VII
Waking up earlier than her friend, she didn't want to interrupt her sleep, so decided not to get up just yet. Instead, she turned around, lying in the futon, and raised her head, resting it on hands with most of the body still nicely tucked in and warm.
She saw Rinko peacefully sleeping in her bed. That was a first. Ako was never sleeping over at her place before, so she witnessed this serene sight for the first time, too. Unable to avert her gaze for the time being, she began to reminisce about the day before.
A quick glance at the watch revealed the fact that only half an hour was left. There had been some commotion around the shop that day, and Ako was already somewhat tired. She reminded herself about meeting her comrade later in the day, and a smile automatically appeared on her face. It's worth noting it was much more of a subculture clothes shop, than a place you would find everywhere.
Ako did enjoy working there, as it closely matched her fashion tastes, although the drummer couldn't deny the fact that working as a clerk could become exhausting, and Fridays were especially guilty. A customer was asking her about a pair of black gloves with metal skulls on knuckles, a garment with an intimidating look. A question like that was nothing out of the ordinary.
While Ako was searching for them, she also pondered about the upcoming band practice. She knew about the plan Yukina came up with Sayo, and it sounded fantastic to her. The only thing she regretted slightly, was the fact that she was unable to come up with it herself. Ako managed to find the gloves the boy had been looking for, but they weren't the right size and she eventually had to put them back.
He then pointed to the larger pair and, after a brief pause, said he would sew in the accessories himself. They had a brief exchange about how you need to be extra careful when doing so, and pay attention to details, not just the general look. Ako recalled reading an advice quite along those lines recently in a lifestyle magazine Lisa borrowed her.
There always is a point, also in music, when you also have to take a general idea, and flesh it out with specifics. The timing of advancing to a more concrete phase was difficult for the drummer to figure out, and the possible reason for Ako not coming through with her readiness to move the band forward.
She was spacing out a bit, but fortunately, not long after that, she could change into more casual clothes, which in her case meant she would look more or less the same as when attending to customers as a clerk. Then, after closing the shop, she noticed something unusual. Rinko was standing in front of her on the sidewalk, but she was wearing a long white nightgown.
"Hey, Rin-rin, you're here so early? What are you wear…?"
Next thing she saw was her futon, and a sudden realization came. Her friend was sitting on her bed, wearing the nightgown, and asked if Ako is fine after her head, presumably, slid off of her hands. She was super embarrassed, since she must've nodded off while looking at Rinko's sleeping face. Ako hastily replied she was okay and tried to act as normally as she could.
She wanted her friend to go to the bathroom first, since she was practically already up, and Ako was a guest, too. Rinko eventually agreed and took some necessities with her, leaving the younger of the girls alone in the room. As soon as the door closed, she left out a huge sigh. It probably wasn't that big of a deal, nonetheless, it still was embarrassing for her.
Drummer also thought it was bad luck that she woke up from her snooze just before the good part. She started to tidy up her futon and looked for her ribbons to tie her hair up later. Ako forgot a small mirror she usually carried with her, so she used the one on the bedside table. She had a moment to take a look around the room and it seemed like a pretty, tasteful one for her.
It wasn't overly cute, but Ako still liked how it felt very "Rin-rin". Especially the grand piano standing near the wall, with sheets neatly arranged on it, was the one element immediately revealing the interests of the person living there. Ako had been delighted to hear her best friend play some songs they both knew.
Unfortunately, Rinko couldn't have played for too long the day before, since the two of them had come back slightly late. Even though just hearing a couple of pieces had been fine, she'd still wanted to hear more. Ako arranged her clothes near the futon and then started to tie her hair, although she had to stop and put the black ribbons back, since she wanted to take a quick bath.
It was comfortable to sleep without them, as it wasn't hot inside, but there was just something weird about her attire with the hair down. An idea suddenly appeared in her mind about going once to the studio like that, with glasses, different clothes and maybe even some blonde highlights.
She wondered how many of her friends would recognize her. Rinko came back just the moment she was giggling to herself, imagining the situation.
"Ako-chan, you can use the bathroom now. Oh… what put you in a gleeful mood so early?" She smiled at her, still wiping some of the more stubborn strands.
"Ah… I was just coming up with silly ideas for the upcoming practice," she blurted out.
"Isn't it great that we're getting to play together, plus a new song to boot!?" Her reactions might've been childish, but Ako felt comfortable around her best friend.
"You're right. I am also overjoyed that all of us were able to arrange time for the band." Rinko seemed to share the enthusiasm.
Noticing what her friend was doing, Ako asked if she was fine with drying her hair here and told her she should've taken her time. Rinko replied that it was alright, as she usually only uses hairdryer at first and then takes care of the hair tips on her own.
Ako felt slightly uneasy, but she decided to end it at that and look for the shampoo in her belongings. She at least brought that with herself, so she wouldn't be borrowing everything for her sleepover. Leaving the room, she caught a glimpse of Rinko sitting at the edge of her bed, gently arranging her hair with a comb in front of a small mirror.
She knew the feelings of respect and admiration directed towards Roselia's leader, which were first apparent to her when she was listening to her singing at the live house. Ako could also tell it was pride and joy that she felt looking at her older sister playing the drums. The sensation from the moment ago was none of that, though.
Was it because she thought Rinko was so cool? She certainly was when they played together, both the online games and in the band. It didn't seem precisely that to her either. Ending up a bit confused, she thought it would be best to simply act like she usually did. After taking a bath, she could return to her typical hairstyle.
First thing Ako did when she came back to Rinko's room was to thank her for letting her use the spacious bathroom and borrowing whatever she wanted to use. Her friend was sitting in front of the computer, although with sheet music in her hands.
"Rin-rin, what is the sheet you're holding? Isn't it the one you told me about?" Ako asked, looking at the worn out paper.
"Ah, yes, it's a piece I arranged on a computer some days ago," pianist responded, turning to her.
"I have also created a different composition, but I thought especially this one could prove useful. Perhaps some passages would fit into Roselia's new song," Rinko continued quietly, but with fluency.
"Let me see! Can I see it?!" Ako almost jumped and a moment later was leaning over her friend's shoulder. Then she realized reading notation still isn't her forte.
"Ugh, you have to play it, I'm still bad at this. Sorry, Rin-rin," she whimpered.
"It's okay. Both Yukina and I have been teaching you how to read notes, though, so you certainly have some knowledge now." Rinko didn't laugh at her, but the drummer felt somewhat lame anyway.
Rinko put the sheets on the desk and walked towards the piano without them. Ako wanted to ask, but stopped herself right before saying the obvious. Apparently, she didn't need the sheet to play. Even though Ako saw it a few times before, she still observed the whole ritual with intensity.
Her friend adjusted the piano stool ever so slightly and then raised the hands above the keys, sitting straight and concentrating. To have a better view of Rinko's play, she sat at the edge of the bed, more to the left, so as not to only look at her friend's back. Ako wondered how the silence before the performance must be so much more pronounced during a competition.
When she heard the first notes, it struck her how unrushed and careful the melody was. Didn't Rinko say parts of it were supposed to fit into Roselia's song? Despite these doubts, she listened. The composition unfolded like a story presenting next events and characters, with emotions flowing right from Rinko's fingertips as she played.
She now clearly heard the precision Yukina was always talking about, commenting on her abilities. When the taller of the two finished playing, Ako wanted to immediately jump and praise her for the performance. Instead of doing so, she just sat there, impressed. The piece didn't seem overly clinical or emotionless to her, Rinko played it neatly, making use of dynamics.
"Rin-rin, it was so nice. Somehow, it really felt like we could use it for our band's song," Ako said, still in awe.
"Thank you, Ako-chan. I spent a fair amount of time perfecting it, but still wasn't certain if it really has the flow of a song that could fit our repertoire," Rinko replied, smiling.
"But, even if it's so good… weren't Yukina-san and Sayo-san planning to go with a metal track?" Ako's emotions fluctuated.
"I don't know if we can convince them to change the idea so much." Initial enthusiasm was almost completely gone.
"We don't need to ask them to change the direction. I would include this as a separate new option." Pianist sounded down-to-earth.
"We can continue to work on the main songs, and in the meantime also refine a slower ballad." Rinko made it clear what she hoped for this piece to become.
"Right, maybe something like this could work. I'm only scared we won't have the time to practice this. I mean, we already have composing and playing two new songs…" Ako's voice signaled wavering.
"I know, we already have our work cut out for us," she admitted, "I don't want to add even more to it, so… maybe we can start working on a ballad later, after we finish most of the main project." Rinko didn't seem dejected to her.
"Yeah. I will support you, Rin-rin! I think that this way we can show off your fantastic composing skills." Ako beamed.
"I would love to hear this fitted into Roselia's song and then play it with you." Just like that, she was back to happy-go-lucky mode.
"Thanks. Although… I really don't think I am that good at composing at all." Rinko blushed lightly.
What followed was Ako's strong opposition to the last sentence and more compliments thrown her friend's way, only to make Rinko's cheeks go from a subtle to more pronounced shade of pinkish red. Ako also asked about the newer composition and got the reluctant answer after a few moments. It was a piece created to practice expressiveness for the local stage of a piano competition.
Rinko had it practically finished, but she hasn't played the latest revision on an instrument yet. Ako then couldn't stop herself from praising the talents of her friend yet again. The two of them also pondered about how creating music influences one's actual play.
Ako had a listen to Rinko's piano piece on the headphones, but it only made her want to hear it performed right in front of her. The older of the two responded that it still needs some minor work, and they should start getting ready for the upcoming session anyway. Ako almost forgot they still needed to make their way there.
Rinko's dad could drive them there, however, it would still take some time. She was mildly disconcerted for not hearing the song played on an instrument, but also cheerful about the upcoming practice. They started preparing, with Rinko pulling up an email from Yukina, so the two of them could have a last look at the materials she sent, right before leaving.
It also didn't escape Ako's attention that her friend put a thin black belt slightly above her waist to go with her gray, patterned one-piece. She hasn't seen her in this outfit before and it made an impression. As she started to space out again, Rinko asked if Ako could shut the PC down after she is done reviewing, and went to another room to pick up a bag she was asked to bring to the studio.
Ako had one last glance and then powered things off. Waiting in the hallway together with Rinko's dad, she wondered if it was a favor for Lisa she heard her friend mention. A few moments later, everyone was ready and they could head out, much to Ako's delight.