"Uuugh, *sniff*, *sniff*... I just witnessed something incredible...!"
"Yeah, I know, right? Yeah..."
While heading toward the Lecture Room, the venue for the Rock-On event, Taira-chan and Ichikawa were still crying.
"Hey, come on, you two... stop crying already..."
When I spoke up,
"No, Takuto, you’re crying too..."
Sako gave me an exasperated retort.
"Even if you say that... Sako, weren't you moved too?"
"I was, but I don't let my tears flow so easily."
Sako let out a huff through her nose.
"...Sako-san, your eyes are red, you know?"
Ichikawa peered into Sako's face with a mischievous smile.
"...Shut up."
"Eeeh! That hurts! I didn't do anything wrong just now!"
Once again, the two were playing around, with Sako pulling Ichikawa's cheek.
"...I mean, can we even put on a live show that tops that?"
In the midst of the playfulness, Sako suddenly murmured.
"We just have to do it."
I raised the corners of my mouth as if to paint over the slight anxiety in my heart.
"We've put everything on the line for today too, after all."
"True!"
And so, the curtain rose on School Festival Rock-On.
I was the PA (Public Address) operator again this time, with Ichikawa and Sako standing by my side.
The opening act was Taira-chan, who had also handled the campus broadcast for the Rock Club's promotion.
Stepping onto the stage with a single guitar, Taira-chan smoothed out her bangs while looking around the venue anxiously.
"M-My name is Taira Tsubame...!"
"Wow, she looks really nervous." "Was there a girl that cute? A first-year?" "I wonder?"
Some girls, likely second-years, watched the stage with a heartwarming gaze.
"U-Um, um, I don't think any of you know who I am. I’ve been a shut-in for a long time, all alone, avoiding interaction with people..."
She clearly wasn't used to speaking in front of an audience.
"...Maybe, I had just given up all along."
Starting with that, she continued.
"Even though I longed for it, because I couldn't have it, I just kept saying things to look down on it, telling myself that I didn't want such things anyway."
She began an aimless talk without even stating the subject.
"What is she talking about?"
Ichikawa tilted her head, but I felt like I somehow knew where she was going with this.
"But, after experiencing many things this summer, talking to various people, getting involved, and then seeing the Instrumental Club's performance just now, I felt it so much that I couldn't deceive myself anymore."
*"Geez, don't use that!"* *"Please don't use it!"* *"Ah! Again!"*
Several scenes where I had been scolded by Taira-chan flashed through my mind.
"Probably,"
She took a deep breath and made her declaration.
"I want to become a Normie!"
""""............?""""
The venue fell silent as if hit by a bucket of cold water, and question marks floated above almost everyone's heads.
However, Taira-chan, whose switch had been flipped, didn't care about that and continued talking.
"I want to experience youth! I want to sparkle! I want to laugh like that, cry like that, and make sounds like that! I want to live a high school life that I'll regret leaving, and something that makes me want to go back when I remember it someday... I think?"
Realizing she had entered her own world, she slowed down a bit at the end and tilted her head.
"Wait, what was I...?"
Saying that, she stared blankly toward the PA booth.
While giving a wry smile, I looked into Taira-chan's eyes and nodded.
If you've decided to say it, you just have to say it through.
Whether Taira-chan understood my intent (come to think of it, she could use a pseudo-mind-reading skill), she pursed her lips and nodded.
"I am a first-year. I think I'm just getting started. I can't stop feeling grateful to the seniors who made me feel this way, and to the... precious person who brought me here. So, I will sing this song. ...That's what I wanted to say! Sorry for being so long-winded! Thank you for your attention!"
As she bowed deeply, warm applause broke out here and there from the audience who had indeed been listening attentively.
"A-Ah, um, the song is coming now, so the applause is... it's okay for now...! Ah, ah, thank you very much...!"
Taira-chan placed her fingers on the guitar.
"E-Err, then, please listen. A song called 'Wish'."
Saying that, she began playing an arpeggio on the guitar.
However, she kept repeating the intro and wouldn't start singing.
Her almond-shaped eyes darted around anxiously as she continued to scan the venue.
"What's wrong?"
Ichikawa tilted her head.
"It's because the person she wants to hear it most hasn't arrived yet."
The moment I answered that.
Taira-chan's face brightened instantly.
"Sorry I'm late."
I felt a light tap on my back and turned around to find the 'former' president of the Instrumental Club standing there with red-rimmed eyes.
"Told you. ...Your disciple is waiting."
"...Roger."
With her youth-and-normie mentor finally in attendance, Taira-chan took a deep breath and began to sing.
* * *
『Wish』
In a distant city or a nearby town
You are probably fighting your own breath right now
Checking answers and looking for mistakes
I wonder if I can softly stroke that back of yours
Saved many times by your words
Kept alive by your words until now
If we were to meet someday
I wonder what I would tell you
Would I only be able to say "thank you"?
I might even collapse before I can do that
But
Even if it's presumptuous, even if it's selfish
I, who am here thanks to you
Hope that I can be your strength someday
I hope this miracle-like wish
Somehow comes true
* * *
When she finished singing, voices of admiration like "Wow...!" arose, and everyone sent their applause.
"Saying I was your 'strength' is way beyond the mark..."
Azuma laughed happily while her eyes moistened.
"...That's the same for you, Yuri."
Ichikawa whispered gently.
Songs and feelings might connect in this way.
Feelings that reached someone are handed over to the next person like a baton through that emotion, and we are probably standing within the bonds created by that.
"Thank you very much, thank you very much!"
On stage, Taira-chan was bowing deeply, looking incredibly happy to receive applause for her own performance for the first time.
"Now, I'd like to call up a guest... or rather, someone who will perform with me! A third-year? Ah, no, he's a second-year, Tokugawa Soshi-kun!"
As she called him out, Tokugawa-san stepped onto the stage.
He was as handsome as ever...
I couldn't help but glance at Ichikawa out of the corner of my eye.
The natural angel herself was smiling cutely and giving small claps, saying things like "Wow."
"Hello, everyone. My name is Tokugawa."
At that perfectly gentlemanly smile, the women in the audience quietly flushed.
If Hazama's reaction was high-pitched squealing, Tokugawa-san's was more like a sweet sigh.
"I've returned from a one-year study abroad trip to London. I learned of this song then... and I'll perform it because it fits my current feelings perfectly. A Beatles song called 'I Will'."
After introducing the song, Tokugawa-san began to sing.
"His pronunciation is so good..."
"No, that's not the point..."
Ichikawa was impressed, and Sako retorted.
"...Yeah, it's okay. I understand."
That simple and gentle song, sung in plain English, was filled with an incomparable amount of bittersweet feelings.
I wondered how today's Rock-On looked in the world where Tokugawa-san was the protagonist.
"...Thank you."
Ichikawa whispered so softly it could have been missed.
The short song ended quietly.
"Thank you very much."
Tokugawa-san smiled gently.
After that, the two performed Taylor Swift's 'Everything Has Changed' and 'Endgame' as duets, finishing their turn.
Then, after watching a few more bands, it was finally time for our Cherry Boys.
...Judging by the excitement in my heart, it seems I've become a fan of that band before I even knew it.