One hour later.
Near Shinjuku Park in Shinjuku, Hitori Gotoh trembled as she looked at her bandmate beside her. This place was the sanctuary of "socially successful" people—a forbidden zone for the timid. Under the influence of the "socially successful" force field, she could barely breathe.
Yamada Ryo, on the other hand, remained calm. She nodded while observing the crowd gathering at the intersection and pulled out the bass amplifier and guitar amplifier that she and Hitori Gotoh were going to use later.
Phew, so heavy.
"Bocchi, we'll play here."
Yamada Ryo was setting things up and did so quickly.
"So many people..."
Hitori Gotoh covered her eyes and peeked at the passersby through the gaps between her fingers.
Yamada Ryo didn't comfort her. She wasn't as good at showing tenderness as Nijika Ijichi, nor as enthusiastic as Kita Ikuyo.
She liked music, so—
Let's start with a lively bass solo!
...That way, she wouldn't steal Bocchi's spotlight later.
"Zzziinnn—"
The pick struck the bass rapidly, producing a rhythm as fast as the wind!
"Buzz—"
As Yamada Ryo played, more and more passersby gathered. Bocchi-chan looked around, then hid behind Yamada Ryo, pretending to be a stranger as she sighed, "The park is so beautiful."
I've arrived at the scariest place in Shinjuku—Shinjuku Park.
Shinjuku looks so lively.
Let's take a look at the scenery in the distance, family.
"Bocchi." After the performance, Yamada Ryo looked at Hitori Gotoh behind her with a satisfied expression. "Everyone is waiting for you to play."
Hitori Gotoh slowly turned around, her movements looking like a scene that had been slowed down ten times.
With a trembling voice, she said, "Ah... I... I want to go home."
As soon as she finished speaking, she tried to run away, but there were too many people around. Bocchi-chan couldn't find an exit—
It would be an exaggeration to say she was overwhelmed, but Yamada Ryo's bass playing was truly amazing, and there were indeed a lot of people in Shinjuku. More than thirty people had gathered in front of them.
She couldn't escape. Realizing this, Hitori Gotoh's facial features gradually distorted, like a simple child's drawing…
"Look at everyone carefully, they're not your enemies," Yamada Ryo continued telling her.
Upon hearing this, Hitori Gotoh glanced at the audience. Some of them, drunk, were flipping her off. Two others had crouched down and started vomiting...
This is Shinjuku—an area of extreme chaos at night. According to unreliable surveys, in this place, there's a drunk person lying on the ground every 50 square meters, and a puddle of vomit every 20 square meters…
Mom, Futari, wuwuwu, I want to go home~
Gotoh's eyes filled with tears, as if she were about to cry at any moment—
No… she had already started crying, with two clear streams of tears rolling down her face.
"Bocchi, this is a good opportunity! Play the guitar, quickly."
"Uwaaaah~ ahhh~"
Hearing her bandmate's words, Hitori Gotoh cried and played at the same time. As she sobbed, her vision blurred, which somehow made Bocchi-chan's guitar playing improve significantly.
Many passersby started taking out their phones to record the interesting moment. In this day and age, it wasn't often that you'd see a rock girl crying while playing the guitar… Uuuh, she really loves rock!
Yamada Ryo secretly nodded at the sight—yes, the plan was successful.
She had realized that as long as Bocchi was distracted, her guitar playing could reach at least LV.3 in the simulator—good enough for a lead guitarist in an amateur band.
Though the method was a bit unconventional, the results were effective.
"Uuuu~ uaaah~ aaah~"
Bocchi-chan sobbed uncontrollably, her cries rising and falling in sync with the bass and guitar.
"Oh my god, that's incredible!"
One of the spectators, a man dressed in hip-hop style, pulled down the brim of his cap. He was shocked that someone could add a crying melody to a song. Could this girl be a once-in-a-millennium rap wizard?
"What a novel performance style!"
A band member with a travel bag on her back was also stunned and quickly took out her phone to snap photos.
I have to upload this to social media—it's sure to go viral!
"This song is well composed, and the bassist's performance is really solid."
"Isn't the bassist from the band The Happiness? They were pretty popular a while ago..."
Some people even recognized Yamada Ryo.
The crowd talked among themselves for a few minutes until the first song ended.
Yamada Ryo stopped playing, and though Hitori Gotoh was still crying, the muscle memory in her hands made her stop as well.
"Uuuuuhhh~ waaahhh~"
Goto Ichiri's crying didn't stop.
The audience began clapping—That was amazing! So unique! A perfect performance! The true spirit of rock!
"Wuuuuhhuu!! This is rock!"
"Rock and roll!!!"
"One more song!!!"
This isn't rock and roll. Stop attributing every weird thing to rock and roll...
Hitori Gotoh wiped her tears, and her tear-blurred vision became clearer. Hearing the audience's cheers, she suddenly realized that they weren't enemies—they were guests who wanted to hear music. They were people who recognized her!
She also saw the smiles on their lips, their clapping hands, and… well, some bald men holding onto streetlights, vomiting.
In the distance, she spotted an unpleasantly colored liquid on the ground.
The excitement that had just risen in Hitori Gotoh's heart completely disappeared.
A powerful thought filled her mind:
Shinjuku's scenery isn't the buildings or Kabukicho—it's vomit and bald men.
Ugh~!
Ah, I'm going to feel sick.
——
Half an hour later.
The street performance was forced to end early because the security police kicked them out. So, Hitori Gotoh and Yamada Ryo packed up their speakers and instruments.
"Bocchi, how do you feel?"
"Ah… not bad." Hitori Gotoh had a satisfied expression on her face. She had just received a lot of applause and felt a little excited in that moment.
"Then, the food I owed you is considered paid off."
Goto Ichiri was utterly shocked.
So performing with me was something that needed to be paid for?!
"Bocchi, I'm so hungry." Yamada Ryo changed the subject without warning.
Afraid of being scammed again, Hitori Gotoh carefully asked, lowering her gaze, "Eh… Ryo-san, do you have any money?"
Yamada Ryo: "Bocchi, let's go eat."
Ugh, I knew it. How could Yamada bring money when going out to eat?
Hitori Gotoh regretted it. She hated herself for asking that question just now. A few minutes ago, she should have left Shinjuku and taken the train back to Kanazawa at lightning speed.
"Ah… let's go."
As a socially anxious person, Hitori Gotoh couldn't refuse Yamada Ryo's request.
Even if she resisted with all her heart—
She could only follow Yamada Ryo to a nearby Italian fast-food chain.
'I hope Ryo-san eats a little less today…'
As for asking Yamada Ryo to pay her back?
Hitori Gotoh had lost all hope.
Today wasn't so bad. At least she built up her courage and became a little braver.
Bocchi-chan consoled herself.