Hub World, Earth, Japan, Tokyo.
"What exactly am I supposed to do while we're at Shuchi'in?" Yakumo, sitting in the back seat of the BMW 745 Mai was driving asked curiously.
After leaving the penthouse apartment, Tatsuo, Mai, Yakumo, and Tio went down to the garage, boarded the car, with Mai driving, Tio in the front passenger seat, and Tatsuo and Yakumo in the back seat, and started the trip towards Shuchi'in Academy in Minato ward, which, under normal circumstances, would take about twenty minutes.
"Nothing really." Tatsuo replied casually with a smile. "While I'm playing, you're free to walk around the venue, try the food, or mingle. Honestly, as long as you don't disrupt the welcome party, which I know you won't, you can do whatever you like."
"I see." Yakumo said with a nod of understanding.
"Or you could spend time with me." Tio said while turning back to look at Yakumo. "I'll have quite a bit of free time, as well. So, having someone to talk to while Tatsuo-Sama is playing would be nice. Plus, I've wanted to get to know you better for a while now."
"That… sounds nice." Yakumo said, a small smile curling the corners of her lips.
"And when I'm not playing, we can spend time together, too." Tatsuo added. "I'm sure I won't be sitting at the piano for the whole night. If the opportunity presents itself, we might even get a chance to dance."
Although Yakumo was not familiar with ballroom dancing, the thought of dancing with Tatsuo made her smile widen slightly. Tio's gaze also slid towards Tatsuo at the mention of dancing, a hopeful glint in her eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll dance with you, too, if there's time." Tatsuo said nonchalantly, not even turning his head in Tio's direction as he spoke.
Hearing that, Tio, who had already been smiling, brightened up noticeably. Meaning, two of the three women in the car were now smiling. However, the third woman, Mai, was scowling thunderously. The fact that she was being left out of such an event was making her jealous to no end.
Even worse, even if Mai was allowed to attend the party with Tatsuo, Yakumo, and Tio, she would not be able to dance with Tatsuo. Her month long punishment was nowhere near over, as it had only been two days since Tatsuo declared her thirty day hell.
"It's not fair!" Mai shouted, her fingers gripping the steering wheel so tightly that the other three in the car could hear it creaking in protest. "I wanna spend time with Tatsu-Kun, too! I wanna hear him play live! I wanna dance and get lost in those beautiful purple eyes!"
"Sucks to be you, I guess.' Tatsuo replied with an uncaring shrug. "Maybe you should have thought about that before you did what you did."
"Wahh~~~~~~~!" Mai waled while turning on the water works. "I was only trying to protect you, Tatsu-Kun! I had to protect you from all those thieving cats! Why can't you understand my love!?"
Tatsuo decided not to dignify Mai's outburst with a response, ignoring Mai while looking out the window to watch the passing lights of the city. Meanwhile, Tio turned to look at Mai, who was being ignored by Tatsuo, with envy. As for Yakumo, her gaze slid back and forth between Tatsuo, Mai, and Tio with confusion dancing in the depths of her eyes.
Eventually, Yakumo's curiosity won out. So, she turned toward Tatsuo.
"Um… What exactly did Shiranui-San do?" Yakumo asked curiously while pushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
"She's the reason why I've never received a single love letter at school since the school year started." Tatsuo replied blandly. "And it's not like I really cared about getting love letters. But the fact that she took it upon herself to mess with my personal life is a different story."
"I see." Yakumo replied while turning to look at Mai with a complicated expression.
To anyone who knew her, with the exception of her sister, Tenma, it was clear that Yakumo had fallen for Tatsuo. So, to have someone help keep other girls from getting too close to him was a relief. But like Tatsuo said, interfering in someone's life without their input was a bit much for even Yakumo, who could hear most people's thoughts.
The conversation continued in the car as it moved from Shibuya to Minato. And before long, Mai pulled up to the gates of Shuchi'in Academy. And when she did, Yakumo could not help but gawk slightly at the size of the school.
From the interior of the BMW, it was impossible to see the school in its entirety. Though, the same would be true if one were standing before it, as well. With a campus large enough to house all levels of school from elementary school to university, it is natural that the campus would be enormous. Yet, the small amount that Yakumo could see from where she sat in the backseat was enough to redefine what Yakumo would call a large school.
"It's huge…" Yakumo whispered in stunned disbelief.
"I'm glad Alfonzo and James aren't here to hear you say that." Tatsuo said while shaking his head in fond exasperation.
"Huh?" Yakumo asked as Tatsuo's comment drew her attention away from the school
"Don't worry about it." Tatsuo replied while waving dismissively.
Tilting her head slightly, Yakumo's confusion did not wane. However, since Tatsuo said it was nothing to worry about, she eventually pushed it to the back of her mind and turned to look at Shuchi'in Academy again.
And when she did, Yakumo noticed two people approaching the car, which was stopped at the front gate. And to her surprise, they were both people she had met before, though only briefly.
The first, with a cold expression, piercing red eyes, black hair tied into a ponytail, and wearing a red evening gown that highlighted her slender figure, gave off an unmistakable aura of nobility and authority. She was Shinomiya Kaguya, the eldest daughter of the Shinomiya Zaibatsu.
And walking along with Kaguya was a very busty, pink-haired young woman with blue eyes that sparkled in the moonlight. She, like Kaguya, wore an evening gown suitable for the occasion. Though, hers was black instead of red. She was also one of Tatsuo's biggest fans after seeing him perform on YouTube. Her name was Fujiwara Chika, the daughter of a Politician.
Seeing the two approaching the car, Mai, quickly putting on a pleasant smile, rolled down the driver's side window. And when Kaguya and Chika saw her, they did not react much. Though, Kaguya's eyebrows twitched slightly at the size of Mai's breasts.
"Good evening." Kaguya said, her displeasure not showing in her tone. "Am I correct to assume that the act for tonight's event, Soramoto Tatsuo, is inside?"
"That's correct." Mai replied with a nod. She then gestured towards Tio and Yakumo. "Along with him are his manager, Tio Clarus, and his companion for the evening, Tsukamoto Yakumo."
As members of the Shuchi'in Academy Student Council, both Kaguya, the Vice-President, and Chika, the Secretary, were made aware of the guests Tatsuo would be bringing with him this evening. So, they did not react much to the information.
At least, that's how it should have been…
"Whoa!" Chika exclaimed as she leaned forward to try and look into the car. "Does that mean that Tatsuo-Kun has a girlfriend? This is big news!"
"She is NOT his girlfriend." Mai said sharply as her eyes narrowed dangerously.
Feeling the bloodlust rolling off of Mai, Kaguya stiffened minutely. Chika, on the other hand, either could not feel it or pretended not to as she continued to look into the car's interior. And when Kaguya saw that, she was both amazed and exasperated.
'Just what is this girl's brain made of?' Kaguya asked as she grabbed Chika's arm before pulling her back. 'No, that's the wrong question to ask. Asking about something's make up when it doesn't actually exist is a foolish question.'
Just as that thought finished, Chika paused. Then, with a slight frown on her face, she turned to look at Kaguya.
"Were you just thinking something rude about me, Kaguya-San?" Chika asked, though she sounded rather unsure.
'Her intuition is as sharp as ever.' Kaguya thought to herself.
"Of course not." Kaguya's reply was the exact opposite of her thoughts. "You're just imagining things. Anyway, now that we've identified our visitors, we should let them be on their way. We wouldn't want the performance to start late, would we?"
*Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!*
"Oh! You're right!" Chika exclaimed while clapping her hands energetically, the movement causing her breasts to quake. "Please, please go inside. Everyone, especially me, is looking forward to hearing you play, Tatsuo-Kun."
'That's twice she's called me by my given name.' Tatsuo thought to himself while smiling wryly. 'She really moves at her own pace, huh?'
At the same time, Kaguya could not help twitching her eyebrows again when she saw Chika's breasts quaking. However, just like last time, she did not let her annoyance show any further than that. Instead, she once again grabbed Chika by the arm and dragged her away.
"Let's go, Fujiwara-San." Kaguya said. "We'll wait for them near the break room. The president is already waiting for them at the parking lot."
"Wait! Kaguya-San, let me get his autograph first!" Chika protested while struggling against Kaguya's pull.
"Didn't you get it when we met him at the jewelry store that one time?" Kaguya asked, a hint of annoyance making it into her tone.
"So?" Chika replied unashamedly. "They're like Lays potato chips; you can't have just one."
"I'm not even gonna ask why you're quoting commercials from American snack brands." Kaguya said in an exasperated tone. "Just stop struggling. You'll have all night to ask for another one. For now, we still have work to do."
As the two continued to bicker, Kaguya quickly glanced back towards the BMW that was moving through the campus.
'I can't believe my brother ordered me to do something like that.' Kaguya thought to herself. 'If this idiot next to me was right, what kind of person would trying to seduce him make me look like? And what kind of shame would it bring to the Shinomiya Family?'
Meanwhile, Mai drove the car to the area designated for them to park during the negotiations with the school. Not long later, they arrived at the back of what appeared to be the school's auditorium.
And standing at the back entrance of the auditorium was a male student wearing a somewhat oversized black suit. This young man stood at 5'9" with short blond hair, dark blue eyes, and an objectively handsome face, he would have been very popular with female students if it were not for one thing.
No matter what he does, who he talks to, or where he is, this young man always looks as if he's glaring. So, it comes as no surprise that there are a lot of people, not just at Shuchi'in, who, despite his average height and build, find him rather intimidating.
"Damn… That guy looks tired as hell." Tatsuo muttered while looking at the young man through the car window.
"He does." Yakumo added with a nod. "Even with the makeup he's wearing to cover them, you can still see the bags under his eyes."
"Well, that makes sense." Mai said while skillfully parking in the spot reserved for guests. "That young man, Shirogane Miyuki, the Shuchi'in Academy Student Council President, is only able to attend this school because of the scholarship he receives for his grades. So, he works hard to maintain them. On top of that, he works quite a few part-time jobs to help his family make ends meet. So, it's no wonder he is, as you put it, 'tired as hell'."
"Other investigations show that he works a lot, as well." Tio added. "And he takes jobs of all kinds. From construction to customer service, it doesn't matter, as long as he can get paid for the work in a legal manner."
"*Whistle* That's crazy." Tatsuo said while whistling in admiration. A moment later, he turned towards Mai. "Hey, Mai-nee… Do you think we could help him out. I mean, he's clearly a hard worker. Are there any part-time positions at Mom's company?"
Hearing that, Mai, Yakumo, and Tio all smiled. Hearing how kind Tatsuo could be was rather heartwarming for the three ladies.
Unfortunately, Tatsuo's reason for helping was not as noble as they thought.
'I saw the complicated way Shinomiya-San was looking at our car.' Tatsuo thought to himself. 'I bet her dickhead older brothers are gonna force her to try and seduce me so they can one day get their hands on Mom's company. Not that they have any chance of that succeeding. Either way, if that's true, Shirogane-San is gonna miss out on her. So, this could be counted as compensation, right?"
"I'll talk to Sumire-Sama when I get back." Mai said with a gentle smile. "I'm sure she'll be proud to hear you wanting to help someone like this, as well."
Tatsuo only shrugged his shoulders In response. At the same time, Mai also turned off the car's engine.
"Well then, you three go ahead." Mai said, her happy tone turning into a sulk at being left behind. "I'll be here when you three are ready to leave."
"Alright, sounds good." Tatsuo said with a smile. "Then, we'll see you tonight, Mai-nee."
"Thank you for the ride, Shiranui-San." Yakumo added while bowing her head politely.
"Be safe on the way home." Tio said as she gathered her belongings and opened the passenger side door. "See you later tonight."
At the same time, Tatsuo also opened the backseat door on his side of the car. Then, after stepping out, he reached out to Yakumo to help her out of the car, as well. Meanwhile, Tio circled around the car to join Tatsuo and Yakumo.
A short distance away, Miyuki noticed the high-class car and resisted the urge to click his tongue. Then, after putting on a smile, he began approaching the trio to introduce himself.
"Good evening, you must be the artist from Kurashikki Ensō." Miyuki said as he approached Tatsuo, Yakumo, and Tio. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Miyuki Shirogane, the Shuchi'in Academy Student Council President. It's nice to meet you and we're honored that you could make it to perform at our welcome party."
Accepting Miyuki's handshake, Tatsuo was pleasantly surprised at its firmness. He then introduced himself, Yakumo, and Tio. Then, Miyuki led him inside so that he could check the stage and piano he would be performing on before the party began.