Mrs. Fukuda called me over often.
I'm not sure why, I used the opportunity to learn cooking from her. When Kagami came downstairs and saw me he'd freak out.
I think, that's why every time something happened with him she'd use me. Surprisingly I was fine, since I didn't really have to say much.
He got annoying though. Sometimes trying to check my Japanese and other times trying to get me to go up to his room to listen to his songs.
He's an innocent guy, it's not like that. That's how I got by telling myself and was able to keep my sanity so far.
----
So listening to Azure Phoenix sing such a suggestive song made me tilt my head.
(Your eyes seized my soul,
beckoning me to you,
had me down to please in ways I never had.
Breaking all my rules, crossing boundaries like a fool.
I'm in your waters and now, I'm at your mercy.
Stabbed my heart with a hook,
Didn't want to leave you even if I could.
But the second you opened your mouth,
the illusion ended.
You became ugly. Sickening.
Even though you were beautiful, you move like a leech.
Only after my blood and flesh.
Tear me down, spit me out, collect my bones in a pile and make a nest.
Show your collection off to your quote-on-quote friends.
Who look on at you with envy.
Collecting the hearts of men is just a game,
using them and abusing them it's all the same.
It's a women's world, it's a women's domain!
And the sirens are the queens of this world!
Yeah, the sirens are the queens of this world.
The role models to all the young girls.
Yeah, role models to all the young girls.)
Such depressing lyrics were submerged by the ethereal sound and Izanagi's unique voice. Even if one didn't listen to the lyrics it was a great song to dance to and let loose. I peeked at Izanagi as the song played.
Who hurt you?
I really wanted to ask but that would be incredibly rude.
"Kagami really wrote this?"
"Mmm."
"Ehhh."
Our last conversation at school floated back to mind.
"The love I have for Amara isn't something jaded like that."
I wanted to talk to him. What exactly were his views on love. It scared me.
The next song that played was more upbeat and a pure song befitting young boys.
Claire was doing a contemporary dance to show off. I looked away.
______________________________________________________________________________________
The group before me dipped their heads.
The concert would mark the end of project Orfice, but the announcement caught everyone off guard. We wouldn't be playing with our bands but with others.
It sucked for everyone who didn't join in at the cafeteria, was what I thought but...
Right now there wasn't a single familiar face in front of me.
"Hello, I'm Tani Rinko. I play...the electric violin."
"Yoshida Hachiro, drums."
"Kurata Sosuke, guitar."
Everyone was separated, all the bands that played in the cafeteria were split up from each other so they didn't have an advantage, putting us in the same boat as everyone else.
"It's nice to meet you all." My smile was forced. "Fukuda Kagami, ...piano."
To hell with Project Orfice! Why don't we get an advantage when we were clearly the only ones participating in events this band was made for?
Rinko's fidgeting gaze widened at me. "Huh?! Don't you play the guitar too Fukuda-san?" She averted her gaze when I met hers.
How did she make it this far remaining so shy?
"I can play both. Since someone else can already play the guitar, there's no point in having two."
She smiled. "A-ah." Then looked away again.
"Weren't you the leader of that group stage thing in the cafeteria?" Sosuke muttered. His hair was mid-length, his eyes covering his left eye.
"I...wasn't the leader but...well... I guess, I end up hosting."
"Ohhh that cafeteria thing huh?" Hachiro leaned back in his chair with folded arms. "Isn't it just a place to go and show off? I wasn't interested."
No one asked.
I smiled. "It's not too show off. Our managers told us we weren't doing what we were supposed to. So we put two and two together and realized they wanted us to mingle with the others and learn from each other."
Hachiro grunted and lifted his hands behind his neck. "Well, duh. That's what camps are for."
Then why did all of you keep to yourself and make it come to this? My smile twitched. This guy is annoying.
More importantly, I think I'm beginning to realize something. The people who didn't come to participate in our impromptu play sessions. They were all like these people- introverted. I mean I don't consider myself that extroverted, talking to others is hard, and because of it, mustering the courage to get to this point was hard. But since music is involved, I don't feel that anxious.
Most musicians are introverted, right? They're content with being the background characters, the amoebas that give ambiance to a room. Everyone has their own level of introversion but this...
To think I'm stuck here with these guys when Izanagi is back in Ibaraki with Amara. I couldn't help feeling impatient, even though I knew that even if I were to drop everything and run home he'd likely already be gone.
What a pain in the ass! The musicians screened for this event have bad reputations so as delinquents I figured they'd be more talkative... come to think of it, I don't remember seeing their bands on the event page.
"Um, are any of you guys independent artists?" I asked.
They looked at me wide-eyed.
Rinko asked. "Oh. How'd you know?"
"Ah, I just was recalling the faces on the project site, and well... never mind."
Suddenly it all made sense.
Why? Why did I end up with another bomb?
Could I even call this a bomb? Isn't it more like a wet bomb?