Bocchi the Nude Rock

by Suzuki Kawasaki

When Nijika complains about Kessoku Band's lack of male fans, Ryo playfully suggests a solution. Let's have the best endowed member of the band play nude. Since her chief goal in life is to help the band succeed, Bocchi takes the suggestion seriously, leaving her bandmates in a quandary.

2. A Starry Stargate

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Chapter Two - A Starry Stargate

Nijika was sweeping the floor when Bocchi shuffled down the stairs from street level and walked into Starry.

"Hey, Bocchi." Nijika stilled her broom. "Why are you here so early? Practice doesn't start for an hour."

Bocchi looked at the floor. "There's something I wanted to talk about."

"Okay." Nijika strolled to the bar. Bocchi followed and took the seat next to her. "What's on your mind?"

"I want to talk to you about yesterday's practice."

Nijika sighed. "I'm not surprised. It was rude for Ryo and Kita to turn you into their plaything."

Bocchi's eyes brightened. "Oh, no. I didn't mind that at all. It felt really good, and it helped me relax."

Nijika returned a confused expression. "So what's on your mind?"

"It's kind of personal."

"Go on."

"I got really nervous when Kita kissed my neck and then later Ryo licked it."

Nijika chuckled. "They did a hell of a lot more to you than that."

"I met this guy named Mike and we communicate really well."

Nijika tried her best to piece the two thoughts together. Then it hit her. "Okay, I understand. You want him to be your first kiss."

"I really love Kita and Ryo…"

"But you don't necessarily swing that way. I can relate."

"The thing I want more than anything is for Kessoku Band to succeed and if that means playing naked, I'm okay with that. But I don't think I can do it on my own. I'm going to need their help."

"To relax you?"

"Yes."

"Don't worry. If we ever get to that place again, I'll figure out a way to keep them away from your lips."

"What do you mean, 'If we ever get to that place again'?"

"Look, Bocchi. I've been giving this a lot of thought. I love the idea of you performing naked, and I think it could work for the band. But I'm afraid that's just me being selfish."

"Please don't think that, Nijika. I really want to do this."

"I can't deny you've got the body for it. I'm super jealous too." Nijika leaned in. "Here's the deal. If we go forward with you playing nude, you can't be Bocchi anymore."

"What?"

"What I mean is, you'll have to disguise yourself. Nobody knows what you look like naked, so that's pretty much exactly like changing your clothes. I also have some wigs I'd like you to try on, plus I want you to wear sunglasses when you're up on stage."

"Who will I be?"

"I don't know. I haven't come up with a name for our new nude lead guitarist yet, but we'll need to start a rumor that the old you quit. Here, let me show you what I've got."

Nijika led Bocchi to the dressing room.

###

After Kita and Ryo stepped into the club, they found Nijika at the counter sitting next to an alluring young blonde dressed in a raincoat. Nijika's guest wore her hair in a sexy short bob and her eyes were hidden by sunglasses.

Nijika turned. "Hey, guys. I want you to meet someone."

Kita bowed, as did Ryo.

"Hello."

"Hello."

Bocchi took off her shades.

It took the girls a minute before recognition set in.

Kita's eyes bulged. "Bocchi, is that you?"

"No way," Ryo said. "I didn't recognize her either."

"You look great." Kita pinched the raincoat sleeve. "Whatcha wearing underneath?"

Bocchi stood and opened the raincoat. "My regular clothes."

Ryo groaned, "What a bummer."

Kita ran her hand along the back of Bocchi's wig. "I love your new look, but your carpeting doesn't match the new drapes."

Ryo's lips curled into a wicked smile. "Nothing a razor can't fix."

"You had us going there, Nijika." Kita crossed her arms. "What's going on?"

Nijika explained.

"If she's going to be the band's new focus," Ryo said, "we need to make her stand out."

"That's right," Kita said. "Maybe we could build her a platform so she'd be easier to see."

"We've got some stuff in the back," Nijika said. "Let's go check it out." She led everyone to a storage room filled with props, wood, paint, lights, and curtains.

"What's this thing?" Ryo rapped her knuckle against an upright circle that scraped the room's ceiling.

Nijika stood next to the prop. "This thing's called a Stargate. My sister got it from a band that recently broke up. She kept it because she thought it fit the Starry theme."

"What's it supposed to do?" Kita asked.

"It's supposed to be a portal to other dimensions or something along those lines. It can take you anywhere in outer space super fast."

"I see." Kita crouched and pointed. "Hey, look. I can see the Andromeda Galaxy."

"It's perfect," Ryo said.

"What do you mean?"

"With a little paint and plaster, we can turn this thing into a giant kessoku band."

"Hmm." Kita squinted. "I suppose we could make it look like a zip tie if we tried."

"Consider it done." Ryo stuck out her thumb as a measuring device. "I could totally see Bocchi playing in front of this. Some cool LED lighting would frame her body perfectly."

Nijika nodded. "It's got potential. What do you think, Bocchi?"

"I think it would be nice."

"Excellent."

###

The girls sat around the table to work out a task list and talk strategy.

"Now that it's out here"—Nijika motioned to the Stargate—"I can totally picture Bocchi playing in front of that thing."

Kita nodded. "But we still have that one minor issue of keeping Bocchi from running off."

Nijika said, "She'll be fine if you two relax her before the show."

Kita giggled. "We don't have a problem with that."

"Except it won't work," Ryo said. "It's like making her comfortable on the diving board and then pushing her in to the pool. It's the cold water she's got to get used to."

"Oh, yeah." Nijika pinched her chin. "I hadn't considered that."

A sly smile formed on Kita's lips. "Let's make relaxing her part of the show."

"But how would we keep her in place? Zip tie her to the floor again?"

"Let's tie her to the Stargate." Ryo turned toward the prop. "But using regular zip ties would suck. They're black and thin. When we turn down the lights, they'd become invisible, so that would look lame."

Kita spun the custom orange zip tie bracelet encircling her wrist. "We could use these."

"You mean our merch?" Ryo shook her head. "No. Those are made of thin plastic. They look cool, but Bocchi could snap them easily. Wait, I know just the thing." Ryo pulled out her phone and navigated to a website. "Check this out." She held up her phone for the others to see. "This company sells a line of leather bondage apparel that looks exactly like zip ties."

Kita chuckled. "I guess we weren't the first ones to capitalize on the zip tie theme."

"Why do you know so much about this kind of stuff?" Nijika asked. "And how much would it cost?"

"Don't worry. I've got it covered." Ryo tapped her phone. "I'm ordering four leather cuffs and a collar."

Nijika peeked over her shoulder. "Do they sell ball gags too?"

Kita blinked. "What?"

"No, I get it," Ryo said. "That's a great idea. It'll keep her from complaining and make her moans sound way sexier."

"Do you think we should put a mic on her?" Kita asked.

"If relaxing her becomes a part of the show," Ryo said, "that might be really cool."

"Are you okay with the way Ryo wants to dress you?" Nijika asked the group's silent member.

A smile lit up Bocchi's face. "Sure. But you still don't have a name for me."

"Yes, we do," Nijika said. "I think Kita nailed it. We're going to call you Andromeda."

###

Bocchi walked into the center of Tohatsu Park and slowly spun full circle.

Mike waved to her from a bench facing the park's modest lake. "Over here."

Bocchi hustled over, stopped, and looked down at her feet. "Thank you for inviting me to a picnic."

Mike rested his hand on the cooler set next to him on the ground. "It's really nothing special. I got us a couple of sandwiches and some sodas." He patted the seat. "Please join me."

Bocchi sat and froze.

"Are you hungry?" Mike asked.

Bocchi looked straight ahead. "I suppose." She switched her focus to her knees and whispered, "It's a beautiful day."

"I've got roast beef and turkey. Will either of those work?"

Bocchi took a deep breath. "I don't know why, but this is very hard for me. Could we please communicate first?"

"Oh, right. Sure." Mike glanced around. Their spot was fairly remote. Now and then some people walked by along a lakefront path, but their attention seemed drawn to the ducks floating in the water. "Lay on your side with your head in my lap. People will think you're resting."

"Okay." Bocchi curled up on her side. When she put her head on Mike's lap, his microphone was waiting for her. She sucked it into her mouth and hummed.

Mike rubbed Bocchi's head as his microphone hardened. "You're right. It is a beautiful day." Moments later, he tensed and gasped, "Oh, boy."

Bocchi's cheeks filled with cream. She swallowed it all down as she finished humming her song.

"How did it taste?" he asked her.

"Spectacular." She straightened and wiped her lips.

He put himself away and zipped up his pants. "Would it go better with roast beef or with turkey?"

"Turkey." She smiled and took the sandwich. "Why did you pick here?"

"I wanted to show you my school." He pointed to a twenty story building across from the lake. "I attend the Sokai Academy."

"What are you studying?"

"Production and recording arts."

"What does that mean?"

"I'm one of those guys who sits behind one of those big impressive boards, and turns knobs and pushes levers. When the Yomiuri Giants played the Nankai Hawks the other day in the Tokyo Dome, I helped run the sound."

"No, kidding. That sounds important."

"It's just a job. How about you, Bocchi? What has your Kessoku Band been up to? Do they still have you playing naked lead guitar?"

"Yes, they do, but Nijika made me change my identity. My stage name is going to be Andromeda, and I play in front of this really cool space portal thing that Ryo changed into a giant zip tie."

"Sounds interesting. I'd love to watch you jam. When did you say your next gig was?" Mike slipped his arm around Bocchi's shoulders.

Without giving it a moment's thought, she slid sideways and leaned into him. "Next week we're playing at the Lost Cork, but Nijika is setting up a preview concert this Thursday night for the fans on our VIP list. She thinks playing for our fans would be good practice before we took our new show on the road. We've been practicing like crazy."

"Can I become a VIP fan? Not that I'm not your biggest fan already."

"The preview show is only for girls. Nijika thinks that'll be safer."

Mike nodded. "She seems like a very smart girl. Does she own the club?"

"No, the club belongs to her sister, but she's off visiting friends and family in Germany for a month. If she knew what we were up to, she'd probably freak. Nijika wants Kessoku Band Featuring Andromeda to get super popular before her sister finds out."

"She'd rather beg for forgiveness than ask for permission. I like her style."

The two finished their sandwiches and drinks. Mike rose and picked up his cooler. "Thank you for coming out and joining me. It's been the highlight of my day."

Bocchi looked at her feet and blushed. "Thank you for inviting me, Mike. This was really fun."