Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

The return journey didn't take her long and she was soon back inside STARRY.

“Togawa-san! How’s Aine?”

"She's fine, she just has other plans." Qiu Hui shook her head, "Let's just focus on what we should do."

"That's right. Come to think of it, we are more or less a complete band now." Ryo nodded. "Well, do you want to try practicing together?"

"Of course!" Akie nodded vigorously.

She also looked at Goto Ichiri, who had just become the new lead guitarist.

"I'm Togawa Akeie. Thank you for your guidance!"

“Ah…Okay, um, please, please give me your guidance…”

Goto Ichiri nodded timidly.

Akie held out her hand to her, "Since we are already bandmates, then Goto-san... no, Ichiri-chan! Can we also be friends?"

"Friends?" Ichiri was a little confused by the direct attack, "Of course... If Togawa-san thinks it's okay to be friends with someone like me..."

"Of course it's no problem." Akie smiled and looked at Ichiri.

"Because making friends is actually a very simple thing."

Chapter 9: Pochi's Imagination

Is it really that easy to make friends?

Goto Ichiri lowered his head quietly.

It is not possible to accept such a statement easily.

If I accept this statement, wouldn't it make the life I've lived so far seem like a joke?

Goto unconsciously hugged the guitar tightly in his arms.

I couldn’t find a playmate since kindergarten. Whenever I was grouped, I was always the last one left behind. In the commemorative photo of my junior high school graduation, I was the only one standing alone…

The facts accumulated over the past decade or so make today's experience seem like an illusory dream.

All my efforts so far have always ended in failure, but today it seems as if the whole world is revolving around me.

I was just sitting in the park with my guitar when I ran into Ichichi-san who happened to be passing by.

Then I was brought here and met people who, although I had never met them before, always encouraged me.

As if they were impressed by my performance, they praised me generously.

In junior high school, I had tried so hard for so many years but still couldn't find bandmates to play with. But now, in just one afternoon, they kept appearing in front of me...

At this time, Goto Ichiri came up with a guess.

...As expected, it’s a prank variety show, right?

A plan that randomly finds amateurs on the street to form a one-day band, something like this?

There must be a photographer hiding nearby, right? And the crew!

Like a vigilant antelope on the savannah, she quietly watched for suspicious signs around her.

Maybe it's a live broadcast now? Will my appearance be broadcast publicly on TV with huge exaggerated artistic words and a small window of guest reactions in the upper right corner?

What subtitles are there now? Is it something like "The flow changes! The amateur lady gradually notices the signs..."? What should I do next? Should I continue to cooperate well? Or should I just show my hand?

If I show my cards, will the show be unexpectedly good? For example, maybe I will suddenly become popular because of my unexpected performance in this live broadcast?

What should I do after I become famous? Debut as a comedian... No, no, no, what am I thinking!

"Eh?" Akie looked at Ichiri who suddenly started shaking his head in confusion, "Is there something wrong?"

"No..." Ichiri answered in a depressed tone, "It's just that I feel regretful for not being able to debut as a comedian..."

"...Comedian?"

Qiu Hui was completely confused. Where did this topic come from?

“Why did you mention comedians?”

"Sorry! I was so careless and thought about something completely unrelated! I'm so sorry!" Goto apologized repeatedly. The person who was responsible for the apology was a little too sensitive.

"Why do you have to apologize again?" Qiu Hui was even more confused.

Goto-san's way of thinking seems really strange.

"So, Pochi, why did you think of talking about comedians?" Yamada Ryo asked seriously, "I'm curious. I think there must be a deeper reason behind this."

"Who is Pochi again?" Hongxia said angrily, "Please don't give me weird nicknames!"

"Because it's 'Ichi'. So it's better to call her Pochi." Ryo replied, "Don't you think it's cute?"

Botchi means being alone in Japanese.

"I feel like a puppy..." Hongxia frowned.

"Pochi... Hey, Pochi..."

Goto suddenly let out a strange laugh by himself.

"Is this a nickname given by the production team? It does look very cute. I like it very much..."

"What's going on with the program crew?" Qiu Hui was completely confused and totally at a loss.

"It's been well received by the client." Liang nodded, looking a little proud, "Maybe it will become popular one day."

"If you like it, Xiaoyi...um, Xiao Pochi?" Hongxia tried to call him this way.

"Yeah! That's it! Hehe..." Goto laughed sheepishly, "Actually, I've never been called a nickname before. I always feel like being called a nickname is a sign of a close relationship..."

Akie added, "There are also many cases where people are given nicknames because their relationship is bad."

“It’s okay even if the relationship is terrible…” Goto said sadly, “Being disliked might be better than being completely ignored…”

What kind of neglect have you suffered so far to come to this conclusion?

Togawa Aie shouted, “I don’t understand!”

She stepped forward and gently patted Goto's guitar, and said excitedly: "You are such a great guitar player. Let's not talk about other things for now. Just playing in a band is enough to continuously rise in the school hierarchy and become a popular person, right?"

“That’s what I thought at first, so I started playing guitar.”

Goto Ichiri's mind was filled with unpleasant memories.

“How should I put it… When I first started practicing, my skills were so bad that I couldn’t show them off at all. After I became a little more proficient, I mustered up the courage to invite some classmates who I thought I had a good relationship with, but they all rejected me one by one…”

"As for what happened later... after listening to my performance, everyone would praise me, but they never agreed to play in a band with me..."

Goto became more and more depressed as he spoke, but Ryo beside him nodded as if he felt the same way.

“Is it because the level is too high that they can’t successfully match with ordinary people? This is also common.” She said, “It’s like putting an airplane engine on a motorcycle. Such a forced assembly can’t be considered a band at all.”

“That may be true…” Goto smiled bitterly, “Anyway, I have been living my life up to this day without being able to find bandmates.”

"It's hard to bear, but that's all in the past!" Hong Xia said with a smile, "From now on, aren't we all members of the band that have ended?"

"Yeah, that's true. Even if it's just the script for the show, I'm happy now..."

What about the program script? What program? Is it too early for the library to start commercial operations?

“I’ve been hearing nonsense like the show crew and comedian since a while ago! Please explain what’s going on, please!”

"Eh? Aren't you part of the crew of the prank show? Aren't you filming right now?"

Goto Ichiri answered as if it was a matter of course.

……

There was an eerie silence.

"...Huh? Pochi-chan, why do you have such an idea?" Hongxia asked puzzledly.

"What a genius imagination, Pochi." Ryo nodded.

Togawa Akee looked at the bewildered Goto Ichiri with a look of amusement and tears.

“Although I’ve been thinking that it’s strange that someone as talented and cute as Goto-san can’t make friends… But if you usually think in this way, then… I might understand a little…”

Chapter 10: Extra Feelings

Although Goto's bizarre fantasy made it difficult for everyone to hold back, they did not stay on this topic for too long.

"The schedule here will become very tight at night, so we have to hurry up and start practicing!" Hongxia suggested.

"There's one more thing we need to resolve if we want to practice. Who will be the lead singer?" Liang asked.

Now the bassist, drummer, keyboardist and guitarist have been confirmed; but the lead singer, who will be the focus of the stage, has not yet been decided.

"First of all, I probably can't do it, right?" Hong Xia shook her head, "My singing is terrible."

“Well… I can’t do that either.” Yamada Ryo shook his head confidently. “Although there are many cases where bassists serve as lead singers, if I were to be the lead singer, it would become a one-man show for me, which would be too unfair to everyone.”

Although it is the same rejection, the reasons are completely different!

"Yamada-san is really confident..." Akie was a little undecided, "As for me, I'm the type that gets sore in the throat after singing one or two songs, so maybe if I were the lead singer... then how about Goto-san?"

As soon as she said this, she realized something was wrong.

"No. What Goto-san said is definitely not okay. It's too harsh for her now."

"Thank you for your understanding..." Goto Ichiri responded in a low voice, "Please let me stand in the corner as a guitarist..."

After this round, the only feasible candidate seems to be Qiu Hui herself.

"Then, until you find a permanent lead singer, I'll be the temporary replacement?" she said.

After a brief discussion, everyone agreed to this expedient measure.

"Well, let's do this for now!"

Although I have agreed to it for now, I have to include the search for a lead singer in my schedule, Togawa Akee thought to herself.

Because I can't just stay in the lead singer position forever.

Playing in a band is just part of the library's business operation plan. In other words, if the plan above changes, my arrangement must also change accordingly.

That is, I couldn't even decide for myself whether I wanted to stay in this band for a long time.

Considering the possibility of having to quit the band due to changes in plans, I'd better try not to occupy too central a position in the band.

"Togawa-san?"

Hongxia waved her hand in front of her, "Hey - wake up!"

"Sorry, I just thought of something... Shall we start now?" Qiu Hui sat down in front of the electronic piano.

It is called practice, but in fact no one knows exactly what to practice.

Although Hongxia found some simple music scores, the result of the ensemble was still a complete mess.

Goto's guitar was completely solo. Although it was amazing when played alone, it was either fast or slow in the ensemble, and it basically didn't match the drummer's rhythm.

Liang doesn't know which one to choose between drums and guitar, and no matter which one he plays, the other one sounds extremely discordant.

Hong Xia, who was not very skilled in playing the drums, seemed a little out of place in front of the two.

As for Qiu Hui... she basically did nothing. There was not much content prepared for her in the music score, so she just found some simple exercise scores and did rehabilitation training on the electronic keyboard by herself.

After a long time of hard work, it was getting dark and the busy evening time slot was approaching.

The newly formed band also had to stop practicing today.

"What a mess..." Hong Xia sighed as she put down her drumsticks exhaustedly, "Coordination between us is much harder than I thought."

"It can't be helped at the beginning." Liang said, "Compared to this, I'm really hungry now. Hongxia, can you treat me to a meal?"

"No! You haven't paid me back the money you borrowed from me last time!"

"I see. Then, Pochi, can you lend me some money for food?"

“Eh? Why, why suddenly… well, it’s not impossible…”

"No!" Hong Xia angrily picked up the drumsticks and tapped Liang lightly, "Little Pochi, be careful! This guy never pays back the money he borrows!"