Every light in the venue cut out at once — every light but one.
It fell harshly across the vocalist's face, yet even so, no one in the crowd — Takamatsu Tomori included — could make out his real features.
Heavy smoky eye makeup and a white wig had given him the perfect punk look.
"When I was a young boy,"
The moment the vocals hit, Tomori sobered up instantly — though a certain troublemaker nearby was still pressing another drink into her hands.
"My father took me into the city,"
"To see a marching band,"
[Honestly, this idiot — if I were someone with bad intentions, she'd be done for right now.]
Chiose stopped her mischief, set down the glass, stepped back, and settled into the nearest seat.
She had loved this song even before the simulation. Kyoumoto had found it once while tuning an old radio, and the track had lived on Kyoumoto's little MP4 player ever since.
But her love for it ran far deeper than just Kyoumoto liking it.
No matter when or where she heard this song, Yoshiiro Chiose would drop everything in her hands, clear her mind of every private thought and passing worry, and — even if she were mid-surgery — sit up straight and listen to the end with unwavering eyes.
"He said, 'Son when you grow up,"
"Would you be the savior of the broken,"
"The beaten and the damned?'"
The drum hits came fast and precise, the drummer hammering away in the dark — and then, in an instant, every light on the stage blazed to life, revealing a full band in black marching-style parade jackets, jeans, T-shirts, leather gloves, and boots, every piece as black as the last.
"He said, 'Will you defeat them,"
"Your demons, and all the non-believers,"
"The plans that they have made?"
"Because one day I'll leave you,"
"A phantom to lead you in the summer,"
"To join The Black Parade."
The song shifted here, the style transforming without warning. Time was slipping by, but Takamatsu Tomori felt none of it.
She had started reaching out and taking every drink Yoshiiro Chiose handed her without a second thought, her mouth no longer entirely under her own control as she downed them one after another.
"What an incredible song — so this is what the full thing sounds like..." Tomori felt herself drifting, the objects in her vision beginning to sway and bob left and right.
She — she'd drunk herself into a trance over a song!
The melody was almost too rich, too extravagant. It could have been three separate songs on its own.
"Do you love it."
Chiose drew Tomori into her arms. In her adult form she stood a full 170 centimeters — practically a giant next to Tomori's approximate 160.
"Tomori, slow down a little, okay?"
"Ah — ah!"
When Tomori finally wrenched herself free of the music with every scrap of will she had left, she found the bar counter in front of her lined edge to edge with empty glasses she'd already drained.
No wonder... her stomach felt so full it ached. She'd gone and overdone it again...
"We want it all, we wanna play this part,"
"We'll carry on..."
"..."
Tomori was barely holding on — but she looked at the half-glass still in her hand and, without a moment's hesitation, tipped it back and finished it.
[Actually... "keep carrying on" and all that...]
"That's nothing but a lie!"
Saviors... saving other people... don't make her laugh!
"All of it — it's fake!"
So-called saviors who can't even save themselves in the end. So-called bonds of shared destiny, nothing more than lies dreamed up on some idle afternoon.
Where... where was there ever anyone who truly saved anyone else? Where was there ever anything like... a lifetime?
"A lifetime — it's all lies, isn't it..."
"Maybe? Tomori, are you getting loopy on me?"
Chiose watched Takamatsu Tomori start rambling and gently patted her on the back to soothe her.
This kid — why was her mood suddenly soaring like this? And was there a hint of cursing in there too? Honestly...
"I'm right here, okay? Your little sister is right here. Let's step outside and get some quiet."
She left money for the drinks and pulled Takamatsu Tomori out of STARY. Outside, compared to the noise within, it was practically paradise.
The deep-night wind threaded through Takamatsu Tomori's hair, like a brown-haired girl who couldn't bear to let go, lingering around the blue-haired moonlight she adored.
"Tomori. Feeling any better?"
"No... I feel awful. The music — it was so, so beautiful. But listening to it... hurt so much..."
The memories kept crashing back over her, wave after wave. Tomori didn't want to think about that rainy day the band fell apart.
That had been the most precious place she'd ever belonged — but the blue-haired princess had destroyed with her own hands the shared destiny she herself had created.
She had left Takamatsu Tomori with both feet off the ground, utterly alone. It had all happened ten years ago, and yet even now, Takamatsu Tomori still couldn't keep the grief from overwhelming her.
Especially with alcohol and punk music as kindling — the sorrow was impossible to contain, surging back in a rushing tide before she could stop it.
"I... I don't even know — what's wrong with me... I'm so sorry, I've been rude, I should — I should go home..."
Takamatsu Tomori tried to run.
Takamatsu Tomori made it ten meters before she tripped and couldn't get back up.
Takamatsu Tomori curled up on the ground and started to cry.
"Wait — pfft — hahaha."
How — how! How did she end up crying on top of everything?!
Chiose was drunk too, but the absurdity of the moment jolted her considerably more alert.
She walked over and scooped Tomori up, then swayed her way to a nearby pedestrian overbridge before her legs finally gave out.
"Listen — Tomori! We are absolutely plastered! We — ugh, yeah — we might not be able to walk home at all!"
Things had gotten slightly out of hand. She hadn't expected Tomori to drink herself this thoroughly under the table... phew. This idiot was currently slumped against the bridge railing, letting the wind blow right through her.
"I — I've been here before! Chiose!"
Chiose? You...
"How come you're calling me Chiose all of a sudden."
It wasn't the same simulation — but hearing Tomori call her by that name so tenderly again still made her want to cry.
"I — I don't know, I just..."
Tomori summoned the last of her strength to straighten her back, and shouted out at the empty air below the overbridge:
"I want... to become a real person! After all these years... why am I still — still — exactly the same?!"
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