A girls' band — nothing more than a product of adolescent fantasy!
One girl all prickly pride, the other all hidden schemes — one tiny conflict and that band is done for, sooner or later!
What would you two know about being in a band?!
Stop joking around! Bands are something that should be left to the professionals!
Kids can't handle this! Leave it to the grown-ups!
...
"Grown-ups… can they really handle it?"
Takamatsu Tomori stood in front of Ring, and couldn't help sinking into thought.
Ring — a massive performance venue that had existed since her high school days, complete with other amenities tucked inside: a café, a little shop.
Her classmates back in high school used to wander through here all the time, but Tomori hadn't had close enough friends to bring her along, so this was actually her first time back since graduating.
"What! We're — we're really performing here this weekend?!"
"Yep, yep, haha — everywhere else was already booked for the weekend slot, so Ring it is."
"Why does it have to be the weekend? Our rehearsals this week… they haven't exactly been great quality."
Sunday, Tomori had meant to turn in early — but Chiose wore her down with relentless cajoling, and the two of them ended up sharing a bed and drinking until dawn.
Monday, they drank lightly during lunch, then went all-out at Ring Ⅱ after work.
Tuesday, they coasted through their shifts, then had a quiet drink at Tomori's place after work.
Wednesday, they drank heavily during work hours and accidentally fell asleep in the office.
Thursday, they actually put in a proper day's work, then rewarded themselves after hours at a Japanese restaurant with surf clams and sake.
And just like that, Friday had rolled around again…
It was truly something — how easily she had fallen completely in love with drinking. Drinking… had already become one of Takamatsu Tomori's daily staples.
Of course, "drinking" here meant drinking with someone beside her. She still hadn't once drunk alone in her life.
"Heh heh — you want to know why I'm having you perform this Sunday? Well… I'll tell you when the time comes, Tomori."
Yoshiiro Chiose gave a mysterious smile and pressed one finger lightly against Tomori's lips.
Tomori's lips were soft and springy as jelly — just looking at them made you want to swallow.
"Okay then…"
Tomori's gaze swept around uneasily. Ring's interior décor was nothing short of opulent — clearly the kind of trendy spot that was wildly popular with teenagers.
High schoolers drifted past in every direction. How nice, she thought. She was almost ten years older than most of them now.
"Hah…"
"What are you sighing about? Come on — I booked a rehearsal room! I bet little Tomori has never been in one!"
"I… actually…"
Tomori started to say she had been before, but seeing how excited Chiose looked, she let it go.
"Okay. Thank you for bringing me, little Chiose."
"Hmph."
They headed upstairs at a brisk pace. Ring turned out to be far more interesting than Chiose had imagined.
She stopped at a vending machine and bought two packs of Kisatsushu.
"They actually sell this kind of thing in a vending machine that's mostly used by teenagers?"
"Of course they do — little Tomori is so clueless. Maybe it's for the staff."
Chiose stuck a straw into one of the cans and held it up to Tomori's lips. Tomori took it with both hands, completely naturally, and began sipping in small, practiced gulps.
Terrifying — had she already developed the unconscious notion that a few small sips didn't count as drinking?
You're really going downhill, Takamatsu Tomori.
"Heh heh — the guitars here are so much better than mine. Let little Tomori witness the fruits of two weeks of hard practice!"
"Wasn't it one week…?"
"Hm? Was — was it? I'm a little fuzzy right now. Don't try to trick me while I'm like this, Tomori."
The guitar rang out, warm and easy. After a simple rendition of MCR's "Welcome to the Black Parade," Chiose set the guitar down and waited expectantly for praise.
"That was so good! Little Chiose, you're amazing — I wish I were as amazing as you…"
"Where did this inferiority complex come from? Little Tomori, you're every bit as good as me. You're just missing one essential thing."
"What is it?" Takamatsu Tomori was desperate to know Chiose's secret to improving so fast. She didn't want to disappoint anyone who had ever placed their hopes in her.
"It's…" Yoshiiro Chiose dragged it out on purpose, keeping Tomori in suspense, before finally letting the answer drop — one Tomori never could have seen coming: "Kisatsushu."
Ki… Kisatsushu?
Seriously? She was twenty-six years old — she was not some gullible little kid!
"It's true."
"No way! It's actually true?!"
Chiose watched Tomori actually buy it, and nearly lost the battle against her own laughter.
"Of course it is. Think about it, Tomori — when you're drunk, don't you feel way less nervous?"
"Yes."
"When you're drunk, don't you feel more at ease?"
"I… I suppose so?"
"When you're drunk, don't you find it so much easier to express yourself?"
"Yes!"
"Heh heh — so then — drink up!"
"Huh?"
Here? Drinking freely in the rehearsal room?
Tomori carefully cradled the can of Kisatsushu. After a few seconds of hesitation, she chose to trust Yoshiiro Chiose.
Doing something like this in a place like this — you're so bold, little Chiose!
"Heh heh — I'll go lock the door. That way even if the manager catches us drinking, she can't come in to scold us."
Yoshiiro Chiose threw open the window, settled the guitar in her lap, and started to play and drink at the same time.
The guitar's melody was beautiful — the notes drifted in through Takamatsu Tomori's left ear and into her mind, and refused to leave through the right.
"Sing! Tomori! Try to sing!"
"I — what should I sing?!"
"Anything! Whatever you sing, I'll play! How about that!"
"Okay! I'll try!"
What a pair of idiots — making all this noise, honestly!
Takamatsu Tomori drank sip by sip from her cheap little can of Kisatsushu. As the warmth spread through her, she felt a blazing energy she had never felt before.
"I — I think I might actually be able to sing something!"
Come on then, say something — speak up, you useless mouth!
"When I was a young boy, my father took me into the city, to see a marching band…"
At first it was less singing and more reciting the words.
But Chiose quickly adjusted her playing and began to carry the melody for Takamatsu Tomori.
"He said, son when you grow up, would you be the savior of the broken, the beaten and the damned?"
"!!!"
With Chiose's support and the catalyst of the alcohol, Takamatsu Tomori gradually found her footing.
"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."
BANG——
"That was incredible! Tomori!"
Chiose tossed the guitar carelessly aside, scooped Takamatsu Tomori up, and spun her around in circles.
"We are absolutely going to make it!"
"We — yeah! We are!"
We are absolutely going to keep making it, for the rest of our lives!
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