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Chapter 74: The Rush Before Summer Vacation Begins
🕑 Added 2025-08-10 15:00:16 +0000 UTCAoki Kei had full confidence in the piece he composed—“Fireworks” (打上花火).
But even so, he hadn’t expected Niijima Yusuke to have such an intense reaction to just the intro of the song.
Still, if Niijima’s enthusiasm was any indication, it looked like the collaboration was as good as confirmed.
Staring at Niijima’s latest email, Aoki thought for a few seconds before replying:
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[As long as it’s outside of school hours, I’m available anytime for a detailed discussion. Please feel free to set the date, Mr. Niijima.]
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Then after a short pause, he sent another message:
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[That said… there’s something I’d like to personally discuss with you as well.]
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This time, Niijima replied almost instantly—clearly still riding the high of hearing the track.
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[Nijima]: Of course, Aoki-sensei! I’ll take any of your thoughts seriously!”
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Since he’d been straightforward during their café meeting, Aoki didn’t feel the need to beat around the bush now either.
Without hesitation, he typed:
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[Niijima-san, are you familiar with Kessoku Band? That’s the group I play with.]
[I’ll finish the full version of this song soon, but when the time comes… I’d like Kessoku Band to be the ones to perform the final version.]
[I hope that sounds like a fair request to you?]
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Strictly speaking, it wasn’t all that fair.
Niijima had been approaching Aoki as a solo composer this whole time.
The band hadn’t even been mentioned once.
Now, just as the collaboration was about to be finalized, Aoki was trying to add a new condition.
It was basically the professional equivalent of "bringing your own sponsor to a team project.”
Naturally, Niijima hesitated.
He did know about Kessoku Band.
For a group of high schoolers, they were unquestionably talented—genius-level, even.
But compared to Aoki or to seasoned musicians in the industry—they were still rough around the edges.
His first instinct was to reject the idea.
But… he’d literally just promised to respect Aoki’s wishes. Turning him down flat would feel too dishonest now.
Niijima stared at the message, torn.
Still, he only hesitated for a moment.
First, the song was Aoki’s creation. Wanting his band to perform it wasn’t that outrageous.
Second, Niijima had a hunch—part of Aoki’s motivation for even agreeing to this project was likely to help Kessoku Band gain recognition.
And lastly, well... the band wasn’t bad. Just not polished yet.
So, Niijima gave in.
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[I understand, Aoki-sensei. I’ll bring this up with the production team and make sure it’s handled properly.]
[You have my word—we’ll find a way to make this work.]
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Aoki hadn’t expected such a quick agreement, but he didn’t dwell on it too much.
Once everything seemed settled, he sent a brief thank-you and moved on to discussing details—
Like whether the song still needed improvements, or how much rehearsal time the band would have.
Niijima couldn’t offer much critique—he had no notes on improvement.
But on rehearsal time, he was clear:
They’d need the song finalized by mid-September. That’s when the movie, Fireworks, would go into its final editing and promotional phase.
That gave the band over a month to prepare—plenty of time.
Aoki had no complaints.
After confirming a meeting next weekend to discuss contracts, he closed his email app.
By then, it was already around 4 p.m.
He decided he’d tell the rest of Kessoku Band about the movie project during their dinner gathering tomorrow.
This sort of thing was better explained face-to-face, not over text.
...But thinking about seeing Ryo again tomorrow made him shudder a little.
With the collaboration business mostly sorted, and nothing urgent left to do, Aoki finally turned his attention to something he’d been putting off:
Final exams.
The past few months had been consumed by the PVC project. Nearly half the semester had gone into the band’s work.
Thanks to his sharp mind, his grades hadn’t really slipped, but he wasn’t entirely safe either.
There was always the chance that Yukinoshita Yukino might actually catch up to him.
And Aoki hadn’t forgotten the bet they’d made back then— The loser would have to grant any one request from the winner.
That kind of vague, ominous wager was the stuff of nightmares, and he really didn’t want to find out what Yukinoshita would ask if she won.
Especially after he’d teased her—twice.
The best solution? Make sure there was no way she could beat him.
With that in mind, Aoki began seriously hitting the books.
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Saturday evening passed without incident.
The next morning, Aoki woke up early, went for a light jog along the streets outside, and grabbed steamed dumplings for breakfast.
Then it was back to studying until around 11 a.m.
According to the plan, they were supposed to meet at the restaurant at noon.
Wanting to arrive early and mentally prepare himself for seeing Ryo again, Aoki left his apartment a little ahead of schedule.
He arrived at the restaurant—a place known for its delicious eel rice—just before 11:30.
But the moment he stepped inside and felt the cool blast of air conditioning hit his skin, he spotted two familiar girls already waiting.
“Ah! Aoki-senpai!”
Ijichi Nijika waved energetically, a bright smile on her face as she sat next to—
Yamada Ryo.
“Ah… Ijichi-san,” Aoki greeted her, his expression slightly stiff.
Then, slowly, he turned his eyes to Ryo.
He opened his mouth, hesitated, closed it again.
Silence.
Then, forcing a smile, he said awkwardly:
“W-Wow… what a coincidence, Ryo-san…”
