Unspoken Words

Chapter 121: S2 Episode 20 - Unspoken Words

If it was a tragic accident, his mother would be the one on call for duty and would need to perform surgery if necessary, and that was Kashino's main concern.

Just what kind of accident did Michiko Keiko get into to receive primary surgery from his mom?

It's not like he could ask his mother since it was the rule for a doctor to never disclose private information about their patients unless permission was given, and therefore, Michiko Keiko's permission was never received.

Yet another mystery about this peculiar girl…

As they walked in the hallway, they could hear children's laughter and joy from one of the doors.

'Michiko?' Kashino thought to himself as he slid open the door.

Revealed in front of them was the beautiful girl their age who sat on the floor along with Andou's four siblings and the sweet spirits.

Countless papers were spread all over the soft bamboo floor and many of them had been drawn on. They could see Michiko Keiko drawing on a piece of paper with colored pencils while her sweets spirit, Fraise, sat on her shoulder and observed.

All of the children and the sweet spirits watched her draw with awe and astonishment on their faces.

When the three boys walked in, they could see the beautiful drawings she made and they understood why the children and sweets spirits were amazed at her drawing skills. She was good at a lot of things, and drawing was another one she was good at.

As if she hadn't heard their arrival, she paid no mind to them while she was clearly in the zone.

"Michiko?" Hanabusa inquired when they approached her, and finally, she looked up to acknowledge her teammates.

"Oh, hi," Keiko said as she put down a gold-colored pencil. She had been previously laying down and resting her chin on her hand, but she quickly fixed her posture to talk to them.

"I was trying to draw out the images I had for the final round's cake," she said innocently as she held a piece of paper in her hands.

"Keiko Onee-chan is really good at drawing!" Ichita, Andou's younger brother, cutely complimented her drawing skills.

Cafe, Caramel, and Chocolat picked up several of her drawn-out ideas that were spread all over the floor, bringing them to their human partners to look at.

They could see such a detailed-looking sketch that Michiko Keiko drew, along with her neat handwriting that specified every single detail of her idea. Truthfully, the boys were astonished by just how quickly she was able to put things together despite only leaving the dining table for a short while.

"You drew an angel?" Kashino asked Keiko as he showed her the picture of a chocolate sculpted female angel. The expression on the angel's face was elegant and beautiful despite it being a drawing, and the ruffles on her dress were nicely accentuated. What really caught his attention were its large wings that sprouted from her body. It truly was a majestic figure.

"Ah, well it's still in bits and pieces though," Keiko scratched her head while she looked around the several drawings she made scattered all around her.

"A candy sculpted stairway and butterflies…" Hanabusa muttered in thought.

"These are clouds all over?" Andou asked with amazement.

"Ideas and images came to my mind as I was thinking about what we were going to do for the final round. I'm still in the process of rearranging everything, but I really think that we can do this!" Keiko motivated her teammates while they observed her sitting up on the floor.

The idea and elements of this cake seemed complex, but in reality, she'd thought about every single thing and piece that would be on there. Not to mention, the most simplistic method to make everything in a reasonable amount of time.

Everything that she drew and specified was already calculated ahead of time by Keiko herself. It was clear she knew what she was doing and the weaknesses and strengths of her teammates. They didn't pick her as their team leader for no reason. Even they viewed her as far superior to themselves.

"It's kind of like a stairway to heaven. Where does the theme of this round come in?" Kashino asked her, and it looked like she'd anticipated this question as she cleared her throat to explain.

She showed a calm smile on her face and closed her eyes as if to envision this "Dream Cake."

"The spiral road and butterflies are supposed to show how each person is walking to their own paths and flying towards their dream despite the bumpy road to get there. The door at the top of the road represents the final destination to our desired dreams, while the angel in the middle represents those who've died, guiding us toward the right path," Keiko explained with a beautiful small smile on her face.

She opened her eyes up again to reveal a bright shine in her blue eyes which made each person in the room feel goosebumps crawl down their skin.

They had to admit, Keiko was really good at explaining things so wonderfully inspiring to them. When they looked at each element she'd illustrated and explained, it was as if they could see the "Dream Cake" she saw. But behind that small smile, there seemed to be more behind this cake than meets the eye, and it seemed quite sad in a way.

"What do you guys think about it? Is it weird? Is it not good?" Keiko was now trying to gain their opinions because it was obvious that she didn't want to force her idea onto her teammates despite what she may think about the cake.

Her teammates' approval mattered the most because it was a cake that everyone would have to work hard to make together.

The 3 boys could see her frazzled reaction which made them form a small smile on their face as they watched Keiko pacing around like a puppy wanting its owner's attention.

"It's not weird… because this is just what it is for us…" Kashino told her, which meant that he didn't hate the idea.

"Yeah, we think it's nice, too," Hanabusa and Andou agreed as well.

"We want to try making it," the boys said together in unison, intrigued by her plan.

She breathed a sigh of relief after hearing them say that, but she knew that the cake's idea had to be more polished than what she had.

"Alright, if it's decided then we can't remain idle. Let's head back to school and start making it," Keiko readily decided and the boys and their spirits agreed.

Keiko and the Sweets Princes started getting prepared to leave Yumezuki after their sudden decision to practice making their dream cake for the final round.

~

"Eh? You're going back already?" Andou's family asked the kids in disbelief only after they'd stayed for about an hour or so.

The adults barely even got to catch up with the kids' school life and only managed to hear a few things. All they were aware of was that the kids would be going into the final round of the Cake Grand Prix to compete against the best team in the high school division in order to win.

They knew just how capable these 4 kids were despite their young ages, but it was unbelievable that they would have to go against the best high school team. Was that even fair? Could they even win?

The adults couldn't help but look at them with concern because they completely believed that a middle school team going against the best high school team at the school was unreasonable!

"Why couldn't they just limit it down to the middle school division competing against each other? Why bring the high school division into this?" Andou's mother asked the kids who sighed at the question.

Honestly, Team Michiko also believed that it was unfair but there was nothing they could do about it. It was just how the academy arranged it.

"It's because this competition is rigged to have the high school division win," Michiko Keiko responded nonchalantly. She had an emotionless smile when she spoke but it didn't really disguise the spitefulness on her face.

"Even in the past years, the high school division has always won the Grand Prix. Never has a middle school team ever won, not to mention ever getting this far," Andou said defeatedly.

The adults viewed the teenagers who looked helplessly into the abyss. Despite the unfairness of this competition, the adults still had faith in them.

"Well, this could be the first time that a team from the middle school division might win, so cheer up!" Andou's father was energized, which made the three sweets princes gather a bit more motivation in their eyes.

But standing next to the sweets princes was the unaffected Michiko Keiko. Although the adults were trying their best to motivate them, she remained unmoved. Somehow, she carried more of a depressing aura than usual.

"It's… not as simple as that," Keiko began, which turned the heads of everyone her way. "Although we may be the first middle school team to have made it to the finals in the academy's history… W-we…"

She stopped right there and didn't continue. She looked each of her teammates in the eyes and the sweets spirits they had by their side. She then glanced over at her sweets spirit, Fraise, who sat right on her left shoulder.

Keiko could see the concern in Fraise's eyes, along with everyone else. They wondered what she was going to say but she immediately stopped, not because she didn't know what to say… but because she didn't want to say it.