Cool-headed and merciless—Ryo hadn't shown him a shred of kindness.
Sitting on the train ride home, Ishikawa Hayabusa tapped away at his phone, recording all of Ryo's sharp criticisms.
The train wasn't crowded thanks to the off-peak hour, so even the sound of his fingers clattering quickly against the screen echoed clearly.
He rather liked this—being able to hear the traces of every one of his actions.
Looking back on the day, although things weren't exactly harmonious, it had still been a step forward in their relationship. He had also successfully exposed himself as a complete weirdo.
For Ishikawa Hayabusa, it had been a satisfying day.
Though to be fair, there hadn't been a single day he wasn't satisfied.
The only regret was not having the chance to revel in a sense of triumph right in front of them.
Still, when he got home, his sister—Idechi Seika's—reaction had been very amusing.
Hayabusa chuckled softly, slipped his phone back into his pocket, and turned to watch the houses and scattered lights streaking past in the black night outside. His gaze was calm, steady.
A little more than ten minutes earlier, at STARRY—
"…In short, there are still countless areas where you need to improve. As a keyboardist, you're nowhere near qualified."
After Hayabusa finished playing, Ryo stood there with her arms crossed, her expression haughty, as if she were some grand master.
She didn't mince words as she picked apart Hayabusa's performance, not sparing the slightest mercy. The harsh tone alone was enough to make others uneasy.
Halfway through Ryo's long tirade, Nijika had already been stunned stiff by her over-the-top sharpness. She only snapped back to her senses now.
"Ryo, you've gone too far!!"
This wasn't the level of critique you gave a beginner—she was judging Hayabusa by the standards of someone already good enough to perform on stage!
Strict was fine, but this was pushing it.
Scolding Ryo, Nijika then turned toward the boy standing behind the keyboard and spoke comfortingly:"Hayabusa-kun, you're already really amazing! Yesterday you couldn't even play a thing."
"Right, Sis?"
To back herself up, she sought outside help.
"Well, maybe I was a little harsh."
Seika, lounging off to the side, sounded utterly indifferent, deliberately looking away. Still, there was the faintest hint of support in her tone for Hayabusa.
Nijika, long used to her sister's lazy attitude, immediately turned back on Ryo.
"Be gentler, Ryo!"
Struck down twice in a row, the girl who had just been basking in her own scathing critique froze, blinking pitifully as her eyes shifted toward Hayabusa.
"Nijika, how can you say that about me?"
But to everyone's surprise, Hayabusa strode forward quickly and placed himself protectively in front of Ryo.
"Eh—eh!?"
Nijika stupidly glanced around to confirm the expressions of the others. She hadn't misspoken just now, right? She'd been standing up for Hayabusa, hadn't she!?
"People grow only by enduring hardships! Besides, weirdos don't get hurt—their mental stamina is limitless!"
Hayabusa declared this with arrogant pride, before turning back toward Ryo.
"Please, guide me with even harsher criticism!"
Weirdo?
Seika, overhearing Hayabusa's words, was left with nothing but question marks in her head. What on earth had happened to this kid during the short time he'd been outside?
Why did he suddenly seem like a completely different person?
She rubbed her eyes, making sure she wasn't dreaming, then perked up a little, paying closer attention.
Meanwhile, Ryo pulled a handkerchief from her pocket. Wiping at the corners of her eyes with one hand, she patted Hayabusa's shoulder with the other, overcome with emotion.
"Mm… very good. I'll make you the strongest keyboardist in all of Japan."
Nijika felt her heart sink in exhaustion. Was her band cursed? When Hayabusa had first arrived, he had seemed so normal—and now…
A freak. A weirdo…
What would be next?
Still, seeing the two of them actually getting along in their own way, she let out a sigh of relief. Besides, Hayabusa seemed to be improving quickly—soon he'd be able to perform with them. It really felt like their band was finally taking shape step by step.
That was a relief.
Stepping off the train, Hayabusa immediately spotted Ishikawa Jinpei from afar.
The two men of the Ishikawa family locked eyes across the distance, then came together.
Jinpei, wearing the demeanor of a close buddy, threw an arm around Hayabusa's shoulder.
"Yo. So, how's the progress with your harem?"
His tone dripped with anticipation, as if he were waiting for Hayabusa to make a fool of himself.
Hayabusa scoffed, curling his lip in disdain.
"Good evening, old man. Today, a girl stared at me with unblinking eyes, her gaze deep and lingering, for a very long time."
Hayabusa never lied. He always spoke the truth.
And Kita Ikuyo had indeed stared intently at his hands for a long while.
"…Stared for a long time…"
As the two walked shoulder to shoulder out of the station, heading toward home amidst the glow of countless household lights, Jinpei's brows furrowed in thought. His mind spun through all the possibilities, his expression shifting from confusion to tension, then panic. Finally, even his hands began to tremble.
Hayabusa didn't even need to guess what was running through his father's mind.
He cut him off first:
"Your next line will be: 'Go apologize! Right now—get over there and apologize before she calls the cops!'"
"Go apologize! Right now—get over there and apologize before she calls the cops!"
Jinpei echoed, half a beat late, looking like he'd just swallowed a fly at being so cleanly preempted.
Hayabusa smirked smugly.
"At the next family meeting, I'll propose that your allowance be reduced."
Jinpei shamelessly resorted to underhanded tactics, shifting the grin from Hayabusa's face onto his own.
Thus the father and son once again proved the simple truth: a smile never disappears—it only changes owners.
Originally, Hayabusa had never relied on allowance money. He barely took any at all. But ever since he'd bought his keyboard, his pockets contained nothing but a pitiful handful of coins.
Patting his pocket, he made a firm decision.
"If Mom agrees, then I'll…"
Jinpei tilted his head higher and higher in expectation.
"I'll cling to her leg and never let go until she changes her mind! I swear it on my title as a weirdo!"
Hayabusa's tone was so firm that anyone who knew him wouldn't take his words as a joke.
"You damn brat, get lost!!"
Their shouting drew the neighbors out of their houses to watch.
By the time the two of them, alternating between apologizing and greeting, finally reached their front door, they were greeted by the sight of Ishikawa Shizuka standing there, hands on her hips.
"Sorry!!"
Without hesitation, Hayabusa bowed deeply and apologized.
The speed of his reaction stunned Jinpei, who was still hesitating at the side. Did this kid have no dignity at all?
After spending time with his sister to study music theory and related knowledge, it was already late.
Hayabusa returned to his room in satisfaction. The moment he opened the door, the first thing he saw was a poem written in kanji:
"From tomorrow on, I will be a happy man… From tomorrow on, I will write letters to all my family, telling them of my happiness."
It was something he had written during elementary school calligraphy class. When the teacher suggested they write down a favorite line, he had chosen this poem and kept it for himself.
Every day since, he had reflected: Had he lived up to it? Had he made his family and friends feel happiness as well?
Today, without question, had been another joyful day.
"Tomorrow too, I'll charge ahead at full speed down the path of the weirdo!"
Hayabusa lazily strolled over to his bed, flopped down onto sheets steeped in his own scent, and felt his body go slack in a sense of relief.
But his thoughts hadn't stopped yet.
"No, wait… I got so much feedback today. I have to correct everything, one by one. Then tomorrow, I'll greet the world in an even more perfect, weirdo-like form…"
The next instant, his eyes shot open. The word weirdo flashed in his left eye, then in his right.
"Chapter complete!"