This was the first time that he took the piano seriously in what felt like years. He gave it everything he had, and he lost. There was no denying it anymore. There was no way he could hold back this overflowing passion that he felt when he played piano.
Even the smallest note Masachika played was unlike anything Yuushou had ever produced—to the point that it was hard to believe that they were even using the same piano. Masachika’s performance was otherworldly. He made the piano cry. He made it scream. If this were a battle of technique, then Yuushou was confident that he wouldn’t have lost, but he somehow instinctively knew that he had lost. There was just something about Masachika’s performance that made him feel that way.
Yuushou had not yet figured out what that something was, but he knew that he could find it one day if he kept searching. His only regret now was that he wasn’t able to put every bit of himself into his match against Masachika.
I’m sorry for not taking you as seriously as I should have all these years.
His fingers softly caressed the piano while he promised to dedicate himself completely to the instrument from now on. Although he didn’t know if he would ever get to compete against Masachika like this again, he was going to make sure that he wouldn’t have any regrets next time if an opportunity were to arise.
“Sumire.”
“…?”
“I… I’m going to go to college to study music.”
“Do it.”
“…?!”
Her quick, simple reply immediately attracted Yuushou’s gaze, where he found her clearly fed up, glaring back at him.
“Obviously, I saw through your act long ago. I knew you never really wanted to take over the Kiryuuin Group. But do not worry about a thing, because I’m going to admirably take over the family business in your place.”
“Ha-ha-ha…,” said Yuushou, laughing dryly, while she proudly puffed out her chest.
“You saw right through me, huh?”
“But of course. You have a habit of trying to distract yourself with something else whenever you cannot get what you truly desire. You’re so easy to read.”
“Am I really…?”
“Yes. When we were kids, you would always frolic theatrically in the sandbox whenever all the swings were taken. Whenever all the chocolate ice cream at the store was sold out, you would buy bags full of other types of ice cream…”
“Err…”
“And you haven’t changed a bit. Even now, you surround yourself with girls who worship and wait upon you just because the girl you truly love won’t give you the time of day.”
“…?!”
Yuushou was speechless as a cold sweat began to drip down his back.
She knows? he thought.
“I have no clue who this girl is that you have feelings for, but showing off your harem isn’t going to get her attention the way you want it to.”
“…Oh, right,” Yuushou said emotionlessly with a nod. Sumire shook her head and sighed. It was a complicated feeling to describe. He was both relieved and disappointed at the same time. Regardless, after letting out a deep sigh, he decided to put those feelings behind himself for now and move on. “Anyway, I know I said I wanted to study music in college…but this isn’t something I can just decide for myself on a whim.”
“Yes, you should first—”
“I know. I need to talk to my dad about it first… I’m sure it’s not going to be easy to convince him, though.”
“…I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”
“Huh?”
Yuushou lifted his chin, taken aback by her unexpected reply, where he found Sumire waving the letter that was inside the envelope.
“First, we’re going to have to shave your head completely bald.”
“…What?”
“You did something wrong, right? And when you do something wrong, you first need to shave your head, get on your knees, then bow for forgiveness.”
Yuushou scowled after quickly scanning the letter, which read:
Yuushou Kiryuuin must confess to the entire school that he was responsible for every disturbance that occurred today.
“Don’t tell me that…? In front of the entire school…?”
“That is exactly what I mean. You lost. Did you not?”
“Sure, but the conditions weren’t that I had to shave my head and—”
“Are you a man or not?” interrupted Sumire while she vigorously poked Yuushou’s chest with her index finger. She then tapped her finger with each word, each prod more piercing than the last.
“Shave. Your. Head. And. Bow.”
Yuushou knit his brow defiantly, unable to bring himself to accept his cousin’s demands, when…
“I. Mean. It.”
“…Fine,” said Yuushou, nodding obediently before Sumire’s penetrating stare. After all, she was, for various reasons, his greatest weakness.
“H-hey, Alya? What’s wrong?” Masachika asked the silver-haired maiden who was walking quickly ahead, but she simply continued to maintain her silence while leading him by the hand. She had been this way ever since Masachika rushed over to her as well, so there was no telling whether she was angry, flustered, or what. Then again, he did have an idea why she would be upset, but it didn’t feel like that was what this was about.
“Come on, tell me where we’re going. How was your show?”
Silence. That was all he got, no matter how many times he tried to strike up a conversation. Before he even realized it, they were walking behind the clubroom building, where not another soul was in sight. Only then did Alisa finally stop in her tracks, swiftly turn around, and glare at him in silence, making Masachika tense.
“You’re mad, aren’t you? Is it because I couldn’t make it to your show? Or is it because I challenged Yuushou to that match without discussing it with you first? I’m really sorry about that. I know it’s only going to sound like an excuse, but there’s a reason for all this.”
Alisa took a step closer, causing Masachika to take a reflexive step back, but it was already too late.
“Ah—guh?” he squeaked pathetically, for her arms were tightly wrapped around him.
“A-Alya? Seriously, what’s wrong?” asked Masachika in genuine bewilderment, but Alisa still didn’t say a word. She silently tightened her arms around him, hugging him even harder.
Huh? What’s going on? What kind of emotion is this?
After all, this was the first time Alisa had ever even hugged him. Then again, it felt more like she was clinging on to him than hugging…
Wh-why isn’t she saying anything? She’s so soft, and she smells good, but she’s really squeezing me hard… Is this really Alya? Did someone or something body swap with her? If I start getting giddy and let my guard down, is she going to open her mouth unbelievably wide and bite my head off?
The instant that final question came to mind—
“…?! Ow?! Ow, ow, ow, ow?!” shouted Masachika as she actually bit into the side of his neck.
“Seriously, what is wrong with you?! Were you taken over by some sort of parasite?! Are you a zombie?! Did I just get infected?!”
Once he yelled out whatever came to his confused mind, the sensation of teeth digging into his neck vanished, followed by something soft in its place, but by the time he looked down, Alisa was already burying her face into his collar.
“…Alya?”
“…”
U-uh… What is going on? She reminds me of a sulking child clinging to a parent…
Despite not even understanding what was going on, Masachika began to pat her back gently to calm her down, but before long, soft whispers in Russian began to tickle his ear.
“<You’re my partner, you know…?>”
Alisa tightened her arms around him once more, and she continued to hold him quietly in her arms after that for a while until Touya eventually called Masachika’s phone.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login