Anime Heart

Around noon, Yako dragged the blueprints she thought she had designed, which she believed had exhausted all her brain cells, to the school's print shop.

She even refused her classmates' requests to play games together; for her now, the most important thing is to establish the club as soon as possible.

By the way, Ako named the club "A Club for Exploring Games and Time," and despite its unusually long name, the principal approved it.

However, when designing the poster, Ako shortened the club's name to "Game Time Club" for convenience, which made it seem much more normal.

Upon entering the print shop, just as the principal had described, there was only a young owner sitting idly in front of a computer, browsing the web.

Seeing Ako enter, the shop owner's eyes lit up, and he said, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Um, I'd like to print this out as a poster that can cover the bulletin board at the school gate. Is that alright?" Ako asked politely.

"Uh, yes, that's possible, but are you sure this can be posted on the notice board?" The shop owner was exasperated.

A few stick figures holding weapons, along with some neat handwriting—is this poster really going to attract anyone? The shop owner thought, based on this poster alone, if it were him, he definitely wouldn't come.

"Of course it can be pasted on! But is it really that badly drawn?" Ako asked uncertainly, noticing the shop owner's expression.

But the shop owner shook his head and said, "It's not that the drawing is bad, it's that it's absolutely terrible! There's no way you'll attract any talent with a poster like this!"

"What can I do? I've never studied drawing..." Ako said quietly.

Seeing Ako's pitiful appearance, on the verge of tears, the shop owner threw the painting into the trash can, patted his chest, and said, "I'll take care of it!"

"what?"

"Tell me your requirements, and I'll make a poster that meets them for you. At least that's roughly what I majored in during college, so making a poster is no problem for me."

"Really? Thank you so much!!" Ako exclaimed in surprise. This shop owner studied this in college, so at least it's better than what I make!

The shop owner waved his hand and said, "Don't rush, I'll have to charge extra for that. The design fee is 100 RMB, and printing two copies is 100 RMB, totaling 200 RMB. Thank you for your patronage."

"No problem, when can I come to pick it up?" Without thinking, Yako took out two hundred yuan and handed it to the shopkeeper. She had quite a bit of pocket money!

Besides, the school will provide sponsorships for the club later, so there's no need to worry about money at all.

"Alright then! Come find me by 3 PM at the latest, and I guarantee you'll be satisfied." After listening to Ayako's various requests, the shop owner thought for a moment and then made this promise.

"Then I'll leave it to you!" Ako left happily, seemingly trusting the shop owner completely.

"This kid is so naive!" the shop owner scoffed. "Well, I can't let this girl down. Let's give it our all!"

The school's printing shop job is very easy, mostly done by teachers, so he has a lot of free time. He uses this free time to earn extra money and also fulfills the little girl's wish, which he is quite willing to do.

Meanwhile, at the Municipal Mokuya Junior High School, Arima Kento, carrying a lunchbox, followed his friends to the rooftop.

Actually, he wasn't very willing to come to the rooftop, because their classroom was on the first floor, and the rooftop required climbing three floors to reach.

Well, whatever, I'll just treat it as pre-meal exercise! That's the only way Arima Hiden could console himself.

Eating lunchboxes and chatting about trivial topics—that's how friends used to chat and joke around during their student days.

"Has everyone finished eating? I need your help with something." Arima Kento finished his bento first, then put down the box and asked everyone.

"Yes, yes, just tell me what's wrong, Xian Dong! We're all friends, I'll definitely help you if I can," said Du Liangtai first.

The others seemed to agree, so it's likely they thought the same thing.

"Thank you all in advance!" Arima Xiandong said sincerely, it's really great to have such a group of friends.

“I spoke with Xiaoxun on the phone last night. Actually, this is something she asked me to do. But it's not easy for me to do it alone, so I need everyone's help.”

"Wow, I chat on the phone with my girlfriend every night. It's so much fun!"

It was Watari Ryota who started the commotion, but it was just a way of making fun of Arima Kento; he didn't mean any harm.

Arima Kento understood this, so he wasn't angry, nor did he pay any attention to Watari Ryota. Instead, he continued to talk about the things he wanted to ask of everyone.

"This matter is actually related to a black cat. In our area, there is a pure black cat."

"This black cat must be a stray. Although it is very hostile to humans, it is willing to get close to Xiaoxun. Xiaoxun used to feed it often and even gave it a name, 'Black Charcoal'."

"Xiao Xun is the one who takes care of it, but because of her health, her aunt and uncle don't want her to keep pets, so they didn't bring Heitan home."

"But now, Xiao Xun is no longer here, so she's worried that Hei Tan might be hungry or not doing well, and she wants me to help take care of Hei Tan."

"She also said that if possible, she would adopt it, because stray animals are very pitiful. These are Xiaoxun's exact words. I also like cats, so I agreed to Xiaoxun's suggestion and then prepared to find it and adopt it."

"That's roughly what happened, so I hope everyone can help me find Kurotan after school," Arima Kento said.

The group looked at each other and readily agreed. Everyone was happy to do this kind of thing; helping stray animals was a good deed.

However, the thoughtful Ryota Watari offered a suggestion: "Although your intention to adopt Kurotan is good, you also need to consider the fact that Kurotan is very hostile to humans and only Miyazono-san can interact with it."

"If you try to help it but startle it, it might attack you. Or, even if it doesn't attack you, it should run away."

"It's unwise to race a cat in the city."

Arima Kento nodded. Watari Ryota was right, but, "Watari, don't worry! I have a way, and this way should be pretty reliable, so as long as everyone helps me find Kurotan."

"Oh, I see. Then I'm all set."

"Alright, then let's wait until everyone's club activities are over this afternoon, and then we'll look for charcoal together!"

It was five o'clock in the afternoon when a group of friends gathered at the school gate. They had all finished their own business, and Kousei Arima had also come along.

He doesn't have to go to Aunt Seto's place today, so he can consider it a day off!

Chapter 103 The Kitten Who Loves Canelés

Whether it's practicing the piano or their primary responsibility as students—studying—both require a balance between work and rest.

Japan does this exceptionally well; both junior high and high school students have more free time than study time.

Of course, this includes the time spent on club activities as part of leisure time.

The only exceptions are the third year of junior high school and the second and third semesters of the third year of senior high school!

Because at this time, graduating students need to make important life choices, and they will have to face the middle school entrance examination and the college entrance examination.

After taking the exam, they still need to go for interviews and visit the schools whose deviation scores correspond to theirs to get to know the schools better.

Only after the interview results are released can their hard work and effort over the past year be considered truly complete.

Judging from his current grades, it's impossible for Arima Kousei to get into a good high school like his 'pseudo' genius younger brother, Arima Kento.

Therefore, he had to find another path, and for various reasons, he chose the Sumin University of the Arts Affiliated High School as his ideal high school.

Because he has a special talent that ordinary people cannot match, namely playing the piano, and his piano playing is super cool and super awesome.

What's considered super cool is his ability to be a "human metronome," something no one can match. Although he has rediscovered his true piano skills, he can't abandon this skill that he's maintained for over a decade.

That "superb" quality is his true piano skill, his ability to inspire others, just like Kaori Miyazono's violin playing.

In fact, this ability was originally his own, and it influenced others, but due to some reasons, he gradually buried this ability deep in his heart.

It was only recently that it was discovered by friends around me.

Originally, the two piano skills were in conflict, but under Aunt Seto's tutelage, he has become able to switch between them to a basic level.

When he can switch between these two skills at will, he will be ready to graduate.

He uses his ability to be a "human metronome" to please the judges of the competition, and his ability to bring joy to the audience by infecting those around him who are listening attentively.

This is the true ideal state in Arima Kousei's mind.

He wouldn't give up the opportunity to win an award just because he has the superpower to infect others; it's about his future.

Even now, Kousei Arima still admires Kaori Miyazono. He can also do that kind of unrestrained, passionate, and youthful way of performing, but he knows how to distinguish between occasions.

Kaori Miyazono, however, doesn't. She wants to seize every moment to run, so she dares not stop.

Fortunately, there are now people and things that can make this girl stop and give her hope to keep running. Arima Kousei is very happy.

Even though it was his first love who died in his womb.

However, Xiaochun seems to be acting a bit strange lately. Sometimes she'll suddenly become very gentle, and other times she'll revert to her original behavior.

This has made him hesitant to approach Xiaochun anytime soon, fearing she might act impulsively and cause trouble for him.

That's getting off topic. Because he has already mastered the switching between the two types of memories, Aunt Seto gave him a day off.

However, any classes missed today will have to be made up on Saturday and Sunday, that's for sure.

Aunt Seto had promised her father that she would do her best to raise Kousei, so she would naturally do her best to keep her promise.

After hearing Arima Kento's request at noon, Arima Kousei took some time to call Aunt Seto and tell her about his situation.

Then Aunt Seto generously agreed, which led to him being able to come to the school gate to participate in the group action of 'saving the big cat Kuroko'.

Arima Kento was also surprised that Arima Kousei could come, after all, Kousei had given up the opportunity to go home with Aunt Seto in order to go to her class.

After hearing Arima Kousei's explanation, Arima Kento finally understood.

The group headed in a grand procession toward the place where the black cat 'Kurotan' was known to roam. On the way, Kousei Arima suddenly thought of a question.

"Xian Dong, wait a minute! I have an important question." Arima Kousei reached out and grabbed the back of Arima Xian Dong's school uniform, drawing his attention to himself.

Arima Kento looked at his older brother strangely and said, "Kousei, what's wrong? Just ask!"

"But we need to hurry, because it's already five o'clock. If we can't find Black Cat and Black Charcoal by six o'clock, we're definitely out of luck today."

"Hey, why?" Tsubaki Sawabe asked, somewhat confused, "Does the little black cat just vanish into thin air?"

Arima Kento shook his head helplessly and said, "Don't ask so many questions. You'll find out when the time comes."

Upon hearing what Arima Kento said, Arima Kousei also kept his own questions to himself, deciding that he could ask them later when he found the black cat.

"Then let's hurry and go find Kurotan!" Arima Kousei said. "Right now, this is the most important thing."

"Okay, let's get going!"

Arriving at that mixed residential area with a small park in the alley, which was also the only way they could go to school, Kaori Miyazono was able to form a bond with that black cat.

"Wow, that's really big!" Watari Ryota exclaimed after hearing about the large area Arima Kento described, but seeing Arima Kento's expression, he quickly continued.

"Indeed, let's split up! Everyone knows the characteristics of that black cat, so this is the most efficient way."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and Arima Kento had no objections either. The method proposed by Watari Ryota was indeed the most efficient at present.

There are five of them now, and six if Kaori Miyazono is also there. They could easily be divided into three groups of two, but now, dividing them into groups is a bit of a challenge.

Fortunately, Ma Xiandong took the initiative to suggest that he form a group by himself, allowing the other four to form pairs, which resolved the situation and prevented time from being wasted.

After a brief discussion about their respective areas of responsibility, they prepared to officially set off to find the kitten.