"Kotomi, for tomorrow's parent-teacher meeting, are you asking your dad to come, or your mom?" Seiko Kirigiri joined their conversation. For some reason, she hadn't been going to see Hibiki Naegi much lately.
Before, whenever she had the chance, Seiko would leave the classroom to visit Class 2-B, where Hibiki was.
"I don't know. I'll just ask Dad or Mom when I get home." Kotomi Izumi shrugged.
"What about you, Yuki?"
Yui Yuigahama asked curiously. While they had been talking about tomorrow's parent-teacher meeting, Yukino Yukinoshita had been quietly flipping through her book, showing no sign of joining in.
Normally, even when Yukino was reading, she would occasionally add a few comments. But today, she had been silently sitting there, reading by herself.
"Me?" Yukino turned her head. After a few minutes of silence, she said indifferently, "I've already spoken with Ms. Hiratsuka. Tomorrow, neither of my parents will be coming to the meeting."
"Eh? Why?" Seiko Kirigiri asked, puzzled. For parents, wasn't attending their daughter's parent-teacher meeting something they would try to do if they had the time?
Could it be that Yukino's parents were both busy tomorrow?
"My parents aren't in Chiba. If they wanted to come to tomorrow's meeting, they'd have to leave today. That means an entire day wasted. To my parents, that's a shameful waste—especially for my mother. She would never allow her precious time to be spent on something so meaningless."
Yukino spoke in a calm, flat tone from start to finish. There was no trace of resentment toward her parents. It wasn't because she understood them, but simply because she had grown used to it.
If not for the requirement that parents themselves had to call the homeroom teacher if they couldn't attend, Yukino wouldn't even have bothered telling her parents about the meeting.
What she said wasn't just venting—it was exactly what her mother had told her on the phone at noon that day.
...
During the lunch break.
Yukino Yukinoshita had stepped out of the classroom alone and found a quieter spot to call her mother.
"Is there something you need?"
Chiyuki Yukinoshita's tone, upon answering, sounded calm, but carried an unmissable air of impatience. There was no concern, no greeting, no small talk—only a constant reminder that her time was precious, and even as her daughter, Yukino had no right to waste it. Speak directly. If it could be said in two sentences, don't use three.
"Tomorrow is the parent-teacher meeting. Could you or Dad—either one—attend?"
Knowing her mother disliked pleasantries, Yukino spoke directly, the way her mother always demanded.
"Tomorrow I have to attend a business banquet. Your father has received an invitation to represent the Yukinoshita family at a charity auction. We're both very busy right now.
"Don't bother us with trivial matters like school meetings. If a family member absolutely has to attend, call your sister and ask her. Isn't she working as the editor for that novelist Izumi Itsuki in Tokyo? Her life must be very leisurely.
"As the eldest daughter of the Yukinoshita family, being so lazy is shameful enough. Anyway, it doesn't take long to ride the train from Tokyo to Chiba. If the teacher insists on a family member attending, just tell your sister."
Chiyuki Yukinoshita spoke indifferently. If Yukino didn't respond quickly, she would have hung up immediately. In her view, she had already said everything necessary. As for how Yukino might feel after hearing it—that was of no concern to her.
"My recent exam results… compared to the monthly test, I've improved a bit…" Yukino said softly.
"Oh, not bad. I heard the test this time was quite difficult. But isn't studying hard and getting better results each time the duty of a student? Did you make it into the top five in all of Tokyo this time?"
"No…"
"Then don't think of it as such great progress. It was only a midterm exam, not the college entrance exams that truly determine your future. Only by keeping your results consistently in the top five of all Tokyo will you have the stability to enter a top university.
Of course, if you want to study abroad, that's fine too. Just tell me in advance which country and which university. I'll choose for you. Don't think your judgment is better than mine—I'll pick the best country, university, and major for you."
Beep, beep, beep—
Chiyuki Yukinoshita ended the call unilaterally. Yukino Yukinoshita stood in place, staring blankly at the busy tone on the other end.
Truly busy, huh…
She couldn't even say goodbye to her daughter before hanging up.
This was her mother—Yukino was used to it. With a sigh, she slipped her phone back into her pocket.
She had thought about calling her father, to ask if he could attend. But then she remembered he was scheduled to attend the charity auction. Even if she asked, her mother wouldn't let him go to the meeting anyway.
All she could do was call him, so he could phone the homeroom teacher for leave.
"Hello? Yukino, just finished lunch?"
Compared to her mother, her father's tone and words were gentler, more like how a father should sound.
"Yes, I just finished. It's lunch break now."
"Did you eat enough?"
"Yes. Dad, tomorrow is the parent-teacher meeting. I know you and Mom definitely won't come, but since a parent has to call the homeroom teacher for leave, could you do that?"
"Tomorrow's the meeting?" Her father sounded as though he wanted to attend, but after thinking a moment, he could only say apologetically, "Sorry, Yukino. I've got a flight at one this afternoon, heading to Nagoya."
"I know, you're going to the charity auction, right?"
"Yes. I got an invitation. I didn't really want to go—after all, these auctions are all just talk of morality while it's really business. But since Reishu Hisada, the chairman of Yuki Deer Castle, and his wife Mari Hisada will be there, I have no choice."
"Are they really that important?" Yukino asked, puzzled. Yuki Deer Castle might be popular and profitable, but it was still just a tea brand.
"On its own, Yuki Deer Castle isn't enough to make our family obliged to attend. But if their investors are the Hishinaga family? Then attending isn't about the Hisadas at all—it's about connecting with the Hishinagas."
He chuckled softly.
"Speaking of which, I recall that after the Izumi family's eldest son married the Hishinaga family's eldest daughter, they had two daughters. Those girls were treasured like little princesses, the pride of both families. The elder daughter should be about your age, also a first-year in high school. If things go well and I can build ties with the Hishinagas, maybe you'll get the chance to meet her. You should make more friends.
The world of books is fascinating, but we live in reality. You can't only immerse yourself in stories without engaging with real life."
Her father spoke earnestly.
"I know. We'll see."
Yukino replied flatly. She had no interest in so-called Izumi princesses. She much preferred reading alongside Kotomi.
She didn't even consider whether Kotomi might be that very princess. Even though they shared the surname.
The impression just didn't fit. A princess pampered by two great houses, Yukino thought, should be proper, refined, slow-spoken, and graceful—like a noble lady out of history.
But Kotomi… with her strikingly white short hair styled beautifully, so striking that newcomers often thought it dyed. Her already stunning face touched with light makeup, bracelets with bows or charms on her wrists, her school uniform always with one or two top buttons undone, her tie or ribbon worn loosely. Sometimes she wore clip-on earrings for fun, because, as she said, she was afraid piercing her ears would hurt.
Kotomi could never be mistaken for a perfectly graceful young lady. She was more like a lively, pure gyaru-type little witch of a JK who constantly gave teachers headaches.
"As for the leave, I'll call Sobu High's director myself and explain. Ah, it's about time for me to head to the airport. Yukino, I'll hang up now. Pay attention in class. If your allowance runs low, let us know. And call your sister sometimes."
"Got it. Goodbye, Dad."
"Goodbye."
...
Yukino Yukinoshita didn't mention her parents' real reasons. She only told Kotomi and the others that neither of her parents would attend tomorrow's meeting.
Seeing Yukino's low spirits, Kotomi naturally steered the topic away, shifting the girls' chatter to the upcoming cultural festival instead.
After a while, the bell rang.
And so, the girls' break-time conversation came to a temporary end.
After school, Kotomi went with Yukino Yukinoshita and Yui Yuigahama to the second music room for rehearsal, as usual.
Even though they had already applied for after-school rehearsal time, that didn't mean it was enough. Any available time had to be fully used.
The relaxed mood of the first week had already faded quite a bit. Now, during rehearsal, the three of them rarely chatted, focusing instead on practicing over and over.
"Yui, for this line of lyrics, remember to press your voice down a little when you sing.
"But don't lower it too much, because two lines later you need to raise your voice. If your singing drops too low at the start, it'll be hard to push it up suddenly, and the rest will be difficult, affecting the performance.
"Being able to control your voice freely is a singer's basic skill, but since there isn't much time for you to practice this in depth, you need to be careful. Keep it within a range you can easily adjust. Do you understand?"
After the three of them finished playing once through, Yukino, as usual, took out the printed lyrics sheet. With a marker, she circled the parts Yui had sung poorly, pointing them out one by one, carefully explaining why they were wrong and telling her how to quickly adjust and improve.
Things like this really had to be left to someone who had studied.
The key was two words—professionalism.
Kotomi sighed inwardly.
She could tell when Yui sang something wrong or made mistakes, but unlike Yukino, she wasn't that strict. Sometimes, even if it was a mistake, Kotomi thought it was still okay and didn't point it out.
Yukino wasn't like that. Her ears tolerated no mistakes. Whenever Yui sang wrong, Yukino would stop as soon as the song finished to correct her immediately.
Sometimes, if Yui wasn't in good form and made several mistakes in a row, Yukino would even slam her hands on the piano—
Bang!
The loud sound cut the rehearsal short. Then she would grab the lyrics sheet and sternly point out the mistakes, repeating what she had taught, and making Yui practice again and again until she got it right.
When Yukino taught Yui to sing, she looked exactly like a very strict vocal teacher…
Ami Koishi had come to the second music room a few times to watch their rehearsals. Once, after seeing Yukino's strictness while teaching Yui, she sighed meaningfully:
"Ah~ If only I could be half as strict as Yukino, maybe a certain student wouldn't be snoring in my music class~"
From the moment she spoke until she finished, Ami's eyes were on Kotomi. It was obvious who she was referring to.
But Kotomi, thick-skinned as she was, didn't blush even when she realized Ami was talking about her. Instead, she nodded seriously and followed up: "Someone actually slept in music class? That's terrible! I strongly condemn it!"
Condemn yourself, right?! Ami thought, both exasperated and amused, once again realizing just how shameless Kotomi could be.
Ami Koishi had complaints about Kotomi—not because she disliked her, but because she felt both frustrated and unconvinced.
When she first noticed Kotomi sleeping in her class, Ami had reminded her a few times. But she hadn't taken it too seriously, since many students besides Kotomi also zoned out, whispered, or fooled around during music class.
For students not planning to take the arts exam through the music track, music class was basically seen as a time to relax.
Kotomi's academic performance was excellent, and Ami's father, the school director, had also told her:
"Teachers are human, too, and their energy is limited. When teaching students who aren't in the music department, you don't need to exhaust yourself. Those who are really interested in music and plan to take the arts exam have already signed up for the music program.
"Other students either had no interest in music or knew they weren't suited for it. Raising expectations for them was useless anyway. The exams they had to face were the cultural subjects of the college entrance exams, not the arts exam.
"Ami, learn to put your energy where it counts."
At first, Ami Koishi thought Kotomi was simply focusing all her energy on academics. After all, being ranked first in her grade twice, and even first in all of Tokyo—despite not teaching academic subjects herself—Ami couldn't help but be astonished when she heard of Kotomi's excellence.
Surely a student who did so well in academics wouldn't waste her time or energy on other things, right? To Kotomi, music class must have felt like a waste of time. Better to stay in class studying. That had to be what Kotomi thought, Ami reasoned, only keeping quiet out of courtesy to her teacher.
She assumed Kotomi had no knowledge of music, no talent or ambition for it, and had simply poured all her energy into studying. That was why she napped in her class.
Ami had almost convinced herself of that—until she heard Kotomi play the guitar.
It was beautiful!
Like heaven's music!
Especially the look on Kotomi's face as she played—it made Ami want to shout from the bottom of her heart: Senpai, I want to be your hand warmer!!
Ami almost rushed up then and there, grabbed Kotomi's hands, and said: Your guitar is amazing! Let's perform together! Let's be the school idols!
Would Momoka Mito be jealous?
But Ami forced herself to stay calm. She didn't dare interrupt such a perfect performance—it would've been a crime.
And yet, when she cooled down, irritation rose inside her.
She had thought Kotomi was just a bookworm with no interest or talent for music. But no—she had been hiding such an incredible skill at guitar! Anyone who didn't know would think she was a top student at some music academy.
Not only did Yachiyo Kuhama, the homeroom teacher of Class 1-A, want Kotomi to transfer into the special class, but Ami also considered going to her father, the school director, to request Kotomi's transfer to the music department.
For someone as talented as Kotomi, not joining the music department was a waste of a rare treasure. At the same time, Ami felt a twinge of petty frustration—if Kotomi wasn't going to transfer, fine, but how dare she still sleep through the few music classes they had each week!
Outside the music department, regular classes had very little music to begin with. As exams approached, other teachers would even "borrow" her classes:
Math teacher: "Your music teacher isn't feeling well today and has taken leave to rest at home. This period will be math instead. Everyone, sit down and take out yesterday's test papers."
Meanwhile, the supposedly "unwell" Ami Koishi would be in the office, hiding from her director father, secretly munching on hamburgers and fried chicken.
As a child, she had never been allowed hamburgers. The first time she tasted one at her university cafeteria—along with fried chicken—tears had streamed down her face. How could anything be this delicious?!
Since then, Ami had made a habit of eating hamburgers and fried chicken several times a week.
The staff at the McDonald's near her apartment even knew her by sight.
—
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