Set after the series, during Kitauji's band camp.

"Oh, Kumiko, it's you."

The brunette in question let out a startled noise, and turned around to see Asuka, clad in blue pajamas. The band's vice president sat herself down next to Kumiko, leaning back and using her elbows to support herself, turning her gaze towards the ocean.

"You know, curfew was two hours ago." Asuka chided, but Kumiko could nevertheless hear the mischievous smile on Asuka's face.

"Well, I'm sure I'd get in a ton of trouble if anyone found out." Kumiko replied, "But then someone else would have to have been up this late to bust me, no?"

Asuka let out a light laugh, one that seemed to float away in the ocean wind. "Kids these days, so cunning. I'll have you know that back in my first year, I only snuck out on school trips like, thrice."

Kumiko snorted, and the two sat in silence for a few moments.

"But really, why the midnight escape? Too much on your mind? Or perhaps…" And here Asuka looked at Kumiko with a glint in her eye, "A midnight rendezvous? Oh, and by the beach too! My, my, Kumiko, I never pegged you to be the romantic type." Asuka teased.

Kumiko mock-glared at Asuka. "And what about you, Miss Popular? Did you receive a love note in your room asking you to meet 'down by the river at twilight'?"

"I keep telling everyone, that was one time." Asuka groaned. "And it was during my second year, too. How do you kids even know that story?"

"Natsuki told us, and Gotou confirmed it." Kumiko confessed, with a smirk on her face.

"Those two…" Asuka let out a strangely intimidating growl. "I told them if they ever let that story get to the first years, I'd…" Asuka mumbled something under her breath, and Kumiko felt a sudden pang of fear for her fellow euphonium and tuba playing bandmates.

"But enough about that." Asuka said, turning to poke Kumiko in the chest. "What's on your mind?"

Kumiko considered telling Asuka about her 'problem' – the strange feelings she'd been getting recently around a certain trumpet player. Was she even close enough to Asuka for this? It would be weird to jump straight to that. Very, very weird.

"It's okay." Asuka, as if sensing Kumiko's internal struggle, raised a finger to her own lips, winking at Kumiko. "I promise not to tell anyone. And unlike some people I know, I mean it.

Kumiko let out a chuckle at that. She figured if there was anyone that would know what to do, or have had the most experience in matter of love, it would almost certainly be the great Asuka Tanaka, Vice President of the school band and the Receiver of Many Love Confessions.

"It's about… love."

"My, has our young Kumiko finally blossomed into her youth? Do tell. Are you the predator, or the prey in this lovely hunt?"

The metaphor Asuka had used was unconventional and rather… well, disturbing, but Kumiko decided to go along with it. "Well, the predator, I guess. There someone I like and I don't know what to do about it."

"Ah, a problem as old as time itself. Tell me, who's the lucky guy? Perhaps a certain trombonist?"

Kumiko blushed at that. "No, it's…"

"Or do you prefer women? If so, I'd certainly recommend Natsuki. You know what they say," Asuka winked at Kumiko, "It's always the quiet ones."

Kumiko was thankful that it was midnight, lest Asuka see the tomato that was Kumiko's face. She didn't- no, couldn't possibly imagine Natsuki in bed. In any way, shape or form. Not that she wasn't attractive, it was just so wrong to think of her that way. Kumiko shook herself to free her mind of the unbidden images that had worked its way into her mind.

"…It's Reina. Reina Kousaka." Kumiko, at least, managed to say this without stuttering.

"Well, of course it was. Did you really think I wouldn't know? It was a rhetorical question, silly."

"Am I that obvious?" Kumiko had tried really hard (clearly to no avail) to not stare at Reina during their practices.

"Well, I've just always been observant. At the very least, I don't think you're as obvious as Yuuko is. I keep telling Kaori to either date the girl or talk to her about it, but she won't listen to any of my suggestions." Asuka huffed.

Kumiko let out a small sigh of relief. She'd accomplished that must, at least. Still, she was surprised, and frankly quite impressed, that Asuka had managed to puzzle it out.

"So, why not just tell her? And don't give me any of that 'It's not that easy' stuff – what's really holding you back?"

"I'm… scared."

"Of what? Rejection?"

"I guess."

"I wonder how that feels like." Asuka replied, and Kumiko couldn't tell if the other girl was joking or being serious.

"Tell you what, Kumiko. We're friends, right?"

"I guess so?"

"I'm about to tell you a story. Do you promise not to tell anyone? And I mean like an actual promise, unlike some of your fellow bandmates."

Was Asuka seriously that hung up on preserving that secret? Kumiko rolled her eyes. "Sure, Asuka. I promise."

"Okay then! This is the story of Tanaka Asuka's great high school romance."

Kumiko did a double take. After all, this was… Tanaka Asuka, Kitauji's most eligible bachelorette. Legend had it (or at least in Kumiko's mind) that Asuka had turned down every single confession (and there were many) in her schooling life. So to hear that she once dated someone…

Asuka took Kumiko's shock as appreciative silence instead, and continued.

"It was during my first year of school. It happened within the first month, in fact. Yes, my first love – the one and only Ogasawara Haruka."

If Kumiko was shocked before, she was absolutely stunned now. Haruka? Sure, Kumiko knew the two were close friends, but she'd never thought they were ever together.

"As for the actual details of how it happened, well, that's unimportant. We'd known each other all the way through middle school, and I guess sometime in high school I just developed a crush for her, you know?" Asuka gathered sand in her palm and slowly poured it out, watching the stream shift in the wind.

"Anyway, I just asked her out one day during our first year of school. And I guess it was the right decision, because she told me she liked me that way too. And thus, I had a girlfriend." There was something in Asuka's voice Kumiko couldn't quite pinpoint – a strange mix of regret and nostalgia.

"If you don't mind me asking…" Kumiko wasn't sure if this was a good question to ask, but it'd been ringing in her mind, and her curiosity was slowly beginning to kill her, "What happened?"

"What happened, indeed..." Asuka let out a hollow laugh, "It was the both of us. We just weren't compatible, maybe. I'd like to say we settled it nicely, but I'd be lying to myself. There was a period of time – months, even – after the breakup that the both of us just wouldn't talk to each other. Kaori tried her hardest, believe me; but some things just need time, I suppose."

"I'm sorry."

"You've got nothing to be sorry about." Asuka said with a small smile. "Me, on the other hand…"

Asuka let out a sigh of defeat. "I still haven't – we still haven't talked about it. At all. And believe me, there are so many things I'd like to say – so many apologies I need to make. Oh well. Guess that's another part of my past I'll have to bury forever."

Kumiko didn't know what to say, but she felt she had to do something. Tentatively, she draped an arm around the older girl's shoulders. Asuka leant into Kumiko's shoulder and sighed, breathing deeply as if collecting her thoughts.

"It's been three years, and I still don't really know if I'm over her. Isn't that pathetic?" Asuka asked, her voice barely audible.

"I think it says a lot about you as a person. You're compassionate and caring and you couldn't stand the thought of just abandoning her, and I think that's really admirable." Kumiko answered, though if she was being honest, Asuka wasn't the most emphatic of people. But it hurt to see Asuka so… vulnerable. She could lie for a bit, if it meant comforting Asuka.

"Kumiko. I am many things. A decent euphonium player. Straight A student. Ex-president of the school's sewing club," Asuka chuckled slightly at her own joke, "but I am not compassionate, nor am I caring."

Kumiko couldn't argue with her.

"Speaking about that, how long do you think I've played the euphonium for?" The sudden change in topic was… well, sudden, but Kumiko didn't really complain.

"Five years, at the very least?" Kumiko's guess was conservative; Asuka was, if nothing else, a euphonium player of extraordinary talent. Coupled with her ability to act as the drum major of the band, Kumiko guessed the older girl had years of experience in concert bands.

"Three years. I only ever started playing music in high school," Asuka revealed, much to Kumiko's disbelief (and slight envy). "I only ever joined the band because of Haruka, you know. Common interests, and all that. Well, after we… broke up, I suddenly had a ton of time on my hands, and a shiny silver euphonium. What you see is the result on hours upon hours of practice of a heartbroken girl."

It was almost funny, how Asuka had played the euphonium for even less time than Kumiko, yet she was easily miles ahead. Hell, she'd even only played for a year more than Natsuki.

"Sometimes, I wonder…" Asuka moved from under Kumiko's arm, and lay down, looking up at the starry night sky. "How much would've been different if I wasn't such a fool." Kumiko didn't have an answer, and Asuka seemed content with that. "It does not do well to dwell on the past, I suppose." Whether or not Asuka was saying this to herself or Kumiko, she didn't know.

"Anyway, this isn't about me. This is about you. My advice for love, based on my own incredibly disastrous experience, is that love and friendship are two very different beasts."

"What do you mean?"

"Just because you can be really good, or even best friends, doesn't mean you'll necessarily make it in a relationship. Dating… dating someone means so much more. It needs communication and trust and all that stuff, stuff that you don't even touch the surface of as friends."

"I know that. And that's what I'm scared of. Maybe I don't need this, maybe-"

"Don't fool yourself, Kumiko. Of course you need this. You love Reina, don't you?"

And Kumiko thought about her feelings for Kousaka Reina. She thought about Reina's resolution to become special, which in turn motivated Kumiko to work hard to achieve her dreams; she thought about Reina's good natured humor, and how she always felt at ease with the trumpet player; she recalled that smile: Reina's rare, glorious smile that made Kumiko's heart forget its job for a while.

She thought about all of this, and realized there was no way she wasn't in love with Reina.

"Yes. She's someone very special to me, and I love her."

"Then you must be prepared to accept everything that comes with that, Kumiko. You have to accept her for her flaws, and you have to be there to support her. You have to understand that she'll do things you simply don't understand, and that's just a part of who she is. At worst, you have to be prepared to face heartbreak. Are you really ready for all of this, Kumiko?" Asuka stared straight at Kumiko, almost challenging the brunette.

"…No. I'm not. I'm not prepared for any of that, Asuka, and that's why I'm scared." Kumiko replied sincerely.

Much to her surprise, she heard Asuka burst out in a fit of giggles. "Well, Kumiko, at least you're more honest than I ever was. You know, I've always liked that about you." Asuka ruffled Kumiko's hair, and then stood up.

"Well, it's getting really late now, so I'm going to hit the hay." She looked back at the ocean, taking in the look of the calm sea meeting the starry night sky. "To be honest, the most important thing, whatever you do, is remember: It's better to regret what happened, than regret what never did. If you can look at your actions two or three years later, and tell yourself that you made the most of your life, then I'd say you've made some really good life decisions." Asuka started walking back to the hotel, "Just remember, above all else, what Reina means to you, and you should be fine."

"Thanks, Asuka. It was nice to have someone to talk to about all this." Kumiko called out to Asuka's retreating figure.

Asuka turned back. "Anything I can do to keep my juniors from making the mistakes I did, right?" She resumed walking, and Kumiko watched her silhouette slowly fade into the dark.

Kumiko was uncertain of many things. She was uncertain about how she would tell Reina of her feelings; she was uncertain about how her friends and parents would react. Worst of all, she was uncertain of the future of her relationship with Reina, and the idea of them potentially being strangers again terrified her.

But Kumiko knew better than that, and she cast aside her doubts and fears. Taking her cellphone out, she texted Reina:

Reina, I don't know if you're awake at this time, or why you'd even be, but if you are, can we meet at the beach?

She was surprised to get a text back almost instantly.

I didn't think anybody else was awake, actually - I've been walking around the gardens. Anyway, I'll be there.

Kumiko's heart leapt up to her throat, and she closed her eyes and took several deep breaths.

She would be lying to herself if she said she wasn't scared. But that was okay. Of all the things Reina had ever taught her, it was to take a leap of faith; to embrace the courage to strive further, and fulfill her dreams. And that was exactly what Kumiko was going to do. Asking Reina out was something she had ever only done in her dreams, and now it was becoming all too real.

Kumiko closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and leapt.

I'll be waiting, Reina.

This is easily the… messiest story I've ever written. Asuka is surprisingly easy to write.

I'd like to think this story is a lot better as a character introspection of Asuka, instead of a KumiRei fic, anyhow.