The evening sky glowed softly, tinting the classroom windows in shades of orange and gold.
Laughter faded down the hallway, replaced by the quiet rhythm of footsteps and distant birds.
I stood up, packing my things carefully.
My plan was simple —
Go home early, sleep, and pretend to be busy so that Inohana wouldn't come looking for me.
(Perfect plan, right?)
…Yeah. Life's never that easy.
"Oi, Hayashi~! Don't go home yet!"
I froze.
That voice again.
Sigh. So much for peace.
"Oh no… here comes trouble," I muttered.
At the end of the hallway stood Inohana Akane, waving like an overexcited kid who'd just found treasure.
For some reason, that kind of energy… looked kinda cute.
…Damn it. I regret thinking that.
"I wanna show you something! Come on, follow me!"
"You do realize that sentence always leads to disaster, right?"
"Trust me~ this time, you won't regret it!"
"You said the same thing when you dragged me to the rooftop just to watch a crow."
"Hehe~ but it was cute, wasn't it?"
"Cute?! I almost fell off, you idiot!"
She just laughed—and somehow, I still followed.
Maybe I was too tired to argue.
We stopped in front of an old, dusty door on the second floor.
The sign above it was barely readable: Music Room.
"Tadaaa~ cool, right?" she grinned.
"Are you even sure we're allowed in here?"
"Relax~ no one uses it anymore… probably."
I stepped inside.
The air smelled of wood and dust, the whole room glowing under the orange light of sunset.
It felt… nostalgic.
Like a memory that refused to fade.
In the corner, a piano, a guitar, even a drum set — all long abandoned.
"You brought me here just for nostalgia?"
"Nostalgia? We're not that old, y'know."
"Not yet. But I swear, I'll get gray hair because of you."
She laughed softly, leaning against a desk.
Her eyes landed on the guitar I was holding.
"Eh? You can play?"
"A little. Don't expect anything."
"It's fine~ I doubt you can play anyway."
Her tone was teasing, but gentle.
…How can someone insult you so politely?
Then her face lit up.
"I've got a genius idea!"
"My head already hurts."
"Let's make a band!"
The room went dead silent.
"…What?"
"A band! We'll call it Sakura Noise! Sounds cool, right?"
"Sounds like a flower club that forgot how to hear."
"You—! Can't you just imagine something fun for once?!"
Before I could respond—
"A band? Seriously? Count me in!"
Mika suddenly appeared out of nowhere, twirling a pair of drumsticks.
"Where did you even get those—"
"I'm great at banging stuff!"
"...That sentence sounds really wrong if you stop halfway."
"Kehee~ I meant drums!"
Rei walked in next, arms crossed.
"I'm only joining to make sure you idiots don't destroy this place."
Then came Hana, calm as always.
"In that case, I'll take the piano~"
And finally, Nao wandered in, stretching with sleepy eyes.
"Can I… just sleep in the corner instead?"
And thus began our "practice."
Which, to put it kindly, was a complete disaster.
Hana played something elegant on the piano.
Then Mika joined in — with random drum hits that sounded like a warzone.
Inohana grabbed the mic.
"La~ la~ la~ SAKURAAAA—"
"STOP! My ears are bleeding!" Rei yelled.
"That was just a warm-up!"
"Warm-up?! You were summoning a demon!"
I couldn't take it anymore.
I sat down, picked up the guitar, and strummed.
A calm, warm melody filled the room—soft, blending with the fading sunset.
Everyone froze.
Even the wind seemed to listen.
Mika stopped.
Hana's fingers lingered on the keys.
Nao blinked awake.
And Inohana…
She looked at me differently this time.
"...You're actually kinda cool, huh?"
"Took you long enough to notice."
"Hmph. Don't get cocky. I said your music is nice, not you."
"Yeah, yeah. You might wanna fix your voice though—it sounded like an exorcism chant."
"S-Shut up!"
Her face turned red as she looked away.
I smiled softly.
After a while, I handed her another guitar.
"C'mon, I'll teach you. Let's play together."
"H-Huh?! But I don't even know how—"
"You'll learn."
And we did.
We messed up, we laughed, we tried again.
No one judged anyone.
It was... nice.
Surprisingly, Inohana picked it up fast enough to play along.
By the time the sky turned indigo, everyone was ready to leave.
Mika waved cheerfully.
"Let's practice again tomorrow, Hayashi-kun~!"
"Yeah, yeah... whatever."
I stayed behind a moment longer.
My eyes landed on a violin sitting quietly in the corner.
For a brief second, something inside me stirred.
I'm not touching that damn thing ever again.
I shook the thought away.
Then I remembered her words—
Let's make a band—Sakura Noise!
"Sakura Noise, huh…" I murmured, smiling faintly.
"Sounds interesting. I wonder how far they'll go."
The sky outside had turned dark.
I slung my bag over my shoulder, heading out.
I didn't know if this band would last—
or fall apart before it even began.
But for the first time in a long while...
I wanted to believe in something again.