Aunt Xiangzi, how did you manage to live?

She smiled and lay back down, trying to be like Xiao, letting only the reflection of the starry sky fill her eyes.

"You're missing someone, aren't you, Xiaojun?"

Perhaps because she smelled a similar scent on him, Mitsukasa, who usually showed little interest in anyone except Shoko, became unusually curious about one person.

"correct."

The boy's answer was also very honest; he didn't seem to have any intention of hiding anything.

"When I see the starry sky, I think of her."

A mysterious boy with eyes similar to Xiangzi's, yet who also happens to be in the same place as her.

"The person I feel nostalgic when I see the starry sky... Xiaojun, can you tell me who it is?"

Perhaps this question was a bit too much for someone meeting her for the first time, but Chu Hua, who felt that there was no need for so many formalities in front of this person, still mustered up her courage and cautiously asked the question.

"...Do you really want to know?"

Chu Hua tried to make the question seem more approachable by using her idol's perfect smile, but the boy gave her a rather strange look after hearing it.

Then, he met Chu Hua's gaze with his amber eyes, which were so sincere and devoid of any lies.

"The person I'm thinking about is you."

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Our Secret Base (Exclusively for You and Me)

In fact, Xiao's impression of Aunt Hatsune Miku went through a somewhat complicated and fluctuating process.

At first, he thought that Aunt Hatsune was a gentle and kind person, because when Riki and the others were still not used to his presence, only she would take time out of her busy schedule to take Akatsuki to the planetarium.

But later, when Xiao and Lixi were able to get along harmoniously and gradually entered elementary and even junior high school, Aunt Hatsune started to act a little strange.

"Xiao, are you going to Lixi's for drum lessons again today? Are you really not coming to the planetarium with me? It's okay, I'll pick you up after school next time, okay?"

"Mu said that Su Shilai is going to pick Xiao up from Disneyland today? Oh, I hope you have fun!"

"What? Xiao got confessed to by a girl in your class? Hmm, that's a life experience, congratulations Xiao! This is the first time a girl your age has confessed to you, right? Hey, should you say yes or no... just follow your heart."

Whether he went out with Aunt Lixi or Aunt Sushi after school, Aunt Hatsune would always smile and park her car at the school gate the next day to pick him up and take him home, or take him to Universal Studios.

As for the incident where Xiao was confessed to by a girl during his elementary school years, it was left unresolved after Aunt Hatsune made a special trip to the girl's home to visit her.

At first, he felt a little uncomfortable about it, until later he realized that this was Hatsune Miku's way of expressing love.

Seeing the same starry sky again, and with Hatsune Miku, who once guided me through the mysteries of the cosmos, beside me once more—

"The person I'm thinking about is you."

So when Misaka asked Xiao, "Who are you thinking about right now?", he naturally blurted out the answer.

"what………"

Although by the time he realized that his answer was slightly inappropriate, Aunt Hatsune... no, Mika Mika's face had already turned slightly red.

He was indeed reminiscing about his aunt who had once showered him with love, but if Chu Hua, who was fifteen or sixteen years old, heard these words, they would naturally take on a completely different meaning.

"Excuse me, let me add something—I meant people like you, Miss Chuhua. Sorry, I was too breathless just now."

In desperation, he had no choice but to go along with it and come up with a plausible lie to cover it up.

"This, this is it..."

However, strictly speaking, it's not exactly lying. Although there are some differences between the past and future Hatsune Miku, they are ultimately similar.

"Xiaojun, did you ever watch the stars with this person?"

Seeing that Xiao seemed very eager to get away with this, Chu Hua went along with his wishes and gently pretended that nothing had happened, ignoring the topic.

"Yes, she and I are lying in this place like this right now, and when we look up we can see Altair, Vega, Deneb over there... Of course, she told me this when she brought me here before."

Xiao raised his hand and pointed to the general direction of the stars on the projection. Chu Hua followed his gaze, her eyes filled with a tidal wave of emotion.

Although the guy next to her had just said something that sounded like a confession... it seems she misunderstood.

"I see... It must be a friend with whom I have a lot in common."

Misaka Hatsuka temporarily put aside her little thoughts and put on a gentle and easygoing smile in front of the boy again.

"why?"

"Because I once thought that if I were to bring an important friend to stargaze, I would definitely introduce the Summer Triangle to them first—that's the Altair and Vega stars that Xiaojun just mentioned. It seems we're on the same page in this regard."

Since it's the same person, how could they not agree without prior planning?

"Could the more important matter that Xiaojun just mentioned also be related to this friend?"

Chu Hua blinked, seemingly curious, as if wondering if the word Xiao had casually mentioned earlier was also related to this mysterious friend.

"Uh... that's right."

"Haha, what does that mean?"

It means including but not limited to, after all, Akatsuki wants to help more than just Hatsune Miku... but at this time, saying too much will only cause trouble.

Seeing that Xiao kept quiet, Chu Hua wisely refrained from asking any further questions and instead started a new topic.

It's rare for her to chat with strangers, and it's even rarer to spend time with a stranger who makes her feel exceptionally comfortable and vaguely familiar.

Even just lying quietly beside him, with only the sound of their even breathing in her ears, she didn't feel uncomfortable.

In this situation, Mitsuka's tense nerves relaxed a lot, and some things she wouldn't normally tell others slipped out of her mouth.

"Xiaojun looks a lot like someone I know, doesn't she? Hmm, maybe not in other ways... but we also became friends under this starry sky."

At this point, Misaka Hatsuka turned her face to the side, gazing at Akatsuki with her gentle purple eyes.

He could sense that she was looking at someone else, a girl named Toyokawa Shoko who had eyes very similar to his own.

"Looking at it this way... perhaps Xiaojun also sees me as someone very similar to that friend."

Chu Hua smiled shyly, trying to show her closeness and friendliness, but Xiao couldn't quite meet her gaze anymore.

He knew, of course, that his eyes resembled someone else's; after all, if it weren't for that person, he might never have been adopted by Mu.

Of course, he also knew about Toyokawa Shoko's past with Misaki Miku, after all, Miku had once drunkenly clung to him and talked about the past for almost three hours because of his eyes.

Perhaps Aunt Hatsune was simply reminiscing about the time she spent with Toyokawa Shoko through his eyes, and thus felt that he was also reminiscing about a friend who was very similar to her.

"……no."

After a long silence, he denied what Chu Hua had just said.

"Eh?"

The blonde girl lying next to him was also a little stunned.

"I don't see Hatsuka-san as someone who's 'similar to someone,' okay?"

She might be reminiscing about someone else, but Xiao isn't.

After Shoko Toyokawa passed away, Miku Miku went through many detours for years due to issues with her self-identity.

"I originally thought that Xiangzi would guide me in the direction of my life... but she died at the most beautiful age before she could take on my life."

Many years later, having long since overcome the hurdle of self-identity, Miku Miku, on an ordinary afternoon, spoke her true feelings in the most unremarkable tone.

"Maybe all I wanted to hear was from someone, 'You are you, not someone else'... something like that."

Even if this person isn't Xiangzi, they would still be useful.

Thinking of this, Xiao took a deep breath.

"Even if appearance, name, or even identity may change, a person's core cannot be replaced by others, right? In my opinion—you are you."

When Xiao said these words, it was absolutely a genuine expression of her feelings.

If his presence in this time and space truly has meaning, then the most important one is to fulfill the wishes that the aunties were unable to fulfill.

However, it seemed that his sincerity was too straightforward, and Chu Hua was stunned for a long time without speaking until several minutes later when he lowered the brim of his hat and spoke again.

“Is…I see.”

Who would have thought that the idol Mitsumi Hatsuka, whose interpersonal skills are impeccable, would also have moments when she stutters when she speaks?

"Xiaojun is really a...strangely straightforward person."

She lowered the brim of her hat and turned her head away, seemingly trying to hide the smile on her lips from everyone.

"is it?"

Whether or not Xiao is seen as a strange person is understandable.

He simply felt that there are only a few opportunities in life to say these words to someone important, so seizing the moment and making a decision that he wouldn't regret was grasping the most precious moment.

"Hmm, but... he's an interesting person too."

Sanko Chuhua changed the subject, and when she looked at the boy again with her crystal-clear purple eyes, no one else's features appeared in her eyes.

"Will we ever have a chance to meet again, Kazama Akatsuki?"

She no longer tried to find Xiangzi's shadow in Xiao, but instead called out the name Xiao had told her exactly.

"I hope... that we can still look at the stars together here like this in the future."

It had nothing to do with Xiangzi; in Sankaku Hatsuka's eyes, only Kazama Akira's face was reflected.

Then, he heard long-lost words from Sankaku Hatsuka's mouth.

It was the same invitation he heard when he was a child, as if Hatsune Miku had led him out of the planetarium.

"If you'd like, you can make this our secret base."

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Allies, Allies

Motoyo Nagasaki is quite satisfied with the progress made so far.

Shiina Tatsuki sat intently at the drum kit, studying the latest sheet music. Takamatsu Akari sat alone in a corner, rummaging through her backpack and organizing a stack of penguin bookmarks.

She sat on the bench in the recording studio, smiling as she watched the two men without saying a word.

It's been a long time since we've had such a time, as if we've never experienced that conflict and division, and we're still as we were in the beginning.

"Lixi, isn't this drumbeat off? You seemed to be half a beat behind just now."

"Shut up... Of course I know that, it's none of your business to tell me!"

But a conversation overheard by Nagasaki Motoyo snapped out of her daze.

She suppressed the faint smile that had played on her lips as she reminisced about the past, and watched with a gentle yet emotionless expression as a boy walked to the drum set, and then started talking to Lixi.

"Didn't you say you wanted to compete with me on the drums? Then let's settle this with this sheet music."

"You wait, I will never lose to you, Kazama!"

"Waiting for good news~"

Yes, putting aside the fact that Xiangzi and Mu haven't rejoined the team yet, their small group still has one more person than the original CRYCHIC.

Kazama Akatsuki, for some reason, seems to know a lot about her and others, yet he harbors no ill will towards them.

Actually, it was thanks to his help that Lixi and Deng were able to be called over.

“Su Shi, you want to rebuild CRYCHIC, right? Focusing only on Mu and Xiangzi won’t be enough. Why not gather Li Xi and Deng together first… Of course, I’ll help you.”

And indeed, just as he said, he used the excuse of a music competition to call Lixi to the recording studio, and together with Aiyin, he coaxed Deng over. The three of them, who had never practiced together since the C group fell apart, got together again.

They've been meeting up at RiNG after school for a while now.

Lixi was completely unaware of their little scheme, and was still overjoyed at finally being able to give it her all in a competition and spend time with Deng. Deng didn't resist either of them, and would even secretly give each of them a penguin bookmark when Xiao and Aine asked what she was doing.

It seems that this ally is indeed more reliable than Su Shi had imagined, and seems to know each of their personalities very well.

Although it was a bit unsettling to think about, Su Shi would turn a blind eye to the secrets of this mysterious young man, considering that he had indeed helped her a lot so far.

After all, Su Shi didn't care about anyone except the members of C Group.

——This is how it should be.

"I'll have memorized this sheet music perfectly this week, and we'll have a fair and square showdown right here on Saturday... What do you say, Kazama!"