Heavy Metal Offer

This was the first time that I had ever kissed a girl. It was the first time that I was ever kissed by a girl. It happened so quickly and I was taken completely by surprise. Saiki’s lips felt so soft and supple and warm; I felt like my lips were melting right into hers. She had her eyes closed and let herself just be in the moment. I, on the other hand, had my eyes opened wide in surprise. My body just stayed very still and my mind struggled to react accordingly to this unexpected situation. What should I do? What is the right way to approach this? My heart was beating faster than a bullet train!

A small voice inside my head told me to stop worrying. I didn’t know if I should heed its advice, but I hated feeling hopeless in this situation. I relented to its advice and I closed my eyes. I calmed my heart and I, too, let myself just be in the moment.

The kiss lasted for a good minute and we both pulled apart at the same time. I still felt her warm breath on my lips and I got goosebumps. Our eyes were focused on each other’s and it seriously felt like time had stopped around us. I swallowed a gulp.

“I’m sorry,” she quickly apologized.

“Don’t apologize!” I quickly replied. “I mean, it was kind of unexpected, but it wasn’t bad,” I said with a lame laugh.

Apparently, hearing me say that made her happy and she smiled. “Did you mean it?” she asked me.

“Mean what?” I asked her. And that’s when it hit me. “Of course I mean it,” I told her seriously. “I mean it with all of my heart. I love you.”

Suddenly, at that very moment, fireworks were shot up into the sky. The explosion caught us by surprise and we looked up at the sky. The colors were bright and beautiful and it mesmerized me. Everyone cheered as they littered the skies with beautiful flowery designs. I looked at Saiki and she looked back at me. We both smiled together while watching the fireworks together. And it seemed that we had the same idea without knowing it, because our fingers intertwined and we held each other’s hands like a true couple.

The song ended and the band bowed, signaling the end of their show. They went backstage and the speakers turned on once again. An announcer came on and told everyone that this would be the last show of the night. And then, they introduced the following band with a big announcement like the last one. “Next, we have the modern monsters of rock, the current heavyweights of heavy metal, the new kings of rock-n-roll! They are dangerous, they are tough, they are musical prophets sent to us by the gods! And they need only one word to introduce them! Humdinger!”

The crowd went wild, probably even more so than for GrEy. And I’ll tell you why. While GrEy are the classic gods of back then, Humdinger are the modern gods of right now. Like GrEy, they are very diverse in the type of rock they play, but it is always rooted in hard rock, heavy metal, and punk. Their songs are known for being face-melting with explosive riffs and fiery solos. Their lyrics are very wide-ranging and they don’t restrict themselves to just one kind of message. I may not have spoken much of them before, but I’m not lying when I say that Humdinger is one of my most favorite bands in the entire world, as well as a leader of the current rock and metal scene, especially in Japan.

In addition to their music, Humdinger are also expert theatrical performers. They are known for wearing extravagant costumes with extraordinary make-up designs. They also have cool stage names to go with their cool looks, too: Shiny Killer (lead vocals/rhythm guitar), Master Joker (lead guitar), Iron Judge (bass), Loony Lover (keyboards), and Black Kami (drums).

Humdinger got onstage and a barrage of pyrotechnics shot up into the air. Shiny Killer walked up to the microphone and looked out into the crowd. Everyone settled down and she grabbed the microphone. “Everyone,” she said. She let her word echo and the crowd held their breath. “Humdinger is here to put this night to an end.” Everyone cheered once she said that. “Are we ready for this night to end?” The crowd replied with loud cheers and applause. “How should we begin the end?” After giving the audience a moment to get riled up and shout out song suggestions, Shiny Killer silenced them with her arms. “I hear the rock-n-roll gods telling me what we should do.” Hearing those words made everyone go wild. “Let’s begin with an ode. You know what I’m talking about. It’s time to rock!”

And the band played their first song: “Rock-N-Roll Gods”. The crowd jumped around like popping popcorn. This included me and Saiki, too. We were having the time of our lives! The band continued to play a twelve song set with interludes and guitar solos in between. Once they were finished, everyone gave them the greatest acclamation that no other band received tonight. This was a testament to their greatness.

Once the festival was over and everyone was wrapping up to go home, Saiki and I met up with my uncle along with the other guys. Everyone saw me and Saiki nonchalantly holding hands and reacted accordingly to their own character: Ikki let out a whistle with an approving smile, Taka clapped her hands and wore her typical airheaded smile, Ai threw daggers at Saiki with her hands clenched at her sides; Fumi had her arms crossed over her chest and looked away; and Uncle Shu gave me an approving thumbs-up. Saiki and I could only exchange embarrassed smiles, but we still remained together.

As we were about to leave, we were quickly stopped by a very unexpected person. “Excuse me,” they called from behind us. I turned around and was shocked out of my mind. The person who stopped us was none other than Shiny Killer, Humdinger’s lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist. Seeing her makeup closely made me even more intimidated and impressed and I felt like I should be kneeling before her or something. But when I heard her voice, it kind of sounded a little familiar.

“Y-Yes?” I said.

Uncle Shu touched my shoulder and said, “I’ll take the other kids home.” He then gestured for Ikki, Ai, Fumi, and Taka to follow him, which they did despite the awed faces they wore while in the presence of a living icon. They were gone and I was left alone with Saiki once again.

“You two are Ryuki’s friends, aren’t you?” Shiny Killer asked us.

“Yes, we are,” I answered back.

“D-Do you know him?” asked Saiki with a little stutter.

“We met earlier today,” she said. “I’m Takasaki Kira.”

Wait a minute, the woman we met earlier with Ryuki was the lead singer of Humdinger without her makeup?! We saw the real Shiny Killer?! This is a huge deal because the members of Humdinger never go out in public without their makeup. They keep their real identities a secret and only give interviews and the like with full makeup and costumes on.

“Are you Eva Nascent?” she asked Saiki. “Ryuki told me that you’re the lead singer of Nijigami, so you must be Eva Nascent, right?”

“I-I am,” answered Saiki.

“I love your music, by the way,” said Kira. “Nijigami truly has a very bright future ahead of them. Ryuki also told me that you released a solo album lately.”

“I did,” confirmed Saiki with a smile.

“I can’t wait to listen to it,” said Kira with a beaming smile. “Your voice is very amazing. Exactly what you would expect from the daughter of Haruto Ichiko.”

“Y-You know my mother?” asked Saiki anxiously.

“If you could believe it, I actually took some lessons from her in my youth,” revealed Kira. “She was a tough woman, but her teaching methods were very effective.”

“Thank you,” said Saiki with a small smile.

“Anyway, the reason why I stopped you is because I have an offer for you.”

“An offer for me?”

“Yes,” said Kira with a nod. “You see, I’m planning on getting married next month and retire from the music business.”

“Retire?” came Saiki and I in unison.

“I’ve been making music for twelve years now,” said Kira with a laugh. “Don’t get me wrong, I love making music. But I think that I’ve hit the end of the road for me. Once I get married, I plan on becoming a music teacher.”

“Really? That’s awesome!” I told her.

“Thank you,” she chuckled. “Although I’m retiring, I don’t want my decision to force Humdinger to break up. We went through hell to get to where we’re at right now and I don’t want any of that to lose its meaning. Besides, the other guys still got gas left in the tank and I don’t think it's right for me to stop them just because I’m finished.” She looked up at Saiki and grabbed her hands. “You see, my band already knows what’s going on and they’re supporting me with all of their heart. So, to pay them back, I decided to seek out my own successor so that they don’t have to. That’s why I want to make you this offer. ”

“Wait. Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” I said slowly.

“Haruto Saiki, would you like to succeed me in becoming the new singer for Humdinger?” she asked Saiki.

Saiki couldn’t believe it, and neither did I. We both had our mouths hung open in complete surprise. I glanced at Saiki and she stood very still. And then, a very scary voice sent shivers down our spines.

“Saiki!” came Haruto’s mother. Saiki and I slowly turned around and we saw her marching towards us with fury in her eyes. She forcefully grabbed Saiki by the hand and pulled her away from me. “What are you doing here?” she asked her daughter angrily.

“Uh—I—er—um,” stuttered Saiki fearfully.

Haruto Ichiko quickly turned to me and harshly said, “You! Were you the one who forced my daughter to come to this hell on earth?!” I had no words and stayed quiet. “I knew something was wrong when my guards told me that Saiki went to study with her friends and that I had given her permission to leave the house.”

“Mother, I thought that you would be in Saitama for the weekend,” said Saiki.

“They cancelled,” snapped her mother. “And it’s a good thing they did, too. Who knows how corrupted you would get over the weekend?”

“Nice to meet you again, Sensei,” said Kira.

Haruto Ichiko turned to Kira and flinched back. “I have no student like you,” she replied back aggressively.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” apologized Kira with a laugh. “I forgot that I still had makeup on. It’s me, Takasaki Kira.”

“Takasaki?!” exclaimed Haruto Ichiko with wide eyes. She looked like she had just seen a ghost. “You’re one of these despicable rockers?” she asked her former student.

“Guilty,” admitted Kira with a smile.

Haruto Ichiko looked like she couldn’t accept what she was hearing. She threw a quick glance at Saiki and ordered, “Let’s go!” And they promptly left the festival, Haruto Ichiko leading her daughter away by the hand.

“She still hates rock music, I see,” said Kira once they were gone. She then turned to me and asked, “Are you guys dating?”

“N-No!” I quickly responded out of instinct. I gulped and calmed myself down. “I mean, not yet.”

“Love is full of suffering, but at the end of it all, it is a beautiful thing full of happiness,” she told me.

When Monday came, I found that everything had returned back to what they were just the week before. Saiki avoided me and ignored me and I couldn’t do anything about it without getting blocked by the other students. My high school life has become a living hell once again.

During lunch, I sat on the rooftop with Ikki and Ai. I wasn’t really hungry and lazily played around with my food. Ai noticed my gloominess and tried to get me to smile by bringing up past memories of our middle-school days—or should I say, altered past memories of our middle-school days. I could only listen to them with a sigh.

Ikki, who had been stuffing his face, swallowed his food and asked, “Say, what did Shiny Killer want with you and Haruto Saiki?”

“Saiki, Saiki, Saiki. Sheesh! Can we stop it with her already?” complained Ai.

“Why do hate her so much? Is it because you know that you can’t compete with her?” asked Ikki idiotically.

Ai flashed him a murderous glare and mouthed the words, “You’re dead meat.”

“Anyway, I want to know what Shiny Killer wanted with you and Haruto Saiki,” repeated Ikki, unafraid of Ai’s threat.

“She wanted to ask Saiki to be the new lead singer for Humdinger,” I told him thoughtlessly.

“Seriously?!” came Ikki and Ai in unison.

“But her mother came at that exact moment and took her back home,” I finished.

“Shiny Killer’s mother?” asked Ikki.

“No, Haruto Ichiko,” I corrected him.

“Haruto Ichiko’s mother?” asked Ai.

“No, Haruto Ichiko came to take her away,” I said, getting annoyed.

“She came to take Shiny Killer away?” asked Ikki.

“No, Haruto Saiki!” I said, getting more annoyed.

“Haruto Saiki took Shiny Killer away?” asked Ai.

“No!” I shouted out angrily.

“The police came to take Shiny Killer away?” asked Ikki.

“No, no, NO!” I yelled at them furiously. “Haruto Ichiko came to take Haruto Saiki back home!”

“Oh!” they both said in unison.

“Is that why you and Saiki didn’t go to the festival on Sunday?” Ikki asked me.

I answered with a nod of my head.

“Why did Shiny Killer want to choose Haruto Saiki to replace her?” asked Ai.

“It’s because she liked Haruto’s voice,” I told them.

“Say, do you think that her mother would let her become a rock star if she ever saw her onstage?” asked Ikki.

“What are you talking about?” I asked him.

“Would Haruto Ichiko allow Haruto Saiki to become a rock star if she ever saw her perform onstage,” repeated Ikki.

“I don’t think so,” I replied pessimistically.

“I got it!” said Ikki.

“What?” I asked, though I was a little afraid of what he was going to say.

“What if we put on a performance for her mother? I’m pretty sure she would change her mind after seeing her daughter nail it onstage!” he said.

“That’s crazy,” I said.

“But her mother knows that she possesses a very awesome voice, right?”

“Yes,” I replied.

“Then she should see just how perfectly it fits with this style of music! Also, it will allow us to change her mind on the genre by showing her just what exactly makes it music. Guitar showmanship, instrumental sections, interesting song structures; we’ll show her the whole shebang! But most importantly, we’ll showcase Haruto Saiki’s talent!” Ikki was really excited about this idea and it showed in the way he got more and more animated as he explained it.

“Will that really work?” asked Ai in disbelief.

“We’ll make it work!” declared Ikki confidently.

“Even if we could do that, we don’t have time right now,” I said. “We have our school festival next week. Besides, I’m not capable of getting into contact with Haruto Saiki right now.”

Ikki thought for a minute and then said, “That’s it! The school festival! We’ll hold a concert then!”

“How?” I asked.

“I saw that the festival committee had put up a paper about wanting to host concerts during the festival,” he told us. “They’re looking for participants and they already got a few lined up. I’ll sign us up today!”

“Even if you do that, we still need Haruto Saiki,” pointed our Ai. “How are you going to do this?”

“We’ll talk to Fumi and Baka,” said Ikki.

“Taka,” I corrected him.

“That’s what I said,” said Ikki with a nod of his head.

“But are you sure that they will go for it?” I asked uncertainly.

“I’ll figure something out,” said Ikki.

I went home that afternoon feeling more uneasy than I ever felt in my entire life. The only thing on my mind right now was Ikki’s plan. How will he pull this off? Will it work? What happens if it doesn’t? What if Saiki don’t agree to it? What if Haruto Ichiko won’t accept it? What if this will ruin our relationship further?!

I came home and was greeted by my uncle. He was on the phone with someone and I proceeded to put my stuff away. When I came back downstairs, I heard the following words come out of his mouth, “Alright, Ikki, I’ll see what I can do.”

“What were you talking to him about?” I asked him once he put his phone away.

“Oh, he was asking me about Haruto Ichiko,” he told me.

“What about her?” I asked suspiciously.

“He wanted to ask if I can convince her to go see a concert.”

“What concert?”

“The one you’ll be giving at the school festival with her daughter.”

“What?! Ikki already signed us up?!” I shouted in horror.

“Yup,” replied my uncle with a nod. “You’ll be performing under the name Nijigami 2.0.”

“Niji—,” I said, quickly stopping myself. Of course, only Ikki would come up with something like that. I huffed out a groan.

“Haruto Ichiko is a very busy woman,” said my uncle. “She is a voice teacher so she won’t have any free time to go see the school festival this coming week.”

“But that’s her daughter’s festival,” I said in disbelief.

“She’s a very busy woman,” said Uncle Shu with a shrug of his shoulders.

“And you went along with Ikki’s plan without any question?” I asked him.

“It seemed like it would be fun,” admitted my uncle with a smile.

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “You’re joking, right?” I asked him. He simply answered back with a simple shake of his head. I couldn’t believe that Ikki had convinced my uncle to help him with this plan. And the fact that my uncle accepted just because it “would be fun”…. Oh, I feel very sick just thinking about how this was going to go down. “Okay, so what did he ask you to do?”

“He wanted me to bring her to the concert,” he told me.

“And how are you going to accomplish this?”

“By talking to her,” he said. “Gosh, it’ll be almost twenty five years since we last parted ways in high school.”

“This is no time to be reminiscing,” I told him with a groan.

“Yoshiki,” said my uncle. I turned to him and saw that he wore a very serious expression. “Are you prepared to do whatever it takes for Haruto Saiki?”

“I….” I was at a loss for words now. Why? Why was I at a loss for words to answer this easy question?

“Are prepared to give up?” he asked me.

“I….” Once again, I was at a loss for words. What the hell is wrong with me?! I thought that I could answer these questions easily. I thought that I knew the answers to these questions!

“Remember that night?” he asked me.

“What night?” I asked him back.

“Two nights ago, right after the festival, you had solidified your relationship with Haruto Saiki, didn't you?” he said.

The memories of the first night of the ‘Masters of Rock’ concert flashed through my mind. The moment when I confessed my love to her made my heart beat fast and the palms of my hands sweaty. The moment when we kissed brought back a softness that I long to feel once again. The moment that we watched the fireworks together made me feel a joy that was unlike any other. And the moment that we held hands together…. I looked up at my uncle and said with a smile, “I remember.”

“Are you willing to sacrifice that happiness?” he asked me.

“I don’t think I am,” I answered honestly.

“Remember that feeling,” he told me. “Remember how you felt when your hearts connected. It’s a beautiful thing. Now, I know that I’m not the most qualified to speak on these matters since I’m not one for romance anyway, but I like to think that I at least know what I’m talking about. That, and I can’t really lose my status as the cool uncle now, can I?”

“You’ll never stop being the cool uncle,” I told him with a little laugh.

“Are you willing to go along with Ikki’s plan?” he asked me with a smile.

“To be honest, I’m kind of iffy whenever Ikki comes up with a plan,” I told him. “But, I guess I’ll give it a shot.” I then turned to him and asked the following question: “But are you prepared to confront Haruto Ichiko after twenty-five years?”

“Oh, a rock star is always ready.”