Kapon—the sound of a bath bucket echoed.
The handheld firework display was over, and we were currently bathing in the large communal bath.
Despite it being a training camp facility, it apparently had a hot spring, and there was even an open-air bath. Isn't this place super luxurious?
I was taking a shower, following the Japanese hot spring etiquette of washing your body before soaking in the tub, when someone suddenly called out to me from the side.
“Hey, Konuma-kun. I saw your performance at Rock On.”
“Hm?”
I looked over and saw a man with bulging muscles standing there. I don't really need those kinds of elements right now... wait, who even is this?
“Ah, uh... hello. Um, you are...?”
“Ah, sorry. I guess you can't tell because I took my glasses off. I'm Yutaka Otomo, the drummer for the Instrumental Music Club.”
“Oh?!”
Did he always have this much muscle?! Is he the type who looks thin in clothes? Wait, does that even apply to guys?
Otomo-kun sat down next to me and continued talking while taking a shower.
“Until now, I thought things like ‘emotional’ or ‘music isn't about technique’ were just excuses for unskilled people. But after seeing that live performance, I thought I might have to change my way of thinking a bit.”
“O-Oh, well, thanks...”
I was completely overwhelmed by Otomo-kun, who had appeared out of nowhere and was being quite talkative.
“Even so, I can't afford to lose.”
He flashed a refreshing smile at me. While completely naked. No, seriously, I really don't need that.
Still, talking about winning or losing in drumming... this guy really thinks about drums all the time, doesn't he?
“I don't really know if it's about winning or losing, but it's not like I have any elements that could beat you anyway.”
“No elements that could beat me? Why?”
He rounded his eyes in surprise. Why though?
“I mean, you definitely practice more than I do, Otomo-kun. Unless I'm some kind of incredible genius, there's no way you'd lose to me.”
“Genius, huh.”
“O-Oh...”
I flinched at the sudden sharpness in Otomo-kun’s voice. Did I... step on a landmine or something?
“Konuma-kun, do you think you've reached the level where you can talk about ‘talent’?”
“Eh...?”
When someone asks you that way, it’s hard to say anything, isn't it?
“For me, I don't think talent doesn't exist, but I think only a very small number of people are actually entitled to talk about it.”
“I see...”
“I think you only call it ‘talent’ when you’ve practiced so hard your blood smears every day, exhausted your heart and soul, and still find a wall you can't cross.”
“I see...”
This person is quite the sports-anime type too.
But, somehow, it made a bit of sense to me.
Otomo-kun was probably saying that you can only use talent as an excuse once you've gone as far as effort can take you.
That might actually be true.
“And besides, the reason I said I ‘don't want to lose’ to you was about Yuri-chan.”
“H-Heh? Azuma?”
Now it was my turn to be surprised as my senior’s name suddenly came up.
“Yuri-chan’s reaction when she saw your live performance at Rock On was incredible.”
Otomo-kun continued talking in a pleasant voice.
“Yuri-chan always praises my drumming, saying ‘Yutaka, you're a genius.’ But she's never cried like that for me.”
That wasn't because of me; it was Ichikawa’s power.
The words almost came out of my throat, but then I felt like I'd end up having to explain the relationship between the singer-songwriter amane and Azuma, so I quietly swallowed them.
“I want to make Yuri-chan make a face like that with my own performance.”
“I see...”
I didn't quite understand the flow of the conversation and gave a rather weak reply.
“...It seems the person who has it and the person who wants it aren't always the same.”
He said that while smiling pleasantly, though his voice was slightly strained.
“I envy you. You suddenly appeared and made Yuri-chan show that kind of expression. When you came to the fireworks venue together earlier, I saw something like a mysterious bond between you two.”
“That's not...”
I didn't know what to say and just mumbled something incoherent.
“I don't need to be a ‘genius’ or anything; I just want to be a man who can stand on equal footing with Yuri-chan.”
I lost my words at his earnest statement, even though he was still smiling.
Does this guy... like Azuma...?
“Just kidding! Ahaha, just a joke, just a joke. Well then, see ya.”
Laughing, Otomo-kun stood up and headed toward the indoor bath.
I tilted my head, not knowing what part was a joke, but it would be awkward to talk more, so I decided to head toward the open-air bath.
There, I found the Cherry Boys making a fuss.
“Hazama-chi, there's nowhere to peek from!”
“No way, there's no way there would be. Is Natsu an idiot?”
“Damn, the girls' bath is right on the other side of this bamboo wall...!”
Ando, you're a fool...
Thinking it was hard to stay here for a completely different reason, I quietly soaked in the edge of the open-air bath.
Phew, that hits the spot...
As I felt the overflowing healing power with my whole body,
“Whoa—! It's amazing that there's an open-air bath, isn't it? Right, Sakoshu!”
“Yeah.”
“It's my second time, but I was really surprised last year too.”
Voices could be heard from beyond the bamboo wall.
So the 2nd-year boys and 2nd-year girls were in the baths at the same time...!
The sound of someone gulping echoed. Oh, it was me.
“By the way, what happened to Yurisuke?”
“Yuri, I don't really know, but she started foaming at the mouth and collapsed when Amane-chan took her clothes off?”
“Ahaha... is she okay?”
What are you doing, Azuma... and besides, Erina-san, you shouldn't just say “she collapsed” so casually when your classmate is foaming at the mouth.
“I mean, Amane-chan—you have such a pure-looking face, but you're really well-endowed where it counts, aren't you? Ih-hih-hi!”
“No, no, wait, stop that, it's not like that at all. Erina-chan too!”
Whoa, whoa...!
“Well—Yuri is so big that Erina and the others can't compete at all though...”
“Ah, I thought so too...”
Do girls really talk like this...? (Do they?)
Wait, is it my imagination that the men's bath has become incredibly quiet?
“No comment from me...”
Sako (probably) let out a gloomy voice.
“Umm, Sakoshu is... slender!”
Erina-san, is that comment really okay?!
It felt awkward to keep listening, so just as I was about to get up—
“Hey, everyone, listen to me!!”
A loud voice boomed from the middle of the open-air bath.
Looking toward the sound, Hazama was standing tall in the middle of the tub with a great smile on his face. (He was covering himself with a towel, just in case.)
What happened all of a sudden...?
I thought that for just a moment.
Hazama shouted at the top of his lungs:
“I AM A FAN OF SMALL CHESTS!!!”
For a moment, time stopped in the bathhouse.
Probably in both the men's and women's baths.
...What is this guy saying?!
“No matter what anyone says!!”
He's even adding follow-up comments!!
The other members of the Cherry Boys and the energetic guys started cheering like “Hyooooooo!” and “Kyaaaaaaaaao!” (Is this okay?!)
Could it be that he... did that so Sako could hear...?
“W-Wait, you boys! Were you listening?!”
Erina-san’s voice of protest flew over the wall.
Stupid, they're too stupid. I could only laugh in exasperation.
I didn't know if I should be relaxed or worried.
But I just kept thinking about how Hazama is always so straightforward.
“I love small chests!!!!”
“Hazama, stop right there!!”
“Ko-Konuma-kun?!”
When I finally stepped in to stop Hazama as he shouted again, I heard Ichikawa’s voice from the other side.