I am the emotional sustenance of your deceased

"What binds me?"

Is it Chitose Noshiro? But she is dead. How can an old friend bind me?

Is it Chitose Haizuka? With the same name and the same face... Le Nai admitted that she had been successfully bewitched.

She listened to everything Huizuka said and did, and even memorized it.

What about fulfilling Chitose's legacy together, what about defying the world together... But, it wasn't the ash mound that bound her.

Why?

Is music such a tiring thing?

"Hey! I found it! Lenai."

When Chitose Haizuka's voice came, Kaname Rakuna subconsciously wanted to walk towards the other party.

But now Lenai doesn't want to do that.

She wanted to calm herself down and sort everything out.

"These are sisters Shiina Kyo and Nagasaki Kyo. They're the drummer and bassist, and they're twins."

"Oh."

Lenai looked at her toes with a lack of interest. She liked the floor of SPACE, but she heard that she would never see it again after it closed down.

"Why, you're being sentimental again."

Yes, I'm sorry to disappoint you, Chitose.

"Yes, I want to go home. I haven't decided whether to form a band yet. I..."

Le Na lowered her head even more, making it seem like Chitose Noshiro was bullying her.

And Chitose Noshiro, who already knew the kitten's personality, certainly knew how to deal with it.

"Okay, but please give me your hand."

"what?"

He looked up in surprise, only to see that Qiansui's eyes were very calm, just like that old friend.

"How am I supposed to hold hands with you while holding two cups of matcha parfaits? You're so stupid."

"But those two...band members?"

"Not as important as you. Let's go."

"what?"

……

Are you just leaving like this?

"Mingming, you really want to form a band, don't you?"

"Yeah, I really want to."

There was a huge iron lump on the rooftop of SPACE, whose purpose was unknown. Chitose climbed up first and then pulled Rana up with her.

This seems to be some kind of small reservoir, Chitose guessed.

"I escaped from Hokkaido to Tokyo just to form a band!"

"Then, am I hindering you?"

Lenai only now realized the shame.

What did she do? She acted like a spoiled child and told the teammates Chitose had found to go home first, and even pestered Chitose to go out and relax.

Hmm... maybe I did something wrong.

"No, why are you so weak? Who raised you like this?"

【It is… Chitose Noshiro. 】

Lenai thought about it but didn't say it out loud. The sun above her head was so hot that it almost melted her.

But Chitose beside him was even more passionate.

"I don't know, it's life."

It’s the fear of losing, the pressure from all sides, and the unpalatable matcha parfait.

This world is so boring, even matcha parfait is not sweet anymore.

"Pfft, so stupid. Is it really okay not to go to school today?"

"It's okay," Yao Lenai actually didn't care, "There's a sports day today, but I don't like sports days."

"If so what do you like?"

"I like Chitose-nee."

But Sister Chitose can't come back.

The beauty that Sister Chitose brought me has become a shackle that binds my life.

Lena never considered herself a sentimental person, but she started to act strangely since she met Chitose Haizuka.

The blocked and suppressed emotions in the heart are beginning to sprout.

"Don't overthink it! We still have matcha parfaits, right? Come try some!"

Faced with the cup of dessert that Chitose handed to her, Lenai subconsciously wanted to refuse.

She is really not interested in this kind of food!

"Well!"

But no matter how she refused, Qiansui would pick up the small spoon and force it into her mouth.

"I don't want to... huh? It's delicious."

Sitting high on the rooftop, welcoming the summer breeze blowing everywhere, Lenai's bangs were curled up high.

She savored the food in her mouth, and the indescribable taste returned again.

She glanced at Qiansui, and the girl's smile made her feel familiar.

[This smell... yes, that's the feeling.]

Matcha parfait is indeed delicious when eaten by two people.

……

"Matcha parfait is really boring to eat alone."

There are always countless stories hidden in the dead of night. After Chitose fell asleep, Lenai sat alone on the sofa in the basement and played the guitar.

After a long time, she wanted to eat matcha parfait.

Perhaps because the smell of matcha was too strong, Lena couldn't fall asleep for a long time. She rolled on the bed for a long time, and finally went downstairs and picked up the guitar.

"Since I'm going to fulfill Chitose-san's dream, I have to work harder..."

Ugh.

Isn't it nice to be tied up?

"Aren't you going to sleep yet, little house cat?"

"Ok?"

While Lenai was tuning her guitar, Chitose pushed open the basement door.

The other person playfully showed half of his head, and his soft and delicate body walked towards her through the door.

Ch373. It's a shame to play for such a reason...

"Is it because you can't sleep?"

Lenai, kneeling on the ground in a duck-like posture, looked like a sculpture, with sleepy eyes and a stiff body.

"Ah."

"Because of what happened during the day?"

"Yes, and what happened yesterday."

When she can’t sleep, she wants to get up and practice guitar hard. Sometimes Lenai feels very confused.

What was your reason for learning guitar in the first place?

Because he can represent a thousand years.

"You, you like it so much. You like guitar."

Chitose was gradually approaching her.

"Maybe, but not really. It's just because of the responsibility. It's painful."

Now my own guitar playing is not fun at all.

Chitose once said that her playing was terrible and too emotionless.

"Um...uh? What do you mean?"

Chitose's steps paused, and he stopped only one meter away from Lenai.

"Right now, it's painful. Playing guitar is painful."

“Why do you play guitar?”

"I can't feel at ease if I don't play anymore. I can only catch my breath when I play. But playing is painful. I can't improve, and I can't have fun."

Is it painful? So negative.

Chitose Noshiro first felt [very negative], then she felt [very pitiful], [very gloomy], and also [very strange].

However, what came out of her mouth at this moment was not any of the above sentences.

Her lips parted slightly:

"Little Lenai, don't you think it's a pity?"

"what?"

"I mean, playing guitar for this reason...it's such a shame," Yes, this is what Chitose Noshiro blurted out.

Using this reason to play guitar is a bit of a waste of talent.

"Isn't it a pity?"

"Ah... no, how should I put it?" Chitose twisted her hair with her fingers, trying to organize her words so that she could look as good as a fourteen-year-old middle school student. "I mean..."

Lenai held her head high, revealing her snow-white neck:

"Year-old, although I don't understand what you mean, but for me there is no better reason than her."

"Because I have nothing... no solutions to the problem, no ability, no courage."

"...So, as long as I can escape while playing, it's fine, even if it's just a temporary way to cope with my predicament... Of course I understand."

"Chitose... just playing the guitar won't solve the problem."

Kaname Rakuna had no idea which Chitose she was talking to, but that didn't matter.

She had actually wanted to find someone to say these words to a few years ago.

And today, Chitose Noshiro provoked Rakuna to tear open her long-hidden scars.

"Hmm?" Chitose approached Kaname again. Her figure was so tall that she quickly occupied the girl's entire field of vision. "No."

Qiansui's figure was like a ghost, and he walked slowly forward in the dim light.

"what?"

"You're right, Cat, playing guitar won't solve anything, but—"

“It’s completely, completely different when you play it well.”

[If you play guitar well, it will be completely different? ]

Le seemed to understand but not quite, but Le Nai didn't understand what Noshiro Chitose meant.