Hirosue's response was surprisingly blunt.
After moving to a different spot and telling her that Sako and I wouldn't be joining, she simply said,
“...Oh, I see.”
Then she continued with words that were hard to judge as either admirable or cheeky.
“Thank you for considering it. I'm sorry for taking up your time.”
“O-Oh. ...Sorry on our end too.”
“No. To be honest, after seeing your practice yesterday, I was thinking about it on the way home. I thought, ‘I see, so that's what a band is.’ I feel like I finally understand why Tsubame grilled me like I was suggesting an affair when I invited you two.”
After saying that much, she let out a sigh that sounded like she had given up, yet was somehow refreshing.
“...It's not for me,” she said.
“Is that so?”
“Yes. I want to reproduce the perfection I envision. To me, music is about dragging the sounds playing inside my head out and manifesting them exactly as they are. There might be members who can't play the sounds I'm thinking of, and even if their technique caught up, if someone else acted like they owned the place and said ‘Wouldn't it be better like this?’ while I was creating... I think I'd find it annoying. I'd think, ‘This is my music, not yours.’”
“Haha...”
A dry laugh escaped me at her frank opinion. My prediction that IRIA was looking for a drummer and bassist she could make obey her had been spot on.
“Hey, Takuto-san, you were originally a bedroom musician, weren't you? Recording multiple parts by yourself. I heard you can play other instruments too.”
I wondered who told her that, but it couldn't be anyone but Tsubame-chan.
“Yeah, that's right.”
“Then, why a band?”
“What do you mean, why?”
“Well, you can tell from the flow of the conversation, right?”
I understood, but I wanted to chew on that question for a bit, so I instinctively asked back.
“Isn't it stifling? Don't you ever feel like the sounds aren't coming out the way you want? Is it better than being alone?”
And then, she added one last time.
“Hey, why a band?”
“That's...”
...To be honest, I didn't have the slightest intention of being in a band originally either. If anything, the feeling that I didn't want to do it was stronger.
I even thought that high school bands, in particular, gave off a sense of being ‘fake’ that made me feel sick.
It wasn't like I was interested in performing with everyone in itself, and it's probably true that it would be faster if I just played it all myself.
Even so, the reason I ended up starting a band, have continued until this very moment, and truly believe it's where I belong...
Looking back, there was only one... no, there were only three reasons for that.
“...Because it was Ichikawa, Sako, and Azuma.”
“...I see.”
Hirosue didn't seem to make fun of those words; she just tilted her head slightly with a look that said, ‘I guess that's how it is.’
Because she was looking me straight in the eye, combined with what I had just blurted out, I felt embarrassed and cleared my throat.
“Ah—... Hirosue, IRIA, what are you going to do?”
Hirosue shrugged her shoulders.
“Well, I'll just make sequenced karaoke tracks and do it alone. That seems to suit me better.”
“I see... Let's both do our best.”
“My advantage is pretty overwhelming for us to be on equal footing, though.”
As I was about to give my usual response to the ever-arrogant Hirosue...
“I guess so,” Hirosue said, beating me to it.
“It really is a habit, isn't it?” she laughed happily.
I thought to myself that if she made that kind of face in class, she'd be able to make friends in no time.