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Thursday began the same way as Wednesday had, with the exception of Oddie not being set free in the common room. Thursday morning, Sayo gave him a few pets as a greeting when she found him hopping around the empty dorm room, and pondered when Tae had time to clean the currently pristine litter box as she made a trip to the bathroom, spying Tae working hard on the summer homework in the common room on the way.
After she got dressed, Sayo let Tae know she was off to get breakfast, and assured her she would get the rabbit’s breakfast too. She almost wanted to ask if she could pick anything up for Tae, but she held herself back. As she walked to the dining hall, Sayo tried to debate what song she wanted to use for the final performance. Of course, a Roselia piece would be easiest, and one she could do solo - but it might be good to challenge herself. To her surprise, Sayo heard the recording of Tae’s riverside performance as she entered the dining hall, coming through the tinny speakers of Kaneko Rina’s smartphone. She was sharing the video - presumably taken by a passerby - with Eriko and a couple others, and Sayo passed by quickly to avoid any questioning or conversation in case she, too, was in the video.
After eating and returning her tray, Sayo saw Kimura-san, the graduate assistant, and walked over to the table where she was eating breakfast, greeting her. Kimura motioned for Sayo to sit, and she did so, noticing Kimura’s lingering gaze at the small porcelain bowl with a single banana slice in it. Sayo did not feel like risking her stay in the dorms, so she offered no explanation. “Good morning, Kimura-san,” she repeated. “Thank you again for your help, I’m still working on that song.”
“I’m glad to hear it! It was not an easy song,” said Kimura, sipping her coffee. “What can I help you with today?”
“I was wondering if you would be my advisor for the final performance. I feel like I can speak openly with you about the issues that I’m having, and I understand your instruction well.”
Kimura smiled. “I would be happy to help. I might not have the experience of some of the staff here, but because I am maybe… less of a popular choice, I am highly available to assist with your project. Do you have your song picked out?”
Sayo shook her head. “I have not yet decided.”
“Well, decide by lunchtime. We’re having a shorter afternoon session to allow for some rehearsal time,” she said. “I work in this office,” she said, writing a building and room number down on a disposable napkin, “it’s just a small room next to the professor that I work under, but if you find me there, we can move to a bigger practice room.”
“Sounds good. Thank you,” said Sayo, standing up and bowing. Grabbing the banana, she departed, rushing to drop it off before morning lessons.
When she did get to the lesson, Sayo noticed that Thursday morning seemed to be a reset. Everyone seemed to be on better terms with each other, or at least more focused on lessons. Perhaps it was the trip into Osaka, or perhaps it was just the looming final performance.
The performance seemed to be the only topic of conversation. While at breakfast, walking, or waiting for the lesson to begin, Sayo overheard at least three girls talking about their covers or self-composed works for the performance, several others debating between several staff mentors, and a couple strategizing about asking various participants to be duet partners. Someone was spreading a rumor that journalists or industry reps would be at the show, which seemed to have everyone amped up.
Sayo had told Kimura-san she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do for her cover, and that was the truth. Constantly, she was debating - solo or duet? Roselia original or famous band cover? Band project or passion project? She wasn't sure, until she walked into the first lesson and saw Tae getting a shoulder massage from Sakurai Ami.
"So yeah, I was thinking about something from ‘Denial’, but I'm not really sure yet," Ami was saying. "But I heard you're a vocalist and those are in high demand," she laughed. Tae, as always, had an unreadable expression on her face.
"Tae-san and I are doing a performance together already," Sayo said, surprised at her own icy tone. She was almost positive Ami was older than her, but suddenly her mind was made up.
"Oh?" asked Ami. "I didn't realize. You said you weren't sure."
"Sayo didn't fully agree, but I was waiting, hoping she would," Tae said. "I'm sorry, I hope you find your vocalist."
Ami laughed, indicating it wasn't a big deal. She rearranged Tae's long hair from where it got messed up from the shoulder massage and went back to her seat, on the other side of the circle of 6 chairs. Sayo took the last remaining seat beside Tae.
Tae, meanwhile, leaned forward, her hair falling forward over her guitar in a mesmerizing fashion, to adjust something on the amp she was plugged into. Sayo needed to look away, to tune her guitar, or to plug it in, or put the strap on or whichever step came first, but all she could do was look at the black sundress Tae had on that day and wonder if this was an intentional packing decision or a Kasumi accident, because it was beautiful. Tae once again had the black ribbon tied around her neck, and Sayo finally managed to tear her eyes away, only to catch Ami’s eye’s across the room.
Sayo blushed. Had Ami been watching her this whole time? Had Sayo been as slack-jawed as she felt on the inside? Swallowing down her embarrassment, she put on her guitar strap, plugged in, and tuned up. The lesson began, and perhaps because of Sayo’s desire to ignore Ami, it went extremely well. Sayo was focused, on time, and understanding everything the instructor was saying. It was much better than the partner lesson it mirrored on Tuesday.
They broke for lunch, and Sayo got her meal and sat with Tae in a quieter corner of the dining hall, beside what appeared to be a table of university professors unaffiliated with the music school. Since the tension among the guitar students had eased, they didn’t feel it was necessary to eat outside, and it was much easier to review Tae’s homework at a table. Tae ate enthusiastically while Sayo reviewed, and Sayo wanted to shake her head, ’Well of course you’re hungry, you skipped breakfast.’ But she knew Tae also wanted to show her appreciation to the cooks and kitchen staff who spoiled her, so she might have been hamming it up a little.
“Your English looks really good, I’m just going to make a couple changes and you can copy it over once more.”
“Really?” asked Tae, pushing Sayo’s lunch towards her.
“Really. But like, see here, you used the wrong tense-”
“Hanazono-san?” A girl approached the table then, interrupting the English lesson.
“Ah.. hello?” Tae said, “...Kinomoto-san?
“...Yes! Kinomoto Reika!” The girl bowed slightly. She looked to be about their age if not older, but rather shy, with a demeanor like Rinko. “Hanazono-san, I- I was wondering if you had a partner for the performance at the end of the week. If… if you wanted to do one with me!”
Tae looked confused - perhaps she had not heard about the video going around - but smiled kindly at the girl. “Thank you for thinking of me,” she said. “But I do have a partner already. I wish you luck in finding one.”
“Oh, ah, thank you!” said the girl, bowing awkwardly and rushing away.
Sayo was surprised at Tae’s response, so far removed from the bizarre conversations she usually held with Tae. “That was a kind way of turning her down,” she said, turning her attention back to the homework.”
“Oh,” said Tae, pushing away her meal tray. “I just sort of imitated you.”
Sayo looked up again, trying to decide if she should be annoyed or laugh. “You what?”
“I just thought… ‘what would Sayo say to this girl? Something polite, probably.’” Tae put her hands up, backtracking a bit. “Not that I didn’t mean it! I’m just… not good at expressing myself,” she said.
Sayo shook her head, choosing not to dwell on this. Finishing her review of the English homework, she gave it back to Tae to copy later, and quickly ate her lunch. It seemed that the kitchen staff knew of her friendship with Tae, because her curry seemed to be an extra large portion, and there was a pudding that she didn’t order on the tray as well.
During the shortened afternoon session, Sayo did well once again. It was a sequel to the lesson Tae had missed when she skipped lessons two days prior, and Sayo could pay more attention now that she knew Tae wasn’t wandering around feigning ill, and that the social dynamics between the attendees, while not perfect, were civil. She also felt better now that she had made a decision for the final performance, though she blushed a bit in the forward way in which she had done so.
Once the lesson let out, Sayo and Tae packed up their guitars to practice together for the weekend performance. “Who are we using as a faculty advisor?” Tae asked. Presumably, this would decide where they would go next.
“Oh, I chose the graduate student, Kimura-san,” Sayo said. “I already asked her, I hope you don’t mind.” She felt guilty suddenly. She hadn’t had Tae in her vision when she had asked Kimura. Tae didn’t get any input in the decision, and Kimura-san hadn’t agreed to help with a duet, which was a significantly more difficult assignment, Sayo was sure.
But Tae just smiled. “No, I don’t mind. Do you know where we can find her?”
Sayo nodded, pulling out the office location. They moved to the next building on the campus, showing their badges to the front desk attendant at the fine arts department on the third floor, and knocked on the door designated as Kimura’s. “Ah, Hikawa-san, welcome! Oh, and Hanazono-san,” she remarked, looking slightly surprised. Sayo supposed this was fair. When she had spoken about being undecided earlier, it was about the song and not her partner…
“Yes, I have decided to partner with Hanazono-san. I hope that is alright,” Sayo said, trying to sound confident. Tae looked a little uncomfortable but smiled, perhaps trying to endear herself to Kimura-san.
And perhaps it worked. “It’s no problem. I’m happy to help you both,” she said. “Come into my office for a few minutes before we move to a practice room so we can get organized.”
They entered Kimura’s office, which was rather small to accommodate three people, but Sayo was not going to complain after getting help on their performance. She had a feeling no one else had asked Kimura-san to be their mentor, which she was secretly glad for, as she wouldn’t have to split her time between groups.
“Now, which song did you have in mind?” asked Kimura, once she was settled back at her desk. Sayo slipped into the only other chair in the office, and Tae leaned against the desk, reading the titles of various CDs that were stacked haphazardly in the cramped space.
Sayo paused. To be honest, she hadn’t really decided on anything. She had sort of avoided discussing this with Tae, nervous about disagreeing on a choice. In a way, she had selected Tae since she knew she was a vocalist as well as a guitarist, but she also had impulsively selected Tae because she didn’t want her to pair up with Ami. She bit the inside of her cheek with the memory of the out-of-character action burning her with embarrassment.
Not getting an answer from Sayo, Kimura-san turned to Tae. “Nandemonaiya,” she said, as if this was the only answer.
Sayo looked at her with a confused expression. “You mean the song?” she asked.
Tae nodded. “You like that song, don’t you?”
Sayo now flushed red with embarrassment, but Kimura didn’t flinch, she simply nodded, as if considering this choice. How did Tae know this, Sayo wondered. They hadn’t discussed their musical tastes or… she supposed she played it on the train. In fact, it was probably the only song in her playlist she happened to repeat. And it did have two guitars…
Kimura pulled up a recording of the song on a streaming service, and the three of them listened. In the meantime, she pulled up a live performance of the song to compare. She also began searching for tabs and sheet music of the song for them to study.
“I think it’s very do-able,” she concluded, “Hanazono-san, do you think you can sing it?”
“She can,” Sayo said, realizing after she said it that she should have let Tae answer for herself.
Kimura smiled. “Then I suppose it’s just a matter of the guitars,” she laughed.
After printing the basic tabs, they moved to a practice room, which was rather hard to find as many soloists and pairs had already laid claim to the easiest-to-get-to rooms, but eventually they found one on the top floor.
They began to practice, comparing their (dramatically slowed down) playing to the live concert, again and again and again. The song was an interesting choice - one of Sayo’s current favorites, and not exactly technically difficult even - but one that relied heavily on specific timing, finger-picking and arpeggios, and syncopation.
“Yes, the guitarist does go up the b-string here, but I think you should use the high-e and add a little vibrato,” suggested Tae, breaking Sayo’s musing and demonstrating what she was referring to. “It’s our variation, I think we can make a couple minor tweaks.”
Sayo had to admit that without the massive concert hall amplification that the original utilized, adding some flair to their performance would likely go a long way. It was, after all, not the most ‘exciting’ song. Kimura-san left for a little while and promised to return when they had the basics down, and Sayo found practicing easy as she followed along with the soft sound of Tae’s voice as she sang the words of one of Sayo’s favorite songs.
Tae’s voice was nothing like Yukina’s which Sayo was used to following at a practice session. It was not commanding, and it didn’t shake Sayo in the same way Yukina’s had the first time she heard it. But it had a different aspect that made it powerful, a warmth that drew listeners in. It was a voice that made Sayo cry without realizing it. It was a dark magic indeed, she was sure Ako would attest.
Soon enough, Sayo could play the finger-picking sections of the verse at about 90% speed, humming out a simple phrase to ensure she got the timing right, the same way Tae had taught her in that listening booth the day before. The chorus and post-chorus were easier, but both guitars needed to match timing perfectly there, so they practiced with that. When Kimura returned, she commended their progress, and dismissed them to dinner before the meal service ended.
After dinner, Sayo excused herself to visit the computer lab while Tae took a bath. She didn’t plan to play NFO for long, but she knew using the chat feature was more efficient than texting them at this hour, since they were preoccupied with the game in the evenings.
Demon Princess Ako: sayoooooo
Rin Rin: Good evening, Hikawa-san
Shield of Sayo: Good evening. Are we going to the mines tonight? I can’t stay long.
Demon Princess Ako: ye. but nvm that. what happened with tae-senpai??
Rin Rin: Are you playing a song together??
Shield of Sayo: ...Yes
Rin Rin: omg
Demon Princess Ako: what happened??
Sayo paused for a moment, teleporting her character to the mines with the others and helping them collect the minerals that were needed in the current event.
Shield of Sayo: We went into Osaka yesterday and spent time together, and today we agreed to be partners for the performance Saturday. I don’t know.
Demon Princess Ako: ( ◑‿◑)ɔ┏🍟--🍔┑٩(^◡^ )
Shield of Sayo: …Is that supposed to be us?
Rin Rin: h.o… incoming demons…
Sayo spent some time helping the other two fend off the demons in the mines before signing out and going back to the dormitory to take her bath. When she gets back to the room after spending extra time drying her hair, Tae isn’t there. She was worried at first, until she saw a note scribbled on her desk. Room check already happened. Went to the roof.
Why Tae would go to the roof, Sayo had no idea. In fact, she had no idea this building even had an accessible roof. Perhaps this was what Tae discovered during her afternoon skipping class. But whether it was the disciplinarian in her that knew that the 10PM curfew was approaching, or the high school girl with a budding interest in her roommate, she found herself following the signs for the rooftop access, emerging to a clear summer’s night, where Tae stood near the rail on the far edge, guitar in hand as always.
She was strumming a song that Sayo didn’t recognize, the mini-amp just barely turned on, her voice quiet now, as if she was just singing to herself. She turned around when Sayo was about ten meters away, and she stood before Sayo in just pajama pants and an old T-shirt, her hair just dried and hanging sort of messy, smiling under the stars. “You made it,” she said, as if she expected Sayo to come all along.
“What are you doing up here?” Sayo asked.
Tae cocked her head a bit, as if wondering what Sayo meant. “I was playing guitar, of course.”
Somehow, her answer didn’t give Sayo the same frustration that it would have that first day, on the train. “Why now?” she asked. “That’s all we’ve been doing all day.”
Tae nodded. “But Popipa practice is right now. If I play a song now, from the rooftop, at the same time as them, it’s almost like I’m playing with them too.”
In a way, this was the silliest thing Sayo had ever heard, and in a way, it resonated deep in her chest, as she understood perfectly what Tae meant. Tae continued. “Do you want to try? Is Roselia practicing now?”
Sayo shook her head. She had just confirmed that Rinko and Ako were online, and she was sure that Lisa and Yukina were home at this hour as well. “I’d have to play one earlier in the day,” she said.
Tae nodded. “But when you do, I’m sure your feelings will reach them.” She stepped forward, closing the distance between them, her smile bright but also fragile, and Sayo had the strangest urge to reach out and touch her: to run her fingers through her hair, to assure her that her band would be whole and intact and waiting for her when she returned Sunday.
Instead, it was Tae who reached forward, plucking a piece of lint from Sayo’s sweater. “It’s a beautiful night,” she said. “That’s when you’re at your most powerful, isn’t it?”
“What?” Sayo asked, taking a step back. Whether it was due to the close proximity or due to Tae’s odd conjecture, she wasn’t certain.
“Sa-yo… the kanji for night is there. Since Hina has the kanji for day, I figured she was more powerful in the day, and you at night. Guess I was wrong.”
“Either way, it’s nearly curfew… we should get to bed.”
Sayo laid in bed, wondering what Tae imagined when she said Sayo was more ‘powerful’ at night. Then she wondered why she was even giving it thought. Truly, she knew why. Before long, she drifted off to sleep.