“I’m home—”
Azuma had continued toward Nishi-Ogikubo Station, so I thought for sure she was going to take the train from there, but halfway through, she said, “Oh, crap, I’m almost there,” and turned left.
In the end, after taking a long detour or perhaps just a roundabout way, we returned to Kichijoji Station and went our separate ways.
By the time I arrived home, it was pitch black outside.
A delicious smell drifted from the kitchen. Today was curry day, then.
With a smile forming on my face, I stepped into the dining room.
“Oh, welcome back, Takkun. Since you were late, we already started eating,” Yuzu said, turning around with a smile.
In that instant, my smiling face turned into a look of exasperation.
“Yeah, that’s totally fine, but...”
My gaze was fixed on the blonde girl sitting across from Yuzu as if she belonged there.
“...Why is Sako eating dinner here?”
“I’m eating with my friend.”
My childhood friend, who was pointing her spoon at Yuzu, apparently came straight to our house without going home first, as she was still in her school uniform. Sako has been coming over a lot lately... I wish she’d return that hoodie she borrowed the other day...
“Friend, you say...”
“Yuzu, we’re friends, right?”
“Yeah, friends!”
Yuzu smiled. Being honest is a good thing.
“That might be true, but then... No, well, whatever.”
I had plenty I wanted to say, like how she could have just walked home with me earlier, but since Azuma had mentioned something about being considerate, it would probably be tactless of me to push the issue.
“Anyway... can I join you? Sorry to intrude on a ‘friends-only’ meal.”
“Go ahead. I helped make it too. We added yakisoba sauce as a secret ingredient.”
“I really wish you’d kept that a secret...”
That doesn’t sound very appetizing... Sighing, I headed to the kitchen to dish out my portion of curry.
Returning to the dining room, I saw a bass case leaning against the chair where I usually sit next to Sako.
“Sakohasu, I’m moving your Jazz-be, okay?”
“Sure, but you could just say ‘moving your bass,’ you know.”
Stop giving me that ‘Huh?’ look; you’re the one who started calling it that (probably).
I moved the Jazz Bass, took my seat, and as I started eating, Yuzu asked a question.
“What were you doing today, Takkun? On a date with Amane-san?”
“Why does Yuzu know that woman’s name?” Sako asked, sounding displeased.
“Well, because Takkun’s been on the phone with her a lot lately.”
“Hmm... Takuto, what kind of things do you talk about with her?”
I really wish they wouldn’t interrogate me... I stayed silent and munched on my curry. It was delicious. The secret ingredient was perfectly hidden.
“Who knows? The other day, as soon as Takkun answered the phone, she got mad and hung up on him. She seems like a bit of a handful, doesn’t she?”
“Hahaha, that’s great.”
“Sa-Sako-chan actually laughed!?”
Stop laughing only at times like that, Sakohasu...
After finishing the curry while making idle conversation, I put my hands together and said, “Thanks for the meal,” when a thought occurred to me.
“Right, Sako. Since you’re already here, there’s something I want you to do. Do you have some time?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Good. In that case, come to my room for a bit.”
“Wh-What? Wait, what?”
As I stood up, Sako’s voice went up an octave.
“Hey, Takkun, Yuzu is here, okay? Yuzu is right here!”
“I know that... What exactly are you imagining? Come on, let’s go, Sako.”
Unable to accept that my little sister had such a dirty mind, I shook my head, shouldered Sako’s bass, picked up my used plate, and moved out of the room.
“Th-Thanks for the meal...”
“Good luck, Sako-chan...!”
“Y-Yeah...”
Once in the room, I opened my computer and handed Sako the headphones and her Jazz-be.
“What is this?”
“Well, about the new song... ‘Charm.’ I want you to record the bass for it. Even though it’s just a demo, it feels weird without the bass in there.”
“Huh, is that all?”
She slumped her shoulders as if her expectations had been betrayed.
“What do you mean ‘is that all’... Come on, get your bass out and plug it in.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Sako took her cable out of the bass case and plugged one end into the instrument.
Then, holding the other end of the jack, she asked, “Hey, where should I put this in?”
“Oh, give it here. I’ll do it.”
I took the cable from Sako and plugged the other end into the audio interface.
Sako put on the headphones and began to play.
“Whoa, that’s loud.”
She seemed surprised by the sound she produced.
“Sorry, is it too loud?”
I reached over and turned down the output volume.
“Mm... I was just surprised because it’s my first time, I’m fine. You can leave it at a normal level.”
“Okay then...”
I turned the knob back to where it was.
“Hey! Yuzu is right here, you know!”
My sister’s voice echoed from outside the door. What is she even talking about...?
Ignoring my sister’s comments, I turned back to Sako to explain.
“Four counts first... basically, when the metronome clicks four times, start playing. Just follow the drums.”
“Got it.”
With her headphones on, Sako nodded and did a light practice run.
Watching her, I felt as though I was seeing the Sako from back when she had black hair.
That day in middle school when I finished my first track and brought my whole computer over to Sako’s place—I’m sure of it.
“I guess this is what I always wanted to do...”
“What was that?”
The words had accidentally slipped out, and since she couldn’t hear me clearly, she took off her headphones and knit her brows by a fraction of a millimeter.
“...Nothing.”
“Fine.”
With that, Sako put her headphones back on and started playing. I didn’t miss the way the corners of her mouth turned up slightly.
After a few retakes and rerecording some parts, the provisional demo was finished.
“Send that audio file to the band group,” Sako said from behind me, leaning forward as I sat at the computer doing some light mixing.
“Yeah, I’ll send it later after I’ve mixed it properly.”
“No, I want to listen to it on the way home.”
“Haha, you get like that, don’t you? I get it.”
That comment made me happy, and I laughed.
It’s the nature of a bedroom musician to listen to a freshly recorded track on an infinite loop. It’s part of a set that includes listening to it so much you start to feel a bit sick. In bad cases, it leads to nausea. And yet, you can’t stop hitting play.
“Alright, I’ll send the rough mix then.”
“Yeah, come on, hurry up.”
The corners of Sako’s mouth rose by a fraction of a millimeter as she hurried me. It didn’t quite look like excitement; it looked more like a smirk, but maybe I was imagining things.
I exported the current data as an mp3, uploaded it to cloud storage, and sent the URL to the ‘amane’ Line group.
“Nice~”
...‘Nice~’?
A word I never expected to hear from Sako rang in my ear.
Immediately after, my phone vibrated.
I looked at the incoming message and finally realized the reason for Sako’s smirk.
Amane: [Why is Sako-san’s bass in Konuma-kun’s home recording?]
Yuri: [Sakohasu, don’t tease Amane too much.]
This girl... she set me up...!
I turned around to complain, but when I saw her expression, the words I was about to say stayed stuck in my throat.
“Hey, both of them... even though Takuto could have played it himself, they didn't even doubt it. They recognized it was my bass playing right away.”
Sako was showing her white teeth, smiling with genuine happiness.