Master of the Machete Style Manga

Chapter 181 The First Proof and "Uchiage Hanabi"

With that kiss, reason completely broke down in Natsume Mio's mind, and emotions surged forth.

She responded awkwardly but passionately, clinging tightly to Ken Sakamoto's shoulders.

Kenjiro Sakamoto regained control, lifting the soft body in his arms onto the table, their eyes meeting.

"Ajian..."

Her murmured voice had a slight nasal tone, and her eyes were now veiled with a hazy mist, the blush on her cheeks spreading all the way down to her neckline.

The girl was like a flower bud that had not yet bloomed, its petals gradually unfolding.

Half an hour later.

Although Ken Sakamoto had turned on the air conditioner, he was still drenched in sweat, and his clothes were completely soaked.

"It's so hot, I'm sweating so much..."

Mio Natsume muttered softly, her voice slightly hoarse.

"Mmm." Sakamoto Ken gently kissed her forehead, feeling the warmth of the girl in his arms. "Go take a shower."

He picked up Natsume Mio and carried her towards the bathroom.

The bathroom on the first floor was filled with steam.

The two leaned against each other in the large bathtub, the warm water submerging their bodies up to their shoulders.

Natsume Mio's body was limp and weak, like a pool of melting spring water, and she looked exhausted.

She leaned against Ken Sakamoto, her eyes open but unfocused, silently staring at the wall in front of her, biting her lip, without uttering a word.

Ken Sakamoto didn't say anything, but silently hugged the girl in his arms from behind.

It wasn't until he was almost dizzy from soaking in the bath that Ken Sakamoto gently patted Mio Natsume's smooth shoulder.

"That's enough, get up, you're about to get dizzy from soaking."

With that, Ken Sakamoto stood up first.

Sakamoto Ken rubbed his temples, steadying himself before turning around. He was still a little dizzy.

Mio Natsume is still sitting.

When she saw Ken Sakamoto turn around, she, who had been feeling a little dizzy, suddenly perked up.

The girl's eyes widened as she stared intently at Sakamoto Ken, who was standing right in front of her.

Ken Sakamoto stepped back slightly and reached out his hand.

Mio Natsume grasped Ken Sakamoto's hand and stood up.

The sound of splashing water was heard.

The two of them used towels to dry the water droplets off their bodies.

Ken Sakamoto picked up the hairdryer and skillfully dried Mio Natsume's wet hair.

As her fingertips brushed through her hair and a warm breeze caressed her scalp, Natsume Mio squinted comfortably, like a cat being stroked.

After drying his hair, Ken Sakamoto changed into some dry clothes.

But Natsume Mio was a little troubled.

She didn't have any clean clothes at Sakamoto Ken's house.

Because he had just worked up a sweat, Ken Sakamoto had already put all the clothes he was wearing, except for his stockings, into the washing machine to wash them.

Of course, it wasn't because the stockings needed to be hand-washed, but because he had accidentally torn a long rip in them.

Ken Sakamoto originally intended to throw it directly into the trash can.

But Natsume Mio saw it and snatched it away.

Then, with a serious expression, he stuffed the tattered stocking into Sakamoto Ken's hand.

"This is a souvenir!" she said, feigning generosity. "You should keep it for a lifetime!"

Ken Sakamoto weighed the light piece of fabric in his hand.

Most importantly, a very noticeable red stain was found on the pure white silk fabric.

That was the first proof.

Whether it was last week's playthrough or this week's playthrough, Ken Sakamoto did not have the habit of keeping such souvenirs.

It is said that in ancient times, people would cut off a piece of the bed sheet from their wedding night and keep it.

Although this isn't popular anymore, since Natsume Mio made such a serious request, Sakamoto Ken didn't refuse.

He found a clean bag, carefully folded the pure white silk shoes with the mark, packed them up, and put them away in the deepest corner of the wardrobe.

As for now...

Mio Natsume was wearing a white short-sleeved T-shirt by Ken Sakamoto.

On Natsume Mio, this T-shirt looks like an oversized dress, with the hem just covering her upper thighs.

Her beautiful figure and long legs, accentuated by her shapely frame, gave her a pure yet sexy look that was exceptionally adorable.

At this moment, the sunlight outside became intense.

The weather, which had been gloomy, cleared up and sunlight streamed into the room.

Mio Natsume pulled Ken Sakamoto to the window and looked at the bright sunshine outside: "Look! The sun is out! It's perfect for drying clothes. My dress is very thin, and with the sun so strong, it'll dry in no time."

"Ah."

After the washing machine finished, Ken Sakamoto took out her clothes and hung them to dry on the third-floor balcony.

Back in the studio on the first floor, Natsume Mio didn't pester Sakamoto Ken again and again, like Hoshihara Ai did.

I guess it's because after today's experience, although it was novel, there was still a slight sense of disconnect.

After all, given Sakamoto Ken's strength, even Hoshihara Ai, who had already interacted with him several times, always ended up begging for mercy in the end.

Natsume Mio sat in a chair, picked up the vocal music book she had bought that day and flipped through it, but she was clearly somewhat absent-minded.

After a while, she put down the book and said to Ken Sakamoto, "Ken, could you print out another copy of the lyrics and sheet music for 'Lemon' for me?"

"it is good."

Ken Sakamoto operated the computer and quickly printed out a copy, handing it to her.

Mio Natsume took the sheet music and immediately made some marks on it with a pen.

She looked up at Ken Sakamoto and said, "After I went back, I thought about it again and made some slight adjustments to the rhythm and a few note transitions. This time it's definitely going to be even better! Ken, do you want to hear it?"

Ken Sakamoto immediately nodded: "Of course."

Natsume Mio sat on Sakamoto Ken's lap, her back against his chest, holding the lyrics and sheet music in her hands, and softly sang.

Mio Natsume's voice was very clear; even at such close range, the vibrations of her chest could be heard.

Although there was no accompaniment and it was just a cappella, it immediately drew Ken Sakamoto into the atmosphere of the song.

When the song ended, Natsume Mio herself didn't seem particularly satisfied.

She frowned, made some more marks on the sheet music, chewed on her pen, and muttered to herself, trying to adjust "Lemon" to its most perfect state.

Ken Sakamoto watched quietly as Mio Natsume optimized the melody of "Lemon" until his legs felt numb. Then he gently patted her waist and said, "Your legs are numb. Get up for a bit."

Natsume Mio quickly got up and sat down in the chair she had just been sitting in.

Ken Sakamoto stretched his legs, then took out a blank sheet of paper, picked up a pen, and began to write on it.

Natsume Mio curiously leaned closer to take a look and discovered that what Sakamoto Ken had written was actually the lyrics to a song.

"What did Ah Jian write...?"

"A new song for you. I just thought of it while listening to you sing, so I wrote it down right away." Ken Sakamoto responded, his pen moving smoothly as he wrote.

"The coastline I gazed upon that day remains vivid in my memory to this day."

"Words etched in the sand, and your silhouette..."

"..."

"A burst of light erupted, and fireworks came into view."

"The summer that is not yet over will surely melt away the lingering misunderstandings and connect us all."

May this night never end.

Natsume Mio watched as Sakamoto Kensho finished writing the entire song, her eyes growing brighter and brighter.

He added a title above the lyrics at the very end:

"Uchiage Hanabi" (Fireworks).

Upon seeing that Sakamoto Ken had finished writing, Natsume Mio immediately picked up the manuscript paper, which still smelled of ink, with both hands.

She sat cross-legged on the chair, wearing a large T-shirt belonging to Ken Sakamoto, the hem of which was rolled up to her waist, revealing her smooth legs. The neckline also slipped slightly with her movements, revealing half of her rounded shoulder.

And because there's nothing inside, this half-concealed state adds to the sense of mystery.

She read the words on the paper softly.

"Have you heard the secret of your heart? The attachment you're unwilling to let go of..."

Natsume Mio paused at this point, looked up, her watery eyes fixed on Sakamoto Ken, and asked with a hint of coquettishness, "Hey, Ken, what does this lyric mean? Is there... any secret I don't know about you?"

Ken Sakamoto's gaze fell on the girl's flushed cheeks.

He reached out and gently pulled up her slipped collar, his fingertips touching her warm skin.

"Of course there are secrets."

Ken Sakamoto smiled knowingly, leaned closer, and whispered in her ear, "For example... what we did at this table today is a secret that belongs only to the two of us."

Natsume Mio chuckled softly, biting her lip shyly. She didn't refute, but simply lowered her head and gently hummed in agreement.

Yes, it's a secret that belongs only to them.

She shifted her gaze back to the manuscript and continued reading.

"How many more summers and how many more fireworks will I be able to watch with you, hand in hand..."

When she uttered those lyrics, Natsume Mio's voice suddenly became somewhat ethereal.

In a daze, several fragments flashed through her mind.

That was in that long dream.

On a bustling summer night, amidst a lively festival, she wore a slightly tight yukata, wooden clogs, and held a candied apple in her hand.

In the crowded throng, a warm and strong hand held her tightly, as if afraid she would get lost.

With a "whoosh—pop!" sound, a huge firework burst in the night sky, illuminating the outline of his profile.

The scene at that moment perfectly overlaps with the lyrics in my hand now.

"Just reading the lyrics already gives me such vivid imagery." Natsume Mio's eyes sparkled with anticipation. "But Ken, have you only written the lyrics? What about the melody?"

"Of course, there are also musical pieces."

Ken Sakamoto cleared his throat and, without much preparation, began to hum softly.

"I still remember that day under the azure sky, gazing at the strait."

"The words written with fingers on the warm beach melt away in your silhouette."

"The waves that once covered our footprints receded and now bloom again under this dazzling sun..."

Although there was no accompaniment and Ken Sakamoto's singing wasn't exactly professional, he still managed to convey a slightly melancholic yet vibrant summer feeling.

Mio Natsume murmured along, completely mesmerized.

She originally thought that "Lemon" was Ah Jian's masterpiece, but she didn't expect that this new song she wrote casually would have such a catchy melody!
It has a kind of beauty that is like fireworks, blooming and disappearing in an instant.

The dream memory about the "future" involuntarily surfaced in Natsume Mio's mind.

Especially that ending...

Surrounded by the three women on the rooftop, the scumbag Sakamoto Ken ultimately fell in a pool of blood, stabbed three times and pierced through six times.

Ah Jian from that dream, is his life... just like the fireworks in this song?
Natsume Mio looked at the boy in front of her who was humming intently, and her heart clenched.

Was Ah Jian writing this song about his past life?!

No wonder……

No wonder this song, which is clearly about summer romance, has a faint sadness hidden in its melody.

Is this a tribute to a past that was as fleeting as fireworks?
Last week's Ah Jian was killed by us. Does he have a deep psychological trauma, and is he actually blaming me?
I'm so sorry, Jian.

Being stabbed in the body must hurt a lot...

Even if I wasn't stabbed, even just now when Ah Jian... it hurt for a little while at the beginning...

Natsume Mio quickly went through the lyrics again, recalling the rhythm that Sakamoto Ken had softly sung earlier.

"Jian, give me a pen!"

Mio Natsume, ignoring her slipping collar, grabbed a pen and quickly jotted down musical notes next to the lyrics.

She has a great ear for music; she can memorize most of the melody after hearing it only once, let alone when it's sung by Ken Sakamoto.

A few minutes later, she put down her pen, looked at the dense markings on the paper, and let out a long sigh of relief.

"so amazing……"

Natsume Mio looked up at Sakamoto Ken with eyes full of admiration, even a hint of fanaticism.

"Ah Jian, this song 'Uchiage Hanabi'... is amazing!"

Pointing to the melody line on the sheet music, she excitedly said, "Although the style is different from 'Lemon,' which is a redemption after bitterness, this one... is like the loneliness and lingering afterglow after the end of passion."

"Huh?!" Natsume Mio blinked and repeated the words, "The aftertaste after the excitement ends..."

Thinking of the passion, the girl couldn't help but lick her lips. The scene of her tightly embracing Ah Jian on this very table was still vivid in her mind.

The first time is painful; Natsume Mio had heard this before, and today she experienced it for herself.

But it was only for a moment, and it was completely within tolerable limits.

After all, Ah Jian is exceptionally gentle. This guy must be very experienced, especially since he said he also knows about those things from "last week's episode"...

Essentially, this was the second time she had done it with him for the first time...

She also experienced the lingering aftertaste after the excitement ended.

While soaking in the bathtub with Ah Jian, she felt dizzy, experiencing a feeling that was completely different from the reward she had given herself the night before.

"If 'Lemon' is a song that makes you want to cry, then this song is a song that makes you want to fall in love!"

Mio Natsume confidently commented, "This song is just as good as 'Lemon'! In fact... summer is almost here! If it's released during the fireworks season, it might become even more popular!"

At this point, she put down the manuscript in her hand, threw herself into Sakamoto Ken's arms, looked up, and gazed at him affectionately with her big, watery eyes.

"Ah Jian... this song is something we need to finish together, right?"

Sakamoto Ken put his arm around the girl's waist and said, "Of course, Mio will become a big star that everyone knows."

As he spoke, he lifted Natsume Mio onto the table again and kissed her: "Then, let me first devour the future superstar."

(End of this chapter)