The contact address Kobayashi Tetsu had filled in was Shimayori Game Shop. Any music samples or related materials would be mailed there.
A few days later, Kobayashi Tetsu received a call from Shimayori Yosuke—the samples had arrived and were waiting for him to pick them up.
"Pretty quick," Kobayashi Tetsu muttered. "I thought it'd take at least a few more days in the mail."
His gaze swept across the garage, landing on Kobayakawa, who was completely absorbed in Off-Road Motorcycle, locked in a life-or-death struggle with the little blue bike.
Summer vacation was almost over. Soon, she wouldn't be able to play games so freely anymore.
"Rinko," Kobayashi Tetsu called out. "I'm heading to Shimayori's place to pick something up. Want to come along?"
Kobayakawa put down the controller. A few seconds passed before her eyes finally pulled free from the electronic world and focused on Kobayashi Tetsu's face.
"Sure! Is it something important?"
"Sort of. A composer sent in some music samples—she wants to work at Atlus."
As he spoke, Kobayashi Tetsu casually wheeled his bicycle out, ready to head off with Kobayakawa.
Why are you still riding a bike when you already have an AE86?
Kobayashi Tetsu could only say—
Don't ask about JK matters.
The moment he pushed the bicycle out, Kobayakawa suddenly stopped in place, clearly lost in thought. Meeting Kobayashi Tetsu's gaze, she tilted her head slightly and lowered her eyes.
"Um… couldn't we take the train instead?"
"Sure, we could," Kobayashi Tetsu replied easily. "But it's so hot out—riding a bike feels way cooler."
"But—but if we ride a bike, then wouldn't that mean—"
Kobayakawa clenched her fists.
If that happened, whether sitting on the back seat or perching on the crossbar, it'd be weird either way!
It wasn't that she disliked the idea. It just felt like… wasn't this moving a bit too fast?
While she was still tangled up in those thoughts, Kobayashi Tetsu had already mounted the bike.
"If you're not getting on, I'm heading off by myself."
"Wait!!" Kobayakawa hurriedly pressed down her pleated skirt and sat sideways on the back seat. "I—I'm coming."
Sitting sideways like this, she couldn't see Kobayashi Tetsu's face, which made her feel a little better. Still, her hands didn't quite know where to go. She managed to grip the edge of the seat, but that left Kobayashi Tetsu with hardly anywhere to hold on himself. She glanced at his back, hesitated for a moment, then finally reached out and tugged lightly at the hem of his shirt.
As the bicycle started moving, Kobayakawa immediately lost her balance and nearly slipped off the seat.
"Gotta protect yourself better," Tetsu said without looking back. "Hold on tighter."
"Like I need you to tell me. I'm holding on just fine," Kobayakawa muttered. But she seemed to relax, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning against his back.
Once she'd truly made up her mind, the tension in her heart eased instead.
Kobayashi Tetsu seemed completely unaware, pedaling steadily as he casually hummed a tune.
"On the far side of that deep blue sea,
who right now is bearing their pain?"
"Like a fledgling bird that still can't fly,
lamenting its own helplessness."
The shop signs on either side of the street blurred past. Kobayakawa asked softly, "What song is that?"
"'Riding on the Back of the Silver Dragon,'" Tetsu replied.
She thought about it for a while, then shook her head with difficulty. "I've never heard it. Who sings it?"
Kobayashi Tetsu laughed, carefree and unrestrained.
"Doesn't matter. You wouldn't know them anyway. As long as it sounds good, isn't that enough?"
Kobayakawa muttered a few words, intending to pinch the soft flesh at his waist, but her fingers paused in midair. In the end, she didn't do it. She simply hugged his waist more tightly, her cheek resting against his back.
Kobayashi Tetsu's untrained singing voice echoed shamelessly through the streets.
"Even with wings as thin as cotton,
with hands as tender and unreliable as new leaves,
tomorrow I'll still walk to the dragon's feet,
climb the cliff, and shout aloud—
Riding on the back of the silver dragon.
Riding on the back of the silver dragon."
Shimayori Game Shop.
Kobayashi Tetsu received the mailed samples—a cassette tape containing compositions Miki Higashino had written during her university years.
In the afternoon, the shop wasn't very busy. Three or five people were still gathered there, playing games.
"Uncle," Tetsu greeted familiarly. "Mind if I borrow the tape deck?"
"Go ahead," Shimayori Yosuke waved him off, pushing the cassette recorder over.
The tape slid in, and the music began to play.
Miki Higashino was a practitioner of minimalist music, a style completely at odds with the prevailing trends at Osaka College of Music. In a sense, she was a rebel.
Minimalist music relied heavily on repeated motifs, but that didn't mean the compositions were simplistic.
After listening for a while, Kobayashi Tetsu had a pretty clear impression.
This style might not be welcomed by mainstream music circles, but it was perfectly suited for games.
In games, changes in music usually accompanied shifts in atmosphere or location. Within the same mood or area, the music couldn't vary too drastically—it needed to maintain a unified style.
Kobayashi Tetsu pressed pause and looked up. Several pairs of eyes were watching him.
Shimayori Yosuke folded his arms, visibly surprised. "Tetsu-kun, whose music is this?"
Tetsu answered with a question of his own. "What do you all think?"
"I don't really get music," Shimayori Yosuke said, "but it sounds like game background music. Is it from some standalone cartridge?"
Kobayashi Tetsu looked at the others. The responses came in a jumble—some liked it, some didn't.
However, there was one opinion many shared: they all wanted to know which game this music came from. The quality felt remarkably high.
Kobayashi Tetsu ejected the cassette from the recorder.
"Well, this style is extremely suitable for games. In fact, it's precisely because of its simplicity that it works so well. Electronic synthesized music in games just can't get that complex anyway."
Electronic music relied heavily on synthesizers, which limited complexity.
The original composer for Salamander had been Miki Higashino. The music throughout Salamander was exceptionally well done, and its status as one of the FC's four great games couldn't be separated from that soundtrack.
Kobayashi Tetsu put the cassette away.
Even setting aside her future fame, this style and level of composition alone meant Miki Higashino was more than qualified to join any company. No wonder she would later become one of Konami's ace composers.
"Let's go," Tetsu called out to Kobayakawa. "Time to head back. I'll be going on a business trip soon—then you won't get to see me for a while."
Kobayashi Tetsu was heading to Kobe to pick up Hideo Kojima's improved program, and then on to Osaka—to personally bring Miki Higashino over.
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