After Naru's departure, Kano and Yama approached me. The two of them who had previously chosen to remain silent, and were afraid to get involved. Now chose to open their voices.
“Fujisaki I know it seems that you're feeling upset towards Naru. But, there's no need to send her away. We need Naru after all,” Kano said.
“I agree with Kano. I didn't mean to make things worse. But as I see it, it looks like you two are fighting? I think there's something going on between you two. And it seems like Naru is thinking about it enough to make her lose her concentration.” Yama who didn't say much seemed to be silently watching the people around him.
Hearing Yama speak like that to me. Somehow I felt a little guilty for Naru. Although I must admit, Naru was too carried away by her feelings. I realized that Naru's burden of mind must also have something to do with me.
Kano approached me. She patted my shoulder. “Fujisaki, please calm down a bit. We'll be performing soon, we don't have much time left. I don't mean to patronize you, it's just that I feel that you and Naru should immediately correct the mistakes that occurred between you two,” Kano pleaded sincerely.
Although Kano asked her sincerely. Still, I couldn't agree to her request easily.
“Today's practice, that's it. Please don't discuss this matter anymore,” I said as I packed up my things. There was no point in continuing the practice. “You two should also go home soon,” I ordered before leaving the training room.
Meanwhile Kano and Yama could only stare at me with disappointed looks.
***
Nighttime
Naru looked up at the sky with a blank stare. She was currently calming down in the field. There were many bad events that had happened recently, and made her feel tired.
“Oi who told you to lie down in this place?!” A teenage boy with a uniform worn carelessly adds a thug impression to his figure.
Naru turned her head towards the figure who shouted at her. Apparently the figure was not alone, behind him were his friends who clustered like an army of ants. Naru is quite sure that they are all a group of delinquents who like to make this field their gathering place.
“I didn't destroy your place. Just pretend you never saw me.”
Feeling ignored and not considered, the figure who shouted at Naru and seemed to act as the leader of this group of punks. Ordered his friends to attack Naru.
“Oi you all see. Looks like there's a loser challenging us to a fight. We'd better finish him off.” And the figure who became the leader of the gang gave the signal to his friends.
“Hearing the signal from the leader of the gang, a group of children immediately attacked Naru. Although initially wanting to avoid the commotion, Naru had no choice but to fight back. She hit one of the punks with a hard punch to the jaw, knocking him down.
Naru, who was trained in playing music, had quick reflexes that helped her avoid further attacks. But the large number of enemies made it difficult. Naru took several hits to her body and face, but she held her ground.
In the midst of the chaos, Yori, who happened to be passing by the field, heard the commotion. When she saw Naru being ganged up on, without thinking Yori immediately joined in to help.
Yori hit the two punks who attacked Naru from behind, knocking them both down. With Yori's help, slowly but surely, they managed to defeat all the punks. The remaining punks finally ran away, leaving Naru and Yori in the now deserted field.
Despite having helped, Naru showed no signs of gratitude. Her face still implied anger and frustration.
“What are you doing here? This is none of your business. Didn't I tell you before that I don't want to see your face anymore?” Naru grumbled in an angry voice. Yori's presence bothered her at all, even though the teenage boy had helped her.
“I just couldn't stand by and watch you get ganged up on,” Yori replied while patting the dust off her shirt. “What exactly happened, Naru? How did you end up like this? Getting into a fight with those punks like earlier obviously put you in a dangerous situation.” Yori though Naru seemed to be repelling her. “ Yori though Naru seemed to be pushing her away, she was not at all bothered by the matter and was instead more worried about Naru's state.
Naru averted her eyes, refusing to speak. Yori could see the burden Naru was carrying, but her reluctance to speak made the situation even more difficult. Of course Naru wouldn't be that easy to deal with.
“So, you really don't want to talk?” asked Yori, trying to hold her temper. When dealing with Naru, Yori had to increase her patience levels more than usual.
“I don't need your sympathy or help. This is my own business,” Naru replied coldly.
“Your own business? You're too stubborn. Maybe you feel that everything is going well and are bearing it alone, that's why you're venting all your stress in this way,” Yori said deliberately heating up.
Naru's eyes lit up with anger. “What do you mean by talking like that? I didn't ask you to talk about anything about me. Do you think you're better than me?”
“I'm just telling the truth. If you can't handle the pressure, maybe you shouldn't be in the band,” Yori retorted firmly.
Naru pounded the ground with her foot, restraining herself from the urge to attack Yori. “You don't know anything about what I'm going through.”
“Then explain it to me. But you won't talk, right? That's your problem, Naru. You're too stubborn and hard to talk to. I'm sure, if you keep acting like this, you'll lose everything,” Yori said as she gave Naru a sharp look.
Naru was silent, not knowing what to say. Anger, frustration, and fatigue kept her silent. She grabbed her bag and walked away without saying a word.
Yori could only let out a long sigh. “Naru, someday you have to realize that when someone tries to tell you. It signifies the meaning of a good care for you. I only want to help you, not bring you down.”
***
In the practice room, Kano and Yama still hadn't gone home. The two of them chose to stay behind and talk to each other about the fight between Naru and Fujisaki.
“Yama I'm pretty sure that you can see clearly. That it looks like Fujisaki and Naru seem to be having a fight. They both somehow seem to be blaming each other,” Kano told Yama.
“I don't know exactly what made the two of them quarrel. But as I see it, both of them chose not to talk about the matter. They're both closed off and end up in emotional outbursts.” Yama, who had been quietly watching Fujisaki and Naru, had clearly sensed that there was something the matter between them.
Kano sighed heavily. “It's going to be difficult if the two of them don't make up,” Kano lamented.
Kano and Yama could only stare at each other with disappointed looks. They hoped this conflict would end soon before it damaged their band further.