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Chapter 26: Kita Ikuyo Suddenly Shines
🕑 Added 2025-07-30 20:26:00 +0000 UTCEver since joining Kessoku Band, Aoki Kei’s daily life had become noticeably more relaxed.
He no longer needed to spend most of his time working part-time jobs, and now had much more freedom in how he spent his days.
Sure, the consequences of that choice might hit him two months from now, but Aoki Kei didn’t care.
He chose to enjoy the present.
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“The beauty of life lies in enjoying every moment of the present, not in endlessly chasing wealth and power.” —Tagore
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It was June 3rd, several days after Aoki had officially joined Kessoku Band.
The girls in the group were steadily improving their skills.
A few days earlier, before leaving STARRY, Ijichi Seika had rejected Nijika’s request for another chance to perform at the venue.
She told them that if they wanted to play live again, the band would first need to pass a weekend live audition directly judged by the manager herself.
Knowing they still weren’t up to standard, Aoki had declined the audition on behalf of the group, using the excuse that they still needed more time to gel as a team.
Naturally, with that deadline looming, the training sessions had gotten more intense.
But that wasn’t the focus at the moment.
Climbing the long hill up to Shuhua High left his legs sore, but Aoki Kei endured it.
As he reached the school gate, he once again ran into Hikigaya Hachiman—for what felt like the hundredth time.
“Morning,” Aoki greeted casually, his energy better than usual thanks to a recent break from late-night shifts.
Over time, Hikigaya had slowly gotten used to having someone greet him in the morning.
Rubbing his eyes, he responded with his usual lack of enthusiasm, “Ugh... morning...”
It was a bit terrifying how routine could change a person, enough to make even the anti-social Hikigaya accept small doses of normal interaction.
Still, Aoki Kei himself wasn’t exactly a normie.
Outside of spending his afternoons practicing with the band, he was every bit the loner and Hikigaya was just without the dead-fish eyes, which made him a bit more approachable.
After that brief exchange, neither of them spoke further.
They walked into the school building together in silence.
Climbing the stairs to the second floor, Aoki suddenly broke the quiet again.
“How’d you do on yesterday’s quiz? Feeling confident?”
“Confident? Aside from Japanese, I think I sank across the board,” Hikigaya replied, deadpan.
He didn’t dislike Aoki Kei’s occasional chatter.
In fact, he appreciated the way Aoki handled conversation, knowing when to talk and when to stop.
He wasn’t like the annoying classmates who only talked about boobs or panties, or the shallow ones who bragged about how many times they’d dated someone.
Aoki could casually discuss The Great Gatsby, but also throw in an anime or light novel reference when the mood struck.
For the record, the two hadn’t been particularly close at first.
It all started when Hikigaya unexpectedly treated Aoki to lunch one day.
It turned out to be over a trivial misunderstanding, Hikigaya hadn’t said goodbye after school the previous day, and felt oddly guilty about it.
So now, their relationship was... weird.
Friendly, but weird. [TL Note – Heh, geh!]
The quiz topic died there—Hikigaya wasn’t curious about Aoki’s results, so he didn’t ask.
Yawning, he walked into the classroom and headed to his seat.
As he dropped his bag onto the desk, he brought up a new topic.
“Hey, they’re releasing a sequel to [〇〇 Haruhi] soon.”
“Huh?” Aoki, still digging through his bag for his math book, paused and blinked in confusion.
“Oh, I’ve never seen [〇〇 Haruhi].”
“...”
Hikigaya froze.
He took it back. He no longer saw Aoki Kei as a friend.
Anyone who hadn’t watched [〇〇 Haruhi] was doomed to live a boring, miserable life.
Hikigaya Hachiman refused to be friends with people like that.
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The morning passed without further incident.
After the bell rang, classes went on as usual.
At lunch, they ate bento together—Hikigaya even bought Aoki a juice.
Later, they dropped by the first-year hallway where Aoki spent a while teaching Kita Ikuyo some guitar.
Nothing out of the ordinary happened that afternoon either...
Until the final bell rang.
It was Friday, so Aoki had to head to the Service Club after school.
He figured he’d just stop by briefly, fulfill his obligation, and call it a day.
But just as he was packing up his bag, a lively voice cut through the classroom.
“Aoki-senpai! I have a question about the guitar—!”
The voice came from the back door.
Even though school had just ended, most of the class immediately turned their heads.
“Who’s that red-haired girl?”
“She’s Kita from the first years, right? She’s really popular…”
“Wait, who’s she talking to? Is there even an Aoki in our class?”
“No idea…”
The remaining students, bags half-packed, began whispering among themselves.
Hikigaya recognized her, he’d seen Kita Ikuyo with Aoki a few times in the hallways, usually accompanied by another girl.
And that “Aoki-senpai” just now? Yeah, no question—she was here for Aoki.
Glancing at the murmuring classmates, then back to Aoki, Hikigaya gave him a mildly concerned look.
Aoki, for his part, wasn’t someone who cared much about what others thought.
The whispers might mildly annoy him, but they wouldn’t get under his skin.
Still calmly packing the last book into his bag, he responded, “What’s the question? I’ve gotta stop by my club first. Want to meet up at the shop later?”
“Will it take long?” Kita leaned into the room, both hands gripping the doorframe.
“Got it! I’ll wait for you, Aoki-senpai. Thanks in advance—!”
“No problem,” he said.
The classroom fell into stunned silence.
And then—
‘Boom.’
The chatter exploded.
The quiet, aloof new guy who’d transferred less than a month ago… was on senpai terms with a super cute, energetic, and wildly popular first-year girl?!
Was this a romantic comedy light novel setup?!
Eyes full of suspicion, confusion, and envy all turned toward Aoki Kei.
‘Dude… are you really okay being the center of this circus?’ Hikigaya’s dead-fish eyes filled with deep concern.
“Okay then, see you later, Aoki-senpai~!” Kita grinned and waved before disappearing down the hall.
“Later,” Aoki replied casually.
They’d grown more familiar recently, what with Aoki teaching her guitar every day.
So to him, her bubbly voice and playful energy were nothing new, he responded in his usual calm tone.
But to the rest of the class, it came across as nonchalant... maybe even flirtatiously aloof.
The chatter grew louder.
Aoki didn’t care.
He watched Kita disappear down the hall, then grabbed his bag and stood up.
Seeing this, Hikigaya hesitated a moment... then stood up too.
Surprised, Aoki glanced at the dead-eyed boy beside him but said nothing.
After a brief pause, he turned and walked out of the classroom.
