After being rudely awakened by Chika, Shoichi starts working on cleaning the front. Once again, we see the suspicious man-in-black, who felt like redoing his scene yesterday by throwing away another cigarette on Shoichi's pavement. This time, I get no choice in the matter, and Shoichi calls him out. Thankfully, this time he isn't fed a knuckle sandwich, as the man-in-black turns out to be Gonda Eiji, a regular customer and friend of the Master.
Talk about awkward. Shoichi refuses to give it a rest, but the Master intervenes before things get too nasty. Gonda goes to the studio, and Master lightly scolds Schoichi for picking fights with customers.
Five hours later, Shoichi decides to see what Gonda was up to all that time in the studio. Gonda was, in fact, still practising his bass guitar with much vigour, and Shoichi can't help being impressed, despite his earlier attitude. Chika also comes along, describing Gonda as the kind of person that "Wouldn't stay dead even if you killed him". Saying that she doesn't seem like him very much either would be an understatement.
I'm pretty sure by now that Gonda will turn out to be a very respectable person, despite his rough exterior. Probably had to deal with some sort of tragic past.
Chika continues talking: Apparently, Gonda is a skilled player, but because of his behaviour always gets in fights. the reason why he is practising on is own is because no one will play with him any more. Rumour has it that he even killed a man once*. Kanade enters the scene, and makes Chika stop spreading rumours like that.
We flash forward to the end of Shoichi working hours. He and the Master talk a little about Master's past as a performer. Shoichi then tries out an ancient vending machine that was supposed to be broken. despite the odds, a can of soda came out normally anyway, with a guitar pick stuck under the pull tap. On the pick was written Deardrops. Ah, good. I was looking for a Title Drop like that. Titles that have nothing to do with the actual story annoy me.
The Master tells Shoichi that he's a winner, and asks him to keep hold of that pick. It seems to hold great significance to him, but he doesn't actually tell what.
The next day, we see that Shoichi was stupid enough to actually drink the fossilized soda he got from the vending machine, giving him some serious stomach problems. While on the toilet fighting his diarrhea, he hears Gonda stumble into the stall next to him, facing similar problems. Except his stall didn't have any paper. Shoichi, being the nice guy he is, tosses the roll in his stall over to Gonda, who accepts it without much gratitude and does not toss it back after being finished. Shoichi is stuck without paper for an hour.
That was a pretty useless scene, though I guess it would have been funnier if I wouldn't have to write about it.
The scene cuts back to the reception, where Sanejima, another customer that only had three lines so far (plus an appearance that didn't peg him as an important character, so I hadn't mentioned him yet) enters the shop. With him are three other person, probably his band members, among which is the mystery girl over whom Shoichi got beat up. She doesn't seem to actually want to be there, but is dragged along by Sanejima. Sanejima addresses her as 'Riho'.
Riho complains that there is no reason for them to be there, as the song isn't finished anyway. They argue a little, and Riho then notices Shoichi. She asks him what he's doing there, and doesn't seem to like that he does, in fact, work there. She leaves the building, leaving her band behind. Man, she's a cold one. I'm being strongly reminded of Family Project's Aoba.
I loved Aoba!:D
Understandably pissed off, Sanejima and his band cancel the reservation and leave. Shoichi gets hit by another Potty Emergency, and the scene goes dark.
We cut to Shoichi's room* where Kanade takes care of him with some medicine. Shoichi shows her the guitar pick he won yesterday, but she doesn't seem to know anything about it either. Shoichi gets the bright idea to ask Master about it next time he sees him. Why he didn't do so yesterday is a mystery to me.
Next day, Gonda shows up, and starts teasing Shoichi about the prank he pulled yesterday. He then orders 'the usual'. Shoichi, being the new guy, has no idea what he's talking about, and we are given a choice: does Shoichi ask what Gonda is talking about, or does he just make something?
Hmm, difficult. On one hand, asking Gonda would be the sensible thing to do, but Shoichi hates his guts and would probably not want to talk to him any longer than absolutely necessary. If I pick the second option, surely he will do the next best thing and ask any of the other employees around?
But then I realize that, up to now, Shoichi has shown to be a blithering moron, so I go with the safe option of simply asking Gonda.
Gonda, being the prick he is, refuses to actually tell Shoichi and tells him to 'just make something'. Uhu, yeah, whatever. Shoichi decides to make him some yakisoba, with a side of revenge in the shape of extremely spicy sauce. At this point, I want to hit Shoichi in the face for failing basic conflict resolution, but all I can do is hope that Gonda will do so in my place.
Gonda proves that he has no tastebuds, however, and compliments Shoichi on his delicious cooking. Feeling ashamed of of cowardly scheme, and being complimented so sincerely, Shoichi seems to drop any hostility he felt towards Gonda.
That evening, Chika and Kanade are in Shoichi's bus on the rooftop, where Kanade tries Gonda's special yakisoba, which resulted in her screaming in pain. They talk a little more about Gonda, with Chika still convinced that he's a bad person. Shoichi defends him.
Aaaand, then we cut to Gonda saying "Fuck you, asshole! Go to hell!*" to Sanejima's face. the two were apparently arguing in front of the live house, and Shoichi stumbled upon the two. Dude's always getting himself in trouble, ain't he?
Sanejima asks Gonda to perform in the band of a guy he knows, 'Just for this next gig', because their bassist bailed out at the last moment. I assume that Sanejima was talking about his own band, and the bassist that bailed was Riho.
Gonda harshly refuses, saying that he got his hands full with this new band he recently formed. Shoichi makes his insight check and realizes that Gonda is lying. Sanejima also figures this out, since Gonda is a horribly bad liar. He backs off when Gonda intimidates him, but then dares him to bring his band to perform as a guest at his next gig a week later. Gonda can not refuse without admitting that he is lying, and Shoichi leaves before they notice him.
When shoichi returns from a shopping trip, he finds the Master and Gonda talking about it. Gonda had, indeed, accepted the dare, and now needs to find at least a drummer and a guitarist for the gig. Of course, he knows no one willing to do so. Master then notices Shoichi eavesdropping, and asks whether he's ever played the guitar. Despite Shoichi's negative answer, Master asks him to give it a try to help Gonda out. Gonda and Shoichi both agree (for the first time on anything) that this is a terrible idea, but Master insists, and offers to play the drums himself.
This seems to have sweetened the deal for Gonda, and eventually Shoichi nearly gives in as well once Gonda starts taunting him by showing no confidence. And then, it's time for a choice: Will Shoichi say that he can or can not perform in a week?
I seriously doubt that my answer will influence what is going to happen much. This has 'unavoidable plot' written all over it. Rationally, it is indeed unlikely that someone with no previous experience with an instrument will be able to learn how to perform well enough to entertain an actual audience within a week. However, Shoichi is also a top-class violin player. He knows a lot about music, so he already has all the theory down, has a talented ear for music, and will be playing alongside two veterans that could pick up the slack if he dropped a note here and there. All he actually needs to learn is how to hold a guitar, and he'll be able to at least pretend he knows what he's doing.
Thinking irrationally, Shoichi has a strong competitive spirit, and Gonda has been talking him down ever since Master came with his plan. I doubt that he'd back down from a challenge that is being rubbed in his face like that.
Shoichi declares that he can do it, and Gonda accepts, though he still threatens Shoichi with 'taking responsibility' if he backs down when showtime comes.
Master brings out a bunch of guitars from his collection, and tells Shoichi to pick one to borrow. Shocihi doesn't know anything about guitars, so he pick one that grabs his attention based on feeling alone. Master and Gonda were a little surprised by his choice, but didn't argue.
Shoichi then proceeds to fiddle with the guitar all night. Sleep-deprived and with blisters on his fingers, he talks to Kanade and Chika. Chika is still not particularly thrilled about the way Shoichi got close to Gonda. Master cuts in, and Shoichi asks him to teach him how to play guitar. Master refuses, saying that Gonda would be a far better teacher. Shoichi doesn't really like the prospect, but he understands what Master is saying.
Of course, once asked about it, Gonda refuses as well. anything involving other humans seems to cramp his style. Master concedes, and they decide on what song to play. They pick something called 'vana', though I have no idea what that is. Gonda is roped into doing the vocals, even though he doesn't like singing much.
Shoichi starts practising. As expected, while he does need to initially fight against some instincts, he eventually manages to use his experience on the violin for the better. Kanade enters the scene, commenting how it looks weird to see Shoichi with anything other than a violin, but she thinks that an electric guitar also seems to suit Shoichi. They talk a little more about Gonda. Kanade seems to peg him as a very lonely person, rather than a bad one. While she isn't a particularly great guitarist, she agrees to teach Shoichi what little she knows.
Next day, during the break, Kanade and Shoichi go to the studio to practice. Shcoihi calls Kanade 'sensei', to which Kanade responds: "Me, a Sensei? Then I'll be giving you a hard lesson today."
...My mind went to some very bad places.
Before they actually got to the studio, Riho enters the store. She had reserved a studio room under the name 'Kaguya'. Alrighty, we got Riho's full name! she came alone, without an instrument, so one might wonder what she needs a studio for.
She harshly asks Shoichi what he's doing with a guitar in his hand, as if he's not supposed to hold one. I suppose milady Riho would rather have him stick to violins. When Shoichi tells her that he kind of stumbled into a band, she gets angry. She seems to believe that rock bands are Serious Business, and Shoichi has no business getting involved with such half-assed feelings.
She reveals that not only does she know that Shoichi played the violin before, but also that he can't play it any more. Okay, now I'm curious: Just what is this person to Shoichi? Or rather, what is Shoichi to this person, since he couldn't remember her to save his life.
Getting chewed out like that, Shoichi feels a bit guilty about trying to have a little fun while learning how to play (shock and horror!), but Riho eventually gives up on arguing. She cancels her reservation, and makes a new one for next Monday.
Shoichi and Kanade continue practising, but Shoichi wasn't really into it because of what happened earlier. Kanade tells him to be more earnest about playing guitar, because she wants to see Riho being proven wrong. As she is saying this dead-seriously, Shoichi can't help but laugh and tell her that he will be more earnest. Because he refuses to lose, even to Riho. Of course, to reach a level where he can say that he showed her how it's done, he'd need a better instructor.
They ask Master if he knows anyone. He has someone on his mind, but he doesn't really seem enthused about the idea, since the person he's talking about is a bit of a freak (or 'hentai' in the original language, if my ears don't fool me). we are then presented with the next choice: Will Shoichi see if this 'freak' can teach him, or will he back out?
Can't back out now. Dude wants to play guitar on a respectable level, dude will need a teacher. Can't be picky.
Shoichi asks the Master to introduce him, and the next day, he is being told that the freak guitar teacher has agreed to teach him.
She arrives that evening. Girl in school uniform, pink hair, hair decks. Yeah, this will be a pretty energetic person, and probably one of the possible girls for Shoichi to end up with. Shoichi seems a bit surprised that this is supposed to be his teacher, but eh, he was told she'd be young and a freak. She introduces herself as Ohba Yayoi, and calls Shoichi a 'crazy person' for trying to master the guitar within a week. Then she brags that he'll be able to do it, because she'll be teaching him, and she makes the impossible possible.
I think I like this girl already. There's some amusing dialogue to mine from an ego like that. I'm reminded of Shuffle's Mayumi, somehow.
Master leaves the two alone, and Yayoi starts fidgeting. she gives us this wonderful line: "Just because it's my first time being in a studio alone with a guy, doesn't mean I'm nervous or anything." Guess I'd better add Suspiciously Specific Denial to the trope page if no one has already. She then nervously asks if Shoichi can stay calm being alone with a young girl in a room. Well, I'm sure he could if you didn't rub his face in it. Shoichi answers that he'll be fine, which makes Yayoi wonder if he's gay.
...Right. When Shouchi denies being gay, Yayoi acts insulted, and whispers that she'll make the lessons extra harsh. Like I said, lady got some ego.
Yayoi asks if she can see Shochi's guitar, and is pleased to see it. apparently, It's a 'Strat', which I assume is a very awesome guitar. Not that I'd know anything about that. She then gushes about it for ten minutes straight, which are mercifully skipped over by the game. Poor Shoichi. I've had to listen to plenty of people geeking out about a subject I know nothing about, so I can feel his pain.
Shoichi finally snaps her out of it, and she agrees to start teaching him, if he first gives the guitar a name. He settles for 'Fraulein'.
Training starts, and Yayoi appears to have rather spartan ideas on teaching, constantly yelling at Shoichi whenever he messes up, and throwing ashtrays at his head whenever he says something stupid. And he messes up quite often, since he's being introduced to all kinds of new ideas that clash with his old ones.
Eventually, the training ends with an ashtray actually hitting home. Time for a break and a few aspirins. The conversation shifts towards Shoichi's former career a bit. Again, no details, but Yayoi seems quite thrilled with the idea of teaching someone that used to perform on such a high level. She doesn't like being called Ohba-sensei, however, so she tells Shoichi to simply use her name. And then we get a choice what to call her: Yayoi-chan or... Guitako? As in, 'Guitar girl?'
...Huh. That's a rather weird option. It's like a huge, red button saying "Don't push this button" in big black letters on it. Well, we all know what happens if you present such a button to a human being with even an ounce of inquisitive nature.
Yayoi reacts to being nicknamed like that by slapping Shoichi in the face. Well, I guess I kind of deserved that. He then settles for simply calling her Yayoi-chan, and Yayoi will call him Sho-san. They shake hands and part ways.
That evening, Shochi watches a concert video of this 'vana' band that he'll be performing himself in five days. He identifies the guitarist as Kurt Cobain.
Oooooooh, NI Rvana. Now the world makes science again. Well, mystery solved, and I'm getting tired of writing all this stuff. Time to end this session. Peace out, see you all later, bladibladibla:P
