Tsukasa, Konata, Kagami, and Miyuki met in front of the music hall after school. Konata had said that she had a "special project" on her mind, but wouldn't give any details about what she meant. Standing next to the doors, she leaned back against the wall and folded her arms.

"So, I've been thinking," she began. "I spend all of this time playing dating games, trying to find every last bit of content of them, but I've never really been able to apply any of it to the real world. It's all just been a fantasy and nothing else. I want to see if I can change that." She paused for a moment to let it sink in.

"So what, you're going to try and get yourself a boyfriend?" Kagami asked.

"Not exactly. I think what I'd like to do instead is be a matchmaker. I've got a boy and a girl picked out, and I want to see if I can help them get together." She reached into her bag and pulled out a manila folder. "I've put together a little dossier on a boy in Patty's homeroom class." She took a photo out of the folder and showed it to the others.

"Oh, he looks kinda cute," Tsukasa said. The photo was of a stoic-looking boy with dark red hair, blue eyes, and broad shoulders.

"His name is Masaru Nomura," Konata explained. "He's a first-year student, but he's already the top double bassist in the school's orchestra. Apparently he doesn't speak to anyone unless they speak to him first, and it's rare for him to even crack a smile. Cold. As. Ice. Tsukasa, I want you to be our MC."

The other girls just gave Konata blank stares. A few moments of awkward silence passed before anyone spoke up.

"Wait, so I'm the one you want to pair up with this guy?" Tsukasa asked.

"Yep. You've never had a boyfriend before, right? That means you'll be the perfect—"

"Hold it right there," Kagami interrupted with a sigh. "You haven't even asked her whether she wants to go through with this. She's not your puppet, you know."

"Actually, this sounds like fun," Tsukasa said, stepping forward. "I'll do it."

Konata beamed with excitement. "Alright, the orchestra should be getting out any minute now. Our first order of business is to make sure the two of you have a cute way of meeting for the first time. Tsukasa, give me your cell phone."

Despite her skepticism, Tsukasa handed it over. As she did so, she could hear the progressively louder sound of students inside the music hall heading for the door. She knew she was moments away from seeing Masaru with her own eyes.

Konata, obviously able to hear it as well, turned towards the doors, phone in hand. "Alright, so here's the plan. Just before Nomura-san walks out the door, I'll throw your phone into his line of sight. He'll pick it up, ask who it belongs to, and then you'll be able to make your move. Plus, since your phone will be right there, you'll have the perfect opportunity to give him your number."

The four girls peeked inside, anticipating the arrival of their target. Wave after wave of musicians, carrying instruments of all shapes and sizes, walked out. Tsukasa scanned each of them closely, looking for someone who matched the photo from earlier, but to no avail. She felt a mixture of dread and excitement as she did so. The longer they waited, the more the tension grew.

Finally, after most of the orchestra had exited, a tall boy with red hair came around the corner towards the doors. He was pulling a massive instrument case behind him, an obvious indicator of his status as a member of the double bass section. It had to be him. Before Tsukasa could say anything, Konata grabbed her shoulder and pulled her away. They had both obviously seen him. Kagami and Miyuki backed up as well.

Konata looked down at the phone in her hand one more time, then back at the doors. She crouched down, brought her arm back, and slid the phone across the floor like a bowling ball.

Everyone held their breath as the red-haired boy got closer to the phone. Tsukasa could feel the sweat dripping from her brow as she waited for his reaction. Each step he took felt like the stomp of an elephant. His pace slowed when the phone was right next to him, but rather than picking it up, he continued on his way.

Before she even had time to think about what she was doing, Tsukasa broke off into a sprint. All she knew was that there was some indescribable force compelling her to not lose this connection. Just as she was about to reach her phone, another student accidentally kicked it farther away from her. She tried to pick up the pace, but an awkward step sent her crashing to the floor in front of her phone, just a few feet away from the boy.

"Hey, a-are you alright?"

Tsukasa looked up to see the red-haired boy staring back at her. She scooped up her phone and stood up, trying to contain her embarrassment. "Yeah, I'll be fine," she muttered. Now that they were in front of one another, she could see just how tall he was. He had to be at least six feet, maybe more.

"I wasn't sure whose phone that was, and I figured whoever dropped it would come back for it, so I just left it there. Sorry about that."

"Well, now I have it back, so I guess all's well that ends well," Tsukasa said. "My name's Tsukasa Hiiragi, by the way. I'm a third-year."

"Masaru Nomura. First-year. Nice to meet you." His words came out much more quickly than before, as if he had rehearsed this exact phrase.

Tsukasa stood in front of Masaru for a few more moments. She waited for him to say something, but he remained silent as well. She also noticed that his eyes were constantly moving around, as if he was trying to avoid making eye contact. Was he anxious? Afraid? Repulsed? Tsukasa had no idea.

Masaru looked back at the instrument case behind him. "Well, I guess I'd better get going. Later."

As he walked away, the other girls came up behind Tsukasa.

"Success!" Konata exclaimed. "It might not have played out exactly as I planned, but we still got a meet cute out of it. Now we can get started on his route."

"He seemed pleasant enough," Miyuki added. "Did you get his number? I was too far away to tell."

Tsukasa's heart sank. She was so flustered from her fall that she hadn't thought to ask him for it. She turned around to look for him, but he was already long gone. On the bright side, at least this gave her an excuse to talk to him again.