Project Rebirth #2

Chapter 8

Y/N bit her fingernails, a nervous habit that she thought she had broken years ago. The band had switched their styles for the music at the last second, planning for a song made completely from traditional vocal music. The massive audience below her whispered amongst each other, wondering where the idols were. It was Wednesday, the day of the concert, and the 5WIRL band was nowhere to be found. The concert had already begun five minutes ago, and people were getting uneasy. Y/N herself was questioning if the band was backstage at all. Suddenly, the massive speakers on either side of the stage began to rumble, a low, haunting melody that made chills run down Y/N's spine. The audience's whispers grew louder, a constant hum that accompanied the music. Then a floorboard slid open, and the shadowed outline of a figure began to emerge from the ground. The crowd began to cheer, a howl that made Y/N's ears ring.

"Ladies and gentlemen–" An announcer began, but the shadowed figure interrupted him.

"Hush." The voice was soft, but stern. "Did I say that you could speak?"

"I – I–" The announcer stuttered, clearly terrified.

"Shut up," another voice said quietly, his voice as sharp as needles. "Or I'll kill you."

After those words, Y/N knew exactly who the second figure was. As soon as the first figure began to sing, a wordless tune that echoed through the night, the audience began to scream and shout, drowning out the music. Y/N frowned. Their fans were so obsessive, they were ruining the experience for other music enjoyers.

"Did I not say for you all to shut up?" The second figure said, his voice dangerously low.

The audience immediately quieted down, and the first figure continued to sing softly. The second figure was still hidden from the audience, but a third figure appeared, singing in a low voice, accompanying the haunting melody from the speakers. The singing quieted, barely heard, until the first figure stopped singing. Then he let a long, impossibly high note, and the fourth figure and fifth appeared, joining the first as a loud, vibrant melody ensued. The third figure also joined in, flickers of light revealing the locations of the figures every few moments. But the second figure was still covered in shadow. Y/N frowned. Why was the member of 5WIRL still hiding?

Suddenly, the shadows were fully lit up, still hiding the identities of the figures but letting the audience know where the singers were. Y/N gasped in surprise. The second figure was standing on a pole that precariously hung out from the very top of the stage, dozens of meters above the others. They all sang together, an awe-inspiring sound that made Y/N's heart soar. She could hear the slight difference in pitch at the end of each note, the sound that Heizou always made when he spoke, the sound that made it sound like every word was a question. The first figure danced across the stage, moving so fast that Y/N's eyes could barely track his movements. The third, fourth, and fifth singers continued the melody, holding it as the first two sang the lead. Y/N looked up at the second figure again, who was doing acrobatics on the pole, a maneuver that Y/N would never normally attempt. He seemed to move like the wind, as if he had had experience with navigating a pole. A loud voice pulled Y/N from her trance.

"What the he** do you think you're doing?!" A tall and intimidating man was being dragged away by security guards, screaming at one of the figures on the stage. Even with the distance between them, Y/N immediately recognized the person. It was Morax.

The second figure stumbled, barely regaining his balance, and nearly falling off the pole. He shrank back from the man, despite being hundreds of meters away. The first figure stalked to the front of the stage, and Y/N could feel his fury in waves.

"Get. That. Piece. Of. Sh**. Out. Now."

The security guards shoved the man into the back of a police car, and drove off hurriedly. The second figure was visibly shaking, and all of the other figures were looking up at him. The first figure let out a loud sigh. Then he signaled to the other figures, and everyone — except the second figure — made a symbol with their hands: their thumb, index, and middle finger spread out, with ring and pinky fingers curled inward. Then the lights went out.