When Ryo-senpai and Nijika returned to STARRY, they saw an unexpected scene.
Seika sat calmly at the STARRY bar, while in the hall, Hayato was cheerfully dancing the hula.
He held a bouquet of flowers from who knows where, a grass skirt around his waist, swaying back and forth. Coupled with his sunny and handsome face, he attracted the gazes of the Bands who had arrived early at the livehouse.
Nijika even heard a Band nearby quietly say, "Next time, we can use this format for our MC."
As for why they were speaking quietly... Nijika looked at her sister, Seika, who was sitting at the bar, calmly drinking, her expression serene.
Behind her sister, Seika, the three-headed, six-armed Asura's face had furious veins spewing blood.
Ryo-senpai pondered for a moment, then looked at the harmonious scene and said, "Even a calming spell probably wouldn't ease the Manager's murderous intent now."
As she spoke, a few glass shards popped out of the glass Seika was holding.
For her sister's blood pressure, Nijika quickly went over and pulled Hayato away.
"Hayato-kun, don't bully Big Sister anymore~!"
As she spoke, she extended her hand, her fingers forming a knife, and tapped Hayato's head.
Hayato let her, still smiling cheerfully even when hit.
However, when Seika saw the scene over there, the glass in her hand instantly shattered...
"Guitar is too hard to learn!!"
On the other side, inside the room, Kita-chan placed her Guitar on the floor, letting out a pained wail.
She knelt on the ground, looking at the Guitar Ryo-senpai had lent her, then tearfully looked at Bocchi-chan opposite her, who was holding her own Guitar.
Despite being the one teaching, Bocchi-chan wasn't angry at all when Kita-chan said this; instead, she had a worried, uneasy expression.
But Kita-chan couldn't help but ask, "Gotou-san, is the keyboard really not easier to learn than the Guitar?"
Bocchi-chan, seeing why Kita-chan asked this, explained, "Ah... yes, the keyboard requires a very large amount of music theory knowledge and long-term practice to be used well."
"Um... Kita-chan, your learning speed is already very fast, don't rush."
As Bocchi-chan comforted Kita-chan, she couldn't help but think of someone Kita-chan hadn't mentioned directly, but alluded to everywhere.
However, Hayato-kun seemed to learn things very quickly. At the beginning of the semester, he had said he didn't know any instruments.
But that must have been a lie, right?
If it was true that he learned the keyboard so quickly and could even perform on stage, that would be too amazing.
Such a person... such a person saying he could support her or something...
"Sorry, I said some discouraging things..."
Kita-chan knew she had no right to complain, after all, everyone else besides her could play an instrument. Her joining hadn't helped the Band much; instead, she had been a burden.
She picked up the Guitar again and sat back down on the chair.
However, after speaking, she felt Bocchi-chan beside her was strangely quiet.
She looked at Bocchi-chan.
Opposite her, Bocchi-chan's head was bowed, her shoulders trembling slightly. Kita-chan looked at Bocchi-chan's strange appearance and, puzzled, lowered her head to look at her face.
From under Bocchi-chan's bangs, she saw Bocchi-chan's dreamy, somewhat lewd smile and her entranced gaze fixed on a fantasy world.
For some reason, Kita-chan felt a little uneasy and wary.
After hesitating, she reached out and gently nudged Bocchi-chan.
"Gotou-san, Gotou-san?"
Bocchi-chan was pushed and suddenly snapped back to reality. When she looked up and saw Kita-chan so close, she instinctively retreated in panic, but after two steps, she immediately realized her reaction was too strong.
She quickly stood up straight and apologized to Kita-chan.
"Ah! Yes, yes, I'm sorry."
Kita-chan completely ignored her overly intense reaction; instead, she spoke to Bocchi-chan gently.
"No, I should be the one to apologize. I suddenly startled Gotou-san."
She spoke thoughtfully, her yellowish-green eyes shifting for a moment, then asked Bocchi-chan again, "Gotou-san, do you have someone you like?"
"Eh... asking that suddenly..."
Bocchi-chan shyly didn't answer directly, but her flustered movements and reactions were all noticed by Kita-chan.
Kita-chan sat up straight again, saying with a thick smile, "Sorry, Gotou-san, I'm a bit tired from practicing. I suddenly wanted to talk about girl topics."
"But let's not now, let's continue."
...And then, after practicing for a considerable amount of time, when they realized it was getting late, Bocchi-chan and Kita-chan hurriedly came out of the rehearsal room.
Then they saw Seika at the bar, sulking, to the point where even Nijika couldn't calm her down.
There was also Ms. PA at a nearby table, covering her face and laughing, and Hayato and Ryo-senpai hiding in a corner, each doing their own thing.
They felt as if they had completely missed a big drama after practicing all afternoon.
Nijika, feeling hopeless about comforting her sister, looked over when she heard the commotion.
She decisively gave up on her sister, who was unmanageable for the time being, and walked towards the two.
"Oh~ Kita-chan, Bocchi-chan, is practice over?"
As she left, Seika, who had completely ignored Nijika's attempts to comfort her, turned and glanced at her.
On the other side, Kita-chan bowed slightly and said to Nijika, "Yes, I'm very sorry for occupying the rehearsal room for so long."
Beside her, Bocchi-chan, as if she hadn't thought of that, hurriedly tried to match Kita-chan's actions when...
"Don't mention it, no one uses it anyway."
Nijika waved her hands repeatedly, refusing.
Hayato, seeing the Band members gathered again, also walked over from the corner. He reached out and greeted Kita-chan.
"How's our NEW STAR doing? You didn't cry halfway through practice saying 'It's too hard, I can't do it,' did you?"
Kita-chan, who had been a little downcast after hearing the first part of Hayato-kun's question, froze when she heard the latter part, looking at Hayato in disbelief.
Seeing her expression, Hayato was stunned.
There really was such a thing.
He thought, and changed his tone, "Well, don't rush. Music is only fun when you play it slowly."
Seeing Hayato finally acting like a decent person today, Nijika was surprised and slightly happy as she said, "Hayato-kun is right, Kita-chan, don't overdo it and hurt yourself."
...After practice, when the store started to get busy, Kita-chan and Bocchi-chan prepared to leave, and Hayato also left with the two of them.
At the entrance of STARRY, Nijika leaned out halfway and bid farewell to the three.
"Kita-chan, Bocchi-chan, Hayato-kun, tomorrow is the first day of part-time work, don't forget, everyone."
"Bye-bye."
Ryo-senpai beside her didn't say much, lazily waving her hand.
"Mm, I remembered."
Hayato nodded in response, then looked to the side, and as expected, saw Bocchi-chan's contorted face. That appearance, if seen suddenly, would probably scare someone half to death.
Fortunately, he had started to get used to it.
Beneath that chaotic expression, Bocchi-chan still had the ability to speak. She hesitated, nodding, "Ah, okay."
Then Hayato looked at Kita-chan, who was a few steps above them... Feeling like she was about to be noticed, Kita-chan hurriedly averted her gaze from Hayato and seriously promised Nijika and Ryo-senpai at the store entrance.
"I will work hard, please rest assured and entrust the work to me!"
"Oh~ How reliable."
Nijika smiled slightly... On the way back today.
Kita-chan secretly observed the two people beside her.
Hayato-kun, as before, walked alongside them at their slower pace, casually observing his surroundings.
But Gotou-san was different.
Walking beside Hayato-kun, her spirits were noticeably higher than usual, and even her gaze beneath her bangs would secretly steal glances at Hayato-kun's face.
Her face was still flushed with a cute blush, which definitely wasn't from the streetlights or nearby lights.
It wasn't like this yesterday.
Did something happen afterwards?
In such a short amount of time?
As their steps continued, the place where she had to part ways grew closer, and Kita felt she couldn't do nothing.
Her heart began to clench.
Should she make a move? How should she make a move?
But seeing Gotou-san, who was usually timid and weak, looking so happy, she couldn't help but think for a moment that for Gotou-san,
Hayato-kun was indeed the best boyfriend.
He would carefully protect Gotou-san.
Yet, even as she thought this, she felt a sense of unwillingness.
"Kita is very quiet today," Hayato suddenly spoke.
Kita, who had been lost in thought, was startled by the sudden voice. Noticing Hayato's gaze, she looked up and smiled evasively.
"I was just thinking about the Guitar; Hayato-kun startled me."
"Really?" Hayato asked meaningfully, "You weren't thinking about something ridiculous, were you?"
"What do you mean!"
Kita, feeling her mood had been seen through, panicked and asked defiantly.
Hayato swayed his head, mumbling like a chant.
"Like running away, running away, running away, or something."
Although her embarrassing past was brought up, Kita breathed a sigh of relief, then feigned annoyance and explained.
"I only did it once, alright? And I'll never do it again."
As she spoke, she slowly lowered her head. She suddenly remembered that joining the Band before was purely based on her momentary impulse.
And it was under that impulse that she did something that embarrassed everyone. Although that time was perfectly resolved, she wouldn't always have such good luck.
This time, should she also act impulsively and regret it later?
She looked at Bocchi.
She gazed at the bangs covering Bocchi's eyes and her tracksuit, which had no hint of girlishness.
Gotou-san might not even be Hayato-kun's type, and she had only known Hayato-kun for a month.
What to do... she would just wait a while and see.