Author Note: Me, rearranging the second half of the fic because Yukina was too angsty? More likely than you think.
At home, Ako shared the drum set with Tomoe. It was in the main room of the house, where it could be easily heard. She loved to watch her sister practice, to listen to her play and learn her techniques. That hadn't changed, even as Ako went to watch other drummers too.
When they both needed to rehearse at the same time, Ako used a drum pad instead. That was a great time to work on smaller techniques, like improving her trills and changing tempo smoothly. Maintaining tempo was also something she was always working on, truly a never-ending struggle between darkness and light. Ako couldn't help it; her hands always wanted to play faster.
Well, that wasn't completely true. By practicing and focusing, Ako was able to reign herself in. She had already improved a lot this year, especially since she was learning from more drummers and focusing on practice.
Today, with the weather outside hot and the sky cloudy, the drum set was free for Ako to use. Tomoe had gone out after school to practice with her band, so she had the house all to herself.
Ako adjusted the drums before playing, the same way she always did. Tomoe liked to space them farther out, with some of the cymbals in different spots.
Ako also picked up the stool so she could change the height. Tomoe was a lot taller than her, and thus always sat much much higher. It had evenly spaced lines marking each centimeter. Ako unscrewed the knob that kept it from moving and pushed it down until only four lines showed, which was the perfect height for her. She screwed the knob tightly shut so the stool wouldn't sink, before placing it back at the drum set.
With that done, she was ready to play. Ako picked up her drumsticks and sat down on the stool, taking her starting position.
She decided to work on some drills to start, the ones she learned from Tomoe. They would make a good warmup.
With that set, Ako took a deep breath and began to play. She worked from slower drills to faster ones, stretching out the muscles in her arms and legs as she settled in. The drums felt somehow closer than usual, but she didn't think anything of it.
As Ako neared the end of the first set of drills, she noticed an odd twinge in her right ankle.
That was unusual, since she could usually play for at least half an hour straight with no discomfort. It had only been about ten minutes.
Ako paused for a moment to roll her ankle, trying to stretch it out, before continuing her drills. For a couple minutes it felt fine again, but the twinge soon returned. It felt like a cramp.
In fact, Ako's other ankle was developing one as well. Ako stopped playing as she looked down at her feet, hitting the drums with them both a couple times. Her knees bobbed with the motion.
Wait, weren't her knees higher than usual? Ako leaned forward, frowning down at her legs.
Then, as if a bolt of lightning had struck her, Ako leapt up from the drums. She hurried to the bathroom, where there was a tall mirror. As Ako turned the light on and appraised her reflection, she knew that yes, she was right. She had finally grown taller.
This wasn't a complete surprise. At the start of the school year, Ako had needed a new uniform because she had outgrown the old one. She had been slowly growing ever since, but every time she looked in the mirror it felt like nothing had changed.
Now though, Ako was pretty sure that she was at least 152 centimeters, maybe even 153. She felt giddy with excitement as she hurried back to the drums. She knew what the problem was.
Ako would need to raise the stool, to accommodate her towering new height. The question was, how tall should she make it? Ako had been drumming at the same stool height for a few years now, since her growth had largely stagnated. It had been so long since she needed to change the height.
Ako unscrewed the knob on the stool and moved it up by two lines. When she tightened it and sat back down, she checked her knees. They were lower again, though perhaps lower than they used to be.
If it was wrong, she'd see as she played. Ako flourished her drumsticks to start playing once again, going through the same drills as before.
This time, she had only played for a few moments when she noticed a new problem. Now, as she switched from drum to drum, she felt off balance.
Ako had to lean in to drum in different spots, shifting her center of balance as she did. When she brought her right foot down on the drum pedal she almost slipped off the stool, shouting in surprise as she regained her balance.
Well, this was most certainly wrong. Perhaps the forces of darkness were working against her, Ako pondered the idea as she stood once again.
She moved the stool back down, to about halfway between where it was now and where it had been before.
But, when Ako resumed playing for the third time, it still felt wrong. She still felt off balance, though not as much as before.
Ako adjusted the seat three more times, each time trying to find the right spot. Each time, she was unhappy with the results. She fluctuated from a lack of balance, to cramped ankles, and all the way back again.
When her back started to hurt, Ako moved away from the drum set and glared at the offending object. She wished she remember how this was supposed to be done, then she wouldn't be guessing like this.
Ako was on her way to retrieve her cell phone, where perhaps she could look the answer up on the internet, when the front door to her home opened.
"I'm back!" A familiar voice, one that brought a wave of joy to Ako, called from the door.
"Welcome home!" Ako returned the greeting, abandoning her cell phone quest without a second thought. She skittered into the front hall, practically leaping onto her sister for a hug.
Tomoe wrapped her arms around her, looking down at her sister with a smile. "How was school?" She asked as Ako released her and bounced back towards the main room of the house.
"Great!" Ako ignored the drums and sat on the couch, watching as Tomoe stowed her school bag. "I harnessed all of my magical strength for the English quiz."
"Did it work?" Tomoe sat next to her on the couch.
"Of course!" Ako flourished with her right hand over her face and laughed, not mentioning that she had barely passed. "Did you have fun today?" She changed the subject before Tomoe could ask.
"I did, rehearsal was productive as always." Afterglow still practiced after school most days; Ako missed doing that. "We're preparing for a local show."
Ako remembered; Tomoe had told her about it last week. "I'll be there!" Ako beamed. She loved to see her sister's band play.
On that topic, she remembered what she'd been doing before Tomoe arrived.
"Onee-chan, could you help me with something?"
"Of course." Tomoe replied without asking any questions.
Ako stood from the couch, walking over to the drum set. "I've been having trouble with the drum stool." She picked it up.
Tomoe was by her side a moment later, squinting down at the object. "Is it stuck again?"
"No, that's not it." Ako unscrewed the knob to demonstrate. "I'm too tall for where I usually sit."
Tomoe's eyes, wide with surprise, moved from the stool up to Ako's face, then down to her legs and back up again. "No way." Tomoe lifted one hand to Ako's head, measuring her height against her own shoulder. "When did you get this tall?"
"The darkness has accelerated my growth." Was the only reasonable guess Ako had.
"It sure has!" Tomoe ruffled her hair, a small smile present on her lips. "Next time I look blink, you'll be taller than me."
Ako lifted the stool again, bringing Tomoe's attention back to it. "I can't seem to get the new height right."
"Yeah, that can be tricky." Tomoe took the stool from her. She moved it down a little, then tightened the knob into place. "Let's try something." She set the stool back in its place and gestured for Ako to sit down on it.
Ako complied, putting her feet in their proper places.
"Lift your knees, but keep your toes on the pedals." Tomoe instructed, stepping closer to where Ako sat. Again Ako did as she was told, lifting her legs. At the highest point, with her feet still touching the pedals, her legs were tilted up slightly.
Tomoe told her to get up again, before readjusting the stool. "One more time."
Ako sat back down and did the same thing as before. Now her legs were almost level at the highest point, tilting ever so slightly down.
"It should be good now." Tomoe nodded as she took a step back. "Go ahead and try it."
For what Ako hoped was the last time today, she picked up her drumsticks and started her drills.
After a few minutes of playing, still felt fine. Her balance was good, and none of her joints were complaining. Her sister, as always, had proven to be the best drummer ever.
"It's perfect!" Ako stopped playing to say, turning to grin up at Tomoe. "Thank you thank you thank you!" She jumped up to hug her sister again.
Tomoe's eyes practically sparkled. She lifted one hand as if to pat Ako on the head, but stopped midway and set it on her shoulder instead. "You're very welcome." She said, before stepping away. "I have some homework, so I'll be in my room."
"Ok!" Ako plopped back down at the drums as Tomoe left the room. Later, she would check to see exactly where the stool was set, so she would know for next time.
Now, she was finally ready to move from drills to real practice. There was a part in Yakusoku where she had trouble staying with the guitar, so Ako decided to focus on that.
She practiced and played and grew, day by day. Drumming felt the same as it had before, but her limbs could reach slightly farther and she sat just a little bit higher off the ground.
As Ako struck the drums, having moved the stool up barely a centimeter, she wondered if this was what it felt like to grow up.
End Note: As I wrote this, it occurred to me that I've never written about these two before. Resources for this chapter because I actually know nothing about the drums.
Schillemans, Bob. "How to find the perfect drum throne or stool height for drummers." 13 May 2020, skillzdrumlessons. blog/perfect-drum-throne-height/
