Chapter 1396. School Festival Day 2 / Piano Duet

Huh, shes

Wasnt she a teacher in our school until this summer?

The choir students noticed Minaho-neesan.

Err, if I recall, shes not in charge of any cla.s.s

Oh, so thats why. Err.

If I recall, shes Yuzuki Sensei

Minaho-neesans a mystery teacher calling herself her mothers family name, Yuzuki, she didnt have her own homeroom cla.s.s and she doesnt teach at all.

Well, Minaho-neesan doesnt have a teaching license so you cant blame her.

Oh? Is it that strange for a retired teacher to visit the school festival?

Minaho-neesans staring at the choir club students with her cold smile.

No, that aside.

I dont get it.

Why is Minaho-neesan here?

After Minaho-neesan brought Misato and the other prost.i.tute candidates for the new brothel from the bas.e.m.e.nt of the hotel to our high school by car

They went off in a car about to do something, thats why she hired Kudou-papa, and one of the strongest freelance guards, Agrippina-san.

Then, to prove that were unrelated to whatever shes doing

She called on the national TV just to put us on the noon news.

Its to establish the fact that were in the bakery at that time.

I look at the clock.

The current time is 2:35 in the afternoon.

Minaho-neesan finished her plans in two hours and thirty minutes and returned to the school?

That aside, dont you all think that performance was amazing?

Minaho-neesan returns the topic to the Matsumoto siblings who are at the piano.

I think that theyre a little too nervous, but, theyre still young so Ill give that a pa.s.s. Next time, you need to be a little more aware of the people listening to you

She gave the sisters some advice.

Youve been so focused on your inner selves, that if you play with such a tensed mind, your audience wont be able to relax and enjoy your performance. I know that your music performance is important to you, but dont forget that to those who listen, they remember it as literal entertainment for enjoying the sound

Y-Yes

I understand

The Matsumoto siblings get swallowed up by the heavy atmosphere Minaho-neesans bringing.

Its the same for the choir.

They know that Yuzuki Minahos a former teacher, but this is the first time they had a chance to talk to her so closely and straight to their face.

Well, Osaki-san of the choir club. Earlier, I heard you only agreed to let them use the piano only for one song, but

Minaho-neesans cold gaze looked at Osaki-san.

Its such a beautiful performance. I dont mind hearing another piece, do you?

Osaki-san.

O-Okay, just one more piece

Shes pushed down by Minaho-neesans pressure.

W-What should we play?

Maki-san, the elder of the siblings asked Minaho-neesan nervously.

Oh, next time, you two wont be playing. Matsumoto Maki-san, youll remain, but her sister, Miki-san can leave. Ive seen enough of your talent from your performance

Minaho-neesans gaze turned to us.

Takahata Marika-san

Y-Yes?

MInaho-neesan called her name and Marika trembled.

Play the piano together with Matsumoto Maki-san

Marika and Matsumoto Maki-san together?

Four-handed?

Matsumoto Maki-san asks Minaho-neesan.

Correct. As for the piece, lets see, why not Mozarts duet sonatas? Matsumoto Maki-san will be the first player and Marika-san will be the second

I-Ill only be a hindrance to Maki-san

Marika said, but

Matsumoto-sans life depends on it, so dont drag her down

Minaho-neesan adamantly wants the two to play together.

Takahata-san

Matsumoto Maki-san looks at Marika.

Please perform with me. Ill accept the result no matter what

Matsumoto-san

Maki-san and Marika stare at each other, but Igaras.h.i.+ Izumis making a hateful look.

Does she hate the two of them playing piano together?

Are you okay with K.381?

Yes

Maki-san suggested. Marika nodded.

The two sat in front of the piano together.

Then, lets begin

Minaho-neesan said. The two were about to start their performance, but

Wait

I stopped Marika.

Both of you, take a deep breath, synchronize yourselves

Matsumoto Maki-san looks confused, but Marika figured out what I meant as she had s.e.x with Erica and me all the time.

Matsumoto-san, look at me. Then, let our breaths match

Marika takes a deep breath.

First, take a deep inhale Suuu, haaaa

Matsumoto-san followed as Marika told her.

Then, lets speed up a bit. Suuu, haaa. Suuu, haa

Suuu, haaa. Suuu, haaa

Yeah, theyre matching now.

If their breathing matches, thein their heartbeats also synchronize.

Once again, suuu, haaa. Suuu, haaa

Suuu, haaa. Suu, haaa

Matsumoto-sans pale nervous look calms a bit.

Her muscles are less stiff compared to when she played the piece with her sister.

It should be good now.

Then, lets begin, Matsumoto-san

Yes, Takahata-san

Then, the two played piano.

It didnt have the same sad and painful feeling as the Kreutzer Sonata performed by the sisters earlier.

Matsumoto Maki-san and Marikas play was bright, light, and flashy.

Its like a puppy on a leash had been released to the spring meadows.

Maki-sans piano blended with her sisters violin earlier, as if the sound comes from one machine, but

Her play with Marika is the sound of two players on one piano.

Their three-minute performance finished in no time.

Lovely!

The choir girls clapped their hands as soon as the performance ends.

Yes, I like this

The violin sonata earlier was overwhelming, but this Mozart piece is pleasant.

The girls speak out their impressions with bright faces.

Igaras.h.i.+ Izumis face is turning even more gloomy.

Then.

Matsumoto Maki-san, slowly waking up from the afterglow of the performance

She looked at Marika sitting next to her and shouted.

Takahata-san, I need you in my life!

Thats

I want to play piano with you forever!

She tells Matsumoto Maki-san with tears in her eyes.

Me too, Matsumoto-san

Marikas eyes are also teary

I want to be with you too!

At that moment

Wait!!!

Igaras.h.i.+ Izumi shouts.

Shes got tears in her eyes, but its out of frustration.

You cant do that! What about me? What will happen to me?!

Marika, Matsumoto Maki-san, and Igaras.h.i.+ Izumi.

The three of them are in the same music school.

Marika and Maki-san are in the piano department.

Igaras.h.i.+ Izumis in the vocal music.

Marika introduced Maki-san and her little sister to me.

Furthermore, it wasnt just an introduction, she wanted me to hear the performance of the siblings.

On the other hand, Igaras.h.i.+ Izumi just came along as she pleased.

Only one of them is wearing a leather jacket on top of the school uniform, and bad makeup.

Whats the relations.h.i.+p between these three?

Okay, thats enough

Minaho-neesans voice takes control of the music room.

It seems that the thoughts youve been hiding inside have come out

Marika, Matsumoto Maki-san, and Igaras.h.i.+ Izumis thoughts.

Your concerns are now private so lets move to a separate location

Minaho-neesan said.

Thank you for lending us the room and the piano, choir club

Rei-chan, dressed up as a gorgeous man, thanked the choir club.

Fujimiya-san, there are still a lot of students outside the music room

Minaho-neesan mentions the spectators who saw Rei-chan and chased after her

I know. Ill continue my way to the schoolyard alone

Rei-chan replies.

Shell lead the spectators back to Edie and her school swimsuit judo tournament.

Thatll help, thank you

Minaho-neesan said, then

Lets go

She tells us

Thank you, choir club

I bow my head to Osaki-san.

Then, I noticed

Neis going to be the host of Edies tournament.

Speaking of which. Neis

If I recall, she was in the choir club when she enrolled, right?

Uhm, has the choir club finished their presentation at the school festival yet?

I asked.

Yes, were done. We no longer have a turn

Osaki-san replied.

If so

If so, I have a request

Request?

Osaki-san looks at me cautiously

Uhm, You know about Edie, the member of our bakery, the international student, right?

Yes, I know. Shes quite energetic

Shes doing martial arts, isnt she? A guy in our cla.s.s said that she won some kind of compet.i.tion the other day

And shes doing something today too, something huge in the schoolyard

You dont know? That was a ring!

I dont know much, but some professional fighters that Edie-san knows are also coming, and I heard that theyll televise it

The other club members reacted.

Edie stands out a lot so everyone knows her.

If they know about the school swimsuit judo tournament, then that makes it easier.

Yes, it will be on TV this 3, and so

I tell the choir club the idea I just came up with

Can you make that decision on your own?

Osaki-san glares at me.

No, Edie asked me earlier if I could ask the choir club a favor if Im going here anyway. I just forgot about it

Oh right, now I remember

Rei-chan also followed up on my sloppy lie.

Edie-san and I work out in the same gym so we get along. So, I also will ask the same of everyone in the choir club, please

The choir club is weak to a famous person, Rei-chan in this case, bowing to them.

Osaki-san, why dont we? We dont have any plans today anyway

Yes, we even get to hear two great performances, so we should give something in return

I mean, that also means that were showing up on TV, right?

Lets go! Prez!

Osaki-san;

Geez, I get it. Ill do it, well show up okay!

The choir club agreed to my suggestion.

Rei-chan took the spectators with her.

Thanks to that, we moved out of the music room without problems.

Were going to the usual princ.i.p.als office.

This is the only place thats always empty

The corridor to the princ.i.p.als office location is designed and built to have a flow where no students nor teacher would pa.s.s through it

Enter

Minaho-neesan unlocks the princ.i.p.als office and we entered.

Kou, get some chairs, well sit down and talk

To me, the princ.i.p.als office is a familiar place.

I took some folding chairs for everyone. Kurose Anju and Erica helped out.

Minaho-neesan went to the princ.i.p.als desk.

Neither the princ.i.p.als office nor the desk is allowed for use to that strange old man whose princ.i.p.al is in the t.i.tle.

This is the room for the board chairman of the school, and the shadow ruler, Kuromori Minahos room.

Sit down

Thank you

Yeah, Minaho-neesans sitting on the princ.i.p.als seat

Right in front of her are Marika, Matsumoto Maki-san, and Igaras.h.i.+ Izumi.

To the right are Mariko, Tsukiko, and Kurose Anju.

The left side has Erica and Matsumoto Miki-san.

Where do I sit?

Sit next to me, Kou

Minaho-neesan calls me and I carry the folding chair next to the princ.i.p.als chair.

Well, lets do greetings first. Im Kuormori Minaho. The head of the Kuomori house

Minaho-neesan introduces herself to Matsumoto-san

I do various businesses, some on the surface, others behind the scenes. This school belongs to me

This is an unusual situation, but the fact that Minaho-neesan just used the room as she pleased right in front of their eyes made Matsumoto-san accept the situation.

Im also the one supporting Takahata Marikas tuition. I think that Matsumoto-san knows that, as its been a month now

Due to Ericas house problems, Marika almost had her tuition stopped, which was coming from Ericas grandfathers state.

Currently, Minaho-neesans paying for Marikas tuition from the proceeds of taking over the blue-chip shares of the large company that Ericas grandfather owned.

And hes Kuromori Kou, my brother, and hes succeeding the Kuromori house soon

Minaho-neesan introduces me once again.

He has a lot of people with power around him. Youve seen some of them already. And, all of us, have a firm heart to do anything for him

Minaho-neesan smiles.

Seeing Margo-sans interaction with the TV crews, and Rei-chans friendly att.i.tude toward me, Matsumoto-san and the group noticed that we were out of the norm.

Furthermore, Minaho-neesans overwhelmingly dark atmosphere and att.i.tude just support the existence of our power.

From here on, youll talk to him. What you want, what you seek, and whats the price you can pay as compensation to him. Im saying this beforehand, Kuromori house isnt a charity. Were a business, and so we dont accept deals unless its equal

Right, were

Kuromori houses true nature is a criminal syndicate, but, we dont take or give one-sidedly.

We seek equivalent value.

If you can convince him, then youll receive all the help I can give. Whether its money, backing from the other side, or even something more dangerous, you can get what you see. Thats all I can promise you

Minaho-neesan said and looked at me.

Then, you can take care of the rest, Ill be watching

Yeah.

Anyway, I got to hear Matsumoto-sans performance. I dont know much about music, but I can tell that Maki-sans piano and Miki-sans violin are much better than those of the same age

I said. The Matsumoto siblings and Marika listen with a serious look.

So, I dont see it as youre Marikas friends so Ill help you out, but rather, I feel that you have a Talent thats waiting to bloom in music, so Ill make the decision based on that

Thats how Marika thinks.

She thinks that I would perceive it differently if she says I want to help a friend in need, and I want to help a friend whos talented in music

These girls are the top in their music high school, and Im sure they have a lot of pride in their music.

But, based on that recognition, what I want you to tell us is what kind of problem Matsumoto-san is in and what you want us to do about it

I can tell that they have great talent in music

So, what does she seek from us?

Matsumoto-san

Marika stares Matsumoto Maki-san.

Its okay, be honest about it

Yes, Marika-oneesama and I had our problems fixed after talking to Kou-san

Erica supports her sister from the side.

You can trust Kou-san

Erica smiled gently and Matsumoto Maki-san;

Ill talk

She prepared herself and began to talk.

Its an embarra.s.sing problem, currently, Miki and I might not be able to continue playing music

I knew that it was about that.

I figured it out from the grave mood of their ensembles.

Our Grandfather, was the owner of Matsush*ta Industry, building the drugstore chain called Matsush*ta Pharmacy

Oh, I know that one. Or rather, I own about 2k of their stock. Drugstore chains are quite promising companies

Mariko speaks from the side.

The Matsumoto siblings are elegant in their behavior and polite in their language so I know that they came from a rich family.

Besides, its hard to enter a boarding school specializing in music unless youre a daughter from a family with money.

Matsush*ta pharmacy is a company that Grandfather grew in his lifetime. However, their father didnt agree with Grandfather and started his own separate company when he was a student. Its an IT company with the name of Under Palm

I know about that company too, but I believe Under Palm was recently absorbed and merged into another large IT company

Mariko said.

Yes, thats because Father died

Their father died?

Father collapsed suddenly this spring, it was colon disease. Then, he became too ill to continue running the company so he sold the company hes nurtured for 20 years to protect the livelihood of the employees

Half a month after selling the company, Father died

Miki-san speaks sadly.

Father loved music. He had fun teaching us music, and even allowed us to go with the path of music

Father bought this violin for me

Miki-san pats her violin case with love.

I see, that mustve been painful

Mariko speaks to the Matsumoto siblings with care.

Mother had it worse, shes completely fallen bedridden due to nursing fatigue and the loss of Father

Currently, Mothers living at her familys home

Maki-san lives in the dorm in that school, but

Miki-sans staying at her mothers home.

But, Fathers company is no longer there, and our reserves are dwindling

Their father sold the IT company, so there will be no more income for them

Then, Grandfather;

Matsumoto Maki pauses for a moment.

Grandfather doesnt like music

He says that studying music is useless

The drugstore chain owner has no interest in music?

Grandfather said that hell take custody of Mother and us sisters

Uhm, we didnt ask for it, its Grandfather who wants to take us into his home no matter what

Then, hes telling us to stop studying music

Grandfathers telling Nee-san to stop on her current high school and go to a regular high school, a business-focused one that Grandfather wants

Hes telling Miki to stop playing violin too

He says that I dont need Fathers violin and hes selling it

I see. So thats it.

And so, you turned down your Grandfathers offer and want to continue with your music as before, right?

I asked.

No, Grandfather is not offering his a.s.sistance

Grandfathers giving us orders

The sisters speak with a hopeless expression.

Oh, I see. His son didnt follow what he wanted so, this time, he wants to take control of his sons daughters

Mariko said.

The music topic is irrelevant to him. He just wants his granddaughters to do what he wants

I think so too

My mother was like that.

She doesnt find value in my existence, and yet

She takes control of me, saying that I cant leave the room, or have only a single cardboard box of belongings

I dont mind not continuing to play the piano. My talent isnt that much, but my sister, Mikis different

Maki-san, whos at the top rank when it comes to piano, has said.

Making Miki stops playing her violin would be too much. So, putting me aside, please help Miki so she can continue playing her violin!

The elder of the siblings bows her head.

No, Im okay, Onee-san should

What are you talking about? Dont mind me. But Im sure that even Father would feel sad if Mikis talent is wasted

Then.

Indeed, Miki-sans talent is splendid. You wont find someone in your age who can play as well as herIn j.a.pan that is

Minaho-neesan said.

Right, compared to the ranked first in her piano in high school, the younger sister is much more amazing.

If we leave Mikis violin at home, Grandfather might take it away and dispose of it without permission, so I keep it with me in my private room at the dorm

Today, Nee-san brought Fathers violin

Even Grandfather cant enter the girls dorm in our high school. However, if I were to leave my current school, I would have to leave my dorm too

And if were taken by Grandfather, fathers violin will get sold. I dont want that1

I can feel the sorrow of these sisters.

Everyone in the dorm already know that Father pa.s.sed away, and I told some of my friends that I might have to quit school, thats when Takahata-san approached me

Matsumoto Maki-san looked at Marika.

Seeing Matsumoto-sans struggle, Marika called out to her.

And so, Takahata-san told us that she received support from Kuromori-sama, which enabled her to continue going to school. And, uhm, Im aware that its a very generous offer, but she told me that we could receive help too

I didnt believe it at first, but, I told Takahata-san my story

Anyway, since we had no other contacts to help, I decided to put my faith in Takahata-sans story and came here today

Marika knows that she cant explain the details of the Kuromori house to Matsumoto-san.

You cant say that were running a high-cla.s.s brothel for political and business VIPs.

She cant talk about the connection with the Kouzuki house either.

She mustve used theyre connected to wealthy people, and theyre involved in various business when talking.

That kind of explanation would make it hard to believe.

Still, the Matsumoto siblings believed in Marika and they came here today.

Thats all I have to say

Matsumoto Maki-san said.

But

Really? Is that all?

Minaho-neesan?

Matsumoto Maki-san, did you believe Marika-sans story because you had no other contacts that could help you? And?

Minaho-neesan looked at Marika.

Marika-san, did you introduce Matsumoto-san to Kou just because your cla.s.smate was in trouble?

Thats

I believe you still havent told us the most important one?

The most important?

Oh, I see. I got it now!

Mariko claps her hands.

What is it, Mariko?

I asked her right away.

Theres something thats been bothering me. Jasmine-chan wanted Kou to hear Matsumoto-sans performance before talking

Thats because she wanted me to see Matsumoto-sans talents before I get any weird preconceptions, right?

I said.

Really? Because we already had an idea when we talked to Matsumoto-san in the cafeteria that they have some kind of problem, and that perhaps it was a financial problem

Now that you mention it.

I mean, Marika brought these sisters who looked gloomy.

I figured out that they wanted me to help them with something.

Thats not what Jasmine has in mind

Mariko looks at Kurose Anju.

Hey, Kurose-san, for example, you have this professional football player that youre a big fan of

In case Kurose Anju is a fan of a football athlete?

What do you tell your close friends about that athlete?

Kurose Anju;

Well, Ive never been a fan of anyone so I dont know if this would help

Give us an answer

O-Okay, Id tell my friend about my favorite athlete, and let them watch the game hes playing, or even record it so they can see him in action

Kurose Anju said.

As expected, you want them to know how cool they are, right?

Yes, thats right

Mariko looked at Marika.

Meaning, Jasmine-chan wanted Kou to hear Matsumoto-sans piano performance

Err.

Hmm.

Wait?

Jasmine-chan is into Matsumoto Maki-san!