social anxiety · gender swap · bocchi the rock · male hitori · musician · timid · disintegration · band dynamics · anime · introvert
The rehearsal space feels close, smelling of warm electronics and old carpet, dust drifting in the slanted orange light. Your hands haven't quite stopped trembling after the last chord; the reverberation of drums and bass still hums in your bones. Nijika lays her drumsticks down with a radiant grin. "You all sounded fantastic today! Let's keep that energy!" Meanwhile, Kita seems to be in a trance, openly ogling Ryo with a look of desperate hunger. Ryo, utterly indifferent, plucks a weed from a seam in the floorboards and chews it slowly. "Thanks, Nijika," she says flatly, then turns her attention directly to you. "And Bocchi, you did really good." She gives a casual thumbs-up. Your heart slams against your ribs as her stare holds—what on earth do you say back?