Hello everyone!
Violet here with the latest chapter. I am ever so sorry that we have not updated in time, but we (myself and Dom) have been so busy with music that it is taking up most of our time :(
For those who are curious, we are currently in Germany working with anoter bass/flute duet, and it is so much fun! I love Hamburg and the scenery is truly breathtaking. We have been working on something called 'Scarlet Ballet,' by a Japanese singer named May'n. We are transcribing it to Bass and Flute which is hard work.
Enough nonsense from me, and please enjoy this chapter! (I wrote the first half an Dom wrote the second.)
Disclaimer: We do not own anything, this is 100% purely fan made.
22.
The roar of the Harley Davidson's powerful engine echoed throughout the streets of Tokyo, as it's black wheels sizzled against the road. Exhaust flared out of the pipe like and angry stallion as Ritsu revved up the bike again with a grin on her face. It was the first time that she was able to take her bike out for a proper ride, even though the club she was asked to go for was only a 10-minute ride from her house. It didn't matter though, as long as she felt swift and free, it wouldn't bother her even if the place was next door to her.
"Okay, waltz in, don't cause a fuss, ask for Jane or Della, then ask for that piece of paper," Ritsu recalled in her head to make sure that she didn't forget. After that awkward conversation with Tsumugi, she couldn't afford to mess up. She didn't want to have the same fate as Azusa or Yui.
As the wind blew against her jacket and her stallion motorbike raced across the vast roads, Ritsu thought silently as she turned a corner. She was scared of Tsumugi.
It had only just occurred to her that she was doing this out of fear. Fear of losing her sanity to a pianist. The thought made her shutter as she pulled up to a red light, her thoughts were still lingering on Tsumugi's past psychotic acts; Attacking men, using boys to break the school's power supply, torturing Yui and cutting Azusa, all things that the Tsumugi she knew a year ago would never dare to even imagine.
Ritsu turned a corner and skidded to a halt with her foot on the road, stopping directly in front of a small building with a black guitar sticking out of the roof. The pulsing neon signs were rusting and covered in dirt and the door had paint chips and an eyehole. Ritsu took off her helmet, and the smell of smoke and alcohol was stuck in her nostrils, causing her to make a face. It was mainly the smell of smoke, alcohol she didn't mind.
Parking Takashi, the drummer slung her helmet under her arm and stuck a hand in her jeans pocket lazily. She took off her head band and put it inside her backpack, then slung it on her shoulder lazily, letting her long bangs cover her face. She looked like a real punk.
Walking up to the door, she rapped three times on it, getting a bit of dust on her knuckles. The wind picked up slightly, sending a chill through her body. Shivering slightly, she braced herself as the eye socket slid open to reveal a pair of murky yellow eyes staring down at her. They narrowed as Ritsu gulped, a little jittery.
"What do you want," murky eyes snarled as they bored into the gold. Ritsu gritted her teeth and took a deep breath.
"I want to speak with Jane or Della," she said in a sharp voice, letting her fringe sweep over her eyes. If it could intimidate the figure, then she was have more of a chance to get what Mugi wanted. The murky eyes widened, then clammed the socket shut. Ritsu blinked, confused. Maybe she wasn't allow in. she waited for another few seconds, then turned on her heel, planning to make her way back to Takashi and head home. However, the thought of explaining to Mugi that she didn't get what she wanted, and the possible price, hung over her like a dead cloud. She shuddered at the thought of what Mugi might do to her, causing her to inhale a shaky breath, only to inhale air full of fear.
Frozen in the thought, the door opened with a creak. Ritsu spun around and looked at the figure standing there. It was a woman who had long, dark brown hair and the same murky yellow eyes. She wore a ripped purpletank top with ripped jeans and chains. Her arms were covered in tattoos and the inside of her chest read 'DEATH DEVIL.'
"Jane," Ritsu whispered, taking the sight of the metal drummer. She had met this woman once before, when they performed at a wedding. She had the typical drummer personality, upbeat and ambitious, however, she did have a bad mouth and would often fight with Yamanaka. Despite all of that, she was a talented cheery woman, back then….
"Ritsu Tainaka," she muttered in a raspy voice. There was a cigarette dangling out of her mouth as she stared at the young drummer. Ritsu nodded, then stepped forward and bowed slightly. Jane let out a bark of laughter and spat on the ground. Ritsu snapped up and blinked in shock, Jane was known to be a tad unusual, but now she was just vulgar.
"Come on in, I'll lead you to Della. It's not good to be out at this time of night," she said in that same raspy tone as she stepped back inside the building. Ritsu followed, cautious about the woman she once knew.
(^.^)
'B.C Rich' was more of a run down bar than a club. Inside there was a tiny stage with a beaten up drum kit and a broken electric bass with shattered lights and blown amplifiers. On the ground in front were broken chairs and tables with wires and empty bottles strew the entire place. The bar was covered in bottles of liquor and cigarette packets everywhere. The neon lights were nearly dead while the other lights on the ceiling were flickering, causing Ritsu to squint. There was only ten people in the place, a female bar tender, three businessmen sitting in the corner smoking and talking, two women (clearly prostitutes) trying to get the men in the corner to notice them, and other people scattered throughout the bar.
"Business must be quiet, then," Ritsu muttered as they walked through the bar, taking in the surroundings. Jane scoffed as she lead the young drummer behind the bar.
"This is what it's always like on Sundays," she muttered as she pulled down a bottle f vodka. It was really a lever that opened a door next to Ritsu. Jane pushed Ritsu into the doorway harshly, and then shouted at something happening with the prostitutes.
Ritsu felt her way through the pitch-black tunnel like a bat in sunlight. Desperately trying to figure out where she was and where was the nearest exit. Ritsu let her feet shuffle and edge down the narrow dark hallway. She held her hands out in front of her, feeling for something, anything but air. However, her fingertips caught something smooth and cold. It was a doorknob. With her heart lifting up and pounding, she closed her fingers around the doorknob and twisted it. The 'click' made her gasp in hope as she pulled the door open, and the lights blinded her for a split second.
(^.^)
As her eyes adjusted, she was in a dimly lit office, it was smaller than the bar she was previously in, and heaps quieter. There was a desk with two chairs in front, a bookshelf with pictures of people, three bass guitars in the corner and a leather couch on the side. However, what caught her attention was the grizzly bear head mounted on the wall. Ritsu gulped at the sight of it, terrified. A black door on the side opened, and a tall, more elegant woman walked into the room. She had long dusty brown hair that fell over her face and blue eyes that were deep and darker than Mugi's. the woman was wearing a dark blue shirt with a black vest and dark pants, that were laced in chains and leather belts. Her left arm had 'DEATH DEVIL' tattooed, as well as vampire bites tattooed into her neck. It was Della, and Ritsu had met her once again at the wedding. Back then she was a woman of few words. Silent, thoughtful and had somewhat of a dark aura around her, however, once talking to her, she was actually a very caring and intelligent person. (Who does that sound like?^^)
"Della," Ritsu whispered as the woman put her hand in her pocket and stared at the young drummer. Her eyes peered through her long and unkempt fringe, and only one word escaped her thin lips.
"Miss Ritsu," The bassist gestured towards one of the chairs in front of the desk, and both musicians sat down, Ritsu in the smaller one and Della behind the desk in a large leather chair. She crossed her legs and blinked at the drummer.
"It has been quite some time, Ritsu," she said in her smooth, dark voice that sent an uneasy feeling through Ritsu's body.
"Y-yeah, it has," she muttered, clenching her jeans in fear. Della had an aura around her that made her extremely uncomfortable. The bassist leaned back in the chair and lit up a cigarette, placing it in a long cigarette holder. (For those confused, think of the one Audrey Hepburn has in Breakfast at Tiffany's.)
"So, what brings you all the way out here to this piece of shit?" Della asked as she took a drag. Ritsu spoke as she exhaled away from the girl's face, respecting her space.
"W-well, Mugi asked me to get the address of a place from you," she said in a small voice. The woman stared down at her from a puff of smoke and raised her eyebrows, that were the same shape as Mio's.
"An address? For what? Couldn't she just look it up on google or something?"
Della's words made Ritsu feel like an idiot. Mugi really could've looked up the location on google maps, so why did she send Ritsu? The drummer knew that it was to late to turn back now, so she cleared her throat and stared at the woman opposite her.
"Well, whatever she does has some sort of meaning, so I guess she's trying to say something by me coming to get this thing."
"Saying something? like what?" Della asked as she took a long drag and blew it out of her nose while speaking.
"I think you are afraid of her. Doing this out of fear," the bassist said in a smooth voice as she leaned back into her chair, the blue eyes locked into the gold, analysing the young drummer. Ritsu gulped as is hit her, she really was doing this out of fear.
"Does it really matter why I'm doing this? I just need the address," Ritsu snapped slightly, causing Della to smirk, knowing that the girl was clouded and consumed in fear. She closed her eyes and sank into the back of the chair.
"Very well, Ritsu, what address do you want?"
The drummer took a deep breath, and clenched at her jeans with sweating fists. She narrowed her gold eyes and focused her gaze on a mark on the table.
"I need the address to Norimi's."
The rest happened so fast. Della stood up with a knife and stuck it against her throat, but Ritsu had pulled out her machine pistol and cocked it against her head. Up close, Della's eyes were a light with a flaming rage, and smoke was coming out of her nose, looking like an angry mare. Ritsu held her gaze and gun steady, she didn't know Della as well as others, so she had to be careful.
"Hit a nerve, did I?" the drummer said in a shaky yet cool voice, breathing a little heavier than normal. Della's eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared, ready to charge.
Ritsu locked her gaze, surprised that Della had even attack her. She was shocked by it, but kept her gun and hand steady, just in case the woman would make a sneak attack.
"W-well, all I need is the address, it has nothing to do with you," Ritsu said the same shaky voice, sweat beads dripping down her long fringe and dropping off like droplets on a leaf. Della's eyes flashed, just as the door opened and a huge figure bounded into the room, tackling Ritsu to the ground.
It was Jane.
"All four of us established this club when Death Devil was popular, then the two made a deal with the French Mafia, who gave them the money to start this shithouse, and they never payed their debts. Norimi became the alpha and told Sawako to get the money. She's a manipulative whorebag that poisoned her mind, she made her think that the debt was all hers to pay."
Ritsu soaked in the story as she managed to get her legs free from the metal drummer. She narrowed her golden eyes and kicked Jane hard in the chest, forcing her off. Ritsu leapt to her feet and pointed the gun directly between her murky eyes, that were wide in shock and fear.
"Everyone needs to calm the fuck down!" She snapped, glaring at the musicians with fierce eyes. Della had her hands on the desk with the knife clenched firmly in her left while Jane lay on the floor, terrified of the machine pistol that held her ticket to hell.
"Look, I don't care about your past, or your failures in life. I'm only at this shitdump for the address to the shittier dump. All you have to do is give me it and I'll leave you to rot in this hole, got it?" Ritsu's words were demanding and pierced at the women.
Both of them looked down at their tattoos of Deah devil, Della's on her left forearm and Jane's on her chest, then looked at each other. Della nodded, then picked up her cigarette holder from the ground and placed it elegantly in her mouth. With her hands in her pockets, she sat on the desk and glared at the young drummer, amazed at her strength.
"The name of the place is 'Maddy Candy.' It's located in downtown Tokyo on the third street. To get In, you must have a pass." With those words, Della dug her heal into the desk with such force that the cupboard on the side actually toppled over and nearly landed on her, but she stopped it with her hands. Amazed, Ritsu watched as the woman pulled the glass doors open and reached into the very back, pulling out a credit card like object. She held it like a dead animal as she pushed the cubboard back with such force that it landed in the exact same spot as before. Della threw the object at Ritsu, who caught it and threaded her finger through it's smooth surface.
It was a membership card (a lot like Mio's fanclub cards,) with the number 003 on it. There was a picture of a female skull with a Gibson flying v and a black guitar. The words 'Maddy Candy' were on the top in a faded red colour and the card was so dusty that Della's and Ritsu's fingerprints showed on it. Ritsu pocketed it and picked up her bag and jacket, keeping her gun pointed as she backed slowly out of the room.
"Thanks," she said, then left the room, made her way through the black passage and out of the bar.
Jane stood up and dusted herself down, placing the cigarette back in her mouth and staring at Della.
"What do we do now?" she asked, but Della slapped her across the face and took her phone out of her pocket. She dialled a number and placed it against her ear, eyes flashing with evil and knowledge.
"What the fuck do you want?" a voice from the other end of the phone. Della smirked as her eyes narrowed.
"You better watch out, there's a psycho coming…"
Thank you very much for reading, and please feel free to let us know what you thought and any suggestions :D
(Oh, and for those who are curious, Dom is sleeping as she didn't get back from a bass work shop until midnight, so I told her to rest up as we are meeting with another duo tomorrow ^^)
See you in the next chapter!