The evening sky was alive with white drones zipping across the skyline for scheduled deliveries. Hologram signboards detailing 3D products flashed past. Lily enjoyed the passing scenery while the sweetness of the strawberry parfait lingered on her taste buds.
"Lily, do you have a place you want to go?" The blonde man asked gently.
Her gaze flickered toward him. A small smile adorned his face as he waited for her response.
"RiNG. I want to go there." Lily's voice was subdued.
"RiNG?" The man asked.
"It's a new live house opened just a year ago. They're hosting performances this evening." Lily explained. Her gaze drifted back to the outside.
"Shortest route to RiNG." The blonde man directed. The car AI beeped green in response before merging with the traffic moving towards their destination.
"Live house, it's a place for music bands to perform, right?" The man asked.
"Yes." Lily answered.
"What bands will be performing?"
"Poppin' Party, Morfonica and MyGo."
"When will the performance starts?"
"At 6."
"Can you tell me about the bands?"
The constant questions began to grate on her nerve. Lily replied curtly, "It's better if you watch them in person."
The cold response silenced him, sparing her from having to sit through an 'interrogation'. However, when the weight of her action sank, she felt bad. The man's expression remained unchanged, but she made a mental note to not repeat it in the future.
Shifting her gaze to the GPS overlay on the car windshield, it displayed that they were near RiNG. Sure enough, the glass and steel beams of the live house walls was visible in the distance. The AI managed to secure an empty spot amid the sea of cars in the crowded parking lot.
Lily waited for the man to lock up the cars before going into the live house together, walking side by side.
RiNG lobby buzzed with mostly female attendees—high school, university students, a few kids, and dads. Curious glances directed at the blonde man didn't escape her notice. Among regulars, he was a newcomer.
Lily went to the counter and requested, "Can I have ticket for two? One adult and one student."
The counter staff glanced at the man, asking Lily warmly, "Will he be the one joining you?"
"Yes." Lily answered.
"That will be 7 credits." The staff answered
Lily reached for her wallet. The man stopped her by extending his hand.
"I'll pay." The man retrieved a card from his wallet before swiftly swiping it on the card reader which beeped in confirmation.
"Thank you for your patronage! If you have time after the show, please consider writing on this notebook." The staff pointed at a flowery spiral notebook with a pen attached on the counter.
"Write?" The man was puzzled.
"Your thoughts about the show." The staff replied.
"The girls...? Oh, the performing bands." A spark of curiosity glinting in his eyes. When he checked that no one was queuing behind him, he asked, "It's not common for live houses to use a notebook for feedback especially with such a large audience, if you don't mind me asking."
The staff responded with a warm smile, "Not at all! The large audience is a problem, yes, but we prioritize the notebook for our first-time patrons. Our regulars, if they missed the chance to write on the notebook this time, can always share their thoughts during their subsequent visits."
"Why notebook specifically?" The man asked.
"Handwriting captures sentiment better than typed word, don't you think so?"
The man smiled, "I see your point. Emotions does affect handwriting."
"I…honestly didn't know that. Can you elaborate?" The staff perked up in interest.
"Sure, the height of the letters written by people in a negative mood was significantly lower than people that are happy."
Lily envied the man could easily strike up a conversation, but they would be missing out the best spot in the venue. However, interrupting the conversation felt rude, she was unsure on what to do next. Thankfully, a newly arrived patron queued behind the man.
"I'll keep the notebook in mind. Thank you." The man smiled as he exited the line.
Lily immediately led him towards a door leading down to the venue in the basement. By the time they arrived, it was already buzzing with eager audience with more people flooding in by the second. Lily grasped his hand and slowly guided him through the mass of people, securing a spot a few meters away from the stage.
The room dimmed. The audience erupted into anticipatory hush before a cheerful chant erupted rom backstage.
"Po-pi-PA! Pi-po-PA! Po pi pa pa pi po PA!"
The audience cheered.
Five members of Poppin' Party came out from the backstage. They introduced themselves before playing 'Kizuna Music'. Lily couldn't help but mirror the increasingly vibrant smile that graced the blonde man's expression. They were amplified when Toyama, Poppin' Party vocalist directed a smile in his way. The audience exploded into enthusiastic cheers before the song ended.
The stage dimmed again and the band began to leave the stage. Lily couldn't contain her excitement, "Poppin' Party is awesome…"
"I know, right?! Poppin' Party never fails to bring a smile to your face!" A voice chimed in.
Startled, Lily turned to locate the source of the voice, a spectacled blue-haired girl. Her eyes widened in surprise when recognition set in.
"You are LOCK from Raise A-Sullen!" Lily exclaimed, instinctively edging closer to the blonde man.
"Y-yeah." LOCK stammered, caught off guard by Lily's excited proclamation.
Regaining composure, LOCK proudly declared, "I'm Poppin' Party's Number 1 fan!"
Lily withdrew closer to the blonde man. Meeting a celebrity like LOCK was unexpected. It left her completely speechless. Before things could grow awkward, the stage lit up again, capturing their attention back to the stage.
The five members of Morfonica took their positions, dressed in costumes that reminded Lily of fantasy kingdom princesses. The vocalist's voice was a blend of soft gentleness and commanding presence when she sang 'Circle of Butterfly'. Creativity of the song writing evoked strong imagery, particularly the lines;
"A show of reality and disparity
Hope drenched wet in rain
Flowers passing the blurry days gone withered."
The five members of MyGo came up next. Lily recalled the reason she disliked their songs when vocalist recited the verse in UtaKotoba:
"I destroyed it all again
I didn't want to lose it, I didn't want to forget it
But I wasn't strong enough and I ended up letting go...
Even though I knew that it was important
Oh, everything's ended up a mess,
But if everything hasn't disappeared yet... then I want to go back."
Delivery of raw emotions from the vocalist caused Lily to averse it. Hated it. Despised it.
Why did MyGo performed last? Couldn't it have been Morfonica or Poppin' Party?
She glanced up to the blonde man beside her. Head bopping and feet tapping to the rhythm, completely absorbed into the performance. The band saving grace was the man was enjoying himself. Lily focused on the catchy instruments rather than the vocals to make their songs tolerable.
When the show ended, a RiNG staff took the mic to thank the audience and performers, expressing gratitude for their continued patronage. Conversations buzzed with excitement and enthusiasm as the audience dispersed.
"Is this your first time here?" LOCK asked Lily, startling her to remember LOCK's presence.
Now that the room was better lit, Lily could see that 'LOCK' was accompanied by a girl that resembled the vocalist of Poppin' Party and a purple-haired girl with pigtails —
Omygodomygodimygod.
The purple haired girl was a famous drummer of the band Roselia.
Vision swirled. Lily felt like fainting. "N-no. It wasn't my first time here." Lily stammered.
"What school are you from?" LOCK asked.
"Ha-hanasakigawa." Lily replied.
"Oh, you are from my sister's school." The girl that resembled Poppin' Party vocalist remarked.
To Lily's relief, the blonde man stepped in, "Sorry. We're actually about to head out."
The group tensed when he butted in. However, the man's gentle smile eased the awkwardness of the situation, allowing 'LOCK' to respond despite being slightly flustered, "Ah, okay. I hope you enjoyed the performance."
A gentle hand grabbed Lily's shoulder. It guided her towards the stair. Climbing the stair, he asked, "You okay?"
"Yes."
"Thirsty?"
"A little bit." Lily murmured.
"Let's grab some drinks." The blonde man led Lily upstairs.
Arriving at the lobby, he chose a secluded table for two tucked in a corner by the transparent windows.
Lily settled on the seat. The blonde man asked, "Do you want colas or…?"
"Colas." Lily affirmed.
"Got it." The blonde man walked towards drink bar, buying two tall glasses of colas, which he balanced carefully on a tray as brought them back to their table.
Once settled, he began, "Do you go to Live Houses often?"
"Yeah." Lily answered.
"Alone?"
"Sometimes." Lily lied.
Lily stared at the light reflection in the dark coloured carbonated drink before taking a sip. She asked, "What do you think?"
"Hm?" Aiden looked at her.
"The live performance. What do you think of it?" Lily repeated.
After a brief pause, he responded, "They are great. Do they have any albums out? I'd like to buy them."
A weight was lifted from her chest. Lily replied, "The live house sells them."
"Great! I'll go buy them before we go home."
"By the way, which band do you like the most?" Lily changed the conversation.
"I honestly can't choose a favourite. Their song composition is very professional. The lyrics too. It doesn't feel like the girls had composed them." The blonde man remarked.
Confused about whether the man implied that professional composers had written the songs for her favourite bands or if he was expressing admiration for their work, Lily initially assumed the former. She clarified, "Actually, they composed the songs themselves. For example, I heard from my friends that 'UtaKotoba' was a song they created on the spot during a live show."
The man raised his eyebrows, "They improvised it?"
"Yep. I still have a video of that performance." Lily offered.
"I'd love to see it!" Aiden asked eagerly.
Lily opened the video and paused it before handing him her phone.
Watching the video, the man looked at Lily with his brows furrowed, "Are they…crying while playing?"
"Yes."
"Why were they crying?" Aiden asked.
"Rumours said it was about their disbanded old band. I really don't know the details." She continues, "Anyway, the story leading to that performing is interesting. Takamatsu-san-" Lily paused, unsure if he remembers the name.
"Takamatsu Tomori, she's MyGo's vocalist." Aiden confirmed.
Lily continued, "Yeah. Takamatsu recited the poems she had written here almost everyday."
"Why?" Aiden asked.
"I don't really know the details but, in the end, all her current band members gradually joined her performance one by one until they all joined together for that performance."
The blonde man's eyes sparkled with adoration. "It's one thing to play a complex improvised song in front of a large audience. But to sustain the fast tempo and play irregular time signature without making mistake while crying?"
"Talents, I guess." Lily chimed.
"I guess that's where they get the name for their band, 'Maigo.' Lost children after their old band —their home disbanded. Alternatively, 'My Go', my turn to shine? They are quite creative," Aiden remarked, handing the phone back to Lily.
Lily stored the phone back in her handbag. She never think much about the band names. She asked, genuinely curious, "Did you also figure out the other bands names?"
Aiden's fingers danced on the table before replying, "Morfonica happens to be a combination of the words morphosis and symphony. As for Poppin' Party, Bopping Party?"
Poppin' Party was self-explanatory but the rest were plausible guesses. The insights to their probably came naturally to him given that he worked as spy and the fact the man was really smart even back he was in school. Lily adored him.
"Actually, I want to write in the notebook earlier...and maybe search for their albums." The man asked.
Lily looked at the counter. Stood Toyama before it, radiating enthusiasm while engaging with her fans.
"Okay." Lily replied.
The man got up, but when he noticed Lily didn't move, he turned to look at her. "You're not coming?"
Lily glanced at Toyama. She felt unworthy being near Toyama's radiant presence. She answered, "I think I'll stay here."
"You sure?"
"Yes."
"Okay." The man sat back on the chair and made no attempt to stand up.
Lily raised her eyebrow in confusion, "I thought you were going to write on the notebook?"
"I changed my mind." The blonde man replied.
"Why?"
"I feel like going to the park, if that's okay with you? I need some fresh air to process the performance before we head home." The blonde man proposed.
The man was deflecting but she decided to not press on it. A little leisure stroll wouldn't hurt. "Sure."