"...?"
Staring at the message Yamada Ryō had sent, Aoki felt puzzled.
After mulling it over for a moment, he typed a teasing reply:
[Aoki] Kidnapping? Coercion? Hypnosis? Common-sense rewrite? If you're not doing this of your own free will, blink twice, Miss Ryō.
Nothing came back right away from "Weird Bassist." About three minutes later, Ryō responded in a tone that seemed wounded:
[Ryō] Is that really what I am in your eyes, suki-san? That hurts…
Aoki knew Ryō's personality well enough. Ignoring the put-on aggrieved tone, he tapped back:
[Aoki] Isn't that exactly what you're like?
[Ryō] ...
Ryō went silent, then sent a sticker of Tama-kun looking blank. After a short pause, she offered a more serious explanation:
[Ryō] Last time you treated me, remember? I said I'd find a chance to return the favor. So, since tomorrow's Saturday—would noon work?
Aoki hesitated. Remembering the way she'd said it—ice cream at the corner of her mouth but dead serious—he decided to give a noncommittal answer:
[Aoki] I'm free tomorrow. Sure, tomorrow then?
[Ryō] OK.
With the time and place set, Aoki figured that was that. He pocketed his phone. But just as he was about to stand up and head downstairs to grab dinner, his phone buzzed again.
It was another message from "Weird Bassist," added under her "OK":
[Ryō] Oh, and suki-san—bring your guitar tomorrow.
...Huh?
Looking at the new line from Ryō, Aoki felt his tentative trust wobble again.
He stared at the screen, puzzled, and decided to ask straight out:
[Aoki] Miss Ryō, just to ask… what's the guitar for if we're only having lunch?
This time there was no reply. Not even a read receipt popped up.
Still baffled, Aoki waited a bit longer, then chose to let it go for now and went out to eat.
He had a bowl of ramen and got back to his apartment around ten. He read until late—lost track of the time—and when drowsiness finally hit, he cleared his desk, laid out his bedding, and went to sleep.
The next day.
Because he'd stayed up, he didn't wake particularly early even with an alarm, but he still had enough time. He washed up, tidied the room a bit, and at around nine grabbed his guitar and the sorted trash and headed out.
They'd set a pretty early meetup for a lunch date. Aoki had no idea why Ryō wanted to meet at nine in the morning if they were eating at noon.
Between "bring your guitar" and an early rendezvous, he had a creeping sense this wouldn't be simple.
He dropped the trash, washed his hands, bought a ticket, and caught the train.
After the usual jostling, he got off at Shibuya.
The Shibuya scramble crossing might be the most crowded stretch of street in Japan. It was the weekend, which meant a flood of people.
Lately, Aoki felt like he'd been here way too often—maybe not ten times a month, but at least five or six. And more than a few of those were with Ryō.
Funny coincidence.
He stepped out of the station and scanned the people lingering nearby while idly letting his thoughts wander. They'd agreed to meet in front of the station. A quick sweep and he spotted the blue-haired girl under the shade of a tree.
Ryō always had great taste in clothes.
Today she wore a black-and-white checkered shirt with a clean, perfectly chosen light-blue skirt. Her legs—neatly toned with not an ounce of extra—were in sheer black tights of just the right thickness. Simple, stylish—cool beauty with a hint of girlishness. "Icy beauty with a soft aura," basically.
She had a bass on her back and an ice cream in each hand, eyes lowered as she licked the one in her right.
Aoki was briefly struck by how good she looked, then quickly refocused—he'd noticed the bass on her back.
She'd told him to bring a guitar, and she'd brought a bass…
His curiosity only deepened. He walked over to the shade.
"Morning, Ryō-san."
The girl, mid-lick, lifted her eyes slightly. When she saw Aoki, she stepped forward and held out the ice cream in her left hand.
She'd probably been waiting awhile; it had started to melt a little, though not too badly.
"Morning, suki-san."
Her reply carried that familiar lazy coolness, and the moment she spoke, the "ice-queen" aura evaporated into her own voice.
Aoki accepted the ice cream and thanked her. His gaze flicked to the bass on her back.
"You invite me to lunch but set the meetup for nine a.m., you brought a bass, and you told me to bring a guitar… Miss Ryō, I'm guessing lunch isn't the only reason you called me out."
"..."
Ryō went quiet, a guilty look clearly crossing her face.
She stopped licking the ice cream, tilted her head down and away, avoiding his curious eyes. She cleared her throat.
After a brief hesitation, she finally explained:
"Last week… I bought a brand-new bass and drained all my funds. I haven't been able to eat properly these past few days. It felt wrong to ask you to treat me again, so I came up with a solution—"
Aoki frowned, making a small questioning sound.
Ryō lowered her voice, turned her eyes even further aside, and dipped her head a little more. But the sound remained cool and even:
"If we busk for a bit by the Shibuya crossing, we should be able to make decent money—given your skill and mine…"
She paused, then raised her eyes to meet his. She blinked once, sounding unusually earnest:
"But don't worry. If we don't make anything, I still have 1,000 yen after buying those ice creams. That's enough to treat you to lunch at least."
She finished and, expressionless, gave him a small thumbs-up.
This girl…
Aoki fell silent, his mouth twitching at a loss for what expression to wear.
He'd expected Ryō to be unreliable, but he hadn't expected busking to be the plan.
A little helpless, he opened his mouth to suggest that he treat her instead. He had his wallet, and busking would be a hassle—there were better uses for the time.
But before he could speak, Ryō went on:
"Mostly, I just want to feel what it's like to play bass out on the street. And… doing a street set together would make a nice band memory."
Aoki froze for a beat.
Then he caught up, hesitated, and swallowed the words he'd been about to say. He looked at the blue-haired girl in front of him.
Ryō's features were delicate—pale yellow eyes, a perfectly proportioned nose, light pink lips, and the beauty mark under her left eye completing the picture. Taken together, it was a face without a single weak point.
With no expression, she ought to read as cold and cool; somehow, on her, it came off as adorably dopey instead.
Aoki drew a breath.
He parted his lips, closed them again, then, after a moment's hesitation, smiled wryly and said:
"If we busk, I'm putting in the work too. So if we do make money, lunch is split fifty-fifty. Miss Ryō, you don't get to skip out on treating me just like that."
-------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (400 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (172 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (200 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (200 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (160 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (168 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (180 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (110 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (170 Chapter)
Satou Kazuma's Decision to Live by Swindling, Starting from Re:Zero (60 Chapter)
Bleach : Ichigo! Take Over the Soul Society (68 Chapter)
Crossover Anime: The Master of Plagiarism with a 'Love Obstacle (110 Chapter)
Arknights Succubus Nurturing System, But I'm a Quiet Office Worker (60 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: Using My Personas to Break the Hearts of Players (50 Chapter)
One Punch Man : i am King? (100 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it