Yuki wanted to scream.
She already hated her usual checkups, but somehow they were even worse today.
Never expected to miss that weirdo shrink she got the first time at the hospital.
Tenshi-san or whatever.
His porcelain skin and pitch-black eyes were annoying. Like, how can a man be that beautiful?
Not handsome, not cute.
Perfect. Almost ethereal. Like an actual angel. It was super weird.
She got goosebumps whenever he was near, making her think of requesting someone else. But now that she actually had a different psychologist to start her entire story over with?!
Ugh. How could someone working in healthcare quit like that?
No warning. No reasons given. He wasn't even old. Kinda ageless, if anything.
The absolute worst type to let anywhere near a young maiden with a pure heart, haha. Cringe.
Whatever. She was over it now.
Yanking her sleeve down and over her hands, she took a deep breath, and—yeah, it was time to rock out. She felt tired, antsy, and mad. Sorakumo-san gave her a very obvious glance, too.
"I'm fine," she lied before he could ask. "But it took me ages to get everything over with, so—"
"Lie down a bit. Upstairs," he offered, his hands light on her shoulders. "I'll run the shop."
Weird. He was kind, but she never understood why.
She shook him off, pointing her chin at the three foreigners.
"I'm late as is. They need the practice."
And that was a nice way of putting it.
"You need rest, too," Sorakumo-san protested, but she already pulled away.
"I know you hate my play, but come on," Yuki complained, a smirk plastered on her face. "I'm not going anywhere this time. Won't be alone. We'll be here, we'll be loud—and very, very bad."
What was even up with today?
They didn't suck this much before.
"Might actually run if it continues like this," the man groaned, mirroring her smile.
Well, there was an attempt.
But what was all this? The weather? Did everyone go crazy? She definitely did; she could feel it. And if she weren't sure, Halstadt-kun's worried looks spoke louder than words.
She had to turn her back on him, her voice dropping to a forced whisper.
"Oto-san, you didn't tell him anything weird, did you?"
"What?! Yuki-chan, is that how you know me?!"
She didn't. That was the problem. She didn't know him at all.
Her own father. Allegedly.
She had no recollection of what had happened to her before waking up in the hospital. Her parents, her life, nothing. As if she had been born then and there, only a year ago.
But whenever she said that, her father's face went dark.
"Whatever. They're awful," she noted, repeating it louder when there was finally a pause in the noise. Calling it music would have been too generous. "What's wrong with you guys today?"
"Ugh, sorry," Halstadt-kun said, hugging his guitar with slumped shoulders.
He wasn't at the top of his game, but he tried his best at least.
"It was our first attempt at this song together," the drummer girl added.
And yeah.
"Can tell," Yuki forced a laugh. "Your tempo was all over the place."
That earned a pout from her and a scoff from Midori-kun, too.
He crossed his arms behind the keyboard.
"I played everything right, perfect rhythm and all. But when that monster can't keep her beat—"
"Hey. Not everyone got centuries to practice," Ryu-chan snapped back.
Her glare did look a little monstrous as she threw both her drumsticks at him. She was a perfect shot, too, the projectiles bouncing off her classmate's head. But he didn't flinch.
Halstadt-kun tried to reconcile them, but yeah—
Those two definitely had their own agendas.
In the relative silence, her father offered some unwanted insights.
"You don't have to play perfect, you have to play together," he pointed out. "Drummers give the rhythm, the bass reinforces, and the rest follows—even if she makes mistakes."
"Hah, see? I'm the boss," Ryu-san yelled, victorious. "Know your place, Demon."
Those were some names they gave each other.
She even waved her drumsticks to give weight to her words.
Wait. Didn't she throw them?
"You still can't keep a beat for shit," Halstadt-kun scolded her. "And unless you do, we've nothing to follow. If it's too complex, simplify. But we need something solid."
Harsh. The girl pouted, eyelashes fluttering.
"Yuki-chaaaaan, these guys're bullying me."
Yuki couldn't help but grin. This girl was as if she were looking into a mirror.
"Drums are hard," she said. "Feel ya. But don't let 'em get you down. You'll get better."
Why'd she say that?
How could she think of her as familiar, when she didn't even know herself?
The person they called Sorakumo Yuki-san was an enigma to her.
A blank slate. All her earlier experiences, feelings, life—gone.
Amnesia was a bitch. It sucked, not knowing herself.
Yet somehow, when she caught another glance from Halstadt-kun—
"What?!" she demanded.
Not that there was any point in asking. It was obvious what he was thinking.
This guy wasn't worried about his drummer, but her.
And weird as it was, she felt like she knew him better than herself.
"Why're you staring?" Yuki repeated, walking up to tiptoe into his face. Tall bastard. "What's up?"
Konrad looked away too late. There was no escaping the question now.
"I uh," he muttered, but he could only back away so far before the jack cable stopped him. "You didn't have your piercings today."
That wasn't what he wanted to talk about. She smirked.
"Took 'em out for an MRI," she said, touching her own lips.
Her eyes dared him to ask the real thing, and his flicked to her wrists.
That gave him away.
Of course. He saw all those cuts. No wonder he was odd today—they weirded her out, too.
Not that she had any explanation. And he had the decency not to ask, either.
"MRI?" he mumbled instead. "You're not sick, right?"
His gaze locked into hers, and Yuki shuddered.
Grey irises. Nothing special, although—
They felt old. Not the eyes of a high schooler.
"N-no more than usual," she stuttered, taking a few steps back. What was that? They met like two weeks ago, and she had the urge to kiss him. Oh, and also— "Let's practice."
Ever since he entered the store, she had an endorphin overdose.
And when he asked her to teach him—
She shook her head, grabbing one of the left-handed guitars at random.
"From the top, slow tempo. And everyone's following Ryu-chan," she barked, glancing at the boy, then away again. "We've got to beat my old band next week, so don't let me down."
Yeah. As if that was her only goal in life.
To teach those three about music for some reason. Especially Halstadt-kun.
The only thing that made her happy. Weird, but she never questioned it until today.
While her entire life was in a disconnect—no memories, no motivation—she felt a pull towards him. It couldn't be this 'love at first sight' bullshit. She didn't believe in that at all.
But this—
It felt almost like someone had programmed her to behave like this when he was around.
"A one, a two, a one two three four—"