Akira's my favorite character. I'm glad these two episodes showed her actual motivations. Her duet with Hozuki is one of my favorite moments of the show.
Point of clarification. It was Hozuki that was disqualified from the national competition for performing the original "Tenkyu" since her entry was for playing "Yaegoromo". Akira won first but since she felt that Hozuki should have won, her effort for those two years was a waste of time.