She was just supposed to teach me the drums, but at some point, she became like our manager and started giving everyone advice.
I thanked her several times, but she always awkwardly brushed it off, saying, “Well, I didn’t have anything better to do.” I could tell she was a really kind person.
“Let’s call it a day!” said Sousuke. “Our next practice will be after school starts.”
“I can’t believe summer’s already over!” Ai exclaimed. “It went by way too fast!” She shook Kaoru as she spoke. The other girl was clearly annoyed, but had resigned herself to her fate.
“Did you finish your summer homework, Ai?” Kaoru asked.
“Eep!”
“……” Kaoru sighed and glared at her. “How much do you have left?”
“Umm, about eighty percent? No, maybe seventy. Uh… possibly sixty? …Half! I’ve got about half left!”
Kaoru’s expression grew increasingly stern as Ai spoke, until Ai was visibly panicking.
Sousuke burst out laughing. “Sounds like you’re in trouble! I still have a little left, too. How about you, Yuzuru?”
“I finished all the mandatory assignments two weeks ago. I just have the optional ones left. But that’s…you know…” I glanced at Sousuke meaningfully. He blinked in confusion a few times, then said, “Ohhh!”
The optional homework assignment was rather vague, but it was about trying something new over summer and documenting your progress and results. Thankfully, I had something to write about—playing the drums, of course.
“Yeah, you just started playing this summer,” he said, “and you’re already pretty good.”
“I couldn’t have done it alone. It’ll be a little hard to summarize it into a report, but everyone will see us at the after-party, so they’ll have to believe me.”
“Yeah, makes sense. But I guess that means you can keep focusing on your drums for the rest of the break.”
“Yep, that’s the plan. I’m still the one who needs the most practice, so I’ll keep working hard.”
Sousuke chuckled. “You’re so serious,” he said. Then, he paused for a moment to think.
Oh, that’s right. I wanted to ask him about something.
I had a feeling I knew what he was thinking about, and I thought I should make some time for us to talk.
“Yuzuru!” Ai called out and waved at me. Kaoru had just finished scolding her about something.
“What’s up?”
“I’m going to do homework with Kaoru later. Wanna join us?” she asked.
I felt a pang of guilt as I shook my head.
“Sorry, but I have plans with Sousuke,” I said.
Sousuke flashed me a surprised look, but after a moment he seemed to understand and quickly said, “Right,” before turning to Ai. “Sorry about that! We have plans!” We didn’t—he was just going along with what I’d said.
“Oh, okay. That’s too bad. Well, we’re gonna get going. Good work, everyone!” Ai bowed cheerfully and Kaoru did the same.
The two of them walked toward the station, arm in arm. We watched them leave, and then Sousuke let out a small sigh.
“Sorry,” he said. “You did that for me, right?”
I shook my head. “Don’t worry about it, and thanks for playing along.”
“No problem, man. Let’s change locations. Misuzu, Yushima, can you join us?” Sousuke turned toward Misuzu, who immediately nodded.
Yushima wasn’t as eager. “Huh? Me too?”
“You’re coming, get over it!” Misuzu shot back.
We all went to a café near the station together.
After we sat down and ordered drinks, Misuzu spoke up. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask,” she said, shooting a meaningful glance at Sousuke. “You asked me to lend you Yushima. Does that mean you’ve given up on Risa?”
I nodded. That was exactly what I’d wanted to ask him.
Sousuke’s gaze wandered around the table as he carefully chose his words.
At last, he said firmly, “Yes. I’ve given up on trying to persuade her.”
“Huh? Really?” Misuzu’s eyes widened in surprise. I was shocked, too.
Just a week ago he was crying, saying he wouldn’t give up on her. What had changed?
Sousuke smiled when he saw how shocked both of us were. “Ha-ha. Sorry, I misspoke.”
“Huh?”
“I haven’t given up on getting Nagoshi to play the bass. But I’ve stopped trying to convince her with words.” He smiled gently. “In the end, the only part of her I know is her music. So, from my perspective, the new Nagoshi was like an imposter.”
He spoke as if organizing his thoughts in his mind, and we all listened to him quietly.
“I never said it out loud, but deep down I wished that the ‘real’ Nagoshi would come back,” he continued. “Now, I know there’s no such thing as the ‘real’ Nagoshi. Eventually, I realized that the only way to re-ignite her passion was through music. Words won’t reach her. But music will.” He smiled, looking both relieved and refreshed. “So, I’m gonna play with that goal in mind! And if that doesn’t work, then I’ll give up.”
Misuzu sighed, her expression softer than usual. “All right. I get it.” She nodded a few times, then directed a piercing gaze at him. “I understand how you feel, but you know that you didn’t really answer my question, right?”
“Huh? Oh… Yeah, I guess I didn’t.” His gaze darted around, and he laughed awkwardly. “I figured if I kept insisting on Nagoshi, the band wouldn’t get anywhere, and there was no point in that. So I figured I’d have Yushima play the two songs we’d already chosen.”
“I see. Then, what did you mean about reaching Risa with music?”
“Well…” Sousuke took a deep breath and then seemed to make up his mind. “I’m gonna play one more song alone. I’m hoping I can use it to reach Nagoshi, and maybe…we can have a jam session together.”
Misuzu frowned. “What do you mean? You make it sound simple, but…do you really think you’re that good?”
“Not yet, but I’m gonna practice like crazy. I’m gonna put everything I have into it.” He spoke casually, but it was clear this was no joke or spur-of-the-moment idea.
Misuzu fell silent for a few moments, then sighed in disbelief. “Whatever. Do what you want.” She fell quiet again, seemingly lost in thought. Eventually, she muttered, “Well, if you’re serious about it, then I have something to give you.” She rummaged through her bag and pulled out a bunch of papers from a folder. “I had a hunch something like this would happen. Glad I brought this with me,” she said as she handed it to him.
He took the papers from her and stared at them. “What’s all this?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Sheet music.”
“Well yeah, I can see that. But for what?” He looked confused.
Misuzu paused for a moment and considered her answer. Then, she slowly shook her head. “I won’t tell you. But if you want to move Risa’s heart, you should play this,” she said firmly, looking at the sheet music in his hands.
He flipped through it, a serious expression on his face.
“It’s really difficult music. I’m not kidding,” Misuzu said.
“Yeah, I can tell.”
“To be honest, it’ll be impossible for you to get it down perfectly, even if you practice every day until the festival.”
“…You might be right.” He nodded solemnly as he looked over the sheet music.
“If you try to play this, you might screw up on stage and embarrass yourself.”
“Yeah.”
“Still… I want you to play the whole thing through. Can you do that?” Misuzu said seriously.
Sousuke had a determined gleam in his eyes as he nodded. “I can.”
Misuzu sighed and put on a gentle smile. “Good. Give it a try, then.” She looked pleased.
“Uhh…” Yushima, who had been silent until now, timidly spoke up. “I don’t really get it… Am I supposed to be the opening act for this Nagoshi person?” Although I couldn’t see his expression, he sounded reluctant.
Misuzu burst out laughing. “Oh, don’t pout. You’re really good, too.”
“I don’t like the way you said that. Is Nagoshi really that talented?”
Now he sounded openly hostile, all over someone who wasn’t even here. Maybe it was his pride as a performer. As a newbie, I found it hard to understand.
Yushima sulked, and Misuzu laughed at him.
“She’s really good,” she said. “You’d never be able to match her, no matter how hard you tried.”
“Are you serious?”
“Dead serious. You’ll understand if you hear her play.”
Dissatisfied, Yushima bit his lower lip. He must have been a pretty competitive person.
“You’ll understand if you hear her play,” Misuzu repeated, leaning back in her chair. “It’d be great to hear her play again.”
Her voice was soft. I could tell that wish came from somewhere deep inside her.
After that, we quietly finished our drinks and went our separate ways.