[Golden String] Golden Tears

The author has something to say:

"Oh! Ishikawa!"

"Ah, it's Tsuchiura-kun, good afternoon."

When he was stopped at the stairway, he turned around and saw that the person who made the noise was Ryotaro Tsuchiura, and Zero Ishikawa bowed politely.

"ま, good afternoon." As if he didn't know why he intuitively called her, he scratched his hair, then coughed lightly, "That...you know? It's the concert suite, the second movement There's going to be an extra piano and violin duet..."

Ishikawa Rei was a little surprised and nodded.

"Yes, I already know."

"E?!"

Now it was Ryotaro Tsuchiura's turn to be surprised:

After all, this was only informed by Hiroshi Kanazawa during the ensemble practice on the last Golden Day, and he would know because he participated in that ensemble practice as a pianist instead of her; but she...has never even attended a single ensemble practice But, how come...

Could it be that this was what they were talking about when he and Tsukimori Ren went to the entrance of the concert hall that day and saw her talking to Hiroto Kanazawa?

Oddly enough, he was given the sheet music for the piano part for the ensemble practice, but she walked out of the concert hall empty-handed that day—that is, if they were talking about adding a duet part at the time, it wouldn't make sense. Rei Ishikawa The official pianist of the concert did not get the score, but he, the temporary player who took part in the practice instead of her, did get the score-but if she and Hiroto Kanazawa hadn't been talking about it at the time... then , how did she know?

"... え?" Ishikawa Rei repeated the subconscious monophony of Tsuchiura Ryotaro in a daze. He simply thought that Tsuchiura Ryotaro just didn't understand her answer, so he replied again, "I know that we need to add a duet, that ...I mean, because Kanazawa-sensei already told me."

"That's right..." Tsuchiura Ryotaro whispered to himself.

"Yes, yes." Ishikawa Zero nodded slightly, "But, thank you for reminding me."

With a slight bend, she turned around and was about to leave.

"Wait a minute, Ishikawa." Before he could take a step, Tsuchiura Ryotaro called out to her again, "Uh, ま...do you have the score? It's for the duet you want to add?"

The black eyes widened a little in surprise, and Ishikawa Rei looked at the slender boy with a healthy complexion who was a head taller than her in front of her, his cherry-like crimson lips parted slightly——

After a while, she seemed to come back to her senses, lowered her eyes, and stared straight at her toes:

"That, I... already have... Thank you, goodbye."

Not giving Tsuchiura Ryotaro a chance to call her again, turning his head, Ishikawa Rei rushed downstairs very quickly.

Leaving Tsuchiura Ryotaro stunned on the spot with a puzzled expression on his face, he was puzzled for a long time...

……

In the afternoon, the rooftop is the place where music students most often use it for practice besides the practice room in the school.Therefore, it is not surprising to hear the sound of musical instruments playing near the roof after school.

However, in the Star Academy where most music students are majoring in classical music, it is indeed rare to see the trumpet and the flute playing one high and one low, one singing and one harmony, interlaced playing an obviously jazz-style piece of music.

So when Tsuchiura Ryotaro and Hino Kahoko met on the way, and then walked up to the roof and opened the door together, the expression on Tsuchiura Ryotaro's face was very surprised.As for Hino Kahoko, of course, without much music education and experience, she can't tell the difference between classical music and jazz music at all. She only thinks that the duet that is playing on the rooftop is really beautiful. That's all -

"That's not right, Huohara, you still haven't swung enough in this area. You have to drag it out a little longer for the beat just now... Like this..."

Accompanied by the gentle voice of Azuma teak, the crisp flute is demonstrating.

"Hey, Yuki, this place is so difficult to understand! If you said it would take so long, wouldn't the sound time of the next beat be shortened a lot?!"

Facing the sheet music in his hand, Huoyuan Heshu patted his head in frustration, with a puzzled look on his face:

Obviously the score is written in a long series of eighth notes, but why does it feel like the dotted eighth and sixteenth notes alternately when played by Azuma teak? !

He really doesn't understand - he's full of clues!

"Hey, Hihara, look over here." Yuzuki Azuma smiled gently, and stretched out his fingers on the music score in the hands of Kazuki Hihara, "Look, here, the composer has written it, this piece is going to start with Played in a jazz style."

"This, I have seen this. But..." Grabbing the messy short hair, pouted, "Could it be that the jazz style... is to change the rhythm written on the original score to match the one on the score. Is it completely different? How strange..."

The thick and tangible eyebrows were tightly wrinkled, and the creases were telling the fact that the owner of the eyebrows was completely out of the situation at the moment.

"ふん...that's not what it means, Hihara. It's just the so-called 'SwingStyle' of the jazz style. When two eighth notes share the same beat, the first one accounts for about two-thirds of the beat. The length, the latter only accounts for one-third of it... like this."

Yuki Azuma explained with a light smile...

——The above is exactly what Hino Kahoko and Tsuchiura Ryotaro saw when they opened the door on the roof.

"Ah, it's Yuki-senpai and Hihara-senpai, is that the piece that the two seniors are going to play together at the rehearsal concert?"

Tsuchiura Ryotaro walked towards the two with a hearty smile.

Hino Kahoko followed closely behind, smiling implicitly while clapping her hands involuntarily:

"The performances of the seniors are so good, it sounds like a beautiful melody!"

"Oh—Hino ちゃん, Tsuchiura, you guys are coming too!" After greeting with a smile, his cheerful face sank again, "This piece is beautiful, but I can't always play it well... That's why Yuzuki taught me .As a result... I still don't quite understand..."

He lowered his head, looking very frustrated.

"It's okay, Huoyuan. In fact, I don't know much about jazz style. It's just because of this concert that I looked up a lot of jazz information." Still smiling gently, teak Azuma comforted in a very soft voice.

"That's right, Hihara-senpai, jazz music is a completely unfamiliar world to us, it's normal to feel that you don't understand it at first, you don't need to feel too much self-blame, senior."

Ryotaro Tsuchiura, who is also more proficient in classical music, understandably joined the ranks of teak Azuma comfort.

But soon, he changed to directly expressing his feelings:

"In fact, when I first saw that there were so many passages in the score that were very close to the style of jazz and blues, I was stunned for a long time! How should I put it, it feels very strange, because it is rare to see A concerto like this obviously mixes several melodies of completely different styles together, but it doesn't seem abrupt at all, just like... yes, like those rhymes that change styles are all to describe something special, It’s kind of—a refreshing feeling.”

It wasn't until the long series of words were finished that Tsuchiura Ryotaro suddenly realized that he seemed a little excited, and patted his forehead in embarrassment: "ああ, sorry, I seem to have talked too much at once."

Almost at the same moment as the words fell, the other three shook their heads vigorously at the same time.

"No, I think Tsuchiura-san's words are quite correct." Yuzuki Azuma Toshihide still had a gentle smile on his face.

"That's right, Tsuchiura. Well, what Yuki said was exactly what I wanted to say!" Hihara Kazuki even swept away the gloomy expression earlier, and looked at him with sunshine-like adoring eyes.

As for Hino Kahoko, unsurprisingly, she showed a puzzled wry smile:

"Although I don't quite understand..." He said softly to himself, and then smiled at Ryotaro Tsuchiura, "I think, maybe it's because the composer hopes to create that kind of atmosphere like a narrative, so the Combining several different... er, styles, right?!"

"Yes! Hino ちゃん is right!" Kazuki Hihara suddenly burst out with a loud voice, "I must redouble my efforts to practice this part well! ね, teak?"

In the end, I didn't forget to turn my head and ask Azuma Yuzuki, who was going to play the song together just now.

"Uh..." Hino Kahoko couldn't help feeling... speechless.

Just as the four of them were seriously discussing the music to be played at the concert after the fourth selection match, there was a sudden knock from the roof door.

With a "squeak", it was pushed away——

"Ah! Little Zero!"

Ben was facing away from the door, and Hino Kahoko, who was distracted by the sudden sound, was the first to call out the person's name.

The person who was named - Ishikawa Zero turned his head and parted his lips unexpectedly, but his eyes were distressed and lax.

"What, what's the matter, Xiaoling?"

Hino Kahoko immediately noticed her blurred line of sight that was almost out of focus, and asked worriedly.

silence.

No response.

It was so long that Hino Kahoko thought that Ishikawa Rei might not have heard her words at all, she suddenly took a step back as if she had come to her senses:

"H... wild?!" After quickly looking around for a moment, he couldn't help but raised his hand to cover his lips, and said to himself, "Ah! I...how did I come to the rooftop?!"

"Xiao Ling, Xiao Ling? You... are you okay?"

Hino Kahoko stepped forward cautiously to support Ishikawa Rei's unsteady figure, her face full of worry.

"Ah... it's Yuki-senpai and Hihara-senpai, and... Tsuchiura-kun... also..."

Whispering softly, the tone of voice is full of powerlessness.

The whole person showed a very spiritless appearance.

"Xiao Ling...what's the matter with you..."

Can't help but frown.

Although Hino Kahoko knew very well from the first time she knew Ishikawa Rei that Ishikawa Rei's eyes were always filled with that kind of inexplicable sadness—this is why she was so impressed with her at first sight—but It was the first time she saw Rei Ishikawa, who was so depressed now, as if all the strength in his body had been exhausted, and he was as dazed as if he didn't even know where his soul had gone.

Another long period of silence.

It wasn't until Ryotaro Tsuchiura, Azuma Yuzuki, and Kazuki Hibara came over with expressions of concern in the gloomy atmosphere of the two of them that Rei Ishikawa shook his head belatedly.

Don't say a word.

Just kept shaking his head.

Push harder.

The smooth hair draws black arcs in the air——

Finally, stop.

The slightly parted thin lips trembled slightly:

"Please...today, please don't ask me anything..."

Turning around, I didn't even have time to say "goodbye", and rushed out of the roof door...

After a long silence, Tsuchiura Ryotaro scratched his hair and said to himself:

"This Ishikawa Rei...why does it always feel like a mystery, I can't figure it out at all..."