Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall
Aida of Heroes
It's been decided.
It is Sendai's Shiseikan High School versus Yokohama's Seiso Academy!
Let's all do our best.
Yeah.
Kanade-chan.
No grudge-holding, win or lose.
Let's give the best performance ever.
Yeah.
Mizushima!
Don't get chummy with the enemy.
Just cheering for each other, that's all.
Sorry about that.
Concerning the members
of the ensemble in the third-stage battle against Shiseikan...
Kohinata will be second violin.
Don't get chummy with the enemy.
Once more, from the beginning.
Why's she so desperate?
Once more.
Hey!
Come here for a second.
Here.
For me?
You shouldn't be practicing out in the heat like that.
Yes... I was in the shade when I started practicing.
The breeze felt so good.
See? Look at that sky.
The sky in Sendai is higher.
Hozumi-kun...
Ah! Kanade-chan!
Arata-kun.
Kanade-chan! I really am a super-lucky man.
What's up?
Look! Look at this!
Free tickets to the swimming pool?
I won them in the lottery at the convenience store.
So, let's go.
Huh? U-Um...
What are we doing at a pool at this crucial stage of the competition?
No kidding.
Come on! We all could use a break.
Sure, but...
By the way, why are you here, too?
I just had to see you all in your bathing suits.
Oops... said too much.
Good grief.
I hope you don't... have a camera...
Don't take what I said seriously. It was a joke.
But matters would be different if those other two were here,
the ones who draw attention away from the ladies.
You could've gone with them.
They might get suspicious if I left you here by yourself.
You don't want Hina-chan and the others to worry, do you?
I'm sorry.
Ole! Super fun.
I guess it can't be helped.
Haru-kun is swimming awfully seriously.
He said it's for muscle-training. He doesn't want to waste any time.
There!
Arata, I'm your senior!
But a senior who lost the game.
All right! Let's have lunch.
Yeah!
Oh, this is so fun.
Viva! Kanade-chan, you're smiling as usual.
Huh?
You know, you've seemed rather down lately.
Is that why you invited me to the pool?
Yeah. My lucky power must be for times like this.
I'm super happy that you're smiling, Kanade-chan.
Arata-kun...
Thank you!
Why are we here at the pool?
Well, why are you here?
I wish Yagisawa-san and Hozumi-kun could have come.
Um... yeah...
The president and Hozumi-senpai...
Hozumi, you didn't go either?
I'm in no mood to go to a pool.
The only thing I have time for now is Shiseikan's victory. Nothing else.
Shall we play together?
Yes.
I need to revive Shiseikan High School's wind-orchestral club.
Winning is the only way to restore it to its former glory.
I have no other way to make amends.
Arata and the others are late.
For crying out loud, what are they up to now?
I'll go have a look.
Ah! There they are.
Arata-kun...
Abolished? Our wind-instrument club has been abolished?
Yeah. I just got a call from a guy in the brass band club.
That can't be... Why?
The timing couldn't be worse.
I haven't given up on the wind-orchestral club.
What?
Let's give a good performance on the national stage.
Let's give our best performance ever.
Arata...
And if we win or something,
maybe this talk of abolishment will go away!
If we win...
That's true.
Let's do it. Let's rule the nation!
Just the five of us in the wind-orchestral club.
Oh...
Kanade-chan...
Arata-kun, your club's been abolished?
Are you shocked? But that's for us to worry about.
You don't need to worry, Kanade-chan.
But...
What?! Are you serious?
Serious. Dead serious.
Wow...
Hey, Kanade...
It's a very curious thing.
You!
Theirs is a nationally prestigious school,
and yet they only have five club members.
So what? What're you up to?
According to my investigation,
the Shiseikan High School wind-orchestral club
had been banned from entering all competitions last year.
Are you serious?
Supposedly, it was due to an incident of violence involving a club member.
Incident of violence?
It was that scary guy, right?
Surely not Hozumi-kun...
Hey!
He's not that kind of person...
What's the matter?
Nothing's the matter.
Let's quit already.
Huh?
You weren't on board this competition thing to begin with, right?
You can continue playing the violin anywhere.
Let's go back to Nagano, and it'll be like before...
We can't do that.
Huh?
Why not?
Have you reached your limit?
You fly in a narrow sky.
Are you content with that?
I don't know how to say it, but...
I can't quit now.
That's how I feel.
I see.
Kyoya...
I see... so everyone knows about it now.
It's because I didn't leave the club...
Hozumi, your membership has been revoked!
But Hozumi is contrite about what he did.
I will be responsible for him,
so please don't revoke his membership.
You want to attend competitions, don't you?
Then his membership must be revoked.
I have to prove I mean what I say, correct?
I understand. I will quit the wind-orchestral club—
No.
I won't let Hozumi quit.
Senpai...
Damn it! Damn it!
I stayed, and now look what happened.
It's not your fault, Hozumi-kun.
It's all my fault.
What?
Hozumi-kun came to my rescue, that's all.
He even got the big scar on his face because of it.
Seriously?
But... I didn't have the courage to stand up for him.
I'm the one who should've quit the club!
Idiot! You had no reason to quit!
That's right. No one had a reason to quit.
Iori, that was brave of you to confess.
President...
Yagisawa, you knew what really happened and yet...
It doesn't matter either way. I still wouldn't have let Hozumi quit.
Why wouldn't you?
Why do you go to such lengths for the likes of me?
Because we're comrades.
I don't believe we can abandon our comrades
and play beautiful music at the same time.
President...
In that case, let's prove it.
We'll prove that our president is right. With our performance!
Yeah.
Let's be the national winners!
Right, Senpai?
You guys...
We five will join forces to make our ultimate performance
reverberate throughout the nation!
Right!
Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall
Chiaki Love
Amane and Jinnan are moving on to the semifinals, huh?
By a margin too close for comfort, I must say.
Oh?
Hey, Nanami-kun!
Oh.
You were picked for the ensemble!
That was a really good performance.
I'm sorry... we're enemies right now.
Please don't talk to me.
What's the matter with him?
I don't blame him.
It's true that we're enemies during the competition.
Kanade-chan!
Kanade-chan, let's do our best!
Oh...
Mizushima!
Yes, I know. "Don't get chummy with the enemy," right?
See ya!
They're of the same disposition, those two.
The seats are filled with cute girls today.
Huh?
If you impress them, maybe you'll get fan letters or something.
Are you serious?
Serious, serious, dead serious.
All right, let's do this! Right, Iori?
I-I'm not interested in...
Don't lie.
Hozumi.
Let us play the sounds of Shiseikan, as we always do.
Right!
All right. Let's begin.
Right!
Hozumi, it's your fault we're banned from the competition!
Yagisawa should've kicked him out without hesitation.
N-Nagamine, are you guys really going to quit the wind-orchestral club?
Yeah. We're moving to the new brass band club.
As long as that culprit Hozumi is still in the wind-instrument club, it has no future.
Take back what you said.
I can't overlook one club member insulting another.
Yagisawa-senpai...
Senpai!
Hozumi!
Hozumi-kun...
Everyone...
I am united in sound with my best friends.
I am here because of my friends.
Regardless of the mockery, the five of us have gotten this far.
Okay, Hozumi-senpai. Go for it.
Your passionate feelings... convert them into sound!
That's right. Hotter. Hotter. Even hotter!
My soul burns hotter and screams!
That was the best performance we've ever given. Right?
Yeah. Yeah.
Viva! That felt super good!
President...
You hear that?
They're applauding the five of us, the Shiseikan wind-orchestral club.
Yes.
He unified the hearts of his members as one.
I expect nothing less from Yagisawa.
Yeah. I heard something come out of their performance.
Something that transcends winning and losing.
No! Hozumi-kun and everyone have to win, no matter what.
Otherwise their club will stay abolished...
Senpai?
Ah!
S-Sorry.
What's the matter? We're on next.
Kanade?
Don't hurt yourself, Ritsu...
I might have to, otherwise we can't beat them.
Kohinata-senpai, what on Earth is the matter?
If the four of us don't join forces,
we can't top Shiseikan's performance.
They overcame the pressure of not being able to lose,
and gave their best performance.
Is it... really possible for me to win?
Hey, Kanade, are you all right?
I can't do this any more! Kyoya, change places with me!
What?!
Next episode: "The Forbidden Passage."
The Forbidden Passage
Ritsu-kun...?