Morning came. Sleep didn't.
Having seen what horrors awaited in the sleeping realm, Astaire found staying well away from it all the easier. He dared to blink only every so often, as though the slightest lapse in concentration would result in him being swallowed whole once again. All he could do was lie flat on his back while staring at the ceiling, expression hard and taut.
Ironclad determination shared a bed with anxious anticipation as the temptation to nod off was matched only by Astaire's will not to. For hours he lay basking in the silence, only occasionally interrupted by the sound of Rise rolling around in bed above him.
After enough hours, his anxiety began to wane. The light of the sun began to pry away the darkness from the room, signalling that his efforts hadn't been for naught. For the first time in hours, Astaire let out a sigh of relief. He'd lasted the night successfully. He could do it. He felt terrible, but he could do it.
As quietly as he dared, Astaire stood up and walked to the window. The sun had never looked so good. He raised his arms aloft and stood on his toes, a silent cry of 'Praise the sun!' echoing around in his head.
Then came the sound of shifting fabric from behind him. "Eurgh… who's there…?" As well as a sound which indicated he hadn't been quite as quiet as he'd have cared to be. Rise murmured and mumbled as she shifted around under her covers, slowly sitting herself upright.
Well, if she was awake, she was awake. "Good morning, Ms. Kujikawa." Astaire said, turning from the window. "Did you sleep well?"
Rise's frazzled bird's nest of hair quaked all at once as she froze mid-eye rub. One bleary eye widened in horror before she turned into a brown blur and shot back under her covers with a scream. "Waaaah! Why the heck are you up so early?! Actually forget it, just don't look at me! Whatever you do, don't look at me!" Came her muffled protests from underneath.
Astaire tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. "But… I did look at you. Right this second."
"Well, don't! Just… Just hand me my bag, would you?! It's on one of the chairs by the table!" Rise managed to muffle out.
Still confused beyond belief, Astaire nonetheless complied and retrieved the small, pink handbag. The second it was within her reach, Rise's arm lunged out hungrily and ripped it from his grasp. She mumbled and cursed under her breath as she tried retrieving the contents under her stuffy, dark, claustrophobic blanket.
"...Might I ask why I'm not supposed to look at you?" Astaire asked the struggling, cursing pile of fabric atop the bed.
"What are you, blind?! I'm a total mess, that's why! Gimme, like, ten minutes and then you can look!" The fabric snapped back.
Astaire blinked, face blank. "I'm afraid I don't follow."
Rise growled in frustration under her covers before finally throwing them off her upper half, pointing a finger at her dishevelled, red, sweaty face. The closest she got to a form of makeup was the well-used brush that was stuck to her hair, having halted mid-motion. "What about now, huh?! Is this any easier to understand?!"
She'd almost been expecting him to flinch. Or wince. Or react at all. Instead, Astaire simply stood there, silently eyeing her up and down with such prolonged intensity that her annoyance began to wear off. Her face remained red, albeit for a different reason.
Finally, an answer. "...No?"
Rise blinked, then pouted and folded her arms. "You don't mean that."
"Of course I do. I wouldn't be telling you if I thought otherwise." Astaire insisted, wondering how much clearer he could make his point.
Not clear enough for Rise, evidently. "So you're telling me that this-" She encircled her face with a finger. "-and all this-" Then ran a finger around the circumference of her bird's nest. "-looks perfectly alright to you."
"Yes."
"Even though I look like a zombie."
"Yes." Whatever a 'zombie' was.
"And even though my hair looks like a fish net."
"Yes."
"And even though I don't have any makeup on."
"You just look like you, that's all!" Astaire finally barked.
For a moment, Rise was stunned. Did he mean it? Really mean it? He could've been lying to make her feel better. Goodness knows he'd be the sort.
...If he were anywhere near a good enough actor to convince her. Or hadn't bluntly explained how he disliked her on-stage antics to her face.
As bewildering as such a notion seemed, Rise had to admit, he may well have been telling the truth. Her eyes fell to her lap. "But I… I don't look as nice as I normally do…" She said, twirling a lock of hair around her finger.
"Don't be absurd, you always look nice."
Astaire's hand clasped over his mouth in a vain attempt to catch his words before they left. His eyes went wide and the air let him as though it had been squeezed from his lungs. Gods above, he'd really said it. He couldn't take it back. Not that she didn't look nice, she did, but actually saying it was… was…
Watching Rise seemed to slow time to an agonising crawl. She was still staring at him. Her face was still as red as when she'd appeared from under her covers, expression dumbfounded. Her finger had stopped twirling her hair. Her lips began to curl, possibly in revulsion. She closed her eyes, possibly unable to stand the sight of him. She smiled, possi-
Wait, she was smiling?
Indeed she was. A wide, genuine smile. "So it's not just with my hair down, huh?" Rise asked with a giggle, lodging another kilogram of weight in Astaire's chest. "I dunno how many people would agree with you, but I guess it doesn't matter. You're the only guy that's seen me like this anyway, so…" She glanced off to the side, curling her hair again. "Thanks, Astaire-kun. Really." She beamed brightly.
Once the weight in his chest decided to stop performing backflips, Astaire pried his lips apart. "You're welcome." Was as far as he got before clamming up again.
Rise giggled happily to herself as she resumed brushing her hair with one hand, taking the opportunity to snatch up her phone with the other. News articles, emails from Inoue-san with scheduling details, a text from Senpai…
"Oh, shoot! Astaire-kun, I just got a text from Senpai! He said we're-" Rise's words caught in her mouth as she looked up to address Astaire directly.
He was clutching his head and staggering on the spot, moaning weakly to himself as he went.
Uh oh.
Every colour in the room seemed to blur and brighten all at once. The white of Rise's bedside lampshade seemed to bleed into the walls and intensify to a blinding degree. Astaire squinted, only then realising how monstrously heavy his eyes felt. In fact, his whole body suddenly felt it too. Almost as though he'd slipped his glasses on without noticing.
The distant sound of Rise concernedly calling his name muffled into white noise. The floor looked so inviting. As though it had sprouted arms and was drawing Astaire in for a loving embrace. An embrace which, the longer he lingered, Astaire found his body craving in spite of his mind's protests.
But sleep deprivation proved to be remarkably persuasive.
Heavier and heavier Astaire grew until he could bear it no longer. He fell to his knees, his gaze fell to the floor, and his eyes fell shut. Not even Rise's questioning tone could stop him as he immediately drifted off. Hours were his limit. In the end, sleep was bound to win him over.
The sight wasn't there, but the feeling was. It was barely noticeable at first, nipping at the edges of Astaire's arms before gradually engulfing them whole. That boiling, mind-dulling heat from before. Slowly his skin began to give way, allowing the viscous, iron-scented deluge to reach inside, peel away the layers of muscle and sinew and sink mercilessly into-
"GAH!" Astaire yelped as he sprung himself awake, bumping the back of his head off something solid and wooden. A moment of eye-darting and neck-twisting informed him that he'd awoken in the now-familiar surroundings of Studio 4, having bumped his head off the banister of the stairs. Rise was out on stage, discussing something with her coach instead of dancing.
Worryingly, Astaire couldn't remember her coming out, nor could he recall when exactly he'd nodded off. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes for the third time that morning and shook his head. Once before leaving was bad enough, twice during the car ride over was worse, but falling asleep on the job? Unforgivable. Even if it only lasted around thirty seconds each time.
Without the sound of ear-splitting idol music to keep him awake, the next best thing was to think sobering thoughts. The TV World immediately came to mind. After his first thirty second lapse, Rise had awoken him with a text from Yu. Another venture inside. Another step up the ever-inclining hill that was Lordran. Even with everyone sufficiently kitted out and armed to the teeth, there was room for concern. Weapons alone weren't enough to conquer Lordran the first time. Twisted replica or no, the TV World was bound to be the same.
Then there was that horrifying monstrosity that he'd fought on the bridge. A drake that was immune to lightning. The shield from its tail mentioned something about it being 'a deformed, augmented being constructed in the space between worlds'. Did that mean there would be similar 'augmented', half-familiar monsters further inside? What manner of mutated, nightmarish fiends could be lying in wait for everyone to come-
"I can't watch out for instruments that aren't here, Coach-san!" Rise called out, loud enough to bring Astaire back to reality. "Why aren't they here, anyway? Wasn't yesterday proof enough that we kinda need them here?!" She continued barking.
It wasn't a full-on mouth-frothing rage like she'd flown into a few days prior, but Rise looked and sounded far from happy. "Jeez, something must really be getting to her." Someone said from behind Astaire.
"CRIPES!" Astaire spun around and reflexively grasped for his missing Zweihander before realising who had seemingly materialised behind him. Namely, the only person in the entire studio liable to be listening to Finnish power metal on full blast through her headphones. Colloquially known as Kanami Mashita. "Where on earth did you come from?!"
Kanami tilted her head and shrugged. "Dressing room. I thought you'd have heard me on the way down, but I guess you were-"
"Kanami-chan! Get out here!" Came the coach's thundurous cry from the stage proper. Swallowing and glancing at Astaire nervously, she peeked her head around into the spotlit stage. She opened her mouth to speak, but he had beaten her to the punch. "You're on your break right now, right? Not busy or anything, yeah?"
It didn't sound like she was in trouble, at least. She motioned her head to Astaire, out of Coach-san's sight."I mean, I was talking to Astaire-kun just now, so-"
"Great, you can bring him along too." Rise shot Coach-san an unfriendly glare which he was lucky to avoid noticing. "Go back there and see where those jokers are with our instruments! We're gonna need them sooner or later anyway!" He said, waving Kanami back to the side of the stage before he turned his attention to the crew members seated next to him.
Well, if it was instruments he wanted, it was instruments he'd get. Kanami shrugged to herself, gave Rise a wink and sauntered back to Astaire, gripping him tightly by the coat as she walked by. "Welp, you heard Coach-san! Come on and help me find this stuff!"
"N-Now hold on a minute, I never agreed to this!" Astaire protested, nonetheless allowing himself to be dragged off. "I need to stay here and keep watch, remember? What if someone-?"
"Oh, don't be silly! Nobody's gonna want to sneak through here after what you did to the last few guys that tried! Quit trying to be a spoilsport and come with me!" Kanami insisted, tugging him behind her even more strongly than before.
Following behind a girl who wasn't Rise felt incredibly strange. Despite being close on the tail of Kanami's green-hooded head, it felt much closer to being alone than Astaire cared to admit. Sideways glances from crew members felt all the more sinister, and shadowed spots seemed all the darker. Before long, Astaire found himself sifting through his Bottomless Box for something to replace his Zweihander should things turn dire.
On the opposite end of the scale from her pale, wary-looking companion was Kanami, bobbing along without a care in the world. "It's the darndest thing! Rise-senpai never messes up that badly, never! There has to be something on her mind! There just has to!"
Given how enthralling a thought entering the TV again was… "I suspect I can relate to her." Astaire nodded, setting a hand on the grip of something as he walked. Whatever it was, it was calming to the touch. "She did sound awfully upset about not having… whatever it is we're getting. Perhaps that's all it is."
Kanami shook her head. "Nuh-uh, not a chance! In the past, even when bigger problems came along, Rise-senpai always gave one-hundred-and-ten percent! Whatever's eating at her, it's big, I can feel it." She said with an air of certainty. Before long, she was guessing out loud at what could have been such a large issue, unaware that her sole listener had ceased listening.
Partially, anyway. It wasn't that Astaire wasn't listening, more that he wasn't listening to her. Because something else lingered just within earshot. Something which automatically drew Astaire's attention, no matter what else was present at the time.
"Wuh-?! Hey, Astaire-kun, wait up!" Kanami quickened her pace as Astaire overtook her with long strides, singlemindedly pushing past whoever stood in his way and leaving Kanami to apologise in his wake. "You don't know where all our instruments are kept, do you? Unless-!" Kanami brought a hand to her mouth and gasped. "Astaire-kun, are you psychic?!"
Her question went unanswered as Astaire barreled around a corner amidst heckles and derisive comments. None of them mattered. The noise was close by. So close that Astaire could feel it.
A glimmer out of the corner of his eye gave it away. Astaire whipped around on the spot before brandishing the Claymore he'd taken hold of in his coat. There, situated in the open doorway to his right, stood the source of the noise, looking up at him like a tiny, shimmering deer in headlights.
A Crystal Lizard.
Crashing sounds and a final, pained squeak greeted Kanami as she bolted through the door after Astaire, the distance between them only having lengthened over time. Large, splintered gashes in the floor formed a path which led to Astaire's back, wide and panting. "Is… everything alright?" Kanami asked carefully. Her eyes met with the shimmering carcass on the floor. "And w-what the heck is that?!"
Astaire drew his Claymore from the lizard's back. "Something that shouldn't be here, I suspect." He said grimly.
Rise tapped her foot off the stage and drummed her fingers off the microphone in its stand. Still no instruments. Not that it should have mattered in the first place, she should've had this routine down pat yesterday. But she still didn't. For reasons so nebulous that she could only aimlessly guess at best.
Going inside the TV was worrying, obviously. Astaire fading in and out of consciousness was cause for concern too. Put the two together and it made for a full can of Uneasy Soup. Even still, she knew both weren't the reason her mind was elsewhere.
"Senpai. I had a crush on Senpai."
Actually saying it out loud had only helped bring the thought to the forefront of Rise's mind. Which was bad for a number of reasons, not least because she strongly suspected the word 'had' was being a tad generous.
Yes, it was stupid. No, it wasn't right. It went entirely against everything Rise wanted. But she felt it regardless. Feelings, like Shadows, were hard to be rid of completely, she found. No matter how deep down she tried to stomp them.
Which led Rise to her sordid conclusion. Feelings were hard to be rid of, indeed. Moving them about? Shifting targets, so to speak, whether she intended it or not? That sounded far simpler. Worryingly so.
After all, Yu was brave. Polite. Willing to face anything to protect that which he loved.
Not too dissimilarly to Astaire, when viewed from a certain angle.
The switch would have been all too easy.
Her dial was still turned to "maybe" on how she felt about Astaire. It wasn't as simple as just clinging to his arm and teasing him every now and then. When push came to shove, it was a big decision to make. But it was her decision, darn it. She had to like him because he was him, not because he was as close to Yu as she could get. It had to be him, not some shadow of someone else.
Rise shook her head to clear her thoughts. Forget the problem, it wasn't going to help her. What she needed was a solution. A game plan. Something to help her reassure herself inside. Something like- "Ms. Kujikawa? A word, please?"
Rise blinked at the sound of Astaire's voice, immediately turning to face him and hooooooly crap what the heck was he doing.
In Astaire's left arm was a keyboard, the legs folded up underneath the body. Bordering alongside it was Kanami with a guitar in its stand. That was pretty normal.
What was less normal was the person-sized amplifier Astaire was carrying over his right shoulder. "Here you go, Coach-san!" Kanami chirped as she set the guitar down, putting her hands on her hips after. "That should just about do it for instruments, I think! I wasn't sure about the amp, so I just had Astaire-kun bring it anyway!"
Coach-san only half-listened to Kanami as she spoke, joining Rise and several of the crew members in gawking at the fellow carrying an amp - one that usually needed to be trollied around - like it was an inflatable replica. "G-Good thinking, Kanami-chan, perfect. Just, uh… set it at the back, I guess." He said half-mindedly.
With a nod and a not-inconsiderable amount of manhandling, Astaire complied and set the amplifier in place under Rise's watchful, amazed eye. Then it clicked.
Differences. That's what she needed. To make note of the differences between Yu and Astaire. If she did that, the scale would eventually have to tip one way or the other. Either she'd remain attracted to the parts of Yu that Astaire retained, or she'd continue having the dial set at 'maybe', differences and all.
With an assured nod and the instruments placed where they needed to be, Rise turned back to her microphone with a smile.
Difference #1 was easy. Senpai couldn't lift an amplifier like that, even if he tried.
"No way! One of those little shiny, glimmery things from the TV? In here?" Rise whispered as loud as she dared.
Astaire nodded as he leaned over the keyboard behind her. "Evidently so. Do you suppose it followed us out after we left, perhaps?"
"And walked all the way here without being seen? Fat chance." Rise stroked her chin and gazed down at the stage floor. "First that Dark Spirit thing, and now this… I dunno what's happening, Astaire-kun, but I don't like it."
"That makes two of us, then." Astaire nodded.
A loud clap brought both their attentions to the audience. Giving his usual hand signals, Coach-san counted down the time until the music started up again. On his cue, Rise's singing and dancing resumed, as did her co-stars beside her.
If the music was grating enough from offstage, being in the forefront was even worse. Astaire grit his teeth and steeled his resolve, but the vibrations shook him through to his core. Drowning it out entirely was impossible.
Especially with someone yelling in his ear over all the noise. "Sounds way better up close, doesn't it?!" Kanami shouted, cupping her hands to make herself audible.
Oh sod it, his ears were going to ring no matter what he did. Astaire conceded his immense concentration and turned to her. "That's certainly one word for it!" He yelled back. "As much as I appreciate your coach's offer to let me sit in like this, I THINK IT'S GOING TO DEAFEN ME!" He yelled louder as the music ramped up.
"DON'T WORRY, YOU'LL BE FINE! IT'S WORTH SEEING RISE-SENPAI FROM UP CLOSE, RIGHT?!" Kanami yelled, shutting her eyes in effort.
"I SEE HER UP CLOSE MORE OFTEN THAN NOT! WHY SHOULD THIS BE ANY…" Astaire trailed off as he set his gaze on Rise proper.
True, seeing Rise up close wasn't special, at least for him. Seeing her dancing up close, however, was a different matter entirely. The subtle adjustments to her footwork as she moved around the stage. The perfect synchronisation between her and her backup dancers. The smooth, water-like flow of her movements performed with a simultaneous energy and grace.
Apparently, a change in viewing angle made all the differences. "ACTUALLY, YOU MIGHT BE ON TO SOMETHING!" Astaire yelled back to Kanami. Right before the music abruptly cut out and plunged the stage into silence. "I THINK HER DANCING'S STARTING TO GROW ON ME!" He yelled, too late to stop himself.
As his voice echoed around the studio, Astaire felt his face turn beetroot red. Not least because of the way Rise turned around to face him, clutching her microphone to her chest. "...Really?" She asked hopefully, her whole face beaming brightly.
Words failed him, so Astaire settled for a stiff nod instead. Rise seemed to bristle happily before she turned to Coach-san, ready to find out why the music had stopped.
By his side, Kanami giggled before leaning in and whispering in Astaire's ear. "You have no idea how happy that'll make her." She said with a nudge in his side.
However happy it made her, Astaire found himself smiling solely from the thought of it. That smile of hers remained as infectious as ever. He sighed and leaned forward to put his elbows on the keyboard, only for the keys to sound out at his touch and send him recoiling upright again.
It looked just like the keyboard in Junes. Sounded like it, too.
Hmm.
Slowly, Astaire gently set his fingers to the keys and brushed them along the surface. Maybe he could do it again, even if he wasn't sure how he did it the first time.
"Oh, do you play?" Kanami asked, shattering Astaire's concentration completely as she leaned in over his shoulder.
Astaire's fingers abstained from the keys. "Er, sort of. I remember how to play from memory, but I can't quite recall what it is that I'm playi-" He was cut short as Kanami sharply gasped and sent her eyebrows aloft.
"Astaire-kun." Kanami's eyes were aglow as she leaned in closer to his face.
Oh Gods, that couldn't be good. "Yes?"
"Do you know who you're talking to right now?" She leaned in closer.
Astaire backed off in turn. "M-Ms. Mashita?"
"Close." Kanami practically took up more of Astaire's stool than he did. "You're talking to me. There isn't a single song, tune, album, artist, medley, arrangement, remix, composition or compilation under the sun which I don't know." She growled, eyes brimming with fire. Their faces were so close that Astaire hesitated to breathe. Less than an inch sat between both of their noses as Kanami stared intensely into his soul, all but lying on top of him as she did.
Between Rise's face in Aiya and Kanami's on stage, Astaire could reach only one conclusion.
Girls were terrifying.
"What are you waiting for? C'mon, c'mon, play something!" Kanami insisted, snapping upright and giving Astaire his personal space back. "Betcha can't play something I don't know, though~!" She sing-songed.
After being subjected to her latent demonic powers and peering into the gates of Hell itself, Astaire didn't feel inclined to deny her. He quickly straightened himself on his stool and ran his fingers across the keys again. They twitched subtly in certain positions, and settled into a formation which felt oddly familiar and comfortable.
Letting the unseen parts of his mind guide him, Astaire's hands began to work their magic, just as Kanami began working hers.
Fast-paced. Ragtime. Peaked in popularity during and shortly after the end of the 1800's, so it was liable to be old. Western. American, specifically. Think, think. It wasn't a Joplin, nor a Lamb or a Scott. Out went the big three. Three less people to consider, three less careers to cover.
Between thoughts and possibilities, Rise and her dancers turned on the spot, greeted by a wide-eyed Astaire and a closed-eyed Kanami, pressing a finger to her forehead as she thought. "Holy cow. He goes any faster and his BPM's gonna have four digits." The dancer on the right commented.
Beyond pressing her finger to her head, Kanami began to tap a foot. Then she bobbed her head. At last, as a smile began to form on her face, she sung: "'Round the barnyard goes the mighty cavalcade, gorgeously arrayed, see them on parade! All the animals assemble there, as the break of day draws near!"
It matched. Her singing matched the tune perfectly. Astaire couldn't help but stop in surprise. "Gods above, did you actually figure it out?! Just from that?!"
"King Chanticleer. Composed in 1911 by Nathaniel Davis Ayer. Born in 1887. Died in 1952, aged 64 in Bath, Somerset, England." Kanami rhymed off monotonously.
All eyes were on Kanami, and every single pair was silent, shocked and awed.
The dancer to Rise's left leaned in and whispered to her. "Is… Is she some kind of robot or something?"
"Give me another. You can play more than one song, right Astaire-kun?" Kanami asked, looming over Astaire once again with a thin, menacing grin on her face. "It's one-nil to me. Think you can get even one point?"
Closer and closer she leaned, with each inch serving to irk Rise a little more. She crossed her arms and tapped a foot, hitting boiling point when Kanami's ample chest came dangerously close to Astaire's shoulder. "Alright, alright, give him a break, would you? Not everyone's as much of a music freak as you are!" She burst out, beginning her stride towards the keyboard.
"Actually, I too wish to carry on, if that'd be acceptable." Astaire jutted in, stopping Rise in her tracks. "This method may well be the best I have of determining what I can and can't play. Who knows what I might learn from it?" He said earnestly, hands overlapping on the keys.
A fist clenched and relaxed at Rise's side. Darn it, he was right. Annoyingly so. But of all people, why did it have to be her? "...Fine, go ahead." She said, turning on a heel and ushering her dancers back to their places, giving the floor a dirty look as she went.
Difference #2: Astaire worked wonders with a piano.
Try as she might, it was impossible to ignore. The sound of Astaire's playing and Kanami's accompaniment behind Rise's back was ever-present, like the hum of a fluorescent light in an otherwise empty room. When her own background music wasn't playing, the sound of ragtime filled the air. That was, for the first few times, at least. "No Hay Problema, by Art Blakey? No way, you're a Jazz pianist as well, Astaire-kun?!" Kanami enthused during one particular break.
Every so often, Rise would steal glances behind her. Between each, Astaire's grin seemed to grow wider and wider, as did Kanami's.
She'd always been good at her little musical guessing game. So good that she could nail down any song that'd been out for longer than an hour, no matter how obscure. Being asked to identify pop songs from any decade was a cinch. A bore, even.
Being asked to identify songs pre-dating electronic accompaniment, however? All through the medium of a single superhumanly strong, amnesiac knight on a keyboard he'd never touched before?
To say it was an event full of 'firsts' didn't do it justice. No wonder she looked so happy.
They both looked happy.
The jealous sting from the day before spread venom throughout her body.
Again, Rise's backing track died down. Just in time for her to catch a request from Kanami. "Hey, give me your hand a second!" A request which froze her heart solid, wrenching her around on the spot and ignoring whatever demands Coach-san was making. "Huh, so that's why."
There Kanami sat, one hand on Astaire's wrist. The other splayed out across his own extended palm, like a modern-day Tarzan. It would take the slightest tensing of muscles to have them be holding hands entirely.
And there it was, the straw that broke the camel's back. "W-W-What do you two think you're doing?!" Rise asked, striding over with her hands on her hips. "I get that you're enjoying yourselves, but-! But-!"
"Rise-senpai, lookie here!" Kanami beckoned her over with her free hand, completely unfazed. "Astaire-kun's got pianist hands!" She announced happily.
In a flash, frustration got replaced with confusion. Rise tilted her head quizzically as words failed her.
Kanami and Astaire angled their hands, both unfazed as they showed Rise what Kanami meant. Their hands were indeed touching, Tarzan-and-Jane style, with one notable difference. Besides one being bigger than the other, Astaire's thumb outstretched much further than Kanami's, approaching a one-hundred degree angle in relation to his index finger.
"According to Ms. Mashita, those with hands like mine can reach further across the keys all at once." Astaire explained, retrieving his hand and flexing his fingers. "It wouldn't change much in a fight, though. Probably why I haven't noticed up until now." He said with a chuckle.
"Oh. Huh." That sounded… harmless enough, even to Rise. Interesting, too. The sort of interesting that Naoto might want to know about. Rise made a mental note to text her later and inform-
"What's the matter, Senpai? You sounded so wound up just a second ago." Kanami asked, cutting Rise's mental note off halfway. She lowered her eyebrows and carefully, deliberately made eye contact as she inched her hand closer to Astaire's, like the slyest, most cunning of five-legged spiders.
Nuh uh, not again. Kanami may have been laying the bait, but she sure as heck wasn't biting a second time. Rise turned up her nose as she turned on her heel and began walking off. Whatever stupid little game she was playing, she could play it on her own. Or with Astaire. Wait, crap, no, that was a bad thing. But she couldn't show it, that was just what she wanted. But if she didn't…
Before her internal argument could spiral out of control and take up the next hour of her time, Rise's ears perked up attentively as Astaire began playing again.
"Hah, simple!" Kanami boasted, puffing her chest out proudly. "It's-"
"By the Light of the Silvery Moon!"
Rise bolted in with timing only fit for a western gunslinger, outstretching her finger and beating Kanami to the punch before the words had even left her larynx. Her shocked expression quickly melted away as it morphed into a smile. "Wow, Rise-senpai! You remembered!" Kanami said happily.
Pridefully nodding her head, Rise stopped upon noticing Astaire's confused expression. "There's a musical with that name, too. I wound up watching it backstage with Kanami a while back." She coughed into a fist and turned away, mumbling, "After she dragged me all the way there during lunch…"
"I do hope dragging others off isn't becoming a habit of yours." Astaire said over his shoulder.
His head reeled back as Kanami nigh dove over his shoulder to protest. "But it's so good! It doesn't matter how old or foreign or subtitled a musical is, it's-!"
"-Just as magical and timeless as it always was. I think Astaire-kun's the only person you haven't told already." Rise finished for her. As she shared her gaze between the duo before her, and mulled over the song they'd been about to play, an idea hit. "Say, Astaire-kun…" She began coyly, arms behind her back. "You said my dancing was growing on you, right?" As though an ice cube had been dropped down his collar, Astaire bolted upright and gave another stiff, silent nod. "What about my singing then, huh?"
Astaire glanced off to the side and bit his bottom lip. "It's, er... "
"That's a no, then. No biggie." Without awaiting a response, Rise strode over and picked up her microphone stand, ignoring the glares from her very impatient-looking backup singers as she walked back. "Oh, Kanami-chan~? You're always game for a duet, aren't you?" She asked sweetly, putting enough emphasis on Kanami's name to encourage Astaire to shift uncomfortably in his seat.
If a threat had been hidden amongst her words, "You bet I am!" Kanami was entirely blind to it, skipping over to the microphone with stars in her eyes. "As long as you are, that is! Think you can remember the lyrics? It has been a while since we watched the movie…" She said with a wink.
"Silly Kanami-chan! I never forget my lines!" Rise said, her emphasis again making Astaire's skin crawl. From the looks of it, he could've sworn her knuckles went white from gripping the stand that much tighter, too. "Ready when you are, Astaire-kun!" She called over, fixing her gaze solidly on Kanami's shortly after.
For the briefest of moments, Astaire considered asking why exactly she was doing what she was doing. Upon witnessing the sheer, fiery intensity between her and Kanami's gazes, hot enough to where the microphone should have long melted, he decided to hold his tongue for a while.
He stretched a cracking sound out of his fingers before setting them to the keys.
A-One, a-two, a-one two three four...
Over time, the reactions of everyone seated in and around the stage began to shift. Impatient glares slowly softened and began taking genuine interest, including the particularly nasty one Coach-san had worn for a good while. As Rise and Kanami delved further into the song, each putting their heart and soul into outdoing the other, their audience of listeners gradually grew.
"...Your silvery beams will bring love's dreams, we'll be cuddling soon~! By the silvery moon!"
"...Your silvery beams will bring love's dreams, we'll be cuddling soon~! By the silvery moon!"
With a final flourish on the piano, both girls drew the song to a close. As soon as silence lay, it was quickly filled with a small, yet loud round of applause. Rise's backup singers, the tech crew around the stage, even Coach-san looked pleased. "Marvellous, marvellous! That right there's why you two are two of the best!" He hollered.
Given that they'd both been focused on each other so intensely, Rise and Kanami failed to notice how much attention they'd garnered throughout their performance. They each beamed and bowed to their listeners, soaking up the electric atmosphere all too readily.
As fun as it had turned out, it left Rise with only one question on her mind. What had he thought of it?
"That big lug of yours ain't too shabby on the keys, either! Give him my regards next time you see him, would ya?" Coach-san called up from below.
Rise tilted her head in confusion. "What? Next time I see him? Why wouldn't you just…?" She asked as she turned to the piano behind her, ready to compliment Astaire on his playing when-
THUD.
The stool Astaire had been seated upon hit ungraciously off the floor and rolled to and fro on its side, devoid of a sitter, knight or otherwise. Rise blinked and rubbed her eyes, confirming that yes indeed Astaire had seemingly disappeared on a breeze without so much as a trace. But to where? Better yet, why?
Maybe he'd spotted another Crystal Lizard out of the corner of his eye. Maybe he'd just really need to use the bathroom. Whatever the case, he was still gone. Rise began walking off to find him, when- "Hey, Rise-chan, where're you going? We've still got rehearsing to do, don't you try ducking out after keeping us up this long!" -Coach-san swiftly brought her back to reality.
...Well, if he had run off, for whatever reason had possessed him, he couldn't have gone far. Settling on the 'bathroom' explanation, Rise turned on a heel back to her position, watching Kanami disappear backstage as she went.
Astaire sprinted up the stage-right staircase and thudded against the wall as he quickly threw his back at it. His eyes almost bulged out of his head, his throat felt tight, he felt slick with sweat and good Gods above his chest. His fingers locked around the severe, heavy ache in his chest, almost as though trying to claw it out entirely to make the aching stop.
Gasping for air post-sprint didn't help. It wasn't the run that pained him, not by a long shot. It felt like a dagger was lodged in his heart and a whip coiled around his neck. Given his rosy-faced appearance, an outside observer might've asked what exactly was wrong with him.
"Jeez, what's wrong with you?" Kanami asked, the sound of tinny Brazilian Bossa Nova music from her headphones announcing her arrival. Then again, judging from how she held her eyes half-closed and looked on the verge of doing a whole lot of eyebrow-shaking, she looked to be making a fair go at guessing.
The tightness in Astaire's throat forbade him from speaking clearly, as much as he tried. It'd have been all too easy to feign ignorance, to pretend he hadn't the foggiest notion as to what had gotten him in such a mess.
But the answer stood out more brightly than the sun in the sky.
Rise's voice was phenomenal beyond compare. Without equal. Without even hope of an equal. A choir of maidens could only hope to breach the water cast out from the sheer tidal wave that was her singing. It may have just been the one song, and it may only have been a few verses, but it was enough to slug Astaire harder than Brave Blade could ever hope to.
Feeling such a way was one thing. Explaining it to Kanami was another.
Breathe. Breathe. Calm yourself. Such a rampant lack of composure was horrifically unknightworthy. With enough internal chanting, Astaire found himself gradually coming down from… whatever the correct term was for that. He propped himself off the wall and met Kanami's increasingly intent, anticipatory gaze.
At least, the high wore off. And off. And off.
Uh oh.
Where once Astaire's scales had tipped in one direction, they passed by levelling out and began to tip the other way. He felt his limbs turn to lead, his vision become bleary and his head begin to swim. It was happening again. He was being beckoned towards the other side.
The abrupt shift in demeanour was enough to even catch Kanami off guard. "Woah, that doesn't look good! Hold on, I'll go grab a stool, or a chair, or something!" She began as Astaire teetered lazily from foot to foot, waving from side to side on the spot.
Her intentions were good, even if they wouldn't make a difference. Astaire felt his consciousness slip away like sand between his fingers. His weight shifted, the floor approached, and with a final, singular thud, he was gone.
Searing. All around, searing. Hot. Too hot to even imagine. Dark. Darker than the pitchest night.
"How optimistic of you." A voice said amongst the waves of pain. "Thinking it's worth holding out this long. You're only setting yourself up for disappointment, you know. That's always the way of things."
From the darkness, a pair of golden eyes manifested. "To live is to suffer. To set yourself up for loss, failure and pain, time and time again."
In an instant, two eyes became thousands.
"But you'll find out, in time. You always do."
Astaire jolted himself awake, straining his eyes against both the sunlight and the sudden pain in his knees. The sound of wood-off-kneecaps and drinks-off-table served as a fairly noticable indicator that he'd once again regained lucidity. "Woah, hey, take it easy! Almost sent my frickin' soda flying." Kanji grumbled.
Wait, Kanji?
"Told you that was gonna happen. I'm surprised the table's still in one piece." Chie added.
Wait, Chie?
"I guess you weren't joking about your dreams being rough, Astaire-san." Yu said in turn.
Wait, Mr. Narukami?
Twisting and gawking around himself, Astaire was met with parasol-shaded tables, people eating (or staring warily at him,) and a full congregation of the Investigation Team seated around him. Colloquially known as 'The Junes food court'. "What on-?" He began to say, quickly scoping around himself until he found Rise sitting across and down the table. "When exactly did we get here? And how, for that matter?"
Everyone bar Astaire shared concerned glances. "See? He's been doing this all day." Rise said, bringing out her phone. "This makes the… fifth time today."
Wait, that didn't sound right. Once in Rise's room, twice in the car, once at the studio, then… where was the fifth time? As much as Astaire tried, he couldn't- "Agh, Gods! What are you doing?!" In between thoughts, Naoto had made a move from beside Astaire and shone some kind of miniscule, cylindrical lantern in his eyes. He recoiled on instinct, bumping into Teddie on his other side as the stars settled in his eye.
"Hmm. Dark circles under the eyes, pale skin, vacant expression-"
"Vacant?!" Astaire fumed.
Naoto carried on regardless. "Indicative of early Sleep Deprivation. Evidently, Astaire-san has been foregoing sleeping." She concluded, scribbling in her notebook attentively.
If Astaire was anywhere close to nodding off again, Rise banging her hands off the table quickly absolved the issue."So that's why you were awake so early! You didn't wake up because you didn't sleep in the first place!" Only after her initial spark of frustrated concern flared up did Rise seem to catch herself on, her face softening. "...I know it's bad, Astaire-kun, but you're only going to make things worse by doing that."
For a moment, Astaire's eyes were drawn to Yosuke, anticipating a response of some kind.
"Maybe we should hook him up with some meds or something. The medicine counter inside sells stuff that'd knock you right out." Yosuke suggested casually, choosing to ignore the incredulous expression on Astaire's face. "What do you think, Partner?"
Yu pondered for a moment, his mouth hidden behind his clasped hands. "I think before anything, we'd better make sure nothing funny happens inside the TV. Teddie." He rolled a few coins over to Teddie, who scooped them up easily despite the shape of his paws. "Go get something that'll keep him awake. I'll need to run over the plan one more time."
Teddie gave a quick salute. "Leave it to me, Sensei!" And with that, he zipped off inside Junes like a streak of red and blue lightning.
Seeing as Astaire could seemingly fade off at the drop of a hat, Yu wasted no time in beginning. "After last time, Astaire-san, we decided to come up with a… game plan, of sorts. What happened last time can't happen again."
"Nor do I want it to." Astaire said with a shake of his head.
Naoto picked up where Yu left off. "All the same, we believe your past knowledge of your world, even as it is portrayed in the TV, will prove beneficial. It may even be instrumental to our success." She flicked back through her notebook, eyes scanning for one particular page. "Of course, there are… precautions, as well."
The obvious response from Astaire was cut off as Teddie reappeared as quickly as he'd left, jabbing something tall and red in his face without warning. "Here you go, Stairry-kun! One Topsicle, right out of the cooler!" He announced proudly.
Astaire's gaze briefly flitted between the Topsicle and Teddie as he tried to ascertain what the hell it was at a glance. After failing, "Many thanks, Teddie." he accepted it regardless, turning back to Naoto as he tore the transparent wrapper off. "Precautions, you said? Of what kind?"
At that, Yu tagged back in. "First off, you can be on the frontlines, beside me and two others. If there's something you can shed light on that comes from your world, you'll join us in combat. Between the both of us, we should be able to…" Yu gradually trailed off, giving Astaire an odd look. "Are you… feeling alright?"
"Perfectly." Astaire replied through gritted teeth, clenching a fist on the table and forcing one eye closed. "Please, continue." He said, tightening his death grip on the Topsicle's stick, so tightly that it was a wonder it wasn't already raining splinters.
"...Alright then." Yu cleared his throat and gave a shrug, returning to the game plan. "Like I said, you can fight alongside us. However." He added sharply, "The moment we find something you don't recognise, or something seems out of the ordinary to all of us, you'll swap out with one of the others and support Rise on recon. We can't risk having another run like last time. Is that clear?"
Every part of Astaire's body seemed to clench and cringe at once as he screwed his face up. "C-C-Crystal." He jittered through clacking teeth.
Wait, clacking teeth? In late June?
From Yu's side, Yukiko stifled a giggle. "Snrk… That's what you get for eating Topsicles too quickly!"
"T-T-Too q-quickly?! I only t-took the one l-lick!" Astaire jittered further, clutching his head in perceived pain and clenching his eyes shut. Liquid fire in a bottle was a trifle. Rise's cooking was a meal eaten on easy street. But flavoured, frozen juice on a stick was where Astaire had to draw the line. He tossed the rest of the Topsicle into a nearby trash can, ignoring Teddie's protests next to him. "I think I'll stick with Ms. Kujikawa's cooking when I should need something to keep me going, thank you."
When Astaire opened his eyes again, the entire table, excluding Rise, was staring at him like he'd just admitted to strangling kittens on the weekends. Rise had instead taken to cupping her reddened face as a result. After all, her cooking was better than Topsicles!
Difference #3: Senpai could only pretend to like her cooking. Astaire didn't need to.
"...You're frickin' weird, dude." Kanji summed up accurately.
Before Astaire could follow up on the look he gave Kanji for implying there was anything strange with Rise's cooking, Yukiko clapped her hands together loudly. "Okay! That's everyone filled in and accounted for! We should get going before it gets much later!" She announced, already out of her seat and dragging Yu along with her.
Hastily chugging their respective drinks and awkwardly maneuvering out from below the table, the rest of the Investigation Team followed suit, slipping on their glasses as they went.
It was time for Round 2 with TV-Lordran.
"Well there's a shock." Yu commented sarcastically, gazing up at the new addition to the Statue Grove. Specifically, a likeness of Astaire and Daidara, one holding a sword to an anvil and the other hammering it into shape respectively. From the looks on both their faces, neither could've been happier.
Yosuke looked a little less amused, staring at the statue with a grimace. "You'd like to think you'd make friends with someone after spending six freaking hours with them." Which brought another matter to mind. Yosuke turned to Astaire, who was already fishing through his coat. "You ready to start busting out the gear?"
A grin, identical to his stone-hewn self overhead, crossed Astaire's face. "I most certainly am. Behold!" With several heaves, grunts and thumping sounds, the Investigation Team's revamped arsenal was hauled from within Astaire's coat and presented on the base of the statue.
The Blade of Totsuka was inlaid with black, glimmering lines up the blade. Both Malahks had black, glimmering wings and even deadlier edges above. All around it was a similar story, with everyone's weapons having recieved a black-accented makeover. With one notable exception.
"Hey, wait a damn minute, where's mine?!" Kanji shouted indignantly. "You tellin' me I wanted six damn hours on you and you didn't bring me nuthin'?!"
Still fidgeting around in his coat, Astaire gave Kanji a shrug. "I didn't believe I'd need to. By all accounts, the Lightning Drake Greatshield should be right where my mind-addled self left it. If it's good enough for slaying drakes, doubtless it'll be good enough for what lies ahead." He said, devolving into a series of frustrated mumbles under his breath.
Kanji leaned his back against the statue's base and rubbed the back of his head. "I mean… I guess, yeah, jus' feel like I'm being left out, is all." He said, idlying looking Astaire and Rise over as the former rustled his coat further. "...Jeez, take your time, why don't ya." He offered.
"Just give me a second, I've got it now." With a final tug, Astaire produced a long, titanite-adorned Claymore, placing over his shoulder and adjusting it into a comfortable position. "Aah, that's the ticket." He sighed contentedly, bringing his other hand to the hilt.
His weapon of choice finally revealed, Rise blinked in awe. "Woah! So much for the glasses making you weaker, that looks heavy!" She chirped, gaze caressing the blade.
"They are. If I wasn't using both hands, I'd be for naught." Astaire motioned his head to Kanji and gave him a smile. "Hopefully, with myself as the sword and Kanji as the shield, we'll be none the worse for wear!"
"Yeah, when I actually get the damn thing." Kanji said with a grin as he propped himself off the statue's base. Given he and Rise were the only ones empty-handed, they were also the only two not weighing their new weapons up. "So, we good or what? We goin'?"
Everyone turned to Yu expectantly as he finished whatever checks he'd bee performing. With a satisfied flick bringing his sword to his shoulder, Yu nodded. "We are. Rise, what's it look like in there?"
Kouzeon's soft light scattered the shadows of innumerable leaves across the grass and stone underfoot. After a cursory scan, Rise perked up underneath her visor. "All clear, Senpai! Looks like nothing's gonna spawn back in once we wipe 'em out!" She announced cheerfully.
As welcome as a rest at a bonfire would have been, Astaire had to admit that the lack of one had its upsides.
Much like everyone else, evidently. Yukiko breathed a sigh of relief as she folded up her fan. "Thank goodness. Hopefully that means nothing's going to sneak up on us this time."
"Careful, or else you'll jinx it." Yu gave her a playful nudge, which she returned in kind. With everyone geared up and the coast seemingly clear, Yu beckoned his friends to follow him as he walked off. "Alright team, let's get to it!"
"Alright!" Came the resounding cry from behind him.
Traipsing through trees which he knew to be lifeless didn't serve to quell Astaire's thoughts much. Mostly because the looks Yosuke kept giving him were sending his comfort off-kilter. Probably keeping an eye on him to make sure he wasn't fiddling with his glasses. Not that he didn't have plenty of reason to do so, but doing so didn't help settle Astaire's nerves.
He looked like he wanted to say something. What exactly, he could only imagine. Nothing good, at any rate of going. But at least if he said it, it'd clear the air. Put his thoughts at ease and let him focus on the task at hand.
It couldn't be much worse than 'everything was fine before you came here' or 'we'd still be living peacefully if you'd never come here'.
Rise watched with curiosity, and then caution, as Astaire reached forward and tapped Yosuke on the shoulder. Without a word, he turned his head. With as many words, Astaire tilted his head, motioning for him to slow down.
Yosuke's glance shifted to Chie, walking beside him, momentarily, before he slowly began to drift further behind her. At the same time, Rise gave Astaire a careful look before swapping places with Yosuke, quickly leading Chie into a discussion over her training regimine.
Smoothly executed. As expected of Rise.
The two fellows fell back a tad further, far enough to be out of immediate earshot. "Okay, what is it?" Yosuke began, keeping his eyes forward.
How best to put it? Astaire began with something simple. "I, er, want to apologise. Again."
Yosuke tutted. "It's fine, forget it."
"If everything were fine, you wouldn't have been giving me such pointed looks all the way here." Astaire pointed out.
Damn, caught out. Not that Yosuke had done much of a job hiding his wariness. "I just don't want anything going wrong, is all. Fighting you hurt bad enough the first time. Plus I don't wanna give Rise another excuse to slap me, either." Yosuke said, running a hand across his cheek.
Itch, itch, itch. The feeling was back. The one Astaire had felt earlier, when everyone had been arguing post-Shadow-rampage. That nagging feeling that'd plagued him in the back of his head. Considering the subject matter, he could guess as to what it might have been. "I don't think you were wrong to do what you did. Attacking me with your Persona, that is. Not to toot my own horn, but I was about ready to off you entirely."
Yosuke froze on the spot. "Wait a minute. You remember that?" Astaire tilted his head quizzically. "I thought you'd just black out when your Shadow took over or something. Did you…?" Yosuke trailed off.
"Do it myself? I… I don't believe so. It's like…" Astaire paused, gazing up at the canopy as though an articulation of his thoughts would dislodge from one of the trees. "...A puppet. It's like being a puppet, made to watch as you're twisted to and fro against your will. To want to stop and scream, only your lips aren't yours to move."
Feelings about him aside, Yosuke felt a chill run down his back. "Jeez. Creepy stuff."
Itch, itch. The feeling persisted as some semblance of silence fell, spurring Astaire into talking again. "I worry that you're right about other things, too." Finally, Yosuke turned to face him, curious. "About troubling Ms. Kujikawa, for one. Try as I might to avoid doing so." Astaire said, his eyes affixed on the ground as he lowered his head.
Silence fell once again. But the itching was gone, if nothing else.
Yosuke couldn't deny that he'd given him shit. It didn't take Kanji, Rise, or even Yu pointing it out to let him know. He was only human, after all, he had a right to protest, especially if it seemed like something was putting his friends in danger. Or someone.
Then again, it seemed like Astaire was the one most oft trampled when standing in harm's way. Yosuke had yet to see any statues of himself or Chie getting stabbed in the gut, after all. Plus, he'd taken it to help Rise and Nanako-chan.
...If someone brought as much trouble with them, but stood and took whatever punishment came about as a result, did that absolve them of having caused it in the first place?
The problem with Yosuke thinking such things was that the question was as much as he could afford. His budget didn't account for a solid answer.
Clearing his throat, Yosuke spoke up again. "I, uh, guess I gotta apologise too. I've been kind of a dick these past few days. It's just… I think I'm tired. Tired of all this, I mean." He outstretched his arms and gazed up at the TV World's sky through the canopy. "Way back when, I used to complain about everything being so boring. Country life's pretty uneventful at a glance." Yosuke's expression darkened as he recalled the past. "Then a whole year passed. People died. A whole lot more almost died. Hell, if we didn't do what we did, the whole world might've bitten the dust in the end."
"Good Lords." Astaire commented, eyebrows aloft.
"Got me wondering what might've happened if we hadn't shown up, y'know? If we found out when it was all too late and we just had to let it happen." Yosuke continued, wincing slightly. "Kept me up, some nights. It wasn't boring, that's for sure. But after everything we went through, I knew it wasn't worth it. Nothing's worth putting your friends in harm's way." A wry smile crossed Yosuke's lips. "I kinda just wanna go back to being bored again. It's a hell of a lot safer than this."
Crap, maybe that was a bit too much. He'd wanted to stop being a spook over the guy's shoulder, not to give him his life story. If anything, judging by how quiet he'd gone, he probably felt worse now. Great.
However, Astaire didn't look perturbed at all. Instead, his face flexed with determination as he looked up from the ground and into Yosuke's eyes. "Mark my words, Mr. Hanamura. You will be bored once more. Even if it means fighting tooth and nail, right down to my very last breath. I won't die until this whole bloody thing is wrapped up." He said seriously. Finally, he took a hand away from his Claymore and oustretched it towards Yosuke. "I owe Ms. Kujikawa… no, I owe all of you that much."
Doubts were difficult to discard. Even after their little heart-to-heart, Yosuke could feel them swimming around in his chest. Shouting at him from within that he was the cause, he was the reason everyone was in danger.
Nevertheless, Yosuke clasped Astaire's hand firmly. "Good. I hope we can count on you."
"And I, you." Astaire said with a nod and a shake of their hands.
The atmosphere seemed to lighten tremendously, leaving the two with a renewed spring in each of their steps. It could only mean that they'd said all they needed to. Feeling more positive than either had in a while, Yosuke and Astaire quickened their paces to join up with their comrades ahead of them.
He wasn't out of the woods yet. Deep down, Yosuke knew he didn't trust him fully. His doubts were still causing an uproar inside him. But he could take solace in one thing.
It was the first time he'd been called 'Mr. Hanamura' since Astaire had arrived, and that could only have been a good sign.