Chapter 50: Yamada Ryo’s Plan

β€œ...?”

Staring at the message on his phone screen from Yamada Ryo, Aoki Kei felt puzzled.

He furrowed his brows and thought for a moment before typing a reply, half-jokingly:

β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”

[Aoki Kei]: Kidnapping? Coercion? Hypnosis? Reality distortion? Ryo-san, if you’re not doing this of your own will, type β€œ1” twice.

β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”

There was no immediate response from the β€œWeird Bassist.”

About three minutes later, she finally sent back a message, sounding oddly hurt:

β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”

[Weird Bassist]: Suki-san, is that really how you see me...? I’m so sad...

β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”

Kei, already well-acquainted with Ryo’s eccentric personality, wasn’t fooled by her fake melodrama. He calmly replied:

β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”

[Aoki Kei]: Isn’t that exactly the kind of person you are, Ryo-san?

[Weird Bassist]: ...

β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”

She went silent for a second before responding with a sticker of a deadpan Tama-kun.

A moment later, she followed up with a more serious explanation:

β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”

[Weird Bassist]: Remember last time when you treated me to lunch? I said I’d return the favor sometime, right?

So since tomorrow’s Saturday... how about lunch? My treat.

β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”

Kei stared at the message, hesitating a bit.

He recalled how, after that meal last time, Ryo had licked ice cream off her lips while looking completely serious.

That weird contrast flashed in his mind, and after a pause, he decided to cautiously agree:

β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”

[Aoki Kei]: I’ve got time tomorrow. So, sure?

[Weird Bassist]: OK.

β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”

They settled on the time and place.

Thinking the conversation was over, Kei put his phone away.

But just as he was about to stand up and head downstairs for dinner, the phone buzzed again.

He checked and saw a new message added under Ryo’s previous β€œOK”:

β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”

[Weird Bassist]: Oh right, Suki-san, bring your guitar with you tomorrow.

β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”

...?

Kei stared at the message, the uneasy feeling he had earlier bubbling back up.

He typed back:

β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”

[Aoki Kei]: Ryo-san, just... asking, but... what exactly is the point of bringing a guitar to lunch?

β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”

But this time, no reply came.

Not only thatβ€”there wasn’t even a read receipt.

The message just sat there, unanswered.

Kei frowned, puzzled.

After waiting a while with no response, he gave up and pushed it out of his mind.

He went downstairs to grab some dinner.

Later, after a bowl of ramen and a quiet train ride home, he returned to his apartment around ten.

He read for a bit, lost track of time, then packed up and went to bed.

And so the next day came.

Because he’d stayed up late, even with an alarm set, Kei didn’t wake particularly early.

But thankfully, he still had enough time.

He washed up, tidied the room a bit, and around 9 AM, grabbed his guitar case and a bag of trash before heading out.

He still didn’t understand why Ryo had scheduled a lunch meetup for 9 in the morningβ€”or why she asked him to bring a guitar.

With the weirdness of the plan and the early time, Kei couldn’t shake the feeling that something odd was going on.

After tossing the sorted trash, he washed his hands and headed to the train station.

He caught a ride and eventually got off at Shibuya.

The famous Shibuya Scramble Crossing was already swarming with peopleβ€”unsurprising for a weekend.

It was probably one of the busiest spots in Japan, and Kei couldn’t help but feel like he’d been here way too often lately.

He guessed he’d been here at least five or six times in the past month, many of them with Ryo.

That felt... oddly coincidental.

As he stood at the station exit, his mind wandered while he scanned the crowd for her.

And sure enough, under the shade of a nearby tree, he spotted the familiar figure of the blue-haired girl waiting quietly.

Ryo always had a great fashion sense.

Today, she wore a black-and-white plaid shirt with a soft, teal skirt that balanced perfectly with her slim figure.

Her long and lean legsβ€”were covered in sheer black tights that hinted at warmth without going overboard.

It was a look that was subtle but stylish, cool with a soft feminine edgeβ€”perfectly capturing the image of an β€œice queen with a girlish charm.”

In each hand, she held an ice cream cone.

Her bass was slung across her back, and her eyes were lowered as she licked the cone in her right hand.

Kei had to admitβ€”he was briefly stunned by how good she looked.

But he quickly snapped out of it and noticed something else: she had her bass with her.

She asked him to bring his guitar, and she brought her bass...?

His suspicion deepened.

He walked over to the shade of the tree.

β€œGood morning, Ryo-san,” he greeted as he approached.

The girl, who had been quietly licking her ice cream, looked up slightly when she noticed Aoki Kei approaching.

She took a step forward and held out the cone in her left hand.

It seemed Ryo had already been waiting under the shade for a whileβ€”the ice cream had started to melt a bit, though not too badly.

β€œGood morning, Suki-san,” Ryo greeted lazily.

Her voice, tinged with a familiar languid tone, instantly shattered the frosty, aloof image she usually gave off.

That 'ice queen' aura of hers disappeared the moment she opened her mouth.

Kei took the offered ice cream with a word of thanks.

His gaze briefly landed on the bass slung over her back before he spoke.

β€œYou told me you were treating me to lunch, but then asked to meet at nine in the morning.

And despite carrying your bass, you still made me bring my guitar... Ryo-san, you didn’t call me out here just for lunch, did you?”

β€œ...”

Yamada Ryo went quiet for a moment, her expression clearly guilty.

She paused in the middle of licking her ice cream, lowered her head slightly, and averted her gaze, refusing to meet Kei’s puzzled eyes. She gave a small cough.

After a bit of hesitation and silence, she finally began to explain.

β€œLast week... I bought a brand-new bass. Spent everything I had. I haven’t been able to afford food for the past few days, and I didn’t think it’d be right to ask you to treat me again. So, I came up with a solution—”

Kei tilted his head in confusion. β€œHm?”

Ryo’s voice dropped a little lower as her gaze shifted even further away, and her head dipped slightly.

Still, that faintly cool tone remained in her voice as she continued.

β€œI figured... if we played music in front of Shibuya Station, we could probably make some decent money. With your skills and mine, we should do okay...”

She paused, then lifted her eyes again to meet Kei’s.

Blinking slowly, there was an unusual seriousness in her expression as she added, β€œBut don’t worry. If we don’t make any money, I still have 1,000 yen left after buying this ice cream. That’s enough to buy you lunch.”

With that, she gave Kei a thumbs-up, completely straight-faced.

β€˜This girl...’

Aoki Kei fell silent, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly as he struggled to find an appropriate reaction.

He’d expected Ryo to be a bit unreliable, but he never imagined she’d come up with something like street performing as a backup plan.

A bit exasperated, he thought about offering to just treat her to lunch.

He had his wallet with him, and going through the trouble of busking felt like a waste of time.

But just as he was about to speak, Ryo beat him to it.

β€œI mostly just wanted to try playing bass out on the street... And besides, doing this kind of thing together is a nice memory for a band to have, don’t you think?”

Kei paused.

Then, as the meaning behind her words sank in, he reconsidered.

He closed his mouth, holding back the words he was about to say, and looked properly at the blue-haired girl before him.

Yamada Ryo had delicate featuresβ€”pale yellow eyes, a small and well-shaped nose, soft cherry-pink lips, and a beauty mark just beneath her left eye.

All of it came together into a face that was practically flawless.

And yet, despite her lack of expression, which should’ve made her look cold and distant, there was something inexplicably endearingβ€”almost clumsyβ€”about the way it all came together.

He took a quiet breath.

Opening his mouth, then closing it again, Kei finally let out a helpless little laugh.

Then, after a brief pause, he said, β€œIf we’re busking, I’ll be working too. So if we do make money, lunch is on both of usβ€”split fifty-fifty. Ryo-san, you’re not getting out of your promise to treat me that easily.”