“Erm…”
As a student of Tsukinomori Girls Academy, a prestigious all-girls school for true young ladies, Nagasaki Soyo hadn’t dealt with boys her own age for a long time.
Especially when hearing that the other party didn’t even use honorifics when referring to Sakiko and Tomori, this social attitude, so completely different from that of a young lady’s school, suddenly made Nagasaki Soyo feel a sense of novelty.
It wasn’t until she met Ayanokouji’s gaze that Soyo belatedly realized it was somewhat rude of her to keep staring at him.
She quickly averted her gaze, subconsciously wanting to display perfect social etiquette.
Yet, she unexpectedly stuttered when she tried to speak.
Kiyotaka just watched her quietly, with no intention of speaking first.
Seeing the two of them staring at each other wide-eyed, Sakiko, the initiator of the Band standing nearby, couldn’t help letting out a chuckle.
Then she reached out her palm, pointed at Ayanokouji, and took on the role of introduction:
“Soyo-kun, and Mutsumi, this is the Ayanokoji-kun I mentioned to you yesterday.
Not only is he exceptionally good at playing the piano, but he is also well-versed in music theory.”
“Starting from today, he will be the manager gentleman responsible for assisting with all our Band’s affairs.”
Then, Sakiko turned to Ayanokouji and introduced:
“Soyo-kun is in charge of the Bass, and she plays the double Bass in the Orchestra Club.
Because of her outstanding performance during the Tsukinomori Girls Academy music festival a while ago, I invited her to join our Band.”
With Sakiko acting as a lubricant, Nagasaki Soyo quickly adjusted her state.
A perfect, gentle expression reappeared on her face, and with curved eyebrows, she extended her hand toward Ayanokouji.
“Hello Ayanokoji-kun, I am Nagasaki Soyo.
Hearing Sakiko-kun say yesterday that she invited a boy to be the Band manager really gave me a start.”
“But this also means our Band is becoming more and more formal, right?
Anyway, please treat me well in the future.”
“Hello.
Just call me Ayanokouji.”
Ayanokouji stared at the other’s pretty azure eyes and sweet smile for two seconds, then reached out and grasped her fingertips.
The petite, fair palm felt soft, yet unexpectedly cool, giving Ayanokouji a rare and subtle tactile sensation.
At the same time, Nagasaki Soyo was surprised by the warmth and bone structure emanating from the other’s palm.
An inexplicable slight itch came from the small area of contact in her palm, making her widen her eyes slightly.
However, before she could experience this feeling too much, Ayanokouji actively let go of her hand.
Ending this ceremonial handshake. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
Seeing the two greet each other, team leader Sakiko looked to the other side.
“Ayanokoji-kun, this is Mutsumi.”
“She is my childhood playmate, commonly known as a childhood friend.
Mutsumi has been playing the guitar since she was little, so she is very reliable.”
Hearing Sakiko’s praise, Wakaba Mutsumi showed no expression change, only shaking her head slightly.
Then she nodded slightly toward Ayanokouji as a greeting.
After Ayanokouji nodded back in return, the doll-like girl withdrew her gaze and, like a machine, looked straight ahead at the tram tracks without a word.
“Are Soyo and Mutsumi-kun both Sakiko’s friends?”
Takamatsu Tomori asked quietly from the side.
Seeing her fingers intertwined, Kiyotaka knew that this timid girl was feeling uneasy inside, worried that with the increase in the Band’s number of people, she wouldn’t be able to integrate into this small group.
The sensitive Sakiko also keenly perceived Tomori’s unease and flashed her a comforting smile,
“As for Mutsumi, we’ve been playing together since we were little.
Although Soyo-kun is in the same grade as me at school…”
“We hardly talked before, though, and neither did Xiao-Mutsumi and I.” Nagasaki Soyo took over the conversation.
Hearing her name mentioned, Wakaba Mutsumi, who had been staring blankly ahead, finally reacted and nodded without looking away.
“Then is the last member, the drummer…”
Sakiko took out her phone and checked the message confirming the meeting place with the other party just now,
“Even she and I are meeting for the first time.
Since everyone has time today, I thought I’d just call everyone over for a full-member meet-and-greet.”
Finishing her words, Sakiko looked at Kiyotaka, seeing that he had maintained a bystander status ever since greeting them at the beginning.
Thus, Sakiko gave a cute light cough, and like an interviewing host, she loosely cupped her hand into the shape of a microphone and handed it in front of Ayanokouji.
“So, what about Ayanokoji-kun?
As our manager gentleman, what expectations do you have for our drummer?”
Hearing this, except for Wakaba Mutsumi, the gazes of several girls looked over simultaneously.
Sakiko and Soyo wore friendly smiles on their faces, and although Takamatsu Tomori had a bland expression, she looked at him with expectation like a small animal.
Kiyotaka felt the surrounding atmosphere.
Although he was similarly focused on by several gazes, this felt completely different from the evaluating gazes of instructors in the White Room, or the feeling of being watched by hostile peers.
There was no tension-inducing pressure, nor was any malice perceived.
This was a part of so-called “youthfulness” and a “free life”.
Seeming to be influenced by the atmosphere, Ayanokouji rarely developed a bit of playful thought.
Looking at the loosely cupped “microphone” in front of him, he replied:
“Uhm…
If possible, it would be best if she’s a gentle person.”
Although he knew very well that the drummer they were about to meet was far from the word “gentle”, and could even be said to have nothing to do with it at all.
“I see.
If you want to create wonderful memories with everyone, you would indeed hope that the other person is a gentle and easy-to-get-along-with person.”
Sakiko nodded knowingly.
Meanwhile, Soyo on the side had a look of hesitation, as if she wanted to say something.
It wasn’t that she had any objection to Ayanokouji’s expectations for the drummer, but rather…
“Um, Ayanokoji-kun.”
To prevent the other party from thinking she was meddling or teaching him how to do things, Soyo corrected him in a tone as gentle as possible, as if coaxing a child:
“When referring to girls, it’s best not to use words like ‘guy’.”
“Although everyone will be in the same team in the future, if the wording is too rude, it might make the other person feel disrespected.”
This was driven by her naturally caring personality trait.
Because he was someone she would be spending a long time with in the future, out of an inner sense of responsibility, plus the hope of getting as acquainted with this boy as Sakiko soon, she chose to proactively speak up and remind him.
“Ah, is that so.
Point taken, I’ll keep it in mind.”
Kiyotaka’s readily accepting and bland reaction made Nagasaki Soyo quietly breathe a sigh of relief.
The other party wasn’t the kind of boy with an excessive ego who couldn’t listen to others’ suggestions.
Convinced that the other party was an easy-going person, the smile on Soyo’s face became a bit more sincere.
This series of subtle micro-expression changes was taken in by Ayanokouji, who silently labeled her in his heart.
Just like Sakiko, Nagasaki Soyo seemed to very much like acting as a caretaker and mediator in the team.
Furthermore, her emotions were more delicate and possessed a sense of dependency.
If left unchecked, this desire to take care of everyone might develop into an overwhelming heaviness that was hard to handle.
Was it due to the influence of her nuclear family environment or some childhood experience?
Watching the chestnut-haired girl opposite her reveal a satisfied and reassuring smile after he nodded to accept the suggestion, Kiyotaka deduced so.