Toyokawa Sakiko couldn't sleep.
For a girl who always chased perfection—who demanded the best in every single aspect of life—insomnia was an extremely rare occurrence.
Sleep affected stamina.
And stamina was the foundation of everything she did in a day.
In her eyes, having a baby-perfect, plentiful night's sleep was a prerequisite for success.
But every time she thought about how the trap she'd carefully and painstakingly set had ended up making a wedding dress for some "homewrecker cat," she would toss and turn in bed, unable to fall asleep.
So it turned out she wasn't as magnanimous as she'd imagined.
Toyokawa Sakiko reflected on her own shortcomings.
At the very least, when it came to the person she respected most—Gotō-senpai—she apparently had very little room for tolerance.
And so she spent the entire night awake.
In the morning, Toyokawa Sakiko dragged herself out of bed with bloodshot eyes, looking even more aggressive than usual.
And because of that…
Gotō Doku couldn't shake the feeling of goosebumps crawling up his spine.
From the moment she showed up at the shop today, Toyokawa Sakiko had been staring at him with a gaze that was impossible to ignore.
Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on—fur bristling at light speed, hissing through clenched teeth—her whole body was radiating a sharp, dangerous aura.
If the usual Toyokawa Sakiko felt like an angel…
Right now she was a full-on demon with resentment clouding her eyes.
"Um… Toyokawa… did I do something wrong…? Did I make you mad…?" Gotō Doku finally asked.
He couldn't keep pretending nothing was different with this junior who'd changed so suddenly.
During a break, he gathered his courage and spoke to her first.
"No. Gotō-senpai hasn't done anything wrong. Even if the world ends, Gotō-senpai still wouldn't be at fault," Toyokawa Sakiko said seriously.
W-What an intense thing to say right off the bat…
That was absolutely not the kind of line she'd normally use.
Gotō Doku swallowed. He could feel the sheer intensity of her obsession spilling out into the open, and his expression gradually turned solemn.
Still… hearing her praise him in such an exaggerated, slightly cringe, chuuni way made him weirdly happy.
I'm not that amazing, though… hehe…
Toyokawa Sakiko saw that Gotō Doku wasn't reacting much, so she continued—her tone faintly like someone whose jealousy had tipped over a vinegar jar.
"I'm just a little curious what that classmate you met yesterday said to you. You looked so happy replying to her messages… I've never seen Gotō-senpai smile and talk to someone before."
"?!!"
Gotō Doku went pale. The tiny swell of pride in his chest instantly transformed into sheer terror.
W-When I message Kita… am I really smiling while I type…?
I can't even picture what my smile looks like…
It's probably horrifying…
Is she staring at me because my smile is too ugly…?
I'm sorry…!
I'm really sorry my smile isn't nice to look at! I'll practice in the mirror from now on, so please forgive me…!
Gotō Doku's body practically started twitching. Honestly, he was just happy that Kita Ikuyo was willing to chat with him on LINE.
For someone as gloomy as him, having a "perfect normie girl" like Kita in his friends list—someone whose very chat window radiated extrovert sunshine—was something he couldn't even have dreamed of before.
So every time he saw a message from Kita Ikuyo, his lips would unconsciously curl upward, and he'd reply earnestly.
But behavior that looked like "getting hooked like a fish that's been baited" was simply too glaring in Toyokawa Sakiko's eyes—she couldn't not notice.
She'd believed she already held the home-field advantage. That she was invincible. That as long as she waited for the right moment and slowly closed the net, she could conquer the entire world and rule forever.
And yet she never expected some outside enemy to come in with such a sneaky move.
All she'd done was wait normally—no carelessness, not even that—just timing her strike for the perfect moment…
…and that vile homewrecker cat had seized the opening and stolen the ultimate chance.
How deeply regretful. How maddening.
The one who should've been happily chatting about guitars with Gotō-senpai… the one who should've been the one to "hook" that easy-to-攻略 Gotō-senpai…
Should've been me, you know…!
Toyokawa Sakiko sighed inwardly.
Then she looked up and saw Gotō Doku's expression teetering on the edge of total collapse. She immediately realized he might've misunderstood what she meant, so she cleared her throat and hurriedly corrected herself.
"Ahem… Gotō-senpai, I didn't mean it like that. I'm truly just curious what kind of person your classmate is. If you don't mind… could you tell me a little about what you two talked about?"
Gotō Doku let out a small "Ah," and his face gradually returned to normal.
Remembering what Kita Ikuyo had said to him in the park yesterday, he blinked a few times, then looked away shyly and covered the lower half of his face with his hand.
That tiny gesture made Toyokawa Sakiko's flawless smile crack—crack—like porcelain.
Ha…
Before, she still wasn't sure whether the other person was a boy or a girl. She'd had her doubts.
Now it was confirmed.
A homewrecker cat after all.
Hahaha.
Hahahaha.
Unforgivable.
Toyokawa Sakiko still wore the elegant smile that anyone would call poised and refined.
But the two small fists she'd somehow tucked behind her back were already bulging with veins.
"Um… Kita-san is… a really wonderful person," Gotō Doku said, racking his brain for how to describe it. "I'm happy when I'm with her. She helps me find things to talk about, and she's willing to talk with me a lot…"
So bold—starting conversations without permission. How frivolous.
Toyokawa Sakiko thought.
"Maybe because I was influenced by Kita-san… after that, on LINE we talked about when we'd go buy a guitar, and what my pay should be… I felt like I'd gotten a lot better at talking. I sent so, so many messages."
"Gotō-senpai cares so much about his student's needs—what an exemplary teacher!" Toyokawa Sakiko nodded in approval.
"N-No… 'exemplary teacher'… I haven't even started being a teacher yet…" Gotō Doku couldn't handle praise. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "It's just that… after hearing Kita-san speak so sincerely… I felt a lot."
Sincere words on the very first day you met? That's obviously fake sentiment—pure acting.
Toyokawa Sakiko thought again.
"How do I put it… um… I guess I got a little more confident…?" Gotō Doku smiled bashfully. "Like… choosing to pick up the guitar again… maybe isn't something to be afraid of."
"Facing your past, acknowledging fear head-on—Gotō-senpai truly has remarkable character, firm resolve, and courage!" Toyokawa Sakiko nodded again.
"No… I'm not as amazing as you say," Gotō Doku shook his head honestly. "I… really lack confidence. I avoid reality all the time… and if I'm being blunt, I'm kind of… fragile, too. If I fall once, I start thinking about giving up. If someone criticizes me… I might even faint."
"If I had to rate myself… maybe I'm only at thirty points, forty points…" Gotō Doku paused, the corners of his mouth lifting into a small, happy smile. "But even someone like me… has people who are willing to trust me."
"Kita-san… and you too, Toyokawa… you've both given me a lot of courage."
"If I deny myself, that's one thing. I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks I'm terrible. But if I deny other people's feelings toward me too—because of insecurity, fear, cowardice…"
"…then it's the same as insulting them."
"I don't want to trample on the feelings people have for me. To me, those feelings are precious treasures… So even if I'm anxious and hesitant, I still want to move forward."
Gotō Doku lifted his head and—rarely—spoke while looking directly into Toyokawa Sakiko's eyes.
"About the guitar… thank you. Truly, Toyokawa."
"Because of your suggestion, I was able to take my first step forward."
"—"
Toyokawa Sakiko's lips parted slightly, opening and closing… but no sound came out.
All the words she wanted to say stopped in her chest, melting into a warm current that flowed through her heart.
"…Gotō-senpai is really bad in that way."
Gotō Doku was instantly devastated. The semi-permanent shadow effect on his face deepened another level.
He'd actually thought what he just said sounded kind of decent…
"Don't misunderstand, Gotō-senpai. What I meant is… you swept all the resentment out of my heart, so that's why I said you're bad in that way."
Toyokawa Sakiko seemed to return to her usual composed and proper self. Step by step, she walked up to him.
Before Gotō Doku could even process what she meant by "resentment," he saw Toyokawa Sakiko rise onto her toes.
Gotō Doku blanked out for a second and reflexively squeezed his eyes shut.
When he opened them again, he saw the girl in her part-time uniform gently fixing the collar of his shirt where it had flipped up. Then she lifted her chin toward him, smiling warmly.
"I'll be watching you, Gotō-senpai."
"Whether it's you deciding to pick up the guitar again, or becoming Kita-san's guitar teacher—I'll support you from the bottom of my heart. I swear it on my name: everything I'm saying to you right now is the truth."
Perhaps out of stubborn competitiveness, Toyokawa Sakiko subtly emphasized the words "the truth."
"Please keep your current mindset, and little by little, keep walking in the direction you want. For me… just being able to see you pick up the guitar again—"
Toyokawa Sakiko gently closed her amber eyes, delicate and noble like polished gemstones, and placed a pale hand over her chest.
"—That alone already makes me satisfied."
With that, she turned around briskly, humming some little tune as she walked away.
Say something cool, then immediately turn and leave.
Honestly, it really was a good tactic.
It avoided the awkwardness that would follow, and perfectly ensured the other person's memory would linger on the last thing you said.
Unfortunately, there was still one slight flaw.
If only she could've hidden those ears that had turned bright red with her hair… then it would've been truly perfect.
…
…
…
Work ended quickly.
Gotō Doku had both hands in his coat pockets, wearing headphones that let him shut out the world, sitting alone on a late train with his eyes closed, resting.
He'd gotten off work a little later than usual today.
So that Bocchi wouldn't worry, he'd specifically told Gotō Hitori on LINE that he might be home a bit late.
She replied almost instantly with an "Okay!" followed by a whole bunch of exclamation marks.
He'd planned to sleep until his stop.
Then he felt his phone vibrate.
He checked it—Kita had sent a message.
[KitaKita: Gotō-san, are you off work now?]
[KitaKita: I'm here to report on my study tasks!]
[KitaKita: (smug sticker).jpg]
[KitaKita: Reporting to Gotō-sensei: I, KitaKita, have seriously finished watching the study video you sent! I've organized my notes—please inspect them, Gotō-sensei!]
In the time it took Gotō Doku to blink a few times, Kita had already flooded him with messages.
K-Kita's typing speed is really fast…
Is this the power of an extrovert girl…?
Gotō Doku typed slowly—about the pace of one reply for every three of her messages. Luckily, Kita didn't message at an overwhelming frequency, so he could barely keep up.
[Pocket White Dragon: Kita-san's handwriting is really pretty. Your notes are very well done—I don't think there's any problem… You're really amazing.]
He tried his hardest to figure out how to praise her, but in the end, his middle-school-level writing skills could only produce: pretty handwriting, good notes, and the classic "really amazing."
[Pocket White Dragon: When I get home, I'll整理 some guitar review videos. Kita-san can take a look and see if there are any you like. No need to rush your choice—if you see one you like, just make a note of it. Later I'll explain the detailed specs of these guitars to you, and in the end you can decide which one you want.]
[KitaKita: Thank you for your hard work, Gotō-sensei!!!]
Seeing her reply, Gotō Doku stood up from his seat and followed the flow of people off the train.
After choosing the guitar, next is picking a place to practice…
Just as he thought that—
His phone started vibrating again.
Gotō Doku jumped, his hand slipping—he almost flung his phone away. Thankfully, he managed to grab it tight at the last second. When he looked closely, he saw it was a video call.
A-A-A-A video call?!?!
His pupils practically shook. He hung up instantly, without even seeing who was calling.
A few seconds later…
The phone vibrated again.
Gotō Doku stared at it warily and realized this time it was just a normal voice call.
Then he checked the name—
Hiroi Kikuri.
"Um… u-uh… may I ask what's up…?" Gotō Doku swallowed hard and, trembling, finally answered.
This Hiroi Kikuri was the bassist who'd helped him settle his past band troubles.
Because he owed her, Gotō Doku's attitude was extremely cautious.
"Ehh—so I can't call you unless I have a reason? Gotō, you're so cold… Big sis is about to cry, you know?" came a lazy, carefree woman's voice over the line.
"Um… have you been drinking again?"
"How did you know? You're amazing, hahahahaha! You're not even here, and you still know what I'm doing—don't tell me you have clairvoyance, Gotō?"
You can tell just by hearing it…!
"Alright, enough teasing. I heard you're planning to get back into bands, Gotō?"
"N-No! I just decided to pick up the guitar again!" Gotō Doku denied loudly, startled.
The next second—
Noticing people looking his way, he immediately pulled his neck in and pretended nothing had happened.
"If you've picked up the guitar, how far can you really be from a band? Gotō, you're not very honest."
"…I know," Gotō Doku said softly, lowering his gaze.
"But since it's your decision, you must have your reasons. I won't pry, okay? Unless you want to tell me—then that's different. I've always wanted to drag you in as my go-to guitarist, you know."
"..."
Gotō Doku fell silent.
On the other end, Hiroi Kikuri didn't seem to mind the quiet at all and simply continued.
"You said you wanted to find a student. Have you found one yet?"
"…Y-Yeah. I found one. She's a really good person."
"How are you going to teach her?"
"…One-on-one."
"And the location?"
"…Not decided yet."
Gotō Doku covered his face, embarrassed. He still didn't know where he should teach Kita.
"Hmm? You don't know? Then I guess she's a girl."
How can you tell from that…?!
"Let big sis guess—You think bringing her to your place isn't appropriate, and with your age, going to that girl's house also isn't appropriate. Right?"
"…Yes."
"Then big sis will give you a suggestion."
Far away on the other end, Hiroi Kikuri held her phone in one hand and a beer mug filled to the brim in the other, clinking glasses with a weary-looking blonde woman sitting across from her.
"I know a pretty good live house. And I just so happen to be especially close with the owner."
"If you don't know where to go, then go there and teach your student. Let me think… what was the name again—Senpai, sen—pai—what's the name of your live house again?"
"Ah, right, right! That's it!"
Hiroi Kikuri chugged a huge mouthful of beer and spoke comfortably.
"Remember it, Gotō. The place is called…"
Gotō Doku blinked.
As he walked out of the station, he unconsciously lifted his gaze toward the distant night sky, full of countless shining stars.
And the name that surfaced in his heart at that moment…
Overlapped perfectly with Hiroi Kikuri's voice.
"—STARRY!"
-------
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