Before the Music Festival

Night,
Deep night,
A faint glow,
Morning light...
The sky was slowly brightening. Nagumo Ugetsu had a habit of drawing the curtains before going to sleep, but because he hadn't closed them tightly last night, a soft halo of light now seeped through the gap in the curtains.
He rubbed his eyes, yawned, and got up from the bed.
Despite having slept for a long time during his afternoon nap yesterday, he had still followed his normal routine and turned off the lights to go to bed on time.
He had slept soundly, and when he woke up, it was already morning.
"Today is the music festival..."
Nagumo Ugetsu let out a soft murmur.
"I never expected that as a transfer student, I would catch the school's most important event right after arriving at Tsukinomori."
He washed up, prepared breakfast, quickly finished it, and headed straight for the school.
Today's Tsukinomori was vastly different from usual.
Unlike the strict dress code enforced on ordinary days, the school turned a blind eye to attire today because of the event, imposing no excessive restrictions.
Moreover, since some band combinations performing at the festival required stage costumes and props, many students seized the opportunity to change into their favorite outfits.
Just as Nagumo Ugetsu stepped into the school grounds, he saw a girl wearing a modified sailor-style stage costume dash past his eyes.
"Not bad."
He sighed softly.
There was still some time before the official start of the performances, and the bands scheduled to take the stage were making their final tunings.
Walking along, Nagumo Ugetsu even spotted two girls giggling as they reapplied each other's makeup under the school's cherry blossom trees.
Naturally, some teachers could also be seen out and about, carrying audio equipment needed for the music festival in their arms as they slowly made their way toward the assembly hall.
"Good day."
"Good day."
Nagumo Ugetsu greeted the classmates he met along the way.
He even ran into his geography teacher. To his surprise, she had also changed her outfit today, shedding her usual classroom demeanor and looking much younger than before.
Normally, teachers not involved in organizing the music festival were granted a day off, but she had decided to blend into the students' activities to reminisce about her youth, smilingly asking Nagumo Ugetsu to keep it a secret.
"Uh..."
Nagumo Ugetsu glanced at her attire, feeling that even without him spilling the secret, anyone would be able to tell at a glance that she wasn't a student.
Still, he smiled and told her that absolutely no one would guess her disguise, which delighted the geography teacher as she tripped off toward the assembly hall.
After encountering several classmates and even his teacher on the way, Nagumo Ugetsu took a detour and finally arrived at the plantation area.
Sure enough, by the cucumber patch, he spotted the figure of Wakaba Mutsu.
She seemed to have finished watering the cucumbers and had just tucked the watering can away into a corner of the garden.
The very moment Wakaba Mutsu raised her head, Nagumo Ugetsu happened to reach her side:
"They've grown so fast."
Perhaps due to the meticulous care of their owner, the cucumbers were thriving. Compared to the few times Nagumo Ugetsu had visited before, the vines and small yellow flowers were much more luxuriant, presenting a scene full of vitality.
Nagumo Ugetsu tilted his head slightly.
At that moment, the warm sunlight spilled over Wakaba Mutsu, casting a soft, gentle glow across her fair cheeks.
Wakaba Mutsu said softly:
"Mm..."
"The temperature... has risen."
Nagumo Ugetsu nodded:
"That's true. Spring is almost over, and the temperature is much higher than before. No wonder they're growing so fast."
Wakaba Mutsu nodded gently in agreement.
She watched quietly for a moment, as if engraving every detail of the patch she had watered into her memory, and then looked at Nagumo Ugetsu:
"Let's go..."
"Alright."
The two walked toward the junior high school building.
In the time before the music festival began, aside from the students preparing to perform who were already waiting backstage, most students returned to their respective classrooms to find familiar friends, planning to head to the assembly hall together when the time was right.
Nagumo Ugetsu pushed open the front door of the classroom, and the boisterous atmosphere, previously muffled by the door's soundproofing, rushed in to meet him.
The classroom was filled with cheers and chatter. Someone was even playing a harmonica, but upon finishing, she noticed everyone staring at her and offered a sheepish, embarrassed smile.
He walked toward the back of the classroom and took his seat, just like Wakaba Mutsu.
After a brief thought, Nagumo Ugetsu pulled out Natsume Soseki's novel, *Kokoro*.
With only a dozen pages left, he was about to finish the book, and since the classroom was so noisy right now, it was a good time to read and pass the time.
Just as he lowered his head, Wakaba Mutsu finished tidying her desk drawer and lifted her head.
Click—
Togawa Sakiko, who had just arrived at the classroom, pushed open the front door.
Wakaba Mutsu watched her figure until she returned to her seat, then prepared to look down at her book.
To Mutsu's surprise, however, the moment Sakiko put her things down, she stood right back up.
?
Whether out of sheer reflex or because she had been watching Sakiko,
Wakaba Mutsu found herself unconsciously standing up as well, her gaze continuing to follow Sakiko's retreating back.
Sakiko seemed to hesitate for a moment, torn between leaving or sitting back down.
After about three or four seconds, she turned around, only to lock eyes directly with Wakaba Mutsu.
"Mutsu."
Sakiko was momentarily startled, then waved at Wakaba Mutsu.
And so, the two of them walked out of the classroom together, stopping by the corridor window.
Tap—tap—tap
They stood one behind the other.
Togawa Sakiko kept gazing out the window, while Wakaba Mutsu's eyes remained fixed on Sakiko, her expression calm yet unwavering.
Unobstructed by tree leaves, Sakiko's delicate face was bathed in sunlight, her golden pupils shimmering.
After a long silence, she murmured softly to Wakaba Mutsu:
"Mutsu... I remembered... today is my mother's birthday."
"Mutsu... I miss her."
Then, Togawa Sakiko fell into a prolonged silence.
Boom!
Wakaba Mutsu suddenly understood why Sakiko's mood had been so persistently low lately. The scattered fragments of nightmares were only part of the reason; the truly profound and far-reaching impact came from this.
The birthday of Sakiko's mother, Togawa Mizuho, was today.
She recalled the scenes from that funeral.
Though she held no particular emotional attachment to her own mother, she could feel the overwhelming wave of sorrow radiating from Togawa Sakiko back then, as if it were about to swallow the entire world.
Yet, not knowing what to say, Wakaba Mutsu simply stood there quietly, watching her without speaking.
Togawa Sakiko was still gazing out the window.
In the distance, the sky—once bathed in unrestrained sunlight—was gradually covered by drifting clouds, casting a temporary shadow that was soon scattered by the wind.
The wind suddenly grew stronger, and the oncoming airflow outside the window fluttered the bangs across her forehead.
It wasn't until Sakiko raised a hand to tuck them away that her strands slowly fell back into place.
The next second, the corners of her eyes suddenly grew damp.
In Wakaba Mutsu's field of vision, a few tears silently slipped from the corners of her eyes.
"Saki..."
Wakaba Mutsu said softly.
"I'm fine."
Togawa Sakiko wiped away her tears.
Those few tears weren't caused by the wind, but by her realization that her memories of her mother were beginning to blur.
The scenes she could recall were pitifully few, mostly consisting of fragmented images.
Only the scene at the end of the white hospital corridor remained vivid in her memory, until everything finally faded into silence.
Her father was busy with work, sometimes missing for days on end.
Childhood buddy Wakaba... wait, Mitsumi Hina had messaged her to say that the band Sumimi would be undergoing closed-door training for a while and couldn't be reached either.
These waves of loneliness seemed to surge together, nearly overwhelming her.
Watching Togawa Sakiko's expression, Wakaba Mutsu lowered her head silently.
"Saki..."
She wasn't quite sure how to comfort Sakiko. Perhaps the best course of action at this moment was simply to stand right here?
Wakaba Mutsu felt somewhat uncertain.
Time seemed to freeze.
After an indeterminate amount of time, Togawa Sakiko suddenly turned sideways and looked at her:
"Mutsu... let's go back."
Go back?
Wakaba Mutsu didn't catch her meaning at first.
Did she mean they should go back together, or was Sakiko telling her to go back first?
Startled, Wakaba Mutsu remained in her previous posture, standing quietly without moving.
Seeing that Wakaba Mutsu was still looking at her, Togawa Sakiko reached out and gently tugged on Mutsu's arm:
"Let's go... back to the classroom."
Only then did Wakaba Mutsu feel relieved, following Sakiko back into the classroom.
The only difference was that while they had left through the front door earlier, they returned through the back door.
Togawa Sakiko walked toward her seat. Passing by Nagumo Ugetsu's desk, she happened to catch sight of a book he had casually left on the corner, clearly revealing its title—
*Kokoro*
Authored by Natsume Soseki.
"Oh?" Togawa Sakiko felt a sudden, inexplicable spark of interest.
She stopped and looked at Nagumo Ugetsu.
"Ugetsu-kun... Have you finished reading this book?"
Wakaba Mutsu also stopped, standing to Nagumo Ugetsu's right, the two of them flanking him in a semi-enclosing posture.
Nagumo Ugetsu had been searching his desk drawer for another book to pass the time, not expecting Togawa Sakiko's voice to ring out by his ear.
He lifted his gaze instinctively, and the girl's figure instantly came into view.
From this angle, her collarbones were faintly visible, her contours well-defined, gleaming with a smooth luster under the light.
Nagumo Ugetsu maintained a poker face and replied:
"I've already finished it."
He picked up Natsume Soseki's *Kokoro*:
"If you need it, feel free to take it."
Togawa Sakiko accepted the book and expressed her gratitude:
"Thank you very much... I'll return it to you before school ends."
Observing Togawa Sakiko's emotional state quietly, Nagumo Ugetsu felt a trace of surprise:
"How strange... her mood has plummeted into a low period again."
He recalled walking home with Sakiko and Wakaba Mutsu yesterday. At that time, Sakiko's mood had seemed much more stable than before, but he hadn't expected it to take a nosedive once again today.
"It seems her mother and the music festival really weigh heavily on her..."
Nagumo Ugetsu sighed inwardly.
This was a deep-seated wound in Togawa Sakiko's heart that could not be easily erased. No matter how hard she tried to distract herself, this tide-like sorrow would always find its host and quietly engulf her.
There wasn't much time left before the music festival started, and the other students in the classroom had begun leaving in twos and threes toward the assembly hall.
Nagumo Ugetsu and Wakaba Mutsu stood up simultaneously, looking at Togawa Sakiko, who was still seated at her desk.
At this moment,
Sakiko kept her head lowered, staring at the borrowed copy of Natsume Soseki's *Kokoro*, yet she hadn't turned a single page for a long time.
Nagumo Ugetsu walked softly to her side.
The dejection on Togawa Sakiko's face was palpable, but upon noticing someone standing beside her, she hurriedly reined in a fraction of it.
Yet how could profound sorrow ever truly be concealed? Looking at her downcast eyelashes, Nagumo Ugetsu roughly guessed what she was thinking.
He said:
"Togawa-san... the music festival is about to begin."
"Would you like to come with us?"
Togawa Sakiko suddenly lifted her head. She saw Nagumo Ugetsu chatting with her in his usual tone, and not far away, Wakaba Mutsu had also slowly walked up to her.
For some inexplicable reason, Togawa Sakiko felt a tug at her heartstrings.
"Okay."
The three maintained their previous formation: Wakaba Mutsu in the middle, flanked by Nagumo Ugetsu and Togawa Sakiko.
Nagumo Ugetsu quietly focused the "Precepts" authority he had activated when inviting Sakiko exclusively onto the domain of the [Heart's Abyss], amplifying its effect slightly.
Then, he resumed chatting with the girls beside him about amusing anecdotes from school, and the group walked together toward the assembly hall.
............
Meanwhile,
Not long ago, Togawa Kiyotaka, who had just dropped his daughter off at school, was still sitting inside the Maybach.
Last night, he had rushed through his work and returned home precisely to ensure he could drive his daughter to school this morning.
Naturally, he could not forget what day it was.
"Mizuho..."
In Togawa Kiyotaka's mind, memories began to surge back uncontrollably.
Bloodlines were a curse, and problems of this nature were completely unresolved for now. Mizuho had already held on for long enough.
His wife had been a ray of light he encountered in the depths of despair, yet just like that first time she illuminated his world, she had suddenly been extinguished.
Fate was fickle, and past events were mere illusions like foam.
Fortunately, they had a daughter.
Although work commitments prevented Kiyotaka from spending extended periods with Sakiko—limiting him to snatching moments for small gestures like occasionally driving her to school or picking her up—today happened to coincide with the Tsukinomori music festival.
Thinking this to himself, Togawa Kiyotaka straightened up, reached out to turn the car key, and the engine let out a low, renewed roar.
The next second, he steered to the left, and the car slowly pulled away from its parking spot, heading into the distance.