VI
There were only two bullets left on the list of chores for Tuesday, so she was already proud of her pace. Cleaning was going to be tiresome, but Lisa did not need to do it all at once. She had a plan to simply get most of the housework done, and then less important things the next day. As the forecast predicted, this wasn't a sunny summer day so far, it was getting increasingly cloudy outside.
She only hoped they had been right about the lack of rain for the next few days, otherwise her efforts to have some outdoor exercise would be in vain. Once she was finished with the chores, she wanted to get in touch with Rinko. The keyboardist was practically done with sewing in the accessories Lisa bought the other day, and the dress was ready. While she was arranging her cosmetics in the bathroom to wrap things up, she heard a call.
Bassist didn't respond immediately, as she had to find the phone first, resulting in the person calling giving up a second or two before she could answer. Lisa looked at the missed call and it was none other than Yukina. Vocalist must've been calling from work. She noticed herself getting nervous, even despite the fact they had known each other for all those years.
She has seen enough TV shows and dramas to have an idea about such reaction, although she didn't want to think about it then, and just tapped "call".
"Hello, Lisa? I have an idea I wanted to talk about, that's why I called." She was so quick that Lisa didn't manage to greet her back at first.
"Ah, hey, Yukina. So… what is it then? Anything troubling you?" She was getting worked up over a simple call.
"No, why do you assume I have to have something bothering me to call you?" Yukina's teasing tone was a surprise for her.
"I had an idea about the band. We talked with Sayo just yesterday, and we came up with a plan." Yukina didn't sound cheery, but she didn't seem dejected either.
"Our thinking was that we can do something new by expanding upon our current sound." Vocalist started with a key concept.
"I, personally, would also go for an arrangement that is different enough to spark a new wave of interest, but right now this is the simplest." Lisa was glad to hear these words, though the idea was still not clear to her.
"So you are going to do something about our repertoire, after all. I had a feeling that you don't want to talk about our music these days, so I'm kinda relieved now." Bassist forgot to ask about the specifics.
"Was I coming off like that? That wasn't my intention. Anyway, we wanted to write two new songs, both of which would feature a sound stronger than we ever tried before." Yukina's voice sounded more energetic.
"I'm talking about getting closer to the extremes of our scene, and to do that, we need a bass line far more prominent than usual." She sounded extremely motivated again, and that was something Lisa has longed to hear for a while.
Even though it wasn't a matter to take lightly, she responded almost without thinking, and agreed. Her schedule was tightly packed now, and she needed to work around that. The two of them focused on the problem of getting all the members together to practice new songs, and the approach to write them. The latter was already mostly solved by Sayo, so only the joint session remained. Yukina suggested they'd simply get together during the weekends and contact online during the week.
Practising new tracks in one of the venues she already knew was the follow-up. Such a solution would have the advantage of a known place, and if it was somewhere everyone could get to reasonably quickly, then it would be even better. This was exactly what Lisa wanted, however, she still expressed her worries that even then it might not be enough.
Additionally, Rinko had practice outside of the band, much alike to her own situation. Lisa knew that they won't have any genuinely free time now, since training is going to use up what's not been spent at university or at work. Once the summer break ended, most of them would become busier during the week, with studies simply taking priority. Using their weekends to the fullest was the only option they could see.
Lisa then proceeded to convince Yukina to let her talk about all this with Ako and Rinko, since she was going to visit the band's keyboardist very soon. Vocalist was a bit reluctant at first, and said that she wished to take responsibility and ask them personally if they were fine with such an idea, and not impose it like she would've done back in the day.
Hearing that, Lisa paused for a second, feeling admiration of a different kind than she normally did. She observed the changes in Yukina's behavior and resolve throughout the years, but at that moment she realized that was likely one of the most important ones. Lisa accepted her childhood friend's desire to achieve what she wanted no matter what it took, back when Yukina was singing at various live houses on her own.
She coped with her back then, and couldn't imagine not going along with her plan right now. She did want to confirm a suspicion before engaging full steam ahead, however.
"Yukina, you're not going to tell me that you're doing this only because there was an article or two, saying we aren't doing anything new?" Lisa inquired, bluffing to a certain degree.
"What? I… I guess it's not much use to try hide things from you, is there?" Yukina seemed taken aback.
"I initially hadn't even told you about the text, as I'd known it would've only made you worry, but you saw it nonetheless." Vocalist slowly regained composure.
"It seems it also was apparent to you that I longed for a chance regardless of the bad press," Yukina remarked.
"I noticed the band started drifting apart and our performances, when we did have time for them, changed more and more into routine tasks." She spoke as though a burden was lifted from her shoulders.
"When I first saw the press, I was aggravated, but later I started to treat it as an opportunity. Thanks to it, I could try to once again…"
"Connect us?" Lisa couldn't stay silent and wanted to check if her thoughts matched Yukina's.
"Amongst others, yes. Now I feel like I've deceived you, though. I don't want to take advantage of any of you. At all." Lisa wanted to cut in, but Yukina was quicker.
"Despite that, I feel a certain part of me surging again when I ask you for so much." Singer sounded disillusioned.
"The problem is that the plan I and Sayo have in mind will be enough, but only given all of us will cut on things outside of Roselia." Dejected tone of the band's vocalist alarmed Lisa.
"Yukina, I knew there will be choosing at some point. I also think others would agree with me on this." Bassist tried her best to reassure her friend.
"Lisa… you're too soft with me," Yukina replied with some hesitation.
"When I think about the recent developments, the question I ask myself is whether I wanted to bring us back together," singer continued steadily, "or was it my old desire to achieve what I want, simply using the situation as an excuse," she finished with a cold voice.
"I don't know if you realize, but you're a different person right now, Yukina. Let me ask you one thing." Lisa worked up the courage to speak firmly.
"If an agent from abroad called you today, saying that you could travel overseas to study and then work there, what would you do?" Bassist had asked this question to herself earlier.
"That's unrea…" Yukina's voice shifted to a bit agitated.
"What would you do?" Lisa convinced herself that she needed to be pushy.
"I would decline. It's hard to predict decisions you would make in such situations, but you probably read me right. It never ceases to amaze me how you are always looking out for me." Bassist was glad to hear it, although Yukina still sounded a bit disheartened.
There were still finer details to decide on, so they couldn't immediately start working on the songs. Lisa was worried she would have to swap the strings on the guitar for a different sound new compositions are going to require, and this would have to be taken into account for other songs. Yukina calmed her down and said they will take care of this after they have the melody.
They were also chatting about getting together online during the week. This was a touchy matter for the vocalist, because of her limited knowledge of computers and newest technology. Lisa offered to help her with setting it up, but she laughed immediately after suggesting it with Yukina's quiet giggle to follow. She had to go back to work soon and Lisa couldn't resist giving her some advice.
They hung up with the gyaru regretting they don't get to work on the same shift in the café just yet. On some days Yukina had to attend to her duties at the music shop, so it was tough. Still, hearing about the plans for band's direction, as well as an answer to a question about going abroad she asked, was enough to put Lisa in a joyful mood.
She then wondered about how to get Yukina's dress from Rinko. She ended up just texting the keyboardist and asking her to bring it to the practice they had scheduled for Saturday. Either one of them, preferably herself, would then give it to Yukina and see if she likes the final result. Lisa recalled that not too long ago, she was pondering whether Roselia became less of a band again, and more like a group of five.
They're going to be creating new music together. Even it was at the expense of some other commitments, she was willing to make that sacrifice. After Lisa was done with all the household chores, she started getting ready for her work at the café. As she was prettying herself up, she came back to the line she threw at Yukina during their talk on the phone.
Vocalist ultimately replied that she wanted to stay here, and what's more reassuring, without much thinking. Lisa felt her fears were groundless, but there was something else. A thought of Yukina saying she was, after all, willing to leave the country, crossed her mind, and caused her to immediately shake her head, in an attempt to get back to reality.
She still had some time before she needed to leave, which she decided to use to look for some fitting bass strings on the internet. Just in case.