Real World, Sakiko's Bedroom
"Well done, Mutsumi."
Fuuki withdrew his hand from Wakaba Mutsumi's head, a genuine, heartfelt smile on his face, and clapped three times in admiration.
"As a friend, I'm glad to see you successfully master it."
As his words fell, the azure glow filling the room receded rapidly like a tide, converging behind Mutsumi.
It was no longer the ferocious, stitched, unstable beastly phantom from before.
Instead, it was a more condensed, clearly outlined, azure humanoid silhouette with a cold metallic texture and a sense of high-speed flow. It floated silently behind Mutsumi, like a loyal and majestic guardian spirit, emanating a stable and powerful aura.
Excellent speed and precision, these two qualities were almost perfectly embodied in it.
Just then—
Click.
The bedroom doorknob turned.
"Mutsumi? Fuuki? Why do you two always like to hang out in my..." Togawa Sakiko pushed the door open, carrying a bit of fatigue from returning home after school and her habitual grumbling.
However, her words were cut short, stuck in her throat.
Because Togawa Fuuki, who always had a cold face and eyes that seemed to evaluate everything, was now standing in front of her, wearing a smile... she had never seen before, a smile so "bright and sunny" it was eerie!
"Oh my, our Sakiko-chan is home~" Fuuki's voice also changed, deliberately raised, with an overly sweet and cloying concern, speaking in a strained voice, like a well-meaning big brother from a bad stage play.
"How was school today? Were your classes smooth? Did you have fun with your new friends? Are you tired? Do you want your brother to make you a cup of your favorite black tea?" As he spoke, he very naturally used his body to block Sakiko's view into the room.
Sakiko was dizzy from his sudden "sunny demeanor" and the barrage of solicitous questions, her light golden eyes filled with shock and bewilderment.
She was stunned for a full two or three seconds before she suddenly snapped back to reality, and a strong sense of suspicion replaced her astonishment.
"To-ga-wa Fuu-ki!" Sakiko enunciated each word, narrowing her eyes warily.
"Did you take the wrong medicine today? Or did you burn your brain out with a fever?" She tried to bypass this blocking, sunny weirdo, "Why are you blocking me? You're being sneaky, did you do something bad in my room?!"
"What are you talking about, Sakiko-chan?" Fuuki's smile remained unchanged, but his body was like a flexible wall, precisely blocking Sakiko's prying eyes again.
"I heard our lovely Sakiko-chan made new friends today, so as a brother, I naturally have to be more enthusiastic to leave a good impression, right?" His reason was ample, his tone sincere.
"Good impression?" Sakiko almost laughed in anger, trying to break through from the other side.
"No need! Your usual cold demeanor is the best impression!" She suddenly feigned a move to the left, and taking advantage of Fuuki's slight shift in balance, she nimbly ducked down, like a slippery fish, and darted under his arm!
Sakiko successfully infiltrated the "forbidden zone," her gaze sweeping across the entire room like a searchlight—the desk drawers were tightly closed, their surface as smooth as new; stationery and books were neatly arranged, even more so than when she left in the morning; the floor was spotless, and even a small piece of paper she had accidentally dropped in the corner was gone.
And Wakaba Mutsumi was sitting quietly at the desk, holding an open Japanese language textbook, her long hair falling over her shoulders, her eyes focused on the pages, as if she had never left that spot.
Hearing the commotion, the girl slowly raised her head to look at Sakiko, her eyes calm and unruffled, with a hint of just the right amount of confusion.
Everything... was too normal.
Sakiko frowned suspiciously, her gaze darting back and forth between Fuuki and Mutsumi.
Finally, she locked her scrutinizing gaze back on Fuuki's still-faked smile.
"Mutsumi is back... and there's nothing strange about it..."
"Then why were you blocking me just now? And making that 'Oh my~' face?"
Fuuki's smile remained fixed, even more amiable, and he raised his hand, wanting to naturally rub Sakiko's head, but Sakiko quickly dodged it with a look of disgust.
"No particular reason. It's just that I'm exceptionally happy to see my dear sister come home from school."
Sakiko: "..."
She couldn't help but rub the non-existent goosebumps on her arms, feeling that Fuuki today was definitely possessed by some evil spirit.
As Sakiko was being led astray, Fuuki was also surveying the tidiness of the room, secretly musing:
'Wakaba Mutsumi, indeed possesses astonishing talent.'
Fuuki's gaze subtly swept over the quietly reading girl, marveling inwardly.
'In such a short time, not only did she successfully master the Stand, but she can also control it to such a precise degree... She's practically a tailor-made vessel for this Stand!'
He had only speculated before, but now, seeing it with his own eyes, he truly felt Mutsumi's terrifying, almost instinctive talent in Stand control. That violent power, in her hands, could become so stable and efficient.
'Moreover, the Stand's appearance has also changed due to Mutsumi's mental power, which is worth further observation.'
'From now on, its name will no longer be 'Ride The Lightning'...'
''Lightning Rider' is more fitting!'
Amidst his admiration, Fuuki's gaze passed over Sakiko and landed on the slightly constrained figure in the hallway outside the door.
Short, grayish-purple hair, eyes with a timid, small-animal-like quality, she was nervously fiddling with the hem of her clothes, curiously yet uneasily peeking at the "sibling interaction" scene in the room.
The new friend Sakiko mentioned was none other than Takamatsu Tomori, whom Fuuki had seen earlier at Asukayama Park!
Seemingly sensing Fuuki's gaze, Takamatsu Tomori raised her orange-pink eyes and met Fuuki's looking gaze. She seemed to be momentarily dazzled by the overly "sunny" smile on Fuuki's face, slightly stunned, and then, as if infected by this "warm" family atmosphere, her tense little face relaxed, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously curved into a shallow arc.
"Sakiko and her brother... have such a good relationship."
Her voice was soft, yet it clearly entered the room.
Fuuki's smile also became more brilliant (and more deliberate).
"It's very good~"
"Huh? Tomori, it's not like that at all..."
She looked at Fuuki's "model brother" facade, then at Tomori's innocent smile at the doorway, which she believed to be real, and felt a sense of powerless absurdity swirling in her heart.
This interlude, led by Fuuki and perfectly executed by Mutsumi, finally came to a safe conclusion.
A little later, the group gathered around the tea table in the living room on the first floor.
Sakiko, still fuming, glared at Fuuki, deciding to temporarily ignore this strangely behaving guy. She cleared her throat and turned her gaze to Tomori, who was sitting beside her, still a bit reserved, and her eyes rekindled with enthusiastic light.
"Tomori." Sakiko's voice returned to its usual crisp vitality, carrying an infectious quality.
"This is my childhood friend, Wakaba Mutsumi, whom I mentioned to you before, and Fuuki, who is beginning to resemble a human." She briefly introduced (and maligned) them, then eagerly cut to the chase.
"Do you remember what I told you? About forming a band!"
Tomori nodded gently, her eyes brightened for a moment, then quickly lowered, her fingers unconsciously caressing the rim of the teacup.
Sakiko leaned slightly forward, her voice filled with excitement and an almost reverent admiration:
"Tomori's most amazing quality is her ability to use words... to write out the truest voice from her heart! Those confusions and cries that others dare not speak, cannot speak, or bury deep within their hearts... she can unearth them like treasures and turn them into shining words!"
Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Tomori, as if she were introducing a rare treasure.
"Just like when we first met today, on the pedestrian bridge..." Sakiko's voice unconsciously softened a bit, as if recalling that somewhat reckless yet dramatic first encounter.
"Later, Tomori invited me to her house, and I saw the lyrics you wrote in your notebook. The power of those words, I still remember vividly. They aren't ordinary lyrics, but voices from the heart!"
Sakiko's emotions grew more fervent, and she gently raised her hand, as if to grasp the thing she had always pursued in her heart.
"So, I want to form a band, a band that belongs to us, a band that can express our true feelings!"
Her voice was clear and firm, like sunlight piercing through clouds, and her whole being seemed enveloped in a pure and fervent light.
"We will use the most authentic music to sing the voices in our hearts, to sing those hidden cries!"
Fuuki and Mutsumi listened quietly, both of them, with extreme tacit agreement, almost synchronously picked up their teacups, and under the guise of drinking tea, secretly exchanged a glance.
"Did you hear? The cries from the heart... the fragments of the soul..."
"...Mm."
"If we add masks and a blood moon..."
"...Ave Mujica?"
The scene described in the notes simultaneously appeared in their minds.
The brighter and more beautiful and shining the vision Sakiko described, the more uncontrollably their minds conjured up Sakiko's own handwriting: "Blood Moon Restoration," "Broken Puppets," "Spiral Staircase"... and finally that eerie title—Ave Mujica.
Sakiko keenly caught the brief and strange exchange of glances between the two, and she wrinkled her nose in dissatisfaction: "Fuuki-kun and Mutsumi, is there anything you didn't understand?"
"I have no objections. It's... a unique concept."
Mutsumi also gently shook her head, saying softly: "...No."
Tomori, on the other hand, was completely immersed in the vision Sakiko described, her orange-pink eyes sparkling like they were filled with stars. She softly, yet very seriously, echoed: "Mm... connecting souls with music... it feels good."
She seemed to already see the world that belonged to them.
As for whether that world would have a blood moon and masks?
That was not within the little penguin's scope of thought for now.
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