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Honami-chan was like a giant apple.
Emu had always disliked the sunset, but she was thankful for it now, because the light had cast a red glow over Honami’s rounded face, making it look as sweet as a ripe apple.
And Honami-chan always smelled of apple pie too. She was the best! She was Emu’s savior. Emu would never forget the time Honami had sacrificed her apple pie to feed Emu’s rumbling stomach.
But apples weren’t the only thing to come to mind when Emu cast her gaze on Honami, at least not right this moment as Honami carefully combed the shore for the large shell Emu had wanted to bring home to her friends at the Wonder Stage. She thought Honami-chan was looking shiny sparkly, and that made Emu’s heart go badump badump. She wasn’t exactly sure why.
“Emu-chan! I think there’s a big shell over there! I just noticed it when the wave retreated,” Honami called for Emu’s attention.
“Really? I’ll go look right now!”
Emu tore her eyes away from Honami and ran over to the water’s edge immediately. Sure, she was excited for the discovery. But she knew the shell wouldn’t grow legs and run away while she wasn’t looking. Why the hurry then? Was it an urge to stop thinking her previous thoughts?
Nah. It was nothing. Emu-chan lived every day with smiles and laughter. Worries? Poof! She blew into the warm, salty air. Surely, whatever weird concerns she had would’ve been blown away by her breath just now, right?
........................
Honami-chan was shiny sparkly even without the golden glow of the sunset behind her.
They were on their final practice session for the presentation they were to give at the end of their field trip. It was super amazing that everybody had progressed so far. Just yesterday, when they held their first practice, they were all over the place in their performance. Kohane-chan’s voice was really bam bam cool, a bit too cool for a girl character making a tearful reconciliation with her friend. Saki-chan was like...pita pita all over her keyboard. It made Emu go “Wah! Crazy!”, but that might not be the best place to put her attention when watching a musical. And then there was Honami-chan. It had been Emu’s first time hearing her play. Her beats were like...BOOM! Powerful and precise. Emu was mesmerized by the skillful strokes of her drumsticks beating on the percussion. But at the same time, it was daunting trying to sing along. Emu was weak in comparison. So small, like a child in the shadows of an adult twice their size. This Honami-chan was blindingly awesome, though Emu didn’t like it one bit. This wasn’t her Honami-chan. She wanted her Honami-chan back!
But that was all in the past. They had each overcome their shortcomings and were now fully immersed in the story they were trying to convey to the audience. Kohane-chan was in a duet with Emu, her voice initially regretful, then filled with happiness and relief for their characters’ reconciliation. Saki-chan’s keyboard no longer sounded technical. She opted for a simpler but more colorful arrangement, with long notes over soulful chords in the beginning, switching to running passages interspersed with staccato following the change in mood. And Honami-chan?
She was positively glowing.
They were in a classroom. The lights were a cold white, the usual fluorescent type. Why, then, was Honami shining so brightly?
Her expression was that of intense concentration, though not without a sort of joy, like she was having the best time in her life. Her drum strokes were still flying, but were now lighter, less imposing, more like...
...like Emu’s heartbeat.
For some reason, Emu’s heart skipped when she sung with Honami’s beats. Honami-chan was supporting her, giving her song a rhythm, a platform for its expression. Emu found that she really, really liked the way Honami-chan looked when she was working so hard...working for Emu’s sake.
It was not good to be selfish, but Emu couldn’t help her wish to steal this Honami-chan all for herself.
........................
Emu was angry. Because Honami-chan was sad.
Honami-chan was too nice to ever deserve being sad!
On the last day of their field trip, when they were scheduled to give their musical presentation, the drum Honami had been using got badly damaged. Now she could not play.
The teachers did manage to borrow a drum from a neighboring high school, but it’d take around 40 minutes to get here. Even though they were last on the list of presenters, 40 minutes were still too long. It’d only work should there be a 15 minutes break - they’d need to do something to keep the other students occupied during that time.
“I’ll figure it out!” Emu declared.
Her will must’ve been so strong that it affected the Sekai, as Miku soon called to Emu through her phone. She offered an idea - for Emu to perform a magic show during the 15 minutes break. While exploring the dormitory together in the previous days, they had come across some equipment in storage that would work for the purpose, but was it really feasible for Emu to practice such a routine in so little time?
“I’ll do it!” Emu assured Miku. “What could go wrong? Even if I make a mistake, I’ll make it a funny mistake! As long as everybody smiles while we wait for Honami’s drum to arrive, that’s all that matters!”
And so, Emu spent the rest of the time practicing hard for the magic show. The other students were enjoying the presentations, but Emu was not distracted. She ran through the tricks again and again, singularly devoted to the task. It was rare to see Emu like this. She usually couldn’t sit still, her interests too diverse for her to invest time on one thing and one thing only. Miku was intrigued.
“Emu-chan is concentrating really hard, I see!”
“That’s because Honami-chan was really shiny sparkly when she was supporting me. I have to be just as shiny sparkly to support her!”
Hmm... Miku wondered what that meant. Maybe she should ask Luka-chan. Emu-chan was too busy to explain after all.
........................
“Eh? Emu-chan was working really hard for Honami-chan’s sake?”
Miku nodded fervently to Luka’s summary. “Yes, yes! I’ve never seen her quite like this! It is like...she has become a grownup like Luka-chan. Not fair! Miku also wants to grow up like that!”
“She is just in love, Silly.”
“Love?”
“Yes. A feeling warm and fluffy as a thick blanket filled with down...umm...nice...zzzzzzzz...”
Luka closed her eyes, and she slowly dropped onto the bench, dozing off as usual.
“Luka-chan! Don’t fall asleep like that! You haven’t finished explaining yet! Uwuuuu...”