“Yuzu, thanks for the curry.”
Sako put on her loafers at the entrance.
“Yep! Thanks for helping me cook it, Sako-chan!”
“And thanks for the bass, too.”
When I waved my hand along with Yuzu, Sako tilted her head slightly.
“Takuto, aren’t you going to walk me home?”
“Why would I...? It’s fine, it’s not that late yet. It’s the time I’m usually out. It’s safe.”
“Yuzu, your brother is saying ‘it’s’ a lot... Hmmm, so you just use me and throw me away once you’re done. I see.”
“Oniichan, you’re a monster...! A demonic oniichan, you are...! ...I said that with a cool face.”
“Yuzu...!?”
I couldn't hide my shock at my sister's choice of words.
“Come on, Oniichan, walk me home.”
Even Sako started calling me her brother.
“No, I’m not Sako’s brother... Fine, I get it.”
I let out a sigh and slipped my feet into my sandals.
“Takkun, I want you to buy some Mister Donut donuts.”
“Stop changing your character.”
And that was how I ended up walking Sako home for the first time in a few days.
“I was happy about earlier.”
“Earlier?”
“The part where you understood my bass.”
“Ah...”
It was rare for Sako to bring up a topic herself.
Well, it wasn’t that rare for her to start a conversation, but usually, the topics she brought up were mostly complaints about me...
“Yurisuke said today that she’s going to stake her youth on amane, right? For Yurisuke to stake her youth might be a heavier decision than staking her life.”
“That’s true...”
Indeed, it was no small matter. Even I could tell that the determination she put into it was far from ordinary.
“So, um... I don’t mean this in a self-deprecating way, but I’m a much worse bassist than Yurisuke, right?”
I nodded vaguely to encourage her to continue without agreeing.
“But I want to be amane’s bassist. I don’t want to give that up to anyone, not even Yurisuke. So I’m thinking I have to practice incredibly hard. Because of what happened earlier, I realized that you can understand my playing, so that feeling got even stronger.”
“...I see.”
I felt a sense of warmth seeing Sako so fired up. It might have been like this during the middle school wind instrument competition, too.
Well, our group was weak—or rather, there were too few people to even enter the categories that had a chance of going to the nationals...
As I dug up those nostalgic memories, a breeze blew softly.
“Whoa, it’s cold...”
“Takuto, you should have worn a jacket.”
“No, I was standing at the entrance intending to just see you off, but then a certain someone forced me to walk her home... Ah, that’s right. Sako, you wore my hoodie home the other day, right? Give that back, I’ll wear it on the way home.”
When I remembered and mentioned it,
“Ah, that... it’s in the wash,” she replied, looking away.
“Are you serious...?”
Suspicious. I didn’t think she actually kept track of what was being washed at her house.
“What, do you want me to give it back unwashed? The one with my scent on it...? If that’s what you want, I guess it’s fine...”
“What are you even saying?”
I stared at Sako, whose face distorted by just 0.something millimeters as she flustered in a way only I could recognize.
I mobilized all of Azuma’s Unique Skills that I could use just a little bit on Sako. (What even is a Unique Skill?)
“Hey, maybe it’s just my imagination, but...”
“What?”
I decided to ask her something that had actually been on my mind for the past few days.
“Um... is the dance club not going very well?”
“...Yeah.”
Sako answered, her shoulders dropping by 0.something millimeters.
I knew it...
I thought it was strange that Sako was coming over so frequently and being so talkative.
“Are the three of you not walking home together?”
“Kenji goes home with the Cherry Boys and others, and Erina goes home before I know it...”
“Seriously... I guess that kind of thing runs deep... It was a very optimistic observation, or rather, I just selfishly thought that since Hazama already overcame a similar situation when he confessed to Sako once, maybe it would work out somehow...”
I suppose that was just a completely baseless guess from someone as ignorant as me.
“Hmm, last time, Erina acted as a mediator so that things would stay as normal as possible. This time... I don’t want to make Erina push herself. If we try to stay as a trio, Erina will definitely try too hard. So if Erina doesn't want that, I don’t think it’s right for us to stop her.”
“That’s true...”
It’s easy to say 'don't push yourself,' but I’ve just recently learned my lesson about that. Sako (and Hazama), who understand those things, are probably naturally trying to make sure Erina-san doesn’t overwork herself.
They’re sharp, or rather, they really look out for others...
“But is that really okay? I don’t feel like Erina-san wants things to be this way either... Well, I don’t really know, though.”
“...Whether it’s okay or not, there’s nothing we can do.”
“Nothing we can do, huh...”
I repeated it aimlessly and looked up at the sky. I could see the beautiful October moon.
“...Should I talk to Erina-san on Monday?”
My mouth had moved on its own to make that suggestion, wondering if I could be of any help.
“Why? I mean, what would you even say?”
“What would I say... I wonder what I would say?”
“What are you talking about...”
Sako looked at me as if she were exasperated.
“I don’t know. I don’t know, but...”
How would Azuma express this kind of frustration?
“Well... I just don’t really want to let Sako say ‘there’s nothing we can do’ too much.”
“...What is that supposed to mean?”
Sako looked down grumpily. She probably wanted to ask who I thought I was. I thought the same thing myself.
But Sako probably gave up with those same words back then in middle school, too. If that’s the case, then I’m partly responsible for that.
“Even if you say that, there are just a lot of things you can’t do anything about, Takuto.”
“Maybe so...”
I could only mutter in response to Sako’s whisper.
“...But, I get it. Thanks.”
“Yeah.”