Who exactly are you throwing shade at here?
For a moment, Sakiko couldn't even put her feelings into words.
Compared to that, however, what worried her more was whether Kamijou Mutsuki had secretly installed a camera somewhere around her.
That was getting a bit perverted, honestly…
Still, as she looked at Kamijou Mutsuki's LINE account, Sakiko didn't know why, but her brow suddenly furrowed slightly.
That profile picture…
Kamijou Mutsuki's profile picture was very straightforward—or rather, confident. It was simply a photo of himself.
However, compared to the casually dressed boy standing in front of her now, with his relaxed expression, the Kamijou Mutsuki in the profile picture was wearing a well-tailored suit, holding a violin slung over his shoulder. His expression was serious and cold, elevating the already handsome boy's charm to an entirely new level.
Sakiko wasn't dazzled by his looks, though. Instead, she felt that the boy in the photo looked inexplicably familiar.
And the name Kamijou Mutsuki also seemed to…
"Oh right, Miss Togawa, could I take a photo of you?"
Kamijou Mutsuki's words interrupted Sakiko's train of thought, and she looked up.
"…What do you want my photo for?"
"…To use it?"
"..."
For the sake of her own peace of mind, Sakiko very sensibly chose not to ask how exactly he planned to use it.
After getting Sakiko's photo, Kamijou Mutsuki discussed the recording schedule with her. Satisfied, he then took his leave.
Watching Kamijou Mutsuki's departing figure, Sakiko felt that vague sense of familiarity stirring in her heart once more. In the end, she couldn't resist taking out her phone and searching for information about him.
"The youngest national-level violinist"
"Car accident"
"Fallen genius"
The information appeared almost without any resistance, and the once-blurry impression in Sakiko's mind finally became clear.
"…It's him?!"
The girl's tone was filled with undisguised shock.
However, immersed in her surprise, she failed to notice that she had been spotted by a certain troublesome person.
"That's… Saki-chan?"
"And that boy… just who exactly is he…?"
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"Worthy of being CRYCHIC's white moonlight… this really is hard to handle…"
On the other side, Kamijou Mutsuki was sitting in his car, appreciating his "spoils of war."
Even under circumstances that could practically be called coercion, Sakiko had unexpectedly not thrown a cold face at him.
Although it was merely a professional, businesslike smile, it was still enough to make Kamijou Mutsuki—who had seen plenty of beautiful girls in this lifetime—find it hard to look away.
If it were the original White Sakiko…
Doubt Soyo, understand Soyo, become—
Ahem. No, that really wasn't necessary. He had no intention of competing with Mutsumi's dad for a livelihood.
Still, with this, the most troublesome person had been taken care of.
Next were the remaining four members of CRYCHIC, plus the two from MyGO!!!!!, the three from Ave Mujica, and quite a few characters with smaller roles.
All he could say was that, just to make an anime, he was really worrying himself to death.
So then… who should he go find next?
Looking at the photo of Saki-chan on his phone, Kamijou Mutsuki thought for a moment, then ultimately turned off the screen.
He'd put this one aside for now. Another person had already been reserved.
And so, the next afternoon, Kamijou Mutsuki went to stake out the entrance of Tsukinomori Girls' Academy.
As expected of a school for young ladies— even by Kamijou Mutsuki's standards, it was hard to pick out a single one who didn't look good.
And quite a few of the Tsukinomori ladies were also curious about Kamijou Mutsuki, who looked like he was waiting for someone there. After all, as girls attending an all-girls school, they probably only interacted with boys their age a handful of times a year. How could they not be interested in a suddenly appearing handsome guy?
However, out of a young lady's restraint and proper upbringing, no one came forward to strike up a conversation.
Meanwhile, Kamijou Mutsuki, who was busy admiring the "scenery," was clearly unaware that he himself had also become part of someone else's scenery.
And just as Kamijou Mutsuki was admiring (or being admired by?) the Tsukinomori ladies, a girl with brown hair and blue eyes appeared in his field of vision—gentle in temperament, warm in demeanor, and exuding an unmistakable "mom" aura.
However, he quickly looked away. She wasn't his target this time.
Still, what Kamijou Mutsuki hadn't expected was—
"Um… may I ask who you're waiting for? Do you need any help?"
A familiar yet unfamiliar cutesy voice suddenly rang out by his ear. Turning his head to look at the figure who had appeared in front of him at some unknown point, wearing an expression of "concern," Kamijou Mutsuki couldn't help but show a hint of surprise in his eyes.
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"Today, you were amazing in club activities again, Soyo-chan. As expected of you, Soyo-chan."
"It's not that amazing. I just happened to perform better today."
"..."
"Ehh~ I wish I could be that good too…"
"..."
"…You just need to work a little harder on a regular basis…"
Within Tsukinomori, the girl named Nagasaki Soyo smiled as she chatted with the "friends" beside her.
Whether it was her impeccable gestures or her gentle tone of voice, everything about her exuded the refined air of a young lady, as if the term ojō-sama had been tailor-made for her.
And precisely because of that, no one noticed the gloom hidden deep within the eyes of this "young lady."
Why, Saki-chan…
The girl couldn't help but recall what had happened yesterday.
After losing contact for so long, finally meeting her dearly missed Saki-chan again should have been something to be happy about.
There were so many things she wanted to ask her—why she quit CRYCHIC, why she transferred away from Tsukinomori, why…
Why she cut off contact with her altogether.
But why had Saki-chan acted like that?
So cold and rejecting toward her, even saying things like that.
She was nothing like the confident yet gentle White Sakiko she remembered—it was as if they were two completely different people.
That feeling was unbearably painful, as if it were telling her that the CRYCHIC that once made her feel warm—just like the Sakiko who had once been gentle—would never come back again.
And just as Nagasaki Soyo was feeling restless because of Sakiko's attitude yesterday, the figure of a boy suddenly entered her field of vision.
That boy was…
The one who had been with Sakiko yesterday…
The girl's heart, which had already been beaten into silence, began to beat once more.
Even after being met with such cold words from Sakiko, she still hadn't given up.
It must be that she hadn't done something right. If she could get enough information from this boy, perhaps she could understand why Sakiko had become the way she was—and make her change her mind!
Thinking this, Nagasaki Soyo exchanged a quick word with the "friends" beside her, then walked up to Kamijou Mutsuki under their somewhat curious gazes.
"Um… may I ask who you're waiting for? Do you need any help?"
..................