[OLD] Book 1: Densetsu.EXEcution

Chapter 13 - Rebirth

Chapter 13: Rebirth

Saki had been preparing for that day for nearly two weeks. She had gathered Kiri, Acelynn and Rina together each day—dragging Arashi and Aquarius along with them—to practice for the Malway Harvest Festival. On some days, Akida would join the group to listen to Alice in Paradice perform.

Kiri’s vocals were astounding, while Acelynn’s bass line was calm and mellow, and Rina’s drum beats hit in perfect key. Saki’s guitar solo matched them perfectly. Aquarius was amazed at how professional Saki’s group sounded and Akida smiled at the thought of success that Saki would find at the Harvest Festival.

At last that day arrived. Arashi smiled as he watched Kiri step onstage beside Saki and Acelynn. Although the skies were gray and the grass was still a bit wet from the previous night’s rainfall, everything had gone smoothly up to that point. Akida stood beside Arashi, smiling like he always did. He wasn’t wearing his scarf today, but Arashi didn’t question it. He could clearly see that Akida’s scars from a few months back were almost fully healed.

Arashi was dressed exactly as he always was, wearing his blue great-coat and casual clothing. He never really got dressed up. It wasn’t his style. He couldn’t help but notice Kiri, clad in her red dress and ice-blue fingerless gloves, tangled around the microphone’s cord. He shook his head and smiled, laughing a bit.

Arashi and Akida watched Saki and Kiri perform onstage amidst the crowd of Malway’s commoners who were taking part in the festival activities. The four girls onstage all looked very happy and proud of themselves, although Kiri seemed to be forcing herself to look as happy as possible. Due to Kiri’s lack of emotion besides fear, she was having a difficult time even raising her voice to sing. However, her voice was amazing.

 Desiree seemed to be the only one who wasn’t impressed by Kiri’s rhythm. She looked, unpleasantly, at the back of her hand, and the vibrant color of her violet-painted fingernails. After a moment, she stepped back and pulled out her cell phone.

“Dante, I’ve had enough of this,” she said, “How much longer is Arakawa going to be?”

The response given was, “Soon, Milady, be patient. And soon, ‘he’ will be ready…”

“By ‘he’, I’m positive you aren’t referring to Arakawa,” Desiree replied. “Very well, as long as our entry is stylish, we’ll be okay.”

“Oh it will be,” replied the ravaged voice of Dante, “I’ll make sure of it. We’ll kill more than two birds with the stone we’re about to throw.” Desiree smiled at Dante’s thoughts.

A short amount of time passed. Alice in Paradice had concluded their fourth song and was beginning their fifth. Saki smiled and addressed her audience. “Thank you everyone for listening! I want to dedicate this next song to somebody I really like, a lot. He’s someone who means a lot to me!” She pointed out toward Akida, who noticed after a moment and blushed, still smiling. “Akida, this song is for you!”

The song was, as Arashi expected, a love song. He had already known for a while that Saki had a crush on Akida, and he had expected her to reveal it to him at the harvest festival from the day she formed her band. Kiri awkwardly vocalized the lyrics, since Saki had written them for Akida, whom Kiri had no feelings for. A few times, she had glanced in Arashi’s direction, but he hadn’t noticed it. The song had a slower tempo compared to the other four in Saki’s set. Akida smiled in response, touched by the music.

The sixth song in Saki’s set was much different. It had a faster pace, and Kiri’s vocal part didn’t come in until the middle of the song. Saki viciously strummed her guitar in the fashion of a heavy metal-sort, and then Kiri began to sing the lyrics to the best of her ability. Needless to say, the contrast threw her off.