Heart (2)

꒰ঌ Heart 2

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With us engrossed in our practice, the following three weeks went by in a flash, and before long November had finally arrived. The skin on my left fingertips were hard like dried soil. Since the strings of the bass are much thicker than those of a guitar, the position of the calluses on my fingers are slightly different than those of Blake's.

"You look more like a bassist now."

Blake couldn't help but let out a loud laugh when our fingertips came into contact like the scene of the alien in ET. However, the callus had caused some slight changes to my sense of touch — they affected me when I was doing something delicate with machines, so it's a little inconvenient. Still, before issuing a challenge to Lucy, there's another thing that requires me to utilize my interest of fooling about with machines.

On the first Thursday of November, I ran straight to the courtyard after school. Yang was trying all means to retain Lucy, though optimistically speaking she could probably keep her off for only about twenty minutes? I'll have to win this battle with speed. I first started by picking the padlock open, and that took me less than a minute. Then, I turned the handle slightly as usual, and opened the lock to enter the room. Replicating the multiple imaginary scenarios I had earlier, I took out the tools and the wires from my bag, and began to work on the amplifier.

I swiftly opened the back cover of the amplifier, and the internals of the machine which I had worked on various times came into full view before my eyes. Rewiring the circuits isn't that much of a problem; hiding the newly extended wire took up the bulk of the time.

After everything was done, I locked the padlock, and just when I was about to return to the main building, I accidentally bumped into Lucy along the corner. The two of us just stood there without moving. Neither of us had our eyes focused on the other party. Ever since that day, we hardly spoke to each other. Because of that, those fellas in the class were all complaining about how their only source of information to the Princess was blocked off. However, none of them knew about the details behind it.

Just as I was planning to walk past her, Lucy spoke.

"Have you… given up already?"

"Hmm?"

"Bass. You used to play it on top of the roof."

"I'm still playing it, yeah? Just that I have been practicing on the roof of the northern building, because I don't wanna disturb someone who has unexceptionally sharp ears."

"Liar. I went there to look for you as well, and you weren't around."

That was indeed a lie. Recently, I had been going to Thousand Birds Musical Instrument Store to get a bassist whom Blake knows to take a look and oversee my practice. As I had no intention of letting her know about me practicing fervently, I wove out that lie.

"… You just said you looked for me? What do you mean by that?"

"Ah, that's… you don't have to mind that, it's nothing. I'm just slightly worried." Lucy's voice became even more anxious, and she shook her head repeatedly. "I'm just thinking… if you're still thinking about that incident back then?"

I jumped in shock, and turned around. It seemed like Lucy was finding it difficult to speak, and she kept staring at her fingers.

"Please forget about that. I'm totally fine, so you don't have to be concerned about it."

Please forget it. I've heard that countless times from Lucy already. I felt a slight anger stirring within me. I guess I'll just tell her my feelings truthfully.

"Look, what are you treating the human brain as? Our brains aren't like some hard disk. Do you think that a simple 'Memory delete' from you will make me go 'Oh, like this?' and I'll forget everything?"

Lucy's eyes widened, and she took a step back.

"I forgot nothing, and in fact I remember them all clearly. You said, 'Do you think you can catch up to me by playing the bass?' Let's have a showdown tomorrow after school."

"… What do you mean by having a showdown?"

"A showdown between my bass and your guitar, that's what. If I can catch up with you right till the end in terms of playing, then it will be my victory. If I win, I'll be allowed to use that room. If I lose, I'll never get close ever again."

"Are you serious… about that?"

Of course! But I said nothing more, and walked past Lucy just like that.

"Uzumaki, you've become quite good with your words." When I arrived at the roof, Blake said that to me. It seems like she was watching us from the fence. "I really can't believe you were that born loser two months ago."

"Don't call me a born loser!"

I shifted my sight away from Blake. I have no idea why, but ever since that day, I felt rather embarrassed whenever I looked straight at her.

"When I think deeper into it, there's nothing for me to lose from this showdown anyway. Originally, I can't use that practice room anyway, so it's fine even if I lose. It's just like the rock-scissors-paper match I had with you back then."

Half of the reason for that sort of twisted thinking was due to my self mockery. However, Blake sat next to me while hugging onto the bass, and flashed a satisfied smile on her face.

"So you still remember what I did during that match."

I looked at the side of Blake's face, and nodded my tilted head.

Back then, Blake declared a match against me while holding onto a pick in her index and middle finger.

Upon seeing that, I thought she was trying to trick me into thinking that she wouldn't be throwing scissors, so I just went for it. With my brain in a huge mess, I threw out rock, and in the end I lost to Blake. However, Blake laughed out loudly and said, "Actually, I was not trying to read your thoughts and use them against you. Even if I did that, it will not increase the odds of me winning such a simple game. What do you think is the sure-fire method of winning rock-scissors-paper?"

"Eh?" That means Blake had used a sure-win method?

"It's simple. Just throw out last."

"Huh?"

"There's actually no special reason behind me holding onto the pick with my fingers, other than to make you all confused, so that you will throw out your choice to my tempo. That's all. Remember this well: the sure-win method is to make yourself go last."

I was shocked speechless, and just stared at Blake's triumphant face. I then let out a long sigh in between my knees. It's impossible. There's no chance of me winning against someone like her right from the very beginning.

"It's always been said that battles are won long before they have even started, that's exactly what it means by that. Which means, the important part is how you lure your opponent into your own territory. Oh right, do you know the reason why I chose this song to be the song for your showdown against Lucy? I'll tell you." With that, she took out the scores from a file in a casing behind us and spread it out before us. She then said, "There's four reasons as to why I picked this piece."

"Then just tell me right from the beginning!"

That thought flashed past my mind for a brief moment. For the past few days, I've been thinking about that while practicing, why this piece? However, after listening to Blake's lengthy explanation, I could only answer her with a sigh.

"… So are you slowly believing that you have a chance of winning this?"

"Mmm… a little." I answered truthfully. The chance of me winning has increased multiple folds — it's 0.2% now! That's probably how I'm feeling right now. Blake bumped her shoulder into mine as she laughed.

"That's good enough! Only you will know how your battle will unfold. All I know are the results of my own battles, because I won't be taking part in the battle between you two."

"If you took over my place, you'd win… is that what you are trying to say?"

Blake answered me with a slightly angry voice, "Can I actually win?"

I looked at Blake's face in shock.

"Didn't I say it already? It has to be you."

I couldn't reply to that, and thus I lowered my head again. Blake suddenly took out a piece of paper, and snuffed it into the tip of my nose.

"Well then, this is the final preparation. Sign this first, so that you are mentally prepared for it. This copy's for Lucy Heartfilia."

I lifted my head to take a look. It was the application form for joining a club, which is printed on coarse paper — there's two of them. For both of them, the words 'Folk Music Research Club' were written neatly using a pen in the box where one is supposed to fill in the name of the club.

I shifted my eyes away, and tried to divert the topic.

"… I guess I'll just… keep these two forms for now."

"Why? I've already taught you so much about bass. Could it be… that you actually hate me? Is that it?"

Please don't look at me with such a sorrowful expression. You are obviously faking that.

"Hmm, how should I put it?" I removed the bass from my knees. "I don't feel I'm qualified. The standards of both you and Yang are too high for me."

"I said it before already, didn't I? I'm not asking you to follow us. We should be the ones following you."

Because the bass is the heart. I do know that, but still…

"Still, I can't decide if I'm to join the club or not. At least for not now. Therefore… " I lifted the bass, and stared at its strings. "Therefore, if I manage to win against Lucy, and make her join the club… "

"If you can beat her, you'll join us too?"

I nodded in reply. If it's not like that, then I'll definitely regret it. It somehow feels like I have no say in everything that has been paved out for me.

"Then… what will you do if you lose?"

That sentence from Blake caused me to be breathless from shock. I never thought about that. However, I still have to make my decision right now.

"… Even if I lose, I'll still play the bass… however, I won't be joining the club. You have been looking after me this whole time, so I can't bring myself to say things like… please allow me to join the club even if I lose."

After a short moment of silence, I could hear Blake giving out a gentle sigh next to me.

"I've only understood this recently, but you are a man with really strong self-esteem, Uzumaki."

She showed a gentle smile. I could barely open my eyes any longer, but to shift my gaze away after a brief look into her face.

"We'll treat this as a promise between us for the day which is still faraway. Yeah, let's do just that."

Blake took out a screwdriver from my bag (without my consent), and removed the back cover of the bass. She folded the two application forms into two small pieces, then stuffed it in the empty space located between all the wiring. She then screwed the cover back into place.

"Why are you putting them in a place like that?"

"Try listening to it. There should be the faint sounds of the papers rubbing against each other."

I placed the bass back on my knees. Blake then strummed the string. The sounds of the paper rubbing against each other…

"Nope, I hear nothing?"

"But I can hear that!"

Your ears are comparable to those of a cat's.

"And maybe Lucy can hear them too. She is really sensitive to the sound of paper rubbing against each other, right? Perhaps these minute sounds can affect her subconscious, and cause her to become uneasy and frustrated."

There's such logic behind it?

"To go a little more far-fetched, it's a sort of spell. Just like how the samurais will sew the amulets of protection onto their clothes." Blake patted my bass. "Our promise will be with you the whole time. So don't you forget it."

After a moment of hesitation, I nodded.

"I wish you good luck."

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