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Street Piano

Hotaru(I need to get better... Better still.)

Hotaru(To make everyone's wishes come true, I need to get better... Better—)

Audience AWow... Who is she? Is she a professional?

Audience BI've never heard piano like that before...

HotaruThank you so much! Oh...?

MahoroHey! I came to watch.

HotaruMahoro-san! Hi!

MahoroGood work, Hotaru-chan. Even on days without band practice, you come here and play piano?

HotaruYes. I can practice at home, of course. But only here can I play for someone and let the music reach them.

MahoroThat is so admirable... Playing all by yourself in front of people you don't even know.

MahoroI'd probably get too scared and start shaking.

HotaruHehe. I was the same at first.

HotaruUnlike a competition, you do not know who might listen... or whether anyone will be there at all.

HotaruI never would have thought to try it either... until Kanata-san invited me.

MahoroI see... Kanata played here too, didn't she?

HotaruYes... She made so many people smile.

MahoroKanata... she really never told anyone what she was doing...

MahoroWe had never even heard that she played at a street piano.

MahoroThen again, we were pretty used to Kanata suddenly starting something new.

MahoroShe was really something when we were little, you know? "I'll find a tsuchinoko!" or "I'll become a writer and win some big award!"

HotaruHehe... Is that so?

MahoroYeah. And, well... Kanata must have had friends besides us too...

MahoroI just thought it might be wrong to intrude, so I never ended up going to watch.

Hotaru...

MahoroI wanted to hear it. Kanata and you, Hotaru-chan... playing piano together.

MahoroIf I had gone to watch back then... maybe we would have met much sooner.

HotaruIf only... Back then...

Hotaru(If I had met Mahoro-san... if I had met everyone in millsage...)

Hotaru(Or...)

Hotaru(If I had never met Kanata-san...)

Hotaru(Then...)

MahoroHotaru-chan?

HotaruOh! Sorry.

Hotaru(No. There is no point thinking about "if only.")

HotaruMahoro-san, do you have a request? I'll play anything you would like to hear!

MahoroHuh... Really? Then... Hmm... Oh, I know!

Hotaru(I am going to give this story a happy ending!)