The[Light Music Club]— officially renamed just yesterday — had its blank nameplate by the door filled in by someone with a permanent marker, the words [Light Music Club]now written in bold, unmistakable strokes.
Tsushima Kagami arrived at the door with Sayuri and the others, just about to knock, when it swung open on its own. Hiroi Kikuri's head popped out from inside.
She didn't even get a chance to say hello before she spun back around and shouted into the room.
"Shizuku-senpai, you're amazing."
"It really was Kagami-senpai's footsteps!"
Only after announcing that did Hiroi Kikuri throw the door open the rest of the way.
"Oh right — please come in, senpai!"
Stepping inside the Light Music Club, Tsushima Kagami noticed that a large round table had appeared in the classroom — no idea where it had come from.
On top of it sat steaming cups of black tea and slices of cake.
Yukinoshita Shizuku, Ijichi Seika, PA-san, and Hiratsuka Shizuka were all gathered around the round table, leisurely enjoying their afternoon tea.
Hiroi Kikuri dashed off to fetch stools for Tsushima Kagami and the others.
"Aren't you lot supposed to be practicing?"
"How are you already on afternoon tea — aren't you a little too relaxed?"
Tsushima Kagami and the others sat down, while Ijichi Seika and PA-san poured tea and plated cake, bringing it over to the new arrivals.
"Shizuka brought cake and tea — and even brought her own tea set."
"And Kikuri mentioned she wants to write some new songs for next month's School Festival."
"So we figured we might as well eat and help her brainstorm at the same time."
Tsushima Kagami took a bite of cake and a sip of tea, glancing around at the newly added items — most of which had almost certainly been brought in by the heiress herself, Hiratsuka Shizuka.
This little club life of theirs just keeps getting cozier, doesn't it.
"Shizuka, is this really okay for you? You're supposed to be a delinquent!"
"A solitary wanderer!"
"How did it only take one day — no, one afternoon yesterday —"
"— for you to go from a stray cat to a house cat?"
"Ahaha, I just kind of... melted into the atmosphere without realizing it."
"If you're this good at reading the room, how did you spend so long being a lone wolf?"
"Oh, blame the kouhais — they were just too welcoming."
And her voice is so pleasant to listen to, on top of everything else.
Hiroi Kikuri, for her part, seemed far less shy than usual, gazing openly at Hiratsuka Shizuka with pure admiration.
"Shizuka-senpai, the way you played that improvised solo yesterday — it was so incredibly cool!"
"Right? I'm already looking forward to the next Livehouse show with Shizuka-senpai in the lineup."
PA-san smiled and added:
"Ahaha, I wasn't that good, really, I wasn't that good."
"But hey — if any of you kouhais ever get picked on at school, just drop my name."
"I've got your backs!"
Hiratsuka Shizuka, thoroughly flustered by all the praise, turned her gaze toward Tsushima Kagami.
Ijichi Seika, settling back into her seat, also looked over at him.
"So, Kagami — what brings you all here?"
Tsushima Kagami glanced at Sayuri and the others.
"They're working on a new manga with a different theme."
"It happens to be about a girls' band."
"So we thought we'd come over and get some inspiration."
"...?"
"You want to watch us perform, senpai?"
Hiroi Kikuri looked over at Sayuri's group in surprise.
Kosaka Akane nodded with a smile.
"If that's alright."
"We'd love to get a feel for what a high school girls' band is actually like."
"No problem at all — of course!"
Hiroi Kikuri glanced over at Ijichi Seika and PA-san.
Ijichi Seika smiled as well.
"Then let's play the song from that night in Shimokitazawa — the one Kikuri missed."
With that, the three of them stood up and picked up their guitars and bass, while PA-san walked over to her keyboard station.
Hiratsuka Shizuka called out from across the room.
"I'm in too!"
"Hand me the full score."
PA-san passed her full score over to Hiratsuka Shizuka, who gave it a quick once-over and announced she was fine.
She settled into the drummer's seat and picked up the drumsticks.
Once all four of them had confirmed they were ready, Hiratsuka Shizuka clicked the sticks together three times, and the guitars and bass came in with the intro.
Then the bass drum and keyboard effects entered.
The genre was something like a fusion of psychedelic pop, psychedelic rock, neo-psychedelia, shoegaze, and jazz — or perhaps something closer to the Shibuya-kei sound that was riding a massive wave of popularity right around then.
Because they'd had no drummer before, PA-san's keyboard had been covering all the drum parts on its own. Now that Hiratsuka Shizuka was behind the kit, PA-san layered in more heavily processed synthesizer tones — the kind that sound like you're hallucinating — weaving in swells of reverb, lo-fi texture, and distortion over shifting tempos to evoke something dreamlike and surreal.
Then came the vocals — the part that was supposed to be Hiroi Kikuri's lead, but that night, with her absent, had fallen to Ijichi Seika.
The moment Hiroi Kikuri opened her mouth, the whole energy of the room seemed to droop and go slack — not in the boozy, smashed way it would be later in her life, but there was this unmistakable world-weary, too-tired-for-this quality that could only be described as: very Hiroi Kikuri.
The song already had distinct echoes of her later work, Ghost, Just Me and Myself. As for the lyrics — they were, as ever, utterly deadpan in their simplicity, reading like an elementary schooler's diary entry, which somehow made them impossible not to laugh at.
Right — this was a song that had to be sung by Hiroi Kikuri. Ijichi Seika's version that night had been missing something essential.
"My, my — so this is a girls' band, Kagami?"
Sayuri covered her ears and turned to look at Tsushima Kagami.
"Feels like the Metropolitan Police are on their way."
Kosaka Akane looked over at Yukinoshita Shizuku beside her and laughed.
Yukinoshita Shizuku, having already witnessed the full experience that night, simply smiled and said nothing.
Machida Sonoko quickly pulled out her notebook and started writing things down.
"Akane, didn't you want something that felt more grown-up?"
"Doesn't this feel grown-up?"
"But didn't Kagami say to approach it from a different angle — something more girlish?"
At that, Sayuri, Kosaka Akane, Machida Sonoko, and Yukinoshita Shizuku all turned to look at Tsushima Kagami — who was sitting off to the side, eating cake and drinking tea.
Tsushima Kagami was already regretting this.
Should've never asked them to perform.
This is not even remotely huwa-huwa, doki-doki, kira-kira Light Music Girls.
Would've been far better to just sit around drinking afternoon tea and chatting about girl stuff.
Tsushima Kagami could only raise his teacup with a polite, slightly awkward smile at no one in particular, and go back to eating.
When the four onstage finished their thoroughly satisfying performance, Sayuri's group applauded with great enthusiasm — trying their very best.
"So — did you get any inspiration, senpai?"
Hiroi Kikuri had gotten to know Sayuri's group at the after-party last time, so she wasn't nearly as shy as before. The moment the song ended, she rushed over to ask Kosaka Akane and the others how their research was going.
Ijichi Seika, meanwhile, glanced over at Tsushima Kagami. She'd figured it out — these girls coming today had almost certainly been his suggestion.
So in the end, they'd probably ask him.
Sure enough, Kosaka Akane's group turned to Tsushima Kagami with expressions that were just slightly awkward.
"It really suits your style perfectly, Kikuri-chan~"
"Really?"
"Ahaha, I wasn't that good really."
Hiroi Kikuri scratched the back of her head bashfully. Ijichi Seika, PA-san, and Hiratsuka Shizuka could all read the room — Tsushima Kagami wasn't exactly thrilled.
"What kind of style were you hoping we'd play, Kagami?"
Ijichi Seika asked, getting straight to the point.
"Ahh — is there something a bit more... cute?"
"Cute?"
Ijichi Seika, Hiroi Kikuri, and PA-san exchanged glances, then all looked back at Hiratsuka Shizuka.
Hiratsuka Shizuka shook her head.
"What kind of cute?"
"Like — that huwa-huwa, doki-doki, kira-kira kind of feeling."
All four of them shook their heads, thoroughly bewildered.
"Oh, just go ahead and demonstrate it yourself."
"After all, it was your idea in the first place — and you're the one who's not satisfied."
Yukinoshita Shizuku walked over to Tsushima Kagami's side.
Then she leaned down and murmured in his ear.
"I'm guessing you know more than just that one song from last night~"
____
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