The "again" was a bit uncalled for.
Aoki Kai sighed, feeling a bit helpless, but he still tried to explain the situation.
However, "suspicion" is the kind of thing that's hard to dispel with just words, especially when Kita had now bumped into Aoki and Yamada Ryo together twice. So, even after Aoki's explanation, Kita just nodded with a doubtful look, as if to say, "Ah, so that's how it is."
Aoki wasn't too bothered by Kita's skepticism. After his brief explanation, he walked into STARRY with the two girls.
Inside STARRY, Hitori-chan and Nijika had arrived even earlier.
Because all the members of Kessoku Band were fired up about their goal of succeeding in the rock band project, their practice time had recently been extended, especially now that their playing was starting to gel.
Once everyone was there, they began to practice.
STARRY wasn't open yet, and Seika-san, the manager, was nowhere to be seen. The live house was empty except for Aoki and the girls.
They started practicing around three o'clock, took a break, and then started again half an hour later, continuing straight through until six o'clock, when Seika-san returned.
At six, STARRY opened for business.
Once customers started arriving, the Kessoku Band members were needed to help out, so they couldn't practice anymore. Aoki was about to head into the main hall to clear tables or mop the floor, but before he could even leave the studio, Kita Ikuyo suddenly called out to him.
Hitori-chan, Ryo, and Nijika had already gone to the main hall. Only Kita and Aoki remained in the studio.
Aoki stopped and looked back at Kita, a little confused.
Kita, however, had a curious look in her eyes, an expression that said, "I finally got a chance to talk to you alone, and I'm definitely going to ask."
"Aoki-senpai," she began, then paused, as if hesitating slightly, before pressing on with her question.
"Um, Aoki-senpai, I'm really curious, and I've been looking for a chance to ask, but it always felt a little inappropriate... B-But anyway—"
Kita blinked, then asked seriously, "Aoki-senpai, are you and Ryo-senpai really not dating?"
Aoki, who had stopped in his tracks, felt the corner of his mouth twitch.
He immediately shook his head. "No."
"I-I see..."
Kita nodded, pausing again, but she quickly followed up, "Then... is it like Ryo-senpai said before? Are you two in that 'ambiguous phase' right now?"
An ambiguous phase...
Aoki's expression became even more exasperated.
He felt that dating someone with a peculiar personality like Miss Ryo would be very troublesome and... weird.
Besides, Aoki didn't think he'd had that much contact with Yamada Ryo.
...Apart from those two times they ate out together.
But, thinking about it from the perspective of the rest of the band...
He did seem to be on the same wavelength as Yamada Ryo more than anyone else in Kessoku Band. He did talk to her the most, and he was the only one who called her by her first name...
Still, those were things friends could do. It might cause a misunderstanding, but it was the kind of misunderstanding that could be cleared up with a simple explanation.
After a moment's thought, Aoki shook his head decisively.
"No, there's nothing special going on between me and Ryo."
"R-Really?"
Kita blinked again.
Although Aoki thought his answer was decisive, the fact that he had paused to think before replying looked, to Kita, exactly like he was hesitating before giving his answer.
However, just as she'd said, she didn't want to pry if Aoki-senpai didn't want to talk about it. So, despite her lingering doubts, Kita nodded and didn't press him further.
But not pressing him didn't mean she had lost her curiosity.
For a high school freshman, "love" was a topic full of mystery and boundless fascination. Especially now—the cool, admired Ryo-senpai, whom she saw every day, and Aoki-senpai, who patiently taught her guitar... the idea that they might be slowly developing into a couple...
Just thinking about it was exciting!
So, after nodding, Kita swallowed softly and tried to probe from another angle.
"Well, then, how do you see Ryo-senpai, Aoki-senpai? C-Can you tell me that?"
How he saw Yamada Ryo...
Although the question was indirect, the implication was still that she suspected they were in an ambiguous phase.
Aoki wasn't sure what expression to make, but after a moment's hesitation, he decided to answer her question.
"Ryo is..."
He briefly considered her personality, then continued,
"She's a strange person. She's usually not serious, she'll try to borrow money from friends, she'll pull pranks with a straight face, and she'll make deadpan sarcastic remarks... But if you get to know her, you realize she's actually a very kind person. For example—"
He hadn't finished his sentence. He was about to say more, but the words got caught in his throat, interrupted by the sound of the studio door opening.
Yamada Ryo poked her head in, looked at Aoki, then glanced at Kita.
The air went silent for a second.
Then, Yamada Ryo, still at the door, broke the silence.
"Suki-san, the manager wants you to help move a table."
"Ah... oh, okay."
Aoki blinked, then quickly snapped back to reality.
Kita really wanted him to elaborate, but unfortunately, the conversation had been cut short.
With the chat over, Aoki didn't bring up Ryo's personality again. He helped out at STARRY as usual, and after the live house closed, they all practiced together for a while longer.
They finished around eight o'clock.
The band members left one by one, and Aoki returned to his apartment alone.
He tidied his room, did his homework, went out for dinner, and by ten o'clock, he had laid out his futon and was ready for bed.
Meanwhile—
Upstairs from STARRY, in Ijichi Nijika's home.
In her bedroom, Nijika lay on her side, staring at the messages from Kita Ikuyo on her phone, her feelings complicated.
[KitaKita: Aoki-senpai tried to explain, but now I'm even more suspicious...]
[KitaKita: Ryo-senpai and Aoki-senpai were out together today, too.]
[KitaKita: I'm just so curious! But it's rude to keep asking if Aoki-senpai doesn't want to talk about it...]
...
She was staring at the screen, but her mind wasn't on the messages.
She couldn't quite sort out the thoughts swirling in her head.
She wanted to work hard to carry on her senpai's dream, she wanted to do her part, she wanted to live up to that unspoken plea of "don't give up"...
However, those ambitions felt completely disconnected from the muddled thoughts currently occupying her mind.
Her thoughts were a mess.
Maybe... I should find a chance to ask Ryo about this directly...
Her focus returned to her phone. Exiting the chat with Kita, Nijika opened her LINE chat with Ryo.
Her fingers tapped the screen, typing out a few words, then hovered over the send button.
But after a long hesitation, the girl took a deep breath and deleted the message in her input field.
-------
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