"This is Taki Shiina, the band's new drummer!"
That same afternoon, Togawa Sakiko brought Taki and Chiose to Hazawa Coffee.
A warm, cozy room; girls with every shade of hair and every color of eye, all gathered in one place at Togawa Sakiko's invitation.
Chiose curled up against Taki's side, playing shy. Their hands had stayed linked the entire way, as though the two of them had been glued together.
"And this is Chiose Noshiro. Miss Noshiro's body is a little special, so she'll be writing the band's music together with me — and she's our reserve keyboardist as well!"
She could see them: all these people, some familiar, some strangers, greeting her.
Unfortunately, Chiose could no longer hear Tomori's voice, or Soyo's — nor that green-haired girl she had also seen in Taki's last Simulation. Chiose Noshiro had long since lost any clear memory of how she sounded.
Chiose worked her mouth around a few polite pleasantries. She had no way of knowing whether her answers actually matched what anyone had said, but judging by the reactions… it seemed to have gone smoothly enough.
Taki Shiina hadn't been idle for a second. She wanted to stand at Chiose's side and interpret, but Chiose stopped her.
"No need… wearing the hearing aid for a little while is fine. I've hardly worn it at all these past few days, you know, so don't be scared. A little while won't really do any damage right away. We have to trust modern medicine."
It took a long stretch of coaxing before the uneasiness finally left Taki's face.
Chiose tipped her head again, looking toward the center of everyone's attention: Togawa Sakiko.
The blue twin-tailed young lady seemed to be giving off light. She was treating everyone to drinks today, and Chiose, like Taki, had chosen a mocha.
Chiose Noshiro knew that if anything deserved the name of walking straight into the enemy camp, this was it.
[This Simulation, I'd rather like to see just how much power that memory really has — the one that leaves your youth marked with an aching wound.]
[Surely it can't torment anyone worse than the script I designed?]
Chiose Noshiro was looking forward to it.
"Thank you all again for being willing to gather here.
"I have been looking forward to meeting each of you.
"From this day on, we are a band."
"Which is to say, we play music together — we share one fate…"
The speaker finished her speech, and her audience offered their own opinions in turn. The whole atmosphere was perfectly harmonious.
But could any of them imagine that one day, not long from now, this band would be overturned completely — by its own founder?
And that this beautiful memory of their youth would become a small shadow lingering in each of them, impossible to shake off.
Chiose blended in naturally, though since Sakiko's voice had been so loud a moment ago, she had switched over to mute mode.
Not that it was much of a problem.
"Do you know a lot about music, Little Chiose?" Soyo turned toward her with a smile.
On Chiose's left sat Taki. On her right sat her dear daughter and dear mother, Nagasaki Soyo.
"Me? Not really… I can only play a little bit of an instrument."
"Eh? It would be wonderful if Little Chiose played guitar. One more guitar in the band would be fine too."
Guitar? Ha ha.
A powerful sense of deja vu washed over Chiose… as if she were the hidden dragon king playing the fool, waiting to swallow the tiger whole.
A musical master who had practiced guitar, bass, and piano without a break for decades, Chiose Noshiro was only drums and singing away from being able to form an entire band by herself.
"If it's needed… I could give it a try."
"There's no rush on something like that. Little Chiose, is there anything you want to eat? I'll order for you."
Watching Chiose Noshiro chat on and on with Nagasaki Soyo left a sour taste in Taki Shiina's mouth. She turned her head aside and seized the conversation — and Chiose along with it.
Taki honestly had little interest in this so-called band. There was no place in it for Chiose, after all.
But Chiose seemed to be in a fine mood, so she let go of the knot in her thoughts.
[Chiose is always worn out after she performs… A backup keyboardist doesn't have to burn much stamina. A gentle option like that isn't bad at all.]
"I… I'm fine."
Adjusting her hearing aid, Chiose felt an itch deep inside her ear.
That was a signal — her body was beginning to protest after so long with the aid in.
[Manifest Calamity] really was a marvel, wasn't it? The effects it produced were simply beyond measuring… how interesting.
"Taki, honestly. You save up a little money and all you know how to do is throw it around… Listen — does my voice still sound normal?"
"Normal, totally normal, I—"
"Miss Taki and Miss Chiose really are close! Ah, that's right — Miss Chiose can play guitar as well? Wonderful! If you're able, being a guitarist would suit you very nicely too. My friend Wakaba Mutsumi plays guitar beautifully; if there's anything you don't understand, you may ask her!"
Togawa Sakiko attended to every single person in the room — which of course included the most special case among them, Chiose Noshiro.
"Eh? Guitar? Oh, oh… if it's needed, I'll do my best."
Taki Shiina watched Chiose be pulled away yet again to answer someone else, and under the table her hand curled tight without her meaning it to.
[That's just how Chiose is… far too good a person. The moment somebody needs something, she'll help however she possibly can… That's why she'd throw her own dream away to save a strange girl who'd fallen into a lake.]
That kind girl sat right there at her side, and everyone around the table went on chatting cheerfully. Taki let out a breath.
Chiose really did seem to be glowing.
Taki didn't dislike gentle girls one bit — though the fact that their gentleness wasn't saved for her alone did leave a person feeling…
a little sour.
"Still sour? My very best friend, Little Taki, the great big vinegar jar!"
"Huh? I am not sour… as if I'd ever be jealous…"
"Sorry, sorry. Did I leave you out just now? Let's hold hands, all right?"
Chiose's speech was as slow as ever, but the slowness only built anticipation. Taki found herself waiting on every single word Chiose spoke.
They walked through the sunset. The streets around them were strangely quiet, no one there but the two of them, except for the occasional far-off hiss of bicycle tires against asphalt.
Their small hands were clasped together, swinging now and then like a swing set in a light breeze.
Chiose's hand was so warm. Chiose's hand had always been this small, this warm — Taki loved it best.
Her best friend's hand, best of all.
"I… I already told you, it didn't sound strange at all. You're overthinking it, Little Chiose… Now hurry and take the hearing aid off, everyone's gone home already."
Her head was bowed, and there was no telling whether the light of the sinking sun had stained the side of Taki's face orange-red, or whether she was truly blushing.
"But if I take it off, I won't be able to hear Little Taki's voice anymore… It sounds so lovely. I want to listen a few minutes longer. Am I being greedy?"
Only then did Taki Shiina notice that she wasn't the only one with a red face.
The girl in front of her was gazing at her, all bashful, like a little cake slathered in jam.
"A-ahem… no, nothing like that, Little Chiose."
Little Chiose, you're so cute — but I'm too embarrassed to say it out loud.
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