Author Note: I maybe love Sayo a lot. Also, please forgive my musical inaccuracies. Written for day 4 of fictober.
Due to their busy and often conflicting schedules, Roselia frequently rehearsed in the latest time blocks the studio had available. This had its pros and cons, with the most notable downside being that in the winter months the sun had already set when they left practice. Sayo didn't mind this too much, since for her the benefits outweighed the negatives.
The greatest part about having the last time slot was that no other band was knocking on the door at the end and demanding that Roselia clear out. While custodial staff would eventually ask them to leave, having the last slot let the band wrap up in their own time. It allowed Sayo to request one last playthrough of a song without infringing on someone else's time and, this was the best part, it gave Sayo a quiet place to practice after the group rehearsal.
She could go back over a hard solo without Hina staring and mark her music without the younger twin barging into the room. She never stayed for too long, not wanting to bother the staff, but it was nice to take some extra time after practice.
Walking to the station in the dark had its charms too, as odd as that sounded. She would be struck by both the quiet and the stillness of the night as she strolled the familiar sidewalks, guitar over one shoulder. The intermittent dark soothed her, cleared her mind.
Most days, the other members of Roselia cleared out quickly after practice. On this one in particular, Yukina and Lisa left together. They invited Sayo to walk with them, but she politely declined. She still needed to mark a change for the fingerings in Sanctuary and verify that they worked better than the old ones. The way she did it today was too slow and messed up her timing. Sayo grabbed a music stand to do so; she needed one since they were practicing without the music during rehearsal.
As she started to mark the music, she could hear Ako and Rinko saying goodbye and Ako exclaiming something really loudly that she couldn't quite catch. Without looking up, Sayo gave a half wave in their direction. Hopefully that would be good enough for a farewell. She erased some of the old markings, replacing them with the new ones. A small hum of the melody escaped her lips as she looked over the part.
"E-excuse me, Hikawa-san?" Rinko's voice, though soft, sent a trill of surprise down Sayo's spine. She tightened her grip on the pencil as she looked up, blinking a couple times. Rinko stood about a foot away, hands held together in front of her stomach and keyboard bag over her shoulder.
"Shirokane-san?" Sayo said her name as a question. Hadn't she left with Ako just moments before? Did she hear Sayo humming just then? "What's going on?" Was the question she settled for.
"I was, umm, wondering." Rinko wrung her hands together, pausing her speech between phrases as usual. "C-can I… stay and… practice with you?" Even though she sounded nervous, she looked Sayo in the eye while she spoke.
This was an unusual request, especially since Rinko had already packed up her keyboard, but Sayo had no reason to turn her down. "You may." She nodded. How unusual that Rinko had come back, but that must've been what Ako was yelling about before.
Rinko's shoulders relaxed slightly as she smiled in response, her hands finally coming apart. Sayo continued marking her music as Rinko set up her piano with practiced ease. In a minute they were both ready.
"We should play Sanctuary." Rinko said as she set up a music stand. "It felt split today… the guitar and piano." She was right, Sayo thought, they had split a few times during rehearsal. Part of why she changed the music was to better match time with the piano.
"Alright." Sayo picked her guitar up, checking the tuning. It still sounded good; she was ready.
Sayo counted them off and they started to play. It was different only having two of the instruments, a quieter and emptier sound than the whole band. But Sayo could hear the piano now, and could hear how their parts fit together without the drum demanding the beat and the bass requesting her attention. The fingering changes she made worked well, and they reached the end of the song without tearing.
"Let's play it again." Sayo said after the last note faded away, eyes flicking over to her bandmate. Rinko nodded in agreement, and they once again started from the top.
The music flowed, and Sayo found herself trying to remember if she'd ever played alone with Rinko like this. They'd played small portions together during group rehearsals, but never a full song just the two of them. The changes went even smoother the second time through.
A smile quirked her lips as she looked over to Rinko for a timing cue, leaning into the beat. It felt strange, playing like this. More exposed somehow but also more, what word was Sayo looking for, intimate?
As the song faded out, the last notes vibrating in the air, Rinko picked her music up off the stand. "Thank you, Hikawa-san." She turned to stow the music.
Did she already want to be done? Sayo felt somewhat disappointed. "Will that be all?" She asked; this rehearsal had been so short.
"I think we improved… on the two plays." Rinko still paused in the middle, but she sounded confident. She started packing up her piano, stowing it away. "I'll head out now… and let you practice."
"I should get going too." Sayo found herself saying, stowing her music as well. "This was productive; I don't need to keep rehearsing." She deposited her guitar in its case and started to zip it up. Didn't Rinko usually walk with Ako? Would she be okay by herself at night? She probably considered that when she stayed late, but decided to ask Sayo to play anyway. Sayo couldn't help but be impressed with how much her friend hand grown. That she'd approached Sayo to rehearse like this was a feat in itself. "Besides, it's getting late. I'll walk you to the station." The zipper made a satisfying sound as it reached the end of the track.
"Y-you don't need… to do that." Rinko, having just finished packing up her piano, protested with red cheeks and eyes averted down. "I can handle it…"
Just because Sayo walked alone some days didn't mean Rinko had to do it too, even if she could handle it. "I want to." Sayo said simply. She scooped up her guitar and school bag as Rinko watched her with wide purple eyes, slinging them over her shoulder. "Are you all packed up?"
"Oh, yes." Rinko seemed to snap out of her thoughts, nodding with her response. She picked up her keyboard bag and strapped it to her back.
"Let's go then." Sayo led the way, holding the door for the teen with the larger instrument. They bid farewell to the staff on their way out, and soon emerged into the cool evening air.
Sayo's walk to the station was still peaceful and quiet, but not as lonely.
She walked side by side with a girl who, like the peace of the night, managed to instill her with a sense of wonder.