Work Text:
Piano.
In the Brass Music Room of Haneoka Girls’ High School, there is a sound of piano playing.
For the past 3 months or so, I hear the sound of piano playing within the empty music room, everyday, after school.
Sometimes, it plays a sorrowful melody.
Sometimes, it plays a solemn melody.
Sometimes, it plays an intense melody, but stops itself before it gets lost in the tune.
Sometimes, it plays a messy, unbearable melody, I'm not sure if I can even call it a tune.
Everyday, right after classes are over, I would spend just a few minutes listening to these melodies, losing myself in unfamiliar—yet undeniably classical pieces.
And, the girl playing the piano by herself is none other than Togawa Sakiko, the ojou-sama of the Togawa Group, the keyboardist of Ave Mujica, but most importantly, the girl I have a crush on.
“...Anon-san, how long are you going to stand by the door and eavesdrop on me?”
“Ah, sorry. Was I too obvious?”
“Please, have a seat beside me. …Is Tomori not with you today?”
“Tomorin caught a cold after yesterday's practice, so she went home early today. You don't have to worry, though. Rikki— I mean, Taki-chan already came to pick her up, and Soyorin prepared some medicine for her.”
“And yet, you still chose to listen to me play instead of attending to her health, is it?”
“Ah, that's… I mean…”
“Fufu, I was merely joking-desuwa.”
To be honest, I've always found Sakiko-san rather beautiful.
Ever since I got to know her more—no, even from the day I first transferred to this school, in a situation not unlike this one, where I was listening to her play the piano, she was always beautiful.
I probably wouldn’t call it love at first sight, but in a way, her beauty is something I could recognize at first sight.
I wonder why it took me this long to realize these feelings as what they are.
Tomorin, Soyorin, Rikki, even Raana-chan too are special by their own rights, but Sakiko-san is different.
We live in two different worlds, but it’s not the same kind as when I’m with Mutsumi-san or Uika-san.
Instead of flutters or excitement, whenever I’m close by with Sakiko-san, I just feel… serene.
It’s hard to put it into words, but it’s like when we’re together, it feels as if I can forget about anything and everything and simply live in the moment.
Her piano is like that too.
It doesn't matter if I was feeling stressed, feeling down, worried or anxious, it would all disappear the moment I hear her playing a melody.
Like I was in a comforting, beautiful dream.
“You really are so good with the piano, Sakiko-san. Even without counting what you play for Mujica, you're always able to play a piece so perfectly.”
“My, that's a confident comment. Just how long have you been listening to me play?”
“Ah, ahahah, it shouldn't be too long ago, I think…”
“Sigh, I might have to start charging for a recital if this keeps up-desuwa.”
“Ehh? Getting a ticket for a Mujica concert is already hard enough as it is already. I don’t want to fight with the rest of our classmates just to get a seat in the back.”
To be honest, I was a little jealous when Tomorin got a letter from Sakiko-san a few days ago.
I know how much Sakiko-san meant to Tomorin, and how much Tomorin also meant to Sakiko-san.
I doubt I can compare my time with Sakiko-san with Tomorin’s time with her in CRYCHIC, but something in me just… stings.
‘I want to be that close with Sakiko-san too,’ ‘I want to call her nicknames too,’ ‘I want to play in a band with her too,’ those were my thoughts.
I still remember when I first came into this room, when I first asked her to form a band together.
Looking back, I can’t believe how naive I was to this whole band thing, but at the same time, even now, I still want to form a band with Sakiko-san.
Oh well, I guess dreams will remain as dreams, after all.
“...Anon-san, are you perhaps in a hurry?”
“Eh? No, I don’t really think so… Why?”
“Would you mind accompanying me for one last piece for today?”
“R-Really!? I mean, it’s not that I mind in particular, but…”
“Fufu, then, I'll take that as a yes-desuwa.”
Sakiko-san plays a different piece from anything else she has played so far.
This melody feels… warm, like the embrace of a soft blanket on a cold autumn night.
It’s kind, like the first sunlight of spring shining after a long winter.
It’s strangely soothing, like a cold breeze blowing on a hot summer day.
It feels unlike the Sakiko-san I knew so far, yet somehow very much like her altogether.
“Sakiko-san, may I…?”
“Go ahead, Anon-san.”
I lay my head on top of Sakiko-san’s right shoulder and close my eyes.
Right now, in this room, only the sound of Sakiko-san’s piano is audible to my ears.
If her performance was already like a dream, then perhaps I can call this a nightbliss.
I feel like sleeping, even though I know I shouldn’t.
Because if I do, I will probably never wake up.
“Um, Sakiko-san, about Mujica’s upcoming performance…”
“Sshh, Anon-san, just enjoy this piano-desuwa.”
Sakiko-san is right.
A lot has happened for the past three months or so, with MyGO, with Ave Mujica, and with CRYCHIC too.
But, all of those things don’t matter right now.
Just for this moment, the world belongs to the two of us.