Band competition is a cuttroath business

by moonfiretiarasoulaction

I read a few crappy period drama's about betrayal some time ago and was inspired to write this. It took me some time, but I finally decided to publish it. It's a bit inspired by Battle royal too. Warning: there is no happy end love story in this and favorite characters die.

"Kitauji fighto!" We yelled at the top of our lungs.
I had just started my first year at Kutauji high school. I did not know then how my career would be influenced by the events of that year.
I chose this high school because I wanted to become special.
My name is Reina Kousaka and music is my life. My trumpet is the love of my life.
As long as I can remember I always wanted to excel at playing it. To be the greatest. To mesmerize people with my sound. So I wanted to learn from the greatest.
I choose Kutauji high school because it was chosen by Taki Naburo. A brilliant conductor and friend of my parents.
And I was not wrong.

Kutauji high school band had been badly hit the previous year by attacks from other bands.
They had managed to take out most of the inexperienced then first-year students and had blackmailed the conductor to sabotage the band.
When the school discovered this the students threw him from the highest building.
Served him right. Never show any weakness and it won't be used against you!
From then on any new conductor and new students were thoroughly screened.
And for our protection bandmembers were paired according to where we lived. We were sworn to protect each other from attacks on our way home.

I was paired with a girl that had played in our band at middle school.
Her name was Kumiko Oumae. It's a cute name. I will never grow tired of its melody:
"Kumiko. Kumiko."
"What is it, Reina?"
"What were you talking about with Shuichi?"
"Oh!" She blushed. "Well, he just wondered why we were paired. He said he lives nearer to me, so he should have been paired with me."
She walked faster, trying to keep me from seeing her face.
"That's not really true though. He lives closer in a straight line. But it's faster to go from my house to yours."
"That's what I told him."
"Good."
She had stopped trying to walk ahead of me and we walked together in silence, looking at the river and the colors of the evening sky.
"I am happy we were assigned to protect each other."
Her voice was timid and wavering. She had a very beautiful melodic voice. And she often made me smile with the involuntary noises she would make when startled or excited.
"Why is that?" I asked, hoping the reason was at least similar to my own.
She didn't answer immediately.
"Well... You are very talented Reina. You were the most talented member of our band at middle school and it's the same in Kutauji."
Her answer disappointed me somewhat.
"Of course you already know that," She stammered. "But I always felt intimidated by you.
I always wanted to be closer to you and I didn't know how. That's why I'm happy Taki-sensei assigned us together.
Because this way we were able to get to know each other better. So I'm happy."
She stopped at our parting and smiled. Looking at me as if hypnotized. I don't think I seemed any different to her.
I felt my hand reach out to her own and she shook as if stung when I took it.
"So am I." I smiled brightly.
She smiled back and we looked each other in the eyes for a while longer, until she broke the silence.
"We shouldn't linger here for long. We better get home quick."
"You are right. See you tomorrow Kumiko. Be safe."
"Be safe Reina. See you tomorrow."
We ran off fast in opposite directions, looking back now and then until we were out of sight. I couldn't help letting my eyes linger, admiring her beautiful long legs.

"Alright. Now you can all take five before you shower and go to your sectionals."
He had managed to wear us down rather well.
The weather was exceptional for the time of year, so Taki-sensei had taken us outside for endurance and combat exercises.
We were lying out on the grass catching our breaths.
A sensation caused me to look next to me and I caught Kumiko blush and look away.
I admit I turned red myself as I realized she had been staring at me.
I could not keep from doing the same in retaliation.
Her sweaty arms and legs. Her perky breasts moving up and down with her breath. I could not take my gaze away from her.
She was good at combat. I hadn't expected her to be. I smiled. If anyone tried to attack either of us they were going to be in for a big surprise.

"Why isn't he married?"
I was woken from my reverie.
"Who?"
"Taki-sensei. Why is he unmarried? He is talented, kind and attractive. I should think lots of women might fall for him," Kumiko asked, looking at me again.
"He used to be. But she got killed by members of a rival band."
"Oh. Poor sensei," She sighed.
"Poor nothing. They had kidnapped her and demanded he sabotaged his band's performance at the nationals.
So he told his wife he loved her and then he told them to kill her because he would never betray his music for anyone."
"Wow!" Kumiko looked at me wide-eyed. "That's intense."
"You can't go into music half-heartedly Kumiko. If you walk down this path you give it everything you are. It is your reason for living. It is all that you need in life.
There can be no distractions," I said. Looking away as I scolded myself internally.
"Yes. I guess you are right." She answered.
I couldn't help feeling satisfied with the idea that she sounded slightly frustrated.

"Say, Reina?"
I looked at her.
"Agata festival is coming up."
We were sauntering around the grocery store on our way to the station and saw one of the flyers for the event.
"Would you like to go with me? Taki-sensei's been working us quite hard. You've been working yourself harder than any of us.
You should take a break once in a while. Reload your batteries."
She looked very pretty. The type of girl who doesn't know how beautiful she is. The kind of girl who doesn't wear makeup. An authentic natural beauty.
"You're asking me out on a date?" I muttered.
She looked away.
"Well, it doesn't have to be a date. Just the two of us having a good time. It doesn't have to have a name."
I smiled.
"Well. Alright."
"Really?" She seemed so pleased.
"Hmhm. You are right. We should take a break once in a while.
But I don't want to go to the festival proper. It's too dangerous in a crowd. They might stab us from any direction or poison our food. I have a better idea."
"Now I'm curious."
"Just meet me in the cross section were we part and I'll take you to our own private festival. It'll be a surprise."
She gave me a curious look.
"Okay. I'm looking forward to it."

Just then someone came crashing into her.
I recognized the uniform! No time for hesitation. I kicked the girl in the face as she prepared to stab Kumiko, sending her flying.
Another one had snuck behind me though and tried to catch my arms and trap them behind my head.
I had nearly struggled out of her hold by the time the other one managed to get up.
Just when I got free I heard the girl behind me drop, felled by Kumiko's knife.
The first girl tried to take advantage of my distraction and launched at me. But I swatted her arm away and plunged my knife into her throat.
Contemptuously I punched her to the floor where she lay suffocating in her own blood.
"Music competitions should be won through effort! Not through villainous means!" I said.

I looked behind and saw Kumiko stare at me pale-faced with her bloodied knife in her hand.
"Thank you." I smiled.
She just kept staring.
I stepped closer and the knife fell from her hand as she took a step back.
"Are you alright?"
I held up my hand and cupped her cheek.
"Is this your first kill?"
She slowly nodded.
"You'll be alright. The first one is always a bit of a shock."
I saw a tear in the corner of her eye and hugged her. She was so warm and smelled so good. She held me tight, clinging to me.
We stayed like that for a long time. Too long to be safe. I don't remember who initiated the parting.
We wrapped our knifes up, sheeted them and ran away from the bodies.
The following days she was quiet. She kept her distance from me as much as she could.
I supposed she associated me with our battle and still had a hard time dealing with it.
I didn't know what I could do to help, but I hated it. I missed her familiarity and warmth.
I hoped things would change for the better at our date.

"So what are we going to do? Why did I have to bring my euphonium?" Kumiko asked. as we met at the parting.
"I had planned on climbing Mt. Daikichi together. And I thought we could play together. Up there."
"Oh." She looked passively. "That's a nice idea."
"You like it?"
She nodded.
I had tried to look my best for her. I wore a beautiful white dress and had my hair bound up.
She was dressed surprisingly sober for a date, but it suited her. Kumiko looked breath-taking in anything.
"Reina. Why did you choose Kitauji high?" She asked after a long silence.
I turned to her.
"What a strange question. Because I wanted to perform under Taki-sensei of course."
"He's very talented," She looked in front of her. "You both are."
"You're very talented yourself." I smiled. She was. She wasn't very good when we were in middle school, but she had made a lot of progress under Taki-sensei.
"Tha-Thank you." Her face glowed. She was genuinely overcome and fell silent for a while.
"But hey, what if Taki-sensei chose to go to another school?"
"Then he would be a traitor. But that would never happen. Taki-sensei and I are bound to Katsuji. Our families history lies here."
I looked at her. She looked extremely pained for a second but changed her expression immediately.
"To be honest I would have had a hard time if he had chosen a different school." She looked curious.
"I'm a Kitauji girl through and through, but I really wanted to learn from Taki-sensei. I don't know what I'd have done if he had chosen another school."
She stared for a while. Then she smiled.
"That would have been hard. I can imagine."

The view was as amazing as I had expected it to be, with the lights of the festival all below us.
I stood in front of the precipice, standing in front of the largest audience a musician could have: the world.
Kumiko stood behind me. She cautiously came closer.
I stepped aside and put my arm around her waist as she came near.
I felled her tense - trying to regain her footing - and she likewise put her arm around me.
We were silent. Pondering what to do. Sometimes in a few seconds, a person makes decisions that could alter their lives forever, or not.

Almost simultaneously our arms slid over out backs and we took each other's hand,
moving away from the precipice and back to the seat currently occupied by our beloved instruments.
We took them out of their case and sat down.
"Are you ready?"
She nodded.
That moment was magical. I never played so in tune with another musician as I did then. And I never will again.

We both won our auditions. As was expected. And Taki-sensei decided I was to play the trumpet solo.
That was when things came to a head. A second year, Yuuko, protested vigorously.
"I've had enough! I'm sorry, but I can no longer keep silent! You have no business playing the solo!" She shouted in my face.
"You have been acting completely unprofessional lately.
Taki-sensei has been soft on you because know each other, even so, he has pointed out how unfocussed you have been. But you do nothing with his advice!"
I was silent. I knew she was right. I saw Kumiko look at me and grit her teeth.
"That's not the worst of it." Yuuko turned to her. "The two of you have been wantonly putting yourselves in danger.
The rules are there for a reason! We are not to go out alone after nightfall. You think you were not seen, going up Mt. Daikichi? What were you thinking?
You could have been attacked anywhere. When you put yourself in danger you put the band in danger!"
"I know," I muttered.
"That's enough Yuuko." Haruka gently intervened.
She looked at me, then at Kumiko.
"Taki-sensei's decision is final. If he trusts you will find your focus again and play your best at the Kyoto competition we all should."
She smiled kindly. "But both of you need to take these concerns to heart and alter your behavior."
We nodded.

That afternoon Kumiko found me playing on the bridge. She came up to me quietly.
"I'm sorry."
"You are right to be sorry," I turned on her sternly.
She gasped.
"There is no reason for you to falter is there?"
"I...I..."
"I'm so angry with myself!" I shouted. "Yuuko is completely right! I couldn't find anything to object to in what she said."
"Reina..." She took my hand. "It's not your fault."
We watched each other. The wind blowing our hair.
"They don't know what is going on," I said. "They don't understand."
I reached out and cupped her cheek as I had before.
"We are the same you and I. Soulmates. We go through life pretending, wearing masks to cover our true emotions. Our true reflections."
She looked frightened.
I felt my eyes moisten, but so did hers.
"We have to stop what we're doing. At least until the Kyoto competition. I think neither of us will begrudge the other a break from what we've been going through."
She sniffed in accordance and brought a hand to my face, stroking my hair gently.
"You are so beautiful." She smiled.
I swallowed, took her hand and kissed it, "So are you."

The weeks following we practiced relentlessly and Kumiko and I managed to regain the trust and confidence of the others.
But they failed to hear what only Taki-sensei could hear. And I saw his look whenever he noticed: Both of our performances were still flawed.
Nevertheless, we went to the Kyoto competition and played together, both of us giving it all we got, but both of us falling short of how we should have played.
It was time to make a decision. The trumpet needs undivided attention from its lover. You cannot hope to become special if you go into music half-heartedly.

After the judge's decision, I went off to find some privacy behind the building. I knew Kumiko would follow me.
I didn't take long before I heard her footsteps.
"Reina."
"We were lucky to go on to the next round the way you and I played."
She was silent for a moment. Unsure of how to respond.
"But we did go on. That's what's most important."
I smiled. "I hope they didn't give you too hard a time about that."
She sighed.
"Do we have to talk about that now?"
"So Azusa Sasaki is your handler? I saw her leave the restroom after you came out. Rikka huh? I hadn't expected them to be able to pull this off."
"We always got along really well. She persuaded me to join her in Rikka."
"What was the plan?"
She looked up. "To gain your trust and friendship. To try and get you alone for an ambush."
"You gained something more than that!" I exclaimed.
She looked down. "that was unintentional... At first. When I noticed how you felt... Asuza told me to use it. It would affect your performance if nothing else."
"How insightful."
"It affected me too!" She shouted. "I didn't throw the competition. I tried to give it my all. I feel terrible."
"So you should. Competitions should be won through fair means."
"I know!" She looked up with tears in her eyes. "Why couldn't you just come to Rikka? Everyone expected you too. Kitauji was in shambles."
"You should know by now I never take the easy road."
"Please Reina, come to us." She came closer. "I'm sorry for lying to you. I'm sorry for plotting against you.
Rikka is a wealthy school. We will steal Taki-sensei next year. We will find a way."
"I don't care how much resources Rikka has. Nor does Taki-sensei. We pave our own path. And we don't let anyone stop us from our goals."
"Reina." She took my hand. "Just come with me. Please." She pleaded.
"You will be treated like royalty at Rikka. Please forgive me. We could be so happy together."
She kissed me. Embraced me.
"I love you, Reina."
"I love you too, Kumiko."
I held her body as it slowly sagged in my arms and sheeted my knife, not caring about the blood on my clothes. I would change later on.
I laid her down gently. Her eyes fixed on mine.
I smiled as my tears started to fall down on her.
"P...Promise me one thing... Shine!"
"I will." I kissed her, closed her eyes and held her until she was gone.
"Are you alright?" Nozomi asked. Coming out of the bushes, dragging Azusa's lifeless body behind her.
I nodded.
"You were right to get in touch with me. This sneaky bitch was stalking you as you suspected, ready to stab you to death if you didn't give in to her friend there.
This is for Natsuki, you filthy Rikka bitch." She spat on the dead girl's body. "Damn bitches killed three of my best friends last year."

From then on my performance steadily improved and Kitauji went on to win gold at the nationals that year.
There have been lots of attempts on my life since then. Attempts to sabotage me.
The rivalry between bands can be murder, not just in high school. But none of them came as close to my heart as she did.
Today I am celebrated around the world.
People are mesmerized by my sound. They gush and say my performances are magic.
I have become truly special. I live the life I always reached for and I enjoy it.
But I never forgot that one person who truly challenged my willpower. That person who loved me so dearly.
My trumpet is the love of my life, but every time I play I play for Kumiko.