I am a teacher at a girls' school in Tokyo

"..."

The wind was blowing on the rooftop, and after Hirakawa Tetsufumi asked the question, there was inexplicable silence between the two of them for quite a while.

In this wind, Hirakawa Tetsufumi looked at Shinohara Shiori's expressionless and cold face——

He was as cold as he was before all the events happened, when he had just arrived in Moriya to teach and saw this young lady in the class.

Such coldness.

It was as if all the relationships between them had returned to the starting point - that's how Tetsufumi Hirakawa felt.

As he was thinking this, he suddenly saw that Shinohara Shiori, who had been expressionless, had an almost sarcastic smile on her face.

This smile is very pretty. This girl looks pretty in any expression, even when she is sarcastic.

"Teacher Hirakawa, you said before that Shiori is willful, but don't you think that you, who left without saying anything, disappeared for several days and then came back to me and said 'I want to have a good talk', are more willful?"

"I……"

"What do you think?"

"..."

Faced with the questioning from the girl not far away, Tetsufumi Hirakawa was speechless.

He admitted that what he had done was indeed bad, extremely bad.

"…Because I hadn't figured out what to do at that time."

"Really?" Shinohara Shiori asked calmly.

"..."

"So Mr. Hirakawa is going to have a good talk now because 'it has been dealt with', is that right?" Shinohara Shiori repeated the conversation between him and Ogasa Suzukiko in the morning and continued to ask.

“…I’ve made up my mind.”

"What about Shiori?" Shinohara Shiori's eyes revealed a slight doubt, "Teacher Hirakawa thinks Shiori has made up her mind?"

"..."

Under the golden light, her inquiring gaze overwhelmed Hirakawa Tetsufumi.

He couldn't even look directly at the line of sight.

"This one……"

"Sorry." The staccato reply was immediately interrupted.

The figure under the light bowed upright, with her long hair falling down.

"Teacher Hirakawa, Shiori doesn't want to talk to you about this for now. Just because you've considered it doesn't mean Shiori has already considered it."

Shinohara Shiori straightened up, then reached out to smooth her hair which was messed up by bowing.

"Also, the Tokyo Metropolitan Competition will begin in five days. As a soloist in the wind section, it would not be okay if I were distracted by personal matters and affected the competition."

"If Mr. Hirakawa really wants to talk, please at least wait until after the game."

"that's it."

"..."

Shinohara Shiori's words blocked all words from Hirakawa Tetsufumi, and he couldn't say anything.

He watched as Shinohara Shiori turned around and picked up the golden trumpet.

Then play the melody.

"..."

Hirakawa Tetsufumi stood at the door for a while, and during this time, Shinohara Shiori just practiced the trumpet silently and never looked back.

-

Tetsufumi Hirakawa's idea of ​​"having a good talk" failed for the time being.

Shinohara Shiori was right. He had previously said that this young lady was willful, but in the end, his own behavior was also surprisingly willful.

So willful that it seems terrible.

At that time, the young lady who was still immersed in their sweet atmosphere just a moment ago, suddenly received a message from him, and said to herself that she had woken up from a dream, and then blocked her like this, so that no message could be conveyed...

What emotions and thoughts would she have?

If Tetsufumi Hirakawa only had to think about it a little, he would be able to feel the irrepressible sadness.

But what can he do?

Once you wake up from a dream, it’s impossible to continue.

Even if he walked up to Shinohara Shiori and sat down face to face with her - what could he say?

What decision could he make with his confused brain just waking up from a dream?

He couldn't make any decision because he himself hadn't made up his mind.

……

Time goes on, and continues to move forward, moving towards the long-prepared Tokyo Metropolitan Games.

The practice of the Moritani Wind Orchestra is becoming more and more intense. Starting from the Tokyo Metropolitan Competition, even Moritani can no longer take it lightly.

Finally, on the weekend of the 24th, the orchestra once again held a roadshow in the square of Tokyo Station.

The roadshow was a success and even passers-by remembered them.

After the roadshow ended, on the next day, the 25th, all participating members of the Moritani Wind Ensemble had a camp at the school.

After practicing all day, you can go directly to the competition venue after waking up the next day.

That night.

There was no light in the deep night sky of Tokyo.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa stood in the corridor of the club building, quietly looking out at the completely dark sky.

There was no starry sky, and the moon was hidden by the clouds. The dim light could not penetrate the thick clouds.

The summer rainstorms are coming.

According to the weather forecast, it will rain at noon tomorrow.

The game should have just ended at that time, which was very unfortunate.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa leaned his hands on the guardrail, his already irritable mood becoming even more irritable because of the impending rainstorm.

"Teacher Hirakawa?"

While he was in a trance, he didn't know when the petite Ogasa Suzukiko walked up to him.

"…It's Mr. Ogasa."

Tetsufumi Hirakawa withdrew his gaze from the sky and looked at Suzuki Ogasa, who was leaning on the railing with her palms because it would be awkward if she chose to lean on the railing with her elbows due to her height.

She was wearing a summer silk pajamas, and her hair, which was usually tied up, was loose and draped.

The cute face that is raised up is a tired expression.

She has been practicing with her students for a whole day today.

Even under the light from the ceiling of the corridor, it could be seen that she was obviously sleepy.

She yawned slightly, and her mouth opened a little bit. It didn't look like she was yawning, but more like she was biting something in small bites.

After finishing, she put her hands back on the railing and asked in a childish voice, "Why haven't you slept yet?"

"..." Hirakawa Tetsufumi looked at Ogasa Suzukiko, who was shaking her head and seemed to be about to fall asleep, "I can't sleep. Where's Ogasa-sensei? Why did you come out?"

Because he was a male teacher, Tetsufumi Hirakawa certainly did not slept with the female students.

Ogasa Suzuki and her students were in the concert hall, while he was in an activity room several rooms away.

It's on the fifth floor of the club building, and after exiting the stairs, it's in the opposite direction of the wind band.

Ogasa Suzukiko thought about his question vaguely before answering, "Well... when I was about to fall asleep, I suddenly wanted to go to the bathroom. When I walked here, I saw Mr. Hirakawa."

"That's right." Then she remembered something and asked, "Why can't Mr. Hirakawa sleep? Is it because of tomorrow's game?"

“…Yeah, yeah.”

Of course, it was actually because of Shinohara Shiori.

"Is that so... Then don't worry, Mr. Hirakawa. I think, based on everyone's recent performance, we will have no problem advancing to the national competition."

Ogasa Suzuki began to comfort him, raised one hand, clenched it into a small fist, and made a gesture of encouragement in a serious manner, cheering him on.

However, coupled with her dazed look of being about to fall asleep accidentally, she looked quite naive.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa was amused by Ogasa Suzukiko's behavior.

"Teacher Hirakawa, what are you laughing at?"

Ogasa Suzukiko asked without realizing it, then rubbed her eyes with her fingers.

Even after laughing, there was still a hint of helplessness on the corners of Hirakawa Tetsufumi's mouth: "Okay, I know, Mr. Ogasa, you have worked really hard these days."

"Why not? And this is my job."

Although he was obviously very sleepy, he put on a serious expression.

"Okay." Hirakawa Tetsufumi nodded in response, and then he had to say, "Also, Mr. Ogasa should go to bed early, because there is a game tomorrow."

"Okay..." He yawned as he responded, making the response sound lazy.

"What about Mr. Hirakawa?"

"I went to bed soon, too."

"Yeah, well, I'm leaving then."

"Well, good night, Mr. Ogasa."

"Good night."

After saying goodbye like this, Hirakawa Tetsufumi watched Ogasa Suzukiko's departing figure disappear at the stairs, then he withdrew his gaze and looked outside the corridor again.

Tomorrow's game, and after the game, Shinohara Shiori asked us to talk...

What is the final result?

What was that girl thinking?

Tetsufumi Hirakawa is indeed troubled by this, and has been doing so for the past few days.

The agonizing wait was so severe that at its worst he couldn't sleep well for several days.

For example, now, it’s almost twelve o’clock, but I still don’t feel sleepy.

However, he decided to lie back in his sleeping bag. After all, he had a competition tomorrow. It would be terrible if he fell asleep because he was too sleepy while watching the students playing at the bottom of the competition venue.

Thinking this, Tetsufumi Hirakawa turned around and prepared to go back to the activity room where he slept.

result--

"Teacher Ogasa?"

When I turned around, I saw that Ogasa Suzukiko, who had just left not long ago, appeared at the stairs again, with an expression on her face that revealed a bit of grievance.

"Teacher Pingchuan." When he spoke, his voice sounded aggrieved.

When Hirakawa Tetsufumi saw Ogasa Suzukiko like this, he was stunned for a moment, then he quickly walked over and asked, "Teacher Ogasa, what's wrong?"

Ogasa Suzuki continued to rub her eyes with her index finger, looking quite aggrieved, and then said, "Just now when I was halfway there, I suddenly remembered..."

The voice gradually became smaller because of the grievance.

"Remember what?"

Could something have happened? Hirakawa Tetsufumi blinked and stared at Ogasa Suzukiko, waiting for her answer.

Ogasa Suzukiko put down her hands that were rubbing her eyes, looked at him, and spoke as if a little embarrassed.

"…Remember I'm afraid of the dark."

A small voice came out in the night, gently tapping on Hirakawa Tetsufumi's eardrum.

"..."