[Autumn.]
[The cultural festival comes to a close, and Kessoku Band's performance on stage goes smoothly.]
[This time, you experiment with changing the lineup and adding a keyboard player, with Ryo Yamada taking on the role of lead vocalist. The result turns out surprisingly good, though still far from the level of a grand stage performance.]
[One thing stands out, though as your piano progress has slowed down a lot lately. Toru Kitahara tells you this is normal. When your talent is sufficient, such a plateau won't last long.]
A professional-level bottleneck? Kita ponders this quietly.
From the simulator, she's heard that the highest possible level of skill might be "divine."
[One chilly autumn evening, Toru Kitahara invites you to stargaze with him.]
[He tells you that among all the nights in the four autumn months, this one has the brightest stars. Even the Autumn Square can be seen clearly with the naked eye. Hearing the excitement in his voice, you can't help but wonder if he's really a musician at all.]
[In truth, Toru Kitahara doesn't seem like one. You've seen him perform before. On stage, he plays freely, altering the great masters' pieces beyond recognition.]
[Some judges praise him, saying his talent is extraordinary and that he refuses to be bound by convention.]
[Others, more rigid and traditional as they criticize his reckless approach.]
[But none can deny one thing: Toru Kitahara is a rising star in the world of violin. In next year's Paganini International Violin Competition, he will no doubt captivate the entire audience.]
[And tonight, that future violin master is standing before you, assembling an astronomical telescope.]
[You've triggered a special event: ]
[Would you like to enter?]
Kita's consciousness slips into the simulator.
◇
[The rooftop is cool and filled with a crisp breeze.]
[Toru Kitahara finishes assembling the telescope and dusts off his hands. Tonight, Hitori Gotoh can't come because it's her sister Futari's birthday. What a shame.]
[In the past half year, Toru Kitahara has reached the level of a master in violin. His illness hasn't defeated him; he remains optimistic and upbeat. In fact, as someone who has already "died" three times, he no longer fears death.]
[What he fears is never reaching his limit, not "divine" level, but something even higher. He suspects such a level exists, though he's never unlocked it.]
[At most five years, at least three. That's how long the king of cancers, pancreatic cancer, will let him live.]
[But the greater the urgency, the less he can rush.]
[After reaching the professional level, progress depends only on understanding.]
"So cold… When will it be ready?" Kita rubs her hands together and crouches in front of him, knees drawn up.
Come to think of it, she's never gone stargazing before.
"Almost there. Just adjusting the angle."
Toru takes off his jacket and drapes it over her shoulders. The gesture is a little too familiar, making her slightly uncomfortable, but then she remembers that in the simulation, the two of them are close friends. It's not a big deal, so she says nothing.
"So warm," she murmurs, tugging the jacket closer, feeling his lingering body heat.
Then she suddenly remembers something. "Toru-kun, aren't you cold?"
"My body's fine. This temperature's nothing." He adjusts the telescope casually as he speaks.
Just cancer, after all. With a body eight times stronger than normal, he won't collapse until the very end.
What breaks the camel's back is never the heavy load, but the final straw.
Kita senses that he's pretending to be fine but doesn't have the heart to puncture his pride.
"The moon is beautiful tonight."
The words leave Toru's mouth so suddenly that she freezes.
The moon really is fuller and brighter than usual.
"…" Kita blinks in surprise.
Wait, did he just say… "The moon is beautiful"?
I didn't mishear that, right?
After a few seconds of hesitation, she hides her reddening face behind his collar and mumbles, "I-I think it's still too early for that…"
"Too early for what?"
"F-for dating…"
"Huh?"
As a man who crossed over from another world, Toru genuinely doesn't understand what's wrong with that sentence.
"You just said 'the moon is beautiful,' didn't you?"
"Yeah, what about it? Isn't it beautiful tonight?"
Then realization dawns on his face, and a teasing smile follows. "Don't tell me you thought I was confessing to you?"
Her face turns even redder.
"No one uses such old-fashioned lines to confess anymore," he laughs, peering through the telescope's eyepiece.
"If I were to confess," he adds, "I'd rather use this line: 'May I be as the stars, and you as the moon, shining bright together every night.'"
'The moon may fade, but the stars remain bright.'
'When the moon returns, we'll shine together again.'
There's no denying it, poetry really is romantic. Too bad most people wouldn't get it.
Once the telescope is in position, he steps aside.
"All right, your turn."
Kita hesitates for a moment, then leans forward to look. The brilliant starlight fills her eyes, dazzling and endless. She's never seen a night sky this beautiful, and for a while, she can't look away.
"How does it feel?"
"It's beautiful," she answers simply. Words fail her, when someone is truly moved, language becomes useless.
"Toru, have you seen this many times before?"
"No, it's my first time too. First time inviting a girl to the rooftop, first time learning what the Autumn Square even is. Starting something from zero is kind of fun." He smiles.
"That's why I gave up the piano and started trying new things."
Photography, bass, and now violin.
Passion is the best teacher.
Perhaps that's why the simulator chose him, because he yearns for a different, fuller life.
After crossing into this world, he's been immersed in piano since childhood.
Through dull, repetitive practice, he reached the professional level in less than ten years. Master level was just within reach. A true prodigy, without question.
But that unchanging life? He's had more than enough of it.
"I see."
Kita realizes they're similar, both weary of monotonous life, both searching for something new.
Toru tilts his head back, gazing at the sky. After a few seconds, he smiles. "Kita, I think I just got some inspiration. Maybe I can compose something really good."
He walks to the violin case lying on the ground and takes out his instrument.
Raising the violin, he closes his eyes.
A moment of silence passes. Then, under the watching stars, the rooftop fills with the graceful sound of his music, soft and beautiful.
In that instant, the countless stars above seem to shine brighter, as if moved by one man's song.