Love, Eroge, Music & Other Craziness

by Geek Girl Naruru

Namikaze Naruto is a normal fifteen-year-old high school student. He has a distant relationship with his sister Naruko, who always treats him rudely. One Day in Spring, he encounters a foreign girl playing a piano on one of his travels to a junkyard and helps her in many ways as he discover that her name is Weiss Schnee.

11. A Plan to Defeat The Princess

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I grabbed my bass and escaped from the classroom immediately after school, and headed towards the roof. Once I got there, I saw a girl in her uniform sitting on the wired fence looking towards the sky. Her hair was caressed by the winds, and she seemed to be in a pretty good mood. It was Kagurazaka Senpai.

"Isn't that a little too slow, young man? The after-school bell had already finish."

"No, it's Senpai who's too early…"

We were still having our lessons, so how could she get here before the bell was done ringing?

"The melody of the time signal of the factory opposite of us will overlap with the chimes of our school at this time, which results in a coincidental and intriguing polyphony. I really hope you could listen to it, young man."

Speaking of which, it's a little too dangerous for you to be sitting on such a high place, right? Senpai jumped down from the fence and landed right in front of me.

"Have you decided to join our club?"

"Well…" I removed the bass that was slinging on my shoulders and leaned it against the fence. I was slightly hesitant with my words.

"I'll need your help in bass, but as for joining the band…"

"Why?" Senpai arched her beautifully shaped brows.

"No, it's just because I wish to get back that classroom so I can listen to my CDs. I'm not playing the bass for Senpai's sake."

"But you came here quickly according to my instructions."

"It's simply because I'll be needing Senpai's help if I want to teach Weiss a proper lesson."

"So by wanting me to teach you, you are referring to me teaching you how to play the bass first. You are using me, just like how I am using you. Right?"

The way she put it was rather blunt, but I still nodded my head honestly. In order to win against Weiss, I couldn't care less about my image.

A smile appeared on Senpai's face.

"Mmm, I see. You no longer have the expression of a loser."

Her smile was not as theatrical as usual, instead, it was an extremely natural smile. I was shocked.

"Isn't this fine? I had already predicted that you would be joining us anyway. So let us begin!"

Senpai squatted down and took out a bunch of stuff from the backpack on the floor, a mini-amplifier with batteries in it, the cables for the amplifier, as well as replacement strings for the bass.

"But, why do we need to practice on the roof?"

"Young man, what do you think is the first step in training for the basics of bass?" She directed the question at me as she took out the strings from a bag and unwound them.

"Hmm, isn't it practicing the finger crab walk?"

It's a sort of repetitive practice on the basics. The player sets a fixed tempo, and begins pressing on the fret in order by using the index finger to the little finger, then playing out each scale in order. As the left hand will move horizontally inwards little by little, some people call it the finger crab walk. Sounds noobish, but it is the basics of guitar playing. However, Senpai shook her head.

"There's another thing that needs to be done before that. It's the reason why I called you up to the roof."

Senpai pulled the string tightly by its ends.

"I've made a tightrope from here to the roof of the opposite dormitory with a string. You shall walk on it to the other side of the building."

I was stunned. I nearly dropped the bass that I was taking out from its casing.

"Are you trying to kill me!?"

"You can't be a bassist if you can't entrust your life to the strings. I'll be here praying for your safety. You'll probably die if you fall off, so you better prepare yourself mentally first."

"No, no no no, what the hell are you talking about?"

"My my," Senpai shrugged. "It is necessary for to undergo special training that puts your life at risk for you to become a bassist. You mean you don't know? Even the most famous bassists of Japan had all undergone all sorts of training with their lives on the line. Take for example, they'd knock their head repeatedly with a tin can, or expose themselves to the blazing fire of a gas explosion… and so on."

"So the famous bassists of Japan whom you are referring to are?"

"The deceased Chosuke Ikariya."

"The Drifters is a comedy group, ain't it!?" I slammed the bass casing against the ground.

"The Drifters is a band as well! They were the opening act for The Beatles' concert. That's really rude of you, young man."

"I know that, so stop trying to change the subject!"

"The thing about the tightrope is obviously a joke. The first thing you should do is change the strings of the bass. Since the instrument had been in the store for quite a while, the elasticity of the strings will gradually slacken."

T-This Woman is just… I didn't think there was any point in saying anything, so I just changed the four strings in silence.

"The real reason for me calling you up to the roof, is that!"

Kagurazaka Senpai pressed against the fence and pointed downwards. I could understand what Senpai was referring to from the sounds of the guitar that were entering my ears, without the need to look at what she was pointing to. The classroom that Weiss practices her guitar in was right beneath us. Then again, I had taught her how to soundproof the room with the towel, so why could I still hear the sounds of her guitar? The carefree melody was Ravels' Pavane for a Dead Princess. Is it due to the shock of our classmates addressing her as 'Princess'?

"That was seven days ago."

Kagurazaka Senpai leaned her back on the fence, and looked into the sky.

"I was skipping classes from the very first period, and stayed here till school was over, while listening to the sounds of the streets."

What's this woman in school for?

"Then, the sun gradually began to set, and just when it felt like it was about to rain, came the sound of that guitar. It was Book II of Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier. However, she skipped the fugues and played only the preludes. I was so pissed, I didn't notice that it was already raining, I sat down and continued listening."

"You'll catch a cold like that…"

"All she played were the preludes, right up to No. 24 in B minor, it was sweet torture. Then I heard the door opening, and so I sneaked a peek towards the room, and saw a beautiful girl walking out of it. Her hair was of a silver white color — it was just like snow. That was enough for me to fall for her."

The bass slipped off my knees and fell on the ground.

"Umm… Senpai?"

"Hmm?"

"But Weiss's a girl?"

"So what? I like beautiful things. In my eyes, gender does not matter. Why do you think I allowed Chiaki Aihara to join the band as our comrade? It's because she's cute."

"Please don't say such shocking things nonchalantly."

"In any case, I never expect her to be able to play the drums that well in less than a year."

"Chiaki would cry if she heard that from you."

"No problem. I'll tell Comrade Chiaki about my tastes unreservedly."

"So everyone really does think you're someone who will get her hands on whatever she wants?"

I was shocked speechless. I never thought she would be a person like that. I should just learn bass by myself, it's still not too late for me to turn back. I began to tune my bass while thinking of that.

"However, Weiss Schnee didn't listen to a single word I said. Also, upon my detailed observations, for some unknown reason, you're the only person in this school who can converse with her."

I jumped in shock and lifted my head. What appeared before me was that destructively cute smile of Senpai's, which she had only used once that week.

"Therefore, young man, I need your strength."

I had no idea why, but I could not look straight into Senpai's eyes, all I could do was shift my gaze back to the bass in my hands. That was the first time someone said that to me in my entire life. No, wait a second, calm down and think about it properly. Senpai said herself that I am just a pawn to be used by her.

"So your actual plan is to gather a bunch of cute girls, right? It's not really about the band."

I voiced out the doubt within me, but all Kagurazaka-senpai did was tilt her head and look at me with her eyes blinking repeatedly. All these conversations I had with her weren't just hallucinations of mine, right? That thought suddenly flashed past my mind.

"Young man, do you know the reason why humans are born into this world?"

"What's with the sudden question? How would I possibly know!"

"The answer's simple. Humans are born into this world for love and revolution."

Suddenly, the wind breezed past us, lifting up Senpai's long hair. I nearly fell over despite only feeling a faint gust of wind on my shoulders. Why is she saying all that? Do I have some misunderstanding on what life is all about? Those questions appeared in my mind for a very brief moment.

"Leon Trotsky… you probably don't know about him, do you? He's the second to last revolutionist! He fled to Mexico after losing to his political comrade, Joseph Stalin, in a political battle. He died before witnessing the start of the revolution of the world. However, his misfortune was not because Stalin was not by his side…"

Senpai took my bass away from my hands blankly, and plugged it into the amplifier.

"His misfortune was that Paul McCartney was not by his side. The last revolutionist, John Lennon, he's lucky to have had Paul McCartney next to him."

Senpai suppressed her overwhelming emotions, and began to pick the strings with her nails. A series of intense and out-of-tune sounds blared out from the amplifiers loudly, which stimulated my ears. I couldn't understand at all how can those thick strings of the bass produce such a high-pitched sound? She was playing the prelude of The Beatles' Revolution. It's the song of revolution written by John Lennon, and it's a song that is widely misunderstood.

"Therefore, love, revolution and music are inseparable from my life. The strength to push for the never-ending revolution, the strength to find the Paul who belongs only to me, and the strength to convert these thoughts into songs that I sing — there is no difference between the three. Young man, are you satisfied with the answer I gave you?"

Is your answer even directed towards my question…?

"Ah, I am totally clueless about what you're trying to say."

Just as I was about to voice out some of my thoughts, Senpai knitted her brows and shook her head while mumbling, "My, my."

"Can't help it then. To put it in simple terms that you can understand, it's like this: aside from gathering a bunch of cute girls, I am serious about forming a band as well."

"Then just say that right from the start!" I banged the casing yet again.

"It's better for you to be a little more poetic."

"You keep treating others as idiots as well, don't you, Senpai? And stop that proud look of yours, because I'm not praising you."

"Young man, your reactions are quite interesting. Come here."

Senpai was smiling bashfully. Come here? Be slightly more polite, will you!

"Well then, let us modify the bass. I am quite troubled by your knack of going off topic."

Me? It's my fault? Just as I was about to speak, Senpai suddenly returned the bass to me.

"We'll have to create the sound before you practice. See, I've brought all sorts of pickups here. You have your tools ready, right?"

Senpai took out a few guitar parts from her backpack. A pickup is something that captures the vibration of the strings. By changing these parts, there will be a significant change to the tone of the instrument. Other modifications include changing the internal wiring and etc, and the most extreme case is to punch holes onto the guitar itself.

"You mean, we're going to modify the bass right now?"

"That Aria Pro II of yours is a cheap bass, but I specially chose it in consideration to the timbre of Weiss Schnee's Stratocaster. However, that is not enough. This bass is unable to create the tones that offer a perfect response to her guitar."

Senpai pointed beneath the fence. A series of glamorous fast strumming of the guitar played by Weiss came from that direction. I see, so that's the reason for summoning me to the roof? Senpai and I repeatedly pondered on how to modify the bass, and it was something really interesting. Just so happens that I am good at it as well.

"The sounds of your bass are already comparable to the bass of Greg Lake's."

After two long hours, Kagurazaka Senpai took the completed bass and said that with praise, amid the heaps of wood shavings, metal bits, and pieces of snipped strings. I was slightly embarrassed by that.

"Why don't you work on my Les Paul as well? I want to make its tone slightly richer."

"No way, I don't have the guts to work on that sort of high-end guitar."

Senpai cracked a laugh, and began to clear up the tools and rubbish.

"Try to connect your bass to the amplifiers as much as possible when you are practicing. It's so that you can feel it with your body, and remember the sounds that will be the same as what you will be playing in the actual performance."

I nodded my head, and once again plugged my bass into the mini-amplifier. The clarity of the bass was totally different from how it was when I first bought it. This was to match up against those clean timbres of Weiss's, which are played with a mechanical precision. If you ask me, I am quite confident about my modifications as well. Since the moment Senpai unreasonably forced me to buy this bass, I had never quite felt that the instrument was mine. However, as of now, it really felt like the bass was covered in my sweat from the past ten years of my usage, I could use it comfortably. It's my partner that I've created from scratch. I could finally begin practicing.

"Of course, I won't be making you practice on some basic things repeatedly either. That is something necessary, but you can just practice that on your own at home. It may be quite sudden, but I'd like you to play a song for me right now."

Senpai placed a hand-written score right before me.

"Do you know this song?"

I nodded in reply. There was no title on the score, but I knew straight away after a glance.

"I won't deny that the melodies of a bass aren't that attention-grabbing. There are almost no songs that people can recognize purely by its bass alone. There's only one exception, which is this. Therefore, I think all bassists should start with this song, and end with this song as well."

The song is Ben E. King's Stand by Me. Bum, bum, badabum, bum… that's the bass rhythm, it's true, two verses is all it takes to revive the tune in your memory.

"Then pace yourself to the metronome and play the song! Keep playing till night has come and the stars are up, alright?"

After she was done with singing the lyrics, Senpai gave a wave before opening the door and leaving. I heaved a sigh, sat down on the floor and picked up the guitar. Though Senpai is always giving me plenty of surprises, I had never once thought she would make me play a song that quickly. Hey! Ain't you gonna Stand by Me?

After an hour into my practice, something suddenly felt out of place. Initially, I didn't know what that feeling was. It was till I lifted my fingers off the strings and stopped the metronome, that I had finally realized I could no longer hear the sound of Weiss's guitar. I lifted my head and shot a glance at the clock on the wall of the walkway, it's almost six. Weiss will usually play till it's about time for school to end, so she should not be home yet. Perhaps she went to the toilet or something?

I increased the tempo of the metronome slightly, and started playing from the beginning again. This time, I hummed the lyrics as I played. However, the rhythm of the lyrics is different from the rhythm of the bass, thus making it difficult for me to play. My fingers stopped playing yet again, due to that out-of-place feeling I had felt earlier.

The door of the roof should be closed, and yet it was slightly ajar. I leaned my bass against the fence, and walked to the door. Upon opening the door, I saw a frightened Weiss standing on the other side of it. She took a step back but missed the steps, and nearly fell backwards down the stairs. As her hands were waving wildly in the air, I quickly grabbed her by her shoulders and pulled her back up.

"What are you doing here?"

After much difficulty in steadying herself, Weiss brushed my arms off her shoulders. She turned her head away quickly and answered, "It feels really noisy up here."

I glanced at the bass behind her in slight shock. She heard that? But I didn't make much sound to begin with.

"Why are you practicing at a place like this?" Weiss glared at me. She seemed to be rather unhappy.

"Didn't I teach you the method to soundproof the room using the towel?"

"If I did that, I wouldn't be able to escape from the room fast enough if something appeared in the room."

If something appeared in the room?

"It's… when something… appeared in the room… or things like that." Weiss lowered her head while speaking vaguely.

"You mean things like centipedes or cockroaches?"

"Wa! Wa!" Weiss cupped both of her ears and stomped on my foot a few times. It hurts! What the hell are you doing!

She turned the situation into something rather stupid, so all I could do was head back to my bass. For some unknown reason, Weiss was following me.

"Umm… what?"

"It's out of tune." Weiss puffed her cheeks and pointed at my bass rather unhappily.

"Eh?"

"The third string is too flat. I was really uncomfortable when I heard it just now. You mean you didn't notice?"

I checked my tuner, and it was indeed slightly out of tune. She could hear it three floors beneath me? She's that good?

"I'll borrow it."

Just as I was trying to tune it, Weiss suddenly snatched my bass away from me. She quickly gave the tuning pegs a few turns to tune the instrument, then passed the bass back to me.

"Thanks for helping me tune it! I'll pay you ten yen each time you do that, so please help me out in the future."

"Idiot."

I suddenly remembered something, and began playing Stand By Me .

"What's this song? I heard it somewhere before," Weiss asked.

Impressive, it's exactly like what Senpai said. As a girl who has been carefully nurtured under the influence of classical music, this is probably the only song that Weiss can recognize just by the bass alone.

"It's a song called Stand By Me ."

"What is the song about?"

"What's it about huh? Hmm… it's a story about how a person was walking along the railway, when he suddenly found a corpse next to it."

Weiss knitted her brows.

"Are you talking nonsense again?"

"No, I'm not lying." Though that is the summary of the movie with the same name, and not the lyrics of the song.

Not long after, Weiss sat next to the door of the roof, and listened to my raw bass techniques. Then again, how long are you planning to stay around here? It's really tough for me to play when you're around, so please go back already? Perhaps it was because of Weiss staring at me, I had played the notes wrong quite a few times.

"Are you happy?" Weiss suddenly mumbled those words out. I stopped my hands from playing, and lifted my head.

"Are you happy playing the bass?"

I had no idea how to answer that sudden question from her.

"Hmm, it's not too bad. It's rather nice to be able to gradually play the songs that I like."

"Really?" Weiss didn't seem the least interested. All she did was stare at the floor. I asked her the same question.

"You're not happy when you play the guitar?"

"Not the least bit."

"If you're not happy, why don't you stop playing then?"

"Why don't you just die?"

I gripped hard onto the neck of my bass, and took a deep breathe. Alright, it's fine, don't get angry. I've used with cruel word like this while dealing at my sister antic. There will be no end to things if I am to take every single word of hers seriously. I have to be more mature than that.

"Since you're not happy, then why do you still coup yourself up in the practice room everyday to play the guitar? Just go home and play your piano already!"

"It's none of your business."

There's plenty to do with me! You've snatched my place of rest away from me, no?

"Then… can you not lock the door with a padlock? You go straight home right after school on Fridays, right? Can you let me use the classroom on that day?"

"How did you know that I go straight home on Fridays? Pervert!"

"That has nothing to do with me being a pervert or not. I can easily see that with my own eyes."

"Shut up! Don't ever come close to me!"

Our conversation ended like that. I continued practicing quietly, but Weiss had no intention of leaving. She was walking to-and-from the door, hesitating on whether she should head back downstairs. What's she doing?

"… Princess?"

Weiss jumped in shock, and turned around.

"Are you calling me that as well?"

"Then how do you want me to address you? Schnee?"

She shot a glance at me angrily.

"Weiss?"

This time, she shifted her gaze diagonally downwards, and nodded her head while biting her lips slightly. So she can more or less accept it if I call her by her own name? But it's quite difficult for me to address her that way!

"Just tell me straight if there is something you want to say. I told you that yesterday, right?"

"Why are you acting all high and mighty?"

Do you have any right to be saying that to me? However, just as I was about to stare back at her, Weiss looked somewhere else. It's as though she was saying something awkward, she murmured softly.

"There's something moving behind the cabinet with a buzzing sound."

Hmm? Ah… so that's the reason she came here?

"Don't you have the insecticide?"

"I sprayed it into the room, before running out of there in a hurry."

Man, that's not the way you use insecticide! These aren't those boron insecticides where you smoke them to death.

"It won't work if you don't spray it at the insect directly!"

"You're asking me to do things like that!?"

Weiss said that as she clenched her teeth with tears in the corners of her eyes, and her body was trembling slightly. Is that the way to ask a favor from someone? Then again, if I leave her alone, then Weiss will never use that room again, which means that victory will be mine?

"If you don't like it either way, how about returning the room to me like a mature lady?"

"You scumbag!" Weiss said to me while holding back her tears, "Whatever, I get it. I'll do it myself."

Weiss slammed the door, and from the footsteps it sounded like she was walking downwards. Go ahead and try your best!

I continued playing Stand by Me. Still, I was quite curious about how it ended, so I looked down through the fence. Weiss was standing outside of the practice room rigidly with her left hand clenched into a fist.

After staring at it for quite a while, she reached out for the handle of the door, but then she stopped almost immediately, as though all the strength in her body was drained out of her. She stood there motionlessly, and her back was trembling non-stop. As she looked really pitiful, I switched off the power of the amplifier, placed my bass down, and got myself up.

So that buzzing sound was not actually caused by an insect. After reaching the courtyard downstairs, I walked into the practice room. I tried shaking the cabinet, and something that was stuck to its back suddenly fell onto the floor with a pa. So it's actually the front cover of Iron Maiden's first album. The buzzing sounds were probably made by the rustling of the pages on the front cover, caused by the vibration of the cabinet due to the sounds of her guitar.

I originally thought I had lost the front cover of the album forever, and was thus really happy when I managed to get it back. I delightedly showed Weiss the cover which features the grotesque image of a zombie, And then…

"Kyaaaaaa!"

"Oww! My eyeeeesssss!"

Needless to say, she sprayed the insecticide on my face while crying and yelling at the same time.

(◕ω◕✿)

When I return home I see my sister was on her phone, laughing at something. Naruko was wearing a tight-fitting pair of jeans with her legs crossed in her usual position, sunk deeply into the sofa. Her shirt was baggy enough to hide her hands inside.

"Eh? Seriously!? What's up with that? So in the end, she dumped him? Heeh, really ahaha, I would have never guessed."

What she's laughing about?

"Yeah… yeah… alright, see you tomorrow" My sister finished her sentence in an overly sweet voice, and cut off the phone call.

I went to grab a drink from the refrigerator, A pinging sound signaled that she had gotten an email. It seemed that right after she had cut off her phone call, an email had been sent to my sister's cell phone.

"Ugh." The moment Naruko read her mail, she made an ugly face. Next, she began to click her tongue moodily in rapid succession, and after pushing a few buttons on her cell phone, she put the receiver to her ear. It seemed that she was calling the person who had sent her the email.

"Are you serious!? Go die! I can't believe this! I already told you I don't want to!"

As always, she was arrogantly spitting out abuse… she was probably talking to Rias right now.

"Tch… alright, alright! You don't have to say it so many times! But in exchange, stop it with that gross otaku clothing! Frankly, it's annoying!"

I took out a canned coffee, and filled my mouth with the drink.

"Dammit, it's bitter."

After drinking the espresso dry, I passed by the front of the sofa, when Naruko cut off her phone call.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh dammiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!" She moaned out with a strange voice and hugged her head… what was going on…?

"You're being noisy. What's gotten you annoyed this time?"

"Huh?" Irritated, she glared at me.

Yeah, yeah, it has nothing to do with me, I know.

"Big bro…"

The minute I had put my hand around the doorknob in an attempt to leave the room, with almost deliberate timing, she raised her voice.

"What?"

"Come here for a second."

"Quickly."

"Yeah yeah."

Being rushed, I reluctantly obeyed my sister's command. Neither my sister nor I tried to hide our annoyance.

"Well, what?"

"You want to know the reason I'm angry, right? Sit there."

Naruko thinned her lips, and began to talk.

"Yesterday… well, I was hanging out with those people. They invited me, so there was no helping it, and then that black one was five minutes late."

She was short-tempered, wasn't she? She really didn't have to get so worked up over five minutes… as I was thinking this, Naruko added a surprising statement.

"Even though I had been waiting there ever since an hour before the meeting time! Isn't that terrible!?"

An hour before!? H-How much were you looking forward to that meeting…? It's like this was a first date or something. The usual you would find no issue with going to a meeting like this late.

"Umm… could it be… that's what made you angry?"

"That's just one thing! But after that…"

After all the members had gathered, in order to go window shopping, they entered into Yodobashi Camera. Well, that was almost something a girl would do… wasn't it? They looked at cell phones, looked at computers, were bowled over by the huge televisions in the video game department, watched a demo movie (it was from some game titled super something war something…) after browsing the shop from one end to the other, they played around with a new Gashapon machine. Gashapon, huh? That has a nostalgic ring to it. I used to like those things too, during elementary school.

"And the only one who couldn't get the secret prize was me! Can you believe that!?"

"Don't tell me that is what you're angry about."

"No, it isn't. But I kept on playing until I got one! Hmph, don't underestimate magazine models."

To think that a teen model who had dressed herself readily in Shibuya fashion was there grasping a huge number of hundred yen coins, intensely playing Gashapon… and at the Yodobashi in Akiba? That must have been a pretty bizarre spectacle.

To put it simply, Naruko had her wages from her modeling job, so she had no shortage of funds for use in her hobby. That's probably what she meant to express when she said "Don't underestimate magazine models." So, after spending a ton of money and successfully obtaining the secret prize or whatever, Naruko was guided by Rias next to "Star Kebab," and ate a kebab sandwich.

"My friend was working there… the shop is famous in Akiba, I hear."

"And?"

Naruko… when exactly are you planning on telling me why you got angry? How much longer will I have to continue to listen your "Akihabara stroll report"? I mean, come on, you're really bad at explaining things! Why did you have to start all the way from the beginning!? I don't need to know about how you met up with the others and how you played Gashapon. Cut to the chase.

After that, I had to hear about her trip to Messe Sanoh and Sofmap, and how she put in a reservation for a game. This was something I had wanted to ask the previous time I was dragged along to Akihabara, but why is it that otaku in Akihabara basically seemed plot their course to go from game shop to game shop to game shop to game shop? It wasn't a clothing shop, so why would it matter which store you bought the games from?

Verbatim the English greeting message they have on their site about the Akiba Tourist Info Center on the first floor because it is so hilarious: "In this center, event tour plan for foreigner and guides it to the hoped place. We will recommend to foreign countries as a base for the transmission of information in Akihabara, that you can happily spend the culture and the tradition of Japan." Happily spend the culture indeed. And also…

"Why do you have to go all the way to Akiba to reserve the game? Can't you just buy it at a local store?"

"Depending on the store, you get different special reservation extras with your preorder, idiot. Telephone cards and such."

That utterance of "idiot" was filled with incredible amounts of scorn. You don't have to put it so angrily…

By the way, the reason they had gone together to reserve these games was because they could then exchange the extras between each other later, sort of like a trade. For example, if three people bought two games at the three stores Messe Sanoh, Sofmap, and Akibaoo, they could get three different special extras for each game. Later, by mutual agreement, they would decide how to divide those amongst themselves.

All I could really say was that there was a lot I didn't understand. I guess goods for their favorite games were something they really would to go that far to collect… some people would even buy complete sets of these goods at auction, so I guess my sister was within relatively normal limits just trading for her items. I already said this before, but the games and goods my sister collected were stored in the hidden space behind her bookcase. A while ago, I caught a glimpse of one part of my sister's collection… it was an outrageous lineup, and in the depths of that storage space, an even more menacing set of goods lay in wait. It was scary.

Naruko's story had still not come to an end.

"And then… we were pretty tired, so we went to a Mister Donut's and chatted."

I was pretty tired Naruko, so could you please get to the point soon? I had enough headache at school today, as I listened to her tedious story, Naruko finally seemed to say something that struck at the heart of the matter.

"And then, I started arguing with that black one. She said that Madoka was 'after all, just a stupid's anime, right?' and made fun of it."

Again? How many times have you gotten into an argument with her because of that!? You haven't gotten tired of that at all!?

"And then, of course, I had to get angry, right? I said it… 'I bought and tried watching that Blazblue Anime DVD you said was interesting, but it was just a mix of embarrassing emo speech and stereotypical super power boys disgusting protagonists with superiority complexes. It wasn't fun at all,' I said."

First off, I have no idea what you're talking about. Are you really speaking Japanese? Well, for now, I do understand that because you wanted to bash the show, you bought the DVD and scanned it over. You'd go that far just to win a verbal argument? You're tenacious, aren't you? Well, I suppose she might also have wanted to create more common ground between her and her friend.

"And then, she told me, 'Well I haven't spent even a fraction of a cent on something like Madoka,' and she hasn't seen the DVDs. Even though I had bought every volume of Blazblue too! It seems that she had seen a bit of it when Rias-san taped the TV broadcast and put it on her PSP… but that's not the true Madoka! There's no way the full splendor of that work can be displayed on such a small screen! Watch the DVD version on a big screen please! Right!? Did you hear what I said, you shitty cat!?"

"Urgh…!? W-Why are you wringing my neck!? It's not me you're angry at!"

Did she want to kill me!? Shaking off my sister's hand, I grasped at my neck and breathed heavily. Ugh… but I finally knew what was going on. Even though she had bought and watched all the DVD volumes of a series that she had been recommended by someone, that someone didn't do the same for her, so she got angry. Not every high schooler just overflows with money like you, you know. Try to understand at least that much. Having gotten excessively worked up and having tried to strangle me, Naruko placed a hand on her cheek and sighed heavily.

"Phew… and then, when we started arguing, that big boobs Rias stopped us. 'Come on, you two… calm down please,' she told us."

This was also what always had happened. Rias, the otaku community leader, was very tolerant and considerate, and each and every time, stood between Naruko and Kuroneko as a sort of buffer zone. Listening further to Naruko's story, it seemed that afterwards, this type of exchange happened:

"Mhmm, at any rate… examining both your arguments… it seems that both Kuroneko-chi and Naruru-chi had decided from the very start that each other's favorite anime was boring. Of course, every person has their own preferences in terms of what they like or don't like. But in your case, the issue is that you put your preconceptions and prejudices first, and that made it difficult for you to enjoy it, right? If you watch it thinking it's boring from the start, then no matter what you're going to end up being bored. So…" Rias clapped her hands together.

"How about we hold a Madoka and Blazblue appreciation event soon?"

It was in order to remove the preconceptions and prejudices they had towards each other's favorite work, and be able to deepen their mutual understanding. In an appropriate time and place they could both agree on, they could watch each other's anime while the other person provided commentary… it seemed to be that kind of plan.

"And after that, feel free to have another discussion about the works."

And so, that was the judgment passed down by Rias. What a supremely otaku-like way of thinking. Would anyone normally go this far just for the sake of anime? I guess that's what makes them otaku. And I know that saying things like "it's just anime" was taboo.

Rias made the following proposition next:

"And if we do this, I want to do it at Naruru-chi's house."

"Huh!? Why my house!?"

At Naruko's objection, both Kuroneko and Rias responded in their own ways.

"Well… my place is pretty far away, so…"

"In any case, I don't have a big screen TV at my house to play the DVDs with. And also, I have a little sister at home, so I can't bring home a gross otaku and Ms. Super Trendy over here."

This Kuroneko… those were really words that could get on people's nerves… I don't know what she means by Ms. super trendy, but to think that there was someone who could face Naruko head on in a verbal argument… the world was a big place, wasn't it? Well, of course, Naruko took issue with their statements.

"My parents are home too! If people like you came over it would be trouble!"

"Hm? But didn't you earlier say yourself that for the time being, your parents aren't in the house on Thursdays, so you watch anime on the television in your living room?"

"Ugh… isn't that convenient that you remembered that little detail…"

That's how it was. After I learned Naruko's secret, she's been watching anime on the big screen in the living room when my parents weren't home. Before that, she would watch when nobody was at home. She had said herself "watch Madoka on a big screen!" so she was pretty much cornered at this point.

"Both Kuroneko-chi and myself also want to take a look at what the home of our beloved Naruru-chi looks like… and it is also the best environment for us to hold an appreciation event, so won't you please consider it? Ah, and also, if you would like, as a present, I will bring one of the signed comics Naruru-chi wants."

"J-Just do what you want!"

It seemed her objections had been overridden. She had taken the bait.

"And that's why."

Having finished listening to Naruko's story, I responded with a curt "Uh-huh…" After all, it had nothing to do with me. And also, for me, it's not like my sister's friends coming over to play was something to make a fuss over. At any rate, I was going out next Thursday to practice my bass with Kagurazaka Senpai anyways, so I wouldn't be home.

So they would be coming over… hm, if Naruko and Kuroneko got together, they would probably get into another heated argument, which was a bit worrisome. Well, Rias was also coming, so they should be alright. That's what I thought, without a care in the world.

One week later, Thursday. We didn't have school because it was a national holiday, so I had spent the entire day with Kagurazaka Senpai and Chiaki at school roof to practice my bass.

"Since Weiss dislikes the guitar, why is she still playing it?"

Chiaki had plugged her portable music player into a set of mini-speakers, and was listening to the sarabande of English Suites. She asked that question while tapping her fingers onto her knees to the rhythm of the tune.

"She's so good with the piano. Even if she does play the guitar, all she plays are some piano pieces, right?"

"Well, that may not be all she knows about the guitar."

Kagurazaka Senpai had laid out a huge amount of scores on the concrete floor, and was carefully reading them all while answering Chiaki at the same time.

Since the Folk Music Research Club isn't an officially recognized club, activites are conducted mainly on the roof. I don't know if she is planning to rope me into the club slowly, even though I am not a member of the club, Senpai still asks me to head to the roof daily after school.

"So, what are your thoughts after listening to Weiss's CDs?"

Yesterday, which was the tenth day since I started practicing according to the instructions given by Senpai, Senpai said to me, "Gather all the pieces that Weiss has played as well as their scores, and bring them to school tomorrow, you have her entire collection in your house, right?"

I do have the scores and the CDs in my room, but locating them was another matter altogether. I searched for the scores in my messy room almost the whole night, Senpai seemed rather happy as she looked through the scores which I brought one by one. I knew Senpai was scanning through the scores as she listened to Weiss's music on the piano.

"So the pieces Weiss Schnee plays are centered around Bach. Even so, there's no way for her to play the fugue with the guitar, it's technically impossible, right?"

"Probably?" I nodded.

Fugue is derived from the term 'flee' in Italian. This style of composition began during the early days of modern music the baroque era, and was pushed to perfection by Bach. It's a style that has various voices entering at different times, that chases an initial melody therefore, some calls it 'fleeing tune' as well. Which means that, since the guitar can basically play only a single melody, it is extremely difficult to reproduce the techniques of fugue.

"Therefore, if you are to challenge her, you'll have to do it through fugue huh…"

"I see… wait? What did you say?"

"Young man, I think it is about time you are aware of this, but the difference in skill between that of yours against that of Weiss Schnee's, is akin to the difference of a white ant and a blue whale. It is impossible to win if we do not come up with a strategy."

"I do know that, but please be more gentle with your analogies, would you?"

"Then how about an apple against the Earth?" Chiaki joined in.

"That's even worse!"

"However, you can't challenge her with Bach. There will be no chance of victory if you do that," Senpai resumed the topic.

"Eh, wait a second, I'm gonna play classical music?"

Senpai lifted her sight off the scores, and she looked even more shocked now.

"But of course? How else do you plan to 'teach her a proper lesson'?"

"Umm, well…" To be honest, I never thought of that before.

"There's nothing concrete, but I guessed something along the lines of me playing some rock for her to listen to, so that she can be slightly impressed with me?"

"Do you think that someone who possesses such sublime guitar techniques would be shaken by what you have to offer under these circumstances? Firstly, and it will be really troublesome for me if you have forgotten this, I want to welcome Weiss Schnee into my Folk Music Club as my comrade. Which means, I want to welcome her to be a member of the band."

"And so?"

"So we must be able to play the pieces together with Weiss, right?" As she flipped the scores on the floor, Chiaki continued, "It must be pieces that Weiss knows."

Kagurazaka Senpai patted Chiaki's head lovingly. I see, so that's the reason we will be using fugue huh. The pieces that Weiss loves, but isn't able to play by herself in her current state. Which means, my bass was carefully modified so as to match up to the timbre of Weiss's guitar? Is that what she is implying? But wait… eh? That means that me joining the club is part of Senpai's plans as well? So that is already a given in Senpai's mind? I did tell her clearly that all I want is that room, and I won't be joining the club.

"However, she may not fall for our instigation even if we are to carefully select one of Bach's fugue… moreover, even if we have successfully reached the battle, those last-minute skills of this young man will probably be incomparable to hers, and things will just end with that."

Senpai bit on her lower lip and tossed the scores away.

"Well, we may still have a way out if the young man can stay by my side and take up a year of my training, but that will take up too much time."

I don't want that sort of training either! It just feels like my life will never be the same again if I am to undergo that sort of training.

"Hey, Naruto. Didn't Weiss say that she would be disappearing by November?"

Having heard that from Chiaki, I looked into the sky and began recounting. Actually, Weiss did say that in front of the whole class on the day she transferred to our school. As she did lots of unpleasant things later on, I had completely forgotten about it. Those words what exactly do they mean?

Senpai asked yet again, "Disappearing in November? She said nothing else aside from that?"

Chiaki pressed her finger against her lower lip and thought for a moment, before shaking her head.

"I'll be gone in November, so please forget about me; that's all she said. What does that mean? She's transferring to another school? Could she be going to study in the high school affiliated to the College of Music?"

"That's bad then." Senpai crossed her arms and said, "If we can get her into the club, I can still tie her down by mesmerizing her with my charms. However, it will be troublesome should she disappear before that."

"Senpai, there's the Immorality Act, so you know you can't do anything that's overly crazy, right?"

"No worries, if it's me, I can do that without stripping, so I won't be infringing the Immorality Act."

What's with that eager look of yours?

"So… young man, if you do not have the resolve to die for my romance and revolution… Oh!" Senpai suddenly switched off her discman.

"What's wrong?"

"Weiss Schnee's here."

I looked downwards through the fence. I managed to see her back with that snow white hair vanishing into the classroom of the old music building. I'm sure Senpai didn't see that, so how did she know Weiss was here? Is she a wild beast? We laid our bodies low, and quietly waited for a while. Soon, we could hear the sounds of the guitar. Eh? What's this tune? I heard it somewhere before, but I can't remember. There's a hint of Liszt in its style.

"It's Paganini." Senpai said into my ears.

I remembered. Niccolò Paganini, a violinist who is known as the Devil due to his overly impressive techniques. He is a very talented composer too, but due to his distrusting nature, he hated releasing the scores of his compositions. So because of that, nearly all of his works are lost. His violin concerto and capriccio, along with the piano etudes composed by Franz Liszt based on his capriccio, are probably the only works of his left in modern times.

What Weiss was playing was the etude composed by Liszt. It felt like the bones in my body would creak from those intense vibratos should I listen on any longer. Chiaki was cringing as well. What an irritable performance.

"I see… Paganini huh." Senpai was muttering to herself yet again.

I turned around to take a look, and saw her digging through Weiss's CDs with a serious expression. Her left hand was sifting through the scores as well. What's going on?

Finally, Senpai found a CD and a score.

"Found it."

"What's with those things?"

"Young man, can you lend me these?"

"Well, I'm fine with it…"

"Then I'll be heading home first. I have a song to compose."

"That song?"

"That's right, young man, Paganini. We'll do exactly what Paganini did. We can win with this."

Senpai's face was overflowing with some sort of energy, but I was completely confused. What does she mean? What Senpai is holding in her hands is not Paganini at all

"Of course. The only person who can teach Beethoven a lesson is Beethoven. Right?"

Senpai flashed a cute wink, before walking towards the school building with the score and the CD. She's still the same as ever, saying things that no one can understand. The same thing Paganini did? There's no way I could get it no matter how hard I tried, and so I placed my bass back onto my thigh.

"Senpai looks really happy…" Chiaki was sending Senpai off with her gaze, and murmuring to herself in a daze. Well, that person looks happy all the time anyway.

"I never thought Senpai liked Naruto that much."

"The one she likes is Weiss, not me. I am just the bridge that connects them together."

Chiaki narrowed her eyes and stared at me, as though she was dissatisfied with something.

"What?"

"Mmm, nothing."

Chiaki suddenly stood up and sat down right behind me, with her back pressing against mine. I moved slightly forward in shock, but since she came leaning on me yet again, I could move no further.

"She said we're fighters." Chiaki suddenly spoke.

"Fighters?"

"Yes. Haven't you heard? Folk Music Research Club is just a front to fool the world. We are actually a revolutionary army."

"Nope, not at all."

A front to fool the world? Senpai actually managed to say that? Oh please!

"What was it again? She said something like, the Sixth International or the Vanguard Party or something."

Is that some sort of misleading students' movement of a certain unknown era? Also, what's with the sixth? Where's the fifth?

"I really don't know which of her words are true, and which of those are meant as a joke."

"Perhaps all of her words are true?" Chiaki laughed, "But what if all of them are just a joke? Or rather, there's no way one can discern the truth from the jokes in her words, right?"

"I guess you can put it that way."

"Didn't I injure myself during the competition last summer? The doctor said back then that I can no longer practice Judo ever again."

"Isn't that something that only happened few months ago?"

"Mmm, I lied to you. Naruto somehow seemed very worried, so I couldn't bring myself to say it immediately back then."

So even the words of the doctor was a lie? Seeing how she was acting all fine soon after her injury, I was totally relieved. Thinking back, I was really an idiot back then.

"I was really depressed, alright? Those expressions of yours said everything you thought that my injuries were really serious. I couldn't bring myself to tell you that it was actually something that happened really long ago."

"I… never thought it was something serious."

"Yes, you did." Chiaki knocked the back of her head into mine.

"If not for meeting Kagurazaka Senpai, I may have kept it from you forever."

She managed to give up judo because she has drums now, is that what she's trying to say? But is Chiaki actually that delicate?

"Back then, I frequently ran out of the house in the middle of the night, and roamed about the station by myself. Many people came to me looking for trouble. Since I was mistaken as a boy, plus the fact that I couldn't harness my strength due to my back injury, I was actually really weak. However, I could still take them on if it was not more than one on three."

"There's no need for you to take on those sorts of things!"

"I was chased by them, so I ran into the basement of a building. Then I realized it was a live house, and it was there where Senpai held them off for me. She's really cool, she actually took some drinks over, and asked them for the entrance fees."

"That's cool?"

"Ah, but she asked for my entrance fees too."

"Just as I thought."

"As I didn't have much cash on me, I could only pay using my body."

I wanted to tsukkomi her on that, but I gave up in the end.

"So, what's the fighters thing about?" That term sounds like the grunts in the movies though.

"Right. Senpai said, that to start a revolution, she'd need at least 3 more people. The chairman, the treasurer, and an army commander or something. With Naruto joining us, all that's left is Weiss."

"Hold on, I haven't joined the club yet"

Suddenly, I could no longer feel Chiaki's back. I fell backwards onto the concrete floor, and my head knocked into it gently, the pain spread to my jaws.

"Ugh…"

As I opened my eyes, I saw Chiaki's upside-down face closing in on me. I gulped in shock.

"There's no reason not to join us, right? You've bought your bass too."

"That's because…"

Chiaki grabbed my head with both of her hands. I could no longer move even if I wanted to.

"… Is it for Weiss?"

For Weiss, it's slightly different from what those words were implying, but I nodded my head anyway.

"Why? Why are you doing that much for her? There shouldn't be much drive in you, no? Moreover, you've been practicing nonstop recently, and your techniques are getting better. I was quite surprised about you, you know?"

I won't know how to answer her if she asked me that one more time. 'It's to get back my personal practice room' that sounds like an excuse no matter how you look at it. I mean, if all I want is to be able to listen to my CDs leisurely after school, there should be other simpler methods to achieve that. So is it for the reputation of rock? Or my pride? No matter how I try explaining it, there's something that doesn't feel quite right. But no matter what, I have to challenge her. I thought quietly for a while.

Chiaki then released me and stood up.

"How did you and Weiss know each other?" Chiaki sat against my back again, and asked.

"Why are we talking about this?" It's hard to explain what happened that day, so I had no desire to talk about that topic.

"I just told you how I met Senpai, so it's your turn to tell me."

I couldn't think of any good reason to rebut, and Chiaki was knocking her head into mine several times. I began telling her what happened as I recounted the incidents of that day. About the department store that's filled with rubbish at the ends of the world, and how Weiss was playing the piano sonata by herself. I left out only one thing, about how the junk actually made the sounds of an orchestra. She probably would not have believed me, and somehow, I felt it would be better if I kept that a secret, even from someone like Chiaki.

"That place seems quite interesting. I want to visit it too."

"No, it's not fun at all."

The heaps of large-sized rubbish are like skeletons from some war, left to rot gradually as days goes by, among them, stood a piano. Everything's deadly quiet, and the world has ended for that place. Weiss is probably the only person who is able to bring life back into that place. I tried to recall yet again, the melody of the piano sonata which Weiss played on that day. It's formed via a sequence of arpeggios, just like the gentle bobbing of the surface of the seas. Is that Debussy… no wait, it's probably Prokofiev? I still can't recall the name of that tune.

Also, it somehow feels like that's something that I cannot touch. Weiss did say back then that she wanted me to erase that song from my memories. If so, that song must hold a certain key. For Weiss, that is a song that leads to one of the secrets that she is holding. It was till then that I realized I did not understand Weiss at all.

"In any case…" Chiaki's voice suddenly appeared before me and pulled me back to reality. Unknown to me, Chiaki was already squatting before me and staring into me.

"You are very concerned about Weiss, right?"

"Hmm… mmm?" I replied vaguely, "Nah… what? I don't get what you're talking about?"

"There's no need for you to play dumb at this point." Chiaki showed a faint smile, and gently knocked my forehead once. She then stood up.

"Alright, I'll be heading back home as well. I wanted to ask if you need my help in your training, but I guess it doesn't matter."

Chiaki walked back into the building without even looking back. I was left alone on the broad empty roof, and the lonely melody of Weiss came from beneath my feet.

Why are all the girls around me such perplexing people? I shook my head, and picked up my bass once again. I suddenly remembered how Weiss came barging onto the roof, and thus I began practicing after I was done tuning the instrument.

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