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Chapter 53: Song Selection and Role Assignment in Kessoku Band’s Project
🕑 Added 2025-08-01 15:00:23 +0000 UTCThe rainy season—commonly known as tsuyu—typically stretches from early June to mid-July.
During this period, areas like Tokyo are drenched in persistent rain and thick humidity.
But once the season ends, rainfall drops off sharply, and the temperature spikes.
Now in mid-July, it had been a while since Aoki had been grilled by the ever-curious Kita.
In the meantime, Kessoku Band had continued practicing with steady dedication.
Compared to before, their overall performance had significantly improved.
If the band were to take the stage now like they did last time, Aoki was confident they could turn at least some audience members into real fans.
But performing live and gaining fans wasn't the priority at the moment.
The submission deadline for PVC Records' “Original Rock Band Music Project” was quickly approaching.
Time was running short, and with that in mind, Aoki had recently selected a song he felt suited both Kessoku Band and the contest:
“LOSER.”
Originally a hit single by Kenshi Yonezu in his past life, the song had dominated music charts for months and even won Japan’s top annual music award.
Its upbeat tempo and intricate composition made it a bit of a challenge, but its blend of light J-rock elements fit the theme of the project perfectly.
After a bit of thought, Aoki decided this was the one.
He spent some of his points to “unlock” the track and then, based on the full score and lyrics in his head, arranged and transcribed it: a drum part, a bass part, and two guitar parts.
When the girls of Kessoku Band first saw the song, they were stunned.
Sure, they already knew Aoki was the famous “suki-san” from Youtube and that he had unparalleled talent in composing—but they hadn’t expected him to create a song so perfectly tailored for their band.
The lyrics, the melody, the vibe—it all felt like it had been written just for them.
Especially Gotou Hitori.
The moment she laid eyes (and ears) on the song, she fell completely in love with it.
But love aside, “LOSER” wasn’t easy to play.
Fortunately, Kessoku Band wasn’t the same as they had been weeks ago.
After a few practice runs, they managed to play a basic rendition without any major issues.
With the song chosen, it was time to talk about roles.
Right now, including Aoki, Kessoku Band had three guitarists.
While not totally unreasonable for a band, it was a bit of a crowd—especially for their size and setup.
That said, it wasn’t unmanageable.
Aoki’s guitar skills were undeniably top-tier—master-level, really.
He could join a professional band anytime if he wanted to.
Gotou Hitori, while a bit behind, had improved through years of diligent practice and had a natural flair.
Kita, on the other hand, was still relatively new.
Though she worked hard, her shorter learning time meant she lagged behind the other two.
After weighing everything, Aoki made his recommendation:
He would take lead guitar, handling most of the main melody.
Gotou Hitori would be rhythm guitar, playing supporting harmonies and some rhythmic patterns.
Kita would also be rhythm guitar, but with fewer parts—simpler and easier to manage.
Yamada Ryou would stick with bass, and Nijika would stay on drums.
As for the vocalist…
Aoki did consider doing it himself.
With him on vocals, their odds of winning the contest might go up.
But Kita wasn’t lacking in vocal ability—in fact, she was just slightly behind him in terms of skill.
Plus, she wasn’t playing much guitar, which gave her space to focus on singing.
So in the end, he decided:
Kita would be the lead vocalist.
Once the roles were set, the band dove into full rehearsals.
Only two and a half weeks remained until the project deadline.
While they could’ve delayed the submission until the last moment, Aoki preferred not to cut it that close—especially since they’d still need time to promote the song and gather votes.
So, with everything in place, Kessoku Band ramped up the intensity of their training.
Aoki had told them they didn’t have to win first place—but unspoken among them all was the shared resolve to give it their absolute best.
No one wanted to be the weak link.
As a result, in just a few days, everyone’s skill level took a noticeable leap.
Gotou Hitori could now keep pace with the full band, her harmonies syncing effortlessly with Aoki’s lead guitar.
Kita surprised everyone with her vocals—strong and steady—and even her guitar contributions were solid.
Yamada Ryou remained consistently skilled; she had no trouble with “LOSER.”
As for Nijika... well, she had been acting a bit odd lately.
Her drumming was excellent—arguably better than ever.
Even the usually aloof store manager, Ijichi Seika, had praised her recent improvement.
But during downtime at STARRY, Aoki noticed something strange—Nijika seemed to avoid making eye contact with him.
It was subtle, but noticeable.
Still, it wasn’t anything serious.
Since Nijika never brought it up, and Aoki hadn’t done anything he thought would’ve upset her, he decided not to press the issue.
And so, with everyone growing rapidly—yet a slightly strange undercurrent among them—another week passed.
Then came July 27th. Just five days left until the submission deadline.
After countless takes in the STARRY recording studio, after hours of trial and error, the band finally recorded the best version yet of “LOSER.”
The very next morning—July 28th—Aoki copied the audio file and submitted it to PVC Records’ project submission email.
Only four days remained.
That afternoon, he didn’t head to STARRY.
Instead, he stayed alone in his apartment, beginning to think seriously about the next step is:
Gathering votes.
