“Did you just get back? We’re already done,” Kaoru said grumpily.
She sat in one of the chairs in the dining area. There was a handwritten sign on the door that read, SOLD OUT! The other students who had spent the day working were all sitting down, looking exhausted.
“Was it busy?” I asked.
“Yeah. It went by in a flash, though.”
Kaoru had been one of the cooks that day, so she was wearing a happi coat like at a real festival. It didn’t really suit her, which amused me, but I kept that thought to myself. She’d probably yell at me if I said something.
“How about you, Yuzu? Did you have fun today?”
“Yeah, I got to see all four plays.”
“Hm. With Ai?”
“Yeah.” I nodded.
“Oh,” Kaoru muttered, her expression impassive. “If you watched all four, that means you haven’t eaten, right?”
“Oh… You’re right. I’ve been in the gym all day.”
“Are you hungry?”
“Yeah, but I can hold out.”
“Hmmm.” Kaoru hummed and looked down at the table.
She stared at a tray of takoyaki in front of her which was missing a few pieces. Then, she looked back up at me. “Want some?”
“Huh? But aren’t those yours?”
“Yeah, but I’m not that hungry.”
She skewered a takoyaki with a toothpick and held it out to me.
“Mmph…”
“Uh, actually…”
“Mmph!”
She pushed it right up to my lips, so I reluctantly took a bite.
Then, she pulled the empty toothpick away, a triumphant smile on her face. “I made that, you know.”
I chewed the takoyaki. It wasn’t fresh, but it was still slightly warm. The small bits of octopus were perfectly chewy, and the inside was creamy with a savory sauce I could taste better now that it had cooled down a little.
I swallowed it and nodded. “That was delicious.”
Her face lit up. “I guess I got pretty good at it after making them all day.”
“I wish I could’ve seen you make them.”
“It wasn’t that cool. Anyway, have another one.”
“That’s okay. They’re yours.”
“Eat it,” she insisted, thrusting another takoyaki ball toward my mouth. This time, she pushed it all the way past my lips, so I had no choice.
As I chewed, I silently glared at her, which made her laugh.
“Heh-heh. Want another one?”
I shook my head, but she’d already skewered a third one on her toothpick.
“Mmph.”
“Urgh!”
She pushed another one into my mouth.
“Heh-heh-heh.”
She seemed to be enjoying herself quite a lot. Her eyes sparkled mischievously.
“Wow, looks like you two are getting pretty cozy!” said someone behind us as Kaoru skewered the last takoyaki in the set. She jumped slightly at the sound.
Sousuke entered the classroom and grinned at us.
“Thanks for holding down the fort, Sousuke,” I said, once I’d finished chewing.
“No problem,” he said with a wave. “I just saw Mizuno in her bartender outfit. It looks way too good on her. Did you see it yet?”
“Yeah, yesterday.” I nodded with a soft smile.
Ai must’ve filled in for the student who wasn’t feeling well after all. Despite her carefree nature, she was also kind and considerate.
“But the cocktails were kinda…you know,” Sousuke said, looking around the room as he considered his words. “Mine tasted exactly like Kirin Lemon.”
“Ha-ha. Yeah,” I said, knowing exactly what he meant.
“The yellow color was pretty, though.”
“It was fun watching her make the—” Before I could finish my sentence, Kaoru caught me off-guard and shoved another takoyaki into my mouth.
She looked irritated, probably because I’d been talking about Ai the whole time. As I chewed my takoyaki, I had to admit her pouting face was pretty cute.
“Ha-ha. You guys sure are close,” Sousuke said, putting his arm around my shoulder. “See ya at the after-party. Let’s do our best.”
My mouth was full, so I just nodded.
Satisfied, Sousuke glanced over at Kaoru. “I’ll be counting on you too, Odajima!”
She nodded, and Sousuke let go of me.
As he did, I glanced at his right hand. He had bandages on every finger. I looked at his left hand and saw more bandages on his index and middle fingers—the ones he used to press the frets. He must have practiced more than all of us, I thought.
“Sousuke!” I called out as I swallowed the takoyaki.
He turned around just before he reached the door. “Yeah?”
“Let’s make our performance a success, no matter what!”
He looked at me in surprise, then grinned and nodded. “Yeah!” He gave me a thumbs-up before leaving the room.
“Right, the after-party’s coming up soon,” Kaoru murmured.
I nodded quietly.
“I’m starting to feel a little nervous,” she said. The admission surprised me. Normally, she would keep those feelings to herself.
“Your voice is beautiful, so you’ll be fine,” I teased. I wasn’t sure if I just wanted to ease her nerves, or if I was getting her back for stuffing all those takoyaki in my mouth.
Her face turned bright red. “Shut up!”
“Ah-ha-ha.”
Once her homemade takoyaki had taken the edge off my hunger, we chatted to pass the time. Before I knew it, an hour had passed.
It was 5 PM, and an announcement played over the school’s loudspeaker.
“The school festival will now be concluding.”
Everyone still in the classroom clapped and congratulated one another, and I did the same. Cheers and applause could be heard up and down the hallway.
The festival was over.
“It went by so fast,” I murmured, and Kaoru nodded thoughtfully.
“Yeah, it did.”
We’d prepared for over two months, and now the festival was over, leaving only the after-party. I wanted us to put on a really great performance, and I wanted Sousuke’s wish to come true.
Naturally, I began to think about Nagoshi. It was true that I hadn’t seen much of the festival, but it surprised me that I hadn’t passed her even once. I quickly stood up from my seat. I had a hunch of where I might find her, and I wanted to check.
“Yuzu? If you’re going to the gym, I’ll come with you.”
“Oh no. I’m going to the bathroom. You go on without me.”
She looked like she wanted to say something, but in the end she just nodded. “Okay.”
I had a feeling she knew I was lying, but if she was willing to ignore it, then there was no need for me to explain.
I quickly walked out into the hallway and up the stairs to the roof, then opened the door without hesitation.
And there was Nagoshi, leaning against the fence and looking up at the sky. She slowly turned toward me.
“Oh, you came, too? I must be popular,” she said jokingly, then shrugged her shoulders like she was fed up.
“Did Sousuke come by?” I asked as I made my way over to her.
“Yeah. He looked so serious I thought he was gonna confess to me again.” She was still joking around.
“What did he want?”
“He just said, ‘Make sure you come to the after-party.’” She shrugged again, before leaning back against the creaky chain-link fence. “I thought for sure he was going to ask me to play, so I was a little surprised.” She shot me a sidelong glance. “Did you tell him anything?”
I shook my head. “No, not a thing.”
“…Okay.” She nodded vaguely and looked up at the sky. “First, he asks me to play. Now, he wants me to come listen.”
“I really want you to come to the performance,” I said directly. She stared at me, her mouth half open. “Sousuke worked really hard to prepare what he wants to say to you.”
I recalled the bandages on his fingertips. He’d clearly practiced a lot. He must’ve realized that words alone couldn’t move her heart and worked hard to reach her another way, even if it left his hands cut and bruised.
She snorted. “What, is he planning to confess on stage? There’s already an event for that, ya know.” She was still joking, but when she saw the serious look on my face, her expression changed.
She reached for my tie and pulled me toward her.
“…Ack!”
I automatically threw my arms up against the fence to prevent myself from falling forward. The metal clanged when I hit it.
Nagoshi’s face was so close, we were almost touching. A breeze blew past, swaying our hair. Her gaze was fixed on me.
“Words, music… They don’t mean anything to me. I thought I told you that.”
I couldn’t say anything in response, but I wanted to show her how I felt, so I nodded. My nose brushed hers.
“But I can’t completely forget the past,” she said. “When I hear your joyful music, I remember. And it hurts. You know that.”
Yes, I understood that.
She’d lost a father she admired and a woman she loved like a sister, and at the same time, she’d lost the music deep inside her heart. To protect herself, she’d kept that music at arm’s length, so she wouldn’t remember. But in doing so, she’d wound up suppressing a great many precious feelings, too.