Hotaru

Phew...

Nagi

Good work, Hotaru. That was incredible.

Hotaru

Oh, Nagi-san! I didn't realize you were here.

Nagi

Yeah, I just got here. That song... Your fingers were amazing. Was it classical?

Hotaru

Yes! It's by Liszt. The intricate fingerwork and rhythms make it good practice...

Nagi

Haha. I couldn't make heads or tails of that melody. Did you play it in competitions?

Hotaru

N-No! It really isn't the kind of piece you'd play in a competition!

Hotaru

It's just well-known for being incredibly difficult... I learned it because I wanted to make my mother and my teacher happy.

Nagi

Oh, what was it again? "Angel of the Music World"? Houka told me. You were amazing, right, Hotaru?

Hotaru

Ah... Um...

Nagi

When did you start playing piano?

Hotaru

I don't remember exactly... I think I was about five.

Hotaru

I loved making everyone smile when I played well. I'd play every day, so absorbed that I'd lose track of time.

Nagi

Lose track of time, huh...

Nagi

(I've never experienced anything like that.)

Nagi

(I never have... and I probably never will.)

Nagi

You're amazing, Hotaru. When I was five, I was always just playing with Mahoro.

Hotaru

Oh... You two are childhood friends, right?

Nagi

Yeah. Around the time we started elementary school, Kanata moved here. Then she sort of joined us.

Nagi

Before that, Mahoro was always the wild one. Just because she was a year older, she kept dragging me around.

Nagi

Magical-girl make-believe, playing dolls... I feel like she made me do all sorts of things.

Hotaru

Hehe. It sounds like fun.

Nagi

It wasn't all fun. She made me cry every so often.

Hotaru

Mahoro-san made you cry?

Nagi

Yeah. At Curry Night, for instance... Oh.

Nagi

Curry Night is something Mahoro's family has been doing forever. It's just a get-together where we eat curry.

Hotaru

Hm...? That sounds quite peaceful, at least.

Nagi

It was. Until Mahoro, thinking she was being helpful, started giving me seconds.

Nagi

They just kept coming, one after another... Like some endless noodle challenge. I couldn't possibly eat that much, and I burst into tears.

Hotaru

Ahaha... That does sound like a lot.

Nagi

Seriously. My sister rescued me that time, though...

Hotaru

Oh! You have an older sister, Nagi-san?

Nagi

Oh... Yeah. She's in college now, so I hardly see her anymore.

Hotaru

That's nice. I don't have any siblings or childhood friends, so hearing about it makes me feel warm inside.

Hotaru

That sort of bond sounds so lovely!

Nagi

!

Nagi

Thanks... And sorry. I interrupted your practice.

Hotaru

Not at all! I was just about to take a break.

Nagi

I see...

Nagi

(Lovely, huh...)

Nagi

(For someone who can't even truly face Mahoro... or Sis...)

Nagi

(Do I really deserve to hear her say that?)