Chapter 9: Facing the Sky

After the farce ended, the two began tuning their instruments. The thumping of drums and the bouncing of the bass echoed in the open space.

Ishikawa Hayato walked over to the nearby flowerbed and sat down, watching the two tune their instruments with great interest.

His keyboard didn't need tuning like theirs, and watching them felt very interesting.

However, a gaze fixed on him made his scalp tingle.

Ishikawa Hayato turned to look, and Kita Ikuyo averted her gaze elsewhere. The scalp-tingling sensation disappeared.

He withdrew his gaze, but in less than two seconds, the feeling of being intensely stared at reappeared.

He turned back again.

Then, the two began a battle of shifting gazes.

This exceptionally cruel war lasted 20 seconds. Their gazes soared to the heavens, plunged to the earth, traversed mountains and rivers, and finally…

Ishikawa Hayato won.

This was natural. As a former socially anxious person, he was extremely sensitive to gazes.

And it wasn’t self-praise, but his strongest point now was his thick skin; he could even make girls blush by staring at them.

Of course, whether the police approved was another matter.

Ishikawa Hayato followed the gaze of this freely moving young lady and found where her eyes landed: on his hand, which had just clasped Yamada Ryo’s.

Suddenly, he understood everything.

Pushing aside the boastful thought of buying a bag of potato chips and licking his fingers after each one, Ishikawa Hayato looked at the two who were almost ready, awaiting the opening.

“Alright, let’s begin.”

Nijika leaned forward, looking towards Ishikawa Hayato. Her beautiful red eyes held a gentle smile, and her swaying side ponytail exuded vitality.

She exchanged a glance with Yamada Ryo and nodded.

The next moment, the drums began.

The solid foundation of the band was laid, and the grand stage unfolded.

And the bass, which usually provided the foundation alongside the drums, now changed its role, leaping out from its deep undertone with a strong rhythm to become the protagonist of the music.

The bass solo had a rare kind of swagger; its deep rhythm seemed to dance on the drumbeats. Gradually, people around began to stop and enjoy this small ensemble.

No fanfare, no special theatrics, just the music, just the performers’ self-immersed playing, and people stopped, people appreciated, people… Ishikawa Hayato glanced at Kita Ikuyo nearby, whose eyes sparkled with starlight.

Following her gaze, he looked at Yamada Ryo, who was at the center of the crowd, expressionless, completely absorbed in enjoying the performance.

She held her bass, her body swaying freely with the rhythm as she played. When performing, she had a special beauty, like Erato gently caressing a harp.

The instrument was like an amplifier for her inner self. The thoughts of this usually quiet girl peaked at the edges using the music.

It was impressive, but what was even more impressive was making her own voice heard.

Hayato Ishikawa reaffirmed his resolve: he wanted to keep going like this. This was what he wanted to do.

At the same time, Kita Ikuyo, who was nearby, also made up her mind.

A guitarist, huh.

She was determined to become the woman who could stand by Ryo-senpai’s side!

Their performance ended, and a sparse round of applause broke out around them.

Nijika and Ryo bowed slightly. The audience, knowing the performance was over, began to disperse, and the bustling street quickly became desolate amidst the relentless footsteps.

Ishikawa Hayato looked back. Kita Ikuyo, who had been completely engrossed just moments ago, had left at some point.

“Hayato…”

But upon hearing Yamada Ryo’s lazy call from over there, he quickly went over… On the way back, Ishikawa Hayato was still responsible for carrying the luggage.

It didn’t seem like Ishikawa Hayato’s confession had created much of a distance between him and the two of them.

Walking under the night sky, on the street where neon lights constantly changed and shone, the two who had just performed in the crowd were now beside Ishikawa Hayato.

As dinner time approached, the surrounding crowd became hurried. The number of students was much smaller than before, and the number of office workers rushing home, occasional couples, and people wandering aimlessly gradually increased.

Beside Ishikawa Hayato, Nijika thought about something for a long time before finally speaking.

“I’m sorry, Hayato-kun, for making you carry everything.”

Ishikawa Hayato could feel that Nijika wanted to ask something, but was holding it back out of concern for various possibilities.

Instead of giving an explanation, he said, 

“This aligns perfectly with the idea of perverts helping each other, and besides, shouldn’t band friends assist and support each other?”

Nijika’s expression was very easy to read.

She first froze, then showed a thoughtful look of 'Could it be that? It does seem to make sense… Oh, well, then it’s fine.' and then, realizing she hadn't responded yet, she hastily nodded.

“Mhm, mhm.”

Nijika is so cute.

Yamada Ryo, glancing at the two, asked about Ishikawa Hayato’s intention to join the street live before the performance.

“Hayato, you mentioned earlier that you also planned to join the street live. Is that right?”

“Yes… I also want to join and play. I just feel it would be very interesting.”

Ishikawa Hayato’s words made Yamada Ryo raise an eyebrow, but he quickly continued,

“However, your performance was excellent. My skill is indeed still a bit lacking, but I’ve grown a lot.”

“Don’t underestimate music.”

Yamada Ryo’s faint tone revealed a hint of sharpness.

“Then, how about you listen to my current level?”

Ishikawa Hayato smiled, showing no sign of backing down. The heavy equipment seemed to be nothing to him.

Vehicle lights streamed across his face, making his never-fading confidence shine brightly.

“Eh, eh, you two… Hayato-kun, Ryo is very strict when she’s serious!”

Nijika quickened her pace and walked in front of them, trying her best to mediate and calm them down.

“It’s fine. Criticism helps people find flaws they didn’t see, and also, just a heads-up, perverts are very strong, you know.”

“Yes, I will be very strict.”

On the street that now felt like nightime has arrived, a pervert carrying an instrument and two girls walked unhurriedly towards STARRY.

...

'Yamada Ryo really didn’t hold back at all…'

Ishikawa Hayato sat on the train home, recording the feedback Yamada Ryo had just given him on his phone.

In the train, which was past its peak hours, even the sound of his fingers rapidly tapping on the screen was clearly audible.

He quite liked this feeling of being able to hear his every action.

Looking back at today, although it wasn’t particularly harmonious yet, it was a day where their relationship made progress, and he successfully revealed himself to be a pervert.

It was a day Ishikawa Hayato was satisfied with.

Though he had never been dissatisfied on any day.

It was just a pity he can't share this sense of satisfaction to the girls.

But after returning, Big Sister (Ijichi Seika)’s reaction was very interesting.

Ishikawa Hayato smiled, put his phone back in his pocket, and looked out at the houses and scattered lights flashing past in the dark, his gaze calm…

...