Chapter 17: Challenge
Suiri thought of how the former bandmate of the supporting character 'Shimori Akane' approached her to have a little chat with her. What was her purpose? What did the almost-mob-character want from her? Why did she easily announce her identity in front of her? She didn't know the exact reason because she didn't have any idea at this moment.
In the restroom box, Suiri took out her phone and began to type the keyword in the search bar.
All she knew was that the band 'The Sunny Cherry Blossom' once raised a huge wave and caused an impact on the musical industry. At that time, when Suiri reached the age of nine, she had already known about their existence wreaking havoc in the Rock's circle. Although Suiri didn't look like a Rock person at first glance, she also paid attention to many genres in this world.
If she had to say the reason for their disbandment when they had been developing rapidly, it would be the disappearance of the main lead singer 'Hajimono Ikuta'. A promising female beta once was on the way to gaining her name in the circle; suddenly, no news about her appeared on the internet or in magazines.
[The Sunny Cherry Blossom]
Suiri pressed the enter button as the web on her phone showed the results. To her surprise, the titles of those websites gave her a gloomy feeling.
'Hah~, curiosity kills a cat'
Suiri looked through the info spreading through on her phone.
[The end of the Sunny Cherry Blossom? Where is Hajimono Ikuta?]
[The disappearance of Hajimono Ikuta related to the dark side of the entertainment industry?]
[Sunny Cherry Blossom had to put a stop there?]
All were the speculations of the reporters from those media companies. Plus, the setting and the reactions of Shimori Akane, who once hated music and had to put down her guitar, might relate to this person named 'Hajimono Ikuta'.
It could be the tragic end or the result of betrayal.
If Suiri wanted to know more, she would have to ask the insiders but she didn't have such an intention.
In her impression, this female beta girl was a talented individual. She once heard their song which had once appeared on the TV to promote the positive side of society. For example, 'Ride the wind', 'Youth time' and many more. Her vocal abilities brought out the soft unique melody to express her emotion through it. In contrast, Suiri's voice was soft, and pure but firm at the same time. This was her evaluation of her voice in this life. However, as a self-proclaimed professional vocalist, Suiri could adjust her voice and tone with different pitches.
She decided not to think more as she stored her phone back.
After cleaning herself up, Suiri headed back to the clubroom.
She found that the person who once said she would go now came back to the room with the little figure with pink hair. There was another figure here. The familiar purple-haired with waist length woman stood there.
Suiri recognized her.
Her facial features had changed from the last time Suiri'd seen her. They became more mature instead of childish and pampered young lady-like.
Suiri closed the door and spoke.
"I'm back"
On the other hand, they noticed the existence of Suiri.
"Oh, welcome back, Sui-chan"
Maria spoke affectionately which made Suiri feel warm inside.
But it had gone cold again.
"Sui-channnnnnnnnn~, you're hereeee~!"
Charlotte once again spoke the old way. Maybe it was hard to change her bad habit.
"Umm..."
"And hello Tenonji Miwako-senpai"
Suiri turned to the girl who was naive in the past. In the present, she already had the look of an intelligent person.
Miwako nodded and replied.
"Good afternoon, student Hoshiyuki Suiri-san"
Then, after greeting, Suiri looked at the short black-haired beautiful woman.
"What is white lo...Kobayashi-sensei doing here again?"
Suiri almost misspoke just now. It was just that the nickname that her sister set for her teacher was so well-matched.
*puff*
Maria and Charlotte grinned and suppressed not to laugh out loud while Akane hadn't grasped the situation yet.
Meanwhile, the person in the dialogue now looked at Suiri and couldn't help but clench a fist. Her gentle smile became more superficial.
Misa could only let out an awkward smile.
"Hahaha~, actually, I'm your club's temporary drummer"
Then, she knocked her head and let out her tongue.
*Teehee Pero*
"..."
"?"
Do you find it funny? I need to add salt to your joke. We can't laugh at all.
Everyone kept silent and stared at Misa like a silly woman.
"..."
Honestly, the plan of Kobayashi Misa from the beginning was to show off she was some mysterious bigshot, then create a bond with Suiri like a senior-junior relationship. By the way, she could also evaluate this girl under her observation but she had failed successfully.
Her teehee expression froze because she knew how awkward she was. Why couldn't everyone appreciate and laugh at her joke?
"..."
"..."
Akane was puzzled. Realizing her best friend's face was in danger, Akane moved instantly.
"Misa, come out with me!!"
After that, Misa who was playing dumb was dragged out forcefully by Akane, leaving the students alone in the clubroom again.
Miwako said.
"Hello, student Hoshiyuki-san, like the promise, I will compensate you with anything in my ability"
In fact, Suiri had already guessed what Tenonji-senpai was doing here. Except for the unpleasant event, Suiri couldn't think of any possibility that made the high-class Omega like her wanting to associate with Suiri.
Besides that...
'Girl, don't promise such a thing, what if I want your body'. Suiri thought in her heart. In her view, Miwako had become more and more beautiful than in the past. Like the plot of the breakup cliche, your ex became much better than when she was with you. Suiri wondered if that bastard false prince would show any regret later.
Although Suiri didn't show any emotion or get too close to anyone, she still had her sexual orientation as a man in her previous life. She would prefer women than men. Unfortunately, she could only choose her partner in the female alpha range. At the same time, it meant that those heroines in the original plot would be qualified to enter the candidates' list. Nonetheless, could she get over her past self before marriage?
Suiri was thinking hard.
As for compensation...
Maria suddenly spoke.
"Then, you can join the club with my sister"
"We come from wealthy families and don't lack anything"
"It's the best solution for now"
While she said that, her expression was extremely gentle and righteous. She wore a business smile on her face.
Suiri couldn't help but admire her sister. Her eyes shined as if she worshipped her 'perfect' sister.
Wasn't the club lacking members to operate?
How could her sister come up with this idea?
It could solve both the tension between families and the reasonable price for compensation.
Maria also looked at the blue eyes of her sister both of which had the slogan 'Onee-sama, awesome'. She had to admit that it was so difficult to pretend this perfect facade. Her facial muscles wanted to scream for the smug one 'Praise me more, my angel'. After going home, she must atone for her sin after pitting her innocent sister with her dirty trick. She blamed herself for not being able to endure the ugly desire in her heart.
Unknown to anyone, the silly and naive girl in the past was just the incarnation of being poisoned by a harmful love. Miwako was blinded by the handsome appearance of the Konoe false prince. She thought it was true love. After experiencing such a vicious scheme, she finally opened her eyes as she asked her parents and older brother to train her seriously after today.
Humans can only grow when they meet a setback.
This was true. Moreover, her dream and illusion about magical girls shattered completely after receiving a cold truth from her family.
She had to say goodbye to those pink lives and her naive self.
This world was cruel. If she continued to persist in that kind of mentality, she would have no place to stand in the human circle.
Listening to the proposal of Maria-sama, Miwako sighed a relief because it was not something outrageous.
Just a matter of joining the club, her parents also encouraged her to establish a relationship with Suiri as both had the same gender as high-class Omega. Despite being older than one year, this was not a major problem, but her face turned slightly red when looking at Maria. How could she not understand the hidden meaning in her parents' tone?
When she was hurt the most, this girl stood by her side to coax and comfort her. Miwako knew Maria was a siscon that couldn't be cured. However, this thing couldn't deny that she was very gentle and had a kind heart. Like the name, the Saint of the Stardust Academy. Even when she believed in magical stuff, she not only didn't make fun of her but also played with her as well. She was moved by such a gentle alpha.
Could it be that she was in love again? Was she so cheap?
Looking at the face of Maria-sama, the more she observed, the louder her heartbeat was. This woman was quite handsome, gentle, and considerate. She felt more pleasant with Maria than the face of such a false prince.
*Baddump*
*Baddump*
Maria asked.
"What's wrong? Why do you keep silent?"
"Is my request too much?"
She was worried that this girl would refuse. After all, Maria had already investigated this girl's past. Miwako had a deep understanding of the musical field as she had the trophy of winning The Violin competition 4 years ago. It couldn't be better for this girl to boost her sister's career in the new genre.
Maria caught this girl's face a bit wrong.
"Do you get sick? Why is your face so red?"
Maria used her hand to estimate the temperature. It was just that her face got closer to Miwako's. The mint flavor which had once relaxed her depressive mood in the past attacked her nose violently again. The red vertical pupil eyes stood in front of her face with caring emotion in them.
*Kyuuuuuuuuuun~*
"Ah...I agree! I agree! I agree! I...agree! No problem at all!!!! Maria-sama!"
Miwako panicked and hurriedly replied, then she ran out of the room to escape. Her face was so hot that could boil water.
"Gyaaa!"
Maria chuckled.
"Wait! If you agree, where are you going?"
"..."
No matter how Maria tried to call this girl back, it was useless. The purple-haired girl had already disappeared from the clubroom. There was only the voice screaming in the hall.
Maria sighed.
"Hah~, I'm speechless"
"..."
And then, Maria turned back to her sister and junior Charlotte.
Suiri on the other hand realized that expression. It was the face of the maiden in love in her previous life. She once witnessed how Erika showed that kind of face to her 'best friend' whether she was present or not. There was no mistake about it. Even though it was hurtful in the past, she had already gone numb over time.
With the way her sister Maria handled Tenonji-senpai, Suiri could make a conclusion that her sister was dense.
Stunning appearance ☑ Checked
Perfect personality (kind, virtuous) ☑ Checked
Good academic performance ☑ Checked
Good cooking skills ☑ Checked
The only one left is dense ☑ also Checked.
Her sister had all the attributes of the protagonist in the harem text. As her sister, Suiri would become a sidekick to promote their relationship.
The first harem member...No, it should be the nth victim. Suiri knew her sister had many suitors who couldn't wait to lick her.
Tenonji Miwako.
She realized her sister Maria also had flaws but she didn't expect it to be on the love side.
Suiri just rolled her eyes helplessly at her sister which made Maria clueless.
Why did her sister show that expression? Why was she uncomfortable?
Maria's brain circuit weirdly headed in a strange direction.
'She must have been jealous when I contact with other Omegas and women. Your sister knows you best, my angel. Hmm, I must be careful when associating with them in the future'. Maria felt that she couldn't go wrong and tried hard to think of a way to coax her sister.
"..."
Charlotte was speechless by the two of them. This pair of sisters was exactly the same. They were natural-born seductresses as they seduced others without knowing it. What was more frightening was that their actions were somehow attractive but subconsciously unaware.
Akane stepped in the door with Misa and asked curiously.
"What did all of you do to make that pitiful girl run away?"
"..."
Suiri and Charlotte didn't know how to reply. The culprit herself had no idea at all.
Maria complained.
"How can you say like we're criminals?"
Misa used her hand to support her cheek and spoke.
"Isn't it?"
Then, everyone followed the gaze of the teacher Misa to the conspicuous golden stick with a domineering aura. If the guests from outside witnessed such a scene, they would think this school was ruled by yakuza gangs instead.
"Oh, is this the magical wand from lunch?"
Suiri asked her sister curiously. She was shocked by the cultural difference between the two worlds. The magical girls in this world were so violent that they would take the bat to fight evil. Where was magic? Muscle Magic?
"Hmm...but no matter how hard I look at it, it's a baseball bat, right?"
Akane commented.
"Teacher, don't mind it, it's a treasure passed down after generation of the principal Ichigaku-sama"
Akane gasped.
"Oh, you meant Victoria-sama?"
Maria nodded.
The current principal of the Stardust Academy had the great-granddaughter of the Ichigaku family to manage, Ichigaku Juvia. She was in charge of changing this corrupted school which was easily manipulated by those influential families in the past. To do that, she and her great-grandma slowly reformed the whole system. There would be no more dirty politics in the school. Of course, Maria was the chosen one for their major project.
The teachers in the school also knew about this.
"Besides that, I'm here to watch my sister practice"
"Just ignore me"
Everyone understood and prepared for their first official activity in school, but there was a voice wanting to intercede.
"Sorry, but I can't ignore you"
"..."
"..."
"???"
Maria was puzzled.
"Who dares to interrupt my time with my sister?!!!"
"..."
Maria looked at the door and turned pale instantly.
"Hoh~"
The platinum-haired woman with domineering features on her face stood at the door and following behind was the black-haired boy with glass. The boy was no one other than Hanayama Natsuki, the vice president of the Student Council.
Misa and Akane bowed their head at the same time.
"Good afternoon, Ichigaku-sama"
The sudden change slapped Maria on the face.
"Just call me Principal Juvia"
"Don't need to add any extra formal address"
"Yes"
"And Maria-san~"
Maria's face turned whiter and whiter. It was over. Her perfect image sister was going to collapse. Did the principal know that she pushed all of the jobs to Hanayama-kun to handle alone? Honestly, if she did the paperwork alone, she would have no time to visit her sister. That was why she sought after his help, a tool man to help her have more time with her sister.
"Yes"
Maria took a serious pose and she also didn't forget to control her facial expression. She had to match the superficial image that she'd created in front of Suiri.
Juvia knew this girl very well. A helpless siscon would do everything for her sister. There was a lot of contempt in her eyes when looking at Maria. She didn't understand why her great-grandma gave the treasure to this girl. Fortunately, the good thing was when Maria worked, the efficiency would be very high. After all, this girl was the only heiress of the Hoshiyuki family.
"You know what I'm going to say right?"
Juvia said with a sunny face which brought positive energy to the surroundings.
But under Maria's ears. It meant 'You don't want me to expose you in front of your sister, do you?'.
She sweated profusely and secretly gnashed her teeth.
Since she couldn't do anything about Ichigaku Juvia, she would change the target. All of the grievances and waves of anger poured on the head of the pitiful four-eyed boy.
"Haha~, Yes, Madam, I'll go away"
"Thanks for bringing my 'diligent' vice-president here"
Again, under Hanayama's ears. It meant 'You can't escape from my exploitation'. His face turned darker.
"Sorry Sui-chan, I can't accompany you~"
She said in a regretful tone.
"Onee-sama is busy, I don't mind"
Suiri shook her head and spoke.
After that, Maria dragged the pitiful Hanayama away. Hanayama wanted to cry but tears couldn't come out. He was exploited mercilessly by his once-first crush. He wanted to call for help but Maria had done one step ahead to cover his mouth.
Watching the two of them walk away, Juvia turned to take a glance at Suiri. This girl was indeed very beautiful. She had inherited the beauty mostly from the foreign actress. Not only did she have a good appearance, but also was known as a smart girl.
Juvia didn't want to use the 'genius' to occupy all the efforts behind the scenes of this girl because she had once listened to her music and sensed the spirit in her piece. It was all sweat, effort, hard work, and gray matter to be able to give the soul to it. 'Past life' was the incarnation of Suiri's soul. To create complicated melodies from multiple instruments was no joke at all.
Juvia had a headache with this pair of sisters. Just 3 months after the ceremony, troubles from small to big related to the name Hoshiyuki Suiri and President Maria escaped from work with the reason to take care of her sister.
"Student Hoshiyuki Suiri-san"
Suiri was slightly startled when the principal called her.
"Yes, Madam"
Juvia continued.
"Are you satisfied with the instruments here?"
In fact, all of the instruments here were prepared by Juvia herself as she knew the potential of this girl through her music. She was also a fan of Suiri. When she opened the website to recruit students next year, she was surprised by the number of applicants. Not to mention the common families, there were many members from the musician's families. Of course, according to her survey about those registers, they were here just for this girl. It could be said that Suiri was an influential individual at a young age.
Suiri nodded.
"Yes, the sound quality is top-notch"
"And I'm still testing more"
Juvia nodded at her answer. Her effort was worth it. When she got the news from Shimori-sensei that Suiri would join a Rock club, she was surprised but also curious how this girl handled the new genre. Therefore, she chose to support and invest in her. A fair trade. She used Suiri's image to promote the school while the money in those musical instruments was nothing compared to it.
"It's good to get your compliment"
"Um, but why did you add Japanese instruments there?"
Suiri was curious. Rock was hard to insert the sound of these instruments. It shouldn't be here.
Juvia smiled mysteriously.
"Who will know in the future that you will need them?"
Since the piece 'Past Life' could be blended splendidly, why the rock genre can't? She believed Suiri had the ability to do it.
"Thank you, Principal Juvia"
Suiri knew the hidden meaning of Juvia so she just thanked her. The pressure increased tremendously when there were expectations.
"Okay, if you're okay, you can register your live performance in the school meeting next week"
Juvia planned to do a live broadcast to advertise their school to create chances for students to shine. Moreover, she had chosen Suiri as the spokesperson for her school. Anyway, Suiri would stick in her school for the next 10 years. It was not a loss. This was her special treatment for Suiri.
Suiri pondered for a moment, then looked at Akane for her opinion.
Akane just nodded to signal Suiri to agree. What a great opportunity for her student! Akane couldn't miss it.
"Good"
Juvia sighed a relief.
"Then, I'll prepare and leave it to you"
Charlotte and the two teachers had tense faces while watching Juvia's figure disappear.
"Yahoo! This is the first challenge of our Club"
Akane yelled childishly.
Charlotte nervously said while holding her chest.
"Just joined the club, and we already had a task immediately"
Misa said sadly.
"But we don't have enough members. Plus, the deadline is too short"
Charlotte replied.
"What're you talking about? Whit...Kobayashi-sensei"
"With the help of Tenonji-senpai, the roles of the band could be completed"
"Eh?"
"Eh?"
The two teachers were dumbfounded. After hearing the story of Charlotte, they realized the club unknowingly increased one member.
Misa returned to the point.
"You just called me White Lotus-sensei right?"
Charlotte shook her head
"No, you heard it wrongggggg~"
"Ohohoho~"
Charlotte smiled perfunctorily.
Akane spoke.
"Suiri-san, I just created a social media account and a Me-tube channel yesterday"
"They have reached more than 2 thousand followers"
Suiri was also surprised by the speed even when they hadn't posted anything yet.
Soon, she realized that her own account connected with these accounts. It must be the work of her mother Natasha. Besides her, her mother managed all of her accounts like a true manager. She left that work for her.
She looked at the comment section and couldn't help but be stunned.
[Who let my wife change to the Rock & Roll genre? I like it very much]
[Not your wife, 'OUR' wife]
[Moshi moshi police desuka? I caught those two perverts wanting to assault children there
Certificate 12 years old of Suiri.jpg]
[For love, age is not a problem]
[Then, your jail is also not far away]
[Rock is going to be the top of society. Brothers and sisters, it's time for us to step out of our cave]
[OMG, Suiri is going to change her genre again]
[Wife, can you spit out the schedule of the first song? I'm looking forward to it]
Suiri was moved when she felt her fans' enthusiasm. The rest were vulgar comments about her body but she ignored it. Her teacher would delete it sooner or later because this channel represented the music club of the academic school.
'But when did I become everyone's wife?!!!!!!!'. Suiri yelled secretly in her mind.
As the man in her previous life, she understood the mind of these people. She couldn't expect herself to be the waifu in general.
When coming home, she must ask her mother clearly!