Different On Screen (1)

Chapter 143: S2 - Different On Screen (1)

"Hey, honey, how do you think our Keiko will do today?" Kaori asked her husband, Michiko Kenji, who sat with them in the Michiko Family's living room.

Their television was in the living room, mounted above their fireplace. They switched it to the "Japan Today" news channel, reaching many people nationwide.

It was still around 8:15 before the final round of the Cake Grand Prix would be aired live.

"I think she'll do just fine. I mean, it's Keiko after all," Michiko Kenji said as he sat on the living room sofa in front of the TV. He had files of cases and paperwork he had to fill out for several trials he was assigned to, but after the nation knew that the daughter of one of the top prosecutors of Japan had gathered lots of attention and fame, he was given the day off to watch his daughter live on television.

'Geez, if I'd known that they'd give me the day off, I wouldn't have told her that I wouldn't be coming,' Kenji rubbed his forehead in regret as he laid back on the sofa.

"Onee-chan hasn't talked to us in so long…." Eiji, Kaori's youngest son, who was eight years old, said in disappointment. He had short black hair and light brown eyes, which accentuated his pure and young appearance.

"Yeah, she hasn't said a word to us since she transferred," said Kaori's oldest son, Haruto, who was 13 years old. He, too, had short black hair and light brown eyes like his little brother, but his features were a bit sharper and more fierce.

The two adults sitting in the living room couldn't help but feel guilty since Michiko Keiko called; both boys were busy at school. She wanted to come home for a break, but they went on vacation to an island. Additionally, she wondered if her family would come to watch her and her team during the competition but was also turned down.

"Yeah… about that…" Kenji chuckled awkwardly as he scratched his forehead in remorse after recalling several events that involved his daughter. "She did call us, but we were too busy to see her…."

When he thought about all those times she called, he couldn't help but feel like he was always shutting her down. But she was a strong-willed girl! Those types of things never affected her before!

"She just transferred, but I heard that she and her team will be going against 3rd year high schoolers," Kaori brought up a topic that intrigued the ears of her two sons.

"3rd years? Well, then, isn't it obviously rigged? How could she compete with them?!" Haruto got worked up by this news, but all his mother could do was shrug.

"I thought so too, but we can't do anything about it. All we can do is watch her team and cheer them on!" Kaori pumped up, which uplifted the family's spirits.

On the clock, it hit 8:15.

As the family waited for 8:30 to come about, they were surprised by an announcement that appeared earlier than the designated time.

Live on TV, they saw a reporter with long black hair and dark eyes.

["Today, we are here at one of the world's most esteemed academies here in Japan, the St. Marie Academy—where each student hopes to fulfill their dream of becoming a patissier. We've come here to attend the final round of the Cake Grand Prix which has been gathering a lot of attention from the public due to its 8 prominent students of the academy. Here, we have one of these reputable students today. Now, if you may introduce yourself and your team,"] the female reporter spoke into her microphone and handed it to a beautiful yet mature teenage girl with beach-wavy, honey-blonde hair and honey-gold eyes. She stepped up and received the microphone from the reporter.

"Oh, that's her! That's one of the kids Keiko will be going against!" Kaori pointed to the beautiful yet elegant young girl who took over their television screen.

["Hello and thank you for taking your time to watch us here today. I am Tennouji Mari, the team leader of Team Tennouji. We are a group consisting of four high school 3rd years: Kaidou Rui, Saeki Ryou, and Takigawa Rei. We hope that you will cheer our team on,"] Tennouji Mari said easily as her beautiful appearance sparkled in front of the camera.

She gave the reporter her microphone back with an easy, lax smile.

["Thank you for that beautiful introduction, Tennouji Mari. Say, what would you say your *dream* is to be taking part in this competition?"] The reporter asked, panning to the girl who looked ready to answer.

["Well, I am the Hotel King of Japan's daughter so I've always been surrounded by adults to the point where my world has been dull and lifeless—That was, until someone had shown me just how colorful life could be when I made sweets. My dream that I wish to fulfill in this competition… is to stand by the side of that person who opened my eyes and inspired me to make sweets,"] said Tennouji Mari to the camera.

["Awwww!"] The live audience on screen reacted to the girl's sweet words.

"Tsk! Who cares!" Haruto crossed his arms uncaringly at the girl's honey-filled words. If anything, he just wanted his older sister to appear on the screen.

["That's very sweet to hear. I wish you good luck to you and your team,"] the reporter said with a friendly smile, to which Tennouji Mari bowed her head in response.

She switched places with a gorgeous girl with straight, long brown hair and bright blue eyes that captivated the viewers. Her beauty was almost like a doll: porcelain white skin, pink-tinted lips, big eyes, and an empty expression.

"Look! It's Keiko Onee-chan!" Eiji cutely pointed out to Michiko Keiko, who appeared on the TV screen beside the news reporter. But his cute reaction was interrupted by a feeling of unfamiliarity when he saw his sister again. "Wuh—What happened to her?"

Her skin was unusually pale, and her face had shrunk to the point where her head looked bigger than her whole body. The bright blue eyes she always wore proudly were no longer bright. They were dull.

Not only had Eiji noticed, but everyone in the room noticed.

"She's gotten so… skinny… Has she been eating well?" Kaori asked Kenji, who glued his eyes to the television screen to see his emaciated daughter before his eyes. She sounded fine when he talked to her on the phone just recently, but how had she gotten so skinny?

He felt like if he ever held her arm, it would snap into two.

When he last saw her, she looked a bit fuller. She was still as skinny as a toothpick, but she at least had some meat on her.

All he could do was watch his daughter on the screen in concern.

'I hope this isn't a repeat of what happened before…' Kenji worried.