Hon to Yuuki

Hon to Yuuki (本と勇気, Book and Bravery) was a group formed by Yuriko Nanao and Sayoko Takayama.

Members

 * Yuriko Nanao - Violist
 * Sayoko Takayama - Violinist
 * Mizuki Makabe - Vocalist
 * Reika Kitakami - Drummer

Former members

 * Shiho Kitazawa - Violinist

Backstory
Yuriko, 15 years old, was an avid reader and honors student, who was known for getting straight As, staying after school to get extra credit, and getting good grades on her book reports. She and her family moved from Tokyo, after her father found a new job in Ibaraki.

Sayoko, 17 years old, was another honors student who tried her hardest to get the best grades; going to tutorials, paying attention, and staying after school, like Yuriko does. She is very confident in her skill that she will go to her dream college, and become a scientist. She wants to major in chemistry.

In chemistry class, the teacher announces a new project, the science fair competition. The teacher assigned the partners to each other, and Yuriko and Sayoko were put together in a pair. Sayoko didn't know Yuriko at first, as she was new to the school. Yuriko was gentle and kind towards Sayoko, while Sayoko was determined to win the science fair. Yuriko and Sayoko both worked after school, and worked nights on end in order to make the best science fair project. During that time, Sayoko and Yuriko learned about each other; they both loved reading, they both worked hard to succeed in school and they both were smart and hardworking.

Eventually, it was the day of the science fair. Yuriko and Sayoko's experiment caught the attention of many. Sayoko could see the people gathering around their science fair project, which made her really proud.

The results came in a few days later, and it turns out Yuriko and Sayoko's experiment was the winner of the science fair! The two were happy, and Yuriko knew that she could have someone to rely on.

Yuriko invites Sayoko to her house, and shows her book collection, which looked like a library. Sayoko noticed that Yuriko loved reading realistic fiction novels, which Sayoko also liked. They read some books together, and then after that, Yuriko showed Sayoko her viola playing skills. Sayoko pointed out that she used to play the violin, and that Yuriko was a very good violist.

Sayoko got more interested in music; she started playing the violin again, and started performing in random places at school, the park, the street, and the store. She got tipped quite a lot of yen, and made a little living off of that.

The Formation of the Group
Sayoko, however, didn't feel like she couldn't do it by herself; no matter how hard she tried, she still felt like something was missing; she wanted it to sound like an ensemble. She asked Yuriko to perform as a duet, but Yuriko had broken her arm the previous week, so she couldn't play viola for a bit. Therefore, Sayoko invited her only friends, which were Mizuki Makabe, a 17-year old girl interested in magic, and Reika Kitakami, a 20-year old woman who acted very childish. They discussed about who should fill in for each role. Reika volunteered to be the drummer, while Mizuki said that she could be the vocalist; she didn't really play any instruments, but liked to sing when she was little. Mizuki asked Sayoko if she could invite her 14-year old cousin, Shiho Kitazawa, to be part of the group; she told Sayoko that she also played the violin, just like her. Sayoko said that she should meet this Shiho first, which Mizuki agreed to.

Mizuki introduces Shiho to Sayoko. Shiho stated that she loved cats and books. In return, Sayoko told her about Yuriko, her best friend who loved reading books. Shiho seemed a little happy to have found another potential friend, as Shiho didn't know many people who shared the same interests with her. Shiho agreed to join the group, and became friends with Sayoko rather quickly.

They wrote their first song, Love Vows, and performed it. Mizuki was a little nervous at first, but they got through and did spectacular.

Megumi Tokoro, one of the audience members, went up to Sayoko, and told her how much she enjoyed the concert. Megumi revealed to Sayoko and the group that she was the cousin of Umi Kousaka, a celebrity from Chiba. Sayoko started to feel nervous, and Reika was very happy; she used Umi's line of suntan lotion often. Megumi asked if she could sponsor Sayoko's group, and Sayoko was extremely happy.

Megumi's sponsorship caused the group to gain popularity around Ibaraki, which caused the group members to gain appreciation. And Yuriko was watching, cheering them on!

Success
Yuriko recovers from her broken arm, and was invited to the group by Sayoko. Shiho and Yuriko got along very well pretty quickly. The fans of the group were surprised by Yuriko's addition, but when she performed for the first time, they loved her viola harmony, and that caused them to become even more popular.

Eventually, Umi Kousaka herself invites the band to her house, and Umi complimented each of them on their skills.

The five girls would be forever grateful to Megumi, who helped give them near-celebrity status. Although they weren't nearly as famous as Umi, they were well-known all over Japan now.

Snowy Inferno
For more info, see the page Snowy Inferno.

Julia, a 16-year old punk rocker, and Roco Handa, her 15-year old best friend, decided to start a unit of their own, as a hobby. They performed literally everywhere, even in places they are not allowed to. They got many followers, who were mostly young women and teenagers.

One day, Roco and her family were shopping at the local grocery store. Roco wanders off to use the restroom, when a tall, golden-haired lady bumps into her. Roco apologizes for bumping into her, but then when she saw her face, she realized she was talking to the royal Chizuru Nikaido. Roco was about to go her way when Chizuru asked if Roco was really Roco. Roco nodded her head, and then got really excited. She held it all in, though, because she knew how cruel Chizuru could be at times. Roco was very nervous, and asked how she knew of her existence. Chizuru said that her 11-year old cousin, Momoko Suou, was a fan of their music, and even bought a few tickets to their concerts. Roco remembered seeing a girl like that at her concerts, and Roco even recalled that Momoko gave her a sticker. Chizuru wasn't surprised, and was glad Roco's duo could make her sister happy, and she asked Roco if she could perform at the Royal Palace. Roco said yes. She was extremely excited for the rest of the trip.

She tells Julia about the news, with Julia accepting. They perform a nice rock song at the Royal Palace, causing their popularity to rise up tremendously.

One of Julia's friends asks her if she knew about a group called Hon to Yuuki, and Julia replied "Yeah, but rock music is better than classical, and I'll show you why!"

A competitor
Julia and Roco's rise to fame wasn't unnoticed by Hon to Yuuki, and Shiho didn't like it one bit. Julia kind of thought Shiho's cat obsession was weird, while Shiho thought Julia's look was a little off-putting.

Shiho was given a new schedule, due to her changing to regular chemistry due to her not being that good in that area. She was given her new seat, which was next to Julia. Shiho asked if she could get a new seat, clearly offending Julia. Julia feigned a hurt expression, when in reality she was relieved she didn't get to sit next to Shiho. Shiho however saw through Julia's facade, and then Shiho and Julia started insulting each other, with both girls getting detention in the end. Shiho started to cry, as she was always a good student, and never got detention in her life. Julia was angry she'd be in detention with Shiho together. During detention, they threw things at each other, but the teacher told them to cut it out.

Julia's new goal was to defeat Shiho and her group, and make Shiho feel ashamed. Shiho overheard, and decided to leave the group for her safety, and her sanity. Yuriko wasn't too happy towards Julia, but didn't want to repeat Shiho's mistake, so she remained silent about it.

Julia was happy that Shiho was gone from the group, but still wanted to defeat Sayoko's group. The battle begins.

The Competition
Chizuru announced that she would be holding a competition for the best musical groups in all of Japan, and the winning group would win 100 million Japanese yen, a trip to a place of their chocie, and a spaceship. Of course, many groups joined the competition, including Sayoko's and Julia's groups.

After many days of competing, it was down to the final 2, which were Sayoko's and Julia's groups. Chizuru actually gave Julia's duo an advantage, as she was good friends with Roco. It make Yuriko furious, and Sayoko disappointed. Sayoko eventually started to cry, knowing she would lose against Julia's duo. Yuriko reassures her that Julia will be going down if she tries hard enough, and then Sayoko cheered up. Sayoko gathered up all her courage.

Sayoko's group performed first. Sayoko used all her courage to perform an extreme violin solo, and combined with Mizuki's singing, the crowd was moved. Sayoko was confident that Julia would lose, but then Julia and Roco came onto stage. Combined with Roco's singing and Julia's guitar skills, the crowd went wild. Sayoko's mood went from confident to worried. Yuriko was comforting Sayoko. It was then announced that Julia's duo was the winner, with the runner-ups receiving prizes as well.

Julia and Roco had screamed in joy; Julia imagined what she and Roco could do with the spaceship. Roco and Julia started talking about where they wanted to go, while Sayoko started to cry.

The band, currently
Sayoko said that she wasn't a good leader, and she admitted she got too competitive. Sayoko just wanted to live a quiet and reserved life again, so she disbanded the group. However, the group still meets up from time to time, and they do reunion concerts rarely, sometimes with Shiho even. Sayoko is currently in her final year of school, and is working hard towards her assignments.

And as for Julia and Roco, they ditched school and became a full-time professional music duo.

Info
Created on: January 5th, 2019

Oldest member: Reika Kitakami

Youngest member: Yuriko Nanao (formerly Shiho Kitazawa)

Mascot: Book

Songs

 * Love Vows
 * Chikyuu no Hon
 * My Journey through Literature

Trivia

 * It was come up by myself. I liked seeing Sayoko and Yuriko together.
 * In canon, Reika comes from Nagano, Mizuki Kanagawa, Sayoko Ibaraki, and Shiho & Yuriko Tokyo. However, this story takes place in Ibaraki.

Name Origin
Hon means book, while Yuuki means bravery. The bravery represents Sayoko, while the book represents Yuriko.