AMBiTiON/Story/Ch. 20

## Chapter 20 - Bright Lights

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A brightness nearly blinding. They made her feel hazy.

Was this a memory? A dream? No, it was reality, right? Chihiro pulled at her forelocks. Ow. Okay, that was real.

Loud, VERY loud music almost drowned out her thoughts, even backstage. For the first time, the five girls were not watching ECL:PSE as viewers, but as a fellow band. Wait, what?

Recalling the situation, Chihiro suddenly felt her heart speed up with anxiety. Was she ready to go onstage? This was what she'd wanted from the start… admiration, attention… Oh, how weird it felt knowing maybe, just maybe, someone would look up to HER, of all people.

'No,' Chihiro tried to pull herself together, 'I need to stop hating on myself for once. I'm probably just looking for a reason for people to pity me, anyways...' Not to mention in the corner of the room, it seemed Sorae was doing a lot worse.

The pink-haired girl was doing her iconic curled-into-a-ball pose, practically sitting on the floor, though the panicked position was accompanied with her bass. Aki and Mai were beside Sorae, trying to calm her down, but from afar, it didn't look like it had any effect.

"How's it feel, Hiro-tan? You're gonna be famous." A voice teased her.

"Ugh, god. Are you still mad because I tricked you into joining AMBiTiON before?" Chihiro turned to face Izumi. "I know. It's bad. No reminders please?"

Shrugging, the second-year put on a relaxed expression. "Eh, ya know, at this point, whatever… But I'll be keeping an eye on you~." Izumi made an OK hand and moved the circle over her right eye like a barbaric telescope.

"Seriously~?"

"Yes, no, maybe so. Something something, I don't know."

A vague answer as always from Izumi. Chihiro tried to switch the topic. "Anyways, uh… Still so weird to be in these custom shirts. Specifically made for us."

She glanced down at her own clothing. They all had matching shirts with their current band logo printed on, and while it did take some effort to get it done, Chihiro still felt wrong seeing their own logo on something this permanent. They actually got some minimal help from Aki's family's company - Starrily Sail. Though she originally protested that decision, eventually the other four girls convinced her to switch sides.

"What, you still haven't gotten used to it? Whatever. They are pretty cool," Izumi commented, starting to flail her arms around, "but your sleeves look uncomfortable. Good for me, mine are loosened for the epic mobility."

As she flapped her arms like a bird whose eggshell cracked prematurely, one of the drumsticks Izumi was holding promptly flew away into Sorae's direction. Somehow Mai managed to catch it with her right hand, gave it a puzzled look, and returned it, with the other hand clutching the neck of her emerald-coloured guitar.

Izumi caught the stick. "Ey, gratitude-ations, Mai-chan."

The guitarist did not even bat an eye, only turning back to Sorae and Aki.

Nervously, Chihiro approached the exit leading to the stage. "God, I think ECL:PSE is almost done. We're totally not even ready." The two collectively fixed their gaze at the other three girls.

Out of nowhere, it seemed an idea lit up Aki's crystal blue eyes. She began to pat Sorae's head rhythmically, chanting over and over, "Pon, pon, poyo-yan. Pon, pon, poyo-yan…"

Chihiro thought that was absolutely stupid yet Sorae got up like it was some kind of legendary class magic spell. Hesitantly, the second-year walked over to Izumi and Chihiro, followed by Aki and Mai, content that she'd exterminated her worry-worms at last.

The limelight from outside cast a beam over AMBiTiON. That was the name they finally settled on for their band - AMBiTiON. It definitely wasn't creative, but Chihiro didn't know how anyone could look at their roster and sense a hint of creativity within any of them. Except for Aki, obviously, though she didn't have any objections over this name so that was that, Chihiro supposed.

"Ooo… I'm still s-scared…" Shaking, Sorae murmured.

"Oh, same. Well, aren't we all?" Chihiro forced a stiff smile. "B-Be glad you don't have to be at the mic."

Izumi put on a smug face. "Well aren't you important, princess?"

"Yeah, yeah, Izumi-sama." The vocalist rolled her eyes. She was over that phase by now. Or at least, she hoped she was. Can't give a fish props for swimming.

"H-H-How do I play bass like this…?" Sorae continued, doing finger exercises with a clammy hand. Chihiro watched her attempt - Fingers together, index and middle apart, together, middle and ring apart, together, ring and pinky apart, together, middle and ring apart, toge-- oh, she messed up.

Mai and Aki joined in. "Damn it," Mai could be heard muttering as she failed. Usually the guitarist was rather elegant and dignified, Chihiro had noticed, except for when she screwed up at something.

Aki continued the exercise perfectly, her other free hand reaching out to pet Sorae. "Relax~! Pon, pon, poyo-yan," the keyboardist repeated.

"Pon, pon, poyo-yan,"

"Pon, pon, poyo-yan,"

Even Mai quietly and arbitrarily echoed the phrase. "... Pon, pon, poyo-yan…?"

Finally, Sorae let out a chuckle, granted an anxious one. "Is this a cult?"

Outside, a guitar's frantic melody could be heard coming to a halt. Chihiro knew what that meant - she swallowed, feeling her arms and legs tense up and become jelly simultaneously.

"Thanks, you guys~!" Aika's voice reverberated in the microphone, reverting to cute mode. "That was our song, 'F A K Ǝ'. Now, we'll be heading off the stage, but not before we say a bit about the next band up."

It wasn't as if Chihiro wasn't paying attention to start with, however now she was listening even more intently.

"So, our next band will be on the stage for the first time, so please welcome our friends nicely, okay~?"

The crowd bid ECL:PSE a goodbye with a cheer, then the girls were off. The four middle-schoolers passed AMBiTiON with a simple phrase of good luck before walking backstage. "Break an egg," She heard Kiyomi and Izumi share the phrase. Chihiro tried to give Aika a panicked look - Oh, why did that girl have to implant a pretense of talent into the feeble, feeble mind of the crowd?

Chihiro was standing in front of her bandmates, no, friends. It was difficult since her heart practically pounded out of her chest, but she took a deep breath…

A footstep rang on the floor. Invisible waves.

Though residue of speech was left here and there between the crowd, her step sounded clear as day in her head. The surroundings seemed to mute themselves as she emerged from the shaded backstage, into the limelight, into unfamiliar territory. It felt like she wasn't supposed to be there. But, well, she had to be.

"Woo~!!" Izumi charged out of the shadows with a grand jump, shattering the uneasy atmosphere. Chihiro spun in confusion as she remembered - she wasn't alone. And for the present Chihiro… that was a good thing.

The auburn-haired girl took note of her friends as they each stationed themselves in the assigned position. Just had to do it like the staff and ECL:PSE instructed beforehand… She momentarily forgot if she was allowed to move around, or if she had to stay in front of the microphone no matter what… but she didn't care either way. How else should Chihiro communicate with them, telepathy?

"Y-You guys ready?" Chihiro asked, her jaws unintentionally clenched with nervousness. A tingling sense in her body froze her up, but Chihiro tried her best to thaw herself.

Aki, her hair dyed a pastel magenta in the light, nodded with an optimistic smile. Izumi decided to punch the air enthusiastically, though, holding the drumstick, she seemed to have hit the hi-hat instead. With a crash, it gave the fidgety Sorae a jump. Though obviously overwhelmed, the bassist had a glint of courage in her yellow eyes. Mai didn't say anything, only glancing away with an exasperated smile at the silly ordeal.

"You can do it, Hiro-tan," Aki whispered, without the recipient hearing.

Chihiro gulped and wondered if she herself was ready. She would have to be. "I'm gonna start now..."

She turned back to the mic and caught sight of all the people. Her heart skipped a beat.

"E-Everyone--" A horrible screech in the mic deafened Chihiro for a second. She backed up, mortified, as the people let out a short, collective laugh. Oh, god, she'd already done something wrong?! Was she too close? Were the people laughing at her? Feeling judgmental gazes burning into her, both of familiars and strangers, she wished she could go hide, however she'd agreed to be the talker. Chihiro originally wanted Aki to do it but the keyboardist refused adamantly, insisting that the band leader should do the honours. Where's the honour now?

No, she had to stand her ground. She had to.

"Agh! Sorry!" Chihiro purposefully stayed farther from the microphone this time. She sheepishly looked off to the side, "Can you tell we're beginners? Uh…"

"Although this is our first time performing, um, we'll do our best to deliver a good show!" She put a hand to her chin hesitantly. "B-But first, I'll… I'll introduce our band members to you all."

"On the keyboards is Aki Hoshime - " She felt perfectly accustomed to the spotlight, not something to doubt at all. The girl wondered if that was because of her experience with getting attention, though Aki didn't want to think about it too much. If she did… bad thoughts would come knocking. She let her fingers skillfully sweep across her keyboard with instinct, creating an elegant sound like rolling down a valley, smiling. The feeling of guilt inside her, for once silenced as Aki stood onstage with AMBiTiON… She deserved this, she forced herself to believe. She did.

" - Izumi Takimoto, as the drummer - " The second-year pulled off a drum roll on the snare then slowed down hitting on each drum, ending it with an iconic crash. Was that how people saw her? A mix of uncoordinated sounds in a coordinated fashion, topped off with a flashy "k-tang"? Or was that AMBiTiON as a whole, just some rag-tag alley rats going about it however? Izumi liked the sound of that. It would have affected her, how other people thought of her, but now she could see how it wasn't of much importance anymore. It should have been a simple feeling all along… Izumi should just trust that they mixed well. She should just trust.

" - Sorae Ishizawa, as the bassist - " With a relatively easy section of a riff, Sorae felt oddly calmed by the deep tones of her bass, despite feeling frail from getting incredible stage fright. A bass guitar was meant to be a sound that the band relied on - That description didn't sound like Sorae. It really didn't. She was fussy, a nervous wreck, and nowhere near a reliable person. Heck, at that moment, a part of her regretted coming onstage, but... someday, she would have to turn the lights on. And until she truly became a little more responsible, Sorae would have to stand extra tall.

" - Mai Moriuchi, as the guitarist - " Months ago she would have glared in scorn at the idea of picking up anything "not worth her time", but this guitar in her hands was worth even more than Mai could imagine. It was more than just a musical instrument. The forest-haired girl felt her fingers press the strings, sounding out a chord with the pick in her other hand. Hearing a slight semitone difference for a split second, Mai quickly slid her finger to the adjacent fret and cursed herself for making such a mistake… but why be so uptight now? Life was more than work, right? Whatever this was… it must have been 'life'.

" - And me, Chihiro Satou, the-- the vocalist." She completed. This was what she wanted… finally. She was on the brightly lit stage, at the mic, with all eyes on her. Oh, that sounded so off. But Chihiro had to make herself learn at some point - She wasn't all that special. No one was talking behind her back. No one was shooting her a disgusted glance. No one except for herself. And it seemed - she hoped sincerely - that even her own frowns towards people were going away. That she could even smile towards them, if it meant she could cause ripples. "Uh, together…"

Chihiro tapped her foot twice, knowing her friends looked to her for the direction.

"We're AMBiTiON!"

That sentence, spoken by them all at once, sent a chill down her spine. As much as Chihiro wanted to dwell in that feeling, she continued, "I-I hope you'll welcome us! Now…

Please listen to our song, 'Kaleidoscope'."

And as the lights dimmed and the instrumentals began their song's introduction, Chihiro turned to face all of AMBiTiON.

A hallucination? She imagined between them, she could see a radiant white thread.

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## Trivia

* Upon reading this story, the song Kaleidoscope is unlocked.
* Upon reading this story, 5 stamps of AMBiTiON's trained initial 3\*s are unlocked.
* A special artwork of Chihiro('s shoe?) is displayed in this story.