The sky was dark by the time we made our way to the station. There were many more passengers being dropped off by the train as well. The two of us barely talked, and considering the situation which we were in back then, it was impossible for me to follow Weiss all the way back to her home. I could only send her off via my sight while standing on the platform. I then took out my cell phone.
"What happened to Weiss?"
"Ah… mmm, she just went back home."
I had no idea why, but my heart felt much more relieved when Yang's voice sounded as usual —and thus my very silly reply.
"No, that's not what I am talking about… what exactly did you chase after her for then?"
"Sorry, I don't really know either. Ah, right, where are you right now? My stuff is still at McDonalds."
"I've already helped you take them back home."
"Ah, sorry for troubling you."
"I'll bring these to you. Till later."
Just then, the train that was heading in the upwards direction entered the platform. Yang hung up without even waiting for my reply. Yang's house is just a five minute walk away from my house. However, the five minutes refers to the case if we were to walk along the normal path from her house to mine; should we consider the direct path between us, it would probably take no more than two minutes.
The so called 'direct path' refers to a path that consists of one passing by the restricted area beneath high-voltage wires, squeezing through a tight alley which probably only a cat can get through, then entering straight into the courtyard of my house, before finally scaling up the beech next to the walls of my house, and thus ending up right outside my window. It's a path that only Yang will take.
After much difficulty, I finally managed to head home. And after confirming that Naruko's out of the house, I immediately ran up to my room on the second floor. I took Emerson, Lake & Palmer's Trilogy album and placed it into the CD player. I then proceeded to relax myself on my bed after pressing the play button. However, I could hear the sounds of the windows being knocked on, before the song was even in its fugue.
"I'm coming in?"
I had opened the windows so as to allow ventilation, so Yang jumped straight into my room through the windows before I had even given her my answer. She had already changed into a T-shirt and denim shorts. After placing my bag and guitar case next to the window, she unreservedly sat herself on my bed. It was just as though she was in her own home.
"Why did you still choose to come through the window with all that stuff on you?"
"You should start by thanking me first, right?" She elbowed me in my back. That hurts.
"Sorry. Thanks."
"Is your bitchy sister not around today? I would have come by the main door should I have known that earlier."
"Yeah, she should probably be out shopping at Shibuya with her friends or something."
"Since she's not around, let's have a drink! Kushina bachan should have some whiskey in the fridge, right? Go get some snacks, and oh ya! Wine too."
"I am not gonna drink! What on earth are you thinking?"
I changed my position of lying, and fixed my eyes on the ceiling. Just then, Yang slowly walked over. She stuck her head out from above me, and stared into my face.
"Haruto, you should start learning how to drink too! Weiss doesn't look like she can drink at all. It will be too lonely if Ruby and I are the only ones to drink during the celebration parties."
"It's because I'm still underage… wait, this means that girl drinks too?" I sat up unknowingly.
"Mmm. There's no one in my family who can match me in drinking ever since my uncle became sober. It's the first time I met someone who's better than me."
I gave a helpless sigh. Didn't the law say that we can only drink after we're twenty?
"I don't know why, but somehow, it feels like it's fate that I was able to meet Ruby."
"Yeah, and I remember you told me she's the reason that you began drumming too… because you want to impress your new friend. It's really impressive of you to get your drumming skills to the level at now, purely with that impure motive in mind."
"What's wrong with the motive being impure? The most important thing is to be happy. If only Weiss could think the same."
"… Eh?"
As Yang brought up Weiss all of the sudden, I kept staring into her face.
"You two didn't talk about that?"
"Hmm…?"
It seems like we did, and yet it seems like we didn't. Indeed, Weiss was agonizing over the reason for her to stay in the band, and if it was fine for her to be in there.
"That means that Weiss stayed in the band due to some other impure motives, which caused her to agonize over things? It should be that. Moreover, she's the type who will dwell on even the tiniest details. Unlike me."
"What do you mean by an 'impure motive'? It's impure because of how she lost a bet with me?"
It may be impure—but is Weiss really troubled about that? I should be the one who's at-ill-ease by that instead, right? However, all Yang did was stare at my face for quite a while with her mouth half-opened. After a short while, she placed her forehead against her bent knees, and sighed.
"I know that you're dense and stupid, but I never expect it to be that bad."
All I could do was forcefully swallow my words back into my stomach. I could not retort against that at all, because it was exactly as Yang had said. I am really sorry about that! The problem is, how can you expect me to know anything when Weiss didn't say anything about it at all!?
"Well I guess. I mean, he doesn't realize it even over a period of more than ten years, so how can it be possible for him to realize something that's only a few months old?"
"Eh? Sorry, what are you saying?"
Yang stuck out her tongue at me and brushed me off. Please, I am really at a loss here! Just as I was still unsure of what was going on, Yang stood up and straightened the creases on her shorts with her fingers.
"Alright, I'm going to leave the dense idiot alone and head home now. I'll come up with something myself."
"What do you mean by coming up with something?"
"You will feel troubled should Weiss continue to distance herself from the band, right?
I nodded my head stiffly.
"Mmm. I will be very troubled too. I don't like an uncontested victory, and neither do I like losing without a fight."
After saying a bunch of things that I was totally clueless about, Yang made her way out of my room through the window. Coincidentally, the fugue part played by Keith Emerson just so happened to end exactly at that moment as well, and the tune was about to head into part two of The Endless Enigma.