Chapter Text
Oh no.
Oh no, oh no, oh no –
This was bad. This was awful. This would be the end. I was going to die, or worse, get thrown out of the band.
And of course now, when there was a concert coming up! Why was I so stupid?!
…I-I could still play the guitar with a broken hand, right? It’d hurt, of course, but that’s just the punishment I deserve for being so clumsy! Yeah, I could still be on stage with everyone! I’d just need to hide this so nobody notices –
That’s when my mother burst into the room.
“Hitori-chan, are you okay?!”
Oh no.
“She has to let it rest for a while,” the doctor told my parents.
Eh?
Ah, this was almost nostalgic.
Standing in front of the club, afraid to go in.
How long had it been now? After the initial, uh, problems, Starry had become a place I could relax in, but at this time, the old nervousness had come back in full force – maybe even more? How I’d missed this feeling.
Not!
I could already imagine the disappointed looks on everyone’s faces… Oh, they’d be so mad at me, wouldn’t they? A failure of a guitarist, no, a human being! They’d totally search for a replacement for the performance, and then realize how much better that guitarist was! I was already doomed!
…Well, they’d also look for a replacement if I ghosted them… I could at least be honest about what a letdown I am to them, right? That way they could at least prepare a replacement guitarist in time, and I wouldn’t cause them even more trouble.
Yeah, that’d be the right thing to do.
Alright, time to go in.
Once my hand stops aching, I’ll open the door.
My heart just needs to calm down a little and then I’ll be right inside.
Any moment now.
For some reason, it was hard to not fall down the stairs at the entrance.
I wonder why that was? All I did was walk in circles for a bit.
Catching myself, I clumsily stumbled down the steps, looking for the others once I arrived at the bottom.
“Oh, Bocchi-chan! There you – “
Nijika-chan interrupted herself, smile dropping into a concerned expression as she quickly moved over to me.
“Your hand!” she exclaimed.
Now Kita-san was running over, and Ryo-san walked up behind her.
This was it, wasn’t it? They’d scold me for being so careless, and start looking for a replacement –
“Hitori-chan, are you okay?” Kita-san asked.
“How did this happen?” Nijika-chan wanted to know.
Ryo-san didn’t say anything, but there was a hint of concern in her expression.
Eh? Huh?
“Y-You aren’t mad?”
“Why would we be mad?” Genuine confusion was written across Nijika-chan’s face.
Kita-san gasped. “Wait, did someone do this to you?”
“H-Huh? N-no, that’s not it a-at all!”
“Bocchi, let me see that.”
Ryo-san kneeled, taking my bandaged hand in hers to look at it.
“How long do you have to let it rest?”
“U-uh, well… A-about that…”
That seemed to make things click for Nijika-chan. “Wait, does that mean you won’t be able to participate in the upcoming concert?”
Ugh.
I couldn’t look at their faces anymore now.
Why weren’t they saying anything? They were mad after all, weren’t they?!
Somebody, just end this awkward silence, please!
“…Well,” Nijika-chan began, “these things happen, I suppose. Life will always find a way to put stones in your path, right?”
Ergh.
“Yeah, that’s right!” Kita-san said. “Don’t worry, Hitori-chan, accidents happen!”
Agh.
Their kindness felt like spears jabbing my body…
Ryo-san made a noise of agreement, before Nijika-chan spoke again: “Still… how’d you even injure yourself like that?”
“U-um, t-that… I’d rather not…”
I could hardly tell them that I was so excited to print out our newest group photo that I ended up dropping the printer onto my hand…
“That’s okay! I’ll talk to Sis about this then and we’ll see what we can do, alright?”
She didn’t even wait for anyone to say anything before running off…
“Oh, then I’ll get a first-aid kit! I’ll be right back!” Kita-san said.
But I was already bandaged?!
While I was just standing there dumbfounded for a moment, Ryo-san sat back down at a nearby table, gesturing for me to come over and do the same.
Not sure what she wanted from me, I nonetheless followed, staring down at the table, still not comfortable with looking at her directly. What did she even want from me?
“Bocchi. Are you going to be okay?”
“Eh?”
Huh? What was this about?
“You won’t be able to play guitar like this for a while, right?”
“Um, y-yeah…”
Ryo-san paused for a moment. My eyes slowly moved towards her, where she was looking down at the table just like I had been, seemingly looking for the right words.
“I’m very fixated on music,” she eventually started. “Remember how I told you to write the lyrics you wanted to write?”
I simply nodded, prompting her to go on.
“The lyrics you write are just like the music you play. Just like the songs I write. A piece of myself in every note.”
“…Ryo-san?”
She turned to me, her eyes finding mine. “I suppose I’m worried about your ability to express yourself. Your guitar helps you with that, right?”
…Ah.
Yes, I could hardly deny that.
Without the guitar, there was no ‘hero’ left of me, either.
Suddenly, my back felt naked and my whole body off-balance, a chunk of weight gone missing.
“If you do manage to say something, I’m sure Nijika and Ikuyo are always willing to listen.”
And you aren’t?
Then, before I could say anything,
“Bocchi-chan!”
“A-ah, Manager.”
The manager looked a little… unsettled, but quickly caught herself once she looked over me.
“…You seem well enough. Better hurry up and recover soon so you can go back on stage.”
Then, Nijika-chan popped up behind her sister, not even trying to hide her annoyed look.
“You just can’t ever be honest, Onee-chan…” She sighed, then looked at me with a smile. “We’ll just perform another day. The tickets bought from us will work that day, too. If anyone wants to refund a ticket, we’ll have to sell it to someone else, but we’ll manage that no problem!”
“That’s a relief!” said Kita-san, who also just arrived back with the first-aid kit she wouldn’t even have use for in hand. “Thank you for being so easy on us, Manager!”
The manager only replied with a quick “I’m just doing my job” before fleeing the scene, not wanting to be hit with the Kit-aura again.
“Perfect timing, Minister of Social Media! Make a post so our fans know the concert has been moved!”
“Of course! But now that we have some free time that day, how about we meet up at Hitori-chan’s house?”
Huh?
“We could even stay over, since it’ll be the weekend!” Kita-san added.
“E-Eh?”
Wait, wait, wait, this was all going too fast.
“Ooh, I like that idea! Ryo, you haven’t seen Bocchi-chan’s house yet, so you should come with us too!”
A sleepover? At my place? With three people?!
Ryo-san looked less than enthused, but Nijika-chan wouldn’t let any resistance slide…
W-well, if they only arrived in the evening, and left again in the morning, maybe it wouldn’t be all that bad… Right? I could handle that much, or at least I hoped so…
Oh no, I really needed to start preparing right away… My room was a mess again, it would never work out like this!
“I-I’ll prepare everything!” I exclaimed, sprinting out of the live house.
“Bocchi-chan?!”
At that time, I already didn’t hear Nijika-chan anymore, even when she added:
“We still have to work our shifts today!”