"'Lemon'… original?"
Kita blinked, slow on the uptake.
Ryō nodded. "Arrangement and lyrics are suki-san's originals."
"Eh?"
Kita's eyes widened in disbelief.
The original singer of "Lemon" is right next to me? That's… a lot to swallow.
"Lemon" had genuinely swept the entire net in two weeks—"viral" wasn't enough; it was everywhere. On Yutube, half the music tab was "Lemon"-related. And now the original creator was… here?
Unbelievable.
Yet Ryō-senpai sounded utterly sure…
Kita turned to Aoki with pleading eyes.
Aoki had hoped the topic would just die, but it wasn't the end of the world if Kita knew. Seeing her look, he nodded.
"I did publish the song first."
"Eh…?"
"Ehhh?!"
With Aoki's confirmation, disbelief flipped to shock.
"Y-you're the original singer of 'Lemon,' Aoki-senpai?!"
Her volume spiked; nearby heads turned.
Realizing she'd been loud, Kita flushed.
But curiosity overrode embarrassment. "So Aoki-senpai is the original—so unexpected… Ah, and I'm sorry—I don't make a habit of checking originals, so I never noticed…"
"No need to apologize," Aoki said.
Kita shook her head, then her surprise quickly morphed to excitement.
"Aoki-senpai, you sing really well, right? When we get to the livehouse, could you do a quick 'Lemon' live? And, and—how long until the next new song? 'Lemon' is suuuuper good! I'm hyped!"
He hadn't really tested his new "Skilled Singing" since he got it. Live-playing would be a good check. As for a new song…
He thought a moment. "I can sing today. A new song… probably sometime soon. Not sure yet."
"A new song?"
Ryō spoke up first, beating Kita to it.
She rarely showed it, but she loved Aoki's "Lemon." The style and substance hit her sweet spot.
Lyrics with a touch of melancholy, melody with striking contrast—if ten points was a max, she'd give it a hundred.
More than that, "Lemon" absolutely nailed Aoki's claim to "pursue personality, find your own style"—not just some trend-chasing pop pap. So when he said a new one was coming soon, the usually placid Miss Ryō perked up.
"You're publishing a new song? Same vibe as before? What genre? Guitar-and-vocal again? Do you have a score yet? Can I hear it?"
When it came to music she liked, Ryō transformed into a chatterbox.
Aoki was planning a new song, but he hadn't decided on the flavor. Faced with the barrage, he answered,
"Style… not decided. Probably still guitar-and-vocal."
"Oh—I get it," Ryō nodded. "You're the type who gets a flash of inspiration and the melody/lyrics pour out—genius type."
"A 'flash'… p-probably?" he coughed.
…
Walking from Shibuya to Shimokitazawa takes about thirty minutes. Chatting, dawdling, and three ice creams later, it took them nearly fifty. Around 1:30, they reached the livehouse.
They'd planned to come earlier, but there was no hard rule. 1:30 wasn't late.
Down the fashion-heavy streets of Shimokitazawa, they arrived at STARRY.
Nijika gets up early on weekdays; STARRY was already open. Aoki raised a hand to push the door.
But just before he did, Yamada spoke.
She'd been quiet most of the way after the "new song" talk; most of the chatter had been Kita and Aoki.
Now she said,
"suki-san, thanks for lunch and ice cream. I'll treat you next time."
Aoki blinked and turned. He'd been about to say, "It's just a friend's treat," but when he actually looked at Ryō, he snorted a laugh.
He coughed, reining it in. "Ahem… it's only a meal, no biggie. But, Miss Yamada—wipe your mouth before you thank me seriously. You've got ice-cream cream on your lips."
"Oh…"
The seriousness evaporated; Ryō's voice slouched back to its usual lazy drawl.
…
Meanwhile—
Watching them, the doubts in Kita's heart, which had eased a bit, sprang back to life.
No matter how you looked at it, something about Ryō-senpai and Aoki-senpai felt… off.
Thinking it through, you could make some guesses—like why Ryō knew Aoki was the original singer of "Lemon." Like how easily they talked. Like how truths often slip out masked as jokes…
Through her "admiration" filter, Kita completely ignored the possibility that Ryō was simply teasing her for fun. Her imagination grew bolder.
All in all— even if they weren't dating, Ryō-senpai and Aoki-senpai were too close!
The reasoning felt watertight. Now she just needed the clincher…
Ryō-senpai, Aoki-senpai—gomen! I'm going to observe you two closely from now on!
Curiosity, doubt, and a tiny bit of excitement flashed in her eyes. Love Detective Kita Ikuyo had made up her mind.
-------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (390 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (166 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (200 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (190 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (150 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (168 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (180 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (120 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (160 Chapter)
Satou Kazuma's Decision to Live by Swindling, Starting from Re:Zero (60 Chapter)
Bleach : Ichigo! Take Over the Soul Society (50 Chapter)
Crossover Anime: The Master of Plagiarism with a 'Love Obstacle (70 Chapter)
Arknights Succubus Nurturing System, But I'm a Quiet Office Worker (60 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: Using My Personas to Break the Hearts of Players (50 Chapter)
One Punch Man : i am King? (30 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it