Chapter Text
The venue was crowded as Shiori and the others entered. There were bright lights everywhere, and it was impossible to move forward without bumping into someone else.
“This was a mistake,” Shiori grumbled, trying to avoid getting her feet stepped on.
“You’re telling me!” Bijou piped up. “I can barely see what’s going on!”
“Let’s try to get to the front,” Nerissa suggested. “That way everyone can see the show.”
The group slowly but surely shuffled their way to the front, with only a few squashed toes on the way. Shiori looked at the stage set up. It was a typical stage, with speakers and mics, but what caught her attention was the drumset in the back.
It was an obnoxiously bright orange, like someone had taken an orange highlighter and was given permission to go ham on it. The logo for the band it belonged to was painted onto the front.
“Have any of you ever heard of ‘Justice’ before?” Shiori tilted her head at the name on the drums.
Nerissa shook her head. “Maybe this is their first show.”
“With this crowd?” Bijou gestured to the amount of people around them.
“This is a new venue,” Shiori pointed out. “Still. This is a pretty big turnout for a group even Nerissa hasn’t heard of yet.”
“I wonder what kind of music they play!” Mococo and Fuwawa enthusiastically chimed in.
I guess we’ll find out, Shiori thought as the lights dimmed.
With the lights out, Shiori could only barely make out the silhouettes of the band as they entered the stage. There was the sound of shuffling as they got into position, and a brief silence that was quickly stamped out by the sound of the drumsticks hitting against each other.
Shiori’s eyes widened as the rest of the band came to life. “…woah.”
Their music was powerful. There was an unrivaled confidence in the way the band played, allowing each note to ring true.
The others seemed to agree. Shiori could hear Bijou and the twins gasp in awe, and even Nerissa had gone uncharacteristically still. Yet something about the vocals bugged her.
There were four voices, each one assured in its ability to carry the song forward. Somehow, though, Shiori could’ve sworn she’d heard them before. An accent she couldn’t quite place. A pronunciation that had lodged itself in her brain somewhere.
It was bothering her in a way she couldn’t put her finger on. The song was approaching its climax, and Shiori still hadn’t figured it out. She almost considered letting it be. It didn’t really matter, after all.
And then the spotlights came on.
Despite the fact that she’d recognized the voices, she almost couldn’t recognize who was on stage. Elizabeth, Gigi, Cecilia, and Raora stood in front of her, playing their hearts out. Everything from their hair to their makeup to their outfits was so drastically different that Shiori would have believed they were entirely different people.
Elizabeth in particular was the most striking difference, in Shiori’s opinion. Her usually well kept hair had been tied back into a long, messy ponytail. Whatever makeup she wore at school had been replaced with a dark mascara and an even darker red lipstick. Her outfit, typically modest and following the school dress code to a T, was now a more revealing leather jacket of sorts, with belts around the short plaid skirt she paired with it.
The other three were in much of the same messy hair, heavy makeup combination. Their outfits were a stark difference to the school uniform they dutifully carried themselves around in (aside from Gigi, who frequently made it a game to see how long she could go without a tie before getting yelled at by Elizabeth).
Actually being able to see them on stage somehow made the performance more mesmerizing. Gigi’s signature grin somehow seemed more wild than usual, and Cecilia and Raora played with a fervor Shiori had never seen from the two. Even Elizabeth seemed entirely absorbed in her singing.
As the song came to an end, Elizabeth’s eyes met Shiori’s. It was only for a moment, half a second maybe, but it was long enough for her to send Shiori a wink before addressing the crowd. Nerissa let out a half-strangled gasp. Shiori looked over at her taller friend.
Nerissa’s eyes were wide open, like she was afraid of missing the rest of the show if she blinked. Her cheeks were flushed pink, and her mouth hung open. Shiori followed her line of sight. Nerissa’s attention was fully and undeniably on Elizabeth.
Shiori suppressed a sigh.
It only took a few days for Nerissa to drag Shiori into an empty classroom.
“Please, Shiori, you have to help me!” Nerissa put her hands together as she gave Shiori her best puppy dog eyes. “I need to score a date with Liz!”
Shiori sighed. “Rissa, I think I’m the worst person to ask.”
“But you read so many books!” Nerissa placed her hands on Shiori’s shoulders. “At least one of them has to be helpful!”
“I read what’s interesting,” Shiori argued. “Kisses and cuddles don’t exactly appeal to me. You read more romance than I do.”
“Pwease Shiowi!” Nerissa was practically clinging to her now. “She’s so pretty! Just one date! I just need one chance!”
“Gross,” Gigi chimed in from the corner of the room. Shiori blinked at her. Gigi shrugged in response and pointed at Nerissa. “She dragged me here too.”
“Cause you know Liz the best!” Nerissa turned her attention to Gigi, walking over and planting her hands on the desk the shorter girl was sitting at.
“Heh, I am kind of an expert,” Gigi snickered. “I guess I could help you, out of the goodness of my heart.”
Gigi’s smile froze on her face when Nerissa giggled in response. It was a blink-and-you-miss-it sort of thing, but it had Shiori looking over her in scrutiny.
“My hero!” Nerissa reached over the desk to wrap her arms around Gigi in a hug. Gigi, for once, was speechless. Her hands hovered awkwardly, like she didn’t know where to place them. Nerissa pulled away before she could decide.
Shiori eyed Gigi a little longer, before looking at Nerissa with a sigh. “I’ll try.”
“Yay!” Nerissa turned to give Shiori her own hug. “Thank you thank you thank you!”
“Sure Reese,” Shiori said, looking over at Gigi again. Gigi didn’t notice at first, too focused on Nerissa. When she finally met Shiori’s eyes she froze, before turning her head away and pulling out her phone.
This was going to be interesting.