“I actually wrote a new song today.”
“Oh...” “Yeah...”
She had mentioned yesterday that a new song seemed likely, so the possibility of this happening was high.
However, for Yuri and me, who still hadn't found an answer to Ariga-san's questions, it sounded like a declaration that our time was up.
...As I bit my lip, I felt a light smack on my head.
“You two, she said she made a new song, so just be happy. This is a new song from your beloved amane, after all.”
Sako let out a sigh with a face that was 0.something millimeters exasperated.
I guess she's right...
“S-Sorry, Amane! It's not that we're not happy or anything like that...!”
Yuri waved both hands in front of her chest as if in a panic, and then looked down again.
“I said I would definitely grasp something yesterday, but I'm just so miserable because I haven't been able to...”
Ichikawa smiled, looking a bit troubled.
“No, it's totally fine! Yuri and Konuma-kun thought about the band so much yesterday that you both got this sleepy, right?”
“That's true... but we still don't have a result.”
A heavy atmosphere still drifted around Yuri.
“Listen, I have no idea what you were told... but were you told something that requires an answer right now?”
Sako asked the question, sounding grumpy. (Probably.)
I decided to answer her.
“Yeah, something like that. It's like a challenge to make amane better, or a hint to help us think...”
“Hmm. But that was yesterday's talk, right? If it was a problem that could be solved by today, Yurisuke and Takuto would have noticed it on your own long ago.”
“I think it's just as Sako-san says.”
“I wonder...”
Somehow, I felt like she was overestimating us.
“Seriously...”
Sako, seemingly quite irritated, ruffled her blonde hair aggressively.
“Pull yourselves together already. What's with the matching bags under your eyes? What are you, a set?”
“Is that really the part to get angry about...?”
Ichikawa tilted her head.
Sako gave the bass she had connected to the amp a light thump. Even that produced a fairly loud sound.
“...Alright. Then, before we listen to Ichikawa-san's new song, let's run through ‘Kyousou’ once.”
“Why?”
Yuri tilted her head.
“Because I listen to that song whenever I feel like ‘I just can't do this anymore.’”
“Is that so?”
Yuri looked up at that fact.
“It is.”
“That's a great idea! Let's do it!”
Indeed, Ariga-san had also mentioned that ‘Kyousou’ was a good song. It might be good to play it again, if only to look at it from a fresh perspective.
“Alright. I'll count us in, but are you ready?”
“I don't want to hear that from Takuto.” “I don't want to hear that from Konuma-kun.”
“Fair point...”
They were so right that I had no comeback.
“...Okay, let's do this.”
I psyched myself up enough to play and raised my sticks.
“1, 2, 3, 4...!”
＊ ＊ ＊
Shoelaces untied, I stepped on them and fell
I crouched down and couldn't move anymore
That's probably not because I got a scrape
But because I learned the pain of a scrape
Scared to start again, sulking and pouting
While I was being defiant, they went far away
I couldn't even reach my aspirations
And before I knew it, I'm in last place
Just as I was about to give up
I heard a powerful sound from somewhere
The identity of that sound, carving the rhythm and beating the drum
Was the beating of my own heart
I don't have confidence, I don't even know the definition
But I've decided right now: I'm going to be the strongest
Don't wait for me
Because I'll be there in no time
Just when it felt like I'd run out of breath
I heard a powerful sound from somewhere
Like fireworks, like drums—the identity of that sound
Was the words you gave to me
I don't have confidence, I don't know if I'll reach it
But I've already decided: I'm going to be the strongest
Don't wait for me
Because I'm going even further right now
Goodbye, the me who was sulking
Goodbye, the me who was pouting
Goodbye, the me who was afraid
Goodbye, the me who was losing
I'm glad you were all there for me
I'll play this song along with everything that's happened until today
＊ ＊ ＊
“Whoa...”
Yuri clapped her hands.
“What am I even doing... I made such a clear resolution, and yet I haven't grown at all...!”
Hearing Yuri's words, I grit my teeth, feeling the same way. It's not exactly that the danger had passed, but I was appalled at myself for how easily I forgot that heat.
Then, Yuri slapped both of her cheeks with a smack.
“Sorry! I need to move forward, yet I was putting off a negative vibe! I'm stopping that now!”
Ichikawa smiled upon hearing that declaration.
“No, not at all. Yuri and Konuma-kun were only worrying because you were both looking forward.”
“Amane, please! Could you let us hear the new song?”
“Yeah!”
Ichikawa took a deep breath, and the other three held theirs.
With a chord progression that was gentle, strong, and a little lonely, Ichikawa began to sing.
＊ ＊ ＊
If yesterday didn't exist and today was the first day
Would I have chosen the same tomorrow?
Maybe like the Earth did a somersault
The scenery might have shifted fatally by just a few millimeters
The answer sheet that should have been a perfect score
A blank space that appeared on the back before I knew it
For the first time, I don't know the words to fill it
I won't say ‘tell me,’ though
Lalalalala...
＊ ＊ ＊
After singing through what could be called the first chorus, Ichikawa quietly ended the performance.
The chorus had been sung entirely with ‘Lalala’.
“...Is that all of it?”
I asked a question about the song, which was shorter than I expected.
“No... but that's as far as I've got for now.”
“I see...?”
Unable to fully grasp the intent, I tilted my head.
With a little giggle, Ichikawa continued.
“You see, while singing, I didn't really understand what kind of emotion this was myself... So I guess I just put the feeling of ‘not knowing’ into the lyrics for now.”
Come to think of it, I remember Ichikawa saying something back in June like, “If you write a poem about how you ‘can’t write a poem,’ then there’s never a moment where you can’t write one.”
“Hey, Konuma. In that case...!”
Yuri looked at me with expectant eyes, so I nodded back.
“You're right...”
I don't have mind-reading skills, but I can certainly tell what Yuri wants to say.
I turned back to Ichikawa and looked her straight in the eye.
“Hey, Ichikawa.”
This was probably the last chance someone had prepared for us right before the time ran out.
“Could you leave this song with Yuri and me for a while?”
In the corner of my vision, I saw Sako's lips curl into a smile.
Ichikawa's eyes widened significantly.
“Of course!”