It was 1:42 PM—right around the time most students would still be in class.
After Aoki sent his message, the other members of Kessoku Band didn't respond right away.
Then, just after 2 o'clock, replies began to trickle in—most likely right after class ended.
Even though they didn't go to the same school, Kita and Nijika somehow messaged almost at the exact same time:
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[Nijika]: "Whoa!!!! First place! In a competition this big!"
[Kita Kita]: "First place! We have to celebrate this weekend, right? Group dinner or something?"
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A few seconds later, Ryo chimed in too:
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Weird Bassist: "I want eel rice."
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...Eel rice?
Reading Ryo Yamada's message, Aoki tried to recall any restaurants in Shibuya known for serving great eel rice.
...Nothing came to mind.
Wait—maybe it wasn't that he couldn't remember.
It was probably just that he'd never had good eel rice in Shibuya to begin with, so no restaurants stood out.
He gave up trying to remember and instead focused back on the group chat.
The girls had started talking about how to celebrate their victory.
After Ryo's "I want eel rice," the conversation shifted to a new topic: If they were doing a group dinner, what should they eat?
Aoki didn't jump into the conversation.
The initial rush of excitement from winning had already passed, and now that some time had gone by since first seeing the results, his emotions had settled.
With a clearer head, he began thinking about the rewards tied to winning the contest.
The ¥600,000 prize wasn't the most important thing.
Far more significant was the opportunity to produce a full album—with all expenses covered by PVC Records.
That was the real reward.
Producing an album takes a lot of money.
Normally, making an album goes through three phases:
Planning & Concept: Finalize the band's image and musical style, then pick the right songs to include.
Production: Once the tracks are selected, rehearse and record them, followed by editing and mastering.
Post-Production: Promote the album, shoot cover photos, prepare for distribution, and all the cleanup work.
An album typically includes around ten songs. Just recording and mixing those ten alone is expensive.
Promotion and distribution? Even more so.
Two months ago, before deciding to join the Be Original / Rock Band Showcase, Aoki had memorized the contest's rulebook.
He remembered clearly: unlike the prize money, which could be picked up anytime and without any conditions, the "full-funded album production" came with very specific terms.
The deadline was one year from the day rankings were announced.
The requirement? Finalize a ten-song track list and sign a contract with PVC Records regarding the album.
And then there was the matter of the contract itself...
Even though PVC was funding everything, they were still a business.
They weren't doing this out of pure goodwill.
That said, because it was a prize for the winning band, the contract terms were relatively fair—revenue-sharing after release, marketing plans dependent on song quality, and so on.
But none of that could be finalized until the ten songs were selected.
So for now, Aoki focused on two immediate concerns:
First: Finalizing ten original songs within a year.
That wasn't too difficult.
Kessoku Band could do it. In fact, Aoki still had 600 unused points left in the system, which could help.
Second: Ensuring the band had the skill to perform those songs well.
Right now, Kessoku Band still lacked polish.
Even if they managed to prepare ten songs, Aoki wasn't confident they could practice and perform them all at a high level.
Fortunately, they had time—365 full days to get ready.
There was still plenty of room to grow.
But they had just finished an intense period of training.
To immediately dive into another grind might be a bit much...
His attention drifted back to the group chat.
The dinner plan had seemingly been decided:
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[Kita Kita]: "There's this place near Shibuya Center Street that does really great eel rice, and the atmosphere's nice too. Want to go there?"
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After a brief pause, the other three responded:
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[Nijika]: "Kita-chan, you know so many good places~"
[Bocchi-chan]: "Okay..."
[Ryo]: [white-faced geisha nodding.jpg]
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No one objected.
Maybe it was because Aoki hadn't said anything that Kita then tagged him directly in the chat:
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[Kita Kita]: "So we'll make the reservation there, then? @Aoki-senpai Do you have any thoughts?"
Staring at his phone screen, Aoki blinked and replied with a simple:
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["Anything works for me."]
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He hesitated for a moment.
Then made up his mind.
He decided not to bring up the whole "We need to raise our skill level and start prepping the album seriously" thing. Not yet.
He could bring it up at the celebration.
For now, letting everyone rest a little didn't sound like a bad idea...
Since Kita had already made weekend plans with a classmate, the dinner was scheduled for Sunday at noon.
After the brief flurry of excitement in the chat, things went quiet again—everyone still had classes, after all.
Aoki stayed in for the afternoon and took a short nap.
With finals only ten days away, he studied alone in his apartment after waking up.
When evening came, he went out to eat.
Taking advantage of the cooler evening weather, he wandered around a bit before returning home.
After a quick shower, he went to bed early.