Kaito was dressed and ready for school a lot quicker than usual, despite having rained heavily the previous night and being the first day of the new school year.

It’s been a little over a week since he last saw his friends, and he realized that he missed having them around, especially since the only company he had in the last week was his sister and aunt whenever she returned from work.

Even Miyu had disappeared after the last amazing evening they spent together.

Maybe I’m going mad, and she doesn’t even exist…

Kaito followed his nose, which had caught the amazing aromas of breakfast and coffee, downstairs.

“Good morning!” Kaito greeted

“Morning” Yui mumbled.

“Hey, Kaito! Ready for today, hmm?” Kanna asked.

“Yeah, I guess, but I don’t have time for breakfast. I actually wanted to leave a bit early. The train might be delayed because of this weather.”

“Aw, okay, good luck! Don’t forget to—”

“Take an umbrella; yeah, I know,” Kaito interrupted her.

“I was going to say, ‘don’t forget to take your lunch along with you,’ Mister smarty pants,” Kanna corrected, holding out a packed lunch box for him.

“Oh! Thank you. You didn’t have to do that.”

“Of course, I do. You guys need to grow up healthy and strong,” Kanna said, with a finger pointed to him and his sister, “so that you can take care of me when I get old, which is almost!”

Kaito smiled at his aunt, slipped on his shoes and grabbed an umbrella. “See you guys tonight!”

“See you tonight!” said Kaito.

“Bye-bye!” said Kanna and Yui together.

Kaito power-walked to the train station while thick raindrops pounded against his umbrella.

Miserable weather…

One minute, it’s hot and humid, the next it’s raining like no tomorrow!

When Kaito arrived at the train station, his shoes and the lower part of his pants were soaked.

At least the train is on time…

Once inside the train, Kaito looked up and down but couldn’t see either one of his friends, so he sat down on the first empty seat he saw.

Moments later, a girl appeared in front of Kaito. She wore a school uniform and looked weirdly familiar.

“Hey there, is this seat taken?” the girl asked, pointing at the seat next to Kaito.

Kaito looked around, confused. “Uh… N-no?”

There are so many open seats on the train though…

“My name is Hana,” she said, extending her hand with a smile. “I’ve been meaning to thank you and apologize for my step-brother’s idiotic behavior. Except I haven’t really seen you around since then.”

Oh yeah, from the cafeteria!

He shook her hand. “Oh yeah! You’re the student council president, right? It’s nice to finally meet you. I’m Kaito by the way.”

“Oh, I know who you are!” She gave off an awkward smile and sat down, next to Kaito.

Uhm… She knows me?

“Oh… right… I see. Um, what’s that uniform you are wearing then?”

“This is our school uniform! We used to have to wear this every day, but that’s obviously no longer the case. Since last year actually.”

Then why are you wearing it…?

“Oh, right. That’s… interesting!”

“Look! Our stop is up ahead. Are you also excited about going back to school as well?” Hana asked.

“I’m just looking forward to seeing my friends really...”

“Oh, I see. Well, we’re almost there! Let’s go stand by the door so that we don’t have to squeeze past all these people later on,” she said then got up and made her way to the train’s door.

Kaito didn’t want to seem rude, so he followed her, and the two of them waited by the door until it slid open.

Kaito felt relieved when he saw Touma’s redhead in the crowd of people that waited by the station.

“Touma!” he called out and made his way over to where he stood.

“Ay, ay! There you are!”

Himari popped out from behind Touma. “Hey, Kaito!” her gaze quickly turned to Hana, who stood beside Kaito. “Hi, Hana. I didn’t know you guys knew each other!”

“We just met actually,” she smiled. “Anywho, I’m off to class! It was nice to meet you, Kaito. Don’t linger too long else you’ll be late to class!” she said before disappearing into the crowd of people scurrying across the station.

“Beware of Hana, Kaito, she’s a weird one!” Himari warned.

“I’m sure she was just trying to be nice!” Kaito said.

“I don’t know, she’s pretty cute!” Touma barely finished his sentence when Himari’s hand found the back of his head, “Ouch!”

“I’m serious though! I mean, who wears a school uniform when it’s not mandatory?”

Kaito shrugged. “I guess she does.”

The three of them made their way to school and just when Kaito thought everything was good between Himari and Touma, they stopped to say goodbye to each other. Touma opened his arms, going for a hug, but Himari had a different idea—she quickly extended her hand and shook Touma, then she turned and walked off.

“What was that all about?” Kaito chuckled.

“I don’t know!” Touma said, confused while throwing his arms up in the air.

“You want to tell me that you can’t think of anything you did wrong?”

“Not that I know of!”

As soon as the two boys arrived at school, they made their way to class.

Professor Yoshida was already in class when they arrived, and Kaito reached for his pocket to check the time on his phone.

Phew! Just in time.

They took their seats, and the Professor addressed the class: “Good morning, students! And welcome back...”

The professor barely started welcoming everyone back when Kaito felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

He discreetly slipped it and glanced down to see Touma’s name appear on the screen with a text.

TOUMA: I think I know why she’s mad!

KAITO: Lemme guess… Did you call another girl cute?

TOUMA: Huh? No! I asked her to be my girlfriend and she said no, I had to ask her in a more romantic way!

KAITO: How did you ask her then?

TOUMA: I texted her

KAITO: …

TOUMA: WHAT????

The professor cleared his throat abnormally loud, and when Kaito looked up, the entire class was staring at them, including the professor.

“Seeing as you two clearly have no interest in what I have to say, I’d suggest that you make your way to the principal's office… Quickly now!”

“Yes, Professor! Sorry, Professor,” the two boys echoed and quickly made their way outside the classroom.

“What was that? I’ve never seen him that upset!” Touma said as they walked down the hall.

“I’m not sure, but do you think he was serious about having to go to the principal's office?”

“I’d say so… He is usually one of the coolest teachers but after that… I wouldn’t take a chance.”

“To the principal's office then.”

“Right, where’s that?” Touma asked.

“Like I would know?!”

“Ahem,” a tiny voice emerged from behind them and stopped the boys in their tracks.

Hana?

“I can take you!” Hana said.

“Hana?” Kaito said, and by the look on Touma’s face, he was just as confused as Kaito.

“I’m on my way there now, I can take you,” she said.

“Uh, thanks! Why do you have to go?”

“The student council room is right next to my da— Uh— The principal’s office.”

“And?”

“And she’s the student council president,” Kaito said, shoving his elbow into his friend’s side. “Okay, cool. Thanks, Hana!”

“Well, let’s go,” Hana said.

“Lead the way!” said Kaito.

Led by Hana, the two boys made their way to the waiting area, just outside the principal's office, where they had to sit and wait, until the principal called them over.

He beckoned them to enter the office and sit down.

The office gave off a feeling of prestige, with the medals and trophies that adorned the entire back wall. The left and right walls had bookcases and paintings, and right in front of the two boys stood an impressive wooden desk with a shiny nameplate that glimmered the name, PRINCIPAL NAKAMURA.

Principal Nakamura sat down behind his desk and flipped through papers in front of him. He looked to be around the same age as Professor Yoshida but with a lot less hair and quite a bit more body mass.

With an intimidatingly deep voice, Principal Nakamura asked, “So, why were the two of you sent here?”

Kaito looked at Touma to see who would answer the principal first, but fortunately for Kaito, Touma replied without any delay: “We were both on our phones while Professor Yoshida was addressing the class.”

“And you understand why you were sent here?” the principal asked.

“Yes, sir!” Touma answered and looked over at Kaito.

“Yes, sir,” Kaito, too, replied immediately.

“Do you have anything to say for yourselves?”

“We’re sorry, sir. It won’t happen again!” Touma said.

“It definitely won’t happen again, sir,” Kaito added.

“Good. As for punishment, the two of you will go clean out the school pool,” he said and handed a key to Touma. “Return this when you’re done.”

“After school, sir?” Touma asked.

“No, right now. We need the pool this afternoon. Plus, having to explain to your teachers why you missed their classes will serve as an added punishment. Now, off you go,” he said, and the two boys jumped out of their chairs and skedaddled out of the principal’s office.

“That wasn’t too bad!” Touma said, stretching his arms out in front of him.

“You handled that well though!”

“Well, I know that he likes it when you are being honest and direct, so, that’s all you have to do with him,” Touma explained. “No beating around the bush and you should be just fine!”

“Let’s not make a habit out of it though,” Kaito said. “By the way, where is the pool? I didn’t even know we had one!”

“Follow me!” Touma said.

The two boys made their way through some empty hallways, turned a couple of corners, and arrived at a part of the school that Kaito had never seen before.

Touma unlocked and pushed open the glass door in front of them, and a strong whiff of chlorine washed over the boys.

When they walked inside the huge, open area, an Olympic-sized pool stretched out in front of them, equipped with diving planks, floating lane dividers, pool ladders, and surrounded by cream-colored tiles.

Kaito looked around taking in his surroundings, but there wasn’t much else to see, apart from the pool. He did, however, spot a small shed in the corner, which he figured housed the tools they would need to clean the pool.

“There,” Kaito pointed to the shed, “let’s get this done.”

They grabbed what they could find and cleaned the pool. Kaito skimmed the top while Touma used a brush attachment to clean the floor of the pool.

A few quiet moments went by until Kaito broke the silence. “Touma, I’ve been thinking...”

“Hmm?”

“It feels a bit weird to say this out loud, but I really like Miyu. And I’ve been thinking of a way I could tell her.”

“Hmm, alright. Why don’t you just tell her?”

“I don’t know… I just feel like I could make it a bit more special, you know.”

“And what were you thinking?”

“I’m not sure if it will work. Have you ever seen one of those movies where the guy stands outside the girl’s window and plays a song for her?” Kaito asked.

“Yeah of course! But don’t you think that’s a bit cliché? Are you going to stand there with your phone on max volume?”

“Nah, I was thinking of writing her a song, which I’ll sing to her… And maybe ask a few guys from the Music Club to help me out.”

“That’s such an awesome idea!” Touma said excitedly. “Damn! Why didn’t I think of that? Himari would’ve loved it!”

Kaito shrugged and asked, “Do you think some of the guys would help out?”

“Are you kidding? They love stuff like this!”

“That’s settled then; I’ll ask them this afternoon! Now, I just need to figure out how to get her to look outside her window at the right time.”

“Oh, yeah! She doesn’t have a phone… That’s a bummer. What if you just ask her to go outside before the time?” Touma asked.

“That’s the thing! She doesn’t always answer when I call out to her...”

It went quiet again, and Kaito fell into a rhythm, skimming the pool’s top layer from right to left as if he was rowing a canoe, and he only had to row on one side.

What are we even cleaning?

This pool is already spotless.

The school bell chimed, indicating time for lunch and not a second later Touma said, “Let’s get out of here! This pool can’t possibly get any cleaner than this.”

Kaito followed Touma’s lead, and soon after, they met up with Himari, who sat outside, in the school’s courtyard.

“We sitting here today?” Touma asked.

“Yes, why not? It’s such a nice day now that the rain has cleared up,” Himari replied.

“I guess,” Touma said, sitting next to Himari.

“And what are the two of you moping around for?” she asked, taking a bite out of a delicious-looking egg sandwich.

Kaito unpacked his lunch—stuffed BLT sandwiches cut into perfect fluffy triangles.

Nice! Kanna is the best!

When he finished admiring the craftsmanship of his sandwiches, Kaito told Himari about the girl he liked and explained the idea he had of a romantic gesture for her.

“What?!” she said, dropping her sandwich, which fell back into her lunchbox. “You like Miyu?”

“Err… You know her?” Kaito asked.

“Yeah, I do! Well, I used to…”

Himari knows her!

“...We went to the same primary school. I thought we would become friends, but her dad pulled her out of school to be homeschooled after… After...”

“It’s okay, I know,” Kaito said. “Himari… Can you tell me what she looked like?”

“Hmm… It was long ago though… But she had very light, blonde hair. It was almost white! And, uh... I can remember being a little bit jealous of her because she was super pretty! Other than that… I can’t remember much. I’m sorry, Kaito.”

“I got it!” Touma jumped up, his hand shot into the air and food flew out of his mouth. “Those letters on the principal’s desk… Those were the weekly school newsletters that are getting delivered tomorrow!”

“Okay… and?” Kaito asked, gazing at his friend skeptically.

“Think about it! We drop off the swimming pool key when the principal isn’t there… Then we find a letter with Miyu’s name on it, and you slip a tiny note inside letting her know she needs to look outside her window tomorrow afternoon!”

“What? That’s crazy!” Kaito said. “And why would there be a letter with her name on it?”

“She’s being homeschooled, right?” Touma asked. “Even homeschooled kids have to get their coursework from an actual school.”

“Touma is right, Kaito! And there’s only one high school in Hakone. If she is being homeschooled… She has to be registered here!”

Slip a note into her letter…

Ask the music club kids to help me out…

Write a song and sing it for her…

Sounds like a good plan!

“Can’t believe I’m saying this… But that’s a pretty awesome idea, Touma!”

“We should go right now!” Touma said.

“Right now?” Kaito asked.

“Yip, we have math after lunch… And I don’t know about you, but I definitely don’t want to skip Professor Hoga’s class!”

“Ah… I don’t want to either; that woman is scary as hell!” Kaito said, putting away his last sandwich. “Okay, let’s go!”

Touma caught Himari’s gaze, and it looked like he was about to ask her something. But then she smiled and said, “Just go!”

Touma bent over and placed a quick peck on her cheek before he and Kaito made their way back to the principal’s office.

It seemed like a completely different route from the one they’d taken, because this time around, the hallways were filled with the loud chattering, laughs, and the buzzing of hundreds of students walking to and from the cafeteria.

They stopped at the last corner, clung with their backs to the wall while Touma stuck out his head to peek at the principal’s office door.

“Say… Mister Spy Master… How are we gonna know if he’s in there or not?” Kaito asked.

“We’ll have to… Uh, never mind! Quick! here he comes!”

They dashed across the hallway and hid behind the first thing they could find, which happened to be the janitor’s cleaning trolley.

This thing stinks!

Kaito used his fingers to clamp his nose shut, and they waited there until Principal Nakamura walked past them.

“For such a busy man, he sure walks slow,” Kaito whispered.

“He’s gone, let’s go,” Touma said.

Kaito’s heart raced as they approached the office’s door. He had done things he was not supposed to do before, but this time, it felt much more exhilarating as the chance of getting caught was quite high.

“Yes! It’s unlocked,” Touma said in a hushed voice. He and Kaito quickly slipped into the office.

The office looked the same as it did that morning. Kaito glanced at the principal’s desk and lit up when he saw the piles of letters on it.

“You go and look for your girlfriend’s letter, and I’ll be lookout!”

“She’s not my girlfriend!” Kaito said even though he wished that was the case.

Kaito walked around the desk and hastily scanned through the first pile of letters.

Nothing.

Kaito grabbed the second pile of letters, then the third, then the fourth.

Miyu… Miyu… Miyu Hoshino!

This is it!

Her name is actually here!

“I found it!”

“Good! Now, slip the note in! We need to get out of here.”

A note! Uh… I need a pen…

Got it! Now... paper…

This will do!

He pulled off a little yellow note from the principal’s notepad and wrote his note for Miyu.

Dear, Miyu

Please look out your window at 3 PM.

I have a surprise for you!

Kaito

He slipped the note inside the envelope, which he sneaked somewhere in the middle of the pile of letters. When he pushed the pile back to its original location, a framed photograph of Principal Nakamura and his son caught Kaito’s eye. “Hey, Touma, look at this!” he said, handing the frame to Touma.

In the photograph stood the principal with his arm around his son, Ace, with the name, Akiara Nakamura written beneath him.

“Akiara?!” Touma asked out loud, and the two of them giggled. “Oh, wow! Now I understand why he calls himself Ace!”

The office door creaked open, and before Kaito could fully swallow his laugh, Hana appeared in the doorway.

“What is going on here?” she asked.

“Um… I, uh… w-we...” Touma stammered.

Kaito dropped the picture frame and stood frozen for a moment, with his heart in his mouth. And all he could manage was the sound, “Err...” as he tried his best to think of an excuse.

“No one is supposed to be in here right now!” said Hana.

Kaito took a deep breath. “Look, uh… Hana. I know this looks a bit… weird but we only came in here to drop off the swimming pool key.”

“Oh, yeah!” Touma chimed in. “We had to clean the pool! We’re done… So, now we’re returning the key!”

Touma looked at Kaito and gestured “good job” with a nod.

“And you need two people to drop off one tiny key?” she asked.

“Um…” Was all Kaito could manage.

Oh, no! She doesn’t believe us!

She’s gonna tell the principal!

Ah, man, they’re gonna make us sit detention…

“Oh… Okay then. Just close the door when you guys leave,” Hana said before she turned around and walked out the door.

Huh?

“She believed us!” Touma said with a relieved smile on his face. “She actually believed us!”

There’s no way she bought that…

Why did she let us go then…

“Come, let’s get the hell out of here!” Kaito said, and they ran out of there as fast as they could.

They were about halfway down the next hallway when they stopped running.

“Do you wanna hear something funny?” Touma asked.

Hunched, with his hands resting on his knees and still panting. “I’m almost on the floor after running a few hundred meters, and you’re standing there as if you just had a leisurely stroll in the park?!”

“Well, yeah, that’s pretty funny as well! But no, that’s not what I meant… After all of that, I forgot to return the swimming pool key!” Touma pulled the key out of his pocket, and his goofy smile spread across his face.

“That’s… pretty funny,” Kaito said, struggling to laugh and catch his breath at the same time.

The school bell chimed its Westminster-chime, indicating the end of their lunch break and the start of a mad dash to the other side of the school to make it in time for math.

Kaito and Touma were lucky they arrived at class when they did, had they been a minute later, they would’ve had to deal with Professor Hoga, who stood in the doorway of her classroom, waiting for any latecomers.

She glared at them as they rushed past her. “I suggest you find your seats with the same pace,” she said.

Touma fell into his chair, and Kaito sat down at the desk behind him.

“Right. Welcome back, everyone. Today we will continue where we left off before summer break. So, open your calculus books, please.”

Vzzzt-Vzzzt. Vzzzt-Vzzzt.

Touma?

No, not even he can be that dumb…

He sneakily pulled his phone halfway out of his pocket to have a quick peek.

TOUMA: Is it just me, or does she have a mustache?

It is him!

Kaito stretched out his right leg and kicked the chair in front of him.

Professor Hoga was by far the biggest woman Kaito had ever seen. Her muscular body resembled that of an American football player. Short, curly brown hair sat atop her head, and as Touma remarked, her upper lip was covered with hair.

Thanks to his friend, Kaito couldn’t concentrate for the entire duration of the class, because every time he looked at the professor while she spoke, he had to try his best to suppress his laughter.

Kaito’s other classes were a lot more relaxed, and most teachers only welcomed them back and wanted to learn what everyone did during their summer breaks.

After an interesting first day of school, Kaito and Touma headed to the school hall to meet up with other members of the Music Club.

“Have you decided on what instruments you want to use?” Touma asked, walking past the rows of chairs and taking a seat on the edge of the stage,

“Hmm, well… I’ll play the guitar… And besides that, it would be cool if we had drums and maybe a bass guitar,” Kaito said.

“That’s easy! Just ask Riku if he can bring his drums and help—”

“And how are we going to transport his drum set?” Kaito asked.

“We’re not going to! He has a portable, electric one. He brought it to practice once before!”

“Ah, I see. That would be perfect! Look!” Kaito called Touma’s attention on spotting Riku enter the hall. “There he is now. I’ll go and ask him.”

A group of Music Club members had just entered the hall, and Kaito darted over to where he’d seen Riku. However, as if she’d performed a magic trick, Sara popped into existence right in front of Kaito.

Sara?

“Hey, hey!” she said smiling with her arms behind her back as if she was hiding something.

“Hello, Sara,” Kaito said.

“I heard you are taking over the lead from Touma. Is that true?” she asked.

“Yeah, it is.”

“Strange… I mean… It’s good for you of course! Congrats! But I don’t want there to be any bad blood between us, so I’ve come here to apologize.”

“Honestly, I forgot what happened when it happened. So, there’s no need to apologize.”

“Oh! I see. Okay then. See you on stage!” She held up her right hand, waiting for Kaito to high-five her.

Kaito briefly felt the urge to walk past, but then he decided it’s probably best to bury the hatchet as the Music Club’s play was just around the corner. So, he gave her a quick high-five, slipped around her, and walked off to his original location.

“Riku!”

“What’s up?”

“I need your help! Do you have plans tomorrow afternoon?”

“Are you kidding? I never have plans!”

Kaito was shocked by his response and felt bad for not trying to make friends with him.

If it hadn’t been for Touma, I’d be worse off than Riku.

“Okay… I want to perform a song tomorrow, and I need—”

“Drums? I got drums!” Riku said with an excited smile on his face.

Touma approached the two of them and asked, “You still have those electric drums, don’t you? Can you bring them along?”

“Yeah! I can! But does that mean we’re not performing at school then?”

“Nope, Mister Romance over here wants to play a song for his girlfriend. So, we’ll take the train to Kaito’s place, after school.”

Kaito disapprovingly shook his head at Touma, which Touma answered with a pearly-white smile.

“That sounds like fun!” Riku said.

“Great! Thanks, Riku. Now we just need a bassist, then we can start making the song... Oh wait, Touma, shouldn’t practice start already?”

Touma looked around the hall and then climbed the chair closest to him. “Listen up, guys! It looks like not even half of the Club pitched up today, so let’s just cancel today’s practice.”

A mixture of annoyed remarks and relieved sounds came from the group of kids in the hall.

“Thanks, guys. See you Wednesday afternoon again!” Touma said.

“Wait! I still need to find a bassist to help me out!”

Touma jumped off the chair. “Hold on,” he said and quickly ran to the stage. When he returned, he had a bass guitar strapped around his neck. “You, my friend, are in luck,” he said as his fingers fumbled the thick strings on the guitar.

“You can play bass?” Kaito was shocked but impressed.

“I sure can!”

Riku looked at them as if they were crazy. “Guys, I hate to be a Freddie Frowner but...”

Riku says that as well? Is it a Hakone thing?

“...I’m pretty sure you said we can start making the song... Does that mean you don’t have a song yet?”

“Uh… Not yet,” Kaito answered.

“Then how exactly will we be ready to perform it tomorrow?”

“Don’t worry your pretty little face,” Touma replied, “Kaito over here is a musical genius!”

Kaito grabbed a guitar. “I’m no musical genius, but I’ve had this tune stuck in my head ever since the fireworks festival.”

Kaito had to guess around at a few notes before he found the perfect ones that matched the melody in his head.

Touma added some deep, bass sounds, which resonated perfectly with Kaito’s melody.

That sounds awesome!

Before long, Riku whipped out a pair of drumsticks, seemingly out of thin air, and tapped them on the different parts of the chair in front of him.

Da-ta ta. Da-da-da ta. Da-ta ta. Da-da-da ta.

The sounds they produced came together amazingly well, and Kaito loved it.

All this needs is some lyrics...

Kaito smiled, and then he sang the first words that came to his mind when he thought of Miyu.

“Sometimes I wonder

I wonder if you’re real

How can you be

If I’ve only ever seen you in my dreams”

“Wo-ho! That’s goooood, buddy! Keep it going,” Touma encouraged him.

“I need to… Uh”

Need to… Need to…

“I need to pinch myself, and always

Whenever you’re talking

My heart is pounding”

My heart is pounding… Uhm…

My heart is pounding…

“My heart is pounding

The beat to our song!”

“Haha, nice one! But Riku is the one with the beat! Just kidding! Keep going,” Touma said.

Kaito climbed the same chair Touma stood on just a few minutes ago and then closed his eyes. He knew the words to the chorus before he even began to sing it and confidently elevated his voice.

“You’re my dream girl

The girl of my dreams!

Since the day I first heard you sing

Till the day that I die

You’ll be my dream girl

The girl of my dreams...”

Kaito opened his eyes to see Touma nodding his head in approval, which made him smile even more.

Next verse…

Kaito dropped the pace of the melody, and Touma and Riku followed his lead.

In a softer voice, Kaito sang the next verse.

“I’m not sure how but I am sure why

These feeling that I’m feeling, they can’t be wrong

What else could it mean when I cry inside, every time

You say goodbye”

“My heart keeps pounding, the beat to our song”

“My heart keeps pounding, the beat to our song”

“Nice! Sooo good!” Touma remarked.

“Now just repeat the chorus.” Kaito increased the pace of the melody again, striking the chords of the guitar with a forgotten passion.

“You’re my dream girl!

The girl of my dreams

Since the day I first heard you sing

Till the day that I die

You’ll be my dream girl!

The girl of my dreams...”

Kaito felt the adrenaline course through him, and a warm, happy feeling washed over him.

I guess this is why she loved performing…

Kaito stepped down from the chair and finished off the song.

“My heart keeps pounding… The beat to our song.”

Kaito sat down and took a deep breath. He was beyond impressed at what the three of them came up with in such a short time, and by the looks of it, so was Touma and Riku.

Touma took a seat next to Kaito. “Dude! If she doesn’t want to be your girlfriend after that, I’ll take you for myself!”

“Yeah, that’s was pretty… amazing, Kaito,” Riku joined them.

“I mean… You guys were awesome! I couldn’t have done any of it without you.”

“I’m not sure why… But for some reason, I highly doubt that,” Riku said, but Kaito just waved away his subtle compliment.

“So, do you guys think we can perfect that before tomorrow?” Kaito asked.

“Sure can! That melody is pretty easy. We just need to adjust when you go in and come out of the chorus,” Touma said.

Riku nodded. “I agree. If we can get that down, we should be at rockstar-level by tomorrow.”

“Cool! Let’s take it from the top!”