They didn't take the train. The three of them walked from Shuchiin toward STARRY. Nobody talked; the air was awkward.
By the time they ambled into Shimokitazawa and kept going, the silence had grown heavy.
As the streets got more familiar, Kita Ikuyo glanced around, then at Bocchi beside her, and blurted out, nervous, "Um… Bocchi—this livehouse you mentioned… is it called… STARRY?"
Startled by the sudden question, Bocchi jolted. After a beat she nodded, voice tiny. "Ah… y-yes, do you… know it…?"
Kita froze.
Of course she knew it. As a "guitarist who couldn't play guitar," she'd once fled from that very livehouse.
She gulped. "I'm sorry, Bocchi—I have to go back now!"
"Huh?" Bocchi blinked.
Kita back-pedaled. "I can't explain, but I absolutely cannot go to that STARRY—"
"Ah! Bocchi-chan! I didn't know why, but I bought a bunch of energy drinks from the shop over there!"
A bright voice cut in. Nijika—arms full of cans—trotted up. She spotted Aoki and Kita. "Oh! Aoki-senpai—and… ah! The guitarist who ran away!"
Kita locked up, eyes brimming. Her mind scrambled for excuses.
A moment later, Ryo ambled out with her bass.
She nodded almost imperceptibly at Aoki—then noticed Kita and paused.
"!"
The sight of her idol made Kita forget every excuse. Tears trembling, she dropped to her knees and bowed her head to the floor.
"I'll do anything—please forgive my rudeness!"
A classic scene.
Aoki took one step back, then—unable to resist—pulled out his phone and snapped a photo.
In Japan, phones make a shutter sound to deter creeps on trains.
Everyone heard it. Kita flinched on the floor. Ryo glanced at Aoki, saying nothing, but her eyes clearly read: "Like that shot—send me a copy later."
He signed an OK in the air.
"N-no messing around, Ryo! And Aoki-senpai—don't bully Kita!" Nijika scolded, flustered.
…
Inside the livehouse, they sat around a table.
Kita, teary-eyed, explained herself and apologized repeatedly. Nijika waved it off, smiling gently—thanks to Aoki and Bocchi, that disastrous live had ended safely.
With the misunderstanding cleared, one problem remained:
From school to STARRY, Aoki had waited the entire time… and Bocchi still hadn't managed to say what she'd stopped him for.
He checked the time—3:40. He was late for the convenience store shift.
Luckily, he'd expected this. The moment he chose the "escort them to STARRY" option in his "dating sim," he'd texted the store to ask for leave. The manager grumbled—two leaves in less than a week.
Aoki didn't mind. Convenience store gigs were everywhere. System rewards mattered more.
And looking at how things were going, he might need to skip the bar shift tonight too.
He decided to bite the bullet—he had over 100,000 yen saved, and sunk costs were sunk costs.
Meanwhile, out of guilt, Kita asked to help out at STARRY that afternoon. Seika, the manager, kept her to handle odd jobs.
There weren't many customers at this early hour. After wiping tables and a quick sweep, there wasn't much to do.
So, with time to kill—and Aoki still present—Nijika launched a "band strategy meeting": division of roles and how to feel more like a real band. She declared Aoki the advisor.
"How to feel like a real band" was not Aoki's forte. His understanding of rock bands was stuck on hippies, breakups, and vocalists hanging themselves.
Were rockers all mentally unwell?
He glanced at the bright, pretty girls around him and worried about their future.
He tuned out the chatter until Nijika tossed the question to him: "Any ideas, Aoki-senpai? How can we look more like a proper band?"
He came back to himself, eyes landing on Ryo—chin propped in hand, gazing off, face cool and unreadable.
He looked away and said, "Having an original song—something that's yours—would help."
-------
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