So remember when I said hopefully I could get chapters out quicker? Yeah that was a lie. If you're wondering why it's taken this long for a new chapter to come out, I've been incredibly busy with college as well as working on various other fics like Yutalia, Mommy's Love (AO3 exclusive) and lots of collab fics with a friend of mine, many of which we plan to publish very soon (including some here). I've also gone ahead and updated the previous chapters so that their grammar is more correct than when first published. Anyway, I hope you'll forgive me for how long it's been and enjoy this chapter.

That following morning, Osaka finally convinced herself to show Yomi her album. To her surprise, Yomi didn't ridicule her or anything of the sort, it actually gave her an idea.

"Come on," she said, "let's go to the music store. We could get some instruments if you want."

"OK." Osaka replied.

"Hey Sakaki, Chiyo-chan!" Yomi called out to her friends "Wanna go to the music store with us?"

"Oh yes sure!" Chiyo-chan happily answered "I'll bring some money!"

"It'll be a nice change from the sandy beaches, so sure." Sakaki said, and soon the girls were off on their way to buy some instruments.

But while they were on their way there, none of them had actually thought to ask each other if they could actually play an instrument, until.

"Hold on, can any of us even play an instrument?" Yomi asked.

"My dad taught me how to play the guitar, but that's about it." Osaka answered.

"Oh yeah! We have a piano at home." Yomi remembered.

"I have a bass that was a gift from Kaorin." Sakaki added.

"And my dad has a drum kit he bought from a yard sale a few years ago." Chiyo finished.

The girls ooed, but that was about it for what they or their parents could even play.

By the time they had arrived at the music store, however, their minds were dead set on what they were going to buy. "I guess a keytar might help broaden my horizons. I gotta keep true to my word!" Yomi said.

"Yeah! And since I know how to play acoustic guitar, an electric one sounds easy peasy!" Ayumu smiled.

"I do want a drum kit of my own." Chiyo thought.

"Well, we can get them from the store." Sakaki pointed out, while pointing to the store.

"Sakaki," Yomi said. "Don't treat Chiyo-chan like a little kid, it's very demeaning."

"It is?"

"Yeah! Did you ever give any thought as to why she's in high school?" Yomi scolded her friend.

"Um," Chiyo tried to interject. "It's really no big deal–"

"I said it's very demeaning to her!" Yomi insisted, interrupting Chiyo.

Both Chiyo and Sakaki decided it would be infinitely better to just ignore Yomi, and so the group split up into two pairs, Osaka and Chiyo in one, Yomi and Sakaki in the other. With the pairs firmly established, they stepped into the music store to begin their journey.

The music store was very obviously western by design, the reddish brown walls clearly casting an impression on anyone who would walk in and the floorboard's distinct glossy oak colour complementing it just finely.

The pairs went looking for their respective instruments, and it didn't take long to find them either. The cherry red guitar Osaka had picked out slipped perfectly into her hands; Sakaki had found a maroon bass that just spoke to her; Chiyo saw a small, pastel pink drum kit that she could easily use without any strain; and Yomi had picked up a silver keytar that just looked so fun to use.

They went up to the cashier to pay for the instruments, and it was there that they made a shocking discovery.

"WHAT!?" Chiyo gasped. "¥88,000? DID I BRING THAT MUCH WITH ME!?"

"I mean, they are high-end instruments." The cashier replied, it was so obvious to tell he was stoned and was probably using the religious ceremony excuse.

"Let me see." Chiyo said as she sifted through her cardigan pockets. She was the type of person to wear them even if the sun was boiling over the very oceans her home islands sat on. "Oh no! I only have ¥77,000 with me! What are we to do!?"

Sakaki graciously extended her arm, handing over ¥11,000 she had stockpiled in case they ran into a situation like this. "Wow Miss Sakaki," Osaka remarked. "You're a lifesaver!"

"Thank you Miss Sakaki!" Chiyo said, on the verge of tears. "That was a huge sigh of relief!"

Sakaki didn't say anything back. In actuality, she was bored and just wanted to go back.

Walking out of the store with several bags in hand, the girls felt satisfied with their purchase. "Man, I can't wait to practise. That way we'll all get to see what we can do." Yomi said excitedly.

"Yeah, but if this turns out to be the opening number of some melancholic ballad, you're gonna get it." Sakaki said back, with Yomi not being able to tell if she was being playful or genuinely threatening.

"I need to call someone." Osaka thought to herself.