Busy times always pass quickly.

Towards the end of the semester, in the last few dripping rains of the rainy season, time rushes towards the end of the first semester.

The date is like a jump, and the summer solstice on June 21 is clearly still in sight, and I don't realize it until I come back to my senses.

The rainy season has ended, and the time is Sunday, June 29.

It is customary to go out with an umbrella until the moment you open the door, the golden summer sun shines overhead in the early morning after the rain, casting shadows under the houses not far ahead.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa stopped going out, still holding a half-open umbrella in his hand.

“……”

He raised his face, and the sky was clear and empty, and there was not a single cloud, only pure blue, so blue that it was a little dazzling.

The air is transparent, light and fluttering, not heavy.

The tip of the nose lingers, it is a fresh, clean smell of early summer.

The sky has cleared.

At the door of the house, glancing at the dry ground that had been sprinkled with golden brilliance for the first time in a long time, Tetsufumi Hirakawa turned around and walked into the hallway, closed the half-open umbrella, and threw it on the counter on the side.

Then I went out again and walked into the sun.

During the rainy season, the water vapor evaporates and takes away the heat, so the early summer sun is not warm, but only warm. And whenever I walk through the sun and walk into the shadow formed by the house, I can even feel that the air against the skin is slightly cool.

The heat is still accumulating, accumulating in the hot summer.

The practice of the wind club is also continuing, and today is the day of the roadshow.

——

When Tetsufumi Hirakawa arrived downstairs in the school club building, there were not many students in the wind club.

Several girls in Moriya's uniform were standing at the junction of the shade and the sun, talking, and some were fiddling with musical instruments or auditioning.

Until they saw him coming, they each stopped their own business and said hello to him together.

"Hirakawa-sensei."

Tetsufumi Hirakawa also replied with a greeting from a distance: "Good morning, students-"

Then he turned his head to look around, especially in the student group, there was no Ogasa Suzukiko.

- There is no shadow of Shiori Shinohara either.

"Hasn't Ogasa-sensei arrived yet?"

"Not yet."

"Okay."

casually answered and stood aside.

The long-lost sunshine is a little lazy.

He stood under the sky, waiting for the students to arrive.

Until, not far away, the walkways of the campus.

There is the figure of a familiar girl in the past, walking slowly, step by step towards this side.

He turned around and waited in the other direction.

——

Before the scheduled time came, the students were all there.

Among the student groups, Tetsufumi Hirakawa also found Ogasa Suzukiko, who couldn't be separated from female high school students regardless of height or appearance.

The next step is the regular process, moving instruments, organizing discipline, and roll call.

"Mr. Hirakawa, Mr. Ogasa, and all 61 students in Group A of the Wind Club have arrived."

At the sound of the village minister's report, Tetsufumi Hirakawa took one last glance at the students who were standing, they were standing quietly, waiting, reminding him of the slightly riotous appearance of the last time the Moriya Wind Orchestra went on a joint trip.

At the very least, there is progress - although it is still far from what the Uyama Wind Club looks like.

The gaze swept quickly, even if there was a girl in the middle, the posture of a girl was very concerning, but it still didn't stay long.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, you can get on the bus."

——

At the end of the line, after the last student stepped onto the bus and confirmed that nothing was missing, Tetsufumi Hirakawa also boarded the vehicle.

There were a few small noises of conversation on the vehicle.

"Ladies and gentlemen, sit down."

After rectifying his discipline, Tetsufumi Hirakawa looked to his side.

Here, there is an empty seat.

It's just that next to the vacant seat, a girl sat very upright, holding the sheet music in her hand, looking down.

“……”

Tetsufumi Hirakawa stood for a few seconds, then looked up at the back row, where the seats were full and there were no empty seats.

He looked around again.

As if sensing something, the girl raised her face, and her delicate, beautiful face was imprinted into the child's hole.

She looked at him and spoke, her voice as strong as it looked.

"Mr. Hirakawa, why don't you sit?"

“……”

Tetsufumi Hirakawa and Shiori Shinohara looked at each other and did not answer.

But, behind him—

"Teacher, what's wrong?" The driver asked, looking back.

"-No, nothing."

Shaking his head, Tetsufumi Hirakawa walked to his seat and sat down.

The girl lowered her head again and flipped through the score.

Soon after, the vehicle started.

——

As he drove to Tokyo Station, the final destination, Tetsufumi Hirakawa kept looking ahead, looking through the windshield and at the stretching road ahead of the vehicle and the low sedan.

Occasionally, some complicated thoughts will of course come to mind, but most of the time they are suppressed.

It wasn't until halfway through the journey that I finally glanced to the side.

The girl was still looking at the sheet music in her left hand as before, and her right hand was practicing the fingering of the trumpet in the air.

However, I don't know if it is a talent such as eye sensing, Tetsufumi Hirakawa just glanced at it, and Shiori Shinohara stopped. Raise your gaze, and catch his gaze when he doesn't have time to dodge.

The girl's eyes were a little questioning: "Mr. Hiragawa, is there something wrong?" ”

“……”

Greeting Shiori Shinohara's gaze, Tetsufumi Hirakawa fell silent.

After waiting for a while, he thought of something and asked calmly, "Shinohara-san, I just wanted to ask, do you get motion sickness?" ”

“……”

Daylight brushed Shiori Shinohara's side face in front of her from the car window, and the girl who was expressionless was stunned after he asked this sentence.

Then, a slight smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.

"Mr. Hirakawa, so you remember."

"I have a pretty good memory."

The girl smiled and raised her right hand, gently brushed the hair on her forehead, and pulled it behind her delicate ear.

Then, the words of the answer took on a little bit of a young girl's smart, slightly raised tone.

"Guess."

“……”

Tetsufumi Hirakawa didn't guess, silently turned his head and looked ahead.

He knew, it turned out that he had been deceived at least from the moment he went to Hejuku.

——

The train arrived at Tokyo Station.

The three buses stopped one after another, and the students lined up to get out of the bus, and then moved the musical instruments in the luggage compartment under the bus one after another.

The minister also picked up a sign that read "Moriya Women's High School Wind Club" and stood in front of him.

Obviously, groups of students like them, dressed in neat high school uniforms and carrying musical instruments, will definitely be noticed by passers-by.

There are also those who are more idle, so they simply stop and watch.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa didn't care about the sight of passers-by and stood up.

"Everyone, line up and get ready to go."

Carrying the instruments together, in an uneven pace, the Moriya Wind Ensemble walked towards the final performance location.

Fortunately, the Moriya Wind Ensemble did not participate in the marching music......

In this distraction, we arrived at the final location, the square in front of the Marunouchi Exit of Tokyo Station, which was far away from the Imperial Palace.

——

At the designated position for playing in the square, the chairs for the performance are arranged, and then the tuning is done. Everyone is making the final preparations, and then, waiting for the roadshow to begin.

In this stance, some passers-by who have more time - including one who has been following from the moment he got off the bus, stops, ready to act as spectators.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa stood aside and looked at the students who were preparing for each other, looked back and forth several times, and then picked up his phone and looked at it, and at this time, there was still some time before the performance began, and he walked to Ogasa Suzukiko, who was standing in front of him.

Ogasa Suzukiko seemed to be in a daze, and Tetsufumi Hirakawa walked up to her, but she hadn't reacted yet.

waved his hand in front of her eyes before he responded.

"Hirakawa-sensei?" He pushed his gold-rimmed glasses and said in a questioning tone.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa explained to her, "Ogasa-sensei, the playing hasn't started yet, let's go buy some water next to it, shall we?" It should be needed after blowing. ”

"Huh...... Of course. Ogasa Suzukiko blinked her eyes and thought about it, and quickly nodded, revealing a simple smile, "It's still Hirakawa-sensei who thinks comprehensively." ”

After speaking, I was about to follow Tetsufumi Hirakawa, who was about to turn around, when suddenly, a girl's voice appeared.

"Ogasa-sensei."

Ogasa Suzukiko stopped.

"It's Shinohara-san, what's wrong?"

She looked at Shiori Shinohara, who didn't know when she appeared beside her.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa also looked over, his face confused.

Shiori Shinohara didn't pay attention to him at all, just faced Ogasa Suzuki and spoke calmly.

"Ogasa-sensei, no matter what you say, you have to keep a teacher here, so I'd better go with Mr. Hirakawa."

"Hmm...... "The naïve Suzuko Ogasa doesn't have any superfluous thoughts at all," seems to be eh. ”

“……”

In Tetsufumi Hirakawa's silence, Ogasa Suzukiko agreed: "Then, Shinohara-san, please." ”

"It's okay—" in response, the girl finally looked at him, "Hirakawa-sensei, let's go." ”

“……”

Tetsufumi Hirakawa didn't speak, but looked at him - "Mr. Ogasa, it's just a word from the student, can you just agree?" If I had to say, you might be more gullible than a student if you stayed here."

Ogasa Suzukiko didn't understand his eyes, and showed a cute smile.

"Mr. Hirakawa, I'm sorry to trouble you."

“……”

——

Silent, keeping a certain distance from Shiori Shinohara beside her, Tetsufumi Hirakawa walked towards a nearby convenience store.

Behind them, the students who were preparing for the performance gradually moved away and shrunk.

Shiori Shinohara withdrew her gaze.

"Mr. Hirakawa, don't you have anything to say?"

This was the first sentence between the two.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa ignored the gaze of the side face and looked straight ahead: "It's nothing. ”

Shiori Shinohara looked at the teacher beside her, and the distance between them at the moment was like a stranger, and the corners of her mouth were smiling.

"I think Hirakawa-sensei should have something to say."

"Why?"

"Well, because ......" Shiori Shinohara moved a little closer to Tetsufumi Hirakawa, and then it was like meeting a magnet that repelled him, and Tetsufumi Hirakawa moved away a little at once.

The girl stopped following up, thinking and answering.

"For the past week, Mr. Hirakawa has been avoiding me. Whether it's asking questions in class, or the wind club, or whatever, I've been hiding. ”

“……”

"But, I guess, it's just because Mr. Hirakawa hasn't figured out how to answer yet, right? After all, it's not your style to run away all the time, you're the type to take the initiative to solve things when you encounter them. ”

“……”

"So, just now, Mr. Hirakawa came with me to buy water by default, so naturally I figured out how to reply to Shiori, right?"

“…… Don't talk about knowing the teacher very well, Shinohara-san. Tetsufumi Hirakawa couldn't help but say.

Shiori Shinohara smiled and asked rhetorically, "Then am I right?" Hirakawa-sensei? ”

“……”

Tetsufumi Hirakawa answered the question with silence.

The footsteps continued to stretch ahead.

For a moment, Tetsufumi Hirakawa's calm, unadulterated voice, appeared in Shiori Shinohara's ears.

"Shinohara-san, why? Why? ”

In the square, stepping into the oblique sunlight, the smile on the corner of Shiori Shinohara's mouth is a little more energetic under the brilliant golden light.

The dignified footsteps are also clearly excited.

She looked up at the sky at this time, blue and clear, just like her mood at the moment, without any cover.

"If you want to ask why."

After saying his mind bluntly, he was actually a lot more relaxed.

Suffering from gains and losses is indeed the saddest thing emotionally.

"That was last semester."

“…… Sure enough. Tetsufumi Hirakawa wasn't too surprised.

"Did you guess?"

"That's all there is to it."

"Well, that's it."

“……”

“……”

There was another moment of silence.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa turned his head, and his gaze collided directly with the girl's gaze.

"Shinohara-san, first-"

Always, it is not mixed with superfluous emotions, but it is just a flat, flat tone like a traceless wind.

"Thank you very much for liking, thank you."

"You're welcome." The eldest lady pursed the corners of her mouth and replied dignifiedly.

“……”

Tetsufumi Hirakawa was stuck because of this "you're welcome", and waited a few seconds before continuing.

"I'm in adolescence, that's it, right? The seasons of adolescence are always like this, because something touches them, so they are invested in it. ”

Actually, has Shinohara-san seriously thought about it? All I have is the advantage of being a teacher. The home visit that day was only made by me out of my duty as a teacher, nothing more. ”

"Even if it wasn't Shinohara-san who was standing in front of me at the time, but another classmate, I would have done it. Therefore, Shinohara-san really doesn't have to have any special feelings about it. ”

“……”

"Really?"

Shiori Shinohara disagrees with this point of view, from her eyes to her tone.

However, the convenience store had already arrived, and the two didn't say anything more, and walked in amid the voice of the clerk's "welcome".

After the two of them finished buying water and walked out of the convenience store, the topic of the two took back.

Miss Shinohara-sama was carrying half a piece of mineral water in her hand, which was not heavy.

"Of course I know this, but at that time, Mr. Hirakawa could have stood by and watched, right? At the risk of losing your job, you know you can't do it. No matter who the other party is, as long as it is his own student, he has to help, but this is the personality charm of Hirakawa-sensei. ”

Quite a bold remark, uttered from the girl's flirtatious mouth.

"And no matter what the reason, objectively speaking, Hirakawa-sensei helped me, so in Shiori's heart, you have an irreplaceable meaning."

The girl's emotions flowed so bluntly in the words, warmer than the sunshine of early summer.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa carried two mentions of mineral water, didn't look at Shiori Shinohara, and continued to refute her words.

"Shinohara-san, there are a lot of people in the middle of the human world. Presumably, with your family background, many outstanding people will be met. It is not a rational thing to prematurely determine one's emotions and think that they have irreplaceable meaning. ”

"It's not Hirakawa-sensei who is outstanding or not, it's Shiori who has the final say, please pay attention to this, Hirakawa-sensei."

“……”

"Also, liking is a strong subjective emotion, not a rational thing."

“…… Subjective emotion, indeed. ”

Tetsufumi Hirakawa nodded in reply.

"That Shinohara-san, even if you put aside the identity of a teacher, just from your personal thoughts-"

"-Hirakawa-sensei is going to reject me, right?"

"Yes. Likes don't have to be reciprocated. For Shinohara-san's feelings, I am allowed to refuse. ”

"Of course, Mr. Hirakawa has the right to refuse."

Shiori Shinohara did not deny this.

"But—"

The girl smiled.

"Shiori also has the power to pursue, right?"

“……”

Tetsufumi Hirakawa opened his mouth, and he wanted to say something.

Unfortunately, the distance of the convenience store is not enough to support this kind of tirade.

The girl smiled at him one last time, put down the mineral water in her hand, and walked into the group of wind clubs.