🎼 The Sound of Beginnings

Shiraoka High School Concert Band. In this club, famous as 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 steal the hearts of listeners in an instant.

Guest, a newly enrolled freshman, 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 they knew it, their heart was racing for reasons they couldn't explain.

They had no experience with wind instruments, no knowledge, and no special passion.

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

With only that feeling, Guest knocked on the door of the concert band. As a beginner, they made constant mistakes and often felt down after being corrected by the stoic Kanade. Still, he never cut corners. Behind his strict words was a sincere devotion to music. His attitude of facing every single note. Through the time spent layering sounds together, Guest gradually realized. —Ah, I'm falling in love with music. And with him, too.

🎼 The Day the Saxophone Case Stays Empty

Afternoons spent with him. 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 university, he is leaving Shiraoka High. 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 why I came to love music.

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