Cheers To Commotion

The lights of the Tokyo Dome shimmered like a thousand falling stars. Each light stick waved in unison. Mutsuki’s voice rang out. Clear, sweet, and commanding.

♪"I give my heart to you, so you must follow me. I sing, you dance. I sing, you follow!"♪

The crowd swayed, hands waving, smiles plastered across every face. At first, it was simple enthusiasm. Then it was more. His magic leaked through. Subtle and insidious. Threading into the minds of thousands. A trance. A wave of obedience that Mutsuki barely controlled.

Mutsuki blinked.

His family erupted into chaos right in front of him.

‘He can’t be trusted! That boy!’ his uncle’s voice boomed. ‘He’s far too reckless.’

‘He’s our prodigy! With proper training, he can take the government post!’ his exasperated mother countered.

‘No! How many near-misses are we letting slip? He needs to be banished!’ another relative shouted.

♪"Dance with me! Feel me! Be mine!"♪

Mutsuki’s head spun. The roar of the Dome, the voices of his family, the chant of the crowd. All became one relentless storm.

Mutsuki blinked.

Screaming children of all shapes and sizes floated in the air.

♪"Give me your heart! Your soul! Your everything!"♪

Mutsuki blinked again.

One moment, he was an idol adored by thousands. The next, he was standing in a room with eight pairs of tiny eyes looking at him.

A raccoon dog danced on a table. A fox transformed into three different forms in ten seconds. A kappa huffed like a queen. A tengu sulked in the corner. A Maneki Neko wiped a spill on the floor. An Oni trembled under a table. A tiny werewolf lounged like he owned the place. And a small boy’s hug nearly crushed his shin.

♪"I sing for you! You follow me! You dance, you follow!"♪

Mutsuki closed his eyes.

‘MUTSUKI! I follow! MUTSUKI! I follow! MUTSUKI! I follow!’

‘What excuse are we supposed to give the Prime Minister this time? He’s a disaster! Just look at him! Parading around in women’s clothes, flaunting that vampire curse! He’s an embarrassment to the entire family. Punish him accordingly!’

‘I’m flying, Sensei! Watch me!’

♪"I give my heart to you, so you must follow me. I sing, you dance. I sing, you follow!"♪

‘Encore! Encore! Encore! Encore! Encore! Encore! Encore! Encore! Encore! Encore! Encore! Encore!‘

‘Start living like a normal human now, Mutsuki! Enough of this idol nonsense! You can’t hide behind your laziness anymore! You’re lucky our family is Japan’s Magical Bureau! How many accidental mass hypnotisms have we covered up? How many magical mistakes have we erased? Enough!’

‘Mon, no! Don’t hit Gon! You there, Akashi! Stop tackling Honey!’

♪“My magic, my soul, my everything! I hand to you!"♪

Mutsuki started seeing all the events at once.

The screaming Dome. The screaming family. The screaming children. Round and round and round.

♪"I give, I give, I give you all of me!"♪

All the noises swirled into a tornado that threatened to pull Mutsuki under. He clutched his head and whispered to himself, ‘It shouldn’t be like this… I just wanted my magic to bring happiness…’

♪“Sing with me, dance with me, never let me go!”♪

Every beat of the song twisted reality. Papers spun in midair, chairs floated, glow sticks hovered like fireflies frozen in a prism. His family’s shouting collided with the children’s mischief, pushing him further toward collapse. He could barely keep the rhythm, could barely keep himself upright. The Dome trembled, caught in a trance deeper than joy. The crowd moved as one, a tide of perfection, a canvas for Mutsuki’s leaking magic.

♪"I give my heart to you, so you must follow me. I sing, you dance. I sing, you follow!"♪

A light touch on his cheek snapped him back.

‘You okay?’

A beautiful maiden stood before him. Her voice was soft and steady, her hands warm. Her presence alone carved a space of calm in the madness.

Mutsuki blinked at her, disoriented. The students froze mid-antics, their little mouths forming question marks. The faint magic pulsing from him stilled. The Dome chanting, the relatives shrieking, his own song on repeat, all slowly became distant echoes.

The expectant eyes of all the fans and family alike were slowly replaced by the curious gazes of children. The weight of expectation and tension warped into anticipation and chaotic harmony.

‘Sensei, we made this snowman for you,’ three children said in unison. The kappa in the middle held it up securely, while the kitsune and tanuki on either side cast a spell on the shaped snow, making it move.

Mutsuki was finally able to exhale and let go. A smile slowly crept over his face as he turned back to the maiden.

‘I’ll be okay now.’