Nijika Ijichi bit her lip lightly, pondering how best to make it up to Masao Tanaka, when she suddenly sensed movement beside her.
She turned her head to see her friend, Ryō Yamada, attempting to tiptoe away from the scene.
"Ryō, what are you doing?"
"Discovered!"
Ryō's first reaction upon being caught wasn't embarrassment, but to break into a sprint. However, as a friend of many years, Nijika knew her all too well and snagged her by the scruff of her collar.
"Ryō~"
Powerless to resist, Ryō could only hang her head in defeat. "It looked like it was going to be a hassle, so…"
"So you were just going to ditch me and run off? You're going to help me take responsibility, you know!"
Nijika was a little angry at Ryō's lack of solidarity. Come to think of it, her own misunderstanding had been partly spurred by Ryō's misleading comments earlier.
Feeling annoyed, Nijika plunged her hand directly into Ryō's pocket. Under Ryō's horrified gaze, she pulled out her wallet.
"Nijika, what are you doing? Stop, stop right now!"
With her wallet seized,Ryō became visibly panicked. Taking her money was practically equivalent to taking her life.
"Here." After removing all the bills from the wallet, Nijika heartlessly tossed the empty leather wallet back.
"No! No! My precious money!" Clutching her now-flat wallet, Ryō was devastated.
But Nijika had no time to console her. She pulled out her own wallet and took out all her cash as well.
"This is all the compensation I can offer right now. If it's not enough, you can come find me at the STARRY LiveHouse in Shimokitazawa. I work there."
"Th-that won't be necessary. You… you just need to…"
Masao had initially hoped to leverage the situation for a bit more personal gain, but he found he couldn't quite control his emotions.
'Seems I'm still too much of a softie, not very good at this deceit stuff… Quick, think of something sad…'
The more he tried to force himself to think sad thoughts, the more his mind rebelliously conjured up happy ones.
'Just thinking about how I could use Nijika's guilt to, you know, get her to do this or that… I just…'
"Ahem, heheh… S-sorry, something caught in my throat. Can we start over?"
Seeing Masao's goofy (somewhat devious) grin and his clear, innocent eyes, Nijika realized she'd been had.
Rather than getting angry, she let out a sigh of relief. Someone willing to make a joke at their own expense like that was usually easy to get along with.
"Seriously, you had me so worried. I thought I'd done something truly unforgivable," Nijika said.
"Yeah," Ryō chimed in, grumbling. "You almost made my money leave my wallet for good."
As she spoke, she took the cash from Nijika's hand, a flicker of cunning in her eyes.
"Ryō, you took too much. Some of that is mine."
"Huh? We're best friends. Why draw such a clear line between yours and mine?"
"We absolutely need to draw that line."
Nijika took the money back and counted out several bills.
"Here, this is your share."
Ryō accepted her money with a tinge of regret, having failed to squeeze a little extra out of Nijika.
Masao scratched his head, looking somewhat abashed. "Heh,I've wanted to try that bit for the longest time, to see how well it worked. Seems pretty effective, though it only really works on kind-hearted people."
That last remark completely dissolved any lingering resentment the two friends felt from being tricked. What could they do? He'd just complimented their good nature. If he put it that way, they had no choice but to forgive him.
The atmosphere among the three eased. Nijika, naturally cheerful and outgoing, took the lead with introductions.
"I'm Nijika Ijichi, a second-year at Shimokitazawa University. I love music. I'm a drummer." She mimed a drumming motion.
Having safely returned her money to her wallet, Ryō resumed her signature cool demeanor.
"Ryō Yamada. Second-year at Shimokitazawa University. Bassist."
"Masao Tanaka, first-year at Soubu University. I like drawing."
Hearing his introduction, Nijika looked surprised. "Oh, you like drawing? I saw the guitar next to you and assumed you were a guitarist."
"The guitar isn't mine. It's hers."
Masao pointed to Hitori Gotoh, who was hiding behind him.
Suddenly the center of attention under their collective gaze, Hitori grew tense. She tilted her head slightly away, avoiding direct eye contact, and mumbled softly.
"Hitori Gotoh. First-year at Shūka University. I'm… okay at playing guitar."
Hearing that Hitori played guitar, Nijika's eyes instantly lit up. "So, Hitori, are you in a band or anything?"
'Ugh, is the spotlight coming back to me again?'
Hitori could only brace herself and continue. "N-not yet."
Hearing she wasn't in a band, Nijika's excitement intensified.
"Well, the thing is, I'm actually putting a band together right now. So far, we have me on drums, Ryō on bass, and one other person on main vocals and guitar. If you're interested… would you like to join our band?"
'So bright.'
Faced with Nijika's invitation, Hitori felt as if she were being bathed in sunlight. A flicker of joy sparked inside her.
'Ah! Finally! Has my day finally come? Being invited, joining a band, becoming someone shiny and noticeable…'
But whether from sheer overwhelming emotion or the ingrained habits of a chronic introvert, Hitori didn't respond immediately.
Just then, Ryō interjected. "We're almost at our stop."
They lived very close to the university, only two stops away by train, and that short time was nearly up.
Seeing Hitori's hesitation, Nijika said, "Okay, how about this? Hitori, let's exchange contact info. You too, Masao."
After they'd quickly swapped contact information, the train pulled into the station. Nijika and Ryō stepped off, waving goodbye from the platform.
"Bye! Hitori, if you decide you want to join, just message me!"
"See you."
"By…ye…"
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