Act 1, Chapter 26: Phase To Phrase

Friday, 4:00 PM. Suede ascended the stage; their instruments are battle-ready.

Hiroki plugged his black-gold Les Paul with Floyd Rose into his Zoom G1X Four, dialing in a searing JCM800 patch. Aoi connected her weathered black GSRM20B to her Zoom B1X Four, unleashing a beefy, fuzzy bass tone. Junichi tweaked the black Tama drum kit, finding his sweet spot. The air crackled with anticipation from the audience.

Hiroki leaned into the mic, silencing the murmurs. "We’re budget Deftones, but a trio from Japan." The room chuckled at his dry humor. "This is our original song, Death Homesick."

With an exchanged nod, Junichi clapped his drumsticks four times, tapping the crash cymbal lightly.

The song opened with Hiroki’s clean phaser guitar and lush spring reverb, echoing Nirvana’s Heart-Shaped Box but darker, plunging the audience into a void. Junichi’s soft hi-hat taps and Aoi’s gentle, ringing bass plucks complemented the haunting riff.

They scream, my name.
They reap, my sow.
They laugh, my faith.
They watch, my death.

Hiroki’s vocals, soft and cracked like Deftones’ Chino Moreno, wove despair into the blackened void. Toriteba’s girls clapped to the beat, and Yakomori’s boys swayed their arms, vibing from Saturday’s private showcase. Omanjou and Procorat stood stunned, entranced by the unexpected darkness.

Hiroki finished the intro, then stomped his Zoom G1X Four, switching to a distorted JCM800 patch. A harmonic wail jump scared the audience as he abused the Floyd Rose for ghostly divebombs, a thunderclap after calm rain.

Junichi’s cymbal taps crescendoed, and Aoi banged her Ibanez’s body, letting all four strings ring with fuzzy fury. Junichi clapped his drumsticks four times, muting the crash cymbal, as Hiroki strummed a dissonant Em eight times, then D, channeling Deftones’ Be Quiet and Drive + Digital Bath.

Junichi’s four hi-hat smacks launched the song into raw chaos. Hiroki’s fry scream pierced the mic, switching to a phaser JCM800 patch, strumming Em and D relentlessly, his body swaying and jumping like Kurt Cobain reborn. Aoi’s beefy bass groove surged, her head banging as one foot stomped the PA speaker. Junichi’s Latin-esque drum fills thundered, aggressive yet smooth.

Three members sounded like a thousand, blending the harshness of alt-rock and a shoegaze nostalgia. The senpais' jaws dropped in awestruck at Suede’s intensity outshining larger bands.

Hiroki’s verse vocals rose, blending Chino Moreno’s wail with Muse’s Matthew Bellamy’s theatricality. Aoi joined, her ethereal Amy Lee-like voice harmonizing, her bass groove unwavering.

I refuse, but you drag me down.
Months in hell, I fight evils.
I squander, with your barks.
Their bullets, splatter my skull.

The chorus flipped the room:
My war, they have done!
My home, they have dried!
My life, they have died!
My death, feels homesick!

Hiroki’s Chino-esque fry scream shocked the senpais, his bar chords relentless. Aoi’s angelic harmonies healed the chaos, with Junichi’s bluesy Latin fills driving the beat.

Yakomori’s guttural cheers and devil horns erupted, and Toriteba screeched, raising hands. Even Omanjou joined, flashing some devil horns, won over by Suede’s surprise.

After the chorus, the trio paused to let their instruments ring. Junichi clapped the snare frame four times, easing into a soft drum groove.

Aoi switched to a clean-compressed bass tone, maintaining the groove. Hiroki’s clean solo, inspired by Muse’s Uno, vibrated with phaser and reverb, the Floyd Rose adding ghostly vibrato. The eerie calm gave the audience chills, first-years clapping to Junichi’s beat.

After silence, Hiroki strummed his Les Paul’s headstock, unleashing a banshee scream, reigniting the verse’s explosion. He knelt on the stage, his modulated JCM800 distortion fiercer now with an aggressive strum on the 20th fret. Aoi’s bass followed, weaving through frets, her groove matching his rage.

It was a solo battle section! Hiroki’s raw wails versus Aoi’s fuzzy fury—echoed their Sunday rematch, pitting a Dark Lord of Tartarus against the Priestess. The room roared with deafening screeches of their unexpected showmanship.

But then, a twist: Hiroki and Aoi crouched, pointing at Junichi as they stopped their playing. He unleashed a Latin-blues drum solo, banging snares, toms, kicks, and cymbals with precision but electrifying power. The audiences erupted in cheers, applauding Suede’s nod.

Junichi’s drumming slowed, and the final chorus exploded. Hiroki’s scream, Aoi’s ethereal choir, and Junichi’s groovy beat collided.

Finally, the song ended with Hiroki’s harmonic open strings and ghostly Floyd Rose dive bombs, Aoi’s four-string fuzzy ring, and Junichi’s bluesy-Latin solo outro.

But Hiroki wasn’t done like before! He knelt before the practice amp, facing his Les Paul against it as the feedback wailed. The room cheered, expecting Suede’s signature riff medley as some were covering their ears.

Hiroki strummed the Drop D string, launching into Muse’s New Born intro riff with raw power. Junichi matched with groovy, hard-hitting beats. And Aoi’s fuzzy bass groove followed, banging her head. The LMC roared, feeling like a concert for thousands.

Suede had finished their set, the room constantly chanting "SUEDE!" Toriteba’s girls screamed, Yakomori saluted with devil horns, and Omanjou and Procorat cheered Suede’s theatricality.

They’d bridged casual and hardcore fans, proving the senpai’s doubts wrong. Suede’s Death Homesick had cemented their legacy in this sanctuary of frequency.

***

Friday, 4:10 PM. The chants of "SUEDE!" still echoed as Hiroki, Aoi, and Junichi stood onstage, arms around each other, grinning with gratitude. The audiences erupted in applause, floored by Suede’s unexpected intensity.

Ren's text-to-speech app chuckled with cheers. "That was unexpected!"

Sora pointed at them, teasing. "I see what you did there, copying us?"

Hiroki grinned and briefly lifted his shoulders. "Well, your False Horizon from last week’s LMC showcase inspired us."

Mika’s bubbly enthusiasm burst forth. "Suede, I had to admit, you guys are undernumbered but unexpectedly outperformed others sound-wise! Stellar job!" She led another round of roaring applause.

Furuya chimed in after cracking a laugh with an awe. "Man, you kids are something else. That was fun, right?" The room nodded. "Soft start, then hard, screams, clean, then hardcore again. I dare to say you'll be ten times better than us!" Laughter and applause followed his praise.

Reina Kuroda spoke, her tone light but pointed. "Suede, huh? Weird name, and it’s already taken by that Britpop band from the UK." Her critique pierced Hiroki, a realization of potential copyright issues sinking in.

"But solid performance, the hardcore part, blew us away. Can’t wait for your song’s official release!" The room applauded, but Reina’s comment about their name lingered in Hiroki’s mind, a scar on their triumph.

Ayano raised her hands, joking. "Like I said, we’re officially disbanding!" The room roared at her jest, Haruto and Daiki adding mock devil horns and screams, overwhelmed by Suede’s roller coaster of emotion.

Sora nodded. "Suede, you may descend." The trio stepped off the stage to a final wave of applause, shaking hands with the seniors.

Mika grabbed the mic, addressing the first-years. "That’s it for our second meeting. Our biggest apology, we’ve got a school council meeting to attend. Thank you, and see you next time! Dismissed!"

"Thank you, senpai!" the room responded in unison.

The LMC members filed out, chatting about their performances. Junichi slung an arm around Hiroki’s shoulder, buzzing. "Dude, we killed it! Way better than last Saturday!"

Aoi poked Hiroki’s back, her post-performance fire still burning. "Our secret plan worked like a charm! Let’s do that again sometime!"

Hiroki forced a smile, but a storm of doubt shrouded his mind. "Yeah, but… I’m thinking of changing our band’s name…"

The success of Death Homesick had united casual and hardcore fans, proving Omanjou’s doubts wrong. But Reina’s words about Hiroki's band name planted a seed of doubt in him. The LMC’s spirit burned bright, yet Hiroki’s anxiety hinted at challenges ahead.