Tune In to the Midnight Heart (真夜中ハートチューン)

The teachers keep droning on about

the importance of our studies. I mean, we've only just

started middle school.

I'd lay in bed at night...

...with your voice as my only solace.

Tell me, Apollo, what high school do you want to go to?

Hmm. Gotta be an all-girls' school.

Hopefully one with an ocean view.

TUNE IN TO THE MIDNIGHT HEART

[school bell chimes, seagulls calling]

FURIN HIGH SCHOOL

So, as mew all... as you all know,

Furin Girls' High has merged with Furin Boys' High.

And so, as of this academic year, we are a co-ed school.

It may be hard to adjust to having boys in the class,

but I do hope you'll play nice.

May I ask what that "mew" was about, sensei?

Did you flub your line?

If so, that would mean your speech was imperfect.

I demand a do-over.

And you are-- Uhm, well--

May I take that to mean I can introduce myself?

OK.

YAMABUKI ARISU

Hello, new friends!

I'm Arisu Yamabuki, heir to the Yamabuki group, born to

lead Japan into the future and destined for perfection!

Also, I love peaches.

Nice to meet you.

I ask that you try to avoid being crushed

by my brilliance and gravitas.

One last thing.

At the present time,

I confess I've achieved only 99% perfection.

I aim to find that missing 1%.

But in order to do so, I'll need some help from the ladies.

Please come forward one by one...

...and let me hear you say you love me.

Damn it, Yamabuki!

Thanks to your antics,

the girls are giving all the boys funny looks!

Quit saying that to every girl you see!

Yeah! We finally escaped all-boys hell.

Come on. Adversity builds character, right?

You're welcome.

Hey, the folks in the Yamabuki group

are basically filthy rich, right?

So, what's up with wanting to hear girls say they love you?

Are you currently looking for a girlfriend?

'Cause if you are, I'd like to audition for the role.

Huh?

Oh, really?

I mean, this is fine. I'm up for anything.

Lacking a bit of carrying power, I'd say.

Huh?

Sorry, but it's bathroom time for me.

My gut flora, perfect as the rest of me.

Nature calls at the same time every day without fail.

Cool, huh?

I wouldn't say "cool."

What's his deal?

Uh, he's been looking for someone since the second

year of middle school. But...

he doesn't know what she even looks like.

Wait, for real?

And get this...

Not enough edge.

All he's got to go on is her voice.

I GOT A PERM! HERE'S A PIC!

Ugh, just a pointless text from mom.

WAITING FOR THE STREAM TO BEGIN

APOLLO STARTED STREAMING

It's time!

My only joy in middle school was a radio show

hosted by a girl who went by the name Apollo.

Welcome to Midnight Heart Tune,

where I always keep it real.

You'll never believe what happened at school today.

She barely had an audience.

A lot of the time it was just the two of us.

Making small talk at midnight every night.

Just vibin'.

Oh, look at the time. That's all for tonight.

She always ended her broadcast with the same phrase.

This show keeps me going every day, so be sure to

tune in and hang out with me again tomorrow.

As always, thank you, my loyal listeners.

I love you.

I thought that's what you wanted to hear.

And you are?

Break time will be over soon.

Besides, don't you need to find a bathroom? Bye.

Oh no!

Her voice was pretty similar to Apollo's, I think.

Can't be sure.

She caught me off guard and at the mercy of nature's call.

Damn it! I need to hear her again.

This is the broadcasting club

with your lunchtime announcements.

Here's to another great year--

A girl's voice through the speakers?

The sound quality sucks, though.

It mega sucks, bro.

Gotta love co-ed, huh, Yamabuki?

Something urgent came up!

I gotta leave right now!

What about lunch?

...on school events, club activities,

and committee announcements.

First, an announcement from the council...

Apollo suddenly stopped streaming and deleted all her

archives before I was in my second year of middle school.

But I was able to surmise from our chats that we were the same

age and lived in the same prefecture.

And I know she also said she'd like to go to an all-girls high

school with an ocean view. I got a rough idea of her

location based on her activities.

And upon further investigation, only Furin

Girls' matched the criteria. I also caught wind that it

would go co-ed soon.

That's the reason I chose to go to Furin Boys'

instead of a prep school.

Sometimes the extent of my genius

actually frightens me a bit.

BROADCASTING ROOM (TEMP)

I want to talk to you one more time.

I have something to say.

I'm missing that one last percent.

And I think it must be your...

Oh, my apologies.

There's something I need to ask you.

Hey! You can't just waltz in here

while we're broadcasting!

-Quick, shut the mic off now. -What? Do we have to start over?

It's that guy who almost soiled himself.

You know him, Rikka-chan?

You okay? You hit your head.

This is why I didn't like the whole co-ed thing.

-Good grief. -Oh, pardon me.

She really does sound like Apollo.

The thing is, they all kind of sound like her.

Braids definitely has the same kind of voice.

Black hair has familiar intonation and pronunciation.

White hair's whispery way of speaking,

it's just like when Apollo streamed in a hushed voice

so her parents wouldn't notice.

And twintails has the same angry edge to her voice.

This sucks! It's been three

years since I heard her voice,

and I can't say for sure.

So, now that you've barged in here like this,

does that mean you want to go pro too?

What do you mean by that?

Why are you here if you don't know?

All of us here want to pursue careers

that make use of our voices.

The broadcasting club is designed

specifically for people like us.

Exactly.

As for me, news anchor's my goal.

Yes, sir.

I'm a VTuber. That's my thing.

I want to be a voice actor.

My sights set on, becoming a singer.

Voice careers?

Really?

You're in 2-C?

I heard you did one crazy self-intro.

Like, well, "I want you to be my lover and bear me a child."

-Was that it? -No, that's not what I said.

The hell? Beat it, creep!

You even look like a total degenerate.

I bet you have a ton of dick pics stored

in the cloud too, don't you?

Not true. I'm here to see someone.

And that would be me, wouldn't it?

-Huh? -

I haven't talked to a boy in person for so long.

Being shy's part of my character, you know?

Uh, sorry, but no, not you.

I get it.

You came here looking for me, didn't you?

As if!

Yeah, actually, you're right. I am here to see you.

I swear on my name, I don't have ulterior motives.

I just wanted to hear your voice again.

Uh, OK?

With that said...

...raise your hand if you're Apollo!

-Who's that? -The chocolate?

Ooh, that's one of my favorites!

What's he talking about?

Huh?

Apollo's not one of them? No.

Based on their voices, it has to be one of them.