Chapter 37 — “Scream”

"Ryo, how did you know Kazami-san is a keyboardist? I don't remember saying anything about it."

Nijika looked strangely at the ever-stoic Yamada-san. Even Kazami Haru raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Just a guess."

Nothing could be read from the face of this blue-haired woman.

Kazami Haru knew that Yamada-san, his "past-life lover," always looked emotionless on the outside, like someone indifferent and uncaring.

But in truth, Ryo was extremely sensitive and had an unexpectedly delicate personality.

She also had great observational skills. In the simulations, she could easily see the feelings Nijika hid in her heart, just like Sakiko, who could instantly tell he was a keyboardist.

Was it really just a guess?

If the simulator hadn't clearly stated that the simulated targets couldn't see the simulation content and memories like he could, he might've believed Yamada Ryo could see that simulated world too.

"I'm not going on stage, and I don't have a keyboard."

"Is that so?"

Upon hearing Kazami Haru's answer, Ryo-san just nodded and didn't press further.

But from her calm expression, no one could discern what she was truly feeling inside.

At this moment, Yamada Ryo seemed unusually normal, which left her close friend Nijika completely confused.

What's going on?

Yamada Ryo kept her gaze fixed on Kazami Haru.

The moment she saw him, unfamiliar yet oddly familiar images flashed through her mind. A strange emotion rose from deep within her as if memories she had never experienced were stirring inside her.

Sensing something unusual, Ryo's lips curved into a barely perceptible smirk.

Interesting~

Theoretically, this should have been their first official meeting, yet she felt a bizarre sense of familiarity with him. Even calling his name out loud felt oddly natural.

Their meeting was like a small stone dropped into a still lake, sending ripples through her heart.

"Alright, alright, we should start practicing soon! We three are going on stage later, if we don't at least get some coordination down, it'll be a disaster!"

As the band leader, Ijichi Nijika clapped her hands, bringing Yamada Ryo's wandering thoughts back to the present.

At the same time, it sent Gotoh Hitori's anxiety skyrocketing.

"—It should be fine, probably fine, hopefully fine!"

Standing in the middle of the practice room, Gotoh Hitori muttered nervously to herself, while Kazami Haru leaned against a chair with an amused expression, watching her performance.

But judging from how she looked, it probably wasn't going to go well.

Just like her name "Hitori" alone, one person" (ひとり), right now, Bocchi could only play alone.

Before this, the concept of playing in sync with others had never existed in her mind.

In a band, coordination is far more important than individual skill.

No matter how skilled an individual musician is, if their timing is off with the rest of the band, harmonious melodies turn into chaotic noise.

It's like fusion in Dragon Ball, if Goku and Vegeta don't perfectly match their movements, the entire technique fails.

A band follows the same principle.

A highly skilled but socially anxious Bocchi, who can't even look her bandmates in the eye, how could she possibly match their rhythm?

Three minutes later—

"That was awful…"

Ijichi Nijika said this with a smile, and before she even realized what she'd done, Bocchi began melting like an ice cream cone in 40-degree heat.

Nijika immediately realized her mistake.

She had meant to say something comforting like, "Hitori-chan, that was actually pretty good!" but accidentally let her true thoughts slip out!

"A complete mess."

Unlike Nijika, Kazami Haru had no maternal instincts and bluntly pointed out the obvious.

"Ahhhh—I'm so, so sorry!!"

"I'll commit seppuku right now!"

As the criticism piled on, Gotoh Hitori's soul practically collapsed. Her already gloomy face twisted into a mess of uneven shapes, and the nausea rising from her stomach to her throat made her head spin.

Luckily, she held it in.

If she threw up here, her life would be over—

Even though she managed to keep herself from vomiting, the way Kazami Haru looked at her made her feel even worse.

Like a basketball being thrown into a hoop—she dove straight into the trash can.

It was her natural instinct to hide.

"Wait, Hitori-chan?! Come out! It's all Haru-san's fault for being too harsh! Don't take it personally!"

"Pffft~ But Nijika, you were also saying bad things."

Yamada Ryo covered her mouth as she chuckled, making Nijika's face turn slightly red.

Her own best friend was siding with Haru, whom they had just met—what a traitor!

She totally abandoned their friendship for good looks!

Realizing she couldn't pull the shivering pink Sandshrew out of the trash can, Nijika puffed up her cheeks and turned to glare at Kazami Haru.

Her eyes made it very clear—

[You caused this mess. Fix it.]

Under Nijika's expectant gaze, Kazami Haru let out a sigh, dragged his tired body over to the trash can, and spoke slowly:

"It's no big deal, Hitori. You just couldn't sync up with everyone, that's nothing to be scared of."

"At least you can hear your guitar playing."

"Oi~ don't casually make bass jokes."

Yamada Ryo, giving him a dead-fish stare, moved closer and lightly punched his shoulder in a familiar, almost affectionate gesture.

Ryo-san's affectionate physical gesture didn't trigger any system notification in Kazami Haru's mind, no alert of acquiring a new item.

Huh? Why didn't anything happen this time when I touched the simulation target?

He had been hoping to use this opportunity to rack up more items or simulation attempts. If touching didn't increase his simulation count anymore, he wouldn't have enough "revival coins" for the next run!

Kazami Haru began speculating based on his experiments with Ryo-san—

It seemed there was a limit to what could be obtained from the same simulation target. From both Sakiko and now Ryo, it appeared that only the first "touch" yielded rewards like simulation attempts or items.

If you touched them again, it seemed there was no further reaction.

Or perhaps just touching wasn't enough to satisfy the simulator's "conditions", maybe it required a different kind of "contact"?

The light tap Yamada Ryo gave Kazami Haru's shoulder wasn't out of displeasure, it felt more like flirtation.

No—it was flirtation!

Ijichi Nijika's eyes widened in shock as she looked at Ryo, her crimson pupils trembling slightly.

Their relationship escalated way too fast. Hadn't they just met under her watchful eye? How had they already progressed to the point of teasing each other like this?

Did I skip ten chapters somehow?!

"Well~ anyway, come on out, Hitori. It's just getting on stage—no need to panic."

"No, no, no, no—I'm going to suffocate…"

Little Bocchi trembled inside the trash can, and just imagining the public humiliation of going on stage made her already pale face contort even more, as if mimicking some abstract masterpiece.

A world-famous painting—"The Scream."