...
*Knock*
*knock*
*Open*
Staff 1: "Excuse me, Yamai-san, Ai-san needs to be on stage in 5 minutes…" said a man holding a clipboard.
Yamai: "Is the stage ready?"
Staff 1: "Yes, we followed your instructions and everything is prepared," the man replied firmly.
Yamai: "Good, she'll be out soon…"
Staff 1: "Understood," he said before leaving the room.
Yamai relaxed her expression and turned to look at the pair of troublemakers.
Yamai: "You know she's about to go on stage, yet you keep playing along…" she said with an exasperated sigh.
Tadano: "It's not my fault! This brat won't stop teasing me. Look at this!" he said, pointing to his hair, now dyed a bright electric pink.
Ai: "Hahaha! No… haha… I don't regret… haha… anything!" she declared bravely, writhing on the floor.
Tadano: "You! You're getting more unruly by the day!" he said in a stern tone.
Ai only stuck her tongue out mockingly.
Deep sigh
Yamai couldn't help but sigh in exasperation at the childish behavior of these two.
After clapping her hands a couple of times to get their attention, she spoke in a conciliatory tone.
Yamai: "Alright, let's leave it at that for now… Ai has to get ready for her first TV appearance, so help me prepare her, and you need to get yourself ready too," she said as she helped Ai up.
Tadano: "Alright…"
Ai: "Yes, ma'am!"
…
Tadano: "So, do you remember the lyrics?" the young man asked.
Ai: "Yes, Ai has them down! Ai will surprise you big time, just watch how Ai becomes the light in everyone's hearts!" she said confidently.
Tadano smiled, amused by her confidence, and couldn't resist tugging at her cute, round cheek.
Tadano: "Yeah, yeah… who was the one who went blank three times last time?"
Ai: "Nwiii… Don't pull!... Ai could get disfigured, you know?" she said, a little annoyed as she pushed his hand away. Her small cheek was already a bit red.
Tadano: "Hehe, alright. Stay focused and do your best," he said with a smile as he ruffled her hair.
For a moment, Ai couldn't react upon seeing the young man's smile.
Without the young man noticing, both of Ai's cheeks turned red, but for a different reason this time. When Ai realized it, she quickly lowered her head and rushed out the door.
Ai: "D-Don't mess up Ai's h-hair…" she muttered quietly as she left.
Deep sigh
Tadano: "This girl is entering her rebellious phase…" he said with a defeated sigh.
Yamai beside him smiled and said nothing. She noticed Ai's blush and the smile on her face as she left the room.
"Kids grow up so fast…" she thought. Then she hurried the young man to get ready.
…
Presenter: "And now… I have a surprise for all of you… with us is the singer who is taking the internet by storm. Hoshino Ai, presenting her new song, BLUE BIRD!" she announced with excitement.
After her words, the lights went out.
In the deep darkness that surrounded the studio, everyone saw a giant eye the size of the wall open. The pupil was slit, and from its scarlet red color, it emitted an unsettling aura that frightened more than one.
Then, a beastly roar echoed throughout the studio.
Next, in a cascading effect, hundreds of images overlapped at high speed. In them, you could see the adventures of a certain blond boy.
The shields of the five Hidden Villages.
And certain legendary beasts.
The next minute, the cascading effect stopped on a specific image.
It was a distant view of a great mountain. Four faces were carved into it. With that, the spotlights turned on, and Ai's sweet and energetic voice emerged.
Ai: "You say if you could fly, you would never come back… You aimed for that blue, blue sky…"
As Ai sang, the images passed by one after another.
The childhood of a certain blond boy with blue eyes.
His encounter with another boy with black hair and dark eyes.
The pair of blood-red eyes with three tomoe.
And finally, the battle in the Valley of the End.
Everyone was impressed by Ai's performance.
They felt as if they had been transported to a dream world.
And all that remained in their minds was the word, "Ninja."
…
In the audience stands
A young girl with pink hair was fervently waving her colorful glow sticks.
The audience around her imitated the girl.
Both they and the pink-haired girl wore jackets and headbands with Ai's name written on them, cheering with wild abandon.
Chika: "WOOOOOOO!!! AI-CHAAAAN!!!! YEAAAH!!!!" roared the girl as she moved from side to side, her two soft mountains bouncing from one side to the other, making the audience around her cheer even more passionately.
Sitting beside her was Kaguya, who was hiding behind her seat, not wanting to be associated with this being of little brain matter.
…
Chika: "So… why are we here again?" she asked, somewhat confused, as she thoughtfully placed a finger on her lips.
Kaguya: "…" A vein of anger couldn't help but pop up on her forehead.
Poor Kaguya was at her limit, mentally cursing this brainless pink cow a thousand times over.
Kaguya: "We're here to try to run into Onii-Sama, but you're so flashy that you ruined the whole plan!" she growled angrily.
Chika: "WAAH! Don't yell like that, Kaguya-san, you scared me…" she said, trembling a bit.
Kaguya: "You!" Before she could scold the pink cow in front of her any further, a timely blonde maid came to the rescue.
Hayasaka: "Kaguya-sama, please relax a bit or you'll attract attention… here, have a strawberry tart," she said, pulling out a beautiful little cake from somewhere.
Kaguya wanted to say something, but seeing the crowd looking at her curiously, she took the tart and ate it begrudgingly.
Chika: "Hehe, Kaguya-san is so cute∼, anyway, my reliable sources tell me that our handsome boy should be backstage, watching the performance, and if what they said is true, his assistant will be busy near the stage, so he'll be completely alone…" she said, casually browsing her phone.
Kaguya: "…"
Hayasaka: "…"
Chika: "What?"
Kaguya: "Fujiwara-san, sometimes you can be surprising, you know?" she said with a tone of great praise.
Hayasaka nodded in agreement.
Chika: "Hehe! Being the daughter of a political family has its perks, you know?" she said proudly, puffing out her already ample chest.
Seeing this, Kaguya's frown deepened, and her expression grew grim.
Noticing this, Hayasaka quickly urged the girls forward and guided them backstage. On their way, none of the staff said anything.
Just seeing the appearance of the girls, as well as the Shinomiya and Fujiwara emblems on their clothes, was more than enough. In the world of entertainment, who doesn't recognize the faces of the children of the great families?
Quickly, they arrived at the door of the dressing room where that man was.
Kaguya's hands were trembling, and she hesitated to reach for the door handle.
On the other hand, with an attitude of having no worries in the world, Chika strutted in.
…
Chika: "Tadano-san! We came to hang out!" she said cheerfully as she entered the door.
Tadano: "Eh? Chika?"
Chika: "Yay!" she exclaimed as she threw herself onto the young man.
Kaguya: "Hey, what are you doing?" Kaguya asked as she timidly entered, but upon seeing her brainless friend's actions, she hurried over to complain.
Chika: "I just… I haven't seen him in a while, and I missed him…" she said while rubbing her cheeks against the young man's.
Kaguya: "Get away from him!" she growled angrily.
Chika: "Ahh! Kaguya-san, don't be so stingy…" she complained.
When she finally managed to pull the annoying pink cow away from her beloved brother, Kaguya timidly looked at the young man.
Kaguya: "It's nice to see you again, Onii-Sama…" she said with pink cheeks.
Tadano smiled at her shy demeanor and approached her.
Tadano: "Hehe, I said Tadano or Hito would be fine, remember?" he said while gently rubbing the girl's head.
Kaguya purred with happiness at his touch and seemed to melt.
Tadano: "Oh! Hello to you too, Hayasaka… by the way, here's the order from last time." He said as he tossed something to the blonde maid.
Hayasaka quickly caught it and smelled it.
After letting out a sigh of satisfaction, she thanked the young man.
Hayasaka: "Thank you, young master, it's really hard to find this kind of thing," she said as she tucked the little bag into her hand.
Tadano: "Hehe, one of my friends comes from the countryside, and her aunt, a florist, makes some of those homemade air fresheners. Just ask, and I can get it for you in a minute."
Hayasaka nodded.
Chika: "Hey, don't ignore me!" said the pink-haired girl, a little annoyed.
Tadano: "Alright, alright, here's something you might like," he said as he tossed something to the young girl.
Chika caught it with some difficulty, and when she saw what it was, her eyes lit up.
Chika: "Oh! A game! Wait… I don't think I know this game…" she said, a bit doubtful.
Tadano: "It's a game I created for the Kodokawa competition. Since you're a good friend of mine, I'll give you an advance copy. I guarantee you'll enjoy it." He said confidently.
Chika got excited upon hearing that it was a game created by Tadano, and when she heard that he was participating in the Kodokawa contest, she quickly pounced on him and started asking a barrage of questions.
…
Chika: "So, is this your ace to win the competition?" she asked.
Tadano nodded.
Upon hearing this, Chika's eyes sparkled like stars, and she looked at the game in her hand as if it were the eighth wonder of the world.
Then, she quickly said goodbye and rushed home to try it out, leaving a cloud of dust behind her.
Tadano laughed at how energetic she was.
Then he looked at the purring beauty sitting on his lap.
Scratching behind her ears, he said,
Tadano: "You know, you've helped me a lot. Don't you want something in return?"
Kaguya: "Nya? Eh?! Oh! Um… Ehm…" the young girl seemed to panic but seeing the young man's kind smile relaxed her.
Kaguya: "Then… I want… I want a d-date!" she said timidly.
Behind them, Hayasaka gave a thumbs up at her young lady's courage.
Tadano: "Are you sure?"
Kaguya: "Y-Yes, it's not like I did much… hehe," she said humbly.
Tadano: "Ha! You underestimate yourself. Not only did you help me with Ai's papers, but you also got me the building for my company, and I know you facilitated Ichigo's contacts for a few things," he said with an amused look.
Kaguya: "I guess you figured it out in the end…" she said, a bit embarrassed.
Tadano: "Ha, it doesn't matter. I promised I wouldn't use the power of the family, but I didn't say you couldn't, right? You've really been a great help, Kaguya," said the young man while stroking the girl's silky hair.
The red-eyed beauty purred with happiness.
Kaguya: "Then…"
Tadano: "Alright, I'll take you somewhere in the next few days, and I'd appreciate it if you could help that little brother of mine not screw up."
Kaguya: "Yes! Whatever you need, I'll do it!" she said almost immediately, but then realized her excessive enthusiasm and blushed in embarrassment.
The young man laughed happily and couldn't help but hug her for how cute she looked.
At that moment, Ai and Yamai entered through the door.
Ai: "Ah! It's Kaguya-nee… Wait! Hey! Tadano-nii's lap is my spot!" after saying that, Ai jumped to defend her territory.
Both Hayasaka and Yamai exchanged a glance.
...
---
Author's Note: "Well, here's another chapter I managed to put out. I'm grateful to everyone who continues to read my project despite my delays hehe. On a side note, remember to drink plenty of water, and I love you all. Sincerely, your favorite depressed author."
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