Chapter 47: The Regional Tournament
At 12:00 PM, the main hall of the Shibuya Ward Comprehensive Cultural Center was bustling with noise. Professional audio equipment and stage lighting combined to create the tense atmosphere of an official competition. The first few rows of the spectator stands were already packed with families of the contestants, while scattered practice notes and the gentle, reassuring voices of staff members drifted from backstage from time to time.
After making her way through the fierce screening process of the online preliminary rounds, Ruby had successfully advanced to the regional tournament phase. The Kanto Regional Tournament of the 15th Japan National Youth Vocal Awards was scheduled to officially begin at 1:00 PM. A total of 120 contestants across all age groups from the Kanto region had advanced to the live event, with Ruby competing in the toddler division.
Today, Hikaru Hoshino, Ai, Ichigo Saitou, Miyako Saitou, and Aqua had all made a special trip to accompany Ruby for the competition. The moment they stepped into the Cultural Center hall, they instantly felt the solemnity of the live event.
Both Hikaru and Ai were heavily bundled up, wearing a full layout of sunglasses and hats, deeply terrified of being recognized by fans.
Ruby's outfit today had been put together with exceptional care. On her upper body, she wore a small, red casual jacket with a simple, cute design featuring a zippered front and slightly tapered cuffs that perfectly framed her slender arms. Her lower body featured a bright orange pleated mini-skirt that cut off right at mid-thigh, its pleats swaying lightly as she walked to create a lively, energetic look. Underneath, she wore a pair of purple knit autumn leggings, the snug fabric wrapping around her adorable calves.
While the red, orange, and purple color combination was incredibly bold, it came together in a surprisingly harmonious way on her–a perfectly curated ensemble of cute children's clothing. Complemented by her long blonde hair that shone like brilliant sunshine and her ruby-like twinkling eyes, she looked exceptionally endearing.
Ruby clutched Ai's hand tightly, her tiny face filled with visible anxiety. This was her first time ever stepping onto a stage to perform, and to make matters worse, the performance involved singing–something she wasn't particularly good at.
"I never thought the day would come where I'd need a full disguise too," Hikaru muttered, pulling his hat brim down with a dry chuckle.
"Well, Hikaru is a massive superstar now, after all," Ai teased, flashing a playful wink.
Miyako chimed in from the side with a smirk, "If you ran out there right now and belted out a few lines, I bet at least half the room would recognize the song."
Ruby tugged at Hikaru's sleeve, tilting her little face up to look at him. Taking a deep breath, she asked, "Weren't you nervous the first time you went on stage?"
Hikaru crouched down, meeting Ruby's eyes. "Of course I was. I was scared to death."
"But that's completely normal. Except for the select few who are born for the stage, most people feel nervous and want to shrink away when they have to stand out in front of a massive crowd." He smiled gently. "The psychological pressure can be overwhelming sometimes. It's incredibly common to make mistakes or perform worse than you do during practice."
The moment a person is exposed to the gaze of others, they transition from being a subject to an object–turning into nothing more than an image in someone else's eyes.
"What about Mom?" Ruby turned her head toward Ai.
"I was exactly the same way. Back during B-Komachi's very first live performance, my palms were completely drenched in sweat," Ai said, lightly stroking Ruby's hair.
Aqua asked with a look of confusion, "But wasn't that specific performance a massive success?"
"That's only because Ai used to practice incredibly hard on a regular basis," Hikaru said, looking directly at Ruby with a serious expression. "When the time comes, if you're too nervous to calm your mind, then just blindly trust yourself. Trust that the hard work you put in during practice won't betray you. When you're out there, your body will take over and move on its own."
Ichigo nodded in agreement. "Well said, even if it sounds a bit poetic. But honestly, that's exactly how it works. Your mental state only dictates your immediate execution, while a person's overall foundation is strictly determined by their daily sweat and practice."
Right at that moment, Hikaru's phone suddenly vibrated, the screen displaying an incoming call from Takashi Tsunomori. He stepped away to take the call, returning to the group a short while later.
"Was it anything urgent, Hikaru?" Ai asked caringly.
Ruby self-consciously turned her head away. "If you have somewhere important to be, you can just leave. It's not like I need people to baby me."
Hikaru rustled Ruby's hair, chuckling softly. "It's nothing, just a quick notice."
The group moved over to take their seats in the audience, while Ichigo and Miyako led Ruby toward the backstage holding area to prepare.
The three had barely left when an unexpected little guest approached them–Kana Arima materialized right before them, wearing a wide-brimmed white hat.
Aqua looked slightly taken by surprise. "What are you doing here?"
Kana snatched her hat off, revealing her delicate little face. "Ruby is a student I personally coached. What's wrong with me coming out to watch her performance?"
Hikaru asked, thoroughly puzzled, "Did you actually buy a ticket?"
"Of course I did!" Kana huffed, looking highly irritated. "But my seat is way in the back."
"Then just sit over here," Hikaru offered. "You can take Ruby's seat for now."
Once the clock struck 1:00 PM, the host stepped onto the center stage, announcing the official commencement of the Kanto Regional Tournament in a warm, welcoming tone.
"I am your host for today, Misaki Tanaka. Following a fierce online preliminary round, a total of 120 exceptional young contestants have made it to the Kanto Regional competition, including 25 children in our toddler division. Seated in the front row are today's judges, consisting of music education experts, children's song lyricists and composers, and representatives from the Music Association."
"First, allow me to introduce today's distinguished panel of judges." Host Misaki Tanaka turned toward the front row. "Professor Sato from the Tokyo College of Music."
A white-haired old man stood up, cheerfully waving toward the spectator stands.
"The renowned children's song lyricist, Ms. Tamura."
A gentle, middle-aged female judge rose with a pleasant smile and bowed.
"The representative from the Kanto Music Association, Mr. Yamada."
"And our producer from NHK Educational TV, Mr. Suzuki."
"Lastly, our music education expert, Ms. Kobayashi."
The remaining judges took turns standing up and waving to greet the crowd.
Sitting in the stands, Hikaru found the whole process a bit tedious. "Every single competition uses the exact same cookie-cutter routine. Do they seriously have to introduce these useless old judges first?"
Ichigo frowned. "Those are established veterans in the industry. You should show some respect."
"Yeah, yeah," Hikaru muttered, letting out a yawn.
"Without further ado, I declare the Kanto Regional Tournament officially open!"
"The competition has officially begun! First up, we have the contestants from our toddler division." Host Misaki Tanaka's voice echoed through the venue. "Contestant number one, Hana-chan from Kanagawa Prefecture, please step onto the stage!"
The first young contestant was a little girl in a white dress who walked onto the stage rather timidly, her hands trembling slightly as she held the microphone.
Her voice was incredibly crisp, but you could hear a distinct trace of anxiety in her performance. Though her vocals wavered, she managed to push through and finish the song.
"Thank you, Hana-chan, for that wonderful performance! Next up is contestant number two, Taro-kun from Chiba Prefecture!"
The second contestant was an energetic boy dressed in a miniature blue suit. He threw himself entirely into his performance, singing at the top of his lungs. Although his pitch was a bit off, his performance was bursting with innocent charm, drawing warm smiles from the entire audience.
Since every nursery rhyme was exceptionally short, a dozen children had already taken turns on stage in a flash.
Hikaru didn't find any of them particularly exceptional, and they were all performing classic children's songs from this world.
Even so, the voices of these children were remarkably pleasant–clear and resonant, sounding like ringing silver bells.
"They all have the baseline potential to become professional singers," he observed.
Kana Arima held a completely different opinion. "The entertainment industry is brutal. Talented children are dime a dozen; whether they actually grow up without losing their edge is an entirely different story."
Aqua turned his head to look at her. "Do you think you'll lose your edge?"
"Hmph!" Kana puffed her cheeks out in annoyance. "I am a genius child actor. Naturally, I'll grow up to be a genius actress."
As time ticked away, it was finally time for contestant number 18. Host Misaki Tanaka introduced Ruby's arrival in a warm tone.
"Next up is contestant number 18, Ruby-chan from Tokyo. She will be performing 'Little Star,' a bilingual Japanese-English original arrangement created by Anonymous."
"Well then, Ruby-chan, please begin your performance!"
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