After walking for about twenty minutes, the group arrived at an underground live house. Looking at the sign made up of several stars forming the word "STARRY," both Hitori and Kita knew they had reached their destination.
"Wow, this is amazing! I've never been to an underground live house before~!" Just the entrance alone had Kita already excited.
Hitori, though still wearing her usual gloomy expression, showed a flicker of anticipation in her eyes.
"Ikuyo, is this your first time at a place like this?" Yuki smiled at the cute red-haired girl.
"Yeah! First time! I've only ever seen places like this on TV. The really cool bands, packed into a tiny underground space, performing metal rock just a few meters away from the audience—that kind of scene is just super cool!" Kita rubbed her chin, eyes sparkling with excitement.
Kita was naturally cheerful, energetic, and curious about new things. Underground rock bands were something she rarely got to experience, so of course she was fascinated.
"Haha, what you're describing is more like the rock scene in America. Over here, it's not quite as intense." Yuki smiled and explained that the local style differed a bit from American rock.
Then, unexpectedly, Hitori spoke up and gave Kita a detailed explanation of the differences between local rock and American rock. She explained it clearly and thoroughly—very professional.
"Is that so? Okay! I didn't really follow all of that, but the main point is it's underground rock, right?" Kita looked at Hitori with a hint of surprise. It was clear that Hitori knew a lot more about music than she did. That made Kita a little more curious about this gloomy, somewhat unkempt girl.
"Yeah... underground rock," Hitori nodded, reluctantly agreeing.
"Alright, let's head inside." Seeing that they'd talked enough, Yuki led them in.
The two followed closely behind and stepped through the entrance. Inside, PA was sitting at her usual ticket booth as always. Seeing the stack of tickets on the table, Yuki knew another band had booked the place for a show today. Looked like business at STARRY had been doing pretty well lately.
For a place like this, renting out the space wasn't the main source of income. The real money came from selling drinks and snacks to the audience during performances. As long as the crowds kept coming, the money would follow.
After exchanging a quick greeting with PA, Yuki led the two inside. Once they entered, they saw quite a few customers already seated, chatting while waiting for the show to start.
At the counter, Seika was already busy making drinks and snacks for guests. She was so swamped that all she could manage was a quick glance and a nod at Yuki before getting back to work.
"Wow, the owner seems really busy," Kita watched Seika moving nonstop behind the counter and murmured to herself.
"Heh, yeah. That just means business is good today, right? That's a good thing, isn't it?" Yuki smiled.
Kita nodded in agreement. Then her gaze shifted to the stage inside the venue. There were no fancy decorations, no dazzling neon lights, no enormous size. Just simple metal frames and a few metallic accents—a stage big enough for maybe ten people.
But for someone like Kita, who had never performed before, it still stirred a sense of longing.
Hitori felt it too. She stared at the stage, her ocean-blue eyes shimmering with a strange light. For a moment, she could almost see herself up there, guitar in hand, playing as the crowd cheered and shouted her name.
But the fantasy was fleeting—gone in an instant. Reality quickly set back in. In real life, she was a social mess. Just being on stage in front of so many people was already a question mark.
"Will I... ever be able to perform on that stage?" Kita turned to Yuki.
He nodded without hesitation. "Of course."
Then Yuki led them past the stage and into the back lounge. He pushed the door open—and there sat Ryo Yamada and Nijika Ijichi, already waiting inside.
"Oh! You're finally here, Yuki-kun! I've been waiting!" Nijika's face lit up with excitement the moment she saw Yuki. After all, they'd agreed that he would bring people by today, and she had been looking forward to it all day.
"Mm." Yuki nodded and walked inside.
Hitori and Kita glanced around the room for a moment, then followed him in.
"Oh! You two, come in, come in!" Seeing the two girls behind Yuki, Nijika immediately knew these were the potential band members he'd brought. Her face brightened as she warmly welcomed them.
Once inside the rather small lounge, Kita quickly noticed Ryo sitting off to the side. The moment she saw her, Kita's eyes sparkled.
"Y-You're Ryo-senpai?!" She walked over to Ryo excitedly, her gaze full of admiration. She didn't hide her feelings at all—she was clearly a big fan.
Ryo frowned slightly. She didn't remember ever meeting this red-haired creature. She looked over at Yuki as if to ask, Where did you dig up this weirdo?
Yuki just shrugged and smiled back.
Nijika then began introducing the band's situation, followed by introductions for herself and Ryo.
When it was Kita's turn, she eagerly spoke up. "I really admire Ryo-senpai! I'm her fan!" She glanced excitedly at Ryo.
"Oh? Can I ask why?" Curious, Nijika asked. Ryo and Hitori also looked at Kita.
"Of course! One afternoon at school, I happened to run into Ryo-senpai on the field. She was holding a guitar—and she looked super cool!" Kita recounted the story and explained why she admired Ryo.
Ryo wiped her brow expressionlessly.
Nijika's mouth twitched. "Um... Kita-san, that thing Ryo-chan was holding wasn't a guitar. It was a bass."
Nijika couldn't believe someone in this world didn't know the difference between a guitar and a bass. And this same person was supposed to be the lead vocalist for their band. For a moment, she felt Kita might be a little... unreliable.
"Huh? Oh, I see! I'm so sorry—I didn't know!" Kita apologized, looking genuinely embarrassed.
Seeing how sincere she was, the others softened a bit.