Fikush-ON!

Ch. 41: Cold Coffee, Buried in Snow

I double-checked the instructions I had received from Yui, and once again directed my attention to Patricia on my lap. I positioned my fingers for an A chord.

"If you're not there..."

I played the chord, moving on to E.

"...I don't know what to do~."

Next up, F-sharp minor.

"I just want to hear the sound..."

E minor, and A right after.

"...of your voice~."

D, A, B minor, D, E... Ugh, I hate barre chords.

"Just to be able to see you smile; it would mean everything to me~," I sang quietly under my breath as I played.

I gave it another try, this time without pausing after every line. Almost got it right, but those damned barre chords are a constant reminder that I'm way too rusty with my guitar skills. Letting out a small sigh, I reached for my desk to grab my cup of coffee, and took a sip.

It was a chill Friday afternoon. I had just got home from school, and finally had time to take a look at these song instructions I had requested from Yui. These were the lyrics and chords to one of her club's songs, the one they played at the previous school festival: U&I. Valentine's Day would be in a month, and I wanted to be prepared, so I've decided to learn this song so that I could perform it to Ui. I can't perform the song's original version alone, so I'm trying to make some sort of acoustic version of it with my limited musical knowledge. Yeah, maybe an original song would be better, but I don't know if I could come up with lyrics, not to mention chords. But whatever, I'm sure Ui will still appreciate it. Looking at these lyrics, they honestly convey my feelings towards her quite well. Yui did a really good job with these.

Ding, dong!

Hm? Who could that be? I set Patricia on the floor, gulped down the rest of my coffee, and exited my room. On my way to the stairs, I could hear heavy footsteps – obviously belonging to my dad – approaching the front door, before it opened.

"Oh, Mr. Sugimoto. Good afternoon," I heard a familiar voice greeting my dad.

...Ui? Huh, speak of the angel.

"Ah, it's you, hi," dad gave his usual, monotone greeting.

"Is Eiji-kun home?" Ui asked.

Wait, shit, I need to hurry downstairs!

"Eh, he should be around here somewhere..." dad muttered.

I got halfway to the stairs just in time to see my dad look over his shoulder, and inhale heavily. Oh no.

"Eiji!"

Dad's mighty roar echoed around the house, causing the walls to shake, and sending shivers down my spine. I hurried the rest of the way down in an angry fashion.

"Put a sock in it, old man! I'm right here, for god's sake!" I snapped at him.

"...Oh," he murmured after finally noticing me, and turned back to Ui. "Yeah, he's right there."

"...I-I see," Ui said, smiling nervously after that previous startle. "Um, would you mind if we come in?"

Huh? We?

"Ah, not at all," dad said, stepping out of the way. "Come on in, it's cold out there."

I saw Ui stepping into the foyer. And the person following right after was...

"Sorry for the disturbance," Mr. Hirasawa said out of courtesy.

I stood at the bottom of the stairs, dumbstruck, watching as both Ui and Mr. Hirasawa made their way inside, before dad closed the door. As Mr. Hirasawa was done taking his shoes off, he directed his attention to my dad.