Three days remained until the opening of Toyogasaki Academy.
For some reason, the recording studio that had once been clean and tidy had become a mess in less than half a month. Sheets of music covered in scribbles and lyrics were scattered everywhere, guitars were tossed aside carelessly, and a violin lay piled in the corner next to the drum kit.
Looking at the chaotic studio, anyone who didn't know better would assume the place had been burgled.
And in this tornado-hit studio, an exhausted and lethargic-looking Aragaki Miyahito was fast asleep, face-down on the music production desk.
As time passed, the clock struck nine.
"If only I could throw it all away..."
"What's happening! Earthquake! Whoa!!"
Jolted awake by his own phone's ringtone, the still-groggy Miyahito reflexively shot up from his chair. However, his left foot landed squarely on a crumpled draft sheet covered in messy lyrics.
Skrrt... Thud!
"Ow, ow, ow, ow!"
Falling backward onto the floor, tears welling in his eyes from the pain, Miyahito clutched his head and curled up on the ground like a boiled shrimp.
However, the phone next to him kept ringing relentlessly, forcing him to grit his teeth, endure the pain, and struggle to his feet.
Miyahito grabbed the incessantly ringing phone and answered it without checking the caller ID, his voice sounding annoyed. "Hello?"
"Hello, Miyani."
Hearing a somewhat familiar voice through the receiver, Miyahito fell silent, unable to place it immediately, and asked in confusion, "Who is this?"
"Kosaka Akane."
"Akane-san."
Once he finally remembered who it was, his confusion only deepened. Why would Akane-san be calling me at this hour?
Before he could ask, Akane got straight to the point.
"There's a theme song commission. Would you be willing to take it?"
"A theme song?"
Receiving an answer that was both expected and unexpected, Miyahito paused and asked. "What kind of theme song? Has one of your works been adapted into an anime, Akane-san? Which one?"
Akane on the other end of the line seemed to have anticipated his questions. After Miyahito fired off three at once, she replied succinctly.
"It's My Mechanical Crown. There will be an anime adaptation, and I want to ask you to compose several theme songs for it."
"Several?"
Catching onto the key point, Miyahito scratched his head, stood up from the floor, and asked with a mix of admiration and resignation.
"Akane-san, this is another two-cour series, isn't it?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Congratulations, Akane-san."
Miyahito offered his congratulations over the phone, half-sincere, half-envious.
He couldn't help it. Compared to true genius monsters... he, who could only "recreate" works and couldn't even recreate half of them properly, felt like utterly useless trash.
"Even though I've said it more than once, Akane-san, you're truly amazing."
"So, will you join my circle?"
Hearing the envy in his voice, Akane once again extended her invitation to the young music genius.
"Join me. I can help you become someone as great as I am."
"Umm... Akane-san, I really can't."
Rejecting her olive branch once again, while squeezing toothpaste onto his brush, Miyahito spoke casually.
"You know I only have a few more years of freedom left."
"After I graduate, I'm going back to Chiba to become a diligent tax collector for the government."
Hearing that, Akane on the other end laughed cynically and didn't hesitate to reply.
"What kind of tax collector are you? That's what useless cops call themselves."
"If your father heard you talking like that, believe it or not, he'd come and drag you back home tomorrow."
"I believe it. How could I not?" At the mention of his father, Miyahito's expression in the mirror immediately darkened. "My father's wanted me to go back to Chiba for school for a long time."
"Now that he has a legitimate reason to drag me back, do you think he'll just let it go?"
"You..." Akane, as a family heir familiar with the Aragaki family background, naturally understood the situation between Miyahito and his father. Seeing traces of her own rebellious past in him, and hearing him say that despite having "rebelled," he would still return to inherit the family business, Akane couldn't help but speak with a mix of frustration and disappointment.
"With your talent, you absolutely don't need to go back and deal with that boring, materialistic business world."
"Stop, stop." Hearing Akane-san's familiar tone trying to coax him into rebelling again, Miyahito quickly cut her off. "Let's not talk about that. By the way, Akane-san, how many songs are you planning?"
"Two opening themes, two ending themes, plus two insert songs."
"So, six songs in total."
Hearing that number, Miyahito put down the towel he was using to wipe his face and frowned.
"You want me to handle all of them by myself?"
"Yeah, otherwise, why would I be calling you?" Akane's tone sounded indifferent. "Your musical style is the best fit for Mechanical Crown."
"Alright, thank you for your trust, Akane-san."
Regardless of whether the woman could see it, Miyahito rolled his eyes over the phone, his voice sounding flat and expressionless.
"Six songs, all composed by me... Thank you for your high regard."
"The compensation won't be small."
Hmm? Say that and I'm suddenly wide awake.
Once fully recovered, Miyahito asked straight out.
"When do you need the songs by?"
"The anime airs in July."
It was already April, and it aired in July... meaning, by early June at the latest, he needed to finish and deliver all the songs to Akane.
Umm... That's a tight schedule.
"Alright. Do you have any reference materials for My Mechanical Crown? I'd like to review them first. I'll give you my answer tomorrow."
"Sure. I'll have Iori deliver them to you later."
"Understood."
After chatting for a few more minutes about the anime theme song commission, they ended the call.
After hanging up, Miyahito set his phone down.
After stretching for a good while, he felt slightly more refreshed, but the weight of Akane's call quickly ruined his mood again. His shoulders slumped once more.
"Ah, I've only finished one song so far."
"Why is it suddenly so hectic? This is completely abnormal!"
Reluctantly, he turned and walked back to his messy recording studio.
The moment he saw the room, he made an immediate decision.
'I'll clean it up in a couple of days.'
Grabbing a USB drive from his workstation computer, along with the finalized sheet music and lyrics from the desk, Miyahito left the studio without hesitation.
After closing the door behind him, clutching the USB and sheet music, he headed downstairs while calling Nakamura Maki.
"Yeah, the new song is finished. Okay, I'll record the vocals myself again."
"Hmm, the style is similar to The Reason I Wanted to Die."
"The title? Oh, the title of the new song is..."
While talking to Maki, Miyahito glanced at the sheet music in his hand, then looked up out the window at the clear sky and blue clouds, smiling as he said:
"The title is Hated by Life Itself."
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