Yamada Ryo was a fan of Momoka, often coming to support her at street lives. Rinto had already seen her several times.
She was often generous, always buying Momoka's CDs in sets of three—supposedly one to keep, one to use, and one to "spread the gospel."
Rinto handed her three discs, while looking with some interest at her current outfit:
"This is the first time I've seen you in uniform. Is that Shimokitazawa High? Third year?"
"Second year." The cool-looking JK with the beauty mark under her eye tapped her fingers together. "Same year as you—Shimokitazawa High, second-year."
"Ah, I see. So same grade as me. What a coincidence... hm?"
Rinto nodded along, but suddenly something felt wrong.
His eyes narrowed with suspicion:
"Wait. Yamada, how do you know I'm also second year in high school? Did I ever tell you I was going to school?"
Yamada Ryo quickly whipped out her phone: "Momoka-san told me."
Her fingers flew across the screen, and then—she pulled up a photo of Rinto in his Shujin Academy uniform!
She explained matter-of-factly:
"Momoka-san has a private sub-account on social media. She posts raw venting there, lots of blunt words. I've learned a lot from her."
"This photo too—she uploaded it once, captioned: 'High school boys in uniforms are pure sex maniacs!' with three drooling emojis after. But maybe realizing it exposed too much private info, she deleted it right away."
Rinto: "If she deleted it right away, why'd you save it? Do you monitor her account 24/7?"
He honestly didn't know if he should be more afraid of Momoka... or of this Yamada Ryo-san.
And just when did Momoka sneak this shot of him in uniform? He had no memory of it.
But since they lived together, the chances were endless... still, anyone who saw this picture would surely misunderstand.
They'd probably think Momoka was some perverted big sister living with a high school boy, indulging in a hedonistic, decadent life every day.
For the sake of both their reputations, Rinto coughed lightly and tried to clarify:
"Uh, Yamada-san, please don't misunderstand. It's true I'm living with Momoka, but I'm not... we're not..."
"It's fine! I totally get it!"
The cool-faced JK suddenly cut him off, eyes shining.
She even seemed a little excited—her cheeks flushed pink, her breath quickening:
"People in bands can't live without cigarettes, alcohol, and women! And plenty of female musicians swing both ways. I've even heard about those who bring both male and female fans home at once, and then make them doi in front of them. Totally admirable."
"So don't worry. I don't mind at all! Whether it's just fooling around or pure love, I'll support you. A fan should always keep some distance from their idol—I only want the juicy gossip about Momoka-neesan's private life, I don't need the real truth!"
Rinto: "Mm... that's a very enlightened way of thinking... honestly, I could learn something from that."
At this point he really admired Yamada Ryo's personality. A band girl like her was probably living her life with joy too.
Then he noticed—slung over her uniformed back was actually an instrument case.
Rinto couldn't tell if it was a guitar or bass, but clearly she played in a band too.
"...By the way, Yamada-san."
That thought reminded him of one thing still unresolved.
He held out his hand to the Yamada Ryo who was still absorbed in Momoka's performance:
"Three CDs, total 3000 yen. Thanks for your support."
"...Rinto-kun, do you know how to write the word mercy?"
Yamada's eyes suddenly turned misty.
Her sharp beauty, the kind that surely made her popular at school, transformed in an instant into something girlish and vulnerable. The blush on her cheeks paired with that teardrop mole gave her an almost heartbreaking look.
Sniffling, she wiped at nonexistent tears with her fingers:
"Our hearts are so alike—why can't you feel my longing? I've supported you and Momoka-san this much, even told you about her sub-account, but you only want to keep a money relationship with me... Is money the only bond between us? I never thought you'd be such a shallow man—gupu~!"
Her nonsense hadn't even finished before a sharp hand chop struck down.
From Rinto's view, Yamada Ryo's blue-haired head was forced down—and from behind her emerged an even cuter girl.
A blonde beauty with a side ponytail, her long hair tied into a braid on one side, brimming with youthful energy.
As she scolded Yamada, the little triangle ahoge on her head bounced as if alive:
"Show some manners! Can't you see Rinto-kun's really troubled? And you're the one who always says we have to support indie musicians—buy more CDs whenever we can! So prove it! ...Sorry about her, Rinto-kun. I apologize on behalf of my idiot here."
"No worries, no worries. Good evening, Nijika. I figured you'd be around too."
Rinto greeted the blonde girl with a smile, acting even more familiar than with Yamada.
She was Ijichi Nijika, Yamada Ryo's longtime friend, who often came along to watch Momoka's street performances.
Unlike the cool Yamada Ryo, Nijika was the textbook bright and sunny type—a radiant, extroverted gyaru of youth.
While Ryo was lost in Momoka's playing, Rinto often ended up chatting with Nijika on the side, and had learned quite a bit about her.
Like how she had an older sister with a bigger age gap, both sharing the Ijichi name—so she preferred people to just call her Nijika.
That her sister ran a basement live house, and that she herself was forming her own band too.
She was a good girl through and through, just like the Yoshizawa twins at Rinto's place... well, except those two had already started to go a bit off the rails.
Rinto liked this kind of girl best—his smile grew even brighter:
"It's fine, Nijika. If Ryo doesn't have money today, she can have a few CDs for free. She's already bought plenty before."
"No way!"
Nijika shot back firmly, pinching Ryo's head for emphasis:
"Indie musicians have it rough! Self-released CDs barely break even, my sister's told me that herself! So of course we have to support... Ryo, you seriously don't have money? Didn't you just get allowance when school started?"
"...You bought another bass?! You money-waster! I don't recall ever raising a daughter like you! [○｀Д´○]"
Nijika-mama was furious, her little ahoge spinning wildly!