A few seconds before Nijika pushed open the door.
Inside Ryo's room.
Ryo heard Ishikawa Hayabusa's voice — calm, but with a hint of threat in it — and saw him smiling mischievously.
This quiet, slightly aloof girl leaned back against her office chair. She crossed one leg over the other, her loose pants faintly outlining the curve of her legs.
"Shouldn't partners-in-crime hold each other's weaknesses over each other's heads?"
At sixteen, Ryo already carried a trace of the cool, aloof, almost aristocratic big-sister aura she would grow into.
"Oh? Then what does Ryo plan to do?"
Ishikawa Hayabusa leaned back in his chair, curiosity in his eyes as he studied this girl he still couldn't quite figure out.
Ryo leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees, her body slightly hunched. A soft, almost playful smile curved her lips as she spun the office chair just a little.
"Nijika's about to come upstairs. Here's what we'll do…"
…
Back to the present.
"Wh-what are you two doing?!"
At the sound of Nijika's voice, Ryo's eyes shimmered as she looked at her, wearing an expression that screamed victim.
"Nijika…"
Her voice trembled as she reached a hand toward her.
Nijika hurried over and spun around, placing herself between Ryo and Ishikawa like a human shield.
"Ishikawa-kun, stop bullying Ryo!"
She yelled in frustration.
"Come on, Ryo agreed to this."
Ishikawa Hayabusa smiled lightly, completely unbothered by the possibility of Nijika getting angry. He leaned to the side and gave Ryo a knowing smile.
Ryo glanced at Nijika, then back at Ishikawa, as if saying, What are you talking about?
When Nijika turned back, her face full of suspicion, she stared at Ishikawa, suddenly unsure what was really happening.
Behind her, Ryo hid a tiny, triumphant smile from Ishikawa.
Seeing Ryo's smug, victorious grin, Ishikawa could only give a helpless sigh.
What was this girl even trying to pull? Did she want Nijika to dislike him?
How was that supposed to count as "mutually assured destruction"?
He stood up, deciding not to get dragged deeper into this game. Wearing his brightest, most innocent smile, he strolled toward Nijika.
"Eh?! Hayabusa-kun, what are you doing?!"
Nijika, who had just been acting like Ryo's brave protector, suddenly froze. Her expression faltered, and she shrank back a little, a flicker of fear in her eyes.
"It's nothing bad."
Ishikawa Hayabusa's grin turned downright wicked, his eyes squinting into mischievous crescents.
He quickly closed the distance, placed his hands on Nijika's shoulders, and — ignoring her panicked face — gently pushed her toward the computer desk.
"Come listen to the song we made."
At that, Nijika's expression softened a little. She muttered under her breath.
"You just want to smooth things over… Fine, but if the song's too weird, I'm not singing it."
Still, she let Ishikawa guide her into the office chair and obediently took the headphones he handed her.
As she put them on, Ishikawa struck an exaggeratedly cute pose right in front of her and said in a mock-shy voice:
"Nijika really is an angel~"
Nijika's gaze turned cold as ice. She let out a sigh.
"Hayabusa-kun, you really think I'm an idiot, don't you?"
Even so, she didn't press the matter any further. She simply put on the headphones and pressed play.
Watching her click the song, Ishikawa turned to Ryo, who was sighing behind them, and gave her a triumphant thumbs-up.
"Nijika is way too easy to win over…"
Ryo murmured with a faint smile — but she didn't notice Nijika's ears twitch ever so slightly.
Ishikawa did, though. He noticed that Nijika wasn't entirely focused on the music, but he said nothing.
Instead, looking relaxed and satisfied as if he had just completed a mission, he turned to Ryo with a grin.
"Well then, from today on, we're partners-in-crime."
"Mm."
Ryo nodded calmly, staring at the boy in front of her.
Only then did she start to understand the deeper meaning behind what he had done.
…
"Let's make this band weird together — just don't suddenly get disappointed and run away one day."
"You're younger than me, but you sure dare to say that."
"Ah, forgive me, partner-senpai."
Nijika, who had secretly turned the volume down to eavesdrop, heard their quiet but harmonious conversation and finally relaxed.
After that, she stopped paying attention to them and focused on the song. She picked up the lyric sheet on the desk, the one with all the timestamps, and gave it a look.
But just a moment later —
Her eyes froze.
Then, as if she couldn't believe what she had just read, she blinked rapidly several times.
Behind her, Ishikawa and Ryo noticed her sudden stillness and curiously looked at her.
Then Nijika ripped off the headphones, shot to her feet, her face taut with barely contained rage, clenched her fists, and shouted with enough force to shake the room:
"SEAL THIS SONG FOREVER!!"
Ishikawa Hayabusa immediately threw on an exaggeratedly pitiful expression and wailed:
"Nooo!"
Normally, Nijika might have compromised a little — but not this time.
"Absolutely seal it! We're not that kind of band!!"
"Pfft."
Ryo couldn't help but laugh softly at Ishikawa, who was still begging pathetically even though he clearly knew the song was unsingable and had only suggested it to mess with Nijika.
Just then, a ringtone chimed from Nijika's pocket. She stopped mid-argument, surprised, and quickly took out her phone.
Ishikawa also stopped his antics at just the right moment.
Nijika glanced at the caller ID, puzzled.
"My sister?"
That was when she suddenly remembered the two unread messages her sister had sent earlier — which she still hadn't replied to. She hurriedly tried to answer, but Ishikawa suddenly caught her hand, stopping her.
Nijika stared at him in confusion.
He pulled her toward the window and peered outside from a hidden angle.
There, standing at Ryo's front door, was Hoshino Seika, slightly out of breath, her phone pressed to her ear as she nervously listened.
Ryo walked over as well, and when she saw Seika, she let out an amused chuckle.
"As expected of sisters."
Nijika froze for a moment, then stomped her foot hard in frustration.
"You two have the worst personalities!"
…
In the end, they all walked back to STARRY together.
But Seika walked alone in front, like a lone wolf, while Ishikawa, Nijika, and Ryo trailed behind.
Thinking back to Seika's stunned face when they stepped outside — how her cheeks had flushed red before she quickly turned away and tried to act indifferent — Ishikawa couldn't stop smiling.
The two girls beside him, however, looked at him with the same expression: a mix of disgust and exasperation at whatever wicked thoughts he was clearly having.
Then Ishikawa suddenly got an idea.
Before Nijika could stop him, he skipped forward with light steps. Ryo smirked, clearly eager to watch the chaos unfold.
He hopped up beside Seika, clasped his hands behind his head, leaned forward to look at her blank, stoic face, and teased:
"Ohhh, so the manager's actually a sis-con, huh? Well, makes sense — with such an adorable little sister like Nijika, how could you not be?"
"I mean, I have a little sister too, but she's such an idiot there's no way I could be a sis-con."
"But with a sister as cute as Nijika, of course you'd worry about her wherever she goes."
"And since you're already a sis-con, right—"
"Sis-con."
He tilted his head back as if savoring the word, a smug grin spreading across his face.
"Must be nice…"
From the back, Ryo and Nijika couldn't hear exactly what Ishikawa was saying — they only saw him wearing that absolutely punchable grin while talking to Seika.
At first, Seika sped up to shake him off, but when she failed, she stopped abruptly, fists clenched, her whole body trembling.
And then—
"DIE!!"
Seika roared with pure rage and lunged at Ishikawa.
The next moment, the two of them were sprinting full speed down the streets of Shimokitazawa, so fast that they vanished from Ryo and Nijika's view.
Nijika stood frozen, stunned by the rare sight of her usually calm, collected sister flying into a fury.
"…What a remarkable man."
Ryo said with genuine admiration.
She also made a mental note to ask Ishikawa later what exactly he had said to make Seika — who normally at most threw out a sharp remark or two — this furious.