Inside STARRY, just before opening for the day.
Nijika was mopping the floor, Ryo was off to the side playing on her phone, and Bocchi—who had finished school early was wiping down the tables that Ryo was technically supposed to be cleaning.
Kita wasn't at the live house today since she had plans with some classmates.
A few days ago, around this same time, Aoki typically wouldn't show up either.
There wasn't much he could help with, and since there were no rehearsals recently, it made sense for him not to come by.
So right now, Ryo, phone in hand, was fully focused—locked in a battle of wits over LINE with Aoki.
Even if her messages were deliberately straightforward—meant to provoke and see how "suki-san" would react—there was still a faint pink tinge creeping up Ryo's cheeks.
What she didn't notice, though…
Was that the door to STARRY had just opened. And standing there, right at the entrance, was Aoki.
Nijika, mid-mop, instinctively looked up when she heard the door.
She was about to say, "We're not open yet," but upon seeing who it was, her words changed:
"Ah—Aoki-senpai? What brings you here all of a sudden?"
"Good afternoon," Aoki gave a brief nod.
His gaze swept the room until it landed on Ryo, sitting off in the corner.
He looked at her for a moment, then finally answered Nijika's question.
"Just thought I'd practice a bit. Don't wanna get rusty."
"Ohh, got it," Nijika nodded.
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Meanwhile—
Ryo, who'd been staring at her phone, didn't seem to register Aoki's voice at first.
A few seconds passed before she suddenly snapped back to reality.
She looked up, a bit dazed, as if she couldn't quite believe what she was seeing.
Their eyes met.
Silence.
After a few seconds, Ryo took a deep breath and looked down at her phone again, then glanced back up, just to make sure this wasn't some daydream.
Confirming that Aoki was very much real and standing right there, she hesitated... then quickly unlocked her phone.
Opening their chat, she long-pressed on a few of the more teasing messages she had sent—and tapped "unsend" like it would somehow erase the evidence from his memory.
But that, of course, was wishful thinking.
When she finally looked back up, Aoki gave her a slight nod—probably his version of "hello."
Before she could respond, he turned to Bocchi and gave her a quick, "Afternoon."
Then, without further comment, he headed behind the counter and pulled out his guitar that he kept at the live house.
Everything he did was so quick and efficient, and the fact that he didn't mention anything about the messages made Ryo relax—just a little.
But then—
Just when she thought the moment had passed—
As Aoki walked by her, guitar on his back, about to enter the practice room… he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Ryo always found chances to tease people.
Now that the tables had turned, he figured it was fair game.
"Oh, right. Ryo-san—about that earlier message," he said, glancing over his shoulder at her. With a calm voice, he continued:
"Let's not even get into how I feel about it... but after watching that video, what did you think?"
Ryo visibly flinched.
Nijika, still mopping nearby, looked up curiously after hearing Aoki's sudden question.
She didn't catch all of it but glanced over at the two of them anyway.
Bocchi, too, had started paying attention.
And the target of the question—
Ryo stiffly turned her head toward him.
"Ah…"
She dragged out the sound like she was stalling for time, her eyes avoiding his.
A moment passed.
Then, realizing there was no escape, she looked down at the floor and replied in a near emotionless mumble:
"Not really anything… I mean, it's all edited stuff. Doesn't feel like I was actually part of it or anything..."
But her voice grew quieter and quieter.
It was such a familiar kind of evasiveness that Aoki couldn't help but let out a quiet chuckle—before quickly returning to his usual neutral expression.
He cleared his throat and continued:
"Really? No feelings at all?"
"You know, you're the one pulling the guitarist by the wrist in that scene. You're the one stealing glances. And in the broadcast, you're the one who said, 'I came up with the nickname first.'"
"Not to mention all the other things that didn't make the final cut..."
The boomerang had come back faster than she expected.
And Aoki hadn't even said how he felt.
Poor Ryo, who had no defense against this kind of counterattack, was already in full retreat.
"Just clever editing! It's like clickbait gossip—you don't have to bring it up, suki-san," she said, nodding rapidly. Her reply clearly aimed to deflect and bury the issue.
Then, as if to signal she was done talking, she took a step back with a serious don't ask again expression.
Aoki was about to push further—but someone else beat him to it.
"Um... Aoki-senpai?" Nijika asked, tilting her head. "What video are you and Ryo talking about? Now I'm kinda curious—can you tell me?"
She looked genuinely intrigued.
At this point, Aoki figured the whole thing was already out in the open, so there wasn't much reason to keep dodging the topic.
However—
Ryo had a very different opinion.
Even if she was usually clueless about romance, she was still a girl, after all.
That video—titled "The Bassist: Something That's Just Mine"—very clearly focused on her and Aoki.
It was one thing to watch it by herself… or even use it to tease suki-san a little.
But to show it to someone else? To explain it?
Like, pulling out her phone and saying, "This one's really well-edited. It's all about my little gestures toward suki-san, and me declaring that the nickname was mine first…"
There was just no way she could do something that embarrassing.
So, she immediately cut him off.
"Nope! You can't say it! Suki-san!" she shouted, then added, almost pleading:
"I'm serious, P-Please don't tell them!"
Honestly, she didn't have to go that far.
Saying something like that in front of the others… was definitely going to raise a few eyebrows.
"Ah…"
Aoki glanced from Nijika to Ryo and fell silent, seemingly reconsidering.
"Eh?" Nijika blinked, confused by the tension.
Bocchi was still a little behind, unsure what was going on at all.
…
Silence settled over the room.
The atmosphere inside STARRY quieted, thick with unspoken questions.
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