“Takuto, what’s the tempo for this song?”
The four members of 'amane' were gathered in the school studio, practicing 'Omamori' in preparation for their recording, when Sako asked the question.
“It’s 108.”
“I see. That’s the same as the number of earthly desires!”
“I guess so...”
Ichikawa said this with an innocent smile that seemed completely unrelated to any earthly desires.
I mean, so what if it’s the same as the number of desires? Just as I was thinking that, Azuma’s eyes widened with a sudden burst of excitement.
“Eh, no way! Does that mean you did it on purpose because the song is called ‘Omamori’? Konuma-kun, you do some surprisingly stylish things...! Come to think of it, I heard that in ‘Ren'ai Circulation,’ because the lyrics say ‘without the letter Shi,’ there are actually no ‘Si’ notes in the melody. Is it something like that?”
“Ah, no, it was just a coincidence...”
I cut off Azuma’s rapid-fire otaku talk as she dug deep into her niche knowledge. Even if she looked that happy about it, it really was just a coincidence... Besides, next to her, Ichikawa was tilting her head, muttering, “Ren'ai Circulation...?”
“Oh, I see... But then, should we try recording the sound of the New Year’s Eve bells and putting them in?”
“No, I’m not going that far just because the tempo is 108...”
“Ahaha, just kidding, just kidding. By the way, how do you members of 'amane' spend the New Year? Do you go to Hawaii or something...?”
Hey, devotee. Don’t go poking the bear.
“No, I stay in Japan normally. We watch the Kohaku Uta Gassen and eat Toshikoshi Soba.”
...I felt a little relieved. If the cultural gap was too wide, I’d start feeling like I shouldn’t even be dating her.
“Ah, but on the first, my relatives gather, and it’s a lot of work preparing for the banquet from the morning. My house is the head family, after all.”
““Head family...?””
I take it back. There it is—a word that commoners aren't familiar with... When I shot a glance at Azuma, she pressed her hands together with a troubled smile as if saying, ‘My bad, my bad.’ Well, it wasn’t really Azuma’s fault...
“What about you, Yuri? How is your New Year?”
“Hmm, my family gathers at my grandma’s house with all the relatives and we have a banquet. We do the same thing: watch Kohaku and eat Toshikoshi Soba.”
“Then it’s the same as my house!”
“Ah, yeah, I guess so... Well, my house isn't the head family, though...”
“I see. Is it a branch family then?”
“No, it’s not even a branch family...”
Ichikawa tilted her head with a look that said, ‘What does that mean?’ I get you, Azuma. It’s neither a head family nor a branch family.
“Anyway, I’ve always wondered since I was a kid why adults can keep drinking so much liquid once they start on alcohol. It’s a mystery to me.”
“That’s true.”
Sako nodded in agreement.
Come to think of it, I heard that when Sako’s father gets drunk, he becomes incredibly talkative and launches into music-geek rants.
Back in middle school, the black-haired Sako told me:
“We were having a party until just a bit ago, and he was going on and on about how ‘Records sound better than CDs because they play sounds outside the audible range’ or the ‘Paul McCartney death theory’... things that people who aren’t interested wouldn't care about at all...”
She had shared the details with me back then.
As someone who is actually interested in music, I found it quite fun. And even though Sako had an exhausted look on her face, the fact that she could relay the details so clearly meant she must have been listening closely, which felt somewhat heartwarming.
“Right? If I were told to drink that same amount of juice, I couldn’t do it. That’s why I just drink Calpis the whole time during the banquet.”
“No, Calpis is juice too. Or rather, you like Calpis way too much...”
“Ah, no, no, it’s not the canned stuff, but the concentrate you mix yourself, okay? On New Year’s, it’s definitely not the canned version! Ahaha!”
That’s not the issue, and I don't understand what she means by ‘definitely not canned,’ and Azuma laughing like that is a bit scary...
“What about you, Konuma-kun? How is your New Year?”
“I—”
“Takuto goes with us every year for the first shrine visit.”
“Ah... well, I didn't go last year, though?”
Since Sako answered before I could, I hurriedly added a clarification.
“Since you said ‘last year,’ that means you went every year before that...! As expected of a childhood friend...!”
“Is that so...?”
...And then, the look in Ichikawa’s eyes changed. Oh boy...
“Does Sako-hasu get drunk on amazake and start acting spoiled with Konuma?”
“What are you even saying...”
At Azuma’s mention of a typical 2D trope, Sako frowned by a fraction of a millimeter.
“Nothing like those manga scenarios happens... We just pray, draw fortunecards, drink some oshiruko, and go home.”
“Yeah. Since I'm his childhood friend, I know Takuto likes red bean paste. On the other hand, Takuto isn't that interested in mochi, so I just take his mochi. It works out perfectly for the two of us.”
As Sako, who was unusually talkative, showed a fraction of a millimeter of a smug face—
“...So, the two of you go together?”
Ichikawa tilted her head with a fixed, cold stare.
“Ah, no, that was—”
“That’s right, just the two of us.”
“Heeh...?”
Why has Ichikawa-san’s voice dropped several degrees in temperature? Is it because we’re talking about midwinter?
...I mean, it’s not like I can do anything about being interrogated over things that happened in the past, before we even met, let alone started dating.
“What are you doing this year?”
...As if seeing through me, she asked about the future.
“Well, this year...”
“Naturally, we’re going together.”
Sako cut off my faltering words.
“...Heeh, is that so?”
This is news to me too... As I trembled at the voice of the Snow Woman Ichikawa.
“...With the whole band.”
...Sako added softly.
“““...Eh?”””
“...What?”
In contrast to Sako, whose cheeks were flushed as she glared at us, Ichikawa’s expression flipped instantly into a broad grin.
“Sako-san, since when did you start thinking that?”
“Since when, you ask...”
“Since we formed the band?”
“...Shut up, it’s my business.”
Looking at Sako with her cheeks turning bright red and the fair-skinned Ichikawa leaning in to see her expression, the mind-reader Azuma whispered.
“...It looks peaceful, but this is actually a strategy to prevent Amane and Konuma from going alone together, isn’t it?”
“...Bakasu-ke, don’t say unnecessary things.”