Work Text:
A flash of light reflected off the walls and windows of the room, and then the group was there. The perpetual evening light filtered through the windowsill as the stars shone in the sky. The serene view was accompanied by the nostalgic feel of an empty classroom filled with little personal trinkets like a Phenny plushy in the corner and a star map on the wall. Miku and Luka went to say high and left to go practice somewhere else in another classroom. After everything was set up, their band, Leo/Need, could finally start their practice session. They decided that they would have regular practice in the world as it was the most convenient for all of them.
The music was discordant, unorganized, too fast, too slow, unharmonized, offbeat. Quite frankly it was pretty bad, but as awful as they sounded, Shiho couldn’t really bring herself to hate it. She might have been a “military drill sergeant” and incessant with her critiques, but she truly wanted them to get better together. It was the small things from the playful banter she would share with the group to the small smiles she would have on her face after giving a scathing review of their playing were proof of this love.
After forty-five minutes of practicing, Saki and Honami had to say goodbye. They had their jobs to do, with Saki working in a Cafe and Honami going to see one of her clients Yoisaki-san.
“I’m so sorry Commander Shiho. We’ll totally do extra practice to make up for this so please excuse us for leaving!” Saki said, bowing her head and using her best posh “talking to authority” voice.
“I really do apologize Shiho. I always have plans on doing housekeeping on this day. I would reschedule if I could, but I really do worry for the person I care for. I feel like she would stop eating if I showed up.” Honami sounded apologetic as she was putting up the drum set.
“It’s fine really. We don’t really plan to do any shows for a while anyways. We have a long way to go before I can even allow us to show up to a show anyways. Me and Ichika will stay back and practice some more, okay.” Shiho was a little annoyed that their practice session was cut short, but she couldn’t really blame them for already scheduling ahead of time. After all, they weren’t really even friends 2 weeks ago, much less a band. Thinking about their old tensions was a bit disheartening though, so the thought was discarded as quickly as it came.
After they left, it was just Ichika and Shiho alone in the Sekai world. A few strums on the guitar and Shiho already had critiques. The fingers needed to be more curved, the strumming needed to be more on beat, any runs had to arpeggiate to be louder, her fingers needed to be stronger to do any pitch bends with strings. The bass and guitar, while playing very different roles in a song, were pretty similar in some aspects. This made it much easier for Shiho to critique Ichika’s playing than Honami and Saki.
“Hey, your fingers are too flat on this section. If you don’t curve them enough, your chords will sound muddy or won’t come through and the other strings may unintentionally be dampened.”
“Ok Shiho, would this be better?”
“No, not quite. Maybe imagine them like…like bunny ears I guess?” A blush covered Shiho’s face. She couldn’t believe she said that aloud, revealing her tendency for cute things so easily like that.
“Haha, you haven’t changed in that regard much have you Shiho?” A soft laugh came out of Ichika, her eyes crinkling as she smiled.
“H-hey don’t laugh at that! Just look, your form’s getting worse from you laughing, pay more attention to your fingerings”
This did nothing to quell the laughter, and instead made it even louder. They both ended up laughing at this silliness and continuing their practice.
“Honestly,” Ichika says, pausing her laughter and lowering her eyes, “I’m really glad that there’s one thing that hasn’t changed about you.”
“Seriously, the thing your glad about that hasn’t changed is the fact that I like bunny rabbits?” Shiho said incredulously. “That’s like me saying that I’m glad that the thing that hasn’t changed about you is your hairstyle or something.” Another chuckle
“But seriously, I am glad about it. Sometimes, it feels like we never had that break off, and that you never…” Ichika looks to her guitar, avoiding Shiho’s eyes. “But sometimes, it feels like we’ve never even met. I realize that I haven’t talked to you for more than 3 years and it shows. It feels like…never mind. I was talking about things that were in the past, weren't I. Let’s keep practicing together.”
The conversation ends there, although the air in the room has suddenly gone cold. Shiho would be the first to say that she’s blunt to a fault and not the best conversationalist, but hearing that she couldn’t help but want to help. She let that conversation die, and didn’t really mention it in the remainder of the practice session, but she couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. Slowly, their conversations unthaw and they start joking around again with Shiho helping Ichika with her playing.
“Ichika, your playing is getting sloppy. You seem to get lost in the piece, so you need to focus more on playing with the sheet music.”
“Speaking about getting lost, how’s Shizuku doing now? I haven’t really talked to her lately but I hear she started with another idol group.”
“Don’t try changing the subject. It may work with Saki and her brother, but it won’t work for me. Also, ‘speaking about getting lost’ is an awful segway into another conversation about my sister anyways.”
A small laugh comes from Ichika from our banter, but in the last 10 minutes it's been a bit weaker than the others. Shiho look to my side just in time to see Ichika lift up her fingers from the guitar. They were red and splotched with blood covering them.
“Ichika, you’re fingers are bleeding. You’ve just started playing again, so you haven’t developed your calluses again. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It’s really nothing, just my fingers being a bit too weak. You’re really one of the only ones who kept up with your instrument after all, admirable really.”
Ichika has a sad look on her face as Shiho tries to find some water and a band aid to cover her finger. Shiho really can’t stand the look she has on her face, and finally decides to ask her about this. She’s feeling the reel back from the guilt she had earlier from not comforting Ichika, and maybe a sense of deja vu from when the group split up.
“Ichika, tell me what’s wrong.” It came out a little bit too forceful and maybe it’ll scare off Ichika, but it doesn’t. She takes that as affirmation to put on the bandaid and gently takes Ichika's hand and washes the blood away with a cloth and wraps the bandaid around each finger.
“You know how earlier, I said how sometimes it feels like I don’t know you anymore or that I remember that we haven’t been friends in a very long while. Well…”
“Well what?” Shiho really doesn’t want Leo/need to fail, for their friendship to fail, for a second time.
Ichika looks side to side until finally making eye contact with Shiho. “Sometimes I look at you and I fear that one day you’re going to decide that I’m not enough. That this group isn’t enough to keep you here. You’re…amazing Shiho, your bass playing really is just out of this world. I listen to my guitar playing and I fear. What if you finally stop standing down on Earth with me and decide to leave to join the stars above? That’s why…” she cracks. Tears finally start falling down her face, but she doesn’t sob. “That’s why I have to keep practicing, to never stop, to play until my fingers bleed. Because the moment I stop, the moment I don’t reach those expectations, you’re gone between my fingers.”
A hug. Shiho is not a touchy-feely type of person, but at that moment, there isn’t a single thought in her mind other than to hug Ichika. She starts tearing up.
“I-I’m sorry that I left you alone for all those years, and I’m sorry that because of that mistake that you fear that I’ll run away from you again. I’m sorry that because of me it feels like you’ll never be good enough and that you feel like you’re stretching out but never in reach. I will…I promise that I will never leave you alone again.”
They cried into each other's arms and stayed like that until the star shone even brighter than before.