During times of relaxation from basketball, Riko Aida brings the Seirin basketball team to a new environment other known as a concert venue where Teppei Kiyoshi finds himself growing deeply interested in one of the crew members of the band that had...
FRUSTRATION AND music have never mixed well enough together to create something beautiful.
Hikaru should be the first to know such a thing and yet she continues to tighten her hold on her guitar. Her fingers moving at an unbelievable pace, expression hardening, and breath becoming oddly uneven.
Despite her bandmates' pleas, she keeps going until one of her guitar strings break, bringing her back to reality, mortified.
Yuto, the drummer, lets out a long sigh. He had expected such an outburst after her last one two practices ago. Upon hearing the tiredness from him, Hikaru looks up for the first time in a while at the very same people she considers her friends and at their concerned looks eating her whole.
She hates this feeling.
Yuto clutches his drumsticks close to his chest, mustering the courage to tell the simplest phrase ever known to mankind; "Are you okay?"
The other members nod in agreement, recognizing that this is the best way to approach their distressed guitarist.
"Yeah," she huffs, "I'm okay." This lie is evident after such a performance. She stands idly, holding her now- useless electronic guitar, decorated with stickers gifted by, Misaki, the vocalist.
Yuto proceeds to try and press for a more detailed answer out of her, "you can tell us if something is going on, you know."
However, his kindness does little to calm her. Hikaru lets her eyes wander around Yuto's garage, where the band usually practices. She sees the car wheels in the corner, the three guitars hanging on the wall( vintage finds Yuto's dad absolutely adores ), the cute little bikes belonging to Yuto's younger siblings, the vintage posters, and much more. Then, she makes the mistake of meeting her bandmates' worried eyes.
Hikaru deeply dislikes being pitied this way.
"C'mon guys, stop. You know everything is fine!"
"Do we?" Sayuri, the other guitarist, questions.
A long silence envelopes the room and the tension rises. Hikaru proceeds to open her mouth only to be interrupted by the sound of the door behind her opening. Yuto's father peeks in, smiling warmly at the teenagers.
"Are you kids hungry? Why don't you all take a quick break!"
"Dad--" Yuto begins, but his father cuts him off.
"Come in! Every musician needs to rest after playing as much as you talented kids do." He opens the door wider, inviting them in.
The silence continues as they all proceed to move to the living room of Yuto's beautiful home. Unable to take it anymore, Hikaru turns to her friends, a look of embarrassment on her face.
"Guys, I'm so sorry. I--" she looks at each of them, struggling to find the words. Finally, she sighs, swallowing her words, knowing that one day she will eventually chock them out. "I'll see you guys later. I just need some space before the show."
She then leaves without waiting for an answer. Later on, Yuto's father returns to the room noticing one evident person missing. His son doesn't let him question it.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
HIKARU BLAMES herself for letting her emotions get the best of her at such an inconvenient time.
Still, a part of her cannot quite doesn't understand why all these built up feelings suddenly surfaced during rehearsal. She finds it to be very strange because she believes music to be her peaceful haven— a hobby free of stress and piled up by relaxation she's always felt she desperately needed. Music has always been her therapist.
Perhaps, it's all due to the stress of experiencing writer's block for the first time in a while.
As the band's lyricist, she is responsible for most of the songs they perform. Her ability to convey her feelings through a poetic series of words has never made any of her bandmates doubt or disagree with the direction of their music. If anything, it has helped them see many things in a different way and find ways to even strengthen the message she's trying to bring to light on stage with ease.
However, Hikaru has been feeling like she's hit rock bottom. Lately, it's been hard to find inspiration for a new song or even just an ounce of lyric that could possibly resonate with their somewhat dedicated listeners.
Their band, Sonic Bloom, is known for their contradictory songs— often featuring an upbeat tempo with sad lyrics. While this may confuse some, it has helped them gained much attention, though not enough to make a huge impact in the music industry like the many successful bands out there.
But that never mattered to them. Sonic Bloom was never meant to be a big deal anyway. They're just a group of high schoolers trying to pass time, trying to find solace in something— anything.
To all four members, finding each other had been a blessing.
Since most of them, apart from Sayuri, are second years, they find it most important to make the most of out this year for their upperclassman.
Just thinking about her friends warms Hikaru's heart as she finally approaches the train station.
The sole reason why she is possibly experiencing this writer's block in the first place might be mainly due to the fact that she wants to create something new. A warm and happy song. One that matches the tempo, that feels light. One to symbolize the joy she feels around the rest of Sonic Bloom or maybe just to perhaps feel something new from one of her many creations.
Her mind doesn't wander off far enough as the train arrives and she boards. Not even as she has to put her gig bag down or is startled by a notification sound from her phone- which is usually on do-not-disturb.
She is quick to open the device and even quicker to close it.
As the train finally departs, Hikaru tries to not overthink about what she found once she opened it. She, instead, decides to overthink about what she could possibly eat when she gets back home or better yet, how she could save herself from talking about her outburst next rehearsal.
Riko hey Hikaru! is it still ok with you if i bring the boys to the upcoming show?
