"So imitate my expression. 'The model band member' refers to me!"
Yamada Ryo said shamelessly from the side.
Ijichi Nijika: "I'm genuinely curious where this confidence of yours even comes from."
[That's the difference between people, huh!]
Kita Ikuyo chimed in from the side: "But as long as we listen to senpai, it'll definitely be fine."
She also casually gave a little push to Gotoh Hitori, who basically had no opinions of her own.
"Right, Gotoh-san!"
Gotoh Hitori merely glanced at Kita Ikuyo, whose eyes were sparkling as she looked at her, then lowered her head, avoiding eye contact and agreeing.
"Yeah, right."
(She asked the person with the least opinion.)
Ijichi Nijika shook her head and asked Saiki,
"With two people giving brainless approval, what do you think, Saiki?"
Saiki merely imagined the scene of everyone imitating Yamada Ryo for the photos, and his body shuddered.
[I don't really have any thoughts on this. The result will shock people, but not necessarily in a good way. If you want to take them, I'll help shoot. If you don't want to, I won't.]
"So what exactly is your opinion?"
In the end, they still decided to agree and take photos again in this way.
"Alright, alright."
Saiki raised the camera.
"3~2~1~ Cheese!!"
"Click—"
Saiki pressed the shutter and looked at the photo that appeared.
[As expected! Does this look like a band? Mm-hmm, yep, it has the vibe of a gangster band.]
How should he put it? It was exactly like what Saiki had imagined.
"Let me see!"
Everyone gathered around. Saiki flipped open the camera and handed it to them.
Group photo 2.0 →
The group was silent for a moment.
Ijichi Nijika: "It kinda feels like we're holding a wake."
Gotoh Hitori: "Yeah!"
...
"So how should we take them to make it better!"
[In short, you should switch positions first. If Gotoh stays on the edge, it'll feel like three people are isolating one person.]
"Yeah, that's true~"
"Then how about jumping shots!"
[That could work, nice. The light music club next door did…]
Yamada Ryo nodded in agreement: "An expert once pointed out that any anime with a jumping scene in the opening is a god-tier anime, so if we take promotional photos with jumps, we'll become a god-tier band too!"
"I have no idea what the logic is here."
[It's just serious nonsense. Anyway, this story never had much logic to begin with. Let's get started.]
"…"
After taking the photos.
The group stood to the side affirming the results.
"Our dream of becoming a popular band has taken another step forward."
"Kessoku Band is about to make its move."
Ijichi Nijika raised her fist and laid out the plan.
"Alright, next up is holding a concert (TBD)."
"Then releasing a demo CD (TBD)."
"Then dropping an album (TBD)."
"We're going to become the super electrifying rock band rising in Shimokitazawa."
Kita Ikuyo ( ᵒ̴̶̷̤໐ᵒ̴̶̷̤ ): "Not a single thing is set in stone yet~"
Saiki watched the girls huddled together, wildly imagining and fantasizing about their future, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously curved into a slight smile.
(Yare yare, having fantasies and goals is a good thing. That's what lets you keep pushing forward.)
"Poke poke—"
A slender, smooth finger poked into Saiki's cheek.
[So why do all of you like doing this? Can you tell me the reason?]
Saiki glanced from the corner of his eye at the culprit—Y Yamada Ryo, who was keeping the same expressionless face as him.
Yamada Ryo looked at Saiki with a gloomy expression: "Go on a date with me."
…
"Even though the lyrics aren't done yet, it's fine. Take your time."
Ijichi Nijika: "We'll leave songwriting to Bocchi-chan and Ryo."
Gotoh Hitori [It's finally here! This topic.]
Gotoh Hitori's expression and art style gradually went blank, then she started trembling.
"As for the lyrics, I… I…"
Kita Ikuyo: "What's wrong, Gotoh-san?"
"Do you have something you want to say, Bocchi-chan?"
Gotoh Hitori [What should I do? Should I say it? It's better to say it, right? You have to move forward with people. I've decided—3—2—1… No, let's start over. 1—2—3…]
Gotoh Hitori firmly thought in her mind, then raised her head to look at the two staring intently at her. The determination and expression she'd just built up twisted again, and she could only weakly say: "I'll do my best!"
"Yeah, good luck."
Gotoh Hitori [What are you doing? Gotoh, you're such an idiot! Paramecium! Paramecium!]
Gotoh Hitori shed tears as she inwardly berated her own weakness.
"Hey! Saiki, why haven't you said anything since earlier?"
No one answered.
"Saiki?"
Gotoh Hitori turned her head and saw that the spot where Saiki had been was now empty.
There was just a big blank space and a ❓.
"When did Saiki-kun disappear?"
"I… I don't know either."
"Ryo's gone too."
Ijichi Nijika glanced at her watch and casually said: "Whatever, forget about those two. So today's hangout ends here. Dismissed!"
…
On the other side, inside a shop.
"Tick… tock."
Yamada Ryo kept her head lowered coolly, lost in thought about who knows what. Saiki, not willing to fall behind, calmly crossed his arms, leaned back, and stared expressionlessly at the person in front of him.
A long while passed~
Neither of them spoke to break the silence.
"So…"
Yamada Ryo slightly lifted her neck, casually glanced at Saiki, paused, then said earnestly,
"It's time to break through this bottleneck. I… Itadakimasu."
With that, Yamada Ryo closed her eyes, put her hands together in a pre-meal greeting, then picked up her spoon and started eating the food in front of her.
"…"
(What was with that heavy atmosphere earlier? You built it up for so long just to eat? Can we talk about something serious instead of just eating!)
Yamada Ryo's rare invitation had piqued Saiki's interest, though he'd had to correct her when she phrased inviting a guy to chat over tea as a date.
"Here's your coffee jelly."
A server smiled brightly as she placed the coffee jelly in front of Saiki.
[Thanks. Ahh~ Delicious.]
Saiki smiled as he savored the treat.
Soon Yamada Ryo finished her curry rice, looked at the empty plate she'd devoured in one go, then at Saiki, who was still leisurely enjoying his food.
A hint of disappointment flashed in Yamada Ryo's eyes. She felt a bit unbalanced inside and looked at Saiki with a complicated expression.
"I think we shouldn't just focus on eating. We should talk about something serious!"
❓
(Yare yare, you're the one who started eating first, right? Don't act like that just because you finished while I'm still eating.)
Under that interrogating gaze, Saiki happily finished his coffee jelly, then met her eyes again.
[I'm done.]
Yamada Ryo didn't speak right away. She rested her cheek on her hand and looked out the window, casually saying: "How did the photos earlier feel? Did you have fun?"
[It was okay. I didn't feel particularly happy.]
"Yeah, same here."
"…"
[If there's nothing else, I'm heading out.]
On the last day of summer vacation, Saiki didn't want to spend it outside. He'd rather play trash games at home than waste time out here.
"Wait…"