A swarm of lights like fireflies filled the humid atmosphere of Shizuoka's town center as delightfully pleasurable yet innocent upbeat music reverberated around. Each member of the audience held up a magically glowing red, green or yellow stick according to his or her favorite idol member of 3K, who were currently dancing and singing on stage. Everyone was jumping to the beat and swinging their glowing devices while they sang with the adorably talented performers. The astounding kind of fanatic euphoria was a complete contrast compared to the almost despairing circumstances from a couple of hours prior.
"So, this is an idol concert..", stated Seijurou as he stood in the middle of the crowd, watching his classmates with Chizuru beside him. He glanced at his best friend shortly after, who was wearing a yellow summer kimono, with a slightly flushed face. "I never thought you'd wear a yukata in these kinds of events, Chizuru. This is a first."
Chizuru almost popped a vein in annoyance and blasted her closest friend. "And what the hell do you mean by that? This isn't the first time! I always work hard to pull off something like this during summer festivals, you know.."
"No. I don't mean by that..", answered Seijurou with a faint smile before shifting his attention back towards the stage. "It's just that I realized you really are a girl.. looks good on you especially with your hair up like that."
Looking away and crossing her arms, Chizuru pouted and blushed at her companion's comment. Seijurou was never really known for choosing the right phrasing to praise someone, but she knew him more than anyone else. Words meant nothing for the both of them since they knew exactly how to read each other in between the lines.
Chizuru stared at Seijurou again. She saw that there was this satisfied smirk on his face. Still trying to keep the act up, she frowned while she spoke. "That's rather mean of you to say that, baka-jurou.. but since it's you, I'll take it as a compliment."
Seijurou gave off a hearty laugh before he glanced at Chizuru gain. He smiled as he replied. "I just wish you wouldn't wear those tall 'geta' anymore since it makes you taller than me."
Due to Seijurou's remark, Chizuru quickly looked at her footwear. She glared at him after, but found herself gradually dropping her facade as she saw him watching the performers. There was a certain smile in his face that made her expression soften up. With a little blush on her face, she smiled endearingly at Seijurou even if he was not looking back.
"There's something pleasantly different about him now..", pondered Chizuru as she stared at Seijurou. Then, one particular thought came across her mind which seemed to have lingered like a sweet fizzy drink's aftertaste. It was what he had said to her before the Black Hole's explosion.
"Hey, Chizuru.. I'll be back to watch the fireworks with you like we always do, okay?..", assured Seijurou in Chizuru's thoughts.
A shade of crimson coloring began to rise in Chizuru's face as she once again looked away from Seijurou. The playful but romantic music coming from 3K's performance seemed to have heightened her senses in detecting unnecessary bashfulness as her heart started skipping beats, making her blood rush to a sort of tingling all over her body. She clenched her fists and bit her lip while she wondered what was going on with her. "What the hell is this feeling? Why do I feel inappropriately warm?"
"Their last song's almost over..", pointed Seijurou out of the blue.
"Eep!..", squealed Chizuru out of her ticklish pondering to Seijurou's surprise. But she calmed herself down by taking a deep breath before facing him again. A slight blush was still present on her face when she responded. "That means it's almost time for fireworks.. you promised, right?"
"Eh? What's this about?..", asked Seijurou with a little bit of confusion in his tone. "Of course.. we always watch the fireworks ever since we were little."
Chizuru sighed. "Never mind.."
As Seijurou stared at his best friend with brows raised, a thunderous roar came from the crowd indicating the show's spectacular conclusion. Many were heard asking for an encore, but it was pushing very late into the wee hours of the morning due to unforeseen events. The schedule had to be adjusted to fit the time for 3K's performance and the main act, Shizuoka's fireworks display. It wouldn't be much of an exhibition of lights if dawn began breaking out of the horizon.
"But please don't worry, mina-san!..", spoke Kasumi through the magically enhanced voice amplifier as the spectators continued to cheer for an encore. "We do have one more song, but it's not an original.. I heard this next song is sung right before the fireworks as a tradition."
A resounding boom of delighted voices shook the concert grounds upon hearing Kasumi's words. The joy of realizing their favorite idol group still had one more song to perform before the main event caused an inexplicable ecstatic reaction that was even more intense than before.
"But.. but since it's not our song.. eh..", Kasumi put on a cute act to rouse everyone to the audience's delight. "There's no recorded music.. so we're going to play the instruments ourselves."
Kasumi's announcement rocked the place even further. Everyone knew 3K was a gifted trio of young performers, but playing the accompaniment themselves was an unexpected exposition of talent.
"Kaguya-tan will take the bass guitar on this one while I play the drums..", stated Kasumi as more cheers came in loudly but gleefully. "And I will turn the 'voice amp' over to the lead vocalist and guitarist for this song, Kanae-tan."
The audience roared cheerily as Kanae walked towards center stage with a guitar strapped around her. Before Kasumi went to her designated spot, Kanae put on another act by pulling on her teammate's clothes gently with a sheepish face. She faced the crowd with a childlike grin before saying something through the voice amplifier. "But Kasumi-chan.. we have an itty bitty problem though.."
Kasumi continued the adorable stage skit by placing her fingertips on her mouth with a wide eyed expression as if they were in trouble. "Oh no! What is it Kanae-tan?"
"It seems we are missing a lead guitarist and a keyboard artist for this song..", answered Kanae by bashfully looking away, bewitching the crowd even more. Then, she turned her attention towards Kaguya, who was exhibiting a look of concern as well for the act. "Kaguya-chan.. what do you think we should do?"
"Honestly.. I have no clue as of the moment, but let me think..", replied Kaguya while she placed her delicate fingers on her chin to look far and think. And then, she flashed a gorgeously captivating smile towards the audience, shooting invisible arrows through many of the male fanatics. "Just an idea, Kanae-sama, Kasumi-sama.. I think some of our classmates can help us with this."
Seijurou suddenly became an oddball in the middle of a joyous mob by giving off a squinting grimace. A relatively ominous thought came into mind. "I have a bad feeling about this.."
"That's a wonderfully cute idea, Kaguya-chan!..", Kanae continued with the act. "What better way of doing this performance with the new heroes of Shizuoka.. don't you think?"
The crowd cheered even louder. Names from different members of FSG's class of 2022 started coming out of the good townsfolks' mouths. For the many fifteen and sixteen year olds from the said group present, it felt unreal.
In the first place, none of the members of the class gave their names out. Knowing that the people of Shizuoka went out of their ways to inform themselves of their heroes' names was enough appreciation already. But to call them out of exaltation was indeed quite an honorable experience.
"Tsk. What are these people blabbering about? I can't even play an instrument.. let alone, sing..", remarked Jax with a smirk on his face.
Satsuki giggled before she answered. "But I do know someone who can!"
"Who?..", Jax immediately inquired curiously.
The spectators gasped in unison as Kanae took a deep breath before announcing the first classmate to help them. "On lead guitar.. please come to the stage.. Takenori Eimi!"
Eimi shrank inside her lavender yukata as everybody's gazes began to fix on her. She froze and flushed in all redness as the townspeople cheered for her name.
"What in the world are you saying, Kanae? You baka..", Eimi thought while she continued to stand stiff in her place. She could not move a muscle until someone pushed her from behind.
"Go ahead, Eimi. They're calling for you..", cheered Shizune for her sister with a big smile on her face. "Show 'em what you've got.. Ganbare!"
Eimi clenched her fists and shyly walked forward before she answered her twin. "I know already.. I'm going.."
From somewhere across the area and amidst the thousands in attendance, Satsuki smirked upon hearing Eimi's call up. Jax blushed at his companion's adorable expression the moment he saw her.
"I guess there's one other person I know who can play music..", blurted Satsuki out as she watched Eimi come up the stage.
Eager to know of his date's thoughts, Jax asked. "Who?"
"You'll see..", teased Satsuki with her eye closing smile.
With a little desperation in hiding his obvious flushing, Jax looked away and awkwardly scratched his head before he spoke again. "Satsuki-chan, I'll go get us some chocolate dipped apples before the fireworks begin.. is it alright if I leave you for a while?"
"Oooooh.. I love that! Don't worry.. I'm not going anywhere."
While Jax went to the stalls to buy some snacks, Eimi made it up the stage and began setting herself up for the performance. However, Kanae stopped her by pulling her back to center stage for a short interview.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Takenori Eimi-chan!..", announced Kanae to the audience's glee and to Eimi's embarrassment. She then focused her attention to Eimi and began her questioning. "Eimi-chan, a quick question.. of all the techniques used to save Shizuoka, many would agree yours and your sister's were the most visible to all of us. And without you.. it would've been impossible for us to usher thousands into safety. So, how do you feel that everyone turned out to be okay?"
A short cheer came from the crowd before Eimi answered. She nervously scanned the crowd until she met her sister's gaze. "Of course, I'm relieved everyone was alright.."
Shizune gave her twin a thumbs up and an endearing smile, before Eimi smiled back with sincerity and replied. "But I wouldn't be able to do it without my onee-chan, Takenori Shizune.. not a lot of you know this.. but the truth is I owe her a lot.. and when we rely on each other.. things really happen.. that's all."
A round of applause gradually built up after that. Even if Eimi simply frowned and walked back to her station to set the guitar up, Shizune was on the verge of letting out tears from her welling eyes. It had been a first in a long time that her sister said kind words to her, and above all, in front of many individuals.
"Thank you very much! That's one of our heroes for you.. Eimi-chan! Can I get some appreciation for her, mina-san?..", spoke Kanae through the voice amplifier, rearing the crowd to go wild once more. After a few moments, she coughed in a sort of cute way for their act and to clear her throat as well. "And for the other classmate of ours to help us out. This one doesn't need much introduction since all of you pretty much knows who he is already. If anyone has the right to be called the hero of Shizuoka.. the one who truly saved us all from unimaginable despair.. mina-san, it is with great honor to call up on stage.."
The whole of Shizuoka erupted into euphoria never before seen since the founding of its town. Some were crying in deep happiness while some simply yelled with all their might in gratitude. Eventually, all noise unified into one sound, and it was a name of a boy everyone was not long ago, unfamiliar with.
"On the keyboard..", Kanae continued as all of the locals and tourists alike, chanted his name. "Erida Seijurou!!!"
"Ehhh?!..", was all Seijurou could say as he shot everyone around him with stiff and bewildered glances. While he continued to be in a state of unimaginable shock, he stared with both of his eyes almost popping out at center stage. "Ah shit.. Fukuoka.. why the hell do you have to put me on the spot like this?"
And as he realized something, a look of concern began to envelope Seijurou's face. He faced Chizuru, who was just simply laughing at her friend's predicament.
"And here I was worrying if I could leave her alone for a while..", thought Seijurou as he gave Chizuru a blank stare.
"Get up there, hero!..", beamed Chizuru in between her giggles. "It's okay.. I'm not moving an inch. I'll wait here."
After letting out a nerve wracked breath, Seijurou smiled at Chizuru awkwardly and left for the stage. On the way up, people cheered for him and patted his back. It was an experience completely new to him and was far more overwhelming than the preliminaries. For him, it was actually close to intimidating. The moment he arrived at center stage, the sea of people made his knees shiver. Never in his life that he had seen such a spectacular sight.
Seeing Satsuki near the far end of the stage, desperately trying to contain her laughter, made Seijurou glare at her. But for some reason, seeing her childlike side calmed his nerves a little.
"There really are so many things I'd like to ask you, Seijurou-san..", spoke Kanae through the voice amplifier.
At that moment, Seijurou scratched his head shyly and thought of Kanae's words. "Seijurou-san, huh? It's really weird seeing Fukuoka uncharacteristically cute like this.."
"But since we don't have a lot of time before sunrise.. I'll ask you one super interesting question..", continued Kanae with the interview. "All big heroes have other names to remember them with.. like Yoshiki-taichou as 'Nekokunoichi'.. or Yanagi-senpai as 'Jihon's Silver Prince'.. and since you're this town's savior, have you thought of a hero name for yourself?"
"I.. I don't think it's right to compare me with those big names..", answered Seijurou in all awkwardness.
Just as Seijurou continued with his answer, one of the spectators suddenly yelled something. "Blazing Blink!"
And then, another one added. "Yeah, that's right! In a blink of an eye, there was a blaze!"
"And we were saved!..", a woman in the middle of the crowd also added.
"Blazing Blink!!..", a group suddenly cheered in unison.
Seijurou stared at Kanae blankly as he thought. "What a lame name.."
"Well, looks like you have your answer, Seijurou-san..", chimed Kanae as she flashed a smile. "Let it be known that the town you saved gave you the name, 'Blazing Blink'. Cherish it, my comrade.. for someday you will bring that name with honor to the ends of the world.. thank you, Erida Seijurou!"
Expecting to hear the usual loud roar from the crowd after Kanae's interview made Seijurou glance at the audience once more. But the noise was not there. Instead, the thousands in attendance were bowing in front of him, showing their utmost gratitude for their hero.
Seijurou took a step backwards in surprise as he felt he did not deserve such recognition. He gazed at Kanae for help, but she was bowing herself, along with the rest of her teammates and Eimi on stage. Then, he looked for Chizuru, who was also bowing at him, which was something clearly unexpected for him, but she did give him a teasing wink and an "okay sign". He also glanced at Satsuki, who slowly stood up and smiled at him with a fist up.
And then, Seijurou remembered his mother's words. ".. show it to the world.. make memories with them.."
After a few moments, Seijurou walked towards Kanae and took the voice amplifier for himself. He held his chin high, smiled cheerfully, and spoke to everyone present. "Raise your head, everyone. I myself will never forget this day.. not as the day we all almost perished.. but as the day you gave me your faith. Thank you all for your gratitude.. and I promise I will live my life with the honor that you have bestowed upon me."
As Seijurou bowed to everyone, the sound of applause and cheers gradually engulfed the town center again. He stood up to give one more wave before going to his station to set the keyboard up.
"I never thought you had that much charisma in you, Erida..", stated Kanae normally this time.
"Back to formality, huh, Fukuoka?..", asked Seijurou while plugging a cord into the keyboard.
Kanae giggled at the jest before she replied. "Careful.. I might begin to actually like you. Care to join our group? We do need some instrumentalists."
"No thanks.. you girls can obviously manage with the show you just pulled off.. I don't know why you had to tag me and Takenori in this.."
"Oh that..", Kanae shook her head and sighed in frustration as she glanced at her teammate on the drums. "Kasumi insisted.. she really wanted to play the drums.. sorry.."
"Oh yeah?..", responded Seijurou while he gazed at the direction of the drum set.
There he found Kasumi sitting in the middle of the drums with both her pinkies and pointers held up on both hands. And she kept yelling enthusiastically. "Rock on!"
Seijurou broke a drop of sweat at their drummer's antics. "That's seriously uncharacteristic of Shinazugawa.."
"You know the song right? You ready?..", asked Kanae to both Seijurou and Eimi, causing them to nod in agreement.
"Okay, mina-san! You know this song, so sing with me and greet the fireworks..", announced Kanae through the voice amplifier. A short but loud cheer was heard from the crowd as she smirked. Then, she glanced at her guitar and placed a chord carefully with her fingers. "This song is a classic.. the title is.. 'Hanabi'.."
"Kirameite yurameite aoki yume maihanatsu.. Hanamoeyuku (The flowers are set alight.. Sparkling, dancing, releasing a blue dream)..", the song began with Kanae singing with her angelic but powerful voice while accompanying herself with her instrument. Right after that, all the instruments blasted out of the speakers for the music piece's intro to the delight of everyone.
Once more, Shizuoka exploded into euphoric elation. Waving their glowing sticks around while jumping to the beats, the thousands of spectators transformed the entire place into a light show worthy of a fireworks display in itself. People cried, laughed and shouted, but one thing was common to all. It was an ecstatic celebration of life.
Seijaku ni ochiru sora futahira no yume hanabi (two petals from the fireworks of dreams fall quietly in the sky)..", Kanae sang the first lines of the song as the crowd hushed to listen to her mesmerizing voice. Those who knew the lyrics sang with her while some just continued to dance around.
"So, this is how it feels to do something I actually know in front of many people..", thought Seijurou as he played his keyboard with a few chiming notes. He observed how Kanae captured the crowd with her presence and voice on stage and how the audience reacted to her. The thought of being in the same stage as her brought a lingering smirk on his face. "This is actually cool.."
As Kanae sang the pre chorus of the song while Eimi slid in some riffs, a kind of innocently childlike excitement filled the crowd. There were so many sheepish grins among the rowdy spectators as if a huge and colorful present was about to be opened. A tingling kind of tickle made their bodies dance to the tune as the band on stage neared the climax of their showcase.
And then, there it was. The chorus echoed throughout the town, causing a massive party for all ages to enjoy. Townsfolk and foreigners alike sang with Kanae as loud as they could, giving off an impression of more like shouting the lyrics out loud instead. But everyone was jubilant. Just as preparing for a great war and celebrating a victory at the same time, a kind of pleasant exhilaration was in the air.
However, ending the song was going to be a problem. The audience was so into it that the extreme thrill might linger. Even as the outro was being played, some of the spectators were already asking for an encore. Fortunately, the main event was right on cue after the last note was played.
"Thank you very much, Shizuoka! Goodnight! Or rather, good morning..", Kanae said her farewells to the crowd as the first of the fireworks erupted in countless colors high up in the sky.
With the show above them continuing to explode in succession, the five classmates on stage ran towards where the view was best. But the situation worried Seijurou as he saw the mass of people moving. Even if they had a prior agreement on where to see each other, Seijurou could not find Chizuru anywhere.
Seijurou ran frantically and searched for his friend everywhere but to no avail. There were just one too many faces around who were also moving in all directions. He called for her, but the sounds of the fireworks muffled every sound. Even the battle of lights above them messed with his vision, making it far more difficult to find a specific person.
After a few hopeless minutes of searching for Chizuru, Seijurou found himself on the shore, catching his breath. It turned out he had the perfect view of he town's showcase for it was only the sea before him, sparkling the reflection of the colors above.
"Oh! There you are, Erida-kun..", a muffled sound of a recognizable voice called. She was not exactly who Seijurou was looking for, but she was still a more welcome presence.
"Kinjou, what are you doing here? Where's Jax?..", inquired Seijurou while he approached his partner to hear her better.
"I kinda lost him with all the commotion.. he bought something right before the fireworks started..", replied Satsuki as she looked downward to the side with some concern. "Where's Chizu-chan, by the way?"
"Same here. Lost her in the crowd..", answered Seijurou while shrugging his shoulders as if he was clueless.
"Well.. at least we've got ourselves a good view of the fireworks here."
Indeed it was the perfect place to watch the brilliant display of fireworks as nothing obstructed their view. However, Seijurou's attention was focused on something else. Even as a twenty four color palette symphony danced to the tune right before them, the cherry themed yukata of Satsuki was the only shade he could see. As she watched in childlike astonishment, he watched the splash of lights dazzle in her eyes.
All of a sudden, Satsuki caught Seijurou staring at her. He immediately looked up to the sky while he blushed in embarrassment, pretending to watch the fireworks.
Satsuki giggled to herself. Her partner's entertaining stiffness never got old for her as it always made her laugh.
"I believe Kanae-chan failed to ask you the right question on stage..", stated Satsuki as she faced Seijurou.
"I know, right? A hero's name? What a lame thing to ask..", answered Seijurou with an awkward smile, which caused his partner to laugh even more. "Why? What would you ask if it was you?"
"Hmm.. let me think..", replied Satsuki while placing her hand on her chin to come up with something. Then, her expression lit up. "It should be.. what is your inspiration to do all that heroic stuff? What was in your heart the moment you decided to save everyone?"
The question caught Seijurou off guard. It took him a while to answer Satsuki. Thoughts began to flood his mind, but he could not determine which one was right. He thought about all those times he spent with his father in the forge. Then, his recent conversation with his mother came into mind. Also, all those precious moments he shared with friends in school also popped out.
"I have you..", blurted Seijurou out.
The fireworks above seemed to have intensified as the colors became indistinguishable with all its explosive grandeur. But Satsuki did not bother looking at it. She was fixed on Seijurou's expression. It was the first time she saw him say something with such unwavering determination on his face, and it caught her jaw hanging speechless. For a moment, their eyes locked onto each other, not being bothered with all the colorful lights sprinkling as reflections on them.
"There you are, Seijurou!..", called Chizuru out of nowhere, catching the attention of both Seijurou and Satsuki. "Sorry I wasn't where I was supposed to be.. I got mixed in with the crowd."
Seijurou let off a sigh, but he smiled before he replied. "It's okay, Chizuru.. I was on the stage and got lost too."
Chizuru glanced at Satsuki afterwards. Her face livened up as she spoke to her. "Oi, Satsu-chan! Come with us.. let's finish the fireworks together."
Reading the situation with a little sting in her chest, Satsuki smiled faintly. "No, it's okay, Chizu-chan. You go ahead. I'm still waiting for Jax."
"Alright.. if you say so. See you later..", answered Chizuru with a wave of a hand as they walked away.
Seijurou looked back one more time to smile at Satsuki. He waved one last time and was off.
With a slightly painful breath of her own, Satsuki whispered to the air.
"I'm not going to be with you always, you know.."
Translation Notes:
Geta – a traditional footwear resembling flip flops and is usually worn with a yukata. It has a flat wooden base elevated with up to three prongs.
Ganbare – it has the same meaning as "do your best".
Monogatari Concepts:
This chapter is quite special since it's the first time the novel features actual music. The song's title is "Hanabi", which literally means "Fireworks". It is based on a real song of the same name performed by the Japanese pop/rock band, Ikimonogakari. The song is NOT an original by the author. In this chapter however, the song is said to be traditionally sung to precede Shizuoka's fireworks festival.
End of Shinigami Cult Arc.