"Uh... Hello?"
Kita Ikuyo tried to greet Bocchi.
Frightened, Bocchi shrank behind Yukima Azuma.
Seeing this, Kita Ikuyo looked at Yukima Azuma with confusion.
Could it be that I look like a serial killer or terrorist?
Yukima Azuma smiled helplessly.
"Sorry, this girl is a super introvert, soone who has social anxiety, and she might even have so trouble with communication."
"Her na is Gotoh Hitori, a first-year student at Shuka High School, the sa age as us."
"And you too, Bocchi." Yukima Azuma said as she pulled Bocchi from behind her.
"This is Kita Ikuyo, and this is Kato gumi. Both of them are very kind, so don't worry."
Yukima Azuma patted Bocchi's back to encourage her.
After hearing Yukima Azuma, Gotoh Hitori gathered all her courage.
"Hi... hello everyone, I... I'm Gotoh Hitori."
"Ah, Gotoh-chan, hello there."
"Gotoh-san, hello to you."
The three of them greeted each other.
Kita Ikuyo looked at Yukima Azuma with a strange look.
Her gaze seed to say: Didn't you tell Gotoh that you were going to introduce her to people?
Yukima Azuma only smiled and said nothing.
If he had told Gotoh Hitori in advance that he would introduce her to friends...
Then as soon as Gotoh Hitori heard that, she would have gotten nervous and would have been self-conscious and struggled with it until the eting.
Rather than let Bocchi torture herself...
It's better to let her et people directly.
"Bocchi, Kita-san wants to learn guitar. Could you teach her?"
"She will pay for lessons, and she only needs a little ti each day."
Yukima Azuma asked.
The part about paying for lessons was Kita Ikuyo's idea.
She didn't want Yukima Azuma to take on any unnecessary debt out of kindness for her.
"Umm... umm."
Normally, Bocchi would definitely not want to take on requests like this.
But, since it was a request from Yukima Azuma...
Since it was a favor from a friend, she had to accept it, right?
"I... practice every day, so I guess... I can co along."
Gotoh Hitori said softly.
Kita Ikuyo nodded.
She originally planned to apologize to the band she joined after learning the guitar, where her senpai that she admired was.
Being able to observe their practice or performances in advance would definitely help her gain a lot of experience.
Yukima Azuma stood by silently, smiling.
Kato gumi leaned in and whispered:
"Azuma-san's smile doesn't seem to have good intentions."
"Not necessarily, I just think the developnts later will be very interesting."
Yukima Azuma whispered back.
If she wanted to learn guitar, she would first need a guitar.
So, before heading to the hall where the band was practicing, the four of them decided to stop by a music store.
"Welco, valued custors!"
The store clerk at the music shop imdiately approached as the group entered.
After all, Gotoh Hitori was carrying an instrunt bag, and Yukima Azuma also had one slung over his shoulder.
The other two girls, however, did not.
A group like this was an obvious potential custor for musical instrunts.
Moreover, even if they weren't buying…
Enjoying the sight of a handso guy wasn't a bad deal either.
"We'd like to buy a guitar. Could you assist us?" Yukima Azuma stated their purpose.
The store clerk promptly agreed and led the group to the guitar display section.
This music store had a wide selection of instrunts.
Whether it was bass guitars or regular guitars, they carried everything from entry-level models to high-end ones.
After asking about their budget,
the clerk introduced several guitars that matched their price range.
Kita Ikuyo began comparing the models, trying to decide which one she liked best.
anwhile, Yukima Azuma was observing Gotoh Hitori.
"Bocchi, do you like any of these guitars?"
Hearing this, Bocchi froze for a mont.
Her gaze instinctively flicked toward a corner of the display rack.
But then she shook her head.
"No, I have my own guitar, and I like it very much."
Yukima Azuma nodded, choosing not to expose the truth.
"I could tell. After all, you take such good care of your guitar."
Bocchi nodded repeatedly.
In the end, Kita Ikuyo selected a red mid-range guitar.
The group headed to the checkout counter together.
The result was that, upon leaving the store…
"Wait a minute, Azuma-san, why do you have an extra instrunt bag on your back?"
Kita Ikuyo stared at Yukima Azuma, now carrying two instrunt bags, and fell into thought.
Even Bocchi was slightly surprised.
Not only was she curious why Yukima Azuma had an extra bag, but she also wondered what was inside it.
"I liked it, so I bought it."
Yukima Azuma explained with a light smile.
Kita Ikuyo was speechless.
Truly, the mark of soone with money!
Completely opposite to her own situation, where she had to save her allowance for two months and collect New Year's money just to afford her guitar.
The group continued chatting as they strolled deeper along a street in Shimokitazawa.
However, amidst the laughter...
The smile on Kita Ikuyo's face slowly faded.
Because she found the street… oddly familiar.
"H... hey," Kita Ikuyo said stiffly, "how about we stop here for today? I think I forgot to turn off the gas at ho."
Yukima Azuma had been prepared for this.
Before Kita Ikuyo could flee,
he swiftly grabbed the back of her collar.
"If it really is a coincidence, then take this opportunity to explain everything and apologize!"
Hearing this, Kita Ikuyo stopped struggling.
And so...
.....
Inside the live house STARRY.
"Ahh! It's the runaway guitarist!"
The one who exclaid was Ijichi Nijika, the drumr of the band.
She had blonde hair tied in a low ponytail and was dressed in a high school uniform, giving off an approachable and adorable vibe.
Next to Nijika was a short-haired girl with blue hair, Yamada Ryo, the bassist of the band.
This was the senpai that Kita Ikuyo admired.
Ryo had a neutral beauty with a cold, alluring aura.
Kita Ikuyo's expression looked like her soul had left her body.
But, after a brief silence, she seriously explained her previous runaway incident to Ijichi Nijika and Yamada Ryo.
"Did you really buy a bass by mistake? That's impressive."
"Ryo, don't say things that unintentionally hurt people!"
The two girls clearly bore no grudge over Kita Ikuyo's past runaway episode.
After hearing her explanation, they quickly forgave her.
"So, Kita-chan plans to learn guitar from Bocchi-chan and rejoin the band?"
Ijichi Nijika asked curiously.
Kita Ikuyo nodded with determination.
Ijichi Nijika turned to Yukima Azuma and Kato gumi.
"We're friends of Bocchi and Kita-san, just here to watch the band's practice," Yukima Azuma explained.
"Eh? Really? Yukima-san doesn't know how to play an instrunt?"
Ijichi Nijika glanced at the two instrunt bags on Yukima Azuma's back and asked curiously.
"Yeah, I don't. One of them is a bass that Kita sold to at a bargain price."
"The other one I just saw at the store and liked, so I bought it."
Hearing that, Ijichi Nijika was at a loss for words.
Who buys a guitar just because they like it?!
"Oh, oh! I totally get it!"
However, Yamada Ryo completely understood.
Ijichi Nijika held her head, helpless.
She had forgotten that her own band already had an Oujou-sama who frequently visited music stores and bought whatever caught her eye.
The cheerful atmosphere continued as the band's practice began.
Bocchi took out so instructional videos she had watched before to self-learn guitar.
She showed them to Kita Ikuyo while demonstrating the techniques.
After all, teaching was incredibly challenging for Bocchi.
Yukima Azuma stood quietly in the back, observing.
"Azuma-san seems very interested in the band," Kato gumi remarked casually.
"Umu, not really. But since I'm here, I might as well learn. It's always good to pick up a new skill."
As he replied, Yukima Azuma took out the guitar he had just bought.
Kato gumi gave a small nod, as if understanding Yukima Azuma's attitude.
Following Bocchi's demonstration, Yukima Azuma tried pressing a few chords.
How should one describe it?
Playing the guitar was much harder than he had imagined.
Ijichi Nijika noticed the scene.
Just by watching Yukima Azuma play a few tis, she imdiately realized that he really didn't know anything about the guitar.
It was obvious that the guitar Yukima Azuma bought was of high performance, and… quite expensive.
Ijichi Nijika quickly shifted her focus back to the band's practice.
Yukima Azuma kept glancing at the guitar, playing a little, repeating the movents — basically copying Bocchi's motions.
Before long, a ssage appeared in front of him:
"Skill Learned: Instrunt (1v1)."
After all, his intelligence stat was eight.
The higher the intelligence, the lower the threshold for learning basic skills.
Afterward, Yukima Azuma stopped playing and turned to Kato gumi:
"gumi, do you want to give it a try?"
He handed her the guitar.
Kato gumi took it and tried to mimic the movents Yukima Azuma had just made.
However, it was clear that Kato gumi wasn't particularly talented at playing instrunts.
She exhibited the classic "the brain understands, but the hands won't cooperate" struggle.
After trying for a while, Kato gumi put the pick down.
"Maybe I'm not cut out for this. It seems like I don't have a natural talent for it. I'm just average."
Her voice was soft, with no particular emotion in it.
"Honestly, I feel like most things are like that. No special talents, just average. I wonder if that's why I've always been so low presence. Nothing stands out about . Haiz."
A light, almost imperceptible sigh escaped her.
It sounded like a casual lant, with no real sorrow behind it.
But Yukima Azuma, at that mont, took Kato gumi's hand.
"gumi is very special. Don't get discouraged over small things like this. Co on, let teach you."
Saying this, Yukima Azuma took Kato gumi's hand.
The two of them were almost pressed close together, trying to play the guitar together.
Ijichi Nijika accidentally glanced over at them.
Imdiately, she felt as though she'd just been force-fed a huge piece of "dog food."
Seriously, enough already!
Inside, Nijika silently groaned.
After all, Yukima Azuma didn't even know how to play, and yet he was teaching soone else.
Looking at the scene, it gave the impression that he was just taking show off of Kato gumi.
But just as Nijika was about to turn back and ignore this scene…
From the direction of Yukima Azuma and Kato gumi, a guitar lody rang out.
It was the song that their band had been practicing.
Though their guitar skills were still amateur level, it was...
Ijichi Nijika looked at Yukima Azuma and Kato gumi in surprise.
She saw Yukima Azuma holding Kato gumi's hand, earnestly teaching her how to play the guitar.
The two were playing the complete lody of the song together.
A huge question mark seed to appear above Ijichi Nijika's head.
Wait a minute, hold on!
Wasn't he the one who couldn't play?
Ijichi Nijika could be sure that the notes Yukima Azuma had pressed earlier weren't fake.
He truly didn't know how to play.
But now...
The two of them were playing the song together, and their skills were improving with each strum.
No matter how slow their progress was, but...
Who could possibly increase their guitar skills within just one short lesson like this?
Wait a minute! Who could look and listen, and play the entire song perfectly the very first ti?
Ijichi Nijika felt like she was screaming inside like a stunned mole.
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