We return to Susumu, who is now walking back home with a plastic bag full of meats and veggies in his right hand and the manga he purchased in his left; he is thinking,
He walks to their front door, slides the plastic bag into his left hand, reaches into his back pocket, and pulls out his home key, before inserting it into the keyhole and twisting it.
He unlocks the door and exclaims, "I'm back with the groceries!" He steps in and closes the door behind him; and after putting off his shoes, he is greeted by his mother, who walks into the hallway with a loving grin on her face and says, "Welcome home, Susumu-kun!"
He smiles at his mother before turning to a bowl and tossing the keys into it. It settles in the bowl, and Susumu thinks to himself,
Susumu then proceeds into the kitchen after seeing his mother walk into the living room; he lays the groceries on the counter and remains still in the kitchen, rubbing his chin, contemplating what he should do next,
Susumu closes his eyes and nods once,
He sits on the bed and draws the acoustic guitar closer to him, taking deep breaths as he searches his memories for a tune he can perform on his guitar.
He opens his eyes as he hears a tune in his thoughts, and his dark eyes shine as he plucks a string, causing a sound to resonate throughout his room. He then begins moving his left fingers onto the strings and strums with his right hand.
His guitar produces a melancholy song, his brows are pointing downward as he focuses on his strumming, and his eyes are entirely concentrated on the guitar and nothing else, as if his surrounds had vanished; it was basically just him and the guitar.
His hands move elegantly, but he messes up on a note, "Tcch," he stops playing and lets out a disappointed sigh, "I'm still not ready..." He lays down the guitar on his bed and rubs his face, "If I want to make Shinsato-san proud, I need to almost— no, I need to perfect."
When he stares at the acoustic guitar, he is reminded of a recollection from his childhood, and he is transported back to when he was in middle school, to a young and innocent Ishibashi Susumu walking around the mall with his family:
(+ FLASHBACK BEGIN +)
"Hey Susumu-kun, you've been admiring that instrument for a while now, do you want to get it?" his mother asked, looking down at the young Susumu and grasping his tiny hand.
Young Susumu stares with stars in his eyes at the acoustic guitar on display, his black eyes twinkle as he continues burning a hole into the guitar, he nods slowly, and his mother smiles; she turns to her husband and says, "Hey, do you think we should buy it for him?"
His father observes the same instrument that his son examines, then comes into the shop, leaving his wife and son outside. As he approaches the man in charge of the store, he stares daggers into the cashier; the clerk looks up at the tall man in spectacles and begins sweating bullets.
"Can I please get that guitar?" the father asks, pointing to the acoustic guitar on display beside the glass door. The cashier sighs and nods, "That will be thirteen thousand and six hundred yen, sir..."
Ishibashi-san then takes out his wallet and places the credit card between his middle and index fingers before pulling it out and handing it to the cashier.
The cashier walks over to the guitar and removes it from the display before returning to the checkout and scanning the credit card. A ding is heard, and the clerk returns the credit card to the dad.
He then places the acoustic guitar in a black case and delivers it to the father, who accepts it cheerfully and bows, "Thank you for your patronage, sir!" The father then walks out of the store, smiling as he looks at his kid.
Young Susumu stares at his father with wide eyes, and his eyes begin to cry up as he clutches his father on the thigh, and his father rubs his head.
(+ FLASHBACK END +)
We return to the present, where we see Susumu smiling at his guitar, pulling it closer to him and resting it on his lap, holding it in the proper manner, exhaling, "I need to make everyone around me proud, I have to, it's the only way I can repay them."
He then begins playing another song he performed in middle school, the song he performed for the school talent show, which he won by a landslide.
He appears peaceful as he moves his hands; this is the actual Ishibashi Susumu—well, a calmer and more collected Ishibashi Susumu that rarely appears.
The song is played properly and beautifully, the melody is much quieter than the previous songs he played, and he even feels good while playing it; perhaps a synapse in his brain is tied to this song, we'll never know.
He ends the song with a final downward stroke with his right hand, then sets down the guitar, gets off the mattress he was sitting on, and stretches his arms.
"I still haven't reached perfection, I just need a few more months and I'll have it down to a tee," he murmured to himself, sighing as he looked at his instrument; and he takes up and sets it back into the guitar case; and he goes out of the room with the guitar case in hand.
He enters into the living room and tells his parents, "I'm going to a friend's house, don't worry, I'll be back home by dinner."
His parents smile at him and say, "Take care then, Susumu-kun! Oh right, be sure to tell your pal I said hello!"
Susumu smiles at his mother and walks to the front door before putting on his shoes. He opens and walks through before locking the front door behind him as he walks over to his bike, which he unlatches from the railing and begins pedaling somewhere.
Susumu thought as he pedaled toward Ayano's apartment complex, which I had just learned about.
After thirty minutes of pedaling, he locks his bike to the railing and begins heading up the stairs, stopping in front of Ayano's room and pressing the doorbell, which generates a loud buzz.
A muffled voice says, "Yes! Just a moment!" Susumu waits for Ayano to open the door by staring at his phone; the door opens and he is met by a smile from Ayano, "What is it?"
Ayano recognizes the person in front of her as Susumu, which she was not anticipating at all, her expression changes from a joy-filled one to a confused look, She inspects him and says, "Wh—what are you doing here, Ishibashi-san? I thought we agreed on tomorrow?"
Susumu smiles nervously, scratching the back of his black hair, "I couldn't wait, you know? I guess I got impatient and just wanted to demonstrate my guitar talents to my best friend."
Ayano squints her eyes and walks back into her apartment, "Sure, come in," Susumu cheerfully enters her flat before closing the door behind him, taking off his shoes and walking in, "I'm in your care now."
Susumu enters her room shortly after Ayano; he then places the instrument case down and opens it, showing his acoustic guitar, and Ayano looks in wonder.
Susumu then picks up the guitar and holds it properly before looking at Ayano, who is sitting on her bed, and asking, "Do you want me to perform a certain song, Shinsato-san?"
Ayano crosses her legs and rests her head on her hand, thinking, "Just play a song you enjoy," Susumu looks down at his guitar and smiles as he says, "I got that."
He sighs and shakes his right hand, preparing it to strum, while adjusting his left hand. Ayano observes with patience.
Susumu strums in a pattern while changing up his fingers in his left hand, and a sound echoes around Ayano's room.
Ayano's eyes widen as a flood of emotion rushes at her; she hasn't heard anything so intense in a long time, and she straightens her back as she watches him play the guitar.
Susumu concentrates entirely on the guitar, and all his motions are swift and precise in an elegant manner. Ayano left her window open, allowing a gust of wind to enter the room, and Susumu's shaggy black hair to blow in the wind.
Time slows down for both of them as they get thoroughly engrossed by the song; no mistakes have been made up to this point; the player and listener have been captivated by the music.
Susumu has a tiny blush on his cheeks and a smile; meanwhile, Ayano is absolutely star-struck by this sight, both the music and the person in front of her—I, too, would be star-struck if I were in her shoes.
Susumu continues to play despite the fact that his hair is a total mess; he doesn't care as long as he can perform in front of an audience.
This is the high he's been needing for so long; he's still not excellent at this point, and he's honestly messing up most of the notes he's playing— but he doesn't care because he's just enjoying himself now, and his eyes start crying up because he hasn't felt this way in a long time.
He now has a huge smile on his face, his blush has gotten a little brighter, but not too noticeable to call out, and Ayano has a smile on her face as well, knowing one of her close friends is enjoying what they love dearly.