“...I believe I told you at the school festival that it wouldn't be possible?”
Ariga-san wore a dubious expression in response to the question, ‘Could you please let amane debut as a band?’
However, that was likely within the realm of expectations; Yuri did not flinch.
“Yes, I believe I understand that. It’s just that if I don’t recognize it as a complete ‘no,’ I might keep thinking about that possibility forever. There are probably things I don’t fully understand yet. If I leave it like that, I feel like I’ll keep stubbornly clinging to it in weird ways...”
“I see... That might be a valid point.”
“Hmm...” Ariga-san sighed softly and shifted into a listening posture. Yuri then fired off a question.
“For example... and as for me, I absolutely do not want to choose this method, but if Konuma and Amane were no longer in a romantic relationship, could they debut as a band?”
“Yuri...”
I was overwhelmed by the intensity in her gaze from beside her.
Ariga-san, perhaps sensing Yuri’s seriousness, nodded and replied solemnly.
“I see. But just by the two of them no longer being in a romantic relationship, I cannot let them debut.”
“Is that... so...”
As Yuri tried to process this, Ariga-san continued.
“At that time, what I asked Konuma-kun was, ‘What is Ichikawa Amane to you?’ What I wanted to know was not whether the feelings he held were romantic or not. Consequently, since the answer was romantic feelings, it felt like it was already a ‘no’ before even reaching that point... But there is another reason why I cannot let you debut as a band.”
“And that is...?”
As Yuri looked up with pleading eyes, Ariga-san closed her eyes and began to groan.
“Hmm... I wonder if I should tell you this...”
After muttering to herself, she glanced at us.
“...But you are trying to move forward, aren't you?”
She whispered this, then straightened her posture.
“On the premise that you listen to everything until the end, I will first state the problems clearly.”
“Yes, please.”
Yuri looked back with a serious face.
“...I’m going to say something incredible, okay? I’m going to say something terrible. Are you mentally prepared?”
““Y-Yes...””
Being warned so repeatedly actually made it scarier. I swallowed hard.
Seeing our solemn faces, Ariga-san opened her mouth as if she had also made up her mind.
“Every member except for Amane-san is unnecessary. Currently, ‘singer-songwriter amane’ is more valuable than ‘band amane.’”
“...!”
It felt like being punched hard in the solar plexus.
A total rejection. I was so stunned I couldn't speak.
We had joked about it being a Demon King battle, but this might be even more than that.
...But I can't collapse here. If I fall, it’s game over.
“Why... is that? Is it because our performance skills are lacking?”
Seeing me endure it and ask a question, Ariga-san nodded back with a serious face. This person was certainly not saying this to hurt us.
“Consequently, that is also a factor. However, Amane-san herself cannot be said to have extremely high performance skills, so that in itself is not the reason.”
“Then, why...?”
Yuri managed to force the words out.
“Well then... let's see. The encore song at the school festival, what was that song called again...?”
“Is it ‘Your Song’?”
For me, there was no need to even recall the setlist.
“Right, that song. That was a song Amane-san made by herself, right? What do you think about that song?”
To that question, Yuri answered first.
“I think it’s a very good song. The song itself is catchy, and the lyrics have scenery. I think amane... Amane’s current raw emotions are reflected in it.”
“I see. And Konuma-kun?”
“Yes. It has deep feelings in it, and it was amane’s first new song in three years since she couldn't write anymore...”
“That is true. ...Anything else?”
She raised an eyebrow and piled on another question.
“Aside from that... I don’t know, but anyway, I love that song.”
“...Me too.”
Hearing mine and Yuri’s answers, she let out a breath.
“...That’s the point.”
“Huh?”
“The idea of ‘how that song could be made even better’ doesn't come from you two at all.”
I felt a chill and caught my breath.
“Konuma-kun, between the time that song was finished and when it was performed, did you make any proposals to make that song better?”
“...I did the arrangement.”
“An arrangement, huh... If you call taking the chords of a song that came out as a solo performance and adding a cliché bassline and a generic eight-beat drum pattern an ‘arrangement,’ then I suppose you did.”
“Saying it like that...!”
“Azuma-san,”
Ariga-san cut off Yuri as she tried to snap back.
“...Azuma-san, between the time those lyrics were finished and when they were performed, did you make any suggestions regarding the lyrics?”
“N-No, I heard the lyrics for the first time during the actual performance...”
“I see. That would be unthinkable if you were managing her in the first place. ...Well, it’s obviously strange to ask that of a school festival band. But then, even if you had heard the lyrics beforehand, do you think you could have pointed anything out about those lyrics?”
“That is...”
While hanging her head, Yuri spat out the honest truth.
“I don't think I could have... For me to say something about the lyrics amane wrote...”
Ariga-san nodded, and then said,
“Listen to the demo of ‘My Song’ that reached me for the very first time.”
Saying that, she pulled out her smartphone.
Whether it was on the cloud... or had been on her phone all this time.
The prototype of ‘My Song’ flowed from the speaker.
And from there—
“This is...?”
＊ ＊ ＊
Hey, is there even a single thing
That only I can do?
I don't understand that at all
Hey, is there even a single thing
That can be called an irreplaceable existence?
I might never meet someone who tells me I'm irreplaceable
Because I have nothing, I have no confidence
Because I have no confidence, I have no courage
Without even being able to say "Stay by my side"
If I walk while avoiding pain and wounds
Before I knew it, I had distanced myself from the precious things
That's probably because being near precious things
Is what hurts the most
This is my song
＊ ＊ ＊
An extremely short audio clip, which truly felt like a demo, played.
“This is the ‘My Song’ that Amane-san made alone. To put it bluntly, it's just a young girl’s solo performance. Lyrics that look like scribbles in a 14-year-old girl’s diary. If I had just cleaned up the sound as it was and added accompaniment, would amane have captured your hearts back then?”
“That’s...”
I could no longer judge. However, it was certain that I received a different impression from what I had now.
“But I, and the director at the time, felt something shining deep inside this music. Though that’s an extremely cliché way of putting it... Professionals who felt the same potential cooperated to turn it into that final form. Well, it wasn't a massive hit across Japan, so I don’t know how much of a success it really was...”
I was so stunned that the explanation wasn't even sinking in.
“Of course, now that three years have passed—especially since it was the three years of her teens—I understand that Amane-san has grown overwhelmingly since then. But Amane-san’s individual strength naturally has limits. That’s true no matter how much talent she has. And yet, you listen to her on the assumption that Amane-san’s music is already a complete product. You believe in it.”
“That’s... true...”
All I could do was nod.
“The meaning of a band lies in working together to create and elevate things that one person alone cannot do, things one person cannot think of, and things that wouldn't happen otherwise.”
And even to us, who had long since been knocked out, Ariga-san continued to hit us head-on with something important.
“In other words, as a partner for forming a band, there is no one more meaningless than a believer.”
“A believer...”
Those words pierced my chest strongly and sharply.
I should have known. I had said many times that we were amane’s believers, and I was more than aware of it.
But why hadn't I ever thought about whether that would be a negative for the band until now?
“Then... are you saying I should find fault with what Amane makes...?”
Yuri persisted.
However, both I and surely Yuri knew that was wrong.
“You’re asking even though you understand... Of course, it’s not about whether you should just deny what Amane-san says. However, at the very least, as long as you ‘worship’ Amane-san, what she produces will be the upper limit, and you will not be able to propose anything beyond that to her.”
That makes sense.
We wouldn't even doubt her, and in the world of art where evaluation axes are vague, we don't possess the confidence to say our own ideas are better.
“Then, as I thought, it would be better for Amane to debut with Manager Ariga instead of people like us...”
“Yuri.”
I interrupted Yuri’s words.
...Of course, I also thought what Yuri was trying to say was correct.
Because the amane managed by Ariga-san was undoubtedly the amane of the past that we sought, I felt we should entrust her to Ariga-san.
But that’s not right.
‘It’s only when Yuri Azuma applies lyrics to a song I, Takuto Konuma, made, and Sako Hasu plays the bass, and Ichikawa Amane sings it, that it becomes this song for the first time.’
‘It’s our music, and only ours, that we cannot hand over to anyone else.’
I crushed that possibility that day. I made a grand declaration.
In that case, then.
“We came here to debut as a band.”
“...Sorry, Konuma.”
Seeing us somehow swallow back what we shouldn't have said, Ariga-san nodded.
“...My apologies. I am aware I said some quite harsh things. ...Now then, lastly, this is very important.”
Saying that, Ariga-san leaned forward.
With a gaze that was not soft at all, but rather more serious than ever before.
Yet, she delivered the most hopeful words thus far.
“‘Kyousou’ was very good. Good enough that I would want her to re-debut with that song and those lyrics. ...Good enough that I would want to ask for a ghostwriter, even though it’s the ultimate foul play.”
“You remembered the song title...”
I was surprised that while Ariga-san hadn't remembered the title of ‘Your Song’ at all earlier, the name ‘Kyousou’ came out easily.
Ariga-san nodded firmly one more time and continued.
“So, think about it. The hint for ‘amane’ to become a ‘band’ instead of a ‘singer-songwriter’ is surely right there.”