[May 6, 2022, Friday.]
[Time remaining until the band's first performance: Two days.]
[Time remaining until the monthly test begins: Four days.]
At dusk, the vast sunset fell from the vast horizon, blood-colored rays tore through the clouds, burning on the campus wall across a green lawn.
Kurusu Akira picked up his guitar case, stopped in the sky corridor of the club building, and looked back at his listless band members... except for Yamada Ryo, who was circling around Togawa Sakiko.
"Why is everyone so dispirited today? You all seemed distracted during band practice."
Ijichi Nijika made a bitter face, "Suddenly being told about those supernatural things, of course, would make you so agitated that you can't sleep all night... Even after waking up, you can't stop overthinking all day... Rather, it's strange that Ren is so calm!"
Kawaragi Momoka walked down the corridor sighing, "He's in the late stage of chuunibyou; suddenly being told that 'superpowers exist in the world' really wouldn't elicit any special reaction from him."
Iseri Nina kept looking back, secretly glancing at Togawa Sakiko and Yamada Ryo behind her, with a hint of envy and unwillingness in her eyes.
She also wanted a Persona.
Just yesterday, after band practice, Togawa Sakiko suddenly invited everyone to the rooftop of the club building and then revealed her identity as a Phantom Thief.
Because Kurusu Akira had tipped off Iseri Nina beforehand, this young girl, who wasn't good at lying or hiding her thoughts, kept her mouth shut the entire time, silently watching Togawa Sakiko lead everyone into the Mementos—with Kurusu Akira's secret help.
Immediately after, Togawa Sakiko, who claimed to be a Phantom Thief, distributed a book called "Phantom Thief Handbook" to everyone one by one, and then caught a shadow from the tunnel, starting to gesture and describe the various dangers lurking beneath reality.
Thanks to this, these high school girls spent almost a day and a night in a trance, among them, Kawaragi Momoka, the adult, reacted most intensely.
The older one gets, the harder it is to accept the concept of "superpowers" which overturns one's worldview, and once accepted, it leads to more unrealistic expectations.
For example, when she was working today, she fantasized more than once about asking the Phantom Thief to help change the heart of the fast-food restaurant manager who was always thinking about how to exploit employees...
At this moment, at the very back of the group. Yamada Ryo could be seen enthusiastically pestering Togawa Sakiko, even leaning in to whisper in her ear, "...Can the Prime Minister's heart be changed?"
Togawa Sakiko was startled and looked left and right, finally casting a pleading gaze towards Kurusu Akira, who was disguised as an ordinary person a little further away.
Kurusu Akira keenly noticed the gaze from behind him, quickened his pace, and then pulled out his phone from his pocket, found Togawa Sakiko's private chat channel in Line, and started typing.
Soon, Togawa Sakiko's phone in her right pocket trembled twice. She carefully took it out and secretly glanced at the message pop-up on the screen.
[The great cosmic being is so scary (Kurusu Akira): You are already a mature Persona user, quickly exert your authority as a super-powered being.]
Togawa Sakiko couldn't exert her authority as a super-powered being... unless she wore a black lace mask.
But she successfully demonstrated the flexibility and dexterity of her fingers, which she had diligently trained through piano practice, bursting forth with terrifying hand speed in the mere second she saw the screen, tapping and hitting the numeric keypad.
[Work Hard Today (Togawa Sakiko): I can't do that at all!]
[The great cosmic being is so scary: You're a Phantom Thief, how can you say such a terrible thing as "I can't do it"?
[Work Hard Today: Can't you just tell them your true identity? (sad.emoji)]
[The great cosmic being is so scary: The fewer people who know about this, the better, otherwise the world might be in danger of destruction… It's not time to tell them yet. Anyway, I'm counting on you now, Sakiko-chan.]
Togawa Sakiko saw the somewhat intimate address at the end of the sentence, and her heart suddenly beat a few paces faster.
"Miss Phantom Thief… please…" Yamada Ryo was still pleading in a low voice beside her, but this time her target for change had successively downgraded, from the Prime Minister of Japan to a big banker.
Togawa Sakiko somewhat difficultly moved her gaze away from her phone screen, but the distress in her heart had largely dissipated, and she suddenly felt the motivation to take on the identity of a "Phantom Thief" for Kurusu Akira.
By the time the band members left Shujin Academy's club building and took the subway to Shimokitazawa, the sky was already a magnificent, fiery spectacle.
----------------
"It's hard to imagine Ryo making that kind of face." Kawaragi Momoka was somewhat surprised by Yamada Ryo's behavior. Although she was as expressionless as ever, her shining eyes, constantly accelerating speech, and various movements that almost forgot personal space all showed the bassist's inner excitement.
Ijichi Nijika this time indeed did not save face for her friend, saying somewhat indignantly, "She's always this enthusiastic when she asks me for money."
"There are other experts?" Kurusu Akira, carrying a guitar case, looked sideways at Yamada Ryo.
Yamada Ryo, however, stood with her arms crossed, completely justified, and even showed a somewhat proud expression, "I always can't resist the urge to buy instruments, so my living expenses are always used up quickly as soon as they arrive."
"What's there to be proud of in that!" Ijichi Nijika almost couldn't control her urge to retort, "I really can't imagine anyone buying four terribly expensive bass guitars in two months!"
Yamada Ryo gave her a thumbs up, "Those are all 'collector's editions' signed by my idols. Next time, I'll invite you to my house to see those precious collections!"
Ijichi Nijika finally lost her patience, "So, you haven't paid back the money you owe me for almost two months!"
Yamada Ryo shrank her neck and quickly put her hands together to beg for mercy, "I promise to pay off the debt soon!"
Ijichi Nijika took three steps back in surprise, "Don't you still have a month until your living expenses are issued?"
Yamada Ryo silently straightened up, then turned her head and bowed to Iseri Nina beside her, "Nina, would you be willing to lend me…"
Seeing that she was about to fall to the ground and perform a dogeza, the band's vocalist and drummer both rushed up to support her, "Calm down!!"
Togawa Sakiko covered her face and quickened her steps to walk beside Kurusu Akira, pretending not to know the noisy people behind her.
Ever since her father truly repented, this girl, slightly younger than the band members, had become more cheerful and generous than ever before.
After some pulling and tugging, everyone reunited at "STARRY" after a long time.
The first street performance was coming soon, and they had to use the venue before the Livehouse opened to get used to performing in front of others… Besides Ijichi Seika, the Livehouse manager, and PA, the sound engineer, Kurusu Akira also asked Awa Subaru to invite her band members.
The girls in the band basically brought their own instruments.
Ijichi Nijika didn't bring anything, because she used the drum kit provided by "STARRY" for learning instruments, and she could just grab one from the recording studio on the spot.
Iseri Nina tugged at her school uniform tie, stood on the stage, then nervously looked back at Kurusu Akira, who was installing effect pedals behind her, trying to find some sense of security from him.
In her anticipation, this "early rehearsal" should have had at most six listeners…
She looked at the dozens of heads below the stage, feeling somewhat like crying without tears.
After all, she had underestimated the influence Kurusu Akira had gained from working part-time at STARRY for half a month.
High schools near Shimokitazawa almost all knew that there was a server in this performance hall whose looks were comparable to a male lead in an idol drama, and girls would come out in groups every now and then to try their luck.
Let alone girls, boys were curious too.
As soon as they heard he was "horrifically handsome," it really piqued their curiosity, and they insisted on coming to see what was going on.
This situation led to STARRY not yet being open for business, but the store was always bustling with young customers joining in the fun—
And as Kurusu Akira walked into the performance hall with his instrument, the customers who remained in the store took out their phones and started posting on campus forums, making a fuss.
It was after school, and club activities were more or less over. Shimokitazawa had no shortage of middle schoolers who were idle and wandering the streets.
When they saw the latest post, they formed groups, called friends, and quickly gathered a whole "exploration team" to head to STARRY's storefront.
…
Awa Subaru quietly asked Gotou Hitori beside her, "Do you feel uncomfortable?"
Gotou Hitori timidly leaned against her, trying to keep a distance from the surrounding crowd, "I-I'm about to melt."
Rupa and Ebizuka Tomo looked helplessly at their guitarist, whose social anxiety was at full throttle, with a sense of disappointment.
Although this child's playing skill was astonishingly high, her mentality was unbelievably poor. Let alone performing on stage, she struggled with even the most basic coordinated playing… Either she rushed the beat or got flustered and lagged by a few beats. At least she didn't play wrong notes, which gave Ebizuka Tomo, as the leader, some small comfort.
"Can we really find a suitable vocalist?" she couldn't help but sigh.
She was willing to accept Awa Subaru's invitation to make a special trip to Shimokitazawa because the last time, Awa Subaru had picked up a wild guitarist near Shimokitazawa.
This time, with the thought of trying their luck, they planned to pick up a wild vocalist together.
The atmosphere around them became increasingly enthusiastic as Kurusu Akira appeared on stage. A group of girls held up their phones and frantically pressed the shutter to take photos. Japanese phones were set to "make a loud sound when taking photos," and at the same time, the flash automatically triggered in the relatively dim environment, creating a flickering, hazy white light like electricity flowing under the stage.
The scene was about to spiral completely out of control.
Iseri Nina on stage also became more and more nervous, and even Ijichi Nijika, who wasn't particularly nervous initially, now started sweating in her palms.
Ijichi Seika, sitting at the very edge of the venue, couldn't stand it anymore. She stood up irritably, found the megaphone, and was about to go forward to maintain order.
At this moment, in the middle of the crowd, a red-haired boy suddenly shouted loudly, "The performance is about to begin, please be quiet! And please stop filming! Show some respect for the band on stage!"
He was wearing the junior high school uniform of Shimokitazawa's famous "Kokatsu Academy," probably around the age of a third-year middle school student. He showed no signs of stage fright; instead, he looked around with bright eyes at the customers much older than himself, showing no sign of backing down even when faced with adult scrutiny.
The people around were perhaps reminded of their civilized and moral awareness by this reminder, or perhaps they were intimidated by the sky-high-priced Marvel co-branded sneakers on his feet and the luxury-grade mechanical watch on his wrist. In any case, they quickly quieted down, and their phones' screens randomly turned off.
Once a group of people took the lead, more people quickly followed…
The river of flashlights quickly extinguished, and the atmosphere in the venue became quiet.
"What's the deal with that guy?" In front of Ebizuka Tomo, several high school girls were whispering.
"Suddenly so loud…"
"He seems to be a student from that Kokatsu Academy."
"To be able to attend that school, you must be rich or noble, right?"
"No, occasionally, students with excellent grades or special athletic talents can get in."
"In contrast, our Shuka High School... huh? Wait, Kita, look at the person behind you... Hey! Gotou-san!" Several girls excitedly recognized their classmate, who, due to a slight difference in scores in the recent entrance exam, had been placed in the same class and even in adjacent seats.
The girl named Kita Ikuyo also looked over curiously, "It really is Gotou-san? Why are you here too? Could it be..."
Gotou Hitori, who had been recognized, shook her head repeatedly. After a long moment of blankness, she couldn't explain her purpose for being at the Livehouse, so she fled, hiding behind Awa Subaru and trembling.
She didn't know why she had suddenly become entangled with this cheerful and popular social butterfly in her first year. Her already severe social anxiety flared up to its maximum, almost making her gasp for air.
Awa Subaru had no choice but to explain for her guitarist, "Gotou-san was invited by me to watch the performance here."
"Oh, you are..."
"A second-year student from Shujin Academy, a private school in Shibuya Ward, Awa, Awa Subaru."
"Alright! I'm Kita Ikuyo, a first-year from Shimokitazawa Shuka High School! Very pleased to meet you!" Kita Ikuyo happily rushed forward to shake Awa Subaru's hand.
"Awa-senpai is really beautiful!" Her friends chattered among themselves.
"She looks like an idol."
"No, an idol... I think I've seen someone who looks very much like her somewhere... It's that..."
"Please be quiet!" The red-haired boy at the back of the crowd lost his patience and simply raised his voice to remind them.
His shouting demeanor was exactly like that of a big boss in the workplace, slamming his hand on the table and scolding his employees.
The girls near the stage immediately fell silent.
The venue finally became completely quiet.
Iseri Nina held the microphone, but her expression was one of bewilderment.
Kurusu Akira stepped forward two paces, snatching the microphone from her, "Sorry to disturb everyone. It's not STARRY's business hours yet. We're just borrowing the venue to rehearse our band's songs... We're just a band formed out of interest, and we've just started, with no performance experience. If there are any small mistakes during the performance, we hope you can be more tolerant!"
After speaking, he bowed deeply to the customers below.
Iseri Nina, whose blood pressure was rising due to nervousness, quickly copied him, bowing to express her gratitude and apology.
Kurusu Akira didn't let go of the microphone and continued, "The original song we are going to play is 'I'm Nobody.'"
Only then did he return the microphone to Iseri Nina and, holding his guitar, returned to his position.
Hearing it was an "original song," the customers below the stage... especially the girls who formed a band with Awa Subaru, all perked up.
Until they heard scattered drumbeats, off-key guitars, stumbling vocals, a lead guitarist and keyboardist desperately trying to save the performance—and a rhythm guitarist who was slacking off in the chaos, pretending to be strumming diligently.
The main point was that everyone played their own thing.
What about the bass?
Everyone looked and saw the bass hanging in the arms of the blue-haired girl. She had her hands in her pockets, looking cool. Her hands were hands, the bass was the bass, but they weren't connected... She probably gave up on trying to fix it; there was no room for her to play in the messy melody.
"How does it feel?" Awa Subaru smiled somewhat awkwardly, asking Ebizuka Tomo beside her.
The keyboardist, who aimed to be a professional, snorted, "It's just like playing house, a complete mess."
"Should we go up and try too?" Rupa seemed interested, clenching her fist and putting it to her mouth, gesturing a singing motion to her best friend.
Gotou Hitori, hiding behind Awa Subaru, trembled even more violently.
Ebizuka Tomo raised her eyebrows, "No."
Rupa smilingly hugged her shoulder, "At worst, we can each wear a cardboard box on stage."
"That would be too stupid," Ebizuka Tomo quickly rejected Rupa's suggestion.
Gotou Hitori, who was shot without a word, almost shed tears, because if she didn't wear a cardboard box, she indeed wouldn't have the courage to play in front of others.
At this moment, the entire song was finished.
Many customers in the venue stood up and left in disappointment, planning to return when the official business hours began.
On the stage, Kawaragi Momoka seemed to have long been accustomed to this "disappointing" feeling of frustration. She quickly ran to each girl's side and began to encourage and comfort them.
Soon, this band, which hadn't even decided on a name, began to play again.
It was still the original song, "I'm Nobody."
Half an hour passed, and the girls in the band finally got somewhat used to performing in front of others.
And there were almost no listeners left under the stage now.
Only the girls from Shuka High School, who were just curious, were pointing and whispering about Kurusu Akira.
"He's really handsome!"
"Damn it, I want his contact information..."
As they discussed, they all looked at Kita Ikuyo, a super social butterfly who was very famous in her first year, known for her sunny and cheerful personality, overly excellent looks, and very melodious voice.
"Kita-san, yesterday's 'Truth or Dare,' you still owe us a 'dare,' right?" The girls' smiles gradually became somewhat sinister.
Kita Ikuyo frantically tried to escape but was immediately restrained by them, "Anyway, we'll leave it to our cute Kita-san to try and get that super handsome guy's Line!"
"That's impossible to do!!"
Meanwhile, Awa Subaru poked Ebizuka Tomo's arm with her elbow.
"Tomo, look over there."
"What's wrong?"
Awa Subaru whispered, "I think we found our vocalist."
Ebizuka Tomo's eyes widened.
The next moment, Awa Subaru shoved her phone screen in front of her. On the screen was clearly the girl named Kita Ikuyo, standing in a KTV private room, holding a microphone and singing with a skill no less than a professional singer... This was a video posted on Twitter, titled "Imitating My Favorite Singer."
Ebizuka Tomo listened carefully to the singing in the video and looked at Awa Subaru with astonishment, "How did you do that?"
Last time, she quietly picked up a guitarist with extremely high solo skills. This time, just by visiting a Livehouse, she casually caught a vocalist with talent that seemed like a gift from God.
Awa Subaru whispered, "All her social media platforms use the same name. If you search her name in a browser, you immediately get a bunch of related art photos and videos..."
"How could a normal person specifically search for the name of a stranger they just met?!"
"Gotou-san secretly told me. She said that she often heard Kita-san in class wanting to join the light music club, but she missed the final application time because the teacher called her to the office after school. It is said that Kita-san was very regretful after not being able to join the light music club, so she always posts self-entertainment singing videos online."
...
At the same time.
Kurusu Akira, who walked off the stage with his guitar, was stopped by Kita Ikuyo.
Even the cheerful and outgoing Kita Ikuyo, who had maxed out her social terrorist attributes, couldn't help but stammer and fail to speak a complete sentence when encountering a super handsome guy for the first time.
"Um, excuse me... can I..." Kita Ikuyo's gaze drifted, almost killing her with the shame and embarrassment in her heart.
Suddenly rushing up to ask for contact information is not only rude but also easily misunderstood.
Kurusu Akira bowed slightly to her with a professional smile, "Thank you for your liking, but it's almost time for my part-time job. Please make way. If you need anything, please discuss it in detail when I'm working."
Thus, the beautiful girl's sincere and blushing demeanor, which had always been an invincible weapon, suffered its first setback.
Kita Ikuyo scurried back to her friends, stomping her feet in shyness and embarrassment.
Suddenly, Awa Subaru approached and quietly patted Kita Ikuyo's back.
"It's Awa-senpai. Is something wrong?" Kita Ikuyo tried to put on an indifferent expression.
"You want that guy's contact information, don't you?"
Kita Ikuyo quickly shook her head. "How could I possibly want it!"
This was a lie. As a true social butterfly, she couldn't resist the temptation of having a campus forum celebrity follow her social account.
But Awa Subaru just walked past Kita Ikuyo and said to her friends, "I know how to add that guy's Line!"
Everyone immediately got excited. "Awa-san, please tell us in detail!"
Awa Subaru proudly placed her hand on her shoulder. "Watch me perform."
Then she took out her phone, quickly rushed to Kurusu Akira, and with a few words, got him to take out his phone as well, and they exchanged numbers.
After a while, Awa Subaru ran back. "It's that simple."
At this moment, she received admiring gazes from the girls.
"How did you do it?" Kita Ikuyo asked with some reluctance.
She was, after all, the school's recognized beautiful girl, excellent in all aspects, and often received love letters from boys of different grades... Everyone else just directly ran up to ask for contact information, so why was Awa Subaru the only one who succeeded?
Awa Subaru, on the other hand, showed a triumphant smile. "Of course, it's because Amamiya-san is easier to communicate with girls who play in bands."
"Speaking of which, I happen to have a band here, and we're still missing a lead singer..."
"I'm in!" Almost without hesitation, Kita Ikuyo clasped Awa Subaru's hand and made a once-in-a-lifetime plea.
"Awa-san, please let me join your band!"
She was already eager to get Kurusu Akira's contact information and then go back to class to show off to her friends.
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