Lonely Rock for the Blind.

Chapter 41 Street Performances

"That was tuned wrong, Kita."

"Ah! Yes..."

"You played it wrong again... You must have practiced this part before, right? Didn't you play it very well back then?"

"Sorry, sorry, I won't make the same mistake next time!"

"...You're wrong again..."

Putting down her guitar, Haruto Nekoyashiki looked at the absent-minded Ikuyo Kita.

"So what exactly happened?"

"...Uh...no...it's nothing..."

Kita Ikuyo shook her head, then hugged her guitar.

"Let's try again! This time we're sure to succeed!"

"Ugh…"

Nekoyashiki Haru sighed.

“I’m not your classmate, I’m your teacher. If you have any problems, you should speak up so that we can correct them in time.”

Nekoyashiki Haru took off her headphones.

"Don't try to hide it, okay? Are you feeling unwell or are you being bothered by other factors?"

"…Um…"

Kita Ikuyo looked at Hiroi Kikuri on the sofa next to her.

Then she looked at Nekoyashiki Haru who was waiting for her, and said softly.

"...I always feel uneasy with Ms. Hiroi around...it feels like she's constantly spreading the [Poch Factor]...I get distracted as soon as I sense it."

"...What the heck? [Polch Factor]?"

"It's... that kind of lonely and pessimistic atmosphere, radiating outwards in the form of waves. If you stay in this environment for a long time, even a normal person will become like a wave. Can't you feel it, Nekoyashiki-senpai?"

"...I can't feel anything strange."

Nekoyashiki Haru sighed, then took out her cane and tapped Hiroi Kikuri.

"Did you hear that, [Pochi Factor] Spreader? Go back to your room first. It seems like Kita can't concentrate with you here."

"…Feel sorry…"

Hiroi Kikuri slowly crawled off the sofa, then stood up and staggered toward the room.

The air suddenly seemed to drop several degrees Celsius due to the sorrow, and a faint sigh escaped from Hiroi Kikuri's lips.

"As expected... I'm being disliked. Being disliked by young people is one of the signs that my music is about to become outdated."

"Oh my! You've looked so pitiful, I feel bad letting you leave!"

Kita Ikuyo quickly stepped forward and pulled Hiroi Kikuri back.

Don't be so sad! Nobody hates you.

Kikuto Hiroi looked at Ikuyo Kita and sighed softly.

"Really?"

"Really...really..."

Kita Ikuyo suddenly looked away, feeling a little guilty.

"Sigh... I understand..."

Hiroi Kikuri sighed and walked towards her room.

"Wait a minute! What do you understand now?! I didn't say I hate you!"

The look in your eyes that turned away told me everything…

"Sensitive people are so troublesome!"

Kita Ikuyo wailed, clutching her hair. Nekoyashiki Haru sighed and then stood up.

"senior?"

Suddenly noticing that Nekoyashiki Haru had stood up, Kita Ikuyo looked at the boy.

"Go out."

"Huh? Me?"

Kita Ikuyo pointed at herself in shock and asked.

"I'm not saying you have to leave, I mean go practice outside."

Nekoyashiki Haru walked towards the door.

"Kikuri, bring the bass."

"Ah, okay... I want to drink..."

Kikuto Hiroi pleaded softly.

"No, do you remember what you told me last night? You're not allowed to drink."

Nekoyashiki Haru shook her head, then faced the direction where Kita Ikuyo was probably.

"Kita, can we find a park with a decent number of visitors?"

"Ah... let me think... there should be one nearby?"

...

……

.........

boom!

In front of the fountain, the speaker was placed down, and Nekoyashiki Haru's hand groped around on it.

"Are we...are we going to perform here?!"

Kita Ikuyo looked at Nekoyashiki Haru, who was adjusting the speakers, in surprise.

"Yes, it's good to get used to it sooner. Don't worry, you don't need to do anything. You can just watch from the side, or accompany the music, it's all up to you."

After tuning the amp, Nekoyashiki Haru stood up and gently strummed her guitar.

"As for Kikuri... cheer up a little, all the money from the tips given by passersby is yours."

"Ah... okay."

Kikuri Hiroi hugged the bass.

"Then…"

Nekoyashiki Haru explored the surroundings with her cane and soon found the fountain platform.

Kita Ikuyo, who was standing next to her, was startled as she stretched out her foot to stand on it, and immediately stepped forward to support Nekoyashiki Haru.

Thanks.

Nekoyashiki Haru, who was standing in front of the fountain, thanked Kita Ikuyo.

"No need to thank me for such a small thing..."

"Alright, you can come up now."

Nekoyashiki Haru nodded, then spoke to Kita Ikuyo.

"Ugh?"

Kita Ikuyo was taken aback.

"...I...I don't even know how to play it..."

"It's hard to get used to being watched by the audience down here. Although you, Kita, are probably exceptionally talented in this area, it's better to get used to it beforehand. Come on up."

Haru Nekoyashiki subconsciously reached out to pull Ikuyo Kita up, but halfway there she realized that what she was doing was a bit "overestimating herself", so she stopped halfway.

Snapped.

Then Kita Ikuyo grabbed him.

"I understand, senior. I won't let you down!"

Kita Ikuyo took a deep breath and then climbed up to the fountain platform.

Hiroi Kikuri looked up at this scene.

"... "

He then quietly lowered his head and continued playing the bass.

"call…………"

Nekoyashiki Haru took a deep breath and gently placed her fingers on the guitar strings.

next moment.

"!"

Kita Ikuyo opened her eyes wide.

The intense and rhythmic guitar music flowed from the boy's hands, rippling outwards like waves under the light refracted by the fountain behind him.

Clean, crisp, yet imbued with an emotion that seems to leap out, as if in sync with a heartbeat.

Kita Ikuyo had originally intended to play a few notes as a token gesture, but at this moment she was completely unable to move a single string.

My gaze lingered on the boy, whose long black hair shone brilliantly in the sunlight behind him, and a faint purple light flickered in the gap between his sunglasses and eyelids.

Absolute existence.

Kita Ikuyo thought to herself.

Thump————