Love Fest!

As the rain let up, the girl's training had begun. With the addition of a coach that would guide them on how to be like a school idol.

"Listen, you girls must understand that personalizing yourself during a live performance is the most important! I'm not trying to say that you should act like what I did before. You girls should act what suited your character and personality!" Nico said in a managing tone. She wanted them to perform her catchphrase and they might be able to make one themselves and also to improve their girlishness.

"Yes!" The girls lined up as she began her lecture.

"For now, follow my lead, Nico Nico Nii (Smile)!" Nico did her cute gestures while she cutely expressed the words.

'Isn't that your catchphrase, why show it to us again?' Maki felt speechless.

'It feels awkward but oh well..' Rin showed a helpless smile and looked at Hanayo and Maki who was just listening without getting bothered.

"Nico Nico Nii (Smile)!" Everyone did the overly cute catchphrase. Nico felt thrilled and glad seeing the girls trying hard with determination on their cute faces. They nearly caught her tearing eyes, but she stopped it by looking at the back and wiped it with her hands.

'Thank you for everything.' In her mind while putting her hands on her heart for a moment.

"That was terrible, try again!" Nico turned towards them with an instant smile before returning to her strict and stoic tone.

'I guess she was that lonely, it must be hard for her being alone in school for two years.' He thought and smiled in relief. At least now, she gained a group that she can trust and be happier. She made forgiveness for them, especially for those individuals in the group she berated in the past.

"Nico Nico Smile!" The girls repeat the catchphrase with a cute shout through their lungs and imitated the actions with an enjoying smile.

"Go! Another one!" Nico nodded with seriousness.

'Is that considered as teaching them?'

"Do you need to teach them that?" Hiroto asked Nico. He was sitting cross leg with a laptop on his l.a.p and was selecting what game he should make.

"Yeah, this will count as advancing their positive outlook while developing their motivation!" Nico proudly said before crossing her arms. She made them repeat the chant err... catchphrase before seeing the girls making mistakes. She pointed her finger towards Maki before saying out loud.

"You, with the slanted eyes! Show some spirit! Move more!" Nico said with a slightly scolding tone.

"It's Maki! And I'm doing my best here!" Maki pouted at her while crossing her arms with a harrumph.

"You as well! Move your hands more! Girlier!" Nico pointed her finger at Rin.

"Eh? I'm trying so hard already!" Rin dejectedly said.

"Repeat!" Nico howled.

"Nico Nico Smile!"

"Okay, you girls are still terrible. Do it another thirty times." Nico looked back again and crossed her arms with a serious face, though she was happy in her mind.

"Is she the type of person who likes to torture? A sadist?" Hiroto mumbled while looking to the serious face as she kept making them do her catchphrase.

"Can we stop? And just start practicing for real?" Rin had some dissatisfaction and said with a flat tone.

"Don't complain! We're just getting started! Nico-senpai Please guide us!" Honoka said out loud with a smile. Umi and Kotori smiled helplessly. But they agreed to what she will give them.

"All right, from the top... Let's go!" Nico raised her fist to the air, she pumped herself up and got energetic.

Meanwhile, Hiroto decided that he would produce a larger game this time. He will make it in the next few days. He was planning of making an offline single-player game first before moving to an online one that needed a multi-player server capability. If others knew he was a one-man developer team, they won't probably believe if they also knew how big of a program he would make, they would just scoff you off because it takes skill and hard work learning one kind of this topic but he knew how to program, able to design and create artworks and most of all, he could compose songs and music for the background theme song. Veteran programmers will probably kill themselves if they heard how talented he was.

'Let's finish this in a week... Yosh!' He hyped himself while making a deadline before furiously typing at the keyboard.

Nico looked at him who gave up asking her as he busied himself through the laptop.

"Maybe a new game?" Maki looked at the others and questioned them.

"He might surprise us again." Umi smiled while looking at the calm and serious face he was expressing. She looked away afterward and blushed lightly. She removes the thought and calms herself to go back to her calm and composed disposition.

'If only he can look with that expression to me, kya!!' Umi cupped her cheeks while the others got puzzled at her.

"Well, why don't we try asking him?" Kotori's eyes had a hint of curiosity.

"Attention!" Nico interrupted their huddling selves. Everyone continued the practice with an excessive leading from the hyper-active coach.

'This was their decision, so I had to make ways for it. As long as they are happy.' Hiroto smiled at a distance before busying himself again.

-

After thanking the Hiroto and his mother for the overnight, Honoka back home before going to class. Kotori and Umi weren't with her since they have to bring back the portraits to their homes. Albeit, they were secretive because of the covered portraits with white cloths wrapped around it, and protecting it from the light rain.

Honoka entered the house and closed her umbrella. She saw the curious glints in the eyes of her family members.

"How was your overnight? Did you have fun?" Her mother asked while she brought a basket of bread on the table on the side of her bed.

"Yes, very much so!" She said energetically while she munched the food in an instant. Her sister named Yukiho asked her the big white cloth covering the portrait, and she didn't know what was behind it.

"No, try to figure out what's in it." Honoka gulped the bread before picking another one.

"I'm also curious." Her mother rested her hand on her chin.

"If it's not a mirror then an art painting?" Her mother pointed it out.

"How did you know?" Honoka's mouth turned wide-mouthed. Everyone can easily understand what it signifies by those who had seen one in the past. Her mother chuckled at her speechless face. Honoka got amazed by her mother and removed the cover of the portrait revealing her energetic self in the pencil portrait that had a hint coloration on it.

"Wow!!"

"How wonderful! Who made you this art? How amazing!" Yukiho admiringly said while eyeing the piece of art in her front. She touched the drawing and felt that it was just beneath of being real.

"This is good!" Her mother agreed with an amazing look at her. Yukiho immediately stood up and rushed to Honoka and put her hands on her shoulder.

"Ahh!" Honoka got surprised and looked at her sister that had a serious face.

"Neh.. neh, Oneechan, can you ask the artist of this portrait to make one for me?" Yukiho made a pleading expression.

"Eh?! What do you need it for? You want him to make one for you?" She turned speechless and munched the bread in hand.

"Is this a gift for you? It isn't your birthday, so maybe your admirer?" Honoka's mother chuckled and asked her with a questioning gaze.

Honoka slightly blushed as she immediately shook her head while waving her hands. She wanted to agree that he was a very responsible male she knew, a person she could look up and probably reach out to him in the future.

"No, he was our friend, and he was the one helping us with the school idol group we made. I'm grateful for his help." Honoka closed her eyes. Her mother got interested in seeing her daughter like this before looking at the portrait.

"Eh? A male had been helping you?" Yukiho asked.

"Is he your boyfriend?" Yukiho joked.

"No! Like I said he was just my friend, moreover, he had a girlfriend too!"

'So that's what it was.' Her mother nodded with understanding. She felt it was a shame hearing that notion, but she stood up to prepare something to lighten her mood. "I'll prepare some food for the two of you, wait here."

"Okay, Oka-san." The two nodded before going back to the discussion, Yukiho looked at her with a plain curiosity lidden in her face.

"What's his name?" Yukiho asked.

"Tamaki Hiroto, don't you have enough of asking?" Honoka pouted at her, but Yukiho seems to be in a reflection.

"Yukiho?" Honoka waved her hands on her face.

"Hiroto... Hiroto, I feel like I have seen this person.. ah!" Yukiho said in a loud voice.

"Is he the Hiroto Tamaki, the live-streamer called PianoMan-kun??!" Yukiho put her hands on Honoka and shook her left and right.

"Yes, is he that popular?" Honoka turned curious, she doesn't really look on the internet but at most, she could sometimes saw Umi or Kotori looking at videos of him. Yukiho snickered feeling that her sister is too naive.

"You don't know but, I'll show you." She stood and run to her bedroom and get her phone. She got back while settling of her plump b.u.t.t and quickly opened the public video platform and showed a video at her elder sister.

"He's so popular on the internet, don't you see Oneechan?" Yukiho made an exaggerated expression and looked at Honoka with a speechless expression.

"Yeah, I know but not that of a big deal if you ask him and the others." Honoka funnily laughed at her face before munching on another Manju, this time at a slow pace.

"It's a big deal! Have you heard of Hiroto's effect?! Just one time listening to his live-stream can make you addicted to it, moreover it can affect health and increase a person's energy every day!" Yukiho said with elation. She was a fan of him since he was a talented person, moreover, he was like a prince in her mind and it healed her ambitions heart every time she heard his singing. Her cheeks reddened while secretly imagining herself and him. Honoka turned speechless seeing her sister fangirling while looking at him who was playing the piano while singing.

"Kya!" Yukiho cupped her face and made an unintelligible muttering. (AN: Mayday! We have another one here!)

"Do you have a crush on him?" Honoka asked curiously.

"Everyone likes him in the streams! All of them. They appreciated his help of making their day complete! I am the same!" Yukiho eyed her sister with precaution before showing her profile that had contributed to Hiroto many times.

"So you're a fan of him as well." Honoka made an understanding look and decided to made fun and joke with her sister.

"He attends Otonokizaka Academy School, you know?" Honoka looked at her sister with a jeering face.

"Eh?" Yukiho looked at her speechless. She already saw where he was attending but she didn't believe it, he was a student there that so no one head over and make trouble for him. While she hasn't asked her sister and was fully skeptical. But it seems the information in the comments were true.

"EHHHHHH!!!" Yukiho stood up and loudly shouted.

Others thought the information was made incorrect, but the majority of them knew it was true. The fans just didn't have the courage or some of them didn't have the reason to go all the way towards him moreover they might can't get his attention, the only reason to visit him was to greet and thank him in person and that was it. In Japan, it wasn't that people were inter-actable but everyone just has a life of their own, a circle of friends on their own. This mindset had concluded for generations, not like other countries that were more sociable and interactive in many ways.

"Can you greet him for me? Also, an autograph pretty please?" Yukiho suddenly turned shy and rub her hands before looking at her sister with a pleading face.

"I could do that but my talent fee is high!" Honoka laughed with a glint in her eyes.

"Oneechan!!" Yukiho told her friend Arisa what she learned today, but she got astonished by what her friend said to her.

"I knew him, I had seen him with my sister before," Arisa told her. She explained that they had gone shopping while picking dresses. Arisa pointed out how she and her sister had fun and laughs.

"EHHHHHHH!" Yukiho felt her world breaking down. She wanted to see him specifically, but it seems her friend had casually seen and chatted with him moreover it seems Eli and Hiroto had an amicable relationship.

"Y-you cheater!" Yukiho pouted.

"That's not the point to consider?!" Arisa said out loud as she tsukkomied.