One Week Ago
"The End of Heat has passed, and White Dew is approaching. Jubilife City will host a fireworks festival for three nights starting this Sunday."
"The event will take place at Jubilife City's West Port. Jubilife TV will broadcast the event live. We wish all citizens a pleasant holiday."
The giant screen on Jubilife TV's building replayed the announcement about the fireworks festival.
A graceful blonde woman turned her gaze away and asked the woman next to her, who was wearing sunglasses, "Do you have time in your schedule?"
The short-haired woman nodded slightly. "I can make time, but it'll be tight."
"As long as someone's with me, it's fine," Cynthia said with a soft smile. "The fireworks festival in Sinnoh… feels like such a distant memory."
"Don't you always have free time?" Diantha lowered her sunglasses and teased.
"That's exactly why I'm worried about being recognized."
Cynthia relaxed her shoulders, stretched her arms, and let out a sigh.
"If I weren't the Champion, I wouldn't feel so much pressure during my free time."
Diantha nodded gently, remaining silent for a moment before saying, "It's a rare opportunity. How about we try setting off some fireworks?"
"Huh?"
Time flew by.
The night was cool and serene.
Crowds flocked to the coastline, the sound of wooden sandals echoing.
Cynthia let Diantha tie up her golden hair, feeling uneasy. "Are you sure we won't be recognized?"
"Trust my makeup skills," Diantha said, putting away her brush. She looked Cynthia up and down and smiled. "This outfit suits you."
The deep purple dress was elegant and luxurious, her long golden hair tied into a bun with a few strands falling by her cheeks.
Cynthia stood up, looking around, and sighed. "It feels so inconvenient."
"As long as it looks good, that's all that matters. Let's go, it's time for fireworks~~"
No one recognized the two Champions.
Or perhaps everyone's attention was focused on the fireworks lighting up the night sky.
The darkness was illuminated by streaks of light, as bright as stars.
Cynthia watched the fireworks.
For a moment, she recalled the scene of her grandmother holding her hand, standing under a grand display of fireworks.
The image felt familiar, and the warmth beside her was equally comforting.
Cynthia instinctively reached out to the side.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
Cynthia shook her head, watching the fireworks with a soft smile.
"I was just thinking of a friend."
…
Two Days of Recording
Natsume recorded using the guitar, piano, drum set, and violin separately.
He edited them into a single video, with the four instruments in each corner, creating the illusion of a one-man band.
After finishing the vocal part, Natsume took off his headphones and rubbed Sylveon, who was sitting on his lap.
"I guess I'm pretty good at singing," Natsume said with a chuckle.
"Sylveon…" Sylveon yawned, lying sideways on his lap, softly humming the melody from earlier.
Natsume was slightly stunned.
Pokémon like Sylveon are highly sensitive to sound-based moves.
The move [Hyper Voice] is practically Sylveon's signature attack.
Listening to Sylveon's soft, sweet cries, Natsume-sensei's expression turned complicated. He comforted himself, "This is just [Disarming Voice]. It's still a long way from [Hyper Voice]!"
After exporting the final video, Natsume reviewed it one more time.
The first part (1P) was an instrumental version, featuring a blend of the four instruments.
The second part (2P) added vocals on top of the instrumental track.
It was a decent cover.
Glancing at the clock, it was already 9 PM.
Natsume got up, made some Pokéblocks for the little ones as a snack, and sat back in his gaming chair.
He opened Nico Dou, changed the title to: "Natsume-sensei's Late Night Radio 01: Fireworks in the Night Sky," and uploaded it to the Music category. Natsume nodded in satisfaction.
"One step closer to dominating the region!"
[Video uploading…]
[Ding! Your video has been successfully uploaded. Click to view…]
…
Kanto, Viridian City
"The fireworks festival in Saffron City will conclude tomorrow. The number of visitors has already surpassed 50,000…"
A girl with an orange ponytail swung her legs as she lay on her bed, scrolling through her phone. She then buried her face in her pillow in frustration.
"Pikachu?" The Pikachu with a bow on its head poked its Trainer with its tiny paw, looking concerned.
Yellow scratched her head, her face slightly red, and sighed.
"I… I still can't bring myself to say it!"
"Pikachu…" Pikachu shook its head, sighing in a very human-like manner.
Yellow hugged her pillow, tears welling up in her eyes as she looked at Pikachu. "Do you have any advice?"
Pikachu shook its head again, mimicking its Trainer by flopping down on the bed.
"I guess even Chuchu doesn't have a good idea. o(╥﹏╥)o"
Yellow patted her cheeks and nodded vigorously, trying to psych herself up.
"I-I'll just have to ask Red Senior next time!"
Buzz—
Her phone vibrated, and Yellow glanced at it in surprise.
"Natsume-sensei has a new update."
Yellow propped her chin on her hand, lying on her bed as she scrolled through her phone.
"He hasn't posted in a while… Is it a new strategy guide…?"
Yellow looked at the new video and read the title: "Natsume-sensei's Late Night Radio…"
"Hmm… It seems like a song."
Yellow clicked on the video and was immediately taken aback.
The video showed four corners, each featuring a different instrument.
And the person playing all four instruments was none other than Natsume-sensei.
The soothing piano intro began, followed by the drums, and the guitar joined in with a gentle harmony.
"Natsume-sensei… can play so many instruments…"
Yellow's surprise quickly turned into focus as she became immersed in the melody.
When the chorus hit, the grand sound of the violin joined in.
For some reason, Yellow began to relax.
Her thoughts wandered, and by the time she snapped out of it, the video had automatically switched to the second part (2P).
"Natsume-sensei… even wrote lyrics?"
The screen went black for a few seconds, and subtitles appeared.
[Composer, Arranger: Natsume-sensei
Performer: Natsume-sensei
Vocals: Natsume-sensei…]
Every part of the production was done solely by Natsume-sensei.
"So impressive…" Yellow clicked her tongue.
The singing began.
With the same instrumental track now accompanied by lyrics and vocals, the atmosphere changed entirely.
"It's about the fireworks festival…"
Yellow murmured, her mind conjuring images of the dazzling fireworks.
Lost in thought, the song neared its end, leaving only the soothing sound of the piano.
"Reaching out to touch… a bright future… silently watching over the two of us…"
Yellow mulled over the lyrics, her breathing quickening, her fingers trembling slightly.
Outside the window, the night was deep, a time when emotions ran high.
As Natsume-sensei would say, this was the perfect time for some late-night melancholy.
Music has a way of making people do impulsive things.
Yellow took a deep breath, her fingers trembling as she opened Red's chat interface.
She typed, deleted, and retyped multiple times, sighing in frustration. Just as she was about to delete the message again, her finger accidentally hit the send button.
[Senior, would you like to go to the fireworks festival with me tomorrow?]
"Eek!"
Yellow panicked, frantically looking for the undo button. When she saw the [Read] notification, her heart nearly stopped.
Five agonizing seconds later.
Yellow covered her face with her hands, peeking through her fingers at Red's reply.
[Red: Sure.]
Yellow let out a long sigh, one that seemed to go on forever.
She discreetly wiped the corner of her eye and typed with a smile: [It's a date!]
…
"Fireworks in the Night Sky" topped the Music category on its first day of release.
Shares and favorites skyrocketed.
And when people saw the creator's ID, everyone gasped.
"Natsume-sensei?!"
Composition, arrangement, performance, and vocals—all done by Natsume-sensei alone.
"He's not giving anyone else a chance to make money!"
"That's our Natsume-sensei for you!"
While other creators had also tried branching out into different fields, few could match Natsume-sensei's ability to jump between regions while maintaining such high quality.
This new song earned Natsume-sensei a wave of new fans, particularly among mothers.
"You can cook, and now you're an independent musician too?"
"I need to find a way to marry this man."
"Natsume-sensei, we love you!"
The description of the video also sparked quite a bit of discussion:
[For a friend in Sinnoh.]
"Shocking! Natsume-sensei wrote this song for her…"
"A friend in Sinnoh? It's not Cynthia, is it? Hahaha."
Natsume glanced at the exploding backend data but didn't think much of it.
Covering songs was just something he did casually.
His main focus was still on raising his little ones.
Natsume also turned down offers from several record companies for packaging and signing deals—
No one's getting a single penny from me!
Meanwhile, in Natsume-sensei's chat group…
Yellow: [Picture] Fireworks festival! (≧ ≦)??
Gold: Oh! Crystal and I went to the fireworks festival in Johto too!
Steven smiled. "If you ever visit Hoenn, I can take you there as well."
Natsume took a closer look at the picture Yellow had sent.
Aside from Yellow and Red, there was also an awkward-looking Blue Oak standing nearby.
Natsume shook his head and clicked his tongue. "That's the Battler for you!"
Erika: @Natsume-sensei, the new song is amazing! (laughs while covering mouth)
Lorelei, the Ice-type Elite Four member from the Sevii Islands, awkwardly coughed:
"+1."
She would never admit that she had cried all night under her blanket.
Her bedsheet was soaked!
Receiving the group's approval, Natsume-sensei nodded in satisfaction.
He opened the chat interface and forwarded the song to "Cabbage Ice Cream."
"This is for you," Natsume-sensei said.
…
Autumn Equinox
Diantha had already bid farewell to Cynthia and returned to Kalos for the filming of her new movie.
Cynthia returned to her usual routine of research, slacking off, and training.
One day, Cynthia leaned back in her wicker chair, sipping juice handed to her by Roserade.
She let her mind wander.
Then, the notification sound from her phone brought her back to reality.
Cynthia glanced at it, clicked the link, and put on her headphones.
As the piano and soft singing began, Cynthia's heart unexpectedly calmed.
"The fireworks in my eyes must mean summer hasn't ended yet…"
"Untangling the knots in my heart and tying them tightly together, I wish this night would never end…"
The song came to an end.
Cynthia's heart skipped a beat.
A feeling she had never experienced before quietly welled up in her chest.
After a long while, Cynthia smiled. "It's beautiful."
"When's the research conference?"
"Next week."
"I'll definitely be there," Natsume said. "To see you."
Cynthia was slightly stunned.
Her fair cheeks, usually hidden by her golden hair, were tinged with a rare blush.
Crack!
Cynthia looked down at the shattered glass on the floor, lost in thought.
"It's just, you know… the debt will take some time to pay off…"
"No rush," Cynthia said, snapping out of it with a smile. "I can lend you more if you need."
Natsume immediately started coughing.
"I don't need it right now…"
"Next time, for sure!"
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