Chapter 4. Who wants to see a guy blush?

Chapter 4. Who wants to see a guy blush? CHAPTER 4 Who wants to see a guy blush?

One morning, when there was only a week left of summer break, Masachika received a simple voicemail from Takeshi: “Help.”

The unusual message prompted him to call his friend immediately, but nobody picked up. It appeared that while his buddy was in some sort of trouble, it would be difficult to explain over the phone. Regardless, Takeshi’s tone was clearly exhausted, so Masachika quickly changed into his school uniform and headed to Music Room B, where Takeshi and Hikaru were hanging out.

“…Ugh,” he groaned when he peered into the room through the window in the hallway. Hikaru had installed himself in a corner, where he was mumbling something to himself with dilated pupils, and Masachika could practically see a rain cloud hanging over his head. Although Masachika expected it to be bad from the voicemail, he wasn’t expecting to run into Shadow Hikaru today, especially with this level of darkness tormenting his soul.

I’d do anything to go straight home right now…but I can’t turn my back on him.

There was no escape after coming this far, so Masachika let out a brief sigh, pumped himself up, and opened the door to the classroom.

“Oh, Masachika… About time ya showed up…”

Takeshi, who seemed to have been trying to talk to Hikaru, instantly approached his classmate with a pleading look in his eyes.

“Hey… What’s up? What’s the situation?”

In fact, why were they the only ones here? Takeshi and Hikaru were supposed to be practicing for their school festival performance with three other members. The student council was in charge of keeping up with the reservation status of rehearsal spaces in general, so Masachika was well aware of their situation.

“Wait until ya hear this…”

Takeshi began to explain the situation.

“I’m sorry.”

Those were the first words that came out of the girl’s mouth. She was a fierce-looking girl with almond-shaped eyes and shoulder-length black hair tied in pigtails. Her name was Nao Shiratori, and she was the lead singer in Takeshi’s band, Luminous. She was unyielding, proud, and hardly ever bowed to anyone, which was somewhat of a problem for the other members of the band.

Perhaps that was why she ended up apologizing with downcast eyes in a voice strained with emotion. Apparently, she was going to have to transfer to a new school due to family issues, and she wasn’t able to go to the school festival anymore. After talking to the other band members, she revealed that the family issue was that her father’s company was on the verge of bankruptcy. This was presumably the cause of other issues within their household as well, although Nao never said so outright.

“This is probably my last day at this school, too. Anyway…I’m sorry. I know this is sudden, but I have to quit the band.”

The abrupt news had the other four members lost for words. A few moments went by until a certain young girl slowly approached Nao.

“Why … ? Why didn’t you tell us sooner?”

The pained question came from a petite girl who resembled a small animal, with short hair that curled slightly at the ends. She trembled in utter shock because she, Riho Minase, was not only the keyboardist in the band but also Nao’s childhood friend. Nao couldn’t even look her in the eye, averting her gaze while curtly replying:

“Because it wouldn’t have changed anything… Am I wrong?”

“Maybe it wouldn’t have changed anything, but I would have preferred it if you gave me a heads-up…”

Riho explained that although she couldn’t have done anything about Nao’s father’s company, she could have at least been there to support Nao and share her pain. If anything, Riho seemed more shocked that her childhood friend didn’t even come to her to talk. Nevertheless, Nao simply continued to avoid eye contact with her friend.

“It’s sometimes harder to say things to people you’re close to, and you’re her best friend, Riho,” chimed in Hikaru, trying to calm his teary-eyed friend before it was too late. Thankfully, it seemed to work a bit, and Riho even apologized to Nao.

“I’m sorry, Nao. I didn’t mean to snap at you like that…”

“No… It’s fine…”

An indescribably awkward silence filled the air between the pair until Takeshi cheerfully spoke up to lighten the mood.

“H-hey, this doesn’t mean ya can’t come to the school festival and perform, right? I mean, there are no rules stating that ya have to go to this school to sing onstage…right? …Right?”

“You’re actually right… The thought never even crossed my mind, but I think you just found a loophole.”

“Right?! Even if ya transfer to a new school, you could just make it seem like you’re joining on the fly and sing with us!”

“Yeah… Yeah! Nao, don’t give up! Let’s do this!” exclaimed Riho happily, agreeing with Takeshi’s suggestion as if she were trying to make up for her behavior earlier.

“Now that you mention it…that might actually work…”

Nao must have been upset that she wouldn’t be able to perform with the band, since she had been working hard toward this goal for so long. Her eyes, which were usually brimming with confidence, had a touch of uncertainty in them as she stared at her friends one by one. That was when a plump guy, who had been quiet the entire time, suddenly patted Nao on the shoulder and declared:

“Don’t worry, Nao. I’ll handle things with your dad’s company, too.”

“ … ?”

His name was Ryuuichi Kasugano, and he was not only the band’s bassist but Nao’s boyfriend as well. Nao looked skeptical of his overconfident declaration. In fact, the other band members immediately shifted their quizzical gazes in his direction, but Ryuuichi smiled proudly and pointed his thumb at himself.

“My grandfather is the president of Eimei Bank, after all.”

“Seriously?!” shouted Takeshi, and his eyes nearly rolled to the back of his head. It was an understandable reaction, since there wasn’t a single person in Japan who didn’t know that bank. Even Hikaru and Riho were wide-eyed in astonishment.

“So come on. Everything’s gonna be okay, Nao. I’ll ask Granddad to figure out a way to save your dad’s company.”

“Ryuuichi…”

Her boyfriend’s promise put tears in Nao’s eyes, and she bit her lip. However, she swiftly lowered her gaze and replied, her throat tight:

“…It’s okay, though. It’s already too late. Besides…you and your grandfather don’t get along, right?”

“Huh? Oh… Not really. But it’s fine. He may be stubborn, but he’s not going to ignore his grandson’s once-in-a-lifetime request!”

“Don’t try to act cool when it’s your grandfather who has to do all the work,” chimed in Takeshi.

“Come on—I may be smart and good-looking, have a great personality, and be a beast on bass, but you can’t really expect a pudgy little guy like me to change the world on my own,” replied Ryuuichi, giving a good slap to his belly at the end.

“Where does that confidence come from?!” joked Takeshi once more, sending everyone other than Nao into a fit of laughter. The gloomy, serious mood was instantly swallowed by a bright, friendly atmosphere. Ryuuichi’s eyes filled with relief when he looked at his girlfriend, who was still down, and he gently added:

“It’s not going to be quick, and it’s going to be hard…but don’t just quit the band on us so easily, okay? I’m going to see what I can do and talk to Granddad, okay?”

The others nodded and looked at Nao with compassion, gathering around her. However…

“I said it’s fine. I don’t want your help,” she insisted firmly, rejecting Ryuuichi’s offer once more with downcast eyes. Although Ryuuichi grimaced, frustrated at his girlfriend’s stubbornness, he tried to laugh it off and lightheartedly replied:

“Seriously. Don’t worry about it. I don’t mind groveling to a family member if it means helping you. Besides, I’m already used to bowing to my teachers when—”

“I said I don’t want your help!”

Her unexpectedly adamant refusal cut Ryuuichi off before he could tell another self-deprecating joke to lighten the mood. She immediately lifted her chin and shot her boyfriend a piercing glare that wiped the grin off his face.

“How many times do I have to tell you no?! I don’t want you to do that!”

“C-come on, Nao. Let’s calm down a little.”

Takeshi tried to smooth things over between the couple but to no avail.

“I—I didn’t mean to upset you… I—I just wanted to be a good boyfriend and help—”

“Then let’s break up! It’s not like long-distance relationships work anyway! It looks like that’s settled, then!”

“Nao?! Seriously?!”

“Wh-what?!”

“Nao?!”

Nao’s decision made everyone but Ryuuichi shout in astonishment. Meanwhile, Ryuuichi’s eyes widened, then he slowly lowered his head and softly muttered:

“Oh… I guess you never liked me that much, huh?”

“Wh-what? I never—”

Nao sounded almost offended, but her refusal to meet their eyes did not go unnoticed, and that was more than enough to convince Ryuuichi that his assumption was correct.

“No, I always knew. You never seemed like you were having fun when you were with me, and I honestly wondered why you agreed to go out with me in the first place… But even then, I figured you felt something for me—probably sympathy at the very least—since you still decided to hang out with me all this time…”

Not even Takeshi or Hikaru knew what to say after hearing that, and it was actually Riho who first spoke up.

“Nao, he’s wrong, right? Because I specifically remember you telling me that there was someone in our band who you liked when you first joined.”

“ … !”

After Riho took a few steps over to Nao, she looked right into her friend’s wide eyes. They were the eyes of someone in trouble, and they eventually drifted toward Hikaru. She had to come clean.

“Yes, I used to like Hikaru! But he doesn’t trust women…so I thought I might as well give Ryuuichi a chance and go out with him! Okay?! So it doesn’t matter anymore!”

Nao instantly grabbed her bag and fled out the door of the music room, leaving everyone standing there in shock.

“But…I like … ,” muttered Riho unconsciously. Even though her voice was soft, it sounded strangely loud in the silence.

“Oh, uh… I…”

A flash of panic widened her eyes when she realized everyone was staring at her, then Riho, too, raced out of the music room, leaving three disturbed boys behind.

“R-Ryuuichi, uh…”

Despite being flustered himself, Takeshi tried to search for the right words to console his close friend, but it was simply too much for the boy. Ryuuichi smiled weakly through tears and slowly shook his head.

“I’m sorry… I want to be alone right now.”

And then Ryuuichi left the music room with dejection in each step he took. All Hikaru and Takeshi could do was watch helplessly as he disappeared around the corner.

“Sounds like hell.” Masachika groaned automatically after hearing Takeshi explain what happened. It was chaos, and it was the worst kind of mess for someone like Hikaru: It was a disaster caused by love, passion, and jealousy.

No wonder he’s acting like this…

Masachika sympathized with his friend’s descent into darkness. Hikaru had a traumatic experience involving a girl falling in love with him—multiple experiences, in fact. But what hurt him the most was when he would open up to someone who he thought was a friend, only to find out that they actually had romantic feelings for him. He had lost both female and male friends in the past because of this.

This incident was extremely familiar. It was probably going to be hard for Ryuuichi to still act the same around Hikaru after learning that his ex-girlfriend had actually had feelings for Hikaru their entire relationship, and that was why it was only natural that Hikaru would be this depressed. However…

“Bunch of disgusting bitches. That’s what they are. Guys only think with what’s in their pants? Yeah, right. That’s what girls do. All I do is act a little nice to them, and then they tell me they like me without even thinking about how much they might hurt others. The only person they think about is themselves, and then when things don’t go their way, they ruin all the relationships around them. They think it’s okay to do what they’re doing in the so-called name of love? Piss off with that. I wish they’d all just die.”

“Hikaru, that’s enough,” demanded Masachika, interrupting Hikaru’s foul curse before he went any further off the deep end. Hikaru slowly lifted his head, revealing his lifeless eyes.

“…Masachika? What are you doing here?”

“Takeshi told me to come. I heard what happened. That’s, uh… That’s rough, man,” he commiserated and took a seat by Hikaru’s side, then wrapped his arm around Hikaru’s shoulder. Takeshi promptly took a seat on the other side and wrapped his arm around Hikaru’s other shoulder.

“These girls just won’t leave you alone, huh? Don’t worry about it, though. I’ll gladly take some ladies off your hands for ya if ya want.”

“Takeshi, seriously? You make it sound like you actually have a chance with the opposite sex.”

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

Masachika and Takeshi stared hard at each other over Hikaru’s shoulders as a silence soon reigned over the room. Only when Hikaru let out a faint chuckle was the silence finally broken.

“Pfft! You guys… Thanks. I mean it.”

“No problem… I’m glad you’re feeling a little better.”

“Wait. I do have a chance with the opposite sex, right?”

“Read the room, Takeshi.”

“There’s your answer.”

“What’s my answer?!”

Masachika and Hikaru shot Takeshi scornful looks, creating a slightly more relaxed mood, but the moment didn’t last for long, as there was a knock at the door.

“Sorry for bothering you guys. I’m in the piano club, and I believe we reserved this room to practice, so…do you think we could have the room now?”

A charming boy with cupid-like features stepped inside the room. Calling him a “pretty boy” would most likely be the best way to put it, given his tall, slender figure. He had graceful features with a hint of melancholy in his eyes, and his noble-like behavior seemed somewhat theatrical, which only made him more picturesque.

The boy, Yuushou Kiryuuin, was the son of the chairman of Kiryuuin Corporate Group, which was extremely successful. In addition, he was considered one of the top three best-looking guys in school, and as if he couldn’t get any more perfect, he had performed extremely well in piano recitals domestically and abroad, which earned him the title Prince of Piano. Nevertheless, some people, such as Takeshi, didn’t think so highly of him, which was made clear by Takeshi’s audible gagging the moment he saw the boy’s charming, beautiful face.