Fame My Ass!

Chapter 123: S2 Episode 22 - Fame My Ass!

After reading articles about me, I was only barely relieved because they didn't discuss much of my background since I was more of an aloof person. As long as they didn't figure out who my mother was, I didn't mind too much of this attention. All that mattered was that that secret never got out unless I was ready to talk about it. It still didn't change the fact that I was uncomfortable with the countless amounts of articles about me or my teammates.

"Geez, these comment sections really like you," Fraise pointed out as she peered through my phone screen while she sat on my left shoulder.

"Well, well! Aren't you young'uns popular! I might as well ask for your autographs now before you get too popular!" Andou's grandfather said jokingly to dismiss our clear discomfort.

"Isn't it obvious that the academy is just doing this for a cash grab? I mean, who would actually buy these tickets?" Kashino asked us, but from a distance, we could see Andou's parents sweating profusely in the background.

"N-no… you didn't… Did you?" Andou unsurely asked his parents who chuckled nervously.

"Well, I mean, we obviously saw that our son and his teammates were going to perform so of course we bought some tickets for our family to see! Hehehe…" Andou's mother responded only to have her son sigh at her explanation.

"R-right."

RING! RING! RING!

Not too long after, Hanabusa's phone started ringing and he immediately picked it up.

"Hey, Mom—U-uh, what? Yeah, I guess… Okay, take care…" Hanabusa spoke in short sentences but we could tell that he was also confused over the phone.

"Your mom?" Andou asked him.

"Yeah, she said that she just saw the news and already bought a ticket to watch us," Hanabusa confessed sheepishly which made Andou's parents a bit relieved that they weren't the only parents who bought a ticket to watch their child.

Bzzzt! Bzzzt!

Suddenly, Kashino's phone vibrated in his hand and he began reading something on it. His face immediately turned sour and he began texting with clear disturbance, finally sending his message.

"Did Auntie text you just now?" Andou asked his childhood friend to which Kashino replied with a heavy sigh.

"*sigh* Yeah. She said that she bought tickets for my family to watch and to make sure that I didn't disappoint them by losing," Kashino replied which made each of us shudder.

'Well, that's one way of putting things to show that you're supporting your child I guess?'

I put my phone in my pants pocket but everyone looked at me as if they were expecting something.

"Michiko-chan, are you not going to call your family?" Andou's parents asked and I shook my head in response.

"No, not yet. I'll call them later," I said curtly, ending it at that. My mind was more preoccupied with something else.

"Instead of standing around, we need to start practicing for the finals!"

The sweets princes and their sweets spirits nodded their heads in agreement.

"Thank you for having us over," I bowed my head down to Andou's family as we prepared to leave Yumezuki's.

"Make sure you guys take a proper rest! Also, don't get too stressed and eat a big meal!" Andou's mother said as she bade us farewell.

"Take care and do your best!" Andou's father waved.

"You young'uns better make us proud," Andou's grandfather said while he nodded his head in approval at us who walked out of the door.

Finally, we bade farewell to the adults and kids of Yumezuki's and left for the academy.

* * *

When we got back to St. Marie, we had just passed by the iconic large black gates of the academy to see an enormous crowd of students awaiting our arrival.

It was obvious that all of the attention was on us. Many of the students from both the middle school and high school division looked at us in amazement or muttered to the people around them.

It was unfamiliar for all of us because we haven't experienced this much attention. Sure, the sweets princes had many girls that liked them, but it was never as big as *this* before. Pictures of the three of them were waved in the air by many female students, each poster capturing their handsome faces.

"Oh, Kashino Makoto, step on me!"

"Hey, notice me Hanabusa-senpai!"

"Can you date me Andou-kun?!"

Countless screams and noises infiltrated our ears and I turned my head to see the boys' reaction. I wasn't too sure if they liked the attention because they seemed quite uncomfortable with this situation. Usually, I would expect Hanabusa to at least enjoy the recognition but even he didn't know how to handle it.

"The news wasn't even out until a short while ago. I guess word traveled fast," Hanabusa spouted, eyeing the crowd of students.

"I wasn't expecting it to be this bad, but I was wrong," Andou added.

"Yeah, it's already getting annoying," Kashino said with a furious expression.

"Let's ignore them for now and focus on what we need to do, okay?" I reassured them as we attempted to walk inside the school.

But before I could even take my first step past the gate, boys and girls began crowding around me.

"Our Ice Princess is so famous now!"

"You better win against Team Tennouji!"

"Did you read the articles about you?"

"What are you guys making for the finals?"

"Can I get your autograph before the others beat me to it?"

With them blocking my path, I was unable to get through while they crowded around me.

'W-what the hell?! I only took one step and they already blocked me!'

I was taken aback and annoyed at the same time. I just wanted to get inside the academy!

Students held pictures and posters of me in the crowd as well, but it seemed like it was to the extent that my posters far outweighed those of the sweets princes. I could see my face all around me.

"This isn't good," Fraise muttered to me and I nodded my head.

She was right, there was no way I could get out of this without flying above the crowd or teleporting. You'd think that if there were such things as sweet spirits in this world, why couldn't I fly?

My three teammates followed close behind me and they were just as cramped as I was.

"Geez! Get off me!" Kashino yelled at girls who were grabbing at him.

"Haha, can I get through now?" Andou tried to speak with ease but was obviously nervous.

"Excuse me," Hanabusa said as he squeezed his way through.

"Fraise, can't you just teleport us or fly us out of here?" I asked, trying to find a solution but she only shook her head in reply.

"No, it's not possible for us to teleport or make others fly. Maybe if we were in the Sweets Kingdom World it'd be possible, but not on Earth," Fraise responded which only disappointed me.

'How are we going to get out of this?'

As if right on time, an adult man's voice rang through the courtyard of the school.

"STUDENTS! PLEASE ALLOW TEAM MICHIKO TO GET THROUGH!"

After making that announcement, the students backed away to reveal an old looking man with a black formal suit and glasses. It was none other than Chairman Moriyama.

The crowd made a path for the chairman to get through as he approached us who had been stuck in the middle of the crowd.

"Please refrain from crowding around these students," Chairman Moriyama said to the crowd, walking even closer to us.

Finally, the crowd backed off, leaving us enough space to breathe.

"Follow me, Team Michiko," Chairman Moriyama instructed, leading our team inside the academy.

We finally got inside the main hall entrance of the academy and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hu, I thought I was going to die in there," said Kashino, who rubbed his forehead in pain.

"Ah, yes. I'm very sorry about that, hohoho!" The chairman gave out his iconic belly laugh which only made us annoyed.

'Did this seem funny to this old man? He's mainly the reason why we're dealing with this right now!'

I was infuriated.

"Chairman, how come we never got any news of this until just today?" I asked him, gritting my teeth to hold back any curse words that may slip out.

"Sorry, but I was going to inform you of that until you guys got back! Turns out you already knew so it doesn't matter much anymore! Hahaha!" His green eyes looked to me, but he didn't seem the least bit apologetic.

'Argh! This old man!!!'

"I don't know, but maybe telling us BEFORE you announced to Japan would've been logical, wouldn't it?" I said with a calm smile which was plastered with thorns and mockery.

"Actually, we were going to tell you the news this morning, but we realized that you all were absent early in the morning. We discussed it with Team Tennouji and they consented with this news," the chairman explained, which caused me to rethink my thoughts.

'Ugh, just because we got up early to save Kashino from his family doesn't mean that only one team's opinion matters!'

I truly wanted to slap my forehead in front of him, but I restrained myself from doing so.

"Ah, whatever. It's too late to do anything now," I gave in.

No matter how much I wanted to beat this old man into a bloody pulp, I didn't want to risk being expelled.

"Just think of it this way, if the two final teams perform in front of the whole nation, all of you could receive a lot more attention than you have now," Chairman Moriyama began, trying to influence us to think of it in a better light. "I know each one of you has a dream you want to accomplish, and this may be the first step toward that goal."

Kashino, Andou, and Hanabusa pondered the thought but I remained unmoved.

'Yeah, this is just another way to get more revenue for the academy!

As far as I could see, this old man was always up to something and I hated it. Sure, he brought up a valid point that this could help us accomplish our dreams, but I also saw it as a cash grab to promote St. Marie to the masses.

'Ha! Fame my ass!'

"Come on, guys. Let's go," I told my team, walking away from the aggravating old chairman. They soon followed suit, leaving the chairman to himself in the main hall entrance of the academy.