Meticulously correct every imperfection and gradually improve the completion of the performance.

"Well, that's the end of today's exercise."

"Good work!"

"It's okay to stay and practice, but please don't affect tomorrow's game."

"Yes!"

The practice on the day before the competition focuses on adjusting the details, such as the volume ratio of each instrument and the position of the instrument, whether the interval has run out, whether the rhythm can keep up, etc.

In order to avoid exhaustion, Rin Kiyono finished her practice earlier than usual, and it was only half past seven in the evening.

Everyone was ready to go to dinner before deciding whether to continue practicing, or go back to the dorm to rest or play cards.

This is a hotel that specializes in the business of participating schools, and the restaurant is naturally surprisingly large.

Toru Watanabe heard that there is also a school that lives here, but I don't see anyone now, and I guess I am still practicing at the concert hall, and the arrival and dinner are staggered.

Dinner was arranged by Rin Kiyono, and no one was allowed to eat any special food, and they could eat whatever they wanted in Tokyo.

Although everyone was very regretful, they had no opinion on this decision, except for Toru Watanabe.

"What do you think I'm here for?"

"Competition." Rin Kiyono took a salmon with chopsticks and replied perfunctorily.

"It's for the 'Three Eats of Eel' at Horaiken, which is the most famous eel restaurant in Nagoya with a history of more than 140 years."

"Three eels?" Koizumi Kina, who served as the accompanying teacher, showed a curious expression.

"The so-called three eats actually refer to three steps: first, put the eel rice in a bowl and taste the deliciousness of the eel and sauce; Then mix in seaweed, core hemp, and green perilla to enjoy the refreshing taste; Finally, add chopped green onions, wasabi, and hot soup for eel chazuke. ”

"Sounds delicious, I'd like to try it."

"Not only Oh, teacher, but also miso pork chops! Nagoya's unique red miso sauce is poured over freshly fried pork cutlets, and this is a unique way to eat it in Nagoya. The flavor and intensity of the sauce vary from store to store, but I read the straw sandal pork chop recommended on the Internet, and it is said to be quite chewy. ”

"What is straw shoe pork chops? Weird name? Is it fried wrapped in clean straw sandals? ”

"The so-called straw sandal pig ......"

"Toru Watanabe-san." Rin Kiyono's slightly cold voice interrupted the communication between the teacher and the student.

"I'm sorry." Toru Watanabe nodded solemnly and ate the grilled fish set meal in front of him.

The white fleshy fish is thick, the skin is golden and crispy, and it is delicious, but - it can be eaten anywhere in the island country!

'I want three eels, I want straw sandals pork chops!' Toru Watanabe, who was full of anger in his heart, ate a large piece of fish in one bite.

After eating, when I left the cafeteria, I could hear a large group of people walking towards the cafeteria, and it seemed that another school had finished practicing.

Toru Watanabe took advantage of this time to hurry to the bathroom to take a shower, lest he couldn't even grab the faucet when he got it.

He wasn't the only one who thought like this, the girls who were more numerous, even ran up, and you pushed me and went back to the dormitory to get a change of clothes and toiletries.

After taking a shower, the boys play cards in a circle.

"If you think about it, although we have a game tomorrow, we don't have to go to school, which is also a kind of happiness!"

"You can also play cards in the name of relaxation!"

"I just took a picture and posted it to the class group, and they are envious to death, hahaha!"

"But I want to study more, and the last national mock exam ......."

"You guy! Don't say such a bad thing! Will you read the air?! ”

......

Toru Watanabe lost twice, and after realizing how bad his luck was, he quickly said that he was going to the toilet, and then took the opportunity to slip away.

Going to the girls' dormitory to ask for snacks is a fun thing to do, and it's worth trying, but he's now a married man, and it's okay to be too frivolous.

Kujou Miki is not a gentle girl.

He came to the recreation area on the first floor of the hotel.

There is a billiard table where you can play American billiards, a coin-operated massage chair, several sofas, and an indispensable vending machine.

There is an old poster on the wall, showing Yamaguchi Momoe, one of the 'Three Showa Singers' along with Seiko Matsuda, and a swimsuit photo.

Toru Watanabe bought a bottle of Meiji milk, asked for a table, played with himself, and prepared to go back after everyone in the dormitory fell asleep.

There was no one on the first floor of the hotel, except for the tick of the pendulum at the front desk, and the occasional sound was the sound of the white ball he hit and the sub-ball.

"Very strong, brother, you are good at math. ’

'Everywhere, your physics must be very good. ’

Toru Watanabe, who hit all the balls into the hole, won by himself, and entertained himself in his heart while drinking milk.

When the balls were brought back to the table one by one, a familiar figure appeared in the hall, and this person was naturally Rin Kiyono.

Generally, only the heroine can escape from the group activity, and then meet the male protagonist to make the plot move smoothly.

Just kidding.

"What's the matter, Kiyono-san, are you being excluded and can't stay any longer?" That's the real reason.

Rin Kiyono, who was taking out a treasure bottle from the vending machine, heard the voice and looked at it, and his expression showed disgust, "Why are you again?"

She walked over to the billiards area and watched Toru Watanabe swing the ball.

In this kind of weather, she deliberately wore a thick sweatshirt before going out, and he was wearing short sleeves and shorts, which made him feel very cold just by looking at it.

Under the short-sleeved cuffs, there are his good-looking muscles, and when he usually wears a long-sleeved school uniform, he looks on the thin side, and he doesn't notice that he is so strong.

"Why are girls so interested in the topic of love, and they also like to play boring games like 'tell each other who they like'?" Rin Kiyono sighed as if she couldn't stand it.

"Boys are also boring, just play cards well, and the loser actually wants to go to the girls' dormitory to ask for snacks."

"You're playing this alone? Is it called billiards? ”

"It's called billiards, but not alone, with my brother." Toru Watanabe pointed to a couch against the wall.

The couch was empty, but in the ashtray next to it were a few cigarette butts that had been around for a long time.

Kiyono Rin looked at him with pity: "If you are really lonely, I can ......"

"Talk? Or play along? ”

"No, I'll give you a dolphin, I'll pay for it, thank me."

Toru Watanabe had a very confused expression: "I prefer Alaskan king crab to dolphins." ”

"I'll pay for it, so don't pick and choose, and besides, it's not for you to buy food, it's a doll."

"Alaskan king crab can't do it? Canadian geoduck is also okay, although I don't like the look of geoduck very much. ”

"It's all said it's not food."

"Not yet? Then French Peron oysters are always okay, right? I can't change it anymore, that's my bottom line. ”

Rin Kiyono put her finger on her curvy chin, nodded, and said to herself, "I see, I kind of know why you're here alone." ”

"No, I heard people talk, they all said that they were with my brother."

"You're the one who should be listening, Watanabe-san."

The ball had been rearranged, and Toru Watanabe took another club from the shelf and invited, "A round?" ”

"Aren't you with your brother?"

"How can a brother be more important than a woman?"

"You are indeed that kind of person."

"Don't get me wrong, it's not just a woman, the woman here refers to you, Mr. Kiyono."

"You don't have to talk about it." Rin Kiyono put the PET bottle on the table and took the club, "How do you play with this?" ”

"Playing for the first time?"

"Hmm."

"Another first time for Kiyono-san, I accepted it unceremoniously."

"I'm going back."

"Wait, wait, I was wrong, don't go, really, I was wrong!"

Toru Watanabe explained the rules to Rin Kiyono.

American billiards is very simple, with a total of 16 balls, except for the white ball and the No. 8 black ball, the rest are divided into two groups: No. 1 to No. 7, commonly known as small flowers; Nos. 9 to 15, commonly known as large flowers.

The person who first hits all the balls of his own group into the bag and then hits the No. 8 ball wins the game.

Rin Kiyono nodded: "I see, what about the hitting method?" ”

"I'll show you, you're so smart, you can learn it by looking at it."

"As with the rhetoric, accepted facts are nonsense."

"Yes, yes, yes."

Toru Watanabe played by himself just now, casually using a pole bucket, but when he taught Rin Kiyono, he used a fairly standard posture.

In fact, it doesn't matter whether the standard is standard or not, what five fingers can be placed to fix the club, the distance from the club, the angle of both feet, etc.

The key: waist, bend as far as possible; Hips, to be raised high enough.

“...... The head should be perpendicular to the club, keep your eyes on the ball and the club, and then hit it at the right angle, understand? ”

"What the hell you ...... What are you doing with such weird postures? ”

"Nothing."

"Lies."

"Uh-huh." Toru Watanabe straightened up and said as if nothing had happened, "It's not fun to just play, how about a loser treat you to supper?" There is an udon shop not far away. ”

"If you want udon, you won't have a bad stomach, so I agreed." As he spoke, Rin Kiyono had already hit the white ball out.

******

"Turn off the lights!"

"Okay—"

The room was dark, and Kumiko buried herself in the quilt, trying to fall asleep quickly.

However, when the quilt was warmed, there was still no sleepiness at all.

On the wall, the sound of the second hand of the clock clicking and clicking forward is too noisy.

Kumiko knew that the reason was not on the clock.

She wasn't used to sleeping outside of her home, so she didn't sleep all night during the summer training camp. But thanks to this reason, I was able to seize the opportunity and establish a good relationship with Senior Sister Kaizuka, who was also not asleep.

“…… Can't sleep. Kumiko sat up angrily.

No matter how cranky I was, I still didn't feel sleepy at all.

Since she couldn't sleep, she decided to go downstairs and buy a hot drink.

The night before the Kansai Tournament, she did the same, and then successfully made it to the whole country. This time she couldn't sleep, maybe it was providence: it was implied that as long as she bought a hot drink, the same miracle would happen in tomorrow's match!

Because she cared too much about the game, Kumiko put on a coat with such a superstitious idea.

"Kumiko?"

Kumiko's whole body stiffened with fright, and she was used to looking at her with dark eyes, and Rina propped up her upper body to look at her.

"It's Reina, it's scared me to death. What's wrong, did it wake you up? Kumiko whispered.

"No, I haven't slept either. Where are you going? ”

"I can't sleep, I want to buy a hot drink to see if I can help me sleep." Just keep that superstitious reason in mind.

"I'll go with you." As she spoke, Rina lifted the quilt and picked up the coat that was set aside.

The two walked out of the shop hand in hand and came to the first floor.

It was quiet, except for the faint sound of the billiards area.

"See? Band-aids? You don't win, take advantage of the danger of others, fish in troubled waters, and take advantage of the void to enter. ”

"Someone said it themselves, this is my first time."

“...... Less proud, six wins in ten games, it's still far from you winning. ”

"At the beginning, it was better to win three games, and then it was better to win five games, but forget it, swing the ball quickly and exercise more to eat supper."

"You think you've won, but my real skills are still ......"

The two girls were slightly uneasy.

Most of the people who are still playing billiards in the middle of the night are not good people, and this is a strange Nagoya.

Rina whispered, "Why don't we go outside and drink?" ”

"Hmm." Kumiko nodded.

It was already eleven o'clock in the evening, silence filled the streets, and the sound of the soles of shoes rubbing against the ground was terrifying.

An unfamiliar night scene in the distance, lit with stars, a bit like the color of musical instruments.

The two walked to a park where they had passed by a bus in the afternoon.

It is very small, with only benches, sandpits and two swings, and it looks very deserted under the street lamps at night.

Kumiko and Rina glanced at each other while smiling as they walked towards the swing that seemed to have been prepared for them.

Kumiko sat up, pulled the tab of the canned drink, and shook the swing slightly as she drank.

The toes are unconsciously straightened, the slippers slip off the feet and fall to the ground.

And Rina was very well-behaved, holding the still hot jar with her hands, and sitting quietly on the swing, which seemed to have made her very satisfied.

Silence for a moment.

"I want to win the Gold Award." Rina looked at the night sky of Nagoya and suddenly spoke.

"Me too." Kumiko replied softly.

"We're going to win the Gold Award."

"Hmm!"

"Even if it doesn't work this time, next year, the year after, I won't give up."

"No matter how long it takes, I'll support you." Kumiko stopped the swing and reached out to squeeze Reina's hand hard.

Rina looked at Kumiko with a smile.

When the two looked at each other, a voice suddenly came.

"Ahh

Kumiko and Rina turned around, and at the entrance of the park, under the electric pole with the lights on, stood a pair of teenagers and girls.

The night breeze blew through the barren weeds of the park, and the hair of the boys and girls swayed slightly, and their eyes were brighter than the stars to look at them.

The two of them were shocked by their appearance and watched the scene as if they didn't react.

'Don't you know me anymore?' Sister Lina, I'm your fan', remember? The boy said with a smile.

The girl beside him sighed helplessly and rubbed her temples as if she had a headache.

"I'm sorry, he's not a normal person anymore." The girl explained, "We're going to eat udon, should we be together?" ”

Kumiko and Rina glanced at each other.

'I'm hungry. ’

Me too. ’

'Go, right?' ’

'Hmm. ’

"That bothered." The two stood up together.

"Ahh Kumiko suddenly screamed, scaring all three of them.

"What's wrong, Kumiko?" Rina immediately asked worriedly.

"I forgot to take off my shoes and stepped on the ground." Kumiko's depressed voice, wandering through the empty park.