2 years ago...

"Ah, the last day of junior high!" Chinen stretched his arms while still being in his seat. 

Kanami smiled. "We made it! Want to go celebrate?"

"Akihabara?" 

"Exactly what I was thinking!" Kanami packed her notebook away. 

Akihabara was the go-to place for video games, anime/manga and street idols. There are also very distinct cafes and that was what Kanami and Chinen were after. In particular, they wanted to try the Gundam cafe. Kanami loved to build Gundams and Chinen enjoyed watching the anime. They sat down at a table. 

"I'll have the spaghetti!" Chinen browsed around the menu.

Kanami answered, "I'll get the fried rice then. They all look really good though."

The meal was indeed very delicious and they came out of the restaurant very satisfied. They chatted as they walked along the street until the sound of drums caught their attention. A boy that was around their age had set up an entire drum set on the street and was playing rhythms and displayed a great sense of confidence. The sound could be heard a street away, but the strange thing was that only Chinen and Kanami stopped by to listen. The boy stopped playing after he found a suitable place to pause. 

"Hey...of all people I could attract why did I attract a school boy with his tomboy girlfriend?" The boy pointed a drumstick towards Chinen. 

Kanami blushed. "We're just longtime friends."

The boy crossed his hands with both drumsticks sticking out. "So, do you guys come from an agency? I want to sign a contract. The name is Nakajima Yuto"

"Uh...we're just school kids that recently graduated from junior high." Chinen commented. 

"What? Darn..." Yuto stepped on the hi-hat once. "Maybe I should play something more loud and intense. Hey do you guys sing or play an instrument?"

Kanami shook her head. 

"Ah come on, don't be shy." Yuto urged. "I'm sure it's fine. Let's hear a little."

"Well if you insist..." Kanami opened and a huge croaking sound came out of it. People who passed by gave a quick glance before running away. Even Chinen was covering his ears.

"AHHH STOP." Yuto cried out. "I get it, I get it. It's totally not fine!"

Growing flustered, Kanami stopped croaking and shrugged. "I was never talented in this field."

"You'd probably never will, just saying." Yuto massaged his temples.

Chinen tugged on Kanami. "Come on Nami, let's go."

"W-wait!" Yuto tapped Chinen on the shoulder with his drumstick. "Can you guys advertise for me a little? You know, direct some people over here."

"Why should we?" Kanami frowned in disapproval after his comments about her voice. "It's not like we know you."

"Please!" Yuto begged. "After I make it big I'll remember you guys. What are your names? Nami?

"It's Kanami." Kanami answered. "He's Chinen."

---

The holidays were just a quick break before heading straight into the next school year. Neither Kanami or Chinen forgot about the boy with great skills for drumming. For the first year of high school, Chinen and Kanami were placed into separate home rooms. After departing to different rooms, Kanami noticed a familiar figure holding drumsticks in her room.

"Yuto?" Kanami hesitated. 

Yuto turned his head. "Oh! You! Hey!" 

Kanami walked up to him. "You forgot my name, didn't you! And you said that you'll remember us when you make it big!"

"Haha, well I do remember your face when I see you." Yuto shyly smiled. 

"So are you still trying to get into an agency?" Kanami continued on.

Yuto nodded. "I've decided to make a band club here. Then I can audition as a group and I think that'll be a better strategy! Of course I have more ideas too."

Placing her hands on her hips. "Oh yeah? Like what?" Somehow she doubted anything he came up with would actually work. 

"Date a model, or even and idol!" Yuto announced. 

Kanami could feel that it she had no physical limits her jaw would have dropped down onto the ground. "You're not serious about this, are you?"

"I definitely am!" Yuto sat on top of his desk. "Listen - there are plenty of schoolgirl models for those magazines about street fashion right? I'll just have to find one that goes here and date her. Otherwise, I can aim for an idol which would be even better."

"What if this school doesn't have any of those?" Kanami questioned. 

Yuto gave a quick pause before proceeding to say, "Then I'll just have to find the prettiest girl that can attract attention."

As if Kanami's voice was bad for the ears, hearing this made Kanami feel disgusted. "Either this guy is joking or he's super shallow. He's just using the girl!"

"Hey why are you mulling over it, I'll never go after you!" Yuto patted Kanami on the shoulder. "In fact, why don't we be buds? I'm sure you can refer me to some girl friends of yours."

Kanami gave a small laugh. "I don't fit in with the girls that much. If they're talking about fashion or boy bands, I'm out."

"That's fine." Yuto shook Kanami a little on the shoulders. "As long as you know who they are and they know who you are it'll make the process much faster.

Kanami did not even agree to helping Yuto, but it seems that Yuto has already decided for her. She thought that as long as she did nothing to "aid" Yuto, he would stop bugging her about referrals and whatnot. During that year Yuto's band members joined and left - there was practically never a time period where two members knew who the other person was. Nevertheless Yuto was determined to find the right members for his band and to rise to popularity. It almost became a running gag between Kanami and Yuto. Kanami did admire his dedication, but still believed that his methods to obtain his goal was completely off. Maybe she'll change him someday.