You are the solo

A few days passed, and the result of the audition was about to be announced. 

"You sure are calm." 

Mizuto looked at Kumiko, who asked him that question. "You sure are tense." 

"....." Kumiko. 

"Was your memory of that audition in the past really that bad?" Mizuto asked curiously. 

There was a time before the audition was announced. 

While Reina, Mizore, and Asuka were okay, they were different from others. 

At the same time, when Mizuto went to buy a drink from the vending machine, he was approached by a wild Kumiko, who suddenly stopped him. Still, watching the anxiety on her beautiful yet plain face, he said, "What do you want to drink? Let me treat you." 

"Thanks." 

Kumiko didn't reject his offer and wondered what she should choose. 

"You can get the most expensive one." 

"Thanks~!" 

Kumiko glanced at Mizuto's thick wallet in amazement, then accepted his offer right away. Her mood was quite mixed due to the impending announcement of the main members of the concert band club, and she couldn't calm down, so she walked around.

Fortunately, she met Mizuto, who was as calm as a cucumber, but then again, with this guy's skill, was it even necessary for him to feel worried? 

At the same time, Mizuto thought that Kumiko had the potential to become the second Tsubaki. 

Sitting on the bench, they drank with ease while having a conversation about the audition. 

"You don't understand it, Irido." 

"What I don't understand?" 

"While this might be an audition, isn't it natural for the senior to wish to play?" 

"That isn't something that they should decide. If Taki-sensei doesn't think they can play, then they won't." 

"Well, that's true, but the reality is different." Then, Kumiko told Mizuto about his experience in middle school when she was chosen as the main member, causing the senior to be unable to play.

If the senior could accept it, and that was it, then it was okay, but that senior would pour all of her anger toward Kumiko, who did nothing. If there was a reason why the senior wasn't chosen, it was because her skill wasn't as good as Kumiko's. 

It was such a normal thing, yet people often did something irrational. Even though it was something normal, this senior blamed Kumiko, who just played better. 

Even at this moment, that experience still haunted her, and she also had chosen this school for that reason since she didn't want to have competition; unexpectedly, even if she didn't want to, she was still pulled into the whirlpool. 

This time, it was something similar, and Kumiko was afraid that she would encounter similar things once again. 

Still, even if she had said all of that, unexpectedly, his answer didn't change. "It'll be fine." 

"How can you be so sure?" Kumiko looked at Mizuto in doubt. 

"If there is a problem, then compared to you, I will pay much more attention since I will take the solo position from all the seniors." 

"...." Kumiko. 

This confidence... she had to say, she was quite jealous of this part of him.

"What are you going to do then? Don't cause too much trouble," Kumiko said worriedly. 

"You think that I will get the solo position?" Mizuto asked curiously. 

"I don't think that someone is better than you." 

When Kumiko saw Asuka go out, she also followed her as usual. As expected, she saw Asuka and Mizuto flirting with each other, and frankly, she probably might have awoken from a voyeur hobby. However, at the same time, she also protected them since she also watched out for their surroundings so their acts wouldn't be discovered by others. 

While Kumiko felt helpless, with many girls coming toward him, ignoring that this guy was a bad guy, she also happened to hear his serious place, and she understood how amazing he was. 

With that kind of play, except for him, there was no person suitable to take the solo part. 

"Then, you don't have to worry since all the trouble will come to me, right?" 

"You are really..." Kumiko sighed helplessly, but somehow, she wanted to support him. 

"Let's go back. It's almost the end of the break." 

"I will stay here for a while." 

"Okay." 

Watching him leave, Kumiko fell silent and thought about his play that day. She also thought she wanted to play with him in the upcoming competition. 

Then, at the end of the school, everyone gathered in the clubroom as usual. 

The tense atmosphere pressed everyone's nerves as if it tried to weigh them down. Staying calm was an impossible task for any of them. Their chatter quickly turned quiet, and everyone looked at the two teachers who stood before them, waiting for the announcement. 

"I am going to start to list the successful candidates. Respond when you are called." 

"Yes." 

"First, percussion. Narai Tabe." 

"Yes." 

"Kayama Saki." 

"Yes." 

One by one, the names that were chosen for the competition were called. 

"Total, eleven clarinets." 

For those who weren't chosen, they could only cover their faces as they cried. 

"Total, seven saxophones." 

Naturally, Mizuto was chosen, but there were also those who weren't chosen within the saxophone, causing them to cry, which made him helpless. However, this was a competition; whenever someone was chosen, there were some who were rejected. 

One was happy, and the other was sad. 

Yet, there was nothing one could do except train even harder to make your skill better and choose the next time. 

"Next, euphoniums. Asuka Tanaka." 

"Yes." 

"Kumiko Oumae." 

"Yes." 

"Total, two." 

Kumiko, who was chosen, was startled, realizing that her senior wasn't chosen. At the concert band club, there were three people, and only two were chosen, leaving one of the seniors abandoned. 

Once again, Kumiko thought about what had happened to her during her middle school days, but her eyes were quickly attracted to Mizuto, which made her sigh in relief as his figure could give her a calmness. 

Even so, the announcement continued, and only 55 members were chosen for the upcoming competition. 

Naturally, whether it was Reina or Mizore, they were all chosen since their skills made it impossible for them not to be chosen. 

Then, it was a time everyone had been waiting for. 

It was time for the person who played the solo part to be chosen. 

"The duet solo, the middle movement part, will be played by Reina Kousaka and Irido Mizuto." 

"Yes." 2x

Reina clenched her small fist excitedly as she tried to maintain her determined expression.

"Eh?!" 

Yet, Michiko surprised them even further by saying, "As for the solo on the last part, Mizuto Irido will be chosen." 

"..."

Everyone was mixed with a variety of emotions, whether it was disbelief, surprise, or acceptance, but some were even unable to accept. After all, whether it was Mizuto or Reina, they were all first-year students. Even if their skills were exceptional, there were also third-year students who had exceptional students, too. 

"Yes." 

Regardless of what, Mizuto was the one who was chosen, and nothing could change this fact. 

Can they fight back against the teachers? 

No. 

So, after all of that, the audition results were announced, and no one could change them. 

Yet, it was the beginning of all the problems in the concert band club.