The read receipt showed up on her last message. A few seconds later, Kita sent another.
She changed the subject slightly:
————————————————————————
[KitaKita]: Speaking of which, Kei-senpai, on the way back from the live house today… I ran into another Kessoku Band fan!
[KitaKita]: They asked for my autograph and even wanted to know when we're releasing our next song!
[KitaKita]: Wow… I never imagined I'd actually be this well-known someday…
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Aoki stared at the series of messages piling up on his phone.
He blinked, hesitated for a few seconds, then quietly set the phone aside.
Reaching next to him, he picked up the light novel he had been reading earlier.
He slid in a bookmark, closed it neatly, and only then picked the phone back up to reply.
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[Aoki]: Well, considering you were trending on Twitter for several days straight, it's no surprise your popularity's gone up.
[KitaKita]: Mhm! I guess I'd better get used to it!
[KitaKita]: Kumamon pumping fist of motivation.jpg
[KitaKita]: Oh! And, and, Kei-senpai, listen to this——
[KitaKita]: While I was practicing at the live house this afternoon, I figured out this amazing new vocal technique!
I'm not totally sure if I'm doing it right, but when I used it, Bocchi and the store manager both said it sounded way better!
[KitaKita]: I think I'm onto something… I found this trick all by myself!
————————————————————————
Kita's messages always came packed with energy—exclamation points, emojis, playful phrasing.
Reading them, it almost felt like she was right beside you, chatting in person.
Aoki looked at the string of messages, his finger hovering over the screen. But he didn't reply immediately.
Messages like these—little slices of daily life, brimming with enthusiasm, what was he supposed to say back?
And not just these...
The homemade lunch she'd given him the other day.
The way she'd started calling him differently ever since the season turned to autumn...
How was he supposed to respond to all of it?
Aoki stared at her last message, the small "Read" mark beneath it. He hesitated... then finally typed out a short reply:
————————————————————————
[Aoki]: That's really impressive.
————————————————————————
A new message popped up almost instantly.
It seemed like Kita didn't really care how he replied.
Or maybe... as long as he replied at all, that alone gave her the motivation to keep going.
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[KitaKita]: Hehe, right? Impressive, huh, Kei-senpai!
[KitaKita]: Oh, oh! That song Bocchi-chan and Ryo-senpai wrote—I've been practicing it super seriously!
[KitaKita]: It's kinda embarrassing to say this, but I think my guitar skills have leveled up just a bit!
[KitaKita]: Want to hear me play and sing it?
————————————————————————
Aoki blinked at the last message.
He was about to type out a polite refusal when a call notification suddenly lit up the screen.
Next to him, Hikigaya, who was wearing headphones, looked up at the ringing sound.
When he saw who was calling, he blinked in surprise—then, without missing a beat, stood up, waved a hand to say "I'm out of here," and walked straight out of the room.
The phone kept ringing for a few seconds.
Aoki stared at it, hesitating... then finally answered the voice call.
Holding the phone to his ear, he heard Kita's voice burst through the speaker, energetic and cheerful.
"Hellooo~ Kei-senpai, good evening!"
"Good evening," Aoki replied.
He paused, about to say something.
"Um, Kita, you really didn't have to call this late—"
But before he could finish, Kita interrupted him.
"W-Wait, hold on, Kei-senpai—!"
Her voice was still bright, but there was a slight tremble in it, barely noticeable.
It was as if she was explaining herself... or maybe trying to convince herself more than anyone.
"This is the first time I've ever called someone this late just to sing... I-I'll get too embarrassed if you talk while I'm doing it, so… so…"
"Ahem—Kei-senpai, just don't say anything, okay? Just listen! Please!"
Aoki froze, the words catching in his throat.
After a moment, his unfinished reply dissolved into a simple—
"...Okay."
"Ahem... Then I'll start, okay, Kei-senpai?"
Kita's voice softened a little.
A faint strum of guitar strings followed her words.
And then... a familiar melody began.
Just a few seconds into the intro, Aoki already recognized the song.
"Twinkling Ordinary Days."
It wasn't a song he'd written—it was completely composed by the girls of Kessoku Band.
He'd heard them practicing it more times than he could count.
But this time felt different.
Maybe because it was so late at night, and she was trying not to wake anyone... or maybe it was something else.
But Kita's singing was quieter—almost too quiet to hear.
And because of that, this version of the song, which originally had a bold rock edge, now sounded... softer. Gentler.
"I used to believe, so naively, that I was born a genius..."
"That tiny confidence shattered into pieces."
...
Through the receiver, her voice sounded like it was right next to his ear.
She had improved—significantly. Both her guitar and her vocals.
It was... beautiful.
"Even though I longed for something so lovely…"
"My dreams always seemed too far, drowned out by reality."
"It's not enough. Not even close—"
"I can't reach anyone's heart..."
About four minutes later, the performance came to an end.
The guitar fell silent. So did her voice.
All that was left in the earpiece was the faint sound of her breathing.
Then, even that stopped.
Kita's voice followed softly:
"So? Kei-senpai, what did you think?"
...
'How am I supposed to respond to this?'
That question, the one that had been lingering in his mind for so long, now stood in front of him, undeniable, unavoidable.
Aoki drew in a quiet breath, silent for a moment.
He thought Kita would wait patiently for an answer—or maybe ask again.
But instead, what she said next caught him completely off guard.
She giggled to herself, then muttered like she was talking to no one in particular:
"Hehe... I guess I've still got a long way to go. Maybe I'm getting a bit too full of myself, huh?"
And just like that, she switched topics again:
"Oh, right, Kei-senpai—Ryo-senpai told me that..."
But this time, Aoki cut her off.
"It was beautiful, Kita. Really beautiful."
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