Finally, on July 14, it was the first day of the final examination period.
Late afternoon. After school.
Today was a weekday, so usually I’d still be in class at this time, but I was laying idly in my room on my phone instead. Shiika was no doubt shut up in her own room.
Yes, we were skipping school.
Unlike ordinary high schools, Ryouran High School has a special method of acquiring credits. The grading criteria was based on the amount of views and likes you get on Impachi Live. Attendance doesn’t matter. Conversely, no matter how seriously you attend, if you don’t get results on Impachi Live, you fail. So we could skip school without any repercussions at all.
But it wasn’t out of laziness that we were chilling at home today.
Shiika had finally finished composing last night.
Right now, she was passed out in her room, sleeping off the exhaustion. But even after she woke, I would need to give her some close care and attention.
I wondered what the side effects would be this time…
Just then, my phone pinged with a bright ding. ♪
“I’LL BE THERE SOON! (a bunch of emojis) (a bunch of message app stamps)”
It was from Tatsuki Ootsuka. Apparently, she was already near our house.
Right. I’d called Ootsuka over today so she could listen to Shiika’s new song. I had thought that sending her an MP3 file would be enough, but Shiika said she really wanted to see Ootsuka’s reaction when she heard the song for the first time.
When I asked why it mattered so much, Shiika said that her goal from the start was to compose a song that would truly delight Ootsuka. Simply communicating via text would cause Shiika to miss out on seeing Ootsuka’s facial expressions and hearing her voice. She wanted to make sure that, no matter what Ootsuka thought of the piece, she wouldn’t be able to plaster on a smile and hide her true opinion.
Right. Shiika didn’t want that to happen at any cost.
But after she completed the song, she was in no state to head to school, so she’d asked Ootsuka to come here instead.
Was it her natural offbeat nature, or was she just being humble? Though she’s my little sister, I couldn’t say.
“All right…”
Getting to my feet, I texted Ootsuka back that I’d meet her at the front door.
“…”
When I put on my shoes and went outside, Ootsuka was just walking across the street.
When she saw me, her face lit up, and she dashed over, shouting, “Gakkun! Thanks for inviting me! How are you?!”
“Good. How are you?”
“I’m in great shape. I’ve finished my body training. All ready for the completion of the song! My body feels light as a feather! ♪”
“Don’t suddenly start breakdancing on the side of the road. Your clothes will get dirty.”
“Oh please, I breakdance everywhere.”
Ootsuka continued to spin upside down on the asphalt as she spoke.
Y-yikes. How was she so flexible?
“Don’t get all dirty right when you’re about to enter our apartment.”
“Ah! Oops! I didn’t think of that!”
“Oh, never mind… I can just have the place cleaned later.”
By Akiba, no doubt.
“Come on, just come in.”
“Okay!”
I invited her into our place.
In the living room, Ootsuka sat down cross-legged in front of the low table, and bopped back and forth.
“So you finished the new song? Gimme, gimme!”
“All right. Shiika hasn’t woken up yet, but I guess you can hear it now.”
I turned on the speakers, got out my phone, and loaded the WAVE data.
Shiika also wanted Ootsuka to listen to the song with speakers instead of through headphones. No doubt this request was born from Shiika’s new appreciation of dance. She wanted Ootsuka to hear it in the form that was closest to how it’d be during an actual dance performance.
“Wait, this song…”
Ootsuka looked puzzled.
“Is it inspired by ‘GETDOWN NO FEEL’?”
“I don’t know. You’d have to ask Shiika; I have nothing to do with any of it.”
“I see… But this isn’t a coincidence, is it?”
“Is that song famous?”
“It’s a J-Bozu track. He rarely released new songs, but once in a while, he wrote one and it really blew up. Kikyo used to love dancing to that track. This just reminded me of that… Wow, Shi must have really done her homework…”
“Maybe. She said she wanted to write a song that would really delight you.”
“Eh-heh-heh. I’m so happy.”
Embarrassed and shy, Ootsuka closed her eyes and began to listen seriously to the music.
Eventually, the song ended, and when I looked up, Ootsuka was crying quietly.
“…”
“Hey… Whoa. Don’t go getting all emotional…”
Shiika’s track was, indeed, beautiful.
But this was ostensibly a dance track. Not a ballad. It shouldn’t have been making anyone cry.
Despite this, tears continued to flow from Ootsuka’s round eyes.
“Is it…a sad song, somehow? I don’t really get music, so I…,” I mumbled.
“No, it’s not that. Somehow, I feel…so reassured.”
“Reassured?”
“It’s okay for me to stay the way I am. There’s a place for me. It’s like—I don’t know—like having my mom pat me on my back. The things I don’t want to change, the things I HAVE to change… All kinds of things will no doubt get in the way, and there’ll be times when I want to doubt myself, but I have to keep moving forward. I have to use the work Kikyo and others have done as a base to bring forward a new era by myself…”
Ootsuka wiped away her tears as she spoke, smiling.
“Shi made this song to encourage me. That’s why… That’s why I feel so reassured. And why I cried. Hee-hee, it’s odd, right?”
“No, I don’t think so. My sister is, after all, a genius.”
“Thank you, Gakkun. Ah, but what should I do now? I don’t even know how to begin thanking Shi. I don’t want her to see me like this…”
“Don’t worry. It’s too late.”
“Huh?”
Ootsuka looked taken aback.
I pointed over to Shiika’s bedroom door, and Ootsuka glanced over.
There she stood, with bedhead, dark circles under her eyes, and disheveled pajamas. For the past few days, she’d avoided bathing and smelled like a hamster that’s been sitting in the hot sun for three hours. Not exactly a foul odor, but sort of like the smell of a cute, wild animal.
Anyway, Shiika stood there, looking like a total mess and not fit for public appearances.
She stared at Ootsuka for a few seconds, then scrabbled across the floor, hamster-like, and approached her.
“Did you listen to it?”
“Uh, yeah, I did.”
Ootsuka flinched. Usually, I’m the one taking over when it’s time for straight-talking. Confronted by Shiika, Ootsuka seemed unsure as to how to react.
“How was it? Was it a good song? Can you dance well to it?”
“Y-yeah. I really like it. For me, it might actually be the best song I’ve ever heard in my life.”
“Really? Good. I’m so glad. I love you, Tatsu.”
With a small but happy smile, Shiika embraced Ootsuka.
Ootsuka yelped in surprise and looked at me.