"Zzz-boing~"
A harsh yet somewhat comical sound abruptly exploded inside the practice room, its tail end trembling like an electric current as it echoed within the cramped space before slowly dissipating.
Inside Starry's practice room, Nijika's drumsticks froze in midair, her whole body noticeably stiffening.
She slowly lowered her drumsticks, an unsuppressable look of helplessness surfacing on her face; she then raised her hand to rub her temples, as if holding back the urge to sigh.
Turning her body toward Kita Ikuyo, her brow furrowed slightly as she spoke with a hint of exhaustion: "Kita, even if it's just practice, you need to take it a bit more seriously. How did you manage to make the guitar produce that kind of sound?"
"A new vocal harmony part has emerged," Yamada Ryo sat lazily on a chair to the side, her fingers resting casually on her bass. She raised her head, an enigmatic smile on her face, her eyes calm yet somewhat nonchalant: "Maybe it can become Kessoku Band's secret weapon!"
"It can't!" Nijika immediately retorted without a second's delay, pointing her finger toward the amplifier with her tone rising slightly, her expression practically screaming 'this is absolutely out of the question'.
"Th-that..." Kita Ikuyo was startled by Nijika's reaction, her shoulders shrinking back slightly. She raised her hand uneasily, a troubled look on her face as she spoke cautiously: "That sound just now... didn't come from my guitar..."
"Haha," Yamada Ryo let out an emotionless laugh, the curve of her lips barely changing as she lightly shook the guitar in her hands, her tone flat as if merely stating a fact: "If it's not Kita, could it be Bocchi?"
"Ah..." Hitori visibly shuddered all over, clutching her guitar as her shoulders hunched up, as if freezing up the moment her name was called.
She kept her head down and opened her mouth cautiously, her voice so faint it was almost swallowed up by the surroundings: "It... it's me..."
"How rare, for Gotō-san to actually make a mistake..." Kita Ikuyo looked at Hitori with some surprise, her eyes wide and round as she leaned forward slightly, as if confirming whether she had heard correctly.
"No, actually it's pretty common, right?" Nijika's expression was somewhat subtle; she seemed to recall something as the corners of her mouth twitched, a somewhat complex smile appearing on her face alongside a hint of helplessness as she spoke.
After all, during their very first performance, the other girl had to hide inside a box of Ripe Mangoes just to go on stage.
"Is it really common? Even though Gotō-san is so amazing at the guitar..." Kita Ikuyo blinked, the surprise in her tone growing even more distinct as her gaze moved back and forth between Nijika and Hitori.
"Kita, aren't your filters for Bocchi-chan a bit too thick?" Nijika couldn't help but banter, placing her hands on her hips and leaning forward slightly, her tone tinged with teasing.
"After all, Ikuyo joined Kessoku Band later on; by that time, Bocchi's skill level was already very high—or rather, her guitar technique was originally quite good, she just wasn't good at playing ensemble." Yamada Ryo said, plucking a string lightly as she spoke with a steady tone, as if delivering an objective evaluation: "If I were to evaluate past Bocchi's performance in the band—even I would read the room and refrain from saying anything too harsh—well, in short, the measure word for it would probably have to be 'pile'."
"No, it wasn't that terrible, it was just lacking a bit of synergy." Nijika tried to smooth things over, attempting to save Hitori's face in front of Kita Ikuyo.
"To the customers, it was literal shit." Yamada Ryo spoke bluntly without reservation.
"Didn't you end up saying the word anyway!" Nijika shouted while pointing at Yamada Ryo.
"Haha." Yamada Ryo let out a strange laugh without a shred of remorse.
"So does Bocchi-chan have something on her mind?" Nijika's tone softened noticeably as she lowered her hands and bent down slightly to look at Hitori, her eyes filled with concern.
"Should I say I do, or that I don't..." Hitori mumbled toward her fingertips, keeping her head down as her index finger and thumb unconsciously pinched each other, her voice so quiet it was nearly inaudible.
"Don't beat around the bush!" Yamada Ryo frowned, clearly a bit dissatisfied with this dawdling attitude. Sitting up straight, she scolded loudly: "Speak more plainly, can you still call yourself a man like this!"
"I-I'm a girl..." Hitori answered frantically. She raised her head abruptly, only to drop it back down immediately, her face clearly written with tension and panic.
Though no one knew what on earth she was panicking about.
"Don't mind these trivial details!" Yamada Ryo said with a wide wave of her hand, her movement very casual, as if sweeping the matter directly into the category of 'unimportant'.
"Tr-trivial details?!" Hitori's face was filled with utter bewilderment; she froze completely, her eyes wide open.
"Isn't there a proverb that goes like that?" Yamada Ryo said, holding up a finger and speaking with total confidence: "As long as there's love, gender is just a minor issue!"
"No, no, no, that's a huge issue! Don't mix up a normal romantic declaration with coming out of the closet!" Nijika couldn't help but interject, raising her hand to hit Yamada Ryo with a chop to the head.
With a crisp smack, it landed.
Yamada Ryo's head tilted slightly, yet her expression barely changed.
However, right after that, she looked at her guitarist with great concern: "But if Bocchi-chan has any problems, you can tell us so everyone in the band can discuss how to handle it together. As the saying goes..."
"Shared joy is double joy?" Yamada Ryo chimed in, leaning forward slightly with a natural tone.
"It's 'many hands make light work'!" Nijika corrected her, casting a somewhat helpless glance at Yamada Ryo as she spoke.
"As expected of Yamada-senpai! Even when using the wrong proverb, you look so cool!" Kita Ikuyo chimed in happily, bringing her hands together with a bright smile on her face.
"...Is it just my imagination, or am I being subtly mocked by Ikuyo?" Yamada Ryo mumbled, her gaze shifting down slightly while her tone remained flat.
"Not at all! Yamada-senpai's level of coolness has always been in the top three of my heart!" Kita Ikuyo affirmed, nodding vigorously with a serious expression.
"It's actually not number one?" Yamada Ryo asked, raising her chin slightly as she looked toward Kita, saying with some disappointment: "That really hurts my heart, Ikuyo."
"Because before that, there's still Asakura-kun and Momoka-senpai." Kita Ikuyo replied, simultaneously displaying the professional business smile she used when working part-time at the Rabbit House.
Although up until now, she still hadn't been able to eat the 'leftover Rabbit Dango' specified in her contract.
"Rather than that kind of thing, let's check on Bocchi-chan first. She's about to turn into a snail and crawl right out of the room." Nijika said, pointing her finger toward the door.
"Why was I discovered?!"
Hitori had originally been inching toward the door bit by bit, her entire body moving slowly as if glued to the floor. The moment she was called out, she froze completely, her face filled with terror.
And so, Hitori—who was on the verge of escaping the practice room—was dragged right back by Kita Ikuyo and Yamada Ryo.
"It's not that I particularly want to pry into Bocchi-chan's personal affairs—after all, I'm not really the gossipy type either—but if your personal issues affect the band's practice, that's a different story," Nijika said, placing her hands on her hips with her tone turning a bit more earnest: "So come clean with us."
"Nijika-chan, who pulled a bucket of popcorn out from who-knows-which corner of the room, has zero persuasive power saying that..." Hitori mumbled softly under her breath, keeping her head down in a voice so faint it sounded like she was talking to herself.
"A personal issue... Could it be a problem related to romance?" Kita Ikuyo looked at Hitori with sparkling eyes, leaning her whole body forward slightly with boundless enthusiasm.
"If it's Bocchi, she definitely wouldn't have any problems in that area," Yamada Ryo said with a shrug, leaning back against her chair with a casual tone.
"You can't say that for sure! Gotō-san is very cute," Kita Ikuyo said, tilting her head with a serious tone: "At school, she's actually a famous ice-cold beauty!"
"An ice-cold beauty... Although I've heard Kita mention it before," Nijika rubbed her temples in disbelief as she looked at the trembling Hitori, feeling it was still quite hard to imagine.
"She's super popular, you know," Kita Ikuyo added.
"So what? I also know Bocchi has a great figure, and the elasticity of her bust ranks at the top of Kessoku Band, but even so, that doesn't stop her from having zero luck with the opposite sex," Yamada Ryo—who occasionally harassed other band members while changing clothes to trade for food—said: "Because besides coming to Starry, Bocchi doesn't go outdoors at all. From a defense standpoint, she's completely invulnerable!" She nodded as she spoke, as if delivering a very reasonable conclusion.
"Well... it is Bocchi-chan, after all." "Gotō-san is just like that..."
The rest of Kessoku Band reached an agreement in a strangely bizarre way.
This left Hitori's line—'feeling as though I can't satisfy my boyfriend, so how can I better please him?'—stuck right in her throat, utterly unable to say it out loud.
Her hands merely plucked at the guitar strings subconsiously, producing an out-of-tune 'zzz-boing zzz-boing' sound.
"To think you can actually make such weird noises with a guitar..." "Bocchi's musical talent is truly terrifying..." "As expected of Gotō-san..."
The other three members of Kessoku Band (virgins) huddled together, whispering among themselves.
"Speaking of which, the new school term is starting soon. Have you guys finished your summer homework?" Nijika felt that continuing down this path was useless, so she decisively changed the subject, attempting to shift everyone's focus so Hitori could be distracted from her worries instead of sitting there groggy like she was now.
Yamada Ryo: "What's a 'new term'?"
Kita Ikuyo: "What's 'homework'?"
Hitori: zzz-boing zzz-boing
Nijika: Feeling so tired in her heart, this team is so hard to lead...
"Setting Kita and Bocchi aside for now since they aren't at the same school or in the same grade, Ryo, where's your homework?" Nijika looked at her best friend.
"At your house," Yamada Ryo replied.
"Huh?"
"Or rather, half of my textbooks and school supplies are at your house."
"...You idiot." Nijika let out a heavy sigh, beginning to reflect on whether she was being overly indulgent with Yamada Ryo on normal days.
If this continued, what if Yamada Ryo turned into a useless adult like Hiroi Kikuri?
"Anyhow! I don't care about the rest! Ryo, you at least have to finish your homework!" The girl decided to harden her heart, issuing a final ultimatum to her friend who always had that lazy, slacking demeanor: "Otherwise, I'm throwing all your stuff out of my room!"
"Then I won't be responsible for what your room turns into, Nijika," Yamada Ryo said.
Don't default to assuming you won't finish it! Also, are you turning around to threaten me now?!
The blonde girl complained loudly in her heart.
At this moment, someone pushed open the door and stepped inside.
"Yo-ho~" Asakura called out a greeting to the members of Kessoku Band.
"If it isn't Asakura. Long time no see," Yamada Ryo was the first to respond to his greeting: "Yahoo~"
"When Asakura-senpai visited the Rabbit House earlier, I happened to be away," Kita Ikuyo greeted as well: "You could have left a bit later, you know!"
"Has Asakura-kun's summer vacation trip come to an end?" Nijika also inquired gently: "Did you come to Starry for something?"
"I heard your band is going to perform at a larger live house?" Asakura said with a smile: "Of course I came to cheer you on and boost your morale. After your performance is a success, come to the Rabbit House—I'll host a celebration feast for you guys."
"What kind of dish will be served for the celebration?" A sharp gleam flashed across Yamada Ryo's eyes.
"Buffet style; you can eat whatever you want," Asakura spread his hands.
As long as the Spirit Kitchen can make it.
"Then Japanese spiny lobster and snow crab..."
The girl—who had recently descended back to nibbling on green belt vegetation—drooled at the thought.
"You can have whatever you want in your dreams," Asakura said.
"Stingy."
"Normally people wouldn't eat those kinds of things at a celebration banquet anyway, right?"
"K-Kuma-kun..." Hitori looked at Asakura with blinking, wide eyes.
Although they had already entered a romantic relationship, because both Asakura and Hitori were quite busy and neither was the type who liked chatting on mobile phones, the last time they met was back during the fireworks festival.
"Long time no see, Hitori," Asakura walked over in front of Hitori, gently patting the girl's head, while silently comparing the head-patting texture to Chika, who was also pink-haired.
To tell the truth, Chika's hair felt a bit better to touch, likely because she took good care of it and maintained it well.
However, petting Hitori gave a particularly grounded and comforting feeling; if he had to describe it, it felt like rubbing a big pet dog raised at home.
Since Hitori wasn't in the same school as him, he wanted to get nice and close with his little girlfriend before the summer break ended.
As for Asagumo, who—like Hitori—had also shared intimate skin-to-skin contact with him...
Asakura gazed far into the distance.
Yep, the goal after school starts is to work hard not to be drained dry...