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Shinso Hitoshi had never been a guy for slow music.
He liked going to concerts that blew his hearing out and made his ears ring the next day. He liked blasting his music through his headphones. He liked songs with loud drums, fast tempo, and a nauseous bass line.
That hadn't changed when he woke up in the middle of the night to grab a glass of water. He downed the glass and set it back on the table in the dorm's kitchen. He intended to go back to bed, with nothing that had changed.
In fact, his whole life had been changing. Moving to the hero course, out of general studies. Everyday there was a new villain attack he was thrown into. Sleep would be very appreciated. But his music taste would surely stay the same.
He was just starting to trudge back down the hall when he heard what resembled a soft piano melody from down the other corridor.
At first, he thought he was dreaming the whole thing and it was a sign that he really needed that sleep. But how enticing the music was to his tired ears. he was drawn closer, and he turned around out of curiosity.
He tentatively walked down the hall and saw light peeking out beneath someone's door. Monoma's.
He just stepped closer. Like a moth drawn to a lit lamp.
Shinso stood right next to his door, and slumped down on the side of the wall after a few moments. He sat and brought his knees to his chest. His hair, which was now loose at night, draped over his shoulders and his face.
It was as if the music wrapped around him like a warm blanket. He heard the occasional page turn from his room, and a grunt or two from Monoma when he played what he thought was a wrong note. Shinso barely heard them. Did he play a wrong one?
He wouldn't know, everything he played sounded just perfect to him. Maybe it was the lack of shut-eye, or a personal bias that formed over the time he’s known him.
He didn’t really care or notice anything else but the music and his free performance. Did he know that he was sitting outside his door? Did anyone else know that he practiced piano at night or was it just him?
“He should really practice during the day more,” he mumbled slowly, his eyes starting to feel heavy. “He sounds great.”
That was all he managed to say out loud before his head finally rolled onto his shoulder, and his eyes fluttered shut.
He fell asleep with the faintest smile lingering on his face.
Monoma kept playing.