Vol 2 Chapter 7 (1/2)
It was al day, and Mafuyu was still in her bedroom
”It seems like she's already awake I just heard the sounds of her changing”
Senpai said that in a depressed manner Hey, there's another room between yours and hers! There has to be a limit to how sharp your ears can be!
”Even if it's at the other end of the school building, I can still hear the sounds of girls changing!”
”Geez! Is that what you do when you skip lessons?”
Upon hearing Chiaki say that in an angry tone, Senpai looked doards miserably
”But it's always at the s Just like then If only I had noticed Comrade Mafuyu was done with her shower”
Back then? I don't think Senpai was in the state to be worrying about anything else back then
Moreover, I was the one facing the hall, and I didn't even notice Mafuyu was there till I heard the sound of the glass door It felt like I had done so that should've ht?
”Why is Mafuyu so angry?”
Chiaki stared at Senpai and htness of the snare drum
”It'd be ry That was probably her not being angry”
Senpai tilted her head slightly, then let out a sigh Somehow, she didn't seem to be that worried It was like I was the only one worried sick, and that made me feel really uneasy
After we finished breakfast, I decided to head to the second floor to check things out I knocked on the door of Mafuyu's room No response
” Mafuyu? I brought breakfast over”
I could feel that she was on the other side of the door; she just wasn't responding
Back then, Mafuyu said—
”So I am just an excuse”
Which meant she had at least heard the last few sentences Senpai said, and thought she was just an excuse for Senpai to pull me into the band—no wait, that's not it
”Mafuyu, please open the door! Let's have a proper talk!”
If things continue this way, Mafuyudirection
The door to her rooave up and carried the tray of onigiri back downstairs
”Is Mafuyu okay?” Chiaki asked I shook my head
”There's nothing we can do Let's practice” When Senpai said that, she had already plugged her Les Paul guitar into the ao
Somehow it feels like this person isn't concerned about Mafuyu at all A too much into it?
”Is Senpai not worried about Mafuyu?”
Chiaki knitted her eyebrows
”Of course I am, to the point that it feels like my body's about to be ripped apart However I know there's nothing much I can do”
”Geez!”
This time, it was Chiaki who ran up the stairs
”Mafuyu, did soain?”
Chiaki's voice traveled down to the first floor She said that using the sa tone she always used when she wanted to tease me But this ti were stuck in-between my ribs
In the end, Chiaki walked back down dejectedly
”She didn't even say anything”
Chiaki sat down in the chair of the druhed in the direction of the hi-hat pedal
”The training camp ends today”
”We still have some time left before Hiroshi+ comes over to fetch us”
With that, Senpai gently plucked one of the strings of her Les Paul guitar Itoo much, but that sentence of hers sounded really cold
” Which song are we going to practice? A song by The Eagles again? Since Mafuyu's not around”
”Nope We'll be practicing the new song”
Senpai took a quick look atyesterday?
Chiaki and Senpai discussed how they should go about having the drums come in, but I was in no mood to play the bass at all This is the first ti as a band, and if we carry on and work on the song without Mafuyu—
Mafuyu's reason for being here ht really just disappear
I coveredhad come to my mind all of a sudden
Is that the reason behind Mafuyu's uneasy feelings? She had kept talking about how she didn't know her reason for being here If that was really the case
”Young man?”
” Y-Yes?”
I raised my head in response to Senpai's call
”We'll go with the full enserandly, with a ba the sa like that”
Senpai struently to demonstrate it for me
”The sound of the cymbals will then die down, and we'll transition into the intro you recorded on the tape yesterday During the first repeat, the guitar won't be co in Okay?”
I nodded my head stiffly
Hoill Mafuyu feel when she listens to this song?
For a long ti After a while, Chiaki suddenly suggested ”Why don't we remove the druestion—it would be too bland with just Senpai's guitar playing in the background But since we couldn'tat the same time—
Senpai suddenly lifted both her hands up to stop us fro intro a countless number of times Chiaki's dru an unco sound that filled the entire hall
” What's wrong?”
”Coone out”
”Eh?”
I lifted my head to look at the corridor of the second floor She went out? If that were the case, we should've noticed her door opening
”She went out through the s That reckless girl” Senpai quickly turned down the volume of the auitar on the sofa and dashed out the door
Out through the s? There were trees close to the s on the other side of the roo the tree trunks But really? Chiaki was one step faster thanher way to the stairs Both of us ran up to the second floor, causing the spiral staircase to creak Chiaki opened Mafuyu's bedroom door, but there was no one to be seen; there was only an opened briefcase on the bed Through the opened e could see the layers of greenery swaying with the wind
Chiaki leaned her back against the side of the door dejectedly, then slumped onto the floor
”Why is she doing such dangerous things despite her fingers being immobile”
I could feelme I sat on the handrails of the corridor weakly, and stretched s out
Just where is Mafuyu planning to go to? She even ran out barefooted damn
Is she going to disappear again without saying anything?
”Thank God Senpai realized”
Chiaki mumbled as she looked towards the opened
That personabout Mafuyu in her oay—that's probably e only practiced the new song, right? Because the tone of that song was quiet, which made it easier for her to detect any movements on the second floor
Thank God she noticed it But I didn't notice anything
”What exactly happened? Are you not telling ?”
It was only after I had heard Chiaki's words that I lifted my head up from between my knees
Chiaki bit her lower lip and stared at me earnestly
” Actually I don't really know either”
”Why is Nao always like this!?”
”Sorry”
But where exactly should I start? Somehow, it felt like, even if it was Chiaki, I shouldn't tell her about the gloomiest part of Senpai's heart
”Mafuyu seeht even if she's not around”
”Mmm, I know that”
”And then I think she overheard a conversation between Senpai and I probably”
I explained to Chiaki what happened yesterday night In order to not tell her about Senpai's painful past, I paid special attention to the words I used
”Which et close to Nao?”
”No, like I already said, that's not it”
Mafuyu probably thought the sa Chiaki did
”Senpai was already planning to invite Mafuyu; she just did so through h she could've done it herself”
Well, if you want to say it in a et Mafuyu in the band, and et myself in as well
There was no need for Mafuyu to think too deeply into things If only I had the chance to talk to her properly about it
”I think Mafuyu probably knows that as well”
” Huh?”
”So it's pointless to explain everything to her, because that's not what's important”
I glanced at Chiaki's side profile Behind her face were the leaves and branches of the trees, rustling gently in the wake of the breeze The gaps between the leaves had sliced the sun's rays into multiple strands
”The reason Mafuyu's in the band is because of Nao! Do you understand?”
I noddedsi me because Senpai had invited me to join the band However, Chiaki shook her head with a slightly sad expression on her face
”Met it”
” Don't get what?”
”Think through it carefully and figure it out yourself! I'd be very troubled if you didn't realize it yourself”
Just as I was about to continue asking her about it, I heard the sound of knocking co on the door I sprang up and ran down the stairs
Upon opening the door, I saw Senpai's exhausted face Mafuyu was on her shoulders, her face green with exhaustion, and her eyes shut tight
”What happened?”
Senpai dragged herself through the door carrying Mafuyu on her back
”She collapsed on the floor, probably due to anemia Comrade Aihara, clear out the space on the sofa”
Chiaki hastily reuitar Senpai laid Mafuyu's ss up using the cushi+ons, elevating her feet above her head Finally, she began loosening Mafuyu's collar
”Young ht? Add so it here when it's done”
”Ah, r-right”
As I grabbed the cup of red tea, htly—though she still looked to be in pretty bad shape Senpai knelt down next to Mafuyu's face as Chiaki peeked at Mafuyu from behind the sofa
”You were running about recklessly without having eaten breakfast, right?”
Senpai said gently, as she lightly touched Mafuyu's cheeks
”Do you want to drink this? You'll feel better if you do”
Senpai took the cup from me Mafuyu bit her lip and shook her head when the cup was held close to her face Senpai slowly brought the cup to her ot close to Mafuyu's lips—Hey! Hold it right there!
” Mmm, mmmmmm!”
With her hands being grabbed onto and her shoulders pressed down, Mafuyu had no choice but to accept Senpai's way of feeding her through her lips; she was even h her nose Uwa! I knew in , but I continued to stare at Mafuyu till she finished sing the red tea
” Fuu”
Senpai moved her moist lips away from Mafuyu She then licked them with an intoxicated expression on her face
”Thank you for that!”
”What's with the 'thank you for that'!? What exactly is going through your head at a time like this!?”
I snapped at her without even thinking, while Chiaki covered her blushi+ng face with her hands
”I'm sorry I finally had the chance presented to me!”
”Geez! Stupid Senpai!” Chiaki yelled
Mafuyu's face was flushed red She turned her body away and buried her face in the back of the sofa
”It was an eency so I had no choice but to do it”
T-This person here I really couldn't co else to yell at her
”Don't h you were bitten by a stray dog and forget about it”
”You aren't allowed to say that since you're the culprit behind this!”
”Hey, there ets about it!”
”Behave yourself!”
Senpai pattedabout it to alleviate the tense at she just said? My head hurt just thinking about it