Chapter 40: Performance.

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Translated and Edited by: luccayn.

Common Honorifics:
-san: A polite suffix, but not excessively formal.
-kun: A common suffix among friends and younger people.
-chan: A common suffix among people you're close with, mostly used for feminine nicknames and girls, since it's cutesy and childlike.
-senpai: A common suffix and noun used to address or refer to one's older or more senior colleagues in a school, workplace, dojo, or sports club.

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After that relentless Saki teasing session, which left her too shocked to react to anything, we moved to the gym.

“You holding up alright, Saki?”

“Mhm. Yep.”

Nope, she wasn’t. But what could I even say to her? I hoped time would be enough to make her feel better, so I decided to talk to the seniors.

“So, what instruments do you all play?”

Ayaka was the first to answer, taking a few steps back and turning to me. “I play the drums. Cool, ain’t it~”

Her… Playing the drums… Yup, this is hard to picture.

“Your face screams that you don’t believe me. Oh, I’ll surprise you later, count on it!” She sulked.

“R-Right.”

“And I play the keyboard. Well, I played piano originally,” Rin chipped in, and honestly, she’d look amazing doing it. That piano + Rin combo was just too unfair.

“Akito, I can play the piano too,” she returned.

“Welcome back, Saki.”

Not only was she back from the dead, but she also had enough energy to want to compete with Rin.

“But I really play the bass. A certain president ordered me to master it within one year,” Saki continued, glaring.

“Don’t be so harsh! It’s tradition! Tradition!”

“And I play the guitar~! It’s the most eye-catching one, y’know? Cool AF!”

“Suits your perfectly, Karen-san.”

“Thanks!”

Yeah, the guitar really is the perfect fit for anyone wanting to stand out.

“Still, I’ve only been at it for a year, so I’m not that good~” She continued in self-deprecation.

Honestly, even if that’s the case, I’m pretty sure it’s still hard to learn an instrument — My thoughts were probably written on my face.

“Akito, there’s only talented weirdos in the council. Don’t try to apply the concept of ‘normal’ here,” Saki was as right as she was harsh. The fact she’d been the only one from our grade that managed to join up until now spoke volumes.

“Shucks, Saki-chan~ You’re praising me too much~!” Ayaka squirmed, a tad embarrassed. “Well, since you guys will be playing next year, you should start practicing right after this event. Seriously, if you don’t start early, you won’t make it,” her bashful act turned serious towards the end, so there surely was some kernel of truth there. “More importantly, we’ve arrived.”

“Ugh. We’re really doing this?”

“Yuki! Get some motivation on your bones!”

The first thing we saw since entering the room was the instruments already being stored there. A guitar, a bass, drums, a keyboard… I didn’t know how cool they looked from up close.

A bit of prepping and tuning later, the seniors were finally prepped.

“Everyone ready?”

They nodded.

“We can’t be clumsy in front of our juniors now, can we?”

“Why are y’all putting pressure on us…”

“Let’s crush this sh*t.”

“Did Yuki’s nervousness just hit its limit?!”

There’s absolutely no tension between them, huh?

I couldn’t help but smile.

“Ah, sorry for going overboard. Let’s go!”

Ayaka then started playing the drums, setting the rhythm as Yuki joined in with the bass, providing a solid foundation for the sound. Not long after, Karen added her guitar into the mix, and soon the instruments all connected into a beautiful whole: Ayaka created the rhythm, Yuki accelerated it, and Karen transformed it into something beautiful.

The song’s momentum only increased with time, never letting down. As every beat, every melody played, it all seemed to come together almost as if alive. The beat was its pulse, the melody its blood.

“Wow…” That was the only thing I could muster, having such an amazing cacophony play out in front of my own two ears.

“C’mon, let’s pick up the tempo!”

“Wait, hold on!”

“Nice, let’s crush this!”

“Ugh, it’s tiring keeping up with these two nutcases!”

Ayaka and Karen expanded the song to their whims, encouraging the others to catch on while Yuki took the reins to prevent it from getting too wild.

“Haah… It’s too much…”

Come to think of it, while the three of them mesmerized me, I’d forgotten about Rin completely. I wonder if the keyboard usually doesn’t stand out much. Even when looking for it, it was hard to find the sound.

“Rin’s keyboard appears in the gaps between the others. Listen carefully.”

“Gaps…?”

Saki mentioned something cryptic. Still, as suggested, I paid attention to the little gaps as she mentioned. The spaces left in the crevices between the guitar, the bass, and the drums. And then…

“There’s no gap…?”

There was still sound even when the three weren’t playing. It was such a small detail that could be easily overlooked, but it made all the difference — there was no silence.

Honestly, though I’ve hardly heard any music apart from what they’re playing now, I could tell…

“They’re crazy good.”

While the guitar, drums, and bass dominate the stage, the keyboard in the background enhances the overall sound. It was an astounding performance that I thought couldn’t be more perfect.

After the music came to a halt, Saki and I found ourselves applauding before we could even take notice.

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