I Look Forward to Seeing You Shine

Rei didn't leave immediately after she finished speaking.

She leaned against Qiluo's desk, propping her hands on the edge.

She tilted her head, watching Qiluo Tian Gong bury her face in her arms again, getting ready to sleep.

A soft sigh escaped from somewhere deep within Rei's heart.

This girl was clearly beautiful and had a great figure. Although her personality was a bit cold, once you got to know her, she was actually very easy to talk to.

Yet, she had absolutely zero interest in something as cool and cute as a Magical Girl. What a total waste.

She had to find a way to get her to open her mind.

Being a Magical Girl wasn't just about those flashy transformation sequences on TV; the energy of a live performance was on a completely different level.

Once you stood in front of a real stage and got blasted by the sheer impact of the lights and music, even the most numb person would be moved.

Rei herself had become a die-hard fan after attending a joint live concert of idol Magical Girls.

This weekend, there was a joint live show featuring rookie idol Magical Girls at a small theater not far from the station.

When she bought the tickets yesterday, she noticed a new name on the poster—a rookie whom the agency had been heavily promoting recently. Word was that her voice was incredible, and her comeback debut was even scheduled as the grand finale.

This was the perfect opportunity to take Qiluo to experience the true charm of a Magical Girl.

“Tian Gong,” she leaned forward slightly.

Qiluo opened her eyes slightly, looking up at her through the gap between her arms.

Her gaze was filled with a wary what do you want now?

“Are you free this weekend? My treat to a concert. I've already bought the tickets—no refusing! You already turned me down once last time, so you have to come this time.”

She turned her phone screen around to show the QR code of the e-tickets and the concert poster. On the poster, several young Magical Girl idols wore performance outfits of their respective styles.

Still lying on the desk, Qiluo stared at Rei's incredibly bright eyes through the gap in her arms.

If she refused again, knowing Rei's personality, she would probably just cling to her arm for the rest of the day.

Just as she was about to nod, her peripheral vision caught the phone screen.

Her gaze had only swept over it casually, but it came to a sudden halt on a new face in the middle of the bottom row.

“I'll go,” she said, sitting up straight.

All the persuasive arguments Rei had prepared instantly became useless.

She had thought she would have to pester Qiluo until after school. She hadn't expected to claim victory before even launching her second wave of attack.

It felt like the opponent had surrendered before she had even gotten serious.

“...Really? Why did you agree so quickly this time?”

“I don't have anything else to do this weekend anyway.” Qiluo took a sip from her water cup on the desk.

The name on the poster was printed neat and clear: Seisou.

Last time in the hospital room, her sister had ordered her to stay in bed and not run around.

When did Kizuna debut? Does her sister know about this?

How come I didn't know either?

No, looking at the agency's name, it was the same one Yuzuki was with.

So... did the older sister personally push her little sister onto the stage?

“Then it's a promise! Saturday at three in the afternoon, let's meet in front of the station!”

Rei's voice was several octaves higher than usual as she turned and ran back to her seat.

“Remember to wear comfortable shoes! We might have to stand for a long time!”

...

Kizuna sat cross-legged on the living room sofa, several setlists for the weekend performance spread across her lap. The eraser end of her pencil was covered in teeth marks.

Star-trail was curled up on her knees, swaying slightly as her pencil tip repeatedly drew circles on the paper.

The sound of a key turning came from the entryway.

Kizuna quickly flipped the setlist over, covered it with a throw pillow, and scooped Star-trail up, placing it next to the pillow.

Star-trail, suddenly scooped up, had one of its ears bent to the side. It looked up at her and silently shook its head to straighten its ear.

Yuzuki changed into her slippers and walked into the living room, carrying a convenience store plastic bag.

She set the bag on the coffee table, pulled out a cup of pudding to place in front of Kizuna, and popped open a can of coffee for herself before sitting down on the other end of the sofa.

“Out with it.”

“...Out with what?” Kizuna absentmindedly tugged at the tassels on the edge of the throw pillow.

“You haven't looked me in the eye since I walked in. You always do this when you're hiding something from me.”

Kizuna looked down at Star-trail on her lap, took a deep breath, and moved the throw pillow aside. She pulled out the slightly crumpled setlist from underneath and placed it on the coffee table.

Yuzuki looked down at the setlist. Her eyes swept from the first song to the final grand finale track, pausing there for a long time.

The melody of this song was one she had casually hummed last time. She hadn't expected her little sister to remember it.

She had even written lyrics, arranged the music, and was planning to sing it at this weekend's live concert.

“When did you take on this gig?”

“Last week. I spoke with the agency directly, and they said I could try out a small-scale stage. I thought since it's just one song, I didn't need to report it to you, and you'd know anyway—”

“I didn't know,” Yuzuki said, raising her eyes to look at her. “If you hadn't shown me this paper today, I still wouldn't have known.”

“I wanted to tell you right before the performance.” Kizuna pulled the setlist back onto the coffee table and smoothed it out with her fingers, though the crease on the corner remained curled up no matter how many times she pressed it.

“I wanted you to listen from the audience, rather than being backstage and feeling nervous with me. If you were backstage, I'd keep watching your expression, and I'd be too embarrassed if I sang even half a note wrong.”

“But if I don't know where you are, I can just sing to the entire crowd. You could be sitting under any of those lights.”

After finishing her last sentence, she finally let go of the crease and looked up at Yuzuki.

“You chose my song.” Yuzuki reached out, gently pressing down a stray lock of hair sticking up on her little sister's head. “When did you write the lyrics?”

“In the hospital, secretly writing them whenever you weren't around.” Kizuna curled her lips into a smile and nudged Star-trail toward her sister.

Star-trail rolled over on the sofa from the push, its paws flailing in the air for a moment before it regained its balance.

It looked up at Kizuna, hopped off the sofa, shook its fur, and walked over to curl up next to Yuzuki's leg.

“So this song is for me.” Yuzuki picked up the setlist and looked at it again.

This time, it was a serious review.

She wanted to make sure there wouldn't be any mistakes in her little sister's debut performance.

She noticed many little stars drawn next to the lyrics.

That had been Kizuna's habit since childhood; whenever she wrote a line she was satisfied with, she would draw a star next to it.

Yuzuki could easily picture her little sister lying on the hospital bed, stealthily writing lyrics during the gaps between the nurses' rounds.

Yuzuki fell silent for a long time.

“Seisou.”

Kizuna looked up.

Her sister hadn't called her Kizuna; she had called her Seisou.

That was the name she was going to use on stage, and her name as a Magical Girl.

“I look forward to seeing you shine brightly on stage.”