MCFW 02

Chapter:02

It was a large detached room located within our family’s property.
The place my sister Kana had called “that spot” was this very room.
It was often used by my older brother and his band members as their practice space.
As proof, there were plenty of instruments and sound equipment set up around the room.
After guiding the girls there, I immediately switched on the lights.

“We can play instruments here without worrying about noise complaints, so it’s perfect for practice.”
“So this is the place Kana mentioned?”
“Yeah. It’s a great spot for both meetings and rehearsals.”

Since the room was a bit removed from the neighboring houses, noise was never an issue.

“Are you sure it’s okay for us to use this room?”
“Yeah, it should be fine. My brother used to come here with his band to practice all the time.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Huh? What’s wrong?”

Puzzled by her serious tone, I asked Nao what she meant.
She was looking around the room with a thoughtful expression.

“I mean, is it really okay for us to use this room? Your brother doesn’t still use it, does he?”
“Oh, that’s fine. He practices somewhere else now. He hasn’t used this room lately.”
“I see. Then there shouldn’t be any problem.”
“Right. That’s why he recommended it to us.”
“Alright then. Sorry to ask so soon, but can you show us how good you are on bass?”

That sudden request came from the twin-tailed girl who had been with Kana and the others earlier at the girls’ school gate.
I froze, caught completely off guard.

“Huh?”

Even Kana looked surprised by the girl’s words.

“Wait, Misa! That’s kind of sudden—”
“What? I just want to see what he can do. We’re not going to get in trouble for making noise here, right? It’s perfect.”
“Still, that’s a bit…”
“I don’t mind.”

I cut Kana off and spoke up.

“Little brother?”
“Kana invited me to join, sure—but if you’re meeting someone new, it’s only natural to wonder, ‘Can this guy actually play?’ I get it. Let’s just do it.”

I picked up my bass, gave the strings a test strum, and adjusted the sound.

“Alright then. Listen carefully.”

With that, I began to play.

I wondered how the others were hearing it—the solo bass line flowing smoothly in tune.
I was playing well, but the silence from the room made me oddly nervous.
Before long, I finished the piece.

“…So, how was that?”

The four girls exchanged glances.

“…It was fine, I think.”
“I’ll leave the judgment to Kana.”
“Same here. Leader’s call.”

So it seemed there were no complaints about my performance.
I waited to see how Kana would respond.
Without hesitation, she smiled and suddenly hugged me.
Her soft chest pressed right into my face as she did.

“Congratulations, little brother. From today, you’re officially part of our band!”
“Got it. I’ll do my best. Nice to meet everyone.”

Still trapped in her embrace, I managed a strained smile.
It always went like this—once Kana hugged me, I couldn’t move.
And I couldn’t exactly push her away, either.
I didn’t want to do anything that might make her hate me.

Kana finally let go.

“Alright, now that that’s settled, let’s start practicing together!”
“Yeah, sounds good.”
“Since we’ve got our new member, this is a good place to start.”
“Should we just run through the songs casually for now?”

They each picked up their instruments and started preparing.
—So, what was I supposed to do now?

“Come on, little brother. Follow our lead.”
“Uh, okay. Got it.”

Ah… so I am playing too.
Guess they were eager to start right away.
As the three of them began playing, I joined in with my bass, following their rhythm.
Then Kana’s clear, beautiful voice filled the room.

Was I keeping up? Or holding them back?
That worry nagged at me as the song carried on.
We played three songs, one after another, like clockwork.
No one complained; everyone just played their parts.
And somehow, their combined sound came together naturally, creating a unique harmony.
All the songs were new to me—I was barely managing to keep up.
When we finished, everyone exhaled at once.

“Phew… well, that’s good enough for now.”
“For a quick run-through, that went pretty well.”
“Kana seemed to be in great form, so I’d say no problem.”
“Even with a new member, we managed to sync up. Looks like we’ll be ready in time for the main event.”
“Main event? What do you mean?”

Misa, the twin-tailed girl, had said something that caught my attention.
When I tilted my head, she explained:

“We’re going to be performing live soon.”
“A live show!? No one told me that!”
“Oh… Kana, you didn’t mention it?”
“Ah—yeah, I forgot. Sorry.”
“It’s fine. We can explain now.”
“We’ve been practicing for this live show, but we were short one member. Now that you’ve joined, we can finally rehearse properly for it.”
“So where’s the live show happening?”
“At our school. There’s going to be a cultural festival soon, and we’re performing there.”
“Wait! Your school is an all-girls school, right!?”

I practically yelped.
Kana’s school was a girls’ academy, and during events like the cultural festival, male visitors needed special entry tickets.

“Yeah, that’s right. And if I remember right, your school has the day off that day, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah, we do.”

True, my school—a boys’ school—had the day off, but that wasn’t because of the girls’ festival.
Most of us just spent the day relaxing elsewhere.

“Then it’s perfect! You can perform with us.”
“Wait… I don’t mind performing, but don’t I need a ticket to even get in?”
“Oh… right. We do need entry tickets, don’t we?”

Apparently, she had completely forgotten about that.
Kana scratched her cheek awkwardly.

“That’s right. The school issues those… uh…”
“…Kaede Suou.”
“Right, Kaede. You’ll need a ticket to enter, since it’s a girls’ school.”
“Obviously. Without one, he can’t even get inside. That would ruin the whole performance.”
“But how are we supposed to get one? I don’t know any girls from your school besides Kana.”

That was true.
I hardly had any female acquaintances—Kana was basically the only one.
Each student received just one ticket, and surely Kana and the others would want to give theirs to someone special to come watch them perform.

“Then I’ll give you the one I get from school. Problem solved, right?”
“Wait, but weren’t you going to give that to my brother…?”
“That’s fine. I already turned down Ryuichi’s invitation, so I’ve made up my mind. I’ll give my ticket to you.”
“But…”
“Oh, come on! You’re a guy—just accept it and be happy!”

Even so, it was hard to be purely happy about it.
I vaguely remembered there being some kind of strange rumor or “curse” about boys entering that school… though I didn’t know the details.

“Okay. Thank you. I really appreciate it.”
“That’s better.”

Kana smiled warmly.

“Anyway, now that that’s settled, we’ve got about three weeks until the festival. Between part-time jobs and festival prep, we’re all going to be busy.”
“Of course. You’re suggesting we focus on personal practice for now, right?”
“Exactly! I’ll be practicing on my own too, but finding time for group sessions will be tough.”
“That’s true.”
“So, let’s switch to individual practice for a while?”

At her sudden suggestion, the three girls looked thoughtful.

“Individual practice, huh? Not a bad idea…”
“Well, with all the festival prep, it can’t be helped.”
“Yeah, everyone’s going to be busy anyway.”

Fair enough—I had my part-time job too.

“Alright then. We’ll each practice on our own for now. We’ll get together for group rehearsals on weekends.”
“Got it. We meet here on Saturdays and Sundays?”
“Exactly.”
“Okay, now that that’s decided, how about we run through one more song before we wrap up?”
“Agreed!”
“Wait, hold on! I haven’t finished tuning yet—”

Before I could finish, they were already set and ready to play.

“Come on, hurry up!”
“I’m trying—”
“I’ll lead you through it if you want.”

Kana said that as she pressed right up against me.

“No thanks! I’ll finish tuning in a sec, just give me a minute!”

Embarrassed, I quickly stepped away.
—Seriously.
She never gives me a break.
How long does she plan to keep treating me like a kid?
I mean, come on—I’m a high school freshman.
Just one year younger than her, and still she treats me like this. It’s exhausting.