Leaving aside the bad luck of being an orphan, Kai actually considered himself fairly lucky—
They took the train to the first park.
It was less than ten minutes away from the Scramble.
Before he could even look around, Kai spotted her on the swing: alone, head slightly bowed, pink tracksuit, guitar on her back—Gotō Hitori.
Finding Bocchi at the first park when he'd braced for a hassle surprised him.
But the earlier the better—more time for End to rehearse.
Without delay, and after confirming with Ryō, Kai walked up to her.
"Hello—since you've got a guitar, are you a guitarist?"
A male voice in her ear; after a stunned beat she looked up, glanced around, realized he really was talking to her—and went stiff, trembling, unable to get words out.
Too long without talking to anyone—I-I forgot how…
As an ultimate social phobic who never spoke to strangers, she blue-screened.
"Hello? Miss? Hey?"
Kai knew Bocchi was shy—but not this shy.
He waved a hand in front of her and called several times before she rebooted.
"H-h-h-hello. I-I'm Gotō Hitori. I-I can play guitar…"
"I'm Aoki Kai. Nice to meet you." He nodded.
Ryō arrived, and after his intro she added, "I'm Yamada Ryō. Hi."
No pause—Kai kept going. "Here's the deal. Our band's in trouble—the live's about to start, but our guitarist ran off. Without one, we can't go on. You've got a guitar, so I wanted to ask for help."
"The songs are easy. You'll pick them up fast," Ryō added.
"B-but, um, I…"
A second stranger sent Bocchi's voice trembling harder; she shrank back on the swing.
Seeing a refusal coming, Kai pressed gently, praising what he knew she craved to hear.
"Gotō-san, you must be good on guitar, right? If you could help, we'd be saved."
Ah—a stranger complimented me!
She sagged slightly, elated.
Then reality returned—she hadn't prepared at all. She wanted to refuse—
But Kai didn't give her the chance.
"Please, Gotō-san," he said, solemn and sincere—and bowed.
On the swing, Bocchi swallowed hard.
A live? Playing in front of people? No, no, no, no! You're not ready! Refuse, Gotō Hitori—refuse—
"Uh… o-okay. I-I can help…"
As someone with severe social anxiety, faced with such earnestness—how could she say no?
I'm doomed… If I ruin it they'll execute me… Gotō Hitori, why did you agree…
…
He couldn't hear her inner screams. Once she agreed, he exhaled in relief.
No more dawdling—in case she panicked and bailed—he said, "In that case, let's get you to the live house."
…
STARRY was close; they walked.
On the way, he explained STARRY and End's situation—though Bocchi might not have absorbed any of it through the nerves…
Five minutes later, they were there.
The moment they opened the door, a system chime sounded—Option 3 cleared. 500 points added.
He ignored the points and looked for Nijika at the bar.
"Aoki-senpai! You made it!" Her eyes lit up.
"Good afternoon, Ijichi-san. I brought the guitarist I mentioned."
He stepped aside to reveal the pink-clad girl hiding behind Ryō.
Nijika glanced past him, took in the girl at the door, then noticed Ryō had come with them.
Head tilted, she asked, "Aoki-senpai, did Ryō go with you to find her?"
"Yeah," he nodded. "We ran into each other at a music store, so we teamed up."
"I see…"
She was curious why the terminally lazy Ryō had been so proactive, but let it drop.
Seeing she didn't ask more, Kai added, "One thing about our guitarist—Gotō-san's personality is… unique. She's very shy. If she acts a little weird sometimes, please be patient."
"O-okay!"
He trusted Nijika's nature completely, so he left it at that.
With the option complete, time to spare, and the bar shift on hold, Kai decided to go home and record two tracks to post online.
He told Nijika as much and headed for the door—
As he passed Ryō, her lazy voice drifted over. "Suki-san, not staying to watch the live?"
He paused, blinked, and realized "Suki-san" was him.
His given name "Kai" sounded like suki ("like"), so—probably because it rolled off the tongue and amused her—Ryō had dubbed him "Suki-san."
He twitched a smile. "Got something to do. Next time, I'll definitely come hear you."
"Mm." Ryō let it go.
…
After he left—
Nijika didn't start practice immediately. She looked at Ryō.
Spotting the brand-new bass on Ryō's back, she frowned slightly.
"Ryō, didn't you say your allowance was basically gone? How'd you buy a new bass?"
"Ah…" Ryō dragged out the sound, eyes sliding away. After scrambling for an excuse and failing, she told the truth. "I borrowed a little from Aoki-san. Then I bought it."
"Ryō—"
Nijika sighed.
As her longtime friend, she knew Ryō too well. She lifted a drumstick and tapped Ryō's head. "Aoki-senpai isn't well-off. And you borrowed from him? Pay him back next time you see him!"
"Yes, yes…"
-------
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