It was finally time for Guren and Shizuka to take their break. With it was time for Hitomi's audition as a drummer. Before their break, the pair conversed about how the audition will be done. Well, it was more of Guren suggesting the ideas, while Shizuka gave her opinion on each in a simple 'yes' or 'no' gestures.
"Okay. I booked us this studio to use for a while. I'll set up the drums for you to use," Guren told Hitomi.
"Okay, but... I'm telling you, this is not a good idea..." the blind said.
"That's for us to decide. Hmm... Senpai, do I have the drums set up right?"
At the question, Shizuka went to help Guren with the drums. As the two worked on the setup, Hitomi turned to Miu.
"You really should've told me about this," she whispered.
"If I did, you would've said 'no'," she reasoned.
"Of course I will! A blind in a band? There is no such thing."
"So you say, and yet they seem to be all for it. And they're serious about the band, too."
Hitomi could not argue with that. From what she was able to hear, the two girls were setting up the drums as carefully as possible, with the sound of a chair being set down, most likely by the drums where they should be.
"Okay. This should do it," Guren said. "You need help to the drums?"
"I-I'm good..." Hitomi answered, taking out a folding blind cane from her person, and carefully made her way to the drums. Once she arrived and found the chair, she took her seat. Upon hearing a pair of drumsticks getting tapped together, she turned to the source and held out her hand. Upon feeling the sticks getting placed in it, she gripped them and got into position as best as she instinctively could.
Hitomi heard something else getting set up. Before she could ask what that sound was, Guren asked, "So, what song are you more proficient in playing?"
"Huh?"
"I'm asking you what song are you especially good at playing. There's not much I can understand by just you hitting some beats. I'll play the melody portion of the song."
This surprised Hitomi even more. Guren was going to play along with her? "I-it's okay, really. I can play on my own," the blind insisted.
"I'm not going out of my way in doing this; I just want to play," Guren said.
While she could not see the expression on Guren's face, Hitomi could tell from her tone that she was serious, and could only nod. "Well... I've played Traumerei..." A song that required a lot of drumming... If Hitomi plays a song like that, she would prove that she had become a bad drummer, and her twin and these girls would see that it was ridiculous to think a blind would ever have a chance in a band.
"'Traumerei'... Give me a bit." Guren took out her phone and searched up the song. As soon as she found it, she plugged her headphones in her phone and gave it a listen. "Hmm... okay, I got it."
"Can I play, too?" Shizuka wrote for Guren.
"Hm? You know the song?" the keyboardist asked back, to the blind drummer's confusion.
"Then, may I as well?" Miu asked, surprising Hitomi.
"I thought you don't play an instrument?" Guren asked.
"I don't... But I am well versed with koto. And from what I understand, a bass has a similar function to it. And I've heard Hitomi play the song plenty of times before," the disabled said.
While skeptical about Miu's skill, Guren looked into her eyes and saw how serious she was about wanting to play along with their session. She did not know much about instruments outside pianos or keyboards, but she did know koto and bass couldn't be similar in any way. Still, the girl seemed quite confident enough; it wouldn't hurt to at least let her try out.
"I'm fine with it. What about you, Senpai?" Guren asked.
"Hold it!" Hitomi called. "You're not serious about letting her try out, are you?!"
"Is there a problem?"
"She doesn't know how to play a band instrument! She said it herself! Plus, this isn't a song any inexperienced bassist can play!"
"And is that reason enough to stop her from at least trying out? If that is, then I wouldn't have let you have a chance. A chance you look like you want to take. And yet, I am allowing just that."
Hitomi stopped herself when she said that. Not of the reason for preventing Miu from trying out, but for allowing Hitomi to try. Rather... for 'letting' her try out. From the way she said it, it was almost as though Guren was insinuating Hitomi wanted to try. But... there was no way that could be it. ... Could it?
Eventually, after spending a bit of time renting out a bass, and Shizuka teaching Miu how to play the instrument, as well as Hitomi testing out the drum set to know where each parts were, the four girls got into place.
"Okay. You girls ready?" Guren asked.
"Yes," Miu answered, with Shizuka nodding in agreement.
"I... guess so..." Hitomi said, still quite unsure about this.
"There's no guessing in music. We don't have a vocalist, but I'll play the vocals," Guren said. Without another word, she began playing a small melody.
(A/N: I could not find the full piano version of the song, so pretend the vocals are being played by piano/keyboard.)
As they played the song, as Hitomi had thought, she messed up on some beats, struck the wrong parts of the drums for the song, and even missed some swings. Though she had expected she would mess up on the beats, it still made Hitomi sad, now that it has been confirmed she could not play drums the way she used to ever again.
'I knew this was never going to work...' she thought. 'I knew it... and yet they still persist in making me play... What was the point of ever having a blind girl try out?'
Those were her thoughts, her true feelings. It was clear she was no longer fit to play in a band. And yet... Despite that, she was still moving her arms, still hitting the drums and cymbals, still attempting to play along to the song.
'Why?' she then wondered. 'Why are my arms still moving, when it's so painfully obvious? I should stop now before making a bigger fool out of myself, but...'
As she wondered that, the blind started to pay some attention to the other musicians in the room with her. Guren and Shizuka out of the way, she was surprised with Miu's bassist skill. She knew for certain she never played any sort of band instrument before, and while Miu's skill was not that of a professional, for a beginner, she was still doing quite well in keeping the rhythm. Then again, she should not be surprised, for Miu does play koto at home, especially the 17-string, which is basically a koto version of a bass.
The more she listens, the slower her movement had gotten, as she started to carefully listen to Guren and Shizuka's playing as well. Upon listening to them play, Hitomi felt something resonate in her, a feeling familiar to her, and yet at the same time foreign. Next she knew, something happened that could only be described as a miracle to her. Even though she was blind, even though she had a blindfold on, covering her eyes, she could see them... A red aura on Guren's side, a blue aura on Shizuka's side, and a pink aura on Miu's.
Hitomi grew baffled upon seeing these colors. When she lost her sight, she could've sworn even with 'it', she should not be able to see anything but black. And yet... She was seeing colors.
The red wave from Guren's side started moving towards Hitomi. More than that, it swerved before her, somewhat portraying her rental drums. The blind was taken aback by this, as she then hesitantly hit her instrument to the beat of the song, watching as the part she struck pulse in a nice sounding tune. Hitomi wanted more, and so with the music guiding her, the colors giving her 'visuals', even her body's muscle memory, gradually began to seriously play along. No longer did she have hesitance of any kind, as the pulses started to have some tan mixed in, the tanned color that represented her, as she then began to see a tanned silhouette of what may be- nay, most likely be- her arm.
When the song came to an end, everyone took a moment to take in their session.
"Wow... So this is what playing a bass feels like..." Miu breathed out, face full of amazement at the experience and their session.
Shizuka was speechless at the jam. Well, she was silent to begin with, but their little play through was amazing, especially Hitomi's drumming skills. She had to admit, even she was not sure about the blind's skill, and was hesitant about letting her audition, despite what she had written on the flyer. This was especially true during the first half of the song. Come the second half, though, and it was as though a miracle had occurred, when the girl started playing like she wasn't blind at all. If anything, Hitomi was a pro drummer.
"I knew you could still play," came Guren's voice, grabbing all attention to her.
"How...?" the blind breathed out. "How did you know I can still play the drums?! I was so sure now that I lost my sight that I-"
"If you were as good as Wada-san insinuated, it would take more than lost sight to stop you from really playing," Guren interrupted. "You never really bothered to see for yourself if you can or can't play after losing your sight. How can you just give up without knowing for certain if you really can't play? Because other people say so from looking at you? Because your doubts are more than enough to say you can't? If there is one thing I hate more than anything, it's accusations. And one thing I hate even more is people who just accept the accusations without properly confirming if they're true or not. That goes the same for quitters. Especially those who loves music as much as I do."
The three girls stood speechless at Guren's words. Shizuka in respect for her, knowing how well the girl truly felt that way. The other two, on the other hand...
"Wait. So you didn't know?" Hitomi asked, confusing the two teenage staff members.
"About what?" Guren asked back.
"Hitomi has chromesthesia," Miu answered then, surprising the pair.
"Chromesthesia? As in the thing that allows people to perceive sound in color? She has that?" Guren asked.
"Y-Yeah, I do..." Hitomi confirmed. "But, since I can't see anymore, I thought even that... Besides, it wasn't like it helped much when it comes to playing the drums. Though... this time, it was different. I had played in a band once before, as Miu said, and I played to a lot of songs, but this time, I felt I was guided by my chromesthesia as I played. I saw the red color from you show me where my drums are, how they are set. But... why...?"
Guren rubbed the back of her head at the question, unsure how to answer. She heard about chromesthesia, but this was her first time meeting someone with it. Shizuka also did not know how to respond.
"I think, it's because of her feelings," Miu answered then, bringing all attention to her. "Guren-san, when you were playing your piano, did you have any thoughts as you play?"
"If you mean for this song, then yes. I was feeling a bit annoyed when your friend was playing the drums like she was scared of something, and even more angry when she was playing half-heartedly. Such a thing is an insult to music, especially musicians," Guren answered, causing Hitomi to feel a little hurt by her true words. "I wanted her to get serious as she plays, even if she will mess up. To me, it's better to have regret holding back on music over not playing at all."
"Which led to you playing your piano so passionately, your feelings reached Hitomi," Miu summarized then. "That is how chromesthesia works. At least, in Hitomi's case, as far as I know. Any emotions involving music, Hitomi can tell, just by the colors she see."
"So that's it..." Guren spoke. Turning back to Hitomi, she then asked, "And? After that performance, how do you feel? Still think you're not good to be in a band with those skills?"
"Well... maybe," Hitomi answered hesitantly. "But, it doesn't change the fact that I'm blind."
"And? Wada-san said it herself, didn't she? Our flyer said even disabled are welcomed. We're not doing lip service here. In the world of music, disables who want to play may as well be outcasts. And in the world of reality, people have been casted aside for things they did not do, things others believe they had done. This band is to become a symbol of hope to these people shunned away from the world. That is why, it is better if all the members of the band are people who were already judged by the world, or simply people with a heavy burden forced onto them. Isn't that right, senpai?"
Shizuka nodded at Guren's question, not that Hitomi could see the gesture.
"That sounds like a wonderful ideal!" Miu exclaimed, practically confirming the response for her. "By any chance, may I also take part in this? While I am okay with Hitomi being in a band again, if mother hears of this, she will not take it kindly. If accompanied with me, however, she would never question where we will be then."
Guren had a disgusted expression on her face, upon remembering the woman in question. "She does seem uptight enough... But I have no objections. You did well on the bass anyway for a first timer. Some more practice, and you will be an even better bassist."
Shizuka nodded once again, agreeing to the idea.
"I'm assuming Suzuki-san also approves?" Hitomi asked.
"She did," Guren confirmed. "You don't have a problem with Wada-san joining as well, do you?"
"Um... Well, no, but... If you really are okay with her joining, perhaps, you can please refer to us by our first name?"
"Hm? Why the request?"
"Well... my surname is Wada, too. We may not look like it but... Miu and I are sisters."
Guren and Shizuka were taken aback by the reveal. As Hitomi said, she and Miu looked nothing alike to be sisters, not even as fraternal twins. Not only that, but there was also the way their mother acted around Hitomi.
"To be exact, we're half-sisters. Born from different mothers," Miu added, clearing up the mysteries.
"Oh, I see. Well, if that's all, I can do that. If there are no further objections to your joining, welcome to the band, Hitomi, Miu," Guren welcomed, with Shizuka bowing in greeting.