It was a little past 9 a.m.
Ikuyo still hadn't shown up at STARRY Hall at the agreed-upon time.
Chisato picked up his phone, staring at the unread messages he had sent. A vague sense of unease began to stir in his chest.
Hopefully, it wasn't like last time—she wasn't sick again, right?
Seeing this, Nijika quickly spoke up.
"I'll give her a call and check."
Chisato nodded, and Nijika took out her phone, dialed the number, and pressed it to her ear. She waited for quite a while, but no one picked up.
Nijika slowly lowered her phone and gave a worried shake of her head toward Chisato.
Seeing this, the lively and eager atmosphere among the group quickly turned silent and heavy.
With the performance approaching and the lead vocalist suddenly out of contact, this wasn't good news.
"We're not just going to stand around and wait."
Chisato checked the time again and made a decision.
Ryo glanced at him but said nothing.
But Nijika, slightly flustered, protested.
"Let's wait just a little longer. Maybe Ikuyo-chan just got too excited last night and overslept.
Or maybe she got caught in traffic, or the train was delayed, or she accidentally lost her phone or something."
None of those were impossible.
However, Chisato hadn't meant they would abandon her.
"I don't intend to leave her behind. I meant we'll split up."
He looked at the three girls of Kesshoku Band.
"You guys who are performing should head to the venue and get familiar with the routine. I'll go with the manager to check on Ikuyo at her place."
Chisato's clarification made Nijika breathe a sigh of relief—it wasn't about leaving Ikuyo behind. But she still had one more worry.
"What if Ikuyo-chan comes to STARRY after we've left and can't find us?"
Hitori, who had been quiet all this time, shyly raised her hand.
"Um… I could stay here?"
Chisato shook his head.
"No need for that. We'll just leave a note on the door explaining where we've gone. If she sees it, she can head straight to the venue and meet up with us."
Given the situation, everyone accepted this plan.
They quickly packed up, shut down everything in the store, and as they stepped out of STARRY, Chisato stuck a note on the door and was about to write the message when Nijika's phone rang.
Everyone turned to look at her. When Nijika saw the caller ID, her face lit up with surprise and joy.
"It's Ikuyo-chan!"
Seika let out a soft breath of relief, then crossed her arms and smiled.
Although she had maintained a calm demeanor the whole time, she had been just as nervous as the rest of the band.
At Chisato's signal, Nijika hurriedly answered and put the phone on speaker.
"Sorry, Nijika-chan!"
As soon as the call connected, Ikuyo's apologetic voice came through.
"Geez, Ikuyo-chan! What are you doing?! You didn't show up, didn't pick up your phone—we were so worried!"
Nijika gave her a light scolding, which was followed by a flurry of apologies from Ikuyo.
"I lost track of time at home, so I ended up leaving later than I planned."
"You could've at least called us to let us know."
"My phone was on silent and I didn't notice. When I get flustered, my brain gets all jumbled, and I can't prioritize. I'm really sorry!"
"No need to keep apologizing. Anyway, we're just glad you're okay…"
Seeing the conversation going nowhere, Chisato finally cut in.
"Ikuyo, are you still at home?"
"Eh?!"
Hearing Chisato's voice startled Ikuyo for a moment, but she quickly recovered.
"Ah, yes! I'm heading out right now to meet you guys at STARRY."
"There's not much time left, so don't bother coming here. The manager will drive, and we'll come pick you up instead."
"That's too much trouble. I can just take a cab."
"No need. Just do as I said. Take your time and get ready. I'll call you when we arrive. And this time, make sure your phone's off silent."
"Okay."
There was no room for argument in Chisato's tone. He wanted to gather everyone quickly—any more unexpected problems might derail their entire plan.
Ikuyo obediently followed his instructions. After the call ended, the anxiety that had loomed over the group dissipated.
Excitement and nerves about the upcoming stage began to build again.
Seika started the car. It drove smoothly and quickly, and in less than half an hour, they arrived near Ikuyo's home.
After calling to let her know the pickup spot, Ikuyo soon came jogging over.
"Sorry, sorry! I caused everyone trouble."
Once in the car, Ikuyo took out some cold drinks from her plastic bag and handed them out.
Chisato, sitting in the passenger seat, took his and passed her a pack of tissues, motioning for her to wipe her forehead.
It was hot outside, and she had clearly been sweating.
Ikuyo gave a small smile and a word of thanks, happily accepting it.
But instead of using the tissue he gave her, she waited until Chisato turned away, then tucked it carefully into her bag and used her own tissues to wipe off her sweat.
"Ikuyo-chan, your eyes look really red. Did you not sleep well last night?"
Nijika, sitting beside her, noticed something was off.
In the front seat, Seika glanced into the rearview mirror at the back seat, her brows slightly furrowing.
Then she looked sideways at Chisato in the passenger seat, who had a serious expression and was staring straight ahead, clearly lost in thought.
Seika smirked.
Looks like this guy already realized something's wrong. No need for her to step in.
"Ah… yeah! Yeah! I was so excited about performing today that I kept tossing and turning in bed and just couldn't sleep."
"Same here! We couldn't sleep either. So Ryo just pulled me and Bocchi-chan to watch other people's live performances, saying it would help us relax and fall asleep."
"That would just make you more hyped, wouldn't it?"
"Exactly! That weirdo actually fell asleep in the middle of watching the live show. Bocchi-chan and I tossed and turned forever before finally falling asleep.
But it's okay to be short on sleep once in a while. We had a big breakfast this morning and even drank extra milk. We'll be fine for the performance."
"Yeah! Let's do our best and show the results of all the effort we've put in. Let's make this summer something we won't regret!"
Somehow, the four girls in the backseat got fired up again. They all stacked their hands together.
"Kesshoku Band!"
"Let's go, let's go, let's go!!!"
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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