I am only one world away from Yukinoshita.

On his way out of the school building, Kiyoyori overheard Yoshikawa and Nakagawa talking at the entrance. The two didn't lower their voices, and their conversation made it difficult for Kiyoyori to walk out of the school openly in front of them.

Yoshikawa seemed to be startled by Nakagawa and suddenly slammed the shoe cabinet shut, making a deafening noise.

What are you doing!

Nakagawa, however, stood up nonchalantly. "What are you daydreaming about?"

"Ugh, just leave me alone."

Yoshikawa took a deep breath, turned around, and closed his shoe cabinet.

The harsh tone and attitude did not deter Nakagawa, nor did they provoke her anger. As if she could read Yoshikawa's mind, she simply continued to ask calmly:

"Are you thinking about something unnecessary?"

Strangely enough, these two are like water and fire, always bickering or on the verge of arguing, yet they never harbor malice. Although they often hurt each other, they are more like close, albeit mischievous, friends.

Yoshikawa's breathing was disordered. She released her clenched fists and crossed her arms over her chest. To others, she seemed perfectly normal, but only she knew the trembling hands hidden in the crook of her elbows and the dampness in her palms.

"what do you mean?"

She couldn't look at Xia Ji's face, so she could only look away to avoid revealing her inner unease and confusion.

"Let me make this clear first," Nakagawa said, standing a few steps away. She seemed unconcerned about the attitude of the person in front of her, and said with certainty, "In the end, it will definitely be Kaori-senpai who is heartbroken, you know that, right?"

As the setting sun streamed into the foyer through the open doorway, Yoshikawa's blond hair shone even brighter in the orange glow of the sunset. Yet, her face remained hidden in the hazy darkness. Not wanting to reveal her inner thoughts, she hastily constructed a mask of sarcasm and disdain.

"They clearly lost the election, yet they still dare to act so superior."

"You understand, right?"

"Of course I understand!"

Yoshikawa roared out in exasperation, his voice trembling at the end.

"Of course I understand this kind of thing..."

but……

Yoshikawa picked up his schoolbag that had fallen to the ground and turned to leave.

"Hmm, it's about time he came out, right? The one who's been eavesdropping over there."

Nakagawa did not leave immediately, nor did he intend to catch up with Yoshikawa. He simply spoke into the seemingly empty hall.

“I’m sorry,” Kiyoyori said, stepping out from behind the square pillar, “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”

“Ah, it’s you,” Nakagawa nodded knowingly when he saw Kiyoyori’s face. “Since it’s you, it’s good that I heard it.”

"Yuko seems to have a high opinion of you too."

"Because of Mizore-senpai?"

Nakagawa was surprised at first, then smiled and said, "Yes, she cares about Mizore a lot."

"Kasaki-senpai, it was Nakagawa-senpai who told her about me, right?"

“Yes.” Zhongchu nodded very directly.

"why?"

Kiyoyori did not receive a reply from Nakagawa.

"Is it also because of Mizore-senpai? Did something unpleasant happen between the two of them?"

Nakagawa was silent for a moment. "Why do you ask that?"

“A little investigation would reveal that all four of them are from Nanchong High School. Apart from Nakagawa-senpai, the other three have experience playing instruments, so it’s not surprising that they were once part of Nanchong’s brass band,” Kiyoyori didn’t do any special investigation. He just remembered a time when Nanchong suffered a defeat, and he could easily find the footage by looking at the video. “Although Kasaki-senpai doesn’t seem to be very aware of this, Mizore-senpai is both very resistant to her and always seems to be looking for something in the flute club. If I remember correctly, Kasaki-senpai plays the flute, right?”

"Actually, if Kasaki-senpai wanted to know about Mizore-senpai's recent situation, given their original relationship, she shouldn't need to go through Nakagawa-senpai to get to me. The only explanation is that she can't see Mizore-senpai, right? She doesn't seem to know that Mizore-senpai is very resistant to her. In other words, it must be Yoshikawa-senpai who is preventing the two of them from seeing each other, which is why she said something like 'I'm leaving Mizore in your hands'—"

"She said something like that to you?!"

Nakagawa hurriedly interrupted Kiyori, seemingly more shocked by Yoshikawa's final words than by Kiyori's accurate guess about the relationship between the group.

Kiyoshi frowned in confusion. "Yes."

"When?"

"Just a few days ago..."

Kiyoyori was bewildered by Nakagawa's attitude. Upon closer reflection, Yoshikawa's words also seemed rather strange. One second he was talking about Reina and the National Tournament, and the next second it suddenly sounded like he was entrusting her with a responsibility...

Chiyorai:!

Yuko is like a mother to me.

Could it be—?!

"That idiot!"

Nakagawa spat lightly and looked towards the school gate, but there was no one there anymore.

"Nakagawa-senpai..."

“Yuko really admires Kaori-senpai,” Nakagawa said, looking at the sunset outside the door. “You guessed right, Nozomi and Mizore were very close before, but after some things happened—”

"Is Kasaki-senpai retiring from the club?"

Nakagawa paused, then gave a bitter smile. "Well, and then their relationship gradually drifted apart. This incident dealt a significant blow to Mizore, and Yuko, who felt sorry for Mizore, didn't want Nozomi to hurt her anymore."

Kiyoshi did not interrupt the other party again.

"Yuko was originally going to leave the brass band, but Kaori-senpai persuaded her to stay."

"last year……"

“Yes, last year,” Nakagawa nodded, “so many things happened last year. Yuko and Nozomi were both hurt a lot, but the most… Kaori-senpai suffered the most, which is why Yuko so wanted Kaori-senpai to be able to perform solo.”

"We all owe Kaori-senpai a favor."

"Although Kaori-senpai never took this seriously."

"So, does Nakagawa-senpai also hope that Nakazeko-senpai can perform the solo?"

“From the bottom of my heart, I would prefer that Kaori-senpai have no regrets in her final year of high school, but,” Nakagawa looked at his junior, who was about the same height as him, “I want to see Soubu High enter the national tournament.”

"So, I'd like to ask you for a favor."

Suddenly realizing that he had unwittingly stumbled into trouble again, Kiyoshi didn't know how to react.

"Please have Tachibana stay with Kousaka until the selection tomorrow."

"what?"

“Yuko will definitely do something outrageous, but I don’t want her to actually carry out her plan. You stay with Kosaka and don’t give Yuko a chance to get close to her. Until everything is settled.”

Kiyoyori sighed in distress, "Nakagawa-senpai...you should know that I've been shunned by Reina lately, right? Wouldn't it be more convenient to ask Kyouzen-kun about this?"

“It won’t work for Koko,” Nakagawa refused seriously. “Although she is close to Kosaka, she is very likely not to stand up for Yuko.”

"So I'm asking you for help, Tachibana-san."

"Even if Yoshikawa-senpai really did that, Reina wouldn't agree."

"However, I don't want Yuko to regret doing something that hurts both her juniors and her seniors."

"please."

Looking at the senior who was bowing to him, Kiyoyori seemed to see Yoshikawa standing in front of him in the same posture a few days ago.

"Hey—, Nakagawa-senpai,"

"Just how much do you like Yoshikawa-senpai...?"

"Hmm, who knows?"

P.S.: This is actually quite sweet too. Chapter 83 ends Volume 2, leading up to the National Tournament. Then, the sweet side story you all requested, a compensation for the stomach medicine, and then, the stomach medicine in the future... well, if you feel a stomachache, just read the sweet story.

Chapter 76: Budding Feelings

Even though I was asked to do this...

As Kiyoshi pretended to go to get warm water, he secretly glanced at Reina, who was leaving the open-air corridor to wash her mouthpiece at the sink.

They never even made eye contact; in Reina's eyes, Kiyori was as if he were invisible.

With a helpless sigh, he filled the small thermos cup to the brim.

The school on rest days is not as quiet as one might imagine. In addition to the brass band, many other clubs that are also preparing for major competitions are undergoing intensive training. However, most of these clubs are sports clubs, and the school building is unusually quiet except for the intermittent sound of pipes.

Today is the day Takigaki rents the hall. It's the first time that the Sobu High School Brass Band has practiced in a proper concert hall. Although there are no audience members, it's still exciting enough for everyone.

Similarly, today is also the day of the second selection, before practice begins. As Nakagawa said, today, everything will be settled.

Most of the club members went to help move the instruments, and even Takigaki left school early to go to the venue to make a confirmation.

In other words, if Yoshikawa is to make any move, now would be the best time.

but,

Kiyori didn't want to get involved in this matter. She had no interest in Nakagawa-senpai's desire to protect Yoshikawa-senpai, and what happened to Yoshikawa-senpai was none of her concern. As for Reina...

Why should I secretly act as her knight in shining armor, even though she treats me with such disdain?

The reason is very simple, and also very naive.

Although it was a very low mindset, Kiyoyori couldn't escape the terrible feeling called resentment. Clearly, for Reina, not knowing the truth would have made her happier. She could have simply admired an excellent man, and then, as she grew up, discovered how naive her feelings were. Why should she laugh it off and get hurt again, and then treat this hurt as a deeply ingrained obsession?

Kiyotaro understood the pain involved all too well.

She didn't want Reina and Taki to have a relationship that went beyond teacher and student, because she understood the teacher's place in Taki's heart.

But Reina sees all of this as Kiyoshi's deception, even though Kiyoshi did nothing wrong.

If that's the case, why should she do things that Reina considers unnecessary?

Reina isn't a porcelain doll, huh!

Qinglai forcefully flipped the water dispenser switch up and tightened the cup lid in a fit of anger.

"That, Kiyoyori?"