Faced with Gotoh Hitori, who had been causing one scene after another since her arrival, Ijichi Nijika felt a throbbing in her temples.
But since she was the one who scouted her, she could only repeat a mantra in her head.
'I invited her, I invited her. Her guitar skills are good, her guitar skills are good...'
She tried to brainwash herself repeatedly to suppress the urge to throw this pink-haired weirdo out.
Meanwhile, the boastful Bocchi had also met her natural enemy: the young lady, Yamada Ryo.
The essence of her boastfulness was bluffing, relying on bragging and exaggerated behavior to act cool and attract attention.
But in front of a true young lady of genuine substance, this routine looked rather clownish.
This was because the impressive feats she wracked her brain to invent might just be the young lady's everyday routine.
So when Yamada Ryo heard Bocchi-chan's self-introduction, she didn't refute it like a normal person would. Instead, she said with surprise, "Really? So you've already reached a world-class level? That's amazing."
She paused, seeming to think seriously, then added, "To form a band with Nijika smoothly, I had my family hire several professional music teachers for special training. I practiced for a long time, and even now, the most I'd dare say is that my bass skills are adequate."
"For Gotoh-san to have such skill at such a young age, it seems the masters truly come from the common folk!"
Bocchi-chan: "!!!"
Yamada Ryo's earnestness, contrary to expectations, made Gotoh Hitori feel embarrassed.
It was like bragging to someone that you could kill a tiger with a slide tackle, only for Wu Song to walk by.
And after hearing you, he says with a look of admiration, "I never imagined you possessed such strength, my apologies for the lack of respect!"
"Uh, well, it's, it's not that world-class..." Bocchi-chan immediately chickened out, her voice growing smaller and smaller.
"It's just, a little bit better than a normal person... haha... hahaha..."
Gotoh Hitori laughed dryly, not knowing what to do with her hands and feet.
Yamada Ryo continued to look at her with those clear eyes and nodded. "Humility is also a virtue. I'm looking forward to working with you even more now."
Watching from the side as the pink-haired weirdo, who had been so arrogant just moments ago, was put in her place by Ryo's few words, Nijika almost burst out laughing.
"A-alright! Let's not just stand here foolishly!" Having had her fill of seeing Bocchi-chan flustered, Nijika decided to force the process forward.
"Let's hurry up and try playing together to see how it feels."
She walked behind the drum kit and picked up her drumsticks.
She chose a relatively simple song that all three of them knew and prepared to start their first rehearsal.
"Hmph, I can play this kind of entry-level song with my eyes closed!"
As Bocchi-chan spoke, she slung her guitar strap on in what she thought was a cool pose, but the strap got tangled around her arm, nearly causing her to trip over herself.
"Um, Gotoh-san," Nijika couldn't help but say, "we're just rehearsing, you don't need to add so much body language. Can you just focus on the pitch and rhythm for now?"
Bocchi-chan was a bit embarrassed, but a braggart never self-reflects. The feeling was quickly covered up by the thought that 'a master is always lonely.'
'Hmph, mortals can't understand my art!'
The performance began.
To be fair, setting aside all the flashy, self-dramatizing parts, Gotoh Hitori's guitar technique was clearly well-practiced and her skills were very solid.
Listening to her, Nijika's tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed a bit.
'Thank goodness, her technique is fine. At least she has one good point.'
However, a problem soon emerged.
Immersed in her own world, Bocchi-chan made no effort to coordinate with her teammates, charging ahead at her own pace!
Bocchi-chan's guitar sound was like a stray dog off its leash, zipping away and leaving the other two behind.
"Stop! Stop for a second!" Nijika slammed a cymbal, creating a piercing noise.
The music came to an abrupt halt.
Bocchi-chan was still holding the final chord pose, looking completely bewildered. "What's wrong? Did I play a wrong note? Impossible, there's no way I'd make a mistake on this part!"
Nijika held her forehead, feeling her blood pressure rise. "Gotoh, a band isn't a one-person solo! You have to listen to the drums, listen to the bass! I clearly slowed down just now, what were you doing?!"
"Huh? Did you?" Bocchi-chan blinked, completely unaware. "I thought my improvisation just now was great, full of rock's rebellious spirit!"
"That wasn't rebellious! That was derailing!" Nijika felt like a father lecturing a problem child, her tone becoming stern involuntarily.
"Let's go again! This time, you'd better listen to the rhythm!"
"Oh..." Bocchi-chan pouted and muttered under her breath, "What's with the yelling, you short blonde..."
"What did you say?!"
"N-nothing! I said Teacher Nijika's guidance is correct!"
The second rehearsal began. This time, while playing the drums, Nijika fixed a death stare on Bocchi-chan from behind.
Under this "mountainous paternal" gaze, Bocchi-chan was under immense pressure, playing the song as if walking on thin ice.
"Hmm, much better this time." After the song ended, Nijika gave a reluctant nod. "Gotoh, your individual technique is fine, but your sense of band coordination needs work."
Just then, Yamada Ryo, who had been watching quietly, suddenly spoke up: "Gotoh-san's guitar playing is very similar to a type of experimental rock I've heard, which emphasizes the ultimate expression of the individual, occasionally intentionally breaking from the overall framework to seek a deconstructive beauty."
Bocchi-chan: "???"
Nijika: "???"
Although Bocchi-chan didn't fully understand, words like "experimental" and "deconstructive beauty" sounded very impressive!
She immediately puffed out her chest. "That's right! Yamada-san, you get me! That's exactly my style!"
Nijika looked at Yamada Ryo, speechless. "Ryo, can you please stop making excuses for her? She just couldn't keep up with the rhythm!"
Yamada Ryo blinked, looking innocent. "I'm not making excuses. I'm just stating an objective fact. After all, Gotoh-san herself said she was 'world-class,' so she must have her reasons for playing that way."
Nijika didn't say anything more. She was used to it, as this wasn't the first time Ryo had been like this.
She recalled the first time they went to a KTV; this young lady had studied the self-serve drink machine for a full ten minutes before earnestly asking her about the machine's principles.
____
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