"Hayato-kun was right, I really am an idiot..."
Kita squatted in the corner of STARRY, hugging her knees, gazing blankly at the dark gray wall, silently wiping away tears.
Beside her, Nijika and Bocchi tried hard to comfort her.
"This... this kind of mistake is something anyone can make, really..."
Nijika's desperate fabrication startled Bocchi, who didn't know how to comfort Kita. This shouldn't be considered a mistake anyone would make, right?
Bocchi hesitated, then carefully said to Kita.
"W-well, you just need to sell the bass and buy a Guitar..."
On the other side, Hayato and Ryo-senpai stood beside the bass.
He examined the bass, looking at its slightly exaggerated shape and its low-key yet somewhat flamboyant color scheme, and said in surprise.
"Kita is surprisingly quite rock and roll, choosing a bass like this."
After speaking, he looked at Ryo-senpai, who was looking towards Kita, and seeing her calm yet cool demeanor, he suddenly understood why Kita chose this bass.
This silly girl even chose her instrument to conform to others.
She probably saw the instrument, felt it best matched Ryo-senpai's vibe, and immediately bought it.
He stood up and nudged Ryo-senpai with his shoulder.
"Ryo-senpai, what should we do?"
Ryo-senpai glanced at him, completely unbothered by this younger boy's disrespect towards her.
Hayato could feel that her gaze carried some unclear emotions, not directed at him, but at that little silly girl over there.
It seemed that what Hayato had noticed, she also knew.
Finally, she walked over... Upon hearing another set of footsteps approaching, Kita, with tears in her eyes, slowly looked up.
But seeing her admired Ryo-senpai walking over, she wasn't happy as usual; instead, she was even more afraid.
What would a cool Band girl like Ryo-senpai say to her? Would she just kick her out?
She fell into a panic, whispering softly.
"Senpai..."
Ryo-senpai looked down at her, and in her slightly low, calm voice, she said.
"I'll buy this bass, and then I'll lend you a Guitar."
Hearing these words, which were beyond her expectation, Kita's tear-filled eyes blinked. Ryo-senpai's words were rapidly processed in her mind.
Ryo-senpai was going to buy her bass and lend her a Guitar.
Isn't this an ex... exchange... This is an exchange of tokens of affection!
She had gained her senpai's love!
She suddenly stood up, intertwined her fingers, and glowed brightly, a light that made the innocent Bocchi beside her cry out, covering her eyes.
"Ryo-senpai, thank you very much!"
"Mm, I'll go get it now."
Ryo-senpai nodded calmly, then turned and walked unhurriedly towards the shop entrance.
Her home was nearby, so there was no need to wait a few days to bring it.
However, as she passed Hayato, she heard the young man speak softly.
"Ryo-senpai is truly gentle, even though she doesn't like people like Kita."
Ryo-senpai's steps paused, and her figure stopped.
She looked at the young man who had only started learning instruments after joining their Band, this male who had quickly learned to use instruments and could perform on stage.
She looked at his clear eyes beneath his playful demeanor.
Her lips inexplicably curved slightly, with a smile that was both proud and triumphant, and she said in a tone completely different from her usual one.
"You're quite bold to say that to your senpai."
After speaking, she passed Hayato without further pause.
Hayato recalled her cool, fleeting smile, and the tear mole at the corner of her eye that made her seem more elegant, along with her delicate ear stud decorations.
He couldn't help but feel that this girl was indeed quite cool.
But why had her attitude towards him suddenly changed so much? He had a feeling something bad was about to happen... Upon returning, Ryo-senpai gave Kita the money for the bass, but at the same time, she also pulled out the remaining money from her pocket and said to Kita with a gloomy expression.
"This is all my remaining wealth. From now on, I'll have to live on grass."
Kita was surprised that Ryo-senpai could so readily pull out such a sum of money, and hearing Ryo-senpai's words, she looked panicked and didn't know how to respond to her.
She immediately felt that she couldn't accept the money.
Nijika, who was already accustomed to Ryo-senpai's negative financial state, sighed.
For Nijika, this wasn't the first time this girl had acted this way; Nijika knew exactly what her subtext was.
She helplessly expressed understanding and sighed.
"I know, I know. I'll make Ryo-senpai's lunch bento from now on."
"Yay."
Ryo-senpai said with a smile, then glanced at Hayato and Bocchi.
Her calm gaze sent shivers down Bocchi's spine, while Hayato very casually patted his wallet, which was completely empty, and gave her a happy smile... "So, Kita-chan also has a Guitar..."
Nijika said, showing a hesitant expression.
Originally, she had planned to let Kita demonstrate her current skill level, but thinking that this was someone who couldn't even distinguish between a bass and a Guitar, she suddenly felt that the Band's progress had been set back quite a bit.
Hayato saw her hesitation and quickly walked over. As she looked at him with a puzzled expression, he walked behind her, placed his hands on her shoulders, and gently shook her.
"Be more confident, Leader."
Nijika was surprised by his sudden action. She moved aside and turned her head, looking at him with a hint of helplessness in her red eyes.
Hayato ignored her gaze and said to Kita with a smile.
"Then, let's invite the most outstanding Guitar, oops, Guitar player of this century, to demonstrate her current Guitar skills."
"Hayato-kun, you're going too far with the teasing!"
Being the closest, Nijika, who was the first to hear Hayato's remark, cried out in annoyance.
But Hayato's confident smile, as if saying "leave it to me," made her pause and turn to look at Kita.
It was Kita's first time holding a Guitar. Under the gaze of several people, she held the Guitar Ryo-senpai lent her, touching the strings that were much thinner than before, a look of hesitation on her face.
For a moment, she didn't know what to do. Although both had six strings, the different feel gave her a completely different sensation.
Never mind.
As soon as this thought surfaced in her mind, she felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity.
That was the most regrettable decision she had made recently.
Running away from Ijiichi-senpai, Ryo-senpai, and Hayato-kun's Band because she didn't dare to explain was the most regrettable thing she had done in a long time.
Now, when she was given a choice again... she looked up, facing the opposite side.
Behind the worried Ijiichi-senpai, Hayato, that Pervert with a terrible personality who had been teasing her recently, watched her with a smile.
There was no mockery in that smile.
Thinking of what he had just told her today, "Excellent, Kita, you've grown!"
She felt that if she backed down now, she would definitely be looked down upon. At the same time, if she didn't dare to play the Guitar Ryo-senpai lent her, Ryo-senpai would surely be disappointed.
Holding the Guitar, she looked around at everyone and said firmly.
"Then let me give it a try."
After she finished speaking, she inexplicably had a sense of déjà vu. It seemed she had said something similar with such confidence not long ago.
Suddenly, she began to panic.