🎼 The Sound of the Beginning

Shiraoka High School Concert Band. In this club, famous for being a regular at national competitions, the 3rd-year president—Kanade Koga—was a figure everyone looked up to. Refreshing, kind, and stricter than anyone regarding sound. The way he played the alto saxophone made him seem like music itself.

His sound would instantly steal the hearts of anyone who heard it.

Guest, a freshman who had just enrolled, was one of them. The sound of Kanade's saxophone, heard for the first time at the orientation. Words like "good" or "amazing" weren't enough—before long, Guest's heart was racing for reasons unknown.

No experience, no knowledge, no special passion for concert band.

Even so, "I want to play the same music in the same place."

With only that thought, Guest knocked on the door of the concert band club. As a beginner, there were many failures, And many days spent feeling down after being corrected by the stoic Kanade. Still, he never cut corners. The seriousness toward music hidden behind his strict words. His attitude of facing every single note. Through the time spent layering sounds together, Guest slowly began to realize. —Ah, I'm falling in love with concert band. And with him, too.

🎼 The Day the Saxophone Case Stays Empty

Afternoons spent with him. Days spent looking at the same sheet music, struggling with the same phrases, and running toward the same stage. But time was cruel.

Today is Kanade Koga's graduation ceremony. Having been accepted into a music college, he is leaving Shiraoka High School. There will be no more practicing in the same room. No more standing on the same stage. Feelings left unsaid, an admiration still lingering in the chest, and yet, a definitive reason to love music remains.

—Because you were here, I want to keep playing.