He'd bluffed "failure has no penalties," but Aoki knew: if he didn't get Kessoku to place in PVC's project, his fate would likely be grazing in a greenbelt.
Tokyo's greenery is clean enough, but he had no desire to relive the taste of grass.
Still, he didn't dump any of this on the girls.
First, because it was his goal; forcing it on others would be moral blackmail. Second, because he trusted them to train hard without being told.
In short, with Nijika's yes, he joined Kessoku—goal set: enter PVC and place.
And then—
He immediately hit his first band hurdle…
"Train ensemble, raise overall level"—easier said than done. Aside from Ryō and Bocchi being solid, the other two… were not.
Kita-san, in fact, lacked some basic guitar knowledge.
And even Bocchi, though skilled, couldn't shine fully due to poor ensemble coordination.
So throwing Aoki straight into full-band rehearsal was impossible. Thus—
"Kita-san, everyone has their quirks, but that fingering's definitely wrong…"
"Gotō-san, please don't hide in the box. Come out and practice with everyone…"
"No—wait—Kita-san… that fingering is even worse than the last one…"
"Hey… Yamada-san, stop giggling over there…"
"…"
May 28th. With a faint "did I make a mistake?" feeling, Aoki got onto a "sort-of track" that wasn't quite a track.
...
They practiced until closing. After the girls left, Aoki packed his guitar.
Since Nijika and the manager lived upstairs, they were still around.
He wiped down the guitar, bagged it, slung it on.
After a quick bye to Nijika and Seika, he stepped out.
Late May, early June—technically summer. Not hot yet, short sleeves on the Shūka summer uniform were still fine, sometimes even cool with the evening breeze.
Under warm streetlights, guitar on his back, he strolled through Shimokitazawa, breathing deep.
He passed a vending machine when a familiar voice called out:
"Aoki-senpai, wait—"
He turned: Ijichi Nijika jogging out of STARRY.
She trotted up, a little out of breath, and held out a wallet.
"Um, Aoki-senpai—you left your wallet at the bar."
He must've left it during "friend fee time." He blinked, then thanked her.
"No need to thank me for that…"
She shook her head, then fell quiet, hesitating.
Aoki tilted his head. "Something else, Ijichi-san?"
She blinked, then, as if steeling herself, spoke with a thread of concern:
"Um… Aoki-senpai, will joining Kessoku affect the other things you need to take care of?"
Affect?
He processed, then realized: she worried joining might upend his life.
She stood in others' shoes, noticed what others missed, cared about their feelings—
Nijika was almost too gentle.
He felt a small swell of affection and shook his head.
"I know how to keep band stuff and important life stuff separate. Joining won't mess anything up."
Which was exactly why he wouldn't share his pressure with her.
Her dream was to make a name with her bandmates. She even shouldered everyone else's dreams.
For her, even if her own dream burned bright, the team's dreams came first.
So, although she usually wore a warm smile, she was carrying a lot she'd placed on herself.
He took a breath, opened his wallet, slid two bills out, and—before she could react—asked,
"Orange okay? This machine's got a bunch of sodas…"
She blinked at the hard topic switch.
Then nodded. "Eh? … Mm. Thank you, Aoki-senpai."
He fed the bills, punched two juices.
He handed one over and said,
"Keep real life and band life separate. Once you do, just train and fight for your dream. No need to let real-life pressure bleed into band life."
He cracked his can, took a swig, and added,
"Overthinking can backfire. And… bands are for having fun together."
It sounded a bit platitudinous, especially coming from him—
Given his current "earn through music or eat grass" situation, "as long as we're happy together" didn't apply to him.
His priority was results—money.
He wanted everyone to be happy, but without results, he'd be grazing.
Even so, he wouldn't dump his burden on others.
He'd rather Nijika just enjoy the band.
Hands around her orange soda, Nijika blinked.
After a beat, she nodded. "Thank you, Aoki-senpai. I understand."
Three sentences wouldn't change a person. He didn't expect his words to make her magically drop the "teammates' dreams" weight.
Neon from the vending machine washed her face.
He nodded. "I'll head home. You too—get some rest."
-------
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