After night fell, Itsuka Miku came to Yoshino's house as usual. Everyone has become accustomed to her arrival, after all, she comes here whenever she is free. Once familiar, twice accustomed, everyone is no longer surprised, and now Yoshino and others are doing their duties as executive members, sorting out the information of each class in the school, so they ignored her.
"Yoshino... Sister I'm so annoyed!!?" Itsuka Miku's eyes lit up when she saw Yoshino, and then she hugged Yoshino, making a weak voice.
"What's wrong, Sister Miku?" Yoshino, held in Itsuka Miku's arms, looked at her with a puzzled expression, while Minami Kotori quickly placed a cup of brewed black tea in front of Yoshino. Everyone looked at Itsuka Miku's current state and asked with concern. Usually, when Itsuka Miku hugged Yoshino, she would be beaming with a rosy face, but now she was pale.
"So many things have been bothering me lately!" Itsuka Miku said unhappily, just like a child who had been treated unfairly. Then she rubbed Yoshino's cheek to slowly lift her spirits. Sure enough, Yoshino smelled very nice.
"Miku seems to have been working very hard lately, what's wrong? Are you tired?" Toujou Nozomi, sitting nearby, saw Itsuka Miku's expression and asked with a chuckle.
"Of course I'm tired! It's all because of the upcoming Ten'ou Festival!" Hearing Toujou Nozomi's words, Itsuka Miku immediately pouted. She looked like a 'this baby is unhappy! this idiot baby needs comfort' and Yoshino had no choice but to reach out and pat her head, making her show a comfortable expression.
"Oh! Isn't this the Ten'ou Festival we heard about today? We were just helping Yoshino organize the school report for this event. I didn't expect you to also be troubled by the Ten'ou Festival, Miku." Minami Kotori said to her with a smile, holding a pen in her hand. Although these tasks were indeed a lot for one person, with so many people helping Yoshino, half of the work was already done. Oh, of course, Hoshizora Rin was not included. After all, she was an idiot, and all she could do was cheer everyone on from the side.
"Eh~ How mean. To make Yoshino do such troublesome work, that's really too much. A cute child like Yoshino should be well cared for. People from Raizen High School don't dote on Yoshino at all. Nah~ Yoshino, why don't you transfer to Rindouji Girls' Academy? As your big sister, I will dote on you properly."
After hearing Minami Kotori's words, Itsuka Miku tightened her embrace around Yoshino, allowing Yoshino to better feel the softness behind her.
"I won't let you take Yoshino away. You should put away your little schemes, Miku. Don't you know that saying such things will get you beaten? Look at how many people we have here, do you want to incite public anger, Miku?" Toujou Nozomi said to Itsuka Miku exasperatedly. Why does this girl always do such things whenever she gets a chance? "What did you come here for today? If there's nothing, then hurry up and leave. We still have things to do."
"What's with the fierce attitude? I'm already so tired. Isn't it good for me to properly replenish my Yoshino element? That way I'll have the motivation to face tomorrow's problems." After saying that, she took a deep breath on Yoshino's body. The faint milky scent made Itsuka Miku feel her soul being healed. Smelling this fragrance, she couldn't help but gently lick Yoshino's neck. As a result, Yoshino, as if electrocuted, let out a cute cry of 'Ah!'
"Get away from me! Did you mean that you're so tired because you're preparing for this festival?" Toujou Nozomi, unable to bear it any longer, pulled Yoshino from her and hugged her. She stroked Yoshino's little head and said to Itsuka Miku.
"Mhm! Mhm! Mhm!" As if she had found a kindred spirit, Itsuka Miku nodded.
"But can't you command all the students at Rindouji Girls' Academy? You shouldn't have to personally worry about such things, right? Unlike Yoshino, who solves problems herself, what else are you tired of?" Tokisaki Kurumi also asked with a smile. Itsuka Miku, through the power of a Spirit, used her captivating voice to easily become the 'Big Sister' of the entire Rindouji Girls' Academy. Her schoolmates shouldn't make her do such things.
"But all those people below send down all sorts of reports, don't they? I have to read them all! As a school representative, if I don't read them, I won't be able to talk about my school's affairs at the inter-school Federation meeting. Just looking at those things is so annoying!?" She wasn't very good at studying to begin with, and now she had to read those reports full of text. It was truly too painful!
"The truth is, Miku just wants to be lazy and not do anything. She's as willful as a child," Yuzuru Yamai, who was chatting with Yamikura Yatsukabusa, said with her usual sharp tongue. But she couldn't be blamed; after all, there were too many things to nitpick here. She couldn't control her urge to complain.
"Hmph!" As if her thoughts had been exposed, Itsuka Miku turned her head and glared fiercely at Yamikura Yatsukabusa, then crossed her arms over her chest and pouted her rosy lips unhappily. This wasn't her problem; she was only good at singing, and she wasn't good at handling such troublesome things. Wouldn't it be better to let the professionals handle it? She just didn't want to cause trouble, so how could they call her a child?
"Speaking of which, Sister Miku, for the stage performance at this Ten'ou Festival, Rindouji Girls' Academy's representative should be you, right? Will you uphold your promise to Yoshino and sing with your real voice?" Yoshino looked at Itsuka Miku with some anticipation. She had finally waited for the Ten'ou Festival they had agreed upon. She was very much looking forward to hearing Itsuka Miku's real voice.
"...Mhm, didn't we make a promise? Yoshino, you'll also be performing, right? It seems like you'll be performing with five other people." After a slight pause, Itsuka Miku said to Yoshino. Even if she were to become like her old self again, this time Yoshino would be there to support her. How could she bear to lie to such a kind Yoshino?
"Mhm! I'll also be performing this time, even though I'm not a student at your school. For this Ten'ou Festival, I'll be setting up a stall by the roadside to sell my doujinshi, and then I'll go on stage with you and the others to perform. Since there are so many of us for this performance, how about we compete in a contest? This isn't a competition between schools, but a competition between us." Honjou Nia said with a mischievous smile, not minding the commotion, immediately piquing everyone's curiosity.
"Mhm, that's a good idea. But Yoshino seems to be planning to sing two songs. Besides practicing with us before, she also called Kotori to rehearse another song. Are you planning to rearrange into one team?" Toujou Nozomi turned to look at Minami Kotori. Yoshino had actively sought her out this time. When did she raise Yoshino's favorability so high without her knowing?
"That's right, Yoshino specifically asked me to collaborate with her. It's a very cute song, Nozomi." Minami Kotori stood up with a smile, looking at Toujou Nozomi, but the meaning in her eyes was not that simple. It was full of provocation! She could sing with Yoshino, and Yoshino had chosen her.
"Oh? Is that so? How impressive, Kotori. Yoshino really likes you." Toujou Nozomi looked at Minami Kotori with a forced smile. The atmosphere in the room suddenly became very heavy, making everyone swallow nervously.
"Well, after all, Yoshino has wanted to sing that song for a long time. This song requires two people to sing, and it needs girls with particularly cute voices. Koto's voice is cuter, so this time I didn't ask Sister Nozomi. Sister Nozomi, please don't be angry." Seeing Toujou Nozomi's gaze, how could Yoshino not understand what she meant? She immediately explained to her. She didn't want to see the two of them argue because of her.
"Don't worry, I won't get angry over something like this. I'll look forward to your performance." Toujou Nozomi said with a smile, pinching Yoshino's little face. Although she felt a little uncomfortable, she wouldn't take this matter to heart. Even if Yoshino sang with her, what of it? Wasn't her relationship with Yoshino still the best?
Itsuka Miku watched them playfully bicker. Normally, she would definitely join in. But now she sat on the sofa with a troubled expression, which Toujou Nozomi noticed.
"It seems you're still a bit worried. But you should have moved past that gloom by now, Miku. If you feel nervous, don't forget that we're behind you. Don't worry about the dark path ahead, because we're with you to face it together. So for this Ten'ou Festival, we all need to do our best." After saying that, Toujou Nozomi extended the back of her hand, looking at everyone with a smile.
Everyone understood and extended their hands, stacking them on top. Finally, only Itsuka Miku, who was stunned, hadn't placed hers. She saw everyone looking at her expectantly.
"R-really! Such childish things, I can't believe you'd do them! Well~ Seeing your expectant faces, I'll reluctantly join you in this fun once." Itsuka Miku pouted and placed her hand on top. Although she was very touched, she didn't want Toujou Nozomi to get too smug, so she deliberately said the opposite of what she felt.
However, they had seen this expression many times on Nishikino Maki, and they all knew that Itsuka Miku was just being tsundere. Looking at such a cute Itsuka Miku, they couldn't help but laugh, which drew her playful scolding.
"This Ten'ou Festival! Everyone, let's do our best!!!"
"Oh!?" * N
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