Miss Heir wasn't very kind to me.

Chapter 136, Section 12: "Behind the stage, each person has their own stage."

This was the second time Masumi had watched this band perform.

Three months have passed since that disastrous performance at the LiveHouse, and his future performances have been much more stable.

It's not just about singing and guitar skills; more importantly, it's about a subtle change in mindset.

The pick plucked the strings, and the LP electric guitar emitted a warm and full tone. The girl with long brown hair parted her lips slightly, and a beautiful voice flowed out:

Those that glitter, called hope, and those that beat with heartbeats...

This keeps the world turning.

Yesterday has become today, then tomorrow, then the future, and then forever.
……
◇

On the eve of the general open day of the cultural festival, Masumi took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the slightly stuffy air of the late summer and early autumn night.

He wandered aimlessly along the coast near the coffee shop, the moonlight bright, the tides gentle, and the sound of an acoustic guitar drifting from between the moon and the sea.

Masumi stopped in her tracks, listening quietly to the girl's gentle singing voice, her long brown hair swaying gently in the sea breeze.

“You’re here, Mr. Masumi.”

Kuon Mirai turned around, holding her guitar, and stood up from the bench.

"Are you practicing the piece you'll be performing on stage tomorrow?"

"Yes, I want to practice as much as possible to become more proficient and avoid mistakes."

“I see.” Masumi nodded, then asked, “Did you go to the LiveHouse again afterward?”

"No, after all, that kind of performance last time really caused a lot of trouble for the LiveHouse manager."

As he spoke of the future, his expression darkened slightly.

Seeing this, Masumi changed the subject, saying, "For high school bands, it really takes a long time to get a performance. It was the same when I was in high school. After all, commercial performance venues are all about revenue."

"Therefore, it is especially important to seize every opportunity to perform on stage, such as this cultural festival."

The tenderness hidden in her words softened Wei Lai's expression slightly. After gently shaking her head, she said firmly:
"Yes, I will try my best and not make any mistakes..."

Mirai stopped halfway through her sentence, noticing Masumi's hesitant expression, and cautiously asked, "Um, did I say something wrong?"

"Oh, no, I'm sorry," Masumi said softly.

"I just think you put too much pressure on yourself."

"Moderate pressure can be a driving force, making people more determined, but if it goes too far, it will backfire and make people feel constrained."

"...There's nothing we can do about it."

Future lowered her eyelashes quietly, "After all, the performance is a collaborative effort. If I make a mistake, I'll hold everyone back. If I affect everyone because of me..."

Feeling the gaze upon her head, she suddenly looked up again.

Masumi hesitated for a moment, then said, "While what you said is true, I want to tell you something."

"The cruelty of performing is not the same as the cruelty of competing; the stage allows for mistakes."

“Unlike competitions that inevitably produce rankings, even in a mixed performance at a LiveHouse, there are no rivals among the participants, because music itself is not such a heavy thing.”

"You're not stealing fans from other bands, you're gaining fans from your past self, so just keep giving it your all and be better than your past self."

"Of course, the Oricon chart's record sales rankings are a different story." Masumi joked as she finished speaking.

Seemingly influenced by a senior colleague, he was not used to maintaining the same atmosphere all the time. If it was going to be sentimental, he had to make a few harmless jokes to dilute the dull and serious atmosphere.

Because emotions don't stay at the same level forever, but rather rise and fall, Masumi only wants to restore her heart to its original place, rather than becoming a "god" who affects other people's moods and lives.

But now it seems he has failed miserably. Several girls' images unconsciously float into his mind. If you want to get to know someone's heart, you must also open your heart. People will not reveal their true feelings to someone who has always been indifferent.

"Give it my all, surpass myself...?" Mirai murmured to herself.

She fell silent for a moment, a look of bewilderment flashing across her face, before slowly opening her mouth.

"Thank you, Mr. Masumi. You are very good at comforting people."

Seeing that she seemed to have something to say, Masumi didn't rush to speak. After hesitating for a moment, she received a well-prepared joke from the girl.

"Maybe he has a talent for being a teacher."

"My deviation score is just average," Masumi said with a wry smile.

His grades were pretty good in junior high, barely qualifying him as an excellent student. However, after getting involved in a band in high school, his grades plummeted. He was exhausted just juggling practice for the light music club and the band, and he also had to help out at the coffee shop from time to time.

Sure enough, the saying "the closer your hands are to an instrument, the further away you are from university" is not an empty saying. When Masumi was in Tokyo, she met a traditional band called "Diamond Dust", which was formed by four high school girls who dropped out of school.

Except for those who get into music colleges.

“He’s a spiritual mentor,” Mirai explained briefly, narrowing her eyes slightly. “Mr. Masumi, don’t you think everyone at the Starry Sky Academy trusts you a lot?”

"Well, I feel a little guilty though, since I didn't do anything."

When it comes to other people's lives, there's ultimately nothing you can do to help. Regardless of Kurokawa's confusion about music or Kamishiro's apprehensive view of happiness, Masumi always felt that their changes were none of her business.

“There are some people who, even if they do nothing, can give strength to that person just by being by their side,” Future said earnestly.

"What is that, Nietzsche's Übermensch?" Masumi laughed.

"I don't know either." The girl shook her head gently. "But I want to try to become that kind of person."

"..."

"I see. Well then, keep up the good work."

"Yes, thank you, Mr. Masumi."

Wei Lai smiled and suddenly lowered her voice, as if whispering to him.

"Actually, before this, Mio-nee-san also shared some performance experience with me."

“Kurokawa?” Masumi was quite surprised, her eyes flickering.

"Ah."

"My sister Mio told me, 'Music is a world where skill reigns supreme. The audience is important, but you must never fawn over them. Being too concerned about others will only affect your own performance.'"

"For Mio-neechan, she performed with the fighting spirit of competing against the audience."

Masumi nodded slightly: "It certainly has Kurokawa's style."

"Speaking of which, Mio-neechan and Masumi-san have very different styles." Mirai blurted out her thoughts unintentionally.

"Ah, sorry." She then covered her mouth shyly. "Was I a little too frivolous, commenting on two seniors so casually?"

"That's not true." Masumi shook her head dismissively.

"Indeed, there is a big difference. Kurokawa is a very professional performer. He had many years of experience playing classical piano before he was involved in the band activities."

He gave a self-deprecating wry smile as he spoke: "Compared to others, I'm probably just talking big."

It was supposed to be a joke, but the girl seemed to take it seriously, steam naturally rising from her cheeks as she waved her hands in front of her face.

"No, not at all. I'm very grateful to Mr. Masumi." Mirai said in a flustered tone, "Mr. Masumi is a very kind senior. I respect him very much and thank you."

"That's it."

"Gentleness" is probably an adjective used to praise someone who is otherwise good for nothing, Masumi thought.

However, it seemed too difficult to say it aloud, and her tone was too sincere, so Masumi couldn't help but want to look away.

“I’m not upset about this, you don’t need to panic.” He reassured the girl first, then looked straight at the Seto Inland Sea. A dark expanse of water flowed slowly, and shimmering objects emerged from the surface. Masumi initially thought they were rocks, but then realized they were the shimmering waves reflecting the moonlight.

The thoughts in my heart burst forth like surging waves.

"I think it's because I'm too gentle that I'm not good enough to be the leader. Sometimes when faced with clashes between members' personalities, I'm so worried that the band will fall apart that I subconsciously want to compromise."

"So I was very happy that Kurokawa's strictness joined us, and I thought it was a good thing for the band."

"No matter what, I always have this desire to become better and go further."

"If that's the case, why can't we form a band with Mio-neechan again?"

In the future, she peered at his expression and cautiously posed a question.

Masumi quietly avoided her gentle gaze, her cheeks flushed slightly in the night, and returned a bitter smile.

"...That's probably because I no longer have the confidence to surpass my former self."

◇

The band's second song pulled Masumi's thoughts back to reality.

Look, the sound of dreams is ringing out, and we want to convey this feeling.

Let the days of being bound by the past and suffering in silence come to an end.
Will I encounter it again today? That important thing that I finally discovered?

……
The stadium fell silent the moment the last note sounded, then erupted in applause that nearly lifted the roof off, echoing throughout the building.

Kuon Mirai stood on the stage, took a deep breath, and the dust floating in the air shimmered under the spotlight.

As you gasp for breath, you inhale shimmering dust, making you feel as if you've become radiant yourself.

The flash of light seemed to give her courage. The girl bowed her head while holding her guitar, and when she raised her head again, a calm smile appeared on her face.

"Thank you everyone, the second song, 'Go Forward!', has been played."

The audience gave a warm round of applause, and shouts of support such as "Senior Jiuyuan is amazing!" and "Future senior, I will always support you!" were mixed in from below the stage. For some reason, almost all of them were girls.

"Kuen was quite popular at school."

"Hmm, it seems to have started after last year's school festival. I heard that Mirai even has a fan club at school," Mami said teasingly. "I wonder if there are any junior students who confuse 'love at first sight for a song' with 'love at first sight'."

"That's a manga plot, isn't it?" Masumi retorted. The yuri manga that Seno had recommended to her before was also about a band.

That said, there have been quite a few more works on the theme of girl bands on the market recently.

"Before we play the last song, let's have a few words from Toyama, the leader and guitarist of the Meteor Band—"

"Hello everyone, I'm guitarist Aimi Toyama!"

During the MC segment, Masumi turned her head to look at Kurokawa Mio next to her and asked, "What do you think?"

"By student band standards, it's pretty good," she nodded calmly.

"To receive such high praise from Kurokawa is truly remarkable."

"Am I that picky?" Kurokawa Mio smiled, but her eyes were incredibly serious.

"Technically speaking, I've seen music students who are at a higher level than them, but there's one thing that even I lack."

Kurokawa's lips curled into a complex expression; Masumi rarely saw her show such a look.

"What is it?"

“Possibility,” she uttered the short word from her pink lips.

“Although it’s a high school band that’s just doing it for fun, it can probably be seen as a kind of ‘job training’ to see if you want to continue working hard on your music career. Masumi did the same thing back then, didn’t she?” Kurokawa asked rhetorically.

Masumi nodded quietly in agreement.

Mio Kurokawa continued, "When I was learning the piano, my teacher commented that my playing was too cold. Although my technique was skillful, I lacked the passion that a performer should have, which made me feel bored."

"This band, though technically still a bit raw, has a magical power to make people happy. They showed me the 'possibilities' of being a musician, because while skills can be practiced, some things aren't easily found."

“...Just like the impression Masumi gave me back then.” She murmured softly.

Hearing her say that, Masumi's thoughts were touched by memories, and the faint sound of Kurokawa's koto echoed in her ears.

It was an extremely clean piano sound without any emotion, like distilled water with a purity close to 100%.

The fingers moved at an incredible speed, almost like a robot, without the slightest mistake. The particles of sound intertwined to create a gorgeous and complex melody. Even someone who doesn't understand music could immediately understand how difficult the fingering was.

The well-maintained hands of the performer were now resting on his left hand, carefully playing with Masumi's fingers as if he had discovered a treasure.

"What are you doing?"

"Masumi's fingertips have become so soft."

"Because I haven't played the guitar for so long, the calluses have all fallen off."

"I see. Speaking of which, Masumi's fingers are really beautiful," Kurokawa Mio praised, squinting her eyes.

"I want it to appear properly where it should be."

"where?"

“G chord”.

“Playing guitar at home is very disruptive to the neighbors.”

"Then let's go to LoveHotel...LiveHouse."

A predator's glint flashed in Kurokawa Mio's eyes.

Masumi sighed quietly, "Is it even possible...?" He gently savored the word.

"So next up is the last song, 'After the Rain, With You'—"

As the voice fades into the future, the prelude, a blend of guitar and vocals, gently unfolds.

The fine raindrops dripping from between the clouds

Wet your face repeatedly, like teardrops.

The way he said "it's nothing" was so unwavering.
But the inner turmoil was gradually intensifying.

I should be happy for the dream you've found.

But she couldn't laugh; she simply covered her face behind the umbrella.
The rain showers don't seem to be stopping anytime soon.
The notes of the guitar and keyboard sparkled and danced around the drumbeats, while the girl's singing voice, like colorful butterflies fluttering their wings, intertwined layers of soft yet magnificent sound waves in the air above the stadium.

Everyone was immersed in the atmosphere of the performance, including Kurokawa, whose eyes were fixed on the stage with determination and seriousness.

The stadium was already packed with people before we knew it, and even the standing area was completely full.

At that moment, Masumi's right hand was suddenly gently grasped by a soft, warm, and moist little hand.

"..."

Masumi turned her head and saw a pair of blue-green pupils in the dim light, like the sea surface swaying in the wind. Sticky sweat seeped from her palms, and her weak murmurs were completely drowned out by the music.

Haiyue curled up her legs on the cramped folding chair, hugging her knees, shrinking her body like a child—a gesture of unease—yet she still held one hand tightly around him.

Masumi leaned her head slightly closer, trying to hear what the girl was saying.

The jellyfish girl leaned closer, her cherry-colored lips parting slightly, and said it again:
"Hold on tighter...otherwise...I'll run away like last time..."

……

(End of this chapter)