Very often, practice really can make perfect.
But just as often, something else happens instead:
repeat the same mistake a thousand times, and all you do is make that mistake more deeply ingrained—and much harder to fix.
This was not merely a matter of building bodily habit. It also required thought—analyzing the errors made last time and working to correct them.
At times like that, proper guidance from a teacher became very important.
Hanadasaki Ame, however, possessed an extremely strong ability to correct himself. Even without a teacher, he could recognize his own mistakes. As far as he was concerned, once he had learned all the techniques from a teacher, that was enough.
The violin was kept in the study next door, so Hanadasaki Ame led Nagasaki Soyo there.
As they stepped out of the bedroom, he suddenly turned his head and said to the Soyo following behind him,
"The study is very well soundproofed, you know. I had it specially renovated."
"Oh…"
Nagasaki Soyo nodded, not quite understanding what he meant.
But when her hand accidentally brushed against the box inside her dark blue skirt, her expression instantly stiffened.
Soundproofed…
Meaning anything done inside would not be heard…
I-Is this really okay!?
A faint blush rose to her cheeks. She pressed her lips together slightly and simply lowered her head, following after him without saying a word.
Yet after only a few more steps, she abruptly turned around and looked toward the kitchen, clicking her tongue in mild annoyance.
Soundproofing worked inward—
but it also worked outward!
She quickly caught up with Hanadasaki Ame, entered the study with him, and swiftly shut the door. Only then did Nagasaki Soyo let out a long breath and relax a little.
Hanadasaki Ame calmly picked up the violin case resting beside the large bookshelf, opened it, and took out the violin inside.
Its body was a reddish-brown, transparent and brilliant, as though coated in a layer of amber through which the fine grain of the wood beneath could still be seen. The scroll was exquisitely shaped, and the four taut strings ran from the pegbox to the bridge and down to the tailpiece. The overall form was classical and gorgeous, carrying with it the faint weight of time.
Hanadasaki Ame lightly plucked the strings, and a clear, clean note rang out.
"What would you like to hear?"
he asked softly.
If he were merely playing for himself, then naturally he would choose the most difficult pieces possible.
For him, this was simply a way to train the agility of his fingers and to relax by relieving pressure.
Several famous violin pieces flashed through Nagasaki Soyo's mind. After a moment's thought, she asked,
"Could you play Salut d'Amour?"
"I can."
Hanadasaki Ame lifted the bow and set the violin on his left shoulder. He closed his eyes briefly, gathering himself, and then a melody gentle as water floated into the air—soft and sweet, yet tinged with the faintest trace of melancholy.
Even dressed casually in pajamas and slippers, the moment he held the violin and played, he still radiated an indescribable elegance.
The technique itself was not flashy or complex, yet the flowing sound was full of delicate, nuanced feeling, as though whispering words of love straight into the ear, making one almost see a church in May, roses, and the scent of flowers drifting through the air…
Nagasaki Soyo sat nearby, listening carefully, and an unconscious smile rose to her lips.
How lovely…
If only there were a high-level piano accompaniment, it would be perfect…
That night, the two of them talked a great deal about music.
The violin in Hanadasaki Ame's hands—barely three hundred years old. The way classical music had been impacted in the modern era. The possibility of an ordinary band including a violinist…
From the changes of history to the tides of thought, the undertones of an age were stirred lightly by music, blooming into something utterly captivating.
For once, Nagasaki Soyo felt that perhaps studying music was not such a bad thing after all.
…
The next day, Inaba High School.
Although it was still vacation, not all teachers and students were off. There were still some faculty members busy working on campus.
As a prestigious high school, Inaba naturally had certain expectations regarding its university entrance rates, which made attracting excellent students a necessity.
The school had established a number of incentive systems for that purpose: special admissions, scholarships, and relatively flexible arrangements for personal time, among others.
In one office of a school building, Kirisu Mafuyu, dressed in dark professional attire, was carefully explaining the scholarship rules to a student who had come to inquire, along with the scholarship amount that student might be eligible to receive.
"The average level of this incoming class is quite good. At the moment, if Toyokawa-san doesn't slack off, you should be able to stay comfortably within the top ten from here on out. The scholarship for that range is fifty thousand yen. It's awarded after the midterms and finals; with three terms a year, that means six total payouts, for a total of three hundred thousand yen.
"And if you improve significantly and rise into the top three, the scholarship increases to one hundred thousand yen."
"Kirisu-sensei, what about first place?"
Toyokawa Sakiko asked in a calm voice.
"The scholarship for first place is two hundred forty thousand yen. But Toyokawa-san, don't put too much pressure on yourself. You're already excellent. Most other students have at least one weaker subject, while you have no real weak points across the board. As for first place…"
Kirisu Mafuyu did her best to phrase it gently.
"…let's just say your luck is a little poor. The top-ranked student among this year's incoming class is the sort who could sit the University of Tokyo entrance exam right now and be admitted. Even in Inaba High's history, we haven't had many geniuses of that level."
"I see…"
Toyokawa Sakiko nodded.
If it was that kind of monster, then there was nothing more to say.
Still, the scholarships for top three and top ten were already quite good—better than at many other schools. And as a specially admitted student, she would also have her tuition waived and lunch provided every day.
She carefully calculated the sums in her head, thinking about how many part-time jobs she would need in order to cover her daily expenses.
And as she calculated, she could not help sighing inwardly.
If only she could take first place.
If she could earn 1.44 million yen a year, she would not have to work nearly this hard…
The money came from the local government, so the school itself bore no burden in distributing it. There would be no stalling or deductions.
After thinking for a moment, she also asked about the music-related clubs at Inaba High.
What she wanted to know was when the music room was free. If the timing worked, she might be able to get there before the clubs each day and use the piano for a while.
Her real specialty was piano performance.
That was a skill she had cultivated since childhood, and she could not allow it to rust away.
Kirisu Mafuyu thought briefly, then explained things one by one.
There were quite a few music-related clubs at Inaba High, but the only one that used the music room on a daily basis was the orchestra club, a large organization. The others mostly just found an empty classroom to use as a clubroom, or even set up in some corner of the school, so they did not have much need for a dedicated space.
As for the instruments in the music room, anyone could use them as long as they got permission. One only had to obtain the key from the supervising teacher to go in and practice early.
Only after speaking at length did Toyokawa Sakiko politely take her leave and depart on her own.
Her every movement was proper and composed, as if she were still the young lady of the Toyokawa family she once had been. Only the fact that the cream-colored long-sleeved top and gray plaid skirt she wore had clearly been worn too long—and had grown slightly too small—gave anything away.
After leaving the school gates, she headed toward the station, intending to take the train home.
Kaihin-Makuhari, bustling and prosperous, lay only eight hundred meters away, but she had never once thought of going there herself.
Along the way, at one corner of a tree-lined road, a flash of soft yet eye-catching cherry-pink caught her attention, and she glanced over without thinking.
A small boy with long cherry-pink hair was pointing toward a quiet villa and saying something to several formally dressed staff members beside him. It looked as though they were discussing renovation plans for the house.
Toyokawa Sakiko had no interest in that.
She was still thinking about the more than one million yen she would never be able to get her hands on, so she quickened her pace and left the area as soon as possible.
…
Join here to read ahead.
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TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
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I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter125)
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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 73
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 55
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From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 64
The Way the Umamusume Look at 63
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 55
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 45
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 31
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 31
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 31
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