Chapter Text
The sounds of plane engines roaring fills the scene as a shadow darkens the runway at Narita International Airport. From the ground one could hear the slow fading as the turbines start to power down and the landing gear of the flying machine pops out. It was a good day to fly that morning as clouds were barely present and the weather was as perfect as can be. With no complications, the plane flying from Australia lands successfully and right on schedule. One by one each passenger exits the plane and proceeds to head into the 4-star airport. One passenger in particular stands again on Japanese soil after quite some time.
A woman with bright, orange hair containing hints of teal at the same height as her neck, who appears to be someone around their mid-twenties, wearing skinny jeans, a white, long-sleeved shirt topped with an orange and blue women’s vest, complimented by her orange beret accentuated by a black ribbon with a repeating star pattern wrapping around it, can be seen dragging a bright orange suitcase behind her.
“KIKERIKIII~!!!” Takanashi Kiara greets Japan with an outgoing welcome, to the looks of a few passerby that turn their heads to look at the bright-haired girl. “It’s been sooooo long.” She says to no one in particular as she scans her immediate surroundings. It’s been 5 whole years since Kiara has last been to Japan. Back then she was only in the country for a year because of a business trip her family went on that she managed to beg her way into letting her come. For most of her life the girl has lived in Australia in a comfortable home with her family and cats. Not that there’s anything wrong with her cats, and her family too I suppose, but Japan has always been a place that fascinated Kiara to the point that she even speaks the language fluently.
After sitting down on one of the benches for a bit, adjusting her phone’s time-zone settings and making some quick arrangements, Kiara moves across the airport grounds and exits the building. The temperature of the air on her skin immediately indicative of the bright sun high in the sky. Some would call mornings evil and the most sinister thing imaginable, but the bright-haired girl has never been one to curse the sun and reject the opportunities of each new day it brings. Gotta take life day by day and keep pushing forward after all, right? And so, the young upstart makes her way to JR Narita Express to catch the 1-hour ride to the big city. After which she would take a cab headed to her new place, starting her ambitious journey to start the greatest fast-food chain in the world.
As the digital clock on her phone ticks to reveal the time 8:00 am, a cab can be heard making its way across the asphalt road near the station she dropped at. Kiara calls the cab over and confirms that she’s the passenger who booked a ride. There was the usual interaction where the Japanese cab driver attempted to communicate in English for a few seconds until Kiara interjected with fluent Japanese and surprised the innocent man. Other than that, the ride was smooth and had no complications, reaching their destination in less than half an hour.
Exiting the cab and turning to face her destination, the foreign girl looks up and eyes the apartment complex she’ll be staying with for a considerable amount of time. Thankfully, her parents’ previous travels gave her connections and so the process of getting her own place was a lot simpler and faster than it would’ve been if she truly had to start from scratch. She was actually very lucky because this complex was one of two similar places that she could’ve ended up in that were both relatively close to where she wanted to start to work at. The other place being just a short walk away on the same side of the street.
For the rest of the day, Kiara used her time to unpack her things and get settled in her new apartment. The place wasn’t anything too special. It had a sizable living room with a couch and a nice enough television in the central area and a usable kitchen to the right with a bedroom and a bathroom in the two rooms to the left. There was definitely some empty space where one could put some extra furniture, but the main highlight of the place was the door leading to the balcony on the wall furthest from the door. A bird’s-eye view 4 stories high, allowing one to gaze at the marvelous cityscape that is the Tokyo skyline in the twilight. The aspiring Tenchou just gazes at the sight for a dozen seconds until she realized she needed to make an important call.
“Hey mom, hey dad. Sorry it took a while for me to call you folks back.” The starry-eyed girl says into her phone’s mic. “Things went well. The flight was smooth and the ride on the train wasn’t all that bad, actually.” She then chuckles at a joke told by the other side. “No, really, I’m fine. I just finished unpacking. You don’t need to worry about me. I can take care of myself.” She waits for a response. “Seriously! I didn’t get lost this time! I’m not the same as 5 years ago! You two know that! Hmph.” She pouts, and then remembers the time. “Ah, sorry about this but I have to cut it short. The thing starts tonight.” She turns back to look inside. “No, I’m not overworking myself. I’m still full of energy!” She pumps out her fist towards the sky, even though no one can see. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. Be safe. Gotta go, I love you!” And she ends the call. Preparing to head right out to start on her ambitions.
“BAAHH!!!” Grunts an exhausted Kiara. “Why was everyone so-” She cuts herself off. “So…” She removes her hat. “SO……” She raises it high. “SO INCOMPETENT!!!” The poor hat gets smashed to the tiled floor of the restaurant staff room, barely making a thud as it’s too soft to properly use as ground pounder.
“Come on, Kiara. Don’t be too hard on them.” Says a male voice sitting at the other side of the staff room table. “Not everyone is as motivated as you to work at one of these places.” He adds, pulling out his phone and plugging in a set of earphones.
“That’s not the point Kokoro!” The frustrated girl fires back. “They’re so slow, they barely know how to handle a fryer, they can’t remember the recipe, and I’m the one that has to fix their mistakes!” She fumes. “How am I supposed to climb the ranks if THIS is what I’m working with!?” She leans forward to pick up her hat. Poor hat never did anything wrong.
“Relax girl. It’s just the first day. Hell, you moved tonight as if you already worked this place for 5 years. I’m sure upper management will see your skills in no time.” The chill dude says as he leans back on his chair and places both legs on the table. Kiara about to scold him but instead he stops her before she can speak. “Chill. We’re the two who have to lock up this joint tonight anyway. Manager won’t know.” He taps on his phone, looking like he’s shuffling through a playlist.
“I suppose you’re right…” Kiara sighs and lowers her temper. Tonight was her first night working at KF[C-opyright] and Kokoro has apparently been working here for 3 whole months. Maybe she should take a senior’s advice, she ponders. She contemplated thanking the senior, but it seems he’s busy bobbing his head from side-to-side and waving his arms with no care in the world. “What are you even listening to?”
“Hmm?” He pulls out an earphone. “Oh, this?” He points to his phone. “Just a little something that’s gonna rock the world.” Kiara raises an eyebrow to that. “Alright, I give.” He pulls out the second earphone. “It’s the debut song of the Shinigamis. They’re the best band in the world right now. Sensei killed it with that rap. And before you ask, Sensei is what we call the lead singer. She’s super talented.” He makes a jazz hands gesture. “Actually, you know what…” He rubs his chin, contemplating. “Why don’t you listen to her? Who knows, it might relieve some stress.” Kokoro suggests. “I need to use the washroom anyway. You can never be too sure if there’s secretly 7 ninja assassins that are out to get you when you can’t hear them.”
“As much as I would normally love to disagree with you, that actually doesn’t sound like a bad idea.” Takanashi Kiara liked music, and she isn’t someone who just shuts down other genres because she never gave them a chance. She didn’t know why, but when he mentioned rap, she had an unusually curious reaction. Seeing Kiara actually be open to the idea, Kokoro slides the phone across the table and proceeds to head out. Kiara picks it up, unplugging the earphones in case someone calls her, and reads the title of the song. “失礼しますが、RIP♡?” She remembers she’s in Japan and remembers that, of course, some songs would be in Japanese. She plays the song, not even noticing the girl on the album cover. https://youtu.be/5y3xh8gs24c The song starts out with a girl’s voice thanking her fans. Apparently for watching a livestream. Kiara swore she’s heard this voice before until-
“Fuck it” It’s her.
“Modern-day killers really must hate fun
More often, people takin' lives rockin' knives and guns
The real murder connoisseurs in the ruins of hell
Got used to luring the audience with moe that sells, 'cause
To my surprise, snatching' lives とりあえず禁止
Nice try, stoppin' the motherfuckin' Da Vinci
Of human erasure, can't stop the pace, sir
Make sure whеn "standing off" my rhymes slay first”
Looking closely at the album cover, Kiara curses herself that she didn’t recognize the girl in the stylized artwork. A million thoughts running through her head as she recalls scenes she subconsciously tried to forget. This is her, right? It must be. That voice. Those words. Words she saw being written 5 years ago. It’s gotta be her. If so, this is who she is now? She should be happy for her, right? What’s this tightening in her chest? Why is the screen getting blurry? Wait, are those tears? Her head runs at a mile a minute as a pain she thought she forgot suddenly comes assaulting her heart.
“If you take my advice, you'll be killed by what'cha don't know!
But the other saying that I like so much more
Is along the lines of "you reap what you fuckin' SEISO"
Gotta know, ain’t it so, could ya let go of your soul for me?
すごいDIE好き〜
I'm not asking for much: do me a favor and die?
ごめん、失礼しますが死んでください♡〜”
“HELLOOOOOOO!?!?” A voice calls from the counter. Quickly pausing the song, wiping her tears, and putting on her service face, Takanashi Kiara moves to the counter to remind the customer what time it currently was, because Kokoro apparently didn’t put up the ‘CLOSED’ sign.
“Excuse me, ma’am. I’m sorry but we’re closed for the ni-” Kiara is cut off as all breath escapes her. There she was. Tall, staring her down, in a black leather jacket and ripped jeans, a portable keyboard hung over her shoulders, and sporting a pair of black shades. “Calli?” Kiara asks the woman.
“Dammit, where the fuck is Kokoro when you-” The woman cuts herself off. “Kuso-” She stops again. “K-Kiara?” She lifts her shades and reveals two entrancing dark pink eyes. “What are you doing he-” She never gets to finish.
“Hey Sensei! Sorry, had to take a piss. What’s going on with-” Kokoro stumbles upon the scene. Absolute silence fell as they all just stood there for a moment. “Told you she was that good.” He finger-guns towards Kiara while clicking his tongue twice. “And damn are you lucky, you even got to meet her tonight!” He reaches up and pats the taller girl on the back. "I got us a new fan, Sensei! Look at her, she’s absolutely starstruck!”
Takanashi Kiara was not, in fact, starstruck. There she was, right there. Standing in front of her as if nothing had changed after 5 whole years. Her first love, her first heartbreak. The girl who pushed her heart off a cliff. Mori Calliope.
“Now’s not the time, Kokoro.” Mori softly says. She, too, remembering a time long since passed.