We stepped out of the ticket gates at Kokubunji Station.
“Waah, it’s my first time getting off here.”
“Me too... I have no idea where anything is.”
“Me neither! Let’s explore!”
Ichikawa, who seemed to have cheered up while we were on the train, raised her right hand.
Still, is this the kind of town you ‘explore’? Here? (No offense.)
Pulled along by Ichikawa, I looked at the shop list for the station’s department store posted on the wall.
“Konuma-kun, there’s a music store!”
“Ohh!!”
Ichikawa flinched at my sudden exclamation.
“Uwah, you startled me...”
“S-Sorry... But anyway, let’s hurry up and go to the music store.”
When I looked at Ichikawa after saying that, she tilted her head slightly.
“...Aren’t you going to pull me along?”
“What are you talking about?”
Putting that aside, we took the elevator up to the 8th floor (it’s located quite high up!), and the music store came into view.
My pace quickened as we approached the store, but—
“Ah.”
My right hand was tugged back, like a dog on a leash.
“W-What? Was I walking too fast?”
“No, it’s not that. Look...”
“Hmm?”
At the end of Ichikawa’s gaze was—
“Wait, is that Kamino-san...?”
The former president of the Instrumental Club and third-year drummer, Kamino Maika-senpai, was standing near the entrance of the music store, staring blankly with her mouth half-open at a large blue poster.
“I wonder why she’s here?”
“Who knows... Maybe she lives around here?”
Looking at Kamino-san’s hand, the tip of a drumstick was poking out of a plastic bag printed with the music store’s logo. Presumably, she noticed the poster after buying sticks and was currently admiring it.
While I was revealing my perfect deduction in my mind, my right arm was pulled repeatedly.
Hmm? When I looked over, Ichikawa was grabbing my arm with both hands.
“Hey, let’s hide.”
“Why?”
“Look, because... we’re holding hands...”
“You didn’t care about that at all until just now... I mean, you could just let go...”
“I told you I don’t want to let go.”
How selfish can you get?
Since I’m a representative of the ‘good grief’ type, I had no choice but to do as I was told and watch while hiding (though we really just moved a bit further away). After a while, Kamino-san seemed to snap out of it and walked off toward the escalator.
“She’s gone...”
“Yeah...”
The sight of her walking away with her hands thrust into her blazer pockets was somehow cool. I wonder if it’s her posture—as expected, is posture crucial to becoming good at the drums...?
While I was watching her back until she disappeared, thinking there might be something to learn from her—
“...I... Amane-wise, I don’t like it when Konuma-kun looks at Maika-senpai like that.”
A pouting voice reached my ears.
“Huh? Why?”
“It’s like... you have that ‘admiration’ feel.”
For some reason, Lady Amane was sulking.
“No, admiration... well, it’s not that kind of thing.”
“...The fact that you can’t instantly say ‘I don’t admire her at all’ is just so you, Konuma-kun.”
“What’s that supposed to mean...?”
“Don’t know. I wonder what kind of poster Maika-senpai was looking at?”
Saying that, Ichikawa approached the music store.
When we looked at the blue poster, what was written there was:
『Youth Rebellion—Confirmed to be held again this year!』
“What’s this?”
“Hmm... It says it’s a band contest limited to high school students.”
“Heh...?”
I read through the poster as well.
It stated that ‘Youth Rebellion’ is a band contest exclusive to high schoolers, with demo screenings, first preliminaries, and second preliminaries held in winter, followed by the finals in March. It had various details like ‘Scouting system starts this year!’ and the prizes for the Grand Prix winner.
“It’s the third time... so they’ve done it a few times already? I didn’t know. I wonder if Maika-senpai wants to enter this?”
“Maybe. Still, if it were just the finals in March it would be one thing, but with the preliminaries too, wouldn't it be tough? The guitar and bass senpai have entrance exams, right?”
“That’s true...”
“Yeah...”
Lately, when Ichikawa says things like ‘That’s true...’ without it sounding like a joke, it makes my heart feel ticklish...
“Ah. It says ‘Organizer: Buddy Music’.”
“Oh, that’s Ariga-san’s label.”
When Ariga-san called around noon today, she introduced herself as ‘Ariga from Buddy Music’.
...Just as I thought that, Ichikawa was looking at me with a suspicious face.
“What...?”
“No... I just wondered why you wouldn’t call it singer-songwriter amane’s label. It’s not like I mind, though.”
True... It was just because my conversation with Ariga-san was so recent...
“Well, whatever. Shall we go in?”
“Yeah...”
We entered the music store as she said that.
I mean...
Whenever I saw a couple entering a music store holding hands, I always thought, “Huh?” and I feel the same way about myself now. I wonder if Ichikawa-san is the type who doesn’t care about that at all...
Since I’m the type who worries about such things, I glanced around, but the store was quite spacious and it seemed like we were the only customers. No staff were in sight either.
I breathed a small sigh of relief. Good, there’s no one here who would feel murderous intent looking at us...
“Hey, hey, what’s the difference between each of these electric guitars?”
Ignoring my inner turmoil, Ichikawa asked a question while looking at the many guitars hanging on the wall.
“Well...”
I thought about how to explain it.
I figured she was asking what criteria to use for choosing one.
...Alright.
“First is the type. Those over there are Fender-style Stratocasters and Telecasters. They’re standard guitars used in rock. Over there are Mustangs and Jazzmasters. Well, there are plenty of others. Then, for things like ballads, there are Gibson-style Les Pauls and semi-hollow bodies. A Les Paul is the one the older Hirasawa sister from K-On! plays. Oh, wait, you haven't seen that, Ichikawa. Well, if you’re unsure, a Stratocaster is highly versatile and a good choice to start with. Ah, when I say highly versatile, I don't mean it in a bad way like being a 'jack of all trades, master of none'; it truly produces first-class sounds for a wide range of genres. They look cool too, Strats... even the one I have at home is a Strat. And along with the type of guitar, you have to decide on the pickups. Either single-coil or humbuckers. Single-coils have a thin, light sound, while humbuckers have a thick sound. That said, you probably won't find a single-coil Les Paul, so once you pick the guitar type, the pickups are pretty much decided. There’s also choosing the place of origin or the factory, but well, you can learn those differences later. After that, you pick the look, but generally, each music store doesn't have many different colors for the exact same specs unless it's a Fender Japan Strat or Tele, so once you decide the specs, the model is pretty much set... are you listening?”
When I looked to my side, where it had gone quiet without even an acknowledgment, Ichikawa was grinning with a suppressed laugh.
“You sure can talk, Konuma-kun.”
Uwah, Konuma-kun, you did it, didn’t you? I was being careful not to over-talk after seeing Taira-chan talk endlessly about amane...
“...It’s nothing. The sound and appearance are different. That’s all.”
“Ehh— tell me more!”
“Because, look, you aren’t listening seriously.”
“No, I was listening very intently!?”
“Then what did I just say?”
Even I thought I was being quite annoying, but somehow out of embarrassment I couldn't back down and ended up asking such a mean question.
“Umm, let’s see...”
Ichikawa looked upward as if trying to remember, so I was about to end the conversation with a “See, you can’t say it,” but—
“‘First is the type. Those over there are Fender-style Stratocasters and Telecasters. They’re standard guitars used in rock. Over there are Mustangs and Jazzmasters. Well, there are plenty of others. Then—’”
“That’s enough.”
What is up with this person’s memory...?
“Even I don’t remember exactly what I said...”
“Eh? But the other day Sako-san said, ‘Takuto remembers what people say word for word, it’s creepy,’ you know?”
“Creepy... I was told that directly when I repeated exactly what Ichikawa said during the summer training camp. It’s not like that other times.”
“Hmm, so it's only for me...?”
She nodded to herself with a ‘hmmm’.
“I like it when you’re talking passionately, Konuma-kun.”
“Shut up... that’s enough... anyway, why are you suddenly so interested in electric guitars?”
I asked back, trying to change the subject.
“Well, I thought maybe they would be more suited for the new song I made. Rock-ish songs use electric guitars, right? You know, like, *jang-jang*!”
Ichikawa Amane-san was making a strumming motion near her stomach while saying ‘jang-jang’.
Looking at that, rather than thinking she was ‘cute’ or anything, I simply thought—
“Is this really that amane-sama...?”
Her behavior was completely that of someone who can’t play guitar, and moreover, I couldn't believe she was someone who had once made a professional debut...
“Oh, are you exasperated?”
As I stared at her blankly, Ichikawa looked up at me with a beaming smile.
“Why do you look so happy...?”
“You know, for me.”
With a smile, Ichikawa began to speak.
“I always intended to be a musician before being a girl, and because that’s like a ‘vow’ to me, I still intend to be that way now.”
“Yeah...?”
When I tilted my head at the word 'vow', Ichikawa gave an embarrassed laugh.
“But, when I’m in front of Konuma-kun, before I know it, I really just end up becoming an ordinary girl.”
She looked a little troubled, yet happy.
“I see...”
Caught off guard, I was frozen with my mouth open.
“I’m scared of being hated. I’m scared of you leaving. I get scared, and I keep finding parts of myself I dislike, and I get sad. I think I'm such an idiot. I feel frustrated too.”
She uttered each word as if they were precious.
“And yet. Just as much as that, even though we walk home together almost every day, every day I feel happy all over again, and every day... I think about how much I like you. And then I get more and more selfish, thinking ‘I want to be with him tomorrow too.’ ...Really, even I think I’m a handful.”
Amane, who laughed, squeezed my hand tightly and asked.
“Hey, Konuma-kun?”
“Yeah...?”
“If you wake up tomorrow morning and think you don’t like me anymore, then... no, that’s not right.”
She shook her head slightly, and then gave another ‘ehehe’ laugh.
“I hope that tomorrow morning, you’ll think you like me all over again.”