[TSSIM] Chapter 439: Deja Vu

At this moment, not only on the rooftop but even downstairs, a huge crowd had gathered—some people didn't even bother with umbrellas!

Even though the school festival organizers had repeatedly urged them to use umbrellas, it was all in vain.

A big group of people stood in the rain, waiting for Muse to make an appearance.

'Are they true fans? Or just fanatics?'

Seeing the huge crowd, Homura wondered.

'Well, whatever kind of fan they are, they're definitely not your average ones.'

Shaking his head and setting aside his thoughts, Homura pulled out a large handful of glow sticks from the inner pocket of his jacket.

Girls: "…"

"You know what, this feeling… it's oddly familiar…" Utaha remarked, her mouth twitched. 

"If Ayano-san were here today, it'd probably look even more familiar, right?"

As Homura handed out the glow sticks to the girls, Megumi added with a hint of exasperation

After distributing the first batch of glow sticks, Homura surprisingly pulled out another handful!

Now, the girls were not only speechless but also shocked!

Had he not given them all out already? What was the deal with pulling out another handful? And where was he even getting those glow sticks?

Soon, they watched as Homura began distributing them to other people.

"Come on, come on, you can't have this kind of atmosphere without glow sticks!"

Homura exclaimed as he distributed the glow sticks to the people who came to watch Muse.

"Uhh… thanks..."

"No problem, no problem. Here, this one's for you, Onee-san."

"Tha—Wait! You're Minamiya-sensei?!"

"Shh, keep it low, okay?"

"Minamiya-sensei! I want one too!"

"Oh, here—Wait, you've got your own but you're still eyeing mine, huh?"

"No, it's not the same! Can what Minamiya-sensei gives be the same as mine?"

"Okay, okay, you've got a point…"

Meanwhile, Honoka and the others, who were adjusting the equipment on stage, saw Homura's actions and felt both amused and somewhat touched.

"Uh…" Eriri opened her mouth, unsure of what to say.

Tsumugi looked at Homura's antic, both amused and bewildered.

It was the first time she had seen him like this.

After a while, Homura returned from handing out glow sticks and pulled a headband from his pocket.

"Hmm… I feel deja vu…" Elf said expressionlessly.

"I have a feeling I know what Homura-kun is going to do next…" Nanami chimed in, also expressionless.

In the next moment, Homura suddenly took off his jacket!

Seeing this, the girls from Another Dimension exchanged knowing looks as they saw the support T-shirt Homura was wearing, wondering when he had gotten it.

"Nii-san, you're being too much!" Sagiri exclaimed with an unhappy tone.

Homura was taken aback.

'What's wrong with Sagiri?'

He wondered, then draped his jacket over Sagiri.

"How am I being too much?"

"Why doesn't everyone else get one of these T-shirts?" Sagiri asked demandingly.

"Huh? Who said there aren't?"

"…"

Sagiri froze for a moment before her expression lit up.

"Where?!"

"At home… I forgot because I was worried about Honoka today."

"..."

Seeing Sagiri fall silent and her shoulders deflate, Homura had a wry smile.

"By the way, Homura, is this T-shirt custom-made?"

Eriri suddenly asked while circling around Homura.

"I'll be honest, it looks pretty good."

"Yeah, it's custom-made." Homura nodded proudly.

"Where did you get it made? We didn't notice at all." Elf asked, puzzled.

"Well, well, this T-shirt was handcrafted by Minamiya-sensei himself—no sewing machine was used at all."

Girls: "…"

"You mean you made this yourself?!" Eriri asked incredulously, her eyebrows raised.

"Umu." Homura nodded.

"Seriously? You did such a terrible job last time..."

Homura: "..."

"Last time, I didn't know how to sew, okay? But now I've got the hang of it!"

"Did you secretly learn sewing while we weren't looking?" Utaha asked with interest.

"Nah, I didn't specifically learn it." Homura shrugged. "I just picked it up while watching Kotori and the others make that bride outfit for Rin."

Upon hearing this, the girls rolled their eyes.

Once again, Homura was showing off.

"Senpai should learn sculpting next, then he won't need anyone else to make his figurines..." Nayuta muttered under her breath.

Upon hearing this, Homura pondered for a moment and then nodded.

"Yeah, I've thought about it, but... I don't have enough free time to go out of my way to learn it."

""OOOOOOHHHHHH—!!!""

Suddenly, the crowd stirred with excitement.

Everyone stopped talking and focused their attention on the stage.

...

At the same time, on the internet.

[Comment 1: It's starting, it's starting!]

[Comment 2: Seriously, why's it gotta rain today?!]

[Comment 3: If you're a true fan, rain or shine, it doesn't matter! You must be a fake fan!]

[Comment 4: Chill, dude! I drove all the way here, and the roads were super slippery! What was I supposed to do?!]

[Comment 5: Forget the car! Just run, dude!]

[Comment 6: Screw it! I'm going for it!]

[Comment 7: LMAO!]

...

On the stage, Honoka took a deep breath and stepped forward.

"Hey, everyone! We're the school idol group, Muse!"

""OOOOHHHHH—!!!""

As soon as she finished speaking, the crowd responded with an enthusiastic cheer. Even though the noise from upstairs was quite loud already, the crowd downstairs was also overwhelming—there were just so many people.

"Thank you so much for coming to our school festival, especially with the rain pouring down like this!"

"Whether you're here for the festival or to see our performance, the best way we can thank you is by giving our all in singing and dancing. That's how we show our appreciation for your support!"

In the next second, all the members of Muse bowed together.

"Thanks again, everyone! Now, please enjoy our new song, 'No Brand Girls'!"

As the music started, Homura and the others didn't position themselves at the front because they didn't want to draw too much attention.

However, not being in the front, Homura felt a bit dissatisfied.

As he looked at the guardrails around him, his eyes lit up.

Without a second thought, he used one hand to pull himself up onto the guardrail, while the other hand waved a glow stick.

Seeing this, the girls were once again left speechless by Homura's bold move.

"Oh yeah! Oh yeah! Oh yeah~!"

"One step, one leap~!"

"Oh yeah! Oh yeah! Oh yeah~!"

"Hey, we won't lose, you know~!"

At the same time, some people watching Muse's live performance didn’t forget to open their phones and chat online with other fans.

[Comment 1: Hey everyone, guess who this is?]

[Comment 2: Wait, what?]

[Comment 3: No way, Minamiya-sensei! Not gonna lie, that spot looks great, but it also looks super tiring.]

[Comment 4: LOL!]

[Comment 5: Is Minamiya-sensei the only one clinging to the guardrail?]

[Comment 6: Hey, let's get a few more people to do the same thing as Minamiya-sensei so the rooftop has more space and more people can get up here.]

[Comment 7: Good idea.]

===

Before long, Muse's first song ended.

Fortunately, Honoka's cold didn't flare up, and she managed to get through it successfully. Furthermore, she and the other eight girls were also not out of breath, showing that their training had paid off.

""Thank you, everyone!""

Honoka and the others bowed their heads with smiles, thanking the crowd.

""OOOHHHHHH—!!!"""

In the next moment, as the cheer from the crowd subsided, Honoka blurted out something unexpected.

"Actually, the fact that we nine have made it this far is all thanks to Minamiya-sensei..."

As Homura watched with a touch of surprise, Honoka narrated on some of the things they had been through.