Ritsu Minetsuki and Yuno Sengoku

Ugh...

Hm...? Yuno-san?

What's wrong? Why are you lying down on the bench?

Uh... Let's see... What was it again...?

Oh, right... Lack of sleep.

What time did you go to bed?

A bunch of composition work piled up... and before I knew it, it was morning...

You didn't pull an all-nighter, did you?

I remembered this morning that I had an in-person class... so I left the house without sleeping.

And just going outside already takes a lot out of me...

I see... That does sound serious.

Even so, you shouldn't neglect sleep. The human body needs proper rest.

To put it in bread terms, right now you're like bread baked before the dough had time to rise, Yuno-san.

What?

If you bake dough without letting it rest and rise, you miss out on both its fluffy texture and the rich aroma of wheat.

In that case, I have some music to recommend. Let's see, my phone...

Uh... no, I'm good. I'm just gonna sleep for a bit.

Don't worry. I've been listening to all kinds of music on video sites to study what's popular lately...

And some of them are ideal for falling asleep.

You mean... ASMR?

You know about it?

One of them had especially high ratings. I bookmarked it... Oh, here it is.

It's called "Guaranteed Eternal Knockout Sleep Audio: Bloodsucking Demon Edition."

...

I'll play it now. Oh... there's an ad...

Uh... no. I appreciate the thought, though.

But...

Um... See the bag over there? There's White Chocole in it.

Can you get it for me?

All right... Here you go...

Thanks.

Is that really enough...? The nutrition?

Yeah... I don't really have an appetite anyway.

But you still need a proper meal. Noodles should be relatively easy to get down.

For example... How about ordering delivery from this place?

Oh, look! Their Everest-sized topping pile is on special right now!

Ugh...

They're even offering a free large-size upgrade...! Yuno-san, shall we go for the biggest size?

No... I'm eating this right now...

But that alone won't give you enough nutrition...!

(Someone... Anyone, please save me...!)

...

...

Phew...

Minetsuki-san... I didn't know you could play like that.

Hm?

I've watched a few archived streams from your old group.

You played a little differently back then.

Oh... So you've seen our old streams.

Obviously. I'm the composer. I'd check anything that might show me what the members can do.

I see. So that's why.

I don't think I've changed my playing that much, though...

It's not a dramatic difference. You were already a good player.

But... your sound is better now. Better than it was back then.

!

You can tell?

Sound doesn't lie.

...

Your emotions come through in your sound, whether you're aware of it or not.

So if what you're feeling changes, your playing probably changes with it...

...

(Ah, crap...)

(I think I just said something incredibly embarrassing...!)

Anyway... I only meant it was useful for composing.

The others should be here soon, so I'll go set up. Later...

As for why my sound changed...

?

I think it must be thanks to that meat on the bone.

Meat on the bone...?

Yes...!

So what? Do whatever you want.

Huh...?

Something being over and not wanting it to end are two different things, right?

If you could just let go that easily, you wouldn't be struggling with it... You don't want it to end, do you?

I can't forget that taste.

...

What does that even mean?

(All right... Setup's done.)

(Now all that's left is to wait for everyone else... but...)

The sky is blue...

Food is... delicious. For doneness... well-done.

Actually, maybe medium rare...

Minetsuki-san, what are you doing?

This? I'm writing lyrics.

Why...?

Arale-chan seems to be struggling with the lyrics lately. I thought I might be able to help.

Yeah, it does seem to be a tough one this time.

And that's where "medium rare" comes in?

Would you prefer "well-done"?

That's not what I meant. Neither one really sounds like it belongs in the lyrics...?

This really is difficult... I think I understand Arale-chan's struggle a little better now.

I'm getting stuck on something as simple as doneness, while Arale-chan has to...

...

You know... Shouldn't you leave the actual lyric writing to Nakamachi-san?

But as her friend, I'd still like to do something to help...

Oh! You can write lyrics too, can't you, Yuno-san?

Huh? Me?

Yes. You know, the things you post on your alt account, Yuno-san.

...!

That was different... It wasn't meant to be anything like that...!

But I thought they were wonderful.

Every word was so raw and honest. The pacing was so good, I was drawn in before I knew it.

Wait... stop...!

You tied whatever was right in front of you to how you were feeling inside. It was such a poetic technique...!

Seriously... I'm begging you...

"Only pain knows where the heart lies, right?" When I heard that, I thought it sounded beautiful, like a line from a song...

Minetsuki-san, that's enough!

! But...

Just forget everything.

All of it...?

Everything we were just talking about. All of it.

If you understand, say so.

I understand...

*Sigh*... I'm gonna get a drink.

Yuno-san! That means I can still remember your three-stage "rough" progression, right!?

The "rough"... what?

"Rough," "this is rough," and "this is way too rough." From your alt account!

That too!! Forget that too!!