Hello! This is my 2016 nanowrimo project. My goal for this fic is to reflect the characters as best as I can while also covering them in drama. I will do my best to update this every weekend, and if the chapters stay at this length there should be between 7 and 10 chapters.

Please enjoy, if you see any music terms that you don't understand please let me know, and I will add a brief definition.


Monday – 20 days

Not many people can say they enjoy Mondays. However, Rin is one of these rare individuals. She likes all days, especially days where she can play the maracas. Thanks to band class, this is most days. As a first year, Rin is still working her way up the ranks in the percussion section, however this just gives her the opportunity to try something new. Just a few weeks ago she was playing the triangle, but now she's been promoted to the maracas and the timpani! Not at the same time of course, that would be weird.

Rin's choice of instrument gives her prime real estate in the band room. This means that as the gossip happens it floats its way back to her ears. For example, the flute section leader, Kairi, has a crush on Ms. Aida, or so they say. Rin has an incredibly reliable source in the second flautist, Kayo-chin.

Speaking of Kayo-chin, she's Rin's best friend in the whole wide world. Rin likes to spend time in the flute section before rehearsal starts. Kayo-chin usually has an update from her first classes, and even if she doesn't Rin can always think of something for them to talk about. Kayo-chin seems grateful for the company and it always brightens Rin's day.

Rin's other friends include Kotori, Maki, Nozomi, Umi, Nico, Honoka, and Eli! They're all in different years, so Rin thinks it's incredible that they could all become friends. Kotori sits 6th flute, so Rin gets to pass by her every morning when she goes to chat with Kayo-chin. There are only 6 flutes in the section, but Kotori is easy going so she doesn't mind sitting last, even as a second year. Rin's not sure she'd be able to do the same.

The flutes sit all the way to the left of the band, but most of Rin's friends sit on the opposite side of the room. Nozomi plays the oboe, so she's about halfway around the second row. She always greets Rin with a bright grin. As the only oboist and a third year, Nozomi carries a lot on her plate. She's also one of the most responsible people in their gang. Rin knows she can count on Nozomi to set her straight if she ever does anything too crazy.

Umi sits a couple seats over from Nozomi. She sits 10th clarinet, which is second to last. Rin thinks Umi tries really hard. She comes in early a lot to practice, and even asks Ms. Aida for extra assistance. The clarinet doesn't look that difficult to Rin, but it must be, Rin knows that every instrument is hard in its own way.

The only other clarinet that Rin's friends with is Nico, and she sits 7th. As a third year, Nico probably should sit higher in the section. One of the sweet sweet gossips that Rin heard was that Nico sat first chair their previous year. Then this fall she completely bombed the chairing audition and was placed last. She challenged a few times to rise to 7th, but then mysteriously stopped. Her motivations confused thousands. Okay, maybe they only confused dozens.

Rin knows why though. The reason is the snarky red head that now sits directly behind her. She's Rin's second most favorite person in the room, Maki. Maki's a first year, just like Rin, and though the two of them attended junior high together they didn't become friends until high school. Maki plays the trumpet, and she sits third behind Honoka and Eli. Rin thinks it's nice that they all sit so close together, it's just too bad that they're on the opposite side of the room from Kayo-chin.

Anyway, Maki joined the band with Rin and Kayo-chin back at the beginning of the year, and Nico took an immediate interest to her. Rin thinks they became friends rather quickly, though they don't act in the way friends usually do. Rin's a little confused by it, but she's slowly getting used to their playful banter. Sometimes their behavior comes across as a bit silly even for the self-proclaimed goofiest member of the group.

Maki has Tsubasa on her left and Honoka on her right. Neither of them do much to keep the bantering in check, so Rin can often hear their exchanges when they take breaks during practice. Rin can't really blame Honoka; the bubbly girl does plenty of other things for their group. Honoka is the magnet that dragged their little group together. Rin remembers chatting with Kayo-chin on the first day of class, when suddenly Honoka planted herself between them. She then dragged them over to the trumpet section and introduced them to her older friends. Rin still wonders why Honoka picked them, but when asked she only replies. "Intuition."

Last but certainly not least is Eli, who sits first trumpet. She's a strict trumpet section leader, but Rin knows she has a soft spot for the antics that go on to her left. If Rin could vote someone most likely to rule the world, she would vote for Eli. Eli is always focused on her goal; she's always looking forward. Rin really likes that about her.

Rin's eyes shift down to her music as she tightens her grasp on the timpani mallets. She probably should pay attention to class or she'll miss her entrance. The band started playing at measure 62 a few moments ago, so Rin should be okay. She doesn't play until measure 70… oh it's already measure 75. Dang, Rin pulls out her pencil to scratch a note onto the music.

Focus! Don't miss your entrance nya! ^w^

This should help fix her problem, emphasis on should. Despite telling herself to focus only a few moments ago, Rin's eyes shift to the wall clock. 11:28. That means in just two short minutes they'll be done! Then Rin can go have lunch! Rin loves lunch, though she does wish they ate a little later.

At Otonokizaka, each student has 5 classes a day. The school isn't very big, so they all eat lunch together after second hour. Band practice is always during second hour, because it gives them a little extra time to pack up their instruments without worrying about being late for class. It also facilitates challenges. It's not like anyone in the band challenges except for Maki.

Rin should explain challenging too, it is how she got the timpani part after all! Basically, after a chairing audition everyone is assigned a seat in the band. The only way someone can move up or down in the section is by challenging or being challenged. The challenge is always a section from the music for their next concert, and Ms. Aida always picks which section they are going to play. If the lower chaired member performs the part better, then they get to take the higher chair. If it's a tie, the high member retains their seat. It's easy to challenge. Ms. Aida has challenge slips in her office that need to be filled out, and then just need to be delivered to the person being challenged at the beginning of class. Most people only challenge once or twice and then are satisfied with where they end up, but in Maki's case, she challenges Honoka every day.

Why does Maki challenge everyday? She says it's to get away from Nico, but Rin thinks Maki just really wants to succeed. She seems driven, maybe she feels this is an obstacle she must overcome? Rin's not really sure, and she decides to give her brain a rest when the bell cuts through her thoughts.

Ms. Aida dismisses the group, and perhaps makes a comment towards Rin about not missing entrances but she hardly notices. It's time for lunch.


Lunch is Honoka's favorite time of the day. Sure, she loves band, who doesn't love band, but she also loves to eat. She utilizes her 25 brief minutes to catch up with all of her friends. The group's grown huge since the start of the new school year, but she's not complaining. Speaking of meeting up with her friends, she's not even at lunch yet even though it's been going on for five whole minutes.

The source of her tardiness is her daily challenge with Maki, which she won. She doesn't mind playing Maki every day, but she feels bad because Maki tries so hard. Maki's still young; she'll be an incredible trumpet player in a couple of years. Maki doesn't exactly take advice from others, not even upper classmen. That's what's so endearing about her.

Honoka chuckles under hear breath as she remembers Maki scoffing when she offered her opinion. The redhead had murmured something about not needing any help, but she still listened to everything Honoka had to say. It's a fond memory for Honoka, and she credits it to how they starting becoming friends.

Honoka's so lost in thought that she almost misses the entrance to the cafeteria. Fortunately, she notices at the last seconds and veer sharply right to enter the swinging doors. The group has a standard table near the vending machines which they sit at every day. Honoka and Maki usually show up late, but the group always holds spots for them.

Honoka beats Maki to the table today and she takes her space happily. The lunch tables at Otonokizaka are the long ones with picnic benches, so the nine of them fit comfortably on one. The first years sit on one end, the second years in the middle, and then the third years on the opposite end. It works out perfectly for Honoka because she's in perfect positioning to talk with almost anyone! Usually she starts out chatting with Umi and Kotori, and then it spreads through the group. Honoka digs into her lunch; her mom packed her a super cute bento. Umi and Kotori are eating quietly, which of course means it's the perfect time for Honoka to tell a story!

"So I saw this dog yesterday." Honoka thinks it's the perfect conversation starter.

Umi seems to disagree, but she humors her anyway. "What did you do?"

"What did I do?" Honoka feigns hurt. Umi shoots her an incredulous glare, and Kotori also looks concerned. Honoka laughs, "I didn't do anything!"

The outburst is met with seven blank stares as she attracts the attention of the remainder of the table. Honoka's eyes shift from person to person slowly, but no one wants to say anything. Honoka settles for staring at the table and she musters up her confession. "Fine, I fed it."

"I knew it!" Umi smacks on fist against the plastic table. Honoka can feel the heat radiating off her friend. "You can't feed random dogs Honoka! What if you were bitten? Dogs can carry illnesses like rabies! Do you know how many shots you'd need if you got rabies?"

Honoka ducks her head, and she can hear a few of her friends giggling around them as Umi continues to seethe. She murmurs her reply behind a half-cracked grin, "No."

Honoka's inability to respond only further angers her longtime friend. "Four Honoka. You would need to get four shots if you got rabies."

"Buuuuuuuut." Honoka slides her hand between Umi and herself, palm facing outwards. "I didn't get bit."

"This time," Nico chimes in. Umi nods fervently in agreement. She looks relieved that at least one person in the group understands why she's concerned. Umi returns to her lunch, but little does she know that Honoka's story isn't over yet.

"I want to adopt it." Honoka balls her hands into fists in front of her chest, but no one is surprised when Umi once again interjects.

"Honoka, no."

"Honoka, yes."

"Honoka…" Kotori's gentle voice cuts through the conversation. "Please no."

Honoka flails her still extended arm, apologizing when the nearest milk carton teeters towards disaster from her bumping into it. "It was super friendly, and it really really really needs a good home. Please guys? I'll take care of it. I'll feed it and walk every day."

Nico interrupts with another sassy comment, "I sure hope you'd feed it every day."

Honoka puffs out her cheeks with a huff, "I just said I would."

Honoka turns on the puppy eyes. These have always worked on Umi, even in the most difficult of times. Puppy eyes were how Honoka convinced both Umi and Kotori to join the band after all.

Umi is spared by someone cutting in, this time it's Nozomi. "I have an idea."

Umi says, "Oh thank goodness," and turns her gaze to the purple haired third year.

Nozomi's considered to be one of the more rational members of the gang, so Honoka's expecting her to say something along the lines of, "That dog probably loves living in the park so you should leave it there," or, "That dog probably has a family already looking for it, so you have to leave it in the park so they can find it there." These are standard adult things that an adult might say, and Honoka does somewhat consider Nozomi an adult. Honoka forgets that sometimes Nozomi likes to mess around too.

"You should take your trumpet to the park and try to train it." Despite the ridiculous idea leaving her lips, Nozomi's face remains serious.

Honoka notices Maki sliding into the opposite end of the table, but the closed off first year doesn't seem like she wants to talk. Honoka's mind is already conjuring up twenty different songs that could be played on the trumpet and serenade a dog, so she leaves Maki alone for the time being. "That's a great idea!"

"That's a horrible idea." Umi's expression is one of disbelief. Honoka's surprised too, it feels nice to have Nozomi backing her up. Umi looks like she has more to say, but Eli clears her throat in order to draw their attention.

"If I may. Now that Maki is here I'd like to schedule our ensemble rehearsal." Eli pulls out her phone as she speaks. "We have less than three weeks until the event, and it's a mystery to me how we still haven't practiced."

It takes Honoka a moment to remember what Eli is talking about. Solo and ensemble is a district wide event. High schoolers can play solos, or they can form small ensembles. The entire school will go up on a Saturday morning, and then they stay overnight in a hotel there and come back the next day. Honoka played in a brass quintet with Eli last year and it was a lot of fun! This year... oh yeah! She's in a trumpet trio with Maki and Eli.

Trumpet trios seem really cool to Honoka. It's all high brass, for one, so she doesn't have to worry about those big tubas dragging down the tempo. They can also stand when they perform, which makes a cool photo op from the side. Needless to say that Honoka is pretty excited.

"Well?" Eli's voice slices through Honoka's inner monologue. "When are you free Honoka?"

"Oh," that's a good question, when is she free? "I'm not sure, hahaha." Honoka leans back and tries to wrack her brain. Can she do tomorrow? No, she has to help out at the store.

Eli decides to give her a moment to think. When she speaks next her voice comes out at a softer volume, so Honoka has to strain her ears in order to hear. "How about you Nozomi? Have you decided on a practice time for your wind quartet?"

Nozomi shakes her head no, "We'll figure it out eventually."

Eli chuckles at the response, "Just going to go with the flow huh?"

Even though they're talking about basically nothing, Honoka almost feels like she's intruding on their conversation, so she turns her attention back to the rest of the group. They've broken off into little conversations, so Honoka figures this is the perfect time to convince Umi about that dog.

Unfortunately the school has other plans. The bell rings, signaling the end of their rather short lunch. Eli tells her and Maki that she'll text them later, and then they all go their separate ways.


Tuesday – 19 days

Did Nico throw the chairing audition to sit in front of Maki? If you ask Nico in person she will of course say no. If you ask her inside her head, she'll say maybe. Is it that preposterous of an idea? Who cares about chairs anyway, the only difference is 3rd clarinet part versus 1st clarinet part. Frankly, Nico couldn't care less.

That being said, Nico enjoys band class. She gets to listen to Maki's nice playing, and then tease her if she accidentally plays an f sharp when it's supposed to be an f natural. The only thing Nico doesn't like is all the challenging. Maki challenges Honoka every single day. Honoka is good natured about it of course, but it kind of annoys Nico.

Why does she continue to challenge? Does she really want to play first part that badly? For Nico, being in band is about having fun. She wants Maki to have fun too.

Normally, Nico wouldn't say anything. She's known Maki for a couple months now, so they should be good enough friends.

Of course, Nico is having this thought process during band practice. She's played this piece so many times already that she hardly needs to focus. Nico tunes back in anyway, making sure to note when the red head behind her took a breath one measure too early. Not like she really judges Maki for that; she does it too. It won't stop Nico from teasing her about it though.

A few more minutes pass and the bell finally rings. Nico puts her instrument away slowly, listening carefully as Maki does a quick run through of her challenge part. She sounds good. Maki's only problem is that she plays too stiffly, but that's probably because she only plays it as a challenge and never actually in class.

Ms. Aida walks over to the trumpet section to officiate the challenge, and this is Nico's sign to head towards the door. She lingers near the exit of the band room. Maybe Maki will win today.

Maki plays first, followed by Honoka. Fortunately, Maki's in tune this time. It's clear that Honoka's playing the part with more style; the way she presents it is much more musical versus technical. Nico supposes that's just part of Honoka's personality reflecting in her playing.

Ms. Aida shares a few words with them and then the challenge is over. Neither look extremely happy, though Honoka probably just wants to get to lunch. Maki packs up slowly, so Nico reenters the band space to talk with her. Honoka nods a greeting to Nico, then says she'll meet them at lunch and heads out.

The room is completely void of life now, bar Ms. Aida in her office and the two of them. It's perfect for Nico's topic of choice.

"Tough challenge today huh." Nico attempts to ease into the conversation, leaning against the back of Maki's chair as the girl puts her music away. She doesn't seem up for their usual banter.

"What do you want Nico? Are you here to mock me about breathing a measure early?" Maki accompanies her comment with an eye roll. She stands up, nearly brushing into Nico's arms as she passes. The red head turns towards the door and takes a step, as if already dismissing their conversation.

Nico reaches out subconsciously, her slender fingers closing around Maki's left wrist. Before she can even process the warmth of Maki's skin underneath her fingertips, Nico releases her grip as if shocked. Despite not being planned, Maki does turn back towards to Nico to continue their conversation.

Nico pulls her arm back and shakes her head, "No I just…" Nico hesitates, maybe now isn't the best time after all. No, she has to say something now or she never will. "Why do you keep challenging Honoka?"

"Why do I keep challenging Honoka?" Maki repeats the question like it confuses her, then huffs sarcastically. "What do you mean by that?"

"I meant exactly what I asked," Nico keeps her gaze locked on Maki, though the taller girl refuses to make eye contact. "Why do you keep challenging?"

Maki's eyebrows knit together. "I challenge so I can sit second chair. What other reason would there be?" Maki's voice pitches up slightly, an early sign that she's going on the defensive.

Nico shrugs, "Is sitting second chair really worth it?" Maki's eyes slide to hers, and Nico feels a perverse sense of joy at the irritation showing on Maki's face.

"You don't think I can win?" Maki takes a half inch step closer to Nico. Nico opens her mouth to respond, but Maki cuts her off. "That's rich coming from someone like you."

The warmth from the start of their argument fades as the barb hits a little too close to home. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"At least I'm trying. You're so bad you can't even get into the first row of your section." Maki lets out a satisfied hmmph.

If the warmth was fading before, it's completely gone now. Nico's never heard Maki say such things, and if it were anyone else she wouldn't respond. She shouldn't respond even in this instance, but she can't stop herself from snapping back. "Yeah, well at least I don't embarrass myself in front of the entire band every single day."

"Embarrass myself?" Maki's face tints red as she repeats Nico's words again. "I will win, I have no doubt about that. You on the other hand, you couldn't win a challenge to save your life." Maki's close now, with only the few inches in height difference separating herself from Nico.

Normally at this point Nico would cut off contact and skip away with a teasing comment. Today however, she's seething from the pointed insult. No one suggests the great Nico is incapable of doing something and gets away with it. Nico straightens her back and blinks once, ending their unannounced staring contest.

"I bet I can get first chair before you," Nico can tell her voice has dipped down a partial from anger, which only riles Maki up more.

"Oh, and how do you plan on doing that?" Maki crosses her arms and leans back, presumably to make herself look as tall as possible.

Nico scoffs, "I'll challenge of course, and I'll actually win mine."

Maki imitates the scoff, her face twisting halfway into a grimace. "I can't wait to see that, talk about embarrassing yourself in front of the band."

"Oh, you don't think I can win?" Nico pitches her voice up to imitate Maki's, copying what she said a few minutes ago almost word for word.

"Hell no, and I would pay money to see you try." Maki breathes heavily from the exertion of their spat, and normally Nico would feel smug, but right now she's too upset.

Nico laughs darkly and takes a step back to release some of the tension radiating between them. "Well you won't have to pay, you'll just get disappointment when I'm sitting first chair and you're still pathetically sitting third."

Maki uncrosses her arms slowly. Nico can see her hands clenched tightly into fists, and her fingernails must be digging into her palms. "We'll see about that Nico."

On that note, Maki turns and storms out of the room, trumpet in hand.


Something seems off at lunch today. Hanayo may sit all the way at the end of their table, but it's apparent to her that a few spots are missing. One is right in front of her of course. Rin is present on her right, but Maki usually sits across from her. It makes sense for Maki to be a little late, but Honoka's been at the table for a good ten minutes. She should be here by now.

The other missing person sits a few seats down normally, and that's Nico. Hanayo's best guess is that they're together. She wants to believe that they're having a friendly and nice chat, but knowing her friends it's probably something a little more heated. They could've got stalled practicing a challenging part from their music. Hanayo knows that's happened to her more than a few times.

A phone buzzes gently against the table. Hanayo checks her own, but it's silent for now. She glances down the table and can see Nozomi scanning the contents of what must be a text. Her normally smiling face dips into a frown and she leans forward to say something quietly to Eli. Hanayo looks away, normally she would eavesdrop, but not on her friends.

Her eyes land on her fellow first year Rin, who already has her gaze locked onto Hanayo.

"Kayo-chin, Kayo-chin!" Rin's clearly excited about something and she bangs her hands against the table twice, once with each call of her friend's nickname.

Hanayo smiles at the nickname. She's still not 100% sure where it came from, but Rin likes it and that's what matters. "Sorry, I think I zoned out."

"No worries!" Rin flashes her a quick thumbs up. "As I was saying before, I really do think Algebra is getting harder! At first we just had to solve for x and it was something easy like 2x equals 4. Anyone can figure that out right? Now the teacher's like, graph these two lines and tell me which points intersect nya, and I just can't figure it out?" Rin pushes her lunch to one side and starts digging through her backpack. Hanayo presumes it's to pull out said math problem.

"Of course it gets harder." Despite that, Hanayo takes a look at the problem once Rin has it out. "Did she really say nya?"

Rin giggles, "No I added that part myself. I think it made the story better though."

Hanayo agrees wholeheartedly. She decides to sneak a peek back down the table before starting on the math problem. Nozomi and Eli both look rather worried now, and Nozomi is packing her lunch back into her backpack. Is she leaving?

Yep, she definitely is. The two third years rise from the end of the table. Eli turns towards the group with an apologetic smile. "Sorry to take off on you like this."

Honoka's the most curious of them all, so of course she chimes in, "Where are you going?"

Eli hesitates on the question, but Nozomi comes to her rescue, "Just to the band room. We'll meet up with you guys later."

Not a great answer, but Honoka accepts it. On her right, Rin seems slightly confused. Once Eli and Nozomi are gone her head snaps back around to Hanayo. "What was that all about?"

Hanayo can only shrug, but she decides to give Rin her best guess, "I think it has something to do with Nico and Maki."

Rin glances over her shoulder to catch one last glimpse of Nozomi and Eli as they exit the cafeteria. "Maybe they're fighting again."

Kotori nods in agreement and adds herself into their conversation, "I've never seen them leave during lunch like this."

Rin leans back and rubs the back of her neck. "I hope they're able to work things out."

"I'm sure whatever it is, they can handle it." Hanayo weighs in, though she's not sure she believes her own words.

This statement seems to soothe Rin's concerns. "Yeah! Now, back to this math question."

Hanayo takes a look, but is interrupted once again as Maki finally enters the cafeteria. Hanayo can tell she's seething as she crosses the cafeteria to their table. She's also carrying her trumpet case, which is unusual. Unfortunately for Rin, they probably aren't going to get to this math problem.

Despite the troubled expression painted on Maki's face, Honoka doesn't seem to sense that anything's wrong. She leaps out of her seat when she spots the trumpet case in Maki's right hand. "You brought your trumpet?! You didn't tell me we were starting a flash mob!"

If Eli were asked, she'd suggest that the drama between Nico and Maki is getting a bit too out of control. They're both too hot headed and they let their emotions rule over simple logic. But of course, no one asked her, and now something's happened. Something so bad that apparently, Nico can't come to lunch.

The walk from the cafeteria to the band room is a quick one, so it only takes a few minutes for Nozomi and Eli to locate her in the band room. She's decided to sit in her usual chair within the concert arches and is about halfway through her lunch. Her head is down when the girls enter, and though she probably hears them enter she chooses to stay focused on her food.

Eli hopes Nozomi takes the reigns on this one; she's never been good at comforting others. Much to her relief, her friend gets the conversation rolling.

"Are you okay?" Nozomi sits down in the 6th clarinet chair, her gaze locked onto Nico.

It's a good first question too. Eli probably would've asked something like, "What did you do?" or, "What did you fight about this time?" and both of those questions would've riled Nico up. Nozomi's question is much more empathetic.

Nico just sighs. "I'll be fine, I think?" Nico goes back to nibbling on her lunch. Despite calling them there herself, she doesn't seem like she's ready to talk yet.

Eli thinks Nico must truly be upset. Usually she offers up any new information without being prompted since it brings her immense joy doing so.

Nozomi has more patience than Eli, and she waits quietly while Nico chomps down her celery. Eli glances at the band room clock. They have about ten minutes.

"Nico-chi…" Nozomi places her right hand on Nico's shoulder and the shorter girl stiffens at the contact. "What happened?"

"Oh, so you didn't see Maki on your way here?" Nico turns her head towards Nozomi. "Maybe she didn't go to the cafeteria." Nico massages her temples and slouches forward in her seat.

Eli's not sure where Maki could've gone if not the cafeteria, but with Nozomi staying silent for the moment she decides to chime in, "We did walk past her. She looked distracted, so we didn't stop to talk."

Nozomi nods in concurrence, "She had her trumpet with her too, that was kind of weird, right?"

"Yeah. Maybe we should've gotten it from her to bring." Eli thinks that may have been the smart thing to do. They let her carry it straight into the cafeteria, hopefully she won't get into trouble.

"Wow," Nico interjects, "At least she went to the cafeteria but…" Nico shakes her head in frustration and lets out an annoyed groan, "What the heck's wrong with her."

"What do you mean?" Nozomi prompts her gently. She finally releases Nico's shoulder, her hands returning to sit in her lap.

Nico's expression turns thoughtful. "I'm sure you can tell we fought. All I wanted to do was make sure she wasn't stressing herself too much with challenging. She didn't listen at all though. Then she told me she thinks I'm the worst clarinet player she's ever seen, and that I'll never be able to win a challenge"

Nico falls silent. Is that the whole story? Surely there must be more to it than that. Eli's about to ask, but once again Nozomi beats her to the punch by asking herself. "Did Maki really say that?"

Nico rolls her eyes, "I may have exaggerated slightly."

To Eli, it sounds like she exaggerated a lot. Nozomi ignores the eye roll, opting to ask another question. "And how did you respond?"

Nico's eyes shift to towards the tile floor. "I can't tell you," she mumbles.

Eli thinks it might be a good time to interject. Nozomi must notice that she wants to speak, because she holds up one hand to stop her and accompanies it with a gentle shake of her head.

A few seconds pass, and Eli ends up focusing on the gentle tick of the wall clock. Tick… tick…. tick… Eli's gaze shifts over to Nozomi, but her friend is completely focused on Nico. Sometimes Eli wonders how Nozomi comes up with such helpful advice, when she herself can't come up with a single helpful thing. Even now Nozomi knows to have her wait out the silence. She knows that if they just sit here, Nico will eventually give in. Eli wonders if Nozomi will give her some friendship advice later, so maybe one day she can actually be of some comfort for their friends without having to rely on others for assistance.

Nico finally speaks. "Fine… it was bad," She still won't look up. Her fingers twine together in her lap as she continues speaking, "I told her she's embarrassing herself in front of the band. Then I told her I'd get to first chair before she does. I don't want her to keep wasting time on those stupid challenges." Nico lets out a low chuckle. "Ironically, it backfired."

Eli murmurs an agreement; she agrees that challenges aren't very productive. People changing parts midseason is a huge waste of time and effort. If someone doesn't practice enough for the original chairing audition, then they don't deserve to play for a higher seat. Those are the school's rules though, and who is she to argue against them?

"You definitely hurt her feelings," Nozomi concludes.

"Yeah, well she hurt mine first!" Nico crosses her arms and huffs. "I was just trying to help."

Nozomi nods, "It sounds like you both need to apologize." Eli finds herself nodding along in agreement with this. The sooner they fix their misunderstanding the quicker the group balance can return to normal.

Nico frowns as she shakes her head, "I can't, not yet. We bet on who could get to the top of their section first. I'll apologize once I win.

This sounds a bit extreme to Eli. "Wouldn't winning one challenge be enough to prove things to Maki? Then you'll at least prove her initial statement wrong." To Eli's knowledge, Maki has never been an unreasonable person. Surely the two of them can work things out without it taking weeks of their lives.

Nico's be too stubborn to see that possibility. "I have to win the whole thing." Nico let's out a loose laugh. "I guess I'd better start practicing."


After a long day at school, Umi's favorite thing to do is go to archery club. It's a great way to burn off some stress, and with how tense Maki seemed at lunch maybe she should be attending too. Today Kotori has come along to chat with her, and of course Umi welcomes the company. Umi joined the archery club back in junior high. She's not very good, but the practice of patience and accuracy helps her to focus, and also gives her a space to reflect on things that are going on in her life.

The archery club is set up behind the school, and the principal even approved for them to build a small archery range, "For the safety of the other students." Most of the members have left for the day, only one older student is practicing still. She's on the opposite end of the range, much to Umi's relief. It can be hard to focus if someone is watching her that actually knows when she makes a mistake.

Umi notches an arrow and draws the string back slowly. Her target is a large bale of hay fifty feet away. Three arrows have already found their mark in a neat triangle, and Umi hopes to land this fourth one in the middle of them. She inhales slowly, focusing on leveling her bow and arrow. Once she thinks it looks good, she exhales and then releases. The arrow zips across the field, landing slightly to the right of her triangle cluster. She sighs at her fourth failure of the afternoon.

Umi's out of arrows now so she makes the quick walk to her hay bale. Kotori watches her go quietly. Umi wonders if she's getting bored from just watching her do the same action repeatedly.

Once she secures her four arrows, Umi heads back. Once she gets back she sets up her bow and arrow for another try.

"I'm worried about Nico and Maki." Kotori decides to make conversation. She expresses her feelings openly, which is something that Umi is grateful for. She isn't too surprised by the statement; Kotori tends to worry about these kinds of things.

Umi sits down on the bench that lines the back of their range, only a few inches from where Kotori is already seated. "They fight a lot."

"They do," Kotori raises one hand to her temples, a classic sign to Umi that she's deep in thought. "Maki just seemed more upset than usual today. Normally when they fight, they make up within a few minutes."

Umi nods, "I suppose it's a bit more serious this time." Umi feels the sudden urge to pat Kotori on the shoulder as a form of comfort, but she hesitates. "They need a few days, but it'll be fine."

"I suppose you're right." Kotori affirms; however, her usual smile is still absent from her face.

Umi doesn't like seeing her friend feeling so down. Kotori is usually pretty optimistic about things; she just needs a bit of a reminder. "Don't you remember when they first met? They argued about who would be first to put their music stand on the rack. Then twenty minutes later, Nico wanted the higher up locker even though she couldn't reach it, just so Maki couldn't have it."

Kotori nods, "That was pretty silly. They really livened up the band though." Kotori smiles softly at the memory.

"They definitely did! And even though they had spats they still became close friends. This is just another one of those things. They'll be over it in no time." Umi's not one hundred percent confident on this, but Kotori seems to believe her this time.

"Thank you." Kotori's not as shy about physical contact as Umi, so she doesn't hesitate to cup Umi's right hand within her own, sending a shiver down the less confident girl's spine. "I feel much better now." She gives the palm one firm squeeze before releasing it, her soft smile finally returning to her face.

"Any time," Umi takes this conversation to be over and stands up to return to her archery practice. Oh wait there was one other thing she wanted to discuss while they were separate from the rest of their friend group. "By the way Kotori, have you thought any more about quitting the band?"

Umi glances over her right shoulder at her friend, but the girl is avoiding eye contact, clearly not wanting to answer that question. "Have you thought any more about confessing to Eli?"

That's something that Umi isn't quite ready to address. Kotori's topic is the same, so they both agree to put off discussing them for now. Instead she returns to archery. She notches an arrow in preparation to shoot. As Umi pulls the string back, she can still feel the ghost of Kotori's hand on hers. She jumps at the memory, causing her fingers to slip and the arrow to fly way off course.


Thanks for reading!