"Manager, good evening!"
"Good evening. No, it's not evening yet. Good luck with your performance."
"Hehe, we'll do our best!"
…
"Manager, will you also watch today's Live?"
"Of course. I'll be down there cheering for you. You have to perform well. I'm counting on your Live to make money from ticket sales."
"Haha, Manager, you're so funny. If we earn a lot for you, you have to treat us to coffee~."
"Okay. Coffee or snacks, it's on me."
"The Manager keeps his word!"
…
From the size of Toru's shop alone, it was obvious how big it was, especially since it had a dedicated venue for holding Live performances.
He stood backstage at the venue, watching the beautiful young girls arrive. He smiled, chatted with them, and greeted them one by one.
Most of the girl bands performing here were middle school and high school students. Even college students were relatively rare.
Bands formed in college rarely did it just for fun. Most of them were already moving toward professionalism.
And college bands generally aimed to participate in music festivals. Live events like these, similar to underground idols, were more for younger girls.
Famous bands had fans of famous bands. These smaller bands, like underground idols, also had their own fan groups.
This kind of fan base mainly supported the "nurturing" process.
For example, when they felt optimistic about an unknown band, they would support them and watch as the band gradually climbed to bigger stages, even becoming nationally famous. The fans found happiness in that process.
So no matter how small a band was, as long as they had some ability, they generally had a fixed fan base. It was precisely because of these fans that bands which were hard to make profitable could keep going.
"It's good to be around young girls."
Toru sighed as he looked at these vibrant girls. Just talking and joking with them made him feel cheerful.
Sure enough, innocent girls who had not been tainted by the boxing business were the most wonderful group in the world.
"Fujiwara-kun!"
The cheerful voice made him turn his head.
A girl with long pink hair was waving at him enthusiastically.
"It's Anon-chan."
"Fujiwara-kun, what are you doing here? It's all girls here, and you're the only gentleman. You're not secretly staring at someone, are you? If you want someone's Line ID, just tell me. I'll get it for you."
Anon patted her chest and giggled.
Toru was amused.
If I liked a girl and wanted her Line ID, would I need your help?
If I just stood there, the girls would get excited on their own.
"Alright then, Anon-chan, help me get a Line ID."
"Fujiwara-kun, you really want me to help?"
Anon made an exaggerated expression, with a hint of dissatisfaction.
He teased, "Because the girl whose Line ID I want is too pretty. I don't dare to approach her."
"Huh? There's something Fujiwara-kun doesn't dare to do? Who is she?"
Anon sounded curious, and a little jealous.
"A pink-haired girl named Chihaya Anon-chan, do you know her?"
The moment she heard that, Anon realized he was teasing her again. She pouted. "Fujiwara-kun, you're teasing me again. And that pink-haired girl named Chihaya, you already have her Line ID, don't you?"
Anon chuckled.
Even though she knew he was joking, hearing him say that still made her happy.
"Are these your performance outfits?"
Toru looked at the clothes Anon and the others were wearing. The stage outfits were very fashionable, especially the semi-transparent lace at the hem, which made their slender legs faintly visible.
They were not revealing at all, yet extremely alluring.
"Fujiwara-kun, you noticed too? I designed these clothes, and I made them myself. What do you think?"
He gave her a thumbs up. "Very beautiful. I didn't expect Anon-chan to have this skill. I'm impressed."
"What do you mean you made them yourself? We made these together, okay?"
Soyo immediately exposed her.
Anon got annoyed and said loudly, "Soyo-se, just tell me. Did I design these clothes or not?"
Shiina saw Anon chatting happily with Toru and put on a stern face. "You only focus on useless things."
Before Anon could speak, Toru said, "The most important part of a performance is styling. Clothing is a top priority. You can't call it useless."
"Yay, Fujiwara-kun understands me after all!"
Anon looked smug. She raised her chin and glanced proudly at her teammates.
Shiina muttered, "…What's there to be proud of?"
In truth, she knew how important clothing was. As a girl, she was actually impressed by Anon's design skills.
She was just annoyed seeing Anon and Toru chatting so happily and instinctively argued back.
"Alright, girls, the performance is about to start. Work hard and do your best. I'll be watching from below."
Toru clapped his hands.
"What do you mean 'girls,' Fujiwara-kun? The way you say that sounds like you're calling courtesans in a red-light district."
"Then Anon-chan, if you were a courtesan, I'd follow you every day."
"Yikes, Fujiwara-kun, you can say dirty jokes too."
"Haha, why wouldn't I?"
Everyone laughed.
But gradually, the girls fell silent.
Many people would tremble just speaking a few words in front of the whole class.
Now they were about to perform in front of hundreds of strangers as a band. The pressure was indescribable.
Toru saw this and chuckled softly. "You've worked hard for so long. This isn't an exam, and there's no ranking. Just encourage each other."
Anon was the first to react. She stretched out her hand and shouted, "Exactly. Fujiwara-kun is right. Everyone, let's do our best!"
The other girls stacked their hands together. No matter how nervous they were inside, this was the moment they had to overcome it.
"Everyone, let's do our best!"
…
"Senpai, thank you for your hard work!"
"Senpai, thank you for your hard work!"
"MYGO members, please do your best too!"
Since they were just middle school and high school girl bands, this Live was not a solo event. Several bands performed together, each singing one or two songs.
As several high school girls walked off the stage chatting and laughing, the kohai bowed and greeted them, thanking them for their hard work.
This could be considered part of Japan's traditional culture.
Under Toru's gaze, several girls slowly walked onto the stage holding their instruments. He left the backstage area and went into the crowd.
The venue was dimly lit. There were no seats. Every audience member stood.
Under the faint lighting, only the glow sticks in the audience's hands formed a sea of stars.
There were quite a lot of spectators, so Toru could only stand at the very back. No one noticed him.
The girls stood stiffly in their positions.
It was not until the first drumbeat sounded that they instinctively began playing.
Ten minutes on stage, ten years off stage. When performance becomes a conditioned reflex, even nervousness cannot change the melody.
At first, the girls were clearly awkward. A few notes were slightly off.
But soon, amid the audience's cheers, they gradually found their rhythm.
As the lead vocalist, Takamatsu Tomori was still singing with all her strength, her voice clear and loud.
The other girls poured out their sweat without holding back.
Toru smiled as he stood among the crowd.
Actually, he thought some online comments were correct. The lead singer was too desperate.
With that kind of singing style, she could only last one or two songs at most before exhausting herself. For a professional band, it was all emotion and little technique.
But in a multi-band Live where only one or two songs were needed to ignite the atmosphere, this hoarse and desperate singing style was the easiest way to stir the audience's emotions.
Just look at the audience around him, waving glow sticks and shouting "Call," screaming wildly. It showed how passionate the scene was.
Sakiko and Mutsumi were also in the crowd.
They stood in a back corner, trying to tiptoe to see the stage.
A trace of nostalgia flashed in Sakiko's eyes. Looking at Tomori, who was drenched in sweat and pouring out her emotions, she whispered, "It's really good that Tomori found her own bandmates."
Mutsumi still looked like a delicate doll. Even in this lively atmosphere, her expression barely changed.
Hearing Sakiko, she said directly, "Only Sakiko shouldn't say that. You hurt her."
Sakiko's expression darkened. She had experienced Mutsumi's blunt blows many times.
"I'm trying to find a chance to apologize, okay?"
"It's enough that Sakiko has that thought."
Mutsumi spoke softly.
Sure enough, with Fujiwara-kun's help, Sakiko had started to untie the knot in her heart.
When the song ended, Sakiko applauded vigorously along with the crowd.
Having been in a band and performed live before, she knew how much effort was required off stage for a performance like this.
"Encore!"
"Encore!"
"Encore!"
The audience shouted loudly, hoping this little-known band that had just formed would sing another song.
The five girls on stage were excited. Facing the enthusiastic support, they became swept up in the moment.
But their band had only been formed for a short time. They only had this one original song. Even if asked to sing another new one, they had nothing prepared.
Then, someone suddenly played a familiar melody.
Sakiko, who had just been waving her fist and shouting for an encore, changed expression immediately and regretted it.
I was so stupid. I shouldn't have been the one shouting for an encore.
(To be continued.)