Nagasaki Soyo remembered that in the video of Paganini's Caprice No. 24 she had watched, there really had been a passage using left-hand pizzicato.
In violin performance, the left hand was normally used to stop and vibrate the strings, while the bow produced the varying tones. Plucking, on the other hand, was a technique more commonly associated with instruments like the guitar or bass. When applied to the violin, it often caused the strings to vibrate too violently, disrupting the bowing, throwing the pitch off, and producing all sorts of stray noise.
That was why combining left-hand pizzicato with bouncing bow technique was considered extremely difficult. It demanded extraordinary finger dexterity and was very hard to execute cleanly and transparently.
If the player's level was not high enough, it simply became a glaring flaw in the performance and dragged the entire listening experience down with it.
Now that she thought back on it carefully, that passage in the video had been exquisite to the utmost degree as well—those fingertips plucking out clear, moving notes like raindrops falling, perfect and without the slightest blemish.
It was only because the level of the entire performance had remained so consistently, absurdly high—high enough that all one could do was look up in awe—that this detail had not stood out more.
Still, even if left-hand pizzicato was now considered one of the standard high-difficulty techniques every violinist had to learn…
how on earth were both of Hanadasaki Ame's hands so flexible!?
After finishing the performance, Hanadasaki Ame interlaced his fingers, stretched his arms out in front of him, and gave them a slight stretch, saying with obvious satisfaction,
"My physical condition isn't that great, so I trained my technique a little to make up for my weaknesses."
Training technique had meaning, after all. Once Magnetic Field Rotation appeared, he would be able to control it directly with absolute mastery!
Nagasaki Soyo lowered her gaze slightly and looked at his long, slender fingers. His skin was snowy white and delicate, the joints supple, so beautiful they looked almost like a work of art.
She could not help sighing in admiration again.
"They're really flexible…"
She had seen another person with very flexible fingers before—a pianist. With enough daily practice, someone like that would naturally become extremely dexterous. But even that person still fell noticeably short of Hanadasaki Ame.
She wondered where that girl was now…
Those soft, boneless little pale hands of hers were probably still dancing lightly across black and white piano keys somewhere…
After chatting casually for a bit longer, the two of them arrived at the café.
They chose a spot and sat facing each other. Before long, a petite waitress with her hair in a ponytail came over with a menu and asked for their order.
Hanadasaki Ame gestured for Nagasaki Soyo to go first.
Soyo did not stand on ceremony. After thanking him, she took the menu.
She skimmed through it briefly, then ordered a cup of Earl Grey tea.
She also rather wanted one of the custom shaved ices piled high with toppings, but she felt that, for a first meeting, she ought to be at least a little more restrained.
Hanadasaki Ame, on the other hand, had no such reservations. He ordered a latte and a serving of strawberry pancakes.
He had been here several times before. The pancakes at this café were quite good—soft and fluffy, dusted with powdered sugar and drizzled with maple syrup, rich in texture and excellent in taste.
Perhaps because he used his brain so much on a regular basis, he had a strong fondness for sweets. He even kept all kinds of candy in his pockets at all times.
It happened that he had spent the whole morning viewing properties and talking with owners and agents, and had not eaten lunch, so this would fill his stomach nicely.
Nagasaki Soyo watched him quietly, thinking that the atmosphere had softened quite a bit by now, and that it was probably about time to move on to the main topic: their parents' marriage.
That, after all, was the real reason for this meeting.
Blending two families together was not something that could be done just by saying the words. There were bound to be many problems. And if the two sides simply could not accept one another or adjust, then it would be better for things to fall apart from the outset.
Carefully choosing her words, she began discussing with Hanadasaki Ame their parents' personalities, values, and living habits.
To be fair, Hanadasaki Tatsuya and Nagasaki Nozomi had hidden things remarkably well. Before the marriage announcement, neither of their children had noticed anything unusual.
On Soyo's side, it was because she spent too little time with her mother in daily life. On Ame's side, it was because he had been too absorbed in studying and verifying the knowledge in his mind, and had neglected to observe his father closely.
After talking for a long while, Nagasaki Soyo still could not tell whether their parents were truly suited to one another.
But she did feel that she and Hanadasaki Ame got along rather well.
At first, she had assumed he might be a proud, isolated genius—someone aloof because of his talent. But after actually interacting with him, he came across as approachable and lively instead, with a strange sort of spirit running through him.
If their parents really did get married, then those parents would in all likelihood still remain busy with work and rarely stay home.
In that case, only she and Hanadasaki Ame would be in the house.
She would take on the duties of an older sister, doing the housework every day, even preparing a lunchbox for him in the mornings…
That feeling of close family life…
It actually did not seem so bad.
With both elbows resting on the table and her chin supported by her folded hands, a knowing little smile gradually spread at the corners of Nagasaki Soyo's mouth.
"Oh, right. Starting from high school, I'll probably be going home very rarely."
While tasting the pancakes the waitress had just brought over, Hanadasaki Ame added that casually.
"Eh!?"
The smile on Nagasaki Soyo's face stiffened at once. She straightened slightly in her seat and, fingers unconsciously tightening together, pressed him uneasily:
"What do you mean? Is it… because schoolwork will get busier? Inaba High School—the one you got into—is a top school, right?"
"It has nothing to do with that. Academically, I only need to maintain sufficient attendance. Before coming to meet you, wasn't I out looking at properties? I'm searching for a place to convert into a private research institute. I plan to begin conducting some scientific research while I'm still in high school, so naturally I'll be spending less time at home."
Hanadasaki Ame explained it calmly.
"Oh… I see… so that's how it is…"
Nagasaki Soyo forced a smile in response.
The life she had just imagined had not even had time to fully take shape in her mind before it vanished on the spot. It felt as though she had been punched in the chest, leaving a dull heaviness there.
But thinking about it carefully, he had already said much earlier that he was devoted to studying mathematics, physics, and the like. Building a private research institute and burying himself in it was not strange at all for someone like him…
"I have exceptional talent in many directions. But if I had to choose one thing to devote my entire life to, then it could only be science—only the endless pursuit of the mysteries of all things."
Hanadasaki Ame said it with great seriousness.
He could tell that Nagasaki Soyo was a little uneasy.
But he would never change any of his decisions for that reason.
He knew of many supernatural powers, but only Magnetic Field Rotation—only this one—felt to him like something that truly had a chance of being recreated in this world.
He recalled that simulation with Nibutani Shinka. In that simulated future, it had not been something he noticed in a day or two that Nibutani Shinka was hiding an extraordinary secret. He had known for years. And yet he had still stubbornly continued exploring the field of bioelectromagnetics, trying to bring forth Magnetic Field Rotation. Even until his death, he had never spared her secret a second glance.
He understood very well that, at his core, he was simply an incredibly obsessive person. Once he chose a path, he had to walk it.
And more than that—
he believed with absolute certainty that he could do it.
"Then… I hope you achieve the things you want."
Nagasaki Soyo offered the blessing with a strained smile.
After two or three hours of conversation, they parted in front of the station. She bought her own ticket and boarded the train alone.
The train sped onward.
She stared blankly out the window, her thoughts drifting somewhere far away.
Light and shadow flowed around her. Then, by the time the ringing of a phone startled her back to herself, she had already returned home and had apparently been sitting for quite some time in the dark living room after night had fallen.
She picked up her phone.
It was a call from her mother.
When she answered, the warm voice of Nagasaki Nozomi came from the other end.
"Soyo, did you meet that little brother of yours this time? Mommy heard he's very cute! What did you think of him?"
"My impression…"
Nagasaki Soyo instinctively recalled scene after scene from today's meeting, until the images in her mind abruptly froze on those long, slender fingers blooming open like a lotus.
"His fingers are very flexible."
She answered absentmindedly.
"Eh!?"
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 172)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 116)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter69)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter119)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 60
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 40
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 66
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 50
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 52
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 55
The Way the Umamusume Look at 42
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 40
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 36
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 30
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 26
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 26
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