*Heroine and Original Heroine’s Results*
Target Character: None
Event: Sou’s Ally?
*CLEAR*
✦ ✦ ✦
♪♪♪
KON stared out the window lost in thought during the car ride home from Maestro Noboru’s house. The sudden appearance of an unexpected game character shocked me speechless as well. In the few moments before we left his house, Midori insisted the three of us get together again.
“Let’s have lunch together after your solfège next Saturday. Okay? I won’t be in Japan for long, so I’d love to get to know you better while I can. Unless you don’t want to?”
I couldn’t say no when she put it like that. I wasn’t sure whether it was due to her living overseas for a long time or if it was just her personality, but Midori had a unique way of closing the space between her and others. Though, she managed not to be pushy about it either. Keeping that balance was a remarkable skill.
When I initially heard about Sou having a fiancée, I honestly thought, “Cool. The rich and powerful sure live different lives from us commoners.” But now that I’d met Midori in person, I wrangled with mixed emotions. How could I not when it seemed like she seriously hated Sou’s guts? I wanted Sou to have a happy life.
I didn’t want him to have a loveless, miserable marriage. Was it impudent of me to worry about him in this way?
“Mashiro, are you okay?” Kon whispered, careful not to let Mr. Nonaga hear from the driver’s seat.
“Why wouldn’t I be? I’m fine. I’ll admit it surprised me though. I just always assumed that I wouldn’t meet the support character Midori until I enrolled in Seio,” I answered in hush tones. When I looked from the window to her, Kon was carefully studying my face.
Her nebulous expression didn’t reveal any emotion and she continued with the same vein of thought, saying, “If this world is progressing exactly like the remake version, then like you said, it shouldn’t have been possible for you to encounter Midori at this point… I think we need to start thinking that this world is following a separate course from Hear My Heart.” She paused there, fell silent, and tightly held my hands.
Surprised by the trembling of her cold hands, I returned her gaze.
“I had this false notion that I could predict the future somewhat because I was reincarnated with my past memories. But nothing is going according to plan… Life in any world just won’t go the way I want it to.”
I didn’t know how to respond to the anguish lacing her voice.
Maybe it was beyond my comprehension to know how Kon really felt about this world when I’d never played the remake game. Be that as it may, I had one thing I needed to convey to her.
“I’m glad I was reincarnated,” I confided.
“…You are?” Tears lightly misted Kon’s eyes.
Wanting to encourage and comfort her, I squeezed her slender hands. “I barely have any memories of my past life left, but I know I was only eighteen at the time of my death. I’m sure I had lots of regrets. But ever since I was reincarnated into Hear My Heart’s world, I’ve been able to live every day to its fullest. I think it’s all thanks to starting up the piano, and most of all, because I met you, Kon.”
“Mashiro…” The tears welling up in her eyes finally rolled down her cheeks in big drops.
“I love you, Kon. I’m truly happy you’re here with me.”
Kon gasped and suddenly threw her arms around me. Her tight hug honestly took me by surprise. Kon was like a big sister to me since the day we met. She gave me advice and showed me the way.
I wonder if she was holding back all this time. Was she struggling alone, trying not to let me see her anxiety and sadness?
“I’m on your side, Kon, even if you are keeping secrets from me. Always remember that.”
“I’m sorry…I’m so sorry,” Kon repeated her apology through her tears. Was she apologizing for keeping secrets or for something entirely different? I didn’t know.
✦ ✦ ✦
♪♪♪
THE following Saturday arrived in no time. We pressed the intercom button next to Maestro Noboru’s front door.
“Yes, come in,” Maestro Noboru answered, so we went right ahead and opened the front door.
Kon and I gazed in wonder at the completely changed first-floor.
The living room was furnished with a big, comfy couch. A stainless-steel refrigerator glistened in the kitchen next to a matching oven and coffee maker. Susie Cooper china and dinnerware decorated cupboard shelves. A vase arranged with roses sat on top of a maple dining table.
His house looks like it was pulled straight from a catalogue!
“Do you think this is…” I started.
“Midori’s handiwork,” Kon finished in a whisper as we ascended the stairs to the second-floor. There, we tasted our second jaw-dropping shock of the day.
“Today we’ll be working on your aural skills and sight-reading…. What’s wrong? Come all the way inside the room,” a stranger beckoned us into the piano room.
The voice sounded just like Maestro Noboru’s. Maybe he had another sibling aside from Midori. With how young the stranger looked, he could have been a younger brother. After all, his refreshingly short hair was the same shade of green as Maestro Noboru’s. No prickly beard or glasses dashed the looks of this tall, dark, and handsome man. A perfectly straight nose and chiseled jaw complimented his big, olive-brown eyes. He had all the makings of a good-looking guy with nothing left to want.
“Excuse me…”
“Who might you be?”
Kon and I asked the strange man at the same time. He blinked his long lashes at us.
“Is that some kinda joke? Are you teasing me?”
His dumbfounded face was dreadfully familiar. I exchanged looks with Kon and then we both let out a loud cry. “WHAAAAT?!”
Cutting straight to the point, the incredibly dashing man in the room with us was Maestro Noboru himself. It had completely slipped my mind that this was a world governed by otome game mechanics. Handsome and beautiful sub-characters were a must. Apparently, Midori had invited herself over and gave both house and owner a massive makeover. Maestro Noboru looked like he found the efforts of his younger sister to be a big, fat nuisance.
“But you look great like this,” Kon said in defense of Midori.
“Yeah! This is definitely a better look for you. I’m positive Miss Ayumi would agree,” I threw in for good measure.
Maestro Noboru’s face twitched. “You think so? Even though I’m still me?”
“Don’t underestimate visuals. Miss Ayumi isn’t the type to judge people by their looks, but a well-groomed hunk will leave a more favorable impression than a drab old fart,” I spoke with fervor without mincing words. I only realized I ran my mouth once it was too late.
“A drab old fart…” Maestro Noboru’s head drooped, his shoulders slumped forward.
Kon quickly rushed to amend what I said. “Some women are into men who don’t care that they look like they’re letting themselves go.”
Granted, it only dealt a worse blow to the maestro.
Letting himself go. Doesn’t care how he looks. Was her remark any better than my own?
“Okay, drop it, girls. Let’s start the lesson before I take any more mental damage today.”
I’m pretty sure we were at fault for the day’s solfège being one of the strictest we’d ever had.
Boo. It’s not my fault he shocked the truth out of me!