Saeko visited the dojo once again, looking for Sota, her heart fluttering with a mix of anticipation and nervousness. Her appearance was the same as always: tightly braided hair and a plain blouse with trousers. Except, it took her twice as long to get ready as usual, for some inexplicable reason.
She stood there, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other.
It wasn't like her opinion of him had improved, nor had their connection deepened. Yet, training with him last week had been unexpectedly refreshing—so much so that she hadn't been able to get it out of her head. It was nothing that special—just two people blowing off some steam. But it was a pleasant surprise and reassuring to see that he had kept his word, not crossing any boundaries.
So, where is he now?
"Looking for Sota?" asked another practitioner, his face familiar from last time. "They're having a concert tonight, so he won't be here. You know, I was wondering if you came to the dojo just because of him like the other girls, but it's nice to see you're here to practice anyway," he said. But Saeko's attention was caught by the mention of the concert.
It clicked in her mind. He had mentioned it last time, during their brief small talk after training. Am I not paying attention to him at all? Someone as vain as I've taken him for would be offended by my indifference.
"Ah, thanks for reminding me," she muttered. Well, then. Shall I train with someone else today?
"Would you like to train with me instead of him?" The guy smiled, almost as if answering her unspoken thoughts.
An hour later, she leaned on her knees, breathless from the exertion, her legs aching.
"Geez..." she panted. "Now that was a workout."
No wonder, she had been hurrying through the city, trying to make it to the concert on time.
I just simply want to see what kind of person he is without any bias this time.
People were chanting from their top of their lungs, pulsing together like one living organism. Saeko could never really tolerate crowds, but this was somehow different. Being an open-air concert made it somehow less suffocating. The late-autumn air was pleasant, light breeze cooling down the heated sweaty atmosphere.
And those lunatics were even more flamboyant and extraordinary on stage than she had expected. Their infectious energy swept through the crowd, leaving fans in a state of overzealous euphoria. It was as if all the weight of daily life lifted in an instant, and even for a short time, nothing else mattered. Every beat, every note, was a release, urging her to let go of her worries. It was impossible not to get caught up in the rhythm, not just moving with the music but feeling it deep in her bones.
Once the lights went dimmer and Sota put down his guitar, he wouldn't need it for the next song. This time, he would only sing.
The crowd began to cheer, knowing what was coming. Yasushi started a melancholic tune that felt a bit out of place after the songs they'd been playing earlier.
„Ah I have already got goosebumbs," some girls exclaimed.
As the tune went on, Sota slowly walked to the very front of the showrun. It extended deep into the audience.
People started crouching down in a wave. Sota stepped on the very edge of the stage and crouched lazily, with half of his feet just hung in the air.
"I can't believe there are still people who don't know what to do" some fan grumbled and instructed each other crouching down. There were only four or five people left standing who didn't know about their customs, and Saeko was one of them.
It was easy for Sota to find Saeko out of that few and make eye contact with her. He gave her a faint smile, then he started singing keeping eye contact with her.
What is this feeling?
When he hit the first note, it was unlike anything before. He sang with a deep voice, deeper than she had ever heard. It was unbelievably powerful, causing her entire body to tremble. She couldn't move or take her eyes off him.
The crowd were chanting the lyrics.
Do they even understand it? It was about someone on the brink of suicide. It was about all the hardships and darkness of it.
He sang every word of it as if he really meant it, as if he really felt it. She felt like her heart was being ripped from her chest. Then, the next moment, the melody began to reach its climax.
Sota jumped up from crouching on the edge, doing a backflip. Such a risky stunt. The crowd jumped up with him, screaming. Everything went wild. Sota stood on the stage, raising his left fist toward the sky, his head turning back, searching for Tatsuya. He bowed as the drums continued to thunder wildly.
The rain started to fall, as if it had been ordered to do so. It was cold, refreshing and invigorating.
And the lyrics were no longer about dying. He sang about hope, about friends you can count on. It was a song about being there for each other.
Saeko stood there motionless, realizing she had been crying helplessly.
"Gosh. I can't believe I finally heard it live!"
"Thank you guys!" they screamed. "This song saved me at my lowest"
"I can't imagine what would have happened if Tatsuya hadn't arrived in time. A world without any of them would be much less worth living in," one of the fans remarked.
What are they talking about? Saeko gaped.
The crowd went emotional.
Sota went back to the covered area where the others were. As a farewell gesture, they all turned their backs to the crowd and raised their left hands to the sky.
„Never forget, to be there for each other," Sota said then dropped the mic.
After they left the stage. The rain was pouring even heavier. Yet the crowd was still there. Most of them started chanting.
„Be-there-for-each-oth-er!" They were screaming from their top of their lungs. They were full of emotions. Gratitude, excitement and so more.
By the time the fans had already scattered, Saeko still stood there, unable to move. Finally, she understood why she had been feeling guilty all this time. Not because she had yelled at him, but because she had misjudged him.
How could I have believed he was wasting his life?
Somehow, she felt like he had already saved more lives than she ever had as a nurse.
But then, as if snapped from her thoughts, someone gently draped a raincoat over her.
"Hey, don't get sick because of us," she heard. But instead of Sota, it was Yasushi's voice. "Come on, everyone's back there," he said, guiding her.
When they entered the backstage area, everyone stared at her in pleasant surprise—except for one. A girl in a sleek, long dress. The one who often visited the hospital. She was fuming with anger as she appeared beside Yasushi.
"Well, well, look who's here!" Kaito grinned. "Did you come to check out how cool I am?"
"Sota suddenly rushed off to pick up something, but he'll be back soon, I guess," Tatsuya added, with a wink.
Yasushi, noticing Yumeko's frustrated gaze, commented, "In the meantime, it's time to go if we don't want to miss out the..."