My love is abyss mode

Chapter 148 The band's first rehearsal did not go smoothly (4K)

Kuronuma Kiba was momentarily at a loss for words when asked about Hatsushino Ryo's question.

He felt sorry for Shinkai Shiona's plight, but it would be very wrong of him to oppose his girlfriend out of pity.

Hatsushiro Ryo is no longer the "three drone heiress" she once was. She has begun to develop some emotions and can no longer be as indifferent to matters of love as before.

It's probably better to be honest after all, right?

Kuronuma thought to himself, gently stroking her back with his palm. Her snow-white skin was as smooth and delicate as milk. "I feel a little sorry for Shionai, but as for the future, it's hard to say right now. For now, I just want to help her live a truly happy life in this world."

As he said these words, he still didn't dare to meet Hatsushino Ryo's eyes, and his tone revealed a hint of guilt.

"Yes, I know about Shionai-chan, but I don't understand your thoughts."

Hatsushino Ryo cupped Kuronuma Kiba's face in her hands, forcing him to look at her, her wine-red eyes filled with confusion: "My mother said that even if I don't understand, I should still support you."

"What's the reason?"

“My mother said that if you hadn’t solved the peach problem back then, I would have regretted sitting idly by later.”

"Maybe."

Kiba Kuronuma nodded in agreement with Chie Hatsushino's statement. After all, Ryo Hatsushino only had a few friends, and she was capable of solving all problems, but she just didn't realize that she should do it.

Especially Shirakawa Momo's awkward personality—she clearly knew that as long as she spoke up, Hatsushino Ryo could solve all the problems.

"But, Peach became the enemy."

Hatsushiro Ryo pulled away from his embrace, walked to the wardrobe, took out a black kimono and put it on, saying regretfully as she did so, "I don't know what to do."

She worried that Shinkai Shionai would also become an enemy, and if things continued this way, she might still lose all her friends.

"Shionai is clumsy, don't worry about her."

Hearing Kuronuma Kiba say this, Hatsushino Ryo nodded thoughtfully, his expression relaxing.

Shinkai Shiona is not Toyama Chitose after all, so it's almost impossible for her to put pressure on her. The young lady put her worries aside and carefully tied the obi (sash) on her kimono.

"Do you need any help with the teeth? You can use the resources from the Hatsushino family as you please."

"No need, I plan to resolve Shionai's matter with Momo."

"Hmm, 6 attempts left?"

This is asking him if anything happened between him and Shirakawa Momo today.

"6 times."

Kuronuma gave an affirmative answer, and after she finished dressing in her kimono, the two left the room together and walked down the winding corridor away from the old wooden house.

The night was deep, and the bright moonlight shone down from the cloudless sky, illuminating the fine white pebble path.

Walking into a maple forest with a slightly chilly evening breeze, warm lights shone from a wooden building with all four sliding doors open amidst the swaying five-pointed red leaves.

Chie Hatsushino was sitting on the tatami mats, with a table in front of her filled with various exquisite kaiseki dishes. Judging from the decorations, the theme must be related to "autumn".

As soon as the two entered, before they could even greet each other, she waved enthusiastically to Kiba Kuronuma, gesturing for him to sit down beside her: "Kiba-kun, come and sit down. Why didn't Momo come? Mother won't make things difficult for them."

"I didn't want to get scolded, so I didn't tell her."

Kuronuma Kiba sat down on one side of the table, forming a "V" shape with Hatsushino Chie, while Hatsushino Ryo sat down on the other side, close to his body.

"Xiao Tao is very polite. She must be very close to you to be so mean to you. It's a pity about her father."

Chie Hatsukano picked up a piece of lamb chopstick with her chopsticks and placed it on his plate, showing a hint of regret. Then, she changed the subject, skipping over the unpleasant topic: "This lamb was specially sent from Hokkaido by your father, which is why he invited you here."

Serving food to guests is obviously against etiquette, so there's only one possibility: Chie Hatsushino really considers him family.

Realizing this, Kuronuma's stiff body relaxed considerably. He picked up the roasted lamb chop with his bare hands and stole a glance at her expression.

Seeing that Shino Chie was still smiling, he suddenly realized that this elder wasn't so annoying after all; she was just a little too enthusiastic, which was overwhelming.

Before they could even eat, Hatsuru Ryo was the first to lean over and take a bite of the lamb chop.

Click——

The sound of bones snapping was exceptionally clear, as if dissolving the last trace of unfamiliarity in the air, and the atmosphere became relaxed.

Kuronuma Kiba turned to look at Hatsushino Ryo, marveling at her terrifying bite force.

"It's cold, so you can't eat the bones too."

After giving her daughter some instructions, Chie Hatsukano slowly began to eat her dinner, her chopsticks held with remarkable elegance: "Speaking of bones, Kiba-kun seems to be involved in a boxing match, right? If you need sponsorship, don't be shy about asking your mother."

The only thing Kuronuma couldn't accept was having another mother; otherwise, the current atmosphere really felt like going home for dinner.

He shook his head decisively and refused without the slightest hesitation, saying, "No need. I want to earn my own money to buy a house in Tokyo. If the Hatsushino family needs advertising, I don't mind helping with the promotion."

"It's so nice that Ya treats the Hatsushino family like her own home. Let me think, there are indeed two new projects that need to be promoted recently."

Chie Hatsukano didn't stand on ceremony with him at all, and when talking about the newly opened resort hotel, Kiba Kuronuma, as usual, pushed all these matters to Kanon Matsuzaka and asked her to make the arrangements.

The atmosphere at dinner was quite harmonious. Hatsushika Ryo didn't say a word. Kuronuma Kiba and Hatsushika Chie chatted while eating dinner, and the topic ranged from trivial matters in life to the situation at the company, and then jumped to the climate in Tokyo.

After dinner, Kuronuma Kiba agreed to stay overnight at the Hatsushino house. Hatsushino Chie left the rest of the night for the two of them. She didn't mention anything about getting Kuronuma Kiba to change his address, nor did she have any obvious intentions. It was as if she had only invited him over to eat the lamb that was sent from Hokkaido.

Compared to Chie Hatsushino, Ryo Hatsushino's intentions couldn't be clearer. He eagerly invited Kiba Kuronuma to go to the hot springs, but by the time they returned to her room, it was already past midnight.

October 11th, Thursday.

The mountaineering club's holiday officially ended today, but Hatsushika Ryo has taken another long leave to work with his mother at the company.

In the morning, Kuronuma Kiba and Matsusaka Kanon went to participate in a boxing match. It ended before 10 o'clock. After that, the two returned to the private Seiran Academy for class.

During his lunch break, instead of going to the mountaineering club, he went to the rooftop for lunch with his two red-haired underlings, and also tested out new Pokémon tactics.

The wind on the rooftop is cold this season, but not as cold as Aizawa Tiger's heart.

"Damn it! What the hell is this?!" He angrily took a big bite of the Angus Thick Beef Burger, chewed hard, and questioned with wide eyes.

"Mimikyu, don't you think it's cute?"

Swamp Fang sipped its cola through a straw, gazing at the adorable Pokémon on the screen wearing a Pikachu jacket, its black eyes brimming with smugness: "Go, Mimikyu, sneak attack!"

"Hmph, you miscalculated. I have a turn to boost my power!" "If I were you, I would definitely choose Substitute. This is Mimikyu taking over the baton from Swords Dance boost."

"Damn it, I didn't bring it!"

Seeing the last Pokémon fall, Aizawa Tora threw down the handheld game console, picked up a chicken leg from McDonald's Crispy Chicken, and said, "You're actually using tactics? Pokémon battles are all about exchanging moves!"

As he took a big bite, golden crumbs fell onto the table.

"You might not believe it, but I've packed three different tactics into one team," Kuronuma said with a smug smile.

In order to defeat Shishio Ryo, he put a Snow Team, Baton Pass, and Spikes into his team, and each Pokémon carried a Focus Sash to ensure that they would not be KO'd.

"Big brother, I found Gardevoir's doujinshi!" Gou Ishiguro interrupted their conversation, handing over his phone.

"I only like Rurikawa Tsubaki in doujinshi, and I heard that chapter 8 is about to be released."

Kurogane put down his handheld game console, waved his hand in refusal, and opened his bento box to eat: "But please send me one anyway. I need to give it a good critique. This is too sinful."

After lunch, when I returned to the classroom, neither Shirakawa Momo nor Shinkai Shiona were there. They didn't return until the afternoon class bell rang.

After school, Kuronuma Kiba asked Shinkai Shiona to ride in a car with Toyama Chitose, while he and Shirakawa Momo rode in Kobayakawa Reiko's car to the LiveHouse in Shimokitazawa.

On the way, he told Shirakawa Momo all the information about Shinkai Shiona and asked for her opinion.

After listening to Kuronuma Kiba's explanation, Shirakawa Momo's delicate face showed a puzzled expression, and she asked in a completely incomprehensible tone, "You mean, Shiona-chan thinks she's a mistake because other people don't like her?"

In her view, denying oneself because of other people's opinions is undoubtedly a very foolish thing to do.

"It was not anyone else, but her biological father."

“I understand, but she’s not entirely useless. At least Shionai’s mother used her to live a wealthy life.”

“What you said makes sense.” Kuronuma Kiba couldn’t refute it. In the field of tool characters, Shinkai Shionai was indeed very advanced.

On the night after the camping trip, when he looked for Shirakawa Momo, he also used Shinkai Shiona as an excuse.

"But that's not the point. The point is how to let Shiona live in this world with dignity. Do you have any suggestions?"

“Simple. Since Shinkai Hideo doesn’t dare to admit it, we can bring Shionai to formal occasions where he’s present and help him announce that he has an illegitimate daughter.”

Shirakawa Momo's solution to the problem was still simple and crude, but she did not completely disregard the consequences.

Kuronuma Kiba represents the Hatsushino family, who are the dominant force in Tokyo, and no one in Japan dares to mess with them.

As long as he is willing to be Shinkai Shionai's backer, the Shinkai family will not dare to object in the slightest. The only problem is that if Shinkai Hideo loses everything as a result, Shinkai Shionai will lose her source of income.

However, it seems there won't be any problem for Kuronuma to adopt her.

Thinking of this, Shirakawa Momo suppressed her lip and met Kuronuma Kiba's gaze. Her golden eyes turned cold, and her expression became unpleasant: "You are not allowed to give her money directly, understand?"

She wanted to control the finances to prevent Shinkai Shionai from causing trouble, and also to teach Shinkai Shionai a lesson for her extravagant spending habits.

Before they even adopted Shinkai Shiona, Shirakawa Momo and Matsuzaka Kanon were already preparing to deal with her.

While feeling sorry for Shinkai Shiona, Kuronuma Kiba began to worry about his own future, fearing that he would suffer the same fate.

However, at least Shirakawa Momo and Matsuzaka Kanon genuinely care about Shinkai Shiona.

Thinking of this, Kuronuma reluctantly agreed, reaching out to pull Shirakawa Momo into his arms and ruffling her hair: "Alright, but Kanon might give her money. Putting that aside for now, do you have any specific plans?"

"Since Hideo Shinkai is a director of the Kendo Association, we can consider this aspect."

Shirakawa Momo rested her chin on her hand, thought for a moment, and nodded as if making up her mind: "I'll go talk to that bad woman. Wait for my news."

"You and Chitose-senpai are actually quite close, aren't you?" Kuronuma Kiba asked.

"Nothing to do with you."

Shirakawa Momo glanced at him disdainfully, and to prevent Kuronuma Kiba and Toyama Chitose from getting involved in any ambiguous relationship, she did not reveal any information.

"Should we discuss this with Kanon? She understands Shion better."

Kuronuma Kiba remembered Matsusaka Kanon's request and Shirakawa Momo's promise to him yesterday, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up: "How about coming to my house tonight?"

"Tch, scum." Shirakawa Momo's lips twitched slightly, but she didn't refuse.

As they were talking, the black sedan stopped in front of the [Bad Puppet] neon sign. The two of them got out of the car one after the other, walked down the narrow concrete stairs together, and pushed open the door to enter the LiveHouse.

After greeting Inada Masashi, I arrived at the rehearsal room. The rest of the band had already arrived and were practicing their original songs.

Since I left school directly after class, didn't participate in any club activities, and took a bus to the rehearsal room, there was still plenty of time before the LiveHouse opened.

Shirakawa Momo clapped her hands lightly, interrupting their practice. As she walked toward the electric piano in the corner, she assigned today's task: "Today, let's practice 'Ultramarine' together until we can rehearse it to the point where it can be posted on our online account."

Teamwork is crucial, and a newly formed band obviously lacks that kind of chemistry.

Ryo Hatsushino's bass is flawless, Momo Shirakawa's electric piano melody is captivating, and Chitose Toyama is quite familiar with the song "Gunjo".

The problem is with Shin-chan; she seems to struggle even with 130 BPM melodies.

Kuronuma stood by, watching them play their instruments, produce melodies, and then, after a dozen seconds, turn into a mess.

After repeating this several times, Shirakawa Momo's face turned extremely ugly, and her petite figure exuded a fierce aura.

She glared at Shinkai Shionai with a cold face, her golden eyes burning with a fury that seemed to consume everything: "I already told you at noon that the drummer is the conductor of the band and must memorize the sheet music. What were you doing during class this afternoon?"

"Attending class attentively."

Shinonome Shiona gave a pitiful look, her body slightly curled up behind the drum set, looking very aggrieved: "I will definitely memorize the sheet music tonight."

"You have to remember it with your body. Do you really think your brain is that smart?"

Shirakawa Momo reprimanded him mercilessly, then unplugged the electric piano and walked towards the rehearsal room door, her tone quite stern: "I'm going to prepare. Chitose, you practice with her. She's not allowed to rest tonight before I get back."

Bang! The door slammed shut with a loud, forceful sound.

"Good luck." Kuronuma Kiba wasn't good at comforting people, so he whispered to Shinkai Shiona before turning and leaving the rehearsal room.

"..." Hatsushika Ryo saw that Shinkai Shiona had cheered up again, put down her bass, and followed Kuronuma Kiba away.

(End of this chapter)