After school.
Inside Starry.
There seemed to be only two people in the store at the moment: Nijika and Love Nika.
Nijika was feeding Rana, who looked utterly content.
Love Nika had recently taken a liking to Starry and had become familiar with everyone.
Although there was no matcha parfait, her favorite, Nijika would give her various snacks.
This made Love Nika very satisfied.
As for Seika, seeing this girl as cute as a cat and so young, she generously waived her entrance fee.
It was only Bocchi-chan who suffered, as stray cats loved to play with Bocchi-chan.
Clatter!
The door opened.
As soon as Hotaru entered, he received a warm greeting from Nijika.
"Aki-kun, you're here. You're quite early today."
"Mmm-hmm, I came right after school."
Hotaru nodded and smiled in response.
Then he put down his guitar case, leaving a remark,
"Wait for me."
Hotaru walked straight to Starry's bulletin board.
"Eh? ...Okay."
Nijika tilted her head in confusion.
...
In front of the bulletin board.
Hotaru was holding a brand-new poster in his hand.
The poster read: Student Band Seeking New Members, one drummer, one bassist.
Requirements: Passion for music, no experience necessary, no technical skill required, available for practice after school...
Contact Person: Anon, Contact Info:...
Note: It would be even better if we could form a band for life!
Hmm... that last note.
Hotaru had specifically asked Anon to add it.
Considering that this was probably Tomori's only request, Hotaru felt it was best to include it.
It looked quite interesting this way, didn't it?
Moreover, who knows, maybe someone seeing this 'for life' part would become interested in this band.
However, Anon didn't think so.
She highly doubted whether adding that sentence would really attract new bandmates.
She didn't want her band to die in its infancy...!
But in the end, the kind Anon didn't refuse.
She had also made the poster overnight.
She printed it out this morning and gave it to Hotaru, asking him to help promote it at Starry.
As for herself, she planned to check out other live houses.
It must be said, Anon's initiative was quite fast!
After this internal sigh, Hotaru dispelled his lingering doubts from yesterday afternoon about Anon's seeming unreliability.
Finding an empty spot, he perfectly pasted the poster.
Hotaru's face showed a satisfied smile.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he turned around.
Hotaru's heart skipped a beat; he was startled.
Do you guys walk without making any noise?!!
At some point, the other members of End Band had already arrived.
At this moment, the girls were tightly surrounding him.
This left Hotaru unable to advance or retreat.
Hitori, Kita, and Nijika were slightly stunned, their expressions looking somewhat complex.
Ryo and Love Nika remained relatively calm.
"What's wrong? When did you guys get here?"
Hotaru waved his hand, asking curiously.
"Five minutes ago."
It was Ryo who answered Hotaru.
"Oh..."
Hotaru nodded slightly, then saw Ryo very naturally reach for the potato chips in Love Nika's hand.
She picked one up and put it in her mouth.
Chewed, swallowed.
Hotaru's mouth twitched, just about to quip, 'Are you finally not sparing even a child's snacks?'
Nijika spoke first, asking somewhat nervously,
"Aki-kun... wh-why are you suddenly recruiting bandmates?"
Nijika looked at Hotaru with a conflicted expression.
Was there something wrong with End Band?!
Was her sister too tsundere, was Ryo too much of a scumbag, or was she not caring enough for her bandmates...?
Hearing this, to the side.
Kita and Hitori also paid close attention.
This was also their concern and what they wanted to ask.
Kita worried if her skills were holding them back. Although Hitori had taught her, it was still very difficult at first.
Hitori was much more pessimistic. Hotaru was looking for a new guitarist! She was going to be kicked out of the band! She was going to be optimized out! It was over! Her band career was coming to an end!
"It's not me, this is to promote for a friend."
Hotaru shook his head, then pointed to the contact person on the poster.
The three imaginative girls immediately followed Hotaru's finger.
Anon.
It was a girl's name.
Phew...
The three, however, let out a sigh of relief as if a great weight had been lifted.
That's great!
Seeing Nijika and the other two looking as if they had just escaped a fright, Hotaru seemed to understand something.
So he gave a meaningful smile and said,
"You guys wouldn't think I was going to leave End Band, would you?"
"Ah, no, no!"
The three girls' faces flushed, very embarrassed, shaking their heads from side to side.
"Don't worry, I wouldn't do something like that."
Hotaru said.
"I thought I was going to leave End Band..."
Hitori mumbled softly.
"Huh? Hitori, what did you say?"
Hotaru hadn't heard clearly and asked again.
"No, nothing!"
After giving Hitori a strange look, everyone got used to it.
The misunderstanding was cleared up.
The heavy hearts of the few also settled down.
Then they all looked curiously at the poster behind Hotaru.
At first glance, it was a very ordinary poster.
Until they read the end.
Everyone's expressions were a little subtle.
Kita couldn't help but say, "For life? Wouldn't that scare people away?"
Nijika strongly agreed, also subtly saying, "Isn't that last note a bit strange?"
Only Ryo gave a thumbs up and praised, "Very individual!"
"As expected of Ryo-senpai, I actually think so too."
Hotaru and Nijika's faces stiffened. Kita-chan, you didn't say that just now.
Then Hotaru explained, "Although 'for life' isn't impossible, it says 'if', and besides, it might attract attention this way."
"Eh? So that's how it is."
After hearing Hotaru's explanation, Nijika nodded thoughtfully,
"I thought Aki-kun was surprisingly the kind of person with very heavy emotions."
Nijika couldn't help but wonder if End Band could last for life.
"Me?"
Hotaru smiled and shook his head.
"Don't you need a guitar?"
Love Nika tugged on Hotaru's sleeve and suddenly said.
It seemed the 'for life' part had slightly piqued her interest.
"A guitar?"
Hotaru looked at Love Nika and pondered; adding a rhythm guitarist wasn't out of the question.
However, this would still need to be discussed with Anon, as they hadn't initially considered recruiting another guitarist.
Moreover, Love Nika's skills were quite strong, and having a master join would be a good thing. The only concerns were whether it would be a waste of her talent, and also, what Anon's skills were like.
The other girls also looked at Hotaru with hopeful expressions.
If possible, everyone hoped Love Nika could also find a band.
Although there were bands that invited her, she didn't think highly of them.
Hitori's gaze was the most eager; if Love Nika had a band, wouldn't she be safe!
After thinking, Hotaru replied, "I'll ask about that."
Love Nika nodded lightly, continuing to eat her snacks indifferently.
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