KARMA!!: absolution | book 1 | uta no prince-sama

Chapter 1: Stars in the Sky

Subaru スバル

"SUBARU! SUBARU!" Sora burst into the music practice room, stopping only when her heart pounded uncomfortably in her chest in protest. She looked up and grinned when her eyes fell upon her twin brother. She held up the pamphlet in her hand, triumphantly brandishing it in front of him.

Subaru rolled his eyes, reaching out to steady her hand so that he could actually read said thing that she'd risked her health to show him. His eyes widened as he read the embossed script.

SAOTOME ACADEMY

INFORMATION PACKET

FOR

NEW ENTRANTS

She can't be serious, he thought, dumbstruck. Saotome Academy was an entertainment school that trained some of the best idols and composers in Japan; its entrance exam was infamous for being next to impossible - and that was the easy part. It was no secret that only ten percent of new entrants that passed that exam didn't drop out after the first few months, and fewer than that even had a chance at making it in the entertainment industry.

Not to mention the school fees.

Their aunt might have been well-off, but she wasn't that rich.

Sora was watching him expectantly, "Wha'dya think, Nii-chan?"

He winced at how excited she seemed. Added to the fact that she only called him Nii-chan (which was wrong, as she was the oldest twin) when she was tremendously excited, it now made sense why she had begun asking if he knew anything about composing original songs for their performances. She wanted to enter the school under the Idol Program while he did the same under the Composer Program; probably thinking it was the better option since he had made the decision not to sing again.

If he was a good brother, he'd try to let her down gently, try to explain how small their odds were of ever being accepted in the first place. But he recognised the look in his sister's eyes. There would be no point in even trying to dissuade her from this course of action.

He sighed, "When are the entrance exams?"

Sora's silver eyes shined, "Next week - Nii-chan does this mean...?" Her hands trembled and Subaru gave her a small smile. "I suppose we did make a promise, didn't we?"

She squealed in delight and smothered him with a big hug. "Thank you," she whispered.

When she pulled away, Subaru could have sworn she was trying to hide tears behind a curtain of silvery blonde hair.

【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】

Sora　天

~Day of the entrance exam ~

Sora clapped her hands and kicked the snow playfully before bouncing into her finishing pose as HAYATO's latest song faded in her ears. She sighed happily, her breath appearing as white puffs, before sliding her fingers over the glossy screen of her iPod to select another song.

She loved HAYATO's music more than anyone else; for the long years she had spent hospitalised for having an incredibly weak body, she'd never forget the day the wind carried a magical sound through her window, encouraging her not to resign herself to laying in bed forever.

After that, she'd listened to his songs everyday, which dramatically improved her mood. A year later she had been discharged and allowed to go home for the first time since she was just six years old; just in time for the last year of junior high. The school setting was incredibly refreshing compared to her days being taught by a private tutor, paid for by the aunt that never visited her.