After swallowing the last bite of her daifuku, Kaname Raana licked the leftover matcha powder from her fingers and let out a small, satisfied burp, smiling adorably.
"Haru, you're a good person."
"Don't go handing me a 'nice guy' card out of nowhere!"
Kazami Haru's mouth twitched. He suddenly remembered how, back in the simulation, he confidently confessed to Tomori and got flatly rejected. He was almost developing PTSD from it.
Still, it was just a verbal complaint. The little cat hadn't meant anything special by it.
At that moment, the final band began performing, drawing his attention back to the stage.
Nijika was so nervous she could barely hold her drumsticks steady. Her rhythm was noticeably faster than intended, forcing Bocchi-chan to constantly adjust her tempo to match.
With even the drums out of sync, things weren't looking good for Ryo, who tended to get lost in her own world during performances.
But Ryo wasn't acting like usual. As if trying to draw someone's attention, her slender fingers expertly danced over the four strings of her bass, showing off her impressive slap technique.
There was no denying it Ryo performing with full confidence, shone brilliantly on stage. Most of Kazami Haru's attention was immediately pulled to her.
But the three of them were playing completely out of sync with each other.
"Raana, what do you think of them?"
The suddenly addressed Raana lifted her head slightly, her heterochromatic eyes shifting toward the stage.
The stray cat delivered her verdict with utter indifference as she watched Kessoku Band's messy performance.
As a wanderer, Raana had always been searching for her own "place to belong", somewhere fun and exciting every day. That was just how cats were: playful and restless.
Though she got along well with Nijika, when it came to music, she had her own standards.
"They just haven't synced up yet. Give them time, and they might surprise even you."
Rana tilted her head, puzzled, as if she didn't quite grasp his meaning.
Compared to the chaotic mess on stage, she found Haru far more interesting.
Her skills as a guitarist were exceptional, having practiced since childhood, she was on par with Bocchi, who trained six hours a day. In any band, she'd easily dominate as the lead guitarist.
But Raana , ever indifferent, simply shrugged off Haru's words, letting out a small, sleepy yawn.
Now that she'd eaten her fill, the stray cat was getting drowsy.
With that, she turned and walked out of the venue without a second glance.
Leaving Haru standing alone, watching the performance until the very end.
"Uwaah... I totally choked up there."
Nijika laughed awkwardly, her forehead glistening with sweat.
She'd been the one reassuring the "No. 5 Pink Paper Bag Girl" not to panic before going on stage yet in the end, she had been the most nervous of them all.
Practicing offstage had been fine, but the moment they stepped under the lights, everything fell apart.
As the leader and rhythm guide of the entire band, she was making mistakes almost every few minutes. By the end of the performance, the number of errors was practically uncountable.
Fortunately, most of the audience today consisted of Nijika's classmates, these high school girls couldn't really tell whether the performance was good or not.
These highschool girls (JKs) probably came to the LiveHouse just to admire the blue-haired succubus who attracted female fans with her looks.
"I was playing just fine."
"Ryo, weren't you just playing solo the whole time?!"
Yamada Ryo stood with her hands on her hips, wearing a smug expression, completely unfazed by the disastrous coordination on stage.
"If the bassist danced some street-style moves at this point, I think the show would be even more rock 'n' roll."
"Speaking of which, wouldn't it be more interesting to spin the bass like a hula hoop by tightening the strap?"
"If we actually did that, our band would really be finished—"
Thanks to the light-hearted banter between Kazami Haru and Yamada Ryo, Nijika, who had been feeling a bit down, quickly perked up and even chuckled.
She really liked this atmosphere. Just yesterday, the band only had two people, and now it suddenly felt so lively.
Among everyone present, only Bocchi seemed uneasy, her gaze flitting around, face pale and conflicted.
Maybe it was because her performance on stage was a mess too, and with such a bad showing, she didn't feel qualified to express her thoughts. But if she didn't speak up now, she might truly miss her chance.
Bocchi opened her mouth as if to say something, but lacked the courage to speak. Her internal conflict and guilt were clear to Kazami Haru.
Seeing how she struggled made him impatient, so he simply spoke up on her behalf:
"Hitori just said she wants to join the band."
Gotoh Hitori whipped her head toward Kazami Haru, who was smirking beside her. Wasn't she just agonizing over it in her mind? Did she accidentally say it out loud without realizing?
"Really, Bocchi?! We'd totally love to have you!"
"Please take care of us from now on!"
A smile lit up Nijika's jewel-like crimson eyes. It was definitely a good thing to have Bocchi officially join the band as a guitarist.
She had just been thinking about inviting her, but hesitated while trying to figure out the most comfortable way for a socially anxious person to join.
On the surface, Bocchi only nodded dazedly, but in her heart, she was already overjoyed and doing mental cartwheels.
She had finally joined a band! She was originally planning to look for one in the city center's RiNG, but thanks to today's coincidental encounter while chasing Kazami Haru, it all worked out.
She definitely had to thank him properly later!
"In that case, Haru should join too."