Chapter Text
Sodachi and Sakiko traded phone numbers, and within a few minutes, Sodachi was added to the band’s group text. That itself was rather intimidating, having to meet this group of strangers that she would now be committing to spending time with. As she made her introduction, and was greeted by the other members, she started to wonder if she was making a mistake, if this would all go poorly once things actually began.
It seemed that most of the members were already familiar with each other, but Sakiko still organized a group meet-up. Something at a local cafe, although one that was a few more train stops away from Sodachi than she usually traveled in her day to day life. She had certainly never been there before… It was a trendy sort of place, at that. But a cafe would be easier to find something to eat than a fancy restaurant, or at least so she hoped.
A date was set, and a time.
Sodachi was nervous, certainly. She had committed to play with a group of strangers, and even after some short correspondences in the group text, she still knew nothing about them but names. A couple had implied that they were also high schoolers, and she knew Sakiko was her age, but beyond that…
So when she approached the cafe, with her violin case on one shoulder and her purse on the other, she had no idea what to expect.
She had been worrying about being late, what with traversing previously unknown train lines, and not knowing where she was going. And combined with overcompensating from the estimated arrival time that the online map app had told her… She was at least twenty or thirty minutes early.
So she found a table, and ordered a drink. Just a coffee, and a small one at that, because she didn’t want to make herself jittery before the meeting began. It seemed like she was the first person to arrive, or if she wasn’t, she didn’t recognize whoever else was here. A few people had instrument cases with them, but from her online research, Sodachi had seen that the cafe was one popular with a lot of popular bands. That was probably why Sakiko had chosen it as the spot for their first meeting.
About 15 minutes later, after Sodachi had already finished her coffee, she saw, through the clear glass windows, Sakiko approaching. Not just that, but behind her was another girl their age, one with pale green hair. As the pair stepped through the door, Sodachi waved to them with a small gesture. Sakiko nodded to her, then walked over to her table. Sodachi had chosen a smaller one, just for herself, but it could fit three people, even if they would likely have to move after the other two showed up.
“Ah, Oikura, hello.” Sakiko greeted Sodachi as she and the other girl sat down. The other girl nodded at Sodachi as a greeting, then sat pulled a seat from nearby and sat down with them.
Sakiko gestured to the girl next to her. “This is Mutsumi Wakaba, known as Mortis within Ave Mujica. She is our rhythm guitarist.” Then she gestured to Sodachi. “Sodachi Oikura. I do not believe she has chosen a name yet. Our violinist.”
Sodachi shook her head. “I… haven’t, no. I don’t understand these other names.”
Sakiko nodded. “Ah, right. I may not have explained that… Within Ave Mujica, we all must discard our human identities, and become dolls. Dolls that we perform, to perform our music. In discarding our identities, we discard our names, and take upon new ones.”
Mutsumi spoke up. “Saki decided that we should take the names of lunar mares… I named myself after Lacus Mortis, known as the Lake of Death…”
Sakiko nodded back at Mutsumi. “Correct. Ah, but don’t worry about deciding on a name just yet. Only a few of us have done so yet. That, like much else of the band’s planning, will be decided once we have convened as a group.”
Sodachi nodded, but all the same, she pulled out her phone and opened Wikipedia. Science wasn’t exactly a weak class of hers, but astronomy had never been a focus of hers… She would have to check the list and keep something in mind.
She only had a chance to glance at it, however, before another person walked up to the table, another carrying a guitar case with her. The girl waved a halfhearted wave to the three of them, then walked to a nearby table and picked up a chair, before taking a seat between Sodachi and Mutsumi.
“Hey.”
“Hello.” Sakiko gestured to the girl. “This is Umiri Yahata, our bassist.” She then quickly introduced Sodachi and Mutsumi to Umiri. By the time she was done, the last two girls had finally arrived, so the round of introductions continued.
“Uika Misumi, our lead singer and guitarist, as well as our lyricist. Within Ave Mujica, she goes by the name of Doloris.”
“Nyamu Yuutenji. Our drummer.”
The plan to move to a larger table had been forgotten as Umiri and Nyamu had pulled up chairs of their own and squeezed in around the table. Sodachi wasn’t entirely comfortable with how packed in the six of them were around the small table, but she didn’t feel like she had the right to complain.
“Welcome, all, to the founding of Ave Mujica.” Sakiko gestured to the rest of the table. “Now that we are introduced, let me begin to explain what Ave Mujica truly is.”
She reached into her bag and pulled out a folder and a notebook. She set the folder aside, then opened the notebook. Within it were a number designs for outfits and masks. The masks were in different shapes, and had sketchily drawn flower patterns inside. The outfits, on the other hand, were in gothic lolita style, and had both drawings and cut-out pictures alike. All of it was annotated with notes. Despite how hectic it all was, it gave the impression of being organized and well thought out.
“My vision for this band, Ave Mujica, is to be something different from the other bands of our era. We will make gothic music in a rock and metal style, wearing lolita outfits of the same style.” She gestured to the designs on the page, before pulling out several sheets of paper from the folder. They showed several different bands that Sodachi didn't recognize, as well as examples of outfits.
Sakiko pulled out another sheet. This one had pictures of dolls on it, once again dressed up in gothic lolita style.
One of the girls, Musumi, picked up the paper with the dolls on it and examined it closely, while the one with purple hair, Nyamu, did the same for the notebook.
“The band will have an aspect of lore and storytelling to it. Each of us will play a character, as signified by the different names we take— Oblivionis, Mortis, Doloris, and whichever names you other three choose. The story of the band will be told through our performances and releases, as well as through cryptic online posts. The latter will be primarily before release, with help from our label—”
“Hang on.” Umiri suddenly interrupted Sakiko. “Our label? Isn't it a bit bold to assume we're going to get signed before we even become a band?”
Sakiko shook her head. “I have connections. I can ensure that Ave Mujica will be able to make a major label debut immediately. We have no limits.”
Umiri nodded, then leaned back in her seat. “...Alright.”
This was all quite overwhelming for Sodachi. The promises that Sakiko had for the band, as well as the ideas she was presenting… It was more like a corporate pitch rather than a band. But that kind of confidence and planning was reassuring to Sodachi, that she hadn’t agreed to something trivial. For Sakiko, at least, this project was very real, and very dedicated. It wouldn’t just be a waste of time… unless Sakiko was actually just deluded.
It was a possibility. She talked like an eighth-grader, but with such conviction that it was hard to not take her seriously, but still…
Sodachi picked up the paper than had examples of bands on it. Sodachi recognized a few of them from ads and chatter among her classmates. Those ones were trendy visual-kei bands. Sodachi had never cared for that style. There were also a number of bands she didn’t recognize, with logos that were completely unreadable. She couldn’t tell if they were underground bands Sakiko knew, or if she herself was just ignorant of the culture around her.
But one band, in the corner, was different.
Sodachi set the piece of paper down on the table and pointed to the band. “Ah, um…”
Sakiko was taking out some other sheets from the folder, but at that she looked over and saw what Sodachi was pointing out.
“Ah, yes. Morfonica is an influence of mine. While our band will not resemble them in music or appearance, they are the reason why I wanted to form a band in the first place.” She blushed a little, an unexpected reaction after how confident she had been.
That explained why Sodachi had been chosen for the band. All of Sodachi’s success as a musician seemed to have come from Morfonica… Well, it was a matter of people valuing the violin properly, more than anything, so Sodachi wasn’t going to complain. No matter the reason, she had gotten all of her session work because of Morfonica, and now here she was in a band, for that very same reason.
Maybe if the band really did take off like Sakiko was promising, Sodachi would have to send Morfonica a fruit basket. Would that be weird?
Nyamu set down the paper she was holding and turned to Sakiko. “You said that we’ll be taking different names… What’s the deal with that?”
“Within Ave Mujica, in order to play our characters, as well as to give the band a sense of mystique, we, the performers, will remain anonymous. All of us are notable in our own rights, and the speculation around our identities will be something that compels fans of the band to engage on platforms like social media.”
“Hm. So does that mean we’d go back to using our actual names once we debut?”
“No. We will remain anonymous for as long as Ave Mujica lives; that is, the rest of our lives.”
Nyamu clearly wasn’t happy with that answer, but she accepted it all the same. Sodachi, though, didn’t mind. She never liked having attention on her, anyway. And besides, notable…? There was no way that Sakiko could be telling the truth about that. Maybe the others were, but all Sodachi had done was perform violin for some local bands. She was a faceless figure in the world of music.
“I wanna go back a bit.” Umiri spoke up again. “You said that the band has no limits, right? How’s that work? You’re going to pull some invisible strings and get us on a major label right away?”
Sakiko turned and nodded. “Correct. We are supported by the Togawa group. Through that, I have the power to get us wherever we may want to go. A major label debut is nothing. Even playing at the Budokan is nothing. Ah, and just so you know, our finances, as well, are being covered by the Togawa group. If you have any equipment you need for your instrument, it will be provided for. Likewise,” Sakiko shifted, and Sodachi could feel her looking at her from the corner of her eye, “If it’s necessary, I can ensure that you are provided with a monthly expense.”
Sodachi had been worried about the loss of income from her performances in the time before the band would start making its own money, so that was nice to hear… It did still make her feel a bit conflicted that she would be getting free money. But then, in a sense, it was like she was earning a wage for being a part of the band, which she would be treating like a job, so wasn’t that okay…?
Umiri nodded, then leaned back in her seat. “That’s nice to hear, but you said I wouldn’t have to leave my other bands, right?”
“That’s correct. As long as it does not interfere with Ave Mujica, you may do whatever with your personal time.”
“Cool.”
Sodachi was feeling a little awkward that she wasn’t talking as much as the others, but on the other hand, neither was Mutsumi. In fact, the other girl just seemed to be sitting there. She was one of the ones that Sakiko had been in contact with already, who clearly already knew a lot about the band, so it was possible that she just felt like she didn’t need to participate, but it looked more like she didn’t want to be there.
But then, Uika was being oddly quiet, too. She was much more obviously paying attention, but she wasn’t speaking up or asking any questions. But then, she was the lead singer, and even the lyricist, so she probably was already quite familiar with what Sakiko had planned for the band.
So it ended up that Nyamu and Umiri asked most of the questions. And after a while, even they seemed to peter out. So after around a half hour, Umiri got up.
“If I’m allowed to stay in my own bands… I have practice in like 20 minutes, so I need to go. Talk to you later!” She grabbed her guitar case and hurried out the door.
Sakiko turned to the rest of the ground. “We can adjourn for today. We will meet again soon, at which time I can explain in greater detail the lore and ethos of Ave Mujica. In the meantime, if there is anything desired, do let me know.”
She stood up to leave, and so did several others, but before Sakiko started moving, Sodachi reached over and pulled on her sleeve.
“There's something I'd like to talk about, before you go.”
“Of course.”
As the others filtered out of the cafe, Sodachi and Sakiko stepped to the side. Sodachi was loathe to bring the subject up, but tried anyway.
“You said that, if necessary, you could supply us with a monthly expense… How would I go about setting that up? My session work was my primary form of income, so–”
“How much do you need?”
Sodachi was taken aback by her bluntness.
“Ah, um…”
Sodachi began running numbers in her head. The money she got from the government was ¥100,000 a month, in addition to paying her school tuition and rent, which amounted to a pretty slim life. That’s why she had needed to turn to session work to keep herself comfortable.
“I guess, ¥100,000 a month? Is that too much to ask for?”
Sakiko cocked her head to one side, quizzically. “Too much? Is that all you need?”
She seemed genuinely confused at how small a number Sodachi had mentioned. It felt like a lot of money to ask for, but then… if this girl really was the heiress to the Togawa Corporation, as she seemed to be, then Sodachi could probably ask for more… Would ¥400,000 be too much? Could she ask for more?
Would she feel guilty if she asked for more?
Feeling guilty in this situation was rather silly, wasn’t it? Feeling guilty that she might be ripping off a megacorporation, whose profits were more than Sodachi could have earned in her life if she worked until the sun burned out.
Would a million yen a month be too much?
What would Sodachi even do with a million yen each month? Buy new clothes and eat nice food, sure… but it wasn’t like Sodachi had hobbies. Outside of music, at least, and now her music expenses would be covered.
But, well… She was going to be a rockstar, right? At that point, she should live her life large. Or at least, as large as Sodachi could imagine.
She could figure out how to spend a million dollars. Even if she was just spending it on clothes and food… Well, nice clothes would certainly be better than the cheap secondhand things she usually wore, and better food would be good for her health…
“Would… um, would a million yen be too much?”
Sakiko shook her head. “Not at all.” She started turning away. “I’ll be in touch later, so I can get the necessary information to set up the payments.”
Sodachi spent the train home somewhat in shock of all that had happened. It was like a dream, or maybe even more than that. It felt like a form of salvation that could be ripped away from her at any moment. A million yen a month, and that wasn’t even counting if the band itself made money, and what cut Sodachi would get. She hadn’t signed a contract, sure, but all the same…
A few hours after getting home, Sakiko held true to her word and began getting the payments set up. Sodachi was made in contact with the person in charge of the band’s finances, and by the end of a phone call, Sodachi’s bank account had a million more yen than before.
It almost made her nauseous to consider having that much money at once. And neither Sakiko nor the band’s accountant seemed to think anything of it.
And this was, Sodachi thought, staring at the numbers in her bank account, just the start of what Ave Mujica could be.