Wait!
It doesn't sound like plagiarism?
Seika, arms crossed, felt her brow furrow deeper. Though his singing was mediocre, the melody was fantastic. It wasn't something she recognized, and even a music-id app couldn't find a match.
After a while, Rin finished.
"The President is amazing!!!"
Nijika and Kita clapped excitedly, while Ryo held her phone to her ear, replaying the recording. Rin smiled. "Just some tunes I've hummed since I was a kid. Ryo said you guys were struggling with a song for the festival, so I thought I'd share."
"I see." Nijika gently nudged Kita and winked at Rin and Bocchi. "Ryo, let's go transcribe the score for the President's song."
"Yeah, I'll write the lyrics once the score is done." Ryo was too eager to notice Nijika's subtle movements.
"Sister, we're heading out... President, you come too." Nijika waved to Seika and led Rin and the trio to the practice room.
Watching Rin's back, Seika's frown relaxed slightly. If he was asking rookies like Nijika to do his game BGM, he probably really was a musical amateur. But looking at the melody... Is he actually a genius?
...
The practice room was near STARRY. Within minutes, the five were inside. The room was small and basic, with soundproofing foam on the walls. Nijika's drum set was the centerpiece, with various guitar and bass cases leaning against the walls.
While the room smelled of youth and sweat, it wasn't as pungent as a dance studio.
Ryo found paper and a pen, put on her headphones, and focused on the recording. Nijika glanced at Ryo, making sure she wasn't looking, before moving out of her line of sight. She pointed a finger at Ryo.
Bocchi shook her head violently. Kita waved her hands frantically.
Seeing their reactions, Nijika bit her lip nervously and made a gesture. Kita and Bocchi immediately grabbed their guitars, sat facing each other, and pretended that Bocchi was teaching Kita how to play.
Even though Kita was in the band, she didn't actually know how to play. She was such a fan of Ryo that she'd lied about knowing the guitar to join during the holidays. She was caught almost immediately, but Nijika and Ryo didn't kick her out. Ryo had even lent Kita her 800,000-yen guitar and asked Bocchi to teach her.
Ryo herself knew guitar, but... she thought teaching was a hassle.
Yesterday, the socially anxious Bocchi had been struggling to teach Kita, but now their attention was on Nijika. Nijika quietly moved in front of Rin, using her petite body to block his arm from Ryo's view.
Her face turning crimson, Nijika took a deep breath, and then...
"Ah..."
A deliberate, soft gasp escaped Nijika's lips. Ryo, startled despite her headphones, turned around in confusion.
"What's wrong?"
"N-Nothing." Nijika forced an awkward smile. "I just... slipped. The floor is a bit slippery, right? Kita-chan?"
"Ah... yeah, right! The floor is very slippery. Ahaha... right, Bocchi-chan?"
"Ugh... mmm... very... very slippery."
"????"
Ryo was baffled. Slippery floor? What? Why didn't she feel it? And why were they acting so weird? Why was Nijika's face so red? And the President... why did he look so pleased?
However, Ryo's mind was 90% music right now. She didn't dwell on her friend's behavior and turned back to her work.
Nijika nudged Rin with her elbow and pointed at Kita. Rin moved behind the energetic redhead. This time, it was Kita's turn to flush. After a few minutes, Kita bit her lip and...
"Eek!!!"
"???" Hearing Kita's cry, Ryo turned again.
"Ugh... the chair seems broken. It wobbled and scared me. Right, Bocchi-chan?"
"Ah... mmm... the chair is bad."
"Yeah, I'll tell my sister to get some better chairs soon."
Rin kept his smiling face, and the girls kept their stiff grins. What the hell are they doing? Ryo was suspicious, but since Bocchi and Nijika backed it up, she turned back to the score.
The moment Ryo turned away, Kita exhaled in relief. Then, Kita and Nijika's eyes landed on Bocchi.
Rin moved behind Bocchi. Bocchi wanted to scream like the others, but her social anxiety made her mouth flap like a fish out of water—no sound came out.
Nijika and Kita encouraged her with their eyes. Rin... encouraged her with his hand. Standing behind Bocchi, Rin reached out and gave her soft ass a firm squeeze through her tracksuit.
"AAAHHHH!!!!"
The sudden assault made Bocchi shriek. Rin was fast; he withdrew his hand and looked innocent before anyone could see.
"????"
Ryo turned back once more. What is going on!?
She didn't believe the "slippery floor" or "broken chair" excuses for a second, but she couldn't find any proof of what was happening. It gave Ryo a strange feeling of being excluded, but she was too busy to investigate. The song had to be finished, lyrics written, and submitted before the deadline.
Seeing that Ryo wasn't digging deeper, the girls sighed in relief. They pulled out their phones and sent a "Plan Success" emoji to the 'Operation: Save Ryo-senpai' group, tagging Eriri.
Suspicion without proof—that was the goal!
Under Eriri's guidance, they had devised a plan to make Ryo realize the gravity of her debt. The plan was simple:
Let Ryo borrow money from Rin easily.
Have the girls act strangely around Rin to make Ryo suspicious.
Lead Ryo to the conclusion that her friends were "sacrificing" their bodies to Rin (Papa-katsu) to pay for her debt.
The money she got so easily was actually bought with her friends' dignity... when Ryo reached that conclusion, she would surely be devastated and never borrow money again!
Eriri: [Next step: keep the suspicion going. Aren't you practicing for the song? Take turns "disappearing" with him to pretend you're on a date.]
Nijika: [Roger!] Kita-chan: [No problem! Leave it to me!] Bocchi: [....] Eriri: [Great! Keep up the spirit! Good luck!]
Actually, Eriri had suggested they actually do it for real and let Ryo walk in on them, but the girls had all refused. Still... hehehe.