Haibara’s Teenage New Game+ - Volume 4 - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: A Sham

Our fun summer vacation ended, and the second semester of school began.

The summer heat stuck around, but it wasn’t hot enough to decisively turn on the air conditioner, which was actually much worse than scorching weather. The teachers compelled us to get by with only electric fans.

I fanned my face with my notebook as I watched my classmates melting in the heat. Eventually, the world history teacher noticed our misery and turned on the air conditioner. “Sorry, guys. It’s quite hot today.”

Yes! Our pleas that it’s too hot worked! Ah, the cool AC breeze feels so nice. Loudly flapping my notebook paid off. Pleased with the result of my efforts, I glanced at Uta, who sat diagonally in front of me. She stealthily sent me a thumbs-up. Through much trial and error, she had quietly grumbled, “It’s hot,” and the like to contribute to the plan. Our cooperation has triumphed!

The sound of chalk scratching across the blackboard echoed throughout the room. Our meticulous world history teacher wrote his explanations on the board in a well-organized fashion, and we copied them into our notes. This teacher usually put the lesson material on the board first and then spent the remainder of the time elaborating on the main points.

I was silently moving my mechanical pencil across the paper when I suddenly felt someone tapping my shoulder. From the seat next to me, Hoshimiya looked at me apologetically, pressing her hands together. “Sorry, can I borrow your eraser?” she whispered.

I handed her my eraser and watched her vigorously rub at her notebook with it while I brimmed with euphoria in secret. The change in semesters had come with a change in our seating order. As a result, I had secured the godlike window seat second from the back, and to top it off, Hoshimiya Hikari sat next to me.

On the downside, we were pretty far from the others. Uta was two seats diagonally ahead, while Tatsuya and Reita were in the center column. Nanase was on the opposite side of the room by the hallway. Even so, I had no complaints since Hoshimiya was next to me.

Such thoughts flew through my head as I gazed absentmindedly at her profile. Perhaps feeling my stare, she raised her head and locked eyes with me. She blinked a few times and then flushed scarlet.

She’s so cute! But the moment I thought that, she glowered at me in displeasure. What’s that for? I cocked my head in clear confusion. In response, she pouted and tickled my side. Hello, what’s going through your head?! I nearly let out a creepy squeal in the middle of our quiet classroom!

“Thanks,” Hoshimiya whispered, returning my eraser.

So... In the end, what was she feeling during all that? Perplexed, I returned my attention to the blackboard. The world history teacher was outright staring at us, exasperation tinging his eyes. I hastily straightened my back.

After that, I diligently paid attention to class, and before long, the bell rang. World history was actually quite an enjoyable subject because it felt like I was listening to a grand and long novel.

While I stretched, loosening up my stiff body, I noticed Hoshimiya peering at me. “What’s up?” I asked.

She blinked at me. “Nothing in particular.”

“Why’d you tickle me during class, anyway?”

“Because,” she said, trailing off for a moment. “You were staring at me.” She turned away, but I could see she was red up to her ears.

She’s obviously embarrassed. I feel like Hoshimiya’s reactions are... How do I put it? She’s been really easy to understand recently.

Her declaration on the day of the beach came to mind. “Someday, on the night of a full moon...”

Normally I would’ve admonished myself for being overly self-conscious, but now that I understood how she felt about me, I knew it was not a misunderstanding. And Hoshimiya seemed to have no intention of hiding her affections either.

“Classes are finally over,” she said.

“I know, right? I feel like I’m finally getting out of summer break mode,” I said.

“Whaaat? I’m still clinging to the summer vibes. I want to be on vacation forever.”

“Well, same here.”

After a beat she said, “The trip was fun. I want to go again.”

“Yeah. Winter break is next. Why don’t we go skiing or to a hot spring?”

“Oooh! Skiing sounds super fun! But... I might just fall and come out seriously injured.”

“N-Nah. It’ll be fine. I can teach you a bit. Wait, sorry, never mind. That might be impossible.”

“Hey! Don’t give up so fast!” she exclaimed, offended.

After witnessing Hoshimiya’s athletic abilities at the Spor-Cha, it would have been too careless of me to promise that all would be fine. I had skied occasionally during my college days pre-time leap, but I wasn’t good enough to teach her.

“Natsuki-kun, what are you doing today?” she asked, changing the subject.

“After school? I have work today.”

“Th-Then... Wanna walk to the café together?” she said, sounding a little nervous.

I involuntarily froze up for a moment. “Well, we’re short on hands today, so as soon as school ends, I’m going to rush over there.”

“Oh, I see. Can’t be helped, then. Don’t worry about it.” Hoshimiya laughed, forcing a smile.

An awkward silence stretched between us. I’m not technically lying... The owner told me he wanted me to hurry over there today. However, he had also told me to prioritize school, and chatting with Hoshimiya as we walked until I got there would have been fine. All things considered, I had simply declined her invitation.

I loved Hoshimiya, and yet I’d turned her down. Why on earth had I done that? I still hadn’t straightened out my feelings, so I was somewhat scared of being alone with her. But Hoshimiya, and Uta for that matter, kept proactively inviting me to do things. And each time they did, I came up with some reason to avoid being alone with them. I wasn’t thinking much whenever it happened; it was more of a reflexive response.

I was honestly thrilled to know that two cute girls were into me. I really was thrilled, but at the same time, I was terrified for some reason. A jumble of contradictory emotions swirled around inside my heart.

I sighed. It was lunch break, and I was sitting on the desolate stairs behind the school building. It was dark, damp, and completely silent there. Places like this put me at ease.

Correct, this was a spot where I’d often eaten lunch alone during my first round of high school. I hadn’t come here since my do-over, but today my feet had brought me here on their own. As I munched on the bread I’d bought from the school store, I heard footsteps nearing, so I turned my eyes in that direction.

“Hmm? Natsuki, what’re you doing back here?” Serika asked, puzzled.

“As you can see, I’m eating,” I replied.

“In a place like this?”

“There are times when I want to be alone, you know?” Though I’d said that, frankly, I didn’t want anyone I knew to see me here.

She hummed uninterestedly, staring at the nearby trees.

“Anyway, why are you here, Serika?”

“I was wondering if there were any rhinoceros beetles around.”

“Huh?” What the hell is this girl saying? “Why rhinoceros beetles?”

“There’s usually a lot crawling on the trees behind the school.”

“No, that’s not what I meant. Why are you searching for them?”

“Finding them is amusing.”

I... I can’t! I can’t make heads or tails of this conversation! Serika and I had gotten closer lately, but I still didn’t understand how she thought.

“But their numbers have dwindled since September started. You can’t see ’em at a quick glance anymore.” She paced around the trees, her brows scrunched up into a hard look. After three minutes of that, she seemed to lose interest and sat down next to me.

“Um... It’s pretty cramped here,” I said. We were on exterior stairs wide enough for one person to walk on, so our legs and hips were squished together.

Serika shot me a blank look and then chuckled. “Can I sit on the step behind you?”

Cheeks stuffed with bread, I nodded at her. She went up one step and sat behind me, her legs sandwiching me. Serika’s beautiful, slender legs were on my left and right.

Oho? I nodded without thinking, but this is... Um, wait, if I turn around, will I see her underwear? Out of all the girls in school, Serika wears her skirt shorter than the rest... No, dude, stop. Cool it. Don’t think about irrelevant things. I emptied my mind of all emotions and continued eating my bread.

She patted my head. “Oh, you put stuff in your hair,” she remarked.

“Yeah, just a bit... So don’t touch it too much.” Every morning, I styled my hair in front of the mirror as I hummed in approval. It was a delicate process to touch it up properly. However, Serika ignored my request and ruffled my hair. Hey! Quit it!

“Did something happen?” she asked in a detached tone.

“No... Not particularly,” I replied.

“You wouldn’t come here unless something happened. Same goes for me.”

She had seen right through me; I had no rebuttal. “Serika... Are you worried about something?”

“How can I not be worried about something? Are you making fun of me?” She gazed up at the sky. She looked like she might break out into tears at any moment.

“You just seem like you can do anything, easy-peasy.”

“No way. There are tons of things I struggle with. I mean, just yesterday...” She stopped herself with a shake of her head.

Serika always moves at her own pace, but looks like even she has her fair share of troubles. I guess she just doesn’t show it on her face much.

“What about you?” she asked.

“If I had to say... I’m sick of how uncertain I am all the time.” Putting how I felt into words gave me a sense of understanding. The murky storm of feelings in my chest had finally been defined.

“About Uta and Hikari-chan?”

“What the heck?” I said. “You saw right through me.”

“It was easy to tell from watching you during the beach trip. Also, I’ve heard stuff from Miori. So what’s going on?”

After a beat, I admitted, “Honestly, I’m not sure what to do.”

“Indecision, I see. The problems of a popular guy.”

I knew my worry was a luxurious one to have. I’d wanted to be popular with girls, so I worked hard to improve myself. That was why, in a way, my current situation was exactly what I had wished for.

But I hadn’t understood what it meant to be the target of multiple people’s affections. After all, I had never been liked by any girls before now. I’d thought love would be exactly as it was depicted in anime and manga, but this was reality. I couldn’t keep being wishy-washy forever.

Now that both girls had made their feelings clear, I needed to respond—I needed to choose one and turn down the other. When I imagined doing that, my mood darkened. I liked both of them, so I didn’t want to see either one sad.

“Well, I get it. It’s rough when someone likes you but you don’t feel the same way,” Serika murmured in a lonely tone. She’d likely experienced this herself. She was attractive and easygoing around everyone. I knew she was quite popular with the boys. “Plus, you might not stay friends once you turn one down.”

“You think so too?” I asked glumly.

“Even if they say they want to stay friends afterwards, it doesn’t usually play out like that. They’ll feel awkward, then gradually they won’t want to see you or keep in touch, until one day, they won’t even want to say hi...” Serika set her chin on top of my head.

She gets way too close. Is this natural for gals?

“In your case, they’re both in your class and in the same friend group, so maybe it won’t be as bad as you think,” she continued.

“Let’s say I finally tell them how I feel and start going out with one. Do you think the one I didn’t choose will stay in the same group? Do you think I’m being too self-conscious?” I asked.

“Well, it’d be hard for them to stick around if you blatantly flirted in front of them, right? But if it were me, I’d come to terms with it. Because the friends you hang out with are important too,” she said, and then added, “But who knows?”

“Those two seem very serious... I dunno.” I imagined what might happen. I hated the idea that our close-knit group might scatter.

“I see. Natsuki, you don’t want to ruin the relationships you have right now.”

“Well, yeah. Things are nice as they are right now. I want to be friends with everyone forever.”

“In your own way, your feelings are quite serious too. For your friends, that is.”

“Shut up. I’m a guy with few friends.”

“In the end, whatever will be, will be. You have to let things happen the way they happen.”

“Really? Is it okay to go in with that mindset?”

“It’s fine. Natsuki, you should sincerely think about what you want. It’s better for everyone if you do that instead of overthinking. I mean, in the end, that’s pretty much all you can do.”

Sincerely think about what I want? That’s pretty hard to do. I’ve got so many mixed emotions that I don’t even know how I feel anymore. What do I want to do? What choice do I want to make?

“Make such a gloomy face, and you’ll get depressed. C’mon, liven up.” Serika tapped rhythmically on my shoulders and began singing a song I’d never heard before.

She was off in her own little world as usual, which brought a wry smile to my face and cheered me up. In all honesty, though I loved Hoshimiya and Uta, I felt more relaxed spending time with Serika and Nanase than them.

When the end-of-lunch bell rang, Serika said, “Do your best to not have any regrets, okay?” and left.

***

After school, I quickly left the campus, just as I’d told Hoshimiya I would. Earbuds plugged in, I immersed myself in a song’s instrumentals as I walked down the road. The intense rock was accompanied by lyrics that lifted me up. Currently, I was listening to Blue Encount’s “Memento.” Whenever I was feeling down in the dumps, music always made me feel better.

This was one of the songs in the “Songs for Cheering Up” playlist that Serika had sent me. We used the same music application, so I could listen to it just by tapping on it. Serika and I shared the same taste in music, and I liked every single song she recommended.

When I arrived at my part-time job, Café Mares, I opened the door. A chime rang, indicating that a visitor was here.

Kirishima-san, another part-timer who had been working here longer than me, turned my way. “Oh, you’re here, Natsuki-chan.”

She’s hell-bent on sticking “chan” after my name nowadays. It makes me sound like a girl, so I wish she’d stop.

Standing next to her was an unfamiliar boy wearing our store’s uniform. He was shorter than Kirishima-san, who was tall for a girl, and he looked quite skinny. He wore thick round-rimmed glasses, giving him an unfashionable appearance, and there was a timid air to him.

“Let me introduce you two. This is our new recruit, Shinohara-kun. He started working here yesterday,” Kirishima-san said.

Oh yeah, I heard someone mention we were getting a new hire.

“I-I’m Shinohara. I look forward to working with you,” he said with a bow.

Flustered, I also lowered my head and introduced myself. “Hello. I’m Haibara Natsuki.”

“Shinohara-kun is going to work in the kitchen too, so be sure to teach him well, Natsuki-chan.”

But I’m supposed to be a newbie too... Wait, I’ve been working here for four months already. Time sure flies! My fun days are passing by in the blink of an eye.

“Why’re you two being so polite with each other, anyway? You guys are in the same year in the same school.” Kirishima-san chortled heartily.

“Huh? Really?” I said in surprise.

“Oh, yes,” Shinohara-kun said meekly. “I’m in class 1-4 at Ryomei, I guess.”

“For real? I’m in class 1-2. Nice to meet you.” Now that they’d mentioned it, I had a feeling I’d seen him around somewhere before.

“Of course I know that,” he said.

I tilted my head to the side, puzzled as to what he meant by that. “‘Of course’?”

“Haibara-san, you’re famous, after all,” he stated, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Oh, I see. I’m...famous... Not in a bad way, right? Well, considering who I hang out with, obviously I’d stand out.

“Oho? Natsuki-chan is famous at school?” Kirishima-san asked.

“Y-Yes. He’s handsome, good at studying and sports, and extremely popular with the girls,” Shinohara-kun explained.

“Thought so. I figured Natsuki-chan was popular. Hmm,” she said, wearing an amused smirk.

Getting some praise doesn’t feel too bad, but Kirishima-san is going to tease me nonstop now...

“Can I call you Shinohara-kun? We’re in the same year, so is it okay to keep it casual?” I asked, deliberately making my tone and expression more friendly.

“Oh, yes,” he replied. “Then may I call you Haibara-kun too?”

“’Course! And no need to be formal with me, okay?”

“M-My apologies. I feel calmer speaking politely.”

I see. He’s that kinda guy. His vibes feel pretty familiar somehow... Oh, he’s got the same gloomy aura I used to have!

“Where’s Yuino-chan today?” Kirishima-san asked.

“Nanase doesn’t have a shift today,” I replied.

“Hmm, then it’ll just be you, me, and Shinohara-kun. Let’s work hard!” She energetically raised her arm, and Shinohara-kun responded by clenching his fist in a reserved manner.

“Okaaay! I’ll go get changed now,” I said. I’ve got some experience at showing newbies the ropes from back when I worked part-time jobs in college. Plus, Shinohara-kun started yesterday, so he must’ve learned the basics from someone else already. All righty then, it’s time to get cracking! I used up a lot of my money during the trip, so I need to save up again.

***

There were a lot more customers flooding in and out of the café today than usual. Shinohara-kun was not good at learning by any standard, but I liked his earnest personality and how he gave it his all when he worked. Though, I did laugh just a bit when he pulled out a notepad and started taking notes for everything.

“We managed to make it through another day,” I said to the weary Shinohara-kun when we were changing back into our school uniforms in the break room.

“I-I’m so tired...” he moaned.

I chuckled. “Yeah, it’s tiring in the beginning because you’re not used to it.”

The door suddenly flew open, and without any regard for the fact that we were in the middle of changing, Kirishima-san enthusiastically yelled, “I’m going home first!”

“You’re awfully energetic for someone who just finished working,” I remarked.

“Heh heh heh! You can tell? My boyfriend came to pick me up!” she cooed.

“Okay, sure. I’m tired of all your gushing about him.”

We watched Kirishima-san leave, veiled in an aura of happiness, and then Shinohara-kun and I locked up the store.

“Man, it’s gotten pretty cool at night,” I said.

It was 10 p.m., and the sky was completely dark. Shinohara-kun and I walked side by side towards the station. The gentle breeze felt nice. The weather had become bearable to be outside in—autumn had arrived.

After a considerably long pause, he replied, “Y-Yes, it is.”

He probably didn’t know whether I was talking to myself or talking to him, and after worrying over it, he decided it would be best to reply with something safe. I really understand that feeling.

I had become quite fond of Shinohara-kun because I felt a strong sense of kinship with him. There was nothing better than having a good relationship with a fellow part-timer, and I’d be thrilled if we became good friends.

“Um,” Shinohara-kun said in a small voice before bowing. “Thank you for today.”

“No, not at all. I told you you don’t need to be so respectful towards me.”

“But I caused you a good deal of trouble...”

“You just started, so of course it happens. When I first started, I caused Nanase and Kirishima-san a lot of trouble too.” I said that without thinking, but quite frankly, I didn’t recall anything like that ever happening. To be fair, I’m on my second round in life, so I have an illegal amount of experience with working. But I’m pretty sure I caused trouble the very first job I had.

“Really? Kirishima-san told me you learned very easily, but that you were an abnormal case, so I shouldn’t compare myself to you, though.”

Stop blabbing so much, Kirishima-san... She’s as talkative as always. He looks like he’s going to feel bad if we go down this rabbit hole, so it’s time for a topic change. “Shinohara-kun, why did you start working?”

“I need money,” he said forlornly. “Instruments and equipment are very expensive.”

“Instruments?”

“Oh, I’m... I’m in the light music club, I guess. Th-Though it doesn’t suit me at all.”

Sure, it’s unexpected, but if you deprecate yourself that much, I won’t know how to respond. Though, I do understand the mentality of belittling yourself first so that no one else makes fun of you. “Light music club? That’s cool. What instrument do you play?”

“The bass. I’m not very good, though,” he said. “Oh, do you know what a bass is?”

“Yeah. I like listening to rock bands. It’s the lowest one, right?”

The bass is the heart of any band. The main stars are usually the vocals or guitar, but the bass adds the powerful low notes to the band’s instrumentals, stabilizing the mood and rhythm of the song. I had only ever played the guitar, but I admired skilled bassists. They gave off an air of cool and flawless professionalism.

“Yes, that’s right. Do you like rock music?” he asked.

“Yeah, a good amount. I pretty much follow all the popular bands.” Well, the bands are all seven years old for me, so I know about all of them without having to keep up with the times.

“Me too. That’s why I wanted to be part of a band,” Shinohara-kun said wholeheartedly. I could tell he was stating his unfiltered thoughts right now. “Until now, I played the bass alone, but I mustered up the courage in high school to join the light music club. Though, I honestly don’t fit in much.” He laughed weakly.

“N-Nah... Speaking of which, how many people are in the light music club?”

“U-Um, I think twelve people. The third-years have already retired.”

“Wow, that’s quite a lot of members. Sounds like enough for two or three bands.”

“There’s a band of four second-years, a band of three first-years, and a second-year duo. I have no friends...so I’m a bandless leftover.” Shinohara-kun let out another weak, self-deprecating laugh and became openly depressed.

Th-This is a touchy subject! “But you said there were twelve people. That means there’s three people left over, right? You could form a trio.”

“They all forgot about my existence,” he replied. “And I don’t even know if the other two want to be in a band.”

Th-This is bad! No matter what I try, our conversation takes a nosedive! Isn’t there anything positive we can talk about? Oh yeah, isn’t Serika in the light music club too? “Do you know Hondo Serika?”

“Oh, yes... She’s one of the other two leftovers I just mentioned.”

“Huh, really? Serika’s my friend.”

“In Hondo-san’s case, she’s too good, which puts everyone off. Her technique and motivation are too different from everyone else’s, so most don’t want to play with her. Though, she was very popular in the beginning.”

Shinohara-kun’s breakdown of the club brought Serika’s melancholy expression during lunch break to mind. Was the light music club related to why she had seemed like she was about to cry? “Is Serika that good?”

“The way she performs and the sounds she produces—everything she does is on a different scale. We’re both leftovers, but it would be much too discourteous for someone like me to play in the same band as her.” Shinohara-kun walked with his head hanging, sounding as if he was disparaging himself. “It’s impossible.”

“But don’t you want to play in a band?”

“Of course I do...but it’s too hard for someone like me.”

“But you found a part-time job so you could pay for your instrument and equipment, which means you haven’t given up yet, right?”

I seemed to have hit the nail on the head, because Shinohara-kun sank into silence with a sour expression. Back when I had bought a guitar in college, I’d shared the same sentiments as him. I had lacked the courage to reach out to other people and instead wanted someone to invite me to join their band. But I had no friends in the first place, so naturally the future I wished for wouldn’t come when all I did was wait.

I didn’t want him to have regrets like I had. But as someone who had been urged not to have any regrets by Serika, I felt like I didn’t have the right to say anything. So I was at a loss as to what words to offer Shinohara-kun.

“Well, see you later,” I said when we reached the station.

“Y-Yes. Until next time.” He bowed and then ran through the gates.

I was very familiar with the likes of his unfashionable appearance, timid demeanor, and negative attitude. It was as if I was looking at myself from when I’d failed my first high school debut.

While I waited on the platform for my train, it began to rain. Autumn weather was fickle—the forecast had predicted clear skies all day. Raindrops trickled down onto the ground with a gentle pitter-patter.

***

Three days later on a Saturday at midday, Namika was in the living room watching a Bump of Chicken concert DVD, so I joined her on the sofa. Suddenly, my smartphone chimed from in my pocket. I pulled it out. There was a notification on my lock screen: it was a RINE message from Uta.

“Hey, are you free right now?” it said.

Sorry, but I’m very much not free right now. I’m in the middle of watching a Bump of Chicken concert DVD, I’ve got manga I want to read, and then I’m gonna delve into a new action movie from the West. And, uh... Oh, I’m gonna go for a walk. I’m very busy!

“I’m extremely busy,” I sent.

She immediately replied, “So you’re super free!”

She’s incomprehensible.

“Just finished practice. Miorin, Seri, and I are gonna go karaoke. Wanna come?” came a follow-up message.

Karaoke, you say? I do like karaoke, but why is that mix of people inviting me?

“Seri wants to hear you sing!” she sent.

I see. I don’t think I’m good enough for someone to get excited over hearing me, though. I typed out a reply. “Please don’t raise the bar too high for me~”

“Don’t worry! You’re actually that good!”

Hmm... I don’t have a good reason to say no, so I guess why not? Plus, Serika and I have the same taste in music, and she wants to hear me sing. Though, who knows if Miori will like what we pick. After a moment of contemplation, I sent her a sticker that conveyed, “Okay!” and changed into outside clothes.

“Onii-chan, going somewhere?” Namika asked, crunching on a senbei.

“Yeah, my friends invited me out. I’ll let you know when I’ll be back later,” I replied.

She returned her attention to the television and half-heartedly said, “Okaaay.”

I left the house and headed for the station. I couldn’t tell how the weather would turn out today; all I could do was pray that it wouldn’t rain.

I’d better eat lunch somewhere first. I haven’t eaten out in a while... Which means I’ve gotta get ramen! And so, I stopped by a ramen shop before taking the train. About an hour later, just as I was passing through the ticket gates, a group of girls waiting in front of the entrance spotted me.

“Oh, Natsu! Over here!” Uta called me over, hopping up and down as she waved at me.

Are you a kid? Your skirt looks like it’s about to flip up, so please stop. I’m gonna look down by accident! If Uta’s skirt were as short as Serika’s, then there was no doubt I would’ve already easily caught a glimpse of a certain triangular piece of cloth. Uta was standing in between Serika and Miori, who were also wearing the Ryomei uniform.

“Sorry, did you guys wait long?” I asked.

“Mm-hmm, pretty long. I was bored,” Serika answered, a little too honestly.

Uta hurriedly cut in, “Hey, Seri! Natsu came because we asked him to, remember?!”

“I know. Let’s go do some karaoke. I’m excited.” Serika sauntered off as she hummed a tune.

Off in her own world, as always. Miori was already walking next to her, likely used to her carefree pace. Uta and I looked at each other and then laughed. We followed after them, walking side by side.

The karaoke place was about three minutes away from the station. Serika spoke to the clerk, clearly an experienced patron, and then led us to a large room that was way too big for just the four of us.

“Do they not have a lot of customers today?” Uta asked, tilting her head to the side in confusion.

“There’s that, but I told them I preferred a bigger room. It feels nice singing in a spacious place.” Serika answered while using the DENMOKU’s touch screen.

“True, a big room is definitely better than a cramped one,” Miori said in agreement.

Personally, if I had to choose, I liked cramped rooms more, so I couldn’t relate. I felt more relaxed the smaller the space. It made me feel like I belonged. We took our seats, Serika and Miori on one side of the table, and Uta and me on the other.

Now that I think about it, this situation is pretty nerve-racking—I’m the only guy here. I used to yearn for the chance to go to karaoke with girls, but now that it’s a reality, I feel kinda uncomfortable. Not gonna lie...I wish Tatsuya and Reita were here too. I watched the girls choose their songs as they chattered excitedly.

“All righty! I’ll go first!” Miori entered her song, and the title appeared on the big screen. It was a song from an idol group that had gained popularity recently. The song had a fast tempo and an upbeat melody, perfect for livening up the mood. She picked up two mics. “I wanted to sing this. Uta, wanna join?”

Excited, Uta exclaimed, “Okay!” and the two began to sing together.

Phew... I don’t have to talk when someone is singing, which puts me at ease... And man, Miori is really good. She’s always been good at everything she tries. Serika peered at the DENMOKU with a serious expression, groaning inaudibly. Yeah, let’s leave her be.

Right when the song ended, a light bulb went off in Miori’s head, and she quickly turned on the scoring system. “I know! Let’s compete with the points system. Loser treats the winner to ice cream!” she said with a bold smile.

Uta theatrically crossed her arms to form an X. “No way. I’m definitely going to lose! Count me out!”

“Awww, c’mon, it’ll be fine! You’re really good, Uta.”

“Natsu and Seri are on a whole nother level. Miorin, you won’t be able to win either, you know?”

“Now you’ve said it! Telling me that fires me up instead,” Miori said, displaying her competitive spirit.

Serika piped up. “I’m good. I’ll just win a free ice cream, no effort.”

“N-Now that rubs me the wrong way. Don’t look down on me, you jerk!” Miori angrily leaped at Serika and began tickling her armpits.

“Wait, stop that. I’m ticklish... Hngh...!” Serika wriggled around in a rare moment of panic, which was a cute sight.

I stared at them playing around, but then I felt Uta’s gaze on me, so I took out my phone and pretended to look at my music app, feigning innocence. I didn’t see anything, okay?

“And you? Are you gonna compete?” Miori asked me.

“Well... Sure, I guess,” I replied. In times like this, if I didn’t accept her invitation, she would sulk.

I’m definitely not gonna lose, though. After hearing her sing just now, I bet she’ll average in the upper eighties. I used to train alone at karaoke places, so she’s no match for me. Heh heh heh! I had a repertoire of songs that I could score over ninety-five points on. Except, over half of them didn’t exist yet, so I couldn’t use them. Another one of the demerits of leaping back in time.

“Then can I start?” Serika asked, but entered a song before anyone could answer.

My First Story’s “Missing You” appeared on the screen. The band’s intense instrumentals reverberated throughout the room. She’s singing a hard rock song for a karaoke competition?! Rock songs are difficult in general, and they’re hard to score points on. Did she just choose a song she likes because she doesn’t care about winning? Or...is she just that confident?

I knew the answer immediately after she’d begun. Serika’s voice was lower than the average girl’s, and it was the perfect match for a song known for its male vocalist with a high range. The pitch bar on the upper half of the screen scrolled by without her going out of tune even once.

Um, excuse me... What the heck? She’s way too good! Blown away, I let my mouth gape open.

“Seri does the vocals often too,” Uta whispered in my ear.

That’s awesome! She’s a guitarist and a vocalist! She’s the star of a rock band!

To match the climax of the song’s hook, Serika raised her volume one notch higher—I felt goose bumps crawl up my skin. Miori energetically clapped to the beat, and Uta swayed her body to the rhythm of the song. I sat there petrified, too overwhelmed to move.

Eventually, her score appeared on the screen, signaling the end of the song: ninety-four points. It was a great result, but I’d honestly thought that she would score higher. Then again, the karaoke point system had no direct correlation to how good of a singer someone actually was.

“Well, thought it’d be something like that,” Serika remarked matter-of-factly, wearing her characteristic unruffled expression. I unwittingly began clapping, but she shook her head. “It wasn’t that good.”

“Okay, you’re up next, Natsu!” Uta said.

Oh shoot, I haven’t put in a song yet! I’d been so absorbed in listening to Serika that I’d completely forgotten that my turn was next.

“Crap, I haven’t thought of anything. What should I sing?” I wondered aloud.

“If you’re lost, then I’ve got a song I like that I want you to sing!” Uta suggested.

“Okay, sure.”

“Yay!” she cheered, smiling happily.

She punched a song into the DENMOKU, and it immediately beeped, sending the selection to the system. Alexandros’s “city” appeared on the screen. It was a song I’d also liked a lot since way back.

It began with a mellow intro riff, but once the drums joined in, the tune transformed into something sharper. The moment you thought the song had stabilized, the lead guitarist began thrumming out the melody. I liked how it had many deep, vibrant sounds that embodied the song’s title.

“Nice choice. And it’s got the actual music video too. That’s awesome.” Serika whistled.

“Right!” Uta agreed.

“Ah, ahhh,” I quietly said into the mic, fine-tuning my volume and distance from it.

I’d loved music since way back, so I naturally came to love singing too. I hadn’t had a single friend who would listen to me, but I continued to karaoke alone. As a result, I became skilled at getting high scores on the machine. There were many tricks to consistently scoring high. For example, don’t try to change the song’s arrangement, match the key no matter what, deliberately emphasize your inflection during calculated portions of the song, and lay on the vibrato to get the extra points.

However, the hours I’d spent on practice were in vain. What I wanted wasn’t to earn a high score from a machine. I simply wanted to sing the songs I liked, in the way I imagined. Remembering that fact, I decided to let loose right now, even if it meant I would lose points. And I didn’t regret it.

I felt that I was singing even better than normal. I had gained some self-confidence after the first time I went karaokeing with everyone. If I’d sung in a way tailored to earn points, I had a feeling they wouldn’t have complimented me so much. I hadn’t spent that time practicing to receive compliments, but I’d been alone for so long that it did make singing in front of them all feel good. And so, today I sang as I normally did.

When I began, Miori’s eyes bulged, and she uttered, “Huh? He’s actually that good?”

Uta’s shoulders shook blissfully next to me. And Serika’s gaze bored a hole into me while she wore a very serious expression. It’s kinda hard to sing if you stare at me that hard... Though I thought that, I managed to finish the whole song.

The room was still for a brief moment when the song ended as we waited for the score to load, until finally the numbers appeared: ninety-three points.

“Darn, I lost to Serika,” I said.

“I don’t feel like I won at all, though,” she said after a beat, twirling her hair. She seemed uncharacteristically restless. She glanced my way, lowered her gaze, and then peeked at me again from a low angle. Then, she dropped a bombshell of a statement on us. “I think I might be in love with you, Natsuki.”

Uta screamed. “Wh-Whaaaaaat?!”

“Misspoke. I might be in love with Natsuki’s voice.”

That was a terrible slipup! Stop that! Though, hearing that does make me happy! But look, Uta was so surprised she fell off the sofa! And Miori, in her own Miori fashion, is tilting an empty cup over. It would’ve been a catastrophe if there had been liquid inside! She returned the cup to its original position as if nothing had happened and cleared her throat.

“O-Oh... Thank god...” Uta let out a relieved sigh. Her blatant reaction made me a bit embarrassed. She gasped, realizing how obvious she was being, and looked at me. Our eyes met, and her face immediately flushed crimson.

“Natsuki, I want to hear you sing more,” Serika said.

“Sure, we are karaokeing right now.”

“Did you listen to the ‘Songs for Cheering Up’ playlist I sent you? Sing that.”

“There are like thirty songs on that, though!” Suddenly, I remembered that we were in the middle of a singing competition. “Sorry, it’s Miori’s turn now.”

“Yeah, that’s right. Here, Miori, the mic’s yours. You can sing now,” Serika said, handing her friend the microphone.

Miori glared at us resentfully. “Y-You two... You know I can’t win.”

“Ah ha ha! I told you to quit before you started. Miorin, you were the one who suggested we have a competition in the first place!” Uta crowed.

“I know! Jeez! Don’t get all logical with me! I just have to treat someone to ice cream, right?!” Miori began to sing a ballad, half out of desperation.

Why did you choose a heartbreak song?

She scored eighty-seven points, clinching last place for herself. After that, we enjoyed karaoke as normal. I sang rock songs with Serika and Uta, we all sang golden oldies together in chorus, Serika played the air guitar during the song interludes, and Uta danced energetically—it was a blast.

We had come to the store during marathon time, so we sang until we were all satisfied. By the time we finished, it was completely dark outside. A sulky Miori stood next to Serika, who was contentedly eating ice cream.

“My voice is so hoarse!” Uta said in a gravelly tone. She had been the one to sing with the most fervor.

Of course it would be. You sang with one hundred percent of your energy every time. Well, I’m sure you’ll recover after a day.

“That was fun, right, Natsu?” she said to me.

“Yeah, really fun,” I replied honestly.

“I feel like it’s been a while since we hung out,” she continued, voice husky.

I felt a chill run down my spine. It really had been a long time since I’d hung out with Uta. The last time I’d seen her was during summer break on my birthday. The reason for the long gap was obvious: I’d been avoiding spending time with her alone. There was no possible world where Uta hadn’t noticed how I’d been behaving.

The night breeze was chilly, an indication that autumn was beginning. A single shirt was no longer enough. The days were getting shorter, and in the dim lighting, I could see fallen leaves scattered on the ground where we passed.

“If...my feelings are a nuisance to you, tell me, okay?” she whispered, her voice so weak and evanescent that I wouldn’t have thought it belonged to the ever-cheerful Uta.

I had never thought of her that way, even once.

“I told you I’d make you turn my way, but I don’t want to ruin your happiness,” she continued.

I shook my head. “Uta, you always cheer me up. Honest.”

A fleeting smile spread across her face. I couldn’t read what emotions her expression harbored.

“Sorry,” she said after a short pause. “I’ve been a bit down. Ah ha ha. This isn’t like me, huh?” Before I could say anything in return, she walked ahead and hugged Miori from behind. “Miorin! How long are you going to sulk?!”

“Ow!” Miori yelped in surprise. “Hey, Uta! You’re forbidden from hugging me out of nowhere!”

Unfazed by her complaints, Uta had on her usual smile. “Ah ha ha! Your whole body jerked just now!”

I feel like I was supposed to say something there...but I couldn’t. I’m delaying my decision, and it’s hurting Uta. My read on the situation was naive. The sorrowful, faint smile that she had shown me was a far cry from her usual smile that beamed brightly like the sun—the smile that I had come to love.

However, there was one thing I knew with certainty: the one who had caused Sakura Uta to make that expression was, without a doubt, me. I stood still, watching Uta and Miori goof around.

Serika pushed my back. “C’mon, let’s go,” she said.

“O-Oh, yeah... Sorry.”

“I’m sure Uta is anxious right now. She watched you and Hikari-chan get closer over summer break. She probably thinks she doesn’t stand a chance.” Serika had likely overheard our conversation, even though we’d been speaking fairly quietly. “Being liked by other people is complicated, huh?”

Right now, I wasn’t in the mood to say anything in response to her words.

***

I took the train home with Miori. We lived in the same town, so after we’d said our farewells to the others, just the two of us were left. The old train rattled as it went, carrying us even farther into the Gunma countryside. The only other people in our train car were a sleepy drunkard and an elderly couple with a genial atmosphere.

The world outside the window was pitch-black, and if I strained my eyes, I could make out rice paddies and forest passing by. The only sign of civilization was the occasional flash of light from a house. I was absentmindedly gazing out the window when I got smacked on the head.

“What’re you down in the dumps about?” Miori asked.

When we’d parted ways with Uta and Serika, I’d tried to act as I usually did, but I didn’t feel like pretending in front of Miori. I was glad that she was the one with me right now. If I were with anyone else, I surely would’ve been stressed. Even if I wanted to discard my mask, the only one I actually felt comfortable exposing my complaints to was Miori.

“What should I do?” I never think enough, and that’s why I always make mistakes.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but all I can provide is advice. You’re the one who has to make the choice.” She kept me at arm’s length in reply to my dependent entreaty.

“Sorry, you’re right,” I said slowly. I didn’t find her response cold; I liked that about Miori.

She disregarded my silence and began talking at me as if nothing was wrong. “Anyway, I never knew you were that good at singing. I’d heard Uta gush about you and all, but that really surprised me! I don’t remember you being like that in the past.”

“I couldn’t make any friends, so my hobby was karaokeing alone.” I wasn’t lying. The only distinction was whether I was referring to middle school or my time in the future.

“You’re full of unknowns now. And here I thought I knew you well,” she murmured, the words spilling out like little drops. She looked lonely and sad.

Miori is the only person who knows the old me. It’s perfectly natural for her to feel this way now. “To be fair, we barely had anything to do with each other in middle school.” I tried to be nonchalant, but I felt somewhat afraid and guarded. Does Miori sense there’s something off about me? I doubt she’d reach the absurd notion that I leaped through time, though.

“Yeah. That’s why you gotta tell me more about yourself,” she said, offering me solace. “What’re you struggling with?”

“Knowing you, you probably already figured it out, but right now I...” And so, I began unloading my feelings.

Until now, I had always consulted Miori about everything, but recently I hadn’t been taking the initiative to talk to her. I felt like I was being unfaithful for loving both Hoshimiya and Uta, so I didn’t want to tell other people. After all, it was unforgivable for me to feel that way.

So far, I’d proactively tried to experience the best youth possible. What I needed to do had been clear: there was a group I’d wanted to be friends with and a girl I loved. I’d successfully joined a great friend group that was fun and cozy to be around, and I’d worked hard to date my crush.

My days were fulfilling, and I enjoyed every moment. And of course, I was enjoying my life even now. But I no longer understood my own feelings, and I constantly felt lost.

Hoshimiya and Uta both loved me. It was something to celebrate. There was no greater joy than two girls falling for someone like me. But this was the first time in my life I’d experienced being liked by a girl, and I didn’t know what the correct thing to do was.

What was I searching for? Who on earth did I love? How could I get what I wanted without losing anything?

After I finished letting everything out, Miori nodded lightly and then smirked. “Wow, Natsuki, you’re popular. Are you bragging?”

I sighed. “You’re the only one I can tell because people will think I’m bragging.”

“Sorry, sorry,” she said, patting my head.

Stop that!

“I think it’s very like you to be sincerely stressing over this kind of thing.” Miori giggled. “My gut tells me...you’re probably scared, right?”

She was exactly right. All this time, I’d been terrified of something, but I didn’t know what.

We got off at our town’s empty station and walked along the night road side by side. The wind swept the fallen leaves up, rustling them around my feet.

“If you stay indecisive for too long, they might give up on you,” Miori commented.

“Yeah, you’re right...” I said glumly. It’s a miracle that those two even like me in the first place. It’d be natural if they called it quits. I mean, what is there to even like about me, anyway?

I had worked hard to change myself. I wanted to become someone others would like. But in the end, I still couldn’t like myself; try as hard as I might, all I could see were my faults. I couldn’t think of a single reason two lovely girls like them would have fallen for me.

“Well, if the time comes, I can soothe your broken heart. After all, we’re childhood friends, even though we didn’t choose to be.”

I felt comforted by Miori’s concern. In a bit of a better state, I suddenly remembered something I’d wanted to ask her about. “Come to think of it, what about you? Weren’t you going to confess to Reita?”

On the last day of summer vacation, unlike how I’d been hesitating over two girls, Miori had steeled herself and made her decision.

“Yep, I still plan to.” She chortled proudly through her nose. “Don’t worry about me; I’ve got a date with Reita-kun tomorrow.”

“Really? Things are going well, then. What’re you guys going to do?”

“We’re going shopping for fall clothes. I’m thinking I’ll get him to choose some outfits for me.”

“Man, girls sure love clothes shopping.”

“That statement doesn’t just apply to girls. You just don’t have any interest in fashion!”

Well, that is true. Reita reads fashion magazines, and his casual clothes are very stylish. He talks about the latest trends too. I’m sure he’d happily go with Miori to pick out clothes.

“Plus, Reita-kun has good fashion sense, so I can have peace of mind with him choosing. And I want to wear clothes that’ll make him call me cute,” Miori continued. “If I let you pick me clothes, then I bet it’d be a fashion disaster.”

“It’s you we’re talking about here, so wouldn’t a jersey be fine?” I remarked. She pinched my cheeks. Excuse me, but that actually hurts! “Oh yeah, I need to buy some decent clothes for the fall too.”

I’d made it until now by mixing and matching the clothes Miori had picked out and the ones I’d hastily bought after studying some fashion magazines, but it was about time to add to my wardrobe. I’ve got plenty of tacky clothes at home, though. Like shirts with English sentences on them.

“I won’t pick out clothes for you anymore, got it? Figure it out yourself,” Miori said after a small pause. Her words sounded strangely heavy.

I was the one who’d told her to keep Reita in mind and avoid excessively hanging out with me alone. I didn’t think my assessment of her situation was wrong. After all, I was in the same boat, and I figured it wouldn’t reflect positively on me if I hung out with Miori alone. That was why our exchange shouldn’t have been anything odd...

...but I felt like a hole had just opened up inside my heart.

And that was all there was to it.

***

Monday of the following week came. The lessons went in one ear and out the other due to my melancholic mood, until classes finally ended. I wanted to go home immediately, but the homeroom teacher stopped me.

“Haibara. You’ve got time to spare, right? Sorry to ask, but can you lend me a hand?”

“Please don’t assume that I’ve got time to spare just because I’m not in a club,” I replied. “But sure, I’ll help.”

The teacher chuckled and pointed to two fairly heavy-looking cardboard boxes. “Right, sorry. Can you carry one of those to the storage room?”

“What’s in them?”

“Teaching materials. They were for the supplementary lessons over summer break. We don’t need ’em right now, so we’re putting them away.”

Ah, yes. The supplementary lessons for people who failed finals. Uta and Tatsuya had barely scraped by, but several people had failed. I couldn’t say no at this point, so the homeroom teacher and I each picked up a box.

The storage room was on one end of the school building’s second floor, near the music room. It was a bit far from the classroom, but the distance wasn’t enough to tire us out. At least, that’s what I’d thought. My homeroom teacher’s breathing was ragged as we ascended to the second floor.

“H-Haibara, you’re pretty strong,” he said, panting.

“I work out and run as a hobby, after all,” I said.

Right when we were passing the music room, I heard noise coming from the classroom up ahead.

“Sounds like they’re going all out in the second music room. The light music club’s been using it lately,” the tired teacher said.

“Huh? Doesn’t the light music club have their own clubroom?” I asked.

“They said something about how one clubroom was only enough space for one band to practice.”

I hummed thoughtfully in reply, walking towards the second music room. I could hear the timbre of an electric guitar playing a riff I recognized—it was the intro to Metallica’s “Master of Puppets.” The heavy, low notes rang out in short bursts, forming the song’s melody. The rhythm was accurate, the volume of each note played with precision, and the sound had an overwhelming pressure to it. Listening to that imposing riff made shudders run through my body. A song as difficult as that was being played to perfection.

“I don’t know much about music, but I’m impressed,” marveled my homeroom teacher.

I came to a halt without thinking and turned my gaze towards the source of the sound. It’s breathtaking. I can’t believe there’s a high schooler who can play guitar this well.

“Hmm? What’s wrong, Haibara?”

On impulse, I put down the cardboard box and opened the door to the second music room. Inside, holding her guitar, was Serika. She continued downpicking like a demon, oblivious to the fact that the door had been opened. When she looked up and saw me, her eyes widened.

“Huh? Natsuki? What’s up?” she asked.

At that moment, the music stopped, and I finally returned to my senses. “Nothing. I was just so wowed by that performance that I stopped thinking...” What am I doing? It doesn’t matter how curious I am! I can’t just open the door without asking.

“Really? Happy to hear that.” She smiled and strummed down on her guitar. In her hands was a Gibson Explorer with a black luster.

My staring was interrupted when my homeroom teacher called out to me. “Hey, Haibara. Do that after we finish putting the materials away!” He shot me a troubled smile.

I lowered my head in his direction. “I’m sorry!”

My mind wasn’t working for some reason. I could hear Serika playing the guitar all the way from the storage room while I put the box away. How much practice had it taken for her to produce such a powerful timbre?

“Whew, sorry about this. You were a huge help,” my teacher said.

I gave him a typical, half-hearted reply. “Nah, this wasn’t much. I’ve got time since I’m in the go home club.”

“Ha ha. That completely contradicts what you said earlier.” He wiped his sweat with his arm and then, in a curious tone, asked me, “Haibara, is there a reason you didn’t join any clubs?”

“Not particularly. Guess I didn’t have a reason to join one.”

“I see,” he said, nodding a few times. “It just stood out to me. I thought it was a shame that you didn’t join any clubs, since you’re excellent in studies and athletics. I’m sure you would get good results with anything you tried.” With that, my homeroom teacher added, “All right then. Thanks,” and left.

That’s quite the high evaluation. If I could get good results with anything I did, I wouldn’t struggle so much. I’ve got the advantage that this is my second round of high school, so everyone thinks I’m brilliant, but in situations I’m unfamiliar with, I keep making one blunder after another.

On my way out, I passed by the second music room again and opened the door. Serika was still practicing the guitar—all by herself. The room’s layout resembled that of a normal classroom, but currently all the chairs and desks were pushed to the back. The front of the room only had the chair she sat in, her guitar stand, and her amp.

“Why’re you in the second music room?” I asked her.

“The other members are practicing in the clubroom.” Serika put her guitar down on the stand and took out a plastic bottle from her bag. “I’m not in a band, so I can’t mingle.”

Oh yeah, Shinohara-kun mentioned something like that. Serika’s performance skills are on a different level compared to the other light music club members. And when she was in a band, because she was too motivated, her bandmates couldn’t keep up, and she eventually ended up as a leftover.

I can see how that happened after hearing her play. She clearly doesn’t belong in your run-of-the-mill high school band. “I love your guitar, Serika,” I said with sincerity. She looked at me, her eyes widening in an uncommon instance of surprise. I had been entranced by her music; she was so cool that the words just slipped out of me.

“Do you love Serika?” she teased.

“I didn’t garble my words that hard.”

“Aw, what? You’re no fun. But thanks.” She curtly averted her eyes and brought the bottle to her lips. She audibly gulped the water down. I saw sweat trickling down her neck. She must’ve been practicing with considerable passion—all this time, even though she wasn’t in a band, even though she was alone.

“Why did you start playing the guitar?”

“In the beginning, I just started because I thought it was cool.”

The same reason as me. I guess that’s usually how it goes.

“My dad used to be in a band, so we always had rock music playing at home. I was raised in that sort of environment, and of course we had a few guitars. So I just picked one up and started playing.” Serika readjusted her guitar as she spoke. “At first, it was so hard that I quit multiple times, but I slowly got better, and I was thrilled whenever I produced the sound I wanted to make. It was fun. That’s why I kept going.”

“I quit out of frustration before I ever reached that point.”

No matter how much I’d practiced, I was never able to produce the sound I wanted to make. I couldn’t move my fingers the same way the guitarists I admired did. I’d become irritated by how far my reality was from my ideal. And above all, there were plenty more hobbies I could take up that were much more entertaining. That’s why, before I knew it, the guitar that I’d bought became a mere ornament for my room.

“Wanna try?” Serika offered her guitar to me.

“Isn’t this important to you?”

“I’m not worried. You’re not one to treat it crudely. Here.” She forced the guitar strap over my neck.

I sat down and crossed my right leg over my left, stabilizing the guitar on me. My left hand touched the strings, and my right held the pick. Though it had been a long time since I’d last touched a guitar, the sensation was more familiar than I’d expected. I strummed at the strings with my right hand, and the guitar sang pleasantly.

That low note sounded different from my old Stratocaster, somehow thicker and heavier, if I had to describe it. She’s really good at adjusting the amp settings too. It’s not something I can copy.

I played through the chords I knew in order.

“Your F chord is so off. Your pointer finger needs some work,” Serika said with a smirk.

“Shut up. I haven’t played in a long time. My fingers aren’t nimble at all,” I countered, frowning. I’m not gonna mention that my barre chord playing was dubious even at my peak.

“But you can play.”

“If I keep it simple, I can.”

I began to play a riff that I remembered, pressing down on the first fret of the sixth string and third fret of the fifth string. It was Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” the first song I ever practiced after I had bought my guitar. It was composed of only simple power chords, but it was strangely cool.

As I strummed through the song, Serika started humming. It kind of felt like I was playing a live concert, and I had a great time.

“That was fun,” I said.

“Yeah, I had fun too.” Serika broke into a rare smile, cute enough to captivate me. She noticed my stare and cleared her throat with a cough.

“I’ve never seen you smile like that before.”

“I just get excited when I talk about music.” A pink flush dusted her cheeks, and she fiddled with her hair.

The sky had become dark, but we didn’t notice. We were enjoying ourselves too much.

“People have always told me I’m hard to understand,” Serika murmured, packing her guitar in its case as she prepared to go home. “My expression and inflection don’t change much. I know I’m a weird kid.”

True, Serika is pretty cryptic. It’s hard to tell what she’s thinking. The only time her face or voice becomes emotive is when she’s talking about music. And even then, it’s not that big a change. Unsure of how to respond, I listened to her quietly—after all, Serika surely didn’t want to hear a perfunctory remark like, “That’s not true!”

“I’m not good at expressing my emotions,” she said impassively, as if she were stating a simple fact. “But I want others to understand me. My feelings. My emotions. I don’t want people to say I’m hard to understand. The timbre of my guitar is the only way I can convey who I am. I feel like I can reach everyone with my music. One day, I want to stand on a big stage and share my music with lots of people. That’s why I keep playing.”

She gazed up at the sky, chasing some dream I could not see—her side profile was dazzling.

“I’m alone right now, but one day, I’ll form an awesome band and play music that I composed myself.”

“Like at the Tokyo Dome?” I asked.

“Yeah. I’ll send you a ticket.”

“That’d be great. Buying a ticket for a popular band’s concert requires a lot of praying and luck.” After listening to her perform in this room, I’d become her fan. I wanted to hear her play more. I wanted to see her standing on a stage. “Serika, I hope your dream comes true.”

“Hey, Natsuki.”

Right when she was about to say something, the door opened. A large boy with a fierce look, who gave off the impression of a big boulder, stood there. He was taller than me and had a solid build. He had an intimidating air, and he looked like he could kill me in an instant if we ever fought.

“Oh, Hondo,” he said plainly. His voice was very deep.

“Iwano-senpai. Do you need something?” Serika questioned.

“No... I thought you were practicing, so I opened the door, but it looks like you’re with your boyfriend. Sorry for interrupting.” With that, he turned around and shut the door.

Well, he certainly appeared and disappeared in a jiffy. “You called him your senpai, so I assume he’s older than us. Is he in the light music club?” I asked.

“Yeah. He’s Iwano Kengo-senpai, a second-year. He’s a good drummer. Though, everyone’s scared of him.”

Yeah, I can see why they would be... I almost backed away, there. “Wait... Shouldn’t you have corrected him?”

Serika tilted her head to the side. “About what?”

“Um, he mistakenly thought that you were flirting with your boyfriend.”

After a long pause, she finally said, “Eh, that doesn’t bother me.”

“It’ll bother me, though. I mean, think about my current situation.”

“Iwano-senpai isn’t the type of guy to gossip, so don’t sweat it.”

He doesn’t look the type, so I guess I can accept that. “Come to think of it, weren’t you about to say something just now?”

Serika thought for a moment and then shook her head. “Hmm. I’ll ruminate a bit longer.”

“About what?”

“You don’t need to worry about it. Just serve your time.”

“What am I serving time for?!”

“Oops, wrong saying. Bide your time.”

“Well, okay, but I’m still curious.”

“It’s still a secret.” Serika put a finger to her lips and then changed the topic. “I went to Rock in Japan this year.”

“Seriously? Lucky! I haven’t been to any concerts lately.”

“Festivals are super fun. There are all sorts of people jumbled together—I love the chaos. The staging was especially flashy this year; it was sublime. They had fireworks on the third day, and...” Just like that, we talked about music all the way to the station.

I loved music, especially rock. After all, songs had given me the courage to live for tomorrow, back when my youth was drab and gray.

***

The next day during lunch break, while I was chatting with Tatsuya and Reita in the hallway, Serika pulled me aside.

“Natsuki, can I borrow you for a sec?”

“Serika? What’s up?” I cocked my head to the side. She was exuding an aura that screamed she wanted to speak to me alone.

Having read the mood, Reita said, “All right then, Natsuki, we’ll go back to the classroom,” and whisked Tatsuya away, leaving me and Serika behind in the hall.

What does she want? This is unusual. Serika typically cuts right to the chase without beating around the bush.

Her expression deadpan as always, she asked with indifference, “Wanna make a band with me?”

I hadn’t known what to expect, but this was so far out of left field. “S-Say what now?”

Me? In a...band? Where’s this coming from? We played guitar together yesterday, but put another way, that’s all we did. I decided I must’ve misheard.

However, Serika looked me straight in the eye and declared, “I’m serious. Let’s change the world with our music.”

I was too baffled for words. Let’s...change the world...with our music? Sure, I love music, and I wanted to be in a band at some point in my life, but this is way too sudden! Serika’s erratic speech and conduct always stood out, but this invitation especially lacked any logic behind it. However, she seemed to be speaking with sincerity, and it didn’t feel like she was joking.

“Why me?” I asked.

“I want to do it together with you, Natsuki.”

“Why do you want to do it with me?”

“The reason is... Well, there’s a bunch of reasons.” Serika twirled the ends of her hair and then took a breath. “I already said it during karaoke, but I love your voice. I want you to sing my songs.”

“So you want me to be a vocalist? You scored higher than me, though.”

“Points aren’t everything, and I’m just good at karaoke. I’m different from you.”

It’s the same for me. I went to karaoke alone all the time and improved. I’m not conceited enough to think my own singing is actually good. “I like your singing, you know.”

“I’m no good. My voice can’t reach everyone’s heart. That’s why...Natsuki, you sing.”

I could tell Serika was being serious, and I was happy to be praised. She stuck her hand out for me to take, and I almost grabbed it unwittingly. But I stopped myself and shook my head.

“No, I can’t.”

“Why?”

“Why? Well...”

“Is there a reason that you don’t want to?”

“I’ve got my part-time job and my studies, and joining a club in the second semester is a bit—” I stopped there; a realization had hit me. I’m searching for a reason to decline. Why? Why am I searching for a reason to say no? Because if I don’t search hard, then I won’t find one.

In truth, there’s nothing holding me back. I mean, I wanted to be in a band. I wanted to play music with friends I trust. The reason I dropped playing guitar is because, no matter how hard I practiced, I didn’t have any friends to form a band with. This is finally my chance to fulfill that aspiration, so why am I trying to turn her down?

Seeing that I was shaken, Serika continued to press me. “That’s not the only reason. I think I can trust you. My gut tells me that no matter how hard I practice, you’ll be able to keep up with me. Your taste and love for music—you resemble me. I can tell. Natsuki, you actually want to play music, don’t you?”

It was just as she’d said. And that was why I was getting cold feet. If I joined a band, I’d need to interact with strangers. What if I couldn’t match Serika’s skills? I didn’t have any confidence in my singing either. Those kinds of fears were controlling me.

Rejecting her offer is the easy and comfy path. But am I fine with that? Will refusing her here really lead me to the best youth ever? Didn’t I swear that I’d live a youth I wouldn’t regret?

“Let’s do it. I want to be with you, Natsuki,” Serika said, hand stretched out. I could see traces of her arduous practice on her fingertips.

The scene I’d witnessed yesterday flashed through my mind: Serika playing the guitar in the second music room, how I’d been enthralled by the timbre of her notes, how I’d thought she was cool, the pure admiration I’d felt.

“Do your best to not have any regrets, okay?”

Lately, I didn’t understand my own feelings, but now was the only time I knew what I wanted.

“Thanks for inviting me.” I want to play music with Serika, I thought, wishing to be honest with myself. “If you’re okay with it, Serika...can I give it a shot?”

“Of course. Happy to have you. I’m ecstatic. Super ecstatic.”

I took Serika’s hand, and then the beginning-of-class bell rang.

“Cool, we can talk about the specifics later,” she said. Her expression didn’t change much, but she truly seemed to be delighted.

I watched Serika run off to her classroom and then turned back to mine. As I did, I felt gazes prickling me. I looked around—there were a lot of people staring.

“Wh-What?” I wondered, bewildered.

A girl from the class next door approached me. “Um, Haibara-kun! Congratulations!”

“Wh-What?”

“You’d better cherish Serika-chan!”

“Huh? R-Right...”

A group of girls returned to their classroom, giggling and chatting loudly as they passed.

Wh-What on earth? Serika and I are bandmates now, so of course I’m gonna cherish her. Then, I finally grasped how we’d objectively appeared to onlookers. “Don’t tell me... Is this going to become trouble?”

On that day, rumors that Serika had confessed to me and that I’d accepted spread throughout our grade.

***

“So, Natsuki. Are those rumors real?”

We were still in the classroom after homeroom had ended. Classes were done for the day, and soon everyone would be heading to their clubs. Reita and Tatsuya came up to my seat and grilled me in hushed whispers.

“It’s only been a few hours... How far have the rumors spread?” I groaned. When I was with these two, we always attracted attention, but today I felt more gazes on us than usual. “Also, obviously it’s all just a misunderstanding. Why would you two believe that?”

“Well, apparently Serika said, ‘I want to be with you, Natsuki!’ and gave a passionate speech, so maybe... Y’know,” Tatsuya said.

That’s... Yeah, that’s true! We shouldn’t have talked in the middle of the hallway.

“And we know for a fact that you two were chatting during lunch break,” Reita added.

Nanase, Hoshimiya, and Uta also joined us. This was our usual group of six, but the girls felt like they were exuding enigmatic and intimidating auras today. On the surface, Uta and Hoshimiya appeared normal, neither smiling nor angry. I couldn’t read what they were thinking.

“It’s a false rumor, right?” Nanase asked.

“Yeah,” I said with a nod. “Of course it can’t be true.”

“Who knows? Right, Uta-chan?” Hoshimiya remarked.

“Natsu and Seri met recently but clicked really fast,” Uta said in agreement. The two girls nodded at each other.

What emotions are they saying that with? I’m scared. But it’s fine. They’ll understand once I explain what happened. 

Right when I was about to spill the beans, the whole classroom kicked up a fuss. Everyone’s attention was directed towards the door. There, the source of the rumor was looking around. When Serika spotted me, still surrounded by my friends, she waved.

“Hey, Natsuki. Let’s go,” she said.

The whole room then fixed their attention onto me.

“Natsu?” said Uta.

“Natsuki-kun?” said Hoshimiya.

“Haibara-kun?” said Nanase.

Why am I breaking out in a cold sweat? I haven’t done anything wrong... I stayed at my desk, frozen.

Serika tilted her head to the side, puzzled, and came up to me. “What’s up, guys? Why’re you huddled up there?”

“That’s our line. Seri, why’re you here for Natsu?” Uta asked.

“’Cause, he’s my mate from now on.”

“Your mate?” Uta was not the only one blinking at Serika with mystified eyes. Everyone was.

It’s gotten pretty chaotic, but this will be easier to explain now that she’s here. “Serika and I are going to be in a band together.” I then gave everyone a quick rundown of what had happened yesterday after school and today during lunch.

“So that’s what this is about. Huh, that surprised me,” Reita remarked, not looking particularly surprised.

“Well, this always happens because Serika-chan says misleading things.” Hoshimiya placed her hand on her chest and exhaled lightly.

“That aside, this is awfully sudden. I didn’t hear anything about a band before now,” Nanase said, looking displeased.

“A band! That sounds nice! So that’s what’s going on! Is Natsu going to sing?!” Uta peppered us with questions, eyes sparkling.

“Yep, he’s going to be the vocalist. And he’s going to play the guitar. I’ll be the lead guitarist, and Natsuki will back me up,” Serika answered, determining my role without any input from me.

I had seen that coming, though. In rock bands, the guitar part was often divided into two. The lead guitar played the main melody while a rhythm guitar focused on accompaniment. I couldn’t tell you which role was more difficult, but the lead guitarist was most definitely the star of the song.

“Wait, so you’re gonna join the light music club?” Tatsuya asked, the notion just now hitting him.

Serika glanced at me. “We can think about that later. I want to find the other members of our band first.”

Yeah, she’s right. The light music club already has two bands, and there aren’t many people left. Maybe we’ll have a better chance finding bandmates outside of the club.

“You don’t have all your members yet?” Reita asked.

Serika nodded. “Yeah. I just wanted to do it with Natsuki.”

Tatsuya whistled, and the corner of his lips twisted up slightly. Serika shot him a perplexed head tilt, but he shrugged. “It’s nothin’.”

“Oh, that’s right. Natsuki-kun, you mentioned you could play the guitar on our trip,” Hoshimiya chimed in.

“I’m not good enough to claim I can ‘play,’ but I’m going to practice hard until I can,” I said.

“Nice, man. Sounds fun! Good luck, Natsuki,” Tatsuya said, chuckling to himself, and smacked me on the shoulder.

“If you guys are gonna have a concert, then invite me! I’ll definitely come!” Uta exclaimed, already pumped.

“Don’t get too excited. Nothing’s set in stone yet,” I said, trying to calm her down.

Reita came to the rescue and put the conversation back on track. “At any rate, if this was only about forming a band, then I’ll quell the rumors.”

I can always count on you, Reita. Reliable as ever. Wait, is it that easy to squash a rumor? Doubt washed over me for a moment. But it’s Reita we’re talking about here, so I’m sure he can do something about it!

“Club activities are starting soon. Tell us more about the details tomorrow,” Reita said. With that, we dispersed, and everyone scattered to their own clubs.

“So,” I began, “what should we do today?” My usual routine had been thrown into disarray, and a torrent of anxiety and anticipation whirled inside of me. For some reason, the world around me seemed to be glistening brighter than usual.

“Let’s start with a strategy meeting,” Serika replied, appearing a bit cheerful.

We both headed to the second music room. The light music club’s room was occupied by the aforementioned two bands, so Serika basically always practiced in the second music room. Currently, the wind instrument club was using the music room next to us. However, unlike the second music room, which had a similar structure to a regular classroom, the main music room had high ceilings and soundproof walls, so we could barely hear them play. The light music club probably wished they could use that room too.

“There’s an issue we have to overcome first,” Serika said.

“Search for bandmates, right? I guess who we need also depends on what kind of songs we want to play.”

Knowing Serika’s preferences, she probably wanted to perform hard rock. She would be the lead guitarist, while I would be the vocalist and rhythm guitarist. Which meant we needed...

“A bassist and a drummer, huh?” I remarked.

Those two comprised the core of the band—often called the rhythm section. I liked to imagine that the drums created the rhythm with dots, while the bass maintained the rhythm with a line. The bass was responsible for the low notes of a song, while the drums kept the tempo. Both instruments fulfilled essential roles for any tune; without them, the song’s groove would be off.

“Well, I could learn how to play the bass from square one,” I suggested.

Playing the drums while singing seemed too difficult, but I knew there were plenty of bands that had a bassist double up as a vocalist too. Although I wasn’t sure if I was even capable of playing an instrument and singing at the same time, that was a later problem.

“We can consider that if we don’t find anyone. Natsuki, you prefer the guitar, right?”

Yeah, because it is the only instrument I’ve ever purchased. It was also true that whenever I watched rock concerts, my eyes were always drawn to the guitarist—I was fond of the electric guitar’s timbre.

“I can play the bass too, but I definitely like guitars more,” Serika stated plainly.

She’s already crazy good at the guitar, but she can play the bass too? They look like similar instruments, but they require completely different techniques! Serika really is built different.

“Okay then, do you have any concrete suggestions?” I asked.

“There’s someone in the light music club I want to play with.”

“Who is it?” I paused. “Well, I guess that even if you told me the name, I wouldn’t know who it was.”

“No, you saw him yesterday. The second-year, Iwano-senpai. His drumming is legit.”

Iwano-senpai? Oh, that guy. He looked really intimidating... Not gonna lie, I’m kinda reluctant and, well, scared of him. He doesn’t look easy to mix with. But I am interested in hearing him play, what with Serika praising him that much.

“The problem is, he already turned me down once.”

“Then that’s a no go.”

“I’ll try inviting him again. I’ve got you with me now, so I feel like it might work out.”

“I don’t think anything will change just because I’m here...”

“It’s fine. Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. Courage alone is enough to change the world.” Serika shot me a thumbs-up. “I’ll persuade Iwano-senpai, so you find us a bassist.”

“What? You don’t have anyone in mind?”

“The people I know are already in bands. We could borrow someone, but I want to practice hard, so I’d rather it be someone dedicated to our band. I want a bassist with drive.”

That’s a pretty hard request. In the first place, I’m not someone with a lot of friends. I’ve got substantially more than in my first round of high school, but my circle’s way smaller than Serika’s. I can’t think of anyone. A bassist who is driven, available, and willing to join us...

“Oh, come on. Those are some strict requirements. There’s no one conveniently—”

Hmm? Hold on a sec. The new guy at my job... Shinohara-kun. Didn’t he say he’s in the light music club?

“Light music club? That’s cool. What instrument do you play?”

“The bass. I’m not very good, though... Oh, do you know what a bass is?”

Th-There is! There’s a bassist who conveniently happens to be a leftover! He said he’s driven, but he hasn’t joined a band because he has no friends. He’s the ideal person for us right now. Shinohara-kun, I’m glad you’re alone...

“N-No. Stop. Calm down. There must be some reason Serika didn’t invite him,” I mumbled.

“What’re you muttering about?”

“Serika. Shinohara-kun’s in the light music club, right?” I questioned. I was about to follow up with, “He’s a fellow first-year in the same club, he’s a bassist, and he’s not in a band, so why haven’t you considered him as a candidate?” but Serika’s brows furrowed.

“Who’s that?”

Alas, she wasn’t even aware of Shinohara-kun’s existence in the first place. I told her about him, and surprise colored her face.

“Come to think of it, I sorta recall someone I didn’t recognize hanging out in the clubroom sometimes.”

“You definitely shouldn’t tell him that, okay?” I told her, tone serious. Even I took some damage from that. Urgh... Memories of my past are resurfacing. In any case, the next time I shared a shift with him, I would invite him to join our band.

“Okay. I’ll handle Iwano-senpai, and you handle Shinohara-kun.” We settled on what we’d do to fill out our remaining members, and then decided we’d wing it from there. “Cool, let’s end it here. I hope we can assemble everyone quickly.”

Serika and I fist-bumped and then packed up.

“Oh, hold on, Serika,” I said right when we were about to separate. “Can you help me pick out a guitar?”

I hadn’t practiced the guitar since my university days. I’d bought my favorite Stratocaster in the autumn of my first year of university. In other words, I didn’t own a guitar right now, and I also needed the other equipment.

***

“I come here a lot.”

Serika had brought me to a music store at Takasaki Station, one stop from our high school. I opened the old wooden door and was welcomed by a motley sort of atmosphere. Instruments lined the cramped space, adding to the jumbled mess. Jazz music played in the background.

There was a group of outgoing band-looking people perusing the store. Serika did not hesitate to cut through them, beelining straight for the electric guitar area. I timidly followed her past the crowd. Music stores are scary...

“What kind do you want?” she asked.

“The one I used to have was a Fender Strat.”

“A Strat? Nice. It’s important for it to look cool.”

When it came to electric guitars, the standard choices were usually Stratocasters, Telecasters, and Les Pauls. There were others like Jaguars or Jazzmasters, but I wasn’t that knowledgeable about guitars, so I didn’t know much more than that. I mean, I didn’t even know what was different about the sounds the varying types produced. I’d just bought a Strat in the past because of my favorite guitarist.

“Why don’t you try the ones that jump out at you? How about this one?” Serika picked up a red guitar nearby and asked the shopkeeper for permission to test it out. After she checked the feel of the strings and shape of the body, she played a riff with enthusiasm. “Natsuki, do you wanna try too?”

She passed the guitar to me, and I held it in my hands. The proportions felt good, so I gave it a light strum. Not bad... But the grip on its neck doesn’t feel great, I think? And the sound kinda feels somewhat lacking.

I racked my brains as to what felt wrong, and then Serika handed me another guitar. But that one also gave me an iffy, indescribable feeling. I’m not trying to be fussy about this, though...

“Natsuki, you’ve got the makings of a guitarist,” Serika said, praising me (though I didn’t really see what there was to compliment about our situation), and continued picking out guitars.

“Maybe I’ll stick with a Strat... Now I gotta worry about the price,” I said.

I’d been working part-time, but I’d made quite a dent in my savings since the summer beach trip. I can’t buy a guitar that’s too expensive. But on the other hand, if I buy one that’s too cheap, it might not last long. My indecisiveness manifested here as well.

“Hmm,” Serika said. “The price is reasonable, but I don’t think this one suits you well.”

There were a few guitars that I’d thought looked nice and had a decent price, but which hadn’t passed Serika’s screening. I didn’t really get it, but maybe the sound they produced wasn’t good enough.

“Okay, I’ll go with this one.”

At the end of all my vacillations, I wound up choosing the same type of Fender Strat as from my university days. I also bought a guitar case, a pick, an amp, a shielded cable, a tuner, and some other necessities that Serika recommended. I gathered up everything and checked out—the final bill was nothing to laugh at.

“You bought a lot,” Serika remarked.

“Yeah, my savings have disappeared in the blink of an eye,” I said, but I didn’t regret my decision at all. Money could be saved up again, after all.

“Are you sure about this?” she questioned. “Though, it’s a bit late for that since you bought the guitar already.”

“It’s fine. I actually wanted to be in a band. That’s why I’m glad you invited me.” I’d experienced this elation before. It was the same sensation as when I’d first started playing basketball—the thrill of stepping into an unknown world.

Serika lived around Takasaki Station, so we parted ways at the station gates.

“See you tomorrow,” I said.

“Yeah. Let’s do our best,” she responded, her tone impassive as always. However, I could tell that she was happy and excited on the inside, even though I hadn’t spent much time with her. “Natsuki, you’re looking like a real rock star now. You’re cool,” she said, right when I was walking away.

When I turned back, she was already gone.

***

I slung my guitar case onto my back and returned home. Namika, who was watching a variety TV show while eating cup ramen with disposable chopsticks, looked at me as though I was a ghost.

“Wh-What’s that?” she asked, noodles in her mouth. “Onii-chan?”

“Can’t you tell? It’s a guitar and whatnot.”

“Uh, where’s this coming from? I doubt you can play it, so quit while you’re ahead.”

“Stop snuffing out people’s dreams when they’re just starting!” I scolded. Your onii-chan doesn’t remember raising you to be like this!

“Are you playing in a band?”

“Yeah, that’s the plan for now.”

“I see... Oh! Wait, are you going to perform during Ryomei’s school festival concert?!”

I didn’t think of that. I see, the school festival... Isn’t it during the latter half of October? The 25th and 26th, maybe?

They were going to hold a live concert for the light music club and any other interested bands on an outdoor stage. It was the ideal place for us to perform, but if we started practicing for it now, we’d only have a month and a half. Participating would be challenging for us, given we hadn’t even found all our members yet.

“I wanna go to Ryomei’s school festival,” Namika said wistfully. “If you’re going to be in a concert, then I’ll do you a favor and come watch.”

“We don’t plan on performing right now, so don’t get your hopes up.”

“Whaaat?” she said, disappointment coloring her tone, and returned her attention to the TV.

I went upstairs to my room and opened the accessories I’d bought. I connected the shielded cord, amp, and my guitar, and then strummed a string. It was lucky that I lived in the middle of nowhere. Our house had a large garden, and we were pretty far from any other houses, so I didn’t need to worry about being a nuisance to the neighbors. Though, if I turned the volume up too much, Namika would probably snap at me.

“Righty then... Hey, this is going better than expected.”

I played through the parts of songs I remembered. Of course, my fingers weren’t moving very well, and I would need to practice hard to retrain them. I continued randomly playing things I could recall until my phone’s ringtone interrupted. I picked it up to see a RINE call from Hoshimiya Hikari.

“Hello?” I said.

“Oh, Natsuki-kun? Good evening.” A little bit of happiness welled up inside of me after hearing Hoshimiya’s lively voice. “What’re you doing now?”

“I’m practicing the guitar. Since I’m going to be in a band and all.” I lightly strummed a string. Twang, it sang.

“Wow, you really are. You’re amazing! I didn’t know you could play the guitar.”

“I can’t really play it. I need to practice a lot more,” I said. And I think you’re way more amazing. You’re already writing whole novels.

“So, Natsuki-kun. I didn’t hear about any of this.” She sounded somewhat indignant.

I didn’t tell anyone else, but in my defense, I was invited out of nowhere and agreed to it on the spot!

“I knew you liked rock, but I was still shocked to hear that you’re forming a band,” Hoshimiya continued.

After a beat I said, “I was surprised too. But when Serika invited me, I felt like I wanted to give it a shot.”

I get why this all feels very abrupt, and honestly I agree that it is too. Seeing Serika play with my own eyes left a deep impression on me. I admired her performance. It made me want to be able to play the guitar like her.

“So you’re saying this is an unexpected development?”

“Yeah. But I’ve always wanted to be in a band.”

“I see...” she murmured. “A rock band, huh? I don’t know much about that stuff.”

“Hoshimiya, do you rarely listen to music?”

“Yeah, I guess so. I basically spend all my time reading and writing.”

She was likely writing a novel even now. Through the phone, I could occasionally hear what sounded like a keyboard clacking.

“If you’re interested, then I can recommend you a few songs,” I offered.

“Really? Okay, I’ll give them a listen.”

I shouldn’t recommend anything too intense for a beginner. Songs I like that have a gentler melody... I typed out a few that I could think of and sent her the list via RINE.

Hoshimiya immediately began to listen to them. “Ohhh. It’s very...booming? I think it’s nice?”

“Don’t force yourself to praise it. Everyone’s got different preferences.”

She wouldn’t necessarily like the same songs that I liked. It was a matter of course since we were different people.

“I know...but I want to learn to like it,” she said.

“Why?” I asked. She doesn’t seem that interested in rock.

Such irrelevant thoughts flew through my head as Hoshimiya answered in a calm tone, “Because I also want to like the things you like.”

I stopped breathing. Hoshimiya thinks that much of someone wimpy like me?

“Don’t you think we’ll be happier that way? There’ll be more things for us to watch and be excited about together,” she said.

“Yeah. I’d be happy if you came to enjoy rock.”

“Natsuki-kun, I was really happy when you read the books I like and told me they were interesting. I enjoy it when we share our thoughts about stories. So I want to do that for you too.”

“The sentiment makes me happy, but you really don’t need to force yourself.”

“Yeah, I know. There’s no point if I don’t mean it from the bottom of my heart.” She seemed to have continued going down the list of songs I’d recommended even while we’d been chatting because she said, “Oh, I think I like this one. ‘Hoshi ni Negai wo’ by Flumpool.”

“Nice. If you like that one, then I think you’ll like this one too. I’ll send it to you over RINE.”

After a while of chatting about silly things, Hoshimiya said, “Hey, Natsuki-kun. What kind of song are you guys going to play?”

“I’m not sure yet. But knowing Serika, it’ll definitely be something I like,” I replied honestly.

In a blatantly sulky voice, Hoshimiya grumbled, “You seem to trust Serika-chan quite a lot. I’m feeling pretty jealous.”

E-Even if you tell me that straight to my face, how am I supposed to respond? I thought, at a loss as to how to react to her straightforward display of affection.

“But,” she continued, “if that’s what you’ve set your heart on doing, then I’ll cheer you on.”

“Thanks. Good luck to you too. You’ve started writing your next novel, right?”

“Yeah. I submitted the one you looked over to a competition for rookies. I’m waiting for the results now. I figured I’d get started on my next work in the meantime... Once it’s complete, will you read it?”

“Of course. I can’t wait to see your new novel.”

She laughed. “That puts me in a good mood. I also can’t wait to watch you guys perform.”

“We haven’t found all the members yet, so don’t raise the bar too high, okay?”

“Whaaat? Natsuki-kun, you’re sounding pretty spineless. You’ll sound cooler if you say, ‘I got this!’ or something.”

“Urk... You’re right. I’ll reflect on that.”

Hoshimiya seemed to be more up-front about her true feelings these days, and her words stabbed straight through my heart. Yeah, she’s right... I’m always spineless... I’m indecisive, and I call myself cautious, but really I’m a coward. I don’t have the confidence to just proclaim something like, “I got this!” I’m a hopeless guy. I sank into silence, negative thoughts running rampant in my mind.

I heard a giggle from my phone. “Feeling down? You’re so cute, Natsuki-kun.”

“That doesn’t really make me happy... As a man, I want to be cool,” I said glumly. Calling a guy cute? What’s that even supposed to mean? I don’t get what’s going through her head. “It’s about time for me to get back to practicing the guitar.”

“I’d better take a bath now, anyway. We should stop for the night,” she said in agreement.

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”

“Mm-hmm. Let’s both do our best—me with my novel, and you with music.”

With that, we nodded and hung up. Though our goals were different, we each understood how the other felt. I tossed my phone on top of my bed and picked up the guitar again.

I want to be cool. At the very least, I’d like to be cool when I play the guitar. I want to become someone strong, someone brimming with confidence, who can say, “I love you,” without hesitation. That was all I thought about.

***

The next day, when I walked into the classroom with the guitar case slung over my back, everyone in the room concentrated their gazes on me. I knew I’d attract attention since I’m holding something I’ve never carried around before...but this is still super embarrassing!

Uta was the first to call out to me. “Looks good on you, Natsu!”

“Really?” I said.

“You look sorta like a bandman!”

“‘Sorta like a bandman’ doesn’t really sound like a compliment.”

“Ah ha ha! You said it, not me!”

I made my way to my seat and set my stuff down as Uta and I chatted. Nanase appeared out of nowhere and pointed at the guitar case. “Can I take a look?” she asked, brimming with curiosity. I nodded and she took out the guitar, examining it with keen interest. “Hmm, it looks cool... Did you pick this out?”

“I got some advice from Serika, though I made the choice in the end.”

“I want to see you play it!” Uta exclaimed.

“Sure, but this isn’t a good time for playing. Later, okay?” I said with a wry smile.

“Grrr.” Uta’s cheeks puffed up with displeasure. “True.”

The door opened, and Hoshimiya entered the classroom. “Good morning, everyone,” she said, and beamed at our classmates with her usual radiant smile, filling the room with her flowery and gorgeous aura. She walked towards me—her seat was next to mine, after all.

After a moment, Uta returned her greeting. “Morning, Hikarin.”

“Mm-hmm. Morning, Uta-chan,” Hoshimiya said after a pause.

Their exchange was oddly meek for some reason. This feels kinda off. Maybe it’s just my imagination, but something’s definitely different between them. An awkward veil of silence descended upon us for a moment, but Nanase tore straight through it.

“Come to think of it, we have a math quiz today,” she said.

“Huh?!” Hoshimiya cried. “Really?”

“Murakami-sensei told us we’d have one two days ago. Don’t you remember?”

“No, I don’t,” Hoshimiya groaned. “Maybe I was sleeping.”

“Yeah, ever since we became seat neighbors, I’ve discovered that Hoshimiya falls asleep quite often during class,” I added.

“Natsuki-kun! Don’t leak people’s personal information like that! I just nod off every once in a while!” Hoshimiya shouted defensively. She glanced at Uta. “Uta-chan, did you know about the quiz?”

“Of course I did! Not that I studied, though!” Uta crowed.

“Then...you’re in the same boat as Hoshimiya,” I said.

“Knowing but choosing to do nothing and not knowing at all are as different as the sky and the earth!” she said smugly, puffing out her chest.

“What’d you say?! Uta-chan, take this!” Hoshimiya threw her arms around Uta and began tickling her.

I guess the weird atmosphere really was just my imagination. They’re messing around the same as always.

Just then, Reita and Tatsuya showed up. “You guys have so much energy in the morning. I’m beat after morning practice,” Reita said as he wiped the sweat from his brow with a towel.

“Wassup! Hey, Natsuki, give me a crash course. I reviewed the stuff that asshat Murakami said was important, but there’s still things I don’t get a hundred percent,” Tatsuya said; his expression was the most serious of us all. He brought his math text over to my desk. “Question three on page forty-three, my calculations don’t match up with the example steps...”

“We should review too,” Uta said gloomily.

“Y-Yeah,” Hoshimiya said. “Let’s study.”

Upon seeing Tatsuya diligently preparing, Uta and Hoshimiya exchanged a look and then returned to their own seats. I explained the question to Tatsuya as Nanase and Reita watched us. Those two would probably ace the quiz without breaking a sweat; they weren’t the type of students to slack off on their studies.

“People do change,” Reita remarked.

“He’s certainly trying to change. I’m fond of that sort of thing,” Nanase said.

I didn’t quite get what they were talking about, but the two of them seemed to be on the same page.

***

Somehow or other, everyone safely made it through the math quiz. Serika summoned me after school. “Iwano-senpai said he’d listen to what we’ve got to say. Let’s meet up.”

We’d only started searching yesterday, but she’d already made some progress. I immediately headed to the second music room. When I opened the door, Iwano-senpai and Serika were already there. He gazed out of the window with his hands thrust into his pockets while Serika set up her guitar. Neither one was saying a thing. I-It’s hard to speak up in this atmosphere.

Thankfully, they noticed the door opening. Iwano-senpai looked over his shoulder and Serika beckoned me in.

“So this guy’s gonna be the vocalist? Not you?” Iwano-senpai asked.

“Yeah. He’s better than me. You’ll see what I mean if you hear him sing,” Serika replied.

She spoke to our upperclassman in a casual tone, and for a split second my whole body went cold with fear, but Iwano-senpai didn’t seem to mind. Contrary to his stern appearance, perhaps he was actually a nice guy.

He examined me, looking me up and down.

Deciding I should introduce myself first, I said, “I-I’m Haibara Natsuki, a first-year.”

“Second-year, Iwano Kengo. I play the drums,” he said in return. “Is that a guitar you’re carrying? Can you play?”

“A little, yes. I’m not good, though.” The pressure from his stare was overwhelming.

Iwano-senpai quietly scrutinized me and then simply said, “I’ll be right back,” and left.

“Wh-What just happened?” I wondered.

“He’s getting a drum set from the clubroom to play with us,” Serika said.

“You got all that from four words?!”

“Iwano-senpai is a man of few words. You’ll get used to it once you spend more time with him.”

From my perspective, you’re also a woman of few words. I guess you two understand each other since you’re similar? At any rate, it seems the guy’s at least kinda interested in joining our band.

“Come on, Natsuki. Set up your guitar. If you’re missing any equipment, I’ll lend you mine. The distortion from this effector is sweet.”

At Serika’s urging, I got ready for our session. Iwano-senpai carried up the drum set in parts; it looked pretty tiring. By the end of his trips, a snare drum, bass drum, tom toms, floor tom, hi-hat, crash cymbal, and ride cymbal—an entire drum set that you’d see in a concert—had been assembled in the music room.

Iwano-senpai adjusted the positioning of his drums as Serika and I lightly strummed our guitars to adjust our amp volumes and tune up. While the two of us were raising a cacophony, he began hitting the drums, hashing out an eight beat starting at the third count. Serika ad-libbed a melody on top of that, and I timidly followed along by thrumming out innocuous chords.

A torrent of intense sound swirled inside the once-quiet second music room. No matter how liberally Serika played, Iwano-senpai drummed out a beat of unparalleled accuracy. And on top of that, the sound was powerful—his drumming had an incredible intensity to it.

I’d never played while improvising, so this free-spirited session was way too difficult for me. But even when I made mistakes, they didn’t mind and continued jamming away. Honestly, it took everything I had to barely keep up with them.

“Natsuki, sing,” Serika abruptly said and then immediately began to play a different melody.

It was a riff I’d heard before. Following her lead, Iwano-senpai altered the rhythm. Oh, I know this song. It’s Road of Major’s “Taisetsu na Mono.” I like this song! She’s asking me to sing it on the fly? That’s way too unreasonable! But I’ve got no choice but to do it! I began to sing without a microphone. I felt like I was losing to the guitars and drums, so I pushed myself to belt out notes as loud as I could.

A problem immediately made itself clear: playing the guitar while singing was far more difficult than I’d anticipated. I already had trouble recalling the right chords under normal circumstances, so suddenly adding vocals to the mix was too much.

I quickly gave up and let go of my guitar. Serika covered for me, skillfully combining the rhythm and lead parts. Amazing technique, as always.

I could focus on singing now, but there was still a huge mound of issues. This was different from karaoke, where the song always played at the same rhythm—a live performance had an element of chaos. It’s hard to sync up... Right as I thought that, the music began to match my singing. Oh, that’s cool. They’re playing in real time, so they can match up with me. Man, that’s awesome. This is getting fun!

After I finished singing “Taisetsu na Mono” as loudly as I could, Iwano-senpai slammed out some final beats, and Serika strummed on her open strings and then muted them, bringing the song to a close. A peaceful lull filled the second music room, only interrupted by my ragged breathing.

“Hondo, he’s as good as you say, but he’s still not there on the guitar,” Iwano-senpai said. He spun his drumsticks and snorted.

“But you can tell there’s room for growth, right? In his guitar skills and singing. I like Natsuki’s voice. It’s clear and high but still has that strong punch that guys’ voices typically do, and it carries far,” Serika said.

“His voice certainly suits the songs you write.”

“Yeah... Mine’s too soft for my songs, and I’m simply not good enough.”

“Hondo. I see what you want to say, but are you fine with that?” Iwano-senpai asked, his tone sharp.

I didn’t understand what those two were talking about. Their back-and-forth was likely an accumulation of all the interactions they’d had during their time in the light music club.

Serika nodded. “Yeah, it’s fine. My music doesn’t need me to sing. I finally realized that,” she said, her voice filled with determination.

Suddenly, Uta’s words from when we’d gone to karaoke together flashed through my mind.

“Seri does the vocals often too.”

Serika must’ve been the singer and guitarist in all the bands she’d been in up until now. And that very same person was leaving the role of the vocalist to me after hearing me sing. I was finally starting to feel the weight of her words. The vocalist was the face of a band. It didn’t matter if Serika could perform at a professional level—if my singing sucked, then the value of the song would plummet.

I’m glad she expects so much from me, but can I really do this? C’mon, now. Don’t hesitate, me! Didn’t I already decide to do this because I wanted to? If I suck now, then I just need to get better. I’ve gotta practice singing and playing the guitar like mad. I won’t be able to keep up with Serika if I don’t.

“Let’s do it, Iwano-senpai. I really like your drumming,” Serika said, her tone impassive as always.

He remained silent, eyes fixed outside the window—the sunset dyed the sky crimson. Serika said he turned her down once already. Is there a reason he can’t join? At the very least, he seemed to be having a blast playing the drums during our jam session.

Though this was basically our first time meeting, I could tell that Iwano-senpai had enjoyed himself. He and Serika were musicians of few words, and their expressions were hard to read since they hardly reacted, but they conveyed their emotions eloquently through the timbre of their respective instruments.

“Iwano-senpai. I also want to do this with you,” I said. Honestly speaking, I hadn’t wanted to until we’d played together, because I’d gotten the impression that he was difficult to approach. But things were different now. Now, I knew he was someone who pounded on the drums with passion.

“Even if we play together, it’ll only be for this year. I can’t continue any longer than that,” he finally said.

“That’s long enough. Our goal is the school festival,” Serika said.

It is? Uh, that’s my first time hearing about that, though! We only have a month and a half until the festival; are we gonna be okay?

Serika noticed my mouth hanging open and tilted her head. “Huh? Didn’t I tell you? We’re going to play during the school festival concert.”

“We only have a month and a half, you know?” I said.

“It’ll work out as long as we assemble our band in time,” she replied. I could hear, “We just have to practice until we’re about to drop dead,” heavily implied in her words. “Natsuki, you wanna play too, right? This is your chance to show the girl you like your cool side.”

“Well, if our music’s hype enough, then yeah, I guess I’ll look cool,” I said. The sight I was envisioning was surely remarkably close to the rainbow-colored youth I’d been aiming for. However, the difficulty level of this challenge was incomparably higher than any hurdle that I’d had to overcome already.

This wasn’t a manga or an anime. A high school band pumping up a crowd at a real-life school festival was a rare occurrence. It could be a problem if the spectators weren’t used to live performances, the stage’s audio equipment might be lacking, and our band itself might not be good enough either.

Serika and I discussed the logistics of achieving such a feat while Iwano-senpai listened in silence.

Eventually, I asked, “Why can you only play until the end of this year?”

“Unlike you two, I’m a second-year. I have to concentrate on my entrance exams starting next year,” he muttered.

Oh yeah, that’s right. A second-year’s third semester is also known as semester zero of their third year. If he’s trying to get into a good university, then remaining in a band after the new year will be rough.

“Iwano-senpai wants to be a doctor,” Serika explained.

I see... Then he definitely can’t afford to study half-heartedly.

“His grades are first in his year, despite his looks. Isn’t that unexpected?” she remarked rudely.

“What do you mean ‘despite my looks’? I’m a diligent student no matter how you look at me,” Iwano-senpai retorted, scowling.

I found it difficult to agree with either statement, so I just put on a polite smile. Wow, a doctor, huh? Ryomei is up there in terms of standard scores in the prefecture, but we’re not number one. Few students move on from here to a medical school. It’s obviously not going to be easy.

“My parents are doctors,” Iwano-senpai said—quite the substantial motive. “So I need to become a doctor too. I can’t afford to fail my exams. But I’m not the brightest bulb, so a half-assed attempt to stick with both won’t go well.”

“But you want to, right? I mean, you’re lookin’ pretty sad about it,” Serika pointed out.

His face looked as stern as always to me, though. Must’ve been a minute change that only people who’re close to him can tell.

“It’s too late for that now. After the third-years retired and the band I was in broke up, no one invited me to join them out of consideration for my situation. Isn’t that right?”

“Nope, way off the mark. Everyone was just scared of you. Your rep with the first-years is especially bad. I felt the same at first, though my opinion of you changed after hearing you play the drums.”

Serika held nothing back, and her blunt words caused Iwano-senpai to petrify. I could practically see a “BAM!” sound effect weighing down on his head. The drastic change in his expression was obvious even to me, a telling sign of how shocked he was. Wouldn’t he have been better off not knowing that?

Iwano-senpai cleared his throat and pulled himself back together. “I like your way with the guitar, and I like the songs you write. I’m curious where you’ll go from here,” he said. “But that’s why I’m scared that if I join your band, I’ll end up getting dragged along forever. I feel like I’ll give up on becoming a doctor and go down the path of a musician instead. I’m afraid of that.”

“Senpai, you’re being unusually talkative,” she said.

“I’m being honest. Normally, I wouldn’t whine like this.”

Silence stretched out between the two.

“All right, you’re in until the school festival,” Serika finally said, steeling herself for the inevitable end. “We have about a month and a half. Let’s give it everything we’ve got. Enough that all your regrets will disappear. Our performance on the school festival stage will be the greatest finale ever.”

“You’re taking this to the extreme,” Iwano-senpai said. “Why me? There are other drummers around. If you don’t limit yourself to this high school, then you could find any number of people who could match your skill. There are plenty better than me.”

“Your drumming charmed me, so I invited you. I don’t mind if it’s only for a short time. I just wanted us to play together,” Serika replied. “With you and with Natsuki, here.”

She sounded like she was confessing her love—I understood how deep Serika’s passion for music ran.

His mind made up, Iwano-senpai nodded. “Okay. Until the school festival, then.”

A satisfied smile spread across Serika’s face, and she raised her hands to me. I stared at her blankly.

She furrowed her brows in displeasure. “What’re you doing? C’mon, high-five me.”

“H-High-five?” I parroted back. Confused, I raised my hands up too, and she energetically slapped them. A loud smack echoed in the room. Then, she spun around in circles in a little dance. She seemed incredibly happy.

“So, we’ve got a vocalist, guitars, and a drummer, but what about a bassist?” Iwano-senpai asked.

“You two were the only ones I wanted to play with, so we don’t have one yet. But Natsuki said he’s got a bassist in mind,” Serika replied. “That’s what we discussed, yeah?”

“I still need to ask him, so don’t get your hopes up,” I said.

“Just to be sure, but if we want to perform in the school festival, then he has to be a Ryomei student,” Iwano-senpai said.

“No worries there. Hold on, Iwano-senpai, don’t you know him? His name’s Shinohara-kun.” I had a feeling I knew what his reply would be, but I asked anyway.

He cocked his head to the side, a harsh frown still plastered on his face. “Who’s that? Is he in the light music club?”

I replied with a lighthearted laugh and dropped the subject.

***

Three days later, after a long week of school, Saturday finally came. I was working a shift at Café Mares when the door chime rang, announcing a new guest.

“Welcome!” said Nanase, who was in charge of the floor.

I was responsible for the kitchen today, and I looked towards the entrance from behind the counter.

“Heyo, Yuino,” Serika said, dressed in her casual clothes.

Her beautiful long brown hair was gathered to the right in a side ponytail, and she wore a thin knitted top that showed off her shoulders, plus a short miniskirt. I didn’t know where to look.

“Oh? Hello, Serika. Do you have business with Haibara-kun?” Nanase said.

“Hmm. You could say that, but you could also say I don’t.”

Nanase looked confused. “I don’t quite understand, but I’ll take you to your seat.”

Serika followed her while looking around the store. When she spotted me, she gave me a little wave with both hands. Urgh, that’s so cute! Quit that behavior... This girl is too flirty.

“Huh? H-Hondo-san? I didn’t know she came here,” Shinohara-kun said. He was washing dishes next to me, and his eyes widened in shock.

I took my eyes off him for a moment to glance at the clock: it was almost noon. Shinohara-kun and I would be getting off work soon. I’d told her to show up around now after revising my initial plan. I figured that Serika’s charisma would be necessary to solicit him into our band.

“H-Haibara-kun. Come to think of it, recently you’ve been coming to school with a guitar, right?” Shinohara-kun said.

“Huh? How’d you know? Isn’t your class far from mine?” I questioned. Not gonna lie, I’m really embarrassed that I’m lugging a guitar around when I suck at it. If I were good (and I’d have to feel like I’m good) then I could be confident... I want to get better faster.

“I heard the girls in my class gossiping about it, and I saw you holding it too. Are you joining the light music club?”

“I might join, but I’m not too sure about that right now,” I replied. If we assembled our whole band, then it wasn’t a big deal if I didn’t join the club.

“Can you play the guitar?”

“A bit. But I’m not very good.”

“Th-That’s still amazing! Your grades are superb, you’re good at athletics, and now you can play the guitar too.”

It feels like Shinohara-kun’s starting to idolize me. It’s scary. Is there anything I can do to lower his assessment of me? “I’m not that great a guy. I’m afraid your evaluation of me is exaggerated.”

“A-And you’re humble too... You really live up to your reputation!”

O-Oh no! No matter what I say, he interprets it as a positive thing! Right as I gave up on reducing his opinion of me, the clock’s hand reached the peak.

Mitsuno-san, the shift manager, came out of the break room and tapped our shoulders. “’Sup! Hey, boys, time to change shifts. Great job.”

“Yep, good work!” I said.

“G-Good work... I’m sorry...” Shinohara-kun said.

“Uh-huh, good work,” Mitsuno-san said. “But why’re you apologizing? Shinohara, you’re a funny one.”

Shinohara-kun continued to bow over and over as we headed to the break room to change.

“Shinohara-kun, do you have some time after this?” I asked.

“H-Huuuh?! I’m sorry. Did I do something wrong?” he said.

I’d been trying to be as nice as possible, but his reaction was still extremely wary. “No, not at all. We wanted to ask if you’d join our band.”

“Oh... I see. That’s a relief... Hmm? Huh? ‘O-Our band’?”

“Yeah. So far there’s me, Serika over there, and Iwano-senpai from the light music club,” I explained.

Shinohara-kun’s eyes grew as wide as saucers and he froze. “H-Huuuuuuh?!” he screamed wildly, reaching a volume I’d never known was possible for him.

***

Shinohara-kun and I sat down across from Serika, who was already sitting at a table for four. When she noticed us, she took out her earphones.

“Were you listening to music?” I asked.

“BUMP’s ‘Yggdrasil.’ All of mankind needs to listen to this; it’s an excellent album,” she replied.

“I feel ya. I always return to that no matter what else I listen to.”

Nanase brought us our drinks as we chatted, a black coffee for me and a caffe latte for Shinohara-kun. “Is this a band meeting?” she asked.

“More like we’re trying to recruit Shinohara-kun,” I said.

Shinohara-kun was stiff from nerves, but he flinched when he heard that.

“That’s right. Shinohara-kun mentioned he was in the light music club,” Nanase said.

“Mm-hmm. I’ve seen you in the clubroom a few times before.” Serika paused and then added, “I think?”

“Hey, at least say that with confidence,” I hastily quipped. Serika didn’t have a single considerate bone in her body, as per usual.

“I-It’s okay... I’m sorry; I don’t have much of a presence...” Shinohara-kun laughed deprecatingly at himself.

Th-The light in his eyes is dying!

“We’re looking for a convenient bassist to join us,” Serika casually said.

Hey! You didn’t need to say “convenient”!

“We need someone who’s a Ryomei student, not in another band, and an experienced bassist,” she continued.

“I do fulfill those requirements. I’m a leftover in the light music club, after all... Ha ha ha...” he said.

Stop belittling yourself at every turn! It’s hard to respond to! I recalled the way everyone had forced a smile every time I spouted stuff like that. So this is how they all felt back then... Disparaging yourself excessively is not a good habit.

“Shinohara-kun, that’s your name, right? Would you like to join our band? We recently formed, so we don’t even have a name yet. Our goal is to perform at the school festival concert,” Serika said.

“Thank you for inviting me,” he began, “but are you sure you want someone like me? I’m not very good. To be honest, I’m not a good match considering your skill level...”

“I understand your concern, but I’m in the same position. Let’s practice hard together,” I said, trying to be encouraging.

“Haibara-kun, you’re a genius... So I’m sure you’ll leave me in the dust in no time.”

“Hey now, that’s not true, and you’re being way too negative,” I said.

“I-I’m sorry... This is just how I am... Ha ha ha...” A gloomy atmosphere hung over Shinohara-kun’s surroundings.

Serika didn’t bat an eye and indifferently suggested, “Why don’t you try for now? If you’re interested, then try and give it more thought from there.”

Good idea. I think it’ll be beneficial for all of us if he participates in a session first.

Shinohara-kun’s eyes roamed the room in a suspicious manner, and then he suddenly chugged his caffe latte in one gulp. “I-I’ll try! Is that okay?! If you’re okay with me, that is!” His answer was unexpectedly loud, and all the customers in the café turned their attention to us.

“Of course!” I said with a smile.

Serika wordlessly shot him a thumbs-up.

A vocalist, guitarist, bassist, and drummer—somehow, we’d gathered all the people we needed. It was an extremely quirky group, and I had my worries, but I felt excited more than anything.