Chapter 43: Nee-san, I've Fallen for Him
"Please, Senpai."
The ordinary-looking light music club girl clutched Takumi's hand with teary eyes. The other girls had varying degrees of moisture glistening in theirs too. Takumi hurriedly said, "Just tell me what's wrong."
"Please write down this song for us… so we can use it as the main piece for our charity performance!"
"Sure, I can do that. But… you guys have seriously never heard this song before?"
"Never! Not even once! What's it called?"
"'Chiisana Tenohira.'"
"'Chiisana Tenohira'… That's a nice title. It fits the theme of the charity event perfectly."
The light music girl's cheeks flushed bright red with excitement. Takumi was about to say something else when the door of the cold-drink shop burst open. A huge wave of people flooded in, heading straight for the counter.
"Whose song was that just now? A celebrity's new single?"
"Is it a new release? Can you tell us the name?!"
"So amazing… I never knew listening to a song could make me feel this moved…"
Oh crap.
Takumi saw the excited crowd and inwardly screamed danger. He never expected infusing his voice with a bit of magical power would create this kind of effect. He immediately stood up, grabbed the Akizuki sisters by the hands, and bolted.
A little while later, after the hyped-up people learned from the staff that it wasn't a CD but a live performance by a mysterious "girl" singer, they started frantically searching for her… but of course, she was long gone.
"Haa… haa… Kouichi, let go—I can't breathe!"
After sprinting more than two hundred meters from the shop, Marina—who wasn't exactly athletic—started gasping painfully. Takumi quickly released her hand.
"Sorry! It was an emergency, I just instinctively dragged you both along…"
Neither sister blamed him; they were too busy gulping down air. Takumi noticed sweat beading on Marina's forehead. It slid smoothly down her cheek, trailed along her slender neck, and finally disappeared into the deep valley between her breasts. Her impressive chest rose and fell dramatically with each heavy breath, completely stealing his attention.
Man… I want to turn my tongue into that droplet of sweat and dive straight into that ravine…
"Kouichi-kun, I think you're the one who should be the diva here."
The younger sister recovered faster. Once her breathing steadied, she looked at him with complicated eyes—frustration mixed with amazement. Takumi noticed she'd switched to calling him "Kouichi-kun" and raised an eyebrow.
"Diva? That's for women, right? That title suits you perfectly. If you stick it on me, I'll feel super uncomfortable. I only sing in falsetto. Back in middle school I performed once on stage… but the reaction was awful. Everyone called me a pervert for sounding so much like a girl, so I basically stopped singing after that."
Memories from over two years ago still stung a little. Seeing his downcast expression, Marina couldn't help grabbing his hand.
"Kouichi, please don't give up. The song you sang was incredible—it had this… magical power that seeped straight into the heart. I've never heard anything like it. You don't need to care about people who can't appreciate real talent."
Takumi blinked, surprised she would comfort him so gently. Of course, she had no idea he was talking about another world entirely. Sure, his old songs were decent, but they never carried genuine magical power like today's performance. Still, having a beautiful girl console him felt… nice.
"It's all in the past anyway. I won't dwell on it. Man, Marina really is gentle, huh? Beautiful, kind, the perfect Yamato Nadeshiko type."
"Y-You're exaggerating…"
Marina's face turned scarlet. She ducked her head, embarrassed by the praise.
Then a cold voice cut in.
"How long are you two planning to hold hands? Am I just invisible here?"
"Ah!"
Marina yanked her hand back and bowed quickly to Takumi.
"S-Sorry!"
Takumi opened his mouth to reply, but airi spoke first.
"We totally ditched Sana-chan and Ran-chan back there."
Only then did Marina realize.
"I'll call them right now."
"Akizuki-senpai! Hoshino-senpai! You guys run way too fast!"
Ran's loud voice echoed from far away. airi immediately waved.
"Over here! Over here!"
A minute later, Sana and Ran arrived, both bent over with hands on knees, panting hard. Ran barely caught her breath before lunging forward and grabbing Takumi's hand like she was afraid he'd vanish.
"Senpai… the song…"
"Whoa, whoa, I get it. Just breathe properly first, okay?"
Takumi shook his head helplessly at her labored breathing and gently patted her back to help her calm down. But after only a few pats, he felt airi's icy glare and froze mid-motion.
What the hell is this spoiled blonde loli mad about now…?
By the time Takumi racked his brain and finally transcribed the entire melody and lyrics perfectly onto paper, the sun was already setting. Ran clutched the sheet music to her chest like a national treasure. Meanwhile, Sana had her DVD camcorder pointed right at Takumi.
This girl really is the Japanese Kouichi brother incarnate… so obsessed with filming.
Takumi grumbled internally, glanced at the sky, then clapped his hands.
"Crap! It's this late already?! I seriously have to head back—see ya!"
He didn't even wait to see the girls' reactions. Channeling magical power into his legs, he sprinted off in a blur, kicking up a gust that flipped Ran's skirt. She hurriedly pressed it down.
"So fast…"
"Seriously perfect scene—running boy, sunset, three reluctant beautiful girls. This could be edited into a nice little short film."
Sana's eyes sparkled; her filmmaker soul was on fire.
"It's getting late. We should head back too."
Marina said to her sister. But airi stared at Ran—or more precisely, at the song sheet in her hands.
"Maeda, give me that sheet music."
"Huh? Why?"
"You told me to be the lead vocalist, right? So I need to practice the song."
"But… but I need to practice the accompaniment too!"
"The melody's simple. Look at it a few times and you'll memorize it."
"My memory isn't that good, Airi-chan! Once I've practiced enough, I'll make a copy for you, okay?"
Seeing Ran stubbornly clutch the paper and tuck it carefully into her chest pocket, airi huffed.
"Fine, whatever. I'm leaving."
She strode off without another word. Marina hurried to apologize to Ran.
"Sorry… maybe the heat got to her today. She's a little irritable. Sorry about that."
"It's okay, Akizuki-senpai."
After the apology, Marina jogged to catch up with her sister and finally reached her about a hundred meters away, panting.
"Airi, what's wrong with you today? You seem really off."
"Nothing. Leave me alone."
airi snapped, walking even faster. Marina grabbed her sleeve.
"Your tone is super weird. What are you actually angry about? Tell your big sister."
"I'm not angry."
"Really?"
"Really. I'm just… frustrated, that's all. What I've always been proudest of isn't inheriting Mom and Dad's looks—it's my singing talent and hard work. Everyone at school calls me the 'diva' even though I just started high school… but today a guy completely crushed me. And I can't even complain. I know it. No matter how beautifully I sing—even if I could rival pro idols—my voice could never have that kind of magical power. The real, heart-shaking kind!"
"I was surprised too, but… there's always someone better out there. It's not a big deal."
"Onee-chan, you don't get it. You don't get it at all."
"Maybe I really can't understand… but is it okay to take it out on classmates and friends when you're upset?"
"I didn't take it out on anyone. I just wanted the lyrics, that's all."
"The lyrics? Maeda would probably make a copy if you asked."
"If you photocopy money, can you spend it?"
"Huh?"
"Sigh… Onee-chan, I'll just say it straight. I… I've fallen in love. Because of this feeling, I want something that belongs to Kouichi. The lyrics he wrote himself would be the best present ever. But Maeda took them… and it makes me so frustrated."
"Wait—what?! Wait, hold on. You're saying… you like Kouichi? That's impossible!"
Marina's violet eyes widened in pure shock.
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