July 1st of 2016

After painting for a hour, Hanae decided to stop and continue another day. Yusuke packed away the paints as Hanae used a hairdryer to get the paint on the canvas to dry faster. As soon as they were done, Hanae took out her facial masks and hairband behind his back. The moment Yusuke turned away she put the hairband on his head, making him freeze.

"Hanae what are you doing?!" he suddenly shouted, raising his voice slightly as she placed her hands on his shoulder to sit him down on the bed.

"Well you know...a sleepover night?" she started, with a small smile she told him to close his eyes and brace himself for the cold of the mask. Though Yusuke was used to the cold of his ice powers in the metaverse, the liquid of the face mask startled him.

"So...what's this for?" he asked, blinking at Hanae who now stood in front of the mirror to put her one on.

"Sleepovers are a time to take care of your face and for chats! Come on, tell me what's wrong." she said, sitting on her bed as she smiled at him.

Yusuke sighed and looked at the ceiling.

"Ever since sensei...no Madarame, revealed his true self to me, I find myself despising art that makes me remember him. Though I'm indebted to him, I can't help but feel lost now. As if art has lost its meaning to me, even though I strive to achieve beauty everyday. Am I supposed to forgive him? Or do I continue to hate that man? Truly, I don't know." he said.

Hanae glanced at him, the boy was holding back his tears.

"Yusuke..." she replied in a gentle voice, taking off the mask for him and putting it on his leg to not waste the nutrients in it. She took a wet towel and wiped his face. "If crying helps you now, then go on. Drowning yourself internally won't do you any good. Let the tears stream down like a waterfall, and as they fall like rain, they'll soon disappear, then you'll never have to cry the same tears for this reason! Tears are like crystals right? They reflect how sad one is. Well, that's what I told myself at least."

Upon hearing this, Yusuke let the tears flow, covering his face with his hands. 

He didn't know why he was thinking of this again. Maybe it was because he just stole another treasure with the phantoms and had flashbacks to Madarame. He knew it wasn't his fault, but at the same time he thought it was too. Hanae let him weep as she gave him tissues, patting him on the back.

By the time Yusuke stopped crying, he was already sleeping while sitting. Hanae gently laid him down on the bed and placed the blankets over him. As for her, she sat on her own bed, watching the clouds move and thinking about her own life. 

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

July 2nd of 2016

No one talked about what happened last night, Yusuke was out with Akira and Ryuji while Hanae was with her brother.

Hanae was invited to stay in her brother's house for a night and she accepted. She sat in his car as the driver drove to Akasaka Mitsuke, for Hiro's idol group's live performance. Apparently she was needed for an appearance to perform the backing track to Hiro's solo song, though she didn't know why, she could guess that her brother wanted the world to know they were siblings.

In backstage, Hiro monitored the workers helping Hanae dress up. He leaned against a wall, hands-crossed and frowning as he watched them do her make-up. Though his own assistants told him he needed to go dress-up himself, he wouldn't budge and insisted on watching her. When she was done, people could tell his eyes were sparkling, even brighter than Hanae's own silver dress. 

"Brother- you know you were needed like, 15 minutes ago?" she said with a small frown.

"What? What if those guys messed up your face? I can't have that can I?" he replied.

"Just go do your make-up..."

"Fine fine, see you on stage then!"

When it was time for the show, Hanae sat at the grand piano with a spotlight shining on her. The audience gasped when seeing her, and screamed when Hiro came on stage shortly after. The performance went well, and people applauded. 

"Now everyone, an announcement from me! Hanae here, is my sister! Treat her well everyone!" he shouted, walking over to Hanae and offering her his hand. She blinked at him and took his hand, they stood centre stage as the crowd cheered. 

Though Hanae knew she was going to get a whole ray of fans at school coming at her.