Act 2, Chapter 13: Unshakeable

Fifteen minutes had passed, and Sparklin’Star, the bubbly high-school pop-rock quintet in frilly skirts and idol sparkle, had just wrapped their set with a glittering J-pop finale—peace signs, winks, and instruments raised like trophies. The fangirls’ light sticks waved like a constellation of stars, their cheers a tidal wave of adoration.

The five girls of Sparklin’Star stood at the center of the stage, breathless and beaming in their frilly skirts and idol sparkle. "Thank you very much, Shinagawa Livehouse! We’re Sparklin’Star, we’ll—"

"NO ONE WANTS MUSIC FOR BITCHLESS PUSSIES!" A guttural shout erupted from the back.

"BOO! GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE!!!"

"IDOL SHIT FUCKING SUCKS!!! PLAY SOME HARDCORE SHIT, YOU STUPID KIDS!"

The venom came from the metalhead corner, where individuals in ripped band tees, spiked hair, and glinting piercings under the lights exuded hostility. Their middle fingers stabbed the air, raining insults like a machine gun.

Koizumi Yamano froze mid-bow, her bubbly facade cracking. "U-uh… guys…" she stammered into the mic, eyes wide as the metalhead’s harassment swelled.

Hiroki, squeezed in the crowd beside Isami, felt the shift like a dive bomb. Performing idol J-pop at the Shinagawa live house amidst hardcore enthusiasts felt like plunging into piranha-infested waters. Sparklin’Star’s usual sea of polite female fans had been infiltrated by moshers who viewed anything "cute" as unmanly.

The girls stood petrified, pupils shaking, tears threatening. The light-stick wavers pushed back with counter insults toward the anarchic metalheads.

Hiroki’s fists clenched. He wanted to yell at the harassers and tell them to shut up—but that would mark him as death. He stayed silent, his stomach twisting.

A heavy presence stormed the stage. It was Makoto Shinagawa! The venue owner! He snatched a mic, his voice booming like a bass drop.

"This is Makoto Shinagawa, owner and manager of Shinagawa Live House!" The uproar quieted, curiosity overriding rage. "If you cannot behave, I will shut this event down—and this live house altogether!"

Protests flared from the metalheads, their middle fingers waving. But Makoto’s glare sharpened. "I repeat: behave, or I will close this live house permanently!"

Hiroki’s mind reeled. Close Shinagawa? You can't be that serious! But would shutting down this venue truly resolve the issues at all?

"I know what you’re thinking," Makoto continued, voice like an iron fist. "This is hardcore’s mecca. Damn right! But it’s also a stage for any band to express themselves freely!"

Murmurs turned to nods from parts of the crowd.

"This is a place for expression without any coercion!" He pointed into the pit. "If you hate this band, leave—no one’s forcing you. The door's that way!" His finger pointed toward the exit.

His eyes narrowed on the harassers. "But I see you—band tees, spiked hair, shoving girls in the pit during the prior set of Notto Maigo and Travis on the Way!"

Hiroki remembered—metalhead moshers bulldozing the light-stick-waving girls. Such actions could tarnish the reputation of this live house and deter casual concertgoers from attending any live events.

"You’re no better than the boring normies you loathe!" Makoto roared. "Security—kick them out!"

Six towering bodyguards swept through the crowd, grabbing arms and dragging the metalhead moshers toward the exit. They hurled insults as protests, but the guards were immovable. Light-stick girls countered with jeers, the hall splitting—cheers for the ejection, boos from the ejected.

Holy crap… that’s messed up. Hiroki stood speechless. Kaito’s performance with Izakaya No Mani, a year ago, had not been as chaotic as this.

The guards cleared the troublemakers. The crowd erupted in applause, a celebration of reclaimed safety.

Isami laughed nervously beside him. "We’re used to this nonsense."

Hiroki dry-chuckled. "But at least… you’re unshakeable."

She patted his shoulder, smiling reassuringly.

The stage lights dimmed for the next band, the hall settling into eager anticipation—Shinagawa’s mecca restored, for now.

***

Another fifteen minutes has passed; Café Fighters, the 5-piece all-girls hard rock band in bartender outfits, had finished their set with a big bang.

The deafening cheers almost tore down the live house’s performance hall. But thankfully, the audiences are much safer now that the anarchic metalheads have been ejected, restoring a secure environment for all concertgoers to enjoy without disruptions or concerns.

Riona Kitazawa, Café Fighter’s vocalist, caught the mic, breathless. "Thank you very much, Shinagawa live house! We’re Café Fighters; we’ll see you next time!"

The 5 Café Fighter girls bowed down in unison and descended from the stage. Escaping from the chants of "Encore!"

But suddenly, someone was squeezing through Hiroki’s right side. It was Riku Tanaka.

"Riku! Where have you been?!" Hiroki’s eyes widened in surprise.

Riku laughed. "Been in the toilet."

But a growing sense of suspicion began to creep into Hiroki’s mind, raising doubts and questions about Riku's whereabouts. "Are you sure?!"

"Yes, I was." Riku sighed with a chuckle.

"You're not harassing those girls, are you?!" Hiroki’s face was close to Riku’s left side with suspicion.

Riku barked. "Hell nah! Why would I?!" He pouted, crossing his arms.

"But I didn't see you 30 minutes ago." Hiroki teased, suspicion rising.

Riku shot back. "I hate idol music! That’s why." He sighed; his eyes darted at the stage. "Anyway, Liam-sensei’s band is about to perform soon."

A few seconds have passed; the stage light flashed toward the live house’s stage in a dark crimson color.

Six band members suddenly ascended from the stage, wearing serial killer-esque outfits and creepy masks. Their presence creeps out the audiences like witnessing a literal serial killer by the satanic cult.

But instead of getting creeped out, the audiences cheered even further, almost tearing down the live house performance hall.

All six members then stood in each respective position; their instruments were ready to saw the victims.

The frontman clutched his guitar and gutturally screamed into the mic. "WE ARE POLTERGEISTS!!! WHAT THE FUCK IS UP, SHINAGAWA LIVE HOUSE!!!"

The audiences raised their devil horns with unison cheers.

That’s Liam-sensei! Hiroki nodded in awe but was somewhat creeped out. He knew it was Liam Feng Tsui from his stern tone of voice and his black-gold ESP EC-1000. Despite hiding behind a threatening serial killer mask on stage, he knew that Liam was a delicate person who always protected his students offstage.

Misato Kitamura stood beside his right side, clutching her purple burst ESP TE-200DX. She grabbed the mic. "If none of you behave, we will postpone our performance!" Her tone was low but stern.

Even outside of Sakuragawa High School, both Liam and Misato's commanding teacher presence captivates the live audiences, leaving a lasting impression on metalheads and concertgoers alike. Especially in front of the metalheads.

"Mosh all you want, but watch the surroundings! ANYONE WITH US?!" Liam jabbed his finger at the audience.

The audiences roared in unison, raising their devil horns. Despite the majority of metalheads' presence, some are thankfully behaving better than the previous.

The drummer smacked the hi-hat countless times and stomped the kick drum as a build-up. The percussionist gently smacked the floor tom on the beat.

The bassist chugged his distorted bass, moved his finger on each fret, and banged his head to the groove. The keyboardist/DJ swiped her interface, creating a creepy dissonant ambience that built up each second.

Liam gently chugged his Black Gold ESP and mumbled a rapping verse in a low but threatening tone. And Misaki messed around with her purple ESP’s volume knob, creating a dissonant ambience.

Seconds have passed; Poltergeist exploded into a wall of apocalyptic sound. The whole member deafened the surroundings like a napalm blast.

Liam aggressively downpicked his black-gold ESP, gutturally screaming on the mic. Misaki accompanied it with a banshee scream as she played a dissonant melody on her purple ESP.

The drummer smacked the kicks, snares, and toms at machine gun speed. And the song jumped into an explosive chorus.

It sounded like Slipknot on steroids! Hiroki stood frozen during the cheering and the audience's moshing. His body was almost crushed from the moshing, but he stood still.

Liam’s voice blared; he even accompanied his distortion with a flanger. And Misaki’s dissonant melody keeps the foundation of Poltergeist’s original song.

The solo has arrived. The bassist, keyboardist/DJ, percussionist, and drummer keep the groove steady. But Liam and Misaki took the spotlight in no time. Both are fiercely dueling with their distinctive licks.

Liam brandished his brute force with fierce shredding of each string; it looked like he almost broke it from his brute force. He also activated the wah pedal whilst doing tapping and alternate picking to keep his solo more interesting.

But Misaki didn’t stand still. She countered his solo by using a fingerstyle shredding technique, plucking, tapping, and even slapping! She even activated the phaser and delay pedal to make it sound like thousands. Almost as if compelling him to yield to her overwhelming skill and presence.

Their solo has a distinctive characteristic. Liam was dominant on the raw power, where it sounded aggressive. Whilst Misaki was dominant on the practical precision, she was not as aggressive, but it was still ear candy.

Their solo battle triggered euphoric mosh pits from the metalheads. Even some are doing a crowd surfing of Poltergeist’s chaotic solo battle of their set.

But there is a twist.

The latter silenced their instruments and pointed at the drummer, who did a neck-breaking drum solo. His drumsticks were a blur. Smacking the kicks, snares, toms, and cymbals with raw power and unmatched precision.

The drummer suddenly stopped playing. The stage suddenly silenced. The audiences were murmuring in confusion.

Something was wrong with their set. Liam spoke gravely to the mic. “Our greatest apology, there were technical issues going on.”

But that was a joke.

Poltergeist exploded on the stage again as their song was reaching the end. And the audience's cheering almost tore down the performance hall.

Finally, Poltergeist has finished their opening song with a bang. Both Liam and Misaki did an impossible outro solo lick, almost breaking their strings. The drummer did a final drum solo outro, and the latter created a chaotic sound of the apocalypse.

The drummer smacked the cymbal for the last time, and Poltergeist had finished their first song of the set.

Holy crap, Liam-sensei! You scared me there! Hiroki couldn’t comprehend Poltergeist’s prank on the audiences near the end.

But it simultaneously intimidated Hiroki, as if Poltergeist's performance was like witnessing a literal murder ritual by the underground cult. Raw, gory, and demonic.

And with anticipation building, Hiroki eagerly awaited the next electrifying performance that would close the show with an unforgettable bang.