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«Aya’s Perspective»

Hearing Kotone’s song, I could only admit defeat. I stood no chance. By that, I don’t mean in the technical sense. Kotone’s strong point is her ability to infuse emotion into her voice. It’s a skill I have yet to learn. Kotone really is the most worthy rival for me.

“It’s curious how she’s not enthusiastic about it, though.”

While watching Kotone step down the stage, I contemplate. With that performance, she shouldn’t make major mistakes even if she debuted. So I don’t understand why she’s so against debuting. Well, sure, I know we’re pushing her to do it, but that’s besides the point.

“Rin, we’re blocking her escape.”
“Roger that, sis.”

Seeing how she’s looking at her feet while heading straight to the exit, I could tell. Kotone is clearly embarrassed. I don’t know why, but I don’t plan on letting her leave yet. So to catch up to her, we broke into a sprint.

“Hey, girly. Your time with us is still far from over.”
“No escaping. It’ll be a problem if you don’t keep us company.”
“I wish I could just disappear.”

An average man would likely be knocked out if they saw this teary-eyed blushing Kotone. It’s honestly provocative, there’s a large gap between her normal state and now. Rin and I grab her by her arms and drag her back to her original seat.

“What are you feeling so embarrassed about? You did great.”
“Singing by myself is embarrassing. I don’t quite understand why, but I just can’t get used to being in the spotlight.”

The way she’s speaking feels different, but I’ll take it as my imagination. Kotone is normally gallantly masculine by nature, but right now she’s really girly. Bashfully fidgeting with her head hung low while looking around restlessly. In the first place, if attracting attention is really embarrassing, look back on what you’ve done up until now.

“It’s hard to describe it, but I still don’t have a good grasp of your personality. That’s what makes you interesting, though.”

I kept myself from getting involved with Kotone during her first year. It’s pointless and is of no merit to me. I don’t like interacting with people who I know would only be a nuisance. I took interest in Kotone during her second year, definitely due to Kaoru. Because she told me that a talented individual just joined the student council.

“What do you mean by that?”
“You were so meek when at the beginning of your second year, but ever since joining the student council, you have gotten more playful.”

It was around then that people started acknowledging that Kotone had changed. Hadzuki’s influence may have played a large role, but I’m sure everyone could see it. They had some sort of weird campaign, but that was definitely the student council messing with her.

“I was just forced to take defensive action because Hadzuki was always up to no good.”
“Well, you do suffer the more straight-laced you are at the student council. Still, I was surprised that you adapted. Considering how you were as a freshman.”
“I’m not familiar with how Sister Kotone was as a freshman, was it really that bad?”
“It was awful. You’d find it hard to believe that to be one of the twelve families. So thoughtless and oppressive. I’m sure that Kotone didn’t know the meaning of being a twelve family member.”

That’s why I find the current Kotone to be significantly different. While she might be acting as if she doesn’t care about the twelve families, she has the proper essence of a twelve family member. Even when acting unreasonably, it all connects back to her own benefit. And once a goal is set, she sticks to it through the very end.

“As for the current Kotone, there should be no issues setting her up as the heir. What are your thoughts on this?”
“My little brother’s better suited. The most I can do is help out when it’s needed.”

She’s finally back to normal. I completely expected that answer from her. It’s the same for me too. Both of us have a fatal flaw making us unfit to be the next head of our families. We both hate having our freedoms restricted. It’s a commonality we share.

“Considering the future, being shackled down is a no-no. You won’t be able to sing freely, after all.”
“I still haven’t thought much about my future, but at the very least, I can’t imagine a future of me being the next family head.”

That’s natural. There’s no way you’d have a clear image of a future you don’t want. Conversely, Kotone can imagine a future of her being a singer, even if only vaguely. There should be a reason why she’s so against it, then.

“Just be honest with yourself and become a singer.”
“You just saw me earlier, right? There’s no way I can be a singer like this.”

I think it’s just an issue of getting accustomed to it. If Kotone joins the music industry, it’s sure to yield nothing but interesting results. I’m really expecting a lot of funny and unexpected happenings, you know? Also, her relations with people. Having a collaboration concert with mama will absolutely have some interesting side effects.

“I guess we’ll need to execute Project Fortify Kotone, then.”
“Stop it. It’ll absolutely be a disaster.”

Oh definitely, because mama is sure to join in. As for the plan itself, maybe having her do a guerrilla concert with mama or throw her on some stage to perform alone. There are many ways to make inescapable situations.

“Kotone, you only have a year left as an academy student, so it’ll be best to think about your future soon.”
“I’ll have the chance soon enough, so I’ll think after that.”