Chapter Text
“Oh, my clematis. Hope that bloomed with darkness nigh.”
Ian begins shakily, holding the mic close to his lips so not a single note goes unheard by the hundreds of thousands of eager judges below him. The stage lights burn hot against his skin, glinting faintly off the sharp lines of his dark suit. He dares not face the sea of shimmering lights and unfamiliar faces. One little mistake, and the jury condemns his voice to be no more.
“Oh, my clematis. Stay forever by my side.”
A pair of hands slide over his own, steadying Ian's shaky self as he finally looks up from the mic. Makoto stands close enough that the lights halo their white hair, reflecting the angel they absolutely are. Makoto's eyes remain on Ian, blind to everything but their dearest Ian. Their lips curl into a smirk as they push closer, faces almost touching if not for the slender white mic held in between them. Nothing else mattered but the two of them on this stage.
“You bloomed from the abyss, climbing walls to reach the sky.”
“See the universe shine, and the starlight in your eyes.”
The two go back and forth between their respective lines, just as they rehearsed countless times together. Ian picks up after Makoto, taking one hand off the mic to caress their face, gently stroking his thumb over their cheek in awe, in worship of the divine being that had somehow loved him the same way he worshipped them. Ian believed in no God. How could he, after everything he's been through? He was never there for the event generations and generations ago when the segyein first captured the humans as pets, but he has suffered the aftermath of that history. It truly is dehumanizing to be treated as nothing more than a cute puppy by those grotesque things that could crush him in an instant. What sort of God would let His creations suffer like this?
Still, it is in nature for a human to believe in the divine, is it not? And what better object of worship could there be if not for the guardian angel sent from Heaven right there in front of him?
“When the darkness blinds my sight, I will find you by your scent.”
Ian takes a breath and waits for his God to bless him with the gentle voice that will surely come with their response…
But the response never comes.
Ian’s brows furrow. Was he supposed to sing the stanza by himself? That can’t be right. The two of them went over this song. Practiced it again and again. Makoto couldn’t have forgotten their line, right? With more bravado than certainty, he continues,
“If I slumber forevermore—“
“Tell me you won’t leave my world.”
Makoto finally joins in. Ian tilts his head in questioning at the late notes, but Makoto’s only answer is a soft smile and a dismissive flick of their hand.
“Oh, my clematis. Hope that bloomed with darkness nigh.”
Ian and Makoto harmonize together. Maybe Makoto really had forgotten that line. He couldn’t blame them, really. “Slumber” and “forevermore” were rather complicated words. While Makoto always shined the brightest in Ian's life, he had to admit they weren't the brightest in other fields.
“Oh, my clematis…”
His eyes drift shut in bliss. Keep at it, and they just might be able to do this. Together. They'd hold hands at the end of the performance, and bow down for thunderous applause from the audience. Ian could already imagine. Just the two of them. Ian and Makoto. The two of them.
“…Stay forever by my side.”
His own voice was the only thing that reaches his ears. The weight of the mic suddenly feels heavier now that Ian is the only one holding it. His eyes snap open to see Makoto pulling back, no more of that beautiful voice escaping their lips. Ian desperately pushes the mic against Makoto’s chest. If Makoto sings now, they'd be able to pass without issue. The projected scoreboard casts a blue glow over the two as their tallies rise up. There’s still time—
BANG
Something warm splatters across Ian’s face, though he barely feels it. All he could perceive at the moment is Makoto dropping to the floor, a pool of blood forming around their corpse.
Above them, the scoreboard flashes.
ROUND 1: IRIS WINS