White Album 2 Omake/Story01/Chapter 2

Chapter 2: "Summer"

It was about two thirds into August when the top 8 baseball teams all assembled...

Kazusa spent away her particularly terrible summer holidays.

Even her plan of spending time alone ended up being "bothersome" after a mere several seconds. She'd be lying down in the spacious Touma household, running her not-so-great air conditioner at full blast, and sleep whenever she felt like doing so.

She didn't think of anything else, other than this crazy idea that the economical class representative would complain if he saw this lifestyle as well as the monthly electricity bill.

Up until two years ago, it didn't matter if it were a summer holiday or a regular day. Ten hours a day, she'd practice the piano every day without rest. Now though, she only practices twice a week, spending only at most three or four hours. It could be compared to her killing time 24 hours a day nowadays.

Still though, she did quite a bit of other things in July.

Kazusa figured she didn't have anything to do during this summer holiday, so she decided to go get a driver's license, and began driving school.

Even though plans at first began well, it was necessary for her to commute for at least a month. In reality, she should be busy receiving instruction on the streets... however, Touma Kazusa was a person whose personality did not match the word "school" at all.

For someone who had particularly good senses by nature, it was a trivial matter for her to clear driving school. Every time she went through practice, she'd clear it in one shot, and with a lot of time left over, she got out of the car quickly.

This selfishness of such a violent student was attributed to the female instructor's charm... or rather the fact she was faint of heart, and thus she let this slide.

Before long, on a particular day when she entered the third course, the female instructor caught a cold for several days, throwing Kazusa's summer holidays out of whack.

The substitute male instructor had her practice repetitively, even though she would clear the courses quickly, and he didn't let her get off if there was time leftover.

In itself, both of the instructors were following rules, and although the students had no reason to complain, just about everything that followed got on Kazusa's nerves.

That attitude of his kept finding problems in her driving when there shouldn't have been any. That voice of his kept arguing every single thing in such a horrible way. And what Kazusa couldn't deal with the most, was the way he did things by touching her shoulders, her hips, her hands...

All of those elements made her remember the school year head. The third time they practiced, Kazusa got out of the car with about ten minutes to spare.

Now it's not entirely certain whether the instructor was left in the passenger seat in agony reaching for something... leaving that aside, it was quite obvious that Kazusa never completed the course, and never returned to that school ever again.

Even then, she did manage to legitimately get a driver's license.

... the following week, she cleared the test through self-instruction and practice.

In terms of her skill, it was what would happen if she had gotten 90% in her courses and that lecturing class representative had found out and said something about it. Kazusa was rather gratified having imagined such a scene.

But she knew.

That if you can do it if you put your mind to it.

Save for the fact her mother abandoned her with the piano.

"Well... time to get going."

Seeing that the clock on the wall said three o'clock, she got off the wide floor of her living room and started taking off her pajamas.

She'd roll up her long black hair that extended to her hips, and the moment the pajamas came off from her head, her hair would roll down her bare back.

Her breasts also flipped, not wearing any bra, and her slightly unbalanced, slender body came back together in an instant.

And then she walked nude into the corner of the room, picking up underwear from a folded set of clothes lying around in the living room and slipping them on.

Of course this wasn't something Kazusa prepared herself, but from an assistant that came twice a week to do the laundry.

This same assistant had also done the dry cleaning for the school uniform hanging on the wall, which Kazusa took and easily put on.

"... it's hot."

She narrowed her eyes at the dazzling sunlight coming from outside the window just as she finished putting on her clothes.

Certainly it was hot outside, and the weather forecast did say it was going to be over 35 degrees celsius.

The uniform she put on did indeed follow school regulations in this blazing heat. Kazusa planned to go to school, though not to attend in the middle of the summer holidays.

Even though to her it was quite some trouble, useless, and quite tiresome...

"What a bother."

And even though she grumbled as such, she was in the mood for something a little better than the isolation she had up until now.

After all, it was Tuesday today.

And there was something good, even if just a little better than usual.

---

The inner parts of the school weren't silent, but not noisy either. It was that kind of halfway point.

On the campus grounds, those involved in athletic club activities would soon groan over the sinking sensation of the heat. You could hear the enthusiasm from those inside as they were about to head out.

As Kazusa had nothing to do with the sports club, she'd immediately take refuge within the school building and proceeded up the familiar steps to the third floor.

Doing so, she went down the corridor with special classrooms lined up along the west wall, heading for the room furthest down... the second music room.

Even though it had been soundproofed, it was useless witht he window open. She could hear the guitar, bass, and drums playing from the first music room so loudly it hurt her ears.

But Kazusa had no intent of responding in kind, and once she confirmed she was alone, she would open the doors to the second music room and slip in.

This chain of actions she took didn't stop, as she would lock the doors, close up the curtains and turn on the lights.

In this way, the identity of the "Second Music Room Owner" had remained concealed so far.

Of course closing up the classroom did leave it much more humid than before, opening up the pores on Kazusa's body and attacking her within several seconds.

Without thinking about the electricity bill, she'd take the remote for the air conditioner and turn the fan on at the highest setting, with the temperature at the lowest setting.

And then, she would finally take her seat at the piano like she had planned.

As if she were about to perform at a competition, she'd sit deeply in a manner that would project her bottom and straightened her back.

But, she didn't immediately start playing.

She'd lay her fingers on top of the piano, look straight ahead and listen carefully to the classroom next door.

Kazusa wasn't particularly trying to concentrate, nor was she waiting for the sweat to cool off.

What she was waiting for was something else.

She was waiting for the band practice to end at 5 PM.

The feeling of the drum beat so hard it blocked out anything else.

The sound of the simple yet steady bass.

The sensation of the somewhat stuck-up guitar.

The experience of the shallow keyboard.

And though she isn't here today, we have of course, the frequently absent female vocalist.

It was probably the light music club, a band of volunteers that formed up.

Certainly they were practicing during the summer, so that they could be on stage at the culture festival this fall in the School of Houjou University.

Having said that, Kazusa didn't play not because she didn't want to bother them, and certainly not because so that they would improve their skill.

Because to her, listening to this level of play was rather useless to Kazusa.

The reason why she didn't play...

Even though she has an amazing piano at home, the reason why she went through this heat and came on a train to this place...

In other words, she came to waste even more time.

As expected, the performance nearby had ceased once the clock in the classroom read 5 PM.

"Now, then."

As if to be the echo of that practice, Kazusa quietly began playing the piano.

Her run at first began small, and slow.

To both the athletic club members outside and those in the room next door, they thought it had been playing for some time, or that perhaps it was to block out the sound of the band.

It was so casual, it caused that kind of misunderstanding.

Kazusa knew.

She knew about their practice times on Tuesday and Thursday.

The light music club, a band made up of volunteers.

Their skills were rather average, but they'd assemble and practice for two hours from 3 PM to 5 PM, and after cleaning up they'd be done at 5:30 PM.

And then, afterward...

"......... off-key..."

The guitar began playing "Stairway to Heaven".

Yes, Kazusa knew.

Or rather, she had calculated as such.

On Tuesday and Thursday afternoons...

After they had finished their practice, that "Mr. Guitar" would begin.

Perhaps he was one of the members in the band.

But he didn't quite follow well when all the members were practicing.

Though the guitar in the band had blended in just a bit, it still stood out a bit. At the very least, it had a different character.

In other words, this "Mr. Guitar" was surely the second guitarist. Maybe he was filling in. Maybe he ran errands. Or maybe he was a utility guy.

And in order to keep up, he'd remain behind after the others left so that he could practice privately.

Steadily, seriously, modestly, and with all his effort...

That's why Kazusa had named him "Mr. Guitar", a favorable impression of hers behind his back... well, actually she didn't want to feel that way.

Because she had absolutely no interest in the kind of "Working hard is a virtue" attitude.

She believed everything would end up the same.

It had nothing to do with working hard to finally reach the top, or his abilities improving while she wasn't paying attention.

And although it didn't, and even though he worked hard, it's that the reward was so far away.

The guitar began playing "Layla".

That's why she felt this off-key sound had absolutely no value.

It's just that it was miraculously and delicately pleasant.

It felt good to feel her superiority compared to this.

She just didn't hate it...

"Ah well..."

Kazusa sighed as the guitar missed notes. It didn't drag down her piano practice, as the rhythm and sound of the guitar were outclassed.

She was only listening to the guitar.

Playing the piano on her own.

As the two resided in different classrooms, they had no kind of connection.

The guitar suddenly began playing "WHITE ALBUM" so as to show its true colors.

Kazusa had no interest in learning any more about this "Mr. Guitar".

Because as classmates who had no kind of connection, not having seen or known each other, the conversation would just be awkward.

Perhaps if they did meet, she wouldn't be able to hear this from next week onward.

Which was why up until now, she had closed up the second music room and put on the air conditioner at full blast. But with the window open, both the cooling and sound proofing weren't so great, and yet, she would just continue playing the piano, listening to this off-key guitar.

---

With the sound of an explosion echoing from the ground, a new star appeared within the starry sky, disappearing in an instant.

It was a special seat on the second floor balcony of the Touma household, where one could gaze upon such a feat this year... the market summer festival nearby had a display of fireworks.

"... are you angry?"
"What are you worried about now...?"

But right now, Kazusa looked up from the balcony at the lively sky as it finally contrasted with her strained voice.

In actuality, it was a rather deep, gloomy voice.

"I said I was sorry, right? The meetings are taking longer than I expected, so I couldn't make time to visit Japan."
"Ah, really."

And the cellphone that Kazusa held to her ear was rather apologetic, but it was neither heavy nor gloomy.

One would wonder if the voice from the cellphone noticed it was trapping Kazusa's voice in a vicious spiral.

"Are you listening?"
"I am, and I'm not angry. I'm not a kid anymore."

Touma Youko. Kazusa's biological mother, and her only blood relative.

She left her only daughter in Japan, and moved to Europe by herself. The whole reason Kazusa was like this.

"... even so, I never really believed what you said in the first place."

Kazusa knew not to hope in this.

She felt it wasn't so important to hope in.

"Ah, I'm also going to be sending you a souvenir. I think it'll get there tomorrow."
"Well, thank you."

"When I come back from my performance in China, I'll stop by Japan for a day. You want to go for lunch?"

Such a light promise coming from her parent, in actuality, remained that way and stood her up.

This makes three times this year she'd broken her promise.

... on the other hand, there wasn't a single promise she was able to make at all this year.

"Are you still going to school?"
"It's the summer holidays."

She hadn't seen her mother for a year and a half.

She's not even confident about what she looks like now.

"I see... then do you want to come to Paris for fun? I'm preparing for a tour so I can't join you, but I can have one of my staff assist you."
"......... no thanks. I'm really busy here. About the same as you."

But, maybe not meeting her was for the best.

... because if she did meet her, she had no idea what kind of words to say to her.

"I see, well then I'll be hanging up. Looks like we're finally starting to board the plane."
"See you."
"Ah, Kazusa! Also, you..."
"...!"

She threw down her cellphone at the floor of the balcony, with parts of it flying off. It happened at about the same time a succession of ten fireworks fired off.

But, she didn't care if it was broken.

Because the person she was talking to had stood her up on her promise just now, and probably won't be coming back to Japan for a while.

"Ha, haha..."

The fireworks in the wide sky brightened up the profile of her face, revealing a slightly cheerful expression which, in a lot of ways showed how estranged she was.

She didn't want to hope in this.

It wasn't so important to hope in.

"I really don't care..."

She shouldn't have had to put it so simply.

The world was still an existence meant to hurt Kazusa.

At the very least, Kazusa again began believing that was the case.

Even that off-key guitar two days a week was the same.

Even the fireworks that lit up the night sky now.

Perhaps God gave her this trial to worsen her despair... or maybe he was pulling a really bad prank.

"I really, really don't care..."

She thought it was stupid.

For just today, she really thought this slightly festive mood of hers was stupid.

Touma Kazusa hated the skies.

She absolutely hated the lonely, starry skies that remained soon after the fireworks.

Even that annoying class representative. Even Mr. Guitar's terrible playing. Even her own learning ability.

She really, really, really hated it so much, she couldn't stop crying.

---

Two days later, on Thursday.

Kazusa would change into her clothes and leave her house like on Tuesday.

But at the moment, it was different. It was just before noon, when the sunlight poured down all its heat.

Just ten minutes while in the train, her eyes felt heavy, and many times she tried to struggle, and she almost missed the Minamisuetsugu station.

Because two nights ago, after having that call with Youko, she never left the house, but she was never able to sleep.

Recently, a lot of negative emotions swirled around in her mind, and even when she closed her eyes, they would attack.

And when her eyes were open, nothing would happen, as she would be lost in this imaginary labyrinth in such a large room. She couldn't escape for even a day.

And then, whether it was because her soul was released from that prison, or because she was at her limit, but her drowsiness had attacked her violently last night.

Even so, this time Kazusa rejected that need for sleep out of her own volition.

"It's so hot..."

She noticed it since she left the house, but when she reached Minamisuetsugu, it was rather prominent.

Because unlike two days ago, the heat was about to reach its peak.

Because having stayed wide awake for two days and isolated herself, her body was in no condition to deal with such temperatures.

And especially because today, the weather forecast said it would be its hottest this year today...

When she finally got there, it was already past twelve.

She'd usually go around to avoid the athletic club members on the campus grounds, but as it was lunch there wasn't anyone at the moment. She took the opportunity to go straight to the shoe lockers, though she was out of breath by then and had her hands on her knees.

Her body was so out of whack from being out in the blazing heat for even just five minutes; seemed like she was going to have a heat stroke.

She took some time to recover at the shoe rack, taking a drink from the water fountain. It would seem that the athletic club members had already damaged it, as the temperature that spread in her mouth seemed to be as lukewarm as regular tap water.

With an immediate frown on her face, she couldn't bear it and took the water in one gulp. She'd then take five or six sweets from her pocket and throw them in her mouth.

Doing so, she gained enough energy and water to survive about half the day. She finally started to head toward the third floor without dragging her legs.

Actually, only her brain realized that once she reached the school building, she was so exhausted that she could barely take any steps up.

"Ah..."

One step, and then another step, and then after taking a quick break she'd take another step. She'd ascend almost less than fifty steps up the stairs, and finally she got to the hallway of the third floor when...

Kazusa would hear notes so off-key, it almost blew off all her hardships up until now.

It was where she was headed in the first place anyway.

The furthest, west end of the hallway; a classroom on the east wall.

In other words, she heard the sound coming from the first music room; that terrible guitar.

"........."

Slowly enduring with the off-key sounds, Kazusa once again brought herself to bear and strolled down the hallway.

Of course, she wasn't headed towards the second music room.

All the sweat she had built up until now for some reason had disappeared.

Her flushed face had returned to normal.

Her breath had caught up.

Returning back to the usual "Sharp-edged Touma Kazusa".

She knew.

The reason why today she left her house earlier than usual.

Because she believed he'd be here.

Because once practice ended, "Mr. Guitar" would be here practicing alone.

Because if it were him, he wouldn't be just practicing, but he'd be also preparing for lessons.

The reason was...

"Kitahara...?"
"Wha... huh?"

Because a familiar face appeared.

"What are you doing? Part of the go-home club in the summer holidays?"
"Can't you tell?"

Mr. Guitar... Kitahara Haruki was rather surprised the moment he saw Kazusa, but he immediately returned to glancing at his fingertips on the cords.

That attitude didn't seem like that of a person who had any ill feelings or was flustered over the parting that happened at the closing ceremony at all.

"I can tell your playing is rather terrible..."

Which was why Kazusa started with some rather provocative words, to try and find out how he felt.

"You also part of the go-home club, Touma? Why'd you come to school in the middle of summer?"
"You sure are a brat for snapping away at someone the instant they're dead tired..."

... though she was just a little hurt from each of his reactions.

"I only started this year. Can't be helped I'm terrible at this right now."
"Well... you're just holding down cords, right? I can't understand how you can miss."
"That's what other people say when they haven't played it..."
"Hmm..."
"You know Touma... you should change your tendency to laugh at those who are giving it their all."

Sitting deeply as she would with the piano, she began playing the guitar.

"Giving it their all, huh."
"I think it's great that people are even breaking a little bit of a sweat like this. Well, the same holds true whether you're using your body or your head."
"Hmm..."

What he said was rather bland to Kazusa.

Because she felt those who had results were far better than those who worked hard.

Because she wasn't so estranged from music so as to be someone who "never played music".

Because she didn't allow for even "just a little" incompetence.

"So, what's up today? If you want me to give you supplementary lessons, wait a little bit and then I can..."
"Let me see that."
"Eh...?"

Because he "started only this year".

"Let me see that guitar."
"Uh, well..."

Because she had listened to his guitar for so long already...

"Just for a little bit."
"Touma...?"

Reaching out her hand, indeed Kitahara was rather bewildered, but slowly gave up his guitar.

Kazusa took it with ease and grabbed a seat. Sitting deeply as she would with the piano, she began playing the guitar.

"Ah..."

Playing the exact same song that he was playing just a moment ago.

Like if it were a different song.

... just to show off.

"Ah, ah..."

Because this was her goal today.

Not supplementary lessons.

And especially not to play the piano.

She just wanted to see him.

She wanted to see Mr. Guitar; the class representative in front of her.

Kazusa lied to herself and others all this time.

She already knew from the start who "Mr. Guitar" was.

From the sound of the guitar, its clumsiness, seriousness, and flexibility led her to know it was him.

Because when first meeting him, and several days after she cut him down with such cold words...

When she heard his playing for the first time on that day in spring, and was amazed by how horrible it was...

Since the scuffle with the guitar in the first music room on that evening, she realized it was that annoying class representative.

"........."

"Mr. Guitar" gulped down hard.

"Mr. Class Representative" looked back and forth between her hands and her face.

At how the fingers pulled the strings so smoothly.

Kazusa was totally different from when she was in the classroom. She was so serious, and somehow, she was enjoying it.

It was an expression Kazusa would only show in particularly special days.

Like the day when she had decided to ignore the nagging of the class representative.

Like the day when she villified Kitahara's unnecessary words.

Like the day she returned a cold look at the overly familiar attitude of the classmate sitting next to her.

All those days were waiting in her heart, waiting for this terrible guitar player in this classroom.

Perhaps once he heard the sound of this guitar that granted wishes, it would enshroud her own piano playing. Or rather, she would allow it to happen, and both of them would begin exchanging sounds with one another.

That was the expression Kazusa gave.

An expression that unilaterally decided to make peace with someone and be at ease.

"Thank you."
"........."

Generally been finished with the guitar, when she went to hand it back, the original owner was completely frozen.

"... you're not taking it?"
"*sniff*..."

No, he did move just a little bit.

"Kitahara...? Are you crying...?"
"......... I'm sorry. Please don't make me feel so horrible."

His entire body winced.

"......... did it hurt?"
"It was more than just a wound... my own ability is in despair..."
"This isn't about ability, it's about practice. Like you said, practice until you sweat."
"Eh...?"

It was as if she was lecturing, as Kitahara's face lit up.

"Even if you spend a little bit of time, if you practice seriously, you can at least do this. You may be proud of it, but you're not trying hard enough."
"No way... even though I've been practicing two hours a day..."

Though those words came from her vast experience, this time Kazusa was just putting on a big show.

Besides, even though she had said "a little bit of time", it wasn't that persuasive at all given her own guitar playing.

"You'd normally be doing this for ten hours a day."

Certainly, she did do that.

"Well, that's if I become a professional."
"... you don't have to be."

... well, she did practice for ten hours last night.

"That was amazing though... are you also playing the guitar, Touma?"
"Nope. I've just been dabbling away at it for the past few days."
"Don't be going off denying everything you said just now..."

Somehow, after having played all the notes perfectly, the hand behind her back did a bit of a triumphant pose without revealing itself to him.

"Now, try again from the beginning. I can help you get into this for a little bit."
"... you sure?"
"I've got time to kill."
"Why'd you come to school during the summer holidays...?"
"Hurry up and play."
"Y-Yeah..."

As Kazusa insisted, Kitahara began pulling on the strings.

Taking a deep breath, he looked carefully at his hands, and began again with a bad rhythm and tempo.

Indeed, based on the off-key sound, it didn't look like he had quite gotten a grasp of it.

"You can start slowly."

On the other hand, he didn't go very far so he stopped.

"You say I should hurry and play, and then you say I should play slowly..."
"There's a difference in the nuances between both of those. You're a class representative with excellent grades, so I'm sure you'd get the idea, right?"
"... of course."
"Then, start slowly."
"Tch..."

This time, although he started off slower than usual, he did get the notes right.

"........."

Even so, his six months of practice was still about three levels lower compared to Kazusa's overnight dabbling.

"........."

But, in a way that couldn't be helped.

Because Kazusa had devoted practicing at least ten hours, having been loved by the gods of music since she was born.

That too, was motivation created from the day she became attached to the piano.

"Speaking of which..."
"Now what is it?"

Just that, it was to get a conversation going with the class representative in front of her.

"This is the first time you've spoken to me on your own, isn't it?"
"......... you're just imagining things."

She wanted to be attached to someone that much.

Of course, it's not that it had to be anyone.

It's just that there's only one person who could fit this profile.

It wasn't a matter of elimination, let alone choice...

"Thank you."
"You're off-key."

She had to recognize it.

She had to recognize that right now, she absolutely needed the meddling class representative in front of her, who wouldn't leave her alone.

---

Actually, Kazusa couldn't sleep at all that night.

Her body was so tired she couldn't move an inch, so she took a taxi from the school all the way home and just fell in bed like that. Even so, her head rejected the drowsiness that assailed her.

She had too much to think about, and just trying to get her thoughts in order at at that level kept her from sleeping.

――This isn't good.

Having said that, 90% of the pending questions in her head were about the school festival three months from now.

In the end, she only got to teach Kitahara the guitar for about an hour.

Even though he was eager to learn during the day, she felt rather uncomfortable, cutting off his questions and immediately headed home.

Anyway, although he had completely forgotten, she remembered.

She remembered that if the lessons continued, other band members would come to practice, and she would bear witness to such a bizarre scene.

――He's the kind of idiot that would bring that about, anyway.

Turning in her bed tens of times, Kazusa gave a sigh as she pondered deeply over first learning of this cruel reality.

That in this world, there are people who can't really do things like they would like to...

Kitahara... she got an idea of Mr. Guitar's performance ability.

In other words, his thoughts were not fast enough to allow his fingers to react.

With all the qualities of an honor student, his words, thoughts, grades, and deliberation didn't allow for any kind of conditioned reflexes.

In other words, he's got a good head, but his sense is dull.

At first (at least in Kazusa's eyes), looking down upon the class representative that always aimed high was gratifying. She did teach him while like that, but finally she had an irritating feeling that kept boiling up inside of her.

――Why won't it go well?

He's trying so hard.

He's not the type to lose to anyone if he studies and works hard...

Yet, why won't God reward him?

Kazusa realized that she didn't understand anything.

She didn't understand the difference in ability between herself and Kitahara, having grown up for the past ten or so years.

While he would spend ten hours a day doing work on a desk, she would spend ten hours a day playing the piano.

He spent his years studying, while she spent her years being attached to music instruments.

That was why he couldn't chase after Kazusa. That was why Kazusa couldn't support him.

Certainly, there's a connection between effort and the result.

Even the words she said, "not trying hard enough", might actually have some meaning.

However, her ability to play a guitar overnight was supplemented by the fact she practiced for over ten years on a piano, ten hours a day.

He didn't have such a musical background to support him playing a guitar for the past six months.

She didn't have any form of logical thoughts thanks to having cleared out pretty much all her senses up until now, only realizing this folly just recently.

Having said that, this wasn't about changing the past years at all.

This was about changing the course of the next three months.

――Then, what should I do?

What should I do so that he can play well...?

That's why Kazusa thought.

She strained her brain as if she had never done so in the past tens of years.

Though it'd be something that Kitahara would probably think of after a meal. He probably would have a solution only seconds after thinking of it.

Even so, Kazusa really gave it some thought.

She thought about how to change that off-key, no-good guitar playing of his.

She thought about how if he went up on stage and made some sort of error, how to make sure the audience wouldn't laugh at him.

She pondered, worried, and writhed...

Soon, her thoughts about her piano, her mother, and even herself...

She forgot about it all, and thought only of him.

---

It was the last third of August.

The high school baseball league was over, along with the O-Bon festivities and going to the beach...

Kazusa was so busy, her eyes were rolling around.

That day... the weeks following that Thursday onward, Kazusa's summer holidays had all disappeared.

For the past several days, it seemed as if she was heading to the school carrying heavy musical instruments every day. Of course, she wasn't around for supplementary lessons, club activities, or to participate. The athletic club members were gossiping all day bout a female student shutting herself in the second music room.

At the end of last week, a delivery truck appeared on the campus grounds out of the blue, carrying a large amount of equipment in and causing general grief.

After a bit of a scuffle, the second music room became much more lively thanks to it all, considering it was rather tasteless being adorned with nothing more than the piano.

Other instruments like the bass, saxophone, and drum set were brought in, pretty much rivaling the first music room.

And even to any observers, they probably realized that as school equipment this would all have been very expensive.

Of course, all of it was equipment coming from the Touma household studio storage, which wasn't something any average person would even be able to comprehend.

And today, the last Tuesday of the month, in the afternoon...

Kazusa sat rather deeply on her stool in the completely changed second music room.

She placed her fingers on the piano, staring ahead and not moving an inch.

She meditated, but she waited, relaxing.

Because soon, the lesson would begin...

A guitar solo soon filled the silence in the hallways and through the open window.

"So just "WHITE ALBUM" then, huh...?"

Unlike what the band had been practicing, it was if this song he was inclined to play made her a little dizzy, and she backed away from the anticipation that had been building up until now.

Her eyes drop down to the piano keys, and took a deep breath as she lifted her arm...

The piano from the second music room began accompanying the guitar.

Of course, it too played "WHITE ALBUM".

It wasn't just to join in the guitar like before, but it made itself clear.

It couldn't leave the other performance like this.

And, the guitar solo stopped.

The piano's accompaniment also stopped in a heartbeat.

Certainly during this time, someone in the east classroom next door must be looking out the window trying to look into her classroom with a dubious expression.

But as the window was covered with a heavy curtain, he wouldn't be able to see, simply returning to his guitar with a puzzled look...

He began playing "WHITE ALBUM" once again.

The accompaniment began again a step afterward.

The piano led the guitar, as if to be just like the nosy class representative.

This time, the guitar didn't stop.

Only letting his hands move, the guitar played but the tempo and musical intervals were varied, with a quality that couldn't really face the original composer.

That's why the piano... Kazusa, lectured him using sounds.

To bring about the true beauty of the song the composer originally intended, to point out the mistakes in the guitar.

She drove these points in one by one, without saying a word.

With nothing but a perfect tempo and perfect intervals.

If he moved too quickly she'd pull him back, and if he was slow she'd wait.

If he went too high she'd bring him down, and if he went too far down she'd bring him back up. And if he was totally off-key, she'd guide him to the right notes.

And like that, she'd bear with playing so strongly until he managed to catch up.

"Your guitar is so off-key, Kitahara..."

Of all the people that would know an ordinary girl could be so unbelievably devoted, it was none other than Kazusa herself.

After all, in her sound, half of it was a prank, and the other half felt great.

It felt so worth it to be able to look down upon the sound of the guitar with the sound of the piano like this.

As she taught his guitar technique, she felt there was a limit to the words she could say.

If it were her, she would have no idea how to convey to him how to play well.

That's why she could only say, "You can only just play".

Which was why Kazusa used sounds instead.

Because by doing this, she'd be able to correct his playing without using words.

This was the teaching technique she finally landed upon after having these unaccustomed thoughts of hers.

At first, she'd have him get used to her expert piano play, and then gradually move on to accompany him with other parts of the band composition.

With the guitar, the drum, the saxophone...

So that Kitahara Haruki would become a guitarist that could stand on stage triumphant in three months.

... it was all just for that.

The summer holidays ended, and as the days suddenly got very busy, Kazusa would only sigh, saying "Oh dear", with a smile on her face.

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