a/n: s1 ended a year ago? what the heck. ofc i had to put together a fic about the finale. anyway, i guess i'll just use this space to say how unbelievably grateful i am to the whole hibike fandom. this place is the reason why i started to have confidence in my writing, the place i turn to when i feel afraid of losing in the big picture. everyone - all the artists, fic writers, amv makers, memers, the four or so tumblr people who post random screenshots with no context, all of the wonderful fans - thank you. thank you so, so much. i'm not going to stop writing for these gay nerds anytime soon, though i can't promise that they'll be the only characters i write about. i'm admittedly running a bit low on inspiration rn, so...yeah. this note could get longer than the fic if i keep going any longer, so here is the fic:
There was something undeniably surreal about a concert. That was all Kumiko could think as the curtain raised and the band played, symphonies soaring from the instruments like one fine-tuned machine. It felt like a thousand years and less than a second all at once - she was floating, she was playing her euphonium, and then it was done as the hall burst into applause.
Shaky and breathless, Kumiko looked to Reina for only a second before turning back to face the cheering crowd. The other girl stared straight ahead with bright violet eyes on the brink of tears, and Kumiko couldn't help but think of how taxing this must have been on her. She made a mental note to seek Reina out later, to give her proper congratulations.
"H-hey!" Reina looked up from her seat, scooting to the side to allow Kumiko to sit down. "I, uh, I finally found you! I've been looking everywhere, it's kind of a madhouse in there. I'm pretty sure that Asuka managed to sneak in fireworks, and it's taken about half the band to stop her from doing anything dangerous." Reina softly chuckled as Hazuki and Midori found their seats rather close to her. "Oh, yeah, and congrats on the solo! Y-you were amazing, I'm sure that everyone agrees on that much. They'll . . . they'll think twice before choosing t-the upperclassmen over us j-just because we're, y'know, younger." Kumiko paused, breath caught in her throat as she thought back to middle school and dud gold and dented euphoniums in cold classrooms.
"Kaori's probably really jealous, now!" Hazuki piped up, punching her fist in the air. "You were incredible, Kousaka!"
"Thank you," Reina murmured, curling back into herself. Kumiko sat down beside her.
"Hey, is, uh, something wrong?" There was some recorded music playing in the background as judges discussed the results, and Kumiko thought that there was a certain irony to that - school bands had just played such beautiful music mere minutes before, yet the officials somehow felt the need to fill the void with this dim, ages-old piano music recorded by someone who had probably died before the current members of Kitauji's band had even been born.
"I'm nervous," Reina replied, intently looking down at her shoes. "Taki-sensei . . . he's put a fair amount of pressure on us as a group. I would hate to let him down." Kumiko shoved away the twinge of jealousy in her gut - there's time for crushes later, she reasoned with herself - and simply sat closer as a small comfort.
"It doesn't r-really matter if we get gold, though." The lights overhead were blinding as that recorded piano still trilled on, leaving Kumiko light-headed and more than a bit tired. Perhaps it was the fatigue that was making her say things like that, she idly thought, seeing as she was already beginning to regret saying it in the first place.
(dud gold and cold classrooms pushed their way through her mind like foamy ocean waves)
Reina fixed her with a look not of anger or hurt, but instead confusion.
"I thought you were dedicated to this? You said you wanted to become special, like me, isn't that what this means? Winning, no matter what?"
"Well, y-yeah, but it's all just being judged by a bunch of old guys. It doesn't mean that we're bad if we lose, it just means that it didn't live up to their dumb standards, y'know?" Kumiko was trying, rather unsuccessfully, to lighten the mood.
"I suppose," Reina murmured, and with that, she returned to intently looking at a spot on the floor, avoiding Kumiko's gaze. Hazuki and Midori shrugged and sat down. The banner, as if hearing the conversation, was suddenly made known by the speaker on the intercom and the familiar flap that signified the unrolling, the sound that Kumiko had grown to despise. Her eyes scanned the letters, looking desperately for 'Kitauji High School' to stand in gold, and there it was. Reina looked up, her eyes glistening with tears as she held Kumiko's hand tightly. The next few seconds were a blur, the announcer speaking the results aloud, and suddenly Reina's arms were around her and the band was cheering and Kumiko was filled with a wonderful feeling of bliss, swelling in her chest and filling her with an incredible warmth. It was a moment, Kumiko thought, that she would treasure forever.