Chapter Text
She stirred from her unconsciousness as a blearing sound came from the left of her bed, she opened her eyes, only to close them again as the light from her window only blinded her. She groaned before she twisted her body in order to reach her alarm clock and turn it off, she then relaxed, about to drift back to sleep until her door slammed open, jolting Kumiko to sit up with bleary eyes.
“What the hell, sis...?” Kumiko grumbled, rubbing the sleep off her eyes with the back of her hands. Oumae Mamiko only leaned on the frame of her door with her arms loosely crossed; she stared at Kumiko with a brow raised.
“Today’s your first day at Kitauji.” She simply said before stalking off back to her room, most likely to get ready. The younger of the two only processed it for a second before she groaned, letting her head hit the pillow again in aggravation.
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She debated whether to tie her hair back or not, before going for the latter, her hair falling in loose waves and curls as she undid the tie. She was looking for a new start after all, she didn’t want to think about her past nor did she want to think about concert band. After straightening her new burgundy uniform, she turned to leave her room but only glanced back to see her old dusty instrument case by the corner near her desk. She hesitated for a second but quickly left the room without another glance.
She sat down at the kitchen table to eat her breakfast, her sister opposite her and her mother, Oumae Akiko, by the sink cleaning the plates and cooking utensils as she listened to the radio that was on, playing old classical music.
“Are you planning on joining the band at Kitauji?” Mamiko asked without glancing up from her phone as she nibbled on her honey coated toast. Kumiko bristled at the mention of the concert band. She didn’t want to think about it.
“Who knows.” Kumiko only replied, her answer to this question was never clear. Mamiko frowned and finally looked up; about to speak but then closed her mouth again, thinking better of it before going on her phone again though the frown was still marred on her face.
Kumiko quietly sighed in relief; she didn’t want to have this sort of discussion again before her first day of high school. Taking the last sip of her orange juice before glancing up at the clock by the television, she grabbed her school bag and stood up from her seat, taking her plate to the sink, flashing a quick smile to her mother and said good bye.
In her rush to leave, she didn’t notice her mother and Mamiko glanced at each other in sadness and in worry.
“I’m worried about her.” Akiko sighed gently, deep frown lines appearing around her mouth. Mamiko nodded in agreement.
“Hopefully things will be different for her at Kitauji.”
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She arrived at the front gates of Kitauji, numerous students with their new uniform flocked outside the gate, waiting for their friends or heading inside the building to get good seats for their ceremony. Kumiko had the same thought process, seeing as she didn’t have any friends from this school; she did this purposely as she wanted a new start.
She had just reached the gate of the school when she heard music and she immediately tensed but rather than fear and bemusement, it was in utter shock as she took note in how horribly they were playing. Kumiko really wanted to express this but that would only seem rude and incredibly mean, and so she quickly went inside the building before she did something that she would regret.
But before she did, she made eye contact with one of the band members; she was one of the members who were playing the euphonium, and her gaze was enigmatic but piercing as she looked at Kumiko as if she knew everything about her. It made Kumiko shiver in fright and she quickly turned away.
Hopefully she wouldn’t see her again.
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She rested her head onto the desk as soon as homeroom ended, not only was she tired but she was also frustrated by this school’s band; the way they played together made Kumiko want to cringe and cover her ears; she had never heard a concert band that could play so badly before, apart from that time in her last year in middle school – she quickly removed those thoughts. It isn’t like she cared anymore, her time at playing for the band has ended, for now all she wanted to do is focus on her studies and live a normal high school life without the added drama if that was entirely possible.
However, Kumiko couldn’t quite shake the feeling that girl provoked from her; she felt transparent, all too knowing of what Kumiko was thinking and even about her past – it almost terrified her. In the past, she was told many times that she was quite a distant person and in a sense, she felt quite proud of that in a way that she wasn’t easy to read; after all, she liked her privacy. On the other hand, she felt lonely and quite secluded as there was no one there to understand her, or even tried to.
“Yo,” said a voice from behind her, Kumiko frowned as her thoughts were interrupted but she lifted her head anyway to see who was talking to her. It looks like it was her new classmate who sat behind her, Katou Hazuki. She looked like a bright girl whose skin was unblemished and sun kissed which probably resulted from the amount of time she spends in the sun, indicating that she is or was once a sporty person, not only due to her short, dark hair but also her physique: slim but toned. Her large bright brown eyes shined with wonder and excitement as she looked at Kumiko, her mouth set in a large grin.
“Have you heard the concert band club play?” she asked, her eyes shining brightly as her upper body lurched forward from her seat. Kumiko tensed the second time this morning at the mention of the band though it didn’t appear noticeable to the other girl.
“Yeah, I heard them.” Kumiko replied politely but Hazuki seemed to have lightened up more at this admission and possibly to carry on the conversation.
“Don’t you think that they were amazing?!” she exclaimed, further leaning onto her desk. Kumiko seemed to have cringed at this.
“Well, not exactly...” she said, seeing the way that Hazuki’s excited gazed turned to one of surprise and confusion. She cocked her head to the side.
“What do you mean?” Kumiko shifted in her seat a little, slightly hesitant to proceed with her opinions in this discussion.
“They weren’t in tune together, actually, it was sluggish and all over the place; it’s like they never practiced before.” Hazuki hummed in thought, a little pout on her lips whilst both of her hands were tucked underneath her chin, her eyes focused on the ceiling. Finally, she smiled, standing up slowly.
“Yeah, I guess I can see your point but I still find it so cool!” she said, “I mean, the fact that they can all play an instrument is just amazing; I wanna do something like that!”
“I’m guessing you’ve only recently become interested...?” Hazuki blushed at this, scratching the back of her head as she chuckled sheepishly.
“Yeah, I was kinda amazed when I saw them, but it was also because of this!” she held out her school bag, showing the little toy shaped as a musical instrument dangling off the side of the zipper.
“AH, SAX-KUN!” someone shouted from the other side of the class; both Kumiko and Hazuki jumped and turned their heads at the voice, their eyes widened and brows raised.
From the front of the class shows a petite girl named Sapphire Kawashima, or otherwise known as Midori. She was short compared to the other two in comparison although she was undeniably cute not only because of her height, but also her short curly hair and slightly round face as well as her rosy cheeks; to most she is reminded as a small, delicate flower. Her eyes were wide and brows burrowed in what seems like disbelief and astonishment as her hands were clutched together to where her chest was.
She suddenly rushed towards Hazuki, making the said girl stumble backwards slightly as she raised her bag in defence. Kumiko watched on in mild curiosity as to what Midori would do.
Once Midori reached Hazuki, she immediately crouched down and grabbed the instrument charm from her bag and marvelled at it.
“I can’t believe you have Sax-kun, the one I’m looking for is contrabass-kun but he’s so hard to find!” Midori sighed but then reminded herself as to where she was, and she jolted up, almost looking shocked at her own behaviour.
“Sorry,” Midori grinned sheepishly, “I’m kind of in love with these charms.”
“I’m guessing you’re also into classical music?” Kumiko asked knowingly, resting one of her arms on her desk as her body faced to where Midori was; she tilted her head slightly in wonder.
“Yeah, I play the contrabass!” she replied brightly. This seemed to have peaked Hazuki’s interest as she immediately brightened and cooed over Midori.
“You play an instrument? That’s so cool!” Midori blushed at this admission, gently scratching her cheek.
“It’s nothing new, I've been playing since I was young.” Her eyes widened briefly as though she remembered something. “In fact, I'm planning on joining the concert band.”
“Really, Sapphire-sa –” Hazuki received a quick glare from Midori.
“Don't call me Sapphire, call me Midori!” she pouted, Hazuki tilted her head in confusion but conceded anyway.
“Okay, Midori-san,” she smiled brightly, “So you’re planning on joining? Do you think I would be able to join too?”
“You should be able to, should we all check it out right now?” Hazuki quickly nodded at this; however, Kumiko was the only one who was reluctant to go.
“Uh...” she couldn’t think of anything to say as her thoughts and feelings were intermingled and thus incoherent. Both Hazuki and Midori turned to her.
“You should come as well, Oumae-san!” Hazuki said. Midori nodded at this with enthusiasm.
“Yeah, it would be nice to have an extra person come along!”
“I’m not really sure...” she raised her hands in objection, “I mean, I’m not that interested in it...” it was also because she didn’t want to see that upperclassmen girl again either.
“Nonsense!” Midori exclaimed. “You should come check it out anyway – come on, Oumae-san!” she suddenly took one of Kumiko’s hands, dragging her out of her seat and headed for the door. For such a small girl, she had remarkable strength.
“But - !” Kumiko tried to protest, fumbling with her footsteps as they paced down the corridor.
“This is gonna be so much fun!” Hazuki squealed happily.
Kumiko seriously doubted that.