“Can I come into the studio and watch you perform?”
My words seemed to make time stop for a moment.
“Konuma, wait a...!”
But in the next instant.
“Sure, why not?”
Jinno-san said casually, her ponytail swaying.
“How about the rest of you?”
Ichikawa and Sako responded, though they seemed taken aback by her sudden question.
“I'm sorry, my mother is waiting for me to cook dinner, so I have to head home soon...”
“I'm going home too. Takuto's probably going to make that annoying face again.”
What do you mean, “annoying face”?
Among them, only one person spoke up.
“I... if you're willing to show us, I'd like to see.”
Azuma expressed her desire to join with a look of strange determination.
“Hmm, okay. Then it's Yuribou and, uh...”
She probably couldn't think of my name right away. She looked at me for a second or two before letting out a small “Oh, right.”
“And Takuto is coming to watch too, is that okay?”
““What!?””
Ichikawa and Sako let out the same cry with similar expressions.
I watched Ichikawa and Sako leave on the elevator with dissatisfied looks, saying things like “See ya” and “Make sure you don't stay too late.” Then, Azuma and I entered the studio with the members of Butter.
“Still, it's been since the After-Festival Party that the three of us played together. Have you two been practicing properly?”
“No way, we're examinees. We don't have free time to practice all day like you, Maika.”
“Exactly. Today is only possible because I didn't have cram school. I told my parents I was going to the self-study room.”
The three third-years began chatting comfortably while taking out their instruments. Wait, they haven't played together since the festival? Wouldn't their skills be a bit rusty?
...I was naive to think that.
“Well, I do play every day, though.”
“I get it. It's like taking a bath. If I don't play for an hour before bed, I feel like the day isn't over.”
“Haha, figured as much.”
Listening to their casual conversation, I felt the shallow depth of my own experience being exposed.
I spend most of my days touching an instrument now, but would I be able to do that once I become a third-year examinee? ...Wait, are these people going to be okay with their exams?
While I, an underclassman, was worrying about them on my own, Jinno-san spoke to me.
“Hey, Takuto.”
“Maika-bucho, that way of calling him ‘Takuto’...”
Before I could answer, Azuma timidly cut in.
“Hmm? Is it bad? Do you have some kind of complex about your name?”
“No, it's not bad, and he probably doesn't have a complex about it, but...”
“Then what is it?”
Jinno-san tilted her head.
“...No, it's nothing.”
“Hmm? Really?”
“What am I even saying...” Azuma muttered, scratching her cheek as she backed down.
“Well then, Takuto.”
“Yes.”
Being called again, I straightened my back.
“What do you want to hear? Why do you want to listen to our performance?”
“Well...”
I hesitated for a moment to verbalize the reason.
“I've only been listening to our own performance, so I don't know how close we are to reaching Butter's level in our current state...”
“To us?”
“Yes.”
I tried to speak while organizing my thoughts.
“The performance at the After-Festival Party was truly amazing. I was deeply moved. I thought that was real music. That was a real live performance.”
“Heh...”
“Wow, that's impressive.”
Eriguchi-san and Shaku-san looked happy to be praised as they connected their guitar and bass to the amps.
“For us... for amane, it's been a short time since that festival, but a lot has happened. We almost broke, we got lost, but we thought for ourselves, found our way, and overcame it. I think we've grown... no, I intend for us to have grown quite a bit.”
“Heh, it's pretty cool that you can say that with such certainty.”
Jinno-san smiled with the look of a senior.
“Thank you. ...And so, when it comes to standing on the same stage as Butter in our current state, I wanted to know if we are truly in a position to compete. Even if we're not ready to compete yet, I wouldn't want to find that out at the time of tomorrow's performance. ...So, I thought I'd listen before tomorrow comes. I knew it was a long shot.”
It might have been awkward, but I felt like I was able to say what I wanted to say.
“So you intend to compete with us after praising us that much? I don't think we're on the same axis, though.”
“The genres feel different, too.”
“Now, now, you two.”
Jinno-san calmed Eriguchi-san and Shaku-san before turning back to me.
“Well, that's totally fine, but amane already finished their last practice just now, right? If you watch us now and think you're not at a level to compete, can you change anything?”
Jinno-san wasn't being sarcastic or arrogant; she was asking out of pure curiosity or perhaps pure concern.
Her words were asking:
‘Won't you just end up getting crushed by Butter the day before the show?’
I gently clenched my fist.
“That is...”
“It's okay.”
Azuma's voice interrupted me as I hesitated for a moment.
I looked toward her and saw her serious profile, staring at the former president as if showing her resolve and challenging her.
“If that happens, we will grow even more by tomorrow.”
I had no idea if she had any grounds for that, but she seemed to have firm confidence.
“Heh... if Yuribou says so, then it must be okay.”
With a laugh, Jinno-san sat back on the drum throne.
“Alright, let's do this. You two ready?”
“Yeah.” “Yup, feeling good.”
The two of them made a few light sounds. Jinno-san nodded as if confirming the volume balance.
“Alright, Yuribou, Takuto, don't pass out, okay?”
Showing her fangs, Jinno-san began the count.
“One, two, three, four...”
And the moment the three sounds began to ring out.
I remembered.
I realized.
That's right, this was the sound of Butter.
Beside Azuma, who was staring at the three of them perform with a glare while biting her lower lip, I thought with my mouth hanging open like an idiot.
Why did I think I could even compete with these people for a second?