki replied after a glance.

"Mine is love too," Toyokawa Sakiko said with a smile, looking at Riki. "It seems our 'love' is the same. If I were to say 'I love you,' it should be the same too."

Riki froze for a moment. Toyokawa Sakiko tucked a strand of her blue hair behind her ear, her delicate ear turning bright red as she secretly glanced at him.

Toyokawa Sakiko, you succubus!

"It really is the same," Riki said.

With the performance drawing near, Riki was called to Ring again.

However, the moment he walked in, he saw Nagasaki Sose's smiling face.

Danger!

Chapter 56: Riki's Pressure on Anon

Riki walked into the Ring café and scanned the front counter, only spotting Narita Michi senpai. He didn't see Shiina Riki. He walked to a seat and sat down.

Looks like there won't be any of Riki's thoughtful little notes today.

Disappointing.

"Are you very disappointed that you didn't see Riki-chan?" Nagasaki Sose said with a smile. "I'm truly sorry for sitting here. Riki-chan and Akari-chan will be here shortly."

Sarcasm?

This traditional Japanese art is really putting the pressure on Riki.

"You went to see Mutsuki-chan yesterday, didn't you?" Nagasaki Sose looked at Riki.

"She was the one waiting for me, just a short while after I left your place," Riki tried to recreate the scene.

"But the result is the same, isn't it?"

Damn, taking things out of context, 'girl help girl,' is that it?

"She just came to ask me about something, something related to Sakiko," Riki said, propping his face up with his hand. "On the other hand, you don't often bully her at school, do you?"

"I'm Mutsuki-chan's good friend," Nagasaki Sose said with a smile.

A woman's good friend is like a man's game library. Once a new game is released, the old ones can be stored away and never played again.

Riki looked at Nagasaki Sose and said, "You should face reality too. Crychic can't go back. Isn't joining a new band a good thing now?"

Nagasaki Sose's expression immediately changed, and she coldly looked at Riki. "This is a matter for the five of us in Crychic, it has nothing to do with you, an outsider."

"But you are all my friends, I can't just ignore it." Riki said.

Nagasaki Sose paused, her hand holding the black tea. Her eyelids drooped, and after a moment, she said, "If that's how you feel, then don't get involved anymore."

That way, at least we can still maintain our friendship.

Nagasaki Sose bit her lower lip.

Her resolve was firm. From the very beginning, she only wanted the five members of Crychic.

But Riki's sudden appearance had drastically changed her plans. Nagasaki Sose disliked Riki, at least at first...

However, as time went on, Nagasaki Sose realized that Riki wasn't that detestable. Moreover, spending time with him was often enjoyable.

This was the biggest problem.

She, of all people, wanted Riki to stay by her side.

Lying in bed late at night, Nagasaki Sose had thought more than once how wonderful it would have been if Riki had joined when Crychic was first formed.

If Riki had been there, Crychic might not have disbanded. Riki would have helped Sakiko resolve her difficulties, and they would have all helped Toyokawa Sakiko together. They would still be the best of friends.

But dreams don't come true. The cruel reality was—Riki arrived too late.

Riki came to her side only after Nagasaki Sose woke up from her dream.

--Nagasaki Sose would never give up on Crychic. What about Riki?

Nagasaki Sose didn't know herself. She was wavering. She even vaguely sensed a terrifying truth—when she was with Riki, she felt as secure as she did in Crychic.

Riki looked at Nagasaki Sose. They were both silent.

"Sorry I'm late. I spent a little too much time on the new song... What's wrong with you two?"

Shiina Riki rushed into the Ring café and suddenly saw Riki and Nagasaki Sose sitting face to face in silence. In Shiina Riki's mind, both of them were people who knew how to converse. Logically, they should have had as many topics as Fukushima's radiation, so why were they both silent now?

"It's nothing, we were discussing the application of L'Hôpital's Rule in mathematics. The conclusion is that anything can be 'loped.' Sit down. Where are Akari and Anon?" Riki said.

"They'll be here soon. I've almost finished the new song. Can you take a look at it for me?" Shiina Riki asked Riki nervously.

"Sure," Riki said, using a bit of English. As he looked, he asked, "Did you skip your café shift to work on the new song? I thought there would be a note today."

"What note? I-I... I was just thanking you a little for your help before," Shiina Riki quickly explained.

Nagasaki Sose sipped her black tea, watching Riki and Shiina Riki.

Riki carefully examined the new song. Under Shiina Riki's nervous gaze, he nodded and said, "There aren't any major issues. I think this is a song that can be performed live. All that's left is to add the lyrics."

Shiina Riki breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. "Leave the lyrics to Akari. Her lyrics are better than anyone else's."

Shiina Riki, I advise you not to love her too much.

Your affection for Akari is practically overflowing from your face.

Just then, Chihaya Anon and Takamatsu Akari, classmates from the same school, also hurried over.

"Sorry, Akari and I were on duty today, so we're a little late," Chihaya Anon said. "Oh right, what are we discussing today? The band's outfits, styling, or maybe the name!"

Chihaya Anon's expression was excited.

"Huh?" Shiina Riki frowned, annoyed. "Those aren't things we need to be hung up on. The most important thing for a band is the performance."

Chihaya Anon was also displeased. "A girl band should definitely be prettier, and how can we attract people without a good name? I think you're the one who doesn't understand at all!"

Shiina Riki slammed the table hard and shouted, "Then I'll ask you, besides all that, have you practiced guitar at all? From the first practice until now, you've barely improved. Do you even realize we have a live performance coming up?"

"I... I know!" Chihaya Anon took a step back from the shouting and turned away, stammering, "I'll definitely practice it well before the live, anyway."

"And when is that?" Shiina Riki questioned. "Every time we talk about practice, you change the subject to outfits and names. What exactly are you avoiding?"

"I... I'm not avoiding anything."