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Kumiko knew that going to the beach was a bad idea. She didn't know why, couldn't quite put a finger on what exactly could go wrong on just a nice, simple day at the beach, hosted by a reluctant Taki, but something gnawed at her brain, whispering turn back turn back turn back as the bus pulled up to the sandy parking lot. Asuka practically leapt out, prancing ahead of the rest of the band with a devious grin on her face. Kumiko made a mental note to keep an eye on her. Yuuko adamantly refused to leave the bus.
"C'mon, ribbon girl, it'll be fun!" Natsuki insisted. Yuuko shook her head.
"I may not look like it, but I'm not really the most outdoorsy person, you know! It looks pretty hot out there. There are much better things to do with my time than to sit out in the blazing sun all day."
"Ya make a compelling point, but it's not enough to sway me. Even Kumiko's going." Kumiko was too busy making sure that Asuka didn't set anything on fire to notice the comment. Midori had somehow managed to bring her entire contrabass with her, and she carried it on her back with impressive strength for someone her size. Yuuko finally gave in and followed Natsuki outside, her flip-flops pattering on the pavement.
***
It's been an hour. Nothing's happened yet. We'll be fine. Unbeknownst to the rest of the band, Kumiko was silently wrestling with herself as she let her toes curl in the cold, water-soaked sand near the ocean. Yuuko and Reina both refused to go anywhere near the water, Midori had started playing her contrabass on the dock, and Natsuki was busy attempting to bury herself entirely in sand. Asuka was nowhere to be found.
***
Nowhere to be found, at least, until she abruptly burst out of the sand-pile next to Natsuki's with her finger pointed in the air with the sun behind her like an anime protagonist prepared to challenge their greatest rival. Natsuki jumped out of the way. Yuuko groaned.
"Reina Kousaka!" Asuka yelled, a confident smirk plastered across her face. Kumiko's stomach twisted itself into knots. This isn't going to go well, is it?
"I challenge you to a swimming duel!" Reina shifted uncomfortably in her spot, trying to sink into the towel.
"I don't think that's a real thing," Midori squeaked.
"It is now."
"Isn't that just called a race?" Hazuki inquired. Asuka glared at both of them.
"Anyway, you have an hour to prepare."
"What happens if I lose?" The entire band turned to look at Reina, standing in front of Asuka with her head held high. Asuka grinned.
"'We-e-ell,'" she purred, strolling over to where Kumiko was still standing. Kumiko shuddered, knowing with a certainty that whatever Asuka was about to say would end in disaster. "I think that if I win, I'll let Kumiko here have a private lesson with the senior euphonium here, how does that sound?" Kumiko blinked. That doesn't actually sound so bad. She's more experienced, so I might actually learn something. It could definitely be worse. Reina didn't seem to share the sentiment, taking Kumiko's hand and pulling her back from the older girl. To anyone else, it would seem like the trumpet player was as determined as a person could be, but Kumiko could see the unsteadiness in her stance, the nervous flickering back and forth of her violet eyes. Something was wrong, but Kumiko didn't have the slightest clue what it could be.
"Fine," Reina muttered. "I refuse to step down."
"I'll take my leave, then," Asuka sighed. "Expect my return in an hour." With that, she walked away, leaving Kumiko and Reina to stand in confusion. Reina was still holding onto Kumiko's hand, looking down and shuffling her feet in the sand. Kumiko would have considered the irony of the situation's near-perfect role reversal if Reina hadn't immediately turned to her with a faltering sense of pride in her eyes.
"Is, uh, is something wrong?" Kumiko asked, unsure of how to break the tension.
"I can't do it."
"What?"
"I would rather not be forced to repeat that statement, Kumiko. I said, I can't do it."
"Can't do what? Beat Asuka? I'm sure she's not that fast, and even if she does win, it's not like she's going to kill you. A private lesson doesn't sound horrible."
"I can't swim." Reina cast her gaze out to the churning water, sparkling underneath the sun. The statement was so quiet that Kumiko barely heard it, but she wasn't about to make Reina confess to it again.
"Why'd you accept the challenge, then?" she wondered.
"I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I backed down."
"You're kinda taking this too seriously, Kousaka!" Natsuki yelled, splashing Yuuko with a cracked plastic bucket she seemed to have found abandoned on the beach.
"In any case, I refuse to give up without some kind of a fight."
"S-so, does that mean you want me to . . . teach you . . . how to swim?" The words felt strange in Kumiko's mouth, the sudden realization that she had knowledge of something that Reina didn't. Not very much knowledge, nothing more than a few hazy memories of classes taken when she was younger and exactly one attempt to become a lifeguard, but enough. It would have to be enough, considering the fact that the only other qualified person on the beach was Natsuki, and she seemed preoccupied, to say the least.
"Yes. Now, we're running short on time, so I would assume that a crash course would provide the most use here."
"Y-yeah, sure, no problem." Kumiko had, in all honesty, absolutely no idea where to begin.
***
Fifteen minutes later, Kumiko was able to coax Reina into the water, where she firmly sat for another ten. It was only after the halfway mark of the allotted hour of preparation that the two girls had actually started to make progress, and Reina had succeeded in dog-paddling her way across a short distance.
"I don't plan on losing to the likes of her, Kumiko, I hope you understand that," she murmured, pausing to catch her breath. Kumiko tried not to think about how Reina looked in the water just then, with droplets sliding off of her hair like dew from a morning flower, how she-
"Hey! Give it back!" Kumiko turned to the source of the yelling, nearly expecting to see Natsuki dangling something above Yuuko's head, but instead she saw both of them pursuing a floating object that Kumiko quickly identified as Yuuko's ribbon, dipping and turning in the clear blue sky.
"The wind's a jerk, I hope ya know that." Yuuko made one last futile jump before crumbling to the ground in defeat.
"I know." Natsuki stood in silence for a moment before an imaginary lightbulb seemed to go off in her head.
"C'mon, I think I know something that'll cheer you up."
Kumiko looked away from the event to return to instructing Reina, who was still swimming weakly behind her.
"You understand why this matters, don't you?" she asked. Kumiko slowly shook her head.
"I mean, I get that you don't want to lose to Asuka, but this really shouldn't stress you out this much."
"It's not just that. Couldn't you hear the deliberation in her voice when she determined the stakes of the challenge? Kumiko, I know that she was trying to go on a date with you." Kumiko was grateful for the convenient cold ocean water for her to stick her face in when she started to feel her cheeks flush. "Kumiko?"
"I'm fine. T-that's why you're so dead-set on winning this thing?"
"Yes."
"W-well, I guess we shouldn't lose then."
***
The remaining time went by all too fast, and before Kumiko knew it, Asuka had returned to the spot on the beach with a pair of goggles and that same confident smirk. Natsuki and Yuuko were nowhere to be seen.
"Well, well, I sure do hope that this is a fair race, don't you?" Reina gritted her teeth.
"I won't lose," she muttered, her voice cold and even.
"Oh, you say that, but I don't plan on losing either. Now, if we could just find a judge-"
"I'll do it!" Hazuki piped up. Asuka shrugged.
"Fine. You can do that."
"Okay, ready, set-"
"Ah, I'm afraid that we'll have to cut this trip short." Taki stood on the dock, watching the band with a calm smile. "I've heard that there's a storm on the way, and I would be doing a disservice as a teacher if I allowed you all to continue out here in such dangerous conditions." The band collectively groaned, gathering their things and reluctantly shuffling back towards the bus.
"You had the weather on your side, but I'll let it slide," Asuka sighed. "Private lessons aren't really my thing, anyway."
***
"I'll be taking attendance," Taki began, standing at the forefront of the crowded bus, "so that we don't accidentally leave anyone behind. Now-"
"Wait!" Yuuko and Natsuki ran frantically to the bus, with the cracked bucket in Natsuki's arms as a new-looking purple ribbon bounced on Yuuko's head.
"Don't leave without us!" Kumiko stifled a laugh. Taki waited for the two girls to head to the back of the bus before resuming his speech.
"Where was I? Ah, yes, attendance . . ."