The rainy season, or Tsuyu, usually lasts from early June to mid-July.
During this period, Tokyo and other regions experience continuous overcast weather with heavy, incessant rain.
After mid-July, however, the rain abruptly stops, and the temperature just as abruptly begins to climb.
It was now mid-July, some time after that "Ms. Go-and-Come-Back" (Gotoh) had last questioned Aoki.
In the meantime, Kessoku Band had been practicing diligently. Their skills had steadily improved.
If the current Kessoku Band were to perform live, Aoki was confident they could convert at least some of the audience into fans.
But now wasn't the time to worry about live shows or fans.
The submission deadline for PVC Records' "Original Rock Band Project" was getting closer. Realizing time was short, Aoki had, a few days prior, selected a single for the band—one that suited Kessoku Band and the project's theme.
"Loser."
In his previous life, it was a famous single by Kenshi Yonezu. It had topped the music charts for months and won "Japanese Song of the Year."
Although its fast tempo made it quite difficult, its Japanese light-rock elements were a perfect fit for the PVC Records project. After some hesitation, Aoki chose it.
He redeemed the points and, referencing the complete score and lyrics in his head, transcribed the parts: one drum score, one bass score, and two guitar scores.
When the girls in Kessoku Band saw the music, they were stunned.
They already knew Aoki was the famous "suki-san" from Yutube and that his genius for composition was unrivaled. But they never imagined he could write a song so perfectly tailored to Kessoku Band.
The lyrics, the melody, the style—everything was perfect.
Hitori Gotoh, in particular, fell in love with the song the moment she saw it.
But as much as they loved it, the song's difficulty was no joke.
Fortunately, the Kessoku Band of today was not the Kessoku Band of the past. After a few practice runs, they were able to play through the song without major issues.
With that, they began to discuss the division of labor.
Including Aoki, the band now had three guitarists. While three guitarists isn't unheard of, it was a bit much for their current lineup.
But it was only a bit much. It wasn't a huge problem.
Aoki's current guitar skill was, without a doubt, master-level. He was good enough to join a professional band.
Hitori Gotoh's skill was a step below, but thanks to years of dedicated practice and high natural talent, she was also quite good.
Kita Ikuyo's guitar playing, however, was still average.
She had just started learning and was working very hard, but the short amount of time she'd been playing meant she lagged far behind the other two.
Therefore, after some thought, Aoki proposed his idea.
He would be the lead guitarist, playing most of the main melodies. Hitori Gotoh would be the rhythm guitarist, handling some of the harmonies and backing rhythms.
As for Kita Ikuyo, she would also be a rhythm guitarist, but her parts would be even simpler than Hitori's.
Ryo would be on bass, and Nijika on drums.
As for the lead vocals...
Aoki had considered singing lead himself. It would probably increase their chances of winning the PVC project.
However, he also considered that Kita's vocal skills weren't bad—in fact, she was only slightly weaker than him. Plus, as a guitarist, her part was already minimal. After weighing his options, Aoki decided to make Kita the lead vocalist.
With Aoki's suggestions, the band's roles were provisionally set.
The project deadline was now only two and a half weeks away.
While they could technically wait until the last minute to submit, it was always better to do it early—they needed to leave time for rallying votes and other issues.
After settling on the song and the roles, the band's practice intensity ramped up even higher.
Although Aoki had told them it wasn't necessary to get first place, the girls all tacitly redoubled their efforts. Everyone was improving, and no one wanted to be the one to drag the team down.
As a result, in just a few short days, the band's overall skill level rose significantly.
Hitori Gotoh could keep up with the band's tempo, perfectly complementing Aoki's lead guitar and handling the harmony for "Loser."
Kita Ikuyo was surprisingly good as a vocalist, and she managed her guitar parts without any major issues.
Yamada Ryo's skill was always consistent, and she had no trouble with "Loser."
Nijika, however... Nijika had been acting a little strange these past few days.
Her skill level was fine—in fact, her drumming had been improving by leaps and bounds. Even the critical Seika-san had occasionally praised her recent improvements.
But during their downtime at STARRY, Aoki felt her mood was occasionally... off.
It wasn't a serious problem, but compared to usual, Aoki felt that Nijika would sometimes avoid his gaze if he happened to look her way.
He was confused, but he didn't press her about it.
As mentioned, it wasn't a huge deal. Since Nijika hadn't brought it up, and Aoki was sure he hadn't done anything wrong, he decided not to investigate.
In any case, another week passed in this atmosphere of rapid improvement and slight peculiarity.
Then, on July 27th, with only five days left before the deadline.
After countless takes in the STARRY recording studio, Kessoku Band finally recorded what they felt was the most perfect version of "Loser."
The next morning, July 28th.
Aoki copied the audio file and submitted Kessoku Band's performance of "Loser" to the PVC Records project email.
With only four days left, Aoki didn't go to the live house that afternoon. He stayed alone in his apartment and began to think about how to rally votes.
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