“So, what did you want to talk about?”
Maika-san tilted her head toward me as I sat next to her.
Her frank personality usually hid it, but seeing her up close, I couldn't help but notice how well-proportioned her face was.
Her slightly upturned eyes weren't too harsh; they simply solidified her cool image.
“Maika-san, actually, I…”
“Wait a second.”
Despite asking me herself, she suddenly thrust an open palm toward my face.
“…This isn't a confession, right?”
“……It’s not a confession.”
“…………I see.”
……Did I really have such a desperate look on my face?
“Um, so, about that.”
“Hold on a bit.”
“Yes…?”
She keeps cutting me off right at the start…
“Have you had lunch yet?”
“Not yet…”
“Then, Takuto, eat this too.”
With that, she handed me a piece of bread in a thin plastic bag. Yuri-bou seemed happy when she got one earlier.
“Thank you…. Did they sell this kind of bread at the school store?”
“This? It’s from my place.”
“Do you mean it was just at your house?”
“Nah. My family runs a bakery.”
“Eh, really!?”
So that’s what she meant by 'my place'! I see!
“Yup. The ginger bread is our specialty. It’s a bakery rooted in the local Nishi-Kokubunji area, ‘Baker Kanno’. Ah, yours doesn't have the ginger bread though. That’s a croquette bun and a bacon potato bun.”
“I’m happy to have them, thank you. By the way, ginger… like, the actual spice?”
“Yeah. It’s super tasty. Want a bite?”
She held out the ginger bread she had been eating toward me.
Wait, there are teeth marks on it…
“…I’m fine, thanks.”
“Hmm. Well, suit yourself.”
Saying that, Maika-san took another bite and started munching. It really does smell delicious though…
“So, what is it? If it’s not a confession… I’ll listen if it’s about drums.”
“That’s exactly it. It’s about the drums and the band.”
“Hmm. Well, let’s hear it.”
The way she tilted her head and her expression reminded me a bit of Yuri-bou.
I took a breath and spoke as if I were baring my soul.
“After doing the pre-pro, I realized that we’re just… not that good. I’ve kind of lost my confidence.”
It was just the introduction, but I had already said something quite pathetic. I braced myself, wondering if I would be scolded or if she would be fed up with me.
“Confidence, huh. That is a serious problem.”
Maika-san empathized with me in a much more supportive way than I expected, and a high-pitched “Really!?” escaped my throat.
“What’s with that surprised face?”
“No, well, I thought you’d give me a look like ‘Huh? What are you talking about?’”
“I wouldn't do that. Do I really look that rough to you?”
“Yes…”
“Don’t just say ‘yes’!”
I received a Kanno Chop to my forehead. She used her wrist well, so it was painful, but it felt strangely crisp. As expected of a god-tier drummer.
“But in the end, for confidence, you have no choice but to practice.”
“Practice?”
“Yeah, practice. You usually lose confidence when you see someone better than you. If that’s the case, you just have to make it so there’s no one better than you.”
“That’s so overwhelming…”
I had only just realized that The Beatles were my rivals. Being told something so far-reaching made the future look even darker.
However.
“Then, is there any ‘only one’ as easy to understand as being ‘number one’?”
Maika-san looked serious as she said that. She can make that face because she is truly aiming for that spot herself.
“…But.”
Even so, there was something I thought.
“Once you reach a certain point, doesn't it become more about preference than technique?”
“……You have a loud mouth.”
“Mmph!?”
Maika-san stuffed my mouth shut.
The fragrant smell of the bread Maika-san was eating just a moment ago wafted up.
“…No, this is actually delicious.”
“Of course it is. It’s the best in the world. Both number one and only one.”
……Of course, it’s not like Maika-san stole my lips or anything; she just shoved bread into my mouth. Even so, I probably shouldn't tell Ichikawa-san about this…
“Listen, Takuto. Don’t use ‘emo’ as an excuse to run away from technique. Technique is necessary to faithfully express your emotions.”
“…!”
“You said it yourself just now, ‘once you reach a certain point’. Say that after you actually reach that ‘certain point’. I also think amane is a good band. But you guys aren't skilled.”
“Not skilled…”
Being told that so clearly by someone outside the band made me flinch slightly.
“Sure, if you’re satisfied with a high school level, you’d be on the skilled side. But you guys shouldn't be satisfied with that. It would be a waste.”
“Maika-san…”
It’s not that she was trying to follow up or comfort me, but Maika-san's words encouraged me just a little.
“If you have time to sit around with your arms crossed, go practice. If it’s something you absolutely have to think about, think while moving your limbs.”
……That’s true.
What Maika-san says is perfectly reasonable—it’s actually common sense in a way—and it makes me feel like I really need to do it.
“Um… so, I have a favor to ask.”
“A favor?”
“…Maika-san, won't you teach me drums?”
“I see…”
Maika-san let out a thin breath while looking up at the sky, then,
“You,”
She looked straight into my eyes.
“…Are you prepared to become a delinquent boy?”
“…Huh?”