A few days after the song was completed.
I was in the school studio with Ichikawa and Sako.
We were there to harmonize my new song—which didn't have lyrics yet—using just "la-la-las."
"Konuma-kun, this song really is amazing! I haven't listened to anything else since the day you sent it to me!"
Ichikawa, wearing her school uniform and having just finished playing her guitar, gave a small jump with a bright smile and clapped her hands lightly in front of her face.
Being praised so honestly makes me feel a bit embarrassed...
"That’s why I told you Takuto could do it," Sako said.
Wearing a T-shirt and shorts, Sako held her bass and pressed her shoulder against Ichikawa's, almost as if leaning on her.
"No, I mean, isn't this Konuma-kun's achievement? Why are you making such a smug face, Sako-san?"
Ichikawa gently pushed her back.
"That... is a secret."
"Eh?! Sako-san, I'm seeing an expression I've never seen before!"
Ichikawa peered into Sako's face as Sako suddenly tried to stifle a smile.
"Wait, Ichikawa-san, you're too close..."
"Eeeh? What's with that face!"
"I told you not to cling..."
...Yeah, I think this pairing is quite alright, but it's a bit hard for me to react to this.
Also, she's trying to act cool saying "don't cling," but Sako-san was the one who clung first, you know?
"So, Yuri is writing the lyrics right now, right?"
As if their playfulness had ended, Ichikawa turned back toward me and pointed at the ceiling. (The Instrumental Music Club's practice room was located exactly above the Rock Club's studio on the second floor.)
"Yeah. Azuma is probably busy with her club activities, so it might not be immediate."
"Right, right!"
By the way, right after I sent the song to Azuma, I received an individual LINE message.
Yuri: 『Konuma! I can really feel "Konuma" in this song!』
Takuto Konuma: 『Don't put it in such a weird way...』
Yuri: 『I'm going to write these with my whole heart and soul too, so just wait a bit!』
That was it.
"Then, the only one whose lyrics aren't on track for the School Festival is mine..."
Ichikawa's tone dropped, and she looked down slightly.
Sako watched her for a moment before speaking.
"...Ichikawa-san, you can do it too."
She whispered it softly and turned away.
"Eh, Sako-san?"
"I'm not saying it again..."
"U-Uh, yeah, thanks... I'm happy..."
Both of them had their cheeks flushed now... Should I... leave the room?
Just as I was about to lift myself off the drum stool, Sako's smartphone alarm went off.
"Ah, it's time. Sorry, see you next time."
With that, Sako put her bass in its case and left the studio.
"Somehow I completely forgot about it, but Sako-san is also in the Dance Club, isn't she?"
"I guess so..."
Since Sako also had Dance Club practice, she had been squeezing in time to come to the studio. That was why she was wearing a T-shirt instead of her gym clothes.
"Well then, should we head home, Konuma-kun?"
"Yeah."
I walked the path to Shin-Koganai Station alone with Ichikawa. It had been quite a while, so I felt strangely nervous...
"Ahhh, I lost the race."
On the road where there was almost no car traffic, Ichikawa grumbled while hopping onto the curb. She spread her arms like a balance beam and began to walk along it.
"Race? You mean the one about me and Azuma making a song that surpasses 'My Song'?"
"No, that's a 'match.' The 'race' was about whether my lyrics or your new song would be finished first."
"Oh, I see."
The fact that she remembers exactly which one was a 'race' and which one was a 'match' probably means she has a high awareness of language. I wonder if Yuri-neesan is like that too. Who knows.
Well, putting that aside.
"Hey, Ichikawa."
"Hmm?"
"In that 'race,' did I really win?"
Ichikawa's movements slowed for just a moment.
"...Eh? What do you mean? It’s your win, right, Konuma-kun?"
My awareness of language might be lower than Azuma's or Ichikawa's.
However, there is one thing—a memorization subject—that I'm so good at it actually weirds Sako out.
"What you said that day wasn't about whether your lyrics or my song would be brought in first, right?"
『In that case, Konuma-kun, it's a race!』
"...Was it?"
"What you said was, 'Which will be faster: me being able to write lyrics, or Konuma-kun being able to write music.'"
Ichikawa quietly lowered her extended arms.
"Hey, Ichikawa."
With this question, Ichikawa, who hates lies, will no longer be able to play it off.
"The truth is, you've already written the lyrics, haven't you?"
"...Konuma-kun, wasn't being dense supposed to be your selling point?"
She crumpled her black hair with her hand and laughed somewhat miserably.
"I don't remember ever making that a selling point..."
When I said that in exasperation, Ichikawa laughed with an "Ahaha."
"Yeah... I've written them. The lyrics."
She declared it clearly.
I knew it...
"Why were you hiding it...?"
Ichikawa softly stepped down from the curb.
"I wonder why..."
Could it be...?
"Did you think that if I lost the race, I'd lose my goal and motivation? To think I'd make you worry about me that much..."
"That’s not it, Konuma-kun."
She cut off my words and denied it flatly.
"Then, why...?"
Ichikawa let out a long sigh, as if giving up.
"You see, I'm scared, Konuma-kun."
Her eyes became slightly teary.
"I'm still scared that if I let you hear the lyrics, I'll lose something."
I tilted my head.
I couldn't quite understand. What did she mean by "lose something"?
"But you can already sing 'My Song' and 'Boat' even though they're your own songs, right?"
If so, shouldn't she be able to sing a new song too?
"Those are songs from before I met you, Yuri, or Sako-san. They're songs I made when I had nothing to lose. I'm singing them in a state where everyone says they like them."
"No, we might like the next song too. I mean, the melody itself was a really great track."
The probability of me or Azuma hating the lyrics written by amane should be overwhelmingly low.
"Ahaha, thanks. But, you know, lyrics are still scary. I feel like... what if I lose something because of these lyrics, what if I break things... Because now, I have things I don't want to lose."
"Things you don't want to lose? You mean your fans or something?"
When I asked that,
"No,"
Ichikawa shook her head.
"You know, I said this at the Firefly Pond too,"
Ichikawa softly grabbed the hem of my school uniform and said.
"Until the day I met you, Konuma-kun, I was a 'loner.'"