Bai Qiu and Gotou Ichiri's attention was immediately drawn to the newcomer.
Unlike Gotou Ichiri's plain, homebody-style outfit,the girl before them wore short red boots, a teal long-sleeved jacket, and a white skirt that swayed with every movement.
A red ribbon was tied neatly at her neck, trembling slightly whenever she moved.
Her bright golden hair was tied into a long, side ponytail—and the most eye-catching detail was the little ahoge, that small, floating strand of hair curving like a triangle in the air.
She looked petite, energetic, and adorably lively.
"That's a guitar, right? You can play?"
Ijichi Nijika turned toward Gotou Ichiri, her crimson eyes sparkling with curiosity.
Gotou Ichiri: "…"
Blinking in confusion at the silence, Nijika quickly turned toward Bai Qiu and apologized politely.
"Sorry for suddenly running up like that! I'm Ijichi Nijika, a second-year at Shimokitazawa High. What about you guys?"
Bai Qiu smiled. "I'm Bai Qiu, first-year at Sakuragaoka Shuuka High."
Gotou Ichiri let out a tiny sigh of relief.Thank goodness Bai Qiu was here—she was absolutely hopeless at this kind of thing.
But then Bai Qiu turned to her."She's the same. Gotou-san, remember to greet people properly."
Gotou Ichiri averted her gaze, her voice barely audible."Ah, I'm… Gotou Ichiri."
"Oh, Ichiri, how good are you at guitar?"
"Ah… I think I'm okay…"
Gotou Ichiri froze. She just called me by my first name?!
"Um, actually…" Nijika rubbed her palms together nervously, her expression twisting in hesitation. "It's a bit sudden, but I'm in kind of a bind. If it's inconvenient, that's totally fine—really! It's no big deal, but, um, I'm kinda stuck right now…"
Gotou Ichiri's instincts screamed trouble.
Bai Qiu thought the same.If she hadn't run into Ichiri, she'd definitely have been turned down flat.
"So I'll just say it straight," Nijika suddenly clasped her hands together and bowed. "Please—could you help my band out as a temporary guitarist?!"
"There's a performance coming up soon, but our guitarist-slash-vocalist suddenly disappeared! I'm begging you to help us!"
"Even if you only know a bit of guitar, it'll be fine!"
Gotou Ichiri wanted to refuse—she really did—but the words wouldn't come out.
She turned helplessly to Bai Qiu. "B-Bai…"
Bai Qiu smiled gently.
Ichiri felt hope for a brief second—then her expression turned to utter despair.
"No problem at all!"
"Really?! That's amazing, thank you so much!"
Nijika's face lit up with joy. Without hesitation, she grabbed Ichiri's hand and started leading her away.
Naturally, Bai Qiu followed along too.
All the way there, Nijika chatted cheerfully, trying to find topics they could all talk about.
"Oh right—just call me Nijika!"
Bai Qiu, of course, gladly accepted.
Aside from Yui, finally another girl he could call by her name directly.
"Come to think of it, Ichiri…"
Nijika glanced at Ichiri, then looked to Bai Qiu questioningly.
Since earlier, Gotou Ichiri hadn't said a single word, crouched in on herself with an awkward expression.
Nijika couldn't help but think, maybe I really am forcing her too much.
Bai Qiu stepped in to explain Ichiri's social anxiety disorder—and quietly added that Nijika shouldn't expect too much from her guitar playing either.
But Nijika didn't mind in the slightest.She waved her hand cheerfully. "No worries! This performance is more like a first-time trial anyway. It's mostly just my friends coming to watch. It'll be fine!"
Then, suddenly—
"Mmm… smells so nice…"
Gotou Ichiri murmured and leaned closer, sniffing at Nijika's side ponytail.
So this is what a real band girl smells like, she thought dreamily. Unlike me… I probably smell like the inside of a closet…
Uuu... X﹏X...
Bai Qiu nodded unconsciously. "Yeah."
Nijika blinked. "Smells nice? What does?"
Gotou Ichiri shook her head furiously.
Bai Qiu quickly covered for her. "Ah—it's probably because Ichiri's hungry."
Gotou Ichiri's body stiffened. She turned to glare at Bai Qiu in horror.
"Wait—don't tell me!"
Realization hit Nijika as she grabbed her side ponytail protectively.
Bai Qiu and Ichiri both froze, looking guilty.
Seeing their expressions, Nijika's face turned bright red.
"You can't do that kind of thing! Not in the middle of the street!" she shouted, embarrassed and flustered.
"Sorry!"
Bai Qiu and Ichiri bowed their heads in unison.
"Jeez… you two are unbelievable…" Nijika sighed, her cheeks puffed in exasperation.
...
Please don't think you picked the wrong person...
Please don't make Nijika's impression of me worse...
Wait, did I really pick the wrong person?!
Three people, three very different thoughts.
...
Not long after, Ijichi Nijika led them to a livehouse called STARRY.
Famous! The sacred ground itself!
"By the way," Nijika added with a bright smile, "this is my sister's place. I work part-time here too!"
When she mentioned her sister, the corners of her eyes softened with visible affection.
A long staircase led down to the basement level where STARRY was located.
Bai Qiu took a quick look at the surroundings—solid drainage system. No risk of flooding.
"Ma… magic mirror?"
Gotou Ichiri suddenly muttered.
What?
Both Bai Qiu and Nijika blinked, puzzled.
Forget it—they went inside.
"So, how do you like it?" Nijika asked.
The dim lights, the closed space, the quiet air pressing down on her—it reminded Ichiri of her closet.
A wave of comfort washed over her.A small smile crept up her lips.
"I'm home!" she declared.
Nijika gave an awkward laugh. "This is my home, actually!"
"Eh? I didn't expect you to get so excited too, Bai Qiu-kun."
Nijika looked surprised—after all, Bai Qiu had seemed so calm and composed since they'd met at the park.
But now, his eyes sparkled with pure excitement, scanning the room with reverence.
Realizing himself, Bai Qiu coughed lightly and tried to tone it down.
He couldn't help it though—this was holy ground!
"Can I take some pictures?" he asked eagerly.
"Sure!" Nijika smiled, happy to see someone appreciating her sister's livehouse so much.
"Wow, Nijika actually brought a guy to the club?"
From the dim spectator seats came a teasing voice—a mature, cool woman with piercings on her ears, tongue, and lip, and a collar around her neck.
Bai Qiu froze mid-photo.
So rock 'n' roll…!
Gotou Ichiri suddenly felt terrified. Too scary! I wanna go home, I wanna go home!
Nijika chuckled softly. "He's just a friend I just met! Oh, and that's our PA-san."
The PA-san—her actual name unknown—was the sound engineer of STARRY.
"Don't be so scared, Ichiri."
Seeing Ichiri practically falling apart, Nijika quickly said, "Come on, let's head to the practice room!"