In this crossover anime, I've been bound to two systems.

Touma Kazusa's expression returned to peace and comfort, and then, half-asleep, she seemed to hear laughter coming from a very distant place.

She slowly opened her eyes, and in her pupils, which were still half asleep and not yet focused, she saw the gentle, smiling face of a young man.

"..."

"..."

From confusion to clarity, from doubt to understanding, Touma Kazusa remained expressionless in her side-lying position, staring at Suzumiya Chisato for a long time.

It wasn't until Suzumiya Chisato stood up somewhat uncomfortably and left her sight, shifting her gaze elsewhere, that Touma Kazusa straightened her back without making a sound. As she looked down at the piano in front of her, a slight smile appeared on her lips. The thought that she had somehow won filled her with a pleasant feeling.

"You've really found a great place to slack off. Take me with you next time; it looks like it would be really comfortable to sleep here."

"Aha--"

Touma Kazusa yawned.

She didn't respond to the other person because she hadn't yet decided what to say to them at that moment.

However, this behavior did not embarrass Suzumiya Chisato, who knew her personality well; he continued the conversation on his own.

"Next time you encounter this situation, it's best to lean out the window and call for help. Sleeping won't solve the problem."

"Well--"

Touma Kazusa made an ambiguous sound as she gently rubbed the corners of her eyes, which were wet with tears.

It was after the other person said those words that she suddenly remembered a question.

"By the way, how did you know I was here?"

Suzumiya Chisato's gentle smile froze. With Touma Kazusa staring intently at him and her expression growing increasingly suspicious, he almost instinctively retorted with a question.

"What...what do you think?"

…………

Chapter 81 Performance in the Music Room

This was not a satisfactory answer for Touma Kazusa, as evidenced by her increasingly dissatisfied expression.

However, this dissatisfaction only lasted for a moment. Touma Kazusa looked at the open window, and her eyes brightened.

"never mind."

Consistent with Touma Kazusa's overall sharp and decisive demeanor, she disliked trouble and was too lazy to continue asking about such trivial matters.

The important thing is that she has indeed been rescued, thanks to the same guy in front of her...

This is already the third time.

Suzumiya Chisato glanced at Touma Kazusa and breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't have to deliberately make up lies to fool her, which made him feel a little more at ease.

He took two steps forward to the windowsill, leaned against the sill with his hands clasped in front of his chest, and looked at her with some curiosity, asking...

"But what are you planning to do if I don't find Touma-kun?"

"Of course there is a way."

"Will you wait for the teachers who patrol the school buildings at night to come and rescue you?"

"...I don't have the patience to wait until then."

When her initial plan was exposed, Touma Kazusa guiltily looked away.

I don't know what her mentality was, but she felt embarrassed that he could guess her thoughts so easily, so Touma Kazusa lied.

She calmly took out her phone, which actually only had three numbers saved in the contacts, and waved it around.

"Why don't you just call the teacher and ask them to come?"

"I see. Having your phone with you makes things much easier."

Suzumiya Senri suddenly realized.

"Fool--"

To hide the overwhelming urge to laugh that welled up from the bottom of her heart, Touma Kazusa clumsily provoked him.

"The class is already halfway through, and I'm sure the teacher will interrogate me about it when I get back. Can I stay here until the end of the class?"

"up to you."

"Thank you very much."

Suzumiya Chisato smiled and turned around, placing her hands on the windowsill and looking up at the sky.

I should be the one saying thank you, right?

In the few seconds it took to stare at his back, Touma Kazusa felt a surge of gratitude, battling with her tightly pursed lips that refused to utter a word.

Ultimately, the pent-up emotions, unable to find an effective outlet, returned to the depths of his heart.

My mood, which had just brightened, is now filled with frustration and despair again because of my own incompetence.

Sulking to herself, Touma Kazusa turned around and faced the piano again.

"Hey, looking down from here, we can see right behind the club building."

Upon hearing this, Touma Kazusa's emotions, which she had managed to calm down after several deep breaths, became chaotic again.

"I was down here during lunch break earlier, with a girl who had a guitar. Touma, did you see her?"

"……No."

"Really? She even played the guitar. If it weren't for the unexpected incident later on, it should have been a pleasant lunch break overall."

"..."

Who wants to hear about your conversation with that girl!

In a blind spot unseen by Chisato Suzumiya, Kazusa Touma's face gradually darkened, and her hands on her thighs slowly clenched into fists.

"Touma, you were transferred from the music special admissions class to our class, right?"

"……kindness."

"The students in that class are said to have considerable musical talent."

Musical talent... Touma Kazusa thought back carefully, and she didn't feel that there was any difference between the students in her previous class and the students in her current class.

In her eyes, they were all just ordinary people with a head, two eyes, two legs, and two feet, nothing about them that she cared about.

"maybe."

“I heard from Fukube that Touma is a very good pianist.”

Who is Fukube?

“Our class monitor sits to your right, you have to remember that.”

"You're just like me."

Touma Kazusa didn't realize there was anything wrong with the words she said unconsciously at first.

She only stopped when she heard the other person chuckle, then, barely suppressing her laughter, said...

"It seems that there is such a thing."

She finally realized how embarrassing her words were, but fortunately, the topic was not pursued further.

Can I try playing it?

"piano?"

"There's probably nothing else here that we can use to play."

"……Can."

Touma Kazusa, the owner of the first music room, got up from the piano chair.

Under her gaze, which had become much more lively and full of curiosity, Suzumiya Senri sat down.

Soon, a smile appeared on Touma Kazusa's face. Even though she was trying her best to purse her lips, she still couldn't stop herself from showing such a rude expression.

After all, whether it was the action of Suzumiya Senri pressing the sustain pedal all the way down as soon as he sat down, or the action of him carefully pressing the black and white keys with his unruly fingers, it all revealed that he was an absolute amateur.

Touma Kazusa grew increasingly curious about what kind of music this guy, who knew almost nothing about the piano, could possibly play.

After trying carefully several times, Suzumiya Chisato rediscovered her distant and unfamiliar memories of the piano.

"Then I'll make a fool of myself."

After taking a deep breath, Suzumiya Chisato began performing in an area he was not good at.

The expensive classical piano produced a weak, sluggish tone, lacking any power and hardly deserving to be called a pleasant sound.

Even so, in Touma Kazusa's eyes, Suzumiya Senri was still very serious, pressing the corresponding keys one after another with a two-finger technique.

The performance, which lasted less than a minute, was over very quickly.

Suzumiya Chisato turned around, her eyes filled with expectation, like a child eagerly seeking parental approval.

"How about it?"

"How about what?"

"Can you tell what piece I'm playing?"

From the second note onwards, Touma Kazusa could already tell that it was an extremely simplified version of Ode to Joy, intended for beginners, with only the climax.

"It must be Beethoven's Ode to Joy."

"Really? Looks like I played pretty well."

"…Are you serious?"

"Of course I'm serious. Also, Touma, your expression right now is very rude."

"That's because you just told a really funny joke."

"...Is that so? Then let me hear what kind of strength this guy who's mocking me has that makes him so arrogant."

"You'll find out soon enough whether he's arrogant or not."

She sat down, and before Suzumiya Senri could stand up, she stepped onto the pedal with her right foot, while her slender hands danced gracefully across the black and white keys.