Kumiko gradually opened her eyes thanks to the continual ringing of a bell. Unknowingly, she had knocked her alarm clock, which was supposed to have been set 15 minutes earlier than usual, beneath her bed. The brilliant and dazzling morning sun peeped through the gaps in her curtains. Kumiko gave a big yawn, feeling refreshed from a good night’s sleep. But as she snuck back underneath the covers she had flipped over while sleeping, her eyes opened wide. “It’s morning?”

Kumiko’s brain, with the lingering remnants of a dream vaguely attached to it, instantly shook itself awake. As she scrambled out of bed, her futon slid to the floor, and the alarm continued to ring. Flustered, she finally found the clock where it had fallen to.

“Whoa, I’m almost late.”

She would just barely make it on time. Kumiko changed quickly and inspected herself in the mirror. Uniform ribbon, no issues. Skirt, just a bit above her knees. Socks, one on each side. Hair…. a mess.

“Ah, got to fix this bedhead.”

While she was patting down the parts of her hair that had stuck up, Kumiko glanced at herself in the mirror. Her reflection wore a simple navy-blue sailor uniform with a white line at the neck. After the past year, Kumiko’s body had gotten accustomed to wearing Kitauji High’s signature uniform.

Kumiko Oumae. Her full name was printed on the numerous lists of homeroom classes pasted on the wall.

It was the first day in a new school year. Kumiko could hear the high-pitched shrieks from the other girls when they met one of their friends. Indeed, the annual changing of classes was an important event. One could even call it the turning point of school life. Who was your homeroom teacher? Who were your classmates? It wouldn’t be too much to say that this flimsy paper on the wall held your future in its hands.

Swallowing her saliva, Kumiko scanned over the list of names above. Year 2 class 3. Homeroom teacher: Michie Matsumoto. Her name was under the same class number as it was last year. The girl in front of Kumiko let out a cry of disappointment.

“Sergeant-sensei’s class? I so never wanted to take lessons from her!”

“Don’t worry. She’s actually not too bad.”

“Seriously? That sounds fishy.”

“It’s true. The girls in the concert band also say she seems scary, but she’s actually really nice.”

“Ah, isn’t she the assistant advisor for the band? Huh, well it’d be better if it was Taki-sensei. He’s hot.”

“Well, it seems that Taki-sensei is quite harsh towards the band.”

“What? But he has such a calm face!”

The two girls headed inside a classroom. As soon as Kumiko passed by them, a familiar figure shot towards Kumiko like a bullet. “Kumiko-chan! Good morning!” Looking down, Kumiko saw the top of this girl’s fluffy hair. The emerald green ribbon hair decorations adorning the side of her head were her trademark.

“Good morning Midori. You’re quite the handful this morning.”

In response, Sapphire energetically lifted her head. Both of her doe-like eyes were brimming with energy again today. Sapphire Kawashima. Written with the characters for green and sparkle, but read “Sapphire.” She has a bit of an issue with the name her parents gave her, so she always asks everyone around her to call her “Midori.”

“Hazuki-chan’s in this class too. Midori is really happy to be together with both of you again! Look! She’s over there!” Sapphire pulled Kumiko’s arm towards where most of the students had gathered in the classroom. Some of the students had seen faces they remembered and made a group. Despite such a gathering, the seats were assigned in name order, so Kumiko had a window seat as usual.

“Kumiko! Over here!” Hazuki Katou waved her hand around calling Kumiko over before she could waste a single moment to set her bag down. Hazuki had a tidy short-cut haircut paired with a bright smile. Her slightly tanned skin was a remnant of when she played on the tennis team during middle school.

“Did we even change classes this year? You’re here early today.”

“I wanted to come even earlier, but I didn’t notice my alarm going off.”

“Sleeping in on the first day? Well, you’re lucky you weren’t late!” Hazuki said as she firmly patted Kumiko on the back. Kumiko gave a wry smile in return.

Sapphire clasped her hands pleasantly as she listened in. “Midori was also nervous too, but I’m so happy that I’m in the same class with our bass section again this year! And we also have Michie-sensei again for homeroom!”

“Well yeah. I get the feeling like we didn’t change anything at all though.” Hazuki sat at the edge of her desk and let her feet dangle from the side. A familiar logo was printed on the side of her white knee-high socks.

“No, no, there’s tons of new exciting things! Midori is very much looking forward to seeing what kind of kouhais we get. Last year, I was the only contrabass player, so it’d be wonderful to get a cute kouhai this year.” Sapphire’s breathing became a bit wild, perhaps from how excited she was.

“Will we even have any kouhais? I’m a bit worried.”

“A-gain you say something negative like that Kumiko. Of course they’ll come. After all, we made it to Nationals last year.”

“Yes, Midori thinks that too!” Sapphire nodded to Hazuki’s overly confident declaration.

Kyoto Prefectural Kitauji High School. Near the middle of the top academically, but nothing special club-wise. This ordinary high school with nothing exceptionally good or bad about it had a new music teacher come last year. That was the current advisor to the concert band, Noboru Taki. There were many cries of rebellion against his sudden overly strict guidance at first, but once they were able to see the improvement in their performance, the club members easily bought into the way he led the band. And though there were lots of troubles along the way, Taki was able to lead the Kitauji High School concert band to Nationals in his first year as advisor.

“But yeah, thinking about it, there’s a good chance that some super rookie like Reina may join this year. I’m sure some amazingly talented girl or something like that will show up.”

Hazuki’s lips turned stiff. Midori grasped her fists. “Don’t say something so disheartening. Believe in yourself. Say ‘I’m going to become so good that I’ll be better than my senpais this year simply because I’m Hazuki-chan!’”

Hazuki was impressed. “Oh, way to go Midori. You did come from a strong school though.”

Sapphire shook her head. “It has nothing to do with what school you go to; you always have to have this kind of feeling.” Sapphire attended the middle school at Seijou Academy, where the concert band was so strong they regularly appeared at Nationals. She played the contrabass at that school. The contrabass is a stringed instrument that looks like a huge violin, but belongs to the bass section.

On the other hand, Hazuki was a beginner who joined the concert band when she entered high school. There are a lot of experienced musicians in high school concert bands, but since Hazuki was on the tennis team during middle school, and owing to the large lung capacity she had from playing on that team, she was tasked with the tuba as her very first instrument when she joined. Among all the brass instruments, the tuba is undoubtedly the largest and has a bass sound. It’s the unsung hero who provides the sturdy sound floor during performances. At 10 kilograms, it’s quite heavy, so a lot of musicians use a stand while sitting and performing.

Kumiko was also a member of the same bass section as the others. She joined a brass band due to her sister’s influence when she was in elementary school and gradually kept going on and on playing the same instrument until she arrived at Kitauji. Her instrument is the euphonium. This brass instrument’s characteristic is its warm sonorous timber. Since it’s rarely used in orchestras, it’s not very well known. It can take on many different roles from accompaniment to the lead instrument.

Euph, tuba, contrabass. These three instruments make up the bass section at Kitauji, so most of the time they practice together in sectionals.

“Oh, isn’t that a girl from the concert band over there?” To emphasize her point, Sapphire stuck her finger into Kumiko’s side. Kumiko, who was lost in thought, was brought back to her senses.

“She is,” said Hazuki as she moved towards the sitting girl. “Tsubame, you’re also in class 3 huh? Same classes after all.”

“Oh, Hazuki-chan.” The moment her shoulder was struck, her body jolted in shock. Rather than only her shoulder jolting, her short somewhat frizzy black hair bolted outward. “So, we are in the same class. Oh, Kawashima-san and Oumae-san as well.”

As she said that, she lowered the slightly awkward ends of her eyebrows. Kumiko thought that her frameless glasses lenses were a bit too big in comparison to the size of her eyes. She may be a member of the same concert band, but she wasn’t more than an acquaintance. With how big concert bands are, there’s a lot of people you’d consider only an acquaintance.

Hazuki pointed towards Tsubame. “I don’t think either of you have much of a history with her, so this is the percussionist Tsubame Kamaya. Feel free to call her Tsubame.”

Kumiko wondered why Hazuki was the one to say that, but it looked like Sapphire, beside her, didn’t seem to care. “Call me Midori as well! Nice to meet you!”

“You can call me Kumiko too.”

“Ah, okay. Nice to meet you um, Kawashima-san and Oumae-san.” The way she hesitated in deciding how to address them was the likely reason why there was an awkward silence between them. Tsubame gave an awkward smile and tilted her head slightly towards them. In contrast to how she talked with Hazuki, there was clearly some distance between her and Kumiko and Sapphire. Her black eyes slightly flickered back and forth between them, due to how uneasy she felt.

With the chime that classes were starting sounding, the students all returned to their seats. Looking at her classmates faces, Kumiko though that about half of them were from last year’s class 3. They said they would change students’ classes randomly, but there appeared to be some bias.

“You’ve already taken your seats? Great readiness for the year.” As she opened the door, the homeroom teacher Michie Matsumoto made a gallant entrance. With just a few words, the loose atmosphere in the classroom instantly became tense. The assistant advisor to the concert band was a veteran teacher over 50 years old. From how strict she was, the students had given her the nickname of “Sergeant-sensei.”

“As the homeroom teacher for class 2-3, I, Michie Matsumoto, will be instructing you from today until the end of the year.”

Perhaps due to losing the battle against her sharp eyes, the students at the front straightened up un-naturally. It was the same sight as last year. Michie placed both hands on her desk and looked around the classroom.

“There are little differences between yourselves and the newly enrolled first-years, who will soon become accustomed to a new school life, as well as the third-years, who are currently choosing their future paths before their exams. However, your second year is the time where you can be most at ease. For those of you who think you have a lot of time, that time can be surprisingly shorter than you imagine. Do not make a decision about your future thoughtlessly like you’re just swinging a stick around; take your time and deeply ponder how you will live in the future. Spend this year without any regrets.”

“Yes Ma’am!”

A reply came out reflexively like usual, however the voices that sounded were all concert band members. Kumiko could see the embarrassment on the face of Tsubame in the seat in front of her. A few people murmured “definitely the concert band.” Rather than be in admiration, they were more astonished.

“Good response.” Michie was content. Without changing expression, she picked up her name files from where she placed it on her desk. Her finger, carved with wrinkles, calmly flipped through the pages.

“I will begin the attendance check. When I call your name, please respond.”

“Yes Ma’am!”

The students around the voices who reflexively shouted smiled once again at those who replied.

As there was an entrance ceremony that day, lessons ended for the morning after homeroom. On days with morning classes, their lessons could cut into club activities time more than usual. After homeroom, Kumiko, Hazuki, and Sapphire arrived at the music room. There were already lots of members sitting around and chatting. With last year’s third-years retiring, the club had already decreased by around 30 people. As there were few members in the year above Kumiko, you could already see the effects this decrease had when everyone was together.

“Kumiko,” As Kumiko turned around to see who was calling to her, she saw Reina Kousaka beckoning her towards herself. Looking at Reina pointing at the empty seat next to her, she seemed to have saved the seat next to her for Kumiko.

“Thanks for the seat.”

“You’re quite welcome.”

Running her fingers through her long black hair, Reina formed a smile on her lips. Beautiful. Intelligent. Kumiko had associated with this girl since middle school. Due to her professional trumpet performer father, she also had exceptional performance skills. After everyone around recognized how strong her talent was, she performed the trumpet solo at last year’s competitions despite being a first-year.

“What class are you in now?”

“2-3. Same as Midori and Hazuki. Still in class 7?”

“Well yes. The prep class doesn’t change at all.”

“I’m slightly jealous that you don’t have to change classes.”

“Really?”

“Isn’t it annoying to worry every year ‘will my friends be in this one?’”

“Having friends in my class would be nice, but I’m not particularly bothered. I’m fine by myself.” Her indifferent reply had Kumiko lost for words. This nonchalant moment showed Kumiko just how different their personalities were.

“…….That was very like you Reina.”

“What was like me?”

“It just kinda felt like what you’d say.”

“What do you mean?” Reina sighed. Attracted, Kumiko also smiled.

“Ah, I just remembered that Tsubame-chan is in the same class as us too. The one from percussion.”

“Tsubame-chan?” Reina knitted her eyebrows for a moment to ponder who it was. Then she nodded in realization. “Ah, Kamaya-chan.”

“You know her?”

“Somewhat. We’ve not had many meetings.”

“You probably wouldn’t.” Kumiko couldn’t imagine Reina being close to anyone else in their year besides her friends. Maybe it was just her impression prior to the competitions last year, but Reina also fit the word solitude quite well.

“Attention please! We’re starting the meeting!” A strong voice resounded through the noisy clubroom. The new president Yuuko Yoshikawa stood in front of the blackboard. From her signal, the chatting band members quickly took their seats.

In response to Yuuko’s greeting, the club members returned with “Good morning!” This customary routine was something that Taki’s guidance created.

“Finally, the new year has begun for us. With the first-years now enrolled, we will be busy inviting them and performing concerts. Let’s all do our best!”

“Yes ma’am!”

“Next we’ll pass out this month’s schedule. Please let the section leaders know in advance if you’ll be absent on a practice day. Third-years, there will be days in the future where you won’t be able to participate due to information sessions and mock exams. If you hold a post in the band, please let myself or the vice president know when you’ll be absent. We’ll pass it on to Taki-sensei.”

Yuuko’s style of speaking was brisk and easy to understand. It was a voice suited towards leading a group. Taking a look at the seat beside her, Kumiko saw Reina starting at Yuuko with a serious expression. The third-year Yuuko was a trumpet player like Reina. As a passionate supporter of the third-year who graduated in March, Kaori Nakaseko, they had clashed over who would perform the solo. After spending a year together, these two girls had arrived at a favorable relationship.

“Hey, Kumiko. What are you staring at?” Something white had entered her field of vision, causing Kumiko to blink. Looking away from it, she saw Natsuki Nakagawa handing her a handout. This vice-president was also a euphonium player like Kumiko. Originally, she didn’t have a lot of zest towards performing, but she had changed immensely over the past year. Her short hair had grown some and part of it went down to touch her shoulder. She and President Yuuko had a relationship similar to cats-and-dogs. Their quarrels quickly became an everyday sight.

“Ah, sorry. Thank you.” As Kumiko took the handout, Natsuki broadly smiled. During that moment, Kumiko could see her canines peeking out.

“So, know any good talent coming from Kita Middle?”

“Huh?”

“Do you know any of your kouhai from Kita Middle that would come to Kitauji? Perhaps you’ve drug in some talented euph player.”

Natsuki patted Kumiko on the shoulder and flippantly said “let’s do it again this year” before she returned back to Yuuko’s side. She seemed not to care about the warnings Yuuko was giving like “no chatting.”

“She said that so easily….” Reina murmured with tears creeping out the side of her eyes beside Kumiko. Her shoulders were shaking as she held in a laugh. Becoming embarrassed, Kumiko poked her calf with the tip of her shoe. Turning back to face forward, Reina returned to her nonchalant expression.

“Did everyone get a handout? If you didn’t, raise your hand.” Yuuko ensured that everyone received a handout. There was a lot scheduled in the gridlines by each date.

“Since it’s okay to observe during the probationary period, I expect a lot of first-years will come watch us practice. There probably will be some questions and other bothers from them, so please respond to them kindly.”

“Yes ma’am!”

“Instrument allotment and such will be determined on the formal date for joining. To ensure that we don’t have any problems like not enough people in one section or someone forgetting how many instruments you have and having too many applicants, please check the number of permitted applicants for your section. Additionally, please confirm if an applicant has their own instrument.”

That’s the case where the instrument belongs to the student, not the school. Most students just buy the equipment to use the instrument, but it’s not that rare to have students who beg their parents to buy their own instrument.

“Anyone have a question?……..looks like that went well. Now, let’s switch to sectional practices. Dismissed!”

In accordance with Yuuko’s orders, the band members started to move towards the instrument room. In one corner of the music room, the third-year members were talking with serious expressions. Among them stood Yuuko, with a gallant atmosphere around her. It had been months since the leadership changed in the band, and it appeared Yuuko had gotten used to acting like the president.

“Yuuko-senpai has changed her image a lot compared to when she was a second year, hasn’t she?”

“Well, Kaori-senpai graduating likely had a lot to do with too.” Reina calmly nodded to Kumiko’s statement.

“She was something back then.”

“She sure loved Kaori-senpai. Always saying how much she admired her.”

As they moved their discussion to last year’s events, they had naturally switched to past tense. The graduated senpais were no longer seen in the classrooms or hallways too. It’d be a lie to say there wasn’t a sense of loneliness. However, it’s not good to get stuck in sentimentalism forever.

“Do you think that Yuuko-senpai will be a good president?” Reina asked as she brushed her long hair off her shoulder. Her thoroughly treated hair was completely straight to its ends, unlike Kumiko’s. “For better or worse, she’s the kind of person who charges in full speed, but well, I think that pushiness aspect is one of her strengths.”

“Somehow the way you talk about her is persuasive, Reina.”

“Really?”

“Yep. It sounds like you’re experienced in talking about her.”

“What would sound like that?”

Escaping from a disgusted look towards her, Kumiko turned her head away. On the walls of the music room were blankets to soundproof the room. In one corner frames were hung on the wall. One held a picture of last year’s commemorative picture from Nationals. “All-Japan National Concert Band Competition.” Above those words was Haruka Ogasawara smiling and holding a certificate.

Bronze prize. That prize was not the one that the band members had desired.

The instruments room beside the music room was overflowing with racks of instruments. All of the euphonium cases were hidden behind the huge tuba cases. In total, there was one less than there was last year.

“…….Asuka-senpai.”

Bending her knees, Kumiko traced the instrument cases with her fingers. Her two year-senior senpai’s personal instrument was no longer here. Asuka Tanaka. The euphonium player was also the vice president of the band, the bass section leader, and the drum major. She was a central figure to the band as a whole. Intelligence, beauty, musical talent. All better than average. She appeared to others as this special being. While never appearing overly upset, her zest for the euphonium was real. There were many moments where she would be overly amorous with the silver euphonium in her arms. As she reflected upon her senpai, Kumiko recalled the warm melody that she would often play.

Opening the case, Kumiko retrieved her instrument. Her golden euphonium was the same color as Natsuki’s. In fact, all of the euphoniums at Kitauji were gold lacquered. There were portions where the coating had come off due to their age and use. Pushing the easily moving piston, a bumpy, revertant feeling pushed back into her fingers.

“Whoa.”

Kumiko turned around to look at the abrupt voice and saw an unfamiliar girl hiding behind a tuba case peeking at her. Her black hair was braided to one side and her bangs were just long enough not to cover her eyes. Maybe due to her half-rim glasses, she gave off an impression of silence.

“Ah, sss-sorry!” Aware that her target was looking back, she hid her head behind the case. Kumiko finally calmed down after being taken aback by this series of events.

“No, no, no, no, you don’t have to hide.” Placing her euphonium on the floor, Kumiko peeked around to the other side of the case. The girl was squatting and holding her head down like she was trying to hide. “Uh, hello?” Kumiko touched her back and she shot straight up. Every single action of hers was exaggerated.

“Eeek, sorry for coming in without saying anything. I didn’t really mean to bother you at all senpai, but I was a bit curious as to what the inside of the instrument room looked like, but everyone looked so busy, so I uh…” She swung her hands around flustered.

“Senpai.” Kumiko was instantly struck by a phrase she wasn’t used to hearing. “Could you be a new student coming by to observe?”

In response to Kumiko’s question, the girl strongly nodded. “Yee-yes! That’s right!”

“Since you came to look at the instrument room, are you an experienced player? What instrument?”

The girl’s quivering lips stopped at Kumiko’s casual questions. Kumiko could see her black eyes open wide through the lenses. “Ah, maybe I asked something weird.” The girl calmly shook her head at Kumiko’s confusion. Her eyebrows lowered and her seemingly troublesome bangs swayed.

“Ah, no, it wasn’t weird. At all……..That’s right, you weren’t weird at all.”

“What are you talking about?”

As she clearly stated “Ah, what you said before. It was fine,” the girl turned towards Kumiko looking downward. “In response to your question, I played trumpet in my middle school concert band. And so when I entered high school I wondered what to do.”

“Were you worried over what instrument to choose?”

“That too, but I didn’t know if I should choose to join the concert band in the first place?” She was looking at the certificates hung on the wall. Gold. Silver. Bronze. Kyoto Competition, Kansai Competition, Nationals Competition. Kitauji’s records were hung in a row.

“Some of my classmates came to Kitauji to join the concert band here. They want to go to Nationals. But I’m not like that. Joining a club that’s doing something I don’t want is scary, but I thought it’d be nice in the band.” Her cheeks were reddened from embarrassment. “After eliminating everything else, I decided to join the band. However, I didn’t know what to do when I looked at all the others around me. It feels like everyone else has a reason to join the band like “I really want to continue playing!””

“Is that why you came to observe?” It felt like the kouhai in front of Kumiko was similar to herself a year ago mixed with a smile. No firm intent, just going along with what others did.

“Senpai, why did you continue playing in the concert band when you joined high school?”

“I’m the same as you. Just went with the flow for no real reason.” Kumiko herself had no real firm intention on joining the band when she enrolled. With Hazuki and Sapphire pushing her along, she had joined before she realized it.

Glaring down at the euphonium on the floor, Kumiko traces its edges. Her face was stretched on its morning glory-like bell.

“But now I’m not ambivalent at all about why I’m continuing in the band. I really want to go to Nationals. That’s why I practice every day. So I don’t think it’s bad for you to join if you don’t feel like that at the beginning. Your feelings will gradually change.” Kumiko herself was getting embarrassed as she talked. She fanned her reddened cheeks in order to cool them down. “Sorry for saying something so grandiose.”

“Not at all. It wasn’t grandiose at all. Instead, I’m very grateful you said that. Uh,” and there her voice fell out. Her eyes pointed downward wouldn’t meet Kumiko’s own. “If I join the band, I too will change, huh?”

“What?”

“Like you, I’ll change too.”

Following the girl’s gaze, Kumiko caught sight of the edge of her navy-blue skirt. Solid white socks with no embroidery tucked into a skirt that was long enough to cover her knees. You couldn’t see a hint of skin; it was all covered underneath cloth.

“That depends upon yourself.” Kumiko’s rebuttal was her own feelings put into words. Perhaps this was a time where she should’ve used softer phrases. The part of Kumiko that began to worry and regret what she said was making herself blink over and over again. Eventually her eyes softened.

“Senpai, you’re not good at lying.”

“Well, uh…. I wouldn’t say I’m great at it.” Kumiko was really bad at lying. Hazuki was probably the one who said that while smiling. She didn’t believe that, but those around her estimated Kumiko at being bad at telling lies.

The girl in front of her bashfully began to speak. “But I’m somehow relieved. I’m glad I got to talk with you, Oumae-senpai.”

“I’m happy to hear you say that. Have you decided to join the band?”

“No, not completely. But I feel like I’m inclined to join more than likely.”

“There’s still time. Think about it and make your best decision. Of course, I’ll be very happy if you joined the band.”

“If I join the band, please take care of me then.”

“Huh” as Kumiko cocked her head to the side. She went back through the connection looking for any strange points. There was one, but she didn’t understand how it ended up like this. It felt like something was stuck in her throat and the inside of her brain was in overdrive.

“I truly thank you very much for today’s talk.”

In response to her quick bow, Kumiko also returned the gesture. The girl returned her hands to the edge of her skirt and again bowed. Once the farewell gestures were finished, Kumiko waved with a “see you again.” After ensuring that the girl’s figure had completely disappeared from the instrument room, Kumiko realized her mistake.

“Oh no. I forgot to ask what her name was.”

Quickly leaving the instrument room, there was already no sign of her kouhai. Once the band started in earnest, there might be a chance for them to meet again. Looking back, her euphonium on the floor once again entered her sight. She’ll worry about her kouhai after the joining day. Instead, she had practice for the spring performance. Picking up her sheet music set from the shelf, Kumiko headed towards the usual sectional practice room. She heard the percussion members beat out a rhythm from inside the music room as she left.

The sun had already mostly set by the time practice ended. Opposing the blue-tinted sky were the vague outlines of the shadow-covered mountains. While the wind was breezing like spring, it was still cold to her skin. The willow leaves quivered over and over.

Immediately after leaving Keihan Uji Station, a wooden bridge enters her sight. According to the monk Toudou, from Gangou-ji Temple in Nara, Uji Bridge was first built in the year 646. With its current form completed in 1996, it took its traditional appearance through the wooden handrails adorning the top of the bridge.

Kumiko placed her hands on these rails and looked down into the water below. Several wooden pillars stood below stitched between the fierce river flow. These “wooden protectors,” as they are called, are there to protect the bridge pillars from driftwood and other debris. At the top of one, a single pure white bird had landed. What kind of bird is it? As soon as Kumiko leaned over the handrail, she was pulled from behind by her uniform.

“What are you doing now?” Turning around, Kumiko saw Shuichi’s astonished face looking down at her. Surname Tsukamoto, plays the trombone. Both sets of their parents get along well, so Kumiko had known him from many family outings since they were young. More or less, he was also Kumiko’s boyfriend now.

“Well, there was a bird”

“Bird?”

“Yep. Look, it’s over there.” Kumiko pointed and Shuichi also leaned over to look out towards the water. With how tall he was, Kumiko felt the handrails wouldn’t be tall enough for him, so she was a bit nervous watching him. Kumiko held onto the cuff of his shirt steathfully so he wouldn’t notice.

“It’s bigger than I thought it’d be. Big enough to eat.”

“Wouldn’t that be because it grew its coat out due to the cold?”

“Ah, that might be true too.”

Shuichi went to grab his bag during their conversation. Kumiko hurriedly let go of his shirt and went to stand beside him. With how tall his body was, her neck would begin to hurt if she continued to look at his face.

“So what class are you in now? I’m in class 6.”

“Class 3. It’s Michie-sensei’s class again this year.”

“That’s good. I’m stuck with Ooi as my homeroom teacher. It’s the worst.”

“Whoa, he’s really strict about regulations.”

“Well at least I’m in the same class as Takigawa, so that was lucky. Oh, do you know Takigawa? He’s Chigao Takigawa from the sax section.”

“The one you’re always with?”

“Right, him.”

“He doesn’t talk a lot, but he’s a good guy isn’t he?”

“Well, he may look like a honor student, but he’s an idiot on the inside.”

“Don’t say that.”

“No, he’s really an idiot on the inside.”

Exiting Byodoin Avenue, the two crossed Ajirogi Road. Lights peeked through the gaps between the numerous trees. The bench placed by the river bed was a spot where joggers could catch their breath. This road, left without a lot of development, was the ideal walking course.

“Come to think of it, how many people will be in bass this year?” Shuichi looked at Kumiko. She shrugged her shoulders. “Who knows? We have spare instruments, but I don’t know if we’ll get anyone. At least I’d like us to get one person for each instrument though.”

“It must be really intense to be playing something like the contrabass by yourself.”

“It really is. We’ve really placed a large burden on Midori. I’ll be really happy if someone experienced came in. Also, we’ve got to think about next year too, so I’d definitely like two more tuba players. How about the trombones?”

“We had a lot of talent graduate last year, so we’re a bit short-staffed. I’d love to get at least three people, though I’d take four if I could.”

“There’s only three people right now, aren’t there?”

“It feels like we’re playing first, second, and third positions by ourselves. Well, it’s a bit rough since we’re toothless if someone’s absent one day.” Shuichi crumpled his hair as he spoke.

While people may play the same instrument, their parts may be different depending on the sheet music. Roughly speaking, many pieces have the first position play the high portion, second the mid-range, and third the low range.

“How many first-years will we get?”

“I don’t know, but honestly, it’s going to be rough if people don’t come. We’re relatively low on third-years compared to last year. We’ll need first-years to cover for that amount.”

“We had around 30 third-years last year. Now we have 18 third-years and 26 second years……even if we combined the years, we wouldn’t even get 50 people. Well, I guess that’s higher than usual for a typical school.”

“Big name schools and such can cross over a hundred people for sure. That doesn’t mean that they’re full of talent, but it doesn’t hurt to have a lot of people.”

“That’s why we can’t give up on recruiting new students.” Though the band had prepared many recruiting events like concerts just for first-years and band discussion meetings, they wouldn’t know if they were effective until the end.

The pedestrian crossing light was red. For no reason in particular, Kumiko glanced up and over at Shuichi’s face. Their eyes met. Shuichi’s soft expression sent Kumiko’s insides into panic. ZAP! Her heart jumped. Feeling upset at letting her heart jump like that, Kumiko lightly struck his back.

“Why’d you hit me?”

Shuichi tightened his lips, but his face was still very tender. This kind of face troubles Kumiko. Becoming a couple so suddenly meant she didn’t know what to do. Kumiko placed both her hands over her face to hide her reddened cheeks.

“Oooh, this is your fault!”

“I don’t know what I did.”

The crossing light turned green and began chirping. Kumiko stretched out her leg into the crossing and stepped over the white line. Without looking back, she knew Shuichi would come behind her. Since she knew he was behind her, she was able to step forward.

As there were other clubs besides the concert band who planned events to recruit new students, the school building was quite bustling during this observation period. Various new potential students continued to come by and see the band during their normal practice sessions in the music room. Among those were a lot that came from strong middle schools. It looks like there were a fair amount that came to Kitauji just to join the concert band.

“Attention please!” Yuuko clapped her hands in front of the blackboard. Inside the clear file under her arm was a list of applicants to the band. The ten-day grace period for trying clubs had ended and now the first-years who had decided to join the band were standing in a line inside the music room. There were a lot of people inside the room. Kumiko’s worries that there wouldn’t be many applicants had ended fruitlessly.

Standing around the first-years on standby were the second and third-year members. Standing to Kumiko’s side nonchalantly holding her trumpet was Reina.

“Hello everyone!”

“Good afternoon!” The band members responded to Yuuko’s greenings in unison. Perhaps influenced by that vigor, the new first-years also replied with the same intensity. Yuuko looked around and waited until everyone was perfectly silent. Overawed at the amount of first-years, her back was un-naturally stiff.

The mood in the music room stiffened with every move she made. The amount of nervousness reached painful levels as she hesitated before moving. With a stern expression, Yuuko took the first step forward. “You all have chosen to join our concert band. I’m incredibly pleased that all of you joined us. Thank you all for coming here.”

Beginning with that, Yuuko’s grave expression crumbled. She showed a wide smile with her white teeth in sight. At that moment, the exhaustion from the first-years was evident; several members looked at each other bashfully.

Yuuko once again clapped her hands. With that signal, they all looked towards her again. This time, they all looked more relaxed than before.

“So first I’ll introduce myself. I’m the president of the Kitauji High School concert band, Yuuko Yoshikawa. I play the trumpet and serve as section leader. My favorite food are croquettes and I’m someone who loves sweet potatoes too.”

“Wait, wait, they don’t need to know your favorite foods.”

Laugher from the older members of the club began as Natsuki rebutted from Yuuko’s side. Ignoring Yuuko’s puffed-out cheeks, Natsuki addressed the first-years. “I’m vice president Natsuki Nakagawa. I play the euphonium. I’ve only been in concert band during high school. There’s a lot of us like me here, so any beginners should feel at ease.”

“Basically, Natsuki and I will be the one instructing you on big club-related topics. That includes things like various posts throughout the band since everyone will help run it. The senpais here are in charge of you first-years, so if there’s something troubling you that you can’t handle alone, please feel free to talk with them.”

“Understood!” cheerfully replied the first-years. Yuuko nodded in satisfaction and checked the list in her hand.

“Apart from that, I was really surprised to see that we had 43 new members to the band this year. Compared to other schools, that’s far and away the most. We grew a lot this year.”

Forty-three. The older band members started chatting at the mention of that number. No wonder the room felt cramped.

“So next we’ll be introducing instruments. Since there are beginners here, we’ll introduce them one-by-one. After this introduction, everyone will pick the one they want to play. I’ll say this at the beginning: each instrument has a certain number of players. In the case there’s a flood of applicants, we’ll make a decision and move some to other sections, so please remember which ones you want to play. So then, first we’ll start with the trumpets.”

In accordance to that introduction, Reina stepped forward with her trumpet in her hand. Several first-years started chattering “whoa, a beautiful senpai,” and “very pretty person.” It brought back memories of how the members thought about Kaori last year.

“I’m a second year, Reina Kousaka. I play the instrument I’m holding now, the trumpet. The trumpet is in charge of the highest notes of all the brass instruments. While it has a flashy image, a mistake on a high note is easily apparent with it. But out of all the instruments, the trumpet to me is the most impressive. If you want to play this, please come join our section.”

With an indifferent expression, Reina bowed her head. While clapping, several members began talking about the information they received.

“Yes, I know you’re excited, but we have to move forward. Next.” The next introduction smoothly went as Yuuko directed. Horn. Trombone. And after those instruments, Yuuko looked at Kumiko.

“Next, euph.”

“Ye-Yes.” Her voice quavered due to nerves. Kumiko blushed at the laughter from the older members. Natsuki handed over her instrument and Kumiko stood in front of the new members. The numerous eyes all poured their attention towards her. Kumiko’s mind went blank.

“Ah, umm…” The information she had prepared quietly exited from her brain. First, she had to introduce the instrument. And then…..then what? The first-years began to chatter due to her bewilderment. Regardless, introduce the instrument. When she thought of that, her mind resuscitated Asuka’s way of talking about it last year. Whenever she talked about the euphonium, she was always very lively.

Taking a deep breath, Kumiko hugged the euphonium in her arms tightly. She didn’t have to think of anything special; she just had to talk about it as-is.

“I’m Kumiko Oumae, a second year. Uh, I play the euphonium. It’s not very well-known, so that’s a bit annoying, but it’s charm is the warm sonorous timbre it makes. It’s an instrument that can play solos, melodies, background melodies, and even accompaniments. Besides the euphonium, the bass section has the tuba and contrabass. We have only kind and reliable senpais there, so please remember the euphonium!”

She heard a crackling amount of applause as Kumiko hurriedly bowed. She immediately left and escaped back towards Reina.

“Good job.”

“I was so nervous.”

“Yes, that was very clear. Everyone looking at you gets your heart racing.”

“Did I say anything weird?”

“Don’t worry. You sounded just like usual.”

Even with Reina saying so, Kumiko felt disappointed. While they were talking the introductions continued. Before they realized it, they had reached the woodwinds. Clarinet, sax, and then the flute. Holding her instrument in her hand, she looked familiar to standing in front of many people. Her ponytail was tied back close to her head and her eyebrows were straight and high upon her face. The cheerful aura around her was evident to everyone in the room.

“I’m a third-year flutist, Nozomi Kasaki.”

“Ah, Nozomi-senpai.” “So the president came to Kitauji.” Whispers leaked out. Likely from Minami Middle students.

Nozomi Kasaki was a third-year who returned to the concert band last year. Together, she, Yuuko, Natsuki, and Mizore all came from Minami Middle. During that time, she was the president of the concert band there. There were many students from there in the year above Kumiko’s, but due to a difference in the amount of zest between them and the years above them, ten members quit the band simultaneously. Nozomi was one of those members and soon joined a society band. However, she returned to the Kitauji band last summer after causing a bit of trouble.

“The instrument I’m holding in my hands is a flute. You don’t use a reed with this instrument; it’s an air reed instrument. It’s the same as the recorder we all played when we were learning how to make notes. The word flute originally referred to two types of flutes, one you played horizontally and one you played vertically. Yes, what we now call a recorder was once called a flute long ago. Or rather, until around the middle of the 18th century, the recorder was called a flute. Whichever way you separate the phrase, this is what it’s settled to now.”

Kumiko could hear the sounds of appreciation even from the senior students from the information Nozomi instructed.

“Simply hearing the flute conveys its charm, but I think you’ll understand that playing it is a hundred times better once you try it. We’re accepting people with open arms, so if you have an interest in playing, please come join us at the flute section.”

Kumiko thought “of course the flute would be popular” when she heard how excited the female members got at Nozomi’s explanation. A nice bonus for major instruments she thought as she took a sideways glance at Reina. Flashy instruments didn’t have to do anything in particular to attract people; it’s too easy.

“Next is the oboe. Go get them Mizore.”

Mizore nodded emotionlessly at Yuuko’s instruction. Mizore Yoroizuka was the sole oboe player in the Kitauji High concert band. There had never been more than two performers since she joined the band. She had an obedient personality but her talent was authentic.

At the side of the room, Nozomi gave her a thumbs-up and said “you got this.” Mizore stood in front of the blackboard and nonchalantly added a reed to her mouth. She began to play a short, light phrase. “Ah, the charumera song” someone muttered. Though no one had heard it performed in person before, for some reason it was a melody that was quite well-known.

Remaining emotionless, but somehow satisfied, Mizore removed the reed from her mouth. It was a lovely performance, but why did she choose that song? Kumiko was likely not the only one grappling with questions.

“…….third-year, Mizore Yoroizuka. I play the oboe. This is the oboe. Thank you for your time.”

Having said her fill, Mizore moved to return to the side, but Yuuko stopped her. “Wa-wait a minute. Was that your idea of a joke?”

“Huh?” Mizore cocked her head sideways in confusion. Her thin ears peeked through gaps in her short hair.

“Well first, what’s with that song?”

“I thought everyone knew that song.”

“Yeah, I’m sure they know it, but come on, are you playing a charumera?”

“Yes. The charumera is an ancestor to the oboe. It came before it as a similar double-reed instrument.”

Yuuko’s eyes grew large at Mizore’s explanation. “Whoa, so it was called a charumera previously?”

“Yes. Older ramen shops used to play this song in order to attract customers.”

“Oh, so that’s why it’s so associated with ramen.”

“Yep. It’s a piece of oboe trivia. I thought that would be nice and Nozomi also said it’d be nice too.” Mizore asked the first-years without changing expressions,” …Was it good?” Whether they read the mood or not, some new members in the front row said “yes.”

Yuuko smiled bitterly. “Well, it looks like we have a lot of good kids this year. Right now, Mizore is our only oboe player. As you can see, she’s a bit spacey but she’s someone who can do it when it counts. If there’s anyone interested in the oboe, please keep her in mind. So next we’ll talk about another double-reed instrument, the bassoon. “

Some club members carried out a single bassoon. With both players from last year graduating, there wasn’t anyone at Kitauji playing the instrument now. While pointing her hand towards the instrument, Yuuko began to talk about it. “This looooong instrument is the bassoon. It’s about a hundred and thirty centimeters in height. If stretched, it’d be around two hundred and sixty, but it’s folded into two pipes. In German, it’s called the “fagott.” Its feature is many odd melodies around the bass range. Personally, I think it has a bitter sound to it. We’re lacking a good player, so if anyone experienced would like to play it, we’ll be happy to have you.”

And then the introductions continued without incident. Percussion. Contrabass. After all the instruments were introduced, next was the process to allot them to the first-years. Saying “we’ve waited for this” the first-years’ excitement peaked. Would they be able to play the one they wanted?

Yuuko hurled out instructions. “The senpais will be on stand-by and divided by instrument, so please gather by the one you wish to play. If there’s a rush to the same instrument, then please switch to another one according to your first, second, third, and so on desired ones.”

Getting your desired instrument was psychological warfare. The instruments were split into ones lots of people wanted to play and ones few wanted to play, so tactics were necessary. Would you get to earn the one you wanted to play? Would you be able to avoid a confrontation forcing someone to switch? Experienced musicians also pondered whether to switch instruments or not. Could you play your instrument with your friends? If there was a senpai you didn’t get along with during middle school, should you stop playing that part? These and more thoughts were swirling around inside the heads of all the first-years gathered in the music room.

“Maybe you won’t get to play the instrument that you wanted to play. However, I think each of our instruments has a particular charm to it. Even if you aren’t pleased now, I think you’ll grow to love your instrument if you continue with it. That being said, please refrain from complaining. With that, please move towards your desired instruments.”

The first-years began to move towards their desired sections in the space where the instruments were lined up. With tubas, euphs, and a contrabass, the bass section’s large instruments drew a lot of eyes around it. However, they were just window-shopping as no students actually entered the space.

“Looks like bass isn’t that popular. Everything here’s so cool, yet none of these guys came over.” Hazuki grumbled dejectedly. The trumpet space was in front of her. So many people had gathered there that even Natsuki had to go over to help out. Besides that, the flute, sax, trombone, and other major instruments all had a large showing. Kumiko found a section similar to them and waved with a sigh. The bass clarinet section also looked bored.

“It’s how it is. No one else came to the bass section last year as well.”

“Ah, come to think of it, Asuka-senpai was the one who brought you in.”

“I wonder if it’d be better to chat up someone with that kind of zest.”

“No way, no way, that was something that only Asuka herself could do.”

“You got a point.”

Reina gave suggestions to the first-year members playing the trumpet. Kumiko couldn’t hear what she was saying from over there, but seeing the smiles on the kouhais made her think it was going well.

“Ah!” Hazuki eagerly looked up. “I’m going to make a lure, a great lure!”

“That still won’t make them come. What kind of lure are you thinking about?”

“Something like a ‘we’ll give you sweets if you come play the tuba!’ campaign or so.”

“Nope, bribes aren’t allowed. Let’s just wait for the kids who get rejected from their first choices.”

“And I thought that was a good idea too.”

As they were talking, Kumiko and Hazuki saw their senpais Takuya Gotou and Riko Nagase walk over from the music room door. They were both third-year tuba players. They’d been around the silent Gotou and the gentle Riko since they were first-years.

“Any applicants come by yet?”

“No, none at all.”

“Oh? Guess we have to wait still,” Riko gently spoke as she caressed her cheek with her hand. On her side, Gotou, the bass section leader, thought with his arms folded in.

“………..but the tuba is so cool.”

“You think so too Gotou-senpai? It’s a real mystery why no one’s come to us yet.”

“It’s a big instrument, so maybe it looks very heavy to people. Compared to some of the showy instruments, it’s also very well-known.”

Going along that theory, then what about the euphonium, which was much less known about than the tuba? Looking back at the tuba trio, Kumiko stood up from her chair. If things were going to continue like this, then she should definitely go and do something about it.

“No kidding, it’s you Mic-chan!”

Everyone around took a look at where the sudden and loud voice came from. A small girl was energetically clinging to a much taller girl. There was a big difference in their heights; they probably had about the same difference that Asuka and Sapphire had.

The girl called “Mic-chan” frowned as the smaller girl continued onward with her cheerful voice. “I didn’t know you came to Kitauji too Mic-chan. I’m glad we’re at the same school.”

“Ah, same here.”

“Did you also want to play the tuba? Same here! The tuba is definitely the coolest in all of concert band! I knew you’d know that too Mic-chan!”

“Well, I don’t think it’s anything cool.”

“Again, again with this. If you didn’t love the tuba, then why would you be here?”

Hazuki butted into their snappy conversation.

“WAAAAIT a minute!”

The two girls blinked and took a look at the senpai who suddenly stood before them. Hazuki slowly slid up to them as though she were saying “you’re not getting away now.” Looking at it from the side, it was a bit scary.

“Could you two perhaps be interested in playing the tuba?”

“Ah, well…”

“That’s right!”

The small girl’s energetic reply drowned out what the larger girl was going to say. That the two girls weren’t on the same page was just a minor detail to Hazuki. With a snap, she pointed to the two girls.

“I’ve found and reserved two first choicers.”

“We’ve made our decision! Yay!” Smiling was the response from the small girl. In contrast, the bigger girl was overly subdued. Deciding that things weren’t going well, Kumiko sighed and headed towards the excited duo.

“Be calm, Hazuki. I know you’re happy, but you have to calm down. Look, you’ve not even asked their names.”

“Ah! You’re right. I was so excited I forgot that.” Hazuki blushed. Riko asked softly “If you’d like, how about we introduce ourselves?”

The first to speak was, of course, the smaller girl. A bit shorter than Sapphire height-wise, she had twin tails that curled at the ends. The two spheres holding her hair on both sides were the “bon bons” as they were called. It’s a childish look that you don’t often see on high schoolers.

“I’m Satsuki Suzuki. I’ve played the tuba at Higashi Middle.”

“Whoa, you’re from Higashi Middle? I’m from there too.” Satsuki jumped up and down in response to Hazuki. “Wow, are you for real? I’m so honored!”

“I’m so happy to have a kouhai from my middle school. Do you know Hanamura, the English teacher?”

“Of course, he was my homeroom teacher for two years. Always speaking in English proverbs like “the relationship between oil and water.”

“Every time he talked like that I had to laugh.”

Watching over these two hit it off, it didn’t appear to be the first time they’ve ever talked. It seems their personalities meshed well.

The girl beside them still looked discouraged. With a height around 170 centimeters, her legs were quite long. Her asymmetrical short hair made her appear very mature. She was the bipolar opposite of the childish Satsuki beside her.

“I guess I’ll also play the tuba as well.”

“……..That’s just how things go.” She disappointedly bowed her head to Gotou’s statement.

“I’m Mirei Suzuki. I played the tuba for three years at Minami Middle.”

“Minami Middle huh? So you went to school with Natsuki-senpai and Yuuko-senpai.”

“I don’t know Vice President Nakagawa, but I do remember….President Yuuko’s face a bit. We were in different sections, but I was thankful for the work she did.”

“Natsuki was part of the go-home club during middle school, so there may not have been anywhere where you two would’ve met.” Mirei dispassionately bowed her head at Riko. “That so?”

The city’s four middle schools were divided into directions: Kita, Higashi, Nishi, and Minami. Whether it was due to location or not, there were a lot of applicants from Higashi Middle into Kitauji High.

Satsuki Suzuki and Mirei Suzuki. There was an obvious common denominator between them. Kumiko tilted her head and asked “Your surnames are the same. Did you know each other before or are you perhaps related?”

“We’re not related at all! Mic-chan and I went to the same elementary school. We had the same surname so we often sat near each other and became friends that way. The teachers and everyone else called use the Double Suzukis….. and so we became close friends!”

Satsuki smiled innocently while Mirei knit her brows in discomfort. Without looking at Mirei, Satsuki continued on. “Mic-chan went to a different middle school, so we didn’t get a chance to meet then. But with us attending the same high school and playing the same instrument? It must be fate! I didn’t know Mic-chan played in a concert band, so I was shocked to see her here today in the music room.”

“Well, I was also shocked to see you.” Mirei ran her fingers in her hair beside her cheeks. The tips of her fingernails were quite sharp.

“Regardless, we’re very thankful that both of you experienced tuba players came to join us. To have two people come to us as their first choice really makes us happy.” Riko brought her hands together in relief. There were only small gaps in-between her round fingers.

“We’re also glad that we matched with you. Ever since last night, I knew that I had to play the tuba. Anyways, me and Mic-chan have to go report what instrument we chose to President Yoshikawa. Later.”

“Let us all get along together.” Mirei followed, keeping her distance from Satsuki, who was running wildly. Each member that had decided what instrument they’d play had to go report to Yuuko what they chose.

Likely satisfied that she had gotten a surplus of new members, Hazuki smiled triumphantly and gave the sign of victory to Kumiko. “Captured two new members!”

“I can’t believe the tuba got two new members first.”

“Hehehe. This is the real power of the tuba! If this keeps up, it might be that the euph is the only one to not get any members.”

“No, no, there’s still the contrabass on my side……”

“What? You want to play the contrabass? Midori is so happy to hear that!” Kumiko looked around and Sapphire had grabbed the hands of a new member and was shaking them up and down.

You too huh? Sapphire didn’t notice the look of regret that Kumiko was sending her. Turning around, Kumiko shifted her focus to the first-year in front of Sapphire.

Their body was small; maybe just a bit taller than Sapphire. Hair covering the nape of their neck, but just barely before it reached their eyes. Their skin was strangely white and their delicate neck stuck up from the top of their pop-up collar.

“You’ve got to be kidding. That’s a guy?”

Naturally, Hazuki leaked her thoughts. His androgynous face was cuter than a lot of the girls around him. If he wasn’t wearing a boy’s uniform, you’d easily think that he was a beautiful girl.

“Ah, Gotou-senpai. We’ve secured a new contrabass player!” Sapphire neatly bowed. The boy yawned without a care despite being under the attention from his senpais as though he were a big shot.

“Are you experienced?”

The boy answered with drowsy eyes, “Yes, well somewhat. I’ve only played the contrabass.”

“What middle school did you come from?”

“Ryuusei Academy, a private school. Well, I don’t think it matters what middle school I went to.” He had an exhausting way of speaking.

Hazuki tilted her head. “Ryuusei Academy? If it’s them, then they’re known for their rugby team, but I didn’t know they had a middle school division.”

The response to her statement didn’t come from the boy, but from Sapphire. “That’s correct! Ryuusei Academy is an escalator school like Seijyou Academy, where I’m from. Since it’s an all-boys school, there’s a lot of energy put into athletic clubs. It has middle, high, and university divisions.”

“Oh? Speaking of Seijyou’s system, was Ryuusei’s middle school band strong?”

“Not really. Rather weak. Everyone joined the sports teams instead.”

Kumiko didn’t have any impressions that their middle school was strong in band. Instead, she wondered what level their band was at.

Sapphire smiled and clapped her hands together. “Midori also went to a girls-only school, so when I heard you went to a boys-only school, I felt this bond between us form. Are you sure the contrabass is fine for you?”

“Well, it doesn’t matter……I’m fine with any instrument.”

His careless speaking style felt a bit overly cold to hide his embarrassment. With how he was looking down, you couldn’t sense any life in him.

“What name should we call you?” Riko asked the boy with a soft tone. His unpleasant expression looked downward and he murmured his name.

“Motomu Tsukinaga. Well, not like it’s an interesting name or anything”

“Tsukinaga?” Sapphire immediately responded like she knew something. “Could it be that you’re related to some concert band musician, Motomu-kun”

“Not at all.” Motomu’s coarse voice interrupted her. That denial was clearly different from the passionless voice he had used until then. Taken aback by its force, Sapphire swallowed. “Sorry,” Motomu immediately apologized.

“Your voice was loud.”

“No, sorry you had to hear me say something weird.”

Sapphire smiled to cover her shaking. “Last year, Midori played the contrabass by herself all year long, so I’m truly happy to have you join me, Motomu-kun. Let’s do our best together!”

“……Well, yeah.”

His response was slow. It was nice that Midori was the patient type, but if she were the kind of person to firmly control the senpai-kouhai relationship, now would be the time to scold him in the music room.

“Well, let’s start by telling President Yuuko what instrument you chose.”

“President? Who’s that?”

“Over there, the senpai who spoke a bit ago.”

“Oh…..I can’t really tell girls’ faces apart. Who was that again?”

Even Midori had to frown at Motomu’s head tilt. This was a dangerous kouhai manipulating Sapphire.

“Then Midori will come along too. Let’s go together to where she is.”

“Ah,”

“Come on, over here.” Midori forcibly grabbed Motomu’s arm and pulled him towards where Yuuko stood.

Looking on in shock, Hazuki sighed. “What the, are all the first-years this awful?”

“Instead, I think the bass section collects all the weirdos. The other sections look normal to me.” Looking around, Kumiko could feel the harmony between band members as their relationships began to strengthen. It looked like things were even calm in the trumpet section, which had a lot of turmoil last year.

“Well, even if there’s a lot of weirdos, a lot is a lot. I’m sure we’ll have fun this year too.”

“That would be nice, but uh,”

Riko tapped the wryly smiling Kumiko on her back. “Kumiko-chan, an euph applicant has come.”

“Huh, really?” Standing up quickly, Kumiko knocked the chair she was sitting on. Ah, this is bad. The moment she realized that, a hand reached from behind her and grabbed the back portion. Kumiko looked up and there was an unfamiliar girl standing behind her. Setting it back on the ground, the girl looked straight at Kumiko.

“Just in time, eh?” The girl smiled. It was a friendly smile that let your guard down without you noticing. She had a short bob haircut that ran along the sides of her head with the front part raised high. With its important bangs above both eyes, it made her eyes that much more impactful.

“I’m Kanade Hisaishi and I’d like to play the euphonium. Let’s get along together.”

“Ah, thank you for your kindness.” Kanade lowered her head and Kumiko returned the nod. There was a red ribbon hairclip inside her rustling black hair.

“Senpai, you played in Nationals last year, didn’t you? Alongside that senpai with the red glasses.”

“Ah, yes. However,”

“I knew it. When I saw the music room, I thought I should come here. I went to Nagoya that day to see the performance too. I also bought the DVD and watched it over and over at home……I really wanted to play the euph with those senpais from Kitauji, so I was glad I was able to enroll here.”

“Saying all of that makes me feel kinda embarrassed.” Hearing her straightforward praise was sending shivers down Kumiko’s back. A sense of joy and embarrassment was mixed with that sense of awkwardness she felt.

“Come to think of it, that silver euphonium senpai isn’t here today.”

“Ah, if you mean Asuka-senpai, she’s already graduated.”

“Is that so? That’s disappointing. I really wanted to be instructed by her.” Kanade slumped her shoulders in disappointment and linked her fingers together. It was a marvel to be able to see someone act so exaggerated naturally.

“Kanade-chan, did you play the euph in middle school?”

“Yes, I played it all the way through. I really wanted to quickly head to the euph space first, but I got slowed down by my friend that came with me. I was worried that there would be a lot of people at the euph space, so I’m glad I was able to choose it.”

“I’m also glad that you came Kanade-chan. We didn’t get many people interested in playing the euph.”

Kanade spoke, “That must be because they don’t realize the appeal of the euph.” Her lips formed an alluring smile. “It’s somewhat fantastic, you know? When you alone realize how special it feels.” That shock and heart jumping Kumiko felt was likely due to those overly cheerful eyes of Kanade. Her expression was so happy, she somehow resembled a cat.

“Well, that may be true. You do come to love those minor portions.”

“Hehe, I thought you’d say something like that senpai. As I’ll be your kouhai, I feel like I want to go give it my all. I trust in your guidance going forward.”

It was the direct opposite of what happened with Motomu; her politeness was so charming. Kumiko was so happy that she was her euphonium kouhai. While Kumiko was ruminating over her good fortune, an order from the front of the music room rang out. Kanade turned back towards the confused Kumiko.

“I’ll head to tell the president what instrument I chose. So then, I’ll see you later.”

“Yep, see you later.”

Kanade nodded to Kumiko’s wave. Kumiko felt she was such a polite girl even when she left.

“Kanade-chan is a really sweet girl, you know.” Hazuki, who was watching their conversation, put her arm on Kumiko’s shoulder. Riko and Takuya also nodded.

“I could really grow fond of that euph girl. So attracted she came to Kitauji, huh?”

“She seems really sturdy.”

It seems like her behavior reflected positively on the other members too.

“At any rate, I’m just glad that we had a new euph member.” Laugher sounded around Kumiko as her real intent was voiced. One contrabass player. Two tuba players. And then one euphonium player. All of their new additions were experienced musicians from middle school. There were no problems adding some reliable newcomers.

“This year’s auditions will be quite difficult, won’t they?” The words coming out of Hazuki’s mouth were lined with a profoundness.

“……They will be.”

Adding people means that the competition in the band becomes fiercer. Natsuki was still busy moving around the applicants to the trumpet section.

The instrument allotment had finally ended and the band members were once again lined up in the music room. Fatigue was evident on Natsuki’s face as she stood in front of the blackboard. On the other hand, Yuuko, who was easily talking showed no sign of weariness.

“The instruments have also been neatly determined. Congratulations to those of you whom achieved your first choice. For those of you who didn’t, I believe that you’ll grow fond of your instrument as you practice every day. Regardless if you’re experienced or not, all band members will handle practice together as one.”

“Understood!”

“So next, we’ll decide on what this year’s goal will be.”

As Yuuko finished, the music room door opened with good timing. “Apologies for being late. The staff meeting lasted quite a while.”

The new members let out a “kya!” response to Taki’s troubled smile. Come to think of it, that was the same response he got last year. The surrounding senpais thought that as they looked upon the first-years.

“I’m the advisor to the concert band, Noboru Taki. I moved to this school last year. We also have one more person, the assistant advisor Michie Matsumoto, along with us. I’ll be providing guidance to everyone, so please treat me kindly.”

The atmosphere was so refreshing you could choke on it. His calm voice was paired with a graceful and warm mask. That gentle aura he let out was already a trick that those who had been in ensemble practice knew about. They knew better about the reality of his guidance than those ordinary students who would boast about his good looks and popularity. Everyone who had been in ensemble practice a year ago didn’t look at him with fangirl eyes, likely due to the trauma they experienced previously.

“Oh, it’s the actual Taki-sensei!”

“I’m so glad I came to Kitauji!”

The first-years were huddled together whispering because they couldn’t conceal their excitement. Judging from the response, perhaps there were quite a few students who joined the club this year due to him. And then suddenly Kumiko looked towards Reina. Her expression was in pure ecstasy looking straight at Taki. No doubt she couldn’t hear the chattering going on around her.

“Putting aside my lateness, it seems we have a lot of people here. How many joined us this year?”

“We had forty-three additions, so in total we have eighty-nine members.” Yuuko supplemented him from behind. Taki stroked his chin in thought, “Is that so?” The amount of first-years this year nearly equaled the amount of second years and third-years combined. With so many joining all at the same time, the structure of the band and the mood may change a lot. Kumiko thought fleetingly that it’d be nice if those were baseless worries and saw the president survey the situation. As she was looking down at the list in her hand, she couldn’t see her expression.

“Since we have this many people, our performances can sound so much richer. I look forward to our ensembles in the future.” Taki turned his body as he spoke. He grabbed a piece of chalk from the box and struck the surface of the chalkboard.

“So then shall we get to business? I spoke about this last year, but it is my motto to respect the independence of the students. You all choose what your goal will be. This doesn’t mean I will pamper you, but I won’t abandon you either. I simply think this is the most logical process for everyone involved.”

“Logical.” The tip of Kumiko’s tongue rolled at that word. She knew that chilly sensation would allow people to do what they want.

“As President Yoshikawa mentioned earlier, there are now eighty-nine members gathered here. The way you think about clubs as well as the amount of energy you want to invest in them differ for every one of you. However, concert band is performed as a group. You require every single one of you in order to produce something. If your minds are scattered while performing, there will surely be discord in your performance.”

Kumiko’s mind flickered to thoughts of one of her graduated senpai, Aoi Satou. She quit the band in order to focus on preparing for entrance exams. She held no blame for her choosing that option. No one other than Aoi herself had the right to criticize her for that decision.

“With your own intent and your own thoughts, I ask that you please consider how you want to spend this year together. I will act according to how you all choose. If you choose a difficult goal, then practices will become very strict. Conversely, if you choose to relax and enjoy yourselves, then there is no need for hard practices. For me, I feel that both are valid ways to spend your time in this club.”

Taki’s hands moved as he began writing white characters on the blackboard. As usual, the characters he wrote turned out to be a bit strangely written.

“Nationals appearance.”

A phrase that Kumiko had seen so many times, she had already gotten used to it.

“This was the goal of last year’s Kitauji High concert band. I leave it to you all to decide what will be this year’s goal.”

No student laughed at those two words. The lined-up first-year students seriously listened to what he spoke. “Ah,” Kumiko thought at that point. The Kitauji band that they wanted to join wasn’t the one that existed two years ago; they wanted to join the strong Kitauji band that existed now.

“Sensei, may I please borrow your chalk?” Yuuko, standing beside Taki, pointed towards the blackboard. Guessing her intentions, Taki calmly agreed, “Yes, of course you may.”

Yuuko’s hand faintly touched Taki’s. Kumiko glanced at Reina and saw her eyebrows wrinkle in discontent. Kumiko murmured internally “she’s the same as ever.” Reina loved Taki. To borrow her words, it’s beyond like; it’s love.

Yuuko grabbed the eraser from the flour container and began vigorously erasing the “appearance” portion. Flour danced in the air until it was tinted with white.

“Alright.” Yuuko nodded in satisfaction while looking at the blackboard with some erase marks still present. The first-years couldn’t hide their confusion as to her sudden actions. Not paying attention to the clattering going on in the room, Yuuko turned to face the band members. In her hand was the chalk that she had received from Taki.

“Perhaps those of you who joined us this year may not have an accurate impression of the year Kitauji has had. Taki-sensei came here and we transformed from a weak school to a strong school. That may have been how it appeared from outside and perhaps of course people would get that impression, but from those of us who were inside that frantic action, let me say it wasn’t something that happened suddenly. We had a mountain-worth of issues and went up against many problems. Thinking it was just because of him is something an idiot would think. It wasn’t just one or two regrets or disappointments either.” Yuuko’s voice resounded inside the silent room. There was power to her words. Power to enchant people.

“Two years ago, Kitauji’s goal was also ‘Nationals appearance,’ but there weren’t enough people that were good enough to make that a reality. We were just satisfied saying our insincere slogan. But deciding a goal you’re not serious about is meaningless. We have to be serious about what we decide. We should strive for the goal we decide until the very end. That’s why we decide by majority rule from everyone here. We have two options: a goal we will seriously work towards or one we’re lax about.”

Memories of the previous year were stimulated in Kumiko’s brain. Asuka’s light behavior compared to Ogasawara’s inability to hide her embarrassment. Everyone looked around and held their breath as they raised their hand. How many of those that did seriously aimed for Nationals? When did it change from being a slogan to being a real goal for everyone?

“So, if you think this should be our goal, raise your hands.” Holding the chalk, her fingers began to slightly move. At the end of the word “Nationals,” Yuuko added additional characters. Shaking away the flour from the chalk, Yuuko slowly looked back to face the students. Standing straight across from them, Yuuko stated her true intentions.

“Nationals gold prize. Who wants this as this year’s goal?”

Simultaneously, all the members raised their hands. The scene was incredible. Everyone, the first-years who had just enrolled and the older members who remembered last year, everyone stretched their arms up immediately without any hesitation on their face. Natsuki, standing by the blackboard on-call, had a content smile on her face.

“……It’s real now.” Yuuko’s expression moved from content to relief. Perhaps she was completely nervous about what the result would be. “Your feelings are understood. Please lower your hands.”

Everyone lowered their hands from her order.

Kumiko realized today for the first time that the music room was quite cramped with near ninety students raising their hands. Kumiko’s hand lightly brushed Sapphire’s. “Ah, sorry” she replied in a small voice, but for some reason Sapphire looked quite pleased.

Yuuko took a breath and continued. “This year’s goal is now ‘Nationals gold prize.’ There will be a lot of troubles this year, but because it’s these eighty-nine people here, I know we’ll get through all of them. Yes, I have no doubt we will. Let’s all give it everything we have in our practices moving forward!”

“Yes ma’am!”

The chant was tremendously powerful. The eagerness for everyone inside the music room was conveyed wrapped in their zestfulness. At Yuuko’s side, Natsuki watched the events through the dispersed chalk dust.

——Next year for sure, we’ll appear at Nationals.

Kumiko still vividly remembered the words that Riko said while smiling on the morning after Nationals. Kumiko’s year continued to build on that formless promise of “next year.” Shining on that stage while winning gold prize. Whether or not that becomes reality depends on the effort of everyone here today. In order to focus herself, Kumiko closed her hand into a fist.

Hazuki was squatting over to re-tie the laces of her orange shoes. There were few people heading to the station on their route home, likely due to the time of day, so no one minded Hazuki squatting down to fix her shoes. Kumiko looked around at the mountain outlines, brimmed with the red sunset as it was slowly concealed by those mountains. The power lines above in the open air appeared to be staff notations without a single note on them.

“Hazuki-chan, did you buy new sneakers?” Hazuki replied happily to Sapphire, “Yep, they were really cheap too. Guess how much they were.”

“Hmm, around 5,000 yen?”

“Err-err. The answer was…fifteen hundred yen! They were an older model, so I got a discount.”

“Oooh, that is a good deal!”

“I know! I’m a good shopper!” Hazuki finished fixing her laces and stood up. Her healthy skin appeared orange from the sunset. Due to the somewhat thick sole of her shoe, her head appeared just a bit taller than usual.

Kumiko and Reina casually followed the two excited girls. It was already a custom for Reina to join the three bass girls on their way home.

“Do you ever wear sneakers, Reina?” Kumiko asked. Reina looked at her own feet. The design of the black glossy loafers she wore hadn’t changed since she was a first-year.

“I wear them during P.E., but that’s about it. Tying your shoes throughout the day is a bother.”

“Well, that is true.”

“But I do think they’re cute. Sometimes someone like Yuuko-senpai will wear them.”

“Ah, those pink ones!”

Now that she remembered it, Yuuko had shown off those sakura-colored sneakers that Kaori had praised last year. Due to emphasizing design over utility, they weren’t suitable for moving around in.

“I wonder if the first-years will get to march and play this year.”

Hazuki asked, somehow connecting that to sneakers. Reina ran her fingertips through her hair and tilted her head slightly. “Well, I think they’ll be used to it since they’re experienced. What kinds of newcomers did the bass section get?”

“Midori got a boy named Motomu-kun! He said he’s from Ryusei Academy.”

“Really, from Ryusei, huh?” Reina opened her eyes wide, probably because there was no connection between there and Kitauji.

“I was surprised when I first saw him too. I thought he was a girl.” Kumiko could sympathize with Hazuki’s energetic statement. Just on appearances alone, the cutest member of the bass section this year might be Motomu. That’s just on looks alone.

“Midori tends to be bad with boys, but she had no problem with Motomu-kun!”

“Probably due to how he looks. But isn’t his personality a bit overly strong? Even Gotou-senpai was a bit taken back by him. You know, like ‘it’s not worth my time.’ Don’t you get the impression that he’s not too serious about band?”

“He’s surely an elusive boy, but I think he’s serious about band. He easily raised his hand when we voted and then his fingers were different.”

“Fingers?” Kumiko asked.

Sapphire nodded, “The tips of Motomu-kun’s fingers were very thick. Isn’t that a sign that he’s practiced a lot up until now?”

“Whoa, good job Midori. Good for you on picking up those small details.” Hazuki held up her hands. Reina did the same, mimicking Hazuki. The red light seeping through the gaps in their fingers created a contrast between light and shadow on their faces.

“The tuba girls are amazing. They were childhood friends if I recall.”

“Ah, those double Suzukis. It’s the best to have two girls come and pick the tuba as their top choice. I think I’ll get along quite well with Sac-chan in particular.”

“Definitely. You and her were talking quite well together.”

Kumiko smiled as she remembered that conversation. Their back-and-forth about stories from Higashi Middle was fresh for Kumiko, who went to Kita Middle.

“How about the euph? Did you get any new members?”

Kumiko somewhat puffed up at Reina’s question. “Of course, we had a top-choice girl come this year.”

“Kanade-chan’s an excessively polite girl. She somehow feels like the ideal kouhai, but she lacks in impact compared to the tuba and contrabass newcomers.”

“No, no, she doesn’t need any impact. Normal is good. Normal.” Kumiko waved her hands around wildly.

Reina asked seriously, “Wouldn’t that girl be more euph-ish then?”

“What do you mean by euph-ish?”

“What you’re always talking about, euph-ish. You know, that euph-ish feeling.”

“What’s that?” Kumiko smiled reflexively at Reina’s crude explanation.

Hazuki, walking ahead of them, clapped her hands together laughing “that sure is euph-ish. “

“Didn’t Kanade-chan go all the way to Nagoya to hear our performance? She said she watched the DVD of our performance many times over and over. She must be a passionate fan of Kitauji.”

“That or maybe she just loves Taki-sensei. She might have come to Kitauji to receive guidance from Sensei.” Reina crinkled her brow at Sapphire’s innocent statement. It looks like she’s worrying about whether her rivals had added another member.

Kumiko quickly changed the subject. “How, how about the trumpets? There were a lot of experienced players weren’t there?”

“Yeah.”

“Anyone talented?”

“A few were. Of course, none of them were on my level.”

Reina was amazing to speak of herself like that. It wasn’t just purely bragging about her skill; she had accumulated many achievements that supported her statement.

“Well, there’d be a bunch of chaos if someone like Reina came.”

“But it’d be sooo much fun to watch!”

Hazuki was shocked while Sapphire’s eyes glistened.

“Ah,” Reina murmured as though she just remembered something. “Come to think of it, there was one girl that was very talented.”

“Oh, for Reina to compliment her, she must have been quite good. Who was it?”

“A girl named Yume Kohinata. She went to the same middle school as me, so we’re more or less acquaintances.”

“The same middle school, so you mean Kita Middle? Do you know her too Kumiko?”

Kumiko wracked her brain at the question towards her. She remembered hearing that name before, but no face came to mind and only a vague outline of her body formed. A short-cut hairstyle felt right, but even that memory was quite dodgy.

“….hmm, what kind of girl was she? The bass and trumpet sections didn’t have many interactions together during middle school, so I don’t remember her as a kouhai.”

“But she said that she had met you Kumiko. She was thankful for the advice you gave her when she ran into you in the instrument room during the trial period.”

“Instrument room?”

Kumiko ran through her memory beginning with those words. Now that she thought of it, she did talk to a braided girl after all.

“….What? That was Kohinata-san? With glasses?” Kumiko couldn’t believe it.

Reina nodded, “Yes, that girl.”

“Whoa, hasn’t she changed a lot since middle school? Did her appearance change a lot?”

“She changed her appearance, but her insides are still the same.”

So, Reina knew her by who she was inside instead, Kumiko began to reply, but then she remembered her own mistake. The points where Yume appeared unsure slowly began connecting one-by-one.

“Ah, oh no! I spoke to her as though that was the first time we’d ever met. That’s why she looked a bit confused when I asked if she was an experienced player.”

“Anyone would look like that if your middle school senpai forgot about you.” Hazuki shrugged her shoulders in exasperation.

Sapphire lowered her eyebrows, troubled a bit. “I think anyone would be hurt if they met a senpai for the first time in a while and they treated it like their first meeting. If it was Midori, then I’d certainly be sad.”

“Ah, please, don’t hurt my conscience even worse!”

“Would it help if she said something like “it’s natural for you to forget me, Oumae-senpai’?”

“How would you think hearing something like that would help me, Reina?”

Regardless, the origin of the problem was Kumiko’s own mistake. Hazuki slapped her on the back in encouragement.

“Well, everyone knows you’re a bit thoughtless of others, so it’s alright.”

“Hazuki-chan, that’s a strange way to comfort her.”

Despite not being filled with any ill will, those words continued to pierce Kumiko’s heart. The reason her shoulders slumped wasn’t due to her friends, it was because she remembered herself being in a spot where someone hurt her feelings. Even though you could say her appearance changed, if she had just asked what school she came from, no, even if she had simply asked what her name was, maybe something would’ve changed for Kumiko.

Sapphire rummaged through her uniform’s pockets and held out a treat for the dejected Kumiko. It was a lemon-scented candy. “It’ll be fine if you just talk with her the next time you meet. Yume-chan’s a good girl, right? Then it’ll all work out.”

Her small hand forced the packaged candy onto Kumiko. The tips of her fingers felt somewhat rough when they were in Kumiko’s palm. That they had grown as stiff as they had was a sign to how much effort Sapphire had put in.

“…….Yeah, thanks.” Kumiko meekly agreed and Sapphire showed a bright smile. Kumiko had been weak to that smile ever since they first met.

The next day’s afterschool sectional began with an introduction of the room that they would be practicing in. Classroom 3-3. This room located next to the instrument room was where the bass section was allowed to practice every year.

“The bass section has a lot of heavy instruments, so it looks like they took allowances to place us nearest to the instrument room as much as they could.” Kumiko’s explanation had varying reactions from the first-years. Smiling and paying attention to everything were Kanade and Satsuki. Looking over with a serious expression was Mirei. And then looking out the window with a bored expression was Motomu.

Since the third-years had a meeting, only the first and second years were here. Hazuki was streeetching in the same seat that she had sat since she was a first-year. Sapphire was standing beside Kumiko constantly looking over a paper she had received earlier.

“Uh, so basically this is where we normally practice during sectionals. You can go somewhere else if you want to practice by yourself, but be sure to take care so that we don’t get a report that you were making noise before a test or mock exam.”

Kanade raised her hand with a question on her mind. “How long are sectionals usually?”

“Weekday practice beginning in June is until 18:30. After October it’s until around 18:00. As long as you straighten up before the final chime rings, it’s alright though. If you’re going to stay after the final end of activities bell, it’s allowed, but please let a senpai know beforehand.”

“I see now. I understand. Thank you very much for your explanation.”

Kumiko winced at her overly polite response. She had mentioned earlier to her “it’s alright to be a bit more casual,” but all she got in return was “I thank you kindly for your consideration.” Nothing else to do, so Kumiko moved onward with her explanation.

“On off-days from school, we start ensemble rehearsal at 09:00, so everyone arrives a bit earlier than that to begin taking out and setting up their instruments. Well, usually around 08:30 or so. There’s a lot of people who come early to have their morning practice, so we have a lot of people who really want to play. You can take your instruments home, but most people, especially in the bass section, come to school anyways to play them.”

Even though it was possible to take the euphonium home, the tuba, with its near 15 kilogram weight including its case, and the 2 meter long contrabass are clearly not suited for being carried long distances.

“So, yeah, when do you all come to school in the morning to practice” Satsuki energetically slapped the desk. “Well, you know,” Hazuki put her hands behind her head with a smile.

Mirei raised her hand a bit. “Are we required to stay late or come early outside of activities time?”

“No, of course it’s not required. That’s only for people who feel they really want to play their instrument.”

“Oh, then that’s fine.” Mirei murmured as she looked downward. The bangs covering her right eye cast a dark shadow on her face.

“Kumiko-chan, have you finished your explanation?”

Kumiko became confused and looked towards where her uniform was suddenly being pulled. Her perspective grew and there was Sapphire’s carefree smile. On the tip of her nose were a pair of red-framed glasses. Sapphire showed them off “ta-da!” and lifted one side up.

“Midori, what are you doing with those glasses?”

“I bought them from a 100 yen store! They’re fashion glasses!”

“That so?” While Kumiko had intended to ask where she purchased them from, what she was doing with them wasn’t conveyed. Sapphire stood triumphantly on the teacher’s platform and began drawing a map of the Kansai area on the blackboard.

“Everyone who entered this school knows about competitions and the surrounding strong schools. Midori thought she would explain further from there. Anyways, she was given the role of explaining this from Asuka-senpai!”

“Ah…..so that’s why you wore those glasses. To respect Asuka-senpai?”

“But of course!” Sapphire strongly affirmed while striking the blackboard with chalk. Motomu was still sitting with his face on his hands looking away from the classroom into some far off place.

“I think everyone here is experienced and knows how it’s structured, but I’ll start from the very beginning. First, every band member’s goal is go to the All Japan Band Competition or Nationals. This is the biggest domestic music competition in Japan since it started in 1940. It’s divided into middle school, high school, university, workplaces, and general divisions. Combining all the participating groups, they cross over 10,000 bands in total. It’s a super big event!”

Sapphire smoothly added a three story pyramid to the side of her map.

“If you do not win a nomination from the preliminary competitions, you do not advance further. Basically, there are districts, prefectural, regional, and finally national competitions in that order. In Kyoto, we do not have district competitions; instead we start right with the Kyoto prefectural competition. The results are always split into gold, silver, and bronze prizes. These are not given to only the top three schools however. Two years ago, Kitauji won bronze at the Kyoto competition, but this was more like a participation award than a prize. The schools progressing onward are three schools chosen from those who won gold prizes. Winning a gold prize, but not progressing to the next competition is commonly called as winning ‘dud gold.’”

Kumiko’s final middle school competition ended with them winning dud gold. She remembered being bitter at that time and she was still bitter about it now. While Sapphire was at Seijyou, they went to Nationals and won gold there all three years. For her coming from such an exceptionally talented school, that type of unpleasant experience is something she’d never have faced before.

“Three schools move on from Kyoto to the Kansai Competition. And then from Kansai, three schools move on again to Nationals. There are a lot of strong schools in the Kansai Competition, but the strongest are in Osaka. It’s unusual for there not to be any Osaka energy at Nationals.”

Crrack went the chalk as Midori drew a circle around the Osaka area. We heard this last year as well, thought Kumiko as she was paying attention.

“Myoujyou Engineering High School (MyouKou). Osaka Toushou High School. Shutou University Affiliated High School (ShuDai). These three schools, dubbed the “strong trio” are regulars at Nationals. It was a big surprise to everyone that Kitauji went to Nationals last year and not ShuDai. Last year, MyouKou changed their advisor but were as excellent as ever. Osaka Toushou was as cool as always. ShuDai had a great sound, so the crowd felt like ‘I would’ve never predicted Kitauji to go to Nationals.’ Kitauji overturned the norms and appeared at Nationals. But when we arrived there, we ended with a disappointing bronze……. And that’s why we’re aiming to win gold at Nationals this year. Everyone understand?”

“Yes!” energetically replied Satsuki. Mirei silently nodded her head. Kanade straightened herself, smiled and said “I understand.” Motomu was dozing off.

Stunned, Hazuki stood up and banged on his desk. “Oooooi! Are you awake?”

Motomu silently opened his eyes in response to her voice. His long eyelashes fluttered to protect his unfocused eyes. He calmly looked up at Hazuki and tilted his head to the side in confusion. “……….what are you doing?”

“Well, you looked like you were sleeping.”

Motomu whispered “Not really, I wasn’t asleep. I just closed my eyes,” while looking downward. Kanade, who heard everything, closed her eyes in amusement. “What a daring excuse. I’d have expected no less from you, Tsukinaga-kun.” Kanade emphasized his last name, tsu-ki-na-ga.

Motomu, who had been lethargic up until then, suddenly looked unpleasant.

“Stop saying my name like that. I don’t like being called by my surname.”

“Why is that? Usually you call someone by that name, Tsukinaga-kun.”

“……..Do you even understand what I’m saying?”

“Why, what ever do you mean?”

Motomu glared at the annoying Kanade. She just let giggles slip from her throat in response. What was the cause of this connection between them? Sparks could come out from how fiercely they were glaring at each other. Or rather, was there some other reason that Motomu became so displeased?

No one moved in this tense atmosphere. Breaking the strange silence that had fallen in the room was Sapphire’s cheerful voice. The glasses she had worn until now were already in her hand.

“Stop fighting you two!” She forced her way between them while waving both hands.

“Motomu-kun, talking standoff-ish like that is not allowed. Kanade-chan, please stop calling people names they do not wish to be called. Midori also knows what it’s like to be called by a name you dislike.”

Sapphire looked towards Kanade. “Midori thinks it’ll be best if you understand and change how you speak.”

Kanade’s eyes opened wide as if she just thought of something. She covered her mouth with her hand and dropped her shoulders apologetically. How much of that is real, Kumiko couldn’t tell for certain.

“I shall follow what you say Kawashima-senpai. I hold great respect for my senpais after all. Apart from that, I hope that we can become friendly in the future, so I take fault in assuming impolite behavior. Will it be alright if I call you Motomu-kun in the future?”

The latter half of what she said was pointed towards Motomu. Rude courtesy. That two-word phrase is what Kumiko’s brain tossed out as it flicked on and off. No, no, it wasn’t just linked to Kanade. Rather than guessing that’s what was going on with her, those words that came to mind instantly was what Kumiko hoped the situation was.

Motomu suddenly turned his head and spoken slovenly, “Yes, like that. Anyways, being called by my surname by people like you makes me sick.”

“People like me?”

“People who poke at things that annoy others.”

“You’re simply overthinking things Motomu-kun.” Kanade smiled a flawless smile. It was a dreadful smile that wouldn’t allow any rebuttals. It fit her more than anyone else. Suddenly Asuka appeared in her head saying with an endless smile “Really? It doesn’t fit her at all.” Kumiko believed that it absolutely did.

Hazuki eagerly changed the subject as though she were tired of this argument. “Come on, we’ve said that fighting isn’t good for you. Instead, let’s go choose instruments. The Double Suzukis have been waiting for this. Look.” Hazuki pointed behind her.

Turning around quickly, Satsuki and Mirei were there looking uncomfortable. “We’ve been waiting here forever, so let’s go to the instrument room now. After all, that’s where today’s main event is!” Hazuki smiled, showing her teeth. Satsuki stood up happily saying “Yay!”

Mirei just shrugged her shoulders and followed her out of the classroom. Motomu, unable to hide his wariness about Kanade by glaring at her, was pulled out of the room by his arm from Sapphire. It was like a barking dog being drug by its owner. Kumiko casually smiled as Sapphire herself didn’t seem to mind this situation.

“There’s a lot of wonderful senpais here in the bass section.”

“Oh, you think so?”

“Yes. Especially Kawashima-senpai. She’s never unprepared, so I wonder how much she knows.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t mean anything. This is just my personal opinion.”

Kanade twirled the ends of her hair by her cheek. The ends that aggressively stick up by her mouth were a representation of her aggressive personality.

An ideal kouhai. The image of Kanade that Kumiko had built up in the first day they met had already collapsed in a mere afternoon.

The orderly instrument room was a bit cramped with 7 band members inside. Hazuki had placed the tuba cases side-by-side and was talking about the different instruments. How a player breathed changed depending on the valve system and whether the tuba was a piston type or a rotary type. Kitauji used the same types of tubas in order to defend against any troubles like how the valve was facing.

“This one is Gotou-senpai’s. This one is Riko-senpai’s, and this is mine. Other than these three, you’re free to pick whichever guy you want. They’re pretty old and have some bumps, but there shouldn’t be any issues playing them.”

An abundance of instruments was a sign that Kitauji was once a strong school. Satsuki and Mirei looked at each case’s insides one-by-one seriously. Once they found one they liked, they lifted their heads up.

“Is it alright for me to take this one?”

“I’ll take this. It has this somewhat cool “do-dong” sense to it!”

They didn’t act entitled and were able to choose their instruments without any issues. Satsuki pulled out a cat keychain from her pocket and attached it to the handle of the case. In the music room, the cases had similar designs when lined up, so some people would put something on theirs in order to distinguish it from others’. Natsuki’s case’s handle also had a really old yellow bear attached to it.

“That looks awesome.” Hazuki pointed at Satsuki’s case. The felt-cloth cat hanging from the handle appeared to be handmade. For its eyes, different color buttons were placed on the left and right.

“It’s so cute isn’t it? A friend from the same section made it for me in middle school.”

“Wow, they were quite talented.”

“They made a lot of others things too, like charms right before the competitions. This is my treasure. She enrolled at Rikka, so we’re now at different schools.”

“Rikka High? Then Azusa might know them.”

Hazuki looked over at Kumiko. Rikka High had a nationally-famous marching band. They often performed at many events inside the prefecture with Kitauji. Kumiko’s friend Sasaki Azusa entered the concert band so she could enroll at Rikka High.

“But a lot of people are at Rikka. Even when Azusa joined, there were a lot she didn’t know, so she might not know your friend.”

“Maybe not.”

“Well, regardless, if your friend went to Rikka, then you’ll might get to meet them at performances and other events, Satsuki-chan.”

“Um, anything besides Satsuki-chan is fine.” Satsuki shyly waved her hand. She grabbed onto Mirei’s arm next to her and hugged it tight. Mirei looked bewildered at what Satsuki was doing.

“Call me Sac-chan. I’ve been called that since long ago. It’s complex when we have two Suzukis, so it’ll work out if you call me Sac-chan and her Mic-chan.”

“Sac-chan and Mic-chan? Sounds like a comedy duo, so I can remember that!”

“Please stop that.” Mirei replied with harsh tone towards Hazuki. She pushed Satsuki away from her body and sighed in frustration. “If you simply wanted to be different, then Satsuki itself is fine. Please stop calling me by that nickname.”

Satsuki tilted her head sideways in confusion like she hadn’t noticed that Mirei had changed. “Why? Wouldn’t calling you by Mic-chan be cuter?” She had no idea that what she said just added fuel to the fire. Mirei clicked her tongue and turned as though she was escaping.

“I’ve chosen my instrument too, so there’s no need for me to be here. I’ll return to the practice room now.”

“What? Wait Mic-chan!” Satsuki confusingly pursued Mirei after she left the instrument room. Hazuki squinted in confusion before racing off. “I’ll go see what’s happening.” It looked like the future of the tuba section was quite grim at the moment. Kumiko pressed against her aching temple. Kanade looked up at her, narrowing her eyes like a cat.

“The two tuba players are quite the bother. They’re arguing over such trivial things even as high schoolers.”

“There’s no such thing as ‘trivial’ or not. Depending on the person, they may think countless things about something.”

“Hehe, you’r