Chima-chan's After-School Love! ~The Cat-Eared Transfer Student is a Diva~ - The Cat-Eared Diva and the Prince's Declaration of War, and the Blade of Discipline

The air in the music prep room trembled faintly. From beyond the door, a voice could be heard. A voice that was expansive, yet sharp enough to slice through the air. "……" Ayase Haruto stopped his fingers on the keyboard. The individual practice room next door. The place where, that day, the sound of an unidentified piano had come from. "Haruto-kun, did you hear that just now?" Chima's cat ears stood up straight, as if tracking the direction of the sound. Her large, bluish-gray eyes were opened wide and round. "……Yeah." "What an amazing voice. It makes my whole body tingle." Chima hugged her own shoulders tightly. *(Tingle, huh.)* Haruto felt the same way. That singing voice had a power that made the listener's body tremble from the inside. Not just technique. Something more fundamental. "……Want to go see?" "Yeah!" The two of them left the music prep room. The hallway was utterly silent. After school, the fourth floor was already nearly deserted. The October sunlight slanting through the windows cast long, thin shadows on the floor. They arrived in front of the individual practice room. The singing continued. Italian lyrics. An opera aria, perhaps. Haruto felt like he had heard it before in music class. He peered through the small window in the door. Inside was a male student singing, his light brown hair swaying. Soft, semi-long hair. The strands tucked behind his ears floated up gently with his movements. His eyes were closed, singing as if in prayer. "……Fuwa, Minato." Haruto murmured the name quietly. Second-year music student. Fuwa Minato. A prodigy among the music students, skilled at both piano and violin. With his handsome looks and affable demeanor, he was known as the "Prince of the Music Department." The moment his voice sliced through the air at its highest note— Minato suddenly opened his eyes. His light brown eyes, narrowed like crescent moons, stared directly at the small window in the door. "……Were you listening?" A soft voice, like a song. Haruto opened the door. "Sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt." "Interrupt? Not at all. In fact, I wanted someone to hear it." Minato walked slowly toward them. He twirled the conductor's baton in his right hand like a pen. "You're Ayase-kun, right? The library committee member." "……You know me?" "I've known about you for a long time. There's a rumor that you play piano in the music prep room where no one can hear you. And also—" Minato's gaze shifted to Chima, who stood as if hiding behind Haruto. "I know about you too. Machida Chima-san. The cat-eared diva who made students cry one after another at the Hanamizuki Plaza." "Eh, ah, yes. I'm Machida Chima." Chima bowed her head with a small bob. Her cat ears twitched. "So they really are real ears. Amazing. Even the way they move is cute." "Ehehe, that's right. They're my individuality." *(Individuality, huh.)* Haruto glanced at Chima's profile. The day the head of the discipline committee would deem these cat ears "accessories" might not be far off. No. Right now, the man in front of him was the issue. "……So, what do you want?" Haruto stepped forward, positioning himself in front of Minato. "I do have business. I want you to hear me out." Minato stood directly in front of Chima. "Machida-san. I want to hear your song again." "Eh? My song?" "Yes. The song you sang here the other day. I heard it from beyond the door. In that moment, something inside me broke. No—it was broken. By your song. My music was—" Minato's voice grew heated. "Your song isn't about technique. It has the power to move the heart directly. Everything I'd spent years building was overturned by a single song. It was frustrating. But more than that, I was happy." "H-Happy?" Chima's eyes were wide with bewilderment. "Yes. Until now, no matter whose singing I heard, my heart never moved. But your song is different. The moment I heard your song, for the first time in my life, I thought, 'I want to sing with this person.'" Minato took Chima's hand. "Machida-san. I've fallen for your song. Face me in a contest of song." "Eeeeeh!?" Chima's cat ears stood on end in surprise. "W-Wait a minute. A contest? What? What do you mean?" "Exactly what it sounds like. Your song versus mine. Which one can move people's hearts more. Let's settle it at the school festival's Diva Contest." "The Diva Contest……!" "I'm serious. I want to surpass you—your very existence—through music. And I want to stand closest to your song." Minato's light brown eyes gazed at Chima with earnest intensity. Chima, though bewildered, couldn't look away from that gaze. *(This guy's serious.)* Haruto looked at Minato's profile. The Prince of the Music Department. Aloof, hard to pin down. That was all he'd ever heard. But the man before him now made no attempt to hide a sharpness like a beast stalking its prey. "……Don't just decide things on your own." Haruto stepped between Minato and Chima. "Chima just transferred here. She hasn't even decided whether she'll enter the Diva Contest." "Oh, you step forward, accompanist." "……Accompanist?" "I mean you. You play keyboard beside Machida-san, don't you? I saw you two. The other day, practicing on the rooftop. It was a well-coordinated performance. But—" Minato took a step closer to Haruto. "Your accompaniment is killing her voice." "……What did you say?" "Her voice should be freer than that. Your playing is precise, but it has no heart. It's safe, by-the-book accompaniment. That halves the power of her song." A sharp pain pricked deep in Haruto's chest. "……What do you know?" "I know. Because I play piano too. There's fear in your sound. You unconsciously avoid putting emotion into it. As if you're afraid to touch the keys." Haruto felt his breath stop. He'd hit the mark. Ever since losing his mother, he hadn't been able to play piano in front of others. He'd become afraid to put emotion into sound. "……Shut up." "Machida-san. Your song deserves a far better accompanist. I'm aiming for that position." Minato smiled at Chima as he said it. "Funya…… um, I like Haruto-kun's accompaniment, you know?" Chima timidly raised her hand. "Haruto-kun's piano is warm and gentle, and it supports my singing. So I don't think it's killing anything." "……Chima." Warmth spread through Haruto's chest. "I see. But if that's the case, then all the more reason to face me. Don't you want to test whether the power of your song can beat my music?" "A contest…… huh." Chima folded her cat ears down and thought. "……Okay. I'll face Minato-kun in a contest of song." "Chima!?" "Because I want to make everyone smile with my singing! If I sing against someone as amazing as Minato-kun, maybe I can get even better. And besides, I won't lose." Chima huffed, flaring her nostrils. "Haha, I like it. That's the spirit. It's settled then, Machida-san. At the school festival's Diva Contest, we'll let the entire student body hear your song and mine." Minato extended his hand to Chima. "A handshake to seal the promise." "Yeah!" Chima grasped Minato's hand. Haruto could only watch the scene in silence. *(Accompanist, huh.)* Minato's words remained lodged in his chest, refusing to come out. *(Am I killing Chima's song?)* --- The next day, during lunch break. The Hanamizuki Plaza was noisier than usual. "Did you hear? Fuwa-kun from the music department confessed to the transfer student." "Eh, confessed!?" "No, no, he asked her to face him in a contest of song." "Isn't that basically a confession? He said 'I've fallen for your song.'" "Kyaa—the Prince has gotten serious!?" Students sitting on benches whispered rumors among themselves. *(It's only been a day, and it's already like this.)* Haruto sat on a bench at the edge of the courtyard, a Seiran anpan from the school store in one hand. "Haru, I heard. Things have gotten crazy." Her honey-colored bob swaying, Hoshikawa Sara hurried over at a light jog. Her large, droopy brown eyes gazed at Haruto with concern. "Sara. It's not a big deal. Chima just accepted the contest on her own." "But it's Fuwa-kun, right? The Prince of the Music Department. His singing ability is seriously amazing. Is Chima-chan going to be okay?" "……She'll be fine. Chima is strong." Haruto bit into his anpan. "……Haru, you seem kind of happy when it comes to Chima-chan." "Huh? Happy?" "Because your face gets a little softer. When you talk about Chima-chan." Sara sat at the edge of the bench and clasped her fingers on her lap. "……That's not true." "It is. I've been watching you since kindergarten, Haru. I can tell." Sara's voice trembled slightly. "Sara, what's wrong?" "……It's nothing. Sorry, that was weird of me." Sara forced a smile. That was when— "Oh my, isn't that Chima over there?" A dignified voice rang through the courtyard. Her long black hair flowing in the wind, Yomi Rena walked forward. Her sharp, narrow purple eyes were fixed keenly on the center of the courtyard. At the end of that gaze stood Chima—and Fuwa Minato. "Stay away from Chima." Rena planted herself in front of Minato. "Oh, Yomi-san. Are you a fan of Machida-san too?" "A fan? It's not something that shallow. Chima is my princess. I will protect her. I can't let someone like you—a man who beguiles people with song—anywhere near her." "Beguiles people with song, is it? That's mutual, isn't it? Your obsession with Chima-san is also the result of being beguiled by her song, no?" "Don't talk about Chima's song as if it were something dirty. That song is pure and beautiful. It's fundamentally different from your ambition." "What exactly are you calling ambition? I genuinely fell for her song. That's all. Moving hearts with song requires no one's permission." "I will protect Chima. I won't hand her over to you." "Protect? If you think locking her song in a cage is protection, then you understand nothing." "Wh—!" Rena's expression changed in an instant. "Y-You two, no fighting!" Chima stepped between them. "Chima, stay back. This isn't your problem." "But you're fighting because of me! So it IS my problem!" "Chima……! Ahh, you're so kind. You'd say that for my sake……!" Rena's sharp gaze melted into something saccharine. "Hey, hey, we're getting off track. I'm going to face Machida-san in a contest of song. No one can stop that." "I'll stop it." "How? Do you have the nerve to face me in song?" "……If it's singing, I can—" Rena's words caught for a moment. "See, there it is. You can't fight with song. All you can do is hover around her and intimidate anyone who gets in the way." "Why you—!" Rena moved to grab Minato. "W-Wait a minute, you two!" Sara jumped between them. "……Hoshikawa-san?" "Listen, Rena-chan, Minato-kun—think about the people around you! And stop making trouble for Haru!" "……Haru?" "Haru belongs to me! I won't forgive anyone who makes trouble for him!" Sara planted her hands on her hips and glared at the two of them. "……Hoshikawa-san, what are you talking about?" "Oh, and here comes another troublesome one." "Troublesome!? I'm Haru's childhood friend and his number one understander!" "Understander? What exactly do you understand about Ayase-kun?" "That Haru has loved piano since he was little, but he's embarrassed to play in front of people, and he's always reading books in the library, and he actually likes sweets, and he's weak in the mornings—" "Oi, Sara, stop!" Haruto hurriedly tried to cover Sara's mouth. "I see. Childhood friends really do have a lot of information. Interesting." "This isn't funny. Exposing Ayase-kun's personal information in a place like this—aren't you ashamed?" "I'm the one who knows Haru better than anyone! Even Chima-chan barely knows anything about Haru yet!" "Eh, me?" Chima tilted her head with a blank expression. "Chima-chan just transferred here—it

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Episode 4

Name: Chima-chan's After-School Love! ~The Cat-Eared Transfer Student is a Diva~
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