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Chapter 86: Today’s Outcome—
🕑 Added 2025-08-14 15:28:52 +0000 UTCThe already-crowded Shibuya crossing was even busier than usual now that summer vacation had started.
Not wanting to be a bother, Aoki had left the house a full forty minutes early.
He squeezed into a packed train and, after some struggle, arrived at the music store about twenty minutes before the scheduled time.
Still, even with that head start, Kei spotted Ijichi Nijika already waiting outside "Neiro", the instrument shop, from quite a distance away.
‘Who shows up twenty minutes early to a meetup?’ Kei couldn't help but marvel silently at how Nijika had beaten him there.
Stepping out of the station, he made his way toward her.
She hadn’t noticed him yet. Once he was close enough, he called out:
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Ijichi-san."
Even though he was way ahead of schedule, starting with something polite like “Sorry to keep you waiting” was always a safe choice.
Nijika turned at the sound of his voice and smiled.
“Oh no, not at all! I haven’t been waiting long.”
That’s when Kei noticed—Nijika looked a little different today.
It was subtle, but definitely intentional.
She was wearing a dress he’d never seen before, her usual ponytail was neatly tied, and it looked like she was even wearing lip balm.
There was a liveliness in her appearance today, the kind only a girl could carry so naturally.
Kei wasn’t sure what to call that difference.
If he had to put it into words, he’d probably go with "girlish charm."
Summer. Vacation. A sundress. Lip balm.
Even if those elements were just randomly thrown together, they’d still evoke a youthful feeling.
But when all of that was wrapped up in Nijika herself? The effect was striking.
More reserved than Kita, more outgoing than Ryo, and compared to Bocchi-chan...
Kei’s thoughts drifted—until he suddenly realized he was staring at her.
‘Okay, seriously, don’t just stare like that,’ he scolded himself and quickly looked away.
To shift the topic, he followed up with:
“Shall we head straight in to look at the electronic drums? Do you know how heavy they are? If they come in parts, I think I can manage carrying them myself.”
To be honest, Kei wasn’t particularly confident in his strength—probably average at best.
But more importantly, he still had no clue why Nijika had actually invited him out today.
As he spoke, he stepped toward the shade of a nearby tree.
“Ah... yeah, let’s go look at the drums,” Nijika replied a little awkwardly, walking alongside him.
Her voice had a slight hesitation—maybe from nerves, or maybe embarrassment.
Kei didn’t notice her unease and simply nodded, then continued walking toward the music store entrance.
He pushed the door open, and a soft chime rang out.
No staff came to greet them—probably busy elsewhere.
The store was playing calm background music.
With no one around, Nijika actually felt a bit relieved.
Despite being a music store, it was unusually quiet.
The only sounds were the gentle music playing through the speakers, giving the place a tranquil, rainy-summer-evening kind of atmosphere.
“Is the drum section upstairs? Looks like this floor’s mostly for display,” Kei asked, scanning the area.
“Yeah, the electronic drums are on the second floor. Let’s go take a look,” Nijika confirmed with a nod.
They fell silent again and made their way up the stairs.
The second floor was a bit noisier than the first, but not unpleasant.
As soon as they arrived, Kei spotted the clearly labeled electronic drum section.
Neiro was a pretty professional shop.
Every instrument had a sample and a short description next to it.
Kei couldn’t make sense of all the technical details, but even he could tell this place was much better than the store where he’d bought his electric piano.
Since Nijika seemed to be here to browse, Kei didn’t want to get in the way.
Once they reached the drum section, he kept quiet and pulled out his phone to scroll while she looked around.
Nijika had originally planned to start a conversation with him, but when she saw him glued to his phone, she hesitated.
Reluctantly, she pretended to be checking out the electronic drums and wandered aimlessly.
‘If I can just stretch this out a bit longer...’ she thought, silently committing to browsing as long as possible.
And so—
About thirty minutes passed.
Kei’s legs were starting to go a bit numb from standing, and his eyes were slightly sore from staring at his phone.
He let out a yawn.
“Ijichi-san, want some milk tea? You can keep browsing—I’ll go grab us some and bring it back.”
He was probably feeling a bit thirsty.
Nijika froze for a moment when she heard his voice.
They’d hardly spoken since arriving.
Even less than they usually did at the livehouse.
If things kept going this way, aside from a possible lunch, they’d end the day having barely interacted at all.
‘That’s no good. Not at all.’
The thought flashed across her mind, and then she quickly turned around and spoke up.
“L-Let’s go together, Aoki-senpai. I don’t think there’s anything here that really works.”
Kei blinked, then tilted his head ever so slightly, clearly puzzled.
But instead of asking questions, he simply nodded and said, “Sure.”
After thirty minutes of ambient music and silently memorizing half the drum specs, the two finally stepped out of Neiro.
Despite having rehearsed this meetup in her head in advance, Nijika found herself at a loss for words now that they were actually walking side by side.
There were things she wanted to say—topics she wanted to bring up—but her shyness and nerves had completely taken over.
Maybe 60% nerves, 40% embarrassment.
They remained in that awkward silence until they reached the milk tea shop.
Even though she had told herself “this can’t go on,” Nijika hadn’t managed to say a word the entire walk.
She did speak up to place her order, though.
Kei ordered a sweet pearl milk tea.
Nijika got a pineapple smoothie.
The walk from Neiro hadn’t been far, but the summer heat was intense, and they were both sweating by the time they arrived.
After picking up their drinks, they didn’t leave right away.
The shop had air conditioning, and there was an empty table, so they sat down.
Kei could tell Nijika had something she wanted to say.
He’d suspected something was off since the day she invited him on the train.
He couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was, just that she wasn’t acting like her usual self.
Since she hadn’t brought it up, and since he’d been preoccupied with the Nejima contract stuff, he hadn’t asked.
But now, seeing her hesitant expression—how obviously this whole outing hadn’t really been about buying drums, Kei figured it was time to speak up.
“Wanna check out another store after this?” he asked casually. “I think there’s another instrument shop not far from here.”
Nijika sipped her pineapple smoothie and hesitated.
If she said she didn’t want to go, Aoki-senpai might just suggest they head home.
But if she said yes, there was a good chance they’d end up just standing around in silence again, staring blankly at product tags.
No—some stores might not even have descriptions at all.
Faced with this choice...
Nijika looked up at Aoki, then glanced down at the pineapple milkshake in her hands.
After a brief hesitation, she bit her lower lip and made up her mind, determined to be decisive this time.
“N-No, that’s alright, Aoki-senpai. I don’t think I’ll find anything that fits today…”
“Oh,” Aoki nodded, going quiet for a moment.
Nijika had been about to follow up with a suggestion—maybe they could walk around somewhere else—but Aoki’s simple “oh” and his silence made her falter.
The words caught in her throat.
An awkward hush settled between them.
Watching Nijika lift her head to speak, only to quickly look back down at her drink, Aoki let out a quiet sigh.
He wasn’t sure what exactly she’d wanted to talk about, but from her demeanor, he had a pretty good guess.
And so, after a small breath, he decided to just ask.
“So, do you have any other plans today? Want to check out someplace else?”
Nijika’s gaze slowly rose from her drink and met his.
She opened her mouth, hesitated for a beat, then drew in a breath and gave a small but resolute nod.
“Y-Yeah! Aoki-senpai, want to go check out that shopping mall over there?”
Although Aoki had said summer break was somehow busier than school days, most of his own busyness came from cramming all his responsibilities into the first two weeks.
He had plenty of free time ahead, but preferred getting things done early.
Which meant that, despite how hectic things had been, he actually had time to spare now.
So even though he hadn’t planned on it, he saw no reason to decline Nijika’s suggestion—and his own offer of visiting the mall near Shibuya Station’s scramble crossing.
Japanese people typically don’t walk the streets sipping milk tea, so they finished their drinks inside the shop at a leisurely pace before heading out toward the mall named Shibuya-ku Heaven.
The atmosphere between them hadn’t really shifted.
Aoki found it mildly frustrating.
Nijika had invited him out, yet she’d barely said a word since they met.
He couldn’t think of anything he might’ve done recently to make her act so distant, but it was clear that something was on her mind—something she wanted to say but couldn’t quite bring herself to.
And with her showing no signs of starting the conversation, Aoki wasn’t sure if he should be the one to bring it up.
Still in that limbo of silence, they entered the mall.
Following Nijika’s vague input, Aoki led the way using the mall’s map and took her to the arcade on the second floor.
He honestly didn’t know what else to “browse,” and since Nijika had suggested coming here without a strong plan either, he figured they could just hit the entertainment spots one by one.
They took the escalator and walked down the corridor until they reached the arcade entrance.
Just before stepping inside, Aoki came to a stop.
After a moment’s hesitation, he turned slightly and spoke.
“Ijichi-san… I get the feeling you want to say something, but ever since we met up, you haven’t really been yourself. You’ve been really quiet, unlike usual. So…”
Nijika paused in her step.
She hadn’t expected him to notice—let alone bring it up so directly.
Caught off guard, she panicked a little and quickly denied it, flustered.
“W-What? N-No! It’s just your imagination, Aoki-senpai!”
“…”
Nijika was easy to read.
Her expressions almost always gave away her thoughts.
After a quiet moment, Aoki gave a slight nod. “I see.”
Then, changing the subject, he continued, “Wanna try the claw machine? The plushies here look kinda cute.”
“Ah… Sure.”
Nijika didn’t object, so the two of them headed over to exchange some coins.
Even then, the silence between them lingered.
Nijika was now nervous, having been exposed, while Aoki found himself drifting into speculation, a bit too much.
The quiet stretched on until Nijika had used up all her coins trying (and failing) to get a plushie.
She didn’t go to get more right away—instead, she walked over to Aoki to watch him use up his turn.
Without saying anything, Aoki inserted a 500-yen coin into the machine in front of him.
His fingers gripped the joystick as he began maneuvering the claw.
He moved it to the right, lined it up carefully, and dropped the claw.
The plushie lifted slightly… but slipped and tumbled back down halfway through.
He didn’t seem surprised.
Silently, he fed in another coin.
This time, as he adjusted the claw, he spoke—not to the machine, but to Nijika beside him, almost like he was muttering to himself.
“…I know this might sound like I’m just complaining, but… sometimes I feel pretty overwhelmed.”
The claw moved—first left, then forward.
“There are times I know, deep down, that some of the choices I make… probably aren’t the right ones.”
He lined it up again, targeting the same plushie he’d just failed to grab, and pressed the button.
“Maybe it’s too early to push our band toward being professional. Choosing Kita as the lead vocalist might’ve been a mistake. And this whole ‘打上花火’ project… I honestly have no idea how it’s going to end up.”
Aoki’s hand gripped the claw machine’s joystick.
This time, the plush toy held on and didn’t drop prematurely.
Standing beside him, Nijika blinked, slightly surprised.
She wasn’t sure why Aoki-senpai suddenly brought this up. But as she looked at him, a hint of concern surfaced in her eyes.
Aoki kept speaking.
“I can’t say I’m great at reading people. Honestly, I might’ve upset others without even realizing it.”
“There was that misunderstanding with Ryo recently… Our relationship’s kinda back to square one. I really want to apologize, but I keep hesitating—I just don’t know how to approach it...”
“Anyway—”
The claw slowly moved to the prize chute.
With a soft click, it released, and the plush dropped cleanly into the bin.
Kei crouched down, picked up the toy, and stood up to hand it to Nijika.
Their eyes met for a second.
Kei paused, then said quietly,
“I’m not trying to make excuses. I just worry that I might be dragging the band down without meaning to… If I mess something up, please just tell me directly.”
Nijika blinked, taking the plush in a daze.
Then, after a moment of silence, realization hit her.
Aoki-senpai had misunderstood—because of her own hesitation.
He probably thought she was upset or uncomfortable with something.
“N-no! Wait, Aoki-senpai!”
Things had gone off track from the very beginning, and now she was being misunderstood on top of it—
Nijika panicked.
Her usual nervousness and shyness had to be shoved aside.
It was something she could clear up easily… but…!
To explain it properly, she’d have to be honest.
Completely honest. And that meant—
Saying everything she’d been holding in.
Still...
Now wasn’t the time to hesitate. Her thoughts spun rapidly, but she made a decision in a single heartbeat.
She had to fix this misunderstanding—embarrassment could come later.
A flush bloomed across her cheeks.
Since arriving at Shibuya Crossing, she’d barely said a word, but now, summoning her courage, she raised her voice:
“It’s—it’s not that! I hesitated because... I wanted to ask you to just call me by my name. But it’s embarrassing, okay?! That’s why I was so indecisive!”
She blurted it all out in one breath.
Then she realized just how loud she’d been.
Eyes widening, she immediately looked away, cheeks burning.
Pressing her cool hands to her face, now practically on fire, she mumbled in a voice barely above a whisper:
“S-so... just… please don’t misunderstand…”
“...Because of that?” Aoki stood frozen, stunned.
Suddenly, it hit him—maybe he’d taken this way too seriously.
In that moment, he wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and vanish.
He took a deep breath and blinked slowly.
But he couldn’t let himself be the only one embarrassed, so forcing a strained smile, he said:
“Nijika-san... When it comes to names, with our kind of relationship—as bandmates and all—there’s no need to be shy about it!”
“Uuuu—!”
Nijika’s face, already flushed, turned scarlet.
Steam might as well have been pouring out of her head.
———————————————————————
Today’s battle result:
Aoki and Ijichi Nijika—utter defeat.
