The Song of Fractured Light (Love Live Superstar x Lantern Male Reader)

Chapter 8 - Burn It Down

Three Weeks Later...

"Alright, and I think that's enough for the day." Chisato said to the girls. As they finally stopped, taking a deep breath to rest after their practice for the day, I came over to them and handed each of the girls water bottles.

"Hey, great work today." I said

"Thanks Y/n." Kanon said

"But of course I did great Y/n, do you really expect any less from me?" Sumire said with a smile

It's been a couple days since I last came to watch the girls practice, but everytime I do, I'm reminded how much this helps me calm down and destress from my work as Phantom Lantern and trying to hunt down Kaen. As much as I've been investigating any place I can imagine him trying to hide out at, I'm having no luck, and then as I'm finally feeling like he might've ran off somewhere, a sudden arson happens somewhere in Harajuku. Every single time surviving witnesses mention the same figure being there, and the sound of a lighter as an explosion erupts and ignites the building. I'm getting so frustrated at my failure to find him, but Sumire and Kazushi have tried to help and encourage me whenever I vent to them.

"Y/n, do you have plans today?" Keke asked

"I mean I have something I need to take care of in a bit, but that's still not particularly immediate, why?" I said

"Oh, I was hoping that you'd join us for something to eat later." Keke said "As much as I'm happy you come to support us here, besides that and talking during lunch you always are off doing your own thing."

I smiled at Keke and said "Right, sorry about that. Hopefully what I've been doing will finish soon, and after that, how about I pay you back by going and doing whatever you girls want?"

Keke's typical bright smile returned some as she said "Sure, that sounds great. Oh, how about you come to an idol concert with me?"

"Hey you two, how about you talk about this as we go?" Sumire said to Keke and me

"Ah, right Sumire." I said, holding out a hand to help Keke up since she had been sitting down

As I joined the rest, Kanon and Chisato had been talking about something, and as we reached the courtyard, I saw Ren off by herself, seeming to take a break. It's been a bit since I last talked to her, and so I turned to the girls and said "Hey, I'm gonna head my separate way here."

"Yeah alright." Kanon said

As Keke had noticed who I had looked at before I said that, she pouted and said "I really don't understand how you can get along with her as well as you do after we told you what she said about school idols."

I gave her a small smile, as I said "I mean hey, besides Sumire, I met her before the rest of you, and I think I left a pretty good first impression. Besides that, she's a pretty good person from what I've seen of her." Man, as much as Keke's a sweet girl, she sure can butt heads, usually it's with Sumire, but I guess she's not fully past what Ren said to them

After I said that, I waved goodbye as I left the girls and headed over to Ren. As she saw me, she smiled and said "Oh, hello Naoki."

"Hey, taking a break?" I said, taking a seat beside her.

"That's right. I was finishing up my practice, and so I thought before I headed home, I'd rest for a moment." Ren said

"Then I hope I'm not bothering you." I said

"Not at all, I was actually hoping to talk to you sometime soon." Ren said "So have things returned to normal after your month out of town?"

"Yeah, just about. My brother's back in a shape where he's ended up going back to his long shifts at his work, and I think I've caught up on most of my schoolwork that I missed out on too." I said. Thankfully Mr. Nagai had negotiated with help from my brother to allow me the turn it in as late as I ended up being able to, but that didn't to stop me from having to retake all those tests, and make my already poor english scores end up even poorer since I'm just about useless at foreign languages without the ring.