A stunning blonde woman Shuichi hadn't met before.

Shuichi looked to the source of the voice and saw a woman with long blonde hair standing next to him. She had blue eyes, dark black lipstick, and eyeliner that stood out boldly on her amazingly fair skin, and she was wearing battered blue jeans with a black t-shirt that showed off her bare midriff. The woman seemed to be about Shuichi’s age and looked like she fit the scene of the club rather well, but unlike most of the other girls there she didn’t have any visible studs or piercings anywhere on her body.

“H-hello there,” Shuichi greeted the woman awkwardly as she paid for her drink. “You, uh like diet Coke as well, huh?”

“Yes, I do; it’s always been my favorite,” the girl replied, turning to Shuichi. “It might sound a little odd around here, though; I know most of the girls here can drink a liter of vodka without batting an eye, but **** and **** never really appealed to me.”

“S-same, actually” Shuichi replied as their drinks arrived. “I always get way too woozy whenever I try to drink.”

“Well, I guess that makes us too strange peas in a pod then,” the blonde replied, sipping her drink.

“I wouldn't say that - at least you look like you belong here.” Shuichi glanced over his shoulder and saw two butch women with dyed blue hair making out against a wall. “I probably look like I’m from another planet here, don’t I?”

“A little bit, yeah,” she replied. “You got into Black Cherry pretty recently, haven’t you? This is your first concert as well, right? And your dayjob is something boring, like an internal auditor at CO Inc.”

“Wha!?” Shuichi almost dropped his drink. “How did you know that?”

“Because I’m psychic,” the girl replied with a completely straight face that lasted only a few seconds before she started giggling. “Nah, I just guessed. I work with a lot of corporate types too, and I’ve learned that they all come in flavors.”

“Ah… okay.” Shuichi let out a sigh of relief at the knowledge that no one was reading his thoughts. “So, I guess that means that you’ve been a Black Cherry fan for a while?”

“Yep; I’ve been following the band ever since they were playing out of a garage when they were in high school,” the girl replied. “I even have one of the first ever shirts they made kicking around in my closet somewhere.”

“Oh wow! You must be a really hardcore fan then. The longest I ever liked something was… three, maybe for years max,” Shuichi replied. “How would you say the band has changed over the years?”

“Well, other than the fact that they lost most of their members, I’d say they barely changed at all,” she replied. “Pitch still has the same music style, same instruments, the same concerts… it’s almost admirable how dedicated she is to her craft.”

“Almost?” Shuichi asked.

“Well... let’s just say that Black Cherry concerts used to be a lot bigger back in their hayday.” The blonde woman gestured to the crowd behind them.”

“Ah; that is a good point,” Shuichi replied. “So, what other music are you into?”

“Oh, I’m mostly into other metal bands; you know, Metallica and the like. They’re how I first discovered Black Cherry,” she replied, though her voice wasn’t that convincing. “What about you? Are you a metal head too yet?”

“I don’t think so,” Shuichi replied. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I really like Black Cherry’s music, I’m not sure if it's the kind of thing I’d listen to all the time. I haven’t really decided on a favorite genre yet, but I tend to like what the big radio stations play as well.”

“You better be careful not to say that too loud; some of the people around here would tear your throat out if they found out you listened to something like pop,” the girl said with a smirk.

“R-really?” Shuichi stammered. “Is it really that bad to like two different kinds of music at once?”

“Hmm… no, I suppose it’s not.” The girl smiled and took another sip from her drink. “I don’t believe I’ve introduced myself. My name is Nezumiiro, and it’s nice to meet you.”

“Shuichi Saihara,” he replied with a bow. “It’s nice to meet you too.”

“Attention patrons! Due to a technical difficulty, the start of the show will be delayed by ten minutes,” a voice suddenly announced over a speaker. “We apologized for the inconvenience.”

“I thought I smelled smoke earlier…” Nezumiiro said under her breath before turning back towards Shuichi. “I guess we have a little bit more time before the concert starts. Care to tell me a bit more about yourself while we wait?”

“Oh! S-sure,” he stammered in reply. “I’ll, uh, try to tell you everything you haven’t guessed already.”

The two then spent the next ten minutes chatting with each other, Shuichi explaining different aspects about his life while Nezumiiro commented and answered Shuichi’s questions about Black Cherry’s time touring the globe. Shuichi was very surprised at how easily the two got along, but he was pretty sure she wasn’t secretly planning on pouring a drink on his head so he remained relaxed for now.

And, for her part, the blonde girl was having a pretty good time as well, though she didn’t expect to feel the things she did while she was talking to him. It was subtle, but her heart was like a smoke detector, and she could feel things heating up between them in a way she hadn’t felt in a while. She wanted to keep talking to him and tell him more about herself, but her rational mind reminded her that wasn’t an option, and that she’d likely never see him again regardless.

“Alright, everyone! Sorry for the delay, but the concert is about to start!” The voice from before suddenly announced. “Get ready to have the night of your lives!”

“Looks like that’s our cue to end our conversation; if this Black Cherry concert is anything like the last one I went to, then we won’t be able to talk that much when the music starts.” Nezumiiro chugged the last of her soda and threw it away. “It was nice meeting you, Shuichi. It was… fun talking to you. I hope we can meet again sometime.”

“Y-yeah, you too!” Shuichi waved the woman goodbye. “See you around!”

“Hey, sorry I was gone for so long,” Rantaro apologized as he emerged from the crowd that was moving towards the stage. “There was a bit of a… situation backstage involving some sparklers that I had to help out with. On the brightside, though, not only did I convince the staff to let you backstage during the break, but I also got to speak with Pitch a little too while we were tag-teaming fire extinguishers. She knows you’re coming now.”

“Oh, really? That’s great!” Shuichi replied. “N-not the part about the fire of course, though. That sounds pretty bad.”

“Hey, no one was hurt, so it all worked out in my books,” Rantaro replied with a shrug as his sisters all grouped together in the back of the crowd behind him. “Now, let’s enjoy the show, shall we?”

Shuichi swallowed nervously but nonetheless followed Rantaro into the tight crowd of Black Cherry fans. The air was warm and moist as sweat was already starting to drip off people’s bodies, and there was barely enough room for him to move around without bumping into someone. Despite Shuichi’s best efforts to keep his emotions under control, he could feel his claustrophobia start to act up more the further into the crowd they went, so when they came to a stop he closed his eyes and tried to pretend that he was somewhere else.

But, he opened them once again when the main lights of the club went out and the room became illuminated by a single spotlight on stage. The sounds of drums and bass guitar began to pump through the speakers, and many of the people around him - including Rantaro - began to bob their heads to the beat of the music. Then, after letting the anticipation build for a moment, Pitch herself finally jumped through the stage’s red curtains and landed in front of the crowd accompanied by fog machines and playing the same guitar that she played when she slept with Shuichi a few days ago.

“Good evening, everyone!” Pitch shouted into the microphone pinned to her shirt, her voice booming over the speakers and making the ground shake. “It’s great to see you all come out tonight for me! And it’s also great to see that, after all these years, there’s still some people out there who know what real music is!”

“Whoo! Go Pitch!” a woman near Shuichi shouted as the whole crowd went wild.

“We love you so much!” another added before reaching underneath her skirt to take off her black panties and toss them onstage, much to Shuichi’s embarrassed horror.

“Hey now! Let’s save that for after the show!” Pitch gave the girl a wink before picking up the underwear and stuffing it into her shirt. “Now then, this first song is dedicated to all you free-thinkers out there! To everyone who refuses to let the world tell them what is and isn’t possible and who let the horizon be the only border that holds them back! And this classic’s called… I Feel Like I’m Part Train, Plane, or Car But I Don’t Know Which!”

With that, she brought her pick back down onto her guitar and began to play, the sounds for the rest of the instruments playing automatically over the speakers as she began her first heavy-metal ballad. The song almost seemed to reverberate through Shuichi’s very soul as it traveled through the air, carrying with it all of Pitch’s joy, frustration, and passion with it. He’d listened to this same song several times now in his car, but Shuichi had to admit that it was nothing compared to actually hearing it live.

“Man, she really is something, isn’t she?” Rantaro asked Shuichi as the song continued.

“What was that?” Shuichi shouted back, barely able to hear anything over the music.

“Heh, nevermind!” Rantaro patted Shuichi on the shoulder. “I’ll tell you about it later!”

For the next hour straight, they stood there in front of the stage listening to Pitch play her heart out for them. The crowd bobbed and weaved to the sound of the song as if they were a living sound wave and, while Shuichi was never one for dancing, he still did his best to match their movements so he wouldn’t stand out even more than he already did. It was a little bit exhausting, but it was also fun in its own unique way as well. Halfway through the first set, he was really starting to understand what Rantaro meant when he said Shuichi was missing out.

Then, after playing a powerful song about love and destruction, Pitch finally let her guitar go and let it hang around her neck by its strap as the audience cheered and applauded.

“Thank you so much, my sunny friends! You’ve all been a great audience so far!” Pitch announced as the main lights slowly came back on. “Now, I’m going to have to take a little break here to recharge my batteries, but don’t you go anywhere, okay? Stay rockin’, and stay radical! See you all again soon!” Pitch then bowed as even more women tossed their underwear at the stage and exited behind the curtain, and soon the sound levels finally began to return to normal.

“Wow, that was so much fun!” Junoa said excitedly as she dashed over to Shuichi and her brother. “I don’t really understand why everyone was taking their clothes off like that, though. I know it’s hot in there, but you really should have just left it at home if you were just gonna take it off.”

“Yeah, r-right… I don’t get it either,” Juria lied, blushing the color of tomatoes. “Hey, Shuichi? How are you holding up? Do you need any water?”

“I actually could, thanks,” Shuichi replied, to which Juria tossed him a mini water bottle from her backpack. “Ah, that’s better… I’ve got to say, this has been fun, but it’s feeling a bit more like a marathon than I thought it would be.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it eventually - assuming that you go to more concerts that is,” Rantaro replied.

“Oh, you should totally go to more of these with us!” Marisa said excitedly, jumping with her hair down in excitement. “Your expressions are, like, absolutely perfect for showing how intense the show is! You made more than one of my best shots tonight!”

“Y-you’re welcome… wait, you were still taking pictures of me?” Shuichi asked.

“Well, yeah, you said I could do that earlier,” Marisa replied. “That’s not a problem, right?”

“Uh… don’t worry about it,” Shuichi replied. “But as fun as this was, I don’t really think I could really get into doing this kind of thing regularly.”

“I don’t blame you,” Jurika said as she walked up behind Shuichi and removed the yellow earplugs she’d been wearing. “These kinds of things are much better seen than heard.”

“Ah! Jurika! You wore earplugs again!? ” Juria gasped. “Don’t you know how rude that is? That’s like putting salt on a chef’s food right in front of them!”

“Calm down, girl scout, I still had fun,” Jurika replied. “After all, when you can’t hear the music you can pretend she’s actually singing about all sorts of things. And besides, doesn’t your little scoutbook have a section about the importance of preventing tinnitus?”

“Argh, even if you’re right, you always have to play dirty”, Juria replied with a look of defeat.

“Alright, Shuichi and I are going to go visit Pitch backstage for a little bit now - can I trust you girls to look after yourselves while we’re gone?”

“Yes, Rantaro,” the girls said together, with Junoa adding “Please, get me her autograph! I promised Abigail that I would get her one before we left!”

“Don’t worry, I will! See you again soon!” With that, Rantaro led Shuichi to a man guarding a door next to the main stage. “Hey, I’m back! It’s okay to see Pitch now, right?”

“Yeah, you’re all good,” the man replied, opening the door for Rantaro and Shuichi. “You know where to find the dressing room, right?”

“Of course,” Rantaro replied casually, patting the bouncer on the shoulder as he entered backstage. “See you around.”

When they entered the rockstar’s dressing room, Pitch was in the middle of tuning her guitar in her chair, carefully turning its knobs like she was a watchmaker finishing a piece. But, the moment she saw Rantaro enter the room, she tossed the guitar aside without hesitation and rushed forward to hug her green-haired friend.

“Rantaro, my man! It’s been way too long since we had the chance to meet up like this!” Pitch wrapped her arms tightly around his torso and spun around with glee. “How have you been? Are your sisters still doing well? The record store is still open, right?”

“Heh, it’s good to see you too, Pich,” Rantaro replied, hugging his old friend back before letting her go. “My sisters are doing just fine, thanks for asking, and so is the record store. As for me, well, you know I’ve never needed that much to survive. I’ve been thriving with what I have, just like you.”

“That’s what I like to hear!” Pitch gave Rantaro a powerful high-five and noticed the band t-shirt he was holding in his other hand. “Oh, let me guess! You want me to autograph that for one of your sisters, right?”

“Yeah; for Abigail this time.” Rantaro handed Pitch the shirt and a black marker.

“Awesome! I see good taste in music still runs in the family!” Pitch signed her stage name into the shirt, ending the final character with a flare that looked like a guitar. “Are there any of them who aren’t on the team yet?”

“Well, Noelle’s been pretty stubborn, but you know how she is; always focused on work like Asuna. As for Fran, Sabrina, Olivia, and Medina; they’re all undecided right now, but I’m sure I can get them to like you eventually.,” Rantaro replied as Pitch finally noticed Shuichi standing awkwardly in the corner.

“And if it isn’t my first male groupie! Good to see you too!” Pitch walked over to Shuichi and gave him a handshake so strong he thought he’d lose his hand. “But what are you doing here? Didn’t I say that being my groupie didn’t mean you could see me backstage? Or did you hear that I was heading out of town tonight and you didn’t want to wait until I got back to ride my speaker again?”

“No, uh, actually I’m here about something else,” Shuichi replied, starting to grow nervous again. “I don’t know how much Rantaro told you already, but do you remember when we first met a few nights ago? Well-”

Before he could finish, Shuichi was interrupted by the sound of the dressing room door opening behind him. Turning around, he saw the same girl he was talking to at the bar closing the door behind her and locking it.

“Huh? Who the heck are you?” Pitch asked the girl accusingly. “And how did you even get back here? I told security that I was only taking two guests right now!”

“You did, but you’d be surprised what you can do with a big enough bribe,” Nezumiiro replied, stepping forward. “Oh my! I didn’t expect all three of you to be here, but I suppose that’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

“Wait… are you some kind of crazy stalker?” Pitch gasped. “Because if you are, that’s kind of hot, but could you please wait to do this until after I’m done here? I’m trying to catch up with my friends.”