Chapter 35: You Stand Your Ground
[Nijika, Ryō, Bocchi, and Ikuyo resolved to nurse you back to health through rotating shifts.]
You firmly refused:
"The band's momentum and your academic progress need sustained focus. My condition isn't critical – don't waste precious time."
[For once, your silver tongue failed to sway them.]
[While band growth and grades mattered immensely... *you* held equal weight in their hearts. ]
[You Compromised—Perhaps It Was Time to Trust Them]
[For the first time, you set aside your usual stubbornness and compromised. You thought… perhaps you really should place your trust in them.]
[You decided to accept their care.]
A Rainy Afternoon at the Hospital
Minami found himself immersed in the simulation's memories.
Outside the hospital window, rain poured down.
A black curtain of rain shrouded the entire city of Tokyo.
Minami, flipping through the pages of a novel, suddenly felt fatigued.
Setting the book aside, he glanced at both sides of his hospital bed.
On his left, a pink-haired girl and a short, blue-haired girl had fallen asleep, resting their heads on the bed.
On his right, Nijika and Kita sat there, watching over him with a mix of helplessness and concern.
They had come to take care of him, but the sudden downpour had trapped them in the hospital.
As always, Ryo had no reservations—she had simply leaned against Minami and fallen asleep without a care in the world.
Bocchi, perhaps exhausted from practicing guitar late into the night, had also succumbed to drowsiness, resting on his other side.
Meanwhile, Nijika and Kita sat nearby, enthusiastically sharing amusing stories from school.
Leaning back against the hospital bed, Minami listened attentively, occasionally adding a few comments of his own that made them burst into laughter.
Time passed slowly.
The rain continued outside, and condensation formed a cold mist on the windowpane.
A chilly wind howled outside.
Minami exhaled softly, watching his breath fade into the cool air. Reflecting on the past year—the struggles, the sacrifices—he let out a quiet sigh.
"Winter's almost here," he murmured. "This year is coming to an end."
"That's not it, Minami-san," Nijika said with a gentle smile, grasping his hand.
Her smile was as warm as sunlight.
Picture Here:
"It's not the end of a year. It's the beginning of a new one."
"Yeah," Kita chimed in, taking his other hand and gazing out the window with bright, hopeful eyes.
"I can't wait for next year, Minami-senpai."
"...Yeah," Minami chuckled, turning his head toward them.
"I can't wait for next year either."
For some reason…
The winter wind outside didn't feel as cold anymore.
[They Never Blamed You, Just As You Never Blamed Them]
[After a week of their care, they seemed to understand you better, just as you came to understand them more deeply.]
[On New Year's Day, in order to catch up on lost study time, you chose not to return to your hometown in Akita. You stayed in Tokyo instead.]
[But this New Year wasn't lonely. The members of Kessoku Band frequently invited you out.]
[Perhaps it was your imagination, but you noticed that they rarely invited you out one-on-one. Whenever they asked you to go somewhere, it was always with the entire group. Even on Christmas, you spent it with them.]
[It was as if, without your knowledge, they had reached some sort of unspoken agreement.]
[On Valentine's Day, aside from the mountain of chocolates you received at school, you also received four chocolates from Kessoku Band.]
[To your disappointment, all four were "obligation chocolates" rather than "romantic chocolates." Given your current level of closeness with them, you had at least expected one or two honmei chocolates.]
(TL Notes: Honmei choco (本命チョコ, "true feeling chocolate") in Japan is chocolate given by women on Valentine's Day to men whom the giver has romantic feelings for. This is often given to husbands, boyfriends, and desired partners.)
[It took you an entire month to finish eating all the chocolates you received, and your weight increased.]
[After Valentine's Day came White Day. Since money was tight, you decided to make a batch of homemade cookies for them as a return gift.]
[Following a simple online tutorial, you quickly baked a batch of well-made cookies. Not only did you give them to Kessoku Band, but you also made sure to send some to Ijichi Seika and PA-san, who had taken care of you during your hospital stay.]
[Your cookies received universal praise. None of the girls had expected you—always so focused on studying—to have such a hidden talent. Ryo even started secretly buying baking ingredients, subtly hinting for you to make desserts for her.]
[Though Ryo always came to you privately, every time she arrived for a taste test, Kessoku Band was somehow always there.]
[You chose not to dwell on these details. Now in your final year of high school, you focused your efforts on preparing for exams.]
[As expected, with your full concentration on studying, no test was difficult for you. When the results were released, you achieved scores high enough to attend any university in Japan.]
[To everyone's surprise, instead of choosing the highly prestigious medical school at Tokyo University, you opted for a less conventional path—the Journalism and Media Studies department.]
[Despite your busier schedule in university, Kessoku Band continued their activities. They knew your studies were demanding, so whenever you visited Starry, they would put aside their practice to spend time with you instead.]
[You didn't say anything about it, but you noticed.]
[As time passed, with their relentless performances, Kessoku Band's reputation in Shimokitazawa grew.]
[But as their popularity increased, so did their troubles.]
[They needed someone to handle negotiations and represent them in external collaborations. Uncertain about their future, they felt lost.]
[Should they sign with a record label and debut as an official band? Or should they remain independent? Even Seika had no answers.]
[This was their most uncertain, helpless moment.]
[You knew it was time for you to step in.]
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