We can’t start our fluffy love song marathon just yet, as we have to find out exactly what song Hanako was playing, and we also have to find tabs and such for it.
Luckily, there’s an old computer situated in the music room’s storage room.
The storage room is dusty, and it’s hard to navigate it as there are instruments, amplifiers and other more or less music-related things stuffed all around in a seemingly pattern less chaos.
It makes me wonder what kind of people the last music club were.
 
Still, we somehow manage to get to the computer and Ritsu slips down in an office chair placed in front of the computer, as If someone actually expected someone to use this coputer for extended amounts of time.
I look around for another chair, but that seems to be the only thing this place isn’t chock full of, so I end up sitting on a folded rug stored nearby.
By the time I finally sit down, Ristu has already found a video with the song Hanako sang; apparently it’s by a band called L’arc en Ciel.
The name is somewhat familiar, but I can’t seem to place it. 
The music starts rolling out from the unseen loudspeakers placed somewhere on the mess that is technically a desk, it’s completely different from what Hanako sang.
Not completely different to the point of not being the same song, but Hanako made it sound like…
Something that was not a pompous, extravagant and boring song.
R: It’s not very good.
R: They’re not bad either, but I don’t like it.
R: You wouldn’t be able to play the bass either.
H: So we’re going to drop it? I don’t really want to tell Hanako we don’t want to play her song.
R: Nah, just play it differently.
R: She didn’t sing it much like that either.
Regardless, we end up checking out the bass tabs, it’s as expected way too complicated for me.
After a little to and from, we decide I’ll just play the tones of the chords in the acoustic version.
Ritsu will just play whatever fits I guess.
I note down the chords before we head back into the main room.
It goes as it have to when you have played bass for this short, but after a few fuckups we manage to push through the entire song somehow, then we play again.
And again.
And again.
As we’re about to start for a fifth time, Ritsu suddenly stops counting.
R: can we take a break? My hand’s a little…
H: of course.
It didn’t even have to be a question; of course we’re going to take break if her hand hurts. I mean, she would of course stop the gig if I had a heart attack on stage.
I realize that they are fundamentally different things, but my point still stands.
That reminds me I haven’t told Ritsu about my condition yet.
A topic for another day.
R: I didn’t bring painkillers today.
H: It’s okay, I don’t think it’s healthy for you walking around drugged all the time.
R: I don’t think not drumming is a good idea either.
Ritsu sounds a lot more grim than I’m used to, like her painkiller abuse is her soft-spot. I take a mental note to look up the side effects of overuse of painkillers, though it would have been easier if I knew what kind she used.
H: I didn’t mean it like that; just that it’s okay that we take breaks every four songs.
R: Thanks, I guess.
 
R: you’ve been getting better.
H: It’s to be expected, I’ve been practicing almost literally every day.
R: No, not the bass, well that too, but overall, you’re not so gloomy and sad.
She’s noticed? That’s good, I think.
I’m trying after all.
It feels good.
H: It’s thanks to you, really.
That sounded more unctuous than I intended.
Still, I’m grateful to her, without her, I’d probably be stuck in the student council by now.
Not that that would be a horrible fate, but Ritsu is…
I like her better than Shizune and Misha.
R: That’s sweet.
Huh? I was expecting some kind of snarky remark, or at least a witty one, but the smile on her face hints that she is genuinely happy that I am grateful to her.
I guess that’s nice too.
R: Ready for another round of practice? If you play it twenty more times then maybe it will be presentable when we play with Hanako tomorrow.
 
Back on track.