Many people say that Shimokitazawa is a gathering place for artsy types.
"Shimokitazawa" is actually a broad term, referring to the large area of streets and communities extending from the Shimokitazawa train station.
There are many vintage clothing stores, theaters, and Livehouses here. The overall style also tends towards a Showa-era business district, like a miniature Kichijoji. There are many schools near Shimokitazawa, including Tokyo University's Komaba Campus, Meiji University's Izumi Campus, Kokushikan University, and numerous middle schools.
For students who come to wander around or tourists with a penchant for retro, this is an excellent place to pass the time.
Old staircases and houses are everywhere, with shops full of vintage charm hidden within, be they bakeries or cafes. Coincidentally, most of the shops are quite reasonable in their pricing, perhaps considering the small profit but high sales volume for students. The prices of many practical goods and snacks can even be described as cheap.
Students with little spare money in their pockets are most sensitive to shop prices. If they feel they've been taken advantage of in one purchase, they might never patronize the store again.
Kurusu Akira has been living rather shabbily lately... perhaps, he was indeed cursed by an invisible enemy; from his transmigration until now, he has always lived quite shabbily. His financial situation was very tight; even insurance salesmen would shake their heads and leave after talking to him for a couple of sentences.
"Amamiya-san, what should we have for lunch?"
Iseri Nina, who had been following behind Kurusu Akira, suddenly asked weakly.
This made him stop in his tracks decisively.
"Unfortunately, I don't know."
"Oh, I'm hungry..."
Iseri Nina walked a few steps listlessly, looking like she was about to collapse.
Kurusu Akira looked up at the bright, sunny sky, "Can 900 yen buy two sandwiches at a convenience store?"
"Probably only enough for one."
"I'm out of money." Kurusu Akira said to Iseri Nina with a somewhat weathered expression, "My dear club member, could you help your financially struggling president?"
"Mhm~" Iseri Nina nodded vigorously.
She seemed quite happy to treat Kurusu Akira to lunch.
Then Iseri Nina pointed to a "Nara Gyudon" restaurant nearby; at first glance, the storefront looked quite clean and tidy. "How about this place?"
Kurusu Akira was never picky about food, "Then I'd be very grateful."
-
[The Phantom Thief is hungry.]
[Iseri Nina paid 1440 yen for the Phantom Thief's "Signature Gyudon".]
[The Phantom Thief's mood, +5]
[The Phantom Thief's favorability towards Iseri Nina has slightly increased.]
-
Several Japanese maples were planted beside the gravel ground, their emerald leaves swaying in the wind.
It was a clear afternoon. Gentle sunlight floated through the streets, and the benches and traffic signs on both sides of the road shone dazzlingly white, as if emitting a soft, pure light of their own.
Kurusu Akira strolled contentedly among the age-old buildings.
He deliberately walked along the walls, carefully reading the recruitment advertisements posted on them.
Suddenly, an A4 paper covered in crayon doodles caught his eye.
[Band recruiting guitarist, keyboardist, vocalist...]
[If interested, please come to Shimokitazawa Livehouse-STARRY for an interview. Compensation negotiable.]
The words [Compensation negotiable] were very subtle, filled with a magical charm that invited wild speculation.
Kurusu Akira showed a thoughtful expression, then turned to Iseri Nina beside him, "Shall we form a band?"
"No, no, no... no." Iseri Nina quickly shook her head. Her grades were already very bad, and she dared not participate in something that clearly looked like a huge waste of time.
"I heard you really like rock music, especially that 'Diamond Dust' song?"
"But, but I can't play an instrument or sing..."
"You can learn now; singing isn't hard, and I think your voice is beautiful. Maybe you could become a great singer."
"But..."
Iseri Nina felt a wave of dizziness.
Imagining herself not only having to stand in front of a crowd and sing into a microphone, but also facing the major crisis of not getting into university, she frantically pointed at the childlike doodle advertisement, trying to persuade Kurusu Akira to give up the idea of playing in a band.
"But don't you think an advertisement like this, without even a band name or contact number, is extremely suspicious?!"
"It says to meet at the Livehouse, which means the band is still in its early stages, a perfect time for everyone to improve together. Since you like rock, why not try to find your place in the band? Even if you're afraid to sing in public and worried about not having enough practice time, you could try learning the simplest rhythm guitar?"
"But..." Iseri Nina felt her heart pounding, yet she couldn't manage to say no as decisively as before.
During that incredibly painful year of high school in Kumamoto, Diamond Dust's songs were her only solace and encouragement.
Countless times, she had imagined her right hand plucking at a guitar, lightly sweeping a bass; countless times she had flexed her fingers on tabletops, in the air, on her clothes, following her favorite songs; and countless times she had dreamed of standing on a spotlighted stage, shouting to her fans... But dreams were just dreams. Back in reality, she was just an ordinary high school student who had run away from home and couldn't even take care of her own life and studies.
"I won't get into university," Iseri Nina said, somewhat dejectedly.
Kurusu Akira couldn't say things like "I'll tutor you, I'll help you improve your academic ability."
That would be too frivolous, too inexplicable. Saying such lines to a young girl who had run away from home to Tokyo would be tantamount to asking, "Are you willing to entrust your life to me?"
He tore the flyer from the wall and searched for "STARRY" Livehouse on his phone's navigation.
The word "Livehouse" is a classic example of "Japanlish," a special term coined by Japanese people in the last century based on English word meanings.
A proper Livehouse usually comes equipped with professional sound and lighting systems, and sometimes even a dedicated recording studio, as well as instruments for performers.
Livehouses generally sell alcoholic beverages and other drinks as an additional source of income, or they might even function as a bar or cafe simultaneously.
For a long time, Livehouses have offered music lovers the chance to enjoy live performances up close and an immersive concert atmosphere, gaining widespread popularity among music enthusiasts from all walks of life in the century since their inception.
It is said that some ACGN exhibitions and offline fan meetings for idol groups choose to hold their events in famous Livehouses.
Kurusu Akira, while studying his phone's GPS, led the hesitant Iseri Nina onto a pedestrian overpass.
Iseri Nina blindly followed behind Kurusu Akira, stepping forward.
The azure sky unfurled above them, rushing like a great river between the densely packed tall buildings, and thick clouds moved slowly.
Beneath the bridge, traffic flowed rapidly, moving in the opposite direction to the sky's path, heading against the current towards the city's edge.
On the wide overpass, the two walked one after another, bathed in the gentle warmth of the sun.
Suddenly, Kurusu Akira's voice came from ahead.
"You know, I used to go to middle school in a rural town in the Kansai region."
"Sometimes, seeing other people's youth shine so brightly made me pity my sixteen or seventeen-year-old self. I'd resent the internet for showing me international high school graduation ceremonies, where beautiful girls in elegant dresses laughed and chatted, confidently embracing their eighteenth birthday.
Sitting in an old classroom, the youth and campus life I could imagine were almost always dim details: a seat by the wall, ugly school uniform sleeves covering cursed words on the wall, and the background sound of early morning reading at six or seven, lessons, English words, and math formulas swallowed whole.
More than once, I imagined: I would be indistinct, dejected, and thus muddle through until I was eighteen."
Iseri Nina stepped on Kurusu Akira's shadow, following him down the steps of the overpass, one by one.
On the road beside them, an old-fashioned van drove by, its cargo seemingly heavy, creating a dense, noisy clatter of objects colliding.
Kurusu Akira held his phone, glanced at the route map on the navigation, then stepped back a few paces to stand beside Iseri Nina.
"You feel your entrance exam results weren't satisfactory, but that's just the beginning of the school year. No one's life stops progressing because of one failed exam."
"So, having a rare opportunity in this seemingly glamorous city of Tokyo to try and achieve an equally glamorous life, if we don't challenge ourselves with more choices... then why exactly did we come to Tokyo?"
"Just to 'escape'?"
"But what if one day, even Tokyo has no place for us? Where else can we run?"
Kurusu Akira turned sideways, standing in front of Iseri Nina. Every rhetorical question he uttered was like a devil's seductive whisper, drawing out the yearning and longing hidden deep within the girl's heart.
Iseri Nina lowered her face, not daring to meet Amamiya-san's gaze.
She opened her mouth, emitting a hoarse sound almost like a sob.
"Ah... I never thought someone as brilliant as Amamiya-san would have such a dark past."
As Iseri Nina said this, recalling the series of school bullying incidents she suffered in her hometown and the entire year of her school life spent hiding in the dark corners of the classroom, complex emotions immediately flowed through her heart, and it seemed as if tears were about to fall.
Passing a department store with a sale, Kurusu Akira looked back at Iseri Nina.
"Are you about to cry?"
Iseri Nina sniffled, then turned her face away, refusing to let him see her expression.
After a while, she asked Kurusu Akira in a slightly nasal voice, "Did you, did you also suffer that kind of treatment?..."
"Yes. My desk was vandalized, my drawer was filled with trash, razor blades were hidden in my shoe locker, and if I went to the restroom alone, the door would be blocked. If I wanted to scream hysterically at my surroundings, the only response I got was their punches and kicks."
Kurusu Akira said nonchalantly, "After leaving school, I'd still be taught a lesson by thugs, who'd snatch the little pocket money I had. Finally, I'd walk alone in the twilight after school, until I returned to an empty rental room, only then having time to carefully count my injuries."
"Then how did you become... become like this?"
"You aspire to be like me?"
Iseri Nina nodded vigorously.
Kurusu Akira couldn't help but smile, "But do you really understand me?"
Iseri Nina stopped in place, looking at his back, at a loss.
Kurusu Akira turned around and waved to her, "We've reached our destination. That Livehouse called 'STARRY' is just ahead."
He patted the guitar case on his back, "If you want to understand more about what kind of person Amamiya Ren is, then follow me into that store."
The "STARRY" storefront was hidden down a staircase in an alley.
It was a complete "underground Livehouse."
Iseri Nina followed Kurusu Akira down the stairs with some trepidation, the darkness gradually swallowing the path behind them.
"Don't take what I said earlier too seriously."
Kurusu Akira's voice echoed in the narrow, dim stairwell.
"W-why? It was so, so inspiring, and..."
"I made it up."
"Huh?!" Iseri Nina's mournful whisper came to an abrupt halt.
"I haven't experienced anything like a light novel plot."
Kurusu Akira said.
In the dark environment, his smile was faintly visible, and in Iseri Nina's eyes, it was as hideous and terrifying as a devil.
He said nonchalantly.
"To make words impactful, you definitely need to artistically process reality to some extent. So those words, to be precise, should be considered something I made up."
Iseri Nina's heart felt as if it had instantly plunged into an ice cellar, an icy chill invading her entire body, every finger seemingly frozen.
She stood with her mouth agape, her pupils trembling, yet unable to utter a single word.
Kurusu Akira grabbed Iseri Nina's forearm, and with an undeniable force, dragged her into "STARRY."
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