"Well, in simple terms... Kita-san is a fan of Ryo-chan," Nijika summed up Kita's situation neatly.
"Yes! Ah Ijichi-senpai, everyone just call me Ikuyo!" Kita added with a small bow.
Ryo and Nijika both nodded. They'd already taken a liking to this polite, sunny, and cheerful girl.
After Kita's introduction, it was Hitori's turn. The moment everyone's attention shifted to her, Hitori's heart gave a jolt, and her expression immediately turned tense.
"Um... there's no need to be nervous. It's just a simple introduction." Noticing her anxiety, Nijika smiled and tried to reassure her.
But for someone with social anxiety like Hitori, it didn't help much. Still, she pushed through, though her face remained gloomy as she stammered out her introduction.
"I'm... Gotoh... Hitori. I... play guitar."
Her introduction was about as brief as it could possibly get. The others just blinked. The atmosphere grew awkward.
Nijika was the one who finally broke the silence. "That was... certainly a concise introduction! But having a guitarist with such a strong personality works too, Gotoh-san." She smiled warmly at Hitori.
Seeing that smile, Hitori felt as if something inside her had been lifted. Some of her tension eased.
"Ah, though if you could adjust your expression a little, Gotoh-san, that might help. You look a bit... intimidating."
Just as Hitori started to relax, Nijika's follow-up comment sent her into a panic.
"I-I'm sorry!" Hitori immediately bowed in apology.
"Ah you don't need to apologize for that!" Nijika looked a little exasperated at how seriously she took it. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but there was something about Hitori that felt oddly intriguing.
After everyone had gotten briefly acquainted, Nijika wanted to get a sense of their actual abilities.
"Alright, that's enough for introductions. As Yuki-kun mentioned earlier, what we're missing in the band is a lead vocalist and a guitarist. I'll be on drums, and Ryo-chan is our bassist, of course. We're not a professional band or anything, but we'd still like to see what you two can do." Nijika clapped her hands lightly, signaling she wanted a small demonstration.
"No problem!" Kita answered without hesitation.
Although she had initially agreed to join the band because of Yuki, now that she was actually here, she wanted in for other reasons too. First, being in a band seemed like a lot of fun. Second, Ryo was here. And third and most importantly Rin Yuki.
As someone who admired Ryo for her looks, Kita wasn't about to pass up the chance to get closer to her. But despite admiring Ryo, Kita's orientation was perfectly normal, she was just a sucker for good looks. And Yuki's appearance far exceeded anything she'd ever seen, so he was firmly number one in her book.
"In that case, let's start with Ikuyo-chan." Seeing how eager Kita looked, Nijika gave her the first turn.
"Okay!" Kita accepted gladly. She stepped away from her seat, stood in front of everyone, and prepared to show off her singing. "Ahem." She cleared her throat, took a deep breath, and began to sing softly.
She chose a popular current song with a cute, cheerful style. The moment Kita's first note rang out, Nijika gave a small nod. Even just from that first line, she could tell Kita had a good voice. Ryo, too, closed her eyes, gently taking in the sound, her fingers unconsciously moving as if playing her bass.
Yuki, already knowing how this would go, wasn't surprised at all.
Hitori, on the other hand, stared at Kita with slightly parted lips, clearly impressed by her singing.
After about two minutes, Kita finished her a cappella performance. She wiped her forehead, dabbing away faint beads of sweat, and caught her breath. She had given it everything she had, singing at her absolute best.
The first person she looked at after finishing was Yuki. Yuki caught the look in her eyes, she was clearly seeking his approval and gave a small nod of affirmation. The moment she saw his response, Kita's heart swelled with joy. Only then did she turn to Nijika, Ryo, and Hitori.
Nijika immediately started clapping, followed by Ryo and Hitori.
"Nice! Ikuyo-chan, you've got a great voice!"
"More than good enough to be our vocalist."
Nijika and Ryo each gave their opinion, both offering high praise. Even Hitori nodded gently in agreement.
"Thank you, everyone!" Kita's face lit up with delight, and she let out a quiet sigh of relief before returning to her seat, her expression radiant.
Next came Hitori's turn.
Under everyone's gaze, Hitori shakily made her way to the front, guitar in hand. Her legs looked like they might give out at any moment. She was a far cry from the confident Kita earlier this was pure, overwhelming nervousness.
"Uh... Gotoh-san, there's no need to be so nervous. It's just the few of us here." Nijika could tell she was struggling with stage fright and performance anxiety, a very common psychological response. She kindly offered some reassurance.
"Y-yes…" Hitori nodded slightly, forcing herself to calm down.
She took a deep breath and prepared to play. But the moment she struck the first string, a harsh buzzing sound came out. The second string, wrong note. And it only got worse from there. The rhythm and pitch were all over the place, completely out of sync. The notes clashed chaotically, with no sense of harmony.
What should have been music had turned into pure noise. Everyone in the room immediately covered their ears. The sound was so jarring it rivaled a construction pile driver.
"Stop, stop, stop!!! I can't take it anymore! Gotoh-san, please stop!" Nijika shouted desperately. She was genuinely afraid her ears might give out.
Hitori, unable to bear the sound herself, stopped playing and stood there looking utterly dejected.
"I-I'm sorry…" She apologized repeatedly, like a child who had done something terribly wrong.