NieR is Copyright Cavia and Square Enix, 2010. All original characters are property of the author. This is a work for entertainment and no profit will be made. A fiction by Sentionaut.
Author's Notes: This chapter combines what was previously parts 2 and 3, for better narrative flow.
Kainé winced, flicking away a glob of suds that had caught her right in the side of the face. "The fuck is this, what a goddamned mess," she complained loudly, though her words were still lost to the sloppy mess of the band that had followed after Shirayuki Project on the club stage. They sounded like hammered ass, even separated by a thick wall, and the lead of SP knew just what sort of sound that made. Kainé grimaced, catching up to her band mates in the narrow hallway behind the stage. The club wasn't exactly designed with catering to multiple bands in mind, but the owners had done all right in arranging the dressing rooms. She couldn't complain about that, at least.
The club had provided only cursory help in carting around the band's equipment, though it was mostly Emil's drum kit they had to worry about. The amps and speakers were all provided for, so that had been one less thing to drag around. Though it had meant a few wasted minutes, getting the audio to something approaching satisfactory. Kainé had been content to crank the volume and give the fuckers in the audience what they wanted, bleeding ears and crushed hearts. She ate that shit up, though the duo she worked with weren't quite so on board that particular train.
Not that those two didn't have their own brand of kink. Halua was a heart breaker of a different sort, and her brother hammered those drums like he was possessed. She could see the girls out in the crowd near frothing over it. Of course, they had a snowball's chance with the effeminate drummer. Honestly, Kainé wasn't above playing clean up, though that wasn't the case tonight. She'd been out there, again. Almost close enough to touch, had Kainé been so inclined.
Distracted, the tall singer almost ran right into Halua, the shorter bassist having stopped in the hall to allow the help to pass with part of Emil's kit. "Watch it, short stack, I almost rolled you," Kainé cursed, narrowly avoiding banging the neck of her guitar against the wall as she slid to a halt.
"Whatever, I can barely see where anything is with all this crap in my eyes," Halua shouldered her bass, and spat out a bubble. The club had elected to flood a good portion of the dance floor with thick soapy suds just after Shirayuki finished. Some crappy house tune had pumped out of the speakers to fill in between bands, and the bubbles had come pouring out of vents near the ceiling as the band had left the stage. But, they'd still gotten caught in the mess when one of the vents directly above had activated. It was a shitty design, and probably not supposed to have happened, though Halua didn't envy anyone taking the stage right after that. "That's going to get someone electrocuted, or worse," she said, not happy with the taste of soap.
"I think everything went really well. The crowd was on fire, and I didn't flub the solo this time, which is a plus in my book," Emil, the youngest of the band piped up, tapping his drumsticks against the open service door that his equipment was being carted through. "We killed it out there, right?"
"Yeah, it went pretty well except for that last part. Damn bubbles. I don't see the point, though I guess it doesn't hurt that our fans are all lathered up," Kainé grinned to herself, thinking of one soapy t-shirt that was deserving of some attention. "I might even go mingle a bit after we get stowed away."
"Really? When you're all sweaty like that? I just want to get back to the hotel and take a shower. It's not like we don't have another gig lined up this weekend. Plenty of time for fun tomorrow," Halua replied. It was true, the band had lucked out lately. More precisely, their manager had been working some kind of magic, getting them this kind of line up. "Seb's got us covered through the next month. We've never had this many shows booked back to back like this," the recently dyed noirette crowed.
"All work and no play is not one of my favorite sayings," Kainé reminded her two friends, though they'd known that long before forming the band. "Besides, I'm all warmed up," she said, flexing her long fingers, callused and aching pleasantly from the nearly twenty minute set they'd just finished. It was only three songs so far, but Emil and Halua were almost finished with the next two that would round out the EP they had planned, and would be debuting in one of their Lives next month, or shortly thereafter. Seb had scored them some studio time before the holidays, and if they buckled down, Shirayuki Project would have its first EP out by the beginning of the new year. It was fucking awesome, and Kainé was already thrumming just thinking about the recording sessions.
"Do what you want, just don't show up to practice blitzed like that one time," Halua reminded the taller woman. "I don't feel like buying a new outfit again so soon," she tossed a wink over her shoulder to show there was no real hard feelings about the mishap, as gross as it had been.
"I'll keep that in mind, short stack," the pale haired singer rolled her eyes at the light jab. "What about you, Emil? You pussing out on me too?"
Twirling one stick, Emil furnished his own familiar grin as the last of his stuff disappeared through the service door. "One of us has to make up for 'lua. Besides, I'm not blind like a certain sister, Kainé. I can be pretty useful, you know. And your little crush wasn't by herself out there," Emil said lightheartedly, though the smile he offered reminded the two women more of a svelte tiger on the prowl, than anything reassuring. "Besides, I could use a drink and a little something to eat, after all my hard work."
The dark haired bassist just shook her head. Emil adding himself to the mix was just asking for more trouble, and a sizable bar tab. Plastering people with drinks was her brother's idea of flattery, and it generally worked only once, and cost more than the effort was worth. Getting hammered was the only way to handle his terrible sense of humor though, and she usually ended up pitying whomever he'd set his sights on. Halua was legitimately exhausted, or she might have been tempted to stick around and reign in her brother's antics before he got himself socked in the mouth, in the bad way, again.
"You both do that, and don't come crying to me in the morning. I've got better things to do than nurse bruised egos," she snorted, and continued on to the dressing room to switch back to her street clothes, the leather and lace that was their band's 'look' may have been comfortable to people like Kainé, but Halua found it chafed in places she liked still having healthy skin. "Don't forget which hotel we're at, either," she said, leaving the two to their own devices.
"I know exactly where my room is, thanks," Kainé shot back, heading after the noirette to put away her instrument. She, on the other hand, had no qualms about flaunting her already glistening flesh in the pulsing lights on the dance floor. Emil, as usual was decked to the nines in a black suit and tie, with assorted modifications to better mesh with the almost painted on look that the girls sported. He likely wouldn't see a need to change either, his boyish looks set off by the more refined attire, and the result certainly made him more recognizable as a member of Shirayuki. Truthfully, all three of them thrived on the attention they garnered, especially among their followers.
It didn't take long before the duo were back out in the club, hunting for a certain flavor to cap the evening.
Getting what amounted to front row seating, standing so close to the stage as she was, had been the highlight of her night. She could have sworn Kainé had been staring right at her, but once the last song was over, it felt more and more like she'd been caught up in a fantasy. It might have had something to do with the rush of foamy suds that had dumped down onto the stage, a good deal of the mess splashing her right in the face before she could move. The crowd was still thick on the floor, and Yonah was caught in place, at least until the dancing started and she could slip back toward the bar between the gyrating bodies.
Doing her best, she worked her way out of the slippery writhing sea and into the relative stillness of the shadows at the edge of the dance floor. The bar was on the opposite end of the club, nearer the entrance, and she had to work her way around from the side of the stage she'd escaped on to get there. Nier was probably busy warming a stool, nursing a drink while he waited for her to show back up.
Her brother wasn't a big fan of Shirayuki Project, but she knew that was only because she liked the band so much. She'd caught her brother badly singing of their songs the other day, and had called him on it. He'd just brushed her off like it was no big deal, saying SP might have one good song.
It was surprising though, as the only recordings out where from Live shows, and all the songs that Yonah had were ones she'd made herself, back at the second show the band had done. They weren't the best quality, she would be the first to admit, and that had to have been what he'd listened to enough to memorize the lyrics, because he hadn't been to more than one show with her.
The other venues the band played at were much closer to where Yonah lived with her brother, either within walking distance, or a train stop away. The club she'd dragged him to tonight, Dream Hollow, was in another district, almost an hour away by train, so they'd taken the bike that afternoon, as she'd wanted to do some shopping first since they hardly came out this way, and the local stores were different.
Making her way along the under hang that ringed the dance floor, she avoided getting covered with more thick bubbles, having much less trouble skirting the one or two wallflowers. Up ahead, she could see the bend that curved toward the bar. Wiping as much of the mess away as she could reach, Yonah almost reached the bend when a hand fell on her shoulder, flicking a glob she'd missed. Surprised, the slim girl blinked, turning halfway to mutter a thanks that would doubtless be lost to the music coursing through the club. The words fell away unheard in any case, as she rounded on the owner of the helping hand.
"It's all in your hair, too. Though you might like to know," the woman said, lights from above the dance floor bathing half her face in flickering shades of blue and the rest in darkness. She stood nearly half a head taller than Yonah, which had the girl craning slightly up to meet her eyes. "Didn't think I'd find you so easily," Kainé favored the dumbstruck foam coated girl with an easy going smile. It was even more satisfying when the girl just gaped up at her, apparently gathering her wits.
The singer couldn't even recall the last time she'd had such an obvious effect on someone, though it made sense given how much of a fan the girl had to be to be sporting a bright neon shirt emblazoned with SP's unofficial logo. It was obviously a custom shirt, because the band hadn't put out any merchandise. It didn't look homemade, but that was hard to tell in the flashing lights. Kainé returned her attention to the girl's face, glad to know her gaze hadn't drifted too long. Honestly, she wasn't even sure if the willowy girl could hear her over the noise.
"You...you were looking for me," Yonah asked, more mouthing the question than trying to overpower the music. She only caught every other word, but it was more obvious when she considered that yes, the singer had noticed her from the stage. Otherwise, why would she be here, like this? The petite girl felt her stomach lurch nervously, but she fought to quash the sensation. She was never going to have this chance again, and she'd be damned if she embarrassed herself more than necessary in front of her idol.
The taller woman only grinned wider in response, catching the mood of the girl she'd set her sight on readily enough. Snaking an arm around her fan, she tugged her insistently back toward the throng. It was impossible to talk in a place like this, and there would be time for that later. Right now, she was more inclined to bridge the gap between the two of them, maybe get a little skinship going on the dance floor. Maybe after that, the girl wouldn't be quite so nervous around her. Kainé figured she wasn't the shy type either, given how up front she was about her taste in music. Fan loyalty needed to be rewarded somehow, after all. Especially when it came to the cute ones. "Come on, you look like you can dance."
Yonah let herself be pulled along. She wasn't enthralled with the prospect of heading back into the foamy nightmare, but that feeling was paltry when compared to the heat that flowed where her hand was swallowed in the singer's insistently firm grip. She felt herself smiling dumbly, and fixed her eyes on the lightly dyed leather corset that swayed and bobbed in front of her. This was really happening! Out of all these people, Kainé had picked her. The thought made Yonah light headed, as if she'd had several more than just the one drink earlier.
Around them, the beat picked up as the bands on stage switched out. There was little need to marshal coherent thoughts, and Yonah was more than content to let the music sway her, while body heats mingled. She found that the singer had virtually no concept of personal space, or pushing boundaries either, the taller woman's hands roving unchallenged. The pale girl was too caught up in the moment to care, though not so far gone as to miss the vibe that Kainé was implicitly giving off.
They writhed and ground against one another for two more songs before the smaller girl found herself sweating and breathless. She didn't come to these places just to dance very often, more inclined to hang out, and appreciate the opportunity to hear good music. Though she admitted that missing out on this would have been the biggest mistake of her young life. She wanted to take a break and maybe get something to quench her thirst, replace some of the fluid she'd lost to the throng. Judging from the flushed look on the spiky haired singer's face, Yonah wasn't alone in that sentiment. She inclined her head toward the bar, and turned to try and push back through to the side where the crowd was thin.
Somewhere along the way, Kainé had draped herself around the pink shirted girl, wrapping an arm around her waist, and keeping the few who'd tried to approach the short girl at bay. The rougher style of her outfit and the spiked collar around her neck were plenty of deterrent in their own right as well. It was a little less noisy the closer they moved toward the bar, and she felt her fangirl pull toward a rather specific direction.
It wasn't hard to spot their intended destination. A lanky figure sat at the far end of the bar, nearest the front door, tall enough that even seated, he was noticeable. Even from the side, she could tell he had the same feathery pale hair as the girl on her arm.
Kainé had seen him before, too, usually somewhere close by the girl. Probably her brother, given the resemblance. Currently, the young man, who was maybe a little older than herself, or close to it, was chatting with a familiar diminutive figure. The difference in stature almost made it comedic, and Kainé smiled to herself at her band mate's handiwork. Emil had the tall guy occupied, just like he'd promised. Not that it was going to matter now, with the girl making a beeline for the pair.
She wondered how this was going to go down. Normally, Halua handled similar situations when they were out and about, but her brother had no reservations filling in for his sister's role. Shirayuki Project was a triple threat in more than once sense of the phrase. None of them were ever hurting for company in light of that. Besides, it kept things interesting.