Spending too much time around weird people tends to make you weird, too.
Aoki thought there was some truth to that.
Take now, for example—after hanging around Ryo for a while, he knew full well that her inviting him out to eat definitely had some kind of ulterior motive.
And yet…
He was curious. Even a little excited to see what kind of nonsense she'd pull this time.
...Does looking forward to that count as some kind of low-key masochism?
His thoughts had drifted a bit too far. Kei snapped back to reality and focused on his phone again.
Reading Ryo's latest message, he hesitated for a second before replying instead of declining.
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[Ramen or a sushi set maybe? I just happen to be in the Shinjuku shopping district right now.]
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Ryo's replies were always fast.
[Weird Bassist]: You just happen to be in Shinjuku? I remember there's a place called Honkawa around there. Pretty good food… Want to try it?
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Honkawa, huh… Kei remembered that place.
If he recalled correctly, it was right next to the café he was currently sitting in.
Close by. Convenient.
Kei wasn't picky when it came to lunch.
And since Ryo suggested the place and he was practically already there, he had no reason to object.
Still… he needed to keep his guard up.
This was Ryo, after all.
Thinking it over for a moment, he replied:
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[Honkawa sounds good. I'm right next to it, so I'll go wait inside.]
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Shinjuku wasn't far from Shibuya, so even if he had to wait, it wouldn't take long.
He could finish his coffee and hang around for ten minutes or so.
She'd probably be there by then.
After sending the message, Kei casually stirred his coffee with a spoon while watching his phone screen, waiting for her reply.
But unlike her usual quick responses, Ryo didn't reply for quite a while this time.
The message was marked as "read" already, though...
Even the sugar cubes in his cup had fully dissolved.
Staring at their chat, Kei frowned slightly.
Just as he was about to send another message to follow up, Ryo's reply suddenly popped up.
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[Weird Bassist]: You're right next to Honkawa, huh…
[Weird Bassist]: After lunch, are you headed to the live house for practice? But Shinjuku's kind of out of the way from STARRY.
[Weird Bassist]: August is sooo hot...
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Three messages in a row—none of them really addressed what he'd just said.
Still, reading them, Kei couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
He had a feeling he knew exactly what she was hinting at.
And then, as if confirming it, she sent another message almost immediately:
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[Weird Bassist]: How about this—Honkawa does takeout, right?
Since you're so close, why don't you pick up the food and bring it over to my place?
I'll pay you back later... My house is really close to the live house.
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"..."
Kei's spoon stopped mid-stir as he read her message, unsure how to even begin responding.
So much for being cautious—she just flat-out revealed her true objective.
That familiar wave of exasperation bubbled up again.
Staring at the screen and confirming she wasn't joking, Kei sighed.
Then, after a short pause, he typed back:
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[Are you serious, Miss Bassist? Bringing food to your place—won't your family get the wrong idea?]
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Her reply came faster than ever.
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[Weird Bassist]: Don't worry. My parents are both out working. I'm home alone.
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"..."
That answer… made him more worried, actually.
No matter how you looked at it, that statement had very questionable implications.
But then again…
If it were anyone else saying that, it might be a problem—but this was Ryo.
Sure, she was absurdly cute, but with her weirdness, it was hard to see her in that kind of light.
Still… bringing takeout to Ryo's house?
Kei took a sip of coffee, still undecided.
Maybe sensing his hesitation, Ryo followed up with another couple of messages:
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[Weird Bassist]: Also, I've been struggling with some arrangement stuff lately. Wanted someone to talk it through with.
[Weird Bassist]: I'm counting on you, suki-san.
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She even followed it with a sticker of Kumamon doing a deep bow.
It was… shockingly normal.
Totally unlike her usual sticker selection, which mostly included creepy white-faced geisha emojis or that goofy mascot from Gunma Prefecture, Subacchii—the one with a head way too big for its body.
Anyway, back to the point.
The whole "struggling with arrangements" excuse was probably made up.
But taking food to her place wasn't exactly a big deal.
And truthfully, Kei didn't really mind.
His coffee had become a bit too sweet after the sugar fully dissolved, so after one last sip, he decided to leave it.
Setting the cup aside, he glanced at Ryo's messages once more.
After thinking it over briefly, he typed out his final reply:
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[Alright then.]
[Anything you feel like eating? I'll grab it from Honkawa.]
[Also, I'll need your address.]
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…
Like mentioned earlier, Kei wasn't far from Ryo's place.
He estimated it'd take about twenty minutes to get there, even accounting for walking time.
Of course, he'd still need to wait a bit for the food to be prepared...
Not bothering with the rest of his coffee, Kei left the café after confirming Ryo's address.
He headed next door to Honkawa, ordered a few dishes to-go, and waited about ten minutes before the staff brought them out, neatly packed.
After paying and thanking them, he stepped outside once more.
Double-checking the address one last time, Kei—now acting as a temporary delivery guy—began walking toward the station, on his way to Ryo's house.