Notes constantly echoed in the rehearsal room, and before anyone knew it, amidst the focused, passionate, and heated rehearsal atmosphere of the few people, the time quietly arrived at 7:30 PM.
The sky outside had grown dark.
It seemed because these few young girls rarely lingered outside this late on usual days.
Halfway through a pause in practice, the phones in their respective bags began to buzz and vibrate one after another.
First, Sakiko’s phone rang.
“Father…
”
Toyokawa Sakiko walked aside, her tone respectful and well-behaved, “Um, I am still with my friends.
Please do not worry about me; as soon as the Band activities here end, I will return immediately.”
Soon after, another young lady, Wakaba Mutsumi, also received a call.
“…
Um.
I know.”
When she spoke into the microphone, her responding tone was flat and distant, maintaining only the most basic politeness.
This led Ayanokouji, who was observing, to judge that the other end of the phone was likely not either of that well-known celebrity couple, but rather a servant at home responsible for taking care of Wakaba Mutsumi’s daily life.
Compared to Toyokawa Sakiko receiving increasingly abundant love and care from home after losing her mother, Wakaba Mutsumi’s parents’ care seemed…
somewhat thin.
However, Ayanokouji himself was not qualified to sympathize with others.
If they were to truly compare the severity of their family environments, compared to him who had that man as a father, everyone present could be said to be living in a greenhouse.
Subsequently, Takamatsu Tomori and Shiina Taki were no exception, successively receiving calls from home urging them or asking if they were safe.
Meanwhile, Nagasaki Soyo, just like Ayanokouji, did not receive any care from family members.
Looking at the expressions on everyone’s faces—those accustomed looks of being cared for by family—her eyes unconsciously dimmed for a fraction of a second.
After Soyo’s gaze swept around somewhat forlornly, it landed on Ayanokouji, who was quietly sitting in the corner with a similarly silent phone.
“Ayanokoji-kun…
Won’t your family worry that you haven’t gone back this late?”
Nagasaki Soyo asked tentatively and softly.
“Everyone at home is very busy.”
Ayanokouji’s tone was as if stating something unrelated to himself, maintaining calmness, “No one cares what time I go back.”
Hearing this reply, Nagasaki Soyo was slightly stunned at first.
Afterward, an emotion akin to “misery loves company” instantly permeated her chest, making her heart vibrate fiercely.
So, I am not the only one who has to return to that always empty home.
Thinking this in her heart, projecting herself onto him, Soyo momentarily developed a filter towards Ayanokouji, interpreting from beneath his calm gaze a trace of forlornness that was identical to her own.
This stirred up the somewhat excessive tenderness and sympathy deep within her heart.
Right at this moment, a wave of hunger came from her abdomen.
Nagasaki Soyo thought that after going home later, she would once again have to face alone that seemingly luxurious, sea-view large flat apartment that was actually suffocatingly empty.
Cooking dinner alone, yet not necessarily being able to wait for her mother to return on time.
Thus, taking a glance at Ayanokouji beside her, a thought surged in Soyo’s heart.
Since it was already this late, why not…
No sooner said than done, Soyo mustered her courage, walked over to Ayanokouji, and spoke softly,
“Um…
Ayanokoji-kun.
Anyway, it’s so late, and when we go back, there won’t be any food waiting for us either.
Then, later…
Would you like to go get something to eat together before going back?”
Ayanokouji stopped the movement in his hands and stared at Soyo’s pretty face for two seconds.
Originally, he was prepared to use tonight’s time after returning to continue collecting and studying current pop music trends and arrangement techniques.
But since the girl in front of him took the initiative to issue an invitation, as a teammate who had just established trust, sparing some time to chat with her, further deepening his understanding of her just like with Takamatsu yesterday, and incidentally supplementing his evening energy intake, was not out of the question.
Ayanokouji nodded and agreed.
Toyokawa Sakiko, who was folding and packing her portable electric piano into its case nearby, heard the conversation between the two, her eyes lit up, and she also leaned closer:
“I have already reported my safety to my family just now.
If we are going to have dinner, I want to go along too desuwa!”
“Um…
Just now, so that Mom and Dad wouldn’t wait for me, I already let them eat first in advance, saying I won’t be eating at home tonight.”
Takamatsu Tomori also leaned over and spoke somewhat nervously:
“If…
Ayanokoji-kun, Soyo, and Sakiko are all going, I also…
want to go along.”
“If Sakiko goes, I will go too.”
Wakaba Mutsumi also showed interest.
Finally, everyone’s gazes concentrated on Shiina Taki, who was still sitting on the drum stool.
“Why are you looking at me?”
Taki turned her head away, looking as if she didn’t plan to join in on the fun, “It’s getting late.
If you are going to eat, remember to mind your safety.
I still have matters to attend to, so I won’t tag along and meddle.”
However, although she had already put her drumsticks away into her bag, she showed not the slightest physical motion of standing up and leaving, honestly exposing her somewhat tsundere true thoughts.
Nagasaki Soyo, who was adept at reading the room, understood tacitly, immediately stepped forward, and smilingly hooked her arm around Taki’s:
“Taki-chan~!
It’s rare for everyone’s rehearsal to go so smoothly today.
If you don’t have anything particularly urgent, come along together!”
“Consider it our first Band gathering, okay?”
“Sigh, it’s this phrasing again.
However, if you insist on having me go…”
With the stepping stone given by Soyo, after symbolically pushing back a little to no avail, Shiina Taki sighed and “reluctantly” agreed.
Looking at this group of chirping girls in front of him with excited and leaping expressions, Ayanokōji Kiyotaka sighed slightly in his heart,
“If we are going to eat, I know an Izakaya nearby.” The sighing thoughts in his mind dissipated, and Ayanokouji suggested, “As long as we don’t order alcohol, we can be accommodated there even as us.”
“The food is very good, why don’t we simply go eat there?”
Upon hearing the three words “Izakaya”, the eyes of several girls—especially Toyokawa Sakiko as a young lady of a wealthy family—instantly lit up.
Through the impressions she gained from film and television works, an Izakaya was a place filled with alcohol-breathed uncles and tired office workers off work.
But at the same time, there would also be high-calorie carbohydrates like extremely delicious-looking grilled skewers sizzling with oil, or fragrant teppanyaki yakisoba.
She had long yearned for such a place filled with the hustle and bustle of ordinary life, but had never set foot in it due to lacking the opportunity and having no one in her social circle to accompany her.
Now, with everyone in the Band keeping her company, and with Ayanokouji-kun present—the “bodyguard” whom Taki had relayed as having displayed astonishing martial prowess and whom everyone felt was extremely reliable—her interest was instantly completely hooked.
Her eyes flashed with light, indicating that she definitely wanted to go and experience it.
…
Over ten minutes later, the six of them pushed open the wooden door of that Izakaya.
Accompanied by the wind chime hanging on the door, an enthusiastic “Welcome” instantly came from inside the shop.
The next instant, a strong worldly atmosphere mixed with the aroma of grilled meat, charcoal fire scent, and noisy human voices hit them in the face.
The lighting inside the shop was dim yet warm, and although the space appeared somewhat crowded, it carried a relaxing everyday atmosphere.
To Sakiko and the others who were coming to such a place for the first time, everything appeared incomparably novel.
They showed great interest in the handwritten menus pasted on the walls and the seasoning jars on the tables.
Takamatsu Tomori walked rather blankly to the self-service drink machine and gently pressed the glowing blue button.
The orange-yellow juice drink immediately flowed out slowly, being wasted because no cup was placed underneath to catch it.
Toyokawa Sakiko’s eyes instantly widened, as if she had seen some heaven-defying magic, turning to Wakaba Mutsumi, “The drink came out, did you see that just now!”
Seeing Mutsumi nod, she impatiently asked Tomori, “Tomori, how did you do that?”
“Eto…
I just pressed it once.”
Takamatsu Tomori’s voice trembled slightly, not expecting that her pressing a drink machine could cause such a huge reaction from Sakiko.
Hearing this, Toyokawa Sakiko immediately wanted to try it as well.
Amidst the somewhat strange gazes of other diners, she extended her finger and jabbed hard twice at the plastic label above the button.
“It didn’t come out…”
“…
Toyokawa, you should aim at the blue button, right.”
Ayanokouji, who was standing aside watching them fool around, fell silent for a fleeting moment and reminded her.
Ayanokouji’s stomach had been hungry for a long time, and he didn’t want to keep fooling around with them endlessly here; he wanted to order things to eat as soon as possible.
But somewhat awkwardly, because he had lived in the closed environment of the White Room since childhood, even though he was the one who actively proposed coming here, he wasn’t very familiar with the dining procedures of such places either.
“You guys, what on earth are you messing around with…”
In contrast, Shiina Taki, who had the most worldly experience among everyone and worked part-time at a coffee shop, looked at them somewhat speechlessly, and finally couldn’t help urging everyone to quickly take their seats and order food.
Due to the large number of people, the few finally took their seats at a long wooden table near the bar counter.
As soon as Nagasaki Soyo sat down, her gaze inadvertently swept across the neighboring table.
Not far away from them sat three girls who looked similar in age to them, perhaps a year or two older.
One of them, a girl with long straight black hair just like their own drummer and pretty purple pupils, was still wearing the uniform of a certain school.