"I'm going to the restroom~"
Chika waved to her two sisters. Kei and Moeha, who were confused with sleepiness, responded feebly.
She yawned as she closed the door, yet her voice was louder than usual—
That was close!
Chika leaned against the door, exhaling a long breath. Thinking back to the conversation just now, she covered her burning cheeks.
"I was almost misunderstood! If those two had figured it out, I would have died of embarrassment!
Kei-chan didn't notice, did she? Luckily, I handled it very naturally~
Humph! I really am amazing for coming up with that on the spot!"
In truth, she really didn't know what kind of person she would "love." If one talked about preferences, there wasn't anyone who particularly moved her heart, so when asked, her mind had gone blank.
But her pride as an "older sister" didn't allow her to back down at such a moment, so she engaged in a little artistic embellishment—
She subconsciously thought of Ryu, and then casually picked a few of his good points.
However, Kei might have still sensed something was wrong. That line, "Someone like Ryu-senpai," was obviously teasing her!
But she had muddled through in the end~
Kei-chan is so sharp. I'll have to be careful in front of her in the future—but as expected, I'm still a cut above!
Want to trick me? No way!
As for Shirogane Kei revealing her true feelings or something, she hadn't considered that possibility at all.
Because based on her observations, compared to her sister, Ryu probably paid more attention to the Shirogane family's older brother. All day long saying things like 'useful tool man' or 'high-quality corporate slave'—the meaning was unclear~
But then again, the person I like, huh...
Chika leaned on the sink, lifting her face to look at herself in the mirror.
The blushing girl looked as shy and cute as a heroine in a romance novel, but her wavering eyes seemed to tell of her chaotic and unclear heart.
She was already seventeen. It seemed too early to talk about marriage at this age, and as a daughter of the Fujiwara family, if she wanted to get a boyfriend, it would be difficult to pass her parents' inspection. Especially her father—that diplomat who was both a daughter-con and a stickler for rules.
However, she had been hanging out with Ryu since childhood, and her family had never interfered with this. She wasn't an idiot; she understood what her parents meant. Even if they weren't overly enthusiastic, they were at least happy to see it happen.
If the partner were Ryu, the family probably wouldn't have any objections.
But Chika herself still couldn't figure it out, nor did she have any thought of changing their current relationship.
Once, when discussing the topic of romance with Ruri, Chika had encouraged her to be proactive, yet she herself was inexplicably touched, even to the point of a stinging nose and swelling eyes.
But she couldn't be sure if that was the budding of romantic love or simply a fit of possessiveness.
In the end, what should the feeling of love taste like?
Me and Ryu-chan... will we have that day?
Chika closed her eyes and imagined in detail what kind of life she would lead if she became a couple with Ryu.
Slowly, the girl's expression melted like candy, her mouth and brows relaxing into a shapeless mess~
Kuse Chika? Sounds pretty good too.
Ryu-chan's family are big merchants; he will definitely inherit the family business in the future. His wife's burden will also be heavy.
Fortunately, I am also wise, insightful, and diligent. Being a virtuous internal assistant to help manage the company and making the Kuse Group bigger and stronger shouldn't be a problem.
The only concern is that there might not be that much time to relax then. But Ryu-chan's mother doesn't look overly overworked either; she's maintained extremely well among her peers, so it shouldn't be that hard.
Feels nice~
The two of us wearing traditional kimonos, holding a cute little baby in my arms. When taking a family photo, I lean into his embrace, our eyes meet, and I call out coquettishly, "Honey."
And he would also say very gently, "Thank you for your hard work, Ruri"—
"?"
Hmm!!!
Fujiwara Chika snapped her eyes open. The phantom from her mind seemed to remain on the mirror:
A gentle woman in an elegant kimono, her long black hair swaying as she snuggled into the man's arms—
"That's not right!"
Why did someone else appear in my fantasy!!!
"Ouch! M-My pinky toe..."
...Strange noises came from the restroom, but fortunately, the two little ones were already fast asleep; otherwise, Miss Chika's reputation might have been compromised.
***
Ryu was completely unaware that in someone's fantasy, he had become a "cheating man" who abandoned his childhood friend to marry the mysterious transfer student. He was currently busy testing the effects of [Initiative]. The time he spent at the company had noticeably increased, but for the moment, no change in employee performance could be seen.
There was more than just Chika who had worries. For example, Yuuki Asuna could guess her family's thoughts, but she herself had no designs on Ryu; instead, she faintly felt fear toward him.
Or take the idol group "[Back Street Girls]." They... cough, she... they were in a critical period of rising popularity. At the same time, they had to balance live performances, training, cheering events, and work for local TV stations. The schedule was exceptionally tight.
Not long ago, an internal problem arose. Number Four had a mental breakdown for some reason, causing a lot of trouble.
Fortunately, after being locked in the "Magical Wonder House" by the Group Leader for three days and three nights of brainwashing, she had barely recovered. After coming out, she seemed to have a sense of giving up on everything, and actually worked twice as hard.
"Good, good~ Keep up this state, and you guys will definitely get famous! Earn me money endlessly, you bastards! Hahahaha!"
The Yakuza boss of the Inukin Group, a man rotten to the core in both soul and personality, slapped Number Four hard on the back and walked away smugly, leaving the "[Back Street Girls]" quartet with dark lines on their faces.
They all had unspeakable secrets. The three senior members were originally Yakuza members (actually, they still belonged to the Inukin Group). Because they made a mistake, family law was executed upon them... or so it should have been.
Boss Inukin, for some unknown reason, heard that the idol industry was very profitable and planned to expand into it. He conveniently sent these three to Thailand for a magnificent "transformation"... and the result was what they are now.
The three, who had been reborn in every sense, originally thought they had fallen into hell. Unexpectedly, it was even worse than that—
They actually got famous!
Dammit, we accidentally became too popular!
That plastic surgeon is too awesome, isn't he?! Bastard!
Suddenly earning huge profits, the Group Leader would be even less likely to let them go. Waiting for the three of them was endless hellish special training and bottomless exploitation that would make a slave owner weep!
However, even if their bodies and minds had become idols, they believed their souls were still pure Yakuza!
"Would the members of [Back Street Girls] please come this way," a staff member called out.
"Okay~"
"Thank you~"
"Mmhmm~"
—Full of naive charm. The current three "brothers" were already very skilled; they could enter the state at any time, simply like instinct.
"Aiko, stop spacing out."
"Oh, understood!"
"Sigh..."
The one occupying the Center position in the group was the original trio's boss, now renamed "Airi."
What she was concerned about now was Number Four, who had just joined the team not long ago—Aiko, nicknamed Ai-chan.
As far as she knew, Aiko wasn't originally from the Yakuza. Although she never revealed her background, judging from her speech and mannerisms, she was definitely some elite white-collar worker, maybe a doctor or a scholar.
It was no wonder she couldn't accept her current situation~
Why such a person from the upper class would fall into the hands of a gang, Airi didn't want to explore deeply. It was probably just embezzlement or being a snitch; nothing unusual.
As the leader of the team, she had the responsibility to cheer up the members!
This was also for the sake of Aiko's little life!
"Haven't calmed down yet?"
Airi deliberately fell a step behind, coming to Aiko's side and nudging her lightly with her elbow.
"Pull yourself together. Otherwise, the Boss won't let us off. I don't want to see you sunk into Tokyo Bay!"
"Ah, sorry, just... I understand." Aiko glanced at her, revealing an embarrassed smile full of apology, but a trace of gloom flashed in her eyes.
These newhalfs are at it again. Don't put on a look like you care about me; you're just afraid of collateral damage, right?
—Sugou Aiko was filled with disdain for the "[Back Street Girls]."
She was different from the "three sisters." She didn't come from the streets but had fallen from the clouds to the bottom of the valley. Even if their identities were identical now, she never felt she was on the same level as the others.
In the end, she didn't need anyone's pity at all!
She had survived that painful period after the surgery all by herself too!
The concern and help Airi and the others showed Sugou were simply humiliation to her!
Sluts!
Why are you looking at me with those eyes like you're looking at something pitiful? I'm not empty-headed idiots like you!
You guys fell to this step because of your own stupidity; I was just unlucky!
And you guys have accepted your fate. I haven't yet!
As long as the knowledge in this brain remains, sooner or later, sooner or later...
"Is it about the past?"
"Eh? Mm... I remembered a little bit."
The current situation was that "[Back Street Girls]" and several other idol groups were visiting the venue where a large-scale event would be held in a few days. In the coming days, they would rehearse here repeatedly to ensure nothing went wrong—after all, it was a big company's order, and the manager attached great importance to it.
The venue was large and there were many people. No one noticed the two of them lagging behind. Seeing no one around, Airi asked Sugou Aiko in a low voice.
"Still can't let it go, as expected?"
"..."
"But there's no helping it. No matter what happened before, we are 'idols' now. Absolutely do not delude yourself about turning back!"
—After all, the things lost could not be retrieved, whether it was a man's guts or a man's root.
"I don't... I just feel a bit nostalgic."
Aiko didn't want to tell Airi her true thoughts, so she replied perfunctorily: "To tell you the truth, actually I was also a m... I used to be very good-looking. There were even scouts asking me to be an idol. I refused, of course. I didn't expect that after going in a circle, I would end up in this form..."
—This was a lie!
Sugou Nobuyuki had never had such an experience, and his appearance could only be described as relatively regular, still far from the level of actors and idols.
After the surgery, the looks had indeed improved greatly~
"Hehe~"
Airi nodded with a bitter smile, feeling deep empathy: "I occasionally think that too. Ah, I wasn't invited by scouts, but if I had to say... my ex-girlfriend said my voice was very magnetic, very suitable for voicing tough guy characters."
"Oh?"
"Ahem~ For example... You bastard!"
Airi lowered her throat. Using a vocal mimicry technique, she actually produced a very mellow, deep male voice, full of power. The image of a muscular handsome man seemed to leap out in one's mind.
"[You bastard... there is only one reason you failed, and that is you angered me!]"
So, so cool!
Aiko's heart skipped a beat, feeling like her cheeks were about to blush—this damn hormone!
Because of the surgery, they now needed to inject hormones from time to time to keep this female appearance from deteriorating. Occasionally, there would be some uncontrollable physiological reactions.
"Amazing... it really feels hard-boiled! I-I can do it too!"
Inexplicably having her competitive spirit aroused, Aiko also pinched her throat, coughing lightly a few times to adjust her vocal range.
They didn't become idols just by relying on their looks. Their voices, postures, and expressions were all thoroughly trained to be cute girls, and they underwent strict training. Vocal mimicry was an extremely important part—they had to cover up their original voices well.
"Actually, everyone said my voice has a wonderful charm, very suitable for being that kind of beautiful villain...
[CoCo, human abilities have limits. One thing I learned in this short life... the more one schemes, the easier it is to fall into unexpected predicaments...]"
"Wow! So flavorful. Isn't this that very famous villain's line!"
Airi jumped for joy: "But if applied to us, it becomes [I stop being a man!]—Hahaha~"
"Hmph~"
"You're pretty good at this~
That's right, in the future, we can also try taking voice acting jobs. Anime and local movies might not work, but something like dubbing for foreign films!"
"[Monkeys can never surpass humans, CoCo!]"
The jubilant Airi didn't notice the teasing look in Sugou's eyes: "[And you, to me, are nothing but a monkey!]"
"Heh You're really arrogant"
Airi kept her voice low and punched her lightly: "Ora!"
"Muda!"
"Ora Ora~"
"Muda Muda Muda~"
Hmm?!
Ryu suddenly looked up, glancing around in confusion.
An illusion?
Is this a Stand attack? Why do I hear Jotaro and Dio flirting?
!
I-It must be a hallucination because I'm too tired, right?
"Eh? Dad, did you say something just now?" The silver-haired girl looked back strangely at her father following behind.
The middle-aged man with dead-fish eyes, wearing a suit and looking like a white-collar worker, shook his head in surprise: "No, you must have misheard."
"Hmm?"
"Also, how many times have I said it? Address me by my title when we are outside!
Right now, I am just a venue staff member, responsible for receiving Lord Kuse."
The Shirogane siblings' father spoke strictly, instructing his daughter: "If you don't want to call me 'Manager Shirogane,' you can also use my English name—Mr. Brando."
________________________________________
Get rewarded for helping with our community goals!
🎯 Reward for all: +1 bonus chapter at 50 Powerstones.
🚀 Tier Reward: Help us reach 20 members for +5 chapters on all stories!
🔥 20% CODE: MEDUSA2
👻 Join the crew by searching Ms. Medusa on (P). You know the spot! 😉