"Fumiya-san, who is this?"
Nijika approached Fumiya Jin with a kind, sunny smile, though a tiny hint of mischief lingered deep in her eyes.
"Her name is Hitori Gotoh," Fumiya Jin said as he prepared to pull Hitori Gotoh, who was standing behind him, to the front.
But Hitori Gotoh, seemingly scared by the stranger, clearly shrank back.
Fumiya Jin had to use a bit of force, tugging her soft hand to pull her forward.
And so, Hitori Gotoh found herself forced in front of Nijika, trembling.
"I... I'm... Hitori... Gotoh..."
The girl's blatant social anxiety left Nijika slightly taken aback.
"Uh... Gotoh-san, is it? Hello, my name is Nijika Ijichi," Nijika said with a sweet smile.
Hitori Gotoh peeked cautiously at her... and upon seeing Nijika's pure, kind smile, she suddenly didn't feel so uncomfortable. That smile seemed to possess the power to heal anything.
So amazing...
Is she an angel?
What is today?
How have I met two angels in a row?
"As you can see, she's a bit shy around new people," Fumiya Jin said to Nijika, finally letting go of Hitori's hand. "If I hadn't been dragging her along the whole way, she probably would have run off the second I wasn't looking."
"Pfft..." Most of Nijika's jealousy suddenly vanished. "You mean... you just dragged her here by force? How could you?"
"Well, she can play guitar and is willing to help, isn't that enough?" Fumiya Jin said with a smile. Then he turned to Hitori Gotoh. "Hitori-chan, can we count on you?"
"Uuu..."
Hitori Gotoh really wanted to say no.
But... being looked at with such earnest eyes by Fumiya Jin, she couldn't bring herself to say it.
She felt like, "An angel is begging me like this, what right do I have to refuse the request of Lord Angel?"...
Besides... I'm already here...
"I... I'll... try?"
"That's great, you're a huge help," Fumiya Jin said with a smile. "Hitori-chan, you're such a kind, good kid."
"Eheheh..." Hearing this, Hitori Gotoh suddenly felt like she was floating on clouds.
I got praised!
Lord Angel called me a kind, good kid!!
Oh my gosh!!!
"Ehehehe... W-Well, it's not that..." She scratched her head and let out a goofy laugh.
Watching from the side, Nijika didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She paused for a moment, then said, "In any case, it really is a huge help that you're willing to pitch in, Gotoh-san... Let's head down to the live house. We have one more band member to meet."
...
Entering the live house, a cool-looking, blue-haired girl came up to them.
"This is Ryo Yamada, the bassist in our band," Nijika began the introductions. "Ryo, this is my friend, Fumiya Jin, and this is the substitute guitarist he brought for us, Hitori Gotoh."
The blue-haired girl gave Fumiya Jin an interested look. "So... you're the one Nijika was frantically looking for earlier..."
"I was not frantic!" Nijika's face flushed red as she quickly cut in. "Don't exaggerate, you jerk, Ryo!"
Ryo Yamada glanced at Nijika. "Let me rephrase... This is the one who spent the weekend with Nijika..."
"Aaaah, what are you talking about! Is now the time for that?" Nijika, uncharacteristically flustered, snapped. "The show starts in two hours, we need to start practicing. Let's go, let's go!"
And so, at Nijika's urging, the get-to-know-you process was summarily skipped. The group quickly arrived at the practice room.
Nijika handed a musical score to Hitori Gotoh.
"These are the setlist and scores for the show," Nijika explained. "It'll just be the three of us this time, playing instrumentals only, no singing."
Hitori Gotoh took the score and glanced over it; the difficulty wasn't high.
However, if they were only playing instrumentals without vocals, her role on guitar would be the core of the entire performance.
I have to do my best!
As Hitori Gotoh thought this, she subconsciously glanced to the side at Fumiya Jin standing in the corner. A wave of nervousness washed over her, but also a sliver of excitement...
The chance to play guitar in a band, something she had always dreamed of.
And two angels would be there to see her perform.
Such a dreamlike scenario...
She had to consider that this might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
Hitori Gotoh took out her guitar and picked up a pick.
I'm pretty good on my own guitar.
And this song isn't that hard.
So, maybe...
I can do this!
...
Five minutes later...
Hitori Gotoh had transformed into a pink tsuchinoko and was curled up inside a combustible trash can.
Nijika and Ryo stood on either side of the trash can, their expressions complicated.
"Um..." Nijika thought for a moment, then offered a comforting smile. "For a beginner, playing like that on your first time jamming with others is actually really impressive."
Hearing this, Hitori Gotoh, inside the trash can, was not comforted at all. In fact, she felt even more crushed.
A beginner?
They think I'm a beginner?
But I'm Guitarhero!
I've been practicing guitar for three years, for over six hours every single day!
I have 30,000 followers online!!!
"Ah, she seems even more depressed now," Ryo Yamada commented with a puzzled look.
"Uh, well..." Nijika scratched her cheek. "Did I say something wrong...?"
"You did," Fumiya Jin said as he walked over and explained. "Nijika, Hitori-chan is no beginner. She's probably been practicing for several years... and she must have practiced incredibly hard and diligently."
This was all something Fumiya Jin could directly experience from the feelings he had stolen. In this world, there was likely no other person who could empathize with Hitori Gotoh as deeply as he could.
As soon as he said this, Hitori Gotoh stiffened in the trash can, slightly reverting to her human form.
"Eh?" Nijika was a little surprised. "She's been practicing for years? Then why..."
"She's just too nervous. And she doesn't dare to even look at you two, so there's no coordination. It's only natural she can't play well," Fumiya Jin said.
Nijika thought about it, and it seemed to be true—Hitori Gotoh's playing style, her syncopation, and everything else were very skilled. It was only when they tried to play together that it all fell into a chaotic mess...
"Then what should we do?"
Nijika felt a slight headache coming on—if she was this nervous now, it would be a complete disaster once she got on stage.
If Fumiya Jin weren't here, it would be fine.
After all, Nijika didn't have high expectations for her hastily assembled band. Especially with their guitarist suddenly bailing and bringing in a last-minute substitute, just getting through the performance would be good enough; she wouldn't hope for a spectacular result.
So, if Fumiya Jin wasn't here, she probably would have already adjusted her mindset and used that same reasoning to reassure Hitori, telling her to relax and just play however she wanted, that it wouldn't matter if she messed up.
But... Fumiya Jin was here.
And that changed Nijika's mindset completely.
After all, Nijika was a girl with pride and a bit of vanity.
Back in the game, although she had been helpful at times, she had mostly relied on his care and protection, watching his dazzling figure as he coolly cleared the instances.
But now, here in the live house, in one of the few areas where she was actually skilled... she wanted to shine a little, too.
She wanted to finish the performance with style.
She wanted to show off a little.
Most importantly... she wanted him to see her shine, to be just a little bit impressed by her.
In this situation—if the performance was a total mess, she wouldn't be able to achieve that effect at all.
For a moment, Nijika was troubled, unsure of what to do.
Subconsciously, she looked toward Fumiya Jin.
Somehow, she had gone from being a fairly independent girl who could even take care of her older sister to someone who would subconsciously turn to a boy for help...
And under her expectant gaze...
Fumiya Jin did indeed make a move.
He walked toward the combustible trash can.
"Hitori-chan?"
______
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