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Ichika startles when the bell dings, signalling the end of break time.
She feels Saki's questioning gaze, and shakes her head in response. She doesn't think Saki can help her with this particular issue.
Their perfomance as the opening act for STANDOUT is still at the forefront of her mind. They played their best, but she can't help but wish she was better prepared.
In particular, her MCing skills leave a lot to wish for. She's gotten better, more confident, over the time she spent practicing solo, but it's nowhere near enough.
Even as the class begins, she can't focus, too busy thinking about what she should do. The Virtual Singers are helpful, but she's not sure how much they can help, when they only ever perform in front of each other, herself and the rest of Leo/need. She could continue with solo practice, but having some extra pointers in addition to street performances would speed up the process.
Maybe she should ask someone for help? Haruka does a lot of crowd interaction, but she's an idol. It feels too far from Leo/need's style, but if she doesn't find a better solution, she'll have to ask Haruka.
Her eyes widen a little as a revelation hits her. She can ask Kohane, who does street perfomances. Her genre is more “talking to and hyping up the audience", which feels better suited for what she needs than “cutesy fanservice”.
She resolves to ask Kohane during the next break. The sooner she starts, the sooner she can improve. She's serious about going pro, so she'll need any help she can get.
Finally, the bell signals another break. She rushes out of her classroom, ignoring Saki's confused gaze, and heads to 1-A's classroom.
She finds Kohane just outside the door, heading in the same direction as she is.
“Kohane!” She calls out. The other girl turns to her, surprised, before giving her a small smile. “Aah, do you have a moment to talk?”
“Oh, sure! I was just about to go to the bathroom.” Kohane leans on the wall. “Um, what do you want to talk about?”
“Could you teach me how to talk to a crowd?” She blurts out with confidence, which drops right after. “Uhh, I want to know how to hype up a crowd and to talk to them. You do street performances, so I think you could teach me something valuable.”
“Oh!” Kohane seems surprised. “Um, I'm glad you think so, but I'm only still learning. An-chan and Shinonome-kun are much better than me, so I could ask them if they could do it instead. When would you want to start?”
“As soon as possible?” She asks. “I need to improve faster, so I want to do more.”
“Uh, I'll ask if either of them are free this week?” Kohane looks at her, then smiles when she nods. “I'll let you know on the next break.”
“Thanks, Kohane. Sorry for bothering you.” Ichika bows, then hurries back to her classroom.
“Icchan!” Saki calls out, waving her over. “What was that about?”
“Ah, I was asking her for some help from Kohane,” Ichika explains as she sits down in front of Saki.
“Is that why you were looking so gloomy in class?” Saki asks while sliding over her lunch box towards her.
“Yeah…” Ichika admits. “I need to keep improving.”
“Hehe. I'm so happy we get to go pro together.” Saki's tone turns somber, her usual cheeriness slipping away to something more serious as the thoughts of “what-if”s that passed so close by swirl in her head.
Ichika can't blame her. The thought of losing Shiho haunts her too.
“We need to get so good we knock Shiho-chan's socks off!” Thankfully, her usual pep quickly returns.
Ichika nods, and mindlessly picks something out of Saki's lunch, thoughts still stuck on that stage.
♡
True to her word, Kohane's mousy pigtails peek into her classroom during the next break. Ichika hurries off her seat to talk to her.
“Um! An-chan said she's busy at the cafe this week, but Shinonome-kun said he has some free time,” Kohane rapid-fires at her, “He looks a little scary, but he's actually really nice! Here's his number, so you can coordinate between yourselves.” Kohane takes in a deep breath after she's done speaking, then takes a piece of paper our of her pocket.
“T-Thank you.” Ichika accepts the paper, still trying to process Kohane's onslaught of words, then hides it safely in her pocket. “I'll message him after school.”
Only when Kohane leaves, and she's back in her seat, do Kohane's words fully register.
A little scary?
That descriptor does nothing to ease the nerves at the thought of meeting someone new. Quite the opposite, actually, as anxiety churns in her guts at the thought of messaging him.
Well. It's too late to back out now.
And Kohane did say he was nice…
♡
The thought hangs over her like a heavy cloud all throughout practice. Her friends send her weird looks because of it, but she only shakes her head. They don't need to worry about that. Once she's home, she finally punches in the number she was given and sends a message.
Hoshino Ichika
>Good evening, I'm Kohane-chan's friend, Hoshino Ichika. Thank you for finding the time to help me out. When are you free?
She reads her message over and over again, anxiously waiting for a reply. She sounds way too formal, but she's not sure how else she should address him.
After maybe a minute, a message pops up on the screen
Shinonome-san
evening<
im free on thursday, between 6 and 8<
She glances at her calendar. Shiho said something about having to work on Thursday, so they moved their practice over to Friday and the weekend. Lucky for her, she's free when Shinonome is.
Hoshino Ichika
>I'm free then
>Do you have a place in mind?
Shinonome-san
nonogi park shouldnt be too busy<
we can move if it is<
Hoshino Ichika
>I'll see you there, then
She waits a minute, but it seems like the conversation is done. She puts down her phone with a nervous sigh.
♡
Thursday comes far too fast for her tastes. In the blink of an eye, she finds herself in Nonogi Park, with her guitar secured to her back and eyes peeled to every person she passes. Shinonome told her he has ginger hair with a bleached streak, which should be enough for her to easily find him.
She spots him in front of a bench in a far out corner of the park, doing some stretches. As she gets closer, she can understand Kohane's words; Shinonome's pretty tall and clearly athletic, with piercings glistening in the setting sun. They're still often seen negatively, but it makes sense for him, and his involvement with street music.
It does look a little scary, though.
He takes out his earphones once he notices her and nods.
“Nice to meet you in person, Shinonome-san,” She greets. To her horror, Shinonome's face twists in disgust at her words. Did she already mess up?
“Jeez, don't call me that,” He winces.
“Shinonome-kun?” She tries again. This time, his face relaxes.
“Nice to meet'cha, Hoshino.” He sits down on the bench, and she takes it as a sign to do the same. “We're the same age. You don't gotta be so polite.”
“Okay,” She agrees, nervously linking her fingers in front of her.
“How long have ya been doin’ this?”
“Um… I've been playing the guitar since I was a kid. I've started doing solo performances lately, and recently, my band performed on a stage for the first time,” She explains, and he nods along. “Since it was our first time on stage, and we weren't warned it'd happen, we didn't get to prepare. I want to do better the next time we get to perform.”
He hums. “And what did'ya do during the performance?” For a moment, the only sound between them is the rustling of leaves.
“Well…” She trails off, unsure what to say. “I walked out, introduced us, and then we played?” Is this what Shinonome wanted to hear? Should she add more detail? There's not much to say, though.
Shinonome only hums. His head turns towards her, face serious. “When d’ya think the performance starts?”
The question startles her a little. The answer seems obvious, but there must be a reason he's asking. She tries to think of the answer he wants, but comes up with nothing.
“The obvious answer is when we start playing,” She tries, looking at him uncertainly.
“D'ya know the non-obvious one?” She shakes her head at his question, prompting him to continue. “It's from the moment you walk out on stage. People will judge your energy, face, everythin'. An idol's gonna walk out with a pep in their step, maybe some fanservice, while a street performer like me will be aimin' to hype up the crowd from the very start.”
He pauses for a moment, letting her digest his words. It makes sense, but she's not exactly sure how she should behave.
“Does your band have an image in mind?” Something on her face must've shown, because his question hits the target.
“Um, not really. We're still figuring things out. Sorry.”
He shakes his head. “‘s fine. For now, the least you could do is be confident. You hafta walk out there knowing that you'll give them the best performance you can. If you show your nerves, they'll start doubtin’ your ability, and no matter how well you play, it'll be hard to change their first impression. That doubt will cling to your reputation.” There's a slight change in his tone, one that Ichika isn't sure is real or if she's making it up, so she ignores it.
“That makes sense. I'll keep that in mind.”
Another moment of silence.
“Um, can I hear how you do it?” She gives him an uncertain look.
He rubs the back of his neck and reaches for his phone. “Sure.”
He quickly shows her the screen, where the performance plays.
It's him and another boy, who must be his partner, walking out onto the stage. She notes his confident stride, his readiness to deliver a good performance, evident in his face and how surely he holds the mic. He addresses the crowd with a bit of a smirk and a certain fiery glint in his eyes — an assured promise of quality. And the crowd responds to him, loud cheers erupting as he finishes talking.
She watches carefully when the two sing. It's a bit different than what she can do, because she can't move as freely as them. Every step of theirs looks natural, every gesture looks confident. She notes how they emphasise their singing with their footwork at times, and how their bodies move with the song. It's mesmerizing.
When the song ends, and there's a lull while the tracks switch, Akito calls out to the crowd, drawing more and more cheers from them. It looks so effortless, and she wonders how much practice it took to get to this point.
They sing a few more songs, before both of them say goodbye to the audience. Akito confidently promises something even better next time, and by the volume of the audience's voices it sounds like they're looking forward to it. She knows those people will show up the next time they're performing, and she knows some of them will be there for those two.
She wants, so badly, to be able to do the same.
“So? What'd ya think?” Shinonome takes his phone away and hides it in his backpack.
“You're very good at this,” She admits, “You sound confident and your movement on stage conveys the same feeling. You look like you know what you're doing,” She pauses for a moment, looking for the right words. “This was helpful, even if I can't exactly do the same thing.”
“You shouldn't do the same thing, anyway,” He replies immediately, “You're your own person. You hafta find what feels right to you, not mindlessly copy someone else.”
“Oh, right.”
Despite talking and watching the performance, she's still unsure how to apply all of this advice in practice. Logically, she knows what she can try, but she can't really see herself exuding so much confidence.
“Well, none of that talkin' will be as good as some hands-on experience.” He stands from the bench and stretches. “Let's warm up, I know a shop nearby that can rent us some stuff.”
“Wh—We're going to sing?” She startles.
“Yeah. I wanna see how you'll do. I'll back you, but you're gonna be leadin’ on your own.”
“Alright.” She gets up as well. He'll be able to help her more if she actually shows him where she is right now. Even if she feels a bit anxious about performing with someone she met only today.
The warm up goes by so fast, she finds herself peeking into a music equipment store in the blink of an eye. It's only a moment before Shinonome is carrying some equipment outside.
“Ready?” He asks as he fiddles with the equipment.
“Um, I think so,” She responds, adjusting the mic stand Shinonome placed in front of her.
She looks around as Shinonome finishes up. There's already a few people slowing down as they walk by them, curious to see what's going on.
They've agreed to do Aoku Kakero, Dramaturgy and Into the Night. As usual, she's going to talk to the crowd once she's done. Shinonome gives her a nod and starts the music.
She sings and plays as she usually does. People start to gather, and Shinonome's lower, warm voice provides nice backing. It's different than when she sung with Kohane and Minori, something far more casual and relaxed. Even though he's only a backing vocal, she feels a fire emanate from his voice, and it's making her want to sing even better than she is now. She does her best to ramp up her performance, to deliver something good.
As the melody transitions into Dramaturgy, she takes a moment to look around. There's a few people gathered, looking on with interest, and she can't help the smile that stretches her lips. They seem interested, and she's glad they're listening to her. Ste starts off singing, doing her best to put that feeling into her song. Shinonome's vocals easily adjust to her change, and she's surprised to realize how nice this is. She's never sung with a boy before, since she isn't counting her singing along to Len or KAITO's songs for this, and it's a welcome change. Maybe she should do this more often, if possible.
She barely notices when the track starts fading out, the performance coming to an end. She wanted to keep singing, but they haven't prepared for more.
Right. This is her moment.
“Hello!” She starts, “I'm Hoshino Ichika from Leo/need. My band is only starting out, but I hope you'll keep an eye out for us.” She grips her guitar tighter as she speaks, looking between the faces in the crowd. “I sing on my own around here sometimes, so I hope to see you all again someday.”
The people cheer for her, and soon after, they disperse with murmurs and whispers on their lips. She looks around for Shinonome, who appears to have moved to the side while she spoke, and is now cleaning up after their performance. She moves to help him, and soon enough, they're walking back to the park.
“How d'ya feel?” He asks, head turning towards her.
“Uh, it was a nice change from what I usually do. And I think I felt a bit more confident?” In the moment, she was only focused on singing, and how it drew more people in. Some part of how she sung resonated with them and made her stay. It's a nice feeling.
“You didn't seem much nervous. You said you're doin’ solo practice, right? That's probably mostly why you were calm. If ya remember to not let your nerves get to you, you'll do jus’ fine.”
“Your words helped too. I'm not sure I would've paid such close attention to my body language if you hadn't made a note of it.” She admits, because Shinonome has been a huge help, and she appreciates him taking time out of his schedule for this.
Out of the corner of her eye, she can see him rub his neck.
“If you say so,” He murmurs. “Wait.” He stops in front of a vending machine. “We should get somethin' to drink after singin'.” He's digging around his pockets, and she nudges him sideways before she can really think about it.
“Uh, let me pay.” He's about to protest, so she cuts in before he can speak. “As thanks for doing this with me.”
He looks her up and down. She stubbornly stands her ground.
“Fine,” He relents with a sigh, “Jus' a soda's good.”
She gets him a can of lemon soda and a bottle of milk tea for herself. He still doesn't look too happy about having her buy his drink, but it's the least she can do to repay him.
“Is there anythin' else you wanted to ask about?” He asks as he opens his soda.
“I don't think so,” She hums, untwisting the cap on her bottle. “One performance is too little to judge, isn't it? I need to keep building my confidence.”
Shinonome nods. “Good luck.”
“Thank you. Good luck to you too.” She pauses to take a sip of her drink. “Um, would you want to do this again sometime? B—but don't worry if you can't. It's just that singing with you was new and fun. And I kind of want to know how it'd feel at your full power.” She nervously twists her bottle shut, fingers anxiously rubbing at the cap.
“Uh, sure, if I have time. ‘s nice to sing with a live instrument.” He lifts his can up to his lips. “Shoot me a message when ya wanna do it, and I'll let ya know if I'm free.”
“Are you very busy?” She asks. He offered her one day in the message, and he was stretching when she found him in the park. He seems like he doesn't have much free time.
“I practice a lot, and I'm a part-timer. Can't really waste time doin’ nothing.”
That makes sense. It's also admirable, how dedicated he is. She's going to have to do the same, if she's serious about going pro.
“Thank you for today, Shinonome-kun.” She bows. “Especially when you seem to have a lot on your plate.”
“I was overdue a break anyway,” He waves her off. “But I've still gotta do some stuff tonight.”
“I'll see you soon, then?” She looks at him, and he nods.
“See ya.”
She continues forward, even though she can hear Shinonome stop behind her. She's not too far from home, so she should be back soon enough.
She hears fast, steady footsteps behind her, and sees Shinonome jog past her. He's already back to working hard.
Maybe she can take a detour to the park to play her guitar a little more…