III

I'm really close, that is the final time trial of the summer event. I know I can get through this if I concentrate enough. I need to pay close attention to my timings.
If anybody else was in the room, they would clearly hear bursts of clicks interspersed with slower moments of single or double ones as well as the distinct sound of intense sequences on the mechanical keyboard. Alas, her friend was in the same virtual room and not physical one.

"Ako-chan, you're doing great! I can use most of my mana on you and you will certainly push through!" Rinko's fervent request came in a critical moment.

"No can do, Rin-rin! We'll finish this together, just hold on for a bit longer, ok? Let's pull back for a sec and then storm them!" A response no less heated came from the other side.

She was glad they could play like this in the evening. In wasn't about this specific game or about playing the event, rather about playing with Ako. They were doing this before Roselia and it certainly felt like another passion that was shared by the two for quite the time.

Rinko was enjoying the battles she fought along her best friend, and it also moved her attention away from worries. It only mattered now that both of them finished the last online struggle of this session.

Even though it was the computer keyboard and not the musical instrument she was standing behind on the scene, she retained the control and precision, and cruised to victory, not without crucial help from a skilled friend.

"Rin-rin, we did it! Great stuff! I knew we were going to drive it home; you were amazing there, but I expected no less!" Fortunately, voice chat volume was rather low.

"This was… really nice. I had a moment of hesitation there, but you encouraged me," Rinko admitted, "it also looks like we cleared the time challenge as one of the first teams, even though it was just the two of us." She was now in high spirits.

"Now's the rewards time, huh? Look at all the shining loot!" Drummer continued in a cheery tone.

"Yes, we certainly are in luck this time." Rinko knew she wouldn't get that far without her abilities, but acknowledged the random chance element.

"Hey, Rin-rin, I was thinking… maybe we can hang out tomorrow at the shopping district?" Ako suddenly changed the topic.

"I want to see the new collection at that accessories shop I was telling you about earlier…"

"Tomo—"

"But that's only if you have time! I'm also free Saturday afternoon, don't know if that fits." Ako sounded enthusiastic in a way typical for her.

"No, we can go tomorrow, on Friday. I can arrange time and we can visit the place you recommend." Her expression brightened.

"I'm also curious about what it looks like. Additionally, I… have an idea about how we could spend the time." Rinko remembered a certain café was somewhat nearby.

"Whoa… that's unexpected! Ok, fantastic, so we're set for tomorrow afternoon." Drummer's joy shone through her voice.

"How about around five in front of Harajuku Station? We could get there before it gets badly crowded." Hearing it, Rinko imagined Ako almost jumping in her room.

"That seems okay, it is during the break, and I don't have many errands to run. I'm looking forward to it." Keyboardist's voice was full of anticipation.

"Ha! I'm looking forward to it too, I'm just so happy that I invited you. Oh, but look at the timer, we have to hurry to take everything and get out of there!" She reminded both of them that they haven't claimed their prize yet after clearing the challenge.

Knowing which item to pick up, the danger of time running out was only slim, and the two finished the trial soon enough. After logging off, Rinko hurried to eat dinner with her family in the room downstairs. She was fine with commuting to university when she had lectures and exercises, as the distance was still acceptable, among other reasons.

The meal was a feast for the eyes. A shrimp doria in cream sauce with a salad as a side dish claimed the main spot, pork onigiri glazed with sweet soy sauce was also looking tasty.

Her online feat accomplished with Ako absorbed her at that moment, just as planning their jaunt to Harajuku in the afternoon the next day. Having slowly picked one of the rice balls, she then left it untouched on her plate.

"Rinko? Is something the matter?" Her dad seemed to have noticed.

"Uh… no, I'm fine, I was just lost in the thoughts, I'm sorry." Rinko felt somewhat embarrassed.

"Have you been playing online with Ako-chan?" Mom knew her habits.

"Ah… it was the special event, and we were aiming to get the series of time challenges done." She realized getting into details would likely confuse her parents.

"I didn't have much time to play with Ako recently, so… I thought it would be fun." Rinko now felt guilty in a way, but she was also happy, so wasn't sure how to respond.

"Oh, no, I'm not mad or anything. Rather than that, I'm glad that you two got to play a little like the old days." Mom pleasantly surprised Rinko.

"I know I probably shouldn't be saying this as your mom, but you're keeping up with the studies anyway." She said with a slightly mischievous smile on her face, and a neither-approving-nor-disapproving grimace on Rinko's dad's face followed.

That got Roselia's keyboardist to wonder about the changes. Was it that much different back in the day, when they were just upstarts? Did they really have tons and tons of time? Gaming session with her best friend just then felt like no time has passed; at all. She did enjoy her meal as it turned out it wasn't just tasty-looking, but her mind wandered elsewhere.

After helping to clean up, she went back to her room and wrote down a few details on her phone, so she wouldn't forget them tomorrow in the midst of things. While she was doing so, she noticed an earlier exchange of texts with Lisa. Rinko stopped for a second, but decided not to go back to it right now.

She put her phone on the desk and glanced at the reminder on her computer, right before turning the PC off. Rinko then proceeded to search for something intensely in one of the two tall and slim bookstands in the room. She pulled a worn-out piano sheet out of a booklet with lots of corrections made to it along the way.

It was divided into two parts with the older one practically finished at this point, and the newer one only having the leading section filled in. Placing it on her desk and moving aside gaming equipment, she began to think.

She wrote a few versions of a continuing passage, but it was already too late to try them on a piano, so she instead proceeded to arrange the piece on the computer, and then gave the drafts a listen. It was just a substitute for playing them on a real instrument, but she nonetheless enjoyed such exercise once in a while.

It wasn't something she tried that often, as her curriculum typically demanded studying tried and true classical pieces and repertoire. It was for that reason that she wanted to create a composition of her own and felt like other Roselia members could do something similar.