Meanwhile, Chihaya Anon was currently agonizing over the matter of forming a band.
Yesterday, she went to karaoke with Takamatsu Tomori, originally intending to get closer and talk about the band, but in the end, Tomori didn’t sing a single song and was distracted the whole time.
Thinking of this, Chihaya Anon couldn’t help but mutter to herself: “It’s all that guy Amaya’s fault.
He had to go and say weird things like ‘a lifetime’ in the activity room, completely ruining Tomori’s mood.”
What made her feel even more aggrieved was that she was later inexplicably scolded by a fierce-looking girl who appeared out of nowhere.
Fortunately, a gentle girl stepped in to help her out; otherwise, she would have ended up in a fight with that fierce girl on the street.
After that day, not only did the band project make no progress, but it actually seemed to have moved further away from the goal.
Just as Chihaya Anon was sighing over the band while slumped over her desk, a girl she was usually on good terms with leaned over.
“Anon, why the long face?
Did you run into some trouble?”
“It’s nothing,” Chihaya Anon said, forcing a smile.
“I just haven’t found the right people to form a band with yet.”
“By the way, have you been to RiNG?” another girl chimed in.
“I heard their rehearsal rooms are quite good.”
“RiNG…” Upon hearing the name, the image of being scolded by that fierce girl at the shop entrance yesterday immediately flashed through Chihaya Anon’s mind, and her tone became somewhat vague, “I haven’t been there yet.”
“We’re actually going there to practice after school today,” the first girl took over, her tone inviting, “Do you want to come and check it out with us?”
“Is that so…” Anon hesitated, wondering how to respond.
“Come on, let’s go together!” another classmate joined in the persuasion, extending a warm invitation.
“It would be embarrassing to go in alone for the first time, right?”
“Yeah, but…” As she spoke, her gaze drifted unconsciously toward Takamatsu Tomori’s empty seat, and she quickly found an excuse to brush it off, “I’ll go next time.
I still have some things to take care of after school today.”
“Amaya, we’re off to club activities!” Akashi Tetsuya stood at the classroom entrance, waving inside as he called out.
Beside him, Amamiya Ritsu stood quietly and nodded gently.
Both of them were members of the Kendo Club, which had its own dedicated dojo, located in a different direction from the club building where Amaya Yuu was heading.
“Alright, see you next week.” Amaya Yuu smiled and waved back, then lowered his head to continue packing his bag.
In a moment, he would also be heading to the Astronomy Club to check in.
Every Friday was club activity day, so the club building seemed especially lively after school on this day.
Amaya Yuu pushed open the door to the Astronomy Club activity room and found Chihaya Anon and Takamatsu Tomori already chatting animatedly inside.
To be accurate, it was Chihaya Anon chattering away on the side, while Takamatsu Tomori listened quietly, occasionally responding in a soft voice.
“Good afternoon, Amaya-san!” Seeing him enter, the two greeted him in unison.
“Good afternoon, Anon, Tomori.” Amaya Yuu responded naturally.
“To…
Tomori?!” Chihaya Anon widened her eyes and looked at Takamatsu Tomori beside her in disbelief.
“Since when did you two get so close?”
“Ah, sorry, sorry.” Amaya Yuu pressed his palms together and bowed toward Takamatsu Tomori.
“Because Tomori is just too cute, I accidentally started calling her that on my own.”
“It’s fine…” Takamatsu Tomori lowered her head slightly, her voice soft.
“If it’s Amaya-san…
it’s okay.”
“?!
This conversation is way too ambiguous!” Chihaya Anon watched their natural interaction, her face filled with shock and curiosity.
“Speaking of which, how is Anon’s guitar skill?” Ignoring Chihaya Anon’s fussing, Amaya Yuu asked with anticipation, still harboring the fantasy that she could become a “Guitar Hero.”
“It’s pretty good!” Chihaya Anon hadn’t expected the topic to shift to her “area of expertise,” so she immediately perked up.
“I can play C major, G major, and A minor chords!”
She thought for a moment, then added proudly: “And F major chords!”
After hearing this, Amaya Yuu felt like he had been struck by lightning—isn’t this just a complete beginner’s level?!
The only difference between Chihaya Anon and him was probably that one had a guitar, while the other didn’t have one yet.
My “Guitar Hero,” where on earth are you?
Despite his inner disappointment, looking at Chihaya Anon’s proud expression, Amaya Yuu still tried to maintain his composure and dryly chimed in: “Impressive, impressive…”
There was no helping it, so Amaya Yuu could only change the subject: “What exactly do we usually do during Astronomy Club activities…”
As Amaya Yuu spoke, he noticed a notebook on the table.
Thinking it was the club activity record, he picked it up to flip through it; after all, he hadn’t seen the club activity log yet.
“Wait—!” Chihaya Anon couldn’t stop him in time.
“That’s not…”
“…
‘haruhikage’?” Amaya Yuu read the title softly.
“Me, Mutsumi, Sakiko, Soyo, Taki…” When he saw the member assignments noted on the left side of the sheet music, he looked at Tomori with some surprise.
“Did Tomori play in a band before?”
Chihaya Anon’s heart tightened, immediately recalling the scene from last night at karaoke and in front of RiNG, where Takamatsu Tomori lost control of her emotions and ran away after she mentioned the band.
She quickly laughed it off: “Yeah, yeah, you didn’t expect that, did you, Amaya-san?
Hahaha…” As she spoke, she hid behind Takamatsu Tomori, frantically signaling to Amaya Yuu, waving her hands and frowning.
Amaya Yuu looked at the expressive, winking Chihaya Anon, then at the silent, head-bowed Takamatsu Tomori.
Although he didn’t know the specific reason, he immediately realized that this topic was extremely sensitive at the moment.
“These lyrics are truly beautiful.” Amaya Yuu closed the notebook and praised it naturally and calmly, “Tomori actually has such excellent talent for writing lyrics!”
Seeing that Amaya Yuu didn’t continue to bring up the band, Chihaya Anon secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
“Regarding club activities…” Takamatsu Tomori suddenly spoke softly, her voice filled with a hint of hesitation.
“If there’s a chance, how about we all go to the planetarium to look at the stars?”
“The planetarium?
Sure, I haven’t been to a planetarium yet.” Amaya Yuu rubbed his chin and nodded.
“Great, great, how about we go tonight?
Since today is a club activity day anyway.” Chihaya Anon quickly chimed in from the side.
“Okay!” Takamatsu Tomori, who had been feeling down ever since the band was mentioned earlier, finally had a hint of excitement in her voice.
“But I might need to stop by RiNG first.” Amaya Yuu changed the subject.
“Do you want to go together, or should I go alone and then meet up at the entrance of the planetarium?”
“RiNG?!” Chihaya Anon didn’t expect to hear that name from him.
“Um…
well…”
She remembered declining her classmates during lunch break today; if she went to RiNG, wouldn’t it be awkward if she ran into them?
“Okay!
Let’s go to RiNG together!” But just as she hesitated, Takamatsu Tomori agreed with Amaya Yuu firmly.
“Eh?!” Chihaya Anon didn’t know what to do for a moment.
“However…
if they see that I can hang out with Tomori, maybe they’ll be envious instead?” She could only comfort herself internally.
“Alright, anyway, I have nothing to do at home.”
In the end, under Takamatsu Tomori’s expectant gaze, she agreed as well.