Tasogare-iro no Uta Tsukai:Volume1 Awarded Play
Awarded Play: Dawn-Colored Song User[edit]
The school after a few days.
Looking out the window, the scenery still retained painful-looking scars from the events of a few days ago.
On the morning of the next day after that incident, in the basement of the resources center that should have been forbidden to enter, the finding of a student who had lost consciousness resolved the situation.
The student seemed to confess to the majority of the incident, and was now transferred to a criminal institution and receiving a formal interrogation. Thanks to the leadership of the Rainbow Color Reciter and the efforts of every teacher, the fact that there were no deaths was a piece of good luck among the misfortune.
“……But, that isn’t really something to smile at.”
Although there were no casualties, the one among the injured who most resembled the dead was herself.
Her left shoulder was very tightly wrapped in a bandage to the point of feeling uncomfortable. Touching the rock-solid knot with the fingertips of her right hand, Kluele heaved a large sigh. ……Really, how troublesome. Although the long-awaited summer vacation would start tomorrow, with this injury, she couldn’t play around.
The school seemed like it would use the long summer vacation to do repairs. Because of that, summer vacation began slightly earlier. Today was the last day before summer break that they needed to attend school, and was the closing ceremony.
“Kluele, good morning. You’re early today. What happened to morning practice?”
The tanned girl poked at the bandage.
“……Are you serious?”
“No, just saying.”
With a laugh, Ada jokingly ran away. The surprising thing was, like her other classmates, she didn’t receive much of a shock from the incident. Well, most of the students had immediately taken refuge in the first-year school building, so that could be the reason.
“Kluele, long time no see!”
“’Morning, Mio.”
It seemed that this girl hadn’t changed either.
“That’s right, listen! My dress from that time, when I went home and looked at it, there was a really huge hole in the knee. And even though I’d only worn it once…”
“As for me, my dress got stained with blood. ……Want to see?”
“Um…… No, I don’t need to see.”
Mio, who had unwisely imagined it, grimaced. But although the idle chatting had ended, the girl suddenly peered at Kluele’s face.
“—By the way, Kluele.”
“What is it? You seem so serious…”
“Although I was on the rooftop at that time, it was amazing. I saw the PhoenixDivine Bird of Dawn!”
“……Ehh. Isn't that great for you then."
Although she tried to respond as calmly as she could, Kluele couldn’t help but avert her face.
“I mean, listen. That time, there was even a girl riding on it!”
“It was amazing, was it? I wish I’d seen it too.”
Imperceptibly, an evil look appeared in the girl’s eyes.
“……And, there was a bandage wrapped around that girl’s left shoulder.”
“Bandage? Maybe she was also injured?”
“She wore a white dress—”
“Mine was stained with blood, so it wasn’t white.”
“……I see.”
Noisily getting up from her chair, Mio smiled evilly while looking down.
“Kluele-san, do you insist on playing dumb?”
“What do you mean?”
That seemed to be the limit. Suddenly, Mio grabbed Kluele’s uniform and shook her back and forth.
“Wa-Wait! I’m still injured……”
“Aaah, that’s enough, stop it! Confess everything! What happened?!”
“W-Well, let’s talk later when I have more time.”
Seizing the opportunity, Kluele stood up from her seat. If the clock in the classroom was right, there were still ten minutes until the closing ceremony would start.
“Ah, where are you running away to!”
“I have some things to do. If I don’t hurry, I won’t make it in time for the closing ceremony.”
Carrying a paper bag in her right hand, Kluele sneaked out of the classroom.
She went from the third floor to the fourth floor. From the fourth floor, the stairs leading up were barricaded by a rope with a sign hanging from it that prohibited entry. Because the railings of the rooftop had been damaged, students were prohibited from entering until it had been fixed.
Ducking under the rope, Kluele went up to the roof. She opened the door leading to the rooftop. Just when she opened the door, the rising sun blinded her. She shaded her eyes with a hand to dim the sun’s light and walked slowly along the roof.
“Like I thought, you’re here.”
“……Kluele-san?”
The short boy with a still young-looking face gazed up at the sky with an empty look.
“Only your bag was in the class, so I wondered where you were.”
“I just…… wanted to be lost in thought for a moment.”
“Thinking about something?”
“—Perhaps.”
Once again, the boy looked up at the sky.
“When I wake up, I don’t use an alarm clock. Arma doesn’t sleep, so he wakes me up every day…… But yesterday and the day before yesterday, Arma, who should have always been by my side, wasn’t there…… Kluele-san…… Did Arma really disappear?”
That voice sounded hoarse, and at the same time, like it was crying.
“That’s right. Arma and the True Spirit you called out, both went back.”
Still with the posture of looking up at the sky, Neight closed his eyes.
After the True Spirit had completed its duty, it had disappeared. This young Reciter should have also known this. He had made the choice after acknowledging the fact. But it was still unbearable. It was so painful that it felt like his thoughts would tear apart his chest.
“I have nothing that I want to convey. Although there are things I want to say, I can’t say them now.”
At her quick speech, the boy before her opened his eyes, surprised.
“……Eh?”
“It’s a message from that lizard, addressed to you.”
“—Is there anything else?”
“Nope. That’s all.”
The dancing breeze overhead caused the unmoving Neight’s hair to sway.
“Do you get the meaning?”
With a completely confused face, the boy shook his head from side to side. Now then, what should she say? She thought about it for a few seconds. Instead of telling him the answer, Kluele held out the paper bag that had been waiting in her right hand.
“I’ll give this to you.”
“Eh…… T-To me?”
“There’s nobody else here but you.”
With a small smile, she forcefully placed the paper bag into the hands of her companion who acted as reserved as always.
You can open it, her gaze encouraged. From within the bag, the boy took out a cloak. At first glance it looked like a coat with a hood, but made to be looser.
“This— Is it a robe?!”
“It’s a present. Because your robe had become fairly dirty.”
A little bit of radiance returned to the grieving boy’s eyes.
“Thank you very much! ……Although it’s quite extravagant, isn’t it?”
It was a white-blue color. Kluele had chosen a pale blue color reminiscent of the dawn sky. Its vividness couldn’t be compared to the deep blue one he wore right now.
“Something this much is fine.”
Sure enough, the boy seemed embarrassed to suddenly wear something of this color. But there was a reason why she chose this.
“Night Color Recitations are naturally a dark color, so I think wearing a refreshing color makes a pretty contrast— When someday, that Night-colored flying lizard rides on your shoulder again.”
“……Eh?”
Shocked, with the robe still waiting in his hands, Neight let out a sigh. Leaning her back against the railing, Kluele gently brushed Neight’s forehead with her fingertips.
“Although there are things I want to say, I can’t say them now. That was his message, right? In that case, you should call out that lizard again and listen to the things he wanted to say. If you don’t, you can’t help but be worried.”
“I should call out Arma….. again……?”
Slowly, as if like a baby, the boy repeated her words.
“The one who first called that guy out was your mother, right? This time, you should call him out yourself.”
The things that he wanted to say were as much as a mountain, and he couldn’t rely on people to pass on all those messages.
Therefore, for the sake of allowing him to say them, he would be called out once again.
‘The truth is, I just want to see him again’, but that perverse lizard would never directly say such a thing.
As evidence, that Night-colored flying lizard didn’t say anything similar to “goodbye” even until the very end.
“—Kluele-san, may I try this on?”
He put on the dawn-colored robe over his uniform. Although it was his first time wearing it, he felt a familiar feeling like he had worn the robe for many years already. With regards to both the material and the color, what a wonderful robe it was.
“Yeah. Not too bad. It suits you!”
At the moment when he wanted to express his gratitude once again to the girl who sounded satisfied.
—It’s still slightly too big for you—
Was that a trick of the wind?
It was a voice that sounded like it was teasing, but was also familiar.
“……What’s wrong?”
“N-No, it’s nothing.”
Excitedly, Neight waved his hand. It seemed that only he had heard it.
Suddenly. This time it was real; the clear sound of the bell rang out. It was time for homeroom to start. In today’s case, it was a bell signaling the start of the closing ceremony.
“Well, let’s go, Neight.”
After saying that, the girl walked in the direction of the stairs. Nodding, Neight followed after her.
I see. That’s right.
Wait for me.
Wait for me, Arma. And you too, Mother.
Someday, definitely someday.
I will meet you two again.
“Hurry up, Neight, hurry up. The closing ceremony will start soon!”
The girl who descended the stairs one step in front of him raised her voice.
“Ah, I’m coming!”
Without looking back, Neight ran down from the roof.
It’s okay to not look back, right?
Because I will definitely meet you again!
On the empty rooftop.
—Arma, what’s wrong? You have a displeased look in your eyes—
—That little girl……—
—What’s wrong with Kluele-san? —
—My name certainly isn’t ‘that Night-colored flying lizard’……—
That faint murmur was not heard by anyone.
However, it was certainly carried over by the dawn-colored wind.
