Kiki the Songstress and Master Uto's Teachings (
Summary[]
Rentarou's Family (at 27 members) gathers on the roof for Uto's performance. Oh...? Some can't seem to get enough...
Uto is waxing poetic singing about eyebrows; Karane tells Himeka that it may sound painful to hear it as a legitimate singer, but she doesn't mind it. However Himeka surprises everyone by stating despite holding off for so long, she wants the bard to mentor her in singing! Uto states that the way of life of a bard is one should aspire for; Karane is shocked that a professional would want Uto's advice and that her mentorship will just make her singing worse, but Himeka's reasoning is that she wants to be an "abnormal" genius and not just a regular genius and that Uto's means including the timbre of her ocarina and lilt of her lyrics are as abnormal as they can get! Even as others try to tell her to not to, Himeka relents that she isn't strange enough with just her "abnormal" song choices but her songs merely turn out "okay" and that she lacks the gift of actually singing "strange songs" compared to Uto, admiring her flair with her aloofness, independence and mysterious point of view akin to a "modern Kenshi Yonezu" (despite him still being alive). In order to understand her flair, Himeka asks to learn "the bard way of life" from Uto. However Uto's advice to Himeka merely is lyrics from a song from "Castle in the Sky", which everyone calls out even as she tries to give "substance" to it.
Himeka and Uto soon head to the forest where they begin fishing in a puddle; the idol wonders why they're doing it and Uto states "maybe they're fishing for nothing at all and maybe not"; Himeka still doesn't get it but does consider it abnormal as she decides to spend time just living "the bard way of life": fishing, campfires, piling rocks, watching insects, embracing the wind. By the end of the day, Kiki thanks Uto and believes she's one step closer to being "abnormal" and it's a better path than aimlessly seeking it out on her own, while Uto states "every day may be a step in itself".
After leaving Himeka, Uto returns home and spends her night trying (and failing) to learn to play ocarina as she usually does before putting it away and listening to late night radio in her bed. Eventually a song by "Kiki-san" appears on the radio and the announcers admire her genius from a young age and how amazing she is, making Uto quiet as she goes to sleep.
The next day at school, Himeka asks for more advice from Uto, but the bard states she has an errand to handle today (perhaps); this goes on for several days as Uto continues to ignore Himeka's desire to learn from her. Eventually the idol snaps wondering if she did something wrong; Uto is shocked before admitting she's much more talented than the bard and that Uto is merely a poser who is not as amazing as what Kiki wants to believe. But Himeka states how is that a problem if she doesn't know anything about that and that Uto is the type of person she aspires to be like; thus if Uto thinks Himeka is amazing, then Uto is more amazing since she's amazing to the idol; making Uto admit her logic is that similar to an egotistical princess.
However, another student suddenly appears behind both of them seeing "Kiki" and believing they can take a picture of her to sell online. Himeka and Uto hear his action and the idol asks about the picture as the male student denies doing such a thing, stating "he was taking a picture of the hallway and there happened to be people in it"; but Himeka states that if it was the hallway, they should be out of focus and still asks to see it, but the student decides to leave in disgust. But without warning, Uto takes a picture of him with her own cell phone, stating she was also taking a picture of the hallway that he happened to be in, giving him the terrible feeling of just suddenly having his picture taken before stating he's going to give it to "a police officer relative she has" that may lead to his identification and his phone being confiscated. Uto states that he probably knows that Kiki is an entertainer and taking a picture infringes on her rights of defamation and privacy and that the police can still retrieve cell phone photos even after deletion; this ultimately convinces the boy to delete the photo and leave as Himeka states "if he wants a picture, ask next time".
After the incident, Himeka asks Uto if she does have a police officer in the family, but Uto states if she did the research of her family lineage among all her parents and grandparents and their siblings throughout generations, they may exist with a hard enough search. Uto admits she was just articulating what was right in that moment, which Himeka admires in helping her out; stating that no matter what Uto states or feels, the idol still thinks she's amazing. The bard merely just continues to call Himeka stubborn for that idea.
Characters[]
- Uto Nakaji
- Nano Eiai
- Shizuka Yoshimoto
- Aashii Kedarui
- Rentarou Aijou
- Karane Inda
- Rin Baio
- Eira Kaho
- Himeka Saiki
- Hakari Hanazono
- Iku Sutou
- Yamame Yasashiki
- Kishika Torotoro
- Kusuri Yakuzen
- Momoha Bonnouji
- Chiyo Iin
Quote[]
- Beginning: Accepting one another, all the way, a bouquet bursting with love
- End: Amazing amazes you and I alike.
- Next Chapter: It's a festival, everybody!