SCPK 55

Chapter 55

 Music Room

What slave drivers!

Today was the day Tsukiyo was supposed to help the track and field team as their manager. But even after club activities had started, she still hadn’t shown up. As a result, the members told me to go get her.

When I told them to call her themselves, they said, “You’re the one she’s most comfortable around,” and in the end, I was the one sent.

Maybe it’s because I don’t feel bad about it that people call me a pushover.

October had passed, and the daytime temperatures were slowly dropping. Fewer and fewer students were still wearing their summer uniforms, and this was the final week we were allowed to wear them. Starting next week, we’d have to wear the winter uniform.

Still, since I was in a sports club, the winter uniform felt too warm to wear already.

She wasn’t in our classroom or the library. I even asked Urihara from the Literature Club, but she said Tsukiyo hadn’t been there either. She wasn’t answering her phone. What could’ve happened?

But… I could swear I heard piano music coming from somewhere. The brass band club was supposed to be off today, though.

Curious, I cautiously opened the nearby door to the music room. There, in the golden light of the afternoon sun, sat Tsukiyo, her fingers gently gliding over the keys. Each note came out clear and deliberate.

“Oh—Taiyō-san.”
“Ah, sorry for interrupting.”

Since the piano faced the opposite wall from the door, she noticed me right away.

“I’m going to the kindergarten tomorrow, so I thought I’d practice a new song for them.”
“I see. So you’ve done this before too?”
“Yes. I come here whenever the brass band isn’t using the room… They’ve even tried to recruit me a few times.”

Then, Tsukiyo began playing again.

I don’t really listen to music much—just enough to be satisfied with whatever’s popular on J-POP charts. I’ve heard some of the children’s songs she plays, but I honestly can’t tell whether she’s good or not.

I guess it’s not just about playing the notes on the sheet music. People talk about “expression” and stuff like that.

“When did you start playing piano, Tsukiyo?”
“Up until third grade in elementary school. I even won a gold prize once.”

As expected from such a talented girl. But there’s a reason she stopped playing piano.

“Right after that, my parents disappeared.”

Apparently, the Kamunagi household changed drastically when Tsukiyo was in third grade. Her parents vanished, and her only remaining relative was an uncle who worked far away.

Seiya once told me that time had been really tough for them. I couldn’t bring myself to ask for details. Now that the two of them are managing to live on their own, I don’t plan to pry. Even if I did ask, it’s not like I could do anything. The best I can do is treat them both normally—without prejudice.

With the talent those two have, I’m sure they’ll rise far once they’re adults.

Tsukiyo had mentioned that she entered this high school as a special scholarship student for ranking first in the entrance exams, which meant her admission and tuition fees were waived. She’d probably get into university the same way.

She started playing another children’s song. As the sun began to set, the orange glow streamed in through the audiovisual room’s windows, lighting up her silky, chestnut hair.

Without thinking, I raised my camera, framed her in the viewfinder, and pressed the shutter.

When she finished the song, she turned toward me with a gentle smile.

“Why do you have a camera with you, Taiyō-san?”
“Oh, the track team wanted to record form checks during practice, so I brought it.”
“For a moment, I thought you’d finally awakened to your voyeuristic side.”

“Of course not!” I protested. “You’re the only girl I’ve ever taken pictures of, you know.”

Tsukiyo stopped playing and gently closed the piano lid.

I wondered—did she still ever want to play piano again like she used to?

“Well then, Taiyō-san, shall we go?”
“Ah, wait—before that… could I take a few more photos of you in your summer uniform?”
“…You really haven’t awakened to that side, right?”

“I told you, no! And I’m asking permission, so it’s not voyeurism!”

Since we’d have to wear winter uniforms starting next week, this was my last chance until next year.

After a resigned sigh, she finally agreed.

“Make sure you take cute ones, okay?”
“You’re already cute enough as it is.”
“Wha—! Geez!”

And so, with Tsukiyo in her summer uniform for the last time this year, standing before the piano bathed in sunset light, I pressed the shutter again and again.