Sayonara Piano Sonata Vol 2 Chapter 6

I woke up to the sounds of the piano.

I could clearly see the grain of the tall wooden ceiling, but for a brief moment, I wasn't sure where I was. I tried to sit up, but I nearly fell off the sofa instead. The blankets were on the floor—perhaps I kicked them off because of the heat?

Hmm? The pillow fight...... what time did we play till? My memory was a blur, as I was exhausted back then. I didn't even remember making my way back to the hall to sleep.

I sat up on the sofa. My view reached all the way to the other side of the hall, and I saw the back of someone with long black hair sitting in front of the piano. It was Kagurazaka-senpai. She used her slender fingers to tap the keys of the piano as lightly as she could, as though she were trying to write on the surface of water. Her singing voice, overlapping with the sounds of the piano, sounded much more tender than usual.

I fixed my sight on her long hair, which swayed to the rhythm of the song, until the song was over.

"...... Morning! You were sleeping really soundly. Were you that exhausted?"

Once she finished playing the song, Senpai stood up from her chair and turned around to look at me.

"The look of your sleeping face is just too cute. I was deliberating between punching or kissing you awake. In the end, I chose to wake you up with my singing instead."

Why weren't there options that were much more normal?

"Senpai, you know how to play the piano too?"

"Me? Well, not really."

Senpai closed the lid of the keyboard quietly, then walked in my direction and sat down on the sofa next to me.

"How was it?"

"How was what?"

"You were listening the whole time, right?"

"...... A new song? The one you mentioned yesterday."

Senpai nodded. I lifted my leg onto the sofa, and swallowed the words I was about to say. How should I go about saying this?

"Somehow, it feels like...... it's overly done?"

"Hmm?"

"The tune is beautiful, but it sounds like the school anthem of some middle school. We'll just bore our audience if we perform that on stage."

Senpai laughed heartily.

"Those are some interesting words you're using there, young man...... but I get what you mean. This song won't do." Senpai leaned against the sofa and looked up. "How stupid of me to be thinking about such things right now. I was thinking...... that the piece would be better if Comrade Ebisawa was the one playing the piano."

"Well......"

It's..... probably me thinking too much into things? But I don't think the piano should be used for that song.

"Hey, young man. I think I've managed to gather the best members for the band. But that makes me spoilt for choice, and I'm slowly unable to find my own music. What irony. It feels so painful—just because I'm no longer alone; just because there are people around me who can do the things I can't do."

What's happening? Why is she saying all this all of a sudden?

"Senpai, you've been acting strange since yesterday."

"Hmm, really?"

Senpai let out her usual laugh, though it seemed a little forced.

"Don't you worry! I'm really happy to be able to partake in a training camp with you guys!"

Senpai then stood up and said, with an exceptionally cheerful voice,

"Young man, I'm hungry. Comrade Aihara should be back from her jog soon, so hurry up and start preparing our breakfast! I'll go wake Comrade Ebisawa with a morning kiss."

Just as I was about to block Senpai from making her way to the stairs, the door of a room on the second floor opened. Mafuyu walked out in her pajamas, rubbing her sleepy-looking eyes. That was close.

"We must have onigiri at the beach today!"

Chiaki said that immediately after we were done with our morning practice. Yes yes yes, I get it.

"I knew you'd say that, so I've already cooked the rice. I've also already filled the flasks with tea."

"Wow, that's impressive of you, Nao. Do you have ESP or something? How did you know I wanted to go to the beach for lunch?"

"Looking at you, it couldn't be more obvious. You've already inflated the swimming tubes, right?"

"Young man, prepare more omelettes. The dishes you make with eggs are really something!"

Senpai began taking the beach equipment—which included a foldable deck chair—out of the storeroom as she said that. These girls are really hyped about playing huh...... didn't you say a single song wasn't enough?

"We have to play when it's time to play! It's not like inspiration will come to me if I lock myself in a room and cry!"

While preparing the rice in the kitchen, I heard the footsteps of two people making their way up the stairs; and not long after, I heard them coming back down.

"Nao, look here!" A voice called out to me from behind.

I stuck my head out to look into the hall, and what appeared before me was Chiaki and Senpai in their swimsuits. Uwaa! Though I had seen them in half of that attire yesterday, the impact of seeing them in their full swimsuits was completely different from before.

Chiaki's swimsuit included a sarong around her waist, which looked a little childish; she also held a gigantic swimming tube and an inflatable killer whale doll in her hands. Juxtaposing Chiaki with Senpai, whose figure rivaled that of a model, there was an incredibly clear...... urm, contrast between the two of them (in many different aspects). Moreover, I could see the drum set, the huge Marshall amplifiers and the rest of the gear behind them—the whole scene just seemed surreal.

"Hey, snap out of your daze! Don't you have anything to say about this?"

"Well...... how about you girls wear this on stage during our actual performance?"

"Senpai, did you hear what he said?"

"Mmm, we can consider it." Don't take it seriously!

Chiaki turned her head around to look at Mafuyu, who was sitting on the sofa tuning her guitar. "Mafuyu, hurry up and change too." Mafuyu shook her head.

"Let's practice instead."

Mafuyu had become a practicing fanatic after our session yesterday. She was the same today as well—she had refused to let go of her guitar ever since we finished our breakfast. She seemed to be in a bad mood, as usual, but I think it was because she couldn't practice even though she really wanted to. There was nothing bad about that though.

"Moreover, I can't swim."

"But you bought a swimsuit!"

Chiaki stepped up her attack against the cowering Mafuyu.

"Geez, Mafuyu is never united with the band!"

Mafuyu seemed shocked. She looked at Chiaki, Senpai and me.

There's no need for you to put it so harshly—Mafuyu suddenly stood up as I thought that.

"...... I understand. I'll come back after changing."

She then made her way up the stairs and into her room.

"Nao, you go change too."

Chiaki kicked me in the back.

"Eh? Me too?" I don't particularly enjoy swimming.

"But of course! Why else do you think we came to the beach?"

Senpai followed up with, "You're a guy anyway, so it's fine if you just join us in your underwear."

"N-No way! I get it, you guys head over there first. I'll bring the onigiri when I'm done changing."

It's really easy for guys to change into their swimsuits, and we don't have to apply that troublesome stuff on our skin either.

Because of that, I had finished kneading the onigiri and wrapping the omelets in aluminum foil before Mafuyu even left her room. She probably needs more time to change because of her right hand? A girl was changing on the second floor while I was preparing the food—somehow, the whole situation felt a little strange.

It seemed awkward to wait for Mafuyu to finish changing, so I yelled towards the second floor. "I'll be going first!" I then put on a sweatshirt and made my way down to the beach.

Mafuyu arrived a while later. After seeing her violet-colored swimsuit beneath her hoodie, I finally understood the reason behind Chiaki's persistence. Their swimsuits were the same style; the only difference was the color.

"Nao, take a photo of us!"

Chiaki ran to Mafuyu excitedly.

"Young man, what should I do? I'm facing a problem here."

Senpai was lying next to me beneath the parasol. She said that to me with a sweet voice, after taking a look at Mafuyu, and then Chiaki.

"What's wrong?"

"The two of them are just too beautiful. What a headache."

How do you expect me to answer that!? Just sleep quietly!

We laid our mat down on a small sandy area between the boulders, and sat down to have lunch. Because the s.p.a.ce was small, I could easily see Mafuyu's fair skin at a very close distance. And then there was Chiaki's tanned skin, as well as Senpai's—urm...... in any case, I was the only one eating lunch facing the cliffs. However, they had no intention of letting me off easily.

"Nao, I want to eat the dried plums, so help me peel them."

"Peel them yourself!"

"Young man, I've spilled tea on my swimsuit. Can you help me wipe it off?"

"Wipe it off yourself!"

"Naomi, help me wrap the seaweed."

"Wrap—" No wait, Mafuyu can't do that by herself, right? Since she only had one mobile hand. When I was preparing the onigiri, I packed the components similar to how the convenience stores did—with the seaweed separated from the rice. If I had thought of this earlier, I would've just wrapped the seaweed on the onigiri.

"Nao, you spoil Mafuyu too much! You have to let her do things like this herself."

Didn't you ask me to do everything as well!?

"And so I'll be eating this—" "You can't!"

Chiaki and Mafuyu pounced towards the wrapped onigiri in my hand at the same time, resulting in them crashing into me and crushing me below them. Hey! We're touching each other in a lot of places, and it hurts! As I struggled fiercely beneath Chiaki's tummy, Senpai took the onigiri from me and ate it.

"A peaceful resolution. Can I sit at the very top?"

"Please stop. I'll be squashed to death."

I crawled my way out from beneath Mafuyu's and Chiaki's bodies, and immediately distanced myself from all of them to catch my breath.

I don't remember Chiaki's chest being that well-developed, so when did they—no wait, what the heck am I thinking here!? Calm down. Deep breaths. I looked at them while squatting down and saw Chiaki and Mafuyu staring at each other. The view of both of them in their swimsuits reached my eyes once again, and for a long while, I couldn't make my way back to the mat.

We were all sweaty after lunch, so Chiaki pulled Mafuyu to the beach right after they had both finished eating. Putting an unwilling expression on her face, Mafuyu protested, "But I said I couldn't swim!"

"I told you it's okay! Just hold onto Torajirou!" Chiaki said, as she roughly patted the giant inflatable killer whale doll. So you even gave it a name huh......

"B-But...... what if I fall off?"

"Nao and I will be there beside you. Isn't that right?" Eh, I have to follow along?

"Uh—......"

"Geez, are you trying to disrupt the unity of the band again?"

Mafuyu finally nodded her head, rather unwillingly. Seemed like we could get her to do whatever we wanted as long as we mentioned the unity of the band.

Chiaki had already pulled Mafuyu's hoodie away from her. Mafuyu grabbed tightly onto the killer whale Torajirou, but the moment the tip of her toes came into contact with the sea, a frightened expression appeared on her face.

Chiaki said exasperatingly, "It'll be even more dangerous if you continue to bend your legs like that. You'll fall off!"

"But I'll get wet......"

"We're at the sea, so of course we'll get wet!"

"Ah, w-wait!"

Chiaki pushed Torajirou into the sea without hesitation.

"Nao too. Quick."

I quickly went into the water and swam to the left of Torajirou to help maintain its balance. I accidentally touched Mafuyu's thighs just once—I quickly retracted my hands in shock, and nearly drowned while doing so. Mafuyu's smooth legs and her incredibly slender waist were so close I could reach out and touch them. I dared not face her at all, so the only thing I could do was continue staring at the nose of the killer whale doll. I could feel my heart thumping in the cool waters of the sea.
 

The sound of footsteps, as well as the sc.r.a.ping of the closing door, could be heard behind me. But I remained rooted in place, and couldn't turn my head around at all.