The first violin for the semi-finals...
...will be Kyoya.
Don't mess with me...
Don't mess with me!
There isn't much time left before the semi-finals.
We start training tomorrow.
You heard him. That's how it is.
You knew about this, Sakaki-senpai?
Why are you calling all the shots?
I never said that I'd do it!
It's already been decided.
You will be first.
And I'm telling you I'm not doing it.
Stop telling me what to do!
You never asked if it suited me to change schools.
You picked me for second violin, and now first?
Stop messing with me!
Kyoya!
How long will you keep trying to run away?
Ritsu-kun...
I... can never take Ritsu's place.
The Wandering Rhapsody
What? You're staying behind in Yokohama?
Yes. We don't have to go back to Sendai just yet.
Thanks to Yagisawa-senpai's teacher.
There are many things you can learn from a competition.
I want you all to listen to the prestigious, powerful schools perform,
and really feel something.
Well, that's what my teacher said to me, a long time ago.
So I want to do the same for all of you.
So you're all going to be here to the end of the competition?
Yes. We're going to be staying here.
I am a super-lucky man after all.
We can go on lots of dates, Kanade-chan.
Mizushima, there's little time left before the semi-finals.
If you get in the way of their practice...
You know what'll happen, right?
Uh... yes.
I believe in you guys. You'll win it for us, too.
Because we're the cheerleaders of Seiso.
Right?
Everyone...
If there's anything we can do for you, never hesitate to ask.
Thank you very much!
I appreciate the feelings of everyone from Shiseikan. But...
Come on! Let's do our best together.
Kyoya, if you play on behalf of Ritsu-kun, I...
I said I'm not doing it!
Leave me alone!
Kyoya is the only one I can depend on...
Stop!
Hina-chan...
Kohinata, if you aren't serious about this, get out.
What?
You're an annoyance.
I'm sorry.
All right, let's start again from the beginning.
Mizushima.
Um...
What?
Are we really going to go on like this?
Even if he doesn't show up tomorrow?
Haru.
As I've said, Kyoya is first. There is no change.
I understand.
I'm not the only one that's worried...
The others went to practice quite a while ago.
Are you running away?
Running isn't going to make it easier.
It's none of your business.
What's wrong with all these people? It's just a stupid competition.
How is everything going, Leiji-kun?
This is not the place for you to trip up.
I need you to effortlessly be the national winner.
Because you are my son.
Otherwise we'd let down your deceased parents.
I don't need you to tell me that.
But I won't be your pawn, either.
My pawn? What are you talking about?
Next is the "Saint Cecilia" battle.
I'm looking forward to it.
The sounds are rushed!
There is no emphasis!
Be more mindful of each and every sound!
That was tiring, but it's good every now and then...
Practicing until your mind goes blank.
You have a lot of confidence, Kohinata-senpai.
Huh?
I had a realization during today's practice.
About the extent to which
I've been leaning on President Kisaragi, all this time.
Huh?
I feel pathetic. I laid all the blame on Kyoya-senpai,
and yet, I wasn't playing well at all.
Neither was I...
You're wrong.
I'm the one that's setting you all back.
Daichi-senpai...
But there's no time for whining.
All we can do is do our best.
That's true. That's all we can do.
I already knew this, but...
It's not easy to fill the hole that Ritsu-kun left behind.
Does it still hurt?
No, the pain is gone.
The day felt so long when I was in the hospital.
It was as if time came to a halt all around me.
That's right, Ritsu-kun is suffering the most right now.
We have to do our best for Ritsu-kun, too.
Was this why Ritsu-kun invited us here?
Have you reached your limit?
Could he have written that letter?
Let's get back to practice.
R-Right...
Opa! So cool.
Yuki, where's Kisaragi?
Chiaki...
Kisaragi!
What is this I hear about you not playing at the semi-finals?
Tohgane?
I'm sorry to bother you during practice.
They insisted on seeing you, Kisaragi-kun.
Sakaki-kun, looks like you managed to survive... just barely. Congrats.
Is that how you talk to someone who saved your life?
Don't be overly dramatic.
But shouldn't you just forfeit the semi-finals?
Worry about yourself instead of us.
Make sure you don't collapse on stage.
You two never change...
I heard that your younger brother is first,
and second will be Miss Mediocre.
Did you lose your mind while in the hospital?
What's your point?
I will win the semi-finals. Seiso doesn't stand a chance.
Anything else you want to say?
Without you playing, it will be impossible to defeat me.
If you want to do something about that, fix your wrist.
That's Chiaki's style of encouragement.
I'm saying your performance didn't have enough splendor to make a flower bloom.
He sure is a showy guy in everything he does.
Kohinata-senpai?
Please wait!
Oh, it's you, Miss Mediocre.
What's wrong?
Um... what must I do to make my performance bloom?
If you have to ask that, you're a lost cause forever.
But I want to know.
You don't learn it by someone telling you how.
Chiaki's performance is something only Chiaki can do.
That's how it is. Well, do your best.
Tohgane-san's performance can only be done by Tohgane-san...
Seiso's orchestral club was great, wasn't it?
Yeah. They're really doing their best!
I can't make that sound...
And yet...
It's already been decided.
You will be first.
What is he thinking?
A flower is born a flower, isn't it?
I can truly see the flower in Tohgane-san's performance.
But... if that's a natural talent you can only be born with...
Kohinata-san.
Yes?
Please follow me.
Where are we?
It's a members-only rental studio. Even pros use it.
Are you surprised?
It's like he's someone else completely...
That's his true self.
He practices and practices, allowing no compromise whatsoever.
I know of no one who is more passionate in practice.
That's...
Dad.
Your sound is cheap, as usual.
You came here just to tell me that?
Forfeit the semi-finals.
What?
You are shameful.
Why should you care what I do? I play for myself.
Is that man Tohgane-san's...
Yes...
Chiaki's father doesn't approve of the sound an electric violin makes.
Despite that, Chiaki sticks to the electric violin,
because that's where his conviction lies.
Having something that you want to express,
and having the conviction to see it through to the end.
It's when you have that conviction
that you can move others and show off your talents.
Without that kind of conviction, it's pointless to play an instrument.
The conviction to express your feelings through to the end...
Is that the flower?
What do you mean, you're leaving town?
Just as it sounds.
I'm going to Seiso Academy to study violin.
That's what I've decided.
He's too selfish.
Onii-chan, wait for me!
Are you okay?
Yeah.
All right, let's go.
Yeah!
Those were good times.
You fly in a narrow sky.
Are you content with that?
It's too vast for me...
Huh? Where's Kyoya?
Do you know where Kyoya is?
I haven't seen him all day, come to think of it.
He's been gone since this morning.
Morning?
Maybe it's hard for him to come back,
since he blew off practice.
I'm going to go look for him.
He's not a child. Don't worry about him.
I'm still going to go look.
Where could Kyoya-senpai be, this late at night?
Who knows?
I wonder if he went back to Nagano.
Knowing Kyoya, he'll come right back after cooling his head.
Kyoya...
Ishikawa
Could he be...
Why can't you play like your big brother?
I haven't grown up at all...
Kyoya!
Thank goodness. So you were here.
Let's go back. We have practice tomorrow.
No one's mad at you.
Only because they're not counting on me.
Haru... Daichi... Ritsu...
Kyoya...
I know full well I can't handle first.
Don't say that...
Don't try to console me.
There's no way we can win without Ritsu.
Why do you say that? You won't know until you do it.
I do know!
I already know.
Even if I took his place,
I'd be nothing but a disappointment to him.
He's an idiot. Why did he get injured at such a crucial time?
He was working so hard...
And now I have to do it for him. Doesn't that frustrate him?!
How could he not be frustrated?
But regardless, Ritsu-kun is entrusting you to do first.
That's because he believes in you. Don't you think?
Kyoya, you came back because you want to accept, right?
I want to run away...
Huh?
I want to quit the academy, quit the competition,
quit the violin, and escape to somewhere far away.
I'm scared. I'm so scared, I don't know what to do!
Kyoya...
There's no way I can match up to Ritsu.
Why did Ritsu choose me?
I'm scared, too. But I can do my best if we're in it together, Kyoya.
But still, I can't take Ritsu's place.
Of course you can't take his place.
Huh?
Because, Kyoya, you're not Ritsu-kun.
I will play my own sound, and you will play yours.
That's all there is to it.
My sound...
Yeah.
I'm surprised you found me here...
You used to do the same thing.
My sound...
Yes, our ensemble.
Our sky.
Come in.
You have to make up for lost time. I hope you're prepared.
Yeah.
It's finally time to perform.
Yeah, yeah.
Next episode: "Brillante of the Noble Rose."
Brillante of the Noble Rose
If you want no regrets, give it all you've got!