The air carried a distinct hint of summer.
The morning sunlight wasn't as blinding as it would be at noon, but the season's presence was unmistakable.
As for the "smell of summer"—Aoki wasn't quite sure what that even meant.
In a bustling metropolis like Tokyo, summer rarely brought pleasant aromas.
Aside from the rare whiff of lavender on certain streets, most of the time, a deep breath just filled his nose with the faint, almost imperceptible scent of car exhaust.
Before moving to Tokyo, when he was still at the orphanage in Yazu District, Tottori, his memories of summer were far less poetic.
The ramune soda they might get once in the entire season, the misty creeks around the orphanage, and the pungent smell of cow dung baking on the roadside.
Not exactly the nostalgic kind of summer scent people wrote songs about.
But never mind the smell of summer.
After taking a full day off on Tuesday, Aoki Kei was back at school the following day, attending classes as usual.
At the moment, the only person in his class who knew his true identity was Hikigaya Hachiman.
None of the other classmates had made the connection between the quiet, low-profile Aoki and suki-san, the Youtube sensation topping the music charts.
Understandable—Kei rarely spoke to anyone outside of Hikigaya.
His presence in class was barely noticeable, and he had no close ties with anyone else.
It would be difficult for anyone to imagine that the anonymous classmate sitting in the back was the same artist with millions of views.
School life, for now, remained peaceful.
And so the days passed quietly, right up to the weekend before final exams.
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Saturday – The Last Weekend Before Exams
Though the sun wasn't harsh yet, the heat was already in full swing.
Honestly, Aoki had no real desire to go outside at this hour.
Leaving earlier, say around 7 a.m., would've meant cooler temperatures.
Or waiting until after 3 p.m., when the sun began to dip, would've been smarter too.
Anything seemed better than stepping out right now.
But Niijima Yusuke had set their meeting for this exact time, and Kei wasn't about to cancel just because it was hot.
So, braving the early August heat, Kei made his way to the train station, squeezing into the slightly crowded weekend train.
After a jolting ride, he got off and rushed toward the café where they'd agreed to meet.
He arrived at 10:20 a.m.—a full ten minutes early.
But Niijima was already there.
Kei recognized him right away.
On Wikipedia's page for Flowers Beneath the Starry Sky, there was a photo of Niijima from a press interview.
That same man now sat by the window—mid-40s, with long bangs covering half his face.
The eccentric outfit and slightly unkempt look? Typical for someone in the creative arts.
Spotting him, Kei confidently walked over and greeted him before he could look up.
"Good morning, Niijima-san. Sorry if I kept you waiting."
Niijima, who had been staring at his phone, looked up at the sound of his name and immediately smiled when he saw Kei approaching.
"Ah! Su—Aoki-sensei! You're here! No, no, not at all—I just got here myself."
With half his face still hidden by his hair, Niijima stood up and smiled warmly, his tone overly polite.
'Do anime directors always treat musicians this nicely...?'
Kei couldn't help but feel a little awkward about the courtesy, though he responded in kind without showing it.
After a bit of small talk, they both sat down.
Rather than jumping straight into business, Niijima waved over a server.
They each ordered a coffee, and after a short pause, Niijima finally spoke again.
"Aoki-sensei, I really wanted to meet you in person. I mentioned this before, but I've been following your work ever since your first original track.
I'm a huge fan—absolutely one hundred percent in love with your music. So once we connected, I knew I had to meet you face-to-face."
He paused, then added more sincerely:
"Also... I'll admit, there's a bit of personal motivation here. Your talent for composing is extraordinary. As someone who's always striving to create better animation, I genuinely hope your refined and beautiful music can one day be a part of my work."
"You don't need to be so formal, Niijima-san. Just call me Aoki," Kei replied casually.
At that moment, the server arrived with their coffee.
Kei took his cup, thanked her with a nod, and continued:
"As for collaborating... I'd be honored to work with you. Like we discussed on the phone, just let me know your requirements, and I'll do my best to create something that fits. I can't promise it'll be amazing, but I'll put everything I have into it."
Although they hadn't yet discussed the creative direction, collaboration terms, or mutual expectations in detail, what Aoki had just said was, frankly, more of a polite formality.
Still, Niijima Yusuke was more than happy to hear it.
As a director whose simple goal was just to "make better anime," Niijima wasn't the type to get bogged down in the complexities of contract negotiations or industry politics.
All he really wanted right now was this: he genuinely admired Aoki's musical talent and deeply wanted to collaborate with him.
To that end, he had personally searched for suki-san on Youtube.
Even though the odds were slim, he still sent a message via private DM.
To his surprise—and luck—Aoki replied.
The only downside was that Niijima currently had no project of his own that he was directing or actively producing.
However, there was a project he was supervising, and it just so happened to be a good fit.
The title had already been finalized.
The plot was mostly locked in.
The setting and themes were all confirmed.
It was "Fireworks: Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom?" — or simply, Fireworks.
And now… using this project to propose a collaboration with Aoki-sensei?
That should be doable.
So when Aoki said, "Just give me your creative requirements," Niijima couldn't hold back.
With a spark of excitement, he clenched his fist slightly and jumped into the topic without hesitation.
"If we're talking requirements, the film's theme centers around summer, fireworks, the seaside... As for the script... the script..."
His voice trailed off for a few seconds. Then, with a bit of awkwardness, he continued.
"I'm afraid I can't share the script directly—it's confidential. You'd need to sign a contract before that... Sorry about that."
"No worries."
Kei nodded, clearly understanding.
Even without the script, he already had a pretty good idea.
Niijima had mentioned earlier that he wasn't directing this film himself—he was only involved as a co-supervisor.
And with the current theme he just listed, Kei could make an educated guess.
The movie Niijima was talking about was likely the same Fireworks film Kei remembered from his previous life.
As far as he recalled, the movie didn't exactly receive glowing reviews.
Both box office numbers and critical reception were underwhelming.
However, there was one major exception—the music.
One particular song had broken free from the film's mediocrity and exploded in popularity, dominating the music world in his previous life:
"Uchiage Hanabi" by Kenshi Yonezu.
And now, Niijima was asking him to write the theme song for that movie?
Niijima's candid approach and sincere attitude made it clear this wasn't some generic business pitch.
So Kei dropped the polite small talk.
He considered the offer for a few seconds, then casually lifted his coffee and took a small sip.
"Even without the full script, those keywords are enough. Here's what I'll do—I'll try to put together a rough demo track by sometime next week. After that, I'll let you decide whether it fits."
He looked directly at Niijima.
Across the table, Niijima nodded enthusiastically.
"Thank you so much, Aoki-sensei!"
The two of them chatted until around 11 a.m.
Originally, Niijima had planned to treat Kei to lunch afterward, but life had other ideas.
Partway through the coffee, Niijima suddenly received a message and had to rush off for work, leaving the café in a hurry.
That left Aoki alone at the table.
He figured he'd finish his coffee and then head off to find lunch somewhere nearby. But—once again—plans were not to be trusted.
Just as he absentmindedly dropped a sugar cube into his half-full coffee and stirred, his phone vibrated in his pocket.
Frowning slightly, he pulled it out and tapped the screen.
A message had arrived—from Ryo.
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[WeirdBassist]: Just got my allowance. Suki-san, what do you want to eat? My treat.
————————————————————————
"…Really?"
The faint confusion on Kei's face quickly gave way to quiet exasperation.
He immediately remembered the last time Yamada Ryo insisted on treating him to a meal—and how that had turned into a whole ordeal.
And now she was offering again.
Sure, she said it was her treat, but something told him it'd be wiser to turn her down.
Who knew what strange antics she'd get up to this time?
…
Then again... now he was kind of curious to see what she'd come up with.
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