.
.
.
In the end, Kuroneko and Satsuki didn't manage to spark a friendship with each other during the party.
Given what happened, you could say that it was wrong of me to try and get Kuroneko to join the game club in the first place, but it was still a bit too early to make that conclusion. I would exhaust all our options before I admitted defeat.
The welcoming party was already over, and we were cleaning up the classroom afterwards. Satsuki held a bulged garbage bag in one hand, and was busy ordering around the rest of the club members.
"Now now now, all you Senpai, go throw out the trash please. Once you're done with that, you should feel free to go home first. I'll do the rest properly." Satsuki smacked a hand to her well-formed chest.
She volunteered to finish cleaning by herself and let the older students go home first… it was a pretty admirable attitude to take as a younger student, but to me, she just came off as a nagging wife who was throwing her snoozing husband out of the living room to do her cleaning.
"Sorry, Uchiha. I'm the guy in charge of this party, so I can't leave before the end."
The president was the one who had said that. Satsuki held a broom out to him.
"Alright, then you can help out."
"Roger."
The president took the broom. Next, Satsuki turned around to look at me.
"Hey hey, Namikaze Senpai? Why are you standing there looking so confused? If you're planning to stay here, how about you help out a little?"
"Ahh. Sorry about that." This girl sure liked to be in charge. I hurriedly acted to follow her orders.
… But this might be a good opportunity. Yes, indeed. Right now, the only people left in the classroom were me, the president, Kuroneko, Shimura-kun, and Satsuki. Five people I could put my trust into. And if the situation were like this, then my trump card would be easy to play as well.
"You seem like you're pretty busy, so Gokou-san, you can leave too."
"… I'm not busy today. So I can do what I want."
Satsuki and Kuroneko. The atmosphere hanging between those two was dark and gloomy.
Back then… from their very first meeting, Kuroneko and Naruko had hit it off, but that was because they could clash with each other without holding anything back and could come to a mutual understanding. And of course, Satsuki Uchiha was not Naruko Namikaze. She wasn't, but I still thought it wasn't unreasonable to use Kuroneko's experiences with Naruko as a reference for helping her make otaku friends in the present.
So, then… using that case as a reference, the problem here was obviously that Satsuki was no Naruko… that is, that unlike Naruko, Satsuki had no desire to open up her heart to Kuroneko. In short, she wasn't being true to herself.
… if things continued like this, there wouldn't be any progress. If I wanted to get things moving, then I would have to offer some support.
"Hmmm… well, I guess there are some things I could try if I had to…"
I didn't think the things I had in mind would go so well, but at the rate we were going nothing was going to happen at all. So I would try to do what I could.
I walked closer to Satsuki while cleaning up, and resolving myself, I casually struck up a conversation.
"Hey… you know…"
"What is it?"
"You said earlier that you joined this club so you could study programming, but does that mean you don't like playing games?"
"That's not true at all… I like playing games. More or less."
"Thought so. If you didn't like playing games, it just wouldn't make sense for you to be so good at them."
"Why are you being so indirect? What exactly are you trying to say?"
Ah, so she noticed. I scratched the back of my head, and looked just a bit away from Satsuki as I answered.
"Just a while ago, you said that if other people asked you why you joined the game club, you would tell them that you joined to study programming, right?"
"Yeah, and what of that?"
"It's just that, in that context, it really feels like that wanting to study programming is just an act you put on for others."
I took a quick glance at her eyes.
"Is that not the case?"
Satsuki bit her bottom lip ever so slightly, and seemed to fall into thought for a bit, but in the end she gave out a sigh.
"Ahh, it seems I said something I shouldn't have. Well, that's fine. The truth is that it was just hard to say, and there really isn't anything I'm trying to hide. I'll confess then… what I said was only half an excuse."
"Half?" What did she mean?
"… Well, in the future… I want to be a game designer."
"Game designer? So you want to make games?"
"Yes. Umm, and, if possible, I want to find a job at a major game company like ATLUS or Square Enix ."
"And that's why you're studying programming."
"… Well, yeah, that's pretty much it."
Satsuki turned her gaze away from mine. It seemed that she was still young enough to be embarrassed when she talked about her dreams. I knew where she was coming from. I was the same, after all. I nodded with pleasant thoughts swirling in my head.
"Ah, I see. Then… haha, you don't just 'more or less' like games."
"You're right. I'll admit it, I love games. I love playing them, and I love making them." She blushed, seeming embarrassed at what I had gotten her to say. She was just too cute when she acted like that.
"Have you ever played 'Homoge Club'?"
"THAT GAME IS AMAZING ISN'T IT!?"
"…!"
… As I thought. She's his sister
"P-Please just pretend you didn't hear anything!"
"A-Ahh, but I did hear it. Clearly, with my own two ears."
"…"
And for the first time since I had met her, I saw Satsuki break her composure.
To explain, I had expected her response based on an inference I had made from two statements my friend Sasuke Uchiha had made a while ago: "My little sister is a fujoushi" and "My little sister is a first year and extremely beautiful." She also bore some resemblance to her brother, so I couldn't help but think that I was probably right… and it seemed that I had hit the nail on the head.
"W-What are you saying all of a sudden? I-I-I-I have no idea what you're babbling on about."
As one might expect, Satsuki calmed down and returned to her senses after taking a single deep breath, but there was a certain someone who had seen a crack of a chance to attack this impregnable student committee chair, and I was sure that person wouldn't let that chance escape.
"… Oh my, how unexpected. The diligent student committee chair has that sort of hobby?"
"Please listen to what I am saying, Gokou-san. I definitely do not have that kind of hobby."
"Then why do you seem so shaken? Why did you say what you said? Kukuku… isn't it because everything is completely true?"
"No. I told you, you're wrong… taking pleasure in other people's pain… what a horrible personality you have, Gokou-san." Satsuki retorted with something rather insulting, but she had chosen the wrong sparring partner.
"How happy that makes me feel. Thank you for your kind compliment." See? This girl was completely aware of what she was doing.
"Uuughh…" Satsuki looked back and forth between me and Kuroneko with an annoyed expression. I was sure that she was trying hard to figure out how someone like me could possibly know her secret.
Oh, well, you know, your brother just went on and on about your hobby even though I never asked him to…
… Is something I couldn't say, so I just stuck with silence.
Kuroneko smirked, and it honestly was a rather unpleasant smirk.
Kuroneko being Kuroneko, she was probably thinking about ways she could use this to ridicule Satsuki. I was the one who had lured her in like this, but she was really taking it admirably well.
… But still. To think that it would come to this… I felt a prickle of guilt run through my chest. And I had thought that I would try and make the situation right, but… how was that even possible when she yelled it out so loudly like that?
Kuroneko slowly licked her lips, and began to whisper demonic curses into Satsuki's ear, "I may not know very much about that culture, but I do know that Blazblue's been pretty popular there lately."
"… A-Ah… B-Blazblue? That culture? What do you mean?"
"Ragna, Jin, Kagura, handsome male characters, with their dark and aesthetic view of the world. You see them used in BL master-and-slave settings quite a it's a protagonist that is born out of a 'union' between two fellow males, or more than anything else, the delicate love-hate relationship between Ragna and Jin… these are all just direct hits on rotten minds, and continue to spread little by little even though the anime has already finished airing, yes?"
"No, what are you saying? I have no idea. Please just cut it out."
"… Hmph… you don't have to play dumb, you know? After all, I'll bet that you're one of those types who worship and daydream about the Ragna x Jin coupling, are you not?"
"YOU FOOL!"
Uwaah! Satsuki just opened both her eyes wide and shouted that out.
"If we're talking about Blazblue, then a Jin x Ragna heroic seme x tsundere uke pairing is a sure thing! And of all things, you want to reverse the pairing? Hmph, that's absurd. Doing something like that would warp the characters! You make it sound like you know everything, but you don't know a thing at all, do you? I hope you sink into hell right this instant. Y-You damn amateur!"
W-What the hell was this woman!? I thought she was calmly denying everything, but then she suddenly snapped!
… What? At what point during that conversation did Kuroneko bring the wrath of the fujoshi down upon herself? I looked around for help, but the president and Shimura-kun were just standing there and blankly staring at us. And after being yelled at by Satsuki like that, Kuroneko began to grin.
"Of course I know what I'm talking about. That when it comes to that couple, switching left and right is ridiculous. But… it seems I've caught a fool."
"… Hya-!?" Satsuki covered her mouth.
Kuroneko looked at Satsuki with a smile on her face, as if Satsuki had let out some big secret, but I honestly had no idea what these two were talking about. It was even more mysterious to me than the anime otaku chats that Kuroneko and Naruko had.
Each and every word they said seemed like it was in a secret language. It was almost as if they were trying to make themselves difficult to understand on purpose.
"Hn, you tricked me, didn't you…!?"
"Whatever may you be talking about? Hmmm… but this is quite troubling. To think that you could act so arrogant even though you had such a peculiar hobby like this. How very improper of you. Are you sure you can still talk about other people?"
"Yes I can! Unlike you, I'm well aware of the fact that my hobby isn't something I should just air out in public! Yes yes yes, I admit it! I love homos! I'm rotten to the core! But I'm making sure to hide it and live my life normally, so isn't that fine!?"
She got all defiant again all of a sudden. Did she forget that she's in a school right now? Her usual cool demeanor had flown out the window, and Satsuki blew steam from her nose in her excitement.
"… Ah, is that so? And I wonder, would such a rotten-to-the-core Uchiha-san even be able to get excited by half-live things like the Prince of Tennis musical?"
"Not even a problem! Not to brag, but I'm really flexible, you know. It could be real people, or 2D people, or even things that aren't even alive, but once you pull at my heartstrings, it's possible for me to fantasize about them all I want in my head. In the worst case scenario, as long as I know who's the fork and who's the spoon, that's enough for me to imagine the love scenario."
"What impressive conviction you have… so, that means that you fantasize about real boys as well?"
"Hmph, I have nothing to hide. Just last night, I had a dream that Sai Senpai was being gang raped by all the other game club members."
T-This girl is insane!
Her face remaining emotionless, Kuroneko asked her a question. Even for Kuroneko, who more or less understood fujoshi culture and was just trying to goad Satsuki into embarrassing herself, what Satsuki had said right now came as a shock. Her eyes widened, and a cold line of sweat ran down the side of her face.
"… Keh, that went beyond my expectations… t-to think you had so much evil hidden within you…"
Even Kuroneko probably didn't expect that Satsuki would be this abnormal. Wasn't this girl supposed to be a clean freak? What exactly was she planning to do with that fork and spoon? Even the president, who was watching Kuroneko and Satsuki's argument from afar, looked really frightened when he said what he said next.
"H-Hey, Nana-chan… you sure drew in a really scary hentai into our club…"
"…(˚ Д˚)"
Shimura-kun didn't respond, but just stood there completely dumbfounded. And then, having spent the last few minutes spitting out her wild delusions in her excitement, Satsuki gave out an "Ah!" and seemed to come back to her senses…
"GYAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hhhhhhhhhhh!"
Satsuki's face paled as if she had just taken in all the despair in the world, and she let out a tremendous shriek. If we were living in a manga, I'm sure that at this point, you would be able to see swirly swirls appearing on her eyes.
Cough cough cough cough cough…! Satsuki held her throat as she coughed. With her face completely red and her eyes filled with tears, Satsuki stood in front of Shimura-kun and began to desperately apologize.
"Sai Senpai, you have it all wrong! T-This is a huge misunderstanding!"
"…"
Shimura-kun didn't say a word in response, but I could just see the life draining out of him. Satsuki grabbed him by the shoulders and began to shake him.
"Uwaah! I-I'm sorry! I'm really sorry, Sai Senpai! I'm so sorry for fantasizing about you and the president! I mean, seeing you respond to him with your retorts the way you did, I honestly couldn't see you as anything other than a tsundere! It made me really moe moe! I-I also thought that, maybe the president didn't want to graduate because… because he didn't want to separate from the person he loved!"
"H-Hey, stop it already! Shimura-kun looks like he's about to faint! Don't traumatize your clubmate more than you already have!"
"Ack!? Did I seriously just go and blabber something disgusting again!?"
"Just stop it!"
"O-Oh my! My my my! N-Next time I'll make it Sai Senpai x Namikaze Senpai!"
"You're doing that on purpose, aren't you!?"
Look! Shimura-kun looks like a lifeless husk right now! I now understood all too well what he was going through after having experienced it myself. Let me just put this clearly… being made the object of a fujoshi's fantasies is just incredibly sickening.
"I'm begging you, just stop it! Please, for the love of god!"
"AAaaaaaaaaahhhhh! I did it again! J-Just kill me! Put me out of my misery!" Satsuki covered her face with both her hands and shook her head quickly back and forth, wishing death upon herself. In a way, I'm partly to blame for things getting to this point…
T-There was nothing that could save this situation anymore. Terrifying… so this was what a fujoshi was like…
Although, I really wanted to believe that she was just far and beyond the usual level of hentai… but in either case, I seriously have to give credit to Sasuke. He is seriously amazing. If I had a little sister like this, I honestly might have already hanged myself.
A-Ah right, Sasuke! He's probably the only person who would be able to get out of this situation! I quickly took out my cell phone, and dialed out to Sasuke's Onii-chan to ask for help.
… Riiiiiiiing… Riiiiiiiiing… Click.
"What is it, Naruto? Need something? I'm on my way to the next town over for a practice match right now."
"Sasuke! Your sister went crazy! What exactly should we do!?"
"Just keep on telling her that she's cute and a good girl until she calms down."
"… Ah, I understand now. You're just as sick as she is. What the hell!? As if I could do that!"
Like sister like brother!
"… Well, I'm putting your sister on the phone right now, so please just do something about her."
"Alright, leave it to me!"
After I heard Sasuke's enthusiastic response, I approached Satsuki, who was still covering her face and shaking her head, and held out my cell phone to her. It honestly looked like I was offering food to a wild animal right then.
"H-Hey, your brother is on the phone for you…"
"A-Ahh…?"
Once she heard the word "brother," Satsuki seemed to calm down a little and took the cell phone from me. She put the cell phone to her ear.
"… O-Onii-chan?" She muttered.
"… Yeah… yeah… yeah, that's right… at club… the welcoming party… yeah…"
Satsuki heaved up and down with sobs as she explained the situation to her brother. Her voice was filled to the brim with trust for the person on the other end of the call… for some reason, I felt a pain prickle in my chest. When it came to her brother, this girl seemed to drop all her defenses and let her fawning, child-like side show.
"… Alright, I'll do that… thank you. Sorry, Onii-chan. Good luck with your match." Satsuki said farewell and hung up. She passed the cell phone back to me.
"… Umm, I seem to have embarrassed myself…"
"Nah, that's not…"
Well, no, it was sort of true… but it seemed that she had calmed down, so that was good. Satsuki took a few deep breaths, and raised her head, seeming to have resolved herself.
"Umm… Namikaze Senpai? Are you… good friends with my Onii-chan?"
"Yeah. We've been buddy since junior high school, so we do hang out a lot."
"I see… hmm."
I wanted to ask her why she asked… but before I could do that, she looked at the ground and gave an eerie chuckle.
"Wuhihi…"
"Hey! You're imagining something weird again, aren't you!? Something incredibly disgusting, aren't you!?" I really don't want a Kouhai like this anymore!
And after the curtain fell on that particular act…
After she was successfully calmed down (at least, that's what I guessed) by her Onii-chan Sasuke, Satsuki returned to her senses and blushed from ear to ear. She once again apologized to everyone.
"… I am very sorry. It's… it's a bad habit of mine to get carried away when I get excited." She spoke in a gloomy tone, and it was obvious that she regretted what she did from the bottom of her heart. I wasn't completely free from blame here either, and I felt bad about my actions as well.
"We got it. It was also wrong of us to lead you on like that. I promise that I'll never tell anybody about what happened here."
"… I promise too."
"I didn't hear a single thing."
Shimura-kun and the president both cheerfully agreed with me. I took a quick glance at Kuroneko.
"You promise too."
"… Yeah yeah. I got it, I got it."
She really seemed reluctant about it, but even if I didn't mention it, she probably wouldn't have told anybody.
Well then… with that, after a wild and stormy welcoming party, this one issue was settled for the time being. But there still was no progress on the other issue of making Kuroneko friends. At any rate, when I tried to help her out in that regard, it turned out that the target was a hentai. I really had to go back and think long and patiently about all of this.
When we finished cleaning up, we all went our separate ways from what had been a rather complicated welcoming party. Kuroneko and I left school together. We did not talk to each other. We just continued to walk in complete silence.
I thought back to what had just happened between Satsuki and Kuroneko. Thought back to the outrageous fujoshi side of Satsuki I had caught a glimpse of. But that girl returned to her senses quickly, and was definitely ashamed of her actions. And sure, Kuroneko and Satsuki had gotten into a fight, but it was different from that time Kuroneko had met Naruko. They just didn't seem to hit it off in the same way. In the end, Kuroneko probably thought of Naruko as a person with whom she was especially compatible.
Just because the situation was similar didn't mean the outcome would be just as good. But this much was obvious… Satsuki Uchiha was no Naruko Namikaze. Just like Kuroneko wasn't a replacement for my now-gone sister, to Kuroneko, Satsuki was no replacement for her now-gone friend. I shouldn't forget that. If I did, it would be disrespectful towards Kuroneko. Sort of like that time before when she got angry at me. Nobody was ever anybody else's replacement.
I whispered something to Kuroneko as she walked beside me, "… Sorry."
"… And what do you have to be sorry for?"
Kuroneko's response was painfully curt. Even though she was willing to be here at my side right now, it seemed that, as I thought, she still hadn't forgiven me. I decided to be honest and admit it. Unfortunately, I wasn't the greatest talker, so I didn't really know how to put it… but I tried to put it as frankly and as sincerely as I could.
"I admit it. Not having my sister here is a bit lonely."
"I see."
I understood that now. Even if I tried to talk big, even if I didn't realize it myself, not having my sister here made me feel unbearably lonely. That's why, with Kuroneko having once called me "Nii-san" and behaving a bit like a little sister, I had began to use Kuroneko as a substitute for my sister. I would treat her like a little sister, do my best to take care of her, and in that way distract myself from my loneliness.
It was pathetic, really. When she suddenly disappeared on me, I was impacted really deeply… I think. I gave a long, deep sigh.
"Even though she was like that, not having her here really feels lonely."
"Yes, I see."
With that, the conversation dried up for a moment. Both in my whispers and in Kuroneko's mutters were contained feelings that couldn't be expressed in words… I'm certain that we were both thinking the same thing. We didn't try to meet each others' eyes, but just continued to mutter together.
"I am pretty worried about you, you know. Even after this, I'm going to butt into your business."
"Just do what you want. I already gave up trying to stop you."
"I just wanted to ask you one thing. Did you stop calling me 'Nii-san' because you didn't want me to look at you like a replacement for Naruko?"
"No. Don't you remember? When I first told you that I would stop calling you that, your sister was still in Japan."
Well, now that I think about it, that was true.
"So, why did you stop calling me that?"
"No real reason. If I had to give an answer…"
"If you had to give an answer?"
"I just had… a change of heart."
And Kuroneko didn't say anything more than that.
(◕ω◕✿)
A week later there was a long homeroom held in the afternoon. Our class's female prime minister — class rep Shinka Nibutani aka Mori-sama walked up to the stand with brisk steps and went straight to the point.
"Next, we'll be discussing the topic for today."
As Mori-sama command, The male class representative, Makoto Isshiki (aka Mori-sama's slave) began distributing the handouts.
"There will be a chorus contest at the end of month, so we will have to select the conductor, the accompaniment as well as the rest of the staff."
Come to think of it, I do think there was something like that. Our school used to have music as a major, so it was a tradition to hold an inter-class chorus contest every year. It was a pretty grand event too. Should it be in any other ordinary school, the event would usually be held in the sports hall or something. But in our school, it will be held in a large music hall which can hold all the students and teachers.
I took a brief glance at the information about the chorus contest that was printed on the handout. The set piece is Mozart's Ave verum corpus. Pretty well selected. It's short and easy to memorize.
"Since we've already decided that Namikaze-kun will be conducting, all we need to do now is to select the person to be the accompaniment."
"She's right…"
"Naruto's the only who can do it!"
"Oi, hold on a second Nibutani!"
When I raised my head, I realized everyone in my class was already looking at me.
"You're not willing to do it, Namikaze-kun?"
Mori-sama was speaking to me in an overbearing tone, as if she was the people's representative.
"Isn't you a member of music club?"
"There's no relation between the two at all! And beside that's a rock band! Decide it in a more democratic manner!"
"Fine. Namikaze-kun, please name three of your favorite conductors," said Mori-sama.
"Why?"
"It's part of the democratic process."
What's with that? I don't get it. But there was no one in the class who dared to oppose Mori-sama…
"Hmm… Eugene Ormandy, George Szell and Charles Munch."
"Well then…" Mori-sama placed her two hands on the stand and scanned everyone in the class once. "If there is anyone besides Namikaze-kun who can come up with the names of two or more conductors, please raise your hand now."
A silence fell upon the class, as though as it was twelve thousand years after a nuclear fallout. Forget about the raising of hands — no one moved a single inch.
"… Then it's decided. Namikaze-kun shall be conducting."
I was rendered speechless by Mori-sama's cruel declaration, and it felt like I could hear the sounds of the democracy crumbling around me.
"So next, the candidate for the accompaniment."
Just as she was done saying that, everyone in the class had carefully turned their head around to look at the seat besides me. I was originally confused at what was happening, but I soon caught on.
If we are talking about who in our class knows how to play the piano, the very first person who would come into the minds of everyone would only be… Weiss. That's because she won the international piano competition held in Europe at a mere age of twelve — the youngest ever girl piano prodigy.
However, she no longer wished to play the piano due to a certain reason, and it was a reason that everyone here — and not just me — knows very well. That why no one dared to suggest that Weiss play the piano.
All everyone did was to quietly peek at Weiss's expressionless face. In the end, no one came up with a candidate for the position of the accompaniment.
It was night during the same day. When Mom enter my room she flashed a sweet smile and said, "Naruto-chan~, Mommy have something to give you. Something good."
"I don't want it!"
"At least ask me what that it is!"
"Say it then! I bet it's nothing good anyway!"
"Naruto, take this."
The things that were swaying in front of me while I was reading were… some sort of tickets. Just as I was about to brush the tickets aside, I caught a glimpse of the words 'Conductor: Jacques Schnee'… I then realized her motive, and my mood went down in an instant.
"Mom, this is… your job, right…?"
"Mmm, yeah. That's why I am giving them to Naruto."
The world famous conductor — Jacques Shnee, who was also my Mom's classmate in high school and in the College of Music. People have frequently given Mom jobs on critiquing Jacques's albums or concerts probably because they thought that both of them shared a really good relationship — however, it seems like Mom was not too fond of criticizing the music of her friend. As to the course of action she would take when she encounters such a situation — you may be stunned by what you hear, but she would always shove the job to me. Also, this was the first time that she has asked me to critique a concert.
"No, I can't do it! Do it yourself."
"I don't want to as well. I took the job without asking who the conductor was. Please!"
"Tch, fine! But why two tickets?"
"Jacques will held a concert at Tokyo, I was thinking that Naruto could attend the concert together with some beauty, so I asked them to give me two. These are VIP seats, you know? They cost forty thousand yen each! Kyaa~, how lucky Naruto is to be able to go on an extravagant date! So please! It's not nice to leave the VIP seats empty, so make sure you bring someone along with you. I'll fork out the cash for the night at the hotel as well!"
"M-Mom! Wait!"
Goddamnit! That woman. But despite my anger, I still stuffed the tickets that Mom gave me into my pocket. I couldn't help it, because I kind of like Jacques's performances anyway.
(◕ω◕✿)
"Oh? So you are the conductor for class 2B?"
For some reason, Kagurazaka Senpai smiled really happily while she was saying that. She was actually the first person to reach the club room — she probably attended classes in the morning. I mean, she is one of those bad students who skip classes all day and only come to school when the school's over.
"Senpai's from class 3A, right? Has your class already decided on the conductor?"
"Mmm, I was made the conductor right away — it was the same last year. I am already itching for the fight."
"Senpai's not singing? Why?" asked Chiaki.
I was curious about that as well. Senpai is the lead singer for our band. Wouldn't it be better for her to be singing instead of conducting?
"The pleasure you get when the audience behind you applause for you is quite an unique experience! The only occupation in this world which allows you to experience that is the conductor. I remember… Jacques said something like that during one of his interviews."
"That's because he is a narcissist." Weiss mumbled while she wiped her guitar with a piece of cloth. From her tone, it sounded more like she was irritated by her father rather than hating on him.
"It feels like I can get along really well with your father. Can we invite him to see the chorus contest? He should be more than willing to come if there are no clashes with his schedule, right?"
"Definitely not!" Weiss rejected Senpai's suggestion with a frightening expression on her face.
"Ah, speaking of which…" The talk about Jacques made me remember the matter about the concert.
"Weiss, what are your favorite pieces out of all the symphonies by Dvořák?"
"Why are you asking that?" Weiss tilted her head and asked.
"Well, just treat it as a survey."
"The third and the fifth."
The waters are deep, but there seems to be hope for me.
"How about Tchaikovsky?"
"Manfred Symphony."
"You two are indeed father and daughter. Even your tastes are alike."
"What are you talking about?"
I gently took out the tickets and placed them in front of Weiss, the pieces that will be performed are Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture and Manfred Symphony, as well as Dvořák's Symphony No. 5 — and Jacques will be conducting. Weiss's expression froze when she saw that.
"My mother gave me this, and… there's two of them, so I'm trying to get someone to go with me."
"That feels so stupid. Why would I want to watch Papa's concert?"
Weiss turned her head towards the direction of the blackboard after she said that. She does really dislike her father a lot, so I knew it would be futile to try to invite her.
"How about you Chaki, do you want to go? But it's a classical concert…"
"Will those around us forgive me if I sleep and talk in my dreams?"
"Then don't sleep!"
"Ah, so the conductor's Weiss's father? This is live, right? Will they be doing things like Jacques's cheers or Jacques's dance?"
I couldn't help but to give a sigh… I really don't know what would happen if I bring Chiaki along with me…
"Are you interested in attending this, Senpai? Though it's a complimentary invitation ticket…"
The smile on Senpai's face disappeared as she took the ticket from me. What's wrong? Is she busy on the day of the concert? Or are the pieces too heavy for her tastes? Dvořák's Symphony no. 5 is not really a problem, but Manfred may not be something for everyone…
"Umm, well… you don't have to force yourself if you don't want to."
"No. I'll definitely make myself free on that day! I can treat this as your invitation to a date, right?"
"Eh?" Huh? What?
"I had never expected young man to take the initiative and invite me. I am dying to turn my happiness into endless words and whisper them into your ears, but since there are others around us right now, let's leave it for that very night."
Please, don't go around saying such things, or else you'll be causing misunderstandings for those who are unaware of what is going on!
"… For that very night?"
"Because the concert will be held in Tokyo, right? It will be eight at night when the concert ends, and Jacques will most likely answer the audience's calls for an encore. We should be having dinner after the concert, so rather than going back home after that, it would be better to stay there for the night."
"You can't!" Weiss stood up all of a sudden.
"Geez — Senpai! What are you going on and on about!" Chiaki stood up as well.
I took a step back on reflex.
"I do welcome the cute jealousies of you two!"
Senpai hugged Chiaki, who was walking towards her, and planted a kiss on her forehead.
"Don't be thinking that I'll forgive Senpai just like this!"
Chiaki was still furious despite being hugged in Senpai's arms.
I was already used to scenes like these, so I was not too surprised. Senpai do really enjoy flirting around with girls, while Chiaki joined this band all because of Senpai. She should be mad even if Senpai was saying that as a joke. But… umm, why is Weiss angry as well? And she's even glancing at me angrily.
"Are you jealous of me, Comrade Schnee? Or perhaps… you want to come along as well?"
Senpai proceeded to hug Weiss from behind, and dangled the ticket right before Weiss. Weiss quickly turned her head away as her face turned red.
"Then… I'll be attending the concert together with young man, alright?"
"… You can't."
"You heard what she said, young man."
Senpai threw the ticket back at me. It felt like Senpai was happily looking at the strange turn of events.
"The ticket's yours, so you should be the one to decide whom to give it to. However… it seems like both Comrade Schnee and Comrade Aihara are unwilling to go?"
"Kyouko, that's just too sly of you."
Weiss protested as she continued to struggle in Senpai's arms. Weiss is the only person in the whole school to address Senpai by her name, and it's precisely because of how they are always hugging each other like this, that the misunderstandings about the Folk Music Club were becoming deeper and deeper.
Then I suddenly thought of something… if I gave the ticket to Weiss and used the concert as an excuse to try to convince her once more, then maybe it would be an opportunity for her to get back on good terms with her father? But… with the way things are, it would be a little strange for me to give the ticket to Weiss now…
"How about this? The ticket will go to the victor in some contest which we will all be participating in."
A beastly smile appeared at the corners of Senpai's mouth.
"If that's the case, then Senpai would definitely win!"
Chiaki complained, and I felt the same as she did. Senpai loves things like gambling and contests. Her ingenious schemes have ensured that she had never lost before.
"I can handicap myself! Comrade Schnee and Comrade Aihara can team up, while I'll be alone by myself. I grant permission for young man to be on the same side as you two. One against three. How about that?"
It's a little strange for the terms to be that good, right? Senpai must be very confident of herself if she is to come up with conditions like that.
Just as I was about to say something, Weiss raised her head suddenly and said, "Fine."
"I'm really happy, Comrade Schnee."
Senpai kissed Weiss lightly on her forehead. Weiss's face went red in an instant, and she quickly pushed Senpai's lips away.
"If Weiss's taking part, then I am in as well!"
Umm, you two, calm down! Don't accept the contest without even knowing what you girls will be competing in!
"So what are we competing in?"
"How about… a sauna endurance contest where we can touch each other?"
"That's just you wanting to touch the two girls!"
"Young man can join us as well, yeah?"
"I see, I can make sure that you are not touching them… no wait, that's not it! I am a guy here!"
This person can definitely get us a sauna where it's unisex, so that was a really scary suggestion.
"If you are against the sauna, then how about an eating contest where we can touch each other?"
"What's the reason for touching others in an eating contest? And stop being engrossed in being able to touch others!"
"Then… if we are talking about four people, then Mahjong will be a good choice."
"I do not know the rules of Mahjong," Weiss admitted immediately.
"It's simple. The one with the least points will have to strip."
"Don't teach her the wrong things!"
"So your rule is that the winner has to strip? I don't really mind if you are that desperate about stripping."
"I am not stripping! And please do not forget the original intent of the contest!"
After coming up with a huge list of indecent suggestions, Senpai finally said this in a serious manner.
"How about this then. Since we have four musicians here who are fighting it out, then let's decide the winner with music!"
Senpai took a look at my, Chiaki's and Weiss's faces… In retrospect, all those crazy antics were probably part of Senpai's plans to force us to grudgingly accept her suggestions.
"The winner shall be decided through the chorus contest!"
(◕ω◕✿)
The whole class already knew the rumors of the contest by the very next day.
"I heard you guys will be competing against Kagurazaka Senpai, and you has to strip if you loses, Naruto?" Sasuke asked me.
"What's the point of Naruto stripping? It obviously has to be Aihara or Weiss who does it!" The one who said that is Makoto Isshiki, Everyone's favorite pervert.
It seemed like there was something strange about the information they received. And Karin, she was looking at me with tears in her eyes while saying, "I am really happy to see Naruto being that motivated about conducting!" No, you're wrong. I am not the least bit motivated.
The rules of the contest were really simple. Senpai's class will be competing against our class, and the winner will be the class which gets the higher score. There's a total of twenty four classes in our school, and even though they will only announce the results of the top five rankings, but… "It would be impossible for both classes to miss the rankings, because my class will definitely get ourselves within the top five." that was what Senpai said confidently.
"Meaning that Kagurazaka Senpai will be stripping if we win?" Isshiki said that, which stirred up those around him. "Everyone, lend me your strength!"
All the guys raised their fists in the air in response to Isshiki's cry. Please! What are you guys so excited about? However, I was most surprised when Weiss said, "I am willing to be the accompaniment during our practices".
"Weiss… is that really okay?" Mori-sama was on the stand when she asked that question worriedly.
"It's okay. I cannot sing well anyway." Weiss glanced at me as she said that. "It should be fine if it is only during the practices. I can do it if Ruto composes the accompaniment."
I nodded my head without even thinking. Weiss had actually said she wants to play the piano… is she that desperate to win?
"Let's do just that. We'll come up with the rest of the plan after we are done selecting our choice piece." Weiss agreed to Chiaki's suggestion.
On the same day after school, we sent Sasuke and Isshiki over to Kagurazaka Senpai's class to spy on what our enemies had chosen for their choice piece, but… only one of them came back.
"In order to let me escape, Isshiki-kun, he… ugh…" Sasuke the survivor gagged and said no more. What's with the exaggerated acting!
"But… it should be fine! Isshiki is a really patriotic guy, so he would never reveal our class no matter what sort of torture they put him under!"
"They'll find out from his badge…"
"Ahh, I see. We're done for!"
Our spy went into a frenzy from that tsukkomi of mine. Are you retarded!? Even without the badge, there should be at least someone who could recognize him by his face!
"So did you two find out what their choice piece is?" Mori-sama asked.
"Nope. We were arguing on the topic of the girls' uniform. That idiot rejected my notion of cheerleader outfits, so I couldn't help but to protest. And we were caught like that."
"You guys are absolutely useless."
"You two don't have to come back!"
After having seen their retarded acts, my drive — which was barely there to begin with-sunk even lower. The recordings of last year's chorus contest dealt us the critical blow. The winner was class 2A — in other words, it was Kagurazaka Senpai's class.
The person with her hair coiled up and wearing a formal tuxedo was none other than Kagurazaka Senpai. Their choice piece was Niimi Tokuhide's ensemble piece Kikoeru. The different tempos of the song were clearly distinguishable, and that was coupled by a meticulous ensemble. We were enchanted by it despite us watching the video while sitting on the hard and uncomfortable chairs of the classroom.
"It's no wonder they got first…" My classmates discussed quietly in the dark. Looks like we have no chance at victory. Well, I was okay with Senpai winning ever since the beginning. In order to handicap herself, Senpai had suggested a one versus three battle. It may seem like we had three times the advantage over her, but since the contest is a fight between the classes, we did not manage to gain any actual advantage from it.
The only thing unchanged was her admirable use of sophistry which placed her in an favorable position on the battlefield. I gave a weak sigh. At the same time, I could feel a gaze piercing through my cheeks — Weiss was staring hard at me from her seat besides me.
"… What?"
From the moment the video ended till the lights in the classroom were switched back on, Weiss continued to stare at me.
"Do you really think we can't win?"
Weiss finally spoke as our classmates began to leave the audiovisual room.
"But… you did see the video just now, right?"
"That performance… looks more impressive than it actually is."
"What Comrade Schnee said is right~"
That's what Kagurazaka Senpai said during the band practice that day.
"There are a few techniques that will help increase the chances of winning the chorus contest. For example, you can deliberately emphasize the strength of the voices; choosing a polyphonic piece; waving the baton in exaggeration… and so on."
"I see…"
"Also, all the judges are inexperienced in music!"Chiaki added in.
So that's the reason why Weiss said it looked more impressive than it actually was? Because it was a performance to bluff the laymen?
"Wrong." Weiss shook her head as she continued to tune her instrument.
"It's to bluff 'the laymen who were forced to become judges but are unwilling to show their lack of expertise'."
… I see. Any amateur of the profession would be able to discern if the performance was good or bad. However, they would try to find 'reasons' to decide whether they should be awarding high or low marks to the performance. And that's where our cunning Senpai was aiming at with her tactics.
"I would have adopted a different strategy if the judging criteria was based on the polls of the student population. But since there were only four judges, it was much better to choose a piece that will cater to their tastes."
"That reminds me — considering Senpai's class, your choice piece was really conservative."
I thought they would choose rock as their choice piece, but their selected piece sounded way more like the performance of an ensemble. It was kind of disappointing.
"One of the judges last year was the social studies teacher, who advocated freedom."
I sighed. Senpai had actually considered even the tiny details… the song Kikoeru which they sang was composed during the Gulf War. It is a song that advocates peace and the conservation of nature. It must have struck a chord with the social studies teacher.
"So… what will your class be singing for this year?" asked Chiaki.
"We've decided to do rock."
"Eh? Which song?"
"It's a secret. My assistance to the enemies will end right here."
Senpai grabbed her guitar and stood up.
"Let's begin our practice! We can't just focus on the chorus contest alone."
Senpai was the only one out of the four members of Folk Music Club who cycles to school. That meant that while on our way to the train station after our practice, we could make use of the time to discuss our battle plans.
"When's the latest we can decide on our choice piece? This weekend? Then we'll have to think harder~"
Chiaki swung her bag around as she walked in the middle of the shopping street. Her eyes were burning with the passion that is possessed only by members of the sports clubs, and that made me feel all worned out.
"Who are the judges this time?" Weiss asked from the other side of me.
"The principal and Hiratsuka Sensei are the fixed judges for each year. Who else is there…"
Hiratsuka Sensei is the music teacher, and she's also the supervisor for our Folk Music Club. That was the reason why Chiaki asked.
"That means we can bribe Hiratsuka Sensei, right?"
"Problem is, Kyouko would be a step ahead of us if it can be done," replied Weiss.
They ignored the presence of me who was in between them, and continued exchanging their opinions enthusiastically.
"Naruto!" Someone stomped on me all of the sudden, which nearly caused me to fall.
"You are always daydreaming! Can you please be more enthusiastic about this!? Is it okay for you to lose to Senpai?"
Chiaki pulled her face close to mine. As we were standing in the direct middle of a crowded street right in front of the station, the stares from the passerby felt really uncomfortable.
"Because I don't think we can win."
"So you want to go to the concert with Kyouko?" Weiss came to my front and questioned me with a stinging glare from her eyes.
"No, it's not like I particularly want to…"
"Be clear about it!"
"Why are you so concerned about all this? I can understand the reason why Chiaki's angry, but…"
"Oh? So you know why I am angry?" Chiaki asked in a really belittling tone.
I nodded my head. It's because Chiaki likes Senpai, and having heard Senpai say that she wanted to go on a date with me — she would not feel that great even if Senpai meant it as a joke, right?
Chiaki knitted her forehead and sighed when she heard my explanation.
"Weiss, our enemy is probably not Senpai, but the denseness of this idiot."
"I feel the same as well."
Weiss agreed without hesitation. For an instant, she looked at me as though she had something to say. However, she turned her head away immediately and walked quickly towards the station. Chiaki made a face at me and caught up with Weiss.
I remained rooted to the ground for quite a while due to my confusion. When I ran down the stairs after realizing that I have to chase them, the doors to the train was already closed.
I sat on a bench on the platform in exhaustion. A voice then suddenly came from behind me, "Looks like it will be an easy victory for me."
I nearly fell off from the bench. I turned my head around and saw Kagurazaka Senpai standing behind me with a crafty smile on her face.
"… Why are you here?" Didn't she cycle back home on her bicycle already!?
"I was planning to scout out your battle plans, but it seems like it was an unnecessary move." Senpai sighed and sat down next to me.
"In any case, Senpai had already won the moment you suggested the idea of a contest, right? The one versus three handicap is pointless. We have no chance of winning!"
Right after I was done saying that, Senpai stared at me with a slightly shocked expression on her face.
"Young man, it seems like you have some misunderstandings about me~"
"What did I misunderstand?"
"You should know very well that I will only fight battles that I will win. The other mantra of mine is… I will never fight in a battle if it cannot even be considered as one."
Senpai placed her hand on my thigh.
"I joined this battle because I believed that young man, Comrade Schnee and Comrade Aihara are worthy of being my opponents. This contest is not a pointless one, and I do not want an empty victory either."
The announcement of the incoming train was broadcasted over the station. Senpai gently moved her body away and stood up.
"However… the current you is unable to compete against me. Forget about one versus three — the three of you added together is not even on par with just half of me. What a shame."
I listened blankly to the sound of the incoming train as well as the footsteps of Senpai as she climbed up the stairs before she disappeared from my sight. However, I was unable to pry my back away from the bench for a long time.
She believed that we are her worthy opponents. But the current me is…
(◕ω◕✿)
The next day after school I decided to make a trip to the music preparatory room to ask Hiratsuka Sensei some questions… meaning that I'll be investigating the judges.
"There's no point to bribing me." Hiratsuka Sensei said that to me straightaway as I stepped into the room.
Her hair was rolled up and she was wearing a pure white blouse together with a tight skirt — this music teacher of ours looked just the perfect teacher who had stepped out of a guy's fantasy, but in actual fact, she was a violent lady who acted on her whims.
"Because I have to go along with the preferences of the head! And I'll even have to say things like, 'Ara, Terumi Sensei has such incredible sense of music! Ohohohoho~'. What a pain…"
What appeared in my mind was the face of another judge, Mei Terumi, the head teacher of the third year. She looked like an idle and rich lady, but she was actually a really strict woman.
"Please do not reveal those complicated inside-stories to your students without any reservations!"
"But you are here for those complicated inside-stories, right? You are trying to bribe me so that you can beat Kagurazaka."
Since when did I ever say anything about bribing? Also, that means that the details about our contest against Senpai has reached the ears of the teachers already?
"No, I am just here to check on the judges' preference in music."
"How much?"
"Eh?"
"How much are you paying me?"
Oi! Damn you! You just said you would not accept my bribes, and now you are asking me to bribe you!? I gripped hard on my knees to suppress my anger, and squeezed out the following words.
"In exchange, I'll give you the cream puffs sold at the pastry shop next to the station."
"I'll take four of those!"
Damn her for taking the opportunity to ask for a bribe…
"You should know that our principal's a Christian, right? He was the one who chose the set piece, so you will not go wrong if you choose gospels or things like that. For the past years, it was likely for the judge who was chosen by the students to award high scores to rock and pop music. As for that old hag, her preferences are hard to grasp. She likes movies and TV series, so you guys can try investigating along those lines?"
"How do we go about investigating it? By asking her directly? But I have never attended her lessons before, nor have I spoken with her even once."
"Who knows? Come up with something by yourself. Kagurazaka had already asked her."
Ah! So Hiratsuka Sensei had said the same things to Senpai as well? Seemed like we were a step behind her.
"Mmm, I am craving some pastries already! It's all up to you now, Naruto!"
As I was angry at Hiratsuka Sensei's demand for bribes, I ended up buying only a single cream puff and cutting it up into quarters before giving it to her. It's obvious I was severely beaten up by her.
It was not like Hiratsuka Sensei's information was totally useless though. We do at least know that we have to focus our attention on Terumi Sensei. I subconsciously went to the staff room in an attempt to look for Terumi Sensei. However, Kagurazaka Senpai was already in the office. She was at the table of the head of third year.
I hid myself behind a compartment wall and peeked at them. Terumi Sensei was grabbing onto Kagurazaka Senpai and lecturing her. Not surprised here. Kagurazaka Senpai was a bad student who hardly attends lessons, so it's likely for her to be summoned to the staff room occasionally and get lectured by the teachers, right?
But upon listening closer, their conversation had unknowingly turned into things like, "Right, right! That's the song! I do not know the name of the song, but I had heard it in a movie's soundtracks before…" "Ah… then it is probably…" Senpai's techniques in getting others to talk is something really scary…
I then thought of something. All I need to do is to stay close to Senpai and slowly piece together the information which she had gathered, right? No, but… that will mean we are progressing at the same pace as Senpai. We will have to overtake Senpai by a long distance if we want to defeat her.
The conversation between Kagurazaka Senpai and Terumi Sensei was already over after I was thought about all these things. How can this be!? I had actually missed the important details at the most crucial moments!
The next day, it was our class' turn to use to use the music room after school. Since we had not yet decided on our choice piece, we started by practicing our set piece.
K618 Ave verum corpus is one of Mozart's masterpieces. It's a simple song that is easy for the different parts to practice on their own.
The only thing is, it would not be easy to gather the four different, separated lines of soprano, alto, tenor and bass, and blend them together into a single song. It is difficult for a layman to grasp the techniques of the harmony — now add on the fact that the thirty plus voices before me were all singing on their own.
I was beginning to feel a loss of what to do as I held the baton in my hand.
"Naruto!" Chiaki, who was standing in the front row together with the other altos, had her eyebrows arched upwards.
"Hey! If all it takes to conduct is to stand there and swing your hands to the left and right like a metronome, then I know how to conduct too!"
"Then why not you doing it!?" I placed the baton on the music stand. I was rather pissed off.
An awkward silence filled the music room for a short while. The person who broke the silence was Karin.
"How about this — we'll head outside."
Our classmates were stirring up quite a commotion thanks to Karin's words. Chiaki turned to face the piano and said.
"Weiss, please teach that idiot properly. We'll go to the corridor to practice within our own sections."
There were some who objected and said they did not want to leave the air-conditioned comfort of the music room, but Class-rep Mori-sama agreed to the suggestion of Karin. And so, my classmates began walking out of the room to the corridors, leaving behind a surprised me as well as Weiss, who was still sitting at the piano.
I tried my hardest not to come into eye contact with Weiss, and sat myself before the music stand. I could hear the singing of my classmates coming from outside of the heavy metal door of the music room. Not only that, but all the classes in school were practicing at this time as well. The voices of hundreds of people were all mixed up together, though it did not sound clear.
"… Do you still want to be the conductor?" Weiss asked me softly.
"I am not against it…"
It's just that everyone seemed to have some sort of weird expectations of me — it was the same for yesterday with Kagurazaka Senpai as well. I hate it. They think we can beat the winners of last year just because I had much knowledge with music? A conductor is not a magician!
"I can understand your feelings…"
As my view was blocked by the cover of the piano, I was unable to see the expression of Weiss while she was mumbling those words.
"I feel… that a conductor is unnecessary for an ensemble that is made up of laymen."
"… Mmm, you're right."
"Why?"
"Well, no one has any spare attention left to take note of my baton. They already have their hands full with the scores before them. The laymen ensemble will have depend on the accompaniment of the piano. But even the accompaniment is not…"
I stopped my sentence halfway. Everything I had said till then was correct. Those without music background would be unable to sing along to the conductor, while an inexperienced accompaniment player will only play the piano at his own pace, so there is absolutely no need for a conductor.
However, I stepped onto the conductor's stand once more and exchanged eye contact with Weiss. It was as though her eyes were asking me this — why did you think I volunteered to be the accompaniment?
That's right. Our accompaniment was not selected just because she 'happens to have learned the piano before', which is a reason that can be seen in nearly every other classes.
The accompaniment is none other than Weiss. There's Weiss and I — a weapon which Kagurazaka Senpai's class does not possess. I gently lifted the baton off the music stand. Weiss's shoulders responded sensitively to my action.
I waved the first note slowly, as though I was trying to pierce a needle in the air. The song was just forty-six bars long. Despite the solemn tune, it did not affect the litheness to each and every bar and beat.
The melody of the piano began making its steps forward. I was in total control of the tempo, and it almost felt like I could even scoop up each individual notes with my hand… since the tune was something I had composed specially for Weiss, it was made up of only the most basic triad. The delicate sounds would perfectly coordinate itself to the slightest movements of my fingertips. I thought I could even feel Weiss's breaths.
The song began to play in my ears — the main melody switched its scale to A Major. The mood of the tune then became slightly darker, and the scale was changed to F Major. The crystal clear voices of prayers echoed against the tall ceilings of the cathedral before being absorbed by the baton in my hand, which was pointing to a faraway place. The area around us finally returned to silence.
When the piece was over, I stared at the blackboard at the back of the music room for a long while. I could feel my strength flowing away from my body. I slowly stepped down from the stand and made my way towards the piano. Weiss's face was dyed a faint red. She shifted her gaze away when she realized I was looking at her.
"I'm sorry, Weiss… and thank you."
"All I did… was to play to your conducting."
I focused my attention on Weiss's right hand, which was resting on the keyboard… the hand of hers that was different from everyone else's. Weiss used that hand for my sake.
"Ah! I-I did not do it for you!"
"Ah… no, you obviously did not do it for me, so… why? Because you want that ticket?"
"No! Y-You and Kyouko…"
Me and Kagurazaka Senpai? Is there something wrong with us attending the concert together? But Weiss's face turned red as she was halfway into her sentence, and she did not say anything else for a while.
"Geez! You idiot!"
In the end, she said that and began to slap my arms hard repeatedly. Just as I was about to grab her wrist to stop her from doing that, Weiss slapped my hand away with her face flushed red. She was looking past me and towards my back.
I turned around in shock. The door of the music room was opened unknowingly, forming a tiny slit, and my classmates, lead by Sasuke, were all peeking at us through the slit.
"Darn! It's over already?"
"The squabble between you two was really short!"
"That was so boring!"
It's not like we exist for your viewing pleasure!
By the time we resumed our practice, there was not much time left for our class to use the music room. However, the practice made me feel like I had finally managed to catch a hold of the edges of Kagurazaka Senpai's tuxedo.
After the practice was over, Weiss and I were left alone once more as both of us went to the music library to return the baton and the scores.
"Weiss, can you play the accompaniment for the actual performance as well?" I quietly asked Weiss that question while I was returning the scores back onto the racks in the dark storeroom.
Weiss stared at my face before lowering her head. She can't? Those inerasable scars of Weiss were something inflicted to her while she was on the stage. Even though she can play the piano during our practices, if we are talking about her playing under the spotlights.
But… the sounds of her piano play an important role in guiding our class throughout the whole song. We will definitely have to depend on Weiss's accompaniment so that the chorus could coordinate themselves to my conducting much better. It was then when I suddenly thought of something…
"Then… how about this. At the very least…"
Weiss listened to my request with a helpless expression on her face. After much deliberation, she finally said to me hoarsely, "… Do I have to?"
"Mmm, yes!" I nodded my head calmly.
"So that means you do not want to attend the concert with Kyouko?"
"No, that's not it."
For some reason, Weiss was particularly persistent about that. To me, it does not matter who gets the ticket. It's just…
"I want to beat Senpai. I want to show Senpai the things that you and I can do together, so I will definitely need your help."
Weiss bit her lips. Her gaze fell to the floor.
So it still can't do huh… just as I was about to apologize to Weiss, she suddenly lifted her head and said.
"… I understand… I will give it a try."
I grabbed her by her hands and swung them around emotionally. With that, we might finally be on par against Senpai — for the set piece anyway. So what is left… is the choice piece.
Senpai said we deserved to be her opponents. Senpai believed in me. Chiaki believed in me. And Weiss believed in me as well. I will never let her have the chance to say things like 'an easy victory' again.
.
.
.