"ᴛʜᴇ sᴋɪʟʟs sʜᴇ ғᴏᴜɴᴅ" - ᴍᴀɢɪᴄ ᴋʏᴜɴ!

"sᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ sʜᴇ'ʟʟ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ɢᴇᴛ ʙᴀᴄᴋ"

The entire class roared in surprise, a long-lasting: "EHHHHH~?!" Occurring for the longest time! Aikimeki sighed, raising her hand slowly. "H-Here..." She stuttered, her cheeks growing furiously red from all the attention she was receiving. Even more murmurs came from the class during this surprise, and Aikimeki couldn't help but to hear all of their statements: "I thought Nanami and Asuno only had one child?", "I can't believe it, sibling rivalry all the way~!", "She's got to be just as good as her sister, it's only natural!", "I melt during every single one of Len's acapella performances during tour, it's so heart-warming~!", "She looks just like Hoshihime Nanami!", "I bet she can sing and dance too!" Aikimeki could only try to look unbothered, but all the attention soon got to her--and she was fleeing out of the class once again--or so she thought. Before the swift Aikimeki could run to the door, the professor caught a hold of her wrist, stopping her escape. "L-Let go!" Aikimeki yelled, tears streaming down her face, "LET GO!" Aikimeki screamed again. "You see class, this young lady may be very talented, but you can't overwhelm her with your expectations." Professor Zono stated. The class grew silent, and Aikimeki's eyes grew large. Asura simply snickered, "She's scared of stardom? What a weakling." Asura stared at the professor, "Let her run, she's not fit for the school anyways." Asura waved her off, and all this did was enrage Aikimeki. "What did you say?!" She yelled, fighting back her tears. "What do you know of it?! You're part of a talented family, so what! I'm part of one too! I have to carry every single talent my family has bestowed upon me and hone each and every one of them! You try to learn how to dance, sing, arrange flowers, paint even---WRITE even... Don't ever say I'm too afraid to accept my talents, just give me a chance to shine in my own WAY!" Aikimeki stated, panting after her long statement. Her classmates looked in dismay, only staring at Aikimeki with their shocked expressions. Suddenly the sound of clapping was heard, coming from Rika, and Hana slowly followed afterwards, a bit more awkward and off-beat. Then the entire class chained, clapping all together in unison. The ruby-eyed boy didn't bother to join in, and he blew it off, shaking his head in disapproval. Aikimeki smiled towards them, and bowed shortly afterwards. "Thank you for allowing me to shine!" Aikimeki yelled, and the first sparkles she'd ever made revealed themselves, swirling around her like that of a fleeting angel, in-fact--her sparkles manifested themselves into a small angel that swirled around her before it combusted into smaller, bright, particles of light. Aikimeki was surprised, and looked at her hands in confusion. "W-What was..." Aikimeki looked at the professor, and all he did was smirk. "Those were her first sparkles, thanks to your approval of her." Professor Zono stated, "It seems my plan worked, those sparkles she created were through using her heart and soul, though it may seem like she didn't use a skill, she used her charisma and speaking skills to her advantage unaware of it, of course." Professor Zono explained, his amethyst-hued eyes darting towards the blonde with scarlet-ruby eyes. Then returned his gaze to the entire class. "Anyways, we'll be deciding who'll be the representatives of this class next month for the "Hoshi Festival"." Professor Zono's glasses gave off a glare as he spoke, walking back in forth slowly across his area of the class. "So, all of you will need to learn how to spill your heart and feelings into your talents and dispense sparkles as Aikimeki did." Professor Zono nodded towards Aikimeki, and she returned to her seat, avoiding eye contact. "Dispensing the sparkles is the hardest part, but some people, named prodigies, will shine through in this area of the field." Professor Zono stated. "Each student will be able to dispense sparkles by the end of this year, or they won't be able to move on to the next year." Professor Zono explained, causing the class to murmur in fright. "Also, don't forget to practice for our weekly performances, they're chosen by random!" Professor Zono stated.

Soon enough, class was over and Aikimeki was crazed over once again. Asura had the same amount of following, but he never responded to any of them. After the day, the trio returned to their dorms, and spoke to each other eagerly about the sparkles. "Even though I've dispensed them, I've yet to try and use my main talents at the same time..." Aikimeki sighed, falling back on her bed. "This is going to be nerve-wrecking, at least we don't have anymore homework~..." Aikimeki groaned. Rika, setting up her canvas, smiled lightly at Aikimeki's remark. "You'll get it, you'll probably get it before the rest of us." Rika stated, "You're a prodigy after all, not many people can just try to prove a point with words and dispense sparkles." Rika stated, dabbing her paintbrush in her paint and starting her work. "I won't be far behind, I know how to use my heart and soul through the canvas." Rika winked, dabbing her paintbrush away. Hana on the other hand, gracefully assorted multiple flowers, closing her eyes before her arrangement and attempted to produce sparkles. Nothing happened--causing Hana to groan in annoyance, grabbing her hair and moving around. "GAAAH~!" Hana squealed, "This is impossible!" Hana whimpered, drooping her head over her beautiful arrangement. "Hana-chan, it's beautiful, what are you---" Aikimeki was cut off, and Hana yelled in protest. "The sparkles! The sparkles! They won't appear!" She whimpered, once again. Rika looked at her friend struggling, and simply sighed heavily. "Hana, it's not suppose to work the first time, Aikimeki's just a natural, if you believe, you'll be a natural at it too!" Rika smiled, continuing to dab around on the canvas, she had a beautiful foliage design going for herself--full of scenery that over flooded the picture with vibrant color. "R-Rika-san, that's such a beautiful painting!" Hana gasped, completely overtaken by its beauty. Aikimeki stared at it as well, "It's truly stunning..." Aikimeki stated, her mouth gaping open in surprise. Rika blushed, starting sway her head in embarrassment. "D-Don't flatter me, it's not like I like it y'know!" Rika blinked, looking at Aikimeki while she was busy writing in her journal. "Ai-chan, what're you doing?" Aikimeki, completely caught off-guard, nearly threw the journal into the air from being startled. "H-Huh? Oh---I write songs... sometimes." Aikimeki smiled lightly, sweating slightly beneath her brow. Rika giggled, "Sorry for startling you." Aikimeki nodded, continuing to write. Hana was busy making more flower arrangements, and decided to decorate the room with them. 

Eventually, it was time to sleep, and the girls all got into their nightwear after their showers, facial assortments, and duties. They drifted off to sleep quite soundlessly, each of them being exhausted by their efforts to produce sparkles, at least Rika and Hana were--Aikimeki was tired from her song writing, it can be stressful sometimes. 

The next morning, each of the girls woke up simultaneously due to the recently implemented alarm clock Rika implemented, causing each and every one of them to burst out of their bedsheets in alarm. "KYAH!" Aikimeki squealed, but she blinked--noticing it was just her alarm. "T-That alarm needs a setting change, it's so loud...~" Aikimeki groaned, rubbing her eyes. Rika and Hana comically nodded, drooping bags lowering their already tired eyes. "A-Aye..." They said in unison. 

Soon enough, they'd be out the door--going to the plaza's fountain before class. "This should be a good place to practice!" Aikimeki smiled, Rika and Hana blinked, "W-What's wrong with our apartment?" Hana asked, and Aikimeki pivoted--facing them with a pointed finger. "You see, scenery is key for all sorts of success, and skills are usually honed in good weather conditions like these!" Aikimeki spun around, embracing the beautiful morning sky, "We've got a hour before class starts, so lets make this the most productive we've been since the last few days we've been here!" Aikimeki threw her fist in the air, and Rika and Hana followed, looking at each other before doing it. Aikimeki sighed, closing her eyes. "I'd like to share the song I want to sing for my first performance in front of the class for the weekly performances to you guys." Aikimeki stated, "Maybe it'll give you some sort of life and motivate you to produce sparkles as well!" Aikimeki smiled, tilting her head to the side whilst her arms were behind her--causing her eyes to close in the process of her gentle smile. Rika and Hana looked at Aikimeki in awe, "Y-You can sing too?!" Rika squealed, and Hana was still staring--blinking and nodding in approval of the question. Aikimeki smiled, "I'd think I can." Aikimeki looked up at the sky, taking a deep breath. "Alright, I'm going to start." The wind changed, and Aikimeki's hair grew to life, following the wind's path as Aikimeki opened her mouth. "A truth I hold is nothing more than my soul..." Aikimeki's voice resonated in their minds, and small sparkles started to fledge to life, taking the form of diamond-like angels. "Soon enough I'll be bold enough to reach my goal..." Aikimeki used the same light-tone, showing her ample control over her instrument. "Soon enough I'll be able to fly, without a single cry, soon I'll be able to see what I can do to rise..." Aikimeki, still using a subtle voice to portray her message--raising her voice on her ending word, and carrying on a subtle run. "But now I can see what I need to do... Now I can see what I need to be true...!" Aikimeki, now raising her voice, used a beautiful airy tone which slowly rose up to a subtle higher-register note--resulting in another small run. "An angel in the sky, truly to rise, a fleeting dove to portray my growing shine!" Aikimeki's voice grows louder and more defined, still displaying her natural light tone with the mix of her now stronger vocals. On her ending word, "shine" she displays a truly abnormal note--going into the heavenly register of the "whistle", she easily hit a "F#6" on that single word, falling down into an "Eb6" shortly afterwards. "But who am I to say what I will be? Who am I to say I will try? Or that I should cry? Or that I should mind..." Showing off yet another growing note towards the beginning and a lighter note towards the end. "But I'm just me, and I can't--no I just can't!--do anything about... me..." Showing off her light, lower register, towards the end--she ends the short song. Opening her eyes as the angels combust, becoming their ethereal forms and flying upwards together--then releasing a plethora of star-like particles down for everyone around the plaza to see. Rika and Hana were completely overtaken by the performance, being heavily reminded about Aikimeki's mother, and all they could think of is that she was going to sound even better soon--and maybe better than her own mother. "A-Aikimeki, that was stunning!" Rika squealed, holding a few sparkles in her hand before they dispersed before her eyes. "Y-Yeah!" Hana exclaimed, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Alright, it's our turn to try!" Rika pumped her fist upwards, and Hana hopped up to accompany her with her fist to face the sky as well. "Yeah!" And so the two girls worked hard to give all they could into their arts, using Aikimeki's influence to fuel them along the way.