A few months passed by quietly.
Graduation season arrived at Shuchi'in Academy, the top school in Nishikawa Nation.
Megumi stood in front of the mirror by the side door of the auditorium, straightening the collar of her graduation gown.
"Airi, your cap is crooked," Her older sister, Marina said, tidying her younger sister up.
"It's not crooked. I did it on purpose." Airi tilted her cap a bit further to the left. If she didn't use a little trick, how else would she stand out in the graduation photo later?
Regarding her sister's little scheme, Marina could only roll her eyes. Actually, she should have graduated last year but had willingly repeated a year to be in the same class as Makoto.
Utaha was also among those who had repeated.
The square in front of the auditorium was already full of people. Black graduation gowns formed a continuous sea.
If Makoto came to look, he would see many familiar faces in other classes too.
"The Commander is here."
"So handsome!"
"So buff! I wonder what it would feel like..."
"Slut, keep your voice down, careful someone hears!"
A few brave girls stole several glances at Makoto, but no one approached him. Mainly because the women standing by his side had already taken up all the available space.
And those with strong possessiveness, like Hiyori and Nino, didn't even bother to hide their murderous intent when looking at women trying to get close to Makoto.
That's right, Makoto was also a member of the graduating class.
Although he hadn't actually attended many classes throughout the year, he had come to this ceremony purely to accompany his wives and join in the excitement.
Ready to start taking the graduation photo, Makoto was pushed by the women to the center position.
Strictly speaking, this was less a graduation photo and more a family portrait of Nishikawa Household. After all, the students in Makoto's class were basically his harem, aside from a few guys like Yu and Beam.
"Ready?" The photographer raised his hand.
Click!
The graduation ceremony was held in the auditorium. Many graduates and underclassmen went on stage one by one to perform...
When the Kessoku Band took the stage, the lights dimmed.
Four follow spots hit Ryo, Nijika, Ikuyo, and Bocchi respectively.
After three original songs written by Ryo and Bocchi, the atmosphere in the auditorium had reached its peak.
"For the last song—"
Nijika, the band leader, took the mic off the stand. Her voice was a bit lower than before, but steadier. "Makoto wrote this for us."
The audience was silent for a moment. Everyone looked at each other, 'The Commander is this fierce? Not only does he make movies, but he also writes songs? He's a true master of both arts and sports.'
"We Are The World."
After Nijika announced the song title, she stepped back behind the drum kit.
The intro flowed from Bocchi's guitars… a simple, slow melody echoing.
That's right, Makoto had plagiarized another song.
We are the world~
We are the children~
The song ended on its final note.
The auditorium was silent for two seconds, then erupted in enthusiastic applause.
The four members of the Kessoku Band stood on stage. Nijika and Ikuyo both broke into satisfied smiles. Even the usually expressionless Ryo had the corners of her mouth slightly, almost imperceptibly, raised. And Bocchi was already moved to tears.
'I, I can shine this brightly too? Can I really do such a normie thing as performing at a graduation ceremony?'
Just then, a Poké Ball on Ryo's belt opened by itself.
Red light surged from the ball, transforming into a bull-headed, octopus-tailed monster that nearly pierced the ceiling of the auditorium. The stage floor made a loud noise, nearly collapsing.
The Eight-Tails, Gyuki, stood on stage. His enormous body cast a shadow that covered half the auditorium.
"A m-monster has appeared!"
Someone shouted first.
The people in the auditorium hit fast-forward, madly running towards the exits. A stampede was about to happen.
"Calm down, you amateurs."
Yu scolded displeased.
The commotion in the crowd subsided within seconds. Only then did everyone remember that Makoto and Yu were here. Those who had already run to the doors sheepishly walked back to their seats.
They looked curiously at the bull-headed, octopus-tailed monster.
'Could this be a new pet of the Commander?'
Then-
The Eight-Tails' tentacle picked up the microphone that Ikuyo, the lead singer, had been using earlier. The microphone looked like a toothpick between its tentacles. It carefully brought it to its mouth.
"Now, I, the great Eight-Tails, Gyuki, shall sing a song!"
The speakers above the stage let out a sharp screeching feedback.
The Eight-Tails cleared its throat, hopping and skipping at the edge of the stage as it sang.
"You're so beautiful... baby... you're just so damn beautiful!"
When it sang 'just so damn beautiful', the Eight-Tails moved the microphone away from its mouth. It turned its back and began shrugging its shoulders from side to side. The dance was somewhere between demonic and even more devilish, strangely hard to look away from.
"One more look and it'll explode! Get any closer and you'll melt!"
The auditorium was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Because of Makoto's involvement, this graduation season was receiving attention from many media outlets worldwide.
However, when the audience saw the Eight-Tails' demonic dance on stage, all the viewers who had started watching because of the Eight-Tails were dumbfounded.
'What the hell is this?'
Ryo stood in the shadows at the side of the stage, applauding her partner.
The Eight-Tails finally finished singing. Its tentacle reached over and touched the Poké Ball on Ryo's belt.
With a poof, it turned into red light and retreated back into the ball.
The stage was in a shambles. Little angel Nijika smiled awkwardly and apologized to the audience, as always cleaning up after her bandmates.
Then she pulled Ryo, Bocchi, and the others off stage quickly.
As Ryo passed by Makoto, she suddenly turned around, stood on her tiptoes, reached up, and cupped his face.
She kissed him.
Another wave of exclamations rippled through the audience.
Now they understood. This blue-haired girl was going to make it big.
Ryo laughed as she kissed.
With such a strong boyfriend, not showing him off would mean she was just being wasted on him.
Meanwhile, her three bandmates, who had been intently watching from the side, had complex expressions.
Even Ikuyo, a big fan of Ryo, couldn't be happy at this moment. She whispered to Nijika and Bocchi: "I feel like Ryo-senpai is getting more and more outrageous."
Nijika, the little angel, also nodded emphatically.
She felt like she and her bandmates had become part of this girl Ryo's role-play.