Hoshino Miru arrived at the individual practice room. The environment here was much brighter than Wakaba Mutsuki's basement, but the equipment wasn't necessarily better than her home's.
Wakaba Mutsuki silently sat on a stool, and Hoshino Miru consciously sat across from her.
"Yesterday's practice?" Wakaba Mutsuki looked at Hoshino Miru's right hand.
Hoshino Miru tried playing a section, but the lingering pain from last night prevented him from performing very well.
However, Wakaba Mutsuki didn't require him to perform perfectly. Just by watching his hand movements and listening to the melody for a bit, she could basically tell whether he had practiced diligently last night.
"Very impressive." Wakaba Mutsuki could tell. Being able to practice to this level in one night showed Hoshino Miru had good talent and was also working hard.
"Thank you for sensei's praise. I'll continue working hard." Hoshino Miru felt satisfied.
She had clearly said last time not to keep calling her sensei, but Wakaba Mutsuki was a bit concerned about it.
"What are we practicing today?" Hoshino Miru asked.
Wakaba Mutsuki picked up her guitar and began teaching him more complex pieces that could comprehensively demonstrate guitar techniques. Compared to talking, the girl seemed more skilled at playing guitar.
Only when Hoshino Miru couldn't keep up with the rhythm, or when he actively spoke up, would Wakaba Mutsuki speak to point out mistakes.
Hoshino Miru had originally wanted to chat with her about topics, but playing and playing, he unconsciously became immersed. By the time he came to his senses, the practice room's notification had been sounding for a while - only 15 minutes of usable time remained.
"Time passes so quickly. A single song can take this long to learn." Hoshino Miru felt somewhat emotional. He remembered doing math problems used to be like this too.
"You can buy finger guards." Wakaba Mutsuki had long noticed Hoshino Miru's fingers. Many beginners had such an adaptation period until calluses formed.
"I originally wanted to buy them, but I heard they seem to affect the feel." Hoshino Miru planned to endure. "This little pain is no big deal - it'll pass sooner or later."
Wakaba Mutsuki didn't insist on persuading him. It was just a suggestion anyway.
Watching Hoshino Miru plucking the strings again, the girl thought for a moment and spoke: "Do you really like guitar?"
"I don't like it." Hoshino Miru was straightforward.
Wakaba Mutsuki was stunned. She somewhat couldn't understand - if he didn't like it, why learn guitar?
"I don't have any special feelings about guitar. Having me learn bass or piano would have the same effect." Hoshino Miru thought for a moment. "To me, this is just a skill I recently acquired. I want to see the results."
Besides "Music Theory," Hoshino Miru also had "Cooking," "Writing," and "Drawing" among other skills.
"Writing" had earned him considerable income, allowing him to live independently early. "Cooking" ensured his dietary quality. Only "Drawing" temporarily had no space to be utilized.
In Hoshino Miru's eyes, these skills were life's treasures.
Learning one more wouldn't hurt.
Wakaba Mutsuki lowered her gaze and said softly: "Guitar practice takes a very long time."
"I know, but I just need to master this skill." Hoshino Miru smiled. "Once I learn it, maybe I can compose a few famous songs in the future."
Wakaba Mutsuki was somewhat surprised. She hadn't thought about composing - it sounded like something Toyokawa Sakiko would do.
"Why did sensei learn guitar?" Hoshino Miru was somewhat curious.
"I like it." Wakaba Mutsuki hugged her guitar. This was all she had.
"Seems I can't compare to sensei." Hoshino Miru pretended to murmur to himself. "Must I learn to like it to reach sensei's level?"
Wakaba Mutsuki wanted to say she had been practicing for a long time - to reach her level would take at least several years.
But the words on her lips became three words.
"You won't."
Hoshino Miru was somewhat taken aback, suspecting he'd heard wrong.
Seeing his expression, Wakaba Mutsuki quickly realized she'd said the wrong thing again. Biting her lip, hesitating to speak, she finally lowered her gaze.
Hoshino Miru immediately understood - this little sensei really didn't know how to chat.
"Indeed can't do it. Even if I liked guitar as much as sensei, wouldn't it take several years?" Hoshino Miru smiled slightly. "Has sensei been learning guitar since childhood?"
"Mm." Wakaba Mutsuki lightly nodded. She was a bit afraid she'd say the wrong thing again.
"Can I listen?" Hoshino Miru blinked. "I don't think I've seen sensei's full strength yet."
Though Wakaba Mutsuki had been practicing with him for quite a while, beginner entry-level pieces couldn't fully demonstrate her complete level. Rather, it was like a max-level player in starter gear accompanying a newbie to fight monsters - one-shotting everything.
After hesitating for a moment, under Hoshino Miru's encouragement, she began playing impromptu. Her style immediately became completely different - not the slow pace from accompanying Hoshino Miru earlier. The girl's slender white fingers were like a swarm of dancing wasps, able to shatter Hoshino Miru's previous impression of her in an instant.
Initially, Hoshino Miru could still focus on her small hands, but later gradually couldn't keep up, so he looked at the girl's pretty face. Despite the particularly frenzied rhythm, the girl's expression showed no change - calm as water, as if just playing the simplest "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."
A usually quiet, expressionless girl playing such wild melody was truly unexpected for Hoshino Miru.
Soon, Wakaba Mutsuki stopped her fingers, showing no sign of fatigue.
"Sensei is too amazing - even improvisation is this incredible!" Hoshino Miru applauded. "Being able to hear such melody, I can die without regrets!"
Him not applauding would have been fine, but doing so made Wakaba Mutsuki inexplicably feel like an elder watching a child perform talent during New Year's.
Wakaba Mutsuki slightly puffed out her cheeks, somewhat not wanting to pay attention to this person.
"Sensei, can I learn even one-third of this level in the future?"
"You can work hard."
"Moved - so sensei thinks so highly of me."
"..."
Saying he was moved, Wakaba Mutsuki didn't see him looking moved at all.
"However, I completely didn't expect sensei would play so intensely." Hoshino Miru touched his chin. "Could it be every kuudere girl has a wild side in her heart?"
"What's kuudere?" Wakaba Mutsuki didn't understand.
"Cute girls like you are kuudere." Hoshino Miru said seriously.
"I'm... not cute." Wakaba Mutsuki couldn't help but refute. This person kept saying she was cute - it was really strange.
"People who seriously refute like this are cute." Hoshino Miru used an impeccable defense against her rebuttal.
Wakaba Mutsuki felt flustered. It wasn't that no one had praised her as cute, but only Hoshino Miru could praise people so easily, as if he could find her cute no matter what.
Her reaction made Hoshino Miru find it quite interesting. Such a dazed girl naturally made him want to tease her a bit.
"Seems time is about to end. Want to go out for coffee?"
Wakaba Mutsuki didn't refuse Hoshino Miru's invitation. She followed him out of the practice room to the coffee shop the attendant had mentioned earlier.
This coffee shop was actually on the second floor. Hoshino Miru discovered there was also a music store and recording studio here - truly one-stop service.
Hoshino Miru ordered a cup of coffee while Wakaba Mutsuki ordered mango juice. The two sat in a corner position as the atmosphere became somewhat subtle.
Wakaba Mutsuki wouldn't actively find topics, just drinking her mango juice. Only Hoshino Miru could take responsibility for breaking the silent atmosphere.
"I think I saw you and Toyokawa-san here back then." Hoshino Miru looked at the street outside the window, seemingly casual, but actually very curious about their situation - especially since this was the crime scene.
Wakaba Mutsuki followed his gaze to see the crosswalk from that time, her eyes flashing with dimness and loneliness.
"Toyokawa-san told me about you all. After she withdrew, did your band really disband?" Hoshino Miru noticed her dejection and softened his voice somewhat.
"The band... everyone didn't disband." Wakaba Mutsuki lowered her head. "Just no one was willing to come anymore."
In other words, after Toyokawa Sakiko withdrew, this small group called a band had lost its core figure, and everyone suddenly lost contact.
Thinking about it, that made sense. From Toyokawa Sakiko's words, one could undoubtedly hear that this was a band she had personally formed. Her withdrawal was a devastating blow to this small group.
"Are you all still in contact?" Hoshino Miru naturally asked this question.
"No." Wakaba Mutsuki first shook her head, then hesitated, as if remembering someone. "Sose and I... are at the same school."
Though Toyokawa Sakiko had told Hoshino Miru the general situation, she hadn't mentioned their names. Hoshino Miru only knew that Toyokawa Sakiko and Wakaba Mutsuki were not only childhood friends but had previously been classmates at the same school.
The Sose that Wakaba Mutsuki mentioned - could she be the bassist Toyokawa Sakiko had mentioned?
"Sose... she's been contacting Saki-chan." Wakaba Mutsuki said. "She wants Saki-chan to come back."
"But Toyokawa-san didn't agree." Hoshino Miru thought for a moment. "What are sensei's thoughts? Playing in a band should be fun, right?"
Hoshino Miru remembered Toyokawa Sakiko's expression when mentioning the band. Her happiness and pain weren't faked - for them, it should be an unforgettable memory.
However, Wakaba Mutsuki fell into a long silence.
"Sorry, I asked too much. I'm just a bit curious about what kind of band sensei's previous band was." Hoshino Miru came to his senses. This little sensei wasn't completely emotionless - she probably brooded over it too.
Wakaba Mutsuki shook her head. It wasn't Hoshino Miru's problem - she just hadn't sorted out her own feelings.
Seems he couldn't get anything from her. Hoshino Miru didn't take it to heart.
After finishing coffee, Hoshino Miru was thinking about asking if she wanted to eat something, but the little sensei was already planning to go back, saying her family would return in the afternoon.
Thus, the two could only part ways here.
Watching Wakaba Mutsuki's departing figure, Hoshino Miru wondered whether he should look deeper into their band - it might help with conquest.