I'd done a lot of crazy things lately. Most, unprovoked. Many in which it didn't make sense for me to intervene.
I acted on my own moral compass. Everything I did, I made sure I wouldn't regret it. So here I was, at the doorstep of yet another predicament I'd once again landed myself into, out of breath and panting for the oxygen my lungs so desperately required.
I barrelled onto the school rooftop. In the act, I'd lost my footing but managed to stabilize myself in time. Part of me hoped to be met with nothing. But, it was wishful thinking. The scene before me cost me my nonchalance.
Several girls towered over Tsumugi and Kiharu who were sprawled on the ground, their arms wound together by skin-tearing ropes.
"She really showed up," one girl cackled.
I gritted my jaw. "What is this, a nasty hobby of yours?"
An ear-splitting smirk spread across her face. "Call it what you will. Miss Hanai ordered us to tie up these nuisances, so we took her literally."
The other girls dispersed and it wasn't until I heard a click did I realize they'd locked the door.
"And now that you've come to keep them company, I'd say the plan worked marvellously."
"Shiina!" Tsumugi mumbled, a veil of tears evident in her eyelids.
"You owe us big time for this, beanstalk!" Kiharu barked as well.
Music blared from the speakers, uncharacteristic of the current mood. Notes. And a voice so powerful it serenaded anyone within a listening radius.
"Ah, Miss Hanai has already started." The girl—Bristly Brows, as I so creatively dubbed—clasped her palms. "I bet the entire audience is mesmerized. What I would give to be front row to the show."
I didn't have time to spare.
"Let them go," I snarled. "This is between us, isn't it?"
Bristly Brows merely lowered her arms. Then stepped forward, the heels of her boots clicking against the floor. She was in my vicinity before long.
"You made such a fuss yesterday," she snootily said. She had presence, proven by the way her icy blue eyes bore effortlessly into mine. "Even though you're the one who stole Miss Hanai's music. You losers don't deserve the right to stand on that stage after that. Yet, Miss Hanai granted it out of the kindness of her heart."
"If she granted it, I wouldn't be here now."
She shrugged. "Exactly like you bestowed her a handicap that had her rehearsing late, we're giving you one, too. What's unfair about it? You should be grateful that's all we're doing."
My nails dug into my palms.
She bent forward. "So sit tight until her performance finishes and your group has to forfeit. All right, you—"
I seized her collar, stifling her words in her throat. "I don't know what kind of impression you have of me, but I'm not afraid to punch that grin off your face. Leave them alone. If not—"
Bristly Brows, albeit momentarily shocked, cackled. Her eyelids peeled further apart. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"
My forehead wrinkled. She gestured behind her, at the girls towering over Tsumugi and Kiharu. Both were seized by the hair, and to it, they held scissors ready to snip at any second.
"I'd suggest you behave," Bristly Brows taunted on. "If not, your friends might lose a lot more than their hair."
"Bitch," I cursed.
"Funny. I can say the same thing right back at you."
"Shiina. . . !" Tsumugi was crying, the teardrops staining her cheeks and uniform.
"This seriously ain't funny!" Kiharu shouted. "Do somethin'!?"
I grounded my teeth.
The answer's simple, my mind seemed to coo. Do what they say. Stay here. Tsumugi and Kiharu won't have to be hurt. Upperclassman Hanai would win that award, but at least that meant she wouldn't harass us anymore.
It was an unfavourable ending, but it was the only option I was really left with. I was the one who charged up here when I could've blindly remained in the gymnasium. This was my punishment for my impulsivity.
Sometimes, there were things you couldn't change no matter how much you wished otherwise.
This situation wasn't any different. It wasn't. . .
The limpid notes of Upperclassman Hanai's song floated to my ears. Igarashi's song.
How many times had he heard her music play, heard people rave about it, yet not have his talents recognized? How many times had Upperclassman Hanai belittled him—saw him as another stepping stool for her inevitable success? She didn't even bat an eyelash when she stole his song right in front of him and insulted his name and skills to the masses.
"Go ahead! Take the damn song! Sing it with your voice and beautiful face! But I swear to God, Motoko Hanai, you will never win the favour of the judges and get that award!"
I meant what I yelled, didn't I? I still had no intention of her winning.
A fire smouldered in my heart. I'd faced how many odds in my life. Yet I was still here—still struggling.
This situation was simple then, wasn't it?
What I had to do was crystal clear.
I leapt forward before Bristly Brows or the other girls could stop me. And when in Tsumugi and Kiharu's vicinity, I dived, thwarted my arms in front of them, and shielded their bodies with mine.
The girls stumbled back in shock.
I hardly noticed the chunk of brown hair that fluttered down before my eyes.
"Sever my limbs and hair! Call me a bitch all you want!" My imminent glower spoke volumes alongside my ear-piercing holler. "But not Tsumugi or Kiharu. I'm not letting you lay a single finger on my precious classmates!"
Slack-jawed, they stared at me. When I reeled to face Tsumugi and Kiharu, their reactions were the same. Both were wide-eyed and utterly speechless.
Worry breached me instantaneously.
"Are you guys okay?" I scanned them over desperately, assuring the safety of their hair. I fumbled to untie their ropes. "You're okay, right? Should I get the nurse—"
"Shiina," Tsumugi mumbled.
It took me a while to recognize their focus was on my head. Also for me to take in the huge clump of hair on the ground, and my weightless neck.
"Y-you're hair. . ." Kiharu sputtered. "It's. . ."
I barely registered it. "Oh, a good chunk of it is gone. . ." My lips quirked up. I squeezed them in my arms for good measure. "But, hair can grow back. If anything happened to you guys, that's another story. I'm so, so glad you're all right."
"You seriously cut it!"
Upperclassman Hanai's posse were frozen solid.
"I-It was an accident!" the girl responsible hissed. "She suddenly ran at me, and her hair caught in it, and— This wasn't my fault. It's hers!"
I twisted my head their way.
They recoiled.
Bristly Brows was the first one to dash to the doors.
"Wh-whatever! Miss Hanai's performance should be over anyway! You've definitely lost!"
"Y-yeah," chorused the other girls.
They darted for the exit and vanished into the building.
I released the breath I'd been holding in one fell swoop. I was up on my feet even sooner than that.
"Agh! I'm seriously screwed! I have to go!" I didn't turn back to address them. I was already bolting for the stairs. "If I don't make it back, Igarashi will kill me!"
✧༝┉┉┉┉┉˚*❋ ❋ ❋*˚┉┉┉┉┉༝✧
By the time I arrived, the spokesperson for the night was introducing us. Sena as well as the Light Music Club members had long been prepped on stage. Koshiba was in the front row of the crowd.
I nearly tackled Igarashi on my way backstage.
"Kisaragi, you moron! You're late! What—"
His voice caught in his throat.
Students working backstage passed me ear plugs so I wouldn't damage my ears as well as other equipment.
Bug-eyed, he sputtered before long, "Y-your hair. . . ! It's—"
I forced a snort. I didn't have a mirror, but it must be worse than I thought. "Horrifying, huh? Maybe I shouldn't do the show after all."
"Who—"
"Underlings of Upperclassman Hanai. But it's fine. I spooked them pretty good."
After getting properly equipped, I levelled my breathing and nodded.
"We should go."
"Kisaragi." Igarashi stopped me, head hung. "You don't have to— It's because of me this even happened—"
"Obviously."
"I-I was trying to apologize!"
"We can have apologies later. My goal right now is to cream Upperclassman Hanai and make her totally regret ever sabotaging me. I guess helping you will be a bonus too."
"But—"
I flashed him a smile—one huge enough to paralyze him in place. "Just leave it to me, Igarashi. I've got your back, remember?"
Igarashi barely moved from place. His complexion bled red, as if from embarrassment. I cocked my head and leaned forward.
"Dummy? You still there?"
He reacted—going to sock my shoulder. "Y-yeah. Whatever. Let's show these fakes who's boss already."
Pouting, I grabbed my arm as he went speed-walking to the entrance of the stage and swung his guitar strap over his shoulder.
The crowd was buzzing. The lights were blinding. Even the crowd's beady eyes were overwhelming. But I had to do it. I couldn't get last second nerves. Not now.
Gripping the microphone stand, and releasing one last breath, I steeled my resolve.
The song played, and albeit shakily, I recited the lyrics I'd burned into memory.
Nobody responded. In fact, chatter continued without delay, as if we were nothing special.
I made eye contact with Upperclassman Hanai from across the room, currently engaged in a discussion from that scout.
She jutted her chin.
"Try as you may, you've already lost."
I could already imagine her uppity tone.
A smirk spread across my lips.
I gestured with my finger for Sena and the others to speed up the tempo. Though hesitating, they complied upon Igarashi's nod. Thanks to those rodents she'd call her 'fans', I'd garnered way too much anger. If the only way to win now was to knock everyone's socks off, their socks were what I was going to knock off.
Once the interlude concluded, I opened my mouth.
While Upperclassman Hanai would've sang this song in a slower sense, I completely made it a rock-session—what I excelled in. Although dumbstruck for a good while, the entire hall was whooping and cheering before long. It was the type of song Igarashi always wished to compose—that was obvious. And Upperclassman Hanai's soft vocals just weren't a match for them. They never had been.
Following my flashy show, the screams were deafening. I had a hard time coming to terms with the reality before me. Not only my fellow high school peers, the judges rushed on stage to immediately crown us the winner. Even the man who was giving Upperclassman Hanai company at the start of the performance long since fled her side, and was congratulating us alongside the judges. They demanded how I'd written such a song to which I nudged Igarashi toward them and let him take all the credit and praise.
Off in the distance I spotted Upperclassman Hanai kicking things down and grinding her teeth to near ash. She was sending me killer glares, to which I only flashed her a sweet held tilt, smile and wave.
I showed that she-devil good, and boy did it feel amazing.
A fan of Upperclassman Hanai had overheard her unintentionally seething about stealing Igarashi's songs, and confronted her. One person turned into another until finally a furious mob chased her out of the venue.
I laughed my way off stage, side by side with Igarashi and the others, panting, dehydrated and rambling about the amazement of this evening.
"Wait!"
The holler stopped me in my tracks.
I spun around only to come face to face with a boy. Half-purple, half-pink hair. Nose centimetres from mine.
"Wh-what's your name?"
I hesitated long and hard. Veered my gaze then returned it. "Ki. . .saragi."
"Kisaragi," he repeated, then clasped his hands over mine. "You are extremely beautiful."
"I— I am?"
"She is?" Igarashi demanded from my left.
My hair had been shagged off not too long ago and I sweated profusely from the show.
But the boy's sparkly-eyes didn't flicker from me.
"How tall are you?"
"Five foot nine. . ."
His countenance glistened further.
"Kisaragi," he said, stressing his letters, as if to sear it into his mind. He took another step forward. "Please. . . Please be my model!"
A. . . model?
—————
Song above is kinda what I have in mind for Shiina to sing. Likewise, the song I included last chapter would be Hanai's.
In other news, that cliffhanger happened ;)
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