Moonlight / 月の光

It was now past evening. One could observe the exact time of day on my bedroom’s alarm clock—9:28 PM. A certain someone had finished her first meal roughly half an hour ago. That same individual was now inside her newfound bunker, not to shelter herself from air raids, but instead to preserve her privacy when surfing the internet. Though the room had no built-in desktop computers or peripherals, that woman had something better—a laptop with wi-fi. Why sit on a likely uncomfortable chair using your computer, stuck in a static position, when you could lie in your bed, with your beloved pillow as head support, using your portable computer in the position you preferred? That’s what Natsuko thought, and I vehemently agreed, except my device of choice was mostly a smartphone instead of a laptop. Eventually, she got tired of being alone and her curiosity overflowed. I’m obviously talking about how curious the new resident was to check out my room.

On my side of things, I was listening to music. Sadly, that was interrupted by a sudden door knock. I took off my wired earpieces, got up, and approached the door. A little side note, but I prefer my earphones and digital mice with wire. I’m a fan of wireless headphones though.

“Huh, mother, is that you? I told you not to both—ah”

As I opened the door, it was clear that was no mother, at least not yet.

“It’s you, Natsuko. Come in.”

“Sorry for showing up all of a sudden.”

“No, don’t worry about it. I take it you want to examine every corner of my room. Feel free to do so.”

“Ahh, y-yes,” she tried to look away to disguise her embarrassed face, given it took me seconds to discover what her intent was.

Right as she walked into my room, her eyes spotted an instrument case in one of the corners.

“Do you play the violin?”

“Used to, not so much nowadays.”

“Ah, okay.”

She headed to that same corner and grabbed the case. Opening it, she picked up the instrument, got into the correct posture effortlessly, and grabbed the bow, all while I observed, shocked.

“W-What are you doing?”

“What does it look like I'm doing? Can I?”

“You should've asked that before picking it up!”

“Is that a yes or no?”

“Yes, go ahead.”

She began tuning it by ear. In no time, she was playing something. I was seriously beginning to think she was some sort of hidden violin prodigy. And who could blame me honestly? I went from “Oh she's curious about it” to “Oh she plays it better than I do” in less time than what'd take me to say it. Huh. What am I even saying? Truthfully, she was no prodigy. But it was beautiful.

I instantly recognized it with the first notes. Debussy's Clair de Lune. A piece originally composed for the piano. She was playing a simplified version of it—sometimes reproducing the original dyads or chords fully, otherwise sticking with a simple melody.

“I didn't know that you—”

“Played the violin?”, she completed, speaking while playing, ”Well, good news, now you do,” she added with a cheery attitude.

I meant to say that I didn't know you played the violin so... gracefully.

“How's my playing?”

“Your intonation is perfect.”

“Is that all? Haven't got anything else to comment?”

“I'd rather listen to it until the end.”

She smiled, glad I chose what she wanted deep down. The sound of the instrument took over our silent house—my parents had decided to take a night stroll, given the favorable weather.

As she neared the finish line, she took a more serious posture, meaning to conclude it on a high note.

Following the final chord, she placed the instrument on my bed, intending to talk.

“What did you think?”

“A very good performance, especially coming from someone who I had no idea was a musician.”

“Thanks. This was one of the first pieces I ever played.”

“And when was that?”

“About eight years ago.”

That explains her skill.

“I see. Are you going to play more?”

“After you play one yourself.”

“I respectfully decline.”

“Okay…,” she acknowledged, slightly disappointed in my decision. Changing her demeanor, she proceeded, “Now, if you’ll excuse me, there’s something I need to finish doing.”

Putting the violin inside its case and placing the latter where it previously was, she resumed probing the room. She was quick to notice my sizeable manga collection.

“‘Asagao to’—Woah… Ishida, I didn't think you were such a fan of yuri manga.”

“Uh-huh, it's my favorite genre. Pretty niche preference, I know, but I find those stories very heartwarming and beautiful.”

She got hesitant for a moment once she realized we shared the same taste when it came to manga.

“Me… me too.”

“Oh? Could that mean what I'm thinking?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Natsuko, do you swing that way?”

“HUH? What kind of question is that?”

She started blushing uncontrollably, unable to produce a response with her lips. I noticed the intense indecision and tried to comfort her.

“It’s all okay! I’m not going to judge you because of something so simple and trivial.”

Also it’d be hypocritical of me to do so since I too swing that way.

“T-Thanks.”

She sat on my bed, next to me, intending to prolong the conversation, and continued.

“Can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“Have you ever dated a girl?”

“Umm…”

“So it’s a no.”

“Mhm,” I shyly confirmed it, cornered, with nowhere to go.

“Relax, I’m not going to mock you for being a virgin or anything stupid like that.”

Ah, I’m relieved.

“Why are you asking? Have you dated one?”

She started crying. Still, she managed to pump out a proper response, wiping the few small tears that had escaped the confines of her eyes.

“Yes.”

Crap, did I go too far? Damn you, stupid, insensitive me.

“I have something I need to tell you. But… you have to promise me you’ll keep it a secret. Do you promise?”

“Huh? Y-Yes, yes! I swear!”

“Alright.”

This was the moment wherein the curtain rose on her past. What one could call her backstory. I hereby ought to relieve myself of my duty as a narrator temporarily. Don't get too worked up over it, though. I pledge to you, dear reader—I shall return just as briskly as I left. In a voice that nowhere near resembles a cyborg assassin's, I assure you—I'll be back.

Farewells aside and back on topic—the optimal time to shine a light on this story had arrived.

And there was no one more fit to tell that story but her.

The protagonist of that story.

Akira Natsuko.