Breaking Free

Chapter 7

Breaking Free

***

The next two months were a blur of music, sweat, and relentless effort, on Hirato and Naru's part

Hirato , they guy didn't just push Naru, he practically dragged her, kicking and screaming, into a world where hesitation had no place, from the moment she agreed to let them help her get over her trauma , he immediately googled up the solution of the problem

Which was to confront the problem with help from others, close friends and families

***

Day One

Naru sat on her bed, in her room watching as Hirato made himself comfortable on the floor of her room, legs crossed, laptop open without a care as if this girlfriend's room

{ We're really doing this }

Her fingers twitched against her guitar case, she had only met this guy yesterday, and now he was here, in her room

{Yamashita-kun is actually in my room! A guy is in my room!!}

The thought sent a jolt of awkwardness through her, she had never invited a guy into her room before as this was her sanctuary; her world of posters, scattered guitar picks, and unfinished lyric sheets, and now, this weird, stubborn otaku-turned-music-fanatic was invading it like it was no big deal because of the promise to help her get over her past trauma

Meanwhile, Hirato was completely unfazed, glanced around briefly, eyes skimming over her cluttered desk and the half-empty cans of energy drinks near her amp, but he didn't say anything, no teasing, no dumb comments, just straight to business

"Alright, first things first "

He announced, tapping his laptop

"We're starting with the basics"

Naru exhaled, trying to shake off the weird tension in her chest

{ Relax, he's just here for help me get over my problem, nothing more, it's disrespectful to Yamashita-kun as well if I keep thinking like this }

"You mean, like, scales? Exercises?"

She asked, crossing her arms

"Nope, Free bird "Hirato replied "Free Bird."

She nearly choked on her drink.

"Excuse me?"

"The solo from Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd ,"

He repeated, his grin widening

" 4 and ahalf minutes of pure madness, if you can nail that, you can play anything"

She groaned, already regretting this

"T... that's insane!! "

"Debatable"

Hirato shrugged

"Now, start from the top"

She rolled her eyes but did as he said, her fingers moving stiffly over the fretboard, the notes came out choppy, uneven causing her to wince

Hirato didn't comment, he just hit replay on the backing track

And then again

And again

***

Week one

The month of midterm exams loomed, however even as he was busy studying Hirato made time for Naru

Between cramming study sessions , dance and vocal practice, he'd show up at her door, headphones slung around his neck, laptop in one hand, and a determination that was honestly getting kind of scary

"10 minutes"

He'd say

"Just one run-through"

Those 'five minutes' always turned into an hour

***

A month later at June

Monsoon arrived

Rain pounded against her window as she sat on her bed, guitar in her lap, laptop open, Hirato's voice crackled through the video call

"Alright, Iron Man by Black Sabbath's solo Go"

Naru groaned

"Yamashita-kun, it's literally thunderstorming outside"

"And?"

Time -8:34 pm

"I kinda wantes to sleep early, you know

... the rainy and damp atmosphere and all "

She coyly stated, indeed she had gotten comfortable around Hirato, who flatly asked

"And?"

She sighed, muttering something under her breath before starting, he listened carefully, eyes narrowed in concentration, occasionally nodding

"You're getting better"

He admitted which made the girl smile a bit

" R.. really? "

"Yeah but, you still flinched a bit on those bends, though "

"I hate bends"

"Yeah, well,Tony Iommi didn't"

She groaned but picked up her guitar again

***

1 month and week two:

In the middle of filming for his upcoming cover video by himself, in the early morning shoots in Shibuya, late evening takes in Yokohama, Hirato still made time for Naru

"Yo Harune-chan"

He greeted through another early evening video call on a Sunday, still in his performance outfit, sweat visible on his forehead

"How's the Beat It solo coming?"

"You just finished filming, didn't you?"

She asked, raising an eyebrow

"Yup, for today anyway"

"And instead of going home first ,you're calling me now while walking in the streets?"

"Yup"

She shook her head, but something warm curled in her chest

***

1 Month Week 3

Hirato's persistence had gone from a bit annoying to… something else entirely for Naru who had seeing how serious and devoted the guy was to his promise, during the past 2 months ,Ayaka had often visited her with Hirato who nearly always contacted or visited her every day helping her with every way they could, especially Hirato

And as a result

Naru could feel it, the way her fingers moved more naturally, the way solos didn't feel like insurmountable walls anymore, she wasn't perfect yet, but she was better

More than that, she found herself caring about his opinion

And one night, after an especially grueling practice, she finally asked

"Yamashita-kun"

She called out to Hirato who was looking through his laptop for the solo for them to practice

"Yeah?"

"Why do you do all this?"

Hirato, who now made eye contact to her, tilted his head

"Do what?"

" Helping me like this… with this much, it must troublesome to you is it not?"

She hesitated before adding

"Being this dedicated to me"

She blushed

He studied her for a moment, then, with a small, almost knowing smile(he doesn't), he replied

"Because when something's worth it, you don't stop halfway"

Naru's heart stuttered

And in that moment, she...she had fallen in love

***

The warm breeze of August seeped through the slightly open window, rustling the edges of Hirato's posters, but none of the people in the room paid attention to the weather

Hirato, Ayaka, and Naru sat in their usual spots, back in Hirato's room, the same place where it all started, but this time, something was different

Naru stood in the center, her sleek black-and-red guitar resting against her shoulder, fingers poised over the fretboard, a quiet confidence radiated from her stance, her once-hesitant grip was now firm, steady

Hirato leaned back against his chair, arms crossed, his expression unreadable, Ayaka sat on the bed, hugging a pillow, her eyes filled with excitement

Hirato tapped a few keys on his laptop

The same track as before loaded up—Michael Jackson's Jam.

" Ready Harune-chan ? "

" Yeah ,go "

" 1..2..3 Jam "

The moment pressed played, the scratch intro played, an intense rush of nostalgia slammed into Naru

This was the track where she hesitated

This was the moment she had failed before

But now, she was here again, after two months of relentless effort

Pushing through frustration, self-doubt, and the weight of expectations through her practices , facing her trauma directly, with her friends, through Hirato's insane dedication and through Ayaka's unwavering support

She tightened her grip on the pick

This time, I won't hold back

Then, she played

The first chord struck like a thunderclap—sharp, commanding, dripping with energy ,her fingers danced across the fretboard with a speed that left no room for hesitation, each note cut through the air like a blade, precise and electrifying

Hirato's eyes widened a bit

{Good thing we never practiced with Jam's track, I probably wouldn't have been able to tell the difference this clearly had we did(he smirked) she was good back then but now}

TriuUU!!

{Now it's just unreal}

Ayaka gasped, her grip on the pillow tightening

Hirato's smirk instantly grew wider looking a bit too excited

Naru was a completely different player

The groove, the rhythm—everything felt so much more alive, her strumming had a bite, a raw intensity that gripped the room and refused to let go, every lick, every transition between notes, was smoother than ever,

The groove seeped into her muscles, her head moving in sync, her body completely locked into the music

And then—

The rapid fire ending where Hirato wanted the guitar shine unlike the original's track where the trumpet carried the energy to the end

And as Hirato envisioned ,the guitar, Naru's awakened play, it exploded

Her fingers blazed up and down the fretboard, each note sharp, fluid, burning with soul, her fingers tore through the final run of notes with inhuman precision, ramping up the song's energy throughout the entire solo which ended with causing the last chord to be struck by an adrenaline fueles Naru with so much force, the sound it practically shook the room

The music stopped

Silence

Ayaka's mouth hung open, completely stunned

Hirato's breath hitched. His eyes tracked every movement, every subtle shift in her playstyle, his mind racing to process just how much she had leveled up.

{ Good thing no one's home right now}

The air vibrated with the echoes of what just happened, indeed, had his parents and sister been home they would've definitely complained about the loud volume which Hirato thought was totally needed and his thoughts were well validated just now

Naru's chest rose and fell, her fingers trembling over the strings, not from fear, but from the sheer adrenaline flooding her veins

Hirato let out a slow breath

{Guitarist covered!}

Ayaka practically jumped to her feet

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?"

Naru barely heard her, she was still lost in the high of playing—of finally, truly feeling the music again

Her vision blurred

Her breath grew ragged ,and tears pricked her eyes

Not from sadness, but from happiness and relief

She had done it

She really did it

Her grip on the guitar loosened as she wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeve, trying to stop herself from completely breaking down

"Ah…"

She sniffed, laughing weakly

" I can't believe I'm actually crying over this…"

Ayaka shot up from the bed and tackled her into a tight hug

"Of course, you are, dummy! You deserve this!"

Hirato leaned back in his chair, arms still crossed, but his smirk had softened

"See? Told you we'd fix it."

Naru looked at him through teary eyes

"Yeah you did, Thank you both…"

She smiled, probably as wide as she ever did in the past year

And for the first time in a long while, she felt like a guitarist again

End of chapter