<Author's Comment>
I will be taking a break tomorrow.
It is a happy kind of busy, so please do not worry, but I apologize for the slow pace of updates.
I hope to get back on track soon...!
"...I know. I know."
Amane began to speak, her words falling like the first drops of a sudden summer shower.
"I know that Kagami-senpai is a senior you respect, someone who gives you pointers. I know that the night you two spent together—the one I don't know about—and the bond that came from it wasn't anything impure."
I was frozen, unable to even nod, as I listened intently to her voice.
"I know that the days you piled up with Sako-san are what brought you this far. I know that the sound only the two of you can make, because you've been together for so long, is the greatest, most powerful weapon 'amane' has. ...I know that."
A breath.
"'Then, what can I give to Takuto Konuma-kun?'"
"That's—"
"...I know I shouldn't say things like that, too."
A dry laugh.
"I'm a band member of 'amane' too. There is no way I could be happier about anything else than the band's tracks getting better. I didn't have these feelings while I was singing, and I swear on my life that I sang with all my heart. ...In fact, I think I was able to sing with the perfect emotions for that song. Even the guitar, I was able to play it on top of that truly wonderful rhythm you and Sako-san created."
But.
"Even so, there's just a tiny part of me, separate from the musician me, that gets a little clouded after all, and so..."
A cold, yet burning voice.
"...I absolutely hate that part of myself."
A trembling sigh.
"Hey, Takuto-kun."
The pressure against my back.
The pressure against my chest.
A desperate voice.
"...I'm the only one allowed to do this, right?"
Five seconds of silence.
"............I hate it."