It took some time for Gotoh, Kita and I to get to Shimo-Kita, but at least we all made it in the end. But what sucked was that the trains were filled with people like usual.
As the three of us were walking, Kita asked...
"Oh... You both work in Shimo-Kitazawa?"
"Y-You've been?" Gotoh replies.
"Oh, you come here often?" I said.
"My last band was in Shimo-Kita, and its members lived in the area, so..."
"R-Really?" Gotoh moves behind Kita and leaves me at the front.
"Huh? G-Gotoh-san?!" I say nervously.
Man, I don't wanna be a line leader! I'd rather be the back!
"Hang on! You can't walk behind me! I don't know the way!" Kita says, also sounding nervous.
"I'm sorry. I'm still not used to being here... I'm so embarrassed!" Gotoh said to Kita with a gloomy look.
"I'm the one embarrassed here!" Kita shouted.
"Y-You guys, get it together! We're attracting a small crowd!" I said while looking around the area.
"W-We're almost there. It's a place called Starry. Nijika-chan and Ryo-san will already be there..."
Kita stops and accidentally hits Gotoh on the nose. Then, she says...
"I'm sorry. I can't go."
"H-How come?" Gotoh asked before getting her cheeks squeezed by Kita.
"I'm sorry. I can't tell you why, but that's the one place I can't go!"
"K-Kita-san, are you kidding me right now?!" I ask her loudly.
"And you can never tell those people that I was h—"
"Bocchi-chaaan!" Nijika shouts behind our backs.
"Gah!" Kita stands in place, knowing she's screwed.
"Your instructions were super weird, but I bought energy drinks like you asked!" Nijika says joyfully.
Then, she notices Kita with Gotoh and I.
"The runaway guitarist!" Nijika yelled.
I look at Nijika, and then back at Kita.
"OHHH MY GOOOOOD!!!" I shouted in pure shock.
"Runaway Guitarist?" Gotoh said, looking very confused.
"Kita-chan, what are you doing here?" Nijika asks Kita.
"W-W-Well, I..." Kita couldn't think of anything to say.
Then, I saw Ryo come by as she was drinking an energy drink.
"Eh?" She said.
Kita glances at Ryo the moment she saw her, and she bowed in an apologetic manner.
"Forgive my prior discourtesy! I'll do anything to make up for it! I give you permission to rough me up good!"
"W-What the hell?! K-Kita-san, don't be overthinking it all!" I say to Kita.
"Shh! You're gonna give people the wrong idea!" Nijika yells at her.
-Short Timeskip-
"What? So you couldn't play guitar, Kita-chan?" Nijika asks Kita.
"Nope." Kita looks down in shame.
"And that's why you ditched practice?"
"Yeah..."
Kita-san looks so disappointed at herself... I wish I could say something nice to her. But what?
"We were worried when we didn't hear from you." Ryo said.
"Senpai!"
"I assumed you were dead, so I've been lighting incense for you every day. RIP."
"That's a pretty wild assumption..." Nijika says, sounding not impressed.
"Um... You aren't angry?" Kita asks nervously.
"I sorta blame ourselves for not catching on sooner. Besides... We managed to work it out anyway!" Nijika said proudly.
"S-Still, I feel too awful! Please, let me make it up to you!" Kita says, still feeling guilty for her actions.
"How about you help out today at the club? It's gonna be a busy night." I heard the manager say.
"Th-That can't be enough..." Kita says quietly.
"Well... It's better than nothing." I say to Kita.
"No, that'd be a huge help! Please join us!" Nijika says.
"If you'd like..." Kita replied, still sounding nervous.
Well, I guess everything's good, now.
"So, go over there and get changed." The manager says as she waves her hand.
"What the— since when did we have uniforms?" I give the manager a side eye.
-Short Timeskip-
Kita was now in a maid outfit while mopping the floor. Nijika, Ryo, Gotoh and I were standing by.
"Why does the manager have that outfit?" Gotoh asks quietly.
"She's pretty darn good for a fill-in worker." The Manager says.
"Yeah, Kita-chan knows what she's doing!" Nijika sounded impressed.
"Sh-She really does!" Gotoh said, looking really nervous.
"She'll give me extra time to slack off." Ryo mumbled.
"I heard that." I say to Ryo.
"I'll take it out of your pay." The Manager immediately says.
-Another Short Timeskip-
The P.A of Starry smells Kita's hair for a short moment, and she says to her...
"You smell good, Kita-san."
And Kita responds with...
"Thank you so much!"
Well, that's a strange way to compliment someone. But, if it's a compliment, then it is what it is.
"You're pretty outgoing, Kita-chan. Wanna try reception? I'll teach you!" Nijika suggests to Kita.
"Okay!" Kita responds happily.
Damn! Because of Kita's extrovert personality, there's more open doors for her to explore!
"500 yen for a ticket! What band did you come to see today? Take a flyer if you'd like!" Kita unleashed her extrovert energy.
"Say, not bad at all!" Nijika complimented Kita.
"I love interacting with people!" Kita replied.
"Ryo always handless reception, but her dead eyes are kind of a problem... And her poker face can be scary."
"Ryo-senpai looks fine just the way she is!"
While all that is happening, Gotoh and I are inside of seperate trash bins, knowing that we'll never be as bright as Kita.
God, I'm so pathetic... Everyone here is more special than I am...
"Bocchi, Hiroko. What are you two doing down there?" Ryo asks.
"Losing my identity." Gotoh says.
And I said...
"Moping to myself because someone is better than me."
Then, Nijika walks over to Gotoh and tells her...
"Bocchi-chan! Hiroko-kun! Teach Kita-chan how to do the drinks!"
"R-Right!"
"Alright..."
A moment later...
Gotoh quickly teaches Kita how to make coffee, and I observe how she does it with Kita.
She quickly takes notice that Kita was staring straight at her, and she starts to get nervous as the cup overflows and burns her hand.
"Ehh?! Gotoh-san! Your hand!"
I quickly grab Gotoh's hand and bring it to the sink. I turn on the cold water and wait for five seconds.
After I washed Gotoh's hand with cold water, Kita helps me by drying it to get rid of what's left of the water on her hand.
"I think I get the idea, so you can rest a while. You too, Hiroko-kun." Kita says calmly.
"Please, forgive my arrogance..." Gotoh said quietly.
"I'm just glad you weren't seriously hurt."
"Yeah, me too. Wouldn't want you to get hurt badly."
"Th-Thank you both..."
For a few seconds, the three of us were quiet.
"Gotoh-san, what made you want to join a band? And what about you, Hiroko-kun?" Kita asks.
"I think I'd rather talk about it another time..." I said, looking away from Kita.
Once I finished talking, Gotoh began to ramble about making world peace through music. And hell yeah, I knew it was a lie.
-Short Timeskip #3-
Starry finally opened up. Me, Gotoh and Kita were standing in the bar.
Everything was quiet between us three, but Gotoh asks...
"Um, so the senpai you wanted to get closer to..."
"Yeah. It's Ryo-senpai."
I stop moving around, and I listen to Kita.
Ouch. Fujin's going to be sad about this.
"Unlike you, I have very impure motives. I saw Senpai playing on the street, and I fell head-over-heels for her. Her above-it-all attitude, her unisex look... It all makes me squee! And she just looks so right holding an instrument!"
Wow, Kita-san is a massive simp.
"Oh, I know what you mean! W-When I hold mine, it looks more like the instrument's holding me." Gotoh says right after Kita stopped talking.
"Yeah! It's kinda strange to think about it, but now it's pretty normal to look at it like that."
"Right? You end up like an appendage to the instrument. I wonder how that happens? That's one thing about Ryo-senpai that—"
"Um, can I get a cassis orange?" A customer says, interrupting our conversation.
"Right! Coming right up!" Kita says, looking bright and happy.
Well, there goes our happy talk about guitars.
Kita gets the requested drink from the customer and she hands it to him.
As the customer walks away, Kita continues to talk.
"So, after I heard her play, I followed Ryo-san's activities for a while, and she dropped out of her last and pretty suddenly. Then I found out that she was recruiting for Kessoku Band, and without thinking, I said I'd do it." Kita explains.
"A band is like your second family, you know?" Kita says to Gotoh and I.
"Family?" Gotoh says.
"Huh... Kinda, yeah. I guess..." I said.
"Yeah, you spend more time with them than your actual family, and you're all chasing the same dream... It's a mysterious relationship, closer than friends or significant others. I've never done clubs or anything similar, so I've always wanted to be a part of that." Kita explains more.
Heh, yeah... I get what you mean, Kita-san. I used to have a friend group who felt like more than friends to me. It's like we were siblings.
"Yes... I wanted to join Kessoku Band and become Senpai's girl! So much deeper and more intimate than friendship!"
Ehh... I think Kita-san's got a loose screw in her head...
"But that's all the more reason I can't join the band now. I flaked out once already. I'm too irresponsible. I don't deserve to be in the band."
... Damn it... I don't want Kita-san to feel this way...
-Long Timeskip-
Starry was finally closed for the night, and every customer had left the building.
"Okay, good work, all. Feel free to head home." I heard the Manager say.
"Thanks for having us!" Everyone says except for Gotoh and I.
"Thank you for having us..." Said the both of us.
I see Kita who's about to walk up the stairs to the exit.
"Thanks for everything today. Good luck with your band! I'll keep rooting for you!" Kita says to all of us.
"H-Hey..."
Gotoh runs up to Kita, but she trips and grabs a nearby curtain. And because of that, she hits her head on the wall.
"Ah! Gotoh-san!" I shouted.
"Are you alright, Gotoh-san? You're still not worried about me, are you? I'm sorry. Like I said before, I can't join Kessoku Band. I can't play guitar, and I already flaked out once..."
"I... I... I... I also ran away before the concert. A-A-And also..."
"Let's get you up, Bocchi-chan."
Nijika and Ryo pick Gotoh up. Then she says...
"K-Kita-san, your left hand... Y-You had calluses on your fingertips. I... I th-think... You'd have to be practicing the guitar pretty hard for that."
Woah... Gotoh-san's impressive.
Nijika looks up at Kita with a welcoming smile.
"Kita-chan, we'd love to have you rocking out with us in Kessoku Band!"
"Why would you let me..." Kita said.
"Because if you hadn't flaked out, we'd never have met Bocchi-chan! I've always wanted to have a band, so I get how it feels intimidating and aspirational at the same time."
"S-So do I!" Gotoh suddenly shouts.
"S-Sorry. That came out louder than I expected."
"You'd be happy to have her too, right, Ryo?"
"I'll only have to pay one-quarter of the studio and quota fees."
"Be a little less honest, would you?"
Kita covers her mouth and begins to act like a fan girl.
"I can be part of Senpai's quota!"
"So much for that healthy moving-on-thing, I guess..."
"But I still can't play the guitar..."
"That's okay! Bocchi-chan and Hiroko-kun will teach you!"
"Eh?" Gotoh asks, looking confused.
"Wait, what?" I was also confused.
"Y-Yes!"
"... Alright. Lessons start tomorrow."
Saying no would be disrespectful. But why not. The thought of me being the teacher of a beginner student is nice only because it gives me bragging rights.
Kita starts to smile.
"Thank you. I'll work really hard to play guitar in Kessoku Band!"
"Oh, but you should probably give up that party lifestyle of yours... You're dancing like mad every night, right?"
"Where'd you hear that?!"
... She actually believed Gotoh-san? Damn, she's a good liar. Better jot that down.
But, moving on from that... I'm glad we have a new member of Kessoku Band...
A moment later...
Gotoh and I pack our stuff, and we are now about to leave.
"Well, I gotta head out now..." Gotoh says.
"Yeah, me too." I said after Gotoh talked.
"Bocchi-chan, Hiroko-kun, don't go! You two are today's MVP!"
"You're the reason we're back together." Ryo says as she gives us a thumb up.
I start to smile, knowing that Gotoh and I are the reason why the band is complete.
"Gosh, well, it was nothing, really, honestly... Ehehe..."
"It obviously wasn't nothing for you." Nijika tells Gotoh.
"Gotoh-san wears her heart on her sleeve. But I practiced for so long, and yet I never really learned how to play guitar. It just made this quiet 'bum-bum' sound." Kita says.
"Uhh, Kita-san? You sure it wasn't a bass?" I ask.
"Hey, I'm not that ignorant!" Kita replied while waving her hand in a fan-like motion.
"A bass has four strings, right?"
Kita takes her guitar case off and sets it on the floor. Then, she opens it up, revealing her guitar.
"See? It's got the full six strings!"
"S-Some do have six strings..." Gotoh says.
"That's a six string bass." Ryo says right after Gotoh stops talking.
Kita looks back and forth at us and her guitar for two times, and then the realization kicks in for her. Kita slowly falls to the floor.
"K-Kita-san?!"
"It cost me two years' advance allowance from my dad, not to mention my New Year's money..." Kita says, sounding weak.
"Kita-chaaaaan!" Nijika shouts.
And so, Kessoku Band finally had all their members. At last, we found our Fifth Zip Tie.
(Somewhere else in Shimo-Kitazawa...)
"Maaan, school sucks so much! It's always work work work, and it just keeps on piling!"
A girl with black and blue hair says. She was wearing a thin light blue jacket, and was walking with another girl who wore pale clothes and had her hair tied up.
"Come on, Amaya. School's not that bad as long as you get the schoolwork finished early."
"What?! That's easy for you to say, Haruka."
"Heheh... Yeah."
"Y'know, I wonder when we'll ever get to hang out with Fujin and Hiro again."
"Yeah. Me too."
"Anyways, moving on from that... Have you ever wondered how it feels like to have a p****?" The girl with black and blue hair asks with a smirk.
"What the— What kind of conversation starter is that?!"
Chapter 6: The Fifth Zip Tie
End
Ohoho, yeah! I finally finished chapter 6 and I also introduced Kita into the story! This is the beginning of a new arc! Oh, by the way... I'm going to start writing other stories that take place in other universes, so stay tuned for another chapter and story!
The Mann is out! ✌️