With the increased activity during the second term, the days felt faster to the students of Amanohara as it was already Fall. The mid-term of the second semester was just over, signifying the halfway of the school year. Suzuyuki had settled in the new student council thankfully, as she had already gotten used to the new position. Renge was glad to see the first year adapt to it that fast given how she was going to leave the post at the end of the term. 

The Anime Manga Club was no different. They already had chosen Kenjiro as the next club president by default, as he was the only second-year left in the club.  Although Suzuyuki could not help to notice that Chris Kimura was absent from the club meeting that Friday. She recalled seeing him in the third year's classroom earlier that day. As she asked her onee-sama, Junichi and her said that he was busy with the upcoming Music Club event at the end of the term, right before the second term examination. Last year he did the same too, as he had a solo violin section as the opener of the club (where he covered anime songs, and the audiences found it interesting).

Kimura arrived at the end of the meeting with some good news. "The Music Club wants to top last year's performance by adding the main vocalist from our club." He said with a bright smile. It surprised the rest of the club members since it happened so suddenly. All of them immediately stared at Ichinose Renge as she wondered, "Wait, why me-?" 

"You are still the club president until the end of the term, so it's your chance to." Kenjiro chuckled as the others piled on the offer. 

"Do you think Jun or Kenjiro could sing that well? You are the best singer out of us all." Kimura added. He would be the one playing the violin so he was out by default. Renge did recall the last time they all sang in the karaoke, the two were definitely not lead vocalist material. They even complimented Renge a lot for her vocal range (which she took pride in it back then but it seemed like it had backfired-). 

    “I have no experience singing in the public, though…” she protested as she had no confidence in being chosen as the vocalist. 

“The Music Club will help you to practice, so don’t worry. I have my confidence in you, Prez.” It seemed that he did have Renge in mind when the Music Club offered the performance.

Before Renge could respond, Suzuyuki joined the conversation. “I can play the piano, so I’ll accompany you, onee-sama!” She sounded so excited, definitely wanting to see (and hear) Renge’s performance. 

Jun and Kenjiro added in, on top. “We can be the backing vocal too!”. They knew that when the entire club was going to be involved, Renge definitely would not refuse.
“A piano will be a nice addition. And yes, we need backing vocals too. Now it’s just our main vocalist.” The violinist smiled as he (and the rest of the club) stared at Renge once more. 

“... I’ll do it.’ Renge huffed as she puffed her cheeks. This is so unfair… The members of the AMC knew her too well, apparently.

Since it was just a small opening act for the Music Club concert, the AMC only needed to perform around three songs (to Renge’s relief). As for the song list, the Music Club had chosen one song that they wanted the AMC to perform. The other two songs were to be chosen by the vocalist and the violinist respectively, so both Kimura and Renge would need to choose the song within the weekend as they would start practising immediately the next Monday.

The Music Club had chosen a song from Studio Giburi’s anime as it was well-known by the public. Giburi’s movies tend to have orchestral pieces in their soundtrack after all, which was the perfect mix between classical music and anime. Kimura himself chose a classic mecha anime (that had a yaoi element in it). Its song was pretty famous as well, it was even chosen to be one of the most popular karaoke songs in the nation.

Because it was too sudden, Renge had yet to decide on any songs. She still could not decide even after the day ended, as she informed Kimura that she would submit her song before Monday’s practice sessions. She had planned to sing one of the shounen anime songs that she usually sang on karaoke but opted against it since she might just sing the usual arrangements because she was too used to it. Therefore, she planned to choose a song that was classical by default, but nothing came to mind even when she reached home. 

It even disturbed her sleep that night, as Renge let out a soft sigh on top of her bed. Suzuyuki was still messaging her, and since the first year was still awake, Renge asked her for suggestions. An anime Renge had watched, if possible, but otherwise, she could always learn a new song if she liked it. She just needed to learn and memorise it, after all.

Suzu-chan: Why not the Ending song for ‘Lily of the Hills?’ It was actually sung by a well-known pop singer and even topped the Oricon chart.

Renge could not remember what the song sounded like; she only heard it twice anyway because she was binge-watching it back then: during the first episode and when it was used as an insert song for the final episode. She did recall that it was a nice song though, as she started to listen to it immediately afterwards. 

Ah, it’s this song. I think I’ve sung it once before, without knowing that it’s an anime song. Renge thought to herself. It was such a pleasant feeling that she wanted the audience to experience as well, and so she messaged Kimura to give the song title. She did not forget to thank her kouhai for the suggestion as well. 

Renge: You are so dependable. Thank you!

Although as she reviewed the song list… There were not many parts for the backing vocals. Renge finally realised that the boys were basically deceiving her… 

    Fortunately for Renge, the Concert was still at the end of September, four weeks from the announcement. The Music Club would hold their practice every day after school, and as the AMC was for the opening act, their session would just be one hour each day. They had their weekends off,  but as Suzuyuki had her piano class anyways, the two of them rehearsed the three songs together by then. Kimura need to spend his weekend practising with the music club after all since he would still be involved in the main orchestra. 

Renge did have a nice voice in general so she could fit in naturally; only needed to keep up with the practice (and maintain her health). The Music Club even complimented her, describing the AMC’s performance as interesting and classy. They did not expect anime songs to be performed like this. Suzuyuki, without bias, even said that it reminded her of the concerts she used to attend regularly during her time in Tokyo.

    Everything seemed to be well up to the rehearsal, as the Anime and Manga Club was able to perform adequately well thanks to the instructions from the Music Club and Chris Kimura. However, during the performance day, Renge was surprised to see full attendance. Amanohara Music Club was pretty famous nationwide, so the audiences came from all over the country. During the practice, the audiences were at best the music club members and several curious students, so Renge was fine. With so many audiences, however, the stage fight really hit her, especially when she was in the frontmost

. 

The members of the audience were waiting eagerly as the violin session started. Renge had yet to have her singing part, so her nervousness had yet to be noticed by the entire room. Then started the piano part, where she was supposed to start singing, yet she was still quiet. Suzuyuki, being the one beside her onee-sama, eventually noticed as she tried to ad-lib by singing Renge’s part first. They have had enough practise to memorise the lyrics, after all, not to mention the song was pretty well-known. The other club members were surprised at it but they played along when they realised what was happening; making it seem like it was supposed to be the backing vocals’ part at first. The support from the others helped to snap Renge back to reality, she felt better as a result since she was not all alone. The main vocalist started to join during the chorus, thus amplifying it for the audience. The teamwork of the AMC was pretty solid as the ones that noticed the mess-up were just the rest of the Music Club, but it was still a stellar improv from them. 

The second song performed better as a result, as Renge’s stage fright dissipate thanks to the club members.

    When it came to the third and final song, Renge’s nervousness had been completely gone. It was the song she chose after all, and she had waited almost an entire month to sing the song to the public. As she started singing as soon as the violin was played, she remembered her first time listening to the song inside the classroom. Her first meeting with Yanagi Suzuyuki before that, as well as the time she binge-watched it at home immediately afterwards. All of the moments where Suzuyuki had been supporting her so far, up to this present moment on top of the stage. Renge had managed to deliver a heartfelt singing to the auditorium, which was her best performance up to date.

As intended, the audience was pleasantly surprised upon hearing it. Just like Renge back then, finding that the top-chart pop song titled ‘On Top of The Hills’ was an anime song piqued their interest immediately. Many of them made a mental note to check what anime was that (and what it was about) after the show. Renge had wanted them to feel that way ever since she listened to it Not to mention Renge opened her eyes after she finished the song,  smiles forming on her lips as she saw the audience’s amazed expression. She had sung her heart out for that song; her feelings were successfully conveyed at this point.

    Kimura stood forward towards the microphone as he welcomed the long-awaited music club, signalling the end of the opening session by the Anime and Manga Club. The AMC members (except Kimura) left the stage. The show continued for more than an hour as the AMC waited in the backstage. Only after everyone was done that they were called back to the stage. As they bowed to the audience, they clapped once more, showing that they were impressed and really enjoyed the AMC’s performance. 

During the two and a half years Renge was in high school, she had been more of a  behind-the-screen person. This was certainly the first time she had a standing ovation from the audience directed to herself, and it was such a pleasant feeling. She really had the entire club, especially Suzuyuki who had encouraged her, to thank, as she held the first year’s hand tight while whispering, “Thank you.” as soon