To fit in, Anon chose to stay and watch.
Just watch! I definitely won't participate in the party!
A blushing Anon sat prim and proper on a single sofa chair, her back straight, her hands resting on her thighs tightly gripping her skirt. Even her breathing had switched from automatic to manual mode.
Rana, on the other hand, got much closer. She sat right on the edge of the bed, observing Soyo with intense curiosity.
Parties and such didn't really mean anything to Rana. What mattered was what Tomori said about a lifetime... no, a three-lifetime band.
Ever since she was little, Rana had been viewed by others as a strange girl.
Her father and mother spent most of their time working in the UK. Rana grew up in the live house run by her grandmother. Influenced by her grandmother, she fell in love with the guitar and spent all her time playing in the live house.
Rana displayed astonishing talent with the guitar, but in other aspects... she was no better than Ryo.
Ryo borrowed money; Rana skipped school.
Starting from elementary school, Rana skipped classes whenever she felt like it. If her grandmother hadn't threatened to forbid her from playing if her grades dropped, she probably would have done even worse than the Nakano quintuplets.
Later, Rana told her grandmother her wish... She wanted to play the guitar for her grandmother for the rest of her life.
But her grandmother told Rana that a 'lifetime' wasn't something to be decided so easily, and that she couldn't just play in her grandmother's live house forever; she had to use her guitar to convey her feelings to others.
If left to her own devices, Rana probably would have turned out like that pink-haired guitarist... Not Anon, but Bocchi, the busty pink-haired shut-in guitarist.
To prevent Rana from becoming a shut-in like Bocchi, her grandmother shut down the live house and told her that this live house was merely a passing phase in her life, and she needed to find her own place to belong.
So she wandered from live house to live house, transforming from a house cat into a stray cat. That was until that fateful day when she met Tomori, who wanted to form a 'lifetime band'. Without even being invited, she just showed up at their rehearsal room.
She decided that this interesting woman, Tomori, was her place to belong, the one who could let her convey the feelings she previously only shared with her grandmother to others.
And now...
It was supposed to be just a lifetime band, but now that they were having a party together, one lifetime was the baseline; three lifetimes were entirely possible!
Although Rana had no interest in parties or Rin Ito, having a party for the sake of a three-lifetime band was completely fine, and... it seemed quite fun.
"Rana... touching here... feels really good."
Seeing Rana leaning in, Tomori swallowed hard and used her slightly trembling, slender fingertips to gently pinch Soyo's soft, white, tender flesh. Compared to Rana, who was attending her first party, Tomori seemed even more shy and nervous.
"It feels good?" Rana shifted her gaze to Tomori's chest. The rosy peaks resting atop the soft mounds, which looked much larger than when she was clothed, were proudly declaring their presence.
Having never masturbated in her life, Rana had touched herself in the bath, but it never brought any special feelings.
Driven by curiosity, Rana reached out and imitated Tomori's actions, gently pinching and rubbing. Like a curious kitten, she pinched, let go, and rubbed again.
"Nnn..."
Although the stimulation wasn't intense, faced with Rana's innocent gaze, Tomori couldn't stop a shameful moan from escaping her lips. Anon, sitting on the sofa, stared so intently she even forgot to breathe.
Smack~
Rin Ito gently slapped Soyo's rear, snapping the three of them back to reality.
"Has Rana never explored her own body?" Rin Ito asked while kneading Soyo's buttock. "If you haven't tried it, how about letting Tomori teach you? Anon, do you want to join too?"
"Eh? I... I'll pass! I... I've tried it myself." Hearing her name called, Anon answered instinctively. A moment later, she realized just how embarrassing her words were. With nowhere to run, she could only deeply bow her flushed face in shame.
"Then... I'll teach you." Tomori took Rana's hand that was resting on her chest, her eyes full of expectation. "F-First, take off your clothes."
"Mmh."
Rana agreed softly, a hint of shyness in her voice. She had a low sense of shame, but it wasn't nonexistent.
Taking off her clothes in front of not just her bandmates but also a man made her a bit shy. But... for the sake of a three-lifetime band, she gathered her courage and took off her black, wide-necked t-shirt.
Then came her hot pants and underwear. A moment later, the stray cat girl's tender body was completely exposed to the air.
"Sit... here... spread your legs... mmh, just like Sakiko."
"Okay..."
Rana leaned against the headboard. Blushing deeply, she spread her legs in an M-shape like Sakiko. Nearby, Taki watched Rana's shy demeanor, a wicked smirk curling on her lips.
"Oh, right..." Taki turned her head and winked at Rin Ito. "I remember there are some cosplay props here, right?"
"They're over there, all clean. Just take what you need."
Exchanging a glance with Taki, Rin Ito knew exactly what she wanted to do. Taki had never really liked Rana's personality.
Taki was the assertive, serious type, while Rana was capricious like a stray cat—ignoring messages and showing up to band practice whenever she felt like it.
Soyo and the others called Rana by her name, but Taki always called her 'stray cat'... And since she was a stray cat, how could she not have cat ears and a tail?
People are very proactive when doing bad things.
After Rin Ito pointed out the location, Taki, still clamping her cucumber, ran over without any hesitation, her perky rear bouncing with every step.
A moment later, she returned with a cat-ear headband, a collar, and a tail. Seeing the items in Taki's hands, Tomori pursed her lips to suppress a smile.
"D-Do you want to put them on?" Tomori looked at Rana expectantly. "If you wear them... you'll definitely look really cute."
"Mmm..." After a slight hesitation, Rana quickly nodded... Although she didn't know what the long string of beads on the tail was for, it looked like it could be fun!
Rana took the cat-ear headband and collar and put them on her head and neck. Her silver hair paired with the black cat ears made her look extraordinarily cute, and her heterochromia made her look even more feline.
"Meow?"
Rana obligingly curled her hands into paws and let out a meow. The soft, adorable catgirl made Rin Ito thrust into Soyo even harder.
Mutsumi looked at Soyo with a hint of envy... She's going to be bred by Rin Ito!
As for the final piece, the tail...
"How do you wear this?"
Rana curiously examined the long string of the cat tail. She knew the back part was like a real cat's tail, but the front part... what was that long string of beads for?
This was completely outside Rana's realm of knowledge. Let alone Rana, who had never even masturbated before, even Anon, who had some experience with 'self-maintenance', couldn't figure out how to put it on.
Rin Ito gently patted Soyo's rear.
"Just like Soyo. Have Tomori help you."