The November without Weiss is about to be over.
The unique characteristics of my classmates in the class 1-B is that their interests in things typically do not last long. Even so, there were still people who came up to me to ask about things related to Weiss (and the incident of how we ran away from home together had already spread throughout the entire school, which made me seriously consider if I should just transfer to another school), and some of them who seemed like they knew nothing about classical music had even borrowed some of Weiss' CD from me.
Perhaps that was because the seat next to me was always empty.
But due to my horrible personality, I did not treat the newbies kindly at all, and so I decided to lend them the pieces composed by the Russian composers Scriabin and Prokofiev first. Despite that, the classmates who borrowed the CDs from me still looked really happy.
"This is great! The photo on the cover looks really impressive!"
Go back and listen to the CD!
"There's actually two private guards at Weiss's house! Even I was quite surprised by that."
It's break time for our practice on the roof. Ruby said that to me with a gleeful expression.
"I originally thought there wouldn't be many people at her house since it's huge, so it should've been a piece of cake for me to slip into the premises—but that was just a naive thought of mine. Luckily for me, she had gone to see the doctor that day."
So she was really the one who secretly slipped that CD with the map into Weiss' bag.
"Why did you do that?"
Ruby was cleaning the neck of the guitar which had all its strings removed. She tilted her head and said, "Plenty of reasons! I thought something might have happened if I did that, yeah? Well, doing that may not have been good for Weiss and you. Of course, there was the possibility that nothing would happen as well. However, one doesn't have to gather a huge group of people to start a revolution! If us humans want to accomplish something, we first have to plant the seeds that may not bloom into the land of wilderness."
For a person like me who isn't poetic at all, that sounded like… oh, it felt like something interesting might happen, so I decided to help create an opportunity for that to happen. As such, I was not grateful to her at all. As for Yang, after performing a bear hug and camel clutch on me, she followed up with a cobra twist.
"It hurts, it really hurts! stop with those MMA moves!"
"I called you so many times, and yet you didn't even message me a reply!"
"I'm sorry! Owwwwww!" I tapped on Yang's arm repeatedly to beg for her forgiveness, but she had no intention of letting me off.
That practice room was still left untouched as it is, because the owner of the padlock had not returned yet. There won't be any problem for me to pick open the lock, but Ruby said, "That is a violation of the rules." Since I didn't manage to get her to sign the application form for the club, the ownership of that room does not belong to me yet; moreover, I don't quite have the intention of using that room alone either.
I had no idea why, but the people around me no longer asked me about the things related to Weiss, and no one told me where she went either. The only thing I could do is practice on the roof daily to brush up my techniques. I had even learned a few new songs.
It's said that Weiss did follow her father to America, though it was a few days later than what was planned. I saw that information from a magazine though, so I had no idea about the trustworthiness of that article.
Did she accept the checkups? Has she decided on going with the operation somewhere? It's obvious even to me about how much Tobirama dotes on his daughter. Should he get tired of Weiss's constant running away, he might have even decided to reside in America permanently.
Perhaps I may never get the chance to see Weiss ever again.
Tobirama's performance in America was broadcasted in Japan via satellite—one of the pieces performed in the concert was Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2. I was holding a slight expectation, I switched off the television, and recalled the Bach which Weiss played on that day. Book 1 of The Well-Tempered Clavier, Prelude and Fugue No. 1 in C major— the unbelievable power that allowed me to get back my bass might have already disappeared totally without a trace.
However, the power of music is indeed great. Come to think of it, all I need to do is place the silver disk into the music player, and press the play button and Weiss will appear before me. Music is but a bunch of notes and the arrangement or superimposition of them. We humans who are afraid of loneliness are the ones who interpret them in many different ways.
Weiss had only sent a single letter to me. It was on a Sunday right after noon when I received the letter. I was in disbelief for quite a long time when I realized the sender was Weiss. There was nothing written in the envelope, and instead there was a tape. I took out the dusty tape recorder and pressed the play button. What flowed out from the speakers was the grievous prelude of the Piano Sonata in E major. Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 26 in E major.
That is a piece that Beethoven had written to his best friend whom he was separated from due to war. Moreover, even though it was rare for him to, he named it as The Farewell.
This is indeed a piano piece played by Weiss—I knew just by listening to it. It was probably recorded using the sound recorder which I had helped to repair? The precious thing which her mother gave her.
That piano sonata was written to mourn about the separation, but there's also the pieces after the farewell. The second movement is titled The Absence, while the third is The Return.
And so, during a certain lunch break at the end of November, the back door of our classroom was suddenly flung opened.
"Yang, quick, it's about time to leave! Namikaze, you move quickly as well. Hurry!"
The voice of Ruby came from behind me. Everyone in class focused their attention on me. Yang stopped her hand that was halfway reaching out for my bento—her face was filled with surprise.
I turned my head around, and realized that Ruby was actually wearing… everyday clothes in school? She's wearing a white shirt with a black-and-white photo of Jim Morrison printed on it, together with a denim miniskirt… what the hell is she thinking?
"Ruby, you mean we're going somewhere?"
"To the airport. It's a four-thirty flight, so we will not be able to make it if we don't head there now! Move fast!"
"To the airport… what for?"
"What else? The prison term of our fellow comrade is already over, and she is about to come back. It's obviously to stage a rescue operation when she touches down on land!"
Yang and I looked at each other for a while, and we understood the meaning behind Ruby's words at the same time.
"Weiss… she's coming back?"
"Yes. But because her father is coming back with her as well, they will probably be visiting those boring geezers related to the College of Music directly after they land. The airport will be our only chance to strike!"
"Huh? Wait, we still have two periods of homeroom later in the afternoon…"
"There's no time to be dilly-dallying!"
"Why do we have to rush?"
"Namikaze, you do surprise me sometimes. Do you not know the reason? Next week, the student council will be allocating the funds that will be given to the various clubs for the winter semester. We won't be able to acquire the funds if we do not raise an application with four club members!"
"Eh…? Four members?"
"Due to a certain useless person who didn't manage to accomplish his mission before she headed to America, this is our last chance."
"We're gonna make her do the application form right now?"
Before I could finish that sentence, Yang and I were already pushed by the hands of someone—or rather, many people—out of the classroom.
"Just go, Haruto!" Shikamaru said.
"All Utatane Sensei does is to talk about the past anyway. You won't miss much even if you skip that!" Kiba added.
So we were actually pushed by the classmates of our class. Please, don't pick times like this to show how united you guys are, alright!?
"Don't worry Haruto, I'll help you mark your attendance!" Yasaka gave me a thumb.
You'll definitely be caught if you do that in high-school, alright? Just as I was about to retort that, the doors of the classroom had already slammed shut with a bang! Damn those people…
"You guys aren't changing out of that uniform? Oh well, what should I do with you two? Whatever, since our school uniform doesn't look like a uniform anyway, there shouldn't be a problem if you two remove the tie and bowtie, yeah?"
"Hyuuga, please don't decide that by yourself in our place!"
Just as I was about to continue my protest, Yang really removed the bowtie from her neck.
"Then why don't you stay? I have a lot of things to say to Weiss, so I must go as well."
"The plan of the operation which I had drafted can only be done with three people. Namikaze will be the bait that is in charge of luring the campus guards away."
"No way am I doing that!"
"Just kidding. Let's go!"
Ruby grabbed me by my arm indiscriminately, and dashed away from the classroom. Oh well, I guess I'll just give up. It should be fine skipping class, right?
As we ran out of the entrance, a shrill cry of a bird suddenly came from high above my head. I lifted my head to look at the skies right above me. I could barely open my eyes due to the rays of the sun—all I could see was a black colored bird soaring past the sky. Of course, that species of bird does not exist in Japan.
… Or maybe it really does. Just that it is still on the ground dragging its tattered wings, and thinking of a way in which it could spread its wings and fly into the sky. Therefore…
"Haruto, faster! Or else you won't be able to catch up with Ruby!" Yang was standing there at the gate of the school and waving her hands hard at me.
I sprinted towards her with huge strides. And once again, it caught up to me—the cry of the bird which had just come from the skies above me; the song that had returned after it had soared past the ends of the skies.