“Yeah, just as I thought... it’s a really great song!”
After listening to the arranged version I prepared separately from the acoustic version a few times, we played through the whole song as a band. Ichikawa turned toward me and smiled. Her brilliant smile was dazzling.
“No, Ichikawa-san, your phrasing is wrong in several places.”
“Eh, where?”
“The beginning is a bit off... right, Yurisuke?”
“Hmm, that part can't be helped yet, but what bothered me was more the accent.”
“The accent!?”
As I watched Ichikawa struggling with the accents (I won't call it a hard struggle) and the three noisy girls chattering away, I felt the corners of my mouth lift slightly.
As if the 'end of the world' atmosphere since yesterday's disbandment announcement was a lie, we were having an amane band practice.
I sometimes wonder if I was just having a nightmare, but we just finished playing a song that wouldn't have been born if that had been a dream.
“This is the first time I'm singing this song, you know!? Aren't you two being too strict!?”
“We have to polish it for the live, so of course we are,” Sakohasu replied.
“It's just as Sakohasu says. Or rather, do you think that's good enough for this live?”
“...I don't!! Please teach me!!”
In a way, she might have made a clean break.
When you try to maintain the status quo, things naturally stagnate.
Even if it's toward the last live, we have started moving again.
Only by moving do we truly become a band, I thought, reflecting on such an obvious thing.
“Konuma-kun!”
“Y-Yes.”
Being suddenly called out, my tongue tripped over itself.
Without even time to reflect on how it was just like the time we first spoke,
“Count us in, please! I have to sing it until I've got it down before I forget!”
“O-Oh.”
Still, I was overwhelmed by her, looking just as she did before the first Lock-on, and I gave the special count for this song as specified by Azuma.
“One, two, three, four, one.”
“And with that, the setlist meeting is in session.”
The secretary, Azuma, declared the start of the meeting in front of the whiteboard.
“You mean for the December Lock-on... right?”
“Yeah. Realistically, that will be the 'Last' that Amane talked about.”
Azuma spoke more matter-of-factly than I expected.
“That's okay, right? Amane.”
“...Yes.”
With a small smile, Ichikawa nodded firmly.
“Since it's a Lock-on at a live house, we should be able to adjust the number of songs a bit.”
“True. Well, we are Rock Club members after all. It’s not bad to settle things at Lock-on, is it?”
To Azuma, who spoke with a slightly smug face,
“Excuse me,” Sako raised her hand.
“Yes, Sakohasu-san.”
“...Was Yurisuke a member of the Rock Club?”
“Now of all times!?”
Well, yeah, she certainly gives off a strong impression of being in the Instrument Club. And the Seishun Club.
“Ahaha... Yes, I'm raising my hand too.”
“Yes, Amane-san. ...Wait, the President knows I'm in the Rock Club, right...?”
“Yes, I know. It's not about that. It's about the setlist.”
Ichikawa continued softly, as if sharing a secret.
“I made a song too.”
“Eh, really!? When!?”
“...Yesterday, I think.”
“Whoa... my band is full of fast writers...”
“You're one to talk, Yurisuke,” Sakohasu interjected.
She was absolutely right. She had finished those lyrics just hours after I wrote the music.
“...So, is it okay if I try singing it?”
Without waiting for an answer, Ichikawa held her acoustic guitar.
“The last song I'm making for amane.”
She played the C, G, and C chords like a bow, and then she began to sing that song.
＊ ＊ ＊
『Private Measure』
It was more like myself than I was myself
The song I wrote all alone
Reached the fated people living in distant cities
And my name
Became "Our Name"
It was more my song than 'Watashi no Uta'
In the sound where one is multiplied four times
One out of seven billion wasn't enough to reach anymore
For "My Name"
My voice was too small
Hey, something that only I can do
I finally found just one thing
That is letting go of your hand
Because this place is the origin
The first step taken radially
Is inevitably a fork in the road
The further I go, the further we part
But if that itself becomes proof that we were here
Words are difficult
Even though I think I must move forward
'Forward' means 'the past'
And 'forward' means 'the last'
Because this planet is a sphere
If I go straight, will I reach it someday?
If I literally grow one size larger
Will we be able to ring out together again?
If so, let that place
Please, be the destination of this journey
If heading there can be called 'moving forward'
Then I can surely walk with my head held high
The beginning was my song
The trigger was your song
Our Kyousou that began on a weekday
Let's make it an Omamori for the days starting tomorrow
No
Let's bury the memories properly in this place after all
So that the words that sprouted from absorbing today's tears
Will someday become a great tree
Large enough to be a landmark for our meeting place
So that it becomes a great tree
Large enough to be a landmark for our journey's destination
＊ ＊ ＊