* * *
“Tch...”
Yurisuke: [Sakohasu, I heard Konuma had a fight with Amane.]
It happened while I was changing into my dance club practice clothes. I clicked my tongue at the message displayed on my smartphone screen as it vibrated rudely.
“Sakosh, what’s wrong~?”
“No, nothing.”
I replied to Erina, who tilted her head while in her underwear (a cute light pink set), and immediately typed a response back to Yurisuke.
Hasu Sako: [Tell my idiot childhood friend to wait at the park in front of Shin-Koganei Station.]
“You say it’s nothing, but you have such a scary face~?”
“I said it’s nothing.”
“Is it about Takuto-kun~?”
“I told you, it’s nothing.”
“I hit the mark~!”
Even though I hadn't said anything, Erina was frolicking around on her own.
“When Erina was leaving the classroom, Takuto-kun was pretending to sleep at his desk~”
“Humph...”
“Really, Takuto-kun doesn’t understand anything when it comes to himself, does he~?”
Erina made a knowing face, and the annoying part was that her 'knowing' face was actually quite accurate. Ignoring her, I silently began to change as well.
Then, while putting on her T-shirt, Erina laughed.
“Hehe, Sakosh, your expressions have been showing a lot more lately~”
“Is that so?”
“It is~ well,”
Her expression shifted as if a drop of sorrow had fallen into her smile, and she whispered, “Though I still haven’t seen your crying face yet~”
“...I’m not going to cry.”
“I see~... Okay! Well then, I’ll be going on ahead!”
With that, Erina left the classroom we were using as a changing room, leaving me alone. I instinctively picked up my smartphone and looked at my own expression reflected in the black screen.
* * *
Despite it being right before the school festival, I finished dance club practice, which I couldn't fully concentrate on because of a certain someone (or someones).
I wanted to head to the park in front of Shin-Koganei Station right away, but...
“Sakosh~, they said the dance club has after-school duty today~”
Because of that, I was forced to do a round of the school. ...However, you could also say it was the perfect opportunity to confirm a 'certain possibility' floating in my head.
“Then, I’ll go check on the Rock Club studio.”
“Take care~”
As she waved and headed in a different direction, Erina breathed out a sweet sigh from her mouth, which had been holding a candy she’d suddenly started licking since the second semester began.
“Ah, Erina.”
“Hmm~?”
She turned around and tilted her head.
“...It might take a while, so Erina, you should go home with Kenji first.”
“Eh, really~? Are you sure~?”
Realizing she could walk home with just Kenji, Erina smiled happily with a silly grin; she was exceptionally cute.
“Yeah, go ahead.”
“Hehehe~, got it~!”
I doubt she even has the intention to hide it, but even I can tell how Erina feels about Kenji. I’m not sure if Kenji has noticed, though. I wonder if boys are just naturally oblivious creatures, or if it’s just the boys around me.
Watching Erina skip away while humming, I proceeded to kick members out of the instrumental music club and the mystery research club wings one by one.
Finally, I headed to the Rock Club studio and opened the door.
“Ah...!”
“I knew it...”
As expected, she was there holding her guitar. She looked toward me happily at first, but then...
“Sako-san, huh...”
The moment she saw my face, she immediately pulled back that expression. Hey, that’s actually pretty rude.
“...What are you doing, Ichikawa-san?”
I leaned against the open door and asked.
“Ah, yeah, practice... I guess. What about you, Sako-san? Weren’t you at the dance club today?”
“After-school duty.”
“Eh, is it already final dismissal time?”
Ichikawa-san widened her eyes in shock.
“Yeah, this room is the last one.”
“That means... there’s no one left but me and Sako-san...?”
“Exactly.”
“Yeah, I see...”
Ichikawa-san glanced toward the drums and let out a sigh. A set of sticks had been left sitting on top of the bass drum.
“Then, I have to get ready to go home...?”
“Well...”
Answering that, I took a seat on a chair inside the studio.
“Wait, didn't you say we have to leave...?”
“Ichikawa-san,”
Ignoring her confusion, I spoke to her.
“Don’t you have something you need to tell me?”
“...!”
Ichikawa-san looked into my eyes and gasped.
“Umm... did you hear it from someone?”
“That’s...”
Can I say I heard from Yurisuke that they had a fight? If I say I heard it from Takuto, that seems like it would cause extra trouble. For now, let’s go with Erina. No, wait, saying it was Erina might not be good either...
“But, you’re right. I thought I should tell you properly from my own mouth, Sako-san.”
While I was hesitating, it seems Ichikawa-san decided to confess on her own. That was a help.
“The truth is, I...”
She took a deep breath.
“I’ve finished writing the lyrics.”
“Right, the festival is close so you should make up with him right—Huh?”
Because the confession was different from what I expected, I ended up doing a double-take with my voice rising at the end.
Ichikawa-san and I stared at each other.
“Make up...?”
“What do you mean, the lyrics are finished?”
We both questioned each other’s words at the same time. ...Fine, let’s solve Ichikawa-san’s question first.
“I heard you had a fight with Takuto.”
When I asked that, Ichikawa-san bit her lip and glared at the floor from the corner of her eyes.
“F-Fight, or rather... that was Konuma-kun suddenly saying something in a really nasty way...”
“Humph.”
“I mean, if we’re calling it a fight, Konuma-kun was the one who made it one. And since he didn't come here until final dismissal, he must have gone home on his own. It’s not like we haven’t gone a whole day without talking before...”
Ichikawa-san continued to mumble and fidget.
“What happened?”
I’m not interested—or more accurately, I don’t really want to hear it—but being kept in the dark and left out makes me annoyed, so I asked anyway.
“Well, I had something to do yesterday, so I tried to ask him if he could wait for me if he wanted. But then Konuma-kun’s attitude turned bad halfway through, and he left first...”
...Hah?
“...What was this 'something'?”
“Hmm, the thing I had to do? It was about being called to the studio by Tokugawa-senpai...”
“Good grief...”
My head felt dizzy. Both of them are so selfish. I felt like telling them to save that kind of stupid fight for after they start dating, or reminding myself that I had said something supportive to Ichikawa-san during the last practice.
Various thoughts crossed my mind, but for now...
“...Listen, we have practice tomorrow.”
I can’t stand being dragged into this kind of mess, so I want them to settle it by tomorrow.
“I know, but Konuma-kun was in the wrong, so I don’t want to apologize...”
“No... I don’t care about that.”
“But I do care...!”
Ichikawa-san pouted with a childish line, but she still looked so incredibly cute that I held my head in one hand. This monster is cute even when she’s sulking? Is this the kind of opponent I’m facing...?
“Fine, then you don’t have to apologize. Just make up with him.”
When I glared at her while saying that,
“Mmm...”
She still stubbornly refused to nod.
I don’t know if it’s some kind of musician’s pride or what, but Ichikawa-san has a troublesome personality.
“Just say you understand.”
“I’ll do my best...”
“By tomorrow, okay?”
“I’ll do my beeest...”
Ichikawa-san was still pouting. What is up with her, seriously...
I started getting annoyed at how cute she looked, so I pulled her cheeks to mess up her face.
“Wait, Sako-san, that hurts!”
...Why is she still cute even when I’m stretching her cheeks?