Rock Girls Descend Upon My Side!

"Why did Sakiko-chan leave Crychic?" Nagasaki Sose asked coldly.

To her, Crychic had once been like family, but after Toyokawa Sakiko left and everyone fell apart, she didn't even know the reason behind it all.

How could she accept this?

That beautiful past, that warm place like family, those people full of laughter – she was determined to get it all back!

"Why don't you just ask her yourself?" Riki said casually.

"Don't talk nonsense!" Nagasaki Sose couldn't help but retort, glaring at Riki. "Didn't you cause this?"

"I can tell you clearly that I only met Sakiko after she left Crychic. And another thing... aren't you being a bit too arrogant?" Riki narrowed his eyes.

He recalled Toyokawa Sakiko crouching in the bathroom, silently crying last night. Even a heartless machine could see her helplessness.

Toyokawa Sakiko was at a low point in her life, facing pressures no ordinary girl should bear, yet Nagasaki Sose only dreamed of her own beautiful past.

"You only think about yourself," Riki said with a smile.

Nagasaki Sose clenched her fists and stared directly at Riki, her eyes full of rage. Regardless of whether Riki was involved in Sakiko leaving the band, she hated him!

Hated him intensely!

Just then, Takamatsu Akari suddenly spoke, looking cautiously at Riki. "So Riki, do you think Sakiko will come back?"

"You should ask her. I can't decide that for her, but she probably isn't thinking about these things right now," Riki replied.

"Does that mean you know the real reason Sakiko-chan left Crychic?" Nagasaki Sose quickly asked.

"I do."

Nagasaki Sose's eyes lit up.

"But I won't tell you," Riki said.

Nagasaki Sose's face darkened.

See? Impatient again.

Riki shook his head.

"I'm her friend, after all. I won't leak her personal privacy," Riki said calmly. Revealing the real reason would only hurt Toyokawa Sakiko again, and he wouldn't do that.

Nagasaki Sose took a deep breath. "I understand. Let's end our conversation here for today. We can continue next time. Let's exchange Lines first."

There would be a next time?

Riki looked displeased, but Nagasaki Sose forcefully added him. Riki saw that Nagasaki Sose had saved him as 'Annoyance'.

Damn it, she really looked down on him... Riki also changed Nagasaki Sose's contact name to 'Scheming Little Sister'.

Nagasaki Sose's face darkened.

Riki also exchanged contact information with Takamatsu Akari.

"Oh right, Akari-chan, your lucky color today is pink," Riki said to Takamatsu Akari with a smile.

Pink?

Takamatsu Akari was stunned. It wasn't until they were outside the cafe that Nagasaki Sose smiled gently at her. "Akari-chan, don't mind what that person says. I will definitely bring Sakiko-chan back. We will definitely return to how things were with Crychic."

Takamatsu Akari nodded. On her way home, she was suddenly called out by Chihaya Anon, who had just transferred.

"Takamatsu-san, do you have a band?" Chihaya Anon asked with a smile.

Pink hair... Takamatsu Akari thought as she looked at Chihaya Anon's floating pink hair.

It's a lucky color.

Riki looked at the giant screen on the skyscraper. The two beautiful girls on the screen were members of the idol group Sumimi, one of whom was Toyokawa Sakiko's childhood friend, Mikumura Shioka.

She had a very grand face.

"What are you looking at?" Riki asked, feeling hot coffee on his face. "Wasn't it cola?"

"That kind of drink is junk food, isn't it?" Toyokawa Sakiko said. She had just finished work and came over. Seeing Mikumura Shioka on the screen, her expression stirred, but she didn't say anything. She walked towards the supermarket with Riki.

"What did Sose want to talk to you about?" Toyokawa Sakiko asked.

"She asked why you left. Of course, I didn't say anything," Riki replied.

Loyalty!

A smile appeared on Toyokawa Sakiko's face. She pushed Riki into the supermarket and said, "Then tonight's half-price bento is up to you. I can never grab them before others."

The bentos in the supermarket were discounted at a certain time. Even a minute's delay meant missing the discount, so although they were half-price, the quality hadn't dropped too much, which was why many people rushed to get them.

"I heard half-price bentos are a war, divided into pig, dog, and wolf tiers. It's a death game..." Riki said with determination.

"As if," Toyokawa Sakiko said speechlessly.

After they bought their half-price bentos, Riki suddenly noticed Toyokawa Sakiko stiffen. Following her gaze, he saw a few girls in Tsukinomori school uniforms. The other party also noticed Toyokawa Sakiko and ran over. "It really is Sakiko! Where did you go to high school? Why aren't you at Tsukinomori anymore?"

"This..." Toyokawa Sakiko's expression was stiff, her breathing almost stopped. She forced a stiff smile. "It was arranged by my family."

"I see. What are you buying? Half-price bentos? Aren't those what salarymen buy after work?"

Sakiko Toyokawa forced a stiff smile, her shadow shrinking under the streetlamp as she hugged her arms, trembling and unable to speak.

Her pride felt like it was being carved out with a knife by her former classmates, causing her so much pain she couldn't breathe.

Suddenly, she heard Riki's voice, tinged with laughter—

"Sakiko-chan helped me buy this," Riki said with a smile. "I'm Sakiko-chan's music tutor. I'm only a freshman, but I'm pretty good. I didn't have time to buy food after class, so I came with her to get some."

Riki chatted with them with a smile, and after they left, he said to Sakiko Toyokawa, "Your former classmates?"

Sakiko Toyokawa lowered her head and nodded silently.

Her mood had hit rock bottom.

Her body felt heavy, like a walking corpse.

She wanted to cry out loud, but her pride wouldn't allow it. The twisted emotions made her body tremble.

"Smack!"

Sakiko Toyokawa covered the back of her head, looking at Riki in disbelief and angrily asking, "What are you doing!?"

"I'm transforming your sadness into anger," Riki said seriously.

I was afraid you'd get too emo and turn into a flying Sakiko.

"Then you succeeded. I really want to punch you right now," Sakiko Toyokawa said expressionlessly.

"We'll talk about it after you've eaten," Riki said with a smile.

Sakiko Toyokawa's stomach growled, and she blushed, glaring at Riki.

They returned to the rental apartment. Sakiko Toyokawa's father still hadn't come home. Riki didn't pry, just ate the bento box with her.

"I don't like green peppers," Riki said, his face contorted in pain.

"No picking your food," Sakiko Toyokawa said.

Riki saw the lingering emotions on her face from seeing her old classmates. It likely reminded her of past events, and the contrast with the present was stark, pain entwined around her.

He knew what he had to do.

Riki stood up and pulled Sakiko Toyokawa up with him.

"Hey, what are you doing...?" Sakiko Toyokawa, still lost in her emotions, asked flusteredly.

"I found a really beautiful place today. Let's go check it out together."

"It's already 8:30 at night!"

Riki found a bicycle nearby and secretly rode it, letting Sakiko Toyokawa sit behind him. "This bicycle has been left here for a long time. Let's borrow it for now."

"That's stealing," Sakiko Toyokawa said in disbelief.

"If you return it, it's not stealing," Riki said righteously. "Hold on tight, we're going to the Sky Tree!"

The Sky Tree?

Before Sakiko Toyokawa could react, Riki stood up and stomped on the pedal. The sudden acceleration made her instinctively hug Riki in front of her.

The wind whipped around them. It was Sakiko Toyokawa's first time riding on the back of such a fast bicycle. The neon lights around them blurred into streaks of light flowing backward. The colorful lights merged into one, adorning the night sky. Sakiko Toyokawa stared blankly at the scene.

"It's fast, right? I used to be called the Prince of Bicycles," Riki said with a smile.

"Idiot, it's too fast!" Sakiko Toyokawa couldn't help but exclaim.

"It's better when it's fast!"

A silver-haired girl with cat-like eyes by the roadside stared blankly as Riki, on her bicycle, sped through the traffic with another girl.

"An interesting person," Runa Kaname showed an interested expression.

Riki and Sakiko Toyokawa stood inside the red and white Sky Tree, looking down at the sleepless city of Tokyo, their faces illuminated by the lights.

"You think I've never seen this view before, being a local?" Sakiko Toyokawa said irritably.

"Yeah, I think you probably have," Riki said, rubbing his chin.

Sakiko Toyokawa pouted, looking at him. This guy was deliberately teasing her, wasn't he?

"But I haven't seen it yet," Riki said, smiling at Sakiko Toyokawa. "To be precise, I haven't seen it with you yet."

Sakiko Toyokawa froze.

"Even though you've seen this view many times, let's watch it together," Riki said with a smile. "You've definitely come here with many friends before, but this is my first time in Tokyo. To me, this is the most beautiful view, so I want to share it with you. Now... no, I want to share every view with you from now on."

"So please, don't give up," Riki said to the stunned Sakiko Toyokawa.

Sakiko Toyokawa felt her heart pound. All the grievances she had experienced in the past seemed to erupt like a bursting dam at that moment. Tears streamed down her face, tracing beautiful arcs down her cheeks before gathering at her chin and dripping onto the ground.

If it were before, Sakiko Toyokawa would have hidden her embarrassing state, just like when they were eating earlier. But now, she let the tears fall, simply staring at Riki.

Riki watched her with a smile. Sakiko Toyokawa looked beautiful even when she was crying.

"With what resolve did you say that?" Sakiko Toyokawa finally came back to her senses, looking at Riki with a cold snort.

Before Riki could reply, she continued, "Since you've said those words, you must be prepared to bear them for a lifetime. I won't allow you to run away halfway."

The Tokyo lights, filtering through the glass of the Sky Tree, cast a beautiful rosy hue on her face.

"Ah, of course," Riki said with a smile.

Toyokawa Sakiko's face softened, a stark contrast to the self-importance she usually carried. She suddenly pointed at Riki and said, "And that wasn't a confession just now, don't get the wrong idea!"

"What!? Damn it, I didn't manage to trick you. I thought I had you!" Riki said in disbelief.

"Haha!" Toyokawa Sakiko couldn't help but burst into laughter at his theatrical display. The reflection of Riki in her beautiful eyes, she chuckled softly, "Idiot!"

Chapter 7: The Right, The Apt

On the bustling Tokyo streets, Riki pushed his bicycle while walking home with Toyokawa Sakiko. The reason was that Riki had put too much force into it earlier and snapped the bike chain, and now the two were bickering.

"I wasn't crying just now, you definitely saw wrong," Toyokawa Sakiko said, crossing her arms.

"Pfft, I saw tears the size of soybeans, and you were crying so happily."

"It was definitely an illusion."

"Good thing I recorded it."

Toyokawa Sakiko's face instantly turned red. She reached out to grab Riki's phone. Riki dodged constantly, but Toyokawa Sakiko eventually snatched the phone. She opened it and saw there was no recorded video, letting out a sigh of relief before glaring at Riki, who was smiling happily.

Riki looked at Toyokawa Sakiko, whose eyes were still a little red. Although the situation hadn't changed, Toyokawa Sakiko seemed to be in a much better mood. At least she wasn't the "flying Sakiko" anymore. And whether it was his imagination or not, Riki felt that Toyokawa Sakiko wasn't as reserved around him as before.

It should be a good change, right?

As Riki was thinking, he saw a police officer on a bicycle stop next to them ahead.

"Hey, you two lovebirds, it's late. Hurry home. You're still minors, right?" the policeman frowned. With his forty years of single life, he could tell at a glance that the two in front of him were radiating the stench of love, which filled him with... admiration. So, he decided to maintain social order before they could do anything untoward.

"You kids better get back to studying, pronto!"