Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

“…I’m sorry, am I being too self-righteous?” Akie apologized hastily, “If I’m not careful, I’ll be impulsive and do something weird…”

"No," Kita consoled him with a smile, "After hearing what you said, I just think that Togawa-san is an easy-going, talkative and interesting person."

“Wow, what a touching comment. I’m totally…”

“And you apologized for some reason.” Kita said in a teasing tone, “You look alike Goto-san too! I feel like you two are the type that would get along well with each other, right?”

"Yes, is that so?"

Togawa Akie felt a little overwhelmed by the other party's comments.

"Hmm! So, there is something I want to ask Togawa-san."

Kita's hands left the table and he was sitting up, his expression becoming serious.

"Togawa-san and Goto-san are in the same band, right? Can you help me convince her to teach me how to play the guitar? I tried to ask her before, but she seemed to run away in panic."

"She probably had some bad associations," Qiu Hui sighed, "so she ran away. But, if you want her to teach you, there is a shortcut."

Togawa Aie has not forgotten her mission of finding a lead singer.

"Our band is currently in need of a guitarist. If you join us, can't you learn from her?"

Chapter 14 This is embarrassing

Qiu Hui's calculations were very reasonable.

But unexpectedly, Kita shook his head slightly.

"Sorry. I actually already have a band I want to join no matter what." She smiled, "I want to practice guitar well, and I'm preparing for this."

"Oh, that's a pity." Qiu Hui just smiled politely without saying anything more.

After all, it’s impossible to invite others smoothly every time, right?

"Actually, I decided to play in a band on impulse." Kita continued to explain, "It was just because I wanted to follow the seniors I admired, so I made a hasty decision."

"Isn't this good?"

"But when I think about it carefully, with my current level, I am not qualified to stand on the same stage with that senior. So, I ran away timidly." Kita laughed.

"Eh? Ran away?" Akie was startled. "What a coincidence. Actually, there is a guitarist in our band who had agreed to participate, but she ran away to somewhere. In order to find a guitarist to replace her, we found Goto-san."

"What a coincidence." Kita smiled, "I didn't expect there would be such similar things."

She paused for a moment and then continued speaking.

"After I ran away, I thought about what I should do. It just so happened that I encountered Goto-san's performance. So I wanted her to teach me how to play the guitar. When I grow up enough to be qualified to stand with my seniors..."

"Um, Kita-san?"

Qiu Hui pointed out the problem calmly.

“Have you ever considered a situation like ours, where once the scheduled guitarist disappears, we immediately start looking for a replacement?”

"ah."

The smile on Kita's face froze.

"Oops... I don't think I've ever considered this possibility..."

Looking at Kita who suddenly became nervous, Akie shook her head helplessly.

Sure enough, he doesn't look very smart.

"...I'm just saying that." Akie added, "Maybe the other party has been waiting for you to come back. This possibility also exists."

"No, no, no, no, no, it's too much to wait until I learn guitar!" Kita was about to cry, "Why didn't I consider this at all..."

At this moment, Qiu Hui's phone suddenly rang with a message alert.

"Excuse me, I'll just check the news."

She took her phone out of her pocket and saw that the message was sent from the band group.

"Is everyone free today?" This was the message sent by Hongxia.

"I can do it!" This is Goto. She seemed to reply immediately after receiving the message.

"I might need a while." Akie replied.

Putting down her phone, she turned her attention back to Kita in front of her.

"It just so happens that my band is planning to practice together today." She said, "After we finish our drinks, why don't we go over together? Goto-san will be there too."

"Okay then, thank you for your help..." Kita replied with a wry smile.

The drinks were delivered quickly. Qiu Hui drank the lemonade in front of her. To be honest, although the price was still a bit high, the taste of this lemonade was still quite good. The perfect blend of lemon and baking soda made her feel happy.

As she drank, she suddenly thought of a possibility.

...It can't be such a coincidence, right?

She pushed this absurd coincidence out of her mind and continued to drink lemonade in big gulps.

Finish your drink as quickly as possible and get ready to go to STARRY to start today's practice.

Soon after, the two people who had paid the bill walked out of the door of RING

Qiu Hui, who was walking and looking at her phone, did not notice the people passing by her.

"Um?"

Chihaya Aine, who was carrying a guitar, turned around and looked at Akie who was walking out of the door with a strange red-haired girl.

"Isn't this Togawa-senpai? He's carrying a musical instrument on his back."

It seems that the band has settled down and is preparing to practice. Is the person next to her also a new member of the band?

"My seniors have already found their bandmates, so I can't lose!"

Aiyin walked through the door and came to the bulletin board on the wall that was covered with various notices.

"Let me see... Are you looking for someone who can sing with guitar? A pure lead vocal is also fine..."

……

Walking down the stairs, Qiu Hui entered the store.

"Akiie-chan!" Hongxia waved enthusiastically, holding the drumsticks.

"Good afternoon, Ijichi-san." Akie looked around, "Where's Goto? Actually, I need to talk to her about something."

"He's squatting in the corner over there." Hongxia pointed at a corner near the beverage machine with her drumsticks, "Little Pochi is really something. No matter how much we persuade him, he won't come over!"

Akie looked in that direction and saw Goto squatting on the ground, curled up in a ball. She seemed to be tuning her guitar.

"Ah... um, Togawa-san..." Sensing Akie's gaze, Goto Ichiri greeted him weakly in response.

"Good afternoon." Qiu Hui nodded.

She continued to look around. There seemed to be no one else in the store except the three of them, the store manager, and the sound engineer. Yamada Ryo was somewhere.

"By the way, where's Yamada-san? I didn't see her reply to my message before." Akie asked.

"Ryo is always like this." Hongxia shook her head helplessly, "But even though she often doesn't reply to messages, it's unlikely that she will skip it. She will probably come after a while."

"That's fine."

Akie turned around and called out to Kita who was still on the stairs: "Goto-san is over there. Shall we go together?"

"Excuse me!"

Kita came down the stairs and greeted Aki'e's teammates with a cheerful face.

"Ah, is this the drummer from Togawa-san's band? She looks... familiar..."

Kita and Hongxia looked at each other awkwardly.

The two of them fell into a strange silence.

"…What's going on?" Qiu Hui asked in confusion, "Did you know each other before?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly realized a possibility... which she had originally rejected because the probability was too low.

"Hey, hey, hey, um, Kita-san, could it be that you really are..."

"Wow!"

Nijixia's shout confirmed Togawa Akie's guess.

“It’s the guitarist who escaped earlier—!!!”

"Ah, um...um, actually...I, I used to be..." Kita spoke incoherently.

Togawa Aie looked at the situation in front of her, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

So, actually, Kita was the first guitarist to run away from the band.

It was because the guitarist ran away temporarily that Hongxia and Liang found Goto as the new guitarist.

Kita, who ran away, happened to meet Togawa Akee in a musical instrument store...

...Speaking of which, could it be that someone is really behind all this? Is there really a production team?

Sorry Goto Ichiri! I thought you just had an overactive imagination...

...I didn't expect you to be a prophet!

Chapter 15 End of the Band

"Wow! Why is Kita here? And she's the guitarist who ran away?"

Even Goto, who was squatting on the ground, was frightened by this shocking fact and stood up.

"Hey, Akie, can you explain the reason?" Hongxia looked at Akie who was leading Kita in.

“I think it’s probably like this…”

Qiu Hui stated her speculation.

"Yes..." Kita responded tearfully, "That's about it... I'm really sorry!"

She apologized and lowered her body suddenly.

"I, I get it!" Nijixia was shocked by Kita's reaction, "There's no need to be so exaggerated!"

"I'm really sorry for causing trouble to everyone by my rash and thoughtless actions!"

"So, don't continue to sit down..."

Akihide and Nijixia, who had put down her drumsticks and ran over, helped Kita up from the ground.

Goto didn't bother to continue taking care of the guitar and hurried over from the corner.

"So, why did Xiao Kita suddenly run away?" Hongxia asked in a persuasive manner while calming the other party.

"If you ask why..." Kita lowered his head, "Because, actually, I can't play the guitar at all. It's just because I simply admire Ryo-senpai, so..."

"So the senior you're talking about is Liang?" Akie suddenly realized.

Liang's carefree and independent style may indeed attract admirers.

"No, no, no, even if that's the case! As for the techniques, wouldn't it be fine if we just practice hard after joining?" Hong Xia asked in confusion, "We're not the kind of group that has demanding requirements."

"I, I don't know either..." Kita shook his head. "Sorry. As expected... I still..."

Togawa Akie suddenly seemed to understand something and said, "Please wait a moment. Kita-san, you still remember what I asked you to do in the cafe just now, right?"

"Yes." Kita woke up from a dream, "You invited me to be the lead singer of the band."

"At that time, you said you already had a favorite band, so you rejected my proposal. But now it seems... since your idol, Yamada-san, and I are in the same band, doesn't your reason for rejecting it stand?"

"...Indeed." Kita nodded. It seems to be true?

"So, even though we've come to this point... I still hope that you can join us, join the ending band," Akie asserted.

"This has nothing to do with 'tolerance' or 'forgiveness'. I'm simply asking you for help. Because, we need a lead singer to finish the band. Of course, it would be best if it was a guitar lead singer."

Akie looked at Kita very calmly.