"Phew, thanks for the meal, Miyani-sensei." Maki smiled gratefully, her hunger sated and the exhaustion from a sleepless night largely washed away. "The breakfast was delicious."
"It was nothing, just simple bacon and eggs," Miyahito replied with a light smile.
"Are you full? I've got pudding in the fridge. Want some?"
As he cleared the dishes, Miyahito noticed the lingering longing on Maki's face and chuckled. "Or do you want another plate of bacon and eggs? No problem, there's plenty left in the fridge."
"No, no, it's fine."
Maki hesitated for a few seconds, caught between *I want it* and *I shouldn't*. Then she remembered stepping on the scale the day before... Yeah. She clenched her teeth and refused.
*Damn it... pudding. Pudding made by Miyani-sensei himself.*
*Ahhh, I still really want some.*
Others might not know, but Maki, who had been collaborating with the now-viral indie musician Miyani for the past three years, knew very well.
The sixteen-year-old boy in front of her wasn't just the genius indie producer "Miyani," who had dropped viral hits like *The Reason I Wanted to Die*, *Loser*, *Fireworks*, and *Snow Flower* over the past three years.
Beyond that, this kid was also a critically endangered species: a genuinely great older brother. Honestly, he was the textbook definition of one.
All because his sister had once said, "Big brother, I want delicious pudding! Cake! Can you make it for me?"—Miyani, revered by countless fans and fellow musicians alike, had trained himself into a pastry and dessert expert.
Now, hearing that the exclusive dessert, traditionally reserved only for his sister Ayase, was available for her to try... only to have to turn it down due to her recent weight gain, left Maki utterly despairing.
Maki truly cursed her past self for all those late-night snacks.
"Waaah, I really want to try Miyani-sensei's handmade desserts, waaah..."
After watching Maki stare at him with deep resentment for a while, only to eventually slump onto the table and pretend to cry, Miyahito tilted his head. With his intelligence still intact, he ultimately decided it was best not to try and understand her train of thought.
The kitchen filled with the sound of running water and the occasional clink of dishware.
"Miyani-sensei."
"Yeah?"
Washing dishes in the kitchen, Miyahito answered without looking up.
At the counter, Maki—who had plenty of time before heading back to the agency—plugged the newly acquired USB drive into her phone using an adapter. Listening through her earphones, she somehow wore a deeply soothed expression and spoke softly to him.
"Miyani-sensei's songs always bring such a sense of peace, just like always."
"Glad to hear it."
Holding a plate, carefully flicking off the remaining water droplets, Miyahito turned around and spoke to her with a hint of pride. "Isn't that what music is supposed to be?"
"Yes, yes, you're absolutely right, Miyani-sensei."
She answered in a slightly perfunctory tone, ignoring his mildly annoyed expression, and simply smiled as she continued to lose herself in the melody.
Seeing this, Miyahito didn't interrupt. He quietly placed a freshly brewed cup of coffee next to her, then returned to the living room alone.
Picking up his guitar, he rested his fingertips on the strings and began to pluck them slowly and gently.
Listening to the familiar melody filling his ears, Miyahito slowly closed his eyes, his heart humming along to the lyrics in his memory.
"Because of the stars in the distant sky....."
In truth.
Aragaki Miyahito was a reincarnator. In his past life, he had been just an utterly ordinary person among billions.
No tragic backstory, no heroic deeds of self-sacrifice.
His past life had ended simply enough: blowing out the candles on his eighteenth birthday cake while lying in a hospital bed, then falling asleep, and opening his eyes to a new world.
Just like that, he became a child of the Aragaki family—Aragaki Miyahito.
Honestly, compared to his past life, his parents' status in this life was absurdly high.
After all, his father, Aragaki Seiichiro, was a member of the House of Councillors, and his mother, Aragaki Satomi, was the president of the Chiba City PTA. Their positions placed immense pressure on Miyahito's upbringing.
Growing up in such a high-status household, Miyahito's childhood could only be described as grueling.
Endless academic tutoring, an ocean of knowledge to absorb.
Plus mandatory daily training at the dojo.
Eventually, under the relentless, day-after-day grind, a breaking point was reached. Unable to take it anymore, Miyahito began plotting his escape from the Aragaki family.
Fortunately, the Aragaki household operated on a "daughters over sons" policy. They simply couldn't bear to put their daughter, Ayase—only three years younger than Miyahito—through the same grueling regimen as her brother.
Otherwise, today wouldn't have marked just Miyahito's successful rebellion and escape from the Aragaki family's tyranny.
Initially, with no money (all assets controlled by his mother), no connections (only knowing other elite family heirs), and nowhere to go (nowhere to hide but home), Miyahito himself didn't believe he could escape before reaching adulthood.
But one day, by pure chance, his eyes caught a name among a stack of high school brochures: *Tokyo Private Toyonoki Academy*.
Miyahito's long-sealed memories finally resurfaced.
Yeah. After ten whole years of living this life, the idiot that was Aragaki Miyahito finally realized where he was.
*Tokyo Private Toyonoki Academy*, *Private Shuchiin Academy*, and *Chiba Benten High*—the school his parents had originally planned for them to attend.
No wonder he, who had absolutely no sisters in his past life, suddenly spawned a "doting older brother" trait after reincarnating.
Besides finally pinning down his world's identity, Miyahito recalled a lot of other things.
Songs from his past life, various otaku culture knowledge, and so on.
Plus, whether it was some special perk of reincarnation or transmigration, he wasn't sure.
Since childhood, no matter what he tried to learn, Miyahito picked it up incredibly fast (though STEM would forever remain his lifelong nemesis).
He also discovered he possessed a formidable natural talent for music.
So, leveraging his learning speed, musical talent, and the music theory he'd been studying, Miyahito smoothly "ported" many songs from his past life and released them on YouTube under the name *Miyani*.
Later, as his channel gradually gained traction, he caught the eye of Nakamura Maki from the Sakuragawa Talent Agency, who invited him to collaborate as a freelance musician.
And so, songs he'd known by heart in his past life—*The Reason I Wanted to Die*, *Loser*, *Fireworks*, *Snow Flower*, and others—shone brightly once more in this world.
These deeply moving, emotionally rich tracks brought Miyahito more than just money and the title of "Miyani-sensei."
Just as in his past life, they resonated with countless listeners. *The Reason I Wanted to Die* in particular replicated a miracle from before.
In the two years since Miyahito first collaborated with Sakuragawa Agency to release that single under his alias, the national suicide rate had dropped by a full three percent.
To this day, it still sits firmly at number one on the Oricon charts.
Of course, Miyahito wasn't content with merely copying songs from his past life.
But setting aside how many damn anime series this world had mashed together...
...just how much of the anime he'd watched could he actually remember two-thirds of the plot for anymore?
Still, when it came to his sister Ayase...
Tch.
Even if that Kousaka guy was a decent person.
If he dared to mess with Ayase...
Forget it. Let's just burn it all down. Damn that "gentle protagonist" trope.