A Saiyan's Journey

"Did Kita-san bring her guitar again today?"

After sitting on a bench, Megumi Kato cast a curious glance at Ikuyo Kita.

Today, not only had Hitori Gotou brought her guitar, but even Kita was carrying a large guitar case on her back.

Although Megumi knew that Gotou was teaching Kita how to play the guitar, she hadn't expected Kita to actually bring a guitar to school.

"Hehe… Actually, this guitar belongs to Ryo-senpai. I mistakenly bought a bass on an installment plan instead of a guitar."

Kita scratched her head awkwardly, smiling wryly. As someone who lacked even basic knowledge of bands, she couldn't differentiate between a guitar and a bass.

She had confidently purchased a six-stringed instrument online, believing "basses have four strings" only to discover that multi-stringed basses existed as well.

Fortunately, Ryo Yamada came to the rescue, buying Kita's bass and lending her guitar to practice on.

"But Ryo-senpai said she spent all her money buying the bass and would have to eat grass from now on... Could that be true?"

As she spoke, Kita began worrying about Ryo's situation. Although Ryo's comment sounded like a joke, there was a hint of seriousness in her tone.

"I think she might actually mean it…"

Even though Gotou hadn't known Ryo much longer than Kita, being a peculiar person herself, Gotou had a knack for recognizing fellow oddballs.

Beneath Ryo's calm demeanor lay an eccentricity that made Gotou believe Ryo might genuinely resort to eating grass.

"Ryo-senpai also asked me to tell Shin-san that if he's willing to support her, she wouldn't have to eat grass."

"...Why am I suddenly being dragged into this?"

Shin, who had been amused by what sounded like lines straight out of the original story, didn't expect to become involved despite not visiting the LiveHouse yesterday.

"Ryo-senpai said she sensed an aura of wealth around Shin-san."

Gotou relayed Ryo's words to Shin, her expression suggesting she wasn't joking.

"How could Shin-kun, living alone, possibly be wealthy?"

Kato, who had been to Shin's home, seemed upset. She knew Shin lived alone, without parents or other family.

Thus, she thought Ryo might be joking about Shin's supposed wealth.

Gotou, sensing the awkwardness, laughed sheepishly. Yet, she couldn't deny Ryo's intuition might be spot on.

After all, Shin was backed by an entire yakuza organization. How could he not have money? If he wanted, he could certainly support Ryo.

"Kato, although I live alone, I am… rather well-off."

Seeing Kato so protective of him, Shin felt it wasn't right to keep her in the dark and confessed seriously.

"So don't worry too much. Ryo-senpai's intuition wasn't entirely off."

"Eh… really?"

Kato's face showed a rare flicker of surprise, though her expression remained mostly composed.

"So, if Ryo-senpai really doesn't have money for food, I could help her out. Consider it an investment in your band."

Shin nodded, then looked at Gotou and Kita.

"But she'd have to ask me directly. You can pass this message on when you see her at LiveHouse after school."

Having already exchanged contact information with Ryo, Shin knew she could simply call him if necessary.

"By the way, Bocchi, if you're working part-time at the LiveHouse to support the band, I could support you too, so you wouldn't have to work."

Gotou's heart skipped a beat. She was tempted.

As a socially anxious person, even after working for several days at LiveHouse, Gotou still struggled with customer interactions. She was far less adept than Kita, who had just started.

If Shin were to provide financial support, she could avoid the torment of her social anxiety altogether.

But after a moment of hesitation, Gotou shook her head.

"No… it's fine. Although I appreciate Shin-san's kindness, I'll keep working part-time."

She felt she shouldn't rely too much on Shin's goodwill and believed the job allowed her to bond with her bandmates.

Although Gotou was socially awkward, she already considered her bandmates her friends and couldn't abandon them.

"Gotou-san…"

Kita's eyes sparkled with emotion, deeply touched by her friend's resolve.

"It's finally over. Why did I have to spend my lunch break in a corner of the rooftop, listening to their teenage drama?"

Half an hour later, after Shin and the others finished their lunch and left the rooftop one by one, Eriri finally felt relief as tears streamed down her face.

Since their bench was near the rooftop entrance, Eriri had no chance to leave and had been forced to listen to their conversation.

Gotou's words about friendship might have been touching to her bandmates, but to Eriri, who wasn't part of their circle, they were just numbingly dull.

And besides, weren't all the others girls except Shin? While Eriri had heard rumors of Shin's popularity in class, she hadn't expected it to be this extreme.

Each girl was incredibly cute, even Gotou, despite her dowdy appearance. Eriri, with her keen eye for potential, could tell Gotou had hidden charms.

"Enough, I need to go. I've been holding it in for half an hour."

Just as Eriri prepared to leave the rooftop, Shin, standing near the door, suddenly turned his gaze toward her hiding spot.

"By the way, is that student who's been eavesdropping all lunch not planning to come out?"

Eriri froze in terror. Had she been discovered?

Holding her breath, she decided not to respond, hoping Shin was bluffing.

The next moment, Shin stepped around the corner and smiled at her, her face flushed red from holding back.

Seriously, with Shin's ability to sense "ki," how could anyone possibly hide from him?

To be continued…

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