In the dimly lit music room, Tō opened his mouth.

"Isn't the culture festival in, like, two weeks?" he said.

"We've never even touched a guitar until yesterday!" someone exclaimed.

"Well... we have no choice... we just have to do it... we have to," Ryōsuke said as he stood up.

"We don't have time to worry! We just have to do it! We can do it! Show some guts!" Tō shouted.

Everyone stood up, muttering, "Seriously?"

"Ah, just as I expected! You little troublemakers!" Mr. Arai exclaimed as he burst through the door.

"What's up with you guys? Confident in a fight but surrendering to instruments? You're all pathetic!" His words ignited anger in everyone.

"Let's do it, damn it!"

"We'll master this thing in no time!"

"If we practice without sleeping, it'll work out!"

"We'll fill the gym with our performance!"

Mr. Arai, stirring them up, said, "Well then, we need to decide what song to play!"

He brought out several Beatles CDs.

"Listen to all of these now and decide which song to play! You're not going home until then!"

By the time they finished listening to all the CDs, the sun was rising.

In reality, they were supposed to perform three songs at the culture festival. But it was too much, so they managed to reduce it to two.

"Teacher!"

Ryōsuke woke up Mr. Arai, who was sleeping face down on the desk.

"Hmm... have you decided?"

"Yes! We have!"

Though opinions were divided, they settled on two songs:

* "Paperback Writer"

* "The Long and Winding Road"

"Oh man, you picked difficult ones again!"

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Really? They just sounded cool..."

"Listen, with Beatles songs, they often have melodies that Japanese people aren't used to. So, it's difficult to memorize... Do you get it?"

"Yes! We'll practice like crazy!"

In the music room, Mr. Arai looked at everyone.

"Practice starts today! I believe you guys can do it! With your determination, you can beat anyone! Let's make it a success and surprise everyone!"

"Yes!" came the enthusiastic response, full of energy as if they hadn't stayed up all night.

"Alright! Let's start with tuning. Do you all remember the basic practice methods? I'll get some sheet music and food! Those who want to rest can take a nap!"

Mr. Arai hurried out of the music room.

"What? We're starting now?"

"We might as well go wash our faces first."

The four of them left the music room.

Though they were young, their bodies felt sluggish... They walked heavily to the washroom.

After washing their faces and feeling refreshed, they resumed practice.

The sounds of tuning, metronome clicks, and hitting the snare drum filled the room.

This was the beginning of "The Youth Band"!

Mr. Arai, or rather, the advisor of the Light Music Club, played instruments while holding bread and milk coffee that he had brought.

They practiced tirelessly, taking turns napping, and a week later...

"You guys seem to be getting the hang of it, huh?"

"Yeah, why don't we try playing together?"

"Great idea!"

"1, 2, 3, 4!" the sound of Kōji's drum sticks hitting.

Crash! Bang! Boom! It didn't match at all?

"Maybe if we slow down the tempo?"

"Shall we try that?"

"Well, it's a bit better than before..."

Mr. Arai walked in.

"It's because you're not listening to each other's music!

Kōji, you're crucial! Keep the rhythm steady! If it's tough, just focus on keeping the beat! Yasuya, you need to match Kōji's rhythm! Ryōsuke, Tō, listen closely to the rhythm section! Try it again!"

1, 2, 3, 4...

Ding! The first sound was made...

They practiced coordinating their rhythms slowly.

Mr. Arai simplified difficult parts, and they managed to get through them all.

"This might work!" they thought. But everyone was in pain.

"Oh, it finally happened!"

"Show me! Oh... it's gotten this bad... you guys were probably hurting long before this, huh?"

Their fingers and hands, especially Kōji's, were aching and bleeding.

"This is how it starts. Ryōsuke, the first aid kit.

" They disinfected everyone's hands and applied bandages.

"If you keep repeating this, your skin will toughen up, and it'll get easier. Endure it for now. Got it?"

"Today, let's call it quits here and go home!"

"No, we still want to practice!"

"Don't overdo it," Mr. Arai said with a smile, clearly pleased.

They tried to play again, and again, and again...

"Tomorrow is the culture festival! You all did great!

Take it easy for today," and they finally went home.

"I'm home!"

"Oh, welcome back! You've worked hard!"

"Dad..." Ryōsuke smiled, trying not to cry.

On the day of the culture festival...

"Now, let's welcome The Youth Band onto the stage!"

...The results were disastrous...

The music room was always small, so it was never an issue, but in the gym, the sound didn't carry...

The sound reflected off the walls, making it hard to keep tempo…

They missed notes and messed up their voices.

As for Tō, he even cut his finger on the strings for the first time.

Feeling down...

"How was it? Tasting the 'shame' for the first time?"

When they turned around, Ryōsuke's father and Mr. Arai were standing there.

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"The beginning was rough, I tell you," the shopkeeper says, laughing.

"All that practice, and it didn't pay off...," remarks someone.

"But looking back now, it was a precious time," the shopkeeper reflects.

"Why's that? You practiced so much, didn't you?"

"It was good because my nose got broken at the beginning," the shopkeeper explains.