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“Thank you for all the hard work today, everyone,” Ijichi Seika announced, clasping her hands to signal the end of another busy day at Starry.
“Yahoo! Another good day at work!” Ooyama Nene exclaimed, pumping her fist in the air like a champion athlete. “Say, Manager, do you think I can get a year-end bonus for all my hard-“
“No.”
“Didn’t even hesitate!”
“Ere thinks you should probably work an extra shift or two to impress the Manager~!” Hinata Erena chimed in from behind the bar, her hands busy cleaning the aisle. “Just look at Hitori-san lately~!”
“Oh right! Hippie-senpai has been working SUPER hard as of late!” Nene said as she rested on a stool by the bar. “She took double shifts for the past month!”
Gotoh ‘Bocchi’ Hitori, a girl Seika has had a soft spot for ever since she met her nervously fidgeting by the Starry entrance. Seika didn’t know when it started, but she had since grown fond of Bocchi. Whether it was their kinship as fellow guitarists or Seika’s sisterly instincts wanting to pamper such a shy girl like Hitori.
Perhaps it was a mix of both.
“Such dedication~! Ere wouldn’t mind stanning Hitori-san if she decides to wear something prettier~! She has the looks that would make any girl go kyaaa~!”
Seika had noticed, despite most of her staff consisting of part-timers, she didn’t slouch when it came to wages. While some of the Kessoku Band members had taken their fair share of extra shifts for their band quota, Bocchi had taken far more than was needed. She had told Bocchi not to push herself so hard. The meek girl simply answered, “I have to….”
Seika didn’t like Bocchi’s sudden change in behavior.
“Bocchi-chan looks fine just the way she is.”
The two girls turned to see Ijichi Nijika walk in from across the room, most likely curious about the conversation when the topic reached Bocchi. “Besides, when she’s up on stage performing, she really shines.”
Nene and Erena nodded in agreement, followed shortly by non-stop passionate rambling. The wavelength of the two proved too overwhelming for even Nijika, who simply stared and pretended to understand everything.
“Speaking of Bocchi-chan,” Seika interjected, her stern voice managing to break through the cacophony of teenage fangirling, “has anyone seen her?”
“Oh, she already left,” Nijika answered.
I didn’t see her leave though.
Seika was always first to notice Bocchi leaving. She would always tip-toe her way out hoping to not make eye contact, Seika has since learnt to just look away so Bocchi didn’t get anxious.
Deep down, she wished Bocchi would one day see her as just another friend.
“Alright, let’s close up now.”
“See you all tomorrow!!” Nene exclaimed, dashing out of Starry like a flash. Erena followed behind, putting on a cat-eared hoodie as she walked up the stairs.
“Ere will see you tomorrow Manager~!”
“Get back home safe now,” Seika answered as the door opened and closed, an empty live house now standing before her once more.
“Mind if I close up the place?” Nijika asked. “You can help heat up the leftovers from the fridge.”
Seika reached into her pocket and removed a set of keys, tossing it to Nijika who swiftly caught it. “Don’t forget to turn off the toilet light.”
“Got it~!”
Seika watched as her sister skipped her way towards Starry’s studio, with no more eyes focused on her, she merely sighed as she pulled out her phone and gazed at her home screen.
9:47PM
December 22
The end of another year was fast approaching. The last 12 months felt like a blur to Seika, trying to recall anything special that occurred to her only to come out with nothing. A feeling of dread washed over; had her year been uneventful because of a lack of desire to do anything besides bury herself in work or was her age affecting her memory?
Neither possibility brought comfort to Seika.
In two days, Seika will be 31. Her birthday was a constant reminder that her prime had passed and she was now just trudging through life. The happiest she had been was during her band days, a carefree life she carved herself with a guitar and a dream.
Unfortunately, fate didn’t care for aspiring guitarists.
God, I need a drink….
Just as Seika readied her jacket, pondering if she should visit an izakaya to wallow in better days, a loud crash echoed through Starry, jolting her from her thoughts. Seika dropped her jacket and rushed to the source of the noise, originating from the backstage studio. Bursting through the door, Seika was greeted by Nijika, a shocked expression on her face as she stood over a fallen mic stand. While Seika was relieved nothing serious had happened, she was more surprised to see a second person sitting across the studio.
“Bocchi-chan?!”
Bocchi froze, her mouth hung open as she shivered in terror at the sight of Seika. In her arms lay an opened guitar case, with a guitar inside that wasn’t Bocchi’s, but rather one wrapped in beige with a hint of black.
Wait….
Seika blinked several times, hoping the lighting of the studio was just reflecting a different-colored guitar in Bocchi’s arms. But her eyes weren’t deceiving her. The distinct look of a Telecaster model, the coloring, it all matched the look of something Seika once cherished dearly.
Her band guitar.
“Whoops, looks like we’re busted,” Nijika said with a nervous laugh.
“Ho-How did you find this?” Seika asked, her voice cracking from the whirlwind of emotions she suddenly felt from the sight of her old guitar. That chapter of her life ended 8 years ago when she sold the guitar, the start of her journey to building up Starry. To see her old companion once more, sitting neatly on Bocchi’s lap….
“Remember the guitar store you worked at in Ochanomizu? Apparently, a guy came to the store to sell it,” Nijika explained.
“Ni-Nijika-chan told me about it, and I thought that would make for a good birthday present for you,” Bocchi added, her hands still nervously shaking on the guitar. “I wanted to make up for last year so I….”
“….She worked really hard to buy the guitar. I also wanted to help so we both pooled our money just so we could afford it!” Nijika said with a wide grin on her face.
Seika stared blankly at the two girls. All the overtime Bocchi had done, the effort she made to handle customers despite her social anxiety.
She had done it all for Seika.
Her lips curled and a warm feeling welled up in her chest. For the first time in a very long time, Seika felt joy. Joy from the love she has received from her little sister, whom she cared deeply,
And Bocchi, whom she also considered family.
Fearing the floodgate of her eyes bursting if she stood still any longer, Seika calmly approached Bocchi who winced at her menacing aura. Sitting next to Bocchi, the fellow guitarist was quick to pass Seika her guitar like a relay baton. Laying it on her lap, a wave of nostalgia washed over Seika. The faint marks of stickers long since removed, the minor scratches and wear strewn across its body. All of it spoke of ancient history, one that Seika still sees clearly in her mind. The sound of loud cheers, the shrill of a guitar solo, the passion of her bandmates.
A sense of euphoria, a fleeting moment in time feeling like reality for a brief moment.
“Thank you….” was all Seika could say to Nijika and Bocchi. Gazing back at the pair of blue and vermillion eyes. With their warm and tender stares, Seika couldn’t help but feel guilty.
They deserved a better Manager than her.
“Hey hey! Why don’t you try playing a song?” Nijika suggested, sitting next to Seika. “It’s been a decade since you last played the guitar right?”
Seika cringed, and the realization that 10 years had passed hit her like a speeding truck. The passage of time was cruel to a woman such as her, she shudders to think what she’ll be like in another decade.
“Ni-Nijika-chan said you used to be really good with the guitar,” Bocchi added, her soft voice not able to hide the spark in her blue eyes, barely visible through her bangs. “I really want to hear you play too…!”
Seika was taken aback by the sudden request, Nijika and Bocchi now staring her down with expecting eyes. Considering everything the two have done for her, a song was the least she could do to repay their kindness.
“Alright, don’t laugh if I screw up though!”
Tightening the grip of her guitar, Seika closed her eyes and tried remembering a song to play. An old band song seemed like the best choice; she may fumble a few of the notes, but Seika was confident she still knew how to play. With the song in mind and mentally prepared, Seika readied her hand to begin playing-
“U-um, Manager-san!”
Seika turned to the sound of Bocchi’s voice to see her hand holding out a guitar pick.
“Ah, right,” Seika said, mentally kicking herself. A pick was an essential tool for any guitarist; while Seika could still play without it, she’d rather not ruin her pretty fingers.
Dumbass, really embarrassing yourself in front of Bocchi-chan.
Guitar pick now in hand, Seika readied herself once more, and the first note of nostalgia echoed through the studio. The world around Seika faded away as a wave of emotion washed over her. With every note strummed, her playing improved, awakening a part of her she never thought she’d see again. The part of her that hated rules, made enemies and lived life to the fullest.
All of that though, was long past her.
While she enjoyed that life, the times have since changed. Seika was older, matured and now relied on by a new generation of musicians. Her time on stage was long past, it was time for her to pass the torch.
With a smile now on her face, Seika began singing. A song, from the bottom of her heart to see off the old. A song, to herald in the new.
A song, to the two girls she cherished deeply.