Before the Concert

"Seriously~ I'm starting to feel that our family is being way too much! They didn't tell us anything at all!"

Chika exclaimed indignantly while grabbing Kaguya's hand.

"Kaguya-san, did you know that Homura-kun isn't just good at drawing manga? He's into programming, music, singing, and so much more!"

"Really?!" Kaguya exclaimed, holding onto Chika's hand in surprise. "Is this the same Minamiya-kun we know? I've never heard of this!"

"It's because our family kept it all secret..." Chika muttered under her breath.

'It's important for Hayasaka to investigate some information. I can't rely on my family for anything.' Kaguya thought while frowning.

"Oh, by the way, there will be songs written by Homura during today's concert." Eriri added additional information.

"Wow, that's something to look forward to!" Chika's eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Wait, what? Minamiya-sensei is writing songs too?" Uruka's expression matched the astonishment. "That's an unexpected bonus! Heehee!"

"Right." Elf nodded. "But the opening song definitely isn't written by Homura."

"It's probably the one everyone knows already..." Nanami said with a smile.

"Yes, the very first one..." Mashiro added, her face full of anticipation.

"The one that started everything." Megumi smiled and looked at the changing van, then at the passersby who seemed to be drawn to them, and finally at Homura.

As if sensing something, Homura pulled out his phone and quickly snapped a picture!

"..."

'Was he taking a picture of us? Why suddenly take a photo in our direction?' Megumi thought puzzled.

Homura checked the photo.

'Well, it's a bit far, better zoom in!'

Luckily, the resolution was amazing, and Megumi's smile was unmistakable. After taking the screenshot of the zoomed photo, Homura sent it to every member of Another Dimension.

Elf, Megumi, Eriri, Utaha, Sagiri, Mashiro, Nanami, Izumi, and Nayuta's phones all rang simultaneously. As Muramasa hadn't a phone, no sound came from hers.

They clicked the notification with curiosity and were all shocked to see Megumi's expression!

"Megumi actually smiled in secret?!" Eriri's mouth hung open in surprise as if seeing something unbelievable!

Megumi was once again left speechless. What on earth was this about smiling in secret?

"Megumi-nee is so pretty when she smiles!" Izumi was equally amazed. It was her first time seeing Megumi smile, and she was bubbling with charm!

"What surprised me the most is still Homura..." Elf looked at Homura, who was still busy. "How on earth did he manage to spot Megumi's smile from so far away? He didn't even look in this direction!"

"Could it be that Senpai overheard us talking?" Nayuta speculated. "And then he guessed that Megumi-nee might smile, so he took the picture?"

Chika seemed to be reading an incomprehensible book. Why didn't she understand what they meant? Megumi smiled? So what? Was that so strange? Moreover, did Homura-kun really hear them talking? He's so far away!

As she thought like that, Chika stared at Homura and asked in a soft voice.

"Homura-kun, can you hear me?"

Kaguya and Moeha were puzzled, thinking that if Chika were going to call him, she should raise her voice. Why wasn't her voice as loud as usual?

Until Homura raised his hand and made an 'OK' gesture in Chika's direction.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Chika, Kaguya, and Moeha fell silent. He could hear us?!

Similarly, Fumino and her group were also in shock as they watched Homura's gesture to Chika!

"Can you really hear us, Minamiya-sensei?" Uruka, unable to contain her curiosity, blurted out.

Homura adjusted his hand slightly, pointing it in Uruka's direction, and made a peace sign.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Fumino, Uruka, and Miyako also fell silent.

As the Muse girls approached, they gave Homura a puzzled look, wondering why he was showing off. Couldn't he be a bit more focused on the task at hand?

"I do know that Minamiya-san's hearing is quite impressive." Rizu nodded.

Everyone still found it hard to grasp—just how exceptional could his hearing be?

After Homura finished his playful gesture, Honoka and the others finally finished changing into their idol costumes. Clad in the attire that clearly screamed 'Idol', and with microphones in hand, they finally managed to catch the attention of the onlookers.

"What's this? A performance? I never heard of it before!"

"I haven't heard either, but let's check it out!"

"Let's go! Hope it's worth watching!"

Clearly, these onlookers weren't thinking along the lines of a mysterious surprise from Homura's blog before. They were fans of Homura, no doubt, but they probably expected to see Minamiya-sensei's name or some manga-related thing for that mysterious surprise. Honoka and the others hadn't gotten recognized yet, at least not at this moment.

"Everyone! We're finally starting our true idol activity!"

Honoka, in an unusually serious tone, began to speak to the other eight.

"This is our first public performance. While it might not be the grand stages of other true idols, I believe this embodies the style of Muse! We don't necessarily need a stage. As long as the nine of us are together, anywhere can be a stage!"

"So, let's give it our all—for ourselves, for our school, and for all those who believe in us and are looking forward to us!"

As Honoka finished speaking, the solemn expressions on every girl's face vanished, replaced by gentle smiles.

"Yeah, isn't it time for that thing before we start?" Kotori spoke up.

"That thing?" Maki and Hanayo seemed a bit puzzled.

"Exactly! That thing!" Nico grinned and nodded.

"Almost every idol group does it before they start..." Umi added, looking at them.

""Oh, right, that thing!""

They finally remembered.

"So, we shouldn't be an exception, right?" Eli glanced around and caught Homura waving at her.

"So, we—" Honoka started.

"Wait a moment!" Kotori stopped her, a mysterious smile on her face. "Doesn't it seem like someone's missing?"

"Eh? One, two, three... nine, no one's missing... Oh! Wait, indeed, someone is missing! Homura-kun! Come over here!" Honoka shouted excitedly.

Homura looked at the nine of them forming a circle, feeling touched. They were treating him as one of their own.

Rubbing his nose, he hopped down from the car, capturing everyone's attention, including the onlookers. A commotion began in the crowd.

"That! That is...! It's Minamiya-sensei!"

"Why is Minamiya-sensei here?!"

"Could it be... This is the mysterious surprise Minamiya-sensei mentioned?!"

"Hey! Wait, aren't those girls over there Muse?"

"Damn! They are! How did we not recognize them earlier?!"

"But... if Muse and Minamiya-sensei are both here, then the mysterious surprise must be..."

"A concert?!"

"Oh my god! This is huge! Quick! Let everyone know!"

At this point, there was no need to keep it a secret anymore. Even if everyone knew, the audiences wouldn't be huge.

After all, the start was just around the corner.