When Ryo and Nijika returned to STARRY, they were greeted by a scene they could never have imagined.
Hoshino Hoshika sat at the bar counter with a calm, unreadable face, while out in the hall, Ishikawa Hayabusa was happily performing a hula dance.
He was holding a pair of pom-poms he'd gotten from who knows where, a grass skirt tied around his waist swishing with every move. With his sunny, handsome face and cheerful rhythm, he completely stole the attention of all the bands who had arrived early at the live house.
Nijika even heard someone from another band whisper,"Hey… maybe we could do this for our next MC."
And the reason they were whispering?Nijika turned her head toward the bar, where her older sister sat silently drinking.
Behind Hoshika, one could almost see the three-headed, six-armed wrathful demon whose veins were bulging so hard they might burst.
Ryo thought for a moment, then said while staring at the strangely harmonious scene,"Not even a tranquility spell could calm down the manager's killing intent right now."
The moment she said it, the glass in Hoshika's hand cracked, shards scattering on the bar top.
For the sake of her sister's blood pressure, Nijika rushed forward and grabbed Ishikawa Hayabusa."Hayabusa-kun, stop bullying my sister~!"
She even extended her hand, forming it into a karate-chop shape, and gave him a whack on the head.
Hayabusa didn't resist and let her hit him, still grinning as if he had no idea how close to death he was.
But when Hoshika saw this little scene, the glass in her hand instantly shattered into dust.
"Guitar is way too hard!!"
Meanwhile, back in the practice room, Kita collapsed dramatically on her knees and set the guitar down on the floor, letting out a pained wail.
She knelt there, staring at the guitar Ryo-senpai had lent her, tears welling in her eyes, before glancing over at Bocchi on the other side.
Even though she was supposed to be the teacher, Bocchi didn't get angry at Kita's complaints. Instead, she just looked worried and uneasy.
But Kita couldn't help asking,"G-goto-san, isn't keyboard easier to learn than guitar?"
Bocchi immediately understood why she was asking and quickly explained,"Ah… um, well, keyboard actually requires a lot of music theory knowledge, and you need to practice for a long time before you can really play it well."
"B-but… Kita-chan, you're learning really fast already, so don't worry."
While trying to comfort her, Bocchi couldn't help but think of the one person Kita hadn't mentioned by name — but was obviously thinking about.
Hayabusa seemed to learn things so quickly. When school started, he'd said he couldn't play any instruments at all.
But that must have been a lie, right?
If it was true, and he really learned keyboard that fast and could already perform on stage… that would be terrifyingly impressive.
Someone like that — someone like that could even say, with a straight face, that he could "take care of me."
…
"Sorry. I shouldn't be whining like this."
Kita knew she had no right to complain — after all, everyone else could already play their instruments. Her joining the band hadn't contributed much; if anything, she'd just been dragging them down.
She hugged the guitar again and sat back down.
But after saying that, she noticed something odd.
Bocchi had gone completely silent.
Kita looked over at her.
Bocchi was hunched forward, shoulders trembling slightly. Confused, Kita bent down to peer at her face.
From under Bocchi's bangs, she saw an uncharacteristic expression — a strangely perverted little smile and an absentminded gaze, as if she were lost in some happy daydream.
For some reason, Kita felt a chill of unease and wariness.
After a moment's hesitation, she gently reached out and poked Bocchi."Goto-san? Goto-san?"
The touch startled Bocchi back to reality. She snapped her head up so fast she nearly fell back. Seeing Kita so close, she panicked and shuffled back two steps — only to immediately realize her reaction was way too dramatic.
She quickly straightened up and bowed apologetically."Ah! S-s-sorry!"
But Kita didn't seem to mind her overreaction. Instead, she gave her a gentle smile."No, I should be the one apologizing. I scared you all of a sudden."
Then her pale yellow eyes shifted, as if in thought, and she asked curiously,"Goto-san… do you have someone you like?"
"Ehh? W-why would you suddenly ask that…?"
Bocchi's blush deepened as she fidgeted, not answering. But her reaction told Kita everything she needed to know.
Sitting back upright, Kita smiled knowingly."Sorry, Goto-san. I guess I got tired from practicing and just wanted to talk about girly things for a bit."
"But never mind that. Let's get back to practice."
They practiced for quite a while longer, and by the time they noticed, it was already late. Bocchi and Kita hurried out of the practice room —
— only to find Hoshika sulking at the bar so hard that even Nijika couldn't soothe her.
On another table, P.A. was hiding her face, laughing, while Hayabusa and Ryo were each tucked away in opposite corners, minding their own business.
Kita and Bocchi couldn't shake the feeling that by staying in the practice room all afternoon, they had completely missed a spectacular drama.
Seeing that there was no hope of calming her sister down, Nijika abandoned the effort and came over to them.
"Oh~ Kita-chan, Bocchi-chan, you're done practicing?"
The moment she walked away, Hoshika — who had ignored all of Nijika's previous attempts at comfort — turned her head and shot her sister a look.
Meanwhile, Kita bowed slightly to Nijika."Yeah… sorry for taking up the rehearsal room for so long."
Beside her, Bocchi flailed nervously as if she had just remembered this detail and tried to copy Kita's bow.
But Nijika just waved her hands frantically."No, no, don't worry about it! It's not like anyone else uses it most of the time."
Seeing everyone gathered again, Hayabusa stood up from his corner and strolled over, waving casually at Kita."So how's our NEW STAR doing? I hope you didn't start crying halfway through practice, saying 'it's too hard, I can't do this,' or something like that."
Kita froze on the spot.
Hayabusa blinked.Wait… no way.
Her guilty expression was answer enough.
He quickly changed his tone."W-well, anyway, don't rush it. Music's supposed to be fun."
Nijika looked at him in surprise — this was the first time today he sounded like a decent human being. She smiled softly."Hayabusa-kun's right. Kita-chan, don't push yourself so hard that you get hurt."
When practice ended and the store got busy, Bocchi and Kita got ready to head home. Hayabusa left with them.
At STARRY's entrance, Nijika poked half her body out the door to see them off."Kita-chan, Bocchi-chan, Hayabusa-kun — tomorrow's your first day of part-time work, don't forget!"
"Bye-bye!"
Beside her, Ryo just lazily waved a hand without saying anything.
"Yeah, I'll remember," Hayabusa said with a nod.
Then he glanced sideways and, as expected, saw Bocchi's face contorting in that familiar, terrifying way — the kind of look that would probably scare a random passerby half to death.
Fortunately, he was already used to it.
Even under that twisted expression, Bocchi managed to speak. She hesitated, then nodded."Ah… o-okay."
Then Hayabusa looked up at Kita, who was standing a few steps above them on the staircase.
Feeling his gaze, Kita quickly tore her eyes away and looked at Nijika and Ryo instead, speaking in a serious tone,"I'll do my best. Please leave the work to me!"
"Oh~ how reliable," Nijika said with a small smile.
On the way home that night, Kita kept sneaking glances at the two people walking beside her.
Hayabusa was the same as always — walking at their pace, hands in his pockets, casually scanning the surroundings.
But Goto-san was different.
Walking beside Hayabusa, she was clearly more cheerful than usual. Even under her bangs, her eyes kept sneaking peeks at his face.
Her cheeks had a faint, adorable blush that definitely wasn't from the streetlights.
That hadn't been there yesterday.
Did something happen between them?
And in such a short amount of time?
As they walked, the place where she had to split off from them drew closer and closer. Kita felt like she couldn't just leave it at this.
Her chest tightened.
Should she make a move? If so, what should she do?
But seeing the shy, happy look on Goto-san's face, she couldn't help thinking — maybe, for Goto-san, Hayabusa really was the best possible boyfriend.
He would take good care of her.
But even as she thought that, a pang of frustration rose in her chest.
"You've been quiet today, Kita."
Hayabusa's voice broke her train of thought.
Startled, she looked up and forced a laugh."Ahaha… I was just thinking about guitar stuff. You scared me."
"Really?" Hayabusa gave her a knowing look. "Not thinking about something weird?"
"What do you mean by that?!"
Panicking at the thought that he might have read her feelings, Kita snapped back defensively.
Hayabusa tilted his head lazily, chanting,"Like… running away, running away, running away, that kind of thing."
Even though he'd brought up her embarrassing past, Kita actually felt relieved. She let out a sigh, then pouted and protested,"I only did that once! And I swear, I'll never do it again."
She slowly lowered her head.
She suddenly remembered how joining the band had been nothing but a spur-of-the-moment decision — a whim that had led to a huge mess for everyone.
Sure, that had ended perfectly last time, but there was no guarantee they'd always be that lucky.
Would she really act on impulse again and do something she might regret later?
She glanced at Bocchi.
Her bangs still hid her face, and she was wearing a plain tracksuit with zero feminine charm.
Bocchi might not even be Hayabusa's type. And Kita had only known Hayabusa for a month.
Maybe… maybe she should just wait a little longer and see what happened.