"#12 Rivals"
This is...
...what a Meiryo performance is like...
I think I just... saw all the seasons...
I feel like a whole year just passed too...
Even though all he does is flirt...
Disgusting...
Good work, everyone!
You were amazing!
Hey, Ousuke, are you all right?
Hm, why?
Well, before, you always used to get sick after performing.
I'm not as weak as I used to be.
I mean, if Asa were to give me a kiss, maybe I'd feel better.
Hey, you!
I'm kidding, I'm kidding.
Asano! Ousuke!
Good work! It was a great performance!
Yoshi!
As expected from Meiryo.
It seems their second place at nationals is well deserved.
Rather, to think this only got them second place...
With this being the first performance,
it might be a little tough on the kids from the schools to follow.
Hey, guys! Don't be so gloomy!
It's just, I kinda feel...
...the same sense of defeat you'd get when encountering an undefeatable foe.
Chika, you really think we can surpass them with our performance?
What nonsense are you on about?
It's ridiculous to compare yourselves and get down about it.
What did you just say?!
Imagine if Kudo,
who had just started the koto, heard me play and thought, "I can't beat that."
It's laughable.
Wh-When you put it that way... it does sound ridiculous.
Hey!
Even so...
...the goal that we hung up in the clubroom
means that we have to surpass Meiryo's performance.
"Aim for 1st place in the nationals!!" If you're thinking that that goal is impossible
"Aim for 1st place in the nationals!!" after seeing reality with your own eyes,
what will you do?
Will you quit?
Chika?!
Are you kidding me?!
What do you mean "will you quit?" I'll kick your ass, four-eyes!
Guys that quit before they even start have no balls!
Don't say "balls"! And what's with the headbutting?!
It's self-punishment!
I'm sorry for getting discouraged!
Sane! Punch me too!
Give me a gentle punch too!
You've gotten pretty good at dealing with everyone, huh?
Huh? You think?
All right! Then, I'll punch you all in one go!
What?!
So quick to recover...
Oh, by the way, where's Suzu?
Ah, he said something about the hall being suffocating,
so he's in the café upstairs.
Why is he even here? Jeez.
I expected a little more from him after what happened with Mizuhara, though.
Hey.
That aside, are there any other powerhouses like Meiryo and Himesaka?
Like within Kanagawa?
Hm, Himesaka is always at the very top in Kanagawa, so not really.
That damn curly-head...
What about the school going after us? They're from Kanagawa.
"Tokise High School Kanagawa Prefecture Hakuto High School Tochigi Prefecture"
Hakuto High School?
Doesn't ring a bell.
I see. Well, doesn't matter then.
If they're on after us,
we won't be able to hear them since we'll be putting stuff away anyway.
"Park"
What are you doing, mister?
I'm listening... to the sound of the wind.
"Hakuto"
The break should be over soon. Let's go!
I don't remember any of the performances after Meiryo's.
Me neither...
That Meiryo guy said all they had to do was "outshine" everyone after them...
But that's literally what's happened, huh?
That's until we perform.
--Our performance will knock their performance out of the park--
--Ouch! --Our performance will knock their performance out of the park--
Oh, my bad...
Where are you looking, idiot?!
My bad. I didn't see you there.
Wh-Wh-What did you just say?!
You picking a fight with me, you bastard?!
Don't underestimate me, kid.
I don't have the time to pick fights with middle schoolers.
You're the one who's underestimating me!
Whoa! Sen, what are you doing?!
Let me go, Haru! This guy just hella mocked me!
What?! Don't start throwing around false accusations!
Wai-- Kudo!
I-I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.
H-H-He means no ill-intent!
No, no. Please accept our apologies too!
What are you apologizing for, four-eyes?!
You two will be participating in the festival as well, right?
A-Ah, yes!
We're the koto club from Eidai Fuzoku High School in Ibaraki prefecture.
I'm so sorry.
Huh? You're high school students?
Oh, I'm sorry.
Don't mess with me!
What?! I said I'm sorry!
That guy can't get along with Chika at all, huh?
Honestly...
I'm so sorry about the actions of my club member.
I'll be sure to tell him off,
so won't you please let this slide for today?
S-Sen!
I-I'm so sorry! We're an all-boys school,
so we're not used to seeing girls...
Haru! Shut up, you idiot!
He got a nosebleed?!
He probably saw Hozuki and thought of something kinky.
Hey, say something to him, Ho... zuki...
Disgusting.
You have no tact, Chika.
Stupid idiot!
Hey!
I'm Chika Kudo, a first year from Tokise High.
You are?!
Sentarou Miya, a first year from Eidai Fuzoku, damn it!
I'll never lose to the likes of you!
Let's go, four-eyes!
Let's go, Haru! We gotta prep!
Oh, so they're playing here?
Thanks for showing me how to get here, Takaoka. I appreciate it!
No, I apologize...
...for having you drive me here--
Huh? You carsick?
That's weird. I was driving so safely.
How?!
It feels kinda strange.
To think the day would come when I'd be going to listen to my nephew's koto performance.
Well, around this time last year,
he was getting into fights and getting hurt almost every day.
I see.
I don't really know much about that time.
When I first met him, I didn't know what was going to happen.
I'm glad that he's really started to enjoy his youth.
I would have liked my father to hear this too.
He's listening. For sure.
You're kinda like Chika's guardian, huh, Takaoka?
Huh?!
Next is Eidai Fuzoku...
Oh, aren't those the guys from earlier?
What are they playing?
Um, "Sarashi Fuutegoto."
Never heard of it.
I wonder if it's harder than "Kuon."
I don't know this "Kuon" piece, but "Sarashi" is a difficult piece.
It's you...
Hi there! Did you hear our performance?
Y-Yeah. It was pretty good, I guess.
Thanks!
So, "Sarashi" is a difficult piece?
Oh, yeah.
It has a lot of forms and advanced techniques.
There's a bit in the middle that's really hard to play too.
I-I see.
Well, it depends on how fast you play it though.
Listen up, Haru.
Usually, when performing,
people start playing faster because they're nervous and excited.
So...
R-Right! So I should stay calm and--
So think that I'm gonna play three times faster than I normally would!
Huh?!
D-Don't people normally say "so relax and don't rush" after that?!
Are you stupid?! Then we wouldn't be as sharp!
Don't worry! I'll lead you.
Sen's back looks so big right now...
Even though he's so tiny.
Number 16,
Eidai Fuzoku High School from Ibaraki prefecture,
performing "Sarashi Fuutegoto."
So fast!
Wow.
I've heard a lot of people play "Sarashi," but this is definitely the fastest.
Their hands are moving well too.
I-It's so fast. I can't even see their hands moving...
Their notes aren't getting sloppy even at this speed?!
They've practiced this a lot. Even their breathing is perfectly in sync.
Almost like they're synchronized with each other--
No, wait...
They may be synchronized,
"Alpha" "Omega"
but it's more like...
"Alpha" "Omega"
How interesting!
There's so much vigor in that speed...
--Don't underestimate me!
--Is it my imagination or can you hear him talking too? --Don't underestimate me!
The koto club?
Ah yeah, now that you mention it, we do have one, huh?
It's scheduled to be disbanded this year, but...
You want to join?
Lil' Sentarou!
You're tiny and you play... the koto? You're like a girl!
How cute!
Damn it! Everybody's always ridiculing me!
They got even faster?!
It was my granny that started and taught the koto club at Eidai Fuzoku.
They used to go to nationals proudly every year.
It's not a club for people to ridicule
and mock!
They're still getting faster?!
I'll...
I'll take them to the nationals again for sure.
So please watch me, Granny.
I can see something...
It was so vigorous, it's even got the audience sweating.
He's got talent, huh?
Right now, there's a difference in vigor,
but if these two got to the same level of skill, they'd be...
Hey, up until now there haven't been any bad performances, have there?
Yeah, not really. Everyone's been playing at a high level.
Hey, isn't--
Yeah.
Himesaka's next.
Listen, everybody.
Regrettably, first place at nationals slipped away from us,
but this time we'll snatch first place for sure!
Show them all that Kanto's number one isn't Meiryo, but Himesaka!
Yes!
Himesaka Girls' Academy from Kanagawa prefecture
performing "Two Personalities."
They're fitting together even more than last time.
My whole body hurts!
They sound like military troops, as usual.
I feel like I'm being stabbed by a spear.
This is what a performance by a top contestant of the nationals is like!
The Kanto region's number one isn't Meiryo!
It's us!
Honestly!
Where have you been all this time, Mio?!
President, you're scary...
He was sleeping in a nearby park...
What?!
The wind sounded nice.
If you have the time to listen to that,
do as I ask and listen to the other schools perform!
The sound at a tournament is boring though.
Everyone plays the same sound.
A predetermined sound.
It's painful to be surrounded by that kind of sound.
Ms. Isaki.
Hm? Oh, did I fall asleep?
Yes, you were knocked out.
Are you tired?
No, not really.
The performances were just boring.
Huh? Was that school just now bad?
That's not really what I mean.
It was just a boring performance.
It's probably a problem with their coach.
The daughter of a grand master is teaching Chika and the others, right?
It must be tough.
I wonder if there's anyone else that can teach them.
Ah, well, they seem to have an advisor called Takinami.
Takinami?
Yeah, have you heard about him from Chika?
No, I was just thinking that back in high school
there was an upperclassman that had the same name.
Did you know?
That power couple, the world-famous conductor Kaoru Takinami
and the genius pianist, Tsukasa Yukimori.
Their son was two years above me.
Awesome, he's a purebred.
Well, he was called the disappointment of a musically elite household.
Apparently, the son didn't play music.
But I did see him one time.
Hey, Takinami!
Aren't you the son of that conductor, Kaoru Takinami?
Our club's advisor isn't here today, so could you conduct us a little?
"Conduct a little"?
I'm not interested in your sound enough to want to conduct you.
Come back when you've fixed it, idiot.
Huh?! The hell...?!
Strangely, I've never forgotten that incident.
I wondered if he really was a "disappointment."
I see.
Well, there was also a rumor
he was just a prodigy that abandoned his talent.
But I don't know whether it was true or not.
Oh, what was his first name again?
Suzuka Takinami?
Oh, yeah! Suzuka...
Huh?
Kaoru.
Is Suzuka still not showing any interest in instruments?
Yeah.
Every day, he lies there listening to music from morning till night.
His older sister, Kiyoka, plays the piano, right?
What if you made Suzuka play an instrument too?
It's fine.
Music isn't something you can make someone do.
If he really wants to do something, he'll do it.
What are you up to there, Suzuka?
I wrote a piece.
Really? You can already compose?
That's amazing!
Let me see!
As I thought, Suzuka really does want to be involved with music.
What do we have here...
This is...
This is a score for an orchestra!
Suzuka! When did you learn how to write a score?!
I've been writing them ever since I can remember, so I don't know.
I don't have any interest in playing, but I love to listen.
But I've listened to most of the stuff at home.
I'll think, "I'd love to listen to this kind of piece," but never find it.
Whenever that happens, I just write it myself.
He's a genius!
As expected from a child of two geniuses.
Not even a high school or college student could write this,
yet he's done it at only seven years of age?!
You don't have to make such a big fuss about it...
It's best to leave him be.
Don't be stupid! You have to raise a prodigy properly!
That's it! Let's play Suzuka's piece at the next concert!
How about we perform it on TV too?!
At first, I was happy.
The fact that I was able to hear the piece I wanted to hear played by pros.
But, day by day, as they continued to make a fuss,
the once beautiful and endlessly free world of music
suddenly became rigid and boring.
I couldn't take it anymore.
I heard, Suzuka.
So you're going to stay with our uncle in Japan?
Sis...
Yeah, here...
...everyone wants me to get sucked into the music world and it's annoying.
Why not get "sucked into it"? You like music after all, don't you?
I do. That's why I don't want to get involved.
Music is best when it's just genuinely enjoyed.
I don't understand
the meaning in continuing music when people like you
look like you're suffering.
My bad for "suffering."
Unfortunately, I'm just an ordinary person.
But I can't quit.
Why not?
That's because...
All right!
Let's start unloading the instruments during the lunch break.
Whoa, it kinda feels like our turn is finally here.
My stomach's starting to ache.
It's the same nervousness I felt before we did "Ryuuseigun."
What are you doing getting nervous now?
Our turn is still a ways away.
Oh, Hozuki's so confident before a performance...
Do you not get nervous before a performance, Hozuki?
I do a little.
A little...? That's amazing.
My stomach's already churning.
Well, I'm just used to it.
Used to it, huh?
Kurusu? Are you okay?
Huh? Wh-Why?
Well, you just seemed down...
I'm completely normal! I feel great!
Really? That's good then.
This is bad.
It's not like me to be nervous. I can't tell him that I am.
All the other schools were so good that I started worrying.
And when I really thought about it, I realized...
I'm the only one who hasn't played in front of an audience before.
If I held Kota back during the performance
after training him so hard...
I can't mess up!
Here. This is your koto, Kudo.
Oh, your granddad's koto, huh?
I see. So you're gonna use it today?
Well, I've been using it this whole time at home.
But this is the first time on a stage, right?
It means Gen's koto is finally going to see the light of day.
I'm sure Gen is very happy too.
I wonder.
Oh, Hozuki.
You take this koto instead.
I'll take the 17 string.
U-Uh--
Got it.
Kurusu, could you go ahead to the drop-off place
and tell everyone what to do?
I'm gonna go register us.
Oh, okay!
Oh, Mr. Takinami! Just in time!
Can you carry this koto inside?
I'm gonna go register--
I already registered you.
Huh? You did?
What do you mean "you did?"
The advisor's supposed to do the registering and stuff anyway.
I just thought that you must've forgotten...
Don't underestimate me.
Oh, Hiro!
I'm going to place the bridges here and quickly tune it,
so please leave that one there.
Huh?
Oh, I see! Sorry!
The kotos!
Hozuki!
Hey, are you guys okay?!
Are you two hurt?!
I'm fine! Are the kotos okay?!
They're both fine.
I'm sorry, Hozy... Chika.
No, it's all right.
Next time, "Kuon."
"#13 Kuon"