Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

"Akirako!"

"End the band!"

"Hail! Teacher Akihoko!"

The various shouts made everyone on the stage reveal somewhat complicated smiles.

"...How is it?" Liang winked at Hongxia.

"…Maybe, it's okay." Hongxia gave a somewhat forced smile.

Goto Ichiri looked at Akie timidly, and the latter just nodded silently.

"Next, please allow us to introduce ourselves. I'm the guitarist, Kita... Ikuyo!"

There was applause from the audience.

"I'm the drummer, Ichichi Nijika!"

"Bass. Yamada Ryo."

"Guitar player... um, Go... Go... Goto! I'm the guitarist Goto Ichiri! Please give me your guidance!"

In addition to applause, there was also laughter from the audience.

Finally it was Qiu Rangzi's turn.

She nodded slightly toward the audience, held the brim of her hat, and whispered, "Keyboard. Qiu Rongzi."

Naturally, the cheers and applause for her were the largest and loudest.

"Akirako! Akirako!"

"Teacher Akioko! I love you!"

“Senior… uh, that is, Akirako-senpai! Come on!”

Qiu Rangzi didn't say anything more, but just looked at everyone with cold eyes and waved to everyone with restrained politeness.

Looking at Aki Ryouko's back and the countless audience members cheering for her, Ijichi Hongxia suddenly felt a heart-pounding sense of nervousness.

…relax.

I am a drummer.

The drummer is the backbone of the band, right? There can be no mistakes!

There are so many people watching us in the audience.

Looking at me, looking at Xiao Qiuhui, looking at the ending band!

Hong Xia swallowed unconsciously and held the drumstick tightly in her hand.

Kita in front of her, after introducing himself, went on to announce the next song.

"The next song is a song written by all of us who have ended the band together!" Kita shouted, "Please listen! 'Guitar, Loneliness and Blue Planet'!"

The announcement of the original song immediately caused a stir in the audience.

"Is it actually original? It's surprisingly ambitious!"

"Well, I won't agree to Akiho-sensei's band not having original songs!"

"It's nothing strange, right? Don't serious high school bands now have original songs?"

Ignoring the discussions from the audience, the five people on the stage began to play again.

This time, the music they played was the music they created by themselves.

The prelude begins with the sound of drums.

Just like we rehearsed before...

……wrong.

Qiu Rangzi soon discovered the problem.

The drum was hitting the wrong spot.

Although she had no time to pay attention to Hongxia's situation, she was very aware of this as she continued to play step by step.

Although Hongxia quickly realized the problem and quickly found a way to remedy it, it was by no means an easy task to get the beat back on the right track.

The drummer is the skeleton of the band. If the skeleton fails, the rest of the band will collapse.

Ryo, who tried to synchronize with Hongxia, who had made a mistake, conflicted with the former's attempts to correct himself.

The rhythm guitar that changed along with Liang's bass brought an even stronger disturbance.

The performance became chaotic as they tried to keep the beat, and eventually the lead guitar was involved.

Goto Ichiri, who was not very good at playing together with others, was affected by the chaos, and the melody she played on the guitar suddenly became confusing.

It was in this desperate state that Kita frantically played the guitar and sang with great reluctance.

Obviously, the current situation did not allow her to carefully study the breathing and vocalization techniques. The singing sounded hollow and out of tune, and was completely not up to the level of the previous cover song.

"What's going on? Are you going on stage without practicing at all?"

"Maybe you're too nervous?"

"Well, it's just to warm up the crowd. It's none of my business."

"..."

Do you want to start over?

As soon as this thought came to mind, Qiu Rangzi dismissed it.

Playing the piano in a mess like this is already a fatal mistake. But if you stop and start playing again, it is not just a mistake, it is almost like surrendering.

In such a mess, it is hard to imagine any good outcome even if you give up playing and start over.

…But the question is, what should I do if I want to continue?

He had no time to pay attention to the reactions of the audience, or even to care about the feelings of his teammates on the stage.

Now Qiu Rangzi's mind is full of thoughts on how to find a technically feasible solution.

Who should I continue playing with?

Drums? Bass? Something else?

No, it’s my turn to sing soon... I don’t have time to take care of this right now!

If something goes wrong with me, there will be no hope!

Subconsciously turning up the volume of the electronic piano, Qiu Rangzi faced the audience and began to sing her own passage with the momentum of a lead singer.

In this chaotic situation, no matter who you follow, you will be dragged into the chaos.

The only viable option is to keep steady at your own pace.

"The pressure of the information age leaves no time to breathe"

She was guided by Kita during the rehearsal, but now she had to take on the responsibility of guiding Kita.

"Where am I in this dizzy spiral?"

Using her natural voice, Akiyoko... no, Togawa Akeie, sang with all her might.

Recalling the electric shock she felt when reviewing the audio source, she had completely forgotten about the arrangements of who was the main singer and who was the supporting singer in the chorus.

Since it is my song… since it is our song, the only thing we need to do is to sing it!

"Despite the sounds of so many breaths"

Amid Togawa Akee's singing and piano playing, the original chaos seemed to gradually subside.

Akie was just playing according to the results of her own practice, and had no intention of following the others.

Thanks to this determination, she was not dragged into the chaos.

Therefore, at this moment, she, who was still playing in an orderly manner according to her own rhythm, became the signpost for the end of the band.

The first was the drummer Hong Xia, who found the right moment to break in, and her drum sounds merged with Qiu Hui’s piano sounds.

Then it was Ryo and Kita. The addition of bass and rhythm guitar made the skeleton of the music clearer.

"It's strange that the world itself is so quiet"

After finishing her performance, Togawa Akee turned her head and gave a look to the lead guitarist Goto Ichiri beside her.

My mission is accomplished.

The confusion has ceased and the mistakes have been corrected.

However, my talent alone is not enough to make up for the discomfort caused to the audience by the mistake just now.

With a better performance, I will erase the stain left by the mistake just now from everyone's hearts...

...Only you, the guitar genius Goto Ichiri, can accomplish this task!

Chapter 120 Playing Their Own Selves

The moment Goto Ichiri realized that Hongxia had made a mistake, his mind went blank.

What should I do next? Can I still make up for it?

As everyone, one by one, became overwhelmed and confused by the chaotic rhythm, she almost stopped playing in panic.

She was not good at playing together with others, and the current situation made her completely at a loss as to what to do.

But, it was in this predicament that almost stopped her thinking that she saw and heard.

Amidst the chaos, Akihoko was still persistently moving forward at her own pace with her singing and piano playing...or rather, it would be more appropriate to call her "Togawa Akiie".

Her firm and outstanding performance saved the performance that was on the verge of collapse.

First it was the drums, then the bass and rhythm guitar. As one instrument after another returned to normal, Goto Ichiri's anxious heart finally settled down.

Great, then there won’t be any problem now, right?

Akiie said, "If anything goes wrong, I will be responsible."

She really did it. Unlike me who would only panic in the face of a crisis, she really took responsibility for everyone when something like that happened...

But that's it.

Goto Ichiri noticed the look given to him by Akie.

What she read from it was the expectation that was about to overflow.

"It's your turn now"... No, the tone should be stronger than this!

What Qiu Hui meant should be, "It's up to you from now on"!

why?

why me?

Goto Ichiri only took half a second to think about this question.

And she soon came up with the answer.

Because, even though I am a negative and gloomy guy, even though I always try to escape when encountering problems, even though I am always unable to cooperate well with others because of my social apprehension...

……despite this.

But the only thing is playing guitar.

I don't lose to anyone else.

I am Goto Ichiri, who is as humble as a water flea...

...But at the same time, I am still...the invincible "guitar hero"!

Straighten your heartbeat that has slowed down by half a beat, and restart your breathing that has paused for a moment.

Place your fingers on the guitar strings and relax your clenched teeth.

Qiu Hui kept looking at me gently.

She tolerates my negativity, allows my gaffes, and is willing to take responsibility for me even if I mess up.