Chapter 169: We need to talk
No students were around when they arrived at the concert hall.
"And so welcome!" Mikan said, flailing her arms in the air.
Atushi sighed. Does she have any idea how ridiculous she looks right now?
"Why do you have to over-emphasize everything?"
Still, he had to admit that it looked impressive. This is certainly a music school.
"Momoi-chan, you're scheduled to perform here, right?" Mikan asked.
"Ah, no, not yet. My friends are, though."
"Oh, right. I assumed you had friends from other classes with how you dashed off yesterday. Let's see, it's the girl with the long brunette hair and ----"Mikan paused. "Wait." Mikan grabbed hold of Futaba's shoulders.
"Your friends with Nanairo feather?"
Futaba nodded.
"Oh my gosh. You have to get me their autographs. I was there during the debut live performance. It was amazing."
Nanairo feather, huh? Certainly, even Atushi knew who they were. Since their debut concert, the popularity of the group has rapidly expanded. Even though he longed to make his debut, he had to admit that, in comparison, he lacked popularity.
Those guys, on the other hand, are different. His cousin Alto Mikaze is one of the center members of that group. Sometimes Atushi finds himself comparing himself to them. They debuted nearly simultaneously, but why is he still stuck stagnant? Worse, they entered the same middle school, yet he is far behind them.
"The stage lights are on. That's weird." Mikan muttered.
The three of them turn their attention to the stage to find a girl with long brown hair playing the piano. Wait, brown hair? Atushi focused his full attention on the stage.
Atushi knew it was her straight away. Her hair had grown longer than before. But even so, he couldn't mistake it, those eyes. Those jewel-colored amethyst colored eyes.
"Sumire," Atushi muttered. It had been long since the girl's name escaped his lips. However, it was one he said all too long ago.
"What's this, Atushi? Do you know her?" Mikan said
"Yeah, we went to the same middle school for a while."
That was before he ended up transferring due to his parent's work,
Suddenly Momoi Futaba dropped her belongings. Before he could ask her what was wrong. He saw the expression on her face. It was one of pure horror.
"Um, what is your name?"Futaba managed to say.
"Hamano Atushi." Atushi said.
Futaba's entire face color turns pale, and she does the unexpected. She leaped down from the balcony area and rushed down, but even so, he knew that it would still take her quite a while to reach the stage.
Atushi felt his senses sharpen immediately, understanding the situation. Is she going to prevent him from talking to her? Not on his watch. He clenched his fist before copying what she did. He stumbled a little. But he didn't waste time checking for any injuries before chasing after her.
It did not take long before he arrived on the stage. The girl, who was just packing up her belongings, immediately saw him.
"Atushi-kun?" Sumire said in disbelief.
"Sumire."
He finally found her after spending so much time searching for her. Right now, she is in front of him. He would have sighed in relief, but he immediately saw the look of fear and pain flash through her eyes.
The two of them stood nervously, staring at each other. She is finally here in front of him, and he has so much he wants to tell her. But, even though he has the chance too. The words are stuck in his throat.
Futaba suddenly appeared and grabbed hold of her wrist. "We should go, Succhan. You don't have to talk to him."
"Hold on a second. This is none of your business." Atushi said angrily.
His impression of Momoi Futaba had completely changed. What happened to that fragile-looking girl from earlier?
"I don't want to hear it. You don't understand how much she had to go through because of you." Futaba snapped.
"Huh? I should be saying that." Atushi frowned.
How much did this girl actually know what happened between Sumire and him? If she reacted to his name, then Sumire must have said something. What did Sumire say to get this girl so riled up? It wouldn't be the first time, but he can't confirm it either.
An incident occurred in middle school where Sumire spread rumors about someone she was close with and destroyed their life. As the class representative then, he had to take charge of the situation. No matter how much he urged her to explain, she said nothing. So he took that as a sign of her guilt.
Is she doing it again? But, Sumire will gain nothing talking badly about him now.
"I have every right to say it! I was in the same school as you two. I know who you are, and I saw what happened."
Atushi blinked while hearing Futaba's words. Huh? Were they in the same middle school? But how come he doesn't remember who she is?
"Futaba, stop." Sumire suddenly said.
Futaba frowned. "But he's-"
Sumire sent her a look, and the girl nodded. She made her way over to Atushi.
"Sumire, we really need to talk." Atushi urged.
"I don't have anything left to say to you," Sumire said coldly.
Atushi bit his lip. His investigation regarding her location took this long because a part of him wondered if it was truly okay for him to see her again. She would either be apologetic and remorseful or angry and bitter. It seems it is the latter.
No matter how angry she is, he doesn't want to lose this chance since she is right here.
He took a deep breath and grabbed hold of her arm."Please."
Before he could say anything anymore, somebody pulled Sumire away. It was a guy with blue colored hair. Atushi recognized him as a nanairo feather member and one of his classmates.
"Senna-san?" Atushi said, puzzled.
Sumire quickly hides behind the guy, and he frowns. What is their relationship?
"I think this is enough for now. Futaba-san, Hamano-san, we have been summoned to the main music conference room." He turned his attention to Sumire. "You as well."
Even though he had a lot, he wanted to say. Atushi nodded and followed them to the music conference room.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone