Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

"…Hold me, sorry." Qiu Hui declined with a wry smile, "Well, Qiu teacher usually… doesn't like to bring things like this into real life…"

"Is that so..."

The female student who claimed to be Takamatsu Deng suddenly lost the courage she had just gathered with great difficulty. She took several steps back and lowered her head like a sparrow that was startled on the side of the road.

"I am sorry for being so presumptuous."

Looking at Deng's eyes full of apology, which looked as if it wouldn't be surprising if she was about to cry, Qiu Hui didn't have the heart to put more pressure on her.

"It's okay, it's okay. Although Akira doesn't like to interact with people directly in real life, if Takamatsu-san has something to talk to her about, I can help convey it to her."

Qiu Hui smiled and comforted the other person.

"Is it really possible?" Deng looked over expectantly.

"Of course!" Akie promised. "Oh, by the way, there is one more thing. Since Takamatsu-san likes her novels very much, could you please tell me specifically which parts are good?"

After saying that, she shook her head pretentiously: "Actually, Qiu Rongzi is also quite... weird. When our real-life friends praise her for her good writing, she herself doesn't really believe it."

"Takamatsu-san, as a supporter of hers whom I have never met, could you elaborate on your opinion of her novel? I believe she will be very happy to hear it, after all, it is a true reader's evaluation."

...I do feel very happy after hearing this, Qiu Hui thought as she spoke.

"Is it okay? That's great!" Deng smiled, "Actually, my favorite thing is the way the protagonist Shiina Maho and her imaginary friend M-chan get along with each other!"

"For Maho, who has always been shy and lacks confidence, M-chan is really... like a ray of light that illuminates the entire darkness, saving little Maho from such a terrible situation."

The lamp spoke as if it was sharing its most precious collection.

"The process of the two getting along is also very interesting, full of all kinds of lighthearted and relevant jokes. I really like the feeling of growing up little by little in a happy daily life!"

"And more importantly, M-chan is a figment of Maho's imagination, right? In other words, although the whole story seems to be about being redeemed by the other party, in fact, from beginning to end, this redemption was achieved by Maho alone! Because of this, in the finale, I was deeply moved to see her successfully regain her strong side."

"Besides, since we are the same person, we will always support each other tenderly no matter what..."

As he spoke, Deng's tone seemed to gradually become lower, and the smile on his face gradually disappeared.

"Because they are the same person. So, the one being supported will not betray the other's expectations."

Having said that, Takamatsu Deng looked at Aki with a lost look, as if he was staring at a silver coin that appeared behind her.

"...Since they are the same person, they can be completed into a perfect whole in the end."

"It was destined from the beginning that we would never be apart. It will be like this for the rest of our lives."

The appearance of the lamp stirred Qiu Hui's already tangled emotions.

“…It’s really heavy.” Akie nodded softly, “But it’s really a very sincere and unique feeling. I think Akie will really like Takamatsu-san’s comments.”

It definitely will.

In fact, I have always been looking forward to someone telling me these things.

But, will we never separate? Betray each other's expectations?

I always feel that there seems to be some heavy secret hidden behind what Takamatsu said.

Just then, Qiu Hui suddenly heard a familiar voice coming from behind her.

"Hey - Takamatsu-san!"

Qiu Hui was startled. This voice was...

“Aine-san?”

Qiu Hui and Deng turned their heads and shouted in unison.

"Huh? Do you know each other?" the two said to each other in unison.

Chihaya Aine approached from behind and saw the two of them and nodded.

"Oh, it's you, Senpai. I didn't expect to meet you here..."

Aine came between the two of them and made an invitation very generously.

"That's rare! In that case, how about we do karaoke together as a group?"

Chapter 21: Threesome

"What is karaoke?"

“Actually, Deng and I are classmates.” Aine answered naturally, “Since we are classmates, it’s only natural for us to hang out together on weekends, right?”

"I don't think so." Qiu Hui shook her head. "In fact, since I entered high school, I have never gone out to play with my classmates."

On the one hand, I have no interest in making new friends, and on the other hand, novels take up most of my energy.

“Is that so? Then shouldn’t Senpai come with us? This would make up for the regrets we’ve had so far, wouldn’t it?” Aine said with a grin.

She also introduced Togawa Akee to Deng.

"Togawa...senpai." Deng nodded, "...are you coming?"

"As for me...it's not impossible."

Akie, who was originally going to refuse, changed her mind and agreed to Aine's proposal.

After all, the requirement from the library is to "sing on stage". If you want to sing, you have to practice hard.

There was no band practice scheduled today, and practicing at home would disturb the neighbors. Going to karaoke would be the best option.

"It's settled then! Let's go shopping and find a suitable store, shall we?"

"I don't care." Akie replied.

Deng just nodded silently, as if he didn't know what to say.

“But then again, why did Aine think of coming to Akihabara? I feel like this kind of place doesn’t quite suit your style, or what.”

Akihabara is where all kinds of otaku gather.

As for Chihaya Aine, from head to toe, there is no part of her that fits the definition of a "otaku".

“Is it normal to come to Akihabara?” Aine asked in confusion, “But I didn’t deliberately set a specific place as my destination. I just went wherever I could with Deng.”

"I see." Qiu Hui nodded, "This is quite romantic."

"Huh? Lang, romance and stuff..." Deng seemed a little shy.

“That’s it?” Aine said excitedly, “This feeling of being lost!”

The three of them chatted as they walked through the streets of Akihabara.

"When Xiao Deng saw the display case in the bookstore just now, she insisted on going over to take a look. Senior also appeared in front of the display case. Does he have the same hobby as Xiao Deng?"

"If you talk about hobbies... maybe." Akie replied with a guilty conscience, "Because the author of that book is in the same class as mine, so I care a little bit about him..."

"Classmate? Isn't that amazing? He actually has his own work displayed at the entrance of the bookstore for sale! Hey, senior, what kind of person is that teacher 'Akirako'?"

"She's just an ordinary high school girl."

Qiu Hui sighed.

"I am innocent by nature but I pretend to be mature. Sometimes I am conceited and sometimes I feel inferior. My heart is full of contradictory thoughts and feelings. That's it."

Deng shook his head in disapproval and retorted, "I don't think that's the case. Wouldn't that be too disrespectful to Teacher Qiu?"

"Takamatsu-san, that's not my evaluation," Akie replied thoughtfully.

"This is what she told me, her own evaluation of herself."

This is my own evaluation of myself. No doubt.

"Herself?" Deng couldn't believe it.

"I also think that it might be a bit too much for her to describe herself like that..." Akie fiddled with her hair, "But maybe it's because she's the kind of person that she is that she can write such a story."

“Because I am one of those people, I express my desire for redemption through writing. I think that’s probably why I have this idea.”

Deng nodded slightly and unconsciously clasped his hands together in front of him.

“Stop, stop, stop! You’ve been talking about something serious!”

Aine, who was walking in the middle, suddenly and forcefully ended the current topic.

"It's rare for everyone to be together, why don't we talk about something happy?"

"For example?"

"Well, for example, interesting daily life, interesting things I saw recently, and..."

"Besides going to school and playing in a band, I don't have anything worth mentioning." Qiu Hui said helplessly, "So should we talk about the band?"

"As for the band... forget it."

Seeing Aine's dejected look, Akie guessed something.

"Is the process of forming a band still not going smoothly?" she asked.

“Yeah.” Aine nodded helplessly.

She turned her head and looked in the direction of the light.

"Can I tell you?" she asked.

And the light nodded in response.

“Actually, just yesterday, I discovered by chance that Xiao Deng also had experience playing in a band.” Aine sighed, “So it was only natural that I wanted to invite her.”

“And you were rejected?”

"Yes. And the way you rejected me was very...how should I put it."

"Because I don't want to fail again." Deng added.

Qiu Hui observed Deng's eyes through her drooping bangs and read a kind of sadness that seemed to have become dull yet deep after being left alone for a long time.

"Everyone has their own difficulties," Qiu Hui concluded.

Especially Takamatsu Deng. She seemed to be immersed in a heavy atmosphere that made people feel pity.

Thinking of the words "betrayal" and "separation" she mentioned when talking about novels before, Qiu Hui guessed that her previous band might have suffered some kind of major failure, leaving her with an indelible trauma.

However, despite this guess, Qiu Hui still didn't understand why a band composed of students would encounter such a problem.

Just like when the band was done, everyone was having a great time. Even if the results weren't ideal during practice, everyone could just laugh it off; even if there was a problem like Kita-san's, everyone could quickly resolve the problem.

They were just a group of students playing in a band out of interest, why did it turn out like that?

She couldn't figure it out. She decided to continue focusing on everyone's conversation.

“That’s right!” Aine sighed, “Although I don’t really want to play in a band that much…”

"But after all, it feels like there are bands everywhere in Haneda," Akie said, "Does it feel like if you don't play in a band, you'll feel left out by everyone?"

"Oh, you really understand, Senior... No! Didn't we just agree to talk about something happy?" Aine reiterated her point angrily.

"That's right. Well... since we're going to karaoke, how about we talk about our favorite music?" Akie suggested, "If we just talk about our personal hobbies, it shouldn't involve any serious topics, right?"

“This is good! I’ve actually really liked Sumimi’s song recently…” Aine agreed.

We managed to get the topic out of the gravity field, and everyone became more cheerful.

The three of them continued walking on the streets of Akihabara, heading towards the unspecified destination of a "karaoke shop".

Chapter 22: Stealing Time

The topic gradually shifted to Aine and Tomo, and Akie didn't say much.

After all, they are classmates, so their relationship is naturally closer than that of me who is a year higher than them.

Besides, I have my own problems to consider.

...For example, the name of the new protagonist. Akihime frowned.

At present, the outline is filled with codes such as ABCDE, but if the finished product is like this, it will seem too avant-garde.

Naming is a very troublesome thing. It is not good to name it too ordinary, but I cannot accept it if it is too weird. It is for this reason that there are only nine characters with names in the previous game, and the rest are referred to by various nouns.

...What should I do?

After struggling for a while, she decided to put aside the trivial matter of her name for the time being.